Hey guys, I wanted to share this poem my aunt wrote for me. She sent it with a framed artwork of a fawn, and she wrote it after I wrote The Grey Rhino and The Golden Hare. The deer represents me, the cardinal represents my aunt, the owl is my mom, and the hawks represent my cousin and uncle who are also grieving over Mason's loss.

You might remember my aunt from our Bellingrath Gardens photos



"The Cardinal" by Aunt Les

A cardinal flew blindly through the forest screeching in agony over a recent tragedy. The cardinal knew not where it was going - it was in a flight of panic. Out of the foliage a beautiful stag stepped and called to the frantic bird. "I'm here" he said, "Come sit on my antlers and I will comfort you."
As the cardinal sat, awed by the points on the stag's rack, the deer stepped back into the greenery as to shield the bird from prey.
"The Owl has told me of your plight and I am here to tell you a story - a legend about a golden hare and a great grey rhino." As the deer shared the story the cardinal cried as she had never cried before. "I'm here" he said, "and you can stay in this forest with me forever if you want to, but you have others who need you too. A gentle young hawk is searching for you, and so is his father." The cardinal, not quite so panicked now, knew that one day her heart would heal. However, she learned that day that her protectors would always be near.

(Trade-ish thing for SnowSauria. Info here)

"Run run run!!"

Calf's legs carried her as fast as she could go. Past the barns and silos, following a group of startled cows. What was wrong with their faces? Why couldn't she recognize them?

What were they running away from?

Calf turned her head to look back where it was coming from. The bulls were over there, she could see their horns, but even they were running and crying out.

And then...

"No!!", Calf sat up, her heart racing.

The Endless Forest...she was in the Endless Forest. The crisp night air breezed past her, a few bullfrogs croaking in the night nearby. The trees were much different than what she was used to, she was still adjusting to them all around, unlike the pastures she lived on before.

"It was that nightmare again...", she said to herself, and laying down, she didn't want to fall back asleep. She had that dream every night, and she seemed to wake up at the same time of the night when she had it.

Her eyes turned to the distance, a light caught her eye. Calf stood and stretched for a moment, then wandered off toward the glow. The magical world was much different than she had ever really experienced. Things she could understand before were now seemingly impossible to explain. How could the deers' fur patterns change so easily? How were they able to grow and change their antlers after eating pinecones? How were they able to have symbols above their heads?

She finally found the place where the glow was coming from. A bright green orb hovered above the Pond, pulsating, moving around slowly. Calf looked for others in the area, but everyone else seemed to be asleep. They had no idea what danger was looming nearby.

Calf had to know. Was this some strange Forest magic, or was it the thing in her dream? She slowly approached, watching the green orb continue on it's aimless path.

A small journal for Pavils. They'll likely have different titles every time~

I originally wrote this for a character of mine on a roleplay site, though I was forced to leave due to my computer contracting various viruses. This was written to illustrate how my character, Lerato, died before being reborn in the new world. Hopefully, this will inspire me to pick up roleplaying once more.