a young male.

"I will not harm you," he repeated. "Would you please tell me your name?"

The doe seemed hesitant she could not get a good smell of him with the winding blow his scent away. Finally she spoke up. "I am called Claris," she said cautiously.

His eyes went misty and he smiled widely. "You are Stabo's and Gena's daughter," he said.

The doe seemed surprised. "You know my mother and father?" she asked puzzled. She did not recognize him; she was a small fawn when Bambi, Faline, and he had last seen her.

"Stabo is my Son," he told her. "I am the deer they call Stranger."

All hesitation in her vanished. She came over to him and reached up and nuzzled his face. "He did likewise like she was his own fawn. "My father and mother spoke of you many times and still do," she said with a bright smile on her face.

"Are you mother and father nearby? I must speak with them," he said to her.

"They are over near their resting place. Mother has a new fawn so it was time for me to go out on my own. How did you know I was behind you? I thought I was quiet."

"You were, but I am much older than you and have more experience. I heard you. You still need to practice your walking quietly. Also I got you to follow me with the wind at your tail. That blows your scent to me, but you cannot smell me at the same time. Remember that; never follow anyone when the wind is at your tail."

She seemed to listen intently. "Yes, Stranger, I will remember. Thank you. I will show you to mother and father."

He followed the young doe. She moved gracefully and quietly. Stabo and Gena had taught her well. In another year she would walk like a breeze in the forest: hard to follow, and impossible to catch. It made his heart ache to watch her, but he was reminded of what the bear had told him. No matter what happened to him, the best in him and Claris would go on and that made him feel as happy as he had felt since his own Claris had left.

He followed her back into a small clearing. There was a small stream that ran through it. On the other side of the stream she stopped.

"Mother, Father," can I come in," she called. "I have a visitor with me. It is Stranger."

Immediately he heard the sound of breaking twigs and rustling leave and a moment later, Stabo walked into the open. A moment behind him was Gena, a young male fawn close to her side.

"Father," Stabo called out and came up to him. They exchanged embraces as only a deer could do. He then kissed Gena and nuzzled her fawn.

"This is Koren," Gena told him. He was a bright and alert little fawn and seemed to wonder about the new big deer in his life.

"I am so happy to see all of you," he said. He looked at Stabo. He had grown. He was as big as him now. Already he could see the stubs of a large rack that would grow out this Season. Gena was sturdy and very healthy.

"Where is mother," Stabo asked.

He dropped his head. "That is what I wanted to talk to you about. Your mother has left and gone away."

"What!" Stabo yelled out, "What happened?"

"I like to know that too," a voice called from behind.

He turned and saw Veron standing to the side of him. He never heard him approach. He was as quiet as his father. He was smaller than his father, but much stocker and heavily muscled. He pity any buck that tried to fight him in Season.

"I am glad you are here," he said to all of them. "I only want to tell this once." He went into his tale of what had happened last winter and this spring. It was hard for him to tell and several times he had to stop when he choked up, but they had to understand what he wanted and why. When he got done, Stabo simply stood there shaking his head in disbelief.

"I am sorry, Father, but I do not understand. I do not understand why mother thinks she will never again have a healthy fawn. Look at me. I am healthy and so is my younger sister."

"I told her that," he said, "But she would not listen."

"You think she has gone back to live with my father and mother," Veron called out

"Yes, her scent clearly led that way and that is why I am here. I am in need of your help.

He saw Stabo look at little Koren. "Father I cannot come with you. I cannot leave Gena and Koren."

"No," he said abruptly. "That is not what I want. I will go after your mother and I will go after her alone. That will mean I will be gone for a long while; too long for the herd to be without a leader. Your sister and Balo are good deer, but they are still too young to be herd leaders. I will need someone who is older with more experience. Stabo I will need you to help them especially after mid-summer and we get near the Season. Can you help them during this time?"

Stabo looked at Gena and then she looked at Koren. Gena looked back and nodded yes. "Koren will be grown more and will be able to travel then," Gena said.

"Very well Father, after mid-summer I will go back to our forest and help," Stabo said.

"Veron," will that be a problem with you?" he wanted to know.

Veron through about for a few moments before answering," No, so far Man has not come here, but that will not last. I remember enough from what you and my father taught me to hide from them. I would like to have Stabo here to help. But I can see where he will be needed more in your forest. How long do you think you will be gone?

He took a deep breath because that was the part of the problem that had no idea about. "I do not know," he said simply. "If I can find your mother, if she will listen to me, if she will come back. All of this I do not know. There is also something else. The travel to Bambi's old forest is longer, more dangerous and more out in the open then travel here. It is possible I may not live to get there."

With that he turned to face Veron. "When your mother and father first left they were in a small group. After the fight with Geno they came back as a small group. Last time your father and mother went together with Gorro. With several deer, it is not a problem to travel. The predators will not attack a group. A lone deer is something else. I do not even know if Claris survived the trip and I do not know if I can survive it alone. It is possible neither of us will ever come back." He went back to face Stabo and Gena "In that case Stabo, you may have to be herd leader until Balo is old enough to take over from you."

"Stranger no," Gena blurted out, "Do not say that."

"Sister he is right," Veron spoke up sounding a lot like his father.

"I understand, Father," Stabo told him. "If you do not come back, I will lead the herd, but I will not stay. This place is my home."

"Stabo is a great help to me," Veron added. "It would not be easy to be herd leader here without him. None of the others I can depend on like I can depend on Stabo and Gena. "Little Bambi is only now old enough to be trained. I must do that this season in case something happens to me. I must stay here."

He walked over to Veron and rubbed his forehead with his nose. "There is so much of your father I see in you," he told Veron. "He then walked over and did the same to Gena. "There is so much of your mother I see in you and in your daughter," he said looking at young Claris.

He then stepped back where he see could all of them together. "I will go back tonight and talk to Stena and Balo and let them know." Then he stopped as his throat started to tighten and he stammered out; "I just want to say how proud I am of all of you. I know you will do a good with the herd no matter if I came back or not. You are all my family."

They all went to a clearing. Veron left and brought back Alana and his few doe fawn Faline named after his mother. Even young Bambi came back. He was only a yearling, but already he could see him growing a rack. He would be another large deer. They spend the rest of the day and into the early night talking. Then after the lesser light was high in the sky, he got up and left them. He hoped he see them all again, but that was all he could do was hope.

He traveled to the edge of their forest and made the short journey back to his forest as light broke again. He rested near the large oak of the Old Owl that Oswell had taken over. He spent some time talking to him and letting him know he was leaving. He slept near the location Claris and he had chosen as their bedding place at the time of the Season. He then wondered if they ever use it again. So much was in his head and there was so much he did not know. He usually liked to know what he was going to do before he did it, but now he had no idea. He had to do it and hope it all turn out for the best.

He waited until evening and the time the herd ate on the meadow. The lesser light was rising when he walked onto the meadow and saw the rest of the herd feeding as normal. A couple of doe were paired with males, but most doe were alone with their fawns. As he walked over toward the small stream he saw the two familiar figures. He walked over to them nuzzled first his daughter and then her fawn.

"I have not seen you for a while," Balo said.

"I have been to the Man path forest to talk to your older brother," he said to Stena. "There were things I wanted them to do while I was gone."

"Gone?" Stena said lifting her head from feeding.

"I have decided I am going after your mother. I know she has gone to Bambi's old forest and I am going to follow

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