CHAPTER FOUR: GENO

 

He watched as his sister ran off into the night. For a moment, he wanted to go after her, but his Father had not moved. Therefore, he did not move. He saw his Mother seeming to glare at his Father to do something, but he did nothing. Instead, he went back to talking to Filon.

“You do have an unusual daughter, Bambi,” the new deer said to his Father.

“Yes, she is not your normal doe,” his Father said sternly. “If she was only a male,” he muttered quietly.

“Father, are we going to go see if Man is in the forest?” he asked.

His Father looked at him and seemed to think for a moment. He then shook his head no. “No, we are not going to go look. I am staying here with the herd. You, my son, are going to go look. It is time to see if what I have taught you is taking hold.”

“Would you like me to leave now?” he asked.

His Father looked outward at the sky. “No, it will be light soon and if Man is in the forest, they will be hunting. Wait until tonight and then leave. You know where it is at?”

“Yes,” he answered quickly. “It is by the smaller lake near the hill where Grandfather had his cave.”

“Correct, you will go tonight. You will just look for the smoke. Do not get close to Man. If you see anything, come back and bring your sister if you can.”

“Yes, Father,” he said.

His Father then turned back to Filon. “Did I tell you my old friend Thumper the rabbit told me Gurri was attacked by a fox near his borough? She actually kicked the fox in the face and then charged him to run him off.”

Filon stepped back laughing. “That is good,” he chuckled. The big deer then looked back at his Father and Mother. “I mean no disrespect by saying this, but I wish your daughter was two seasons older. She would be the perfect mate for a deer like me.”

His Father smiled openly. When he turned to face his Mother, she was not smiling at all, but glaring even harder. He wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. He went on eating and then followed his Mother and Father home where they rested for the day.

That night after it was dark, he left his Father and went off by himself. His Father had warned him again of the dangers of Man and the forest. His Mother just told him to be careful. As he was leaving, he heard his Father say to Mother, “He has to learn sometimes.”

He was proud his Father trusted him enough to do this on his own. It showed he was getting older. Already the first buds of his rack were growing out. He knew he would not have a big rack like his father this year, but he have a rack. It would get larger as he got older. All he had to do was to live long enough for that to happen. He moved carefully among the trees testing the air often. He smelled badgers but nothing larger than that. The Coyotes did not come to this part of the forest. He knew bears lived in the hills, but they seldom came here. Just as his Father showed him, he changed direction from time to time to make sure nothing was following him. It took him a while, but by morning, he was near the lake. He found a good hiding place and lay down to rest for the day. It was still too far away to see or smell anything of Man.

That evening after he woke, emptied himself, and ate some nearby grass and leaves. He traveled on still moving carefully. It took him a little while before he got to the far end of the lake. The hills were on the other side of the open water. All the trees were tall and green. The fire his Father told him about did not burn this part of the forest. The trees by the other large lake were hardly more than chest high. You could not hide a pheasant there, never mind a deer. He glided quietly among the trees around the side of the lake. When it was completely dark, he saw movement on the other side of the lake. Two deer were out eating and he could not tell who they were. If it was his sister, then he was on the wrong side of the lake. He cursed his stupidity at taking the wrong direction. He turned around and went back the way he came. By the time he worked his way around to the other side, they were gone. It was also getting late.

He moved through the trees and towards where he thought his sister was. He walked near the lake and that is when he caught the scent in his nose. A smell of bitterness remained in his nostrils. It was smoke from Man. He could see nothing in the darkness. He moved up to the edge of the trees near the lake edge to hide. He was moving there just inside the trees when he heard someone whisper from behind him.

“Geno,” he heard his sister’s voice. He turned quickly He saw her familiar shape near the trees. He backed up and ran over to her.

“Where is Father?” she asked looking around.

“With the herd, he sent me instead,” he told her. “Is that smoke I smell?”

“Yes,” she said and led him back into the trees. Once there he picked up another scent. A young male it smelled like. It was not a powerful scent, but one that was nearby. His sister led him into a thicket. There stood a small male barely up to his shoulder.

“This is Wesal,” she said.

“Wesal,” he repeated. That deer was no threat to him. He wondered why a male that small would be near his sister. Certainly, he could not be interested in her. Any male he knew could drive that puny thing off without taking a deep breath.

“We can rest here,” his sister suggested.

He nodded agreement and lay down near his sister has he always did. Wesal did the same on her other side. That bothered him, but he said nothing.

“A bear likes to drink at the far end of the lake in the early morning and near night,” Gurri said. “It is best to stay away from him.”

“I agree, have you see any sign of Man?” he asked his sister.

“No,” she said. “I can smell only the smoke. I dare not go to the hill. That bear has taken over Grandfather’s cave and chased me when I first came. I got away and found this place. I like it here.”

“Father will not like that someone else is using Grandfather’s cave,” he said.

Soon the first light appeared he heard distant noises. Soon after that, it was full light, a noise echoed through the forest.

“WHAM,” they all heard, but it was far away. It sounded to him like it was on the other side of the hill. That told him what he came to find out.

“Well, that settles that,” he said to his sister. “It is Man in the forest. As soon as it is dark again we will need to go tell Father.”

“You go tell Father,” Gurri told him. “I am staying here.”

That sounded foolish to him. “With Man in the forest,” he said. “You want to die here?”

“Man is far away and you know it,” his sister barked at him. “Besides, Father does not listen to anything I say anyway. He did not believe me before; he will not believe me now.”

“Of course he will. I am with you now,” he said.

“That is right,” she said shrilly. “He will believe me now because my brother will be with me and my brother will be a prince of the forest one day. He has to believe you. I am just a doe that is only good for breeding.”

He shot to his feet his face getting flush. “That is nonsense,” he spoke down to his sister.

“No it is not and we both know it,” she shouted. “Otherwise he would not have sent you to check up on me.”

“Not so loud, Man is near,” the male spoke up quietly. Advice from a puny male infuriated him even more.

“Quiet from you, or I will drag you carcass all over the forest. My Mother can beat you to a pulp.”

The male just shrunk away from him. Gurri, however, shot to her feet and put her face right next to his. “That is right big male,” she growled. “That is the only answer you know. You are prince here; we all must obey you. Well not anymore.”

He tensed his muscles. “Father told me to find out if Man is in the forest and then come back to tell him. He also said to bring you, and I will.”

“No!” she bellowed back. “I am staying here unless you are going to beat me to a pulp also.”

He knew this was not the time and place to have a family argument, but the idea of his sister staying with this waste of a deer made him angry. She deserved better than this thing.

“Fine,” he told her. “Stay here if you want. I do not care, but I am going back. I have other deer that depend on me and I will not let Father down.”

“Listen!” the other male said.

He was going to pound him before he heard it. It was a yelping noise. Father had told him about that noise before. “Dogs,” he said.

He dropped to the ground quickly. His sister lay out flat close to the small male. The yelping was getting louder. They were after something. The barking then changed, became even louder, more vicious. He could hear them calling back to Man. “Here…Here, He is here,” many of them shouted.

“They are after something,” he whispered, “And it is not us.”

“Look,” the male said and pointed his nose.

They could barely make out the edge of the lake, but he could clearly see a large bear running out of the forest with dogs just behind him. The bear ran blindly until he went into the water and stopped. The next moment many large dogs came out of the woods and jumped on the bear. They bit him, tearing the flesh on his back. They also scrapped him with their claws. The bear let out a roar

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