Cracked. (A Poplar's Resistance Story and open RP)

GlobalBeauty's picture
>.< Under the cut





The smell of trampled flowers hung heavily in the foggy air. Metallic blood specked them with red, pooling beneath the one that most of it had come from.

Two fights in two days.

She had nearly died twice...

and lost one of her only friends.


A wheezing noise, signifying blood clotting in her nose, escaped Poplar. Her badly beaten body lay near-lifeless in the patch of flowers she called her home. Both seemed destroyed.

'They'll kill me.

And my Guardian is not here to help.

Maybe everyone will leave.

And I will be alone again.'


The doe's fur ruffled in the breeze. Her eyelids puckered as she opened her mouth to suck in air, before relaxing again. Pain rolled over her in waves.

Bruised ribs.

Bleeding lascerations to her chest and back.

Her rump like Nidhem's, what with all the wounds.



The doe longed for the healing water of De Drinkplaatz or the pond. She was weak, and smelling Umay's pack nearby, felt movement would attract unwanted attention.

Don't move,

Don't moan,

Barely breathe

and they won't come after you.

The only way out it seems,

is to forfeit your life.



Poplar found herself regretting everything.

'They'll take my home.

They'll take everyone I love...'



The doe let her eyes drift open, her head moving to face the pack with a renewed sense of purpose. The doe's eyes burned in her skull, the light warping them in to the same orange fires as her Guardian's. Her ears pinned against her skull.

' I won't let them.'




Feel free to interact with the injured doe in this thread. Note that all of the dialogue in the above story is internal.

And please, if you RP, use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Wendingo's picture

The young stag moved quietly

The young stag moved quietly through the grass, not wanting to be detected. He wasn't really in danger himself, just the forest was quiet. Being too loud was something against unspoken rules. Biting his lip, he flicked his ears, halting.

Something. He could hear it.

Behind his Day of the Dead mask, he had a badly scarred face. A past he didn't remember nor want to bring up. This scarred face made him blind in one eye, and the other one itself was weak. His hearing was rather exceptional, considering this, and he didn't really mind the eye. He shook his head, his large curved-back antlers nearly shaking up a few leaves.

"Hello?" he whispered, not realizing that noise was the exact opposite of what the object of his interest wanted. "Anyone?"


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GlobalBeauty's picture

(Hi! Even though this is a

(Hi! Even though this is a little on the old side, I would love to RP Eye )

His hooves were inches from her nose. Poplar was terrified to startle the stag at this point. Being blind here was hard, and her intuition told her he was. She wondered, did he really know anything about being blind here in this forest? Did he even smell her blood? During her time as Jupiter, she had perfectly navigated this place without sight... well, that was not quite true. She did have that Gift from The Gods. It was not always put to use, though, especially in the rain or fog. Finally, the doe just sighed audibly. She daren't move, not even a single twitch of muscle, because she couldn't move fast enough. Too tired, too weak from her wounds, Pop stayed still on that grass in those flowers.

Words finally escaped like butterflies, soft and low yet still strange in their comfort. "Don't move, you might step on me. Your left forehoof is right next to my nose. Two steps straight back will give you enough distance... and the movement will place your buttocks against a small sapling. It will be safe to lay down then."

The bloody animal on the ground awaited a response.
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Wendingo's picture

(Sorry if it was old, I just

(Sorry if it was old, I just saw it on the second page and I thought 5 days wasn't a big difference xD)

Wendingo waited in apprehension, wondering if it was his imagination. But that wouldn't explain the smell, would it? Maybe it was a dead buck who died from blood wounds after fighting. Shivering, he was just about to step forward and tell himself he was just hearing things when he heard the voice. Jumping back, he clumsily sat down in front of the said sapling, somehow managing to not make any noise in the process. He raised a questioning eyebrow, even though knowing it would be impossible to see.

"Who are you?" he asked, pausing and tilting his head at odd angles to try and see her from his (semi) good eye. Even in a situation like this, where another deer could be hurt, Wendingo didn't really know how to respond. He liked playing dumb around other deer and not talking much at all. It usually gave him the reputation of being a crazy stag who played annoying tricks on people. But when he saw something hurt, it seemed as if the rest of his personality left and he was a different deer. Wendingo was unpredictable, and no amount of words could describe himself. "Uh...are you hurt?" He added, being struck by another wave of dumbness from never being in the situation of having a choice to help or run away from a deer that was hurt.


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GlobalBeauty's picture

(No issue. A lot can happen

(No issue. A lot can happen in 5 days here.)

The doe closed her eyes tightly so as not to get them injured, tensing until she felt the soft "thump" of him landing. His questions were odd, and she couldn't help but giggle. She opened her mouth, speaking gently. "Hmhm... I'm Poplar. Don't worry, I am just a doe. And yes, I am quite hurt... hurt enough that I couldn't harm you if I tried. Try to relax, Wendingo. The doe read his pictogram easily. What an odd name for a deer! But it felt good rolling off of the doe's tongue.

She kept her same position, appearing as if dead to someone who could not see her lips move in conversation. Simply put: the doe was just too tired to move. She just grinned amusedly at the other deer, following its odd head-movements with her eyes. Maybe the stag was not totally blind after all? She would find out.
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Wendingo's picture

Wendingo nodded, letting out

Wendingo nodded, letting out a breath of relief. The last thing he wanted was dealing with a male deer, who would probably try to batter Wendingo with their antlers when he tried helping them. "Uh...hello, Poplar. What happened to you?" he whispered. "If you need help getting to the pond, or De Drinkplaats, I can help you."

His keen ears took in her voice, registering it in his head so he would know her voice well. His ears were a benefit because he could hear a deer so much as mumble and he could figure out who they were if he had heard them before. The other way around, though, was different. Wendingo had to learn names by talking because he couldn't really see pictograms well enough. It was strange. Anything out of the ordinary forest was blurred from his vision. He'd never actually gotten a clear view of the Twin Gods statue.


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GlobalBeauty's picture

What happened to her? "Ah...

What happened to her? "Ah... I got in to a fight, was all." The doe sighed. She listened to his offer to help, and though it was tempting, felt a need to stay put. "I probably shouldn't move much... trying to keep myself from irritating my injuries and all, but thank you sweetheart. She dare not tell him that she was too tired, so she kept it to the rest of the truths as to why she couldn't get up. Honestly, it probably would be a day or more before she could be on her feet full-time. Such occurred after having a lion-like beast and a deer relatively the size of an elephant attack you over the course of two days.

The trees swayed and crackled overhead, sending a short rain of helicopter-like seeds floating over the air and landing around them. A bird chirped in the distance. All of it was so peaceful. She could hardly believe herself the evils the forest held. "Are you new here, Wendingo?"
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Wendingo's picture

Wendingo knew that probably

Wendingo knew that probably wasn't the full story, but he didn't ask any more questions at that moment. Listening to her, he nodded. "Kind of. I used to be very reclusive, so nobody ever saw me. I'm kind of breaking out of that now. I never actually saw the forest much, I just hid in a cluster of trees because I felt no need to go out." He shrugged, flicking his ear as a fly landed on it. "I'm actually surprised you got hurt so bad...I know stags get hurt regularly from being stupid and fighting, but I've never seen a doe hurt by another deer. Sorry if it sounds sexist, just I've always imagined does to be more, um, docile."

Wendingo wasn't good with words. Well, he was, but not saying them as he wanted them to. Sighing, though, he added, "Part of the reason why I never went out was because I never had this mask. I nearly got killed by my mother when I was first born. A buck found me half-dead after she ran off, and raised me. But I was too scared to show my face. It's...ugly. Nobody wants to see a blind eye covered in scars."

He felt glad he had the mask now. It was the only thing that allowed him to go outside by his own will. He hated his face. He loathed it. Blind in one horribly scarred eye, near-blind in the other. The rest of his face had scars here and there. It was surprising how much damage a sharp pair of hooves could do.


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GlobalBeauty's picture

Does are docile. What would

Does are docile. What would he think of next? Though he was very reclusive and sheltered in early childhood, from what he just told her. "Oh...ehe... sorry to disappoint you, Wendingo... Ah... I was raised by stags... so I fight when I need to. And I was fighting something that wasn't entirely a deer. SHe kind-of is... but she is also part feline. She's a pretty scary beast." The doe then turned to the subject of his face. Her head shifted a little on the ground so she could get a better look. The doe smiled. "I understand about the mask, trust me. Just try having the face of a bird for awhile... You can't hide a beak behind a mask. But, I just have a regular deer's face now. Maybe if you pray to the Gods they will give you a gift like they gave me? Sometimes they don't seem to hear at first, but trust me, they are listening."

The doe wished she could nuzzle Wendingo, but she really couldn't move much.
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Wendingo's picture

"Part feline! I know zombie

"Part feline! I know zombie deers exist, I know we have weird antlers, pelts, and masks, but...feline!" Wendingo exclaimed, shocked.

Sighing, he added, "I'm going to die because of ignorance someday, if there's more to the forest than I know." He listened to her thoughtfully. "Perhaps. But...I think I might still wear the mask. It's good for scaring other deer." He murmured it with a half-hearted laugh. "If the Gods would do that for me, they would've been able to stop my mother from nearly killing me. I give the statues a bow now and then, but I don't think I really believe in them. The proof is all in front of me...but...I don't know. I need to be convinced."



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GlobalBeauty's picture

The doe just let her eyes

The doe just let her eyes close as she smiled. Again they opened, then she began to speak. "Sometimes they do things... to teach you other things... and to make you stronger. They did it for me by cursing me and banishing me from The Forest. I learned that taking things and life for granted was a bad bad idea, and that family was important but not always necessary, and I watched the bees rebuild their home after it was destroyed... that taught me that no matter the hardships you face and how quickly they happen, you can always build things back up again and start new.

The doe continued briefly before stopping: "You know... it took me awhile to become convinced. But I feel like I was a whole lot younger then. I mean, you don't have to believe if you don't want to, but sometimes it has its benefits. The doe laughed inside, knowing that later in the week she would be praying to the Gods as she lay in their fountain to heal her wounds.
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Wendingo's picture

Wendingo just shrugged. "I

Wendingo just shrugged. "I just don't like it. At least if they didn't do that, we would all be happy. Dumb, but happy. Maybe I'm dumb for thinking that."

Squinting to look at her, he mumbled, "But can you tell me more about that feline deer? Who are they, and why did you get into a fight with them?" Wendingo shivered. It was unnerving to know that such things existed in this forest.


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GlobalBeauty's picture

The doe was confused. "She is

The doe was confused. "She is just a feline deer. I mean, there are wolves here as well, just like any other forest. Usually they live peacefully and cause no harm to others, but I was raised by one of their enemies so I am now hated. They attack me to try and get him upset. But... Nikodim wouldn't get upset if I were attacked, I don't think. He's rather quiet and reserved about that... and I am definitely old enough to hold my own.

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Wendingo's picture

"Oh. I've always thought

"Oh. I've always thought there were only deer. Probably has something to do with the fact I'm near-blind." He chuckled, laughing at his own joke. "So...they just attack you because of that? That's not right..."

"I don't have enemies. The only enemy I've ever had is my mom. If she isn't dead...It's a horrible thing to say, but if she isn't, I hope she is. I probably wouldn't hesitate to kill her." Wendingo snarled, then stopped, shocked at himself. He did have a hatred that no other deer could cause other than the doe that made him so reclusive and shameful, but he had never sounded so aggressive before. "S-Sorry...I just really hate her."


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