Danielle stayed at the Playground, sitting on top of a rock she and Clock had favored. It was flat, farther down the line, a flat rock, closer to the ground. She sat there, crying. Somehow she knew the army wouldn't work, but she tried it anyway. Now she was caught with no one strong enough to defeat him except her. And brute strength wasn't the answer.

Fenqua lay down next to her mate, who was still staring into space. She leaned against him, but he barely noticed. “Skokey...”

He shifted his dull eyes to her.

“Are you sure you're okay?”

He blinked heavily, as if he was sleepy. He just looked forward again, listening to the distant sobbing of Danielle. “... No...”

Fenqua looked up at him, feeling her eyes water more than usual. “Please, tell me what's wrong...”

Skokey's eyes had a slight look of horror in them now. “It's coming...”

“What? What's coming?”

“A... revolution...”

Fenqua straightened herself, “What do you mean, who told you?”

“... Father did...”

“Siki? What did he tell you?”

Skokey's eyes overflowed, but his expression remained listless. “This Forest knows nothing of terror...”

Fenqua blinked, her heart growing more rapid, “How do you know?”

“... Because I know what he can do...”

Fenqua stood up, looking around. The fog still remained, but no one else was there. Just the three of them. She had to find others, tell them of what was happening. For some reason she decided to ignore the true danger until just now, now that Skokey had told her.

“Skokey, we have to warn every-...” She turned around, but stopped.

He was asleep.

“Skokey? Skokey wake up! Come on, wake up!” She pushed him and nipped at him, but he wouldn't budge. He was unconscious. “Damn... I guess I'm on my own...” She looked around, “Faytha?”

The young doe ran over to her, her mouth stained blue from blueberries. “What?”

“Come on, we have to do something. Where's your brother?”

Faytha shrugged, “I dunno, he ran off. He looked pretty scared. Did something happen?”

Fenqua was a little shaken, but didn't lose her nerve. “Yeah, but there's no time for stories. We have to go.”

The two ran off, leaving the sleeping stag alone. Danielle watched them run. She knew what they were doing, and she was half-heartedly glad. At least others wouldn't be taken by surprise. At least if they believed them.

***

A crowd was gathered around the Twin Gods hill. A crowd listening to the speech that Fenqua had been ready to give for quite some time now. Most of them seemed to believe her, others went about their business as if she was only stirring up for attention. Fenqua was glad enough she could get this many to listen. Faytha had been behind her, listening to it with new ears as well. She had very little idea of what was going on, but the feeling the fog gave her made perfect sense now.

Fenqua finished her speech, answering as many questions as possible, though she couldn't answer everything. Faytha, upon hearing all this information, set out to search for her brother. He was obviously a witness. And given the description, it sounded like a terribly bloody battle. Something Fenkovan couldn't handle well. Fenqua let her do what she wished, knowing that helping Fenkovan was for the best.

The crowd dispersed after some time. Fenqua found herself walking slowly back to her home at the Playground, her mind spinning with all that had happened. The entire Skull Army, destroyed like it was nothing. Skokey was now unconscious, and she didn't know when or if he would wake up. Her son was more than likely traumatized, and it might take a while to calm him down again. And of course, the central thought, what exactly was Nero going to do?

“Danielle is obviously an important factor...” Fenqua thought out loud, her gaze fixed on the ground. “But... Nero acts like she isn't a threat, so... is she? Hmm... I'll have to ask--”

She looked up to see where she was, only to find that very stag standing merely inches away from her. The fur along Fenqua's spine pricked up as she flinched away from the taller, darker stag.

“I trust you did what I told you?” Nero asked in his cold, smooth tone.

Fenqua exhaled sharply, maintaining her composure and making sure to keep her sights away from his eye. “Yes, I told them. Probably not the message you wanted, though.”

“I never told you what I wanted them to hear. I know you told them to rebel, so what? The still know of their impending doom.”

“You're disgusting.”

Nero smirked, “Call me what you wish. As the saying goes... Sticks and stones.”

“You can't take the whole forest by yourself, and you know it.”

“Perhaps not now, dear Fenqua.” He turned his back to her, “In truth, I won't be coming back for quite some time. Even the most powerful of dictators require preparation.”

“Preparation?... Then how long?” Fenqua almost snapped her mouth shut. What was she saying? Was she really threatened by him? No, curious.

“Call it a calm before the storm. You never know how long it will last.”

Nero started to walk back into the fog. Fenqua stomped her hoof, “Hold it! I'm not done talking with you, bastard!”

Nero ignored it. He simply vanished in the fog. Fenqua blinked a few times. He was already gone? The fog wasn't that thick, she could see the forest fairly clearly. It would take a normal deer a long time to walk out of sight. Though... She shouldn't have been surprised. She ran over his words for a moment before starting to walk again.

“I have to talk to Vessel...”

***

“And you come to me for advice?”

The words echoed inside Fenqua's head. No one else could hear it but her. “Of course, the Twin Gods practically raised you.”

“True...”

“How important is Danielle? Why does Nero try to torture as much as possible?”

Vessel shifted his long, thin legs in thought. “Perhaps Nero knows Danielle is the only one who can stop him... No, it's definite he would know. That's why he picks on her so much. He's trying to scare her so much that she won't have to courage to face him.”

Fenqua nodded, “Right... Do you know how she can stop him exactly?”

Vessel shook his head, “No. Though it would be convenient to tell me such a secret, they only provide me with so much information. This is something she must figure out on her own.”

The two of them stared out into the forest for a few minutes, thinking over the future.

“This Nero says he will disappear for a while?” Vessel asked in thought, his mouth not moving, but the words so clearly heard in Fenqua's mind.

“Right. To prepare.” She answered out loud.

The small stag blinked his marbley white eyes, “You don't think...” A sudden look of urgency came to his face, “Danielle is in danger.”

“What?” Fenqua faced him, but stood up without waiting for an answer. “Dammit!” She bolted for the Playground, hearing a slight shriek from that very direction. Fenqua pounded her hooves against the ground, powering herself forward faster and faster with every step.

But when the Playground came into sight, she felt something rush past her. It never occurred to her that it was another deer, she was in too much of a hurry to save Danielle from whatever it was.

She was too late.

The one rushing passed Fenqua was the one she was trying to save. Danielle. Fenqua stopped in a fury, looking around to see where the butterfly doe might have gone. No one was chasing her. Her head snapped around to the slanted rock where she and Skokey slept under. Skokey was still there. Still curled up in a ball.

Meanwhile, Danielle ran. She ran for her life. Though nothing was after her. Burning tears blinded her eyes and she ended up tripping quite a bit before finally falling forward, in front of the stag she had been looking for for so long.

She lay there, completely out of breath and sobbing.

“Danielle? Danielle, what happened??” The large orange stag asked her, coming closer to care for her.

“D-D-D-Dad!...” She stifled a few sobs before stammering, “I-I.. I was r-r-raped...”

The very moment those broken words escaped her lips, the fog disappeared.

Completely.

The calm before the storm had begun.