Mercutio lay on the ground, staring up at his beloved friend. He tried to speak, but couldn't say any more. The others scattered around him, staring down at him, laughing. They thought he was only joking. What fools they were! Mercutio whimpered slightly to Romeo, clutching his wet white cloth to his chest. All faded to black, the sound of the crowds laughter trailing behind...

"make him pay, my friend, Make Him-!"

Mercutio's head shot up, blinded by the sudden light. He felt something weighing down his head, but what? He drowsily looked around, his mind aclutter from confusion.

He discovered he was near a body of water, and looked down at his reflection.

".... Madness!" He shouted, and instantly pulled in his lips in surprise. His voice was much lower than he remembered. He reluctantly looked down at his reflection again, this time, studying his features.

He was a stag, of all things! This is what afterlife was? He shook his head. No, merely one more life. He sighed, and went into details. He had a tan coat, with a red stripe squiggling down both sides. His antlers were a shiny gold, and shaped like trumpets.

But his eyes were what intrigued him the most. Black all around, with only white pupils. They definitely weren't normal eyes. It gave him an air of mischievousness. The look of a sly, witty character. And that's exactly what he was.

Something lay next to him. A decorated, smiling mask. "Is this to be mine?" He searched around, looking for any other deer that the mask might belong to. But no one was there. Only distant others playing in the shallows. "I suppose this has been bestowed upon me... By who? No doubt, a higher power..."

Mercutio maneuvered the mask onto his face and looked down once more. Although strange, he liked it. It seemed to tie the rest of his looks together. It even made his eyes look normal.

lol. needed to get your attention, yeah? XD

anyway, i had an idea... for our R&J deer. instead of having these silly characters just pop into the Forest out of no where, i was thinking...

maybe these deer are some sort of reincarnation of the people... and they remember fragments of their past life and deaths. sound cool enough?

you do realize that almost ALL the important characters are killed instead of Benvolio? and he can just come on in anyway XD

it would be a good excuse for Tybalt and Mercutio to be enemies. it would be a good excuse for the Montegue deer and the Capulet deer to still be enemies. otherwise we'd have to make up an entirely (well, not entirely) new scenario.

anyway, whatcha think? it sounds a little crazy, yes? just a suggestion, all opinion open XD

<3 Raku

this isnt exactly how it went. i made it a bit spicier >D

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The sun shone high over the waters. A smiling, red mask hovered just about the water. The tan stag lapped up several mouthfuls. Thirsty day today... he thought.

Mercutio raised his head and looked out into the deeper end, water trickling off his chin. The koi swam elegantly under the vibrant lotus and paper thin lily pads. He shook his head to get rid of the dripping water, and trotted away.

What shall I do on this fine day? There has been not a sniff of a familiar face since the day before. He pricked his ears and focused on his sense of smell. Well well well... I have spoken too soon.

He bolted for the Ruins, hopping and skipping the entire way. He came to the outskirts of the stone structures. Mercutio snuck around, and looked around a corner. There he was. He smirked devilishly and made his way for a sleeping deer. After a few moments, Mercutio bore a pelt spell. He quietly snuck up to where the corner was, and when the deer was in sight, cast the spell.

The stag bolted to his feet after he figured out what was happening. He angrily sneezed off the pelt while catching that familiar, insane laugh. "Mercutio!"

Mercutio was already running like a mad man for the hill with the fairy ring. He heard his name several times, but he realized that the voice wasn't moving. And soon his name stopped coming. Mercutio stopped at his hill and turned around.

A hysterical smile came across his tan face, "Oh, brave Tybalt, look what foolishness you've brought upon yourself!" He yelled to him.

yay cB

WHERE THE HECK IS BENVOLIO. i havent seen him in the forest yet :>

"Fulu... Fulu, wake up."

A young white doe let out a soft groan before opening her coal black eyes. Her feathers swayed as she shook herself awake. She smiled at the stag next to him. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Zilant gave her a nuzzle. "You slept in for a while."

"Well, it was a long night... That conversation lasted for hours. I don't remember a time when we talked so much."

"I know, I'm sorry." Zilant chuckled. "Oh, we've been asked to come to some meeting. Clock told me about it earlier this morning."

"Clock did? Who else is going?"

"I'm not sure. He said your brother and his family were gonna be there. Then he took off."

Fulu sighed, "He never tells the entire story." She took in a deep breath, and stood up. "Well, we better see where Skokey is then. Maybe he knows what's going on."

The two emerged from the safety of the willow leaves, and made for the Playground. Skokey was standing on top of one of the boulders, playing with his children. Fenqua was still sleeping under the slab, having been kept up by the twins all night.

"Fulu! Zilant!" Skokey exclaimed from his boulder. They came a little closer, and greeted him good morning.

"Aunty and Uncy!" Faytha rammed herself into Fulu, nearly knocking her over.

Fenkovan soon came after her, but instead ramming into Zilant. "Hi Aunt Fulu and Uncle Zilant!"

Zilant smiled, "Well hello there, Fenkovan. You're getting pretty strong these days." He said, planting his feet down so he could stand another possible push.

Skokey hopped down and met the four infront of him. "Alright you two, I think it's time to go wake up Mama." The two seemed to brighten up and instantly bounded over to their mother. "So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"We heard something about a meeting? Apparently Clock told Zilant about it this morning. Did he say anything to you?" Fulu tilted her head.

a closeup of the Kabuki mask?

I NEED EET.

I KNOW.

i stole Dannii's idear about making Romeo and Juliet deer... she made Tybalt... and my favorites always been Mercutio, so... THERE YA GO.

now we have Tybalt, Mercutio... and i think Benvolio...

LOL THIS IS EPIC *dies*

i havent seen her in days... anyone know where she went? :<

illustration added soon <3

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Flash.

A long tail of energy beamed through the trees. It ran faster than anything ever seen, zig-zagging through every pine, maple, and oak. Once it passed, plants and leaves seemed to follow, but were pulled back by their roots. A great wind seemed to follow this tail.

The tail of energy sped through the First Forest and straight into the Birch Forest, it seemed to be speeding up. The final sprint, almost. A doe drew her head upwards from her grazing, and examined the small light becomming bigger and bigger. She huffed irritabley. One day, she thought, I'll beat that stag, and show him who's who.

The flash came to a screeching halt, starting to slow down about twenty feet away. A flurry of dust and a few uprooted grass blades sprang up behind it. In a cloud of dust, a stag appeared, a huge smile on his face.

The doe coughed, "Can't you take it easy for once, Clock?"

Clock closed his eyes cheerily, "'Fraid not, miss Fenqua... Oop, I suppose it's Mrs. Fenqua?"

"Just Fenqua, thank you." She retorted, her round ebony mask shining in the dim sunlight.

"Right then. Well, Fenqua, I think this is the fastest I've ever gone without bumping into something!" He beamed with pride, almost too much pride.

Fenqua put one hoof down hard, "You know, Clock, you haven't yet proven that you're the fastest deer around. We still have a race."

He nodded, "I'm aware. Although, I have proven many times that I am, in fact, the fastest stag around. But you're right, the title of 'fastest deer' still remains up for grabs. Although I gotta say..." He looked behind him, noticing a small trail from where he ran. "... I think I might just take it."

"Papa?"

A little fawn fumbled her way back to the Playground. "Papa?"

Another fawn followed her, trying to get ahead of her. Skokey sat under the slab with a smirk on his face.

"What is it, sweetheart?" He asked softly.

"What's a... a birch?" the little girl chirped.

"Yeah, what's a birts?" the boy repeated, unknowingly pronouncing it wrong.

Skokey chuckled, "Well, I'll tell you..." the two fawns sat infront of him, their natural responce to that statement. "I birch is a type of tree. That's why they call this forest the Birch Forest."

"So the white trees are birches?" the boy tilted his head.

"Yes, Fenkovan. For some reason, they don't grow in the First Forest. And no tree in the First Forest grows here."

The little girl pricked her big ears, "What kind of trees are in the... First Forest?"

"Oh... Maples, Oaks, Pines... A few Elm trees..."

"How do you know the difference."

Skokey chuckled, "There are many things. The biggest thing to look for are the leaves. Those are the things that tell one tree from another."

Fenkovan nodded, "What do the leaves look like?"

"Well..." He was interupted by Fenqua coming back. "Oh, hello, love." She sat down next to him, and he rubbed his face against hers.

"Well, hello. What are you three talking about?" She asked with a smile.

"Faytha and Fenkovan were asking me about trees."

"Oh, trees, huh? What do you want to know?"

"I wanna know how to tell all of them apart!" They both said simultaneously.

They really are twins, Skokey thought, transferring that through a smile to Fenqua. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Well," Skokey started, "Maple leaves are big, and wide. I think they're the biggest leaves."

"Oak leaves," Fenqua continued, "are thinner, and a little longer. But they look similar. But they're not nearly as big as Maple leaves."

"Pine leaves look like little blades of grass. Those are the easiest to tell apart."