“A beautiful day…” the young doe murmured to herself before grabbing another bite of the sweet spring grass. Her companion, another doe in the prime of life, simply replied, “Isn’t it, though?”
The two strolled about as they ate, not really paying any mind to their surroundings as they moved through the brush and thickets. After a little while, they passed the location where our Turkey had met Master Bartleby. Of course they stopped for a drink at the little brook as well, chatting all the way.
They continued on for a little while before the sharp, raspy call of a crow interrupted their conversation. The two does stiffened and immediately snuffed the air and looked about them. After a few tense moments, they relaxed and continued their walk, glaring all the way at the strange, white-beaked crow that had made the false alarm.
It was then that one of the does stopped and stared at one of the trees. Her companion halted as well, staring open-mouthed at their new finding.
There were indents and rubbing marks in the bark of the tree. That could only mean that there was a buck around, shedding the velvet lining off of his new antlers.
The two does, who had both been searching for mates, nearly squealed with girlish delight. They sniffed around the tree and after finding a scent, pursued the new target.
They saw him after coming out into a new clearing. He was casually grazing about in the open. His sharp scent penetrated the doe’s nostrils, making them swoon with profound ecstasy. “Oh, look at those antlers!” one of them said, her whole body shivering with arousal. Indeed, the buck’s rack was more than a little impressive. The massive antlers nearly reached four feet in height and exceeded three feet in length each. Truly a fine specimen!
“Oh, his pelt! Look at that pelt!” the other exclaimed eagerly. The buck’s pelt was a shaggy sort. Long, clean hairs nearly touched the ground.
The crows, after about five minutes of flying and prodding, finally led our Turkey into yet another large clearing. This clearing was different than the previous one with the brook though. In the last one, there was immense shading due to the trees, which provided much comfort to the three. However, in this new clearing, there was no cover, just bright sunlight that made Turkey wince in pain.
“Are you coming or not?” the childish voice of Bartleby rang a bit farther out. Only a small glitter on the ground betrayed his location, which the crows knew to be his golden hooves sparkling in the sun. Turkey didn’t move though, he was far too busy examining the upward sky for birds to notice even his new Master’s voice.
Debit and Credit, feeling the discomfort of the beating sun on their backs and usually easily irked to begin with, each grabbed one of Turkey’s ears and dragged him to a small abandoned shed that sat in the middle of the clearing.
Bartleby had already fearlessly walked in when they got there, and the crows, too hot to really care, immediately flew in without bothering with Turkey. He wouldn’t have gone in anyway, the sight of the little run-down building made him paw the ground in fear. The smell of it was strange and irregular, as if it was trying to be several things at once… Smoke… leather… cologne… Of course Turkey didn’t know the names of these things, but even at his low intelligence, he knew that they meant danger by instinct.
On the other hand, his three friends had just walked in without a care. Did this mean it was safe? Turkey didn’t know… Very reluctantly, with his tail between his legs, he slowly walked in.
The shed was quite empty. It was really just a shell of a building, but to the animals, it was a shield from the hot sun. Turkey felt at ease almost immediately as a cool bit of air rushed at him.
