Danielle stood there, shocked. The statues were gone, gone. Nero only turned a sly yellow eye to her.

“What the hell did you--”

“I merely took away what was no longer needed.” It seemed like Nero was waiting all day to say that.

Danielle glared at him.

Nero turned to the crowd, “Your precious Twin Gods are no longer the rulers here. The only being that will be needed on this hill will be me.”

The crowd started to jeer and shout. Nero looked to his side, and nodded once, sending a furious monster to lash out at a few of them. The beast wrapped his tongue around their throats and snapped their heads clean off.

Nero turned back to them, his eye flaring, “Bow to me. Bow to me or die!”

The deer in the crowd seemed to go back and forth between the dead bodies, Never, and Nero. It was only a few seconds before the first deer bowed. Then another, then another. Soon the whole crowd was lowering their bodies to their new dictator. The invisible force of fear driving their faces to the ground, their legs trembling in fear of the executioner not too far away.

Danielle refused. “I won't let you get away with this! You may have swayed these deer, but not the whole forest!”

There was a smirk. “A little bit of yeast will leaven the whole loaf.” He turned to her, glaring into her eyes.

The doe froze. Memories of what he had done to her flooded her mind at the very look of his eye. She started to back down, feeling the fawn inside her squirm, which caused her a moment of pain. It wasn't just her. The child was afraid as well.

“The Forest is mine now.” Nero climbed onto the spot where the statues once stood. “And what the Twin Gods have made, I will destroy. I will make this Forest my own.” He brought a leg up to his face and brushed off the skull that covered it. He threw his head to the side, parting the hair that covered his hidden eye. The eye that had always remained closed. He now opened it.

This is what has happened to the Forest. There's no love anymore.

You know what I see? I see the newer members posting "Does anyone wanna be my mate?" blogs again. And the people who don't do that participate in the rut, making stags have loveless sex with does they barely know so they can have babies for no reason other than to reproduce.

Since when was this the real world?

The Forest was created to be an artistic and imaginative outlet. It was meant for you to create a unique character and see what happens. It was meant to be a new experience. What's so new about real deer? EVERYONE knows what a real deer is.

When I joined.

Not when you joined. When I joined.

There was a way to have children. It was called making friends, finding love, and having a family.

Now what is it? Find a stag to present for you and see if you like it, then let him have his way with you. ~*THAT'S SO MAGICAL*~

This makes me want to puke.

Pega's wonderful philosophy has been buried.

This is no longer the place of magic I've known. And I know a LOT of oldies tend to say this. But I'm not talking about the cliques or the artwork or the violence. I'm talking about something that was actually an important to the Forest that is now lost. New players don't see the old way of things anymore.

What they will see is "Oh, they do things the way real deer do things, so I'll be a real deer too."

THIS IS NOT WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE.

I'm going around in circles. I'm expressing the fact that this rut has changed everything. It's turned from love into something I hate.

Where did the love go?

Where are the happy families?

Sometimes I think me and a precious few others are the only ones left with families who actually had children out of love. And I think I might be right.

I've basically lost hope in love here. It'll never come back now. There will never be love. Only sex.

It seemed to take months. Months before any sign of the fog came. During those months was a period of peace, for the most part. Some areas seemed to keep up the occasional violence and misunderstanding. Nothing new going on. Life carried on.

Danielle looked at her reflection in the pond. It was clear by the size of her stomach that she was pregnant. She hated it. Waking up sick, carrying the extra weight, all the looks and points from other deer. It was nothing she wanted to do so soon, so against her will. And what's more, it wasn't even with the one who she wanted to be the father. Well, technically he was, but not in mind. It was not out of love. Not at all.

She spat at the reflection, waking the water ripple a bit before settling again. Clock had an opposite view on it, but he could never dwell on it because of his fear for the future. Clock actually wanted this fawn to come. As if it didn't matter how it came to be, he still wanted to take care of it with her. Either way, he made the mess. He wasn't going to run away from something like this.

Danielle trotted back to her mate and sat down carefully. “Cloooock...” She leaned against him, which made him tip over a little due to the weight of the small fawn along with her large antlers. “This sucks.”

“I know... I'm really sorry you feel so bad.” He offered his daily apology once more.

“Ohhhh quit it.” She smiled, kissing him on the cheek. In truth she was finally getting used to it. She was finally able to block out the other thoughts she had of the fawn. The thoughts she never shared with Clock, since she knew how he felt about it. She didn't know what he would say.

“... It kicked me.” Clock said plainly.

“Yeah, it'll do that...”

“I wonder how long it's been...”

Danielle let out a playful scoff, “I wouldn't worry, it won't be for a while... I think.”

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.

***

Cuz I... felt like it. I DUNNO. Everything in this story is unedited. I didn't add or subtract anything.

---

It was sunny, the blue sky bright overhead the strange little moon. The rocky gray soil slightly damp from the rain last night. The planet it circled was high overhead, just next to the sun, seemingly. Pine-like trees were now unfurled to catch all the sun they could before it set again. It was quiet. Only a few birds chirped in the trees, and a few bugs made their noises as well. No creatures that we're familiar with, but close to them.

But there was a small band that had awoken some time ago, and were on the move. Their face was a kind of mix between animal and human, with thick woolly fur surrounding most of their bodies, save for their wrists down, their calves, and their faces. And their legs were constructed like that of an animal, with hooves at the ends, but larger, and segmented into five toes. Their tails were of medium length, but the fur grew long and dragged along the ground. They had the likeness of sheep.

One was a young man named Giuseppe. A paranoid creature who could never leave the presence of his mother. His woolen fur was dark gray, while the shorter fur along his arms, calves, and face was black. The horns growing just above his long droopy ears were fairly short, barely curved at all yet. He was thin, and trembled often. His voice was quiet, and his mindset was that of a child.

Another, Giuseppe's mother, was stronger than her son. She stood straight and her build was firm. Her name was Florence, a kind, motherly creature with much patience and understanding. Though at first she could come off as cold. Her woolen fur was white, and the shorter fur was a dark chocolaty brown. The hair on her head was long, white, and wavy, just as her fur. She had three somewhat covered scars on her left cheek.

MAYBE I WANNA BE COOL TOO.

NEW


LOOK I'M ALIVE.

AND I BROUGHT YOU A BUNNY.

Yeah, seriously, my life is so incredibly boring. I'm not even drawing that much anymore, and what little I draw, it doesn't usually have to do with TEF. Uraaaaah

So here's Black Ear again because his old drawing SUCKS.

COME ON OVER if you want

BECAUSE I AM SO. DAMN. BOREDDDDDDD.

So I dunno, I wanna keep this small really >> 4 people at the most? And there can be more than one character to every person. *sigh* IIIII DUNNOOOOOOOO Human or deer idontcare literate please

Skokey
Fulu
Vessel
Clock (or his many personalities)
Tropa
Bellsio
Andy
Faytha
Ketan

Mercutio (LOLDEATHSENTENCE)
Skelter (...*snortloldie*)
Ravioli LOLNO

L
Russia
Korea
Canada
Sweden
yeah they're up for grabs too i guess

1. Skokey
2. Fulu
3. Vessel
4. Xylia
5. Zilant
6. Andy
7. Jun
8. Bellsio
9. Faytha
10. Spade
11. Cal
12. ... CANADA

1. Who would make a better college professor, 6 (Andy) or 11 (Cal)?
OH MY GOD I WANNA GO TO CALS CLASS

2. Do you think #2 (Fulu) is hot? How hot?
Not... really

3. 12 (Canada) sends 8 (Bellsio) on a mission. What is it, and does it succeed?
"GET ME SOME MAPLE SYRUP"

4. What is or would be 9's (Faytha) favorite book?
Like... Tanglewreck or something

5. Would it make more sense for 2 (Fulu) to swear fealty to 6 (Andy), or the other way around?
Uhhhhh probably the first one...

6. For whatever reason, 5 (Zilant) is looking for a roommate. Should 5 (Zilant) share a studio apartment with 9 (Faytha) or with 10 (Spade)?
Uhhh either way that's very... pedo of you, Zilant...

7. 2 (Fulu), 7 (Jun), and 12 (Canada) have dinner together. Where do they go, and what do they discuss?
FULU: Okay so... Who's paying for this again?
JUN: I'm guessing Canada, since he's the only one eating.
CANADA: I LOVE IHOP

8. 3 (Vessel) challenges 10 (Spade) to a duel. What happens?
Ohmygosh LOL I'm guessing Vessel since he's older and taller but... Spade works out... Hmm..

9. If 1 (Skokey) stole 8's (Bellsio) most precious possession, how would 8 (Bellsio) get it back?
Bellsio would.... gnaw his leg off.

10. Suggest a title for a story in which 7 (Jun) and 12 (Canada) both attain what they most desire.
"I invented syrup!"
i won't even try to explain XD

11. What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted 4 (Xylia) and 1 (Skokey) to work together?
XYLIA: WE HAVE TO SAVE THE WORLD
SKOKEY: FIEN.

12. If 7 (Jun) visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?
Probably great because Jun is epic.

13. If you could command 3 (Vessel) to perform any one task or service for you, what would it be?
GET ME THE COOKIES FROM THE TOP SHELF

14. Does anyone on your friends list write or draw anything regarding 11 (Cal)?

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?”