[Warning: Mature stuff ahead and all that. Sensitive kiddies, beware XD]
Also if you would like to contact me for any reason, email at or Skype: Shioriness
D A R C Y --------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . U P D A T E S . . . June 1st
Mental |||||||||||||||||||| Physical
"The poisons aren't helping anymore.
I keep up my consumption though, afraid...- afraid of what will happen if I give up. Ha. No. I know very well what will happen. I'll be overcome by madness- like my mother; my brother. For so long now, spiteing them has been my motivation to keep going. I thought I could prove them wrong. I thought I could show them that I was capable of love, and that others were capable of loving me, too.
Always the fool...
It's all a joke now - waking up every day, going through the motions. Do I look thinner? Sometimes I forget to eat...Well, aside from the plants that feed by growing nausea. I feel so sick, but somehow it's still better than the alternative...
I did venture down to the pond today. I stood ankle-deep in the water for the longest time, staring out across it's surface, looking for those devilish eyes amongst the lilypads. 'Neath...would he take me if I lay down and offer myself? Could it be that easy? He never showed, of course, and I remember laughing so hard I had to vomit in the reeds.
Heh, 'reed's. A fitting place for vomit.
The taste of my own blood still lingers on my tongue. Perhaps I wont have to go looking for the Reaper. Perhaps he'll find me first. I shouldn't care, but...the thought doesn't sit well with me. I can't die from this. I can't simply lay down and let myself wither away. But why? It was not as though my existance deserved an anymore nobler end... Yet my body aches - not just from sickness, but restlessness. That old familiar masochism that yearns for a more violent death. Go down fighting? There was an idea...
Alas, just an idea. I've always been full of silly ideas. In the end, would it really matter? Dead was dead. Nobody would waste their magic on me, drag me back from hell or revive my soul. There would be no regrets. There'd be nothing at all. I have no immediate plans to act on any such ideas, of course. I've been accused of overthinking things, and now is no different. Sitting here, alone, the sun on my bare face, it's easy to roll thoughts of my own mortality through my head
I would miss the sun."
D wanted this to be in his own words this time...
Also, relations updates.
General
Name: Darcy. Prefers just 'D' Gender: Stag Age: Late Thirties (Birthday: June 9th) Size: #13 Voice: Similar to Ethan Hawke Scent: Old Spice 8| The man your man could smell like~ Set: Monarch Pelt, Real Deer Mask, Fan Antlers
Personality
Laid back and easy-going, Darcy isn't the hardest stag to get along with. He's generally accepting of strangers big and small and takes anything 'out of the ordinary' in stride. While he has his charming and polite moments, the stag's humor is generally pretty dry. Sarcasm is a second language and making a joke out of everything is second nature. There's also a definitive air of self-confidence about him that makes up for his lack of size and general bulk. He faces challenges head on and all too often with a smirk on his face. Darcy has very strong principals and rules that make up his sense of 'right and wrong' and follows them closely...even if they sometimes seem a bit contradictory to others. He often expects the same courteousness in return and may pass judgement quickly on anyone who doesn't heed those expectations. Rudeness is something he doesn't take lightly.
Once a loyal and fiercely protective friend and lover, Darcy is now weary of close connections. He thrives on casual encounters, intimate or otherwise, and will reject any company he feels may be getting too close, or who is already close and straying - a 'hurt them before they hurt me' mentality. When he does acquire a friend or a lover, Darcy can lay the charm on thick. He's calm, sensitive, respectful and attentive, giving a deer exactly what they need when the occasion calls that he give anything at all - unless, of course, what they need goes against his own principals. He rarely ever opens up to anyone, unless you somehow manage to slip past his censors and grow closer to him then he often permits. His smile often times hides lies and the something that brews beneath his calm exterior can sometime be seen through his eyes and subtle expressions.
When he acquires an enemy, however, Darcy can hold grudges. He may even go out of his way to spite another if he feels the 'hurt' must be repaid. He holds no biased between males or females, treating them equally, and sometimes even fawns, though he adjusts his tactics according to weakness. He's not afraid of a fight, though he may refrain from one of loss is a certainty. Most of the time his confidence in his abilities trumps any doubt and he'll rush headlong into competition in ways that may appear reckless to most. When he fights, Darcy fights dirty. Quick on his feet and skilled with his maneuvers, he'll take down his opponent however he can if it's a serious battle. If not, he may enjoy teasing and taunting his enemy more then harming them, keeping just out of harm's way and dancing at the edge of danger.
There is a darkness in Darcy, of that you can be sure...but also a lot of light. He no longer is the stag he once was, but glimpses can still be seen beneath a colder, more distant mask. There is always a certain sadness and secretiveness about him, clear in his slow, thought-out expressions and careful words. He does his best to control the worst side of him through a variety of methods, and ignores the judgement passed on him. In anger and distress though, he sometimes loses all control and lets the darkness out in irrational bursts. During these times, he is a mere shadow of himself, empty yet full of rage and despair.
"E-excuse....me....You...you were there....when-when the two stags fought...?" A little brown doe padded toard the butterfly stag. She had strange glowing spots and tuffs under her ears but the glowing was muted by the blood covering her pelt. A large cut running down her right front leg made her limp slightly but she showed no pain. Another large cut trained down her back to the top of her hind leg. "I-I....I'm sorry!."Her ears flattened against her skull and she bowed her head. "A-are you ok?"
Sianna: “Yes, my name is Darcy, I think we've established that,” the stag commented dryly after her long repetitive drivel. Posturing was all it was, and he wasn't in the mood for such games. He was worn out, and it showed – in his slumped posture and a weary grimace of a smirk. She had bested him, it was true, but he wasn't running scared. “You can think whatever you please. Your actions have spoken loud enough. Go buzz around someone else's wounds for a while, maybe they'll feel bad for you.”
He snorted through his nose and turned away from her, limping deeper into the forest.
Zero123:
Darcy lifted and turned his head at the sound of the small voice. His narrowed eyes widened bit at the sight if the familiar little doe that stood before him. Yes...she had gotten in the way of the fight, and her interference showed in violent streaks of red slashed across her unusual coat. The injured stag clenched his jaw and stumbled painfully to he feet again, his chest heaving from the effort. Old wounds reopened and new ones bled freely, but he lowered his head and felt concern only for her. Concern, that is, and irritation. “You...You should not have done that,” he scolded, but though his voice was rough it was quiet and weak, “It was stupid to get in between the affairs of stag. What...what were you thinking?”
It was his fault the fight started...his fault she had the opportunity to get injured. Foolish does! Darcy grit his teeth and pinned back his ears, but his eyes continued to dance over her in concern.
[center][=9]She flinched at his words and tears sprang to her eyes. "I....I'm sorry....I'm sorry....I just wanted them to stop!" Her voice was small and shook with a slight tace of pain. "I hate it! I hate fighting.....why can't it stop....always....always.....fighting." She looked up at the stag and tears spilled from her eyes. She saw then the pain he was in, his bleeding wounds. Her eyes widened with concern and extream fear for him. Her body shook and she looked him over. "Your...your hurt...."
Once again she was wrong. A phase of sorts which lead her to believe she could predict and read minds. The stag had done the polar opposite of what she was expecting. - Sianna would ignore his juvenile comeback about the name, instead skip, hop, and jump to his last words. "Remember that you came to me tonight", her voice carried a jovial tune, "I will, Sorog's". With that she would let him disappear into the forestry. She herself would find better things to do. He quickly become uninteresting anyway.
Zero123:
The sight of her tears was enough to make him instantly regret his harsh words – no matter how sincere they had been. His scowling lips sunk into a wary frown as the doe stammered out an unwarranted apology. Sigh. He just couldn't win, could he? It was a wonder he still tried at all. “Come on, don't cry...I'm sorry for being a jerk. You don't have anything to apologize to me for. I just...hate seeing someone hurt because of me. Especially a pretty little doe.”
He attempted a reassuring smile, but it was weak and the sadness and shame in his eyes overpowered whatever it affect it may have had. “Don't worry about me...I'll gladly reap what I've sewn. You...you should go tend to your wounds little one...” Reaching down, he gave her shoulder a gentle nudge with his forehead, his eyes peering up and pleading with her to take his advice.
"You...your not a jerk....your right. I didn't..." She stoped and looked at her hounds only then seeing how bad they were. She nodded softly but looked back at him "If I tend to mine.... will you tend to yours?" Hikari looked at him curiosly waiting for his answer. She gave him a small smile hopeing if anything to make him happier. She didn't want others to be sad or hurt. She padded off just a few feett and layed down in a soft patch of leaves and grass. She invited the stag over and began licking her wounds. The moment her tongue touched the large one on her leg though she flinched. A sharp pain made her body tremble for a moment but she went back to tending it.
Zero123:
[Sorry this took so long .__. I had some other things I had to get done tonight]
“Of course,” he agreed quietly, one side of his mouth lifting crookedly in slightly more genuine amusement. Darcy had to keep reminding himself to smile – to keep his spirits up. He couldn't let himself slip again...he would end up dead, at this rate. So when the little doe wandered a ways away and motioned for him to follow, the stag questioned his hesitation. He watched her settle in a cushion of grass with longing in his eyes but an uneasy feeling swelled within him. Now was not a time to be making new bonds...not when he could barely sort out the ones he already had. But how could he deny her? If he truly did believe her injuries were partly his doing? Sighing through his nose, Darcy lowered his head and trudged after her. Settling with a pain-filled grunt on the other side of her, his blood-stained body curled around her hind end where he could easily access the wound across her back. Silently, he lowered his head and began to clean it it for her, neglecting his own. So much for their agreement.
She flinched as he started cleaning her wound and look at him. A small frown touched her muzzle and she reached back to lick one of his wounds. He wouldnt get off that easy. Hikari cleaned his wound slowly switching from his to her own every now and then. Her eyes were tired and beaten. She felt like the day had just gone from bad to worse to down right terrible. One she cleaned the wound on her shoulder she focused more on the stags wounds, well the ones she could reach. "I....never got you name. Would you mind telling me it?"
Indeed, the past few days were getting progressively worse, events rolling on at a rapid, downward pace. It reflected in his weary eyes the same it did in hers. It was a shame, though, for her... she did not seem the type to deserve such fates. The stag pinned back his ears as she attempted to reach around to him awkwardly and clean his wounds in return. Darcy shifted away from her gentle caress, his skin shuddering at the touch. He slowly shook his head. “Please...care for yours, I'll be fine,” he insisted, though he had his doubts about how easily she would give up. Does could be ridiculously stubborn. “My name is Darcy,” he added softly before dipping his head back down to finish his gentle progress on her laceration.
When she saw him shudder and move away she went back to her own wounds. She wasn't about to do something he didn't want. "Darcy....its a wonderful name." Her pelt prickled at his touch but she didnt move away.
To his surprise, she pulled away and heeded his words without dispute. Well, that was a strange shift in the norm. He didn't think much of it though, cleaning away the last of the free-flowing blood from the tear in her flesh before attempting to swallow away the tangy taste on his tongue. He forced away another grimace and tried to turn it into another smile, lifting a brow at her comment. “You think so, huh?” he laughed gently, his critical eyes appearing to doubt her sincerity. The more they stared at her, the more they softened. “You look tired... Perhaps you should get some rest, now...”
She huffed softly and layed her head down. She wasn't very tired and she didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to have another nightmare. "I guess...." Her voice was bellow a whisper. Her eyes closed but she tried to keep herself from falling asleep right away. She was scared of sleeping now. The nightmares she couldnt remember made her so scared.
Sorry it took so long to comment...I have been busy
As the old pairs play subdued to rest, the found themselves underneath an old tree surrounded by flecks of poppies. Cool spring air stirred the crimson petals every now and then, and the doe shifted her legs slightly; aching from the fight yesterday. Looking over her butterfly pelted friend, she chuckled at the lack of scratches he harbored "You scrub up okay, heh" the feathered doe chuckled. Her head looked back to her healing wounds, licking them clean. The taste of dried blood was not a taste the doe acquired.
The doe inhaled deep, the fresh forest smells. Ears flicking occasionally at the sound of distant hoofbeats. Ravenflights inquisitve doe like eyes looked over her old friend. She had not seen him in so long. Thinking back to their youthful days, and the days outside the forest with Rowan and Rajan.
How much time had flown by.
"It's been so long......so much has changed...." Her voice trailed off. Where do you even start with an old friend.
He was wary of the poppies; wary of the patch of sun-splattered earth. His amber eyes gravitated unwillingly towards it, watching flecks of pollen and nameless dust float through the rays on the breeze... but only for a moment. Ravenflight had his attention now. Darcy forced his gaze away and turned to watch her dutifully try and tend to her wounds. Her blue fur was ruffled from her shower in the fountain, yet their brief run seemed to have done the trick drying it. As pained as he was to see the tears in her flesh, the injuries looked pink and healthy. The stag drew in a heavy breath as he stared, his ears ticking back as he began to get lost in his thoughts again.
“You scrub up okay, heh”
He blinked, his thick brows lifting behind the cover of his mask as a small smile slipped upon his face. He halfheartedly glanced back at his own ruffled, drying fur, letting his eyes scan over the countless scars and healing ridges of newer injuries. Some of the deeper gashes were still ugly scabs. “Ha, right...who's going to notice a few more bald patches?” he jested with a quiet chuckle, glancing back up at her. The doe was looking elsewhere now. Her two-colored eyes scanned their surroundings, and for a moment, Darcy got nervous as he once again did the same. 'Silly...' he thought dryly at himself, attempting to shift the awkward feeling away as Raven's eyes found him again and she spoke. “Looks like the same garden to me,” he answered quietly, as though in hopes to steer her away from a walk down memory lane.
The odd birds chirp resonated through the forest, and the atmosphere became quiet. Ravenflight watched as the flecks of sun danced across the forest floor, gently swaying with the canopy. Turning her head towards Darcy, she noted his wandering, spaced-out gaze. He was off in his own thoughts it seemed. The doe looked at her own scars. "They are just scars anyway. Some never heal" she gestured towards her permanent ones, and felt the large one on her neck. "But we learn to live with them."
She chuckled at the Stags remark. "Hmmhmm! Although, given your age...you can't really help it." the Doe joked and tossed her head. She could not speak. She was far older than he.
As the pair sat quietly, she noted the iced atmosphere. Ravenflight's gentle doe like face grew stern. She remembered to earlier days when she had a humanoid face. She had to admit, animating a real deer face was hard. "Looks like the same garden to me,"
The doe exhaled a half sigh. "Same garden. Different deer...." Her words trailed off. It didn't seem the best idea to mention the Pheahen. Ravenflight had not seen her in so long. The doe could feel her relationship with her wane. Had she fawned already.
Asking in a nature only a girl could muster "So Herla, huh?" She asked in a teasing manner. She smiled.
"How have you been, Darcy?"
He snorted at her retort about his age, but a small smirk remained at play on his lips. He wasn't really that old, but he felt old...in his body and in his mind. He had been foolish to get so carried away in that fight. What was he trying to prove? The stag glanced over her own scars, but he had already committed them to memory. It seemed like so much more of a tragedy for such a lovely, gentle creature to posses such marks...though he couldn't really say why. Darcy wasn't generally the 'sexist' type.
“Same garden. Different deer...”
He glanced up from the ridges in her fur to gaze up uncertainly through narrowed eyes. It wasn't anger portrayed in his expression though, simply thought...and a little apprehension. The stag's smile waned, then faded completely at the sight of her hardened look. Would she really...bring up the past?
No. The doe's expression once again shifted, the tension in her lips relaxing into a smile as she teased him. Darcy blinked in surprise at the mention of Herla's name and the mischievous look that danced in the doe's eyes. He opened his mouth to protest, then snapped it shut and grunted disapprovingly, but before he could protest, she spoke again. Agh, women. “As well as I can be, I imagine,” he answered after a brief pause to eye her critically. The comment fashioned his mouth into another crooked smile. He had never been very good at answering the 'how are you' question – he was either painfully honest, or lied about it completely. This felt like a comfortable middle ground. Maybe he was learning? Or...maybe things were actually better? The idea stirred weary thoughts about his most recent concerns, but he warded them off with a slow shake of his head. “As for Herla... She is a very good friend, that's all.” Darcy's expression grew serious a moment and he held her gaze long enough to convey his honesty before shifting his eyes towards the ground. He seemed lost in some sad thought for a moment before he forced his smile to return. “And you...? Have you been...adjusting well?”
If you were wondering the brown deer with the gazelle antlers is my doe, Jade.
I'm not sure if Darcy was there for that whole thing, but Jade was going after the nightfall pelt, real deer mask, and peacock feathered doe for attacking two fawns.
Just in case there was any misunderstanding anywhere ^^
Yes...I'm sorry he got rough there >< He wasn't trying to harm her, just shove her back. The deer was a ghost and couldn't cause anyone harm...it was part of a plot. He was just trying to clear the area of all the deer attacking her - since it wouldn't do any good anyways, and was just upsetting her more ha.
That scent. That familiar scent that had always drifted in the air around Kumiko since her fawnhood rose out over the Forest's natural perfumes. It drove a nail of determination into the mutilated doe's heart, calling out to her from over the horizon. It was the musky, yet sweet, scent of Darcy. She was unsure of how far the stag had laid, but she knew one thing - nothing was going to prevent her from reaching him. She was exhausted and petrified from the events that had taken place the previous night and longed to feel security in a safe presence. Not only that, but she could not sense any other familiar smells around him, hinting that he was alone... And that thought terrified her greatly.
The wound on her chest throbbed with the quickened limping of her body. The muscles aching with each rotation of her shoulder blade, tearing away a part of the scab causing it to bleed slight once again. Yet even as the bruises on her hind cried in agony, she pushed herself forward. Over the hillsides, stumbling down their slopes, and dragging herself through the birch, she followed the aroma.
It lead her to a deep into the Forest close to the empty, fields between the Ruins and the Pond, not far from the humming Old Oak tree. There in the distance, hunched over and unconscious, laid Darcy. His body stretched out across the grass, exactly where he collapsed beside the mushroom tree. The fungus scrapped away from the bark with shreds of the plant still on his foaming lips.
Kumiko's eyes widened in shock as she stumbled to his side, "Darcy...?" She was quiet to not disturb his slumber, but as she neared, she noticed the cold sweat that had developed on his forehead. The bangs of his bushy hair dampened and plastered against his flush face. Causing her to gasp as she began to nudge him, ignoring the pain the shot through her limbs, "Darcy...Darcy! Please wake up...!"
The monarch was lost. He was stranded in a place of dreams...in a place of whimsy and chaos. A place of nightmares. It no longer mattered if he remained awake or lay sleeping, fretful images and imaginary voices haunted him. At least in the darkness of unconsciousness, he couldn't feel the pain. He couldn't feel the shivering sweating cold on his skin and the hot flashes of fiery heat raging through his muscles and gut or the ravenous, restless pounding within the confines of his skull. Wait, no...perhaps he could. It was cold, the wind was whipping at his fur. His legs burned from the effort of the run, and the pounding in his head was the pounding of his heart, laboriously pumping as he fought to catch up. The little black and white creature sprinted ahead of him, and despite his shorter legs and strides, he moved effortlessly through the forest. “Wait...Reetno, stop!”
At least, that's what he meant to say, but the words gasped silently from his lips. The bird-like fawn slipped into the darkness of the trees and out of sight, causing the stag to run blind...but he knew where he was headed. He knew the way. Crashing through the foliage, his legs felt so stiff and heavy...why couldn't he catch up?! Then there was a clearing. He stumbled free from the tangle of roots and branches to stare out at the edge of a familiar cliff. The bird-deer stood at the precipice, no longer a fawn but a young stag. “Don't...please, don't leave me!” Darcy gasped. He wanted to run to him, but he was suddenly frozen in place. Reetno turned his head and smiled sadly at him...then spun and dove off the cliff.
No!
He could move again, and he sprang forward, but just as he got to the edge the bird-deer sprouted giant black and green butterfly wings and fluttered off into the distance. He stared after him in bewilderment. “You can fly too, son.”
The monarch jumped. He turned to see his mother standing there, smiling. Her golden pelt was oddly radiant. Was it really her? “No...I can't...” “But look. You have wings...”
Glancing back, he saw that she was right, Large butterfly wings had sprouted from his shoulders. He twitched them in awe. Yes...yes, he could fly! With a triumphant laugh, he rounded on the cliff and ran to the edge, launching himself into the air. He was falling. His mighty wings stretched out to catch him...but they didn't. He didn't have wings...why would he think that? And now, he was falling.
Darcy hit the ground far below with a gasp. His body lie broken, but he couldn't feel the pain he knew he should. Why...why had he done that? “Darcy... Foolish boy. Always dreaming.” The cackle of his mother's voice. She stood over him, his narrow eyes soulless, her face gaunt and no longer smiling. Yes...it was her for sure this time. He struggled to get to his feet, but he couldn't move! She shuffled closer, lowering her face to his. Her cold tongue slithered out to glide across his face, tracing the deep, sensitive scar tissue there. The stag winced and whimpered like a fawn, closing his eyes. “Darcy...Darcy! Are you paying attention to me?” She kicked him in the gut, “Are you?! Never listening! You're no better than he is...you never were! Wake up!”
“Stop...mother, I can't...” the monarch murmured, his face twisting in discomfort as his body tensed and shifted. “I am...I am awake...stop!”
Suddenly, the stag's eyes fluttered open. There was no gradual transition from sleep to consciousness...one minute he was staring at his mother's feet, and the next his wide-eyed look gazed off into the tall grass. The change confused him, but then again, this had become his normality. Everything around him was in constant flux...he couldn't expect anything to remain the same for long. His mother was still at his side, nudging him, licking at his face...or was that sweat rolling down the grooves of his scars? To his surprise, he found he could move his head again, and lifting it abruptly he rounded on the doe. His brain swam from the movement, the scenery becoming blurred as a glowing trail of motion followed along at the edges of his gaze. His mother, she was there...but why did she look like that? His glazed, red-rimmed eyes blinked up at her as her dirty fawnish pelt flickered blue and purple, then back again. Her face had become a bird's face. The oddity didn't seem to phase him. “Why are you doing this...haven't you... done enough to me?” His voice was weak, cracking from the dryness in his throat. “You want me dead? Just like you... Just like Dash!”
The stag seemed to spasm slightly as he laid at her feet. His muscles shaking violently, but straining as his limbs remained still. Almost if he was too weak for his body to respond naturally to whatever was occurring within him. His eyelids twitched as his eyes rolled around beneath the thin skin. Sweat continued to drop along the sides of his face, wincing as the fever viciously attacked him. For a moment, Kumiko stood with her eyes wide in horror at the sight. Ears plastered tightly to her head as her brows wove thick with concern over her glossy eyes, as the worrisome tears began to emerge from their corners. Chest fastly fluctuating as the panic clenched tightly at her heart. Her sharp breathes stabbing the wound, sending server pain throughout her frail figure, but she ignored it even as the warm blood began to trickle heavier down her leg.
Suddenly. The stag's reddened eyes shot open. The unexpected - but much longed for - response startled the little doe, causing her to leap back a bit. But her natural defense lowered as she realized he was remaining on the ground. Glazing over Darcy's dilated pupils as he tried to adjust his vision. At first, he looked away towards the field behind her, before settling his eyes back on her. He blinked countless times, gazing up at her with an insecure, pleading look. Almost as if he recognized her but not as herself. It was a stare that Kumiko had never seen within his amber eyes before. It frightened her. Not due to him being threatening, but because she knew then and there that he was drifting beyond her help.
Quickly, she shot her eyes to the horizon. Skimming the fields for familiar figures, but none showed themselves. She could call for help. She opened her mouth slightly to prepare to yell but quickly clenched her teeth together. Closing her lips tightly together. No... No she could not. What if her voice was heard by the wrong ears...? She could not risk her medicating screams being heard, and giving away Darcy's resting place. Shivers ran down her spine as she thought of what could happen if Sianna knew of how weak and helpless he had become.
“Stop...mother... his dry murmurers pulled Kumiko's attention back down onto him. Why are you doing this...You want me dead? Just like you... Just like Dash! His fragile words tore at her heartstrings. Even slightly associating death to Darcy was a thought she highly disliked. Yet here he was addressing a death threat to himself as if she was the one wishing it.
Carefully, Kumiko stepped back closer to him. Whispering on a soothing voice, "Shhhh....No one wants you dead..." She lowered herself to his level at his side, gently placing her chin upon his dampened head as she tried directing it towards herself. Allowing the stag to lean his disoriented mind upon her until he gained sense of the world around him. She tilted her own head slightly, allowing her soft cheek to rest on him in return. Hoping that maybe her touch or scent could trigger a calming effect over him. Her eyes sagging with heavy worry as she could feel the heat of his forehead, "It is okay, Darcy...You are among a friend."
“Shh...no one wants you dead...”
He stared up at the doe wearily as she craned her head down at him. The longer he stared at her, the more her face morphed into that of a bird's. Her beak clacked as she spoke, her large eyes round and black... They blinked at him soullessly and he shuddered, but he couldn't force his eyes away. Something in the back of his mind nagged at him. It wasn't his mother's voice...It wasn't her face! Yet Darcy pushed these thoughts aside. Of course it was her...she was just different now. Changed...
And so, as unusual as it was, the stag stared in wonder as the doe with the bird's face circled around to settle beside him. His body grew tense as her form molded to his, but relaxed again quickly. She was so tender...so careful. His head resisted as she sought to guide it back in her direction, but an inner longing weakened his resolve. He let this doe, his mother, manipulate him as she wished, resting his weight against her, lying his head back down in the grass beside her and sighing. Her voice again...it soothed him, though he didn't quite understand what it was saying. “You've...changed,” he sighed, as though in relief, his eyes staring off into the grass again, blank and dilated.
Suddenly his face scrunched up and he sniffed at the air weakly. “Mother... Blood. Am I hurt? Did you hurt me?” A sudden urgency entered into his tone as his muscles grew rigid again. Lifting his head once more, he turned it to glance himself over. Aside from a few scrapes he'd accumulated from wrestling with trees and some bumps and bruises beneath the flesh, he seemed no worse for wear. Huh...perhaps the fall has not been so high after all? Wait, what fall? Glancing up, he realized the cliff was gone. Forest surrounded him now, trees and grass and dirt... and Mother. He gasped. “It's you!” The stag swung his head to face her, being careless with his antlers as he did. “You're hurt!...H-how? Who? No...y-y-you're dead. You can't hurt anymore...” The look in his eyes was completely lost as he stared at her ...then slowly the muscles around his eyes narrowed in suspicion and his ears pulled back uneasily. “Why aren't you dead? Why...why do you look like that? Why do you smell like that? Stop it! Stop it...”
The monarch stag's unusual resistance alarmed the twilight doe. As he uneasily relaxed, it felt as if he was giving into her demands out of worry of her becoming dangerous if he refused. Inside her chest, her heart silently wept. Kumiko cherished the stag; she always had and to see her dearest friend act so tensely around her strung.
"You changed...", his statement lingered heavily in her head. Like a pesky bee that buzzed about her. Sticking its painful stinger into her as he seemed to fail to recognize her. Then without warning, his restless easy changed into a sudden alarm. Darcy's head sprung up like he had awoken from a nightmare, but his behavior made it clear that he was still lost somewhere in limbo between reality and a deranged fantasy.
"It's you!" At first, his raised pitch in voice lifted the doe's heart. Did he finally realize who she was? Did he finally come to his senses? But as he snapped his head to face her, she knew that he still had no recollection of her. Carelessly, his giant antlers swayed passed her. Kumiko quickly turned away, shielding herself with her shoulder as the rough antlers scrapped by. A small, clean slash ran down her cheek as the sharp edge cut into the soft tissue of her cheek. "Gah..." She winced, but showed no aggression. Only concern.
In terror, Kumiko watched as the stag slowly began to turn on her... "Why aren't you dead? Why...why do you look like that? Why do you smell like that? Stop it! Stop it...” His body tensioned against her tender touch; his voice growing hostile.
She gulped as his stare fell heavily upon her, but she remained at his side. Looking up at him with worrisome eyes. Cowering as she laid, "Darcy...? Darcy, it's me... Kumiko. Remember?" She shifted her weight cautiously. Trying to comfort him but afraid of how he might react to her being nearer than she was. "Your mother isn't here. She is dead. There is only me, Darcy. Only me."
Hostile...yes. A rage lurked about, just behind the curtain, impatiently waiting for a chance to unleash itself upon the world. Tearing into the trees wouldn't satisfy it. Poisoning it would never quiet it completely. Yet now, peering through the wary stag's eyes, it smiled. The doe shrunk beneath his accusatory stare. Despite her concern, he did not miss the fear that sparkled in her eyes. Wait...her eyes? They were no longer black and endless like a bird's, but a bright hazel. And her face...what he had first perceived as avian features he now clearly saw was only a mask. The darkness recognized her...it sneered at the thought of one so close to him being so vulnerable, and yet his conscious mind grew privy to the realization, and the image changed. “Its me...Kumiko. Remember?”
The muscles around his eyes relaxed, his gaze growing more and more uncertain. She shifted against him and the stag flinched away in response. His body shuddered at the movement. He felt so weak, but his senses were keen and alert and a restlessness surged through him that put him on edge. Another bead of sweat raced down his forehead. “Your mother isn't here. She 'is' dead. There is only me, Darcy. Only me.”
Amber eyes grew wide and fearful. Her words...were suddenly making sense, but the more sense they made... the less sense they made! Of course his mother was here! She was just-...she had been right-...
The stag stumbled to his hooves. Despite being less than stable on his feet he leapt away from her, toppling onto one knee as his weak legs threatened to give out beneath him, but determination and and fear kept him upright. He quickly righted himself and spun to face her again, his chest heaving as his heart raced. “K-...Kumiko,” he stammered, desperately trying to sort out his head. It was too hard...there was too much there, so many pieces!Yet none of them fit. “You...you shouldn't be here,” the stag's tone fell flat as he spoke in a moment of clarity. No...she wasn't supposed to be here. None of them were! He wanted to be alone!... But that was as far as the train of thought went. He scented the blood again. He could see it, smeared across her dazzling pelt. The stag frowned deeply and lowered his head, his legs splayed awkwardly beneath him while his eyes shifted in one direction, then another. “Did you see her? D-did she hurt you?”
His stare was a sight she had never seen before. Cold. Heartless. Empty. Things that Darcy was not. Despite what he may have tried to explain to her in the past, she never accepted such traits to be of his. And even as her fearful eyes trembled as they looked back into the void that had taken over his, she ignored the warning they sent. The two gazed down at each other, almost as if excepting to speak to one another telepathically. Time seemed to stand still around them; the forest remained silent as if the birds had been hushed by an unseen force, creating an eerie, disturbing atmosphere around them. Kumiko did not know how much time had passed before she began to see the figments of Darcy returning. Color returned to his eyes as they began to warm again. Benevolence still hidden though behind a wall of pain, suffering, and confusion.
He jerked his side away from her's the moment they touched. A quick, somewhat expected reaction followed by the surprise of him leaping to his feet. A soft gasp escaped from her as she watched him stumble on weakened legs. His footing jumping about the ground as he swayed, trying to find balance. She rose to her own feet, breathing through her teeth as her muscles stiffened from the pain. "Kumiko..." A faint smile embraced her lips as he said her name. Even bruised, bloodied, and beaten, she stood with a warm smile and caring eyes.
“You...you shouldn't be here” Her heart sank once again, causing her to lower her head in apology, "I... I'm sorry, Darcy..."
Her body seemed to drag as she took a single step back, until she saw his legs shaking beneath his weight as he nervously stood. She rushed to him to offer him some stability. Carefully, she pressed her back against his chest, holding him but barely. Her own body on the verge of collapsing beneath him. “Did you see her? D-did she hurt you?” The doe raised her head to try to meet his gaze, but his eyes were too bewildered to notice. She let out a sigh as her mind raced, trying to figure out what to say without causing the stag more worry, "No, I didn't see anyone. You have been here alone and no, she - whoever she is - did not hurt me."
As she stood with her legs stretched, she could feel herself slowly beginning to fall. Her legs unbuckling from their braces, causing her to dip. Eventually, she could not bear the weight any longer and fell with a thud to the grassy floor.
Darcy eyed her approach with the innocent wariness of a boy. There was no other way to describe his wide-eyed, spindly look. His ears drooped as he detected the stilted shuffling of her gait, and his amber eyes fixated in fearful wonder on the bright streams of thick crimson running down her legs. Something was very wrong here...he could feel it in his gut. One would think the problem was obvious, but for a stag who's brain was conjuring all sorts of gruesome false images, it was hard to accept what he saw at face value. Kumiko was not the first blood-saturated victim of his nightmares... but he had never smelled blood before. He had never felt the warmth or the pressure of an actual body beside him. This doe was real. Real? The word was beginning to lose its meaning, but his subconscious mind clung desperate to it, wanting so badly to acknowledge!
He braced himself when she leaned against him, lifting his head and standing frozen in place, uncertain of her intent. His body shivered and shuddered and swayed uneasily yes, but he didn't seem to be focused on that fact if he even consciously acknowledged it at all. The doe spoke again, her words just as soft...just as desperate. She...didn't see anyone? But-!... Darcy's heart hammered. He forced his eyes shut as a stab of pain stung between his eyes as his overworked brain struggled to grasp the truth. He was falling...falling! He jerked and tore his eyes open again just in time to watch the female's legs buckle, her body sliding downward against his before the touch was severed. “Kumi!” The name flew from his lips in urgency, and his body suddenly developed a will of its own as he stepped quickly to her side. Lowering his head, he gently touched his chin to her hair, his body stumbling around to position itself at her side before his knees immediately buckled. The monarch collapsed beside her, and while his limbs rejoiced his anxiety only heightened. He didn't understand it, not fully...he just let himself react. “I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. Kumiko... What's happening? Who-who did this?”
The stag leaned into her, wrapping his neck around her, hugging her tightly and carefully to him. The contact...the warmth. Real, yes! His ailing body shuddered in relief.
The collapse happened suddenly as her mind grew daze from lack of proper nutrition. Kumiko was certain she had lost a lot of blood over the passing days, causing her to grow weak. Lacking the knowledge of how to tend to such a wound was beginning to punish her for her ignorance. The circle punctured hole that had been dug into her chest had begun to show signs of infection. The exposed skin that surrounded its perimeter contained a faint, yellowish tint beneath her darkened fur. Clumps of dried blood and soil caked to her as whitish-yellow puss oozed over the red trickle of blood. Now slowing to a stop. It had also not helped that she had been ignoring her body's pleas to rest. Often over pushing her limits, constantly reopening the gash as she followed closely behind her friends. Keeping a watchful eye on them as if commanded to do so.
The Forest had grown to be dangerous; there was no time to rest these days. As she laid in the cool grass, she gave a soft sigh of relief. Her survival instincts were forcing her to rest, and part of her was grateful for it. However, her mind still raced as her ears remained perked in alarm. Scanning the Forest for any signs of a threat that may be lingering around the dying pair. It had become a behavior she had recently adapted to. Always being on edge. Always look out. Always expecting the worst... She closed her eyes in sorrow as she let out a second, slower sigh. Things had not always been this way. The fear was taking a toll on her. Draining the doe of her innocence and sanity as she began to question so much about the Forest she had grown up in. Questioning who to trust and who to turn. Questioning how to protect those she cared about. And it had begun to question Darcy...
Was he seeing visions...? Hallucinations? Was his reaction to her tonight a result from what madness he had previously spoken to her about? What was the cause of it and what could she do to protect him...to help him...from an enemy locked within his own mind?
Her thoughts, however, were quickly jerked away from her as Darcy's voice pierced through her ears. "Kumi!" The spiked sound of her name slipping through his lips snapped the doe to reality as he fell beside her. Her eyes blinked in a shocked astonishment as the stag's reaction surprised her. He had been so distance...So emotionally detached...That his warm embrace startled her, but in a good way. He had wrapped his neck around her's, pulling the flimsy doe closer to him. The warmth of his body relaxing her oncoming anxiety, as he spoke with a normal tone. Whatever had possessed Darcy before seemed to have back away, and the stag she knew had returned. Perhaps not fully, but enough to allow her to drop her subconscious defense.
She could fear the shakiness of his voice as he began to apologize, but for what? Kumiko returned his embrace by gently nuzzling her cheek into the softness of his neck fur, trying to caress him to a state of calmness, "Shhh... It's ok, Darcy. You did nothing wrong. It's ok." A faint smile of relief drew across her worn face. Giving the doe a strange look of happiness even as a tear-like blood trickle rolled down her face from the slash she had received when Darcy had thrashed about. But it faded quickly as he asked about her wounds. Her muscles tensed again as her mind pounded while racing through thousands of ways to answer him. Sorog's threats still ringing in her ears....No, he could not know the truth.
After a moment of silence, she began to warily answer him. Her voice cracked and broken as she began to piece together a believable story, "I...I was at the playground...Purifying the land when I stumbled back too far. The rocks...They gave away and I slipped. I tumbled down the edge before...before rolling to a halt near a log. There was a sharp branch sticking out from it and I...I fell into it when I stopped rolling. It stabbed me. Yes, that's right. The log stabbed me. No one did anything."
LOL I know we were on our way to Dag and Jettem and saw her picto out of the corner of my eye and hit the breaks XD It's always nice to see some familiar faces from our 'generation' ^^ <3
It was very nice to see Darcy inforest today amongst the row of resting deer. I missed when you first came up but was delighted to have him sit down with the little group as it was.
I would like to try at some time to have them actually speak with one another at some point if possible when you have time. Even a short post or two would suffice really for her and myself.
Again, it was wonderful to have some time to have Jettem near Darcy once again.
I just had to tell you that every time I see Darcy's bio, I read his name in my head real real slow like I'm high or something. It's pretty bizarre, but I guess it speaks to the awesome that is his character design.
Jettem: It was nice to see her in-forest again ^^ I was glad I finally caught a group I could recognize from the past. Makes the forest feel more homey for sure.
It would be nice to get to know her better – as I've been hearing such wonderful things -chuckle- I wouldn't mind an interaction between the two of them, though I'm not sure where it'd begin? I'm not 100% on what their 'relationship' with each other really is ha.
Pumpkinseed: Wait, so now Darcy isn't only high, he makes other people high? D8 How can this be?! Haha, well thank you I appreciate hearing it haha
Hey there ^^ Fikos is adorable! I actually thought she might be played by an older player by how well she used the forest 'language' :3 I hope Darcy didn't make her too nervous. He loves fawns and tries to be patient...and her boldness really amused him XD She held her own against Sianna! Quite impressive :3 She can come sit with the big kids any time!
|||||||||| Physical
"E-excuse....me....You...you
Tracking
Sianna: “Yes, my name is
“Yes, my name is Darcy, I think we've established that,” the stag commented dryly after her long repetitive drivel. Posturing was all it was, and he wasn't in the mood for such games. He was worn out, and it showed – in his slumped posture and a weary grimace of a smirk. She had bested him, it was true, but he wasn't running scared.
“You can think whatever you please. Your actions have spoken loud enough. Go buzz around someone else's wounds for a while, maybe they'll feel bad for you.”
He snorted through his nose and turned away from her, limping deeper into the forest.
Zero123:
Darcy lifted and turned his head at the sound of the small voice. His narrowed eyes widened bit at the sight if the familiar little doe that stood before him. Yes...she had gotten in the way of the fight, and her interference showed in violent streaks of red slashed across her unusual coat. The injured stag clenched his jaw and stumbled painfully to he feet again, his chest heaving from the effort. Old wounds reopened and new ones bled freely, but he lowered his head and felt concern only for her. Concern, that is, and irritation.
“You...You should not have done that,” he scolded, but though his voice was rough it was quiet and weak, “It was stupid to get in between the affairs of stag. What...what were you thinking?”
It was his fault the fight started...his fault she had the opportunity to get injured. Foolish does! Darcy grit his teeth and pinned back his ears, but his eyes continued to dance over her in concern.
[center][=9]She flinched at
Once again she was wrong. A
Zero123: The sight of her
The sight of her tears was enough to make him instantly regret his harsh words – no matter how sincere they had been. His scowling lips sunk into a wary frown as the doe stammered out an unwarranted apology. Sigh. He just couldn't win, could he? It was a wonder he still tried at all.
“Come on, don't cry...I'm sorry for being a jerk. You don't have anything to apologize to me for. I just...hate seeing someone hurt because of me. Especially a pretty little doe.”
He attempted a reassuring smile, but it was weak and the sadness and shame in his eyes overpowered whatever it affect it may have had.
“Don't worry about me...I'll gladly reap what I've sewn. You...you should go tend to your wounds little one...” Reaching down, he gave her shoulder a gentle nudge with his forehead, his eyes peering up and pleading with her to take his advice.
"You...your not a
Zero123: [Sorry this took so
[Sorry this took so long .__. I had some other things I had to get done tonight]
“Of course,” he agreed quietly, one side of his mouth lifting crookedly in slightly more genuine amusement. Darcy had to keep reminding himself to smile – to keep his spirits up. He couldn't let himself slip again...he would end up dead, at this rate. So when the little doe wandered a ways away and motioned for him to follow, the stag questioned his hesitation. He watched her settle in a cushion of grass with longing in his eyes but an uneasy feeling swelled within him. Now was not a time to be making new bonds...not when he could barely sort out the ones he already had. But how could he deny her? If he truly did believe her injuries were partly his doing? Sighing through his nose, Darcy lowered his head and trudged after her. Settling with a pain-filled grunt on the other side of her, his blood-stained body curled around her hind end where he could easily access the wound across her back. Silently, he lowered his head and began to clean it it for her, neglecting his own. So much for their agreement.
She flinched as he started
Indeed, the past few days
“Please...care for yours, I'll be fine,” he insisted, though he had his doubts about how easily she would give up. Does could be ridiculously stubborn.
“My name is Darcy,” he added softly before dipping his head back down to finish his gentle progress on her laceration.
When she saw him shudder and
To his surprise, she pulled
“You think so, huh?” he laughed gently, his critical eyes appearing to doubt her sincerity. The more they stared at her, the more they softened.
“You look tired... Perhaps you should get some rest, now...”
Wow Shiori this bio is so
I envy your CSS skills...
Forget Your Perfect Offering.
There Is A Crack In Everything.
That's How The Light Gets In.
(A part of the lyrics of Leonard Cohen's Song "Anthem")
Darcy's status. LOL. YES,
Benny Hill for the win!
*giggles madly at that
Haha yes, Benny Hill is so perfect for the chaotic chase that went on haha
"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
She huffed softly and layed
Sorry it took so long to comment...I have been busy
Run Darcybunny RUN! *flees*
Run Darcybunny RUN!
*flees*
Wascally wabbit! D'S GONNA
D'S GONNA GO CUDDLE PEOPLE NOW K BYE
Awesome screenie, Ourania!
As the old pairs play subdued
The doe inhaled deep, the fresh forest smells. Ears flicking occasionally at the sound of distant hoofbeats. Ravenflights inquisitve doe like eyes looked over her old friend. She had not seen him in so long. Thinking back to their youthful days, and the days outside the forest with Rowan and Rajan.
How much time had flown by.
"It's been so long......so much has changed...." Her voice trailed off. Where do you even start with an old friend.
He was wary of the poppies;
“You scrub up okay, heh”
He blinked, his thick brows lifting behind the cover of his mask as a small smile slipped upon his face. He halfheartedly glanced back at his own ruffled, drying fur, letting his eyes scan over the countless scars and healing ridges of newer injuries. Some of the deeper gashes were still ugly scabs.
“Ha, right...who's going to notice a few more bald patches?” he jested with a quiet chuckle, glancing back up at her. The doe was looking elsewhere now. Her two-colored eyes scanned their surroundings, and for a moment, Darcy got nervous as he once again did the same. 'Silly...' he thought dryly at himself, attempting to shift the awkward feeling away as Raven's eyes found him again and she spoke.
“Looks like the same garden to me,” he answered quietly, as though in hopes to steer her away from a walk down memory lane.
The odd birds chirp resonated
She chuckled at the Stags remark. "Hmmhmm! Although, given your age...you can't really help it." the Doe joked and tossed her head. She could not speak. She was far older than he.
As the pair sat quietly, she noted the iced atmosphere. Ravenflight's gentle doe like face grew stern. She remembered to earlier days when she had a humanoid face. She had to admit, animating a real deer face was hard. "Looks like the same garden to me,"
The doe exhaled a half sigh. "Same garden. Different deer...." Her words trailed off. It didn't seem the best idea to mention the Pheahen. Ravenflight had not seen her in so long. The doe could feel her relationship with her wane. Had she fawned already.
Asking in a nature only a girl could muster "So Herla, huh?" She asked in a teasing manner. She smiled.
"How have you been, Darcy?"
He snorted at her retort
“Same garden. Different deer...”
He glanced up from the ridges in her fur to gaze up uncertainly through narrowed eyes. It wasn't anger portrayed in his expression though, simply thought...and a little apprehension. The stag's smile waned, then faded completely at the sight of her hardened look. Would she really...bring up the past?
No. The doe's expression once again shifted, the tension in her lips relaxing into a smile as she teased him. Darcy blinked in surprise at the mention of Herla's name and the mischievous look that danced in the doe's eyes. He opened his mouth to protest, then snapped it shut and grunted disapprovingly, but before he could protest, she spoke again. Agh, women.
“As well as I can be, I imagine,” he answered after a brief pause to eye her critically. The comment fashioned his mouth into another crooked smile. He had never been very good at answering the 'how are you' question – he was either painfully honest, or lied about it completely. This felt like a comfortable middle ground. Maybe he was learning? Or...maybe things were actually better? The idea stirred weary thoughts about his most recent concerns, but he warded them off with a slow shake of his head.
“As for Herla... She is a very good friend, that's all.” Darcy's expression grew serious a moment and he held her gaze long enough to convey his honesty before shifting his eyes towards the ground. He seemed lost in some sad thought for a moment before he forced his smile to return.
“And you...? Have you been...adjusting well?”
If you were wondering the
I'm not sure if Darcy was there for that whole thing, but Jade was going after the nightfall pelt, real deer mask, and peacock feathered doe for attacking two fawns.
Just in case there was any misunderstanding anywhere ^^
Yes...I'm sorry he got rough
Ah, gotcha xD
That scent. That familiar
The wound on her chest throbbed with the quickened limping of her body. The muscles aching with each rotation of her shoulder blade, tearing away a part of the scab causing it to bleed slight once again. Yet even as the bruises on her hind cried in agony, she pushed herself forward. Over the hillsides, stumbling down their slopes, and dragging herself through the birch, she followed the aroma.
It lead her to a deep into the Forest close to the empty, fields between the Ruins and the Pond, not far from the humming Old Oak tree. There in the distance, hunched over and unconscious, laid Darcy. His body stretched out across the grass, exactly where he collapsed beside the mushroom tree. The fungus scrapped away from the bark with shreds of the plant still on his foaming lips.
Kumiko's eyes widened in shock as she stumbled to his side, "Darcy...?" She was quiet to not disturb his slumber, but as she neared, she noticed the cold sweat that had developed on his forehead. The bangs of his bushy hair dampened and plastered against his flush face. Causing her to gasp as she began to nudge him, ignoring the pain the shot through her limbs, "Darcy...Darcy! Please wake up...!"
The monarch was lost. He was
“Wait...Reetno, stop!”
At least, that's what he meant to say, but the words gasped silently from his lips. The bird-like fawn slipped into the darkness of the trees and out of sight, causing the stag to run blind...but he knew where he was headed. He knew the way. Crashing through the foliage, his legs felt so stiff and heavy...why couldn't he catch up?! Then there was a clearing. He stumbled free from the tangle of roots and branches to stare out at the edge of a familiar cliff. The bird-deer stood at the precipice, no longer a fawn but a young stag.
“Don't...please, don't leave me!” Darcy gasped. He wanted to run to him, but he was suddenly frozen in place. Reetno turned his head and smiled sadly at him...then spun and dove off the cliff.
No!
He could move again, and he sprang forward, but just as he got to the edge the bird-deer sprouted giant black and green butterfly wings and fluttered off into the distance. He stared after him in bewilderment.
“You can fly too, son.”
The monarch jumped. He turned to see his mother standing there, smiling. Her golden pelt was oddly radiant. Was it really her?
“No...I can't...”
“But look. You have wings...”
Glancing back, he saw that she was right, Large butterfly wings had sprouted from his shoulders. He twitched them in awe. Yes...yes, he could fly! With a triumphant laugh, he rounded on the cliff and ran to the edge, launching himself into the air. He was falling. His mighty wings stretched out to catch him...but they didn't. He didn't have wings...why would he think that? And now, he was falling.
Darcy hit the ground far below with a gasp. His body lie broken, but he couldn't feel the pain he knew he should. Why...why had he done that?
“Darcy... Foolish boy. Always dreaming.” The cackle of his mother's voice. She stood over him, his narrow eyes soulless, her face gaunt and no longer smiling. Yes...it was her for sure this time. He struggled to get to his feet, but he couldn't move! She shuffled closer, lowering her face to his. Her cold tongue slithered out to glide across his face, tracing the deep, sensitive scar tissue there. The stag winced and whimpered like a fawn, closing his eyes.
“Darcy...Darcy! Are you paying attention to me?” She kicked him in the gut, “Are you?! Never listening! You're no better than he is...you never were! Wake up!”
“Stop...mother, I can't...” the monarch murmured, his face twisting in discomfort as his body tensed and shifted.
“I am...I am awake...stop!”
Suddenly, the stag's eyes fluttered open. There was no gradual transition from sleep to consciousness...one minute he was staring at his mother's feet, and the next his wide-eyed look gazed off into the tall grass. The change confused him, but then again, this had become his normality. Everything around him was in constant flux...he couldn't expect anything to remain the same for long. His mother was still at his side, nudging him, licking at his face...or was that sweat rolling down the grooves of his scars? To his surprise, he found he could move his head again, and lifting it abruptly he rounded on the doe. His brain swam from the movement, the scenery becoming blurred as a glowing trail of motion followed along at the edges of his gaze. His mother, she was there...but why did she look like that? His glazed, red-rimmed eyes blinked up at her as her dirty fawnish pelt flickered blue and purple, then back again. Her face had become a bird's face. The oddity didn't seem to phase him.
“Why are you doing this...haven't you... done enough to me?” His voice was weak, cracking from the dryness in his throat. “You want me dead? Just like you... Just like Dash!”
The stag seemed to spasm
Suddenly. The stag's reddened eyes shot open. The unexpected - but much longed for - response startled the little doe, causing her to leap back a bit. But her natural defense lowered as she realized he was remaining on the ground. Glazing over Darcy's dilated pupils as he tried to adjust his vision. At first, he looked away towards the field behind her, before settling his eyes back on her. He blinked countless times, gazing up at her with an insecure, pleading look. Almost as if he recognized her but not as herself. It was a stare that Kumiko had never seen within his amber eyes before. It frightened her. Not due to him being threatening, but because she knew then and there that he was drifting beyond her help.
Quickly, she shot her eyes to the horizon. Skimming the fields for familiar figures, but none showed themselves. She could call for help. She opened her mouth slightly to prepare to yell but quickly clenched her teeth together. Closing her lips tightly together. No... No she could not. What if her voice was heard by the wrong ears...? She could not risk her medicating screams being heard, and giving away Darcy's resting place. Shivers ran down her spine as she thought of what could happen if Sianna knew of how weak and helpless he had become.
“Stop...mother... his dry murmurers pulled Kumiko's attention back down onto him. Why are you doing this...You want me dead? Just like you... Just like Dash! His fragile words tore at her heartstrings. Even slightly associating death to Darcy was a thought she highly disliked. Yet here he was addressing a death threat to himself as if she was the one wishing it.
Carefully, Kumiko stepped back closer to him. Whispering on a soothing voice, "Shhhh....No one wants you dead..." She lowered herself to his level at his side, gently placing her chin upon his dampened head as she tried directing it towards herself. Allowing the stag to lean his disoriented mind upon her until he gained sense of the world around him. She tilted her own head slightly, allowing her soft cheek to rest on him in return. Hoping that maybe her touch or scent could trigger a calming effect over him. Her eyes sagging with heavy worry as she could feel the heat of his forehead, "It is okay, Darcy...You are among a friend."
“Shh...no one wants you
He stared up at the doe wearily as she craned her head down at him. The longer he stared at her, the more her face morphed into that of a bird's. Her beak clacked as she spoke, her large eyes round and black... They blinked at him soullessly and he shuddered, but he couldn't force his eyes away. Something in the back of his mind nagged at him. It wasn't his mother's voice...It wasn't her face! Yet Darcy pushed these thoughts aside. Of course it was her...she was just different now. Changed...
And so, as unusual as it was, the stag stared in wonder as the doe with the bird's face circled around to settle beside him. His body grew tense as her form molded to his, but relaxed again quickly. She was so tender...so careful. His head resisted as she sought to guide it back in her direction, but an inner longing weakened his resolve. He let this doe, his mother, manipulate him as she wished, resting his weight against her, lying his head back down in the grass beside her and sighing. Her voice again...it soothed him, though he didn't quite understand what it was saying.
“You've...changed,” he sighed, as though in relief, his eyes staring off into the grass again, blank and dilated.
Suddenly his face scrunched up and he sniffed at the air weakly.
“Mother... Blood. Am I hurt? Did you hurt me?” A sudden urgency entered into his tone as his muscles grew rigid again. Lifting his head once more, he turned it to glance himself over. Aside from a few scrapes he'd accumulated from wrestling with trees and some bumps and bruises beneath the flesh, he seemed no worse for wear. Huh...perhaps the fall has not been so high after all? Wait, what fall? Glancing up, he realized the cliff was gone. Forest surrounded him now, trees and grass and dirt... and Mother. He gasped.
“It's you!” The stag swung his head to face her, being careless with his antlers as he did. “You're hurt!...H-how? Who? No...y-y-you're dead. You can't hurt anymore...” The look in his eyes was completely lost as he stared at her ...then slowly the muscles around his eyes narrowed in suspicion and his ears pulled back uneasily.
“Why aren't you dead? Why...why do you look like that? Why do you smell like that? Stop it! Stop it...”
Oh my,poor Darcy ;__; I hope
The monarch stag's unusual
"You changed...", his statement lingered heavily in her head. Like a pesky bee that buzzed about her. Sticking its painful stinger into her as he seemed to fail to recognize her. Then without warning, his restless easy changed into a sudden alarm. Darcy's head sprung up like he had awoken from a nightmare, but his behavior made it clear that he was still lost somewhere in limbo between reality and a deranged fantasy.
"It's you!" At first, his raised pitch in voice lifted the doe's heart. Did he finally realize who she was? Did he finally come to his senses? But as he snapped his head to face her, she knew that he still had no recollection of her. Carelessly, his giant antlers swayed passed her. Kumiko quickly turned away, shielding herself with her shoulder as the rough antlers scrapped by. A small, clean slash ran down her cheek as the sharp edge cut into the soft tissue of her cheek. "Gah..." She winced, but showed no aggression. Only concern.
In terror, Kumiko watched as the stag slowly began to turn on her... "Why aren't you dead? Why...why do you look like that? Why do you smell like that? Stop it! Stop it...” His body tensioned against her tender touch; his voice growing hostile.
She gulped as his stare fell heavily upon her, but she remained at his side. Looking up at him with worrisome eyes. Cowering as she laid, "Darcy...? Darcy, it's me... Kumiko. Remember?" She shifted her weight cautiously. Trying to comfort him but afraid of how he might react to her being nearer than she was. "Your mother isn't here. She is dead. There is only me, Darcy. Only me."
Hostile...yes. A rage lurked
“Its me...Kumiko. Remember?”
The muscles around his eyes relaxed, his gaze growing more and more uncertain. She shifted against him and the stag flinched away in response. His body shuddered at the movement. He felt so weak, but his senses were keen and alert and a restlessness surged through him that put him on edge. Another bead of sweat raced down his forehead.
“Your mother isn't here. She 'is' dead. There is only me, Darcy. Only me.”
Amber eyes grew wide and fearful. Her words...were suddenly making sense, but the more sense they made... the less sense they made! Of course his mother was here! She was just-...she had been right-...
The stag stumbled to his hooves. Despite being less than stable on his feet he leapt away from her, toppling onto one knee as his weak legs threatened to give out beneath him, but determination and and fear kept him upright. He quickly righted himself and spun to face her again, his chest heaving as his heart raced.
“K-...Kumiko,” he stammered, desperately trying to sort out his head. It was too hard...there was too much there, so many pieces!Yet none of them fit.
“You...you shouldn't be here,” the stag's tone fell flat as he spoke in a moment of clarity. No...she wasn't supposed to be here. None of them were! He wanted to be alone!... But that was as far as the train of thought went. He scented the blood again. He could see it, smeared across her dazzling pelt. The stag frowned deeply and lowered his head, his legs splayed awkwardly beneath him while his eyes shifted in one direction, then another.
“Did you see her? D-did she hurt you?”
His stare was a sight she had
He jerked his side away from her's the moment they touched. A quick, somewhat expected reaction followed by the surprise of him leaping to his feet. A soft gasp escaped from her as she watched him stumble on weakened legs. His footing jumping about the ground as he swayed, trying to find balance. She rose to her own feet, breathing through her teeth as her muscles stiffened from the pain. "Kumiko..." A faint smile embraced her lips as he said her name. Even bruised, bloodied, and beaten, she stood with a warm smile and caring eyes.
“You...you shouldn't be here” Her heart sank once again, causing her to lower her head in apology, "I... I'm sorry, Darcy..."
Her body seemed to drag as she took a single step back, until she saw his legs shaking beneath his weight as he nervously stood. She rushed to him to offer him some stability. Carefully, she pressed her back against his chest, holding him but barely. Her own body on the verge of collapsing beneath him. “Did you see her? D-did she hurt you?” The doe raised her head to try to meet his gaze, but his eyes were too bewildered to notice. She let out a sigh as her mind raced, trying to figure out what to say without causing the stag more worry, "No, I didn't see anyone. You have been here alone and no, she - whoever she is - did not hurt me."
As she stood with her legs stretched, she could feel herself slowly beginning to fall. Her legs unbuckling from their braces, causing her to dip. Eventually, she could not bear the weight any longer and fell with a thud to the grassy floor.
*streaks through* Dun mind
"Your efforts are insignificant! I carry you to your deaths!"
Darcy eyed her approach with
He braced himself when she leaned against him, lifting his head and standing frozen in place, uncertain of her intent. His body shivered and shuddered and swayed uneasily yes, but he didn't seem to be focused on that fact if he even consciously acknowledged it at all. The doe spoke again, her words just as soft...just as desperate. She...didn't see anyone? But-!... Darcy's heart hammered. He forced his eyes shut as a stab of pain stung between his eyes as his overworked brain struggled to grasp the truth. He was falling...falling! He jerked and tore his eyes open again just in time to watch the female's legs buckle, her body sliding downward against his before the touch was severed.
“Kumi!” The name flew from his lips in urgency, and his body suddenly developed a will of its own as he stepped quickly to her side. Lowering his head, he gently touched his chin to her hair, his body stumbling around to position itself at her side before his knees immediately buckled. The monarch collapsed beside her, and while his limbs rejoiced his anxiety only heightened. He didn't understand it, not fully...he just let himself react.
“I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. Kumiko... What's happening? Who-who did this?”
The stag leaned into her, wrapping his neck around her, hugging her tightly and carefully to him. The contact...the warmth. Real, yes! His ailing body shuddered in relief.
The collapse happened
The Forest had grown to be dangerous; there was no time to rest these days. As she laid in the cool grass, she gave a soft sigh of relief. Her survival instincts were forcing her to rest, and part of her was grateful for it. However, her mind still raced as her ears remained perked in alarm. Scanning the Forest for any signs of a threat that may be lingering around the dying pair. It had become a behavior she had recently adapted to. Always being on edge. Always look out. Always expecting the worst... She closed her eyes in sorrow as she let out a second, slower sigh. Things had not always been this way. The fear was taking a toll on her. Draining the doe of her innocence and sanity as she began to question so much about the Forest she had grown up in. Questioning who to trust and who to turn. Questioning how to protect those she cared about. And it had begun to question Darcy...
Was he seeing visions...? Hallucinations? Was his reaction to her tonight a result from what madness he had previously spoken to her about? What was the cause of it and what could she do to protect him...to help him...from an enemy locked within his own mind?
Her thoughts, however, were quickly jerked away from her as Darcy's voice pierced through her ears. "Kumi!" The spiked sound of her name slipping through his lips snapped the doe to reality as he fell beside her. Her eyes blinked in a shocked astonishment as the stag's reaction surprised her. He had been so distance...So emotionally detached...That his warm embrace startled her, but in a good way. He had wrapped his neck around her's, pulling the flimsy doe closer to him. The warmth of his body relaxing her oncoming anxiety, as he spoke with a normal tone. Whatever had possessed Darcy before seemed to have back away, and the stag she knew had returned. Perhaps not fully, but enough to allow her to drop her subconscious defense.
She could fear the shakiness of his voice as he began to apologize, but for what? Kumiko returned his embrace by gently nuzzling her cheek into the softness of his neck fur, trying to caress him to a state of calmness, "Shhh... It's ok, Darcy. You did nothing wrong. It's ok." A faint smile of relief drew across her worn face. Giving the doe a strange look of happiness even as a tear-like blood trickle rolled down her face from the slash she had received when Darcy had thrashed about. But it faded quickly as he asked about her wounds. Her muscles tensed again as her mind pounded while racing through thousands of ways to answer him. Sorog's threats still ringing in her ears....No, he could not know the truth.
After a moment of silence, she began to warily answer him. Her voice cracked and broken as she began to piece together a believable story, "I...I was at the playground...Purifying the land when I stumbled back too far. The rocks...They gave away and I slipped. I tumbled down the edge before...before rolling to a halt near a log. There was a sharp branch sticking out from it and I...I fell into it when I stopped rolling. It stabbed me. Yes, that's right. The log stabbed me. No one did anything."
♥
I didn't even know Darcy got
/track
Art by Anjali. ♥
Crap, I'm kind of an idiot,
It was great to see Darcy
LOL I know we were on our way
Tracking this =]
It was very nice to see Darcy
It was very nice to see Darcy inforest today amongst the row of resting deer. I missed when you first came up but was delighted to have him sit down with the little group as it was.
I would like to try at some time to have them actually speak with one another at some point if possible when you have time. Even a short post or two would suffice really for her and myself.
Again, it was wonderful to have some time to have Jettem near Darcy once again.
I just had to tell you that
Corell: Hey there!
Jettem: It was nice to see her in-forest again ^^ I was glad I finally caught a group I could recognize from the past. Makes the forest feel more homey for sure.
It would be nice to get to know her better – as I've been hearing such wonderful things -chuckle- I wouldn't mind an interaction between the two of them, though I'm not sure where it'd begin? I'm not 100% on what their 'relationship' with each other really is ha.
Pumpkinseed: Wait, so now Darcy isn't only high, he makes other people high? D8 How can this be?! Haha, well thank you I appreciate hearing it haha
You're showing up as offline
Helllooo. (: Just chiming in
Just chiming in to let you know how much fun Fikos had following you around today.
She's terribly new and was more than ecstatic to be accepted by the 'big kids'
<3
Hey there ^^ Fikos is
Oh fail, I thought I was
But anyway, tracking! <3
http://endlessforest.org/comm