Interesting video a friend of mine showed me. This sea turtle found a camera that it tried to eat, and somehow managed to record a video while swimming around.

They never asked for anything other than to dance and laugh. Have you ever noticed that?



They don't ask to look special or different. The only accessory they ever wear is flowers in their antlers.



They may not understand what we're saying to them, but in the end, they always smile and nod their head.



They nuzzle anyone and everyone without fear of mates, pride, or antlers.



They are not concerned with the latest gossip or news spreading around.



They love the Forest without question, and it loves them back.



And when they leave, it is bittersweet, because we may never know if they will return, or if we'll ever get to meet them again, but we enjoy their company and treasure the memories they make for us.



....Nameless...

Just a little heads-up to all you young does looking for a mate and eyeballing Quad...

Sorry, but although his mate hasn't been around lately, he is the faithful type.

I know this seems like a mean topic to post up, but I've noticed a lot of 'love-at-first-sight' topics/comments going around on the community site, and also have noticed in-forest that some deer who Quad dances with and such seem to hang around him a little too close later on. There have been at least two does that were following his every move and stuff when I was trying to take screenshots.

Long story short, I know there are does that like big, fat, goofy deer like this:



...but he is taken. Please look for someone else to be your mate.

Oh by the way, Mazey (Quad's mate) did mention that she's gotten her TEF fixed, so she said she plans to pop in the Forest some more.

And Quad will be waiting for her at the Crying Idol.

Check this topic for info!

Warning! This story is told by an evil character and thus may be too mature for some readers. Read at your own risk!

Unicorns are real! as told by Iugulare

"Get comfortable, because this story is true, and unlike what many idiots believe, Unicorns are not cuddly horses! In fact...", Iugulare smirks, "they're infectious just like me."

"Where people got the idea that unicorns are nice creatures is beyond me. They hate the world, hate all creatures, and to cross one would be unfortunate. Yes, unicorns look like horses, but their 'skin' is really an infection like mine is. Their bodies are completely gelatinous. They do, however, have organs and bones, and yes, their lone horn is part of the skeleton. Now, this is where unicorns are much, much different than what has been told about them."

The stoat sits, "Unicorns do not graze, but instead are predators. They devour other animals, engulfing them through their body or otherwise just eating them. They digest their prey whole, bones and all. Unicorns are one of the few species in the world that does not leave anything behind. Now here's the interesting part - they cannot reproduce on their own. They must find a pregnant animal, such as a doe, horse, cow, ox...really anything, and impregnate it. How they do so is interesting, too. They partially engulf the pregnant creature and somehow are able to make the young within them mutate into a unicorn. Don't ask me how they do it, magic I guess.", she waves her paws in the air as she says this. "Any pregnant creature that births a unicorn will have a painful, painful experience.

Return to Nature Index

You have found yourself daydreaming during the next few days. You imagine yourself in a wonderful forest, the sunlight piercing the canopy and illuminating the air with rays of light. You see specks of pollen float around aimlessly, and in the distance you see great deer enjoying the scenery and grazing without fear. You truly think that these visions are of the Endless Forest, as if it was a very real place.

That night, you fall asleep and dream once again of the same place. You find a waterfall, and taking a sip of the water from the pool below, you see yourself...as a doe. You never noticed you were walking on four legs, and this truly surprises you.

You then find yourself sitting on a fallen log, in your human body. The dreams hit you - they were from the doe whose spirit now fills you. You were seeing the world through her eyes.

You realize that you are in a similar place to the dreams you had seen. You see your deer nearby, and you hear the faint sound of water. Standing, you greet your friend, who bows and says, "Now that you have become one with the spirit of the doe, you will begin to feel the world around you much clearer. It is difficult for humans to listen to nature, as their heads are always cluttered with their daily lives. For deer and other animals, it is much different. We have few worries when we are connected to the land, and it is kind to us in return. When nature decides that it is time for us to die, we willingly accept our death and give ourselves back to her. And then, we are always given a choice...", they pause here.

"A choice?", you ask. The deer nods, they knew you would ask. "We are given the choice to have another life or to rest eternally.", they say, "Now you understand why I know so much about the humans from so long ago. I was there living alongside them."

You start to wonder about this yourself.

Check this topic out for info!

The Spirit of Anger as told by Quad

Once there were two stags, a grey one who was old but wise, and a brown one who was young but stubborn. The two deer often bickered about little things. The grey deer thought the brown should listen to his words of experience, but the brown deer wanted to do things his way and hated being lectured.

One evening, the two of them were so angry with each other that they lowered their antlers toward one another and began to fight. Their antlers crashed and shook the silence of their land. They scared away all other creatures around them, each deer determined to take the other down.

As the fight continued, something appeared before them - a great forest spirit that looked down at the two stags curiously. The two deer stopped their fight, both shocked at the appearance of the great spirit. The creature was massive, with a body similar to a deer's, but had a long snout with rows of teeth. His eyes were blood red, glaring down at the two who were considerably smaller.

"Keep your anger at each other.", the spirit said to them, "It pleases me to see such hatred."

"I'm not here to entertain you!", the young brown stag called out.

The spirit laughed, licking his lips, "You will continue fighting, or I will devour you both!", the spirit replied, "How about a challenge? I will spare the winner's life. Now, fight!"

The two stags looked back at each other, both having the same idea about the spirit's words. Neither wanted to die today.

The two locked antlers once again, both struggling to force the other down, both with the same determination. However, one of the stags slowly was losing his strength.

The brown stag collapsed, forced down by the older stag. His antlers pressed against the defeated brown's, as if he was declaring his victory.

Do you have writers/art block? I came up with an idea that I know has been done before but thought would be great to do again.

For the writers - write a story told by your deer. It can be any kind of story, such as a legend, poem, myth, short story, and so on. While I'm not enforcing any 'rules' on this, I would prefer that your story isn't starring your own deer. It would be great if you can write the story about someone else's character. However, if you can't decide on anyone to write about, it can be about anonymous characters. I'll make a list of everyone's story on this page, and you can write multiple stories if you'd like.

For the artists - it would be great if you can do some artwork inspired by the stories. Multiple people can do artwork for one story, and I will display artworks done on this page too. Artworks can be any way you do them - sketches, digital work, photo manips, however you like.

Anyway, let me know if you decide to participate, and I'll post your links up here.

Hey guys, I had a question for you:

For those who have been reading my Return to Nature stories, while you are reading any particular chapter do you ever feel like a song is playing in your head? Or have you read them to music? Is there any songs that make you think of this series?

If so, then out of curiosity, what songs do you think fit the story? It can relate to one story or the entire series itself, and of course can be any kind of music at all.

Thanks for any feedback, my plan with this is maybe to get a little more inspiration for future RtN stories. You may not know but I often am inspired by music. Many of my previous stories were inspired by songs, especially bands like Shinedown and Nickelback, but also others such as Enigma.

The only song that really comes to mind for me is "Return to Innocence" by Enigma

Return to Nature Index

Another day passes and you come home. You strangely aren't hungry this afternoon, and decide to take a nap in your bed. You awake in what seems like a moment and find yourself in a dense jungle. The bed you had been sleeping on had become a great boulder. You stand and look around, noticing a lone path leading away from where you were. Instinctively, you follow it.

You eventually come to a cliffside, where you meet your deer once again. "Are you ready to see something that has been untouched by modern humans?", they ask. You nod curiously, "Show me.", you say.

The deer turns, placing their hoof in a little groove on the cliffside. It seems to fit perfectly, and emits a great light when they remove it. A large portion of the cliff suddenly disintegrates, revealing an old cavern that had not seen daylight in a long time.

"It looks dark in there.", you say. Your deer looks to you, "Hold out your hand.", they say. You do so, and the deer closes their eyes, "Grant us light so we may see the dark.", they pray. At once, you watch as a glowing orb of light appears on your hand. "Whoa...", you say. The deer nods, "Let's go.", they reply.

You lead, entering into the cave. It seems somewhat musty, but the ground is solid and looks like it has been naturally carved. Your deer follows, their pictogram illuminating the place as well. The tunnel continues for a little while, and you notice stalactites and stalagmites that rise from the ceiling and floor. You turn to your deer, "What if it caves in on us?", you ask. The deer smiles, "Don't worry, it won't. You're safe here.", they reply.

The two of you soon find a great chamber. It fills you with absolute wonder, and the orb of light leaves your hand and floats to the center, growing brighter and illuminating the entire place.

Today I had a realization. A reoccurring dream I've had for as long as I can remember has been speaking to me the whole time, and I haven't been listening until now.

I had the dream last night, though each time it is a little different. Usually the dream involves me driving on a stretch of the interstate that is not fully completed. There are usually segments of the road, like overpasses, that rise up and just stop:



Occasionally I'll see construction workers there, looking at what they're going to build next. I never know where I am heading to when I am driving, and for some reason in my dream last night, instead of my car, I was driving a motorcycle.

So it hit me this morning - where is somewhere I've passed on the interstate that is always being worked on? Where have I seen this place in my dreams?

Texas! There's always somewhere we passed in Texas where on I-110, the interstate is always under construction.

My dream is telling me that my future is in Houston, where I have been considering going to school at either Texas A & M or The University of Houston for my Master's degree. My dreams have been encouraging me to go there.

As my mom suggested when I told her about this, she said once I finish my studies and am a working geologist, maybe, just maybe, the interstate in my dreams will be finished and I can follow the road to where I want to go with my life.

Kind of crazy, huh?