Drip…drop. Drip…drop.

Water, seeping through the cracks, spilling onto the floor below. The dull sound is but one of the few things audible in this dark, dank place. Rats skirt past your feet, their soft fur one of the few things almost comforting to feel. They squeak quietly as they run by, the usual chit chatter of their kind. A part of you can almost hear the dripping sarcasm in-between garbled vowels; or perhaps, you’re simply imagining it.

We see you’re here again. Welcome back.

You’ve been here so many times, and yet it’s still hard to define what is real here, and what isn’t.

It’s cold here too. There’s no draft here. It’s just…cold. It’s that feeling you get when you’ve realized you’ve stepped a little too far into the neighbor farmer’s yard. You’re the one who gets left behind by your cohorts, the one who’s left staring down the blank eyes of the shotgun.

Return to Nature Index

You've daydreamed all day today. Your little fawn, Vito, has filled your imagination. You wonder what he will look like when he's older, how he will behave, what his personality will be like...

You come home and find the little plush fawn sitting on your chair, as if he was awaiting your arrival. You smile and pick him up, sitting in the chair and resting the little fawn on your lap. You stare deeply into his plastic eyes, and almost in a trance, you feel yourself grow tired. Sitting back, you fall asleep.

"Good morning, Mother.", you hear a voice say. You awake to see both Vito and your deer waiting for you. Vito has grown a little since the last time you saw him.

"Mother?", you ask. Your deer nods, "You were the first person Vito saw when he was born, so he sees you as his mother. Don't worry about it.", they reply. You tilt your head at the little one, who eagerly smiles at you. He is quite handsome for a little fawn.

You soon discover your surroundings - a gradual slope rising up, grass everywhere with boulders that seem to litter the place, and a trail that goes up the side of the hill. "We are at the base of a mountain, and today we will be climbing to the top to meet an oracle.", your deer says to you.

You want to ask what they mean by 'oracle', but you see Vito start to make his way up the trail, and look back at you. "Are you coming, Mother?", he asks. You smile and nod. You trust your deer and know it will be explained later. Following the fawn, you watch him as he frolics and bounds on the trail. Your deer stays behind you, who seems to be enjoying the walk as well.

The three of you go up the slope, none speaking but all finding the climb to be a little more difficult with each step. At one point Vito, who has found himself to be more tired than you or your deer, sits on the trail. "This is hard!", he says at once.

Memories

Tabiu's light grey eyes fluttered open at the sound of his mother's voice. "Tabiu.. Tabi," she spoke softly in his ear, nuzzling his head. He looked up at her, yawning, "Yes mother?" he tilted his head, before realizing that there was a small fuzzy shape lying beside her. "Who's that?" he gasped, leaning down and sniffing at the younger fawn. She smiled, "This is your brother.. Dieu," she told him, "say hello to him." Tabiu looked down at his sibling, sniffing him, "Well hello there," he spoke to him softly. His ears perked up as the fawn looked up at him, before pressing his nose to his, and then laying back down. Tabiu giggled, "He doesn't do much, does he?" he asked, looking up to their mother. "He's just a baby, Tabiu, you know that," she whispered, nosing his cheek, "in time, he will start speaking." He looked up at her, puzzled, "When will that be?" he asked, tilting his head. She rested her chin on his head, "Soon, Tabiu," she answered him, "soon."

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|I need to add something here.. I don't know how to word it though.. so I'll get back to that later. XP|
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Tabiu's ears quivered at the sound of rustling beside him. He opened a tired eye, barely able to see in the darkness. He felt.. an odd silence around him. Lifting up his head, he glared through the shadows, looking around. Suddenly, he felt pain piercing his chest. Where is he? He sat up immediatley, glancing around franticly, "D-Dieu?" he called out, quiet enough as not to disturb any other deer. Tabiu stood up, and creeped out of under the large tree trunk, peering around, "Dieu?" he whispered hopelessly, staggering about the quiet plains. As he sniffed around a bit, not being the best tracker, he managed to find.. nothing. His ears flattened, and he suddenly broke out into a run, pain and fury pulsing through him. Where are you?! he shouted repeatedly in his head as he flew through the clearing.