"I can see them from here..yes, that's them! That's my herd.. and my father. I'd recognize his smell after all these years, no matter what.."
The two stood there for a while, watching the herd of shika. The shika grazed, having not noticed them standing nearby. Their coats were all the same variety- shedding their winter coats and gaining their tan color with spots for the summer. Kaoori stood, enthralled. She took a step closer.
"It would be wise if you did not move closer and make your presence known, Kaoori", Wesker stated quietly. She had told him of her past, knew of her father's forced abandonment of her.
"But my mother.. I don't see her.. she's not there!" Although Kaoori's parents had both abandoned her to the Endless Forest at an early age, she still had strong feelings for them, and it was upsetting to her to not see her mother as part of the herd. She bounded off in its direction, not hearing Wesker's yell of surprise.
There were many new faces in her herd. Many of the older ones noticed her, but did not recognize her, and shied away. One brave new face stepped up to touch noses with her, and this caused an alarm from one of the elders; a stomp on the forest floor.
A hearty snort was heard from nearby and Kaoori turned to face her father. He had not changed much, age had been kind to the stag. He had grown another tine, found a few more scars in the battles to keep his females. But time was creeping up to him.
"Father...", Kaoori whispered, turning to face him. They had not seen each other since she was a small fawn. Her emotions swirled in her heart; so many things she wished to say but nothing could come about.
----
Katsutoshi rememebered this one. She'd been smaller than the rest. He'd hoped after they'd abandoned her she wouldn't make it. She somehow had. And now she made it back here, to his herd, his glorious herd, where there were no flaws, no demons- like she and the others her mother continued to produce. Her mother that he drove away from the herd. Some were stillborn. Some lived briefly. He had chased one away after it had looked normal growing but had shown signs of becoming abnormal as it became older. That one had headed in the direction of that dreaded forest he'd left this one.
"You are no child of mine."
The words hit like someone crushing her windpipe. She should have known better, after all- he'd left her to in his eyes, hopefully perish. What would have changed his mind? She stepped backward, staring at his feral cocoa eyes, his deep brown pelt in full molt, his impressive antlers, his scars. And then she felt the familiar presence beside her- the one who never left her.
"Who is this?"
It was a simple question, stated with the authority of someone who knew more than they were letting on.
"This... this is my father."
Kaoori whispered the statement, ears lowered, then her head.
"I told you, you are no fawn of mine." Katsutoshi sneered, tossing his head.
Wesker scoffed, the sound echoing from within the crevices of the skull that he wore as a mask. So this was Katsutoshi. "You are hardly the stag that I imagined. You have the personality down, but not so much the reputation, I'm afraid. How disappointing. Kaoori, let's go."
Katsutoshi was a bit intimidated by Wesker's size, but he refused to show it. He snorted, staring up at the larger bull. "How perfect- a demon for a demon. The two of you run along now. Out of my territory, away from my herd. Keep your blasphemous germs out of my family."
His eyes narrowed upon the smaller male as his lip curled sharply. "So, this is your territory, hm?" Those very eyes made quick work of his new surroundings, slit like a cat's in sunlight. "And this is your herd?"
Kaoori nudged her mate. "Let's just go.. this.. it's not worth it.."
Katsutoshi stepped closer, ready if Wesker was issuing a challenge. Although it was out of season for the stag, he was ready to defend his does and his territory. Wesker, however, maintained his ground.
"No. It is. Some deer need to be reminded of their place," he remarked aloud, fire bright eyes flickering from his mate to her father. "And this is no place for such uncalled for pride. Step down, Katsutoshi."
"Uncalled for pride? You don't even belong here, demon stag. This isn't your world. This is mine. I won't tell you again to leave." Katsutoshi pawed the ground, digging the grass out with his hoof. He was growing agitated.
"You don't have to, nor will I warn you again. Step down, Katsutoshi or I will throw you down in front of what you are calling your herd."
The other stag only laughed, and Kaoori noticed the does behind her father, pacing and nervous, watching the two males posture and argue.
His brow drew a bit behind that mask of his before he lowered it in an abrupt snort, if only to let the other know that this was far from amusing. His antlers, bleached as white as old bone, tore abruptly at the sky.
Although his weren't as impressive, for a shika's, Katsutoshi's antlers were large and many-tined. He'd won many battles, and this had made him over-confident. He was intimidated, but not at all feeling threatened. With a swift nod of his head that perhaps only Wesker could have seen, he challenged the larger bull to come at him.

And he did. It was only a matter of seconds before the elk charged the shika, locking his most prominent tines with those of the other male. His off-white hooves dug furiously at the earth. He was not going anywhere.
Katsutoshi took the brunt of the charge head-on, his own hooves digging into the earth as he let out a grunt. The two deers' antlers made a loud clacking noise as they collided, and with a growl he pushed forward with all his might, digging further into the earth with his hind hooves.
Something of a rumbling laugh escaped from Wesker's throat as he began to shift the bulk of his neck from side to side. He was trying to knock his opponent to the ground.
Katsutoshi stumbled, nearly falling on his side, but he managed to stay standing as he sidestepped, following Wesker's movements for a time. He tried his best to do the same to his larger opponent, tossing his neck as hard as he could, as roughly as he could.
It was an art, maintaining one's balance in such a fight, but Wesker was experienced and his movements were unnaturally fluid for a deer of his size. He broke free of the shika's antlers and, in turn, attempted to dig his own into his opponent's flesh.
The smaller stag barely had time to move away before those bright white tines dove into his side and he slid to a halt some feet away from Wesker, cursing him before charging at him again, this time with all of his strength. Behind him, his herd began to break, pacing about, becoming nervous and confused. Kaoori stood to the side, ears alternately perked, then falling, calling out to her mate to not kill her father.
The bull flicked one ear before stepping aside. He wouldn't attack the other, but simply attempt to put him in his place, swinging his thick neck into the other's side mid-charge. The fight did not have to end with blood, but one would have to fall.
His antlers, those tines would dig into Wesker's hide, as thick as it was, but he was seemingly unfazed by the blow. He bled, but he bellowed, muscles taught with the intention of knocking his opponent down to the ground for good. He leaned into Katsutoshi before striking with his glorious crown of thorns.
Katsutoshi hadn't had time to move away before he heard the bellow and felt the stab of the other's antlers into his own side. He fell to the ground, winded and in pain. His herd stood still, unsure of what to do. And Kaoori held in a shriek at the sight of both stags' blood pouring from their wounds.


Wesker approached the other slowly, stopping just in front of the shika and to place one dusted hoof in front of his muzzle. He exhaled deeply, but no words needed to be said. Katsutoshi glared up at Wesker, remaining silent. He would not speak, but he could not get up. He had relented. He had no choice. His eyes narrowed upon the wounded stag, disappointed but defiant in his victory. "Just about any male can be a father, but so very few are." He slowly turned his back on Katsutoshi to join his mate once more.
"Let's go, Kaoori. There's nothing here but a broken herd."
Kaoori looked up at Wesker, nodding before glancing back at her father sadly, then following her mate as he walked away.
There was nothing left for Katsutoshi to say as he watched the two leave, and he lay there defeated as his herd vanished into the mountains behind him.