Name

Will never accept a name.

Nicknames (never capitalized)

The stone balancer, stone.

Nicknames

Similarly to how stone will never accept a name, he does not accept nicknames; both "stone" and "stone balancer" hold no significance to him, nor is he aware of their use. As a nod to the fact that he is a truly nameless animal, these nicknames are always written in all lower case, rather than as proper nouns with the first letter capitalized.
Prior to departing his homeland, he was a feral, ordinary deer. Even with his ability to think and speak as granted by Magic, he still views himself as a wild animal. While he enjoys his new abilities, his resentment toward the Magic leaves him ambivalent. He refuses a name the same way a wild horse refuses a bridle, or a wild bird refuses a cage; he feels that by accepting a name, he would be surrendering his wilderness.

The stone balancer, stone.

Pictogram

StoneBalancer

Species

Panolia eldii eldii, locally known as sangai, or Manipur Eld's deer.

Sex

Male. Stag. He/him/his.

Age

Mature adult, no longer ageing.

Height

122 cm/4 ft at the shoulder. Size 26. Alternative reference.

Weight

100 kg/220 lbs to 115 kg/254 lbs. Annual fluctuation.

Voice

Contact/territorial grunt.

Scent

Detritus, humus, and his own urine. Detritus, humus, mud, fresh vegetation, and wet fur. Detritus, humus, fallen leaves, dry grass, and dust.

Set

Barn Owl Antlers; Real Deer Mask; Light Real Deer Pelt. Barn Owl Antlers; Real Deer Mask; Noh Pelt. Antlerless; Real Deer Mask; Noh Pelt. Noh Antlers; Real Deer Mask; Noh Pelt. Space Beluga Antlers; Real Deer Mask; Noh Pelt. Deer of the Dead Antlers; Real Deer Mask; Light Real Deer Pelt. Golden Butterfly Antlers; Real Deer Mask; Light Real Deer Pelt.

Quick Facts

• Old. Given to long, frequent periods of rest partially due to age, mostly due to lethargy.
• Wild. Largely a feral animal. Behaves primarily according to biological needs and desires.
• Proud. Strives to be respected and regarded as reliable. Confident and easily offended when dismissed.
• Voiced. Speaks aloud to communicate, as a human would; has modified anatomy to do this, caused by Magic.
• Casual. Acknowledges others by looking at them with no reaction, or sniffing them, then returning to what he was doing—this is a means of displaying approval.
• Natural. Equally capable of feral communication, however is limited by species, being more accurate and detailed with those of closer taxonomic relation.
• Reserved. Does not use some common communicative gestures, considering them "unnatural"; others he's learned are performed with an unusual curtness.
• Enduring. No longer physically ages since departing his homeland; all bodily characteristics are unknowingly governed by his belief, be that to his favour or detriment.
• Purposed. Driven to be the protector and provider he feels stags live to be. Protective to a fault; views himself as the expendable protector of his herd, if necessary.
• Nostalgic. Often found at the Pond or in the Birch Forest—they remind him of home.
• Perceptive. Capable of spontaneously understanding virtually anything via Magic; copes with the constant influx of unwanted knowledge by rock balancing.
• Prejudiced. Distinctly hates having anything to do with Magic, anything he considers unnatural, and any being he considers to be a threat to himself or his herd.
• Mistrustful. Tends to avoid areas he associates with Magic, the unnatural, and predation. Any negative experiences are remembered, and heeded accordingly.
• Companionable. Considers others around him to be herd-company, even at a distance. Often reliant upon socialization and camaraderie.

Body colours

Coffee eyes, armadillo nose, and umber hooves.

Winter coat

Wenge base with a millbrook back, a malta belly, khaki legs, and a black coffee mane.

His Winter coat begins to show through around mid-September in early Autumn, and is fully developed by the beginning of November in mid-Autumn. The process gradually grows more noticeable, with the change being incremental and not a dramatic shift. While his fur is much denser during cooler months, the fur on his neck is particularly thick and coarse as well as darker overall, lending to the appearance of a mane. His colours are darker and desaturated, and somewhat inconsistently patchy across his body.

Summer coat

Milk chocolate base with a jambalaya back, a pale taupe belly, brown sugar legs, and sisal flank spots.

He begins to moult his Winter coat around the end of April in mid-Spring, and is fully moulted into his Summer coat around the beginning of June in late Spring. The process is very obvious, with patches of thick fur coming out in clumps, and a noticeably scruffy appearance across May. His fur is much thinner and less insulative during the warmer months, with an overall colouration somewhat more uniform reddish-orange across his body, and the distinct presence of fawn-like pale spots on his flank and lower back.

Year-round coat qualities

He has smooth, thin fur with sparse underfur, and uneven hair length resulting in a shaggy appearance. The fur inside his ears is very long and smooth, almost silky but still somewhat rigid. His fur is speckled with gray overall, having lost pigmentation over the years, and continues to grow more gray over time due to stress, but this pigmentation loss is reversed in times of calm when his body chemistry returns to homeostasis.

Antlers and rut

Having grown his antlers from late August through late December, he sheds his velvet around early January. In preparation for his rut, his neck muscles begin to visibly strengthen as soon as his velvet is shed, are at their peak size around early March, and return to normal size by mid-April. His rut period is from early February through the end of April, with the peak fighting occurring between late February and early March; he self-anoints with urine throughout his rut, particularly at its peak. While his antlers may be cast anywhere between the beginning of July through the beginning of September, they are typically cast near the beginning of August. After a couple of weeks of healing at the pedicle, a new pair of antlers then begin to grow within the same month.

Age

Though he is a member of a subspecies whose wild lifespans average ten years, stone is much older than this. Since he departed his homeland at nine years and four months old, he has not truly aged. His body now is only affected by his belief, though he is unaware of this. Initially he felt old, and so his joints were frequently sore and he grew tired rather quickly. When he is stressed, his fur grows in gray; when he is injured, he limps and feels pain. However, as time has gone on, he's forgotten some of his age, and has come closer to how he once was in his prime. In times of peace, his fur grows vibrant, his body seldom aches, he finds himself energetic as long as he believes it true. Though unaware of it, he has become "timeless", and is only affected as much as he believes himself to be.

Posture

His head is generally held high, not in a challenging manner, but rather with the stance of an individual already in a position of importance. His bodily posture ranges from tense but confident to relaxed and open; he very rarely displays any form of submission. His ears are typically relaxed, his back is never hunched, and his tail generally hangs loosely.

Smell

A deer's sense of smell is around one-thousand times greater than that of a human, with deer being able to distinguish up to six individual scents at once. This sense can extend up to eight-hundred meters, or half a mile. Scent is their primary method of communication, with species possessing several varied forms of scent communication such as urine via self-anointing, feces, salivary deposits, and several glands potentially associated with scent called the sudoriferous (forehead), preorbital (inner eye), nasal (nose), preputial (male genitals), tarsal (inner hindlegs), metatarsal (outer hindlegs), and interdigital (between toes). He freely utilizes all of these which he possesses to the fullest extent of his capacity with no regard for others' social norms, and consequently may come off as a bit… Smelly.

Vision

Due to their eye structure, deer have a type of dichromatic colour vision called protanopia. He can distinguish blue from red, but not green or orange from red, and also sees colours like light gray and tan better than dark reds, browns, or greens. On the contrary, he sees colours in the blue spectrum—including into the ultraviolet range—up to twenty times more distinctly than humans can, likely because this is the most prevalent spectrum of light during the crepuscular periods, when deer tend to be most active. His horizontal pupils allow for nine times the light absorption of the human eye, leading to night vision at least eighteen times greater than a human's and a roughly 310° field of view, including about 65° of binocular frontal vision providing depth perception, and lacking only about 50°immediately behind him; this allows him to track the motion of anything within his field of view, which is about 85% of his eye-level surroundings, without moving. His vision is processed at least twice as fast as a human's, giving him hyper-sensitivity to movement and ample time to react. However, with little need for acuity of detail, his vision is only about a third as detailed as a human's, measured at 6/18 (metric) or 20/60 (imperial).

Hearing

Deer have a hearing range similar to that of humans: a human's most sensitive range is from 2 to 5 kHz, and an overall range from 0.02 to 20 kHz; a deer's most sensitive range is from 1 to 8 kHz, and an overall range from 0.25 to 30 kHz. Deer can hear ultrasonic high-frequency sounds that humans cannot, and can utilize the muscles in their ears to target the source of a sound with precision. Deer are capable of independently rotating their ears nearly 180°, allowing their cupped shape to funnel sound from opposite directions simultaneously. His hearing is average for his subspecies, though he has learned the importance of certain sounds and the spoken word.

Upon departing his homeland, stone's body was instantly modified by Magic to suit the demands which were put upon it: his brain became more complex to allow for more developed thought and memory, his vocal cords shifted and grew to resemble those of a human, while his anatomy was modified to produce human language. He is ambivalent toward the intellect he acquired upon departing his homeland due to its Magical source: he enjoys being able to reason to the degree he now can, to think and deduce and understand—but, he never asked for it, and he cannot forgive the Magic for putting it upon him. He is perfectly at ease with all things he considers "natural", including thinking, speaking, and manipulating his environment, as he did all of these things back home to the best of his ability. These things, to him, are rooted in the "natural"—that is to say, they are physical, non-Magical things which are Earthly in nature. For this reason he enjoys learning about the world around him and possessing his new-found intellect. However, given that the origins of his reasoning are still seated in Magic, he finds himself burdened by conflicting thoughts and feelings—comfortable with the nature of his new surroundings and abilities, but repulsed by the Magic that brought them to be.

As a result of his contempt, he does not let his mind wander idly—that is when the knowledge comes to him in full force. His method for coping with and staving off the knowledge is to occupy his body and mind with rock balancing. Though not particularly good at it—he is, after all, using his mouth—he devotes much of the time not spent on the upkeep of his body and socialization to carefully constructing these cairns. He does not keep track of their height nor even where he builds them, as this would be too mindful for his tastes. He does not mind if something happens to them, even while he's building them; he does not bond to his craft, only uses it as a tool of distraction. He merely collects some stones by his side and sets to work, leaving when he is satisfied.

Fairly non-confrontational, he is content to lie down most of the time, watching others participate in their endeavours. Though he is often at rest, it is not truly because of his age. It's true that, for his subspecies, he has passed his prime—however, his body is more capable than he lets on, and growing steadily closer to his old self the longer he lives as a "timeless" being. Any soreness is largely from his idle tendencies, and he can outpace many with less experience. Ultimately, he's just fallen into a habit of lethargy.

Being a feral creature, his personality is greatly altered by his hormones and physiological state. He is at his most vulnerable when he is without solid antlers. He is prone to wary behaviour around others across these periods, but has calmed down significantly as he's gone on living away from his homeland. He finds safety when in the presence of those he trusts, and will stand up for himself or others in proper company. When alone, he wanders about seeking trustworthy company, avoiding or fleeing from that which threatens him. Rarely though does he truly fear anything now that he has grown accustomed to strangeness.

In contrast, when his antlers are grown, he tends to be quite confident in himself, but not brash or overzealous. His confidence is felt as a certain self-possession, and he is as close to objective in his analysis of whether it is wise to fight, flee, or freeze as he can be in this physiological state. This state of mind is the closest to his most base personality of all those governed by his hormones.

Continuing on to the extreme, when his rutting period comes about or others around him are in rut, he goes from being docile and unassuming to audacious and uninhibited. While not a stupid being, he's more likely to make rash decisions when his testosterone levels are elevated.

Along with his rut comes an amplified sense of his responsibility to fill his role as the "patriarch" of a herd. He is the guardian, the provider; he must always be steadfast and reliable, to help and protect those for whom he deems himself responsible. From his perspective, it is his legacy to devote himself to a cause bigger than himself: the safety and comfort of others, and the continuation of his herd. Even while not in rut, this is a constant aspect of his personality which will come out when others are vulnerable, or others try to help him—though he will always be grateful for efforts made on his behalf, he can be somewhat prideful.

According to his feral history, he is a herd animal through and through, and welcomes company; whether at some distance or up close, he is far more comfortable and at ease with others. That said, he does prefer a bit of distance while getting to know someone, and may settle himself away from those so eager to befriend him that they do not give him personal space. He is also seasonally prone to preferring large herds, smaller herds, or occasionally even solitude.

Contrary to his ambivalence, he enjoys conversation: learning about others' experiences and thoughts, and even enjoys speaking himself; he can be exceedingly verbose around those he is fond of, and is often found chatting to himself even in the company of those who cannot understand him. It is of note that the stone balancer actually does quite literally speak, aloud, as a human would. He considers all spoken languages to be the same "language" cognitively, simplifying them to himself as merely "talking". In other words, while he can become instantly aware of the pronunciation and meaning of any word in any spoken language, he does not recognize words in different languages as being in different groups, and instead merely perceives that there are many equally valid ways to vocalize singular concepts.

When not speaking, he communicates in the feral ways one would expect of a deer: scent, body language, non-word vocalizations, and the like. He is, however, only capable of communicating perfectly—albeit simplistically—with members of his own subspecies in this way. When communicating in a feral manner with members of other species, miscommunication is common due to differences between vocal, visual, and olfactory cues. Simply put, different species communicate differently, and he is still limited to his own feral capacity in this regard.

Though he prefers the company of others, there are some beings which he may be wary of, or in some situations, even reject outright. These sorts include: his natural predators, or beings who he considers to be formidable even if they appear otherwise nonthreatening; beings who are in some manner "unnatural", including "unnatural" colours and hybrids of two or more species which cannot naturally reproduce; beings who appear sickly or somehow dead/undead; and beings who associate themselves with Magic. These are merely examples of beings who he may initially be wary of, but could easily warm up to. He is mistrustful not only due to others being somehow "wrong", but more specifically by how their appearance and/or behaviour may negatively impact him. It is important to note that, like with other aspects of his personality, he's become much more open-minded since his arrival, and is tending toward more and more acceptance all the time, with regard to life events.

Contrastingly, he is drawn to some entities upon first meeting them, including: benevolent or neutral spirits, deities, mythological creatures, and the like (I imagine that animals on Earth would be generally innately aware and at peace with such beings, and that these beings are entirely separate from Magic); "natural" beings—especially but not limited to deer—which are generally herbivorous; and female two-toed hoofed beings (particularly cervines), for obvious instinctual reasons, as well as that a good portion of his Earthly life was spent protecting his harem and their offspring. Again, these are only examples of the sorts of beings he finds himself drawn to, and his developed curiosity often pushes through his caution.

He will, generally, treat all actions and appearances as they seem to be in-game. He generally perceives a being to look like its in-game appearance implies due to his poor eyesight, and is only granted clarity if I elect to research the character; understandably, this can lead to some interesting misconceptions, and his behaviour will reflect his current understanding. I assume the least detrimental result of his actions until shown otherwise; for example, if he strikes a character, I assume he is merely trying to intimidate them and they have not been harmed, unless the player chooses to have their character suffer a wound. He perceives all "unnatural" things (lag, glitches, etc) as some form of Magic; additionally, movements such as tripping or walking through trees are also perceived literally. Basically, I only alter his perception to suit his character and when I'm not certain how to translate it.

Interestingly, despite his distaste for Magic, he is exceedingly fond of the Pond and, to a lesser extent, the Crying Idol, despite their obviously Magical ties. This is due to the fact that the Pond is capable of removing all Magic, and that the Magic granted by the Crying Idol differs from all other Forest Magic (Spells cannot be cast upon those who bear its pelt). While he still prefers things of a non-Magical nature, these areas of the Forest are distinctly different to him. He has come to regard De Drinkplaats with mixed feelings; while it does remove Magic, it also generates its own. Despite this, he is especially fond of the area it occupies—particularly the most grassy areas of the Birch—and has come to tolerate it for this reason.

Having come from living in and around a lake, he spends much of his time around the Pond and stream; there he occupies himself with drinking, eating water plants (a personal favourite of his), and wallowing in the muddy shore water. He may at times spend hours just laying or even sleeping in the water at the shoreline, and has grown fond of watching some of the smaller animals which frequent the area. His homeland also strongly resembled the Birch Forest away from the water's edge, and thus he is happy to spend days simply wandering through it. In general, he may be found bathing in the Pond, resting near the Crying Idol, grazing the blueberries in the Blue Bowl, lounging in the tall grasses near De Drinkplaats, or observing the Forest from Red Hill.

As he's gone on living away from his homeland, he's worked on coming to terms with his circumstances, and his herd has been imperative to that. Though he will always resent the Magic for taking him from his home (if it did—he thinks so), forcing intelligence upon him, and continually feeding him information without his desire or consent, he's come to love many of the beings he's met, the fact that he can think to the degree he can, and what his life has become as a whole. He will never be completely satisfied, and he will always be disapproving of many beings he encounters, but given a chance to go back now, if he had to give up his new herd and his intelligence, he wouldn't. That alone speaks volumes of how he's changed since he first arrived.

Typically, the stone balancer behaves amiably, maintaining a sort of cautious acceptance. He does react negatively to certain in-game appearances, which is an assumption about the character based on the features used to represent them. I try to locate the character's biography during interaction, so his behaviour may change to reflect his current perception.

His actions are a combination of his natural behaviour as an animal, what he finds reasonable with his intellect, and body language he's adopted from others—however, he is selective about body language, and absolutely will not engage in some common gestures, such as bowing. He may come off as rude, abrasive, or aloof due to his tendency to err on the side of caution; he far prefers to run or be standoffish if he knows it will keep him safe.

While his hobbies since leaving his homeland have come to include rock balancing, he's also retained most of his feral habits. Especially during his rut and warm weather, he takes frequent mud baths. In times of calm, he can ruminate for hours, dozing in-and-out of sleep while still chewing his cud. During such times, he's happy to let symbiotic animals such as birds keep him free of parasites and other pests.

When around others who he is trying to intimidate, he puts on displays of strutting to assert himself. Most often though, he prefers instead to groom his company in a gesture of affection; he vastly prefers acts of peace to displays of dominance.

Body Language

Initial Response:

Upon first meeting another, he will look at them from his current bodily position, moving only his head while doing so. He will hold a stare for a few seconds while he evaluates them based on their appearance, behaviour, company, and biography.

= Ambivalence:

Oftentimes, he neither accepts nor rejects another outright. In this period, he'll exhibit somewhat in-between signals, though none are intended to be ambiguous.

Indecision: Standing with his side indirectly toward the other and occasionally glancing toward them, neither aggressive nor fearful, but not comfortable.

Cautious acceptance/”I don't want trouble”: Standing with his side entirely toward the other, his gaze averted.

+ Acceptance:

If he accepts the other but their acknowledgement is brief, he will then return to what he was doing, reassured that he does not need to pay close attention to them.

If they express friendly behaviour such as sniffing, he will return with a sniff and maybe an amiable word. If no further action is taken by them, he will return to what he was doing, even more assured than he otherwise would have been; likewise, further socialization will be equally reciprocated.

Trust: He will graze, drink, and bathe around the other, putting himself in positions of vulnerability.

Complete trust: He will lie down and sleep around the other, and feels no need to scrutinize their actions, comfortable even with them in his blind spot.

- Rejection:

He responds negatively in two ways: a flight reaction or a fight reaction. As with any interaction, the escalation of these responses is situational, and engagement which begins with one response may change to another. He sets his own health above virtually everything, and thus will almost always flee from any perceived confrontation. His exceptions to this rule are: when defending another being, when he is in rut, or when he knows that fleeing will not help him.

Flight:

Alarm: Head facing the other for a prolonged period of time.

Snort + Stomp: Head facing the other for a prolonged period of time + Head shake "no" (+ Sneezing).

Fight:

Ear drop: Facing the other directly with head and body.

Hard look: Facing the other directly with head and body + Taunt.

Sidle: Head facing the other while walking an advancing circle around them, taunting periodically.

Antler threat: Antler.

Rush: Antler + forward.

Boxing: Rear; Taunting periodically.

Origin

The Dark Place: A collection of memories and present-day events.

Heralding from the phumdis of Keibul Lamjao National Park—an area in the southeastern portion of Loktak Lake in Manipur created to protect the sangai, as depicted in this documentary—he and his herd rarely faced predation by humans, and were given some protection by them from other natural predators as well. As one of the older members of his herd, he had given up his place as one of the dominant stags in the breeding season before departing. Despite this, in his prime, he sired many fawns and led his own harems. Though past his prime, his antlers are still quite impressive due to his age, and he's had a fair deal of experience, so he knows plenty of tricks if need be, and has certainly not given up on courting and showing off.

While he was originally an ordinary deer led almost entirely by instinct and qualia, upon departing his homeland he was granted intellectual awareness of the world by Magic, resulting in a human level of cognition. Now he finds himself aware of language, logic, complex cultural beliefs and behaviours, a gist of the overall nature of the world, the greater implications of cause and effect and the problems which may follow current paths of action, and other general data-based knowledge. So long as he keeps his mind occupied, busied by unimportant tasks, the knowledge will not come; however, if he loses focus and his mind idles, awareness of all manners of things come flooding to him via that Magic. Though he has come to terms with the nature of his new-found intellect, he still strains to keep touch with his feral past, and to resist embracing the knowledge and its source.

Born on November 11th, 2004. Entered TEF in February, 2014. Entered RotR on August 2, 2023.

♥

1. Stria
   "My onus. My young equal. My daughter." Admires; bewildered by; exceptionally comfortable with; considers an ally; curious about; entertained by; frustrated by; exceptionally fond of; interested in; learning from; protected by; protective of; respects. Present for and bonded since Stria's birth, he witnessed a good portion of her growth in her early days before his increased absences, and considers her to be his daughter. Though he's not always been the fondest of her decisions in company or life progress, he's always supported her the best he can even when he cannot understand her. Regardless of his concerns, she's grown to be more physically capable even than he, and he's finally come to realize that she does not need his protection anymore—though, whether she wants it or not, she will always have it. She is there to press at him and force him to face the world, encounter new things, and challenge old ideas; he is there to impart his own knowledge upon her and guide her where he can, though his guidance is not always wanted or needed. It is no longer about what he should do for her, and is instead about what they will do for one another.
2. Rune
   "My charge. My reassurance. My son." Comfortable with; considers an ally; curious about; feral company; exceptionally fond of; interested in; protective of. Thinking fondly back to when Rune, barely older than a newborn, first snuggled up to him for warmth at the Pond, stone considers him a son. He feels a special tie to the roe since stone was the first to bond with the buck. Stone takes comfort in his very feral appearance and is comforted by his cautious nature, in that he ought to do well for himself with it. Like many, Rune is a scarce but welcome blessing, and will always be held dear to stone as one of his most rudimentary herd-mates.

++

1. 'Dusty'
   Attracted to; extremely comfortable with; curious about; feral company; extremely fond of; protective of. His favourite of the feral herd, stone will gravitate to Dusty in favour of almost any company. He admires—and somewhat admonishes—her bravery, as she has been the last to flinch at apparent threats upon many occasions, that is if she flinches at all. He appreciates her restful nature, as she seems to help put the herd, and himself, at ease. She's not opposed to bouts of play and general silliness, which has greatly earned his favour. Their many grooming sessions have established in him a deep and feral bond which greatly comforts him. He will always seek her out, be it in The Endless Forest, The Reach, or beyond. Theirs is a bond both feral and profound, two animals with no names and only their mutual affection and comfort which ties them together—a connection stronger than one might assume.
2. Jiusepe
   Admires; extremely attracted to; comfortable with; curious about; extremely fond of; hesitant about; interested in; protective of; respects. Having met during The Rut Event of 2023, stone's initial feelings toward Jiusepe were obviously clouded by context. Even since then, he finds himself drawn to her, enamoured by her distinct charm and ability to use a few words to say much more. While their interactions have seldom been of much intellectual substance, their relationship has carried an intimacy unique only to his connection with her. He will gravitate toward her in nearly any circumstance, and follow her perhaps too far.
3. 'Muley'
   Comfortable with; curious about; feral company; fond of; protective of. An old friend, he's comforted by their feral nature, and would love to be around them all the time. Took to them right away, and appreciates the simplicity of the deer. Admires their vigilance and distinction between instances which call for fight and those which call for flight.
4. 'Rusa'
   Attracted to; comfortable with; curious about; feral company; fond of; protective of. An old and close friend, he's comforted by her feral nature, and would love to be around her all the time. Hers was a species he encountered back in Manipur, so she brings a special feeling of home to him. Her presence is a scarce blessing for which he is always joyfully surprised and appreciative. He will seek her out anywhere and any time she is present.

+

1. Elliot
   Comfortable with; considers an ally; curious about; feral company; fond of; interested in; protected by; protective of; respects. An old and close friend for whom stone's fondness remains no matter what length of time passes between their meeting. An invaluable ally in past misadventures, and firmly seated in some of stone's most cherished memories. One of few he truly trusts to take charge even in the worst circumstances.
2. Falea
   Attracted to; comfortable with; curious about; feral company; fond of; interested in; protective of. He's relieved by her companionship amongst the latest feral herd. Discovered she also possesses the capacity for speech, though a reticence to use it, and is absolutely delighted to be in such similar company.
3. 'Sedge'
   Admires; attracted to; bewildered by; comfortable with; considers an ally; curious about; frustrated by; feral company; fond of; hesitant about; interested in; protective of. With their first meetings scattered across The Rut Event of 2024, all of their interactions have been clouded by a mix of nuance and circumstance: first, an insight into stone at his most pathetic, recovering in the Pond; second, a whirlwind love affair that while brief, was both eventful and delicate; third and on, a series of herds across which stone was able to demonstrate his vigilance and reliability; and finally, an uncharacteristically mischievous streak in the sangai intended to ''get even'' with Raavas after an experience the previous year, preceded by losing Sedge and Jiusepe to The Red Sun following a fight. Having left on this final encounter, stone suspects that Sedge's opinion of him may have entirely soured, and is tentatively avoiding her in hopes that it might somehow improve things, knowing full well that anything he says or does would likely only make things worse.

=

1. Rossamund
   Comfortable with; considers an ally; curious about; entertained by; fond of; hesitant about; interested in; protective of. Despite having met countless times, stone is not fully certain about Rossamund. He senses the being has connections to many who stone would not consider friends, so though he is always happy to greet Ross despite his admittedly somewhat eerie countenance, he is also always cautious about what may come to follow. Beyond this, there is some strange kinship he feels to Ross in a likened nature that he cannot explain and, to his concern, desperately does not want to consider.
2. Talla
   Admires; very comfortable with; considers an ally; curious about; fond of; interested in; learning from; protected by; protective of; respects. Talla and stone have something of a nuanced relationship. She was one of the first deer he encountered when he awoke in The Endless Forest, and has been a consistent facet of the Forest to him ever since. While the two have never grown close, her presence there is not unlike the sky, the water, or the flowers: she is ever-present and reliable, as much a part of his impression of the Forest as the trees themselves. His trust in her was nearly immediate, and he remains amazed by her resilience and fortitude—not only in being a scarred and bright blue deer, but in her enduring resignation to act with kindness and dignity. For such a small and cautious animal, he has witnessed her being the first to stand up against danger more than once, and he aspires to embody her courage. Though his own wary nature can sometimes put the roe on edge, he has always had only the best intentions in mind, and hopes in whatever way he can to make her life even the slightest bit easier.

−

1. 'Ragna'
   Biased against; uncomfortable with; curious about; frustrated by; not fond of; hesitant about; wary of. The stone balancer first encountered Ragna when he was alone, and he recognized her at once for what he still considers her to be: dangerous. So, on their next meeting when he discovered that she is another of Jiusepe's closest affections, it almost made sense to him in the cosmic irony of such things. Since then, he has seen the amalgam with all manner of his closest companions: Stria, Talla, Sedge, of course Jiusepe, and some distant acquaintances like Camilla, Apolline, Harrow, Elena, and more. He does not trust or like the hyena, but he recognizes that if he's to have Jiusepe and others in his life, he'll have no choice but to include Ragna as well. Toward her, he presents a reluctant tolerance, notable apprehension bordering on fear, and occasionally a baffling lack of self-preservation brought about, at least in part, by his own stubborn obstinance.

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1. Greitai
   Abhors. Exceptionally biased against; exceptionally uncomfortable with; exceptionally frustrated by; exceptionally wary of. An absolute threat he hates so much it surpasses his fear. Profound intolerance and loathing. Thinks everyone would be better off with her dead. Will attempt to hurt or kill her given any opportunity.