It took longer than expected for Sin to mature past nursing. Although Hungry thought this might happen since he was possibly a premature fawn. During these weeks, Hungry taught the fawn to walk, showed him around the complex, and once even trusted him to know where to go by himself in the dark while Hungry went out to feed.

Mint was regularly fed with mostly pinecones and mushrooms picked just outside the graveyard. It wasn't the most nutritious diet, but it still managed to keep Sin healthy. Hungry, aside from the one time, did not trust Mint and Sin by themselves. He was always watching for signs of her escape. And if she did try to escape, she might hurt or even kill Sin in the process. The last thing Hungry wanted to see is the whole endeavor go horribly wrong.

It didn't take long before Hungry counted the fawn as more of a blessing than a curiosity. He found it a bit easier to fall asleep with Sin by his side. It was the bit of extra warmth and, oddly, comfort. Hungry had been alone for a very long time. With the few short naps he could manage to take here and there, his mind had gotten just a little clearer. Although this was a double-edged sword. Since he was using most of his time to make sure Sin was safe, he had refrained from eating for a very long time. His curse kept him from starving to death, but waiting too long soon makes the pain of starvation nearly unbearable. Only once did he cave in and leave the complex to eat. He managed to find a deer that was relatively close to one of the entrances.

It finally came to the point where Sin could eat solid food, although Hungry had to chew it first. Apparently his putrid saliva didn't bother or sicken the fawn at all. Mint was no longer needed.

"Well, my dear, it's been a good time." Hungry approached the doe, still laying on that same spot on the floor where she was first dropped. "But I believe your usefulness as run its course."

"So I can go now? I can see my family again?" Mint stood for the first time in many days. It was clearly a bit painful.

Hungry laughed. "Dear, you've seen far too much to be free now."

"What? But-- you said I would go if I obeyed you! You promised!"

"Now now, I never promised. Don't you remember?"

Mint started a sentence, but then quit soon after. After a pause, she found herself again. "So then... what?"

Hungry licked his decaying lips. "I've not eaten in so long..."

Mint didn't even say anything, she simply bolted. Leaving the corridor, her only source of light now were the faint luminescent stone in the walls. She had grown well accustomed to the darkness, and could easily find her way around. But she had no idea where any entrances were, and she could only run so far. Hungry knew the place perfectly. He could easily find a shortcut and ambush her.

While she stumbled around aimlessly through the tunnels, she could hear Hungry's voice calling for her, almost lovingly. It made her sick, hearing that voice. His voice.

Mint stopped to look around. She finally tried to get some bearings by listening above her. But nothing could be heard. Nothing familiar, no voices. She didn't even know what time of day it was. Hungry's voice was getting closer and closer. She could finally, barely, hear his footsteps. That was too close. She started moving again, desperately listening for some sign of where she was. She knew she was too deep underground to simply dig upwards. While she was listening, she could hear something odd, but it was only occasional. Some kind of dampness, but what was it?

She finally realized that her hooves were partially sunken in mud.

That was it! She knew where she was. She overheard Hungry talking about an entrance near the Pond. Now it was only a matter of finding it. She felt about the ground quickly but carefully, searching for where the mud was thinner and where it was dryer. Soon she found a tunnel that depressed a few feet. It was submerged, but still shallow enough to keep her upper body and head out of the water. She followed it until she saw a light. She clumsily ran, making raucous splashing, until she reached the exit.

The light was blinding, but it didn't stop her. She bolted out from under the bridge, screaming for help at the top of her lungs. She slammed into someone, still squinting in the bright sunlight. She finally collapsed, out of breath. If Hungry actually managed to cut her off outside, then she really had no hope of escaping now.

"Mint?!"

She tried looking up, but the light was still too bright.

"Gods-- Mint! What happened to you?! You've been gone for so long-- we thought you were killed!"

"He-- He found me... It was him, I saw him, gods, he was horrible!" Mint finally stood again and sobbed into the stags neck. She still didn't register who it was. It was her brother.

"You saw who? Where did you come from, you're soaked!" He looked down at her. "Mint? Who did you see?"

"T-Thyme... I... I saw him... It was Silver... It was Silver!"

Thyme couldn't say anything. The fact the she had seen that lost member of the family, the stag that even their dear sister shunned, was too much to understand. He simply stood and nuzzled Mint for a long moment.

He finally sighed. "Come on... I'll take you to Cor. We need to hurry, alright?"

Mint and Thyme went far away from the Pond, into the birch forest. There, a large stag suddenly stood, and ran toward his long-lost mate.

***

"Well, this is no good."

Hungry stood close to the entrance under the bridge, his body partially submerged in the chilly water. This wasn't what he wanted, but it wasn't the worst case scenario. Even so, this is one less exit to use in case of emergency. There were no others close to the Pond. All for the best, probably. It was a very popular spot. Not a good complement for a murderer.

Hungry set to work on taking out the few supports in the wall. Nobody was going to find this entrance. After several hours of work, most of the entrance finally caved in, with Hungry safely on the other side. He had long since strategized taking down an entrance, ever since he came to live down here. With all the dirt now in the way, there was no possibility of anyone believing where she came from. Although the patch of bare earth would look suspicious, it was under the bridge. There was only moss there anyway.

Body soaked with mud, Hungry returned to where Sin had finally settled after the whole frenzy. Mint starting up and running wasn't expected. It made Sin upset. Hungry lowered his head to nuzzle the fawn and whisper comforting messages to him.

"My dear boy, I'm sorry for the scare. But I need to go for a bit. Daddy needs to eat. It's been a very long time. I'll bring you back a treat when I come back. But for now, just stay on your bed. Alright?"

Sin cooed and stood, clumsily walking to the little room with the blanket of furs on the floor.

Hungry carefully rolled the stone to one side and trotted up the steps, making sure to secure it behind him. There were plenty of deer around the graveyard, all asleep. After a few hours, he managed to pick off a young stag in his sleep, far away from anyone else. He made his work quick and didn't bother to torture his victim. It felt good to be full again, even though he knew it probably wouldn't last an hour.

Hungry ripped the last small chunk of meat from the body and carried it home, taking a different entrance in. He took the meat to Sin, chewed it up, and let the fawn eat it.

"Good, isn't it?" Hungry's bloody mouth grinned wider.

The next morning, Hungry emerged from an entrance near a large birch tree. He needed to find some source of water. The dried mud in his fur and crusted blood on his face was irritating. He made his way toward the Crying Idol, and showered off in its streams.

When he stepped back out and shook off the water, he heard a deer approach him. He said nothing, but turned his head in the other deer's direction. The other deer, a stag, from what he could gather, stared at him. Hungry would stare back if he still had eyes.

"I'm going to make you pay for what you've done." He finally uttered.

"Oh? And what did I do?"

"You know damn well! You killed my aunt and kidnapped my mother! I thought I would never see her again, and now she's practically insane!"

"Oh, that was your mother? My, you sound quite a bit older. An adolescent already?" He tilted his head. "But why do you think it was me? It could have been another."

"She told me it was a deer with a rotting face and a permanent smile. She even described how you spoke, and your speech is unmistakable."

"Ahaha... You do realize that there are many deer with faces like mine?"

"What?"

Hungry's grin turned sickening. "Oh yes. They all look like mine after I'm through with them."

The stag charged, and Hungry countered. He wasn't used to fighting, but Hungry was still able enough to take out a young stag. It was the older ones he was afraid of.

Sin, unheard throughout the conversation, had snuck up behind the idol, with a sinking feeling that his father was in trouble.