As the days grew colder and longer, one could see that it was the middle of fall in the Forest. The leaves, though unchanging, appeared brittle. Flowers, though blooming, did not grow any longer. The lake whose water was warm now ran cold. Autum had come to the Forest, and so did its festivities.

Every so often, a large stag would roam the forest. His head had rotted away leaving nothing but bone. His pelt, once a beautiful brown, was now gray. Not lifeless, yet, but no more vibrant than the moss of the Shrine. Parts of his pelt had fallen away and left clotted red patches with bone sticking through. The most prominent, and maybe the scariest part, of his peculiar features, were his large fleshy-red moose-like antlers. A human would guess that his rack was around 8ft long, maybe more. To Aetaine and the other deer however, they just knew they were large, would get plenty of attention from the females (where ever they are), and they prayed to the twin gods that they'd never be turned on them.

Or not, Aetaine, supposed because when Velocity fell into a sleep, wrapped in the warm mist for a blanket, all the deer in the forest would come by, cast magic on him, and become into his image. He could not fathom why. When he asked he was told it was in honor of a holiday most have long forgotten, and he was still no closer to figuring out what THAT meant, so he eventually lost interest and just played along. And then one day Velocity slept close by the playground, his mist suffocating the place... and he saw bright lights, many of them. Intrigued, he came closer and found candles, all lit up and beautiful. He turned his black, masked head to Velocity and smiled. For such a fearsome creature he doesn't leave chaos in his wake. As he stared at the candles, not minding the silence, he began to tire. And when his eyes and legs would no longer support him, he too slept.


Red eyes slowly opened and they saw shadows. It was dark. There were no lights. Did the giant deer leave and take the candles with him? Was it because it was light out that he left, if so, where was the light? With an inhale of stale air, Aetaine rose and blinked his eyes. The shadows disappeared, no, they moved and formed into... Velocity. Was this a dream? Said larger male shook his head. The monarch pelted stag nearly frown. How did the other know what he was speaking? He hasn't said a word. The dead deer strode closer, and his mist grew arms and encircled the smaller one. Unnerved as he was, Aetaine remained still. He was not a fast runner, and in a few strides, Velocity would easily be on him. But no harm came to him, he was just... brighter?

Looking up he stared, amazed, that the candles from before have now adorned his once plain antlers. Was this what the older male wanted him to see? Up and down movement indicated a yes. So, now he needed to find out what for. Velocity disappeared, and so did his mist, but the darkness did not fade, and neither did the light from the (his?) candles. When it didn't seem like the larger stag would return, hesitantly, Aetaine stepped forward, jumping when he broke a twig and it echoed back into his ears, loudly. He perked his ears to see if anyone else was here. No sound other than his slightly loud breathing. Forcing himself to be calm, he walked forward, and refused to look back.

The candlelight provided him with some way of seeing past his face. He didn't run into any rocks or trees. But it did not provide him with some security. He'd rather stumble blindly than to be a beacon for whatever else was in here with him. Oh he knew with out a doubt he was being followed. He wasn't sure how he knew, as no sound was forth coming, excluding his breaths, but he knew. If it was Velocity, well that he could tolerate, although the male's scare tactics annoyed him. If it wasn't him... he didn't want to think about it. Twin gods demanded otherwise.

A shadow a approached him, quite suddenly too, and he reared back in alarm. The shadow darted away into a bush and, thought he wasn't calm, Aetaine turned his head to it and nearly bolted at what he saw. Many shadows, tall, wide, short, and thin stood there, watching him. One shadow, presumably the one who startle him from before, shook with fear. That gained his attention, and brought back his courage. Why was it scared of him? He walked closer, noting the larger shadows retreated, and lent his antlers down so he could see. In that shadow, he could see a tiny fawn. What was going on? But there was no Velocity to answer his questions, just shadows who remained, watching, waiting. He ignored them for a moment and gave a low, hopefully comforting, sound to the shadow fawn and tried to nuzzle it. To his dismay, he just went through, but the fawn seemed to be fairing better, and that was all that mattered. Calmer, he left the fawn's side and trudge onwards, shadows of the past trailing behind.

After a while, many more shadows gathering, they came across a sea of candles. Not sure what to do from now on, he turned around. The shadows rushed past him, through him even, cold air blowing around him and forcing his eyes shut. When all was settle, there was just him, and the fawn-shadow. It walked up to him, nuzzled him and then skipped past him. Quickly he turned and saw all the former candles were now unlit (even his own), all save for one. The fawn waltzed up to that one, bowed, touched it, and was gone. And all he saw was darkness.

When light came into his vision, Velocity was there, laying on his belly, looking at him. Aet looked up, the candles were still there, and he sent a questioning look to the deer. The larger stag just stood, bowed low to him, turned and pranced away. Leaving the male with many a questions.

Just a little Halloween story with my deer. Hope you enjoy.