EDIT: Fixed the mixpod, I just recently found out about the new rule >.> It's now on autoplay~

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Also one word of mild language~ Stole the song from Plague's mixpod xD It was just perfect for this.
I was bored and decided to torture Ranza >.>
Don't kill me Rustar! xD

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Music Playlist at MixPod.com

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Dual-colored eyes flickered from left to right as a slender silverine doe flitted through the darker parts of the Forest. Darkness did not hold good memories for her. She wished not to linger in the shadows, should something bad really happen.

Once sunlight replaced the darkness, Apparanza's beautiful form visibly relaxed. A few steps farther she glanced back over her shoulder, just as a precaution, not expecting to see anything other than the black outlines of the tall trees.

But there was something else.

The silver hind tensed and turned around, staring hard at the unexpected shape. An ear flicked forward to guard the sun from her gaze in order to see better, and the shadow took the form of a deer. As the unidentified set came closer, she got a clearer look at the picto.

What she recognized made her limbs lock and her blood freeze in her veins.

It was her brother.

Oh no... please, no, not again! Ranza cried in her head, dual-colored eyes widening in fear. She willed her legs to move, but they refused to listen and she was forced to stay where she was and watch her malevolent kin approach. Her heart pounded in her chest, and he stopped a mere foot away from her. He was still the only jet-black deer she'd ever seen. Rustar... Rustar where are you?

"So we meet again, dear sister.
I knew you weren't expecting me."

Apparanza's throat was closed and not a sound could be uttered. She could almost feel the pain of his antlers striking her hind legs from the last time she had run into him - or rather, away from him.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" He laughed maliciously.
"There aren't any cats in the Forest..." Ranza managed to mutter, casting her gaze downward.
"Don't be smart with me!" he snapped.
The doe winced and kept silent.
He sneered. "You're pathetic, you know that?" He shook his head. "There's no doubt in my mind about the reason why our parents abandoned you. I'll bet there's no deer in this Forest - no, how about the whole world - as stupid as you are. I mean, look at you." He paused, beginning to circle her. "You're so scared that you can't even move. You can barely talk, for that matter. You wouldn't survive a second in the real world." He snickered. "This? All this is a magical world for the weaklings who can't make it in reality. You're the worst of them. I'm sure that another deer here would at least run or even fight. Taking the offense would impress me. But here you are, not even defending yourself. Foolish doe." His eyes narrowed. "I'm ashamed to be related to a freak like you."

"Likewise, brother," Apparanza retorted, enough anger burning in her soul to regain control over her limbs. Formerly wide eyes were now slimmed, ears pinned down in irritation rather than fear, and her neck was curved back instead of lowered. "You have no right to be here. Scuttle back to 'the real world' if you're as strong as you say you are. Shouldn't you, then, be able to survive there? Or are you calling yourself 'weak' by coming to the Forest? I'll have you know that none of us here are weak. Some may be more vulnerable than others, but none are weak. None but you."

Her brother had stopped circling her and now bared his teeth, ears pinning against his head and his nostrils flaring. The atmosphere seemed to share his mood. The sky darkened, black clouds rolling in from seemingly nowhere and covering up the sun. They were heavy with rain. The wind picked up, and thunder rumbled in the distance but only seemed to get louder.

"You dare speak to me like that?!

Apparanza shrank back at his rage-filled words, her former confidence gone. Her brother's rage combined with the ominous weather replaced her anger with her former fear. She lowered her head, dual-colored orbs pinned on him in case he made a move.
He reared, the rain began to pour down, and the silverine doe bolted.

Ranza forced her slender legs to go as fast as possible, remembering her brother's speed from last time. Memories flashed in her mind and she dared not slow for any reason.
Glancing over her shoulder, she could tell her brother was fast. Muscles rippled underneath his black pelt as he tore after her. She believed the only reason he hadn't caught up to her already was the terrain. There were many trees, and since Ranza knew the land, she easily maneuvered herself through them. Her brother, on the other hand, did not know the geography and had to dodge tree after tree.

"Damn you, doe!"

Apparanza jumped. His voice was closer, and she glanced over her shoulder. He was catching up, and soon he'd be in striking range. Ranza rapidly jerked her head forward and was surprised to see the trees disappear and leave flat ground ahead. The silverine doe gasped and continued on as swift as ever, but knowing that before long her brother would be beside her and gouging his sharpened antlers through her side. Through the torrents of rain and her squinted lids, Ranza realized she was heading straight for the Pond's high cliff. Fear gripped her, memories of Laurette and Raimundo flooding her mind as well as an image of her dear Rustar, but she knew she couldn't stop.

She felt the evil aura of her brother right behind her, felt his antlers slice at her hind legs, and the next moment the edge was at her hooves.

Lightning illuminated the Forest for the second.

She jumped.

Time seemed to slow for a few moments, and once Ranza broke the surface of the water, it returned to its rapid speed. Waves created from the violent storm whirled around both her and her brother, who had also fallen in. He'd been unprepared for the sudden drop, being focused on his sister alone.
Apparanza knew how to swim, but he didn't. A particularly large wave crashed down upon the two and that was the last she saw of him that night.

It was difficult to breathe. Water flooded Ranza from everywhere, rising from the Pond she thrashed in and from the rain that pelted down from the sky like large bullets. The doe frantically gasped for breath and scrabbled for safety, seeing the faint outline of the bridge. She gave all her effort into somehow making it there, using the harsh current to her advantage. Her wounds stung and she shuddered in pain, but luckily they weren't as serious as the ones from before.

As she stepped up on the rocks underwater to get a hold and pull herself up on the grass, another huge wave pummeled into her.

Ranza's head smashed into the stone bridge.

The silverine doe went limp and fell, sliding down the side of the bank underneath the bridge. By some miracle, her head stayed just above the water's surface. The storm ceased; no rain, thunder, or lightning adorned the sky, but the dark clouds lingered for a little longer.

It would take only one rock to come loose and let the waters completely envelop the doe. Just one.

Will there be enough time until someone finds her?

The doe danced in her dreams...