Chapter 4: A Welcomed Guest

He heard the bushes creek as some large deer came into the small clearing. Both Claris and Carie were awakened. Even little Stuben got up. A breeze of wind brought him the scent. It was Sinno a fourth year male from the herd. He got up and walked out into the clearing. Sinno was looking around for someone.

He appeared suddenly in front of Sinno and partly him. "I am sorry to disturb you Stranger," he stammered, "But something unusual has happened. A new deer has entered the forest."

"Where?" he wanted to know.

"Over by the stream that runs into Bambi's Forest, in front of the hill I saw Geno on."

"Did you talk to him?" he asked.

"No, it seemed like he was looking for something or someone," Sinno said. ". He was looking for scent trails. I do not think he saw me, so I waited until he was past and came searching for you. He seems young, maybe a two year old, but he is big. One thing for sure, I have never seen him around here before."

Thank you Sinno," I will look into it," he told him.

"Sinno nodded and took off back down the stream. It was easy to follow him. He made almost more noise that Stuben did when he walked. Not the brightest deer in the forest. He could feel the others walking up almost silently behind him.

"Have they come," Carie asked her voice showing fear.

"No, more than one would come and they would not come from that direction," he said.

"What are you going to do?" Claris asked.

"I am going to find this new fellow," he told them. "I don't think there will be any problems."

"Should you take Balo with you?" Carie asked."In case there is trouble."

"No, a single two year old does not bother me; I do not care how big he is." he told her."Just in case, you two stay here. I will be back shortly."

Before either could object, he took off at a trot going down the hill. He circled around into the forest near the bottom of the hill just before the stream. He kept well inside the trees while sniffing the air. He walked along the forest floor when he came upon noise downwind of him. He heard two voices. He could not understand what they were saying. This was not the actions of someone who might want to harm him. He walked around quietly until the wind was in his face. He stopped and took in a deep breath through his nose. It was then he caught the scents. He was surprised.

The first scent he knew. It was Duro who he knew liked to bed down around here. There were lots of eatable bushes and the grasses along the stream; many were delightful to eat. It was the second scent that he found surprising. He walked slowly forward making no noise and with the wind in his face so the other two deer could not smell him. He finally saw the two deer over by some trees. Both were talking, no threats and no shouts. They just looked to be having a pleasant conversation. He walked toward them before the smaller one looked up and saw him.

"Stranger," he said. "I was looking for you."

"Gorro, I am surprised," he said. "Is your Mother and Father with you?"

"Excuse me," Duro said politely. "You two have things to talk about." The five year old turned and faced Gorro and bowed his head slightly. "Glad to see you again, Gorro, and please give Bambi my regards."

With that Duro walked away. That was done with remarkable courtesy from a deer that rarely showed a high level of courtesy to anyone.

He walked over to the large two year old and embraced him. "What are you doing here?"

Gorro looked around to see if anyone could overhear them. "Stranger, I am here for several reasons. The first was my Father and Mother wanted to be alone. Even Eta is out on her own."

He looked at Gorro. He could tell something was wrong. "What has happened Gorro?"

Gorro took a deep breath. "My Mother lost her fawn. It was born dead. Now she is telling Father that like Claris, she does not think she will be able to make another one."

He just dropped his head and hit the ground with his front left hoof. This was getting to be too much. "I am truly sorry to hear that," was all he could say.

"I know," Gorro said sadly. "You and Claris of all deer would know how they feel. Afterwards Father lost interest in most things. He doesn't even train me anymore; he is just too sad. That is my second reason I am here. My Father cannot help me, I was wondering if you would?"

He smiled, "Of course I will help."

"Thank you," Gorro said. "There is also one final reason, and for me perhaps the most important of all. I came here to perhaps find a mate."

That stopped him cold. It was certainly a surprising thing to hear. "Why, there are many more deer in your forest than here?"

"I know," Gorro said with a drop of his head. "My Mother and Father think I am foolish too, but all those deer know me as Bambi's son and for that they respect and in some cases fear me. The doe look at me the same way."

He looked into Gorro's black eyes. He was obviously still troubled by something. "I am sorry, but I do not understand you?"

Gorro nodded and seem lost in thought for a moment. "I am not sure how to put this, but the deer in that forest see me as Bambi's son. They do not see me as Gorro. They treat me as Bambi's son. They do not treat me as Gorro. I want a mate who wants Gorro. Not a mate that wants Bambi's son. I cannot find that in Father's forest."

He nodded, "Yes, I see now. None of the deer know you here. Very well, you are free to look, but I cannot promise anything. Best place to meet deer in on the meadow when the herd eats at night."

"I then ask permission of the herd leader to stay until after high summer when I will go back to help my Father."

"Stay as long as you like, you are always welcome here. Does Bambi know you are here?" he asked.

"I told him and Mother of my plans. My Father was not happy, but I think he understands. My Mother did not want me to go, but Father said under the circumstances it would be best. I think he understands better than my Mother."

"Your Father understands a lot," he said.

"There is also one other reason. I have always wanted to meet my older brother and sister. Once I become herd leader that will be difficult."

He understood the last reason and he agreed.

He looked the deer over. Although he was a two year old, he was almost as big as Balo, in fact almost as big as him. He would have a nice rack. He could not believe he had any trouble finding a mate no matter what forest he was in. He would also be exactly the kind of deer Man would want to kill for his rack.

"Come with me," he said.

He took him up the stream past Bambi's old cave. As they went by Gorro stopped suddenly.

"This is where your Father and Mother use to live," he told him thinking he might be interested.

"This where my two older sisters died?" he asked his voice showing some pain.

"Yes," he said simply. Gorro said nothing and went on following him.

As he got to the small pond he bleated loudly enough to be heard by others. Stena and little Delon came out followed shortly by Balo. Both looked over the new male for a second before Stena blurted out, "Gorro," she said and ran up and kissed him. Balo did likewise and the two males both rubbed their foreheads. Claris, Carie and little Stuben came up from the clearing. Claris embraced Gorro like his mother would and Carie just simply bowed.

"I am glad to see all of you again," Gorro said. It was the first real smile he had seen on the male.

"What brings you here," Claris asked.

Gorro head just dropped again. He stepped up, "Let us all lay down in the clearing. This is not going to be an easy tale to tell," he told them.

They all went back and lay down. Gorro told them the reasons he was here. When he was done there were obvious sobs from Claris and Stena."

"Poor Faline," was all Claris could say.

"There is nothing we can do about that," he said in a low voice "We might be able to help with other things like trying to find Gorro a mate. I will present him to the herd tonight. I doubt if there will be any problems. I will then take him to meet his older brother and sister in the Man path forest. I never did get there before. After that, Balo and I will start with lessons. By high summer, I expect you to be as big as your father and be about as strong."

'I would be pleased to help teach,' Balo told them. "It will help me get ready for our friends when they come back."

Gorro looked confused. "I will explain later," he told him "For now let us rest, it may be a busy night."

When the lesser light rose they all went over to the meadow and ate. The Man cave was still dark and no smell of Man on the meadow. All ate comfortably. After a while Delene, Stena's first child, came over to feed next to them. She was also filling out as a yearling. She was getting as big as her mother. She came over and met the new deer. Several of the yearlings and two year old doe came over the meet the new male, but most had fawns and so were only partly interested. He could see that was causing some upset among the two and three year old males who were use to getting the attentions of the younger doe. After a while Stuben finished feeding from his mother and then starting playing with the other new fawns. He kept a close eye on the meetings and playing. All the while he kept sniffing the air for any sign of danger. Thankfully for once all passed in peace.

As the lesser light sat he called Gorro and Balo over. "Very well young male, show me what you have learned. Now push me back," he told him.

"They locked at the shoulder and he pushed with all his might trying to push Gorro back. "Gorro did likewise. He found himself under considerable pressure by the two year old. He shifted his weight that Gorro countered. Then Gorro tried to get lower underneath him to lift him. He was able to shift around to stop him. They Gorro broke and jumped back and tied to bring his rear legs around swiftly to trip him. He jumped straight up to avoid it. Gorro was not just strong, he was fast. They kept this up for awhile all under the watchful gaze of the herd. He was sure it was obvious to even the older males that they better think twice before taking this two year old on. He also noticed Delene was taking an interest in their activities.

"You have gotten stronger since last year," he had to admit. "I would say you are almost as strong as your Father. You are certainly as quick as he is. There might not be much I can teach you.

Gorro walked up to him, with a big smile. The he looked at him and spoke in a low voice. "You can show me how you and my Father beat those four males last season."

By now Balo came over. Balo had overheard and was looking at him too. "I suppose you both need to learn that just in case there is real trouble. That is possible now. I will show you both after we get back from the Man path forest. We will need to do this in private. No sense teaching the other males in this forest. As your Father and I have told you before, you can kill another deer with this. Other deer can also use it to kill you. You must never use it unless you have too."

The next night he walked over to the Man path forest with Gorro. He had Balo stay behind and told him to call if anything happened. There were no men or dogs around so their journey was short and quick. As he walked through the forest he started to pick up on scents. He first found Veron's and followed it to his small clearing.

"Veron," he called. "It is Stranger. I have a visitor I like you to meet."

Veron walked out of the clearing. He was now fully grown and was showing signs of a large rack. Alana was behind him and a new doe fawn. Veron looked over the strange deer and sniffed the air a few times.

"You smell familiar," Veron said studying the new male carefully.

"Because he is your younger brother." he explained. "He has come from your Father's forest to visit."

With that all hesitation vanished and Veron embraced his brother as did Alana. "My name is Gorro," he told them and I am pleased to meet you."

"It was then he noticed the hoof marks on Veron's chest and a few scratches along his side.

"Who have you been fighting with?" he wanted to know.

"Most likely the same group of deer you told me about," Veron said. "Three new deer came here looking for some other deer. When I told them they were not wanted here they started to push their weight around. Stabo and I had to put them in their place."

"Are you and Stabo alright?" he asked.

"Yes, they were not much of a problem. One did not go back. When I and Stabo fought two of them, the other tried to charge Stabo from the rear. Stabo kicked out hard with his rear hoofs and hit the deer solidly on the head with both hoofs. The deer went down and did not get up."

"Where is Stabo?" he asked.

"In the woods, healing," Veron told him. The other deer manage to hit him hard a couple of time before Stabo knocked him down and started to stomp on him. The other deer rolled away got up and ran away with the other one. Last time we saw them they were running toward the other side of your meadow."

"The side of the meadow where the bear has his den?" he asked to be sure.

"Yes," Veron answered looking at him. "I thought these might be the deer you told me about?"

"I think they are," he said. "I need to talk to you and Stabo. If we are right this may only be the start. There may be many more of them."

"We cannot fight many more of them," Veron told him flatly.

"I know," he muttered. "Look you stay here with your brother and I will get Stabo."

Before any of them could answer he took off and left them there. He moved quickly through the forest until he came to the next clearing. He passed several deer who were feeding. They looked up as he went past. He came to the clearing and immediately Gena came out and met him.

"How is Stabo," he wanted to know.

"I am fine Father," a voice came from beyond the clearing. Stabo came out walking almost normally, but favoring his left side. He went up to his son and looked him over carefully. There were two hoof marks still in his side. He went back and smelled along the side and thankfully smelled no sickness or injury. Stabo was sore, but not hurt.

"Veron told me" he said to both of them.

"I killed one of them," Stabo said in a low moan.

"Sometimes that is necessary," he said still looking his son over. "Do not feel badly. They have caused a lot of pain and suffering to other deer."

"You think the others will come?" Stabo asked.

"I think so, but I am not sure. "Gena your younger brother Gorro has come from your Father's forest and wants to meet you."

It was only then he saw the two new doe fawns come out. Both were cute and both looked at him wondering who he was. He learned over and nuzzled both of them. It was then he noticed one had green eyes just like Claris."

This one is Karene and the other is Charlene," Stabo said.

How are Claris and Koren?" he asked.

"Both are fine," Gena said. "Although Claris is starting to worry me, she takes no interest in the males around here."

That is a problem for later," he said. "Right now there are more important things to deal with.

They all lay down in Veron's clearing and Gorro told about what had happened first in Bambi's forest. Both Veron and Gena were saddened by the news. Then he told his story about the new deer in his herd.

"I am sure these deer must be those from over the hills," he told Gorro. "We have run across males trying to force themselves on everyone else. They are like Tarro and his group. They tried it in your Father's forest and paid the price for it."

"What do we do if they come back with more of them?" Stabo asked.

"First, do not try and fight them. Get your families and leave. One of you call us and we will meet you in the clearing near the edge of your forest closest to my forest. Balo and I will join you."

"I will too," Gorro interrupted.

"Very well," he answered. "We will gather there and they try and hunt them down two or three at a time. That way we will have the advantage. There is one other thing; these deer have hurt and maybe killed many other deer. It is going to be necessary to hurt or kill them. This time it is no game. If we do not kill them, they will certainly kill us."

He saw the look of shock on Gena and Alana's faces and worry. He turned to them. "I am sorry, but this is one of the prices we have to pay for herd leadership. Someone is always looking to become leader in your place. Some deer rather kill than drive off weaker deer."

"I understand, Father," Stabo said.

"Now let us all rest here and talk things over. Then Gorro and I will return and get ready.

"Now for the hard part," he throught.

Chapter 5: Interlude One

As they walked back into his forest Gorro finally broke his silence. "So you think this will end up in a major fight?"

He shook his head in frustration. "I do not see how we can avoid it unless Razor and his males stay where they are. I do not think that will happen. They want control and they think strength and force are the only ways to get it. You can get control with strength and force, but it will never last and it will vanish as soon as there are those that are not afraid of it."

"How do we stop that?" Gorro asked.

"If they come seeking only a test of strength, we will have to meet it," he said. "They may be big and powerful, but are they wise? From what I hear they are not. If they were wise, their herd would not try and run away. Unfortunately, they will not make this a challenge, but instead just try to eliminate everything in their path. They will be ruthless, and therefore we will have to be ruthless as well."

"So we beat them with our heads and not with our antlers," Gorro added. "Like you and Father did to Tarro."

"Correct and starting tonight I am going to show you how. First we eat."

They all walked into the meadow where the rest of his herd was eating in peace. He saw Claris, Carie and Stuben and went to eat by them. Balo went to eat with Stena and Delon, and Gorro ate alone for a while. It was not long before Delene walked up to him and they were talking. None of the other males or females seemed to mind.

"What do you think," Claris asked him.

"I think we are going to have a fight much like we had in Bambi's forest and I do not think we can avoid it," he said.

Carie stopped eating for a moment. "Can you beat them like you and Bambi did Tarro?"

He shook his head no. "In numbers no, but we are smarter than they are. That is how we will beat them. I will start with Balo and Gorro tonight privately."

They continued until they had eaten their fill and drank. He then called to Balo and Gorro and led them away from the herd. He did not want other males learning what he was going to teach them. He took them to his small clearing and stopped.

"Most deer fight with their antlers; however except during The Season, our antlers are growing in skin and we cannot use them. We have other things we can use and they are our hoofs and our legs. Our hoofs are very hard and the edge is sharp like a claw that we can use to cut into other deer. We also have our leg muscles so we can kick hard. If you kick into a deer hard, you can hurt him on the inside. Now watch me.

He walked up to Balo not showing any sign of a threat; then he brought his front hoof up quickly. Balo saw it coming and tried to jump back, but it was too late. He hit Balo under his mouth, but not very hard.

If you hit a deer under the mouth it will hurt. Another place is in the side of the head. This is very useful if you first trip them using your legs that I have taught you before. Remember this, once you get a deer on the ground you cannot stop to let him get up. On the ground a deer is nearly helpless. It is then you use your most powerful attack, the stomp."

He went into the clearing and raised his front quarter high in the air and as he came down hit both his front hoofs on the ground. The combination of the force he used in his leg muscles and him coming back down make a loud thud in the ground.

"Do that to the side of a deer several times and you will kill him. Remember the other deer can also do the same to you. If you do get knocked to the ground, you must not stay still; you must roll and get back up no matter how much you hurt."

"Another trick is this. Balo, pretend you are attacking me from the rear. He turned his back slowing Balo his while furry tale. Balo put his head down and came after him. When Balo was close he kicked out with both rear hoofs hitting Balo lightly in the chest."

"I have seen Bambi kill a deer doing just that. If he is charging you, and you can kick out and hit him on the forehead, you can kill him. The same can also happen to you if you are not careful."

The lesson went on until the greater light had risen. He then sent both Balo and Gorro away to rest. As he walked out of the clearing by himself he caught the scent of a doe. It was Delene. He turned and went over in that direction. Sure enough she was walking away from the clearing.

"How long have you been watching?" he called to her.

She froze and turned quickly. "I am sorry; I wanted to see what you were teaching them."

"How did you stay here and yet I did not smell you?" he wanted to know.

Delene looked like a little fawn that had done something wrong. "I stood away from the clearing with the wind in my face, just like you taught me."

He wanted to scold her for intruding in things that did not concern her, but he had to admit she had fooled all of them. He just looked at her. "What I was teaching your Father and Gorro was for males only," he said sternly.

Delene looked right at him. "Stranger, doe have hoofs too," she told him and walked away. That put him in his place.

He could not make up his mind if he was angry or not with Delene, but he had to admit to himself she had a point. He went back to Claris and Carie to rest. He had no problems sleeping that day.

The next night he showed them more things and then he had them practice. The trick was to teach them to practice without hurting each other and yet still be able to attack fully. He had both Balo and Gorro kick trees to toughen their hoofs and strengthen their leg muscles. Each night before the lesson started they feed on the meadow and he noticed each night Delene would eat with Gorro. During the lessons from time to time he noticed she was watching from a distance. He could have told Balo to stop her, but he did not. Maybe Delene was right. Time would tell.

After several nights and sent Balo and Gorro back after the lesson, he stayed around and searched for Delene. She must have seen he was looking for her for she came out of the forest near him.

"Now show me what you learned," he grunted in anger. He put his head down and charged her. She turned quickly and started to run, but he caught her or so he through. As he got close she kicked out with both rear legs. If he had not been expecting her to do that, she would have kicked him in the head. He stopped and she turned around again.

"Good," he said, "Now what about this?"

He quickly lunged at her which caught her party by surprise. He got next to her and tried to use his greater weight to force her down. He was pushing her onto the ground when she shifted her weight and brought her front hoof up and kicked him lightly in the side of the head.

"That is also good," he said. "Now listen to me because your life may depend on this. These tricks I show you can help you fight someone who is a little stronger and bigger than you. It cannot defeat someone who is much stronger than you. Most males are much stronger than doe. It is just that way. You use these tricks if a large male is trying to hurt you. It will allow you to stop him and maybe stun him for a short while, but you cannot defeat a male with these tricks. He will simply over power you and kill you. What I teach you can help you get away, but it will not help you fight a male, especially a big one. Do you understand this?"

"Yes, Stranger I understand," she said in a voice that reminded him of Claris.

"Now one more question," he asked. "What do you feel about Gorro?"

She seemed surprised about his question, but did not back away. "I like Gorro very much and I think he likes me. He has told me so. He is warm and large and I like him. I hear he is like his Father, but he is not his Father."

"Have you told your Mother and Father about this?"

"I have told my Mother, she seems happy for me," she answered.

"Gorro is a good male; you both could be good for each other. You know Gorro will need to go back to his forest before The Season."

"Yes," she said, "And if he wants, I will go with him."

He walked up and nuzzled her forehead and she returned the favor. "You are as dear to me as your Mother. I wish the best for both of you."

"Thank you, Stranger," she said. "She then walked off quietly into the forest.

It was on the next night during their feeding that he walked over alone to Stena and Balo. "As herd leader I try to notice things. I notice Gorro and Delene are becoming a pair. How do you feel about that?"

"I just wish she was older," Balo said.

"You mean like her mother and father were?" he replied.

They both stopped eating and looked at him. They both started to laugh. "Thank you Father," Stena said. "You always know how to put things."

"You know she will leave the forest with him, if he asks her?" he went on.

"Yes, Stena said, "and I will miss her, but she has her life to live and she must make the choice. Let her be happy now, because how long it will last we do not know."

"Good, I recommend you telling that to Gorro if you get a chance. When you are done we will continue."

With that he finished eating then went over to Carie and Claris. He started playing mock charges with Stuben. He was strong, as strong as Balo or Stabo was at his age. He decided he had to start teaching his own son. Delon was also doing the same thing with Balo who also enjoyed pushing him back. He watched him while playing with his son and suddenly he noticed something. Instead of lowering his head and charging into his father, Delon rose up on his rear legs and kicked out with his front feet. He hit his father in the chest. It was not hard, but he had never seen a fawn do that. In playing with other fawn yes, they did it all the time but it was always in fun and never when practicing to fight. He went over and looked at Balo who was looking at his son with a mixture of anger and astonishment.

"Delon, where did you learn to do that when you fight?" he asked.

"I do not know, Stranger," I just did it. Why was it wrong?"

"No, but you must be careful with your hoofs," he explained. "You can hit and hurt someone, especially another fawn."

"I am sorry, did I hurt you Father, I did not mean too," he said not wanting to anger his father.

"No son, you did not hurt me, but Stranger is right. When you are older I will teach you to use your hoofs, but you must be careful like Stranger says. Now run and play with the other fawns, your Father has to go with Stranger and Gorro."

With that Delon ran away toward the other fawns. As the three of them walked toward their clearing he asked. "Did you see the way he kicked; it was exactly like I just taught you? That was not a play kick. That was an attack kick."

"Yes, Stranger, but I did not show him. I only show that when I am here with you and Gorro," Balo answered looking a bit confused.

"Well he picked it up somehow," he said. "That is for later. Tonight I will show you want to do if you are knocked down. The lesson continued until the lesser light had set.

As he lay next to Claris and Carie he noticed Stuben was sleeping away from them. Not far away maybe five lengths, but he was sleeping by himself. He looked at Carie, who looked right back at him

"Yes he is growing up and it is time you started teaching him the way you teach Balo and Gorro."

"That I can see," he said, "Only right now my concern is what to do if Razor comes back."

"You son needs to be taught if he is to follow you as herd leader," she told him.

This conversation he did not like. "He will follow me as herd leader if he is wise and strong and the other deer accepts him. No one has a right to be herd leader. He has to be chosen unless you want to do it the way Razor and Tarro did it."

He could see he angered Carie who shifted her weight away from him and turned her head the other way. He lay against Claris and went to sleep.

Chapter6: Intruders

It was late evening when he heard it. A loud call from a male. He recognized the voice immediately as Stabo's. So did the others standing next to him. He turned to Balo and Gorro standing there.

"It has come," he said with resignation, "As I expected it would. Neither of you have to go with me. There will be hard fighting here. We are going to have to beat these deer badly for them to stop bothering us."

"I will go," Balo said. "If we do not beat them now, they will surely come here next."

"That is my brother they wish to hurt," Gorro told him. "I know Father would not stop and neither will I."

He looked back at the doe standing in the forest with the fawns. "You must all stay here," he told them.

There were concerned looks but no comments. They took off toward their prearranged spot. They crossed the open space between their forest and the Man-path forest quickly and without incident. One inside the Man-path forest they traveled quickly to the clearing near the edge of the forest. Veron and Stabo were already there along with Gena, Alana and their fawns.

"You all go over to my forest by the pond," he told Gena and Alana. "You know the way. "Wait there for us."

Gena nodded and lead the way. Alana was hesitant, but said nothing and followed. He waited until they were well toward his forest before he looked around.

"Stabo, how many are there?" he wanted to know.

"I saw the one we beat the last time and several more. There is one deer as big as you, Father."

"Where are they now?" he needed to know.

"I saw a few of them going out to round up my herd and bring them to Razor," Veron told him.

He thought for a second. They would be in several groups group then. That would work in their favor.

"Look, if we try and fight them together, we will lose because there are more of them than us. What I want to do is to find them in small groups so we will be more than them and destroy them in small numbers. Do you understand?"

The four others nodded. "One other thing, they have come here to kill Veron and Stabo and will kill us too if they get the chance. This is no practice fight. We are going to have to hurt these deer, maybe kill them. If we do not, they will do the same to us. I have seen deer like this in Bambi's forest. The only way to handle them is to hurt them or kill them. Otherwise if we just run them off, they will be back and may attack our doe and fawns."

"I remember," Gorro said, "When you and father took care of Tarro."

"That is correct so we must stay together and find them in small groups. That means we need to go to a place where we can smell them without them smelling us."

"Wind is coming from the stream that leads to my Father's forest," Veron said. "We need to go into the forest away from the meadow where we can walk around to where they are so the wind will blow their scent to us."

He nodded, that was a good idea. "Very well, let us go and keep quiet," he told them.

With that they moved noiselessly through the trees. They came across other deer who told them these new deer were trying to gather all the deer in this forest forcing them to come to them. Veron told them to flee deep into the forest and wait for his call. They moved carefully around until they almost came to the Man path. There they stopped and waited. By now the greater light was starting to rise bringing light to the forest.

"I can smell several deer," Stabo said." A few scents I recognize, but there are two scents I do not."

"Very well we walk toward them slowly. Spread out and keep looking behind you. We do not want them sneaking up on us."

They walked slowly toward the increasing scents. After a while Stabo stopped and motioned all of them to come near him. "I think there are at least two on them in a small clearing up ahead. Veron and I will go forward and look and you stay behind us in case we are attacked. They are expecting to see us, they are not expecting you."

He had to admit it was a good idea. He nodded and Stabo and Veron went ahead. He Balo and Gorro followed several lengths behind. As they got closer he could hear.

"You come with us," he heard a male call out loudly.

"Who are you," he heard a doe call out. "You are not Veron."

"Veron ran away. Razor is now herd leader here. Follow us or we will hurt you and your fawns."

"I do not think so," he heard Veron call out and saw him gallop forward along with Stabo. The two of them rushed the clearing and saw two males putting their heads down and charging forward. As they did both Veron and Stabo stopped, leaped to the side, and quickly turned and brought their legs under the two charging males. They did not expect it and were going too fast to stop. Both went flying onto the ground. Both Veron and Stabo rushed forward and kicked out hard with their front hoofs. Veron hit his deer square in the side of the head with both hoofs knocking him senseless to the ground. Stabo missed with one hoof and hit with the other so his deer was only knocked sideways. His was also the biggest deer. Stabo stopped and looked at the deer who was stunned for a moment. Stabo turned quickly and looked to be ready to run away. The big deer thinking he had won started to get to his feet. He could see he was enraged and bolted after Stabo who ran only a few steps. Instead of running on Stabo stopped and kicked out with both rear hoods as the big deer was just getting close to him. Both hoofs hit the deer right on the forehead. .The big deer turned almost over his back in the air before hitting the ground. Stabo was on him in a moment stomping him hard with his front hoofs. Verson's deer wasn't moving at all.

He quickly ran forward to look at both deer. He could see Veron's deer was dead. The impact from both of Veron powerful legs had smashed in the side of his head. He then walked over to Stabo's deer who was alive but bleeding from the flank and mouth. He would not be getting up again. He looked at Stabo, he could still see the rage in him.

"That was the one who kicked me before," he said letting his anger clearly show. "Well he will not kick me again."

He looked around for the doe and fawns that were in the clearing. They had run off when the fight started.

"Some deer comes," Gorro said quietly.

"Back into the forest with the wind at your face," he said to them all. In an instant they were clear of the meadow. Once hidden in the forest but close enough to see the clearing, they stopped and waited. He could hear Veron and Stabo breathing heavily. A few seconds later he could hear sticks breaking as two more deer hurried forward and into the clearing. Both were males, both were Gorro's size and both looked healthy and strong. They both almost stumbled into the clearing and froze.

They both looked over the two down deer. He nodded to both Balo and Gorro these two belonged to them. They both crept forward noiseless until they were just hidden. He bleated loudly to draw the two's attention and then yelled, "NOW!"

Both of them charged ahead quickly. Before the other two deer could react, they hit both of them in the flank. Both deer went flying forward and hit the ground. Then, just as he and Bambi had taught, they both ran up and instead of trying to hit them while they were on the ground, came up and hit them hard in the faces with their front hoofs. Both again went flying to the side.

"Turn and kick hard," he said loudly.

Both deer spun around and kicked out as hard as they could with their rear legs. Both of the deer were still stunned from before. Gorro hit his deer in the neck below his velvet covered antlers. It tore a gash in his neck that started bleed like water flowing in a stream. Balo hit forward on the head. He could hear the head of the deer cave in and also blood start to gush out of the side of his face. Gorro's deer got up and started to run away. With that bleeding he would not get far. Balo's deer just fell still on the ground. It was all too easy. In fact it was much too easy. These four deer had just blundered ahead, no sense, no thinking, just muscle and nothing more.

He looked at the three bodies lying in the small clearing. He pulled back and kept the four of them together. Off in the distance he heard a male call, but it sounded weak, almost feeble, and then stopped suddenly. It would certainly call the others toward the sound.

"How many are left?" he asked Stabo and Veron.

"Three or four including Razor," Veron said still breathing hard.

"Very well, relax and rest," he told the others. "You have all done fine. Bambi would be proud of all of you as I am."

With that he pulled them back from the clearing until they could barely see it. "Keep close watch behind us, otherwise they might be able to do the same to us."

"Listen," Gorro said quietly and pointed his nose in the direction the wounded deer had run.

They head some branches breaking Who ever this deer was he sounded big and he was not quiet. An instant later he heard a loud bleat from in the forest from where he heard the weak call before.

"Now quiet," he said in a low voice.

A little while later he could hear more footsteps, more branches breaking. Two or three deer were running toward where the call had come from. Again they were not quiet, they were just moving like they did not have a care in the world. After a while he could hear voices, but they were too far away to make them out. A loud voice that sounded angry was all he could tell. They waited until it was obvious that the sounds were getting closer.

"Get closer and hide behind trees," he said in a very low voice. "I am going to try and come in on their flanks."

He crept away taking special care not to make a sound. The other four walked forward until they were just hidden by the trees and waited. It took him a short while to get around to the side. As he did he could pick up a fresh smell of a deer coming closer. Not going into the clearing, but directly toward him. One of the deer was doing the same thing he was, trying to get into place to charge the flanks. There was one deer that was not stupid. He froze hid behind a large oak and looked. Sure enough there was a large deer walking toward him, but with the wind at his tail he could not smell him yet. He could hear other deer getting close to the clearing. As they broke into the clearing, there was a call of alarm.

"The others are dead," a deer called out loudly.

"I know," he heard Veron call out. "We killed them."

Just then he heard Veron, Balo, Stabo and Gorro charge forward. He did not know how many other deer were in the clearing, but he did not think more than two or three.

The large deer crept forward looking to approach unnoticed and get a good flank hit in. As he turned his back to him, he charged.

The other deer did not hear him until he was three lengths away. He tried to turn around to face him, but it was too late. He hit hard just behind the forward shoulder of the large deer at a full run. The impact was like hitting Bambi at a charge and stunned him for a second. The other deer fell back, but did not go flying away. He brought his feet up to strike, but only managed to get a grazing hit on the side of his head. This deer was also fast. It still knocked the deer off balance and he fell sideways. He dropped his head and changed straight into him hitting him as he started to get up. The impact knocked him senseless, but this time the other deer when flying. He shook it off as the other deer got up.

"You are Stranger," the other deer grunted. "I remember you when I was a yearling."

"Sorry, do not remember you," he told him. "You should have remembered how well the herd was led by Hilgas the old buck you killed."

"Baaa," he belated out. "He was weak, I am strong."

"Strong enough to starve most of your herd," he said eyeing him closely. Razor was stalling until his other two or three males could come to his aid. "What type of leader are you?"

There was a loud crash from the clearing and heavy grunting from many voices. There was yelling from strange voices. He heard nothing that sounded familiar.

"Your males are not coming," he told him with a smile on his face. "You see I have friends too."

"There was another loud yell. This yell was one of pain. There was the sound of heavier fighting and then suddenly nothing.

"Now all you have to deal with is me," he said with a grin and dropped his head and charge.

Razor saw it as a test of strength which he gladly accepted. Only he was not that foolish. Razor charged back and when he was in three length, he leaped aside and turned around. Razor reacted quickly but could not turn as fast as him while running so fast. He kicked out with both his rear hoofs and landed both hoofs hard in his flank. Razor manage to get a front hoof out and hit him on the shoulder. The impact was hard and pain ran all up and down his side. Razor went sideway into a tree with a crash. It took him a second to recover, by then Razor was almost up. He leaped up bringing both feet up. He was off balance so it was not a hard kick but the impact knocked Razor back into the tree. Before he could get up, he turned around quickly and hit him hard with his rear legs. As he came down, Razor front hoof came up and hit him in the belly. He felt it cut into him, and there was in pain from his underside. He kicked out again, this time on Razor's head. That blow knocked him senseless. Before he could recover he turned and pounded Razor on the head until he felt it crush under his impact. Razor would not move again.

He stepped back and saw a pool of his own blood on the ground. He felt it was serious wound, but not fatal. His left front shoulder was also bleeding. He had to stop the bleeding. He had seen man put skin on bleeding cuts to stop the flow. He did not have more skin to use. If he lay down his legs would be under him. If he could not put skin against the wound, could he put fur? He lay down and then adjusted his legs until he felt his leg press against his cut. Then he lay still. He knew the bleeding would stop or he would die.

A short while later he saw Gorro walking alone through the forest as if looking for him. He called to him and immediately came over

"I found him," Gorro called out. Shortly both Stabo and Balo came over.

"Father," what happened, Stabo said excitedly.

"Razor and I fought and I killed him, but he injured me. I am cut in the belly. I am trying to stop the bleeding. I dare not move or it will start bleeding again."

He then looked around and saw only the three deer. "Where is Veron?" he asked.

"Lying in the clearing," Balo told him. "One of the large males managed to kick him hard in the side. Veron said it hurts when he tries to stand."

"The other three males?" he asked.

"Dead," Balo said with a grin. "They were strong, but they could not fight four of us."

They were learning. This was not a formal challenge like when deer fight for mates or leadership. This was for domination. There were no rules for that. It was kill or be killed. The fight was over, but there was one thing that had to be done.

"Listen, Veron has to move," he said. "With all the dead deer in that clearing, the scavengers are sure to come. If Veron is lying down there they will kill him also. Bring him here and we will all stay here tonight together. The scavengers will not attack us with dead meat so close."

"We will get Veron to move," Balo said. "If we have to we will try and lift him up."

They left and he waited for a while alone. The forest had gone quiet as if it knew what had happened. He hoped Claris, Carie, and the others would not worry, but he did not want to try and go back to his forest. He looked up and noted the greater light was just past overhead. It had not taken long at all.

"He heard like crashing through the grass. There was stumbling. He saw Veron walking slowly toward him with Stabo and Gorro on both sides and Balo in the back. Veron made it over to him and lay down on the ground.

"My side hurts a lot," Veron told him.

He did not see any blood from the mouth. He smelled at Veron side and smelled nothing unusual.

"You will be sore, but that will pass," he said mostly to make Veron feel better. "For now let us all stay here."

"Well at least we won the fight," Gorro said with relief.

"No," he said. "We survived the fight; that was the best we could do. Now let us rest."

Chapter 7: Interlude 2

He sent Gorro and Balo back to his forest to tell everyone they were at least alive. He and Stabo stayed and tried to help the injured Veron. Over the next two days they managed to get him up and walking about, but he could not run and he was in no condition to fight. He found some of the healing plants he and Bambi had used and fed them to Veron. They helped his pain, but they could not heal any damage inside. He knew it would be awhile before Veron was back to normal. As soon as Alana, her fawn and Young Bambi were back he too left. The rest could take care of Veron until he was healed. His only concern was that some large male might use this opportunity to challenge him for Alana and herd leader. He pulled Stabo aside and out of hearing from the others he talked to him.

"Veron is in no condition to be a herd leader for now, Stabo. You are going to have to do it for a while.

"I know, I am afraid one of the males from the other forest might challenge him," Stabo added. "There is only one deer that I think has a chance of doing it, but he seem uninterested. He certainly did not help when Razor and his males came here." Stabo sounded a little disgusted at the fact.

He could not blame any deer about not helping. It was not natural to a deer to be that aggressive. "It could be he does not know how to help. It is not something that comes naturally for a deer. It has to be taught like I taught you, and Bambi taught Veron."

"I know," Stabo said. "I just hope no one takes advantage."

"You cannot allow that to happen," he told him flatly."You must step in. I have seen the other deer here. They are not cowards, but they are not as strong and wise as you. You must see they come to you. This is what it means to help out the herd leader."

"I understand, Father. I never wanted to be herd leader, but if I have to, I have to."

Stranger smiled openly seeing how his son had matured. "My son, I have always been proud of you, but lately I have seen you grow into a fine male with a fine mate and family."After that he rubbed his Son's forehead as a sign of affection.

"Thank you, Father," Stabo said and rubbed his head.

"Speaking of training, Koren has asked to be taught," Stabo said. "I think this fight has awakened him to the needs of learning how to fight. Even Young Claris is showing interest which is good because she shows no interest in any male here."

"The training is much more than that," he said.

"I know, Father, but for now he understands this," Stabo said as if teaching him. "The rest he will understand in time."

"We shall see, my son," he said. "For now I have to be getting back to my forest. The Season will soon be here and you know what that means."

"Yes, Father," Stabo said looking back to his clearing.

His trip back to his forest was uneventful. He came up into his clearing. He was greeted by Claris, Carie and little Stuben. It was late but he did play with Stuben again and this time he noted Stuben seemed more aggressive, more prone to attack. He had to push back harder on the fawn to keep him at bay. Then like Delon he reared back on his legs and kicked out with his front hoofs. He was able to avoid it, but it did make his concerned.

"Did Delon show you that?" he asked.

"Yes, Father," Stuben said in a high pitch voice. "Delon said we needed to be careful and that you told him not to do this unless you or Balo taught him."

"Then why did you just do it," he asked sternly.

"To show you I can learn too so would you please teach me? Balo is also telling Steana how you, Gorro, and he beat the other bad deer."

He decided not to scold his son, but he had to know this was not a game. "What you say is correct, My Son, however as I told Delon and now I will tell you; never try to use that unless I am with you. You can hurt someone with that. When you are older, I will teach you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father," he said. "I will not use it, I just wanted to show you," the growing spotted male said.

"Good, now it is getting late, we will rest now," he told the others and he lay down. Again Stuben slept by himself a few lengths away.

"You son is ready to learn," Carie told him.

"Good," he said. "I will teach him some over the winter, but I will start in earnest next spring. He will be old enough and developed enough to learn."

Caries came and nipped him playfully at his ear. For now she was happy too.

That night they all ate on the meadow. It was then he noticed the first itching of his antlers. The Season was nearly upon them. He ate with Carie and Claris and for once there were no disturbances. He did notice both Delene and Gorro entered the meadow together and started to eat together. He looked up at Claris.

"That stated right after Gorro and Balo came back from the Man path forest," she said.

Did Stena and Balo say anything?"

"No, Claris went on, "Only that I saw the four of them walk off the meadow the second night after they returned."

"We never heard any objections," Carie added.

"Very well, let me talk to them alone," he told his two doe and walked over. As he got within several lengths they both stopped eating and looked at him.

"Gorro, it is getting close to The Season. If you are going to go back to your Father's forest before the hunts, you will need to leave soon."

"I know Stranger," Gorro said with a huge smile. "I was waiting for you to come back. I will be going back tomorrow night and Delene is going with me."

"He turned to the young doe that was almost beaming. "Is this what you want?" he asked.

"Very much," she said and stood next to Gorro their flanks touching.

By now he saw Balo, Stena, Claris and Carie walking toward them. "I see these two are a pair," he said out loud before turning to face both of them. "I am happy for both of you."

With that he nuzzled both Gorro and Delene to show them he too approved. Not that it mattered. As Bambi taught him, pairing of deer makes the herd stronger, but the herd leader had little control over it.

"So are we," Balo repeated. "Gorro is a fine male and Delene will be happy with him."

"Then there is nothing more to be said. Both of you will be welcomed here as long as I live" he told them. "Now let us finish eating and all sleep in the clearing as a family this last time. You two have a long journey to make."

The next night they all saw the new pair off and as both disappeared into the night and behind the hills, he muttered, "And so it begins again." He went back to the meadow and called everyone in the herd together.

"Most of you already know this, but Razor and his males are dead," he reported to the herd."They will no longer cause you trouble in the forest over the hill. If any of you wish to go back, please feel free to do so. I will not stop you. If you wish to stay here, that is also fine with me. The choice is yours."

At that point Duro and three males from the other forest came forward. "Stranger, there is one thing we need to discuss." Duro's tone was direct and showing of little respect.

"That is?" he asked.

"Soon The Season will be upon us," Duro told him as if he did not know." Are you going to hide the herd like you did last Season?"

"Yes, that was my plan. I was also going to send the new fawns to the small clearing for safety while the Season is here. Claris can watch them."

"We think sending the herd to one place is not wise," Duro went on speaking with authority. "I and several deer from the other forest have decided to hide in the hills to the right of the stream that leads to Bambi's forest. I ask any other deer who wants to join us there to let me know."

That was a direct challenge to his authority and they all knew it. Balo looked ready to stomp Duro's tale into the ground when he shook his head no.

"Very well," he said. "Duro you may leave now for your hiding space," he said with an edge to his voice and a slight lowering of his head as a threat. "Anyone else who wants to go with Duro is free to do so, only do so now! For those who stay, we will hide again in the hill to the right of the stream that runs toward the forest over the hill."

He stepped back and allowed his herd to move freely past him if they wanted to. Four smaller males and that many doe followed Duro out of the meadow and toward his hiding area. Most of the herd stayed with him. He smiled as he watched Duro's small group walk off.

"As for the rest of us," he said loudly, "As soon as The Season is here, I will call the fawns to the clearing. When Man comes back, pay attention to my call. We will all meet in the clearing to decide what to do. Does anyone have any questions?"

"Do we know how many Men will come?" an older doe asked.

"No I do not. I will know when they set up their caves at the edge of the meadow. The more caves, the more Men. I hope to be able to tell you that before we leave for the hills. Are there any more questions?"

There were none, so he walked away. Claris, Carie, Stena and Balo followed close behind him. As soon as they were far enough away not to be overheard Balo stopped. "Stranger why did you allow Duro to speak to you like that?"

"Because I needed to learn how many were with him. Now I know. Duro also knows that most of the herd supports me and not him. Hopefully that will shut him up. If not, and if I have to put him in his place, then I will."

"But he has others," Carie said. "They could try and come at you like Razor did."

He continued eating. "True, but Duro is no fighter and neither are those other males. I am not nearly as frighten of Duro as I was of Razor."

"I still like to stomp his face into the ground," Balo said.

"So, would I, but not now," he said and went back to eating.

In the last few seasons, Man came with large dogs to hunt bear and other large animals at this time. This season they did not. They were allowed to pass the time in peace; however he did hear the sound of killing sticks in the distance in the forest over the bear's hill. He could also hear the same sounds in the forest he could see from the top of the hill near his clearing. Man was hunting, just not here at this time.

The itching in his antlers also became greater and he and Balo scrapped their antler's velvet off. Again both Claris and Carie told him his rack was full and was larger than any other male in his forest. Balo's rack was also full and looked impressive. He doubted any male would dare to challenge either of them. He heard nothing more from Duro and his males and so left the matter alone.

As soon as his rack was fully out of the velvet he noticed Carie starting to give off the scent of a breeding doe. Again poor Claris gave off nothing. He did see fighting in the meadow at night. These were regular mating fights that he did not interfere with. Most doe and males did not pair year round so it was only at this time of year they were together. Some males even made a point of trying to breed several doe, but there were not that many doe to go around. As usual the larger males had their pick and the smaller males did without. That was part of the way of all things.

On the night he finished scraping off his velvet, he heard a roar from the far side of the meadow and he saw two back mounds running down the hill toward the meadow. He barked a warning and immediately all the deer ran off the meadow to safety. He stood near the far side of his meadow away from the two bears, but in the open.

"Greetings," he called out before leaving. The smaller female looked at him. He had no doubt what was on her mind. His bear just shook his head before going back up the hill. The bear should have known better. Perhaps they could catch one of Duro's group, maybe even Duro himself. It was not his concern other than not to have one of his herd feed the two bears. It also meant if they were hunting here, then something was stopping them from hunting over the hill in the next forest. That was the bear's favorite hunting location. He made a mental note not to visit the bear any time soon.

As he walked back he started to feel the pressure starting to build up inside of him. The Season was now close at hand. As he came in he noticed Balo's sent and started to feel angry that he was near Carie. Although Stena put out a strong scent, being his daughter he never felt any desire toward her. He went back to his clearing where Claris and Carie were waiting. He noticed Stuben was gone. Carie noted his interest.

"Our son came to me and said he was feeling different inside. I think even though he is too young, I think he is may be feeling some of The Season inside him and did not want to be around us."

"I understand, it is difficult the first season, he will know better next time," he said and lay between his doe.

"Man will come soon," Claris said.

"As he always does," he answered. "We will be ready for him. All we can hope for is that the hunts will not be too large and last too long.

They heard the crash of antlers down the hill from them. Two males were tossing it up hard.

"More fighting this year," he said.

"More males and doe this year," Carie added. Two of the males were sniffing near me, but ran off as soon as they saw you."

"Claris tomorrow I will call the fawns together and you take them to the clearing as before," he told her.

"Yes, Stranger," she said and looked sad. This was the hardest time of the whole season for her. She had to let another doe breed her male and he knew it hurt her inside. There was nothing he could do about it. He slept feeling Carie sliding very close to him so her scent fill his nostrils.

The next evening after eating he called all the fawns together and sent them to follow Claris. He saw doe and males pairing off and going toward their areas. He motioned to Carie.

"Come Carie, it is time for us to go too."

"Yes, Stranger," she said in a soft voice and lead him off the meadow toward the large oak trees that they had their place.