For OrinocoFlow's Halloween Trades



It was a nice morning, a bit foggier than it had been. The doe let out a gentle yawn as she tried to stand up. She felt a bit more weary this morning than she normally would, as it took her a few tries to stand, and when she was finally on her hooves she stumbled back a bit. The doe looked around, the morning relatively quiet aside from the occasional call from another deer. She felt woozy, so she went straight to the Pond for a drink of water.

Orinoco lapped up the cooling water, and sitting up, she noticed another doe approach and begin to drink from the Pond as well. "Good morning...", Orinoco spoke, and returned to her drink. She waited for a response. Sitting up, water dripping from her chin, she saw the other doe continue to drink, not responding.

"Umm...hello there?", she asked again. The doe kept drinking, not acknowledging her, and then sitting up, she walked away without a word. Orinoco blinked to this, shaking her head, "How rude.", before she walked off herself in the opposite direction.

She would continue on until she noticed a few stags bounding around in a flower patch, pronking and laughing this morning. Orinoco smiled and approached, asking, "Hello there, could I join in?"

They didn't respond. They didn't even stop. They just kept going with their game. "Excuse me!", the doe spoke up. The two stopped, looking around before staring to each other. The first asked, "Did you say something?", the second replying, "No, I thought I heard someone speak...that was really odd."

Orinoco tilted her head to this, "Hello! I'm right here!", she spoke. The two perked their ears and looked around, but apparently not seeing anyone, they shrugged and continued their game.

Annoyed, Orinoco left and walked aimlessly. She eventually found the Ruins, where she heard someone crying. The doe approached, seeing a fawn sitting in the graveyard, curled and sobbing loudly. "Hello there...", the doe spoke, expecting the same lack of a response.

The fawn sat up and gasped, backing away, tears in his eyes, "Wh-who are you?", he asked at once.

The doe blinked, surprised someone finally responded, "Oh, my name is Orinoco...do...do you know if anything weird is going on around here?", she asked.

The fawn sniffled a bit, rubbing his eyes as he shook his head, "No...nothing weird...I just cannot find my mother..."

The doe blinks to this, "Oh, you cannot find your mother? Hmm...well, I will help you if you would like. I'm sure she is around here somewhere.", she replied. The fawn smiled, and approached with a nod, "My name is Spectra..."

"Spectra...what a lovely name...okay, let's go find your mother.", Orinoco said, and looked around for a good bearing. Something told her to go north, so she did, and Spectra followed behind her.

As they walked, Orinoco asked, "How long have you been waiting for her?". The fawn sighs, "I'm not really sure...she walked away and just never came back. I tried to ask for help but nobody would speak to me." The doe thought about this, "Oh? That happened to me as well. I was not able to get anyone's attention."

The fawn stopped, looking as several other fawns were hopping and playing. Orinoco could tell he was feeling lonely as they didn't seem to even acknowledge the two close to them. She reached down and nudged him, "Let's go find your mother, and maybe we can figure out what is going on here.", she offered. The fawn smiled and carried on with her.

They kept going until they found a spot in the Birch Forest. "She's...she's very close...", Spectra said, running a bit faster. Orinoco followed until the fawn stopped, turning back, "I found her!"

The doe was surprised to see bones laying there. In fact, it was a pair - the skeleton of a doe and fawn hidden in the grass. It would have been very easy to pass by without knowing it was there. As Orinoco began to say something, another doe approached, "Spectra? Honey is that you?"

"Mother!", the fawn ran and embraced her mother. Orinoco stepped back and just watched as the two nuzzled each other, very happy to be reunited. The fawn looked back to Orinoco, "Oh thank you! Thank you!"

The doe smiled and nodded, "You're quite welcome.", as she watched the mother and her child vanish into thin air. Orinoco thought she may have understood what was going on, and turning, she would return to the spot where she had woken up. She stopped, already expecting what she would see there.

Her own body, not breathing, lifeless...she had become a ghost this entire time. It was why she could not seem to speak to anyone. She sighed, this morning being bittersweet, as she was glad to have helped Spectra and his mother reunite, at the cost of her being dead. She had so many things to do, so many people to say goodbye to. She wasn't ready to die, not yet.

She would sigh and sit next to her body, wondering what to do now. She yawned and closed her eyes, resting for a moment. She would open her eyes and look around, now her body next to her was gone. She stood and ran, finding the first person she saw, a fawn who was playing with butterflies. "Hello?", she asked.

The fawn smiled, "Oh hello, do you need something?", she replied. Orinoco smiled, "Nothing, you're...you're alive, aren't you?", she asked.

The fawn tilted her head, "Of course I am! What's going on?", already becoming confused.

Orinoco laughed, "That's all I needed, thank you!", she would run off, excited that she was living. But as she neared the Ruins, she slowed to a halt, and blinked.

What she saw was not just one deer...but several, all with strange cyan forms that were see-through. All looking lost and confused.

Orinoco realized at that point that she could now see the deceased...and it would be her job to help them find their peace.

The End