Eamaya was once again racing through the forest, as fast as her little legs could carry her, looking for anything of interest, maybe a nice big rock to jump from? Her eyes and ears were open though, and the forest seemed particularly alive today with interesting things to see and hear. But one noise in particular caught her interest. A light, tinkling noise unlike anything she'd heard before. Without consciously deciding to she turned slightly now sprinting for the source of the noise.

Moments later she heard another noise, this one much deeper and more sonorous. This she was sure was the call of another deer. She slowed slightly, wondering if she should approach. Again the decision was made for her as she came across a large rock and was forced to jump over it or plow into it face first. She cleared it easily and came down hard on all four hooves, digging them into the dirt in order to bring herself to a swift if ungainly stop. And just in time, she looked up to see she'd nearly collided with a positively festive looking deer.

"Uh... hi?" Eamaya replied sheepishly, hoping she wasn't bothering the older deer.

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Never done a RP before so... here goes nothing I guess.

So that was the noise, Eamaya thought, those little bells on his curved antlers. Such a happy noise, it made her smile just to hear it again. With a feeling of relief she met his golden gaze with her own dark blue. She bowed politely before responding, "Oh, I'm not going anywhere really. I just like to run. And no, I can't fly... Oh! But wouldn't that be so cool?" The fawn giggled at the thought of flying like a bird.

"My name is Eamaya." She replied taking a step back to shake the dust from her pelt. The young doe looked to the sky then as well, picking out images in the clouds. She normally was wary of older deer, but Jest seemed different. He wasn't like the other adults she'd briefly encountered, the ones that told her to 'slow down', or 'don't jump off of that' He seemed to understand what she considered the finer things in life; fun and adventure. Speaking of which, she'd been running long enough it was time to explore.

"I don't think I've been to this part of the forest before, is there anything to see?" Eamaya's ears lifted with the thought of what adventures could be had in this new place.

The stag's words gave Eamaya pause, "What is there not to see?" It made her wonder, in all her haphazard adventurers through the forest looking for things that were so blatantly out of place, what might she be missing? She loved exploring the Ruins, the ancient stones and markings fascinated her, but what smaller mysteries were there to uncover under each rock or log that she would vault over without a single thought or backward glance? What was she missing?

Eamaya removed herself from her thoughts as Jest leaned down to her again. This time he spoke of the night, and it's ability to transform the familiar into something strange yet wondrous. She was not unfamiliar with the night, it was a time that meant many things to her, held several memories. But his words filled her with her old wanderlust and raised her spirits again. And when he leaped spritely into the air with a solid kick to nearest tree trunk she couldn't help but laugh out loud. She too leaped in the air, mimicking the older deer and pranced around almost wishing she had little bells of her own to let the world know just how happy she was. Instead she giggled again feeling more lighthearted than she had since... well, since ever.

"I want to see everything!" the young doe proclaimed, "I want to see it all! I don't want to miss a thing!"

Eamaya's ears perked up in surprise. She'd never seen such tiny creatures before. But then again, had she really been looking? She took a quick step forward, her excitement making her forget that she'd just been told to be still and watch. Being still, it seemed, was not her strong suit. To her irritation the snails hid within their shells once more.

With a look of determination set on her face she leaned forward and stood as still as possible. Soon the snails reappeared as if nothing had happened. Resolutely trying to match their speed Eamaya crept forward slowly she simply had to get a closer look. Though It tried her patience something awful she managed to slowly make her way over to the snails without scaring them again. Now she lowered her nose to them for a better look. She stifled a giggle at the funny little things seeming to feel the air around them with their eyes. One decided then that her nose would be good for climbing on and proceed to do so.

This time her laughter would not be contained, she laughed aloud as she turned back to Jest, "Oh look! I think he likes me! Whoops..." The snail suddenly hid again falling into the grass at her feet.
"Uh oh..." she sniffed around a moment, "Here he is..." She picked up the tiny green shell gingerly in her mouth and placed it back among its friends now hiding once again themselves.

"There we go, no harm done." She laughed sheepishly.

"Oh! uh..." The question threw her a bit. It wasn't that it was an uncommon question. It was one she frequently saw on the faces of other adult deer when they happened to notice her running through the forest... all by herself.

"I uh, I don't know...?" She honestly hadn't thought about how old she would be now. In the forest of her birth things like that hadn't mattered or perhaps it was just never thought of. She had begun to notice small changes though. Her legs were starting to get longer, her spots fading almost imperceptibly, adulthood was slowly creeping up on her, and she wasn't sure how much she liked that idea.

Her mood had altered now and her posture showed it, ears and head lowering a bit. At some point she'd stopped thinking of Jest as an adult and started thinking of him as a fawn, a playmate. But other fawns never wondered such things about her. When they mentioned their parents or siblings she would smile and listen but said nothing in return. Just as she could think of nothing more to say now. All she could do was wonder apprehensively what Jest would think of what little she seemed to know about herself.

Again the buck's question gave her pause, she knew why she ran and explored but wasn't sure what it was she wanted to gain from the endeavor. It was a big question for the little doe to think through, but she was smart and she would figure it out.

She opened her mouth to reply but stopped, she'd been about to explain it all away again as her never ending search for something to keep her entertained, but that wasn't really it. She wanted to be honest with the older deer that had shown her some kindness. And if she was being honest then knew she wasn't merely looking for entertainment... she was looking for a distraction.

"I..." she paused again, not sure how to go on, "I'm looking for, meaning" and now the words tumbled from her mind and out into the air with little thought to their arrangement, "I want to know why things are the way they are. I want to know why there's happiness and sadness. Why there is life and death. Why do some die and others live? Why are some always happy and others never are? Where am I? Why was I sent here? Where... where did she go...?" Finally she stopped talking, suddenly feeling like her ever hurt and fear were exposed. Her legs trembled with the urge to run away and find somewhere to hide by herself. She'd learned the hard way that she was better off alone.

Eamaya was wary of Jest's reassuring gesture at first, but was ultimately comforted. She was reminded of a time almost beyond her ability to remember, a memory so far gone there was little left of it. She she did remember that feeling of warmth of companionship though, that was all she remembered of her mother. In a way, though she knew it was impossible, she was still searching for her. She couldn't be dead, she once reasoned with herself. Wouldn't there have been a... body? Her mother had abandoned her, and it was more than likely that Eamaya would never know why.

She looked up at Jest, realizing for the first time why she was so afraid of adults. She was afraid that they too would disappear. She was terrified of coming to rely on another adult just to be abandoned all over again. But that was unfair, and she shook her head and swallowed back the threat of tears in her eyes. But Jest was right, there were things to be happy about. Had she not learned so much just in the time since meeting Jest? With that and the happy peal of his bells she was able to give him a small smile, sniffling only once.

"Sorry..." She whispered, feeling sheepish and awkward all over again. She reached up to rub at the corner of her eye making sure she hadn't let any tears slip away.

No problem, I've been busy with school the past week or two so it's probably been for the best.

By the way, I hope I don't suck at this too much...
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Eamaya couldn't help but feel her spirits lighten again at the sight of the prancing stag. "I am kinda thirsty..." she admitted, the last of the stinging in her eyes fading away. Her competitive side getting the best of her at the thought of a race, she cantered forward at a pace only slightly faster than Jest's. She eyed the older deer warily but with amusement, "You can't let me win though." She replied with a grin. She slowed to match his pace as she caught up to him but her legs tingled with anticipation, ready and waiting for the real race to begin.

Good to know. I'm still a bit unsure of my self on this site.

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With a tinkling of bells and pounding of hooves Jest bolted away, trailing music rather than dust. Smile widening Eamaya burst into a full sprint as well. She'd had plenty of practice running in her time in the forest so far but her legs simply weren't as long as his. She focused then on taking faster strides rather than long ones.

She still lagged behind slightly until he paused on a fallen tree to call back to her. He only paused a moment though before bounding down the final stretch to the pond. Thinking fast she hopped onto the log and pushed herself off as hard as she could. She had to swallow to keep her stomach in its proper place as she nearly soared the rest of the way there.

Another rough landing, her hooves gouging deep marks into the soft soil of the bank as she came to a stop. Quickly she looked up to see...

She'd lost, Jest made his last stride to the bank just a nose length ahead of her. Eamaya laughed despite herself, having too much fun to be a sore loser. She had told him not to go easy on her after all.

Eamaya pulled herself free from the muddy bank, one leg at a time. "Eeeew..." she giggled, waving a heavy, grim coated leg. She followed Jest to the pond and splashed around in the water a bit to clean off before getting a drink herself. Hearing his words she looked up excitedly, "You really think so?" She giggled again, "I've always wanted to be the best at... well something. Something cool!" She danced around in the shallow water watching tiny tadpoles scurry away from her hooves in all directions.

"Someday, I'll be big too." Eamaya said thoughtfully, curiously without the usual enthusiasm that most fawns had in making the same remark. She sounded like she wasn't quite sure what to think about growing up. "...But not a big frog," She said curling her nose once and giggling, "It would be neat to be able to jump like one though."

After splashing about a moment longer she returned to the bank, where she sat in a sunny patch to dry off. After a short moment of silence the fawn asked, "Jest? What's it like being grown up?"

Thanks! My drawing feels a bit rusty, haven't done anything more ambitious than doodle on my math homework since 9th grade, I think I got the point across though.

It is a bit odd. XD Meeting Jest has worked out nicely for her character development though. I had planned for her to learn to slow down and be more observant, but it's cool to have a personal experience to base that off of.

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Feeling sufficiently dry, Eamaya followed Jest to the shadier spot under the tree, contemplating his answer on the way. As she settled down she nodded to herself, deciding that his answer was a good one. After all their romping and playing that day she was, for once, happy to just sit still. She leaned her head back and just listened to the rippling of the stream that fed into the little pond. For once, she was also out of questions. It was nice to just sit in the quiet for the time being.

Yeah, I was definitely starting to think the same thing. This feels like a good place to wind it down also.

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The myriad sounds of the forest became a sort of lullaby Eamaya. Mimicking Jest she laid her head down on her hooves as well, but didn't close her eyes just yet. It had been a big day for her, and a very good one, she decided drowsily, letting a small yawn escape. One thing felt off though, something was missing. It took her a moment to realize what it was. She wasn't... lonely anymore. It wasn't until that moment that she realized it, but she'd been lonely for a long time. Long enough for the absence of that feeling to seem abnormal to her.

But today she'd made her first friend, and as her eyes fluttered closed she decided that this too was a good thing.

Thanks so much, Jest is a sweetie too. He's got a very solid idea behind him, I get a good sense of what you were going for with him.

Thanks, for bearing with me also, I was kinda nervous, never done anything like that. It was really fun though (hence all the new ones I've got spamming the board these days... XD)

So how do you want to set up their reunion, so to speak? Here, on a bio, new blog? And who do you think should start it?

Jack's an interesting one, I'm enjoying the mind games back and forth.

I feel like she's starting to take Bullfinch's Tale under her wing the same way Jest did for her, it's so cute seeing it all come full circle.

I'll start a new one then like the others here soon.