"Exhaustion" part 1: Late Evening Among The Birch Trees

*read more for crappy artwork, a very short story, and general plot stuff.*

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"Among the Birch Trees weaved a whitetail doe. She searched endlessly for hours, the tall grass hiding the object of her desire. The giant trees creaked warnings and tutted the doe, for she sought something that she should never have.

After all, the past is best left in the past."

"As dawn blanketed the forest, the doe finally found her quarry. Gleaming white in the bright sun lay the remnants of her past life. Skull broken, body mostly missing, the bones shone like a beacon. Yet, the doe remained cautious as she slowly approached them, inhaling sharply and repeatedly to try and sense dangers that may lurk there.

Her eyes held something recognizable, gently coaxed free after yesterday's events."

"Bewilderment, Despondence, Fury, Tears....

A child grown and looking on a past she cannot decipher as it comes back to haunt her. Poplar spent a moment staring at her own skeleton, imagining that it would come back to life as some darker version of herself. Another moment passed, and the doe realized that the darker version of herself was not there in the broken bones, but inside her living form. And no matter how quick she raced across the forest, she could not outrun her past. Embracing it was the only thing she could do to end the turmoil, and yet embracing the past she could hardly recollect was just going to make her ugly again.

She turned away.

"It was about time she lived her "Life After Death."

Poplar's past would follow her; it might even take her life back, but the doe would not let herself relapse completely. "

_{*After yesterday's events, Poplar's past has finally completely caught up with her. She has no clue quite what to do, but she knows she doesn't want to go back to her old life. Right now she is struggling, and may seem very odd in her actions. She isn't doing much talking, but does still enjoy company to anchor her to life for fear she'd drift away.*

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