Another crappy chapter from me. Hopefully it provides more entertainment than the last one though, so enjoy. The links to the other chapters will be found on my 'Story Links' blog entry, along with any time I want to call up people for more characters.

Enjoy!

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Once again another night, as still as the one of the murder, had finally dawned upon the mysterious Forest. Small black bats fluttered in swarms from tree to tree, seeking sanctuary from the sudden sound of cloven hooves which filled the air. Together, Lieka and Twenty-One were slowly trotting side-by-side, ears standing high and eyes sharp. If this monster was out tonight, they would need to be ready to spring in a split second. Still, hanging around behind them and taking advantage of the tree cover, Ada quietly followed the pair as they searched. Dressed in her usual deer mask and stumpy doe antlers, her burgendy pelt provided suitable camoflague too, despite the odd markings which resembled a butterfly so closely.

The young doe watched closely and listened intently to the conversation.
"Where should we start looking?"
"Let's plan a route and go from there."
As quiet as her small feet could make her, Ada remained constantly alert as the pair discussed out a path where they could search. For what, the young doe didn't understand, but nevertheless she was more than willing to follow the pair rather than hanging around on her own in the darkness. Her fear of the shadows between the trees was too much for her to bear by herself, especially when the sound of the word "murderer" came drifting to her ears from Lieka's lips.

"If the murderer is a deer.." The Queen spoke, turning her grey eyes onto Twenty-One, ".. What can we do to stop them in future? Would he be prosecuted and put to death as punishment?" Her voice carried worry; nothing like this had ever been dealt with in the Forest before, and with any hope it wouldn't happen ever again after the suspect was caught. The main problem: catching the criminal. "I don't know, Lieka. It would have to be discussed between the wisest of our herd before we chose a punishment. Who knows, maybe the Gods will smite this creature responsible for us."

Both fell silent as they arrived at the Nursery, where dozens of fawns and their mothers were sleeping. Reminaing silent, the pair checked for any oddities and then moved on, heading towards the gathing of rocks near Deermuda. There, many young stags were asleep around the stones, some daring enough to sleep atop of the rocks or beneath tilted slabs. The Triangle itself was empty, as Lieka had predicted. Together, they carefully picked their way around the stones and carried on towards the two stone statues glowing in the distance, depicting the holy presence within their home. The Twin Gods stood as silent and eerie as ever, a golden aura emitting from their ivory forms. Lieka stood to one side as the dark brown doe knelt before them and prayed, asking that they assist in their search somehow. When she was finished, the two females took a glance to the pond, when a sound pierced the cool night air.


And from experience, Twenty-One instantly knew that sound. It was a fawn. Without hesistation she bolted down the hill, trailed closely by Lieka and towards the Old Oak. They had barely passed the first willow on the bank to their right when the same scream sounded again, but louder. By that time, both of them knew: the fawn was in agony. And true to their ears, as the pair skidded to a halt before the majestic tree, the fawn was there.

Or what remained of a fawn. The young deer was dead, a puddle of blood gathering beneath it's form, streaming from a, incision on it's flank. Blood-stained ribs were clearly visible as they protruded from the innocent fawn and it's steaming entrails were spilled out onto the grass. Like before, a look of horror was pasted onto the young creature's bruised face. Twenty-One gagged and looked away from the horrific sight whilst Lieka stared on. This is what the murderer was doing? She lifted a foot, braving a step forwards when it happened. A shadow seemed to form at the side of the Oak, freezing the Queen's step. In a split second she knew that standing here was the last thing her or Twenty-One needed to be doing, so without pause she rammed her side into the other doe's, forcing the pair of them into the cover of the closest weeping willow. The stubby-antlered doe gasped lightly as she stumbled beneath the hanging branches, but a single glance from the maned female next to her had her silent. With a nod of her head, Lieka motioned towards the shadow, and together they watched.

The shadow itself slowly began to form, taking on the shape of what appeared to be a creature slightly bigger than them. It, too, seemed to stand on four limbs, although these were built thicker than either of the doe's. With the light unable to penetrate it's dark form, the creature stepped fowards towards the corpse. Even from where the pair hid, they could clearly hear it's ragged breath, so loud that it seemed more like the creature was standing right beside them. They watched, horrified, as the monster lowered it's great shadowed head, revealing more of it's dangers to them. A set of antlers confirmed that the creature -had- to be a deer, but unlike other antlers, the horns found on the monster's head were curved without branches. The monster lowered it's head to the corpse which lay before it, and it growled softly. Opening it's non-visible maw, the darkness fastened itself around the fawn's broken neck and with a great force it tore a chunk of fur and flesh from the body. Blood dribbled from the monster's hidden face, forming smaller puddles around the already larger one gathered. The sound was vile: each moment that the creature chewed on the flesh, the sound of it's jaws working could clearly be defined. There was a pause when the silhouette swallowed its mouthful, only to lower it's greedy face towards the fawn's limp body again. Again it tore flesh clear from the bone and chewed, crunching down on the occasional bone which had been carelessly ripped from the corpse in the process. And still, the creature swallowed again, unphased by this. Suddenly, a clear sound pierced the monster's ears and it snapped it's head up to meet what had disturbed it's feast.

Ada had been standing there for less than a second, it would have seemed, because she was screaming so loudly it was only clear that she had stumbled upon the scene by accident. Too engrossed with looking for where Twenty-One and Lieka had vanished too, the young doe had hardly noticed herself stop in front of the shadowed monster munching on the dead fawn. Her screams were so loud in fact, that the monster instantly backed up. It hurried back into the shadow of the old Oak and was soon gone, leaving no trace of it's presence save the fawn, and a screaming Ada. Together, Lieka and Twenty-One rushed out to the terrified female, comforting her with nuzzles and words. "It's alright, it's gone.." Twenty-One hushed her, glancing sideways to Lieka. The Queen's head was turned, staring at the spot where the shadow had vanished. For some reason that monster had seemed familiar to her, but more importantly, now the two of them knew.

"The murderer is a deer after all."