Quamar stared in disbelief at his daughter, sobbing on the ground before him. “W-Wha... R.. Raped?...” He knelt down to nuzzle her, but she flinched away. “Who?... Who did this, tell me!”

Danielle couldn't stop crying, but she managed to stifle, “I-It's.. com.. complicated...”

Quamar kept trying to nuzzle her but she kept inching away from him. He just wanted to comfort her. “Just tell me...”

“I d-don't want to t-talk about it!” she snapped back.

Quamar was not an ignorant stag. He noticed how the fog had blown away as soon as she told him what happened. Whoever did this obviously had some sort of power beyond her's. If the fog was his sign, then the large stag knew when to look for him again. But for now, he had to tend to his daughter.

***

“Go. Spread my word. I shall be leaving for a while.”

“And any who try to oppose?”

“Simple.”

“Kill them.”

The giant stag looked around the dark, moonlit forest. The dim, pale light shone off his glossy, oozing black tongue as it twitched in thought. Nero had left him instructions. And he was expected to follow them. But a part of Never wanted to ignore it and continue what he was doing before Nero had shown up. Even if he didn't do what the other wanted, did it really matter? Never knew these deer wouldn't want a new god. Unless they were as blind as Nero said they were. He defined them as sheep, following whoever had the rod.

So first thing tomorrow he was supposed to convince the others of what was to come. But how to do it? Never always had to plan these things out. Every last detail. But there were so many factors to consider. But the good side of that was, most reactions he could think of led to the deer's death. Now this task started to sound fun.

First thing tomorrow. Never's tongue wrapped around itself in anticipation. The giant stag sat himself onto the ground. Waiting.

***

The disappearance of the fog seemed to ease everyone's tensions. Skokey had long since awaken from his paranoid slumber. He was back to his old self. But his trails weren't over quite yet.

Not long after Nero left, Fenqua was caught in a fight, and killed. And shortly after that, Fenkovan, their son, ran away. Skokey felt that his family was falling apart, but he did his best to keep what he had left together. He had grown, that much was evident. If this had happened earlier, he might have commited the suicide he threatened to do so long ago. But he couldn't do that now. It would leave his daughter all alone. He couldn't bear to see her like this. Her mother, and now her twin brother. She needed all the support she could get.

Tropa was worried sick. Every day she sat in the water of the pond, hoping, praying that Clock would come back safe. Along with that, she had taken care of Danielle. She was the only one who could do it, since Danielle seemed too frightened of stags to let them anywhere near her. Even her own father, to an extent. It would be some time before she would ease up around them again.

Life seemed to go back to the way it was for the most part. Nero was no longer a threat for now. They didn't have to worry about him showing up. Though the lingering feeling of what was going to happen was still present. They couldn't shake their fear for the future. Danielle, despite her utter fear, longed for Clock to return. She wondered if she would ever see him again.

But it wasn't long before that very stag ended up being found. Half of his weakened body lay in the shallows of the pond. Once Tropa had realized who it was, she rushed over to see if he was still alive. His breathing was labored, and he didn't even have the strength to open his eyes. Tropa laid her head against him, crying. Clock wasn't safe at all. He could die at any moment. Nero had left him drained of all energy and thought.

The days passed, and the more Clock lay there in the shallows, the more strength he seemed to gain. Soon he could open his eyes and talk, but he could barely move. It would take time for him to actually sit up and even more time to stand and walk again. As soon as he was able to sit, Tropa decided to find Danielle again. They needed to see each other before it was too late.

Tropa couldn't break the news to Clock by herself.

***

“Clock... Oh god, Clock, I'm so happy you're back...” Danielle said, burying her face in the long fur of his neck.

“I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...”

“No, Clock, no... It's... not your fault...” Danielle paused, “... None of it was your fault...”

“None of...” Clock looked down at her, “Danielle... What did I do?”

A tear slipped away from the doe's eye. “I have to tell you something...”

Clock's heart was sinking into the pit of his stomach, “Yeah?”

Danielle inhaled. “I'm pregnant.”

Clock, to put it simply, went numb. All thoughts, all feelings were gone. He dropped his head to the ground, hiding it away from his lover. He started to tremble, babbling out apologies in pathetic shame. What was he to do about this? He knew Nero was the one who did it. He had been trying to tear them apart for so long, but this seemed to be a fatal blow. How much more of this could Danielle take?

“I said it wasn't your fault...” She answered, nuzzling him, comforting him. She was trying to hide her true feelings. She could barely stand to even sit next to Clock, so much as touch him. The memory was still burned into her mind. Even though she felt Clock's shame, she was still afraid. Still angry.

“D-Don't lie to me...” Clock breathed, turning away from her. “How can you still come back to me?...”

“B-Because it.. wasn't... your fa..” She couldn't finish. She couldn't hide it, he knew she didn't want to be here, telling him this. She couldn't see any of this working out. She wasn't looking forward to anything that was going to happen. She didn't know how she was going to handle this and Nero at the same time.

“No, Danielle... I don't deserve you... I've done nothing good to you... J-Just... leave me... your life will be so much better...”

And to think Danielle considered it. “No.” She stood up and walked around him to look him in the face again. “We can do this. We just... we have to try... If I leave you...” Her voice became firm, “If I leave you, then Nero wins.”

Clock stopped shaking, but he didn't move. He couldn't stand to look at her, not the way he felt. He wanted to run away, but knew he didn't have the strength. Danielle knew, though. She walked to a nearby willow and sat under it, keeping a wary watch over Clock. Nothing about the future seemed to be bright anymore.