The Third Memory

_{Whyss was used to skulldeer by now. No, he wasn't going to necessarily rush up to them out of nowhere to make friends with them, as about ninety percent of the time they tended to be volatile(and/or hungry) but as of late he generally found them less of an immediate threat if he just left them alone.

The one he'd been following this morning, however, seemed... odd.

It did not swagger through the trees, nor prance, nor move stealthily. It... staggered. Moving almost blindly, only altering direction if necessary. It moved sluggishly - only lifting its hooves just high enough to keep in locomotion.

The huge, dark body was messily scattered with what might have once been bright monarchical colors, but had dulled into the darkness of the pelt over the years.

And the skull.

It was not picked clean as most tended to be, no. It seemed more like the flesh had rotted from it, a pinch of skin hanging off here and there, the skin shriveled and peeling.

The beast hesitated in step, standing, no, swaying: knees shivering noticeably, it slowly swung its massive head from side to side, ripped and frayed ears slowly moving radially.

Then he saw the eyes.

The stag's lids had rotted off long ago, leaving the eyeballs exposed to all kinds of horrors. They were grayed and pitted, and Whyss gasped, wondering if the hulking giant could even see.

"Why are you hiding, idle darling? Do not fear me."

Whyss's mouth went dry. It was obvious that the ragged monster was looking straight at him. Swallowing hard, he rose from behind the stump he'd been huddled behind, looking sheepish.

A wretched, rasping gurgle bubbled up in the monster's throat, and Whyss shot off behind a tree. It took him a second to realize that the stag was... giggling.

"I won't harm you, little willow-the-whisp. Forgive mine malevolish appearance."

The great beast slowly pivoted, turning towards Whyss, and the brassy trumpets on his head caught the light dully.

Whyss took another step back, ears dropping and tail curling as his mouth tightened. No closer, please.

"No fear, little darling. Ruin won't harm you."

The grinning skull, stripped by time, hovered dangerously close. Whyss's front knees nearly buckled, they were quivering so, and his mouth went slack, bottom lip trembling. His entire body shook.

In midstep, the giant's left front leg caught over in a rabbit hole.

The monster staggered, lunging forward, a mountain of diseased flesh, and Whyss exploded into motion, disappearing into the misty forest.

The giant, having regained his footing and stabilized himself, stared mournfully after the small red dot of a figure, bobbing in the distance. The misted eyes roved, searching the forest for other signs of life. Finding none, the giant sighed - an upheaval worthy of a waking volcano - and the beast slowly, painfully, continued on his way.

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Ruin was the third deer I ever created, thus the Third Memory.

I'll have art up later tonight of him, hopefully.}

The Endless Forest

D8.... I has no words. This