The book's next page regarded the water, images of deer crossing rivers by swimming and pictures of humans comfortably resting and fishing from boats. In one picture it looked as though a few human men were fishing in The Endless Forest's pond. There were no pictures that showed humans in the company of deer.

La's sharp ears picked up the sounds of the children, and she was relaxed. Calm. Even with Odu at her side acting as though he were on the highest of alerts searching for Tanpopo. This unsettled La, to say the least. She was alarmed by the idea of him influencing a child during her most formative years.

Trout nodded at Tan as she turned the page. She had addressed her with a question, so Trout formulated her answer and bleated out choppily, "I Swi-i-i-im. Y-o-o-s-w-i-i-i-m?" The girls regarded the bizarre pictures of the humans and their boats and bridges with a more somber tone. the Unicorn went so far as to bring her face only inches from the page to research a lady who sat in a shaded pole-boat, and then to look back at Tans face.

Trout did not have this same face, but many of the forests creatures did. She wondered idly if it was reflective of where individuals came from, or if it was simply natures diversity at play. By the time Trout leaned forward to turn the page again, the girls had fallen absolutely quiet in the tree.

On the next spread of the book, was a bizarre dichotomy of destruction and creation. On the left page, laid out and labeled in fine script was a myriad of human tools, all of which looked quite brutal. Hammers, Saws, chisels, axes, and the like. Next to each tool was an image of a human using the tool. A man hammering a nail, sawing a bone, chipping a stone, and chopping a tree. These images of humans altering their environment were at first disturbing to the little unicorn, but on the right hand page, was the result of such changes. A bridge, a cabin, a statue, a plank boat. Some of these things were in the forest, and the wildlife seemed to thrive around them. The book seemed to be trying to make a point now, but Trout wasnt entirely sure what it was...

Trouts eyes widened, realizing her friend was dissolving into fear and discomfort for some unknown reason. She let out a little pleading bleat and tried to lift Tan's chin with her nose. Even as she did so, she felt a tear slide down her friends cheek and onto her own.

She didnt know what was wrong, but she couldnt help Tan down unless she was calm, so the unicorn curled her neck against the bright young does chest and simply opened her heart to her. Trout let all of her barriers down, and in the self sacrificial tradition of her kind, she attempted to suck all of Tan's pain up into herself.

(See Trouts bio for more explanation on what shes up to here)

When Odu got up, so did La. He moved with purpose, and would have liked if he had deigned to let her know what that purpose was.

She followed at his side, barely giving either of them any space to breathe as they got to the tree, but when his arm metamorphosed she leaped back with alarm and watched silently as he climbed up into the tree.

"Tan?" La called. "Trout? Are you two okay up there?"

The branch Trout had landed on jolted, tossing the goaticorn. The shapeshifter moved, revealing himself with a growl.

Oduvanchik pulled his arm back, his wooden body rising over Tanpopo. His chest opened like jaws and scooped Tanpopo up. She yelped in response, kicking frantically.

There was a crunch and her body went limp.

Edit: Nope. Still feel like an A-hole))

((Last day as a fawn. Have your fun with him. I can't play him as fun as Tanpopo though XD))

La bounded to Trout in an instant to check her health and well-being, making sure that she was whole, unburned, and without wound. But Trout was only one child, and she thought it would have been better in many ways if Tan had fallen out of the tree as well.

"Tanpopo!" she called up the tree, running to the trunk and putting her front hooves on the trunk so she could reach her neck up as high as possible. After she heard no response her voice shifted: "Oduvanchik! Down here! Now!"

The book fell on Oduvanchik's head from somewhere it had gone up above, and then bounced through the branches and landed open on its spine next to La. She didn't bother to look at it, but if she had she would have noticed the fine print: Not sorry.

(Laughs as well!!)

Trout planted her hooves firmly in the ground. She had never had to confront another living thing in her life... Not like this. Though part of her wished to suck the whole of Odu's terrifying form away into the void of healing, she knew he was out of her league.

Instead, the stout little creature hunkered low below La as the nightmare manifested only inches from her friends face. She pinned her ears flat to her skull before brandishing the tiny horn that perched on her brow at him.

She was already taxed by the feelings she had taken from Tanpopo, but she could not cower helpless against this transformation. She bit her lip and again, opened her heart. To La, she lent what strength she had left. La was their only hope now, and even as the little creature began to stumble and collapse beneath her mentor, she upheaved her meager spirit, that the wise does reprimand would stand with all of their combined strength.

"You're not human. So stop acting like one!" He snarled. His face remained fixed on hers while his body crawled out of the tree. Oduvanchik's chest was bloated as it came forward before them.

"I will never hurt her, but this world will." He rested his stomach on the ground and the treebark retracted as Tanpopo was set on the ground. "...ooout." She finished crying. When she saw La, she stumbled to her hooves and traipsed slowly to to her underbelly with Trout, looking at Odu worriedly.

His heart broke. She was terrified of him.
--

Tanpopo nuzzled against Trout, pushing her face against the goaticorn's as she tried to get her to lower her weapon. She looked up at La, her breathing shallow and rattled.

((Currently cleaning the nailpolish off my laptop's camera. Skype will be ready by the time you guys see this message. >>> Dandelion.Girl))

"You're right..."he said, rising over them menacingly. "I'm not a deer."

His jaw extended and a sharp howl echoed throughout the woods. The sky dulled to a grey and the trees suddenly looked barren. The area seemed so surreal in the fact that it wasn't the Forest any more.

A long and twisted arm reached out, fingering her antlers gently. "Now...order me again."

"Get out," La repeated herself clearly, and took one trembling step further toward Oduvanchik. She listened to the children and felt them both weak under her and leaning on one another. Whatever happened they wouldn't be able to run, and she would stay by their sides. Whatever happened.

Her antlers were slightly pliable in his hands, and she twisted her head riotously and tried to rear up to hit him with her forelegs. It was a flailing reaction of instinct faster than any controlled reaction could have been.

"Oduvanchik listen to yourself!" she insisted shrilly as she tried continually to yank her head from his grip. "Look at what you're doing and walk away from this before you ruin everything for yourself!"

Trout lifted her head as if in a fugue, to peer up at the scene that had escalated around her. THe silence that hung over them after Tan's exclamation seemed to ring link a bell, after such chaos that had preceded it.

She bleated in protest when Odu attempted to toss La back from them. Then she struggled to produce a simple statement, but with it much weight. "Oo-o-od-u c-a-a-a-res f-o-or T-a-an." She took another deep breath, before continuing, this was the most she had ever spoken in one go. "Mo-n-ste-er d-o-o-esnt kn-o-ow h-o-ow?"

"D-d-o G-o-o-o-od." She provided, nodding at her friend.

She set her jaw at him, leaning on Tan as she righted herself.

La staggered to her feet. Both left legs hurt. Her head was ringing like a bell and the roots of her antlers ached deep into her skull. The muscles in her neck screamed where they had been pulled before she'd been tossed, but she was determined.

"Trout," she breathed heavily as she hauled her aching body over to the weakened child and gave her the most reassuring nuzzle that she could manage. "Find a safe spot. Go to a mushroom circle or go down to the pond. I'll come back for you. I need to go get Tanpopo back from Oduvanchik. I promise I'll come back to get you."

La wasn't certain she'd be able to keep that promise, but she was certain that if she didn't keep it she would at least die trying. It filled her with guilt to leave, but Tanpopo was in measurably more danger than the little unicorn. She sprinted after Oduvanchik, keeping his brown form in sight in the distance. She hopped over the fallen trees he left in his wake but never landed well and continued to exacerbate her injuries.

"Tanpopo!" La yelled.

La stayed in pursuit. Any attempts to throw her off course were futile, as the wake of damage was plain to see and could be followed easily. She only feared for Tanpopo, and doubly so with the Old Oak looming on the horizon and making La feel twice as heavy as she was, with her heart full of ice.

Please don't take her away from me.

SOMEWHERE OUT THERE
HE STILL GAZES
AS I WANDER THROUGH HIS MAZES

DEATH AND LIFE HERE
TRUTH OR LIES
EVERY THOUGHT IS WELL DISGUISED

(!!! um how did I miss these yesterday? The crew as humans!! *laughs* THat is brilliant. They would make a curious group if I saw them walking down the street. Thank you so much Fairyclock! I have so many things I want to draw for this RP, but I feel like I never have the time... Someday. Someday. )

Trout did not know what to do as La took off after the others, she delivered a firm nose-bump to convey her understanding to La. Her eyes seemed to speak volumes. And for the first time ever, she spoke a single word without a stutter. "Go."

After La had fled, she made a few attempts to get to her feet, only to crumble back into a heap in the leaf litter. Aside from the gouge in her shoulder, where a heavy splinter still rooted itself, she was not stuck due to physical injury, but rather a spiritual weight.

She had never, ever taken this much grief and anguish on, granted, she was still young, but she was distraught by her inability to rescue Tan, and she knew that she would need to learn how to not only take pain, but protect herself from floods. Lesson learned.

She scrambled awkwardly over to the tree, looked up into the branches, and she scoured the ground, searching for the living book. She did not want to be alone, and she knew if she could find some semblance of peace and companionship she might be able to purge enough weight to recover her strength.

The little Unicorn sighed with relief and scootched over to the book. She looked down at the river as it played it course across the pages. Yes. Exactly. She needed to get to the river somehow.

Trout mouthed the edge of the books binding until she could get a good hold on it, and gently, she picked it up, pages clapping and fluttering loose to the breeze. The book seemed to hold a bit of La in it, and its company had lent her enough strength to force herself to her feet, shaking and fumbling.

She kept the thought of La and Tan in her heart, shining like a light, and slowly, oh... so so slowly... Trout began to wobble and tip and stumble down the hill.

When she reached the river, she dropped the tome and bowed to it. However, her bow broke into a tumble down the slick bank into the deep and rushing waters. Trout kicked helplessly under the current until it upturned her forcefully under the bridge in the shallows. She sputtered and blew water from her nostrils in a fit.

...But she was kicking. She was fighting. As she stood in the shadow of the bridge, she could see under the water. All manner of fish swirled around her legs in a flow and eddy that mesmerized the little creature until she toppled over once again. She lay there under the water then, her cheeks puffed out and her eyes blurry. A massive Brook trout and a trio of bluegills picked at her wound until the splinter fell loose. It hurt. But it was good.

Trout exhaled under the water, bubbles swirling away from her in a dramatic flourish only rushing water could achieve. With her breath, she let go of the terror from before. She Let go of Tanpopo's fear, and Odu's anger.

She lay under the surface, buffeted by the cold current, until she had nearly slipped away as well... But she did not let go of herself. With sudden urgency, she thrust her head up out of the water, gasping for breath. It was time to go.

She scrambled up the bank, sodden and still a bit weak, but ready to find the others.

La circled around the tree. There was more than one hole in the roots and she didn't want to go in through the huge opening.

She didn't want to go in at all. The only thing that kept her moving closer to the tree was her own forward momentum and the fact that she knew that if she stopped running she would probably collapse and not be able to get back up again. She cycled around to peek into the cracks between the enormous roots and saw Tanpopo, alive and kicking.

La tried to think of how to get the fawn's attention without also drawing Oduvanchik's and she waved a hoof behind his back to try to get Tanpopo to come to her.

As Odu leaned into the tree to check on Tan, a black blur jumped up landing on his head and pushed it's claws into his wooden flesh as an anchor.

"Hy am de ears of de forest! Und HYU are very noisy!"

La jumped into the fray while she could. "Tan!" She called softly into the pit. La jumped in and started to boost her out. "You run, don't look back. Find Trout, stay safe."

"Run leedle fawn! Hy vill hold him off!"

The small grey and teal squirrel on Odu's face called.

"Thiz vill not be pritty..."

Oduvanchik fought to wrap his hand around the wry squirrel. Her small and nimble body was too fast for him to keep trapped and he growled angrily, shouting obscenities and cursing the forest for it's unpredictability. Why did these creatures fight to protect eachother as humans do?

Tan had made it to the lake and was sucking up as much water as her stomach could handle before rushing down the riverbank. The run had pushed her limits.

"I don't know who you are" he said, digging his legs into the ground as he leaned back. "But I don't need you questioning MY nature."

His mouth opened wide as he attempted to swallow the creature whole. Branches peeled off in different directions as his face opened like the jaws of a kraken.

---

Tanpopo looked around as she passed the river. She didn't see La or Trout and was starting to feel anxious for their safety. She could go back. Maybe they needed help. Tan didn't even know if Trout had gotten away.

Upon hearing the words of the unicorn-kin to the side of her, the squirrel pulled her claws from Odu's face. If the unicorn wanted to try to talk it out with him, she would as well. At this thought, the squirrel kicked off of the wooden face that was attempting to eat her and landed on the side of the big oak. She thought about retreating up the tree to avoid his reach, but decided to stay where she was in case he decided to turn his anger for her upon the unicorn that was attempting to talk him down.

"Hyu should listen to her. Ve do not have to fight."

She looked at each of the others. Perhaps she was too hasty in her decision to attack him. She quickly rethought that idea though. If she had not acted when she had, the situation would have only escalated. At least she gave the fawn and the the doe attempting to save her, time to get away.

She looked towards the unicorn-kin and addressed her.

"Be careful. He iz still very opset."