The air was thick with something undesirable, musty, salty, rusty, filling the air with a sense of dread. The trees were silent, wrapped in their green and brown coccoons, waiting out the harsh snow that downed on the forest that day. The birds were gone, migrated south ages ago. Deer were in the forest, but they were hard to spot and careful not to be seen; it was a dead time, when the forest was dead.
Moving amongst the flurry of snow, a large, burly buck with thick, shaggy grey striped fur, a red and cream face, and long antlers that reached backwards, and curled into a skull-like position, was tromping through the white with a determined expression on his facade. Audits were perked forward despite the freezing wind, listening for signs of life amongst the trees.
Nothing.
This worried him deeply. It had been ages since Thsai had seen Seele, and the others who had helped him in his quest, but yet the forest still hung in his silent world, dead and lifeless. But what Thsai didnt know was he was being watched through a pair of malicious eyes...
Snap!
Thsai whirled, eyes wide, antlers poised to strike. He saw nothing, though, and this worried him more. He didnt turn around when he heard the other noise, he just waited, until he heard the crunch of snow beneath hooves. He turned and jumped forward, letting out an angry bellow.
Before him, a small white doe was standing, her eyes wide in fright.
"Who are you?" Thsai asked, his voice thick with anger. The doe dragged her hoof along the ground, and sighed.
"I am the princess you and your sister saved; dont you remember?"
Thsai gasped. Yes, it was true; many moons ago he and his sister Emiva had rescued a princess doe caught in weeds under the lake. He hadnt planned to see her beautiful face again.
"I recognize you now," he said. He could also sense something else about the princess; she was timid and kept looking over her shoulder.
"Thsai, listen closely," she whispered, "The one who first started your quest is here. He sent me. I was supposed to trick you; he wants you dead. But his game is not over. You did retrieve the stone, but he wants it from you. You need to regroup your original group that helped you retrieve the stone; they are your only hope to survive. Listen, Thsai. He will not stop till he has the stone, because the stone is the key to controlling the--"
She cut off suddenly, and then whirled. "He is coming......" she murmured, and bolted through the trees, camoflauged by the blinding snow...