“What is it?”

“I'm not sure, it says something...”

“Can anyone read it?”

“It's so unfamiliar though.”

Clock and Danielle pushed against the crowd, trying to see what they were all staring at. Many deer didn't want to lose their place, while others stood aside for them. Clock started to get a little irritated. Danielle knew what to do.

“Let us through! Clock might be able to read it!” She shouted. It worked, most of the deer stood to the side.

The brown and gold stag approached the thing on the ground. It was burned into the dirt, as if a lightning bolt had written it. Danielle and Clock both examined it. The butterfly doe was absolutely stumped, but Clock knew what it was. And he didn't like it.

“What is it?” One deer asked.

“It's an inscription.”

“What does it say?”

Clock looked up to the crowd. “Deus Diabolus...”

“Deus Diabolus?” Danielle repeated, hoping for a translation.

“An ancient language known as Latin... It means... The God Devil.” Clock let out an uneasy breath.

“Clock...” Danielle went over to him and nuzzled him slightly. She knew he was afraid. No, not just afraid, terrified.

“The God Devil?” A stag next to them repeated. “Who on earth would write that?”

“No one of this earth, maybe...” Another stag muttered.

“Would the Twin Gods do this to scare us?”

Clock glared at the stag, “Why would they want to SCARE us? This is obviously a sign of danger! Maybe instead of blaming the gods, you should ask them to help!”

The stag lifted his head irately, but then sighed, and nodded. Clock was right, this was no work of the Twin Gods. This was something completely opposite of them. Something evil...

Clock stared down at the writing, the burn marks on the ground. He knew who wrote this. But when did he write it? He couldn't figure that out. He couldn't remember a time where the day seemed to skip forward, and he certainly didn't remember being weak like he usually was. That's something he wouldn't forget. Danielle turned his attention away from the writing. His breathing was shaky, and his eyes wide. She needed to make him calm again before he started to panic.

“Clock, don't think about this too much. It's not good for you.”

“You're the one who said not to take this so lightly. Which is it?” He asked quietly. This was clearly disturbing him, the mutterings of the other deer were silent to his ears.

“I can see why you're so worried, but you have to trust that everything will be okay. One little inscription? We shouldn't lose our heads just yet. You know, you're so close to the Twin Gods, why don't you ask them about it?”

“Are you kidding? I never even wanted to be close to them. Besides, they terrify me almost as much as this.”

“Clock...”

The brown stag turned away and ran, a bright trail of light following him. He was running faster than usual. He did it just to make sure Danielle wouldn't run after him. He needed to be alone.

That was the first mistake.

***

Danielle trotted over to the water. Her heart was heavy, her eyes fixed on the ground. Clock wasn't one to just run away like that. This was really bothering him. She scanned the shores and shallows for that one doe that might be able to help.

And she was there.

The butterfly doe made her way over to the green frog doe sitting in the shallows, watching the dragonflies go by and the fish swim about. The frog doe greeted her happily, and invited her to sit down. Danielle, hesitantly, sat down into the water.

“So... What's up?” Tropa asked.

“Well... It's Clock... He..” She couldn't finish.

“Danielle... What did he do?”

“We found this inscription on the ground... And he read it... And he got all afraid. But when I tried to comfort him, he ran...”

Tropa nodded, “I see...”

“He's never done that before...”

“What did the inscription say?”

“It said...” She paused. “It said 'The God Devil'.”

Tropa furrowed her brow, “I don't see why that would upset him so much...”

Danielle looked down at her reflection. Of course Tropa wouldn't know. She was the only one who knew besides Clock. And she didn't have the heart to tell the story. She would probably end up running herself.

“It's a... a long story... But... He's never turned away from me before... I'm worried he might be in danger or something.”

“If that's the case, he ran because he didn't want you to be in danger.”

“I...” Danielle stopped and thought about it. She sighed, “Yeah, you're right...”

Tropa looked at her, “Danielle, you of all deer should know that Clock is not normal. He has abandonment issues, which is why he never turned away from your help, but at the same time, he's frightened. He never shows it, he hides it under a smile every day, but he is absolutely terrified of everything in the world. One of his problems... He has paranoia of the worst kind. He never tells anyone he's scared, though. He doesn't want others to worry. He doesn't want YOU to worry.”

Danielle thought about it, and at first, it didn't make much sense.

“At the same time, he finds himself at peace with the world around him. And at the same time still, he's extremely downhearted about what's happening. It's a strange mix of emotions he can't seem to control by himself.”

Danielle started to understand now. That's where his personalities came from, scared, sad, content... They weren't just random personalities, they truly were him.

“Ever since you came into his life, he seemed to have the fear and depression behind him, but if anything scares him again, he'll go back to where he was. He might not stay there, but he will be afraid again. And when he's afraid, he's afraid of everything, even the one he loves the most.”

Danielle looked away. Why didn't she figure this out before? Was she so blind to another's inner feelings? She didn't want to hear that.

“So what I would say...” Tropa turned to her again, “Just give him time. He'll come back to you, don't worry. And I guarantee he'll be apologizing all over.” She smiled at her.

She looked at the older doe, and smiled. That was a sort of relieving conclusion. Maybe after he comes back, they could figure this whole mess out. Those optimistic thoughts were soon interrupted, though. A fog loomed to the east. It was coming to the Forest.

Danielle felt her heart sink. Memories came to her mind instantly. His horrid laughter echoed through her mind, made her throat choke, stopped her breathing. Was he here? Again? Already? That couldn't be right.

She looked over at the Twin Gods hill. The statues had a certain glow about them. Danielle almost cried in relief, they were just bringing weather to the Forest. But the last time they did that, he still appeared. He wasn't like the Big Zombie Deer, the great creature that had fog trailing after him. But for all she knew, he could be if he wanted to. She looked across the Pond to the hill overlooking the water. For a split second, she thought she saw...

But as soon as she blinked, she sighed again. She rose quickly and bolted over to the other side. She galloped, skidded to a stop, and embraced Clock.