Asante/Tumaini (C) MLW

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Swift tail turned sharply. His eyes seemed brighter, narrower, almost as if he was hungry for something. The scouts guessed: Power. Swift tail smiled, his brain working up a convincing story.

" Let's find Faline, so we can give her back" The scouts ran off. 

" Or for ransom payments" He silently changed his previous words. 

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Sanft breathed out, her breath blown away by the winter winds. The large stag turned. Sanft noticed the buck was about the same age as her, just more powerful than any buck she ever knew.

"Even Chestnut couldn't hold a candle to his strength she sighed"

" I sense a blizzard, we must make haste" He beckoned towards the doe, who stood shivering in the snow. The blizzard hit Sanft and the stag just as hard as the storm had hit Tricheur. It whirled down so thick and so fast that Sanft and The buck may have been walking in circles. The snow was so thick that it coated their fur with thick crusts of ice. Small sharp sections of hail struck again and again at Sanfts fur, causing her fur to bleed, turning the snow below her and interesting shade of red. Though it seemed to take hours, Sanft and the buck finally reached the den, and the buck told her to sleep: 

" For there would be a story to tell tomorrow" he said.

Sanft was too tired and weak to protest. As her eyelids grew heavy, she dreamed of Chestnut and her past life. The buck lay down next to her, as if he was protecting her.

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"So let me get this straight, You and Hässlich disapprove of Bukuri and Vertrou's relationship, even though Sanft was born, because you to started feuds?" Tricheur was asking the moonlight buck. 

" Yes, you may not have met everyone, but I can explain if you want to know" The moonlight buck said. 

" But to start with, It was me that sent Sanft on this strange trip, for she is my granddaughter" 

" So you are Hässlich, Sanfts mother is Bukuri and if you are Hässlich ( Her father )that makes YOU Hässlich?" Tricheur said. 

" Your logic is pointless, look this is Hässlich" The moonlight buck said, making a ball apper in the middle of the room, showing Hässlich hiding away with a doe called Mena. Tricheur was to confused to understand how a buck made light appear. 

" Go and get Vertrou, Bukuri and Lojalis, not Nocere" He commanded. 

" What if they think it's a trap?" 

" Tell them Kangelane sent you" Kangelane smiled. 

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She followed the path that led towards a new herd. The doe, Asante and her brother Tumaini had been travelers ever since they thought their mother had been "shot". Now it seemed they would have a new chance, and if they didn't like it, they could leave. Asante wanted to stay clear of whitetail and mule deer. This happened to be a whitetail herd. But there were other deer, Asante noticed, Silver ones, another nearly extinct species like her and her brother. Tumaini scanned the area before telling his sister;

" Wait here" And Tumaini disappeared. But Astane was not that kind of doe, and she took this opportunity by herself to explore. But no sooner had she emerged, did a large buck crash into her. Asante stood up, shouting abuse about bucks not knowing what there doing, running into does. The buck shook his head, turing around, pretending the doe was talking to another buck else. 

" What's your ..." Asante noticed the buck was a Vita deer like herself. 

" Tricheur" The buck said with a smooth tone to his voice. A new target he thought. 

" And I'm on my way to get some silver backed deer for a buck called Kangelane that between you and me is weird"He whispered, putting a hoof round Asantes shoulders. Asante shook his hoof off and asked a question that had been bothering her. 

" Silver backed deer, aren't they very rare like us Vita deer?"

" I suppose so" Tricheur shrugged. 

" ASANTE!" The doe heard her brother call. 

Asante sighed, and slunked off, not bothering to say goodbye to Tricheur. 

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Lojalis shook her head. For months now she had known she was pregnant, but it was time. A new deer would soon walk upon these grounds. The same was also happening with Bukuri. Soon 2 new fawns would tread these grounds. 

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" Can you think logically?" The buck asked, for Sanft had told him her story first, and about Chestnut.

" What do you mean?"

" To as whom I may be?"

" Look, I'm sorry, I don't know who you are!" Sanft sighed. 

" Let me put it like this" The buck said. 

" When Chestnut died, was Lojalis pregnant?" 

" No..." 

" And since Lojalis and Nocere had only one fawn ...." 

" Don't be ridiculous"

" See for yourself..." The buck pointed to the entrance, were a news sparrow was hopping waiting for Sanft to come. 

" Yes Rosemary? What's the news?" Sanft asked the sparrow she knew well. 

"Lojalis and Bukuri have just had two fawns, Chestnut and Sanft, good day!" And with that, Rosemary flew off. 

" I have a sister called Sanft same as me?" Sanft asked. The buck droned a long exasperated shy. 

" THINK!" 

" No ... that is me! I was just born again, and that means.... Chestnut!" Sanft smiled. " But I'm too old, the "new" Sanft will have that chance" Sanft sighed. 

Again the buck rolled his eyes. 

" There are more than one parrel universes. And if Chestnut keeps dying, and being reborn, he never truly dies. And I'm sure he doesn't die in all the dimensions ... " The buck suggested.

And for the first time Sanft understood. 

" So Chestnut is out there?" Sanft cried tears of pure joy. 

" Let me tell you something, when I first arrived here, I said something to the previous king Vertrou, that was actually intended for Bambi. I said Trust the untrusted, but be wary of those you trust, keep your friends close, but your enimes closer. Now do you know who I am?" The buck looked into her eyes. 

" I do .... Chestnut" She smiled, for this was the happiest day of her life. 

" I am from another dimension, but Sanft falls for someone else, but I'm your age!" Chestnut smiled. 

Sanft felt like crying all over again, but her tears had run dry. Suddenly, Chestnut looked towards the east. 

" It's started" He sadly sighed. 

" What has?" Sanft asked. 

" The war" 

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The deer stood to attention as the scouts, lead by Swift tail, Bambi's most trusted scouts made their way to the center rock. The deer noticed that Swift tail had changed however, and waited with baited breath to see what would happen. Swift tail pushed forwards a small, starved skinny doe, that was shivering, her face haunted by memories. 

" Tell them Faline" Swift tail smirked. 

" Bambi ... is ... dead" Faline stuttered. This was not a lie, for Swift tails and the other scouts's antler's were coated with scarlet liquid. 

" NO!" Fawn, now a small shriveled doe stepped forwards. 

" I will not lose a son and husband, since I nearly died myself!" She shouted. 

" You didn't lose your husband!" Matfuso stepped out, now an old stag.

" I thought Vertrou killed you!" Ronno yelled through the crowds. Matfuso had broken his silent promise against the most powerful buck in the forest, for Vertrou still claimed the title. 

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Tricheur neared the entrance to Vertrou's den. 

" You must come you three!" He called. 

"My wife can't come, she's just had a fawn" Nocere pointed out. 

Tricheur looked at Vertrou. 

" Is this is a trap?" The most powerful buck in the forest advanced towards Tricheur. What did he say? Tricheur tried to remember. 

" Kangelane sent me" He confessed. 

Vertrou stopped in his moves, by the thoughts of Kangelane and the war cry out side .....