"Cry? Hey, Cry?"

The smaller buck kicked his ankles a bit, his eyes moving rapidly against his lids, much to Jergens' own small amusement. No doubt he was dreaming about something, and who wouldn't? The steady sounds of the river made for great white noise. Perfect for lulling one to sleep.

Too bad the crimson stag couldn't manage to close his eye to begin with. What time was it? He tilted his head up, his scarred face illuminated by a lovely half-moon centered above him, pretty little stars going all around it...

How long had it been since he'd seen night? Probably months. Jergens had never understood why the Gods were so anal about their day cycles.

He sighed, throwing his head back down to stare over at the two sleeping forms of his companions.

His brother.

And his ex-lover's physician.

...

Awkward.

Although Malware had always been a no-nonsense type. Someone who managed to be loyal yet completely frigid about gaining any sort of relationship. Despite living with him in his human life, Jergens knew little to nothing about who the green stag actually was. All he did know was that he had a peculiar talent for mixing human medicine with forest spells. If Bartleby ever had a cut, Malware could take two seconds and heal it. All it took was a simple flash of that thing on top of his head.

Upon further inspection, Jergens saw that the elderly stag was carrying a tattered brown knapsack about his neck, probably filled with the ghastly instruments he had a tendency to use in his work.

The red stag's thoughts were cut off as his younger brother softly cried out in his sleep, his white brow furrowed. A nightmare? Jergens leaned his head forward, offering a small nuzzle to the buck's cheek, hoping that would be enough to put him into a deeper sleep. He didn't want to wake him. Crybaby needed sleep, even if his dreams were bad.

Pursing his lips, Jergens silently raised himself to his hooves, taking a few steps towards Malware, observing how the tips of what had been vibrant emerald fur had greyed at the tips.

"Mal..." he mumbled, gently reaching out a hoof to nudge the stag's side, whom immediately opened his eyes, though kept his reclining position.

His eyes had turned a dull grey, almost giving off the illusion that he was blind despite how his pupils focused on Jergens' own mutilated face. He said nothing, obviously waiting for the red stag to speak first.

Jergens flinched a little at his stare, only for a second before he offered a smile. "... So why-"

"What happened to your face?" Malware cut him off sharply, raising an eyebrow. "I've been nursing on that question." he flicked his gaze to Crybaby for a brief second before back to Jergens.

The red stag's smile drifted away, replaced by a more somber sort of neutral expression.

"I can see why ya never liked it there..." he mumbled simply in response, keeping his voice low for his brother's sake.

Malware simply nodded in response. "A horrid place. Disguising itself as a paradise when it's nothing more than a blatant purgatory." he grimaced, his wrinkled, maskless face seeming to curl downwards.

"It ain't that bad... There's a lot of nice people there." Jergens half-heartily offered, rolling his shoulders back in a shrug. Frankly, he was wondering what Malware's reaction would be if he knew that Bartleby was still alive. Would he bother to go back with them? More than likely. Bartleby seemed to be the only real living being that the green stag seemed to have any sort of empathy for.

In any case, the emerald stag never bothered to reply, choosing to rather stare out across the rushing river, it's rumble drowning out most other sounds.

As a looming feeling of awkward apprehension began to swoon over even Jergens, Malware spoke, tilting his head around behind him to face the long line of trees that gazed upon their backs, their forms gently illuminated by moonlight.

"I wouldn't go into that place if I were you." he murmured, a cold shudder passing over him. "It's even more terrible than the endless forest..."

The crimson stag wiggled the severed nub of his ear in morbid curiosity, grateful enough for the added conversation. "Eh? Why?" he grinned more easily now, finding a sick sort of comfort in Malware's uneasiness.

The other stag narrowed his eyes. "Be serious." he snapped, standing slightly to take the canvas bag that hung loosely around his neck in his teeth and unlatch the button flap. "At first, I thought I had gone into your own forest..." he explained, rummaging through the bag's contents with his muzzle. "On account of finding this..." he took a few tufts of grayish fur into his mouth setting them in the space between them. "I may have misinterpreted the scent, but..." he trailed off, ears pressed to the back of his skull.

Jergens leaned his head down to sniff at the hairs, recoiling in surprise as a sudden wafting feeling of guilt and shock wavered over him.

"Faith...?"

He snapped his head up to Malware. "But Faith... he's in the..." he faltered.

"You were there too."



Malware turned his head around, looking towards the fidgeting form of Crybaby. "He was there too. I sensed Alaska as well... and caught the scent of many others whom I'm sure you would recognize."

Jergens took a breath and let an uneasy smile go up his lips. "So... what? I got a clone now?" he chuckled.

Malware sighed and shook his head. "Far from it." he mumbled, his voice barely heard over the roaring of the river before them. "The only deer I actually saw was you, which only furthered my beliefs that you and Master Bartleby had reincarnated into the forest that I myself had been born in... But there was something different... something that made it obvious that where I was wasn't the actual forest."

"Different? And we have, though..."

"Exactly my point." he turned towards Jergens with a cold, calculating gaze. "You came from the endless forest. If you're here, then I can assume that Master Bartleby is still alive there, and you will take me to him." he scuffed a coal black hoof on the pebbled ground as if to prove a point.

Jergens didn't really know what to make of that. Really, he would never be able to comprehend the idea that there could be two separate forest dimensions of equilibrium, where one couldn't exist without the other. Instead, he focused on Malware's comment, his ear flattening against his head in annoyance.

"Seriously?" he scoffed, raising himself to his hooves to stretch his legs. "Cry and I spent weeks getting the Hell over here... Frak, we almost drowned..." he shook his head. "And after all that shit we went through just to see what's over there, yew want us to just amble back?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"... Now?"

"Now."

Jergens narrowed his eyes. "Okay... Ya can come with us, but first at least let me and Cry go take a peek at that weird ass place behind us."

Malware shook his head, standing as well. "No. We're going back now. Tonight." he looked over at his old housemate, a sort of desperate pleading in his eyes. "Do you even know why I'm out here?" he asked, taking a few steps forward to the edge of the rushing steam's surface, grazing the tip of his front hooves with water. "My purpose in life was to help the Bartleby family. Endless Forest deer live a long time, Jergens..." he sighed sadly, dipping his face down to look at his reflection in the stream's surface, wincing at the crow's feet and worry lines that had formed on his face. "After Master Bartleby died... I tried to assist Miss Nippers, but his will dictated that she be committed..." he shook his head. "A desperate attempt to keep her from beating down a deceased bloodline..." he raised his head up, turning back to Jergens.

"So, with her gone... I tried to search with the hope that Master Bartleby would be reincarnated. I had heard of it before, so of course I would go to the forest first... You remember how close it is to Reubens, correct?" he flicked an ear, turning himself around before walking in a slow, rotating pace. "I must not have looked hard enough... There was no trace of him. I asked other deer if they had heard of his name, but evidently I asked the wrong individuals... He was there all along." he stamped a hoof in controlled frustration before slowly turning toward Jergens with a pleading look.

"That's why I'm here. I've wandered around this area for years... Practicing my skills in the towns I find... And in the process I've found you and you're companion there..." he lowered himself, bowing shakily at the red stag's hooves.

"I've never asked anything of you until now... Please take me to him."

Jergens just stared down at the elderly stag in disbelief, mouth agape before he slowly closed his lips without a word, his tongue tied.

He looked over to where his little brother was sleeping, noting how much more peacefully his chest seemed to move up and down. Silently, he moved forward to the little buck's side, motioning Malware over to help him gently slide Cry's white form onto his back.

With his new burden neatly balanced upon his spine, Jergens looked to Malware with a blank expression.

"It'll take awhile before we get there, just so ya know..."

Malware nodded and looked out across the river. "The current is steadier tonight... Much more easy to get across."

Jergens looked back behind him at the line of trees in the distance, a ripple of suppressed excitement taking over him. There would be another time for that place.

Just not now.

He turned to the emerald stag and nodded.

"Yeah... Let's go home..."

And so they did.