It was cold that morning. The grass was damp and the air smelt fresh, I was asleep though. My dreams had been different lately..they terrified me but I couldn't tell Serenity or Latte. They would worry too much. Every night as I curled up I prayed for dreams and not nightmares but that was never to be.
My nightmares are confusing..they are hard to explain. I am running through a forest but it is not this forest. Although this other forest is Endless it is not the one I am in..
All the bushes are just piles of twigs, the leaves of the trees are burnt, ash and sparks splutter from the ground in holes that have formed there. All around me, wide stretches of open plains once a forest but now burnt and broken. It's as if a wave of evil has swept through this forest and killed it completely. It is dead. Nothing can ever be more horrifying than a dead forest, and just when I think that's the worst I see shadows across the plains. Familar faces....they laugh at me.
Then I wake up.

There is a loud thud and my eyes shoot open. The forest is different. Has my nightmare come true?
I sit up and look around me. I am calm immediately, the forest is different but not like my nightmare.
The trees are just shadowed silouhettes, like black warriors standing talll and still. The air smells odd, like water. I can not see the blue sky instead their is this blanket of grey and white shoruding the whole forest. I can hardly see in it, and I doubt anyone else can. Birds chirrup high up in the trees, alarmed that they can barely see into the mist. Droplets of mist cling to their feathers, like little diamonds and when they fly the diamonds scatter everywhere, glinting in small rays of sun that have made it through the layer of cloud.
A cloud-like blanket? A wise old deer told me of this before. He said it was weather and nothing to be afraid of. He called it mist...but if it is so thick you can barely see ahead of you it is called fog.
I stand up and stretch and yawn, some droplets have caught on my fur and I pause to shake them off. I look over at Serenity. She is still asleep, curled up in her frozen position a gentle rise and fall as she breathes. I am glad she is not having my nightmares. I look for Latte, she is supposed to be asleep by Serenity. She is not there. I guess since it's foggy she's just gone off to explore. Latte is like that. She's a fawn like me and Serenity but she seems wiser.
I nudge Serenity to wake up and her beautiful blue eyes stare in shock at the fog.
" W-what is it Sparx...? " She gasps.
" It is just weather, Serenity. Called fog. " I assure her. She seems to calm immediately and gets up.
She looks at me and gasps.
" What is it? " I say, looking behind me incase I'm about to be attacked by some fawn-eating deer.
" You're pelt and..you have started growing antlers! "
Antlers? Pelt? I look down at my pelt. I gasp too. All across my usually golden-brown fur are little ruby-red and orange hairs. They are scattered about everywhere and there are some black hairs forming stripes along my back. Lifting a hoof to my forehead I feel little spikes, antlers! It must be soon now that I will be an adult deer.
Then I look at Serenity. She had started growing too, and she looks beautiful. Across her fur are little silvery-white hairs, they have a pearly shine to them. Her pelt seems to shimmer, even in the fog. I tell this to her and she laughs.
Then she stares. Stares at the spot where Latte is meant to be sleeping.
" Sparx, where is Latte? " Her tone is serious.
" Maybe she has gone to explore in the fog? " I suggest trying to calm her.
" No, Sparx. She would tell me first. Something has happened, look! " She points to the grass flattened where Latte was sleeping.
The patch of flattened grass is not fawn-shaped, its the shape of an adult deer.
" She has grown up, Serenity. Maybe she just wants some time to herself. " I know my suggestions won't do much good. The patch of grass is not warm and it is scattered in dew droplets. Latte had left it a long time ago.
" We must find her! Something is wrong. " She says, her voice is worried and trembling slightly.
I spot the small patches of flattened, hoof-shaped grass. Serenity has spotted them too, she runs off after the tracks. I struggle to keep up with her.
As we run I see a crow picking itself up off the ground looking undignified. That was what must of woke me up, the thud was a crow flying into a tree. I wouldn't blame it, you can barely see in this fog. I had to stop my self from laughing, Latte was missing. This was serious and Serenity was upset.

The silouhettes of deer running about the forest scare me, they are like the shadows in my nightmare. Some are sitting some are standing. I curse deer with skull masks silently in my head, their calls make the forest even more haunted. Serenity doesn't care she is too worried about Latte. We have followed the tracks to the pond now, and at the water's edge the tracks stop.
" Do you think she drowned? " Serenity whimpers. " Latte where are you? Latte! " She cries out frustratedly.
" Hush Serenity, Latte is ok, I'm sure of it. Let's ask around someone might of seen her. "
" No, Sparx. Latte has grown into an adult deer, we have no idea what she looks like. " Serenity points out.
" Serenity. If growing into an adult has made Latte run away without telling us then her new pelt, antlers, mask must be so unusual that someone would of spotted her. "
Serenity thinks about this then nods.
" Let's go. "
Nearby there is an old doe. She is watching two fawns play fighting, headbutting eachother and rearing. There is a smile across her aged face. Her pelt is a dark grey and her mask and antlers are if the Beluga space set. When she sees us coming she senses something serious had happened and she waits for what we have to say,
" Exscuse me, Miss. My sister is missing and I was wondering if you had seen her... "
" I am afraid I do not know who your sister is. " Cut in the old doe. " Is is possible she is hiding in the fog, fawns are like that. "
" No, Miss. My sister has grown up into an adult, I think it was quite early this morning before dawn she walked off. " Said Serenity, she sounded frustrated and close to bursting into tears.
" Oh... " The doe's eyes look suddenly haunted. " I saw something in the fog early this morning...it did not smell of deer although it looked like one. I could not make it out in detail, these old eyes do not see much anymore. "
Did not smell of deer? Latte lived with wolves in the past, could she have turned into one?
Serenity was silent, so I spoke.
" Did you see which way it went? " I asked hopefully.
" It was heading in the direction of the pond. I beleive it's hoofprints are still visible in the grass. "
So this thing was Latte? The old doe carried on.
" There is a young stag that sits by the pond every morning. His name is Shroud. In the autumn he picks a few deer to talk to, I was one of them. In spring and summer he never talks to anyone. He walks about, it fawns come he walks away. It may be hard to get him to talk. If it's an emergency he may respond. " She told us.
" Thank you. " I say and nuzzle her. Serenity does to. Then we run off to the pond.

Shroud was sitting with his back to us, staring out at the pond. There was not much to see in this fog, so I didn't understand why he sat there. The old doe had said when he sees fawn coming he walks away. I crept up slowly behind him, Serenity at my side.
" Exscuse me, I need your help. " I said calmly. Shroud looked at us, got up and turned to walk away. His antlers were still in the first phase of shedding. Would he talk for us?
" Please, I am not here to bug you or play. My friend's sister is missing. She came down to the pond this morning but we do not know which way she went. "
Shroud turned to look at us, his fine black pelt was covered in the droplets from the air.
His voice was bold, and wise. As he spoke we knew that he never talked in this phase, we were lucky.
" What I saw at the pond this morning was neither deer nor human. It smelt of...wolf. It disappeared into the mist after looking at it's reflection. You will not find it in this forest. "
After talking, he turned and walked hurriedly away.

That night Serenity and I curled up under the oak. Serenity had not spoken, she looked deep in thought.
" Goodnight Serenity. " I said, hoping she would talk.
" Sparx.. Latte has done something that has brought her wolf side on. Because she is not a deer the twin gods have sent her from the forest. " Tears fell from Serenity's eyes. "I can feel her in my mind, she tells me she is ok. "
I thought Serenity was going crazy, was telepathy possible?
" Sparx, I am not crazy. " She snapped, seeing how I looked doubtful. " She is going to tell us goodnight soon. You'll see. "
We curled up, waiting in the darkness and just as I was drifting off into my dreams a terrifying howl split the night air. It was distant, not in this forest. The eerie call crept into the oak, echoing around it and echoing into my mind. I listened to what the howl was saying.

Goodnight my friends...

I haven't edited it yet, so sorry for the spelling mistakes, etc.