Chapter 9: Uncomfortable Explanations

He saw nothing of Stena and Balo over the next few days. He went out into the meadow and told the rest of the herd he was back. A couple of the older males seem glad, most did not care. He noted that Balo and Stena kept well away from the three of them as they ate on the meadow. With no one to talk to he started to train Carie about the forest. He started with walking quietly and she caught on fairly quickly. She was treated no differently among the other doe in the forest. Both she and Claris would often talk to the other doe. Most of the males avoided him which was normal and they knew better than try and make advances to Claris and Carie.

As they passed out of summer, his rack grew back although still covered by velvet. His main task at that time was looking for sick deer or other deer that were too thin to survive the winter. Thankfully he did not have sickness in the herd, nor where there old deer in the herd. That would not change for a few more seasons. There were a couple of thin fawn and remembering his experience last year with his two children he encourage the doe to eat and see their fawns were well fed. Still there were a couple of the fawns he did not think would survive the winter.

He knew Claris was hurt by what Stabo and Stena had said and the fact that Stena made no attempt to discuss the matter further with her mother bothered him more. At times he felt like going over and just telling them what he felt, but he tried to control his temper. She did not avoid her mother, but nor did she make any effort to try and understand the situation. The best he could hope for was things would work themselves out in time.

It was again on the first day his velvet started itch that noise from the Man caves started. It was not loud, but he could clearly hear dogs. There was little shouting and it did not sound like there were many Men there. That night he took Claris and Carie with him to his view spot and looked at the man caves. There were a few lights on, and he saw four Men outside with their dogs. These were not the regular hunting dogs; these were the bigger, meaner dogs that had attacked them two years ago. As they were standing he heard a noise from behind him. A small whiff of a scent came to him.

"You can come, Balo," he said out loud.

The large male walked into the area next to him and looked at the Man cave. "Not many," he said.

"No, but they brought the big dogs that attacked us when you and Stena were fawns." He then faced Balo and tried to explain to him like he had done to Stabo. "They will go out hunting large animals tomorrow like bear. The problem is if they don't find a large animal those dogs will continue and attack anything they come across. If they came across a doe and fawn, they will tear them to pieces. This is why I am going to call the herd and tell the doe and fawn to go up into the hills. That includes you too, Stena,"

He heard some branches break mostly from Delenn and a short time later the two of them walked into the outcropping with them. "You think they are that dangerous?" Stena asked.

"Last time they almost killed Bambi and me," he reminded her.

"Well I am making no plans on getting killed," Balo said.

He was surprised and a bit angry at the bravado Balo was carrying on with. This was about their last conversation and not hunting dogs.

"Ronno and Marol did not plan on getting killed in that meadow with their fawn," he reminded them. "I did not plan on getting hit by Man and almost killed the first year I was here. Your mother and Jolo did not plan on being killed by Man. The fact is all of that happened. There was no plan, none of us wanted it, but it still took place. That is why we must take care in case something happens to us."

He knew he hurt Balo with the comment about his mother, but he didn't stop. "That is why we have others to come forward if anything happens to us. That is needed because what happens to the herd if something does happen to us?

Then he turned and glared into Balo's eyes. "Tell me future herd leader exactly what are you going to do if suddenly it is me lying dead in that meadow. Just what are you going to do to protect the herd?

"No," he heard Claris plead.

"Yes," he said turning to her. "That is something you must be ready for too. Just because we do not want it to happen, does not mean it will not." He then turned quickly back to Balo. "So tell me, what is your plan if suddenly it is me who is not here any longer?"

Balo took a step back, he swallowed hard and then after a second he spoke out his voice shaking slightly. "I will get the herd together and to safety. I will then try and see what Man will do, and then tell the herd what to do in order to avoid it."

"That is a good plan," he said sounding pleased. "Now let us go one step further. What if it is you lying dead in that meadow? Then what happens?"

"Father, NO!" Stena called out.

"Same answer to you as to your mother, it might happen, none of live here forever. Few of us die like Bambi's father of old age. Usually something kills us. Now Balo what do you do if it is you who are dead."

Balo looked shocked as did Stena. Finally Balo blurted out, "I will be gone and can do nothing," he said defensively. "What can I do then?"

"You can do nothing," he jumped back in. "What about you son, if you have one? What about a younger son of mine? What about calling Stabo? There has to be a plan or the herd falls apart and they are killed one by one. One day none of us will be here, but the herd will always go on."

He let what he said soak into them before he went on. "Why do you think Bambi and I put in so much time training Veron, Stabo, you, Stena, Gorro, and the others," he said as if pleading with him. "It was so on that day when we are not here; someone will take control of the herd and lead it wisely."

He then stepped back and looked at all of them. He saw tears in the eyes of Claris, Caria, and Stena. In truth his eyes were cloudy also. "I know I hurt you, with what I said. I hate hurting you, but this has to be said. This is how we live and how we die. No matter how or when that happens the herd must have a leader and few deer can do it. This why I trained you; this is why you will train your children; and I will train any more children that I have. Why, so on that day when it is needed, that leader will be there."

With that he stopped. No one said a word. He let them all think that over and we walked back to Balo. "I am going to warn the bear. You call the herd together and send the doe and fawns up into the hills. Hopefully the dogs will not follow them that far."

All Balo did was nod," he could still hear Stena and Claris sobbing. Carie just looked at him with a mixture of shock and pity. He walked off and disappeared into the forest by himself.

He walked around just inside the trees until he was directly below the bear's den. The wind was blowing across the meadow so he could smell the dogs and they could not smell him. They would all hear him for sure. As before he took in a deep breath and called as loudly as he could.

"BBEEAARRRRRRRRR," he yelled.

He then went back into the trees and hid himself. At once, the dogs over by the Man cave were up and barking loudly. Some dogs were pulling at their chains. The lights went on in the Man cave. He looked around and smelled, heard, and saw nothing near him. He tried calling the bear one more time. By then he could see Men coming out of the Man caves. All were looking toward him, but he was sure they could not see him. The Men went over and this time they did something different. Instead of quieting the dogs, they released them. At once four large dogs started running toward him. He had to flee. He hoped the bear heard him. He ran just inside the trees until he came to the stream that flowed out of his forest and into Bambi's forest. He ran for a while in the stream, but all the while he heard the dogs behind him. As he came to the end of his forest, he ran up the hill that led to his side of the meadow. By now he was getting tired. The dog sounds were weaker. He stopped to catch his breath.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," he heard a loud sound from below. He had never heard it before. It was a very high pitch call like some bird would make.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," he heard again. At once the dogs barking stopped and it sounded like the beasts were running toward the Man caves. It had to be a sound made by Man, but it was new to him.

"COOOMMMMEEEE," he heard in the distance.

That was Balo's call. He wanted to go to the gathering immediately, but could not take the chance the dogs were still behind him. He would lead them right to the herd. He moved along the top of the hill slowly, always listening. He soon came around to where he could face the meadow and feel the wind in his face. He took in deep breaths of air until and could hear or smell nothing was behind him. He moved around the top of the hill until he came to the stream that flowed from his clearing, into the open area and toward the other large forest in the distance. He waited there for some time until he heard nothing from around him. He went down the hill to the stream and quickly ate and drank his fill before climbing the hill on the other side of the stream.

As he walked up the hill, he caught the scent of many deer, mostly doe and fawns. There were some males, but not all of them. He continued to the top and looked around. He saw the doe and fawns standing around. He met them, and told each to spread out and hide as soon as the greater light first appeared. The few males he saw were standing around trying to look unconcerned, but always looking toward the bottom of the hill.

"Stranger," he heard Claris's voice. He turned and saw the two of them lying in a hollow in the ground behind some trees. He walked over and lay down between them.

"Did everyone come?" he asked Claris.

"No," she said sounding worried. "All of the doe and fawn came up, but some of the males said they would not come. I think they wanted to show they were not taking orders from someone as young as Balo. Several did come when Balo said he was telling them what you told him too. One of the three year olds said that this would not be necessary to do if you did not keep warning the bear and left. Two more went with him."

"Stupid," he said. "Is Balo, Stena and Delene here?"

"Yes they are over by the bushes they hid in when they were fawns," Claris told him. "What do we do?"

He looked at her worried face and the increasing light from the greater light and just shook his head no. "We do nothing, it is too late to go after them" he said flatly. "They made their choice; they have to live with it."

They all lay there until the greater light shone brightly. Then they could hear the sounds of the dogs moving below them. The dogs barked loudly. They first started at the meadow and worked their way into the forest. He listened and for a while he heard nothing more. Then as the greater light was overhead, he heard a change in the barking. It became more forceful. They were chasing something. He heard the noise go across the forest below. They were moving fast after something. After a while he heard another change in the barking. It was like the barking when the dogs attacked Bambi and him. The dogs were calling their masters. Then he heard a squeal from one of the dogs and then a loud scream from a deer. That was followed a short while later by the noise of a killing stick. Then he heard the dogs going back toward the Man cave. By that time the greater light had vanish and the sky was dark and there was silence again. It was then he made up his mind what to do.

After dark the deer got up and moved around. He found Balo, Stena, and Delene together. He approached them; Stena looked shaken. She looked at him, "That was one of us who screamed," she told him.

"Yes," he answered. "Stena I want you to leave Delene with your mother. Carie, Stena and Balo will follow me. There is something I must show you. I warn you, it will not be pretty or nice to look at."

With that he lead the three of them quickly down the hill toward where he heard the scream. He was searching for a particular smell. He knew the smell from the time he was hardly more than an infant. As they got close to the base of the hill he smelled it.

"Smell that," he told the others. "It is the one scent you never want to smell."

"It smells like a deer and something like when we empty ourselves," Balo said.

"That is correct, but there is something else. None of you have smelled it before. That burnt ground like smell is blood. Now come with me. He led them on for a while until he saw the first streak of blood on the ground. "That is something else you do not want to see. That is blood from a deer."

He then led them on past that until he came to a place where there was an intense odor of blood, and filth. He saw parts of a deer lying on the ground, mostly the insides he knew Man did not like to eat. There was a stench there that was almost overpowering.

"Look at this," he ordered. "This is where a deer died. He was chased by dogs, tried to outrun them, got tired, and the dogs caught him and started to rip him to pieces. Man came with his killing sticks and killed the deer. Man then cut him open, took out his insides, and took the rest of the meat. Do you understand? This is what Man does to us."

He thought Carie was going to be sick. Both Balo and Stena turned away. He knew it was unpleasant. He was surprised the scavengers had not found the remains yet.

"Look at it," he ordered. "You must understand this to understand what I have told you. In the past whenever Bambi and I had to discuss something like this we walked away from you to discuss it in private so we would not upset you. I now see that was a mistake on my part. It is a mistake I am correcting now. Now here is the other thing, what has happened here to this young male can happen to any one of us at almost any time. The only things that protect us are our speed, smell, hearing, sight, and the ability to move quietly through the forest like a breeze. Without these we would be helpless before Man. This is what I saw as a fawn when I was growing up, and this is why I tried to train you so hard so none of you would end up like this."

He stopped for a second so they could take in what he said. "This deer did not plan to die today, but because he was stupid, he did die. He died in agony being eaten alive by the dogs, that is until Man came and used his killing stick on him. None of us plan to die, but we will. This is also why we must have others ready to come forward when we are no longer here. Take a good look, because this is what likely will happen to us unless we are very careful and very lucky."

"He then stepped back and waited for anyone to say something. Carie finally did spit out some cud and Balo and Stena looked at each other in horror.

"Now come with me. It is getting late and I have one more thing to show you tonight," he said and then headed toward where his forest was closest to the Man path forest. He led them near the meadow, but still well inside the trees. He smelled another odor he expected. He got as close to the Man cave as he dared and let them look across the meadow.

"Smell the air and look at the fire the Men are nearby," he said. "Balo and Stena have smelled this before, but you Carie have not. That smell is burning deer flesh that was cut off that dead male. The Men are burning it to eat later. That large fire is where they are burning the flesh of that dead male. Do you all understand?"

"You wanted to show this to me, why?" Carie said looked at him with a mixture of revulsion and sickness.

"To show you what Man does to us," he explained "It is so all of you will understand why we must be careful, why we must lead the herd wisely, and why we must always have others ready to come up in case we end up like this. There is no kind way to show this. This is how I learned."

"I thought I understood, but now I am not so sure," Balo said to no one. "In fact now I am not so sure I want to be herd leader."

"I never wanted to be herd leader," he told them. "Bambi left and I had to do it. I had no choice. One day Balo you may have to be leader because you will not have any choice. The herd must be led, and must be led by deer who understand what will happen if it is led poorly. This is what will happen," he said and pointing his nose at the fire. "Only it will happen to many instead of just one."

With that he started to walk away up the hill. "Come; let us be off before Man or the dogs find us here."

He lead them back up the hill and it was just after day began that they all came back to their hiding places. On their way back no one had said a word to him. When they got back Carie went to a place to sleep by herself. Even Balo, Stena and Delene slept far away from him. He lay down next to Claris and she moved close to them. Claris looked at Caris and saw the look on her face.

"Stranger, what happened?" she asked with concern.

"I had to show them the truth," he said and tried to force himself to sleep without much success.

Chapter 10: New Tricks and Old

The rest of the summer passed quietly. The herd spent this time in getting as much nourishment off the meadow as possible before the rigors of The Season, the hunts that would follow and the winter came upon them. Over the next few days he managed to scrap the velvet off his antlers. Both Claris and Carie told him he had a fine rack. Balo did the same, and his rack too was large and would get larger next year. Soon afterwards he again started the feel the building up inside himself of the pressure of the Season. He could clearly smell the season in the scent of his daughter who gave off a powerful scent of a breeding doe. Carie then did the same, but poor Claris felt nothing and gave off no scent of a breeding deer. Finally he was forced to admit to himself that Claris would never have more fawns. This saddened him greatly.

He was happy that a four year old male tried to challenge Balo for Stena. Balo saw the older deer off with little trouble and not much damage to either. No one even tried to challenge him. After being cool to him for a while after the first hunt, Stena and Balo came around and at least treated Carie with respect, but little affection. He heard nothing from Stabo and the others. After his lessons, Balo again avoided him; not because of Carie, but because of their rising feelings with the upcoming Season. It was better if males stayed away from each other at this time. It was Claris he felt sorry for. No one would be with her during this time. He solved that problem by calling the herd together and telling them he like all the new fawns to spend the time of the Season in the small clearing and safety. He then got Claris to watch over them. In that way she felt useful.

As soon the scent in the forest were strong enough and there was fighting on the meadow and in the forest, he called the herd together. He told the fawns to go with Claris and told everyone to be on the lookout for Man who was sure to come. The herd broke up and he took Carie into deep woods by the old oak of Oswell the Owl and found a bedding place to their liking. He then waiting until Carie scent changed and indicated she was ready to breed with him. As before with Claris, he spent two days breeding with her before he felt the urges pass from inside him.

The next day later he heard the noises from the Man cave again. These were loud and sounded like there were many Men present. He knew what that meant. Their time of trouble had arrived.

"We must go back to the watching place," he told Carie. "Man has returned."

"I understand," she said softly. She had enjoyed their time together. She was now a bred doe that would carry his mark. He only hoped in the spring he would get a healthy fawn. As soon as the greater light vanished they left their bedding area and traveled quietly toward their watching place. He was somewhat surprised to see Balo and Stena already there."

"You heard them too?" he asked Balo.

"Who could not have heard them," Balo said still looking at the many bright lights and fires. There are many this time, more than before."

"Yes and they have build more Man caves, and they have the smaller caves near the edge of the meadow," he said looking over the view. Then he looked at Balo. "Let us say you are herd leader now Balo, what would you tell the herd to do?"

Balo looked surprised at being asked and looked closely at the Man caves for a while. He could see Balo was lost in thought and so he did not disturb him. Finally Balo turned and told him calmly, "There are many Men. I think they will try and get Men into the forest to try and chase deer into the meadow where the Men with the killing sticks will kill the deer."

"That is most likely true," he answered. "So how do we stop this?"

"We take the herd where Man cannot get behind them to chase them," he said sounding somewhat surer of himself.

"You are again correct," he told Balo. "Now for the important question, where do we take the herd?"

"Balo looked around and stood still for a second. "I know you want me to say take them back up the hill we took them before, but I am thinking no."

"Interesting," he said, "Why not?"

Balo was quicker this time. "You told me during sparing it is unwise to so the same thing time after time. They enemy may learn from you and then defeat you."

"Yes," he said. He liked where this was going.

"If we take the herd to the same place Man may learn and try to kill us there. So we take the herd someplace else."

"Good," he said. "Now where do we take them?"

Balo looked stumped but then Stena unexpectedly jumped in. "What about the hill on the other side of the stream from where we took the herd last time. You can easily get up the hill from the stream, but it is rocky and steep to climb up the hill from the meadow."

"He looked at Balo, Stena was right. It was an answer he never thought about. His plan was to take the herd to the hill they met Geno. Stena's idea was much better and closer.

"Balo kissed Stena and she nuzzled him. "Come then," he told them, "We must hurry back. There will be a big hunt when the greater light rises. We must get the herd to safety."

With that all four went back to the small clearing. As soon as they got there, he bellowed loudly for the herd to come. Balo also called them. They then waited. In ones and twos they came in. Maybe over half the herd showed up. The others were still probably still feeling The Season. As soon as they all got there he told them.

"This time we do things differently just in case Man is learning where we go. When we get to the edge of the forest following this stream, we turn right and not left. We go up that hill to hide. It is easy to climb that hill from the stream and hard to climb up from the meadow. Remember we cannot let Man get behind us and chase us. If any deer runs into the meadow, they will be killed by Man. Even if Man does chase you, run into the forest, not the meadow."

The ones that were there seem to understand, there were no objections. By now Claris and the fawns came in and the fawns went back with their mothers. As soon as they were all sorted out they left for the other hill. They all climbed the hill without any problems. He went forward and looked for place they could hide. The trees were fewer at the top of this hill so he spread the herd out more. He stayed in the middle of the herd with Claris and Carie. Balo, Stena and Delene went to the far end. Then they all lay down and waited.

More deer joined them until the greater light rose. Right after the fist light appeared he could hear Man trampling through the forest. They made no attempt to be quiet. They went up almost to the top of the hill they had hid at before and started making loud noises.

"HEYYAAAHEYY," they shouted over and over. There was also a banging noise like they were hitting something.

He heard the noise go down the hill. At first they were slow, and then they picked up speed.

"BAMMMMMM, BAMMMMMM," he heard from the meadow. Then there was quiet.

There was quiet for the rest of the day. He heard Men go up the hill on the other side of the meadow near where the bear's den was. Again there was shouting and again he heard the killing sticks. By then it was getting near night time and the Men went back to their caves to rest and celebrate their killing. There was loud shouting, and the smell of dead meat burning until the lesser light was well overhead.

The herd ate mostly in the open area beyond the hill. Nothing was there to bother them. Later on they all went to the stream and drank. It was then he heard a noise. He looked up and saw a large male running out of the small clearing toward them. It was Duro, one of the older males.

"I found you," he said with relief. "I went to the place we hid before and found no one."

"We went someplace new, I will show you," he told him. "What of the others?"

By now Balo, Stena and Delene had joined them.

"I do not know," Duro said panting. "I was with Nual a young doe. We had just bred when the noise started. I remembered what you said about running into the meadow, so I tried to run in the forest. Nual was behind me, but then we got separated and I do not know what happened to her. There were other deer in the forest, because I could hear them. What happened to them, I also do not know."

"Some were killed," Stena said. "I can smell them burning."

"They must have killed a skunk too," Duro said. "I smelled one near Bambi's old cave."

"What!" Balo said sharply.

"Yes, by Bambi's old cave, I could smell a skunk," Duro repeated.

"That is how they killed my Mother, Jolo and Gerta," Balo said coldly. "Would they do that again?"

He could see the anger building inside Balo, who turned and looked at them. "They may be the ones that killed my mother. They must want to kill the rest of us and want to use the same trick again. Very well, I will give it to them."

Balo started to walk off. Stena yelled No and he moved to block his path. "Balo, no," he told him. Nothing can be done about your Mother, Jolo and Gerta. If you go there, you will die too."

"Bambi and Faline wanted to kill them, I remember," he said gritting his teeth.

"Yes, and they came to their senses like I want you to," he said standing still to block Balo. "You cannot kill Man. Even if you succeed in killing one of them, the rest will kill you without mercy. I want you to think of Stena and Delene."

"I am," he said to his face. "I am thinking they will never be safe as long as those Men are there."

"And if you kill them, more Men will come next season," he told him and pushed him back. "Nothing will change except that you too will be dead and more blood will soak into the ground."

"So I am to just going to let them kill us?" Balo said pushing him away.

"No, we know their trick; we will be ready for it. We will avoid it and so go on living," he explained calmly.

"Until Man comes up with a new trick and kills us anyway," Balo growled.

"Yes, but that may happen in the future, if you go now, it is certain you will die today. You have a family and you have the herd. They depend on you and me. If you are dead, you can help no one. Please stay here."

"By now Stena and come forward and also stood in front of Balo. "Please," she pleaded. "Stay with me. I need you and so do Delene and the fawn I may be carrying now. Please do not die like this."

That finally seemed to get to Balo who stopped shoving him. He looked once toward the old clearing. "Mother," was all he called out and then turned and walked away back up the hill. Stena and Delene followed.

Claris and Carie stepped in close to him. "I felt his pain," he said starting to choke up himself. He turned to face the two doe. "You know I do not completely disagree at what he was going to do. Man needs to understand what he does to us. I just wish I knew how to do it."

He then looked over at the herd that was looking at him for direction and safety. Yes that was his main duty. That duty came before his feelings, himself, his mates, even his children. They needed direction and they needed it now.

"Let us go back up the hill," he said loudly enough for all to hear.

He then led them up toward the increasing light and safety of a new day.

Epilog: The Quiet Season

He climbed the hill quickly, keeping his nose in the air in case there were unexpected guests. He smelled none. It was getting toward day, and the crisp cool air in the morning only hinted at the cold weather to come. The Man caves were empty, and the Men had vanished just before his antlers fell off. The forest was at peace and would remain that way for now.

"I thought I smelled you," the bear called him from the side. He looked and saw the black shape among some berry bushes, no doubt getting a last meal before his winter sleep. "I have not seen you since spring."

"I have been away and busy," he told the bear and walked over and told him his tale. The bear seemed surprised.

"You have been busy," the bear finally said. "Funny, I normally do not think of you deer as being violent creatures, yet you and Bambi managed to kill three of your own kind. Wish I had been there to take care of the remains."

"Yes, I know," he said. "I do not like to think of ourselves as violent, and we are not unless we are forced to be. Other than the fact we do not eat our kills, I suppose we are not much different than you bears in some respects."

"True, we are all animals, just like Man," the bear said.

"No," he said emphatically. "Your kind kills for food to live, I killed to protect my friends and their families, Man kill for sheer pleasure."

"In the end, the others are just as dead no matter what the reason," the bear countered. "Did you ever think that Man needs this pleasure in the same way I need to feed and you need to protect your family?"

That comment took him back for a moment. He thought about it and shook his head. "I do not see how," he answered. "Man does not need to feed on us to live, since he already has all the food he needs. With their killing sticks, neither of us are threats to Man or his families. I am sorry, I do not see how."

"Perhaps there are other needs we are not aware of," the bear told him and started walking up the hill toward his den.

"Then I wish I understood what they were," he said walking with the bear.

"So what comes now?" the bear asked.

"I am going to see Stabo," he told him. "I will try and talk to him. Balo and Stena now accept Carie as my mate. I need to convince him of the same."

"Good luck on that," the bear said. "He strikes me as being as about as stubborn as his father."

He chuckled,"Yes father and son are alike," he said.

"What of Claris?" the bear asked. "Will you keep her?"

There was no hesitation with that answer. "Yes, because I sill care for her, and I think I always will. Carie will make my children, but I will always feel inside for Claris."

"That is the one thing I do envy about you deer," the bear said. "You can feel strongly toward your mates. We do not and mostly live our lives alone."

"Did you mate with the same female this year?" he wanted to know.

"No," the bear said flatly. "I could not find her, nor could I find one of the younger males in the forest over this hill. I do not know where they went. I did find a younger female and after I drove off a young male, I mated with her. Funny, I do not even know her name."

There was no need for explanation. If the bear could not find them, they were likely gone. No sense bringing that up. He decided to change the subject.

"I suppose you will be going into your den for your long sleep," he said.

"Yes, I feed the urge to sleep," the bear said. "I will be back in the spring. By then your new mate should have her fawn. "

"I hope it is a son," he said.

"To follow you in case something happens to you and Balo?" the bear say eying him.

"Of course," he said with a shrug. "It can be anyone of us lying dead in that meadow. Someone has to carry on."

"All the more reason to enjoy life while we can," the bear added.

"For as long as it lasts," he said.

The End

For Now