Chapter 2! more under the cut

Lady jewel woke up with a start. Her face was covered in dew. The dew never bothered her before, but this was the first time she ever felt it on her skin. It was an alien feeling, the tingling cold condensation dripping down her hairless face. She wiped it off quickly with the sleeve of her kimono, which was also damp.
“Next time I’ll sleep in that old oak tree near the pond,” she mumbled
Lady made her way over to the pond. All at once the sound of frogs and ducks greeted her as she stooped down to drink. Since she wasn’t a deer now, she had to scoop water up to her mouth with her hands. The water felt uncomfortably cold as she plunged her hands into the crystal clear waters. The cold water stung her hands. She had yet to get used to the lack of fur.
Finally satiating her thirst, she gazed at herself in the pond’s glassy surface. She knew most of the deer around the forest had human faces, but she was not used to seeing it perched on such a thin neck, and her shoulders were so wide...
“Lady.”
once again she was jostled out of her thought.
“Yes momma?” she answered instinctively, recognizing her foster parent’s voice immediately.
“How many times do I...” the kirin shook it’s head, “Look, I’ve got something very important to tell you. Follow me.”
Juniper told Lady everything that was said at the meeting. The kirin even showed Lady the ruins where that wicked magician kept Natalee for all that time. It was amazing how the cage stayed intact for all those years! Their walk ended at the drinkplatts, Lady’s birth place, and the location of the giant crystal poppy. She felt a familiar knot in her throat as she recalled her earliest memories. She remembered her mother’s surprised expression as she opened her eyes for the first time. She felt overwhelmed by everything Juniper had told her.
“I-I think I need to be a-alone for a while,” Lady managed to say between sobs.
“Ok kid,” Juniper replied, embracing lady with it’s long neck, “I’ll be back at the herd if you need me.”
It was hard for the ancient creature not to feel a little choked up, after all Juniper had raised Lady from a helpless fawn. Juniper took one more glance towards Lady before heading back.
Once again, Lady’s thoughts buzzed frantically as she tried to make sense of everything that she had been told about her history. She stared at the giant crystal poppy, hoping for an answer. Juniper had answered all of her nagging questions, but she still felt something was amiss. Why now? What is it that I have to do? She was scared, an emotion she had never felt before. She took solace in the many animals that lived around the magical fountain
Night fell quickly, and Lady collapsed into a deep dreamless sleep.
“Lady Jewel?”
Lady heard a soft warm voice.
“It’s time to wake up.”
This time the voice was of a different pitch, but it still sounded warm and friendly
Once again she expected to feel the cold dew. Without opening her eyes she touched her face. Much to Lady’s surprise, her skin felt dry.
Her eyes opened slowly. She expected to look around and see the birch forest surrounding her, but to her surprise she was no longer at the drinkplatts! She gazed around in amazement, she was in a big beautiful room lined with hundreds of thousands of books. She found herself curled up on a big comfortable bed wrapped in the softest blankets she had ever felt. Lady looked around more to see who was speaking to her. In the doorway stood two identical looking people, one male and the other female.
“Who are you?” Lady asked, “and where am I? Am I dreaming?”
“This is no dream my dear, we are the twin gods of the Endless Forest dear child,” replied the female in her warm and welcoming voice, “and you are a welcome guest in our sanctuary.”
“We understand that you still have many questions about the recent events my dear,” said the male, “But don’t worry, everything will become clear in due time. First we need to teach you everything you need to know about wielding your many powers.”
The male held out his hand.
“We must begin immediately,” he said.
Lady never expected herself to know so many different types of magic such as summoning spells, healing spells, growing spells, etc. One thing was certain, the training was difficult and each skill required time to master. The twin gods were impressed with Lady’s tenacity and willingness to learn all she could. Whenever mistakes were made, Lady would return to her studies to figure out what went wrong and try to improve.
Over the next few days, the strangeness of her new body went away. She began to feel as if she had always been that way. Lady still wondered why none of the other deer seemed to notice her drastic change.
She went to ask her gracious hosts why.
“Oh everyone noticed,” replied the female goddess before Lady opened her mouth to speak, “Physical changes that drastic can never be hidden. However, nobody in the forest cares about how you look. All they care about is supporting one another and making friends. You may look different outside, but you are still the same kind and caring individual on the inside.”
The goddess smiled sweetly and her eyes twinkled as if she was telling Lady a secret.
“And that’s all that matters my dear.”
***
Word of Lady’s disappearance at the drinkplatts echoed through the forest. Rumors and theories spread like wildfire through a dry meadow.
“I heard she was carried off by monsters!” someone remarked, their voice muffled by an incredibly long mask.
“Monsters? get real. I heard a flock of falcons swooped down and carried her away!” replied the wrestler masked companion in a deep echoey voice.
“Falcons don’t flock idiot, and their too small to lift anything bigger than themselves”
“How would you know?”
The conversation grew fainter and fainter as the two deer sauntered further away. Miguel couldn’t help over hearing everything. Miguel and Tulio were once humans. However the 2 spaniards became skull-faced deer in the endless forest was anybody’s guess.
“Tulio, what do you think happened?” Miguel’s english accent was lined with worry, “One moment the little chica’s here, and the next she’s gone! What could have happened? Could she have finally run away forever? I know her transformation was sudden but...”
“MIGUEL!” Tulio cut in, irritated by his companion’s constant worrying, “I’m sure she’s fine. It’s not like there’s any crazy guys running around here. There’s no conquistadors either.”
Miguel cringed at the very thought, but Tulio was right. There were no dangers, no worry of invasion, and definitely no nut-cases. Just a bunch of deer, bats, rabbits, doves, frogs, squirrels, and ravens enjoying life. He still couldn’t help but feel worried. After all, Lady always did refer to him as ‘daddy’ (he was not a mate of juniper, whom Lady often referred to as ‘momma’).
Later that night, Juniper called together all the inhabitants of the forest for the biggest meeting since the abiogenesis. The meeting was short, but Juniper and Ru had to clear all of the rumors that had spread about Lady’s disappearance. Juniper and Ru explained that the twin gods themselves had brought Lady to their sanctuary in order to teach the youth all about the special powers she had inherited from her mother Natalee.
The meeting ended at midnight. Everybody returned to their respective herds, or wandered alone into the night. Miguel and Tulio followed Ru and Juniper back home. At least now Miguel knew where Lady was.
Now he can stop worrying. Tulio thought.