forbidden to look upon the face of death, and in their society, Man meant death.

But standing there at that time in that place, Raven did not see death. He took a step towards them. He gasped. Why, this pair of Man-beasts looked to be nothing more than a big brother and a little brother! The larger boy even bore a stricking resemblence to his own brother, Geno! Raven took a few more steps closer.

"Look, look, Eric! The little one is coming over to us!" Tommy clapped his hands excitedly.

Eric raised a suspicious brow. "That's peculiar." He pulled his brother's shoulder. "Don't get too close, Tommy."

"Why not? It's just a baby."

"Well, babies have protective mothers, and does can be very aggressive if they think their fawn is in trouble. Even these smaller white-tailed deer can get pretty mean."

Syndica sighed as she watched two large stags in velvet spar with each other. Gurri giggled as she watched, every so often winking at whichever stag stopped to look at her. The 2 doe-fawns, however, were busy watching something else.

"Umm, Gurri..." River started.

"Not now." Gurri snapped. "I'm busy."

"Raven is leaving..." Gloria cooed.

Syndica turned sharply to her little cousin.

"Quiet, you!" She barked.

But as she spoke, her eyes wandered out to Raven. Syndica coughed a little.

"Uh, Gurri..."

"What!?" Gurri finally snapped irritably.

"Raven is walking over to Man." Syndica said with a shrug as she returned her attention to the stags.

Gurri gasped and whipped around. "He's doing what?!"

The fawn inched closer and closer until it was just a few feet away from the two very shocked boys. Raven took yet another step when a loud bleat caught his attention. When Eric looked up and saw Gurri racing towards them, he grabbed Tommy by his shoulders again and pulled him back a few feet. Gurri slid to a stop about 8 feet away.

"Raven!" She barked in a harsh whisper. "Get away from them, now!"

"But...but...he looks like Geno..." The fawn stuttered out.

"Are you out of your..." Gurri looked up at the faces of the boys. She gasped.

The darker hair on top, the black patch of hair on his chin, his youthful appearance...this Man-creature really did look like Geno! Mezmorised, Gurri came closer to them. The closer she came to them, the more Eric backed away with Tommy still firmly in his grip.

"Don't make any sudden movements, alright?" Eric whispered.

"But they don't wanna hurt us!" Tommy insisted, trying to pull away. "They want us to pet them!"

"No, Tommy!"

But the young boy pulled free and slowly approached the 2 curious deer. Now, even Syndica and the 2 other fawns turned their attention away from the sparring stags and instead watched Gurri and Raven intently. What on earth did they think they were doing?

Tommy stopped in front of the deer and offered his hand. Raven sniffed it boldly. Gurri bowed her head to sniff at Tommy's hat. The boy giggled. He turned to his brother.

"C'mon, Eric! They're alright!"

Eric swallowed his fear and tentetivly stepped forward. The fawn was very cute, but it was the golden-colored doe that captivated the older boy. She started intently at his face. Eric gave a cautious smile and very slowly reached his index finger out to her.

"Amazing..." He whispered.

Both the deer and the boys looked upon one another without fear. No hatred passed between them but rather a genuine curiosity. Truth was, the deer had never seen Man so close before, and the two boys had never been this close to wild deer. Indeed, both parties were hypnotized by the other's mystery.

But mere inches from physical contact, the serene scene was suddenly and very abruptly interrupted. There was a scream, then a series of screams. The deer turned and the boys lifted their heads. Eric nearly fell over in horror. A renegade deer--a doe-- was flying right towards them in a very aggressive manner, jumping over picnic tables, charging past people and bounding right for the quartet of fear-stricken youngsters.

It was Faline!

The fawn and his sister quickly departed and fled back to their companions who watched, frozen with fear, as the adult doe set her sites on Tommy and Eric.

Eric grabbed Tommy by the arms and quickly threw the young child into some nearby bushes. Now it was Eric who faced the wrath of this furious creature. She reared on her hindlegs upon approaching and began to strike out wildly with her front hooves. Eric fell to the ground, trying to use his arm to shield his face. The doe continued to come at him, flinging her hooves wildly above him. Eric let out a yelp as the doe came crashing down, her sharp hooves just inches from his body.

"Mother, NO!" Gurri cried as Faline rose again for another attack. "Look at him, Mother! Please!"

Motherly instinct got the better of her and Faline dropped down once again, this time, with half of her body over his. Eric tried backing away the best he could, but the attack had taken them near a garbage can that was under one of the trees. There was a small fence around the tree, and Eric soon found the back of his pants snagged on the fencing. He laid there, terrified, as the doe stood over him menacingly. She stared into his face and snorted.

For a brief moment, Faline dropped her angry facade and focused intently on Eric's face. By the Spirits of the Forest and Rivers...this boy look just like her son! She quickly shook off the feeling, and it was moments afterwards that she realized the law she'd broken by looking into the boy's face. Instantly, Faline's scowl returned. She snorted in Eric's face once more. Then she jumped away from him, set her fury on the group of youngsters and instead attacked the golden doe and her larger companion. The young deer knew what was coming, and they all bolted, fawns included, back towards the forest with Faline at their heels.

The whites of their rumps disappeared into the trees and in a single instant, it was over. Eric lay on the ground, still in shock over what had just happened. He gave a heavy sigh and, pulling his pants free of the fencing, sat up and rubbed his face wearily.

"ERIC!" Tommy squealed as he ran into his brother's arms. "Are you alright?"

Eric gave a timid chuckle and tussled Tommy's head. "I'm fine. She didn't hurt me."

The boys turned sharply towards the gray trailer upon hearing a loud cackling laugh. A tall, lean man with a thick gray mustache stood on the tailgate of his truck, leaning on his rifle, looking down on the two boys, who stared up at the man with a scowl.

"What's the matter, Baxter?" The old man croacked as he spat out a wad of chewing tabbaco spit. "Your little furry woodland critters turn on ya?" He laughed again. "That's why I shoot 'em dead." He hopped out of the back of the truck and began mendering his way to the front door.

"You better not be shooting anything dead this time of year, Vic." A feminine voice shot back from the driveway of the maufactured home next door.

A woman, around 32, with long blonde pigtails in tight braids, stood cross-armed as she leaned on the door of her Jeep. A young puppy in the back seat of the jeep glared up at the man and gave a growl.

The woman's uniform proudly bore the embroidery of the Fish and Wildlife Department. The man scowled and spat again.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Forest Ranger Sally." He greeted in a condesending tone.

Sally took a step forward. Vic took a step back. Sally was an imposing woman of 6'2", and very fit. She looked down at the shorter 5'9" hunter and sneered.

"That's right." She said proudly in a deep voice. "And I have every right to arrest you if I find you hunting on the Nature Preserve. So stay off of it." There was a threatening tone in her voice.

"Hey, Mr. Lester." Eric called, now recomposed and standing up. "You had a dog with you when you left this morning. Where is it?"

Sally narrowed her eyes at the question.


"Yeah, where is your dog, Vic?"

Vic spat again. "Dog? Dog? Oh! The dog!" He sneered as he stared hard into Sally's face. "He ran away."

With that, he cocked his rifle and turned to leave.

"Those are new." Sally called as Vic reached for his doorknob. "You get those while you were out today?"

Eric followed Sally's eyes to the trio of black fluffy tails dangling from Vic Lester's belt. Eric gasped when he saw them: bobcat tails.

"Because I know you wouldn't have dared to be killing any bobcats today. Because you know that Bobcats are an endangered species around these parts. And if you're caught killing them, there's a nice cozy jail cell with your name on it. So where'd you get those tails,