I awake on the forest floor, from my bed of moss and leaves, and with the warmth of young sunlight, I instantly feel more confident, and with this confidence, I decide to take my first proper exploration into the forest, which is interesting to say the least. My little namesake symbol has now appeared and I show it off proudly to a couple of midnight blue stags who quickly cast a spell on me, I do not mind walking around in a peacock mask, but it is a funny sort of hello.

I meander thoughtfully through the trees, and watch proud stags with heads full of fork lightening antlers race by, it is true, I cannot wait to be like them. My ramble takes me to a small drinking pool, a couple of fawns greet me and I notice that, as they drink, they are turning into other woodland creatures, curiosity overwhelms confusion and I follow suit. I must say, that being a squirrel running between the hooves of fawns was nowhere near as intoxicating as my first flight as a dove.

Throughout my first trip, my appearance has changed many times, I welcome these changes as they inspire me greatly, it is nice to try various pelts and masks, as they provide a window into the stag I may become, they are also a great way to bond with other deer. The most haunting experience was from a white stag. He came through the trees, slowly walked up to me, reared, cast a spell and ran off. My pelt was completely white and given my connection to wings, I enjoyed this, and was deeply disappointed when the spell wore off. I have not since seen this stag, and he did not have a symbol on his crown. My pelt has also resembled a badger and the deepest red of a poppy.

My morning ends dozing at the pond with the two fawns I had played with earlier on. We were gradually surrounded by stags who also came to sleep near us. I now feel soothed and safe within the forest and have slotted into this new life perfectly. I wonder what else awaits me.

Wingless x