*vent writing again, plus it does have violence and gore, so be warned*

In a secluded meadow, a small group of three stags grazed, all three knowing one another but not being related in any way. The oldest had gray fur and his antlers were broken and worn. The second was a little younger but still was experienced in life, he had great antlers that were rarely ever used and dark brown fur. The final stag was much younger than the other two, his antlers only sported a few small points, and he had light brown fur. The two older stags were closer together while the younger had wandered a distance away.

The two older deer's ears perked up. They raised their heads and looked to the southeast. They could hear running...sounded like paws...wolves! "They're coming.", the brown stag said. "What should we do? We won't be able to get far if we ran now.", the older gray stag asked. The brown stag looked to the younger deer in the distance, "We'll let him deal with them."

The older stag tilted his head, "But he couldn't possibly fight them all.", he said. The brown stag nodded, "Exactly, he'll buy us time to escape. Quickly, but quietly, let's get out of here.", he replied.

The two older stags walked off into a nearby treeline. When they had gotten out of the meadow, they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. The younger stag would not hear them leave - his ears were not fully formed at birth, so he had a tougher time detecting movement than they did.

But then he smelled something in the air. Raising his head, he looked around for the other two. They had deserted him, and he started to smell something that wasn't right.

Wolves!, he realized, but it was too late to run. The predators had already found him. There were many of them, at least thirty, all different colors and ages, but all barking and howling at their potential meal. Before he could turn and flee, he saw others had cut off all of the escape routes.

He was surrounded.

The stag remembered what his father had taught him, not to run but to fight. He lowered his antlers at them as they came closer. He had never fought predators before, and upon meeting their eyes, he felt his body tremble in fear.

But he held his ground. One of the wolves ran toward him, and adjusting his head, the deer caught the predator with his antlers, piercing him and throwing him down. Another from behind rushed him, and the deer barely maneuvered to defend himself. The two fallen wolves regained their strength but backed off. The stag was doing good, but his strength would not last against the pack.

As others swarmed him, he got sloppy, not realizing they were behind him as they sank their teeth into his legs and back. He cried out but endured, clipping them with his antlers or kicking their faces with his hooves. His body was in pain, and he felt his head become dizzy from fatigue.

At that moment, the wolves overtook him. Five of them rushed in, biting, clawing at him. He could not keep his balance, could not see them, and fell to the ground with a hard thud. The pack then swarmed him, all eager to bite and eat from him.

The deer couldn't cry anymore. He let the wolves destroy his body, and as one wolf sank his teeth into the heart, he closed his eyes and could no longer feel any more pain.

The wolves ate their fill, ripping apart the deer's broken body. They howled in victory, and when there was little left on their prey, they moved on, catching another scent.

Silence filled the meadow at that moment. The body lay quietly in the flowers, blood soaking the ground, seemingly a skeleton with small bits of flesh and muscle left.

And at that moment, a creature appeared and approached the corpse, her hooves touching the ground like a misty haze. Her body was pure white, and her face was covered with a strange mask. She had small flowers growing on her head like little antlers. She bent down and kissed the forehead of the broken stag.

Little by little, his body regrew. The earth provided the nutrients for his flesh and organs to return perfectly. Within moments, a soft, healthy stag lay sleeping on the ground before her.

"My child...", the Forest Spirit spoke, "you have been wronged today. I have returned to you the life that was stolen. Now awake and live for many years to come."

The stag awoke as the spirit vanished. He sat up, and smelled a wonderful perfume from the nearby flowers. The sunlight warmed his body, and he felt himself completely renewed.

He would not recall the previous life he had. In fact, he thought he was only in a deep sleep at that moment. He would graze and be happy for several years.

And incidentally, the wolves soon found the older stags, who slept in a den they had found, thinking they were safe for the moment.

They didn't ponder why they noticed deer bones laying around the place. They awoke in fright as they discovered they had stumbled into the wolves' den. The predators would find a feast awaiting their return.