OOC: off school today with a throat infection of sorts so I figure I'd let my creativity go in writing the next chapter. I probably could have done it better if I wasn't feeling crap, but meh.

Just bumping this for the people who haven't read it yet.

Enjoy!

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When Vipin was informed of the three does findings the next day, he was both relieved and worried. For one, they were safe, but still, another fawn had it's life taken away. It couldn't happen again, so he strictly forbid any deer to be alone during the long nights, especially the young and vunerable.
"Lieka, I want you to stay around the Triangle." He had told her, hoping that some sort of magical solution would reveal itself there to the Queen. As for Twenty-One, he decided, she would take a break and let someone else take over for a while.

And so it was decided, as Ada and Lieka bid farewell and trotted off together towards the birch forest, Twenty-One was left to stand under the Oak with the magpie stag. In the few hours left of the daytime, they planned a burial for the fawn who lost it's life. An orphan, it had seemed to be, since no mother had come forwards to claim her lost child.

When it finally began to grow darker, and the orange glow of sunset hit the Forest, Vipin nodded to Twenty-One. "It grows dark now. You should go and try to rest a little. Make sure you're not alone either!" Alone. The word dawned heavily upon the chocolate-brown doe. She had nearly always slept alone beneath her favourite spot amongst the poppies, being neighbour to a now-deceased Walter. The next closest stag was Quamar though, and the female was positive that he wouldn't mind putting her up for the night. So with her mind set, the doe bowed gracefully to Vipin and set out into the dusk, heading around in the direction of the Ename and towards Quamar's sleeping location.

As she trotted, Twenty-One's mind wandered to a place she had discovered not too long ago in the Birch forest. It was a peaceful, empty place, far away from the Triangle and from any other deer. There were blue berries that tasted delicious in that particular spot, and the only way that Twenty-One was ever able to remember it was by a rock formation close by. Perhaps she'd stop by that place tomorrow morning and indulge herself for a little while. Ever since the murder, the brown doe had little time to treat herself at all!

So lost in her thoughts, she was, that it soon became late. Her wandering mind had taken her in a wandering pattern, so much that she had actually passed the Ename entirely. Instead, she found herself stood in the center of several purple flower patches, each swarming with fireflies. It was then that Twenty-One realised in horror that the air aroud her was still. Very still. The sunlight had all but escaped from the land, plunging the world around the single doe into darkness. Frozen to the spot and breathing softly, Twenty-One perked her ears quickly for the sound of danger.

A rattled, hoarse breath was sucking in the air, just to the left of where the doe stood, now beginning to tremble. Next, the smell penetrated her masked face, bringing tears to her eyes. The stench of death, of rotting, of blood. There was no mistaking it, as the doe glanced out of the corner of one eye, that the shadow had returned. It was stood upon the nearby hill, seemingly to be smelling the air in each direction from the way its head slowly turned, cracking joints in the process. Unable to move, Twenty-One remained rooted to the spot as the monster's darkened head slowly turned in her direction. Pause. It inhaled deeply with another wheezing breath and stopped again. It took a few moments for the creature to register a scent in the air, and with a low grunt it turned around, descending the hill and towards where the brown doe now stared wide-eyed. Every second it was coming closer to her, and she was still stuck to the soil. Silently she battled with her mind and begged for her feet to move, but to no avail. It was only when the creature was barely fifteen feet or so away, did she finally manage to break free. Instinct took the doe as she whirled around and took off, leaving an infuriated creature behind. It rose it's head and screeched loudly and the oncoming thunder of hooves told Twenty-One it was chasing after her. If she could just make it to Quamar...



It was too late. She had barely been able to flee when the monster was upon her, like a cloak of death swarming at her side. There was a flash of light and pain as something hard struck her flank and sent the doe rolling down onto her side amongst the purple flowers, weakened by the force which had knocked her down. All she could do now, as the shadow approached once more, was crawl backwards. Little good it would do her, she knew, as the monster began to approach again, stepping into the flower patch and into the light of the fireflies.

The voice that Twenty-One knew escaped her as her shivering body lay at they mercy of the creature. The fireflies hummed pleasantly and cast their small beams onto the creature's semi-visible face, pale and emotionless. Navy, green and violet streaks appeared upon the legs which carried the monster closer, and the giant antlers worthy of a dragon were slowly revealed. As it finally came to a halt, Twenty-One was barely able to speak his name.

It was Walter.