Today I met the Great Dead Deer. Or the Big Zombie Dear as some folk like to say. You know who I mean- grey pelt a little on the rotten side, wide antlers, skull face, and /enormous/.

Well, I tried my best to get my Halloween costume in the customary way from him, but I suppose he found himself all out of magic, and vanished just before I could try. I was left with half a pelt and antlers, but no skull. Ah! Well. There will be other times.

My day was vastly improved by the inclusion of Dag, Fay, and a little troop of undead deer and fawns. We sacrificed our holiday guises for a trip into the pond. Dag was very kind to allow me another one of my dizzy spells, and when I got to my feet I was suddenly- Blue! with yellow spots! I thanked him graciously when he then gave me the same brown spotty number that I had some few days ago. I stuck with that for the rest of the day.

Dag retired to sleep, rather reluctantly. I wanted to do the same. So I moved my achy frame to a flower bed, and settled amongst the butterflies.

When my eyes drifted open, she appeared- Lady Gwen at my side! Not in her usual appearance, but looking quite a bit plainer. We immediately set off to rectify this with a little spell adjustment. In return she gave me my accouterments back.

But the magic was in the quiet moment we shared, just sitting side by side. Weary as I was, I stood by her side and kept a bit of a look out- I know she likes to have someone guarding her. Tiredness overtook me, and I sat close beside her, my fur mingling with hers. Before I knew it I had put my head down, and was dosing again. She did not move a muscle, and I sighed a very big sigh of relief, and napped for a while, waiting to see if she would also lay her head down beside mine.

Although she didn't, I could not sense any resentment in her for me being there- whether that's my foolish mind or my true instinct I cannot say. But laying slightly curled next to her was satisfyingly lovely, and I cherished it while I could. Eventually I had to raise my head, warn her that I really ought to sleep outright. She reluctantly nodded, and nuzzled my neck.

Her nuzzles, my friends, are the best in the Forest.
With that, I curled up once more with Lady Gwen as my watchful guardian, and closed my eyes.