"Anyone here?..."

Her voice is but a whisp of air, so paper thin and hopeless. She knows no one is there, no one ever -will- be there. That is how the Twin Gods seem to want her. She's simply a plaything, a puppet, a voodoo doll in a quiet forest. Her head lowers, feet stagger downwards, sinking to the ground with an abruptness that shakes the forest, with a sound that could only be of a deer.

A lone deer in a lone forest.

Listening to the ducks that she never sees, she rests her head on her pelt. Sniff, the scent of the majestic forest calms her crying soul. Sleepy...sleepy...

A click, and she lifts her head up. There. In the pond. A fawn and a stag dance, the ever loudening tune touches her ears. Another stag faces the middle of the pond, where a fawn stands, staring back. Behind a log, a deer masked as a real deer watches the fools dance 'round.

"May I join in?" smiled Anzel, her heart fluttering with newfound hope.

Dancing, dancing, on their hooftips, just dancing. They don't even hear her.

"Hello?"

Dancing, prancing, back and forth, ever dancing.

Anzel approaches, steps slow and shaky. No response. It was just a trick of the Twin Gods.

With a sigh, she stepped near the deer, and began to dance. The tune grew louder, louder still, shaking her heart and putting a smile upon her face. Despite the fact that she couldn't communicate with the fellow deer, it felt nice to dance with other deer.

After a time, her legs tired of dancing, and she trotted over to the masked deer behind the log, next to the dragonflies.



"Good dancings, friend deer," she spoke, bowing politely, "I hope I can one day meet you."

Everything seemed peaceful, even if every hoof tap was deceiving, and every spell, useless. This was just the way of the Twin Gods. So, without a purpose to her trotting, she left to see what other deer she could see, before their pictograms showed as hers, and the world became too deceiving to allow her to enjoy the pleasure of doll-like company...

---

Quiet. Silence. Solence.

None.

"Not a single deer in the forest."

Anzel's eyes fluttered about, looking for something to do. A pair of azure doves floated by, singing to each other. "Lovebirds," Anzel shook her head, smiling, "lucky, lucky lovebirds..."

Her steps, so calm and soft, lightly touched the ground as she ran. Running, running, towards the Twin Gods, the ever-present divines of the forest.



She reached her destination, and knelt. The glowing graced her head, and slowly, consumed her being in a coat of the purest of whites.



Gracefully, she ran to the pond, dipping her hooftips in the shallow water. Her reflection shone of a spotted coat, like Koi.

Koi of the pond was the only friend Anzel could communicate with. The other fish didn't care for her, but Koi often swam right up to her. When Koi saw Anzel's reflection, Koi swam up and smiled at Anzel, who smiled back.

"Good swimmings to you, friend Koi." Anzel bowed, and the coat vanished, leaving but a trace of blue behind.

---

The Ruin.

Or, as Anzel calls it, the Cemetary.

Her hooves clicked upon the stone floor of what must have once been a beautiful area. She looked from side to side, the elegance of the Cemetary stunned her. Floras and faunas of every kind, climbing out of every crevasse and cranny of the Cemetary.

"How odd," observed the Anzel, "that the dandelions spout from the sides of the ruin. It's as though the place has sprung forth from the earth itself. It truly is wonderous..."

With a final glance around, she tired, and settled down to rest. She was lonely today. No deer graced her sight, not one, for hours on end.

She drifted off into the deepest of dreams...