Trar's Forest

The huge buck stood over his army. The bucks stood straight, tall, and muscular. They looked slightly uneasy. But of course they were - still early summer, meaning no sturdy antlers. "My army," Trar began, raising himself up. "I am well aware of all your uneasiness. You have velvet antlers, so how can I blame you? However," Trar added suddenly, "I can assure you, you do not require antlers to win this battle. It will take only this - we storm the herd, we thrash, we rear, we bark, we threaten. We will overtake them quickly!" Trar barked out, and the bucks stomped and reared with enthusiasm.

Trar smiled sickeningly, and turned to Nacht. "Tell me, Overlord Trar," Nacht said chillingly - Trar could not deny his fear - "Is there any creature quite as great as the mighty Cervine, the deer? No, I think not. In fact, I'd put us here - I've been thinking quite a bit on this topic, Trar, and I do believe there is a certain heirarchy to animals."

"Oh?" Trar tilted his head, curious. "Tell me about this... Heirarchy."

"At the top there is us - deer. I could not help but put only the fine birds of prey right below us. The rodents - rabbits, mice, rats, so on - those are all useless. In fact, birds of prey are probably above the fawns, don't you think? Yes, and I think that they deserve offerings every now and then."
"What are you saying, Nacht?" Trar asked his right-hand suspiciously.

"Simply that carnivors are noble creatures. They deserve offerings. I have bad feelings about small animals, you know... they are why Bambi's herd knew we were coming, after all."

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Bambi's Forest

Herla was laying upon a large boulder near the great weeping willow tree alongside several other high-ranked bucks - Campion, Birch, Calemvir, and Bambi. He had already picked out several does for himself, and so had Birch and Bambi. Herla felt off the whole time - he quite thought about the does he had so deeply cared for back in Trar's herd - Lily, Rora, Anara, Seri... he was deeply worried about them now as he thought about them - would some other bucks take them? If so, who? He desperately hoped that Bankfoot had taken at least Rora. He remembered how he met the doe and his fur raised most uncharacteristically for a deer at the thought of this happening to her again. He shivered in the warmth of the sun.

He wondered, though, why Calemvir hadn't chosen any single doe. He knew there must be some sad detail in the buck's past, but he just could not get the buck to open up to him. Herla didn't pry. Campion had excepted the fact that he would not have fawns, and shrugged it off readily.

"How are the young bucks looking this year, Calemvir?" Bambi asked. It was he who Bambi had put in charge of training the young ones, and now Calemvir looked very pleased.

"Oh, wonderful, Bambi," he said cheerfully. "In fact, most promising is that young fawn... the fawn of oak." His voice faultered. The bucks all fell silent. The most awful loss was likely that of the brave warrior Oak - the mate of Rosehip, who had become so sick from heart-break she was wasting away, even now, and it seemed likely the beautiful doe would die. All the same, Herla recalled picking her out specifically - force of habit, indeed, and if she'd been from Trar's herd, Herla would know she'd have been greatful. But no, now he felt terrible for the doe and hoped only to consol her and maybe, in some small way, be her foundation. Herla didn't care if he bred this doe - not at all. He just wanted to see her get better. "But that buck - Leaf, that's his name - Leaf bothers me. He's defiant, and he's trouble. You know he's been bragging that he'll breed Salvia's little girl this year?"

Birch rolled to his stomach and reared his head with a snort. "If he gets within three of Campion's antlers' lengths to my daughter, I will make sure he never breed a doe," he barked threateningly. Campion winced. The buck knew that pain well, Herla guessed, and considering how protective Birch was of his daughter, they all knew that he wouldn't hesitate to carry out that threat.

"How's Kaiser and Skander doing?" Herla asked curiously. He was worried about Skander - he'd asked Herla about his father many times and, now, the yearling had mentioned that he aspired to be as great a warrior as his father. That terrified Herla. The buck hadn't dared tell Faline about that detail yet.

"Skander's an excellent fighter," Calemvir told him. "Best in his group, I think. Kaiser, though..." he hesitated. "Not so much. Kaiser's a small, thin kind of fawn, and, frankly, I don't think he should go into battle at all."

"Oh," Bambi frowned. "That's... not good."
"No," Calemvir agreed, "But he is... interesting. He just has this tendancy to know things. He can stradegize, and when I set out a scenario for them, he thinks of these most obvious, simple strategies and they just work." He seemed bewildered.

"I see," Bambi nodded. He looked down, seeing some of the younger bucks chasing eachother into the clearing.

"I'll kill you, Leaf! Don't you dare even mention my sister's name, you fatherless scum!" Barked out an angered, vicious voice. It was a buck by the name of Talin.

Leaf cantered a circle and reared his antleres. "Talin, Talin, I'll talk about Trillia if I want to." Almost as soon as he spoke, Talin charged the buck and reared, smashing his hooves into Leaf's side. Leaf bit at him and an immediate scuffle insued.

Almost as if he saw it coming, Calemvir leaped up smoothly and ran over, forcing the two apart. "Knock it off!" he roared threateningly. "You've both earned a week of training with Birch's squadron, as soon as your antlers harden!" Leaf's eyes widened and he froze. Talin simply looked unenthused.

Birch snorted. "That boy'd better be scared," he growled coldly.

That was when Kaiser and Skander trotted up. "Calemvir," Skander called in greeting. "Can we talk to you?"
"Sure, Skander," Calemvir barked back, relaxing. He trotted over.

"Calmvir, Talin didn't do anything wrong, Leaf was talking about his sister... the way he talks about all does," Kaiser informed the now-twelve-point buck. He seemed distasteful when mentioning Leaf.

"Well, yes, I understand," Calemvir told him. "But still..."

Herla didn't stick around to hear the rest. He stood up and wandered off, looking for signs of problems on the borders. Bambi leaped down next to him.

As they walked, something changed. "You feel that?" Bambi asked suddenly. Herla nodded. Something like tension split the air, and now, in the silence, the world shattered.

A great scream went up, a horrible shriek of pain and anger. The two bucks leaped and turned, and Bambi shot off. Herla fought the sensation.

Why had it screamed if it had been hunting?

He barked. "Bambi! Come back here!"

The buck turned, his reddish-brown eyes wide with shock. Herla slowly approached the undergrowth and pushed into a small clearing of sorts. There, stuck in a bear's steel-jaw trap, was a great tawny feline, with a white muzzle lined with black. She writhed on the ground, screaming again. Herla flinched. It was a noise that made a buck stupid from fear in such close range. "Bambi," Herla said, shivering, "We... We should help her."
"What!?" cried the other. The Mountain lion flicked her head up. She glanced between the two bucks. "We could just let her die - my does and fawns would be safe! Faline and Salvia would be safe!"

"And she should die?" Herla countered. "Bambi, she may be a predator, but she deserves to live too."

Herla slowly approached her. She screamed feircely at him, but he continued. She flattened her ears, baring her teeth. Herla stared at her, locking her gaze. "I won't hurt you," he murmered to her. "Let me help you."

She narrowed her eyes, shaking her injured paw. "Leverage," she told him.

Herla jumped. He'd never spoken with a predator before. "You can't hurt our herd if we release you," he told her. "But there is one herd you can."

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Kaiser

The young buck wandered in the woods, about the edges of the territory. He sighed, feeling something was wrong. Suddenly, hearing a sound, he turned.

A beautiful black doe, with a white spotted back, stood before him. "Hello," he greeted her softly. "I... I've never seen you before. W-What's your name? I'm... Kaiser. I'm Kaiser," he added faulteringly.

The doe tilted her head off at an angle. "I'm Noir."