The Reference Desk: La [Biography, Character/Player Updates]
August 26, 2010 - 4:58am — AlisonRobin
Most Recently: Back, briefly. Discord is Alison number zero three seven one if anyone wants to chatter. I'm trying to get pages working again after dropbox's policy change. I'm just hosting the files now where I host some other stuff.
Being that I am trash, there is now a La tumblr.
Spoken Name: La (humanuses); Archaeologist, Librarian, Researcher Age: Five; arrived in The Forest on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010. Sex, Gender: Female/Doe/Hind, moderately feminine. Irrelevant to character. Real Name:La's Pictograph can be seen in my avatar, with reduplicating circles and isosceles triangles, plus a strange little fifth mark on the side I can't explain. Click for most complete set of visual references, though still a WIP.
Physical Traits and Mannerisms of the Body La's facial structure is fairly typical for Endless Forest deer. She has wide set eyes, a broad nose, and a mostly lipless mouth. She would not be considered pretty by most standards. I never draw her face the same way twice because I'm quite quite faceblind even in real life, and how pretty La is has never affected her as a person. She is usually monochrome (though still a bit brown due to natural brown coloration underneath the spell colors) and tends to look drab in most light.
Four feet tall at the withers, she could look many humans in the eyes comfortably.
La's obsession with humans has caused hand-like marks to form in her pelt and antlers. La has hand shapes over her eyes, shoulders, and hips as well as in her antlers. La's fur is soft and floofy, good for cuddles. Her antlers do not shed but are also done growing for good (unless changed by magic, in which case it seems anything could happen). They are slightly flexible, as if made of stiff rubber, and no matter what spell is cast on her the tines will always be blunt. Sometimes they stick out farther than others or in other directions if she sleeps on them funny. When other spells are cast on her, she will always have hands visible on her somewhere, and her antlers will always have hand shapes to them regardless of shape, so on occasion you may see her wearing all kinds of spells.
Under the regular forest smells of grass, water, wood, dirt, and deer smell, La smells like a new book, and it's the hard cover edition, baby. She can speak softly and still be intelligible, and she can make her voice carry far without shouting. La can sound as strict as a librarian scolding someone for a late return or as kindly as a kindergarten teacher helping a student up on the playground after a fall.
La is often turned into other creatures, though she cannot change herself. She maintains her monochromatic coloration across any form that she takes thanks to the power of the Forest magic, and is black in the same places and white in the same places across different animals. When not a deer, her handprint shapes are replaced with hoofprint shapes to reflect where her heart really is. There are always hairless or featherless white circles where her antlers should be. She always maintains her voice and book-scent.
As a human, La's eyes are on exactly the same level as her eyes when she is a deer. She has short hair and the body structure of a healthy person who exercises regularly but mostly does cardio. She is otherwise very average in build. She resists the wearing of clothes except by necessity to be polite and stay warm. She has limited finger coordination and struggles with things like forks, doorknobs, and other fine motor tasks.
Personality, Emotions, and Philosophies La is a bookworm whose life has been all study with little opportunity to apply what she has learned. At one time she had dreams of being a widely respected researcher, but she has given up on that and now just wants to find kind deer to engage her in conversation because it's rare for anyone to read what she writes. She loves to share what she knows and learn new things, and she loves to talk. If you love to talk too, that's fine because she also loves to listen to your stories. La appreciates but has no talent for art. She is very laid-back about her beliefs and accepting of others' differences unless they are willfully ignorant or intentionally cruel.
The doe can be easily excitable but also easily frightened, and in stressful times her emotions can be all over the place. She isn't as playful now as she was as a fawn, but she still likes to watch play and occasionally join in. Her favorite game is running at others from the side and leaping over them. La absolutely loves being turned into other animals, and usually spends hours in a form. She likes the curiosity of fawns and the conversation and wisdom of older deer. Please assume in The Forest that she is chattering pleasantly (or listening when you chatter back if you like) when your deer is keeping her company. If you are a fawn she will do her best to give you a proper education even if she is playing with you.
Often, La is wrapped up in small details and has difficulty seeing The Forest for the trees, so to speak. She can very easily come across as dopey if the person speaking to her is not making the same connections that she is, or because La will often speak about things without providing adequate context, e.g. telling humans "I've been a squirrel before and..." or other things that wouldn't make sense to a layman.
Conversely, she can be extremely to the point, and her typical threat-response is with a wit and sharp tongue that only shows up when she may be in danger. La notices more than others think and usually knows if someone is a potential risk. She'll fight with her words by being precise and truthful, and that's usually enough--sticks and stones can break bones, but the pen is mightier than the sword. These are only last-minute tactics to diffuse a threat-situation though--if she's actually in trouble, she'll just sprint. If she has to, she will protect a fawn by being a meatshield (and has in the past been injured this way).
La is very pious towards The Twin Gods but has put time into learning about some human religions as well, mainly studying Christianity and assorted varieties of European paganism. La believes that the role of religion in a person's life should be palpable, and worships The Twin Gods because they are present and part of The Forest--she would likely lose her affection for them if they left for good and would perhaps worship the sun instead.
La has no inclination or intention of ever having a mate or romantic partner. She is oblivious to flirtation and will just think you're being weird if you try it with her. She thinks kissing is gross. She just wants friends.
If La put stock in astrology, she would be a Virgo (analytic and helpful) or a Gold Tiger (enthusiastic and brave).
When in human form, La doesn't eat meat even though she has the option. She believes that humans, as omnivores, should eat meat to respect their evolutionary heritage, but she does not because she comes from a line of herbivores, and her people are not meant to eat flesh.
La uses the word "people" to generically refer to deer, humans, and any other entity with a sense of self-identity. Typically when she says "deer" she refers specifically to her human-faced Endless Forest kin, not other kinds of deer or deer-like beings that live in The Endless Forest.
Story and Plot Elements, Pathways Forward La is not an especially exciting person, but exciting things happen to her and she tends to roll with the punches. Because of her insight into the human world, La uses the Gregorian Calendar to keep track of time.
La came to exist on August 24th, 2010. She acquired her book shortly thereafter, or it acquired her. She learned to read before she learned to speak and didn't speak until late September 2010.
Shortly after physical maturation in late September 2010, La became reclusive and mostly sequestered herself to focus on studies. She returned in late December 2013.
On Mardi Gras 2014 she encountered one of The Gods in orb form and saw a disco ball, and was also witness to an airplane flying over The Forest. Somehow, she was invisible to all other deer (but they were visible to her) and a motionless owldeer wore her pictogram at the ruins and several of La's friends later told her about the owldeer. (I even saw it myself on my partner's computer, looking between his screen and my own.) The owldeer's importance on La's life and story is yet unknown.
On March 11, 2014, La woke up with a skull stuck to her face that was impossible to remove. The story is recounted here with illustrations and it is ongoing. On March 15th, she again woke up with a skull but this time also with the rest of the skeleton that goes with the skull.
On Easter 2014 La ate the tree eggs and played with bubbles for the first time with Tanpopo and Twist. She wonders who sets up the candles, who lights them, and how they get to some of the places they get.
On May 4th, 2014, she was turned into a giant dove, thanks to the Glitch Skull's glitch magic. She spited it by enjoying herself. Later, on July 17th, 2014 the Glitch Skull tried a new approach and got rid of all of La's spells while she slept, but she's a tough cookie. La had fun running around naked for a while and even reverted to a fawnhood state. Then on the next day she woke up again as an adult with all of her spells returned to her. Called the Glitch Skull on its shenanigans and went naked anyway, even going so far as to be a fawn in order that her magic wouldn't stick. Allowed her magic to come back naturally by letting friends and strangers cover her with spells.
On July 29th, 2014 La went on an hour long meditation walk organized by Quad. It started at The Old Oak, which unnerved her, but she reasoned that nothing bad would happen if she was surrounded (and protected) by a herd of other deer. She was right--and making it to The Old Oak was the worst part. Meeting Quad there and finding him dancing made her feel better, though she still never went under the tree. The meditation walk was wonderfully soothing after that, and La stayed the entire time.
During October 2014 when many of the forest folk were rutting, The Glitch Skull became enormously active and has been casting spells on La almost non-stop. She has given up on trying to shake off these frustratingly resilient spells for now since new ones keep coming in hopes it would frustrate the Skull.
La celebrated her fourth birfday on August 24th 2014. A cake from The Endless Cake dimension (neighbor to The Endless Forest) appeared and she attempted to eat it but failed due to endlessness.
For Halloween Eve, October 30th, 2014, La met the Big Zombie Deer Velocity for the first time. Later, she met the god Auriea and nuzzled her. She was gifted with a green luchador mask. She followed her god to The Old Oak and fearlessly followed her inside of it--yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me--and followed her after that to De Drinkplaats. While a crowd of naked deer frolicked, La found Auriea and they stood together without magic, side by side. Screens.
La spent the end of 2014 and all of 2015 and 2016 mostly absent from the forest, focusing on her education. She misses her friends but feels a spiritual call to pursue knowledge.
On more than one occasion La has been able to travel outside The Endless Forest and she assumed a human body. Because of her pelt spell sticking to her human skin and the fact that she is a deer at heart with no true human skills, La has proven absolutely unable to pretend to be a normal human in any convincing way. Her trips there are either comedies of errors or very dangerous situations indeed.
And of course, there's always more being added.
Skills, Talents, and Accomplishments of Note La has nothing to separate her from other Deer except her hard work, diligence, and the ability to draw careful conclusions through analysis of facts. La is a polyglot, reading a mix of modern and dead languages relevant to western literature including Old, Middle, and Modern English, Norman, Modern French, Classical Greek, and Latin in addition to her native Deer language. Her pronunciation is imperfect for most and she has a Deer accent (whatever that sounds like). She is good at turning misfortune and failure into opportunities to learn. She thinks outside the box. I would also consider it a power that she does not experience the emotion of boredom--the closest thing she feels is sleepiness and she often ends up using an open book as a pillow.
Her second favorite place to sleep is under the slanted rock in The Playground, around (357,394), because a Kind Stranger kept her company there one night when she was a fawn and they were the only deer in The Forest. After that, she likes the mushroom ring nearest The Ruins and sleeps there whenever she wants to feel safest.
She often wanders around The Forest, especially if she sees a pictograph that she recognizes or is off investigating something. You may see her running around aimlessly and weaving through trees or performing figure eights--it probably means she is trying to look at every side of a thing, or she just feels like moving around. It's possible she is also looking for the exact, proper location of something.
The only place she will NOT go is into The Old Oak, as she believes that it is a well of bad things. She is willing to go near it if there are enough deer around her to keep her safe, but that's her limit. The one exception is when she followed Auriea inside, certain that her god would protect her.
Reasons to Not be Alone, Reasons to Smile La has no family and was born into the world without parents. The Book is her family.
La has many friends and acquaintances whom she enjoys and treasures. She looks for them in moments of awakeness and often tries to stir up activity if she sees them out and about--otherwise she'll usually join a cuddle puddle or just sit with them.
While accepting and loving of all those she knows, La can still be leery of strangers. Individuals who carry themselves in threatening ways, are armed in any sense, or have features typical of carnivores can make La nervous and she is less likely to approach and converse with them. In some but not all cases she considers the wearing of skulls and furs to be morbid and possibly offensive to her herbivore sensibilities, but tries not to judge the cultures of others. If she has heard rumors (i.e. if I read it in a biography) that a person is exceptionally aggressive and especially if they have killed someone before and that is widely known, La will avoid them peacefully but if approached will allow conversation.
La believes that by either magic or nature, deer that most closely resemble The Twin Gods (which is to say, true-blooded Endless Forest Deer with humanoid faces) are the most natural residents of The Forest, but she also believes that there is room for everyone in The Endless Forest and doesn't think that her gods would turn away any good-hearted asylum-seeker. She is usually pleasantly amused to see deer with inhuman faces, or even intelligent animals other than deer who have come to the Forest. She simply doesn't understand why anyone would want to come here, and is flattered.
Vipin- The first deer La ever met. Incredibly terrifying on his own, but he was sitting down at the time and that lessened La's fears. She quote-unquote sneaked over to him because her desire for company outweighed her fear of him and sat a few feet away. Later inched closer. Regards very kindly. Hasn't seen in a long time.
Flyleaf- One of the first deer La ever played with. An infinitely kind soul full of laughter and love, La is always happy to see Flyleaf and would do anything for him.
Ourania- One of the first deer La ever played with. Regards her very fondly. Hasn't seen in a long time.
Kind Stranger- La was often completely alone in The Forest as a fawn and on a dark and stormy night (in the 3.4 beta) she found only the Kind Stranger in the woods. She went to them very sadly and miserably and found comfort and shelter in their company under a mushroom and later underneath the slanted rock in The Playground. Hasn't seen them since and sometimes thinks maybe she imagined them.
Gustiro- Present for the first time La was ever helpful, before she even learned to talk. Gustiro's antlers were stuck and La helped him get un-stuck. Gruff, but he is La's definition of traditional masculinity in deer. Regards very fondly and recently reunited with him.
Kheiron- The first deer that La feels took her seriously, and the first deer that she introduced to The Book. She wasn't talking yet, but La wanted to talk with him more than anyone else in her childhood. Loves his playful nature. Hasn't seen in a long time.
Vaq- An individual she met when he was a fawn. Watched him grow up and developed a strong friendship with him. His extremely extroverted playfulness and tricksiness is counter-balanced by her preference for quiet tricks. He clearly cares for her in return, but La knows that he sees everything about how she likes to study the world around her as heretical and bizarre and has told her that her study of glyphs in pictographs "ruins the magic." She disagrees.
Walter- Owes him gratitude for his patience with her in helping her gather together her magic. La is oblivious to his past. Has run into him again now that he is a fawn and recognizes him by his pictograph. Intends to be nurturing in any way she can.
Ben- Such an eternal source of love and kindness. La seeks out Ben's pictograph any time she can sense it and will cuddle with him and romp with him any chance she gets.
Nika- In La's opinion, the best traveling and adventuring partner that one can have. Nika's life experience and La's technical understandings mix well together. La also probably owes her some money for buying her human clothes. A source of comfort and reassurance and La firmly believes that Nika could kick anyone's butt.
Toya- A sweet and mysterious soul, definitely an artist. Has been pranked by her spells and always surprised to see the way that Toya's visage can change. Hasn't seen her in a while.
Jennie- A wonderful playmate. La is always amused by her antics and happy to see her, but unnerved to see her with a different pictograph lately. Hasn't played with too much recently.
Kio- Much like Ben, Kio is a well of neverending love. La is enticed by her otherworldliness and mystery and seeks her out for cuddles and romps at every opportunity.
Twist- A squirrel! La doesn't know her well and hasn't spent an immense amount of time in her company, but owes her her life.
Stitches- The character of a fraudulent player who lied to the community, so a complicated entry. But, regardless of the player, the character did exist and La did know him as a very sad fellow. Kept him company when possible to cheer him up and attended his wedding, though assumes it is dissolved with the character's absence.
Arcus- A fascinating chimeric person. La doesn't know her intensely well but enjoys her. Attended her wedding to Stitches.
Shahla- A tough gal. La aspires to be more like her in that regard. Enjoys her company quietly most times, sort of observing and admiring.
Peppino- Complicated. Distantly aware that he may have a crush on her that La will never ever want to nor be able to reciprocate. La fails to notice his advances and maintains a strictly platonic friendship, taking advantage of his know-how of elements of the human world that she fails to comprehend. He has saved her life.
Sunna'May- A shape-changer that La finds intriguing. Has played with her and been amazed by her magic in the past, really blown away by her. Wonders what her story is.
Adrien- A deer raised by rabbits. La would like to pick his brain more than she has been able to. Knows him to be a genuinely caring individual. Met him when trying to hatch The Nubbin.
Trout- A unicorn true to unicornness. Beautiful as nature and just as kind. Has experienced and seen Trout taking on burdens for others out of selflessness and was immensely proud when Trout began to talk.
Tanpopo- The sweetest little girl. La is deeply invested in her well-being and frightened for her since she hasn't seen her or Oduvanchik for a while. Intervened in the past to step between Oduvanchik and Tanpopo and keep them apart, seeing the demon as nothing but dangerous for the fawn, but was unable to keep them separated.
V- An anxious, self-conscious person. La wants her to feel good about herself.
Cian- A young boy with a big imagination that La adored. Loved to play make-believe with him and tell him stories. Watched him grow pretty fast, he was always big for his age. Hasn't seen him in a while.
Palila- A very sweet young thing that never really had time to blossom before her player was bullied off the site. What I saw on the forum wasn't pretty. PSA: It's never okay to bully a child, no matter what. Even if a kid does something bad, they are still a kid and they need to be taught, not insulted. Don't let a few jerks ruin stuff for you.
Isca- A very magical young thing that La met trying to hatch The Nubbin. Believes she will grow up right.
"Nubbin"- An alien! La is invested in its well-being but is scared to take a strictly parental role with it, so she got it a cow to provide it with food.
Oduvanchik- A straight up monster from another world that came out of The Old Oak. Terrifying. La would avoid him completely if he didn't hang around Tanpopo. Has clashed with and been injured by him.
La is always open to meeting new people of all kinds, but if you look scary it might be best if you initiate.
Artifacts for Museums and Other Acquisitions La isn't much of a hoarder and has a tenuous concept of ownership at best. For better or for worse she has learned from humans when reading about them. Her view of non-dangerous objects is that they are meant to be shared and kept in good condition, and is in love with the ideas of museums and libraries because they exemplify what she believes responsible ownership should look like. She will happily share and show off her acquisitions to people who would like to learn about them.
Green Luchador Mask cast on La by the God Auriea on October 30, 2014. Outside of The Book, La's most precious possession and symbol of her faith. Her Luchadora name is "La Cierva." A terrible joke.
Blanket from The Human World, gifted by Peppino - His parting gift to La after taking her to The Human World. She keeps it in her nest area near The Point of Origin and it is usually covered with dry grass and leaves. In warm weather she sits on it and in cold weather she uses her mouth to pull it over her and wear it kind of like a cape. She will not hesitate to share it with anyone in need.
Book of Fairy Tales from The Human World, gifted by Peppino - Peppino's other parting gift to La. She read it in a day. It is kept in a hidden room under The Ruins to avoid damaging it but she will happily share it any time she thinks someone would like it.
Shard of Alien Egg salvaged from The Nubbin's Egg - La helped hatch an alien, and after its birth she saved a few shards of the egg. The largest is about the size of her face. She wants to analyze it to learn what the superhard sparkling blue material is made of. She keeps them in one of the rooms under The Ruins and will show it to others.
Glitch Skull and Accompanying Skeleton - The skull and skeleton of a mysterious, unidentifiable, asymmetrical creature. These objects are connected to an entity that haunts La and inflicts glitches on her. She keeps it wrapped in burlap as a way to punish the object. Occasionally she takes them with her to meet others if she thinks that they might be able to help her understand what they are, but is generally not keen on showing them off because she views them as threat.
Human Clothes from The Human World, gifted by Nika - a bizarre but plain costume acquired at a human LARP gathering that makes La look out of place in any setting, strange human appearance aside. Made of cotton, is a brownish red. Outfit consists of a sleeveless shirt, chest wrap and a long skirt over shorts. La struggles to don and remove the clothes because she is inexperienced. Philosophically and because of deer habits, she might be happier as a nudist but understands the social importance of clothes. They conveniently vanish when she returns to The Endless Forest.
Old Books from under The Ruins. Nika showed La where they were. The books are mostly gospels and other copies of the bible.
Ruin Rock A piece of rubble from The Ruins with some lines on it. La doesn't know where it belongs but keeps it because she found it as a fawn. A squirrel stole it and La had nearly given up on finding it when the doe Jezara found it and brought it to her again!
La is always looking to acquire strange things, but she especially likes books, items of historical significance, items connected to mysteries, and of course useful things.
La found a large reddish book in The Ename Ruins when she was only a few days old. It imprinted to her and now bears her pictograph on the front cover. It is the doe's window into the human world and her sole companion on lonely nights. The book appears mysteriously when La wants it and vanishes when she stops paying attention to it. It can display whatever it desires (which is often but not always whatever La desires to learn about). Sometimes it will be a show-off and introduce itself with flashy, full-color illustrations. Occasionally it displays a level of prescience and an awareness of its surroundings, usually with the cheeky intention of causing La some mild chagrin. It leaves opinions and comments in footnotes but they are rarely longer than a word or so and often comedic and sassy. The book seems to have some level of dominion over other books as well and can move them the way it moves itself, but this is rarely necessary.
La's underlying scent of books is this book's way of marking its territory.
It has a fear of water, fire, and any vermin that might nibble its pages.
The book may loan itself out to deer other than La on its own whims. Let me know if you just want to interact with the book or want it to cameo/participate in a roleplay you're in, I'll be happy to come over there. It's unlikely to aid evil characters, however.
How I Play La in The Endless Forest La and I react to people much the same way and like to be friendly and happy and playful. We want to run around and play or maybe just sit with you and enjoy some good cuddles. We'll keep our distance and run off if you do something aggressive or angry in or out of character.
We try to prioritize new fawns and nameless deer because they need the most guidance and help. With my player insight I know they are new players; La sees fawns as babies needing guidance and she sees nameless deer as hapless tourists who have no idea what they're doing and who don't speak the local language.
I generally think of biographies I read on TEFc to represent rumors and chatter that La overhears in The Forest when talking to others, so she may have heard of your deer. Obviously La will only be aware of the most superficial things about your character. She's usually up to date on deaths and births because I imagine those are the kinds of things that she hears most from gossipy deer.
La and I will ignore trolls and OOC rudeness both in and out of character. Additionally, La won't be injured by anything that happens in the forest unless I get to talk about it ahead of time with players and we all agree to something, although that is highly unlikely because she is very much not a fighter and not likely to get into fights. If you just start wailing on her in The Forest, tough titty--your attacks mean nothing.
Please don't have bought pictograms interact with La. I'll do my best keep her away from them too so it will be no work for you, I know several of them by heart and will give you space and avoid affecting your play. I do not hate players who have done it as people because I'm not going to let that ruin friendships, but I am upset with the idea of buying pictograms and I think the best way to resolve this for myself and demonstrate that I intend to side with M&A on the issue is to avoid them peacefully in the game.
When I play the game, I play it windowed so if La fails to react to you it means I've tabbed away or something has happened around me and I have had to abandon my computer. Occasionally this means it's frozen up. In-character, if she ignores you, please assume that she isn't doing it to be rude and is just distracted or dopey. She wouldn't want to hurt feelings and I'd rather your character think she's dumb than mean. If I am slow to react or if I moo, I am on my laptop without hotkeys or I messed up when trying to hit them.
Alison Alison is a turd who can't be trusted to hang out enough with you lovely people. I've always kept the game on my mind though.
Jezara listened to this answer with interest. She found La to be fascinating, and she knew so much more than Jezara did. She saw La as a teacher to anyone willing to listen, and that was a 'warm and cozy' thought. Even though she had only been in La's company for a few minutes, it felt like she had been a friendly acquaintance for years. This, Jezara thought, must be what its like for the Deer here. She considered herself a Deer, but Jezara's appearance was definitely not that of the native species.
"Mathematically," Jezara parroted thoughtfully, letting the word ring in the air in the native Deer-tongue. She hadn't heard the word, and La had. She opened her mouth to ask for a definition and another question came with it. "Like... Numbers? And what do you mean by Point of Origin? Is this where everything really started?"
"Yes," La said. "I think that The Entire Forest started at The Ruins, which humans built. I think the statues of the Twin Gods came later. But I don't know how, or why. It's a mystery that I haven't solved, but that I would like to solve."
She scratched behind one of her ears with a back hoof. She was reassured by Jezara's inquisitiveness, seeing her wise owl face and enormous eyes taking in the world around her.
La asked her, "Where did you come from?" She hoped the question wasn't excessively intrusive or rude.
"Oh! That's interesting," Jezara said, like a small child seeing something beautiful like fireworks or snow. She, too, had wondered where the Ruins came from, and where the statues, and the bridge, and the Crying Idol came from too. She just hadn't studied them yet. There was too much to do, especially at this time of year, what with the fog and the flowers and the falling sugar skulls.
La's question came out of nowhere - like a dart, it pierced the conversation. Should she tell? Would La know? "To be honest," Jezara began, "I don't know. I just woke up here."
La smiled and nodded at this answer. "The gods brought you here," she said. She was confident in this answer even though there was really no way of knowing what it was. And around holidays La was especially prone to blame her deities. "Some people come here with their own magic, some people are born here. But the rest of us, I think, are brought by the gods with a specific purpose."
Jezara frowned slightly, only because she was Deer, yet not Deer. How could she be here then, if she was not Deer? But it would make sense if she was complete Deer like La. Maybe the Gods were even more powerful than first thought. Jezara then nodded to say she understood (even though she partly didn't), with a vague face of concentration. She thought about this almost every day, but not like this. Maybe La was right in a way. Maybe something did bring her here, to do something, like her own "theory". But what was it she had to do? Perhaps I'll never know, she thought, ears twitching, following the distant sounds but not honing in on them.
As La had asked a question and received an answer, Jezara thought it was now her turn. "What about you? How did you get here?"
"I poofed into existence a little more than four years ago," La said. "As a fawn. I wandered around and met some nice people but eventually wandered off and kept to myself for a few years just reading. Came back when I felt like I could do more to contribute to others' lives."
La seemed to have calmed down, excitement transmuted to contentment. "And I feel like I do. I've got friends to go on adventures with and questions to answer, I couldn't be happier here."
Jezara smiled. Her response was quite funny, in a way. Compared to Jezara's outlook on life, La"s was very friendly and she seemed to like helping people. Jezara then thought for a moment. She had no plans, other than to find out what happened on that very first day she came to the Forest. She couldn't have just woken up... Could she?
"I have no adventures to go on," replied Jezara softly. "But the mystery of why I am here and how I got to be here is enough for me." She sighed and looked about her. The trees creaked quietly, swaying in the wind. It ruffled Jezara's fur and feathers. See, she thought. Feathers, and no Deer has wings. Jezara thought about it, then pushed the thought and all its questions away. "Questions are good," Jezara added, contrary to what she just did. "I have many a question I want to answer. But I feel only the Gods can give me the truth..."
"You'd be surprised sometimes who has answers to things," La said. "It's not always who you'd expect, and sometimes you have to learn them from objects instead of people. I think you'll do okay though, Jezara. There are so many people I meet who don't even realize that they have questions that they should be asking in the first place. You're on the right track, just make sure you stay there and stay curious. You will be in the middle of an adventure before you know it."
"Thank you," Jezara said, smiling faintly and re-reading what La just said in her head. Jezara had firm beliefs in the Gods, especially because of the giant flowers, the blood Pond, the falling petals and more. But La had reminded her to keep asking questions. Should she ask some now? Maybe La, or someone else, would know where, what, and why everything happened. Maybe they would even be like her- bird-like head, strange wings down their spine... Jezara had, secretly, studied birds and compared them. Not proper study, just looking and observing. But that was enough.
"Don't you think, sometimes, where you were before you woke?"
"I think I was an idea before I woke up," La said. "I think I started simple and when I was left to my own devices that I became complicated."
She flicked her ears to listen to some far away sound. "Not that different than the babies that are made with nature, but less messy, certainly. If I was something else, it hasn't mattered in four years. I've met others from far off places though, they don't always remember it."
La mostly wanted to reserve judgement about Jezara, but she did suspect that she was someone from far away. "I think that for you, the mystery is worth looking into deeply, because wings aren't very common on Deer." She smiled.
Jezara thought La's answer rather fascinating. It was an interesting concept, to be an idea, then formed into a creature by the Gods and set down in the Forest to slowly gain consciousness.
"If you were something... Else, you would know," Jezara replied. "Unless that something else was almost exactly like a Deer." Or you wished not to believe it, thought Jezara sourly.
Jezara lifted her 'wings' and ruffled them a little. "Yes... Wings." She stared at them for a while, then looked back at La. "But I woke up, and so did you. So shouldn't I be a Deer? I can't have come from another place." That was the first time Jezara had looked at La properly- and noticed the markings. They were sort of off-white and... Hand-shaped? "Is that a spell? The hands, I mean."
(Forest-philosophy!
Oh and I saw a face in that art you gave me...)
(A face? Weird, the only one I put there intentionally is Jez's face)
"They're hands," La said. She craned her neck to look over at her shoulders and flank. "I didn't have them as a fawn, but the more I got interested in humans the more they showed up. They aren't a separate spell, they just piggyback on my other spells. Only time they change is when I get turned into something other than a Deer."
La thought some about Jezara's question of identity and species. "I know how we can test to see if you're a Deer."
(Look by her legs, there's a faint blue face-like thing)
The word 'humans' yet again made the doe shiver. She had not liked them since she learnt of them, from eavesdropping on conversations. Of course, she kept that a secret. "That's interesting," she replied with a kind smile. Looking at the patches of white again, she added, "I've never seen a Deer with a pelt that changes like that." She admired the Forest's magic and what it could shape and create. The magic that scared her was Outside magic, the magic that was not native to the Forest.
La's sudden announcement startled Jezara. She stared at the doe blankly, for a while. Then, frowning a little with confusion, she nodded slowly. "Alright... Are you sure?" She wondered if La was interested in this topic, for Jezara certainly would have been comfortable moving on. But the question was still in both does' minds, so it would buzz there like a fly until it was forgotten.
"Well, I'm not positive it would work," La said. She got to her feet and tapped each one on the ground to dust her legs off. "But, it's worth trying! Follow me, yeah? Oh, I can wait for you to tuck your stuff away. I wouldn't want a squirrel to try to steal it."
Jezara laughed while she scooped all her mismatched objects into her little hidey-hole by the Old Oak. She replaced the lilypad and the pile of leaves, then returned to La, her gut filled with uncertainty. Maybe this was the day she found answers. Jezara had always thought it would be a lifetime commitment.
"So where are we going?" Jezara asked, shaking from nose to tail to dislodge some leaves and grit that had stuck in her pale fur.
"The Pond," La said, and spoke the words with a gravity that implied capital letters at the beginning. La admired the hiding space and suspected that it would be wonderfully squirrel proof. "My theory is this. When most deer swim in the pond, their magic washes off. If you get into the pond and you keep your feathers, it means that they aren't part of The Forest's magic and that there's something very special about you."
The Pond? Why on earth the Pond? Jezara tried to think of a logical reason and she grasped hold of a thought just as La began her explanation. "That makes sense," Jezara commented, though she was uncertain about this. Maybe it was the feeling of a test, and that made her restless. Whatever it was, Jezara tried hard to ignore it and retain her confident and strong neutral aura.
La noticed a change in Jezara, perhaps in her tone or a faltered movement, and she paused. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she said.
If La had been in Jezara's hooves, she would have jumped at the chance to try such an experiment, but not everyone thought like she did, and she realized that her new friend might be experiencing some trepidation. "It could be a lot to know."
Jezara thought hard but nonchalantly about this. She may have been unsure, but La's reply let her stubbornness kick in. She shook her head and with a faint smile, said, "No, it's fine, this might be interesting."
Jezara wasn't entirely sure wether this would work, but La's theory seemed reasonably logical, and Jezara was willing to test it out now she had been persuaded. The doe did believe that some things are better kept secret, but thanks to La, this situation was a little different. Perhaps not all her unanswered questions could only be answered by the Gods. Although Jezara had a firm faith in the Twin Gods, La's scientific view on life was shaping her opinions. Though the winged doe could understand logic and some basic science, she was never very good at it and her mind couldn't grasp the concept of numbers at all, no matter how hard she tried. Her forte was language.
Just bumping this because I really need this information. it should have arrived by now, and I made it pretty clear in the original package. I need this info in order to have on record what I have sold. otherwise, as an artist, Ill have no worth. Please respond ASAP and oblige.
Just saying, it appears Alison has been rather busy IRL, and hasn't even had the time to tell us. She may even be in the middle of some kind of crisis. But I do appreciate that you need this information as quickly as possible.
Small bump. Hope whatever you're doing is going well, Alison
Well shit, I don't remember seeing any accompanying pieces of paper in the package when I got it but I absolutely believe that there was one--and at the time I was really excited to get the picture and thought that the paypal receipt would be sufficient paperwork, I didn't even know you'd included something for me to return in the package. I'll dig through my recycling and see what I can find but it might have been lost. If I can't find the paper, tell me whatever I have to do and I will do it even if it costs me more, I'm so sorry to cause you this trouble--it was never my intention. You can also skype me at alisonrobin13 if that's easier for you since life's been wack and I haven't been on TEFc at all lately and we had trouble with e-mail last time.
Agh, sorry for this slow reply. I have not been on top of my life lately, I apologize. I went through my papers and found nothing, which in all likelihood means I have lost it. I feel super bad about this, but yeah if you could send me the paperwork that seems like the only option. Let me know what the mailing fee/envelope/gas/time/anything costs and stuff and I'll gladly reimburse you.
ALISON
YOU'RE ALIVE!
Yasssss I was trying to hunt down your email to see if you were alright. Jezara has come so far since La last saw her! There is another of her kind here and more to come, and Fibonacci and Ramen have joined my army band of characters. It's good to have you back, Alison.
Glad to hear from you though, Ket and i both got excited to see La in game the other day - we almost couldn't believe our eyes.
Hope you're doing okay and your break treats you well!
Y'all are the sweetest people in the world for thinking about me, I missed this place and I missed everyone. I'm hoping I can get back into the swing of things and enjoy the forest with everyone again~
Alison *glomp*
HOLY POPTARTS I THOUGHT YOU DIED AGAIN! Hey, stop giving me heart attacks xD
Please do! But only if your life is completely steady and stable. I've been a bit inactive because of school, I know how it feels sometimes. I'm sure you'd be welcomed with open arms <3
I'm sorry that I was so missed. I don't wanna make you sick!
Right now I'm mostly just checking in every few days to read new threads and see how people are doing. But I want to be back. I'm definitely still available by email/skype and stuff, just in that sort of awkward stage where replying to people feels like an insurmountably difficult chore.
Jezara came and sat by sleepy little La yesterday <3
It's difficult to get back into things, I know. But sometimes you just gotta take a break. Don't rush back, there's a lot here to take in. I've seen you back in-forest lately, that's good! I need to get in-forest more, actually...
Well, in the time you've been gone, a lot has happened. 3 new characters have joined my band, other people have introduced new characters and others have died or left, new and old people have discovered TEF (again, in the case of the latter) and I don't know who was born but it's rutting season and bebes might happen.
Hello! I'm a new fawn in TEF and I think your Bio is lovely. I hope to make ones as cool. My fawn's name is Nolfavrel, but she likes being called by her pictogram as much. I'd like to ask a few questions about TEF if that's ok. I've heard about the hotkeys recently (And there is me, having no idea about them and being super slow by clicking everything -_-) And I'd like to know what the hotkeys are. I've only figured out how to roar by hotkey (F1 to F5? I think). Thanks!
—
"How long does it take to make the forest?
As long as it takes to make the world. Seek wisdom in the depths."
Jezara listened to this
"Mathematically," Jezara parroted thoughtfully, letting the word ring in the air in the native Deer-tongue. She hadn't heard the word, and La had. She opened her mouth to ask for a definition and another question came with it. "Like... Numbers? And what do you mean by Point of Origin? Is this where everything really started?"
"Yes," La said. "I think that
She scratched behind one of her ears with a back hoof. She was reassured by Jezara's inquisitiveness, seeing her wise owl face and enormous eyes taking in the world around her.
La asked her, "Where did you come from?" She hoped the question wasn't excessively intrusive or rude.
"Oh! That's interesting,"
La's question came out of nowhere - like a dart, it pierced the conversation. Should she tell? Would La know? "To be honest," Jezara began, "I don't know. I just woke up here."
Double post, whoops.
La smiled and nodded at this
Jezara frowned slightly, only
As La had asked a question and received an answer, Jezara thought it was now her turn. "What about you? How did you get here?"
"I poofed into existence a
La seemed to have calmed down, excitement transmuted to contentment. "And I feel like I do. I've got friends to go on adventures with and questions to answer, I couldn't be happier here."
Jezara smiled. Her response
"I have no adventures to go on," replied Jezara softly. "But the mystery of why I am here and how I got to be here is enough for me." She sighed and looked about her. The trees creaked quietly, swaying in the wind. It ruffled Jezara's fur and feathers. See, she thought. Feathers, and no Deer has wings. Jezara thought about it, then pushed the thought and all its questions away. "Questions are good," Jezara added, contrary to what she just did. "I have many a question I want to answer. But I feel only the Gods can give me the truth..."
"You'd be surprised sometimes
"Thank you," Jezara said,
"Don't you think, sometimes, where you were before you woke?"
"I think I was an idea before
She flicked her ears to listen to some far away sound. "Not that different than the babies that are made with nature, but less messy, certainly. If I was something else, it hasn't mattered in four years. I've met others from far off places though, they don't always remember it."
La mostly wanted to reserve judgement about Jezara, but she did suspect that she was someone from far away. "I think that for you, the mystery is worth looking into deeply, because wings aren't very common on Deer." She smiled.
Jezara thought La's answer
"If you were something... Else, you would know," Jezara replied. "Unless that something else was almost exactly like a Deer." Or you wished not to believe it, thought Jezara sourly.
Jezara lifted her 'wings' and ruffled them a little. "Yes... Wings." She stared at them for a while, then looked back at La. "But I woke up, and so did you. So shouldn't I be a Deer? I can't have come from another place." That was the first time Jezara had looked at La properly- and noticed the markings. They were sort of off-white and... Hand-shaped? "Is that a spell? The hands, I mean."
(Forest-philosophy!
Oh and I saw a face in that art you gave me...)
(A face? Weird, the only one
"They're hands," La said. She craned her neck to look over at her shoulders and flank. "I didn't have them as a fawn, but the more I got interested in humans the more they showed up. They aren't a separate spell, they just piggyback on my other spells. Only time they change is when I get turned into something other than a Deer."
La thought some about Jezara's question of identity and species. "I know how we can test to see if you're a Deer."
(Look by her legs, there's a
The word 'humans' yet again made the doe shiver. She had not liked them since she learnt of them, from eavesdropping on conversations. Of course, she kept that a secret. "That's interesting," she replied with a kind smile. Looking at the patches of white again, she added, "I've never seen a Deer with a pelt that changes like that." She admired the Forest's magic and what it could shape and create. The magic that scared her was Outside magic, the magic that was not native to the Forest.
La's sudden announcement startled Jezara. She stared at the doe blankly, for a while. Then, frowning a little with confusion, she nodded slowly. "Alright... Are you sure?" She wondered if La was interested in this topic, for Jezara certainly would have been comfortable moving on. But the question was still in both does' minds, so it would buzz there like a fly until it was forgotten.
"Well, I'm not positive it
Jezara laughed while she
"So where are we going?" Jezara asked, shaking from nose to tail to dislodge some leaves and grit that had stuck in her pale fur.
"The Pond," La said, and
The Pond? Why on earth the
La noticed a change in
If La had been in Jezara's hooves, she would have jumped at the chance to try such an experiment, but not everyone thought like she did, and she realized that her new friend might be experiencing some trepidation. "It could be a lot to know."
Jezara thought hard but
Jezara wasn't entirely sure wether this would work, but La's theory seemed reasonably logical, and Jezara was willing to test it out now she had been persuaded. The doe did believe that some things are better kept secret, but thanks to La, this situation was a little different. Perhaps not all her unanswered questions could only be answered by the Gods. Although Jezara had a firm faith in the Twin Gods, La's scientific view on life was shaping her opinions. Though the winged doe could understand logic and some basic science, she was never very good at it and her mind couldn't grasp the concept of numbers at all, no matter how hard she tried. Her forte was language.
::trumpets intensifies::
Hey Alison. Have you filled
Just bumping this because I
Just saying, it appears
Small bump. Hope whatever you're doing is going well, Alison
Well shit, I don't remember
Hmmmm, very odd. I swear I
If you cant find it, Ill guess Ill just snail-mail you some new forms. No worries and no hard feelings.
Le bump :3
Agh, sorry for this slow
Sorry to hear. ): Here's
Oh My Gawd. I.. Was this
My
Gawd.
I.. Was this just... updated?
ALISON
YOU'RE ALIVE!
Yasssss I was trying to hunt down your email to see if you were alright. Jezara has come so far since La last saw her! There is another of her kind here and more to come, and Fibonacci and Ramen have joined my
armyband of characters. It's good to have you back, Alison.I havent tracked this yet? oh
Glad to hear from you though, Ket and i both got excited to see La in game the other day - we almost couldn't believe our eyes.
Hope you're doing okay and your break treats you well!
Was wondering how you were
Y'all are the sweetest people
Alison *glomp* HOLY POPTARTS
HOLY POPTARTS I THOUGHT YOU DIED AGAIN! Hey, stop giving me heart attacks xD
Please do! But only if your life is completely steady and stable. I've been a bit inactive because of school, I know how it feels sometimes. I'm sure you'd be welcomed with open arms <3
I'm sorry that I was so
Right now I'm mostly just checking in every few days to read new threads and see how people are doing. But I want to be back. I'm definitely still available by email/skype and stuff, just in that sort of awkward stage where replying to people feels like an insurmountably difficult chore.
Jezara came and sat by sleepy
It's difficult to get back into things, I know. But sometimes you just gotta take a break. Don't rush back, there's a lot here to take in. I've seen you back in-forest lately, that's good! I need to get in-forest more, actually...
Hope everything's going well over there!
Things are pretty good. So
So far I'm mostly reading bios and trying to figure out what I've missed. Who had kids and who died and who went off on some other adventure.
Well, in the time you've been
Welcome back!
Yaas, welcome to the Tumblr
Hello! I'm a new fawn in TEF
As long as it takes to make the world. Seek wisdom in the depths."
Tracking~
A track
Signature by Wildflowerdeer and Profile by Sybilline
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