The Journey Version 2(Wilbur Arron) INTRODUCTION

For the last four years, I have been working on my fantasy novel series that I have recently completed. This had taken my attention away from Fan Fiction and my Stranger stores, as well as other short stories both old and new. Now that's done, I decided to rewrite the next chapter about our forest and its characters. I now have the opportunity to go back and correct some of the problems with the original story. There were areas of the story that were not fleshed out or explained properly. This draft corrects these problems. I hope1

When last we left the story, Stranger, his family, and his friends are dead. However, life in the forest and his herd goes on. This story is about the journey one of Stranger's decedents must make to find his place in the world. As often in life, this journey is not without its tragedies and sorrows, but it also has its triumphs and laughter. In short, it is a story of the journey we all must make as we transit the realm, we called life.

If you like my work, I asked you to look at my fantasy series of three books: The Forest of Allund, The Laughing Gods, and Demigod are available now at Kindle and Barnes and Nobel under the name Wilbur Arron. The books are cheap and a good read.

If you want to contact me, you can reach me through my web page https://www.wilburarron.com I like to know what you think of my stories.

WA
If the two names confuse you, I use the name Wilber for my works online, and Wilbur for my professional books. It helps me keep things straight.
 







THE JOURNEY

By

Wilbur Arron
 
CHAPTER ONE: SPRING

"You know you are getting big for your age," Stabo said. "You remind me of your grandfather."
"Thank you, Stabo," he said turning toward the old deer. "I was hoping someone would notice because I cannot get the other senior males or older herd males to look at me."
"Oh, they look at you," Stabo said walking up to him. He still was a head shorter than his uncle. "They do not say much because they see you as a threat to them. Soon you will be big enough to challenge them and they know you could beat them."
That, at least, made him feel good. "I just hope my rack grows in this season," he said. "I like to get a doe during The Season."
"There is more to getting a big rack than having a doe," the former herd leader said. "After this spring's training, you will be able to get any doe you want. You are strong enough. You look good enough. And that is the problem. A good-looking male with a good rack is the kind of deer Man wants to kill. I do not want to see you dragged off the meadow dead."
The training was what he was interested in. "Speaking of that, I am hoping we will start training again soon. The snow is gone and the meadow is green again. The old forest is even greener this season."
"You still want to become a senior male this season?" Stabo asked.
"Yes he does," he heard from behind him. "Although he should wait another season," his mother said as she walked quietly out of the forest. She approached downwind of them and he never heard her coming. "Many of the senior males are still too big for you to fight. Next season when you are full-grown, that will be different. I think waiting will do you good. My brother is right about one thing, you are getting to look like your grandfather."
Stabo walked over and nuzzled the forehead of his sister. She immediately replied in kind before coming over to him and nuzzling him behind his neck. That always filled him with a mixture of peace and anxiety.
"Stabo looked her over especially her expanded belly. "How are you doing, sister? How is Helos?"
His mother looked pained, but she always did when it was this early in spring before the birth of her fawns. Two full seasons ago he was born. While no longer a yearling, it would be another season at least until he was fully grown.
"Helos has almost recovered from the cough he picked up in the winter," his mother went on. "As for me, I can feel the fawns inside me moving. It makes it hard to walk at times, but soon, they will come. Both Andrene and Helar have left to join the yearling herd so I am alone for now, but that will not last long."
"I remember," Stabo said. "We will start training them this season. I know Young Bambi will start training as soon as Galene has her fawn. He then looked sternly at him. "He told me he wants you and his son Garris to complete your training by The Season. Right now he only has Helos, Juon, and me for help, and I am not getting any younger."
"Stabo, you look as strong as ever," he said with a smile. "You have many more seasons."
Stabo just shook his head. "I am not so sure. I remember telling my father the same thing in the past and now he, my mother, younger sister, Old Bambi, and Faline are gone. If you are not careful, some man will drag you off the meadow and you will be gone too."
It shocked him his uncle would think like that. "Not if I can help it," he answered abruptly. "I would give that talk to Garris. He is wilder than I am."
"That is certain," his mother said. "Besides being boisterous, aggressive, and at times annoying, you think after being almost killed last season, he'd be wiser. Our father certainly was after he was hit by Man before both of us were born. That is why he and Old Bambi taught us as they did."
Stabo nodded his graying head. "If Man had hit Garris instead of that tree he was near, he would not be here and Young Bambi would have lost his first-born son."
"Well no Man saw me and no Man hurt me and I want to keep it that way," he told them.
"SSSSTTTTAAAAABBBBBOOO" he heard a call from a distance. It sounded like it was coming from the main clearing near where Bambi and Galene lived. It was Bambi's voice for sure.
Stabo stood up fully and took a deep breath and bellowed out, "I come." The voice was not nearly so loud and Stabo coughed for a few moments after he called.
"Well I have to go," his uncle said to both of them.
"May I go with you?" he asked. "I like to ask Bambi a question."
"Go ahead," the old deer answered with a shrug, "But if other senior males are there, I would walk away for now. You are not ready to join them."
"I understand," he said and followed the older deer.
The Man Path forest they lived in was large. It takes half a day to walk across it, assuming you wanted to cross the Man Path. The deep nauseating smells of the black dirt man uses to make the path was terrible to sniff. The black path ran back into the forest further than any deer from here had traveled. It ran further into the forest than a three-day walk by a deer. His mother had gone there with his father before he was born. His mother told him and even she had not reached the end of it. Some deer from Stranger's old forest still lived there in the deep woods, but they had not been seen for many seasons. They were part of the old deer herd that left when Stabo threw them out of this herd because of the violent arguments that broke out among many of those deer about who should be the leader. You think they all learn to get along after the old forest burned down, but that did not happen. Instead, many refused to go along with Stabo as herd leader and left. They included Stranger's oldest daughter, her mate, and son. Most were now dead and there had been peace since then. Now the only things that used the Man Path were the animals Man moved inside of.
All about them was quiet and still in the early spring morning. He still marveled at how easily Stabo glided through the trees and brush not making a sound. He was almost as good, but that deer could move quieter than any of them including the herd leader. He still moved as quietly as he could. A quiet deer was a live deer.
There were birds, raccoons, ferrets, squirrels all about them. The air was fresh with the scented smell of new plant growth. Soon he fully shed his winter coat until next winter. They continued to walk through the forest until they finally got to the opening near where Bambi and Galene lived. Thankfully, no one else was there. He could stay without making some senior male angry. Herd males did not talk normally to the senior males unless asked.
Bambi looked down his nose at him. "So what brings you here?"
"I was going to ask about starting our training again," he said. "I know I have more to learn and I am anxious to start learning."
"It will be soon," he answered in his deep voice; Bambi, or Young Bambi, was like his now-dead father and grandfather: strong, wise, and somewhat aloof. "I want to wait until this season's fawns are ready to go to the meadow. Then we will start in earnest, with Garris, I hope."
Stabo looked concerned. "Why do you say that?"
Young Bambi turned quickly to face the old deer looking annoyed. "Because neither I nor his mother has seen him more than twice all winter since what happened near the meadow just after last Season."
"You mean with Man almost killing him?" he asked.
"Yes," the herd leader went on. "He acted like it did not bother him, but inside something happened to him. Something he would not talk about. Since midwinter, neither Galene nor I have seen him. There is not even a trace of his scent."
"I would not worry about it," Stabo replied. "My mother told me my father also changed after he was almost killed by Man's killing stick before I was born."
"Yes, but he became more careful," Bambi added. "He did not sulk away. My grandfather was the same way."
"We will have to see about that?" Stabo went on. "For now I would not worry about it. At least we know he was not killed in the hunts."
"Yes," the herd leader muttered as if lost in thought.
He had not seen Garris either, and he kind of missed his boasting about his strength and fighting skill. It was funny at times, but he never believed it. He had sparred with Garris and the other males while in the yearling herd and he knew he was as strong, if not stronger, than all of them. His father had warned him several times not to let that go to his head.
Then the herd leader spoke to his uncle again. "Have either you or your sister spoken to Uttral lately?"
"I spoke to her last winter before the first snow. She was going into her den for the winter. For a female bear, she has also grown big like her father. She had found a mate from the other forest over the hill. She had taken over her father's old den to spend the winter and have her cubs."
Uttral was the daughter of Bear. Strange as it seems, the Bear was actually a friend of Stranger; although normally the only thing bears do with deer is eat them. The Bear had saved Stranger when he was hit by the killing stick of Man and nearly killed. Stranger, in turn, warned Bear when Man was in the forest. They developed a strange friendship the herd still marvels about. They even spent time together, yet Bear never tried to eat Stranger. He did not understand why, but Stabo said it was something about Stranger's purpose in the forest. He never understood that. After Stranger and the Bear were killed by Man, Uttral, his mother, and his uncle Stabo remained friends.
"When she comes out of her den, she will be hungry and might just go after some of the newborn fawns," Bambi suggested.
His uncle nodded his approval. "She may, that is why I think the doe and the new fawns should eat the grass inside the forest clearings. The males and the yearlings can feed off the meadow. I suggest we call a gathering tomorrow night and explain it."
"Good idea," Bambi said. Then the herd leader turned quickly to face him. "Now young male, let us see how strong you are."
With that Bambi charged him. He also charged forward locking his shoulder against the herd leader's. He pushed hard, but it was like pushing on a huge rock, nothing moved. He quickly lowered his body to get position pushed hard with his back legs. Bambi pulled back and let him waste his effort attacking air before leaping forward at him again. He expected it and braced hard with his legs. The impact still jarred him but did not knock him down. He faked a charge and as Bambi countered he pulled back causing Bambi to fall forward. He quickly attacked again low and pushed back. Bambi was pushed back a short distance before replanting his legs and with a mighty shove pushed him away."
"That was much easier to do last season," the herd leader said drawing deep breaths. "I think a summer of teaching you like your grandfather and my grandfather taught me and you will be able to take on any deer in this forest except me or your uncle.
He noted he did not mention his own son in that group. That seemed odd but he said nothing.
"Whenever you are ready to start, I am here," he said still breathing heavily himself.
"Good, it will be soon," the herd leader said and looked toward the old deer. "Stabo he still needs to practice his walking. I could still hear him before hearing you. Also, he needs to start learning about Man. I think it is time for you to tell him the story your father told us. I think you should do this as soon as possible."
"I will do that, but I could never tell that story like my father," Stabo answered looking down at the ground.
"You do it well enough," Bambi said. "In the meantime young male, exactly what do you want?"
He knew immediately. "I just want to get a doe this season and become a senior male."
"No doubt you will get a doe this season," the herd leader told him. "I think this season or next you will be a senior male. Now, is that all you want? Maybe you like to be herd leader one day."
He recoiled in shock. "Take your place," he squeaked. "No Bambi, I know I am not ready to take your place. I am not strong enough and I am not wise enough to become a herd leader. Also, I am not sure I want to live day after day thinking only about the herd. I do not know if I could do that."
"Neither did I," Bambi said loudly. "At first the herd did not agree. It was two seasons past when Stranger died before the herd let Stabo step aside and accepted me. Stabo never wanted it, but had to do it after my father was killed; there was no one else to do it. It is not a matter of if you are ready, or if you want it. As Stranger taught us, sometimes you have to do it because no one else is around. Now, what will happen if Man uses his killing sticks on Stabo and me? Who is left then to lead this herd? That might be you."
He recoiled even further. "Do not say that," he pleaded. "I would have no idea what to do."
"Does that frighten you?" Stabo asked.
"Of course," he answered.
"All the more reason you should learn as best you can this summer," his uncle added. "We will be doing more than teaching you to fight. We are going to find out if you are a deer that can help the herd.
He swallowed hard. The idea of him becoming the herd leader both frighten him and caused him to doubt his worth. There was silence in the clearing before Bambi spoke up again. "Your uncle and I need to discuss some things, Stafen," the herd leader told him. "Please excuse us."
With that, his uncle and the herd leader walked off. He stood there a long time still shaking at the thought of what Bambi and Stabo had said. He stared where the two disappeared into the forest for a long time before he moved away. A young male deer never wants to admit he was afraid of anything; it lowers his reputation within the herd. However, he had to admit to himself, he was still deathly afraid of even the idea of being a herd leader.
It was well after dark when he wandered on the meadow. He felt better now and walked with confidence and strength showing the other males he was someone to respect. He was just quieter about it than Garris was. He looked around. He saw a few does with some early-season newborn fawns. The yearlings gathered in a group near the far end of the meadow. This time last season he had done the same thing. The herd males were running around in a group near the spring. This was the group he belonged in for now. He could see some light sparing was going on. In the middle of the grassy open area were the doe and fawns. In the middle of the meadow stood the group of seven senior herd males. They included Bambi the herd leader, Stabo, who was still treated as the dominant male. Marcor was nearly as old as Stabo. He was a nice deer; he never said anything bad about someone and never had much to do with him, one way or another. Relnor, who came from another forest. He liked to stay by himself but was known to always have a large group of doe every season. He was seldom heard from and seldom helped out. There was his father, Helos, and other uncle Juon. Juon was known to be a little hard on the herd males, but that was mostly to stop them from doing something stupid and getting themselves killed. Toradas was the newest senior male and he was a bit ruthless. He was always in for himself and was only a senior male because of his strength and the fact none of the herd males wanted to challenge him. He had seen even as a yearling that Bambi only asked his two uncles and his father for help. The other senior males were just there because they were stronger than the herd males. As helpers, they were useless, untrained, and content to remain that way.
In the middle of the meadow were the doe, most still heavily burdened because they carried their fawns. The entire herd was here because they knew Bambi would call a Gathering after dark when the lesser light rose. As soon as the pale light shone down on them, Bambi called out.
"CCCCOOOOMMMEE," he called out loud. All the deer came over. He stayed with the herd males but stepped forward into the front line of that group. Most were two and three-season-old males who were growing in strength with age. There were also older males in the group who never had the strength or courage to challenge as a senior male. Most of them would be lucky if they got to breed in The Season. None of them objected to him being there even as only a two-season male. If they did, he would have to fight them on the spot.
After they all gathered, Bambi spoke up. "We have come through another winter. Soon the grass will be green and tall here. It will be young, tender, and tasty grass. You must not eat that grass in the daytime. Just because it is not The Season, does not mean Man is not around. Deer have died in daylight here thinking Man was gone. You only need to look at the Man cave to see that. There is also a bear that lives in the cave on the hill. She will be waking up soon and she will have hungry cubs. A newborn fawn would be perfect for her to kill. New mothers and their fawns should eat in the small clearings in the forest. The rest of us will eat here at night. Are there any questions?"
"Has there been any signs of Man," one of the older doe called out?
"Not that we have seen, that does not mean there is no danger. We must always plan that Man is here ready to kill us in an instant."
After that there was silence. Soon they all went back to eating.
He liked to eat alone, but today he ate in the center of the meadow with the two-season does. He could also be seen by the senior males. Inwardly he was looking to see if he could draw the early attention of some young doe. He ate, pretending not to notice a group of two-season doe looking at him. Some look like they were still fawns, but a couple looked good to him: young, sleek, and most likely not bred. He was too young to fight for a doe last season. That would not be the case this Season. He noticed a two-season male approaching him from his blindside trying to sneak up on him. It was a game young deer played on each other.
"See anything you like." a voice called. It sounded harsh.
To his right stood Rufo, another two-season male, he was eyeing him and the doe carefully.
"I am seeing what is available," he answered. He studied the male deer carefully. He was about as big as he was and maybe just as strong. The thing that got his attention was that Rufo was tense like getting ready for a fight. Stabo and Bambi had taught him to study deer carefully in case he did have to fight them. A deer gave away much without knowing it. He told himself to remain calm and ready.
"Well do not get your hopes up," Rufo sneered. "After the senior males and I are done, you will not have anything to breed. I will see to that."
That sounded like a challenge to him. He stood up seemingly relaxed and smiled. "You can try," he said calmly.
"I can do more than that," the deer grunted and dropped his head. Remembering all the fighting practice with his father, Stabo, and even Bambi, he remained upright and seemingly unconcerned. He let Rufo bound once and as he went through the air he charged but faked a move to his right. That caused Rufo to veer to his left. He then quickly reposition, ducked his head, planed his front legs, and swung his rear legs around catching the charging deer still in the air and taking his legs out from under him. Rufo crashed onto the ground face first.
He could have run over and charged the down deer, but instead, he stood back and waited for him to shake the dirt out of his eyes and face. His face was filled with rage.
"I will kill you for that," he growled.
"You can try," he said again. Then he added, "You may want to get the dirt out of your face first, you look like a mole."
His insult had the desired effect. Rufo was boiling mad now and determined to tear him apart. That made him careless. His father and uncle had always told him, no matter what happens never get mad during a fight; it weakens you. The deer came up and charged furiously at him. He went forward at a run but he held back some. Rufo put his head down and as the big deer did, he stopped and flung himself to his right. Rufo was going so fast he could not adjust. As he went by him he lifted both front legs and struck the deer under the chin as hard as he could. Rufo almost did a backflip in the air before landing on the ground with a crunch then lying still. He went over and just lightly stomped on his side once to prove his point. He then walked away as if nothing happened. By now everyone on the meadow was looking at him. It made him feel good. He was leaving the field when he noticed Toradas coming toward him.
"I see I am going to have to watch you," he said. The senior male was studying him carefully.
"I am not looking to fight you, Toradas," he said. "I do not have to. There will be plenty of doe during The Season for the senior males and me. I fight only when I have to."
"Hmmmmmm," Toradas said with an evil grin. "You are right there. I have heard other deer say you are like your grandfather. I was just a yearling when he died, but I remember the deer he taught especially Stabo and Bambi. Well young Stafen, stay well. I think we will meet again."
"I am sure of it," he replied and walked into the forest. He was heading for his bedding place. As he walked, he heard leaves rustle and twigs break behind him. Someone was following him. It was not any deer he knew so he did what his uncle had told him to do, walk in the direction where the wind was on his tail. As he did, the breeze brought the scent of a young doe to his nose. She was alone. He looked around and silently hid behind some tall trees. Sure enough, one of the cute doe that had watched him on the meadow approached down the trail. She was not very quiet. He waited for her to go by him when he called out.
"Nice day for a walk," he said and stepped out from behind the trees.
The young doe jumped half a length into the air before turning to face him. "You scared me," she barely gasped out.
"Why were you following me?" he asked.
"I ah. . . ah wanted to ask you a question," she stammered.
She had a nice voice and the rest of her was not bad either: nice face, sleek body, young, strong, and a little bigger than the usual two-season doe. She would be a nice doe to breed in The Season.
"Ask," he told her with a wide grin.
She stammered again for a moment before asking. "Who taught you to fight like that?" she said staring at him carefully. "I have never seen a deer fight like that.
He answered truthfully. "My father Helos, my uncle Stabo and the herd leader Bambi taught me," he answered. "They, in turn, were taught by my grandfather Stranger."
"It is a very different way to fight than the others," she went on.
"Yes it is," he said getting closer to the doe. "It takes a while to learn, but it is worth it.
"My mother told me about Stranger," the doe said. "She said he was the wisest deer that ever lived."
By now he was standing next to her. She had a strong but pleasant scent. He could like this.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Dala," she answered. "Her voice was smooth like his mother's.
He grinned again and slowly rubbed his nose down her smooth fur. He could see her muscles ripple in her flanks. She liked it. He had seen his father do that to his mother and how much she liked it. "Well Dala, I am happy you followed me. You seem like a nice doe. I was going to my bedding place for the day. You can come with me if you want."
He started to walk slowly away and she followed him. They walked quietly, as least as quietly as she could. He told her how to step on the ground without rustling the leave or breaking twigs. They walked until they got to a small clearing.
"Behind those three oak trees over is a small stream you can drink from. If you need to empty yourself, go over by those pine trees," he pointed his nose at the trees in the distance. "It is far enough away so the smell will not draw predators close to us. As for me, it is time to sleep. You can lie next to me if you want. I will not mind."
With that, he lay down on the ground at his usual bedding spot behind some thick brush that protected him from the wind. Dala stood up and hesitated for a moment and then lay down next to him. She leaned into him and he felt her body gently press against his.
"I never lay next to a male before," she said.
"Do not worry," he assured her. "It is fine." The fact was he did not want to admit that other than his mother, he had never laid next to a doe. They were never interested in him before. He laid his head on the ground and she laid hers next to him. Besides their closeness, he felt the warmth of her body on him and he felt calm. Her scent also filled his nose as he drifted off into a peaceful deep sleep.
He woke up as the greater light was well-passed overhead. He got up slowly and went over to the pine trees and emptied himself there. He then drank from the stream to refresh himself. When he came back he saw Dala was gone. For a moment he thought she left him but saw her going toward the pine trees. He lay down and a little while later she came back to lay next to him again.
"I liked that," she said.
"So did I," he told her and then kissed her on her mouth. He felt her mouth yield to him. They remained up for the rest of the day quietly chewing their cud, kissing softly, and waiting for the greater light to vanish. Dala told him her story which was nothing unusual. She was born two seasons ago and spent her yearling time with the herd. He thought he remembered her, but he could not recall anything they said to each other. She was the same age as him but did not breed last year which seemed strange. There was nothing remarkable about her parents or her upbringing. She seemed she was just a nice looking doe that males would want in The Season.
It was just after dark when they got up and both started to walk to the meadow. As they left his bedding area he caught a familiar scent. It was his father coming toward him. He called out in a low bleat to call him over. Out of the forest silently walked a nice size deer, about his size with slightly thinner flanks. He walked over and looked at the doe walking carefully next to him.
"I did not know you were not alone," he said. "Care to introduce us?"
"Yes, Father, this is Dala and she came here last night."
"So I see," his father said to him grinning, and then turned to the doe. "Excuse me, Dala but I need to talk to my son for a while before we get to the meadow."
"Yes, of course," she said and leaped off toward the meadow leaving them alone.
"Yours?" his father asked. "It's a bit early."
"I do not know," he replied honestly. "She followed me home last night and we slept together in my bedding area."
His father stepped back looking at him, almost studying him like a male sizing up his opponent before a fight. "Yes," he finally said. "Yes, you have filled out nicely over the winter. I can see why doe would be interested in you. Well, that is your affair, sleep, and breed with whoever you want. I need to talk to you about last night and Rufo. You beat him up badly last night. He was limping when he got back up."
"He started it, I did not," he explained.
"True, but you did not go out-of-the-way to avoid the fight, either," his father told him sternly. "We all know sometimes you have to fight and beat males to earn your place in the herd, but what I and your uncles and the herd leader were concerned about was how you won. To us, it looked like you were showing off a bit. You could have made it a test of strength and still won. Rufo is not stronger than you."
"I beat him just as you and the others taught me," he said wondering why his father looked upset.
His father did not look pleased. He continued in an even harsher voice. "We taught you these things so if you had to fight, you could win against any deer your size or bigger. We keep these things to ourselves so other deer cannot use them on us. You used it on Rufo openly showing your fighting skills to the entire herd. It would have been better to just make it a test of strength."
He felt his blood starting to rise at his father's rebuke. "Rufo made it clear he was not interested in a test of strength. He wanted to pound my flank into the ground to impress you senior males. I stopped him."
"And in the process, you wanted to impress us with your strength instead," his father added.
His father stood there breathing heavily and then dropped his head for a few moments before he went on. "Look, my son, you are at an age where you are no longer a yearling, but not a fully grown deer either. Such deer are young, impetuous, and seek to have other males look up to them with respect. In short, they want to make a place for themselves in the herd to get their doe in The Season. In doing so they act hastily and are likely killed by Man. Me, Bambi, Stabo, and the others know this. I do not dislike what happened. Rufo can be a pain at times and you certainly put him in his place, but do not be in such a big hurry to impress us with your strength and fighting skill. We care more about you showing us how wise you are. You will be a senior male if you live. Take it in time. Again, fight when you have no choice, not to prove your place. The rest will come on its own. There was one other thing you did not notice that Bambi, Stabo, Juon, and I saw. It was that Rufo did not start the fight; Toradas did."
That confused him. "Toradas did," he repeated. "How, he did not interfere when we fought?"
His father shook his head and took a deep breath. He then spoke to him like he was a fawn again. "He did not do it so he could fight you. He sent his friend Rufo to do it so he could see how strong you were in case one day he had to fight you. You are a threat to him and his place as a senior male. Now he knows both your strength and how you fight. That will give him the advantage when you fight him, and fight him you will."
He was going to say something but stopped. He never considered Toradas would use another herd male to see how strong he was, yet it made sense to him. Inwardly he knew he had badly beat Rufo partly to gain the attention of the doe and the other males. It had worked as Dala showed him. The fact that the whole fight was a ruse so Toradas could study his fighting came as a complete shock.
He could see his father's point, mostly. "I hear what you say, Father," he said meekly. "In the future, I will be more careful, but I will also tell you I do not agree with all that you said. I will try to stay calmer, but if I am challenged directly, I will fight and fight hard."
His father moved over and nuzzled the side of his face as if he was still a fawn. "I understand my son, just listen to my words and think. One thing I always remember from my time with Stranger was his saying that stupid deer are dead deer. I did not raise so you some Man can eat you and put your head in a Man cave like Stranger taught us they do."
That got his attention. "I do not remember hearing about that before."
"That is because you were not old enough to understand. You are now," his father answered. "After we eat tonight, you and I will follow Stabo back his clearing and he will tell you the story Stranger told all of us. When you hear it, I hope you understand better."
"Yes, Father, as you wish."
"Good," the older deer said, "Now one more question. Have you seen Garris? He was not at the gathering tonight and Bambi is getting worried."
"No Father, the last time I saw him was early last winter. I have no idea where he went."
"That is a pity," his father muttered. "Come, let us eat. This deer is hungry."

CHAPTER TWO: DISCOVERY

He felt sick in his stomach.
Before their talk, he had eaten a full meal of grass and some leaves. During and after their talk with Stabo, he emptied that cud from his stomach like he emptied his waste and it was even worse smelling. He had heard things that shocked him in the past, but nothing like this. He had no idea that Man was so savage in their treatment of deer. Stabo took him and his father to a small meadow and had them lie down. The old deer then spent the rest of the night and into the early morning telling them the story his father, Stranger, had told him about his life when he lived with Man. It was a tale of horrors
It wasn't that Man killed deer. From the time he could remember anything, his mother and father had told him about Man and how Man kills deer. As he grew up, he never considered Man as any worse than a pack of coyotes, bears, or even wild dogs. It was what Man did to the deer after he killed them that shocked him beyond description: how they had a good time when they hunted, how they took their heads off after they killed the deer to show them to other Men. Then how they burn the dead body with fire and then ate the flesh. It all made him ill. Then to learn that Man has all the food he can ever ask for and he still kills deer for fun, made him feel worse. After growing up like that, he wondered how Stranger could have even survived, never mind become herd leader. He had a hard time believing the story, but both his father and uncle told him it was true.
After Stabo finished and answered all his questions, both the old deer and his father left him alone. All he felt was shock at what Man did, and revulsion against him because of it. He did not know what to feel; horror, shock, revulsion, anger, confusion, or all of them at once. He felt small again like a fawn. And like a fawn, he felt like crying to his mother like when he was lost. He wanted to be comforted, but he knew there would be no comfort. This was the way life was and he could do nothing to stop it. He just lay down alone all day at times shivering with fear to think a fate like that might await him. It was later Galene, Bambi's mate, stopped by and dropped some bitter-tasting leaves in front of him. She said it made him feel better to eat them and then left. He could not even remember if he even said thank you. He ate the leaves and fell into a sound sleep.
That night, rather than meet the other deer on the meadow, he found a few smaller clearings and ate the grass there to fill his still upset stomach. He did not want to talk to anyone. He did not want to have anyone see him. He was afraid, and deer know fear when they see it. A herd male cannot openly show fear or others will take advantage. That was the way of his kind. Instead, he spent the night wondering alone deeper into the forest thinking. By morning he was as deep into the woods as he ever explored as a yearling. On an impulse, he just kept going. It was the day, but the woods were thick and he smelled nothing unusual. He also felt wide awake. He felt afraid to sleep. He just kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest. He came across tracks of other deer but did not recognize their scents.
As dark was setting in, he saw a light in front of him. He walked slowly toward it and saw the forest thin out into a more open field. In the fields, there were small plants in perfect rows. The light came from something at the edge of the forest. It looked like a Man cave; the same as the one in his meadow. It was then he caught the acidic odor of Man and stopped. He got down low and watched. He dared not show himself or he might have his head be put up inside a Man cave. He saw two Men get out of one of the Man animals and go inside the cave. Stabo had told him about the Man animals and how Man got inside them to move faster than any deer could run. Man used the animals to get to their caves. The one good thing was that if Man were not in them, the animals would not move. He sniffed the air and could smell no dogs to alert Man of his presence. He waited, keeping as still as possible until the light went out. Then he walked very quietly back into the forest.
Once well into the forest he relaxed and found some nice bushes and grass to eat. There was a small pond at the edge of the forest and he drank from it. Satisfied and now feeling very tired he found a spot with a thick layer of leaves and just lay down. Despite what he felt, he was asleep before he knew it.
It was near dark when he awoke. Again he sniffed the air and smelled nothing that was a danger to him. He waited until it was fully dark and then got up and again ate and drank. The wind changed direction, yet he could still smell nothing to alert him of the presence of any predator. He decided he would continue to explore the forest. In truth, he still did not want to see any of his herd. He walked slowly and deeper into the forest away from the Man cave and continued his travel.
The forest continued on as far as he could see. His mother was right, the forest was huge. Beyond where he found the Man cave, he found a small stream. There were deer and other scents nearby. Others used the stream, but his nose told him they were not a threat to him. He followed it for a while and started to notice other deer scents. Some smelled familiar, but none he knew for certain. He moved and ate as he came across plants he liked. He also found some oak trees and some acorns to eat. It was again toward morning he found the stream ended in a small spring far into the forest. Around the pool of gushing water were many scents of deer, raccoons, possums, and rabbits. Many animals came here to drink so it must be safe here. He smelled around the spring and the lush plants and grass that grew nearby. There was even a path many deer used to get to the stream. He did not use it. Stabo taught him well-used paths draws hunters of every kind. As he moved around the spring he caught a scent he recognized immediately. He froze and looked around. What was that scent doing here in this part of the forest?
"Garris," he said out loud and looked around.
The scent was recent, maybe a day or two old. He went back into the brush and decided to wait here for him to come back. He wanted to speak to him. He needed to know what happened and why he left. He finished eating and took a long drink from the spring. He then rested in the brushes close enough where he could see the path and the stream and yet be far enough away where others might not smell him.
The day passed peacefully. Other than the birds overhead building nests, and the squirrels running around on the branches, nothing much happened. The day ended and as it became fully dark, he heard sounds of deer approaching from deeper in the forest. There were many scents because the wind blew the smells from the trail toward him. These deer also did not move quietly as they taught him to do. He watched a herd of maybe ten doe, most with new fawns, three males, and maybe a senior male. They nervously approached the water and sniffed. The lead male quickly raised his head and looked around. The bigger male must have picked up on his scent. None of them were Garris so he said nothing. They all drank their fill. Some nibbled on the grass. Shortly they all moved away.
A short while later another large male approach, alone. The wind had changed and blew his scent away from him so he did not at first recognize him. The male moved carefully and quietly as he did. He came to the spring and started to drink. As soon as the deer bent over to drink, he could see immediately it was Bambi's son. As Garris drank, he suddenly stopped and shot up as if alert to danger. Garris knew his scent and must have also recognized it on the ground. He quickly stood up and called out, "Garris, it is Stafen."
The two-season old male looked up in disbelief. He slowly eased over to him until he was about two lengths away from him. "Where have you been?" he asked. "Your father and my uncle have looked all over for you."
Garris just stood there and shook his head as if he did not believe he was here. After a few moments, just lowers his head as if in shame It looked to him like he was trying to speak. After a few attempts to talk out, he just blurted out, "I left the forest in the winter. I am not going back."
That was the last answer he expected to hear. "Why?" he asked.
"My father told me just after The Season that he expected me to follow him as herd leader. I do not want that. I want nothing to do with leading a herd or even being a senior male." He did not even sound the same. Gone was the reassured, at time embolden voice brimming with confidence. Now he sounded like a deer that was beaten and dragged through the forest. He saw no physical change in his appearance. He was still slightly bigger than he was. He was still heavily muscled and looked strong. What had happened?
"I do not understand?" he had to admit.
"I do not want to lead" he repeated. "I am no good at it. My father wants me to but I can't. If I cannot live up to my father's wishes, or what the herd expects me to do. I am no leader. It is better that I leave before I hurt someone or the rest of the herd starts to laugh at me."
He wondered what brought this on. It was such a complete change from what he was. "I still do not understand, Garris; why do you think you are you no good at leading?"
Garris just turned his back on him and started to shake. If he did not know any better he thought he was crying like a lost fawn.
"What is wrong?" he asked more forcefully.
Garris just stood there back to him before he just blurted out, "Because I am afraid."
Did he hear that right? "You are afraid," he repeated. "Afraid of what?"
Garris took a deep breath. "I am afraid of Man, I am afraid of his killing stick, I am afraid of saying the wrong thing and having deer die because of it. Most of all, I am afraid my father will be ashamed of me and others deer will laugh at me because I am afraid."
Now he was even more confused. All deer lived in fear all the time. Fear of the many hungry mouths that wanted to kill and eat them. Fear of finding enough food to survive. Most importantly, fear of Man and his killing sticks. There was nothing new about any of that. "Garris, everyone is afraid of Man and his killing sticks. That is why we hide in the forest. There is nothing wrong with that. Even Stabo and your father are afraid of Man and his dogs."
Garris whipped around so fast he thought he would attack him. Tears were running down his face. "But Stabo still leads even when he is afraid. My father still acts as herd leader when he is afraid. All I can do is lie still like a fawn and shake in fear. After Man almost killed me, every time I heard a killing stick, I drop to the ground and shake in fear. I could not stand up. I would empty my waste without wanting to. All I could think about was if I was going to die. I did not care about the herd, I did not care about you, I did not even care about my father. All I cared about was not being killed. No herd leader can be like that. Stabo and father can get up and lead. All I can do is cower in fear. I am useless as a leader and it is better if everyone just forgets about me."
He was still trying to understand his former companion. Garris was hardly alone with his fear. He decided to admit something to him. "Garris, I will tell you something," he said in a low voice. "I too am afraid of Man. I do not let the other deer know or see that fear, but I am afraid."
The large two-season male raised his head. He had been crying. "Yes," he said almost choking the words out. "Yes, but you still act when you are afraid. You are like your uncle and my father, you think of the other deer when the others run away. Everyone says you are like your grandfather. Stranger would lead even when Man was trying to kill him. He had no fear even when he faced the danger of Man, I cannot do that. All I can think about is not dying. I do not have that in me. When danger comes I am too afraid to even move."
He had no idea what to say. That someone he always felt was as strong as his father, had fallen almost to the point where he was too weak to be a herd male. It just made him feel almost as sick as Stabo's talk to him. He had no idea what to do. Only one thing came to mind. "Look, Garris, come back with me. We will talk to your father alone; maybe he and my uncle can help you get over your fear."
Garris backed up two steps looking scared. "No," he cried out. "And let my father and the others see what I have become, I'd rather be dead. I do not belong there anymore Stafen. I belong here alone; alone with my fear. No one cares about me here. No one expects anything of me here. Here I can be afraid and no one else will get hurt so see me afraid."
"Garris, you are the son of the herd leader. Of course we expect you to follow him. You are a strong deer, maybe stronger than me. I think you are upset, but I think you can overcome your fear like Stanger and the others have."
Garris shook his head no. "I thought I was strong, but I am not," he said. "I thought I was brave, but I am not. I thought I was a leader, and now I know I am not. I am nothing, my friend, except a scared, small deer that has no place to go. It would have been better if that Man did kill me. That way I would have died before I realized I was like this. Now I am useless."
The way Garris talked made him angry. He would not believe his friend was like this. "No, this is wrong; I do not believe it. You are scared but it will pass. You come with me. I will get Stabo and your father to help you. I know you are different from this."
He started to move forward to try to hold his friends and block him from running away, but Garris moved back quickly like when they were sparing. In an instant, he was several lengths away. "It is better this way," he called out. "Goodbye, my friend. Never come back here again to see me. I am going so deep into the forest that no deer from our herd will ever find me, a place where no one has ever heard of me, my father, Stabo or Stranger. A place no one expects anything of me."
With that, the young male quickly turned and bolted away like dogs were chasing him. In moments he disappeared into the trees and bushes. He just stood there not knowing what to do. He thought about going after him but decided this was Garris' decision. If that is what he wanted, then he hoped he would at least live a peaceful life. He had no idea just how he was going to explain this to Bambi and his family.
For the rest of the night, he ate what he could find and in the morning rested. He did not sleep well. All he could think about was what had happened to Garris and could it happen to him. Stabo's story also still did not sit well with him. Maybe Garris was right. Maybe having others depend on you was too frightful to think about. He found himself feeling a little scared.
When night came he started back to his forest. On that first night, all he could think about was what he was going to tell Bambi and the others. When the greater light appeared, he rested, but he remained troubled. Now two things had combined to shake his confidence: Stabo's story and seeing Garris reduced to a deer others would have nothing but contempt for. He did not understand it. For a while, he thought he would not tell anyone about this. It would be his secret. No one would know and no one would feel shame, especially Bambi. He thought about that for a long while before he realized what his uncle and father had told him before was right. No matter what happens, you tell the herd leader and the others the truth. It would hurt them to know, but at least they know the truth.
After his second night going back toward his meadow, he stopped near the rising of the greater light to rest by a small stream. He remembered the stream from his trip here. He would be home tomorrow night. There were also the scents of other deer around here, yet he smelled no predators. That reassured him it was safe. The scents were mostly of doe and young fawns. He thought nothing of it and went to sleep. At least he did not lie awake with a troubled mind like the previous day. This time he was tired enough where sleep came easily.
It was sometime during the day he heard a branch snap and came instantly awake. He looked up from his bedding place. Off in the distance, he heard the breaking of twigs and leaves moving. Whoever they were, they were not quiet. A gust of wind brought the scents of several deer to him. A while later he saw movement. Through the trees came several deer. There were two mature doe with three fawns. The doe looked maybe four or five seasons old. Also, there were three two-season doe without any fawns.
He watched them approach the stream and slowly bend over and start to drink. The lead mature doe suddenly stopped, raised her head quickly, and looked around. They must have picked up on his scent. The young doe did not seem to care or notice. How careless they were. If there was any Man nearby, they would be easy prey for the killing sticks. What deer moves around in the day openly like this? He took in a large breath of air and smelled nothing unusual. He slowly got up and looked over to them.
"Do you always walk around during the daytime?" he asked.
All the doe and the fawn leaped in the air and started to turn and flee.
"Stop!" he called out. "I will not hurt you. I am a deer from the Man Path herd."
With that, he stepped out into the open and let them all see him.
"Who are you?" one of the mature doe called out.
"I am Stafen," he answered and let them all see him. Then he looked and saw no males with these deer. That was strange. "Who are you," he called out.
"We are deer from near the Man cave," the lead doe replied hesitantly.
That confused him. He knew all the deer by the Man cave and these doe were strangers, then he realized they were talking about the other Man cave near where he found Garris.
"What brings you here?" he wanted to know. "It is a long walk to that Man cave.
"We left there after last season," the same doe called out. "Man came and killed many of our herd so we ran away to come here. There was enough food to live through the winter so we stayed here."
"It is daytime," he chided them. "You are not afraid of being seen by Man?"
"Man never comes here so we go out in the day or night," the doe said as if it was nothing.
"Man comes everywhere," he told them. "That is why it is safe only to move during the night when Man cannot see us."
The older doe stood straight up as if insulted by his comment "You are very young to know anything about Man," the doe replied with a sneer.
"My uncle Stabo and the herd leader Bambi trained me since I was a yearling. They taught me many things."
"Stabo," the other older doe said. "I know the name of Stabo. My mother told me it was Stabo that told them to leave the herd long ago. Many deer went with them including Stena, Balo, and Delon. Most were later killed by Man. Delon became our herd leader until he was killed by Bambi and Stabo. They were afraid of him and us. We all fled and formed a new herd with Falcis as our herd leader, but Falcis was not wise and Man killed most of us last season. The herd broke up and the rest of us spread out. We found this place where it is quiet."
What the doe said reminded him of the stories his mother and uncle told him about when the old forest burned down in the time of Stranger. All the deer in the old forest had come to the Man Path forest. He remembered his uncle told him that many of the deer from the old forest did not get along and fought for leadership. Stabo had to make many of them leave, but he also said most of those that left died soon after. Could these be part of that herd? They were all far too young for that.
"Stabo is my uncle," he repeated. My father was Helos, but my mother is Stelar who was the daughter of Stranger. Stranger was my grandfather."
"Stranger," the same old doe repeated. "My mother told me about Stranger. He was the best herd leader. He and Bambi looked after the herd for many seasons before the great fire sent all the deer out of the old forest."
He realized that they must all have been part of the same herd, but long ago. That was interesting, but that didn't explain why they were walking about during the day.
"You must be careful," he told them. "Even though you cannot smell or hear Man, he can be close and you never know it. This is why my mother, father, and Uncle Stabo taught me only to move around by night."
"As I said Man is not here. I think you are too careful, young male," the same doe said.
He just shook his head and remembered something his father had told him. Some deer do not understand. Unfortunately, they were the ones usually killed.
"I do not wish to argue with you," he said. "What I will say is that we have a large herd maybe a night's walk from here. I am sure the herd leader will not mind if you join."
"No," the same older doe said. "That herd and its leader Stabo told my mother to leave with the others when she was young. Most are all dead because of Stabo. She never went back to that herd and neither will I."
As if that mattered anymore he knew. "Those differences vanished long ago," he answered. "No one feels that way now. You should come because you will be safer in a large herd than a small herd."
"I would like to see a large herd," one of the younger doe said. She was the largest of the two-season doe, not a great beauty, but pleasant to look at.
"Then go," the other older doe shouted and kicked her. "We do not need that herd. We are fine by ourselves."
"I like to see it too," one of the other young doe said. She was not bad to look at either."
The two older doe looked incensed, almost as if insulted. The other older doe raised herself on her rear legs. He realized she was going to stomp on the other young doe in anger. He leaped forward hitting the older doe hard enough to knock her back and off-balance so she fell.
"That is enough," he growled. "You will not hurt her. I am going to my herd tonight. If any of you want to come with me, you can. We will rest here today and leave tonight."
"Go with him," the other older doe said and pushed the first young doe who spoke away. You are no longer welcome with us."
He looked angrily at the older females. There was no excuse to act like this. "I think you should leave now," he told them. "Do not worry; we will not be here tomorrow when you come back."
The two older doe saw his anger. He would not deliberately hurt a doe, his father taught him that much, but he would not let them hurt the others. Without a further word, the older doe, fawns, and one younger doe went back into the forest leaving the three of them there.
He was now agitated, but he felt more tired. He lay back on the ground while the other two doe looked down at him. "It will be a long walk tonight, you should rest now," he suggested before adding." If you want, you can sleep near me."
He expected both doe to be wary of him, but instead, one doe lay on one side of him and the other doe on the other side of him. If anything it felt better than when Dala slept next to him.
"What are your names," he asked.
"I am Nalene," the doe on his right spoke.
"I am Allia," the other said.
"They were not your mothers?" he asked.
"No, Nalene," told him. "Our mother died with the rest just after last season. After the herd ran, those two older doe were all we could find. They did not treat us well."
"You are sisters?" he asked noting their similar scents.
"Yes," Allia said.
"Well rest now until dark, then we will continue."
As soon as the greater light was gone they moved on. The first thing he noticed was that neither doe knew how to move quietly.
"Look how I move," he told them. "See, I put my feet where they do not disturb any leaves or break any twigs. If Man cannot hear you, Man cannot hurt you. You also leave less scent for others to track you. Try and do the same. It will take you some time to learn, but soon you will be able to move quietly like me."
Their progress was slow, but by the time the lesser light passed overhead, they all reached the meadow. There were many deer out eating the fresh spring grass.
"Go over to where the doe are and eat there," he told them. "They will not hurt you. If you have any problems, come see me."
Both young doe wandered off and he decided he should talk to Bambi as soon as possible, but first, he was hungry. He stayed off to the side of the meadow not wanting to call attention to himself for now. It was not long, however, before his father noticed him and came over.
"Where have you been?" his father asked harshly. "I was afraid I lost you too."
He bowed his head. "I am sorry, but after what Stabo told me, I felt I wanted to be alone for a while so I went deep into the forest."
His father's looks soften. "Yes, my son," his father said. "That story can be upsetting. It made me feel cold when I heard it from Stranger himself."
"There is something else," he went on, "Something bad. I need to speak to you, Stabo and Bambi about, alone."
"What is it my son," His father prodded.
"I only want to tell you this once, and I don't want to tell you with the other herd and senior males nearby. I am afraid what I am going to tell Bambi is going to hurt him."
His father lifted his head and looked him into his eyes. "It has hurt you too, my son; I can see that. I also see I should do as you ask. Go to your bedding place and I will bring them."
"Yes, father," he answered and started to walk away when he remembered something. "How is mother?"
"She is fine," his father beamed. "You have a new brother and sister."
"I am happy all of them are well. I will wait for you." With that, he walked off alone. The last thing he wanted was company.
He reached his bedding area and just lay down. He dreaded what he had to tell the herd leader, but he had to know. The night seemed to go on forever until he heard the light rustling of leaves. He stood up and the three deer walked into his small clearing. Bambi wasted no time.
"What is it Stafen, what happened?"
As calmly as he, could he told him. "I went deep into the forest past the other Man cave and when I was there I found Garris."
"Is my son alive?" Bambi asked.
"Yes," he answered, "But he has changed. On the outside he is fine, but he seems broken on the inside."
"I do not understand," Bambi said impatiently.
He just broke down and told all of them the story and the conversation he had with Garris. He tried to leave nothing out nor did he try to hide anything. After he finished he looked at Bambi. What he saw was a mixture of profound sorrow and rage.
"My son said all of that?" he barked. "I do not believe it."
Stabo walked up to him and stared into his eyes. Those dark black eyes almost look like they saw through him. He stood there for several seconds. His uncle then turned away and faced Bambi.
"I see no falsehood inside him," his uncle reported. "He believes what he is saying."
"Is this why you wanted to speak to us alone?" Bambi asked.
"Yes," he answered meekly. "The one thing Garris was most afraid of was the thought that you and the other deer would be ashamed of him."
Bambi just looked diminished and hurt like being struck hard by another deer. "My son," was all he said before turning around and walking off alone into the forest.
"I hurt him, didn't I?" he asked out loud.
"Yes," his uncle said watching the herd leader disappear. "However, it was a hurt he needed to know."
His uncle turned and again looked deep into him. "I think you have changed too, young male."
He did not feel different. "I feel more afraid of Man like Garris. I feel disturbed about all the things you told me," he admitted. "I thought about not telling Bambi about his son, but I realized it is better to live with the truth, than to maybe die with lies."
"Can you live with the truth?" his uncle asked strongly.
He still felt afraid of all that happened he had to admit to himself, but he did not think he hide like a newborn fawn at the first sound of the killing sticks. He looked up at his uncle and smiled. "Yes, Uncle, I can live with the truth."
Stabo looked at his father and smiled. "You are your father's son, Stafen, but more importantly, I think you are your grandfather's grandson."
His father nodded his agreement.
"Very well, we will start training again tomorrow night after we finish eating. This training we will do with us alone. It is now time for you to learn how to fight when things get bad."
"Like when you, your father, and Bambi's father fought Razor."
"Exactly," Stabo said sternly. "Only this time you will not show off your fighting skills to anyone unless it is a major fight to the death. I know what your father said to you about your fight with Rufo. We keep our tricks to ourselves so other deer will not use them on us. These tricks will not just beat another deer, it will kill them. These tricks will also kill dogs, coyotes, and other predators. Other deer can use these same tricks to kill you. That is why you never show what you will learn except when we practice alone, or you are in a hard fight for your life. Do I make myself understood? You will show this to no one unless it is necessary."
"Yes, Uncle," he repeated meekly.
"Now what about those two young doe you brought to the herd" his uncle added with a smile.
He quickly explained what happened when he met the two older doe in the forest. Stabo looked surprised when he told him what the older doe said about him.
"Yes, that happened when we divided the herd after the great fire," Stabo added. Several deer went with Balo and my sister Stena. These are likely the children from that group since this happened many seasons ago. No matter, again you have done the right thing Stafen."
"I will help them adjust if they need it," he told them. "They seem like nice young doe."
"Well they certainly seem to like you," his father also said with a smile. "Both of them and that one doe that was here before were following us."
"I think Stafen is putting together a nice little herd for The Season," Stabo said now openly grinning.
He felt embarrassed and turned away.
"Do not be shy son," his father said also grinning. "Having three young doe following you around will do a lot more for your place in the herd than beating Rufo to a pulp."
"That is for sure," Stabo added. "Just keep your strength up. You will need it for the training." Then he added, "and The Season."
With that, both deer left him alone. It was not long before he heard several deer approach. They were still noisy, but not as bad as before. Dala, Nalene, and Alla walked into his clearing together.
"Can we stay with you?" Nalene asked.
That confused him. Most doe only stayed together with males at the Season; Although some like his mother and father, Galene and Bambi, and Kena and Juon stayed together all the time. Doe also did not like sharing males. "You do not mind being all together with me?"
"I don't mind," Dala told him. Nalene and Allia shook their head no.
"Better and better," he said to himself and lay down in the soft grass. It was warm and comfortable that night with all of them close together.

CHAPTER THREE: EFFORTS

He hurt.
The right and left side of his body hurt. His leg muscles hurt. His back hurt. His head hurt. The only part of his body that did not ache was his tail.
He had spent several nights with his father, Stabo, and Bambi learning how to fight hard. He thought he was good, but both Stabo and Bambi threw him around like a yearling male. One time Bambi had thrown him to the ground and lightly stomped on him just to show him how it feels. The training continued night after night. He strained his muscles to fight back, but Stabo and Bambi always had some counter move that threw him off-balance and they pushed him back. Night after night it was the same. He was slowly being beaten to a pulp by his herd leader and uncle.
They showed him how to kick. Not just kick to beat some male looking to take his doe. They showed him how to kick to cut open a deer like a bear's claws. He practiced kicking against trees, but sometimes rocks. They showed him how to sharpen his hoofs so they could be like sharp claws that cut into any flesh. They then showed him how to use his rack to cut open deer along the flank and rear. The most dangerous thing was how to use his rack to push deep into a deer or other animal's chest so he would quickly bleed to death. More important was how to stop the other deer from doing all that to you. It was exhausting. Many times after the lessons he did not even go back to his bedding place, but just lay down and fell asleep on the spot. The thing that aggravated him more than anything else was that Stabo and Bambi seemed to enjoy doing it to him. It was as if they were trying to beat him up so badly he would not come back. But he kept coming back, mostly out of anger.
"You know I am stronger than you are," Bambi once told him after pushing his head into the dirt.
He struggled to his feet spitting out the dirt. "Yes you are,” he snapped back, “FOR NOW!”
"Good," Bambi said and walked away.
His uncle was even worse at times. Stabo was an older deer. Already he could see white hairs on his head and flank. Despite his age, he was powerful. He easily outmaneuvered him many times and pushed him back. Then he told him patiently what he did wrong. Then they do it again, and mostly the same thing happened but it took longer. It was a while before he realized that Stabo was having more and more problems in pushing him back. It was then he started to see the improvement in himself.
It was in late spring when he first noticed his condition. Practice sparing with even much older deer was becoming much easier. He never hurt anyone during these brief sparring matches, but soon, no one tried to spar with him. On the meadow, the herd males were giving him more space. They did not come up to brush him or to spar with him. The few that did he could easily brush aside. After fighting Bambi and his uncle, these other deer were not much of a challenge.
One night near the start of summer, after they finished and he felt he had done particularly well. He had not had his face pushed into the dirt. He had not been kicked. He was still being pushed back, but not nearly so easily. That is when Bambi pulled back and nodded.
"Enough of this for now," he said to the others. "I think it is time for this one to do something for the herd."
"Yes," Stabo said.
"What would you have me do, herd leader?" he asked.
"Sometimes it is necessary for a deer to do things to help the herd leader. One of them is to look for any signs of danger. Not just in the forest, but also nearby in the old forest. Danger can come from anywhere and the best way to avoid it is to find it before it finds us. Right now Stabo, your father, and Juon do that for me when needed. I think it is time for you to start. I want you to do something for me. I want you to go into the old forest and look for any new signs of danger like Man, or new large animals, or anything else that can be a threat to the herd. Mostly look for tracks on the ground. See where the tracks came from and see where they go. Also, I want you to look and see how well the grass, bushes, and trees are growing back. If the herd gets too big here, or we have a hard winter, we will have to send some deer over to the old forest so we all have enough to eat. I want you to do this for me. It will take several days; it is dangerous because we do not know what is there. You must be careful and try not to be seen by anyone. I think you are old enough to do this."
He felt an inward pride they trusted him enough to do this. "I will do what the herd leader asks," he said with glee. "I will start tomorrow night."
"When you get back, come see me and tell me what you find," Bambi said.
"Yes," he said and bowed slightly.
That night, not feeling totally exhausted, he went back to his bedding area. There the three doe waited. They took turns sleeping next to him and he enjoyed it. Inwardly, he looked forward to The Season when he could have all three of them as his mates.
They all settled down next to him and he felt their warmth. Inwardly he was happy, but he had to tell them what Bambi wanted him to do.
"Listen," he said softly. "I have to go away for a while. The herd leader wants me to do something for him. I will leave tomorrow night and I will be gone several nights."
"Do you have to?" Dala complained.
"Yes I do," he said. "It is necessary."
"Why?" Allia asked.
"Because the herd leader asked me," he said flatly. "They have been training me to become a senior male, and part of that duty is to find danger before it can hurt the herd. I am old enough now to do these things so the herd leader asked me to find out."
"Will you be back," Nalene asked.
He smiled, "Of course, nothing is going to keep away from you doe. I will be back."
"We will miss you," Nalene added.
"And I will miss you," he told them sincerely. "I have gotten used to having you three near me when I sleep. I like your scents."
He nuzzled all three of the doe and put his head on the ground and fell into a peaceful sleep.
The next night, as the lesser light rose, he moved to the edge of his forest and looked over the gap of open meadow at the trees of the old forest. Even in the pale moonlight, he could see the trees were barren of leaves. They were just burnt-out stumps.
He sniffed the air and smelling nothing, he ran quickly across the gap never running in a straight line more than a few leaps before changing direction. He ran as fast as he could so he would not be in the open for long. He entered the old forest and its burnt trees and stopped next to the burnt-out remains of several old pines. Although the trees were dead, he did see new grass growing from the ground along with other plants between the dead trees. The ground was green and some short stubby plants were growing, but nothing else was. He tasted the grass, it was not bad and there was a lot of it growing now that light could reach the ground. He kept moving, climbing the hill upwards. Every few lengths, he stop and sniff the air. Besides a faint burnt order that still lingered, there was nothing. He saw birds and a few chipmunks running around, but there were no larger animals. He saw no tracks or smelled any scents on his way up the hill. The most dangerous thing he saw in this part of the old forest was a rabbit.
When he got to the top of the hill the forest stopped. Behind the hill was a large open space. He could not see across it in the dark, but he knew there was another forest in the distance. There was a large herd of deer there. Stabo and his father had told him that deer from that forest had come here to be trained by Stranger. After they finished their training, they went back there along with members of this herd and members of his family to start their own herd. He wondered how they were doing and if could ever work up the nerve to go there himself. Beyond the hill, there was grass as far as he could see. It would be a perfect place to feed deer if it was not completely open. Anyone could see them out there. He walked near along the top of the hill and could see with the trees gone; a herd of deer could not hide here. Man would see them for sure.
He then started to walk down the hill again. The lower he got the more the fire had devastated the forest. He finally got near the meadow. He looked out on the meadow and saw his herd feeding on the grass. His stomach felt a bit empty so he ate the grass he found between the trees. It tasted a little dry and had a burnt smell to it, but it satisfied his needs. He walked on until he came to a stream that ran down a gap between the hill he was on and another hill that rose to his right. He walked forward following the stream. The grass was lush and tasty near the stream. He followed the water until he came to some rocks. Looking into a pile of rocks he saw a small cave. There were no scents around it. He wondered if this was Old Bambi's cave his uncle told him about. The old herd leader used to live in a cave with Faline his mate. There were no scents nearby so he was sure no one was using it now.
He continued past a small pond where he drank from. He remembered this place from his uncle and how the stream came out through the gap in the hills and continued as far as anyone knew. He got to the end of the gap where hills rose to his right and left. The left hill he had come down before on so he went to the right. That hill was steeper and rockier which made it more of a struggle to climb. It would be hard for Man to climb here.
The hard climb tired him. When he got to the top, he saw the first glint of the greater light. This would be a nice place to stay for the rest of the day. He found a nice bed of grass, lay down, and fell asleep easily.
He woke as the greater light was setting. In the dimming light, he could see better and saw that the older burnt trees stood bare, but there was grass on the ground that would feed deer also. Again, there was almost no place to hide here. Even though it was still light he walked among the dead trees along the side of the hill. Again he smelled nothing and other than some small animals, and birds, there was no life around him. There were no large tracks in the dirt. He climbed once more to the top of this hill and looked out. Beyond this ruined forest was open ground as far as he could see. He remembered his mother told him that Old Bambi came from a forest several days walk from here in that direction. She had made the trip to and from there when she was barely older than a fawn. Another large deer herd was there and old Bambi's son Gorro was herd leader. He wondered if he would ever meet them. He continued to walk along this hill until he came to another gap through which the stream from the spring and the stream through the hill flowed. He again remembered his mother told him that if he walked three days along that stream, he would reach Bambi's old forest. He went down the hill, across the gap, and up the next hill, drinking his fill in the stream.
As he climbed this hill something caught his attention immediately. This part of the forest was not burned as badly as the other parts. The fire was not as strong here. He walked and looked around. There was enough cover where a few deer might hide, but it would be easy to find them. There were few birds around here and he wondered why until he saw a large white owl in one of the trees.
The owl turned and looked down at him and seemed to gasp. "Stranger," he chirped. "I thought you were dead."
"I am not Stranger," he called out. "Stranger was my grandfather. I am Stafen, son of Stelar his daughter."
The owl flew down to a lower branch to look at him. "Well, you certainly look like him only a lot younger."
"Thank you," he said. "I certainly try to be like him."
"That is a good thing to be," the owl shrieked. "I am Oswal. I was friends with your grandfather and your mother. What are you doing around here?"
"The herd leader, Young Bambi, sent me here to look over the old forest to see if there was any danger here, or if we could have deer come here to eat if things got too bad in the winter. I see some grass, but most of that will get covered in snow."
"Yes," the owl answered. "Here is the only place in the old forest anyone like you can live."
"Are there any large animals around that are dangerous?" he asked.
"No, there is nothing except the bear in the cave on the hill on the other side of the meadow. There are plenty of mice here and in the big fields over beyond the hills; enough food to raise my brood. My mate and I raise a brood every season."
"Deer do not eat mice," he said. "Grass is what we need. Have you seen anything dangerous around here?" he asked next.
"Just two foxes," Oswal answered. "Most of the other large animals fled during the fire or died here. The crows had a feast for days picking over the dead after the fire. Crows, I hate them. They think they are so smart and will steal your food if you give them half a chance. Thankfully after picking the bones clean they moved on."
That was information he could have done without. At least he found out what he needed to know. He looked back at the owl. "If you want, stop by the herd. We eat on the meadow nightly just past the Man cave, I am sure Stabo would like to see you. If you do see something dangerous, if you can let us know, we would be grateful."
"I can do that," he said. "Well, I have to go catch some mice, my mate and I have a brood of three chicks to feed."
The owl flew off toward the large open fields on the other side of the hills. He kept on walking even though he was starting to see light in the distance. He came to the end of this hill and saw the hill to his right. He knew that hill and he also knew that is where Uttral the bear lived. He had never met her, but he knew Stabo and his mother were friends with her, impossible as that sounds. He did not feel like meeting her and taking the chance that she would not eat him, especially if she had new cubs. Rather than walk down the side of that hill near her den, he decided instead to walk over the hill. Beyond that hill, he knew there was another forest. In that forest was a large deer herd there where Felon was herd leader. He was another deer that had been taught by Stranger and mated with one of Stabo's daughters. He would go that way and look at that herd and ask them what they knew.
He climbed up the far hill but rested at the top. The forest here had burned like the rest of it with little or no growth except grass and bushes. The soil was rockier here. The forest thinned out to nothing and he saw, in the distance, the thick forest of the other deer herd. He noted the ground was completely open past where he was and it was getting lighter. He did not want to cross that open space in daylight. This would be a good place to rest for the night.
The following evening he continued his trip toward the other forest. He saw nothing unusual as he passed. The grass was rough and tasteless. There were no scents of Man or other animals until he got close to the forest. As he got within the closest trees, he came upon a pile of waste on the ground. It was not fresh and smelled like that of a coyote. It was a few days old. That put him on his guard. That was the first sign of a predator he had seen. He walked in the new forest looking for signs of any life. He took in large amounts of air through his nose as he walked to test for scents. He could smell nothing unusual. He changed his direction of walking several times to make sure no one was following. It was just like the others taught him.
In the pale moonlight, he could see the hill he had come down on. He was walking inside the other forest but in the same direction as the hill with Uttral's cave. He knew at the far end of that hill was the Man cave and spring. Beyond those was his forest. He kept walking and shortly started to smell other deer. He walked toward them until he saw four males eating in a small clearing. They were not big. These looked like herd males. All were maybe three or four seasons old. He approached downwind of them and crept slowly toward them. They did not detect him until he was almost on top of them. All of them suddenly stopped eating and looked at him. Lucky for them he was not a bear or he would be eating deer now.
"Greetings," he called out. "I am Stafen from the Man Path forest. I am visiting your forest."
"A little young to be walking about on your own away from your mother," one of the older males sneered.
That got him a bit angry. "My herd leader asked me to look around so I am here. I am not staying."
"Your herd leader," another one said like it was a joke. "Your herd leader has no one else to send here but you. Your herd must be hard up."
He grunted in frustration. "Yes I am young, but I am not inexperienced."
"You are still a fawn drinking from his mother," the older one said this time openly laughing.
He then took a four-legged stance head down slightly and staring at the four deer waiting for one of them to make a move. "I am indeed young," he said slowly. "If you like to see how young, you can try me."
"You little whelp, I will teach you some manners," the four-season male said and dropped his head and charged. He again waited and then sprung around taking the male's front legs out with a sweep of his rear legs. This time he did not hesitate. As soon as the male hit the ground, he was on him driving his head into his flank hard.
"Ooooff," the male grunted and rolled over twice.
He shot back up looking at the other three deer in the clearing. "Anyone else," he grunted.
"STOP!" he heard someone shout from on the other side of the clearing. Into their mists walked an older male, much bigger than these four and even bigger than him. He was heavily muscled and from the scars on his face and flank had been in many fights.
The large deer glared at him. "I am Felon, the herd leader. Just who are you, and why are you here? I also want to know who trained you."
That jogged a memory from his mother. "I remember the name Felon from my mother. You mated with Stabo's daughter Claris, but that was before I was born."
Felon looked at him strangely as not to know what to make of him. "Yes that is true, only how would you know that, young male."
"Because Stabo is my uncle and Stelar is my mother. I am Stranger's grandson."
Felon relaxed then and walked up to him. "Yes, I can see it now," he said smiling.
He bowed his head. "I am sorry about your males, but I do not take insult very well."
"No, you would not," Felon answered.
"Did you see what he did to Gelon?" one of the males said. "You should throw him out of the forest."
Felon turned sharply to face the other males. "I heard what you said to him," he said angrily. "You are lucky I was here or he would have wiped the ground with all of you. The same deer that trained me also trained him. I ought to let you fight him as a lesson in manners."
The other three males immediately turn and fled out of the clearing. Felon just shook his head. "Look Stafen, those males had no right to talk to you like that especially since you are a visitor. They should have come to get me. At the same time, you were a bit testy there. I know you are young and newly trained, but we do not fly off at the first insult. Stranger taught me that."
He took a deep breath realizing the Felon was most likely correct. "I am sorry, but they were rude and I got mad. I will try to keep tighter control over myself."
"Good," the herd leader said nodding his head. "I doubt you will have any more trouble at least with the herd males. Now, why are you here?"
He briefly explained what Bambi had told him he wanted and what he had done up to this time. He also explained why he did not want to walk along the hill at the far side of the meadow.
"So Young Bambi is setting you out on your first trip to look for danger," the big deer said with a grin "That means he and Stabo trust you. They certainly taught you well."
"I hope so. I am also hoping they finish my training before The Season. They were teaching me the real fighting methods when they set me out to look around."
"That, we keep to ourselves," Felon reminded him.
"Yes, Bambi, my uncle, and father made that clear to me several times. That is why I just used the leg sweep on your male. I doubt if I hurt him."
"The only thing you hurt was his pride that a two-season male beat him so easily," Felon laughed.
He walked with the herd leader until they got to a large open clearing. He saw many old tree stumps. This had been a forest before Man cut down the trees. Now it was an open meadow about twice as big as his. In the herd were many deer; many more than was in his herd. He followed Felon into a spot over by a small spring where a dozen large deer stood. Most of them were four and five-season males and bigger than he was. There were two-three season males. This must be the senior male group.
Felon had him stand to his side and introduced him. "This is Stafen from the forest over the hill. He is Stelar's son and Stabo is his uncle. His grandfather was Stranger."
"You are a nice size three-season male," one of the larger deer said.
"I am sorry," he said and bowed his head. "This is only my third spring.
"Woooooo," another male called out. "You are a big one then. Then again they said Stranger was one of the largest deer in all the forests. You certainly take after him."
"He takes after him in other ways," Felon told them. "Gelon was teasing him and when Stafen said he did not like it, that idiot charged him. He buried Gelon's face into the ground along with the rest of him."
All the deer started to laugh. "Serves that fool right," another male said.
He just bowed his head. He felt slightly embarrassed. He promised himself he would not be so quick to anger again.
"Father," one of the herd males called out. He was also big. "Should I get mother and bring her here? She might want to meet Stafen."
"Ahhh," Felon shook his head in disgust. "Sometimes I forget. Yes, go get your mother. Tell her we have a guest from her home forest."
"Yes, Father," he called out and leaped into the woods.
"How long are you here," Felon asked.
"Only one or two more nights," he answered. "My herd leader, Bambi, told me to see if there is any danger around our herd and see if deer could live in the old forest. I was then to get back to him as soon as possible."
"That makes sense," one of the herd males said. "I do not see why you cannot sleep near us during the day."
"Thank you," he said knowing they were showing him favor. He bowed to all of them. "I accept your kind offer."
"He even has good manners," the same male said.
"I would ask Gelon about that," Felon joked and they all laughed again.
"Forgive me for asking, but while I am here, may I ask if you have seen anything that might cause trouble in my forest. I guess if anyone should know it would be the senior males."
"No," Felon said. "Other than Man of course but also we have deaths each season from coyotes, baggers, bears, and foxes. What about in your forest?"
"We do not have much trouble except for Man," he answered. "We have the Man cave in our forest and Man hunts us from there."
"How big is your herd?" one of the males asked.
"Maybe half the size of his herd," he answered. "There were more deer, but after the forest burned, many deer left. I am just glad the flames did not come here."
"So are we," Felon said. "Many deer from Stranger's herd came here especially after all the trouble Balo, Stena, and the others caused."
"I know," he said. "Mother always told me when the herd broke up it hurt Stranger more than anyone."
"Where is he?" he heard a doe call out. Into the clearing walked an older does. Although there was white and gray on her flanks, she was still tall and looked good for an older doe. He remembered Uncle Stabo told him she was a good-looking doe like old Faline. She came into the clearing and looked at him as if studying him.
"Yes, I do see it," she said. The doe came up and kissed him on the side of the mouth. "So you are Stelar's son. You look like your grandfather."
He was beginning to get tired of hearing that, but he smiled. "Thank you, Claris," he told her.
"How are my father and mother?" she asked.
"Your father is fine," he said and then hesitated. He should have realized she did not hear about her mother this far away. "Your mother died the season I was born giving birth to a fawn. I am sorry."
Claris's face drooped. He felt bad, but the truth was the truth. "I did not hear," she said.
"I am sorry I am the bearer of bad news," he said.
"That cannot be helped," Felon told him and went over and rubbed against Claris. Both turned and went back into the forest. He watched them both go until they vanished in the darkness. He then turned quickly. "I should have known she did not hear about her mother," he muttered out loud.
"You could not have known," Felon's son spoke slowly showing some pain. "My name is Mikor, and I welcome you here."
"He is right," the largest male said. "My name is Talar and I also welcome you."
"Thank you both. Again I am sorry I brought sadness here. I think I will go feed in the meadow before the coming of the greater light."
He walked over and filled his stomach with grass, which tasted as delicious as the grass in his home meadow. He found it did not take much to satisfy him. By the time he ate, drank, and emptied himself. He went over by the small spring and lay down in the forest nearby. He slept soundly.
When he woke it was still day. He took a short walk into the forest and looked around. It was just like his forest. The smells were the same. The sound of birds and other animals were the same. The grass and the plants were the same. He could like it here. He could easily live here, but then he remembered his mother, father, and the herd leader waiting for him to return. He also had three doe he wanted to breed. As soon as it was dark and the herd went back to the meadow to feed.
"It was not long before Mikor came up to him."How do you like it here?"
"You have a good herd," he told him looking around. "I see no problems here. Your father is a wise and respected herd leader and he has you as his son."
"Will you leave tonight?" Mikor asked.
"No, I think tomorrow night. I am a bit tired and like to rest here one night. I need to travel to the end of the long hill and then cross into the Man Path forest near the spring and the Man cave. That is best done late at night."
Mikor nodded his agreement. "For now feel free to stay and do not worry about Gelon or the other herd males. They may want to spar with you, but nothing else."
"I do not mind that at all," he said.
That night he told others who asked about his forest and its herd leader. They all heard of Stranger and what he did. When they found he was Stranger's grandson, they treated him with a great deal of respect. He hoped they didn't think he could do the same things Stranger could do. When they asked if he was as strong as Stranger, he went out of his way to deny it. Yes, he was strong and trained, but he was no Stranger as he told the others. He did spar with two of the herd males. It was not practice fighting, just push and shove and to get position. Against the herd deer, he had no problem. Against Mikor and especially Talar, they were stronger than he was. They were also one and three seasons older. He only hoped he would be as strong as them when he was their age. Before he went to sleep he said goodbye to Felon and the others and told them he had a wonderful time.
"You along with Stabo, Bambi, and the others of your herd can come to visit at any time," Felon said.
"And I am sure Bambi and the other would welcome any of you," he said.
While it was still dark he left and got to the edge of the forest just as the greater light appeared. He was not tired and he smelled and heard no danger so he continued to walk well within the forest and totally hidden from outside view by the thick growth of the trees. Again he heard nothing nor smelled nothing that could be a threat. He continued slowly and carefully until he reached the edge of the forest. There across the open space was a smaller hill. Past there were the spring and the Man cave. He was almost home. He settled down, slept, and waited for darkness.
Toward evening the sound of movement caught his attention snapping him awake, He looked out. Out of this forest and running across the open were a large mother bear and her two cubs. They were running toward the hill next to his meadow. He stood up and looked at them. It must be Uttral. He has never met the bear before but knew she was friends with his mother and uncle. On the spur of the moment, he got up quickly and went into the open. He smelled nothing except the bear. Then he called out.
"Uttral," he yelled and showed himself.
The large bear stopped and turned quickly to look at him. She and the cubs started coming toward him quickly but not at a run. As soon as she was in shouting distance he called out.
"Uttral, I am Stafen," he called. "I am Stelar's son. She has told me about you."
The bear stopped many lengths away. He was starting to get nervous. Would she attack him? With her cubs, he could outrun her if necessary.
"You are Stelar's son," she said. "I never met you."
"I know," he said. "I was on my way home after Bambi sent me out to look at things. I saw you and your cubs and just wanted to say hello."
"You are standing far away," she said.
"Yes," he told her. "I was not sure if you wanted to talk or eat."
Even from a distance, he could hear the deep roar of her laugh. "Yes you are like your mother and you look like Stranger."
"Thank you," he said.
He saw the two cubs walking toward him more curious than hungry to eat. "They are nice-looking cubs. I hope they grow up like your father and Stranger did. They got along, I hope we can too."
"I always admired your grandfather and I always liked your mother and uncle. The rest of your deer are too frightened of me to approach. I cannot blame them."
"Well, I am not a threat to you or your cubs. May I talk to you from time to time?"
Yes, but only with your mother and uncle," the huge black bear told him. "They know what time of the season it is safe to approach me. For now, do not come to see me I am not sure my cubs would not try to eat you, small as they are."
"I understand," he said. He did not like standing still in the open so long. "We will talk later, come to the meadow when you are ready. I know my mother and Uncle Stabo would like to see you again."
"I will," she answered. "I must go."
She turned and moved quickly back over the hill with her cubs. He left in a hurry too. Thankfully it was now dark because he still had a ways to travel.

CHAPTER FOUR: HUNTS

"That was all I found," he told the deer standing there. Bambi, Galene, Stabo, his father, his mother, Kena, and Juon all heard him tell his tale. None of the other senior males seemed interested. After he finished, he waited for the others to say something. Instead, for a moment the seven deer stood silently still. For an instant, he thought he made some mistake or did not do what Bambi asked him to. Then his uncle and mother broke out into a big smile. Bambi looked at his father and nodded his head.
"That was more than I thought you find," Bambi told him.
Stabo then added, "I am especially thankful you got to see Felon and my daughter. I had had not heard from them in some time and wondered if anything happened to them. You did well."
"You also managed to talk to Uttral," his mother said. "I was going to take you to see her one day, but I did not think you were ready yet."
"He looks ready now," his father told them.
"It was like when you two took off into the deep forest together," Stabo said to his mother and father. "You took too much of a chance then, but you were smart enough or lucky enough to survive and do some real good at the same time. Your son is the same."
"Yes, and you also told us if things get too bad in the winter we can send a few deer to live in the old forest," Bambi added. "I am glad the old places are still there and that there is grass available."
"But there is no cover there," he added. "We cannot hide from anyone in that place."
"That is too bad, but in the dead of winter Man seldom comes," Stabo added. "We will use the old forest only if we have to."
"Is there anything else?" he asked.
"No," Bambi said. "Get some rest. I am going to continue your training tomorrow night. There is still more you need to know."
"Yes herd leader," he said beaming.
Juon must have seen his self-satisfaction and spoke bluntly. "Do not think you are ready to be a senior male yet. Look how long Stena and Balo learned from Stranger and Old Bambi and see what happened to them. Always be on your guard. You can never relax. You can never feel safe. That was one of the most important things your grandfather taught me."
"Yes, Juon," he answered, but he was still happy with himself.
He went back to his bedding area after drinking his fill and emptying himself deep in the woods. He got to his resting place and found three young doe already there. They all came to meet him and he caressed all of them.
"We missed you while you were gone," Nalene said and kissed him.
"I am happy I'm back," he told them and kissed them all.
"Did you see anything?" Dala asked.
"Let me tell you about that," he said and then all three doe lay down in front of him and he started to tell about his journey again. They are seemed thrilled at his adventures and marveled at his escape from the bear, not that he tried to escape. It was well after the greater light appeared that he finished. They all fell asleep soon after. It was only after the greater light was overhead that they all heard it.
"RUMMMMMMMMMMMM," he heard and was instantly awake. The noise came from deeper in the forest but got louder until it seemed to go into the meadow. There the noise stopped and crashing noises began.
"Eeee Onnn," he heard someone say. It was a Man.
That frighten him, but not as much as what he heard next.
"Yelp…Yelp…Yelp"
He had never heard a dog this close before and it frighten him even more than Man. Stabo and his father told him about the sounds dogs make. Man and dogs went into the forest to hunt. Man used the dogs to find the deer. Once they s found it, they either ran the deer down and attacked it, or brought Man there so he could kill it. Dogs could also smell them at night or hidden in the forest. A deer could hide from Man; Man could not see, hear, or smell well. A deer could not hide from dogs. They could follow a deer or any creature by their scent.
He got up along with his three doe, faced the meadow, and sniffed the air. He could smell nothing, but the wind was blowing at his tail. That meant the wind blew their scents to the dogs that could smell them and lead Man here. They were too close for comfort. It was time to go.
"Come with me," he whispered to his three doe. "Try to be as quiet as you can. No talking at all. Man is on the meadow. He also has his dogs with him. They might smell us and come after us."
All three doe just nodded their understanding and he led them quietly back into the deeper woods. He did not take them directly to Bambi's bedding area. They would need to go too close to the meadow and the wind was in the wrong direction, it would be easy to find them. Instead, he wanted to put more distance between them and Man. They went straight back into the deeper forest. The doe were quieter, but he could still hear them too easily. Thankfully, Man and his dogs did not sound like they were getting closer. He led them away until he could no longer hear the dogs and there he stopped.
"I think we are safe here," he told them in a low voice. "Now listen carefully, I need to find the herd leader. It is too dangerous to take you three with me. Too large a group is easy to see. I want you to stay here and do not go back to the meadow or our sleeping area. If the dogs smell you, they will chase you and that usually means Man will be close behind with his killing stick.
"BAAAANNNGGG. . .BAAAANNNGGG," he heard in the distance. It was only the second time he heard killing sticks this close. He remembered what Garris said about wanting to hide like a fawn he was so afraid. Part of him wanted to lie down in fear, but he could not. Others depended on him. He looked over the three doe that were frightened out of their wits. He had to go on despite his fear and find Bambi and Stabo and he could not take the doe with him. Together they would all be too easy to see in the day.
"You three stay here," he repeated. "If you hear Man or the dogs get closer, run into the deep woods and keep going until you no longer hear them. Go back to our place only after dark. I will meet you there, do you understand me?"
He made the doe repeat what he said and when he was satisfied there were as safe as possible, he slowly crept off straining to hear any sound of dogs or Man as he quietly moved through the forest.
He hated traveling during the day especially with Man nearby, but he had no choice. He had to tell the herd leader what he knew. He traveled very slowly because the wind was in the wrong direction so he could not smell them approach. He could still hear them from time to time and they did not seem to be getting closer. He dared not go back toward the meadow; that was asking to die. Instead, he walked with the wind on his right flank. It was very slow going, and it was well after the greater light was near setting that he felt safe enough to travel back toward the clearing he knew Bambi and Galene lived in. By then the wind shifted so it did not blow his scent toward the meadow, but into the woods. He also had not heard any more from the dogs or killing sticks since morning. As he slowly crept forward until he could smell other deer near him. They were the scents of herd males and doe. As he walked forward he stopped. There on the ground under some bushes, he saw a brown lump lying still on the ground. As he got closer, the brown lump became brown fur and white spots, but very little scent. He walked up and saw twin fawns lying close together. He came up and looked closely at them; thankfully, they were not hurt. Their mother must have put them here for safety before fleeing herself. He put his nose in and stroked the white-spotted bundles.
"Ma Ma," one called out.
"No, I am not your mother. She will be back soon. I am Stafen. Stay still and no one will hurt you. You must stay still. Do you hear me?"
"Yes," the one fawns squeaked.
"Good," he said and after nuzzling both of them, he then went on.
He looked for the others for rest of the day but found only traces of their scents. It was only at dark he smelled Stabo's scent on the ground. He followed it into the deeper forest. After dark, he found them by the Man Path. His mother, father, Stabo, Galene, and the herd leader were all there. He approached quietly, but Bambi heard him while he was still ten lengths away.
"You are getting better when you walk," he said. "I was worried about you. That hunting was near where you and those three doe sleep together."
"I heard Man and the dogs," he told them. "But the wind was blowing our scent into the meadow so we left before the dogs smelled us. I took the doe and hid them deep in the forest so the dogs would not find our scents. I walked crosswind until I found your scent and followed you here."
"Good, you are learning," Stabo said.
"Now what do we do?" he asked.
"Now we find why Man is here," Bambi said. "It is normally too early in the season for killing deer. Man is likely here to kill birds."
Bambi then looked around. "Stabo you come with me. Juon and Helos, you keep the herd back from the meadow." Then the large deer turned toward him.
"Young male, you come with me," he ordered. "It is time to continue your training."
"I will do as the herd leader asks," he said.
"Good," Bambi nodded. "Come with me and be quiet. What we are going to do is dangerous if Man or his dogs find us."
He followed Bambi and his uncle away and toward the meadow. They stayed just inside the trees near the black Man Path. They slowly and carefully picked their way through the trees and bush silently. He saw both his uncle and Bambi take special care in making sure they made no sound. He tried to follow their example and mostly succeeded. They did this until the Man Path approached the edge of the meadow near the spring.
"Follow me," Bambi whispered and then turned towards the Man cave now blazing in light.
Now the wind was blowing in their faces. He could smell the fire and the odor of something burning. It smelled terrible. They continued to walk until Bambi stopped and then lay down on the ground just inside the trees. They had a good view of the Man cave. He saw two Men sitting around an open fire. They sat on strange rocks and near them lay two dogs.
"Very well, young male, tell me what you see and smell," Bambi said.
He took in a deep breath through his nose. He smelled many scents, none of them pleasant. "I smell two dogs lying outside. They do not smell us because the wind is blowing in our faces."
"Good," Bambi said, "Now what else?"
He sniffed again and added. "There are two Men there and they do not see us because the dogs do not smell us."
"Also good," Bambi said, "What else."
"They are burning some awful smelling. I remember Uncle Stabo told me Man liked to burn his meat before he eats it. Is that what they are doing?"
"Yes," Stabo told him. That is what they are doing."
Again he sniffed. "I have not smelled that before, is that deer they are burning?"
"No," Bambi said painfully. "Deer smells differently when Man burns it. What you smell now are birds. Man was killing birds today, not deer. Sometimes Man comes to the Man cave to do that. Man likes to eat both birds and deer. He comes to kill birds in the spring and early summer, but he comes to kill deer near or after The Season. This is not always true, however. If those Men saw a deer, they might kill it. That is why we must always be careful when Man is on the meadow."
"But Man will leave, tonight?" he asked.
"No, he will not," Stabo added." Man likes to stay two or three days when he hunts birds."
That hit him like being struck by a killing stick. He had told his doe to go back after it was dark. If the wind blew into the meadow tomorrow, the dogs might smell them. That would bring Man.
"I have to go," he said anxiously.
"Why?" Bambi and Stabo asked together.
He explained quickly, "I told my doe that I would meet them back at my bedding place tonight. If they go there, they might be near enough so the dogs may smell them."
"That was a mistake," Stabo grunted. "You should have told them to stay away until you got them. You are right the dogs may smell them. And that will bring Man."
"Man does not hunt at night," he remembered. "If I leave now, I will get the three doe and take them deeper into the forest and tell them to stay there."
"No," Bambi said. "You bring them to where you found us by the Man Path. They will be safe there."
"Forgive me," he said and slowly got up and went deeper into the forest.
"He still has much to learn," he heard Stabo say to Bambi as he walked away.
He moved quickly and as quietly as possible with the wind in his face. He smelled nothing and he heard no dogs barking. With the wind in his face could smell and hear things better from the Meadow. That allowed him to move more quickly without the dogs knowing he was there. That made his trip back to his bedding area much faster. He finally made it back to his clearing after the lesser light was up over the nearby hills. There was no one there. They had not made it back yet. He decided to lie down and wait. He must have fallen asleep because he heard some twigs break. He woke and got quickly to his feet. As he did, Nalene came into his clearing followed closely by Allia and Dala."
"Listen," told them. "Man and his has dogs are still here and they might smell us here in the morning. That will bring Man and his killing stick. I am going to take you to a place where you will be safe."
"All three doe looked at him in astonishment."You said to come back here," Dala said.
"I was wrong," he had to admit. "Man is going to stay on the meadow for a while. As long as he does we are not safe here. We must leave until Man goes away."
The three doe look at each other in confusion for a few moments before Dala called out. "We will follow you."
"Good and please be as quiet as you can," he asked them.
They were getting quieter than before, but he could still easily hear them walking behind him. They kicked leaves and broke small branches on the ground. It took a while but he got them back to the black Man Path where he found his mother and father waiting.
"Mother, father these doe are Nalene and Allia that I found when I went into the deep forest. This doe is Dala from our forest."
His father could not repress a smile as he looked them over. "Nice doe," he said. "Please join us."
He saw his mother had the two fawns with her and they lay next to her when she lay down. He went over and looked at them. They did not know what to make of this large deer, but other than to nuzzle them, he just got their scent which was increasing with their age.
"Where are Andrene and Helar?" he asked.
"They are still with the yearlings. Bambi has Galene and other older doe watching them deeper in the forest.
That made sense; they were still too young to avoid Man.
"I am hungry," Nalene complained.
That was the second mistake he made tonight. He did not think about feeding. "Come with me," he told them. "There is a small clearing and stream nearby, we will go there and feed."
He led the doe off and found the clearing. Already there were two doe with fawns and three herd males eating. There was grass for all. They all started to feed. As he ate his fill, he noticed one of the herd males; maybe a five-season male and only slightly bigger than him came over and started to sniff at Allia's tail. That got him angry. He turned quickly and glared at the male.
"NO!" was all he said.
Despite the fact the male was twice as old as him; the male backed up quickly and ran out of the small clearing. That was good. It meant his reputation was spreading through the herd. They all went back to eating. He took them to a small stream where they all drank their fill. He then took them a little way away and they all emptied themselves before returning around the first sign of the greater light.
He lay down with Dalia and Allia lying next to him and Dalia lying in front of him. By now Bambi and Stabo had returned near morning. He saw his father and Stabo smiling at him and even Bambi seemed amused by something. Remembering what Felon told him, he didn't get mad, but ignored it and went to sleep.
"KKKAABBAAANNNG," woke him from that sleep. The three doe were instantly awake along with all the others.
"Man is still on the meadow and not in the forest," Bambi said loudly. "Everyone stay still."
"He remained calm and nuzzled his three doe to reassure them.
"BBBAAAANNNGGG" echoed through the forest. It sounded closer. Then he heard the one thing he hated the most, loud and rapid barking. Man might be on the meadow, but his dogs were in the forest. He slowly stood up to hear better.
"Yelp…Yelp," they barked.
"They are chasing something," Stabo said.
"It is also getting louder," Bambi said getting up. The others got up when he did.
"Yelp…Yelp…Yelp" they heard and it was louder. The dogs were coming toward them.
"ROOOOOONNNN," he head Man cry out.
"They must have caught someone's scent," Stabo told them. "They are following something."
"It was not us," Bambi said. "We did not go that way."
"It does not matter," his father called out. "They are coming here. They will pick up on our scent soon enough."
"Helos is right, we need to leave," Stabo said.
"Everyone run," Bambi called out. "Scatter, in all directions. They cannot follow all of us."
"ROOOOOONNN" he heard again only louder.
"Follow me," he said to his three doe and he started to run back into the forest. At first, he saw many deer running around him, but shortly there were only the four of them as the others went in different directions.
He first led them deeper into the woods. He wanted to get crosswind of the dogs so they would not smell them easily. Once the sound of the dogs and Man were between them and the meadow, he stopped.
"Rest," he told his three doe. "I do not think the dogs can smell us here."
"They will come after us," Nalene said sounding frightened.
"No, they will not," he assured them, "Not if we stay still and quiet."
He lay down on the ground and the others lay next to him. They waited. The sound of the dogs got less and less until he heard nothing. They rested for a while. Several times he heard Man call out, "RRROOOONNNNNN" in the distance. They rested for a while before he heard it again.
"Yelp…Yelp," he heard off toward the Man Path.
"Don't they ever give up," he cursed.
The barking continued. They were over where Bambi and the others had been, but they were all gone from there by now.
"RRRROOOOOOOOONNNNN," the Man called, but this time it sounded closer. It was getting too much. First the dogs and now Man. At least he could fight the dogs.
"Come we go deeper into the forest," he told the doe. "This time we do not run, we walk quietly as we can, but quickly.
"We should run," Nalene called out.
"No," he told her. "If we run we make too much noise and Man could hear us. I am more afraid of the killing stick than dogs."
He led them into the deep forest. He started to notice some places looked familiar. He had come through this place earlier He continued and as they walked, the forest looked more familiar. They walked for a while and there was quiet behind him. He was almost ready to stop when he heard.
"Yelp…Yelp…Yelp…Yelp," called out. The dogs were chasing something and getting closer to them. No choice now. They had to flee the noise or get run down.
"Run," he told them. They are getting too close."
"They all fled into the forest with him staying in the rear to watch for danger. They went ran some distance before they stopped and he looked around. The forest here was familiar. He had come through here yesterday. He then remembered the fawns he came across. He looked around and found the same furry brown mound was there but in a slightly different place. The mother had come back to feed the fawns before she left again.
"Yelp... Yelp…Yelp…Yelp, he heard from behind him. The dogs were still looking
If the dogs came this way, they could find the fawns. They would have no problem in ripping them apart.
The fawns were not old enough to flee quickly. They had no protection here unless…
"Keep running," he told the doe. "I will catch up later."
There were trees all around him. He went over and hid behind the trees and got down low near the ground. He could only hope the dogs did not come this way. He sat very still and listened. It was then he felt a wind change on his fur. The wind was now blowing toward the meadow like yesterday. It was only a little while later he heard again, "Yelp…Yelp." The noise was louder.
"ROOOOONNNNNNNNN," called the Man again. It also sounded closer. The Man was following the dogs closely.
He should go, soon the dogs would find their scent and come this way, but that might mean the dogs would follow their scent and find the fawns. He needed another plan. It then occurred to him the dogs would follow a stronger scent. That gave him an idea. He ran toward the dogs until he was several lengths in front of the fawns. Then he emptied himself on the ground to leave a scent patch. Maybe the dogs will follow him instead of attacking the fawns. He then rubbed some bushes with his scent and went to hide behind some trees away from the fawns.
He was waiting for a while and still lying low. The yelping got louder and soon he caught motion in front of him. There were two dogs. They were brown and white with long thin tails, maybe a third of his size. They came running down the same direction he and the doe came. They ran until they came to his scent patch. They stopped and immediately began sniffing the ground. They then started to follow his trail toward him. He would speed away in a different direction from the others and see if he could tire out the dogs.
The dogs were about halfway to him. They were following his trail when suddenly one of the fawns stood up and bellowed for its mother. That did it. Both dogs turned their attention from him and back to the fawns.
"NO!" he yelled out and lowered his head. As the dogs approached the fawn, he charged them out from behind the trees. The dogs did not notice him at first. They still concentrated on the fawns. His rack was still small and in velvet but he got down low and ran into the rear of one dog throwing it into the air.
"IIIIEEEEEEE," the dog screamed when it hit the ground hard. The other dog turned and came at him barking loud enough for all to hear. The dog jumped, but he pulled back just as if a deer had charged him. The dog landing close to him and he latched out with a kick. This was not a practice kick. He kicked this time to hurt. His blow glanced off the side of the dog that leaped out of his way. He turned quickly and kicked out with his rear legs and missed. He turned and backed away with both dogs in front of him. Both were growling deeply and yelling at the top of their voice for Man.
He backed up toward a large oak tree behind him. The dogs cautiously approach him all the time yelling for their master. The one he missed with his kick came forward and tried to leap on his back. He lunched forward hitting the dog in the stomach with his rack throwing it through the air. That dog hit the ground with a scream. The other dog came forward. He was going to attack him when he heard, "RRRROOOOONNNNN," close by. He looked up and many lengths away stood something taller than him that stood upright. It was wearing a red outfit and carrying something in his arms and looking at him and the dogs. It was a Man with a killing stick. He turned and fled bounding and changing direction as he ran
"WHAAAMMMM," he heard, and a moment later felt a burning in his left rear leg. There was also the sound of angry bees flying past him.
He changed directions and leaped again, and then after two more leaps changed direction once more and just ran for his life at full speed. He kept going. At least the dogs did not follow him. He ran blindly for some time before he stopped. He was exhausted. His rear left leg hurt some. He continued to walk trying to catch his breath. His rear left leg started to get stiff so he lay down in the grass and rested. He heard no one behind him. This was as good a place as any to rest until night. He fell fast asleep
He woke after dark and got up. His rear left leg was still sore, but it was not bad. It was strange; he thought any deer that got hit by a killing stick would die. While he hurt, he did not think he would die. He looked around and was not sure where he was. He continued to walk. As he moved more his left rear leg seemed to loosen up a bit. His legs started to feel better. Now he knew he would not die from the killing stick. He moved on and soon smelled the deep foul odor of the Man Path. He saw the back surface in the night. Now he at least knew where he was. He would follow it back to the meadow and find the herd that way.
He moved through the night eating any tender grass he could find, but he did not see or smell water. That was bad because he felt hot and thirsty. He walked all night. There were some scents of deer on the ground, but they were old. By the time the greater light came, he was still in deep woods he did not know well, but he thought he might be close to the meadow.
He had slept for a while when he heard something nearby. He could not smell it. The wind was blowing into the forest. He could not smell what was out there but it could certainly smell him.
A little while later he heard heavy breathing and he caught a movement of brown at the edge of his vision. It turned and came closer. He saw it smell the ground several times. It was not long before he could see it clearly. It was a single coyote coming the same way he did. He was not afraid of a single coyote, but if there was a nearby pack, they would attack him. He got up to run again, but his leg felt stiffer now. He did not want to run unless he had to.
He hid behind some trees but it did no good, the brown hunter came right for him. At least he was alone.
Finally, the coyote stopped maybe five lengths from him and looked directly at him.
"I smell you," he said in a hissing voice. "I smell your blood. You are hurt. We will eat well tonight."
"I can easily kill a coyote," he said. "I would leave now."
"Yes, but can you kill five of us? That is how many in my pack. They will be here soon. All I have to do is watch you and we will run you down and eat you."
He thought about charging the hunter, but he was too far away and he could not move as quickly as he needed to. The coyote would stay out of his reach until the rest of his pack showed up and then they attack all at once. They could easily kill him.
"AAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO," the hunter called out.
Far off in the distance, he heard another similar cry. They were far away, but they would get here soon. Then he was dead. If he ran, all the single coyote would do is follow him, telling his pack where he went and the others would follow. He needed to run and not have that hunter follow him.
The coyote smelled the ground where he had been. "Yes, I smell your blood, you are injured. It will be easy to bring you down."
"Bring him down," he thought. That gave him an idea.
"I will run," he said out loud and backed up. As he did his left rear leg went out from under him and he fell to the ground. "
"Ahhhhhhhh," he cried out in pain.
The coyote looked at him on the ground and smiled with glee."You were stuck with the killing stick," he exclaimed. "This will be too easy. You can't run or fight. I will kill you myself and get the biggest piece of meat."
With that, the coyote came in until he was about four lengths away. He stumbled to his feet looking shaky. The coyote howled once and then came close to two lengths and then went to leap on his back.
That was what he was waiting for. He had faked his injury to bring the coyote close to him. As the coyote leaped in the air, he turned his right front leg slightly so the sharp end of his hoof pointed out and he kicked with all his might. His foot caught the animal on his left side between his neck and chest and dug into his skin.
"YYYAAAOOOOOWWWWWWWW," he screamed. As the hunter landed on his back, he lifted on his front legs, and the creature rolled easily off his back. It hit the ground hard. That impact stunned him. He lifted his hurt left rear leg and stomped down on the body as hard as he could. He felt bone crack under him with the blow. He also felt his left leg spasm in pain. It didn't matter; he wasn't going to wait for the rest of the pack to show up. He ran as fast as he could down the Man Path
He traveled on the Man Path itself for a while. It was after the greater light was overhead he heard a roaring noise coming down the Man Path. He quickly ran off of the black surface and into the forest. A short while later a Man animal went quickly by him. It disappeared in the distance and things were suddenly very quiet.
By now, he hoped the smell of the Man path would keep the rest of that coyote pack from picking up on his scent. He was tired and wanted to rest, but he dare not stop. He knew the Man path would lead to the meadow. He followed it until it was almost dark. He forced himself to keep going despite his weak feelings in his left rear leg and the increasing heat he felt in his body. By now he was also very thirsty. Finally, he saw the Man Path end right near the spring. He went over and drank seemingly half his body weight in cool water. He also now knew where he was. He lay down on the ground needing to rest. He fell fast asleep and did not awaken until it was very late. He walked slowly toward where Stabo and his family liked to sleep. It was so late at night, no one was on the meadow, but the Man cave was dark. He saw or smelled no sign of Man.
The greater light was coming over the hill when he came up to the part of the forest Stabo and his mother and father lived. He approached with the wind in his face and smelled no trace of anything except deer. Soon he started to hear voices. He approached cautiously. He smelled several deer. Bambi, Galene, Stabo, his mother Dala, and Allia were all there. He got closer until he could make out it was his mother talking.
". . . sent Juon and his father to look for him."
"We do not even know where he went," Stabo said. "We do not know if he was hit by the killing stick or not."
They were talking about him. He stepped into the clearing and called out. "No, Man did not kill me with his killing stick."
All six deer turned as one. In moments his mother ran up to him and kissed him like he was a fawn again. Both Dala and Allia also ran to him.
"What happened to you," Bambi said looking him over.
You look horrible his uncle said and felt his head. "You have a fever. You have been injured."
"Dala and Allia told us you fought two dogs when they tried to kill those fawns. Then they saw Man use his killing stick on you."
"That is true," he told them panting. "Man hit me with the killing stick, but not hard. My rear left leg is sore and I feel hot."
Stabo immediately looked at his rear. "I do not see any bleeding. I cannot see well here. We need to go into the bright light." His uncle then felt his head. "Your fever is not bad. I will get some leaves to help with that. Otherwise, how do you feel?"
"I feel stiff in my rear leg, but otherwise, I feel fine," he said. He looked at Bambi. On my way here, I ran into a coyote that was part of a pack. He was going to call the pack over to eat me. I tricked him into thinking I was too weak to fight back. He came to kill me himself. I kicked him, Bambi, just like you Stabo showed me. I kicked him hard and I think I killed him. Then he looked up at the herd leader."Did the dogs kill those fawns?"
"No," Bambi said with a smile. "They had something else to worry about."
Bambi then came over and rubbed his forehead. "That was brave of you to do that. As for the coyote, that is why we taught you these things to use when your life is in danger. You did well, and you survived where other deer would have been killed."
"Good," he said suddenly feeling tired. "I am going to get something to drink. Would you mind if I slept here today?"
"Not at all," Bambi told him.
Stabo soon came back with the leaves he had seen before. He ate several of them. Whether it was the leaves, or his fatigue, when he finished eating them, he lay down, put his head on the ground, and slept, oblivious to everything else.

CHAPTER FIVE: TESTING

"Do you see anything Stabo?" his father asked.
"I see some very small stones in his skin," he answered. "They did not go through the skin. I think I can remove them with my rack."
Stabo used his velvet-covered rack to push into his skin and force the small black stones out. He did this many times and it hurt, but not badly enough that he asked him to stop. This went on for a while before the old deer finished.
"I see nothing more," his uncle told him. "These stones were smaller than the ones that hit Stranger and Stena. He then looked down at him lying there. "You were lucky Stafen if those stones would have been bigger or the Man closer when he used his killing stick, the stones would have gone into you and you would have died."Stabo then leaned over and felt his head again with his nose. "Not as bad as last night."
He was still lying on his side which was uncomfortable with his rack growing out. As soon as Stabo stepped aside, he got up on his feet again.
"I still want you to eat the leaves until the fever goes away," Stabo said. "But I do not think you were hurt like Stranger. He had problems moving his rear leg for almost a season after Man struck him. If it was not for the bear taking out the large stones, he would have died."
Bambi stepped forward to look him over. "As soon as the fever goes away, we will continue training. The best way to get over an injury is to use it until it becomes stronger."
The herd leader then came over and looked him over carefully. "You seem healthy otherwise."
"Thank you, herd leader," he answered. "I like to finish my training this season."
That will not happen he said. We have not trained you as a herd leader yet, that we will do over next winter."
That surprised him. "I never said I wanted to be a herd leader," he told Bambi.
"Neither did Stabo and neither did I, Bambi barked harshly."We became herd leaders anyway. Just as my father's death forced Stabo to act, it could be Stabo's and my deaths that may make you herd leader.
"What about my father and the other senior males?" he asked. "They would become herd leaders before I would."
"Your father and Juon," perhaps," Bambi said. "The other senior males are worthless. Their leadership only goes as far as getting their doe in The Season. They do not know how to lead. They never asked for us to train them as you did. If something happened to Stabo and me, I think you make a good herd leader."
Suddenly he just stood there and started to shake. He remembered again what Garris had told him about how he was afraid he could not live up to what Bambi and the herd expected of him. He now felt the same cold feeling of fear run down his legs.
He tried to speak but the words caught in his throat. He drooped his head. "I…I…I am sorry, Bambi, but I am not sure I could do that."
Stabo came over quickly and lifted his head and looked deep into his eyes. "If that time comes, you will do it if for no other reason than the good of the herd. The herd is important, you are not. That was the one thing my father and Old Bambi pounded into me. It was the one thing my sister and Balo could not understand. I understand it, Bambi here understands it, our mates understand it, your father and Juon understand it, and now you must understand it. Being a herd leader is not just giving orders and getting your pick of the doe. It is about caring for the herd, even if it will cost you your life. My friend and Bambi's father Vernon understood this and died because of it. My father was hurt many times because of it. I and others have also been injured. Why is this? It is because while we or any deer will live and die, the herd goes on past us and even our children."
He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "I am sorry, but I am not sure I am a deer who can do this."
Stabo laughed. "Of course you do not know. I did not know, Bambi here did not know, even my father did not know. However, when the time came, we all did what we had to do and the herd continued. You have it in you, Stafen, I can see it, and so can the others. If the time comes, you will lead the herd well."
That shook him most of all. He felt his knees shake. "I wish I felt like that," he said quietly.
"You look healed enough," his father said. "Go spend time with those pretty doe of yours. Come back tomorrow night and we will continue."
"Very, well father," he said and walked away. His stomach felt like butterflies were inside it, and he felt unsure of what they just told him. At least he found comfort with his doe who all seemed glad he was back alive. He was not so sure.
Summer went on and his training continues. Bambi and Stabo were pushing him harder and harder and he pushed back harder and harder. Stabo and Bambi still knocked him around, but it wasn't as bad as before. Yes, they often pushed him back, but it was harder and harder to knock him to the ground. It was during the summer with its plentiful grass that he put on weight. It was not fat, but mostly muscle. He was also growing. He could feel himself getting taller, bigger, and stronger. He could now see level into his father's eyes and only Stabo was much taller than he was.
For the rest of the summer, not much happened. Although Man came back several times to the Man cave, they did not hunt anything except birds. They only stayed for the day or two and left before night. Mostly, there was peace on the meadow and in the forest. During this time the changes in him were being noticed more by the herd. At the start of spring, he would stand on the meadow and no one would pay attention. Now he noticed others were looking at him. Not just doe, but also the herd males. It did not bother him and other than for light sparing the other males left him alone. They also left his doe alone mostly. On the few occasions a male came sniffing around his doe, a quick turn and a lowered head were enough to drive off any over-curious male. The one thing he loved was that any doe that came sniffing around him, got the same treatment mostly from Allia, but also sometimes Dala would chase them out.
His rack grew out. His father said this rack would be smaller, but next season, he knew it be much bigger. He knew his rack looked small when compared to Stabo, his father, Juon, and especially Bambi, but he had to expect that.
From time to time his father or his uncle would bring him over to the senior male group. He knew he was not ready to join that group, but he felt next season he would. One thing continued however, Bambi kept sending him out in this and the old forest to look for trouble, but he seldom found any. When he had something to report he just walked up to the herd leader and told him. No one seemed to mind as long as he spoke, only when spoken to, or reported back on what he found.
One thing that he was happy about was his doe still seem close to him. He had been teaching them how to walk quietly and Dala and Allia could do very well, but Nalene was just not able to avoid twigs or kicking bushes.
One thing did happen to him during the later summer. It was when he went to talk to Bambi and Stabo about something he had seen looking in the old forest. There had been the track of Man near the far edge of the forest near where Oswal lived. He went to report it, but he did not want to interrupt Relnor talking about the doe on the meadow. He finished but before he could speak, Relnor turned and asked him.
"Well young male, how many of these doe will you take for yourself." He was sure he said it in jest.
"None," he said.
"None," Relnor looked acting surprised. "I thought a young male like you would want many doe to breed."
"I already have three," he said. "I do not need anymore. "The rest of you can take any of the other doe you like. I have what I want."
"You are being generous," Toradas added with a slight sneer.
"Not so," he answered respectfully. "I simply have what I want. The rest belong to you."
"Did you ever think some male may want to take them from you?" Toradas added.
"That would be bad," he said nodding his head, "For him! These are my doe and I will fight anyone who tries to take them from me."
"Including one of us," Toradas prodded.
"Yes, including you," he answered.
He could see Bambi and his father looking intently at him. "We are bigger and strong than you are young male," Toradas answered.
"Yes you are," he admitted.
"You think you can beat us," he said.
At that point, he understood what Toradas was trying to do. The senior male was trying to get under his skin and see if he could get him to get mad at him. He would not get mad, but he was not going to back down.
"I do not know if I can beat you," he said honestly. Inwardly he did not think any of the herd males could fight as well as Stabo or Bambi and he could stand against them, mostly. "As long as you don't try to take my doe, it doesn't matter. I am not looking for a fight, but I will not run away from one either."
Relnor looked at him suspiciously as if expecting him to attack. "I think you would," he said warily.
"Excuse me, I need to talk to Stafen for a moment about what he saw and it is getting late," Bambi said and pulled him aside.
He told Bambi about the Man print he found and where. Bambi said nothing more about his talk with Toradas. It was only later his father ran him down as he headed back to his bedding area.
"I think Toradas is marking you as someone he is going to have to fight soon," his father told him.
"As I said, Father, I am not looking for a fight, but if one happens, then it happens. That male wanted to know how far he could push me, and I told him. The rest is up to him."
His father put on a half-smile. "Yes, Son, you told him, and nicely too."
"Just as long as he keeps himself off of my doe, or I will fight him as best I can, using any means I know to beat him," he told his father.
"Yes, I think you would," his father said repeating what Relnor said.
Throughout the summer brought the heat and rains. Almost every afternoon it rained heavily and then cleared. It was pleasant afterward. Bambi and Stabo continued to teach him how to fight, and by now he was feeling good about it. His leg had healed completely, his chest widened; even his rack looked nice, but not mature.
"Congratulations my Son," his mother told him one night with a bitter voice. "You look now like a deer that Man would want to kill."
She glared at him and he nodded and smiled. "Then I will just not get struck by any more by the killing stick."
"I wish it was that easy," she said and walked away.
That night on the meadow he noted another deer starting to look at his doe. This deer he knew. It was Rufo. He had pushed him back before, and he was here again. Did he think he had gotten weaker? Remembering what Stabo, his father, and Felon told him he decided he would not get mad. He stopped eating and turn and slowly walked back toward the three doe standing behind him. By now Rufo was sniffing around Dala's tail making her nervous.
"She is mine, leave," he told him.
"Maybe I should ask her that," he sneered.
"Maybe you should leave," he repeated more forcefully.
Rufo backed up and shot a glance over to the senior males. Toradas was looking at them eagerly. The other senior males were talking and did not notice, but Toradas was watching them carefully and Rufo was looking back as if looking for that senior male to tell him what to do. One other deer was looking at them and that was the herd leader. Then Toradas just moved his head quickly. Then he understood. Toradas was going to use Rufo to test him again. This time he would not play their game.
He did not make a move to attack and instead looked at Rufo with utter contempt. This was not Rufo, this was Toradas seeing how far he could be pushed.
Rufo lowered his head and came forward slowly. He stood still and slowly lowered his head.
"You wish to spar," he said like it was a friendly match.
Rufo stopped and looked at him. Seeing he was ready for any trouble he just called back. "No not tonight," he said and then moved off. As soon as he was gone, he walked over to the senior males even though he was not invited. He came up close to Toradas who stared at him looking a little anxious. He stopped about three lengths away.
"Did you learn what you wanted to know?" he asked boldly.
Toradas just turned away from him and walked back into the forest. He turned around and just shot a glance at Bambi. The herd leader just looked at him and nodded his head gently. He walked back to his doe and nuzzled each one openly.
"If that deer bothers you again, just come get me," he said to all three of them. "I will take care of him."
They finished eating and went back to his bedding area. There he lay down and his three doe lay next to him. He was content.
Toward the end of summer, he was eating just after the greater light had gone and before the lesser light rose when he heard a noise from far away. He looked around and saw down the Man Path a bright light heading his way. It was another Man animal Stabo told him about.
"Look!" he barked out loudly so the entire herd heard him.
All the deer turned toward him. He pointed his nose down the Man Path at the light that was getting bigger.
"Man animal is coming with Man inside," he called out. "Everyone get off the meadow. Now RUN!"
The deer on the meadow scattered and he led his three doe back into the woods. Once inside he stopped and looked around him. The wind was blowing on his tail away from the meadow. Man and his dogs could not smell him from the meadow. By now his three doe had stopped running and walked up behind him.
"Go back to our bedding place and wait for me," he told them. "I need to do something for the herd leader."
"I will stay," Allia told him.
"No, you go," he said. "I will come later."
"All three doe left him alone. He found a place inside the trees where he could not be easily seen. He lay down and looked. Stabo had told him many times that Stranger used to look at Man and could tell sometimes what Man would do. He decided to try the same thing. As he waited, the light by from the Man Path got brighter and brighter until the Man animal drove on the meadow. The Man animal smelled of smoke and other orders horrible to his nose. He watched the Man animal move to the Man cave and stopped. Two Men came out of the side of the Man animal. They were big, taller than he was but not nearly so long. He caught their putrid scents, but he could smell nothing else.
They opened the back of the Man animal and took out things and went into the Man cave. Soon a light came on inside the cave and all was quiet. A little later he heard a slight rustling of leaves and then a soft voice called out.
"It is me, Stafen," his uncle called out.
"Sure enough the old deer came out of the forest and lay next to him.
"What have you seen?" he asked.
He told him in a whisper.
"No dogs?" Stabo asked.
"None," he said.
"Hmmmmmmm, just two Men and no dogs" Stabo muttered. "It is not The Season yet so they are not after us. Why are they here?"
They both lay there quietly looking at the Man cave. Soon he heard more sounds coming from the Man Path.
"Rooom," he heard in the distance. At the same time, the light along the Man Path got brighter. Another Man animal was coming.
"Stabo, another Man animal comes," he whispered.
"I do not like this," Stabo said. "We are too close here. Come with me and be quiet."
"They walked away as quietly as they could and went deeper into the forest. Just far enough so they could still see the Man cave clearly. The light near the Man Path got brighter and soon two more Man animals drove into the meadow. These Man animals were longer. The two Men inside the cave came out and four more Men came out of the two Man animals. Something else came out.
"Wooooof, Wooof, Wooof," he heard the deep panting. Out came four dogs. They were not the dogs he had seen before, these we much bigger dogs, heavier dogs. The wind was still blowing in their faces so they could not smell them.
"I need to find Bambi, fast," his uncle told him. Stabo's voice sounded scared. "These are the big dogs. They almost killed Stranger and Old Bambi, and they helped Man kill Vernon. They can run down and kill any deer in the forest."
"But it is not The Season," he said not sure of what was happening.
"They might not be after deer, they might want larger animals," Stabo answered quickening the pace.
The realization hit him in a flash. "Uttral," he said out loud. "They might be after Uttral."
"You might be right," Stabo said. "First we have to warn the herd.
"My doe," he said out loud. "They may be too close to the dogs."
Stabo stopped immediately. "You are right," he said. "Look, I will tell Bambi and you bring your doe to the place near the Man Path we met before. Now hurry, we have to get the herd away before dawn."
"He turned and ran for his bedding place. Although he tried being quiet, speed was more important now. He ran and ran hard towards his bedding area. He reached it soon afterward and all three doe were there.
"Listen, he said almost out of breath."Man is on the meadow again and he has dogs, big dogs; it is not safe here. We have to go."
"Let us run," Nalene cried out.
"No, we need to move fast, but we cannot make a lot of noise," he explained. "I will take you to the place the herd met before. Just follow me and be as quiet as you can."
With that they moved off at a fast run across the front of the forest, but still well inside the trees.
"HHHHEEEERRRREEE," he heard Bambi call out. "All come here" A short while later Bambi repeated his call. He hoped all the deer would listen to it. The large dogs certainly started barking loudly when they heard the call of the herd leader.
They moved on as quickly as they could without making enough racket that the entire forest would hear them. It was late and the lesser light had set when he found the others. They came into the opening and found all the senior males were there along with their mates and some fawns.
"Did you hear anything else," Stabo asked him.
"No, I think they went inside the Man cave. I heard no dogs in the forest."
"Good," Bambi said and then looked at him and Stabo. "You both did well in spotting the danger. If they do hunt for us we can all flee deep into the forest."
The realization then hit again. "What about Uttral, should we not warn her?"
Stabo nodded and just thought for a few seconds. "No, we cannot," Stabo said. "The only deer she knows is Stelar and me. Stelar has fawns and I am needed here to take the herd into the forest with Bambi, Juon, and Helos."
He noted he did not even mention the other senior males. They were useless here and the five of them knew it. There was a solution, however.
"Uttral knows me also," he said. "If I leave now and hurry, I can be on that other hill before the greater light rises up to far. I can warn her and then stay there until Man goes away."
"And if these dogs come your way they can run you down and tear you to pieces," his mother told him.
"No," he told her. "The forest is still open. I can see them coming. If they start to come toward me, I can run over the hill and into the other forest."
"In the daytime," Bambi said. "That is risky."
"It is either that or we let Uttral die," he said. He turned to Bambi. "I will do what the herd leader asks, but Uttral is part of our family as was her father."
Bambi just stood there alone and thinking and shaking his head. Finally, he looked up. "I will not ask you to do this. What I will say is if you want to do this, then do it."
He nodded his head. "I will go now," he said.
Bambi walked up and put his forehead against his. He could see a tear in his eye. "Then go, and I wish you well. No matter what happens, I can tell you this, you are ready."
He did not understand. "Ready for what?" he asked.
"That you will find out if you return," Stabo added.
He looked to see his mother and father. They were not pleased with what he was going to do. He just smiled and waved his head turned back to Stabo. "See my doe get to safety, Goodbye."
"I will," his uncle called as he ran into the forest.
He moved quickly until he came to the Man Path. He looked carefully to make sure no more Man animals were coming. He saw nothing and ran into the other part of the forest. He moved as fast as he could. He could see, hear, or smell no danger around him as he continued to move. It was sometime later when he came to the edge of the forest. He walked out into the still darkness. Off in the distance, he could see the first signs of light. He could see the other hill that ran among side his meadow and ran toward it. He only stopped long enough to get water from the spring. From there he could see the Man cave. The dogs were resting outside the cave and not moving. The men seemed to be burning something again. Once he filled himself he reached the far hill by the time the greater light was up.
He looked over at the Man cave and saw the dogs were starting to move around. Man would be hunting soon. He continued moving even though it was light. He got near the top of the hill and started to move across it. All the while he was sniffing for the bear. He continued on and then started to hear the dogs barking. He had to hurry. He saw the other forest to his right. But it was almost completely open between here and there. If Man saw him there, he would die. He could smell no sign of anything until he reached a spot that looked familiar. He had stood in the other forest and saw this same place near where he talked to Uttral.
He went back down the hill toward his meadow. He was following the bear's scent now. He went faster. He was about halfway down the hill when he saw the mound and now he could smell three bears.
"Uttral," he yelled.
Nothing happened, no movement at all.
"Uttral," he called again.
"Still nothing; not even a sound of movement. He approached closely ready to leap back if she or any of the cubs came after him. Finally, he came up to the side of the mound.
"Uttral, it is Stafen, you are in danger," he yelled into the cave.
There was nothing but silence. The bear and her cubs were not there.
"WOOF...WOOF...WOOF," he heard from below. They were getting closer. He could not run downhill, Man would kill him for sure. Going back the same way was impossible. He could run to the other end of the hill and try to lose the dogs, or he could just run toward the forest over the hill. That seemed the best idea for him. He started to run up the hill. All the while the dogs were below him looking for a scent. If they found Uttral's den they find his scent as well.
He got to the top of the hill and looked down the way he came. He saw mo movement, but the barking got louder. He waited near the top and rested for a moment. He was starting to feel tired and he well-remembered Stabo and his father telling him these big dogs could run down and kill a deer. Right now they did not know he was here, and that is when he realized that the hill he was on was between the hunters and him. They could not see him. At that moment he decided he was not going to wait for the dogs to find his scent. He was leaving now. He could only hope there were no Men on this side of the hill.
He ran down the hill through the broken trees. He did not run in a straight line but made turns every few leaps. He got to the bottom of the hill and now the trees disappeared altogether. He would be fully visible in the open fields. He looked carefully and saw no sign of Man. All the noise was behind him.
He took several deep breaths and then just ran as fast as he could for the other forest. The grass was tall, but the ground firm. He had no problem covering the ground. He got halfway before he started to feel tired.
"YAAAAOOOOOLLLLLL," he heard a dog howl from behind. One of them found a scent, he could guess whose. He continued running now mostly in a straight line for the forest getting closer by the leap. He was nearly there when he looked up and something appeared from the edge of the other forest. He looked at it and saw it was big and black and had two smaller things running next to it. That must be Uttral. He leaped toward it. He got to within ten lengths and stopped quickly.
"Uttral, Man is at your den with big dogs. They are after you," he tried to call out but he was out of breath.
The bear stopped and he got closer, maybe too close. The cubs came forward, but a grunt from Uttral called them back. He stopped not more than three lengths from her.
"Men with big dogs at your den, I think they come for you," he repeated.
"You came here to warn me?" she asked.
"Yes," he gasped and looked around. "We are in the open here, too easy to see us," he said.
"To the forest," she said.
At that moment the barking got louder. He turned quickly and saw four dogs at the top of the hill he climbed. There was no Man with them.
"They see us," Uttral called out. "Run and do not worry about me. Save yourself Stafen and thank you."
Uttral took her two cubs and ran directly for the forest. He turned slightly as not to lead the dogs to her. Maybe they would follow him. It was getting harder to breathe. He knew he was slowing down, but his legs ached, especially the one Man hit. He moved as fast as he could and ran behind some short trees at the edge of the forest. A few moments later he was in the heavy trees of Felon's forest. He fell to his knees with exhaustion but still lay where he could still see the way he came. The dogs were running down the hill toward where they were. Just then motion at the top of the hill caught his eye. Four Men stood there and they had killing sticks. The dogs were still following his scent when he heard it.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," it sounded. "It was like a high pitch bird call or a cry from a hurt animal.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," it sounded again.
Then the dogs just stopped in the open and turned around. They started running back to the Men. He had no idea what was going on but he was not going to wait and see who they chased next. He forced himself to his feet and continued to move deeper into Felon's forest.
He ran until he simply could not run any longer. Now he was truly exhausted. He lay down, but he could not hear anything barking behind him. He did not want to sleep, but he could not help himself. It was sometime later he awoke. He had no idea where he was. He knew it was a long walk until he got to the meadow the Felon's herd ate in. He did not know how late it was, the trees were thicker in this forest and he could not see the greater light. The wind also did not blow hard on him with the thick trees growing so chose. Not only that, the trees were thicker, taller, and sturdier looking than in his forest.
"Woof," he heard in the distance. There were not close, but still around. He decided to continue on. There was no wind to blow any scent so they were all unable to smell much in this heavy part of the forest. He decided to keep moving until it was dark and find his way home. As he moved he was surprised he did not smell many animals in this part of the forest. He soon found out why. There were bear scents all around. Most were very old and he could hardly smell them. The only recent scent smelled like it was from Uttral. He kept going and soon came across her trail. She was there along with two other scents. They must be her cubs. No deer or other animal would walk in this part of the forest with a hungry bear around. He hoped if she was nearby, she was not hungry enough to eat him. He walked slowly and cautiously for a while before he came across a very fresh pile of waste. Again it was Utrall's scent. She was close, He stopped, and knowing scents did not travel far without the wind to carry them, he listened carefully. Nearby, but deeper in the woods, he heard branches breaking.
"Uttral, it is Stefan again," he said loudly." I ran into your forest to escape the big dogs."
He heard a growl that sounded like her saying 'stay here' and then heard movement coming toward him. Being much larger than he was, a bear could not move quietly as he could. Inwardly he told himself to run away, but he did not. Uttral never tried to eat him before, he hoped she would not eat him now. Besides, if he ran out of this forest, those dogs would do the same and those dogs he knew would kill him. The dirty fur and fat smell came to his noses and he saw a black shape running toward him.
"Did the dogs follow you?" she asked.
"I did not hear them behind me," he told her and then looked behind him. It was quiet.
"Good," she said and moved up close to him. At this distance, one swipe by her huge claws would cut him open more than any deer could.
"I hope they do not go after the deer with those big dogs," he said. "Uncle Stabo told me they almost killed Stranger once and did kill Vernon, Bambi's father."
"Dogs like also killed my father," she growled. "If not for Man and his killing sticks, I would cut those dogs open and eat them."
He looked at her. She was huge, more than twice the size he was. He remembered Stabo told him her father was even larger.
"Thank you for not killing me," he said.
She turned and looked at him and then came forward and nuzzled the side of his face in affection. "No, I will not eat you, just like my father would not eat Stranger, Old Bambi, and the others. They were all there to make life better in the forest. I think you are the same way. Stabo and the others taught you well and you certainly act like Stranger."
"What about you cubs?" he asked.
"The female Kela would eat you if she could. She is a pure bear. Kilo my son is different. He likes to look closely at the animals around him. He is curious, perhaps too curious at times."
"Watch them," he told her "I know there was a pack of five coyotes around here. That pack now is only four."
The large bear grunted her approval. "I know of them. They do not come into this part of the forest. None of the smaller animals come here. Fortunately for me and the cubs, most of them are not as good as spotting danger as your mother and uncle so we eat well here."
That thought made him uncomfortable, but as Stabo once said, deer eat the grass, the bears and others eat us, and Man eats everything. It was part of the Way of All Things as Stranger would say. He then realized there might be others in danger also.
"I should go and find Felon and warn him," he realized. "Those dogs might try and run down deer in his herd. Then he asked, "Can you tell me the way there."
"And you care about the other herds, also just like Stranger," she said grinning. She stood and pointed her nose. "Go that way and walk until dark. You will find them. I would wash in the pond first. They may not listen to a deer that smells like a bear."
"That would smell strange on a deer," he said seeing the humor in it.
"Thank you Stafen," Utrall said and nuzzled him again. "Your mother is right; you are like your grandfather. Now go and do not come back here. Sometimes I am not alone and have a male here. That will not be this winter; my clubs will stay with me and no male will come close. By then both cubs will be large enough to kill you."
"I understand," he said "If you want to see us, come on the meadow. I am sure my mother and uncle would like to see you as well as me. Now I must go."
The big bear nuzzled him again and off he went to warn Felon. Despite Man and his dogs and coyotes, it still felt great to be alive.

CHAPTER SIX: DESPAIR

"And after that, I just traveled to Felon's forest and warned him. That is after I took a bath first. Then I came back here. It was so late that I slept by the Man Path and came here tonight."
The other senior males and his family were all looking at him in amazement as he told them what happened. After dark, he walked on the meadow as if nothing had happened. The way the other deer looked at him, they seemed amazed he was still alive. He found Bambi, his father, and the others and told them what happened to him trying to leave nothing out. He could see his mother and her two fawns were there and she had a smile on her face. Even Stabo was smiling and he had seldom seen that.
"That was some adventure," the herd leader told him. "You did what was necessary and managed to escape Man and his dogs. You warned Uttral and the others. You even made friends with the bear. You are as wise, brave, and maybe crazy as your grandfather. You have proven to us our time was not wasted when we trained you."
"Maybe that is why Man left early this morning," Stabo added. "They did not find what they were looking for."
Behind him stood his three doe standing nervously since they seldom were close to the senior males and the herd leader. They looked frightened at his story, especially when he met the bear.
"It was almost like the tales Stranger use to tell," Marcor said with a grin.
"I know, he is starting to sound very much like Stranger," Bambi added. "I think he is ready. What do you think, Stabo?"
"I agree, this shows he has learned well enough," the old deer answered.
He wondered just what the herd leader was talking about. That was twice he said that to him.
"Marcor, Relnor, what do you think?" Bambi asked.
Relnor walked up and looked deep into his eyes like Stabo and his mother would at times. "Yes," he said calmly. "When you talked to Stranger, there was always a light in his eyes, no matter how sick he became. This one has the light. You are right, he is ready."
Marcor just nodded his approval. At this point, he noticed Toradas was looking at the other in bewilderment. He had no idea what they were talking about either.
"Helos, Juon?" Bambi called upon next.
"No need to ask me," his father said.
"Yes," Juon said simply.
"Toradas, what do you think?" Bambi asked.
"Think," the senior male barked out. "Think about what? I have no idea what you are talking about."
"That does not surprise me," Stabo said loud enough so everyone heard him.
"Very well, I will make myself plain," Bambi said as if explaining to a fawn. "With what he has done, and the training we have given him, I think Stafen should join the senior males."
There was general agreement from everyone except Toradas whose turned his head sharply and glared at the herd leader.
"What!" he called out. "Make this young whelp a senior male?" he asked. "NO!" he shouted. "He is not worthy to be in our group."
"I disagree," Bambi said with an edge on his voice. "He is certainly worth more than you."
"Toradas swung around to face the herd leader and lowered his rack."How dare you say that to me," he said.
"He says it because it is the truth," Stabo replied.
He looked closely at Toradas. He was getting mad and was getting mad at him. Toradas spun around again to face him. "You think you are better than me," he growled. 'Well prove it. Toradas yelled.
The senior male put his head down and charged him. He was mad now. In a flash, he knew he could swing his back legs around and trip him, but he decided not to. Toradas was older and bigger than him and likely stronger, but then so were Bambi and Stabo when they practiced with him. Toradas also knew some of his fighting methods. As Bambi always told him it was not strength that counted in a fight. He dropped his head and braced his rear legs and leaped forward. They hit head-on and it was jarring but no worse than getting hit hard by Bambi. He shrugged it off and pushed forward.
Toradas saw he was standing there firmly. The senior male thought he was going to make this a test of strength, a test where Toradas had the advantage. So Toradas planted his rear legs firmly and lunged forward with all his might to push him back. As the bigger deer pushed, he suddenly backed up half a step and replanted his legs. Toradas fell forward knocking himself off-balance. At that moment he threw all his weight forward and kept pushing. His push caught Toradas in with his legs not planted. The impact sent Toradas backward and the power he put in his charge did not give the big deer a chance to replant his legs and push back. He threw Toradas back at least three full-lengths before he broke off and pulled back leaving the senior male stunned for a moment.
"What is the matter, senior male, is the young whelp too much for you," he taunted.
His insult had the desired effect. Toradas completely lost his head. He could see in his face. This deer was not ready to fight him; this deer was ready to kill him.
He lowered his head and came on to him in a full charge. He lowered his head as if to meet it, but at the last moment leaped aside and let Toradas fly by him. As he did, he let his felt-covered rack dig into the flank of the enraged deer as he rushed by. If his rack was out of velvet, he could have cut his side wide open, but as it was, he left several long welts on his right flank.
Toradas stopped and grimaced in pain, but he was not going to let him recover. He charged and hit the big deer before he could fully turn around. He caught him full in the left shoulder knocking him back. He did not let up. He drove his rack in deeper knocking the bigger deer down and driving his body into the dirt. He only pulled back for a second to raise his front legs and pound Toradas with his hoofs. He did not use his full power, so he only cut into his flank instead of gutting him. Blood came out of his flank and the big deer was down and beaten.
"You know why I am a senior male," he grunted. "I am a senior male because I am smarter than you and I know what to do to help the herd. You are worthless. Go back to the herd males. It is you who does not deserve to be here," he told him and then kicked him in the side to drive home his point.
He then pulled back and watched the now-former senior male slowly get up and limp off the meadow. He stood there until he disappeared among the trees. Once satisfied he was gone, he turned around and trotted back to the senior male group. All the fatigue he had in his body vanished. He felt wide awake and ready to take on anything. As he got back to the others, Marcor stepped out.
"That is one way to prove your point," he said and rubbed his forehead.
His mother and his younger brother and sister ran up and started to kiss him. His three doe followed. Bambi and Stabo said nothing and just nodded.
He was a senior male in the Man Path herd.
Nothing much happened for the rest of the summer and into fall except he continued to grow his rack. By now he was well fed on grass and berries when they appeared. He saw no more of Toradas on the meadow, but others told him he was still living in the forest. There was one good thing; no one else questioned his joining the senior males. At his father's stern advice, he spent most of the time listening except when the herd leader asked him to do things, as he asked the other senior males too.
It was near the first cool morning that he noticed a terrible itching in his rack. He had felt the same thing last season, but it wasn't nearly so bad. His father showed him how to scrape the velvet off his rack to show their dull white color. It hurt to scrape off the velvet, but he soon had a nice clean rack. His mother told him it was not as big as his father's but it was more than respectable, especially after he wiped the ground with Toradas.
Another thing he noticed as the days got shorter; he noticed he was becoming more agitated, especially about any males around his doe. Last season he felt nothing like this. He asked his Uncle Stabo and he explained at this time of The Season, doe started to emit an odor that will attract males. It made males more protective of their doe. He said soon the herd would break up until after The Season. He also started to see fighting in the meadow. The herd males and even some of the senior males were claiming their right to pick their doe. He did not care. He still had his three doe and they seemed interested in no one except him.
As soon as it became obvious The Season was upon them, Bambi called them all the senior males together. One other thing came with The Season, and that was Man and his killing sticks. What would the herd do to avoid Man this time?
Bambi spoke first. "As soon as Man is back in his cave, I will call the herd together and we will again go back deep into the woods. We must not allow Man to get behind us and force us onto the meadow."
"Sometimes Man hunts in the forest himself," Stabo added. He tries to sneak up on a deer and then use his killing stick."
"What about Men from the other Man cave that is deeper in the forest?" he asked.
"Those Men only hunt near there," Stabo answered. "They have never come this far and neither have their dogs."
"There is another thing," Juon added. "We can avoid Man, we cannot avoid his dogs. They can smell us wherever we go."
"That is why when Man comes we must get deep into the forest as quickly as we can," Bambi told them. "That is the only way to protect us from dogs."
"Can we scatter and send some deer into the old forest," Relnor said. "Man is powerful but he can only chase us one at a time."
"Stafen?" Bambi asked.
"No," he said shaking his head. "It is still too open in the forest. You can see a deer many lengths away. Your only chance to hide there is near the very tops of the hills, but if we are found, then the only place we can run is either down to the meadow or into the open grasses past the tops of the hills."
"That is death for sure in either case," Stabo said.
Bambi just nodded his agreement. "So we flee into the deep forest and hope we get far enough away and fast enough so Man and his dogs do not find us."
"I cannot see a better way," Stabo said.
"Nor can I," his father agreed.
All the deer turned to him as if they expected him to say something. "You all know more about this than I do," he admitted. "I will listen to you."
It wasn't much of a plan, but it was better than nothing. He only hoped it worked.
Over the next few mornings, he felt increasing urges around his doe. Approaches by males to his doe he would not have bothered with before, he acted quickly against the intruder, chasing him out at a run. He was also feeling increasingly anxious around even his father and the other senior males. They were becoming more of an annoyance. Again, it was Stabo who saw him and how agitated he was getting and explained this was just part of The Season. It would pass quickly and things would be fine again.
Finally, after one talk where they stood several lengths apart just because they could not stand being closer to each other, Bambi just raised his head.
"It is time, we will all get together after The Season," he said. Then he turned to him. "Enjoy those three doe he said with a smile."
He thought it was an insult, but the way the others smiled made him nod his head. He turned to face his doe and call them over. They went toward their bedding place. Fortunately for the other males, no one tried to interfere with him.
He led them back to the bedding area and then looked around for the sign of any male deer. There were none.
"Here is where we will stay until after The Season," he told them. "This is the first season I have ever bred a doe, but I can see you like being with me. You have been with me for a long while. I like all of you and I like being with you. I will tell you I want all of you to have my fawns in the spring. If any of you feel differently, you can go. I will not force anyone to do this."
"Dala came up and nuzzled him on his nose and then kissed him softly with her tongue."I want to have your fawn," she said gently. "You are big, powerful, and any fawn you make with me will be the same. I want you."
Allia came to him after first sniffing at his tail. "I can smell you want us," she said. "Like Dala, I want you and I want your fawn. I want to breed you."
"And I want to breed you too," Nalene said. "I just never did it before."
"Then we will all find out together," he said and lay down. His doe lay especially close to him.
When the time came there was nothing much to tell. For two days he kept his doe close to him and sniffed them often. He could smell them, but something inside him told him they were not ready. Then one morning, Dala got up and walked over away from the others. She then emptied some waste on the ground. He smelled it and again something inside him told him she was ready. She walked away slowly for a while and then suddenly stopped and arched her back. As he climbed on top of her he felt his whole insides ready to explode. After coupling with her for a little while, it felt like all of his insides exploded into her. He fell off her back feeling like Bambi kicked him in the chest.
Later on that day they repeated their actions and then just as suddenly as it came, the scent went away. Dala had become a bred doe. Later she wandered off into the forest, but not far away. The next day it was Nalene that came into season. He coupled with her twice with the same results. It was two days after that Allia came into season. He coupled with her three times before her scent disappeared. He had three well-bred doe as his father would joke sometime with the other males. He also felt more exhausted than when Bambi and Stabo threw him all over the ground earlier in the season, but despite his fatigue, he felt content inside.
By now they had eaten most of the grass near their bedding place so the next night he cautiously went back to the meadow. There were some deer back on the meadow. Some males and doe were still together. Other than tired, he felt back to normal. The feeling of agitation had vanished and he felt at home on the meadow again. They ate their fill and drank from the small stream and well before the greater light appeared, they went back to their place.
The next night he saw his father and mother on the meadow. He walked over toward them. As he did his mother walked away and called to his doe to follow her. As she left he could smell the same scent that came from his doe. His mother and father had also answered the call of The Season as he did.
"Did your Season go well, my son?" his father asked.
"Yes Father, I did well. I think my three doe will have my fawns in the spring."
"It is good," his father answered. "It is good to have children. It will leave your mark on the forest long after you are gone. Also, it is a great joy to watch your children grow up and take their place in the herd as you have done. My Son, your mother, and I are proud of you."
He bowed his head and walked close to his father. "Thank you, Father," he said loud enough so it was heard by his mother and doe. "I am proud to hear that and proud that I am your son." Then he looked around to make sure no one could overhear them. Then said quietly near his father's ear. "It was tiring, however."
His father whispered back. "With three doe, I am not surprised."
Both laughed loudly. A short time later he heard his mother and doe laugh. It was nice to have a happy family.
That happiness lasted exactly two more days when loud noises woke them just after they lay down for the day. There were several roaring noises, and the burnt smell filled his nose. He did not like it. He remembered the smell came from Man animals. Sure enough, several Man animals moved on the meadow and to the Man cave. He heard a lot of noise and the sound of many men. The bad part of The Season was starting.
"Listen," he whispered to his doe and then strained his ears.
There were crashing noises and loud voices of Man. Later on, there were banging noises coming from the meadow. He knew many Men were there, and at this time of the season, they would be there to hunt deer. As the day continued he could hear more Man animals come and more men. There must be many of them, but he did not hear two things. The first was Man was not coming into the forest but staying on the meadow. The second was there was no barking. Man had no dogs. With the wind blowing on his side, it would be hard for Man to hear or smell them. He felt safe as long as no dogs were with them.
His doe looked scared and he just nuzzled each one to reassure them. From his training, he knew what to do.
"We will wait here as still as possible until night. Then we will slowly make our way over to where the herd leader will be. We will be safe there. In the meantime, do not get up unless you have to, and do not speak loudly."
"I am frightened Stafen," Nalene said. "I think we should run now."
"No," he told them. "If we get up and run, Man might hear us and use his killing stick. He cannot see well in the dark. We will leave then. Just lie down and try to sleep."
The last part was impossible with all the noise on the meadow. The clanging noises went on all day only stopping late in the day. Once it was fully dark, he got up and had the doe and himself empty their insides here as not to lead Man with their scent. Then he slowly led them away toward the place in the forest, he knew Bambi and the other would be waiting.
At first, they walked quietly, even Nalene was careful. As he got further away, he went faster until they almost left at a run. It was well after the lesser light rose that he found the others.
"Did you see anything?" Bambi asked.
"No, it was day and I did not want to get closer to Man," he reported calmly. "I did hear much noise and many Man animals so many Men are there. I also did not hear any dogs."
Bambi looked relieved at that news. "Good, so they won't try to run us down. Stabo and your father are watching the Man from a hiding place they can see them. I am waiting for them."
"I think we should gather the herd," he suggested.
"I wanted to wait until Stabo and your father returned, but it is getting late. I will call the herd now. It will take time for them to get here.
Bambi walked away from them and started to bellow loudly. "HERE! All come here."
He did this three more times. By now the other senior males were present but other than Juon, they were useless. He was thinking himself and trying to remember what Stabo taught him about Man hunts. A short while later Stabo and his father returned. They looked out of breath as if they had run for a while. After a few moments, Stabo spoke up.
"There are many of them. They have put other small Man caves up along the side of the meadow at the bottom of the hill we use to live on. Stranger taught me that when Man does that, it means many Men will go deep into the forest early in the morning. They will then make a lot of noise and try to chase deer out to the meadow where other Men with killing sticks will wait for them. The only way to avoid this is to get the herd far enough into the forest so Man cannot get behind us."
"Yes, I remember that from my father and grandfather," the herd leader said. "It is getting late; we all need to leave soon."
"Yes," his father said. "We need to leave now."
By now the herd had gathered near them. Bambi turned and spoke loudly. "We need to go deep into the forest. We need to leave now. Everyone has to go or Man will chase us into the meadow and kill us."
"Come with us," his father called out and started to go deep into the forest.
Bambi then walked over to him. "I need one or two deer to stay behind and make sure no one is left. You are and Juon are our fastest deer I want you two to stay here and look for any deer. Keep your ears open. Do not let the Men chase you into the meadow."
He nodded his approval. "I will do as the herd leader asks me. Just watch out for my doe."
Bambi smiled and nuzzled his forehead. "Do your best senior male. Go with Juon near the place the Man Path enters the meadow. I will do the best I can for your doe."
He left and went back to his doe and explained what they should do. Nalene objected strongly.
"No, there is danger; you need to come with us. You should protect us."
"I must help the herd or many deer will die," he explained. "I want you to go with the herd leader. He will protect you and lead you to safety."
He could see Nalene was not convinced and the other two looked doubtful.
"Things will be fine, I will see you later," he told them and then ran off to find Juon.
He turned to leave and as he did he caught a glimpse of Toradas looking at him from behind some trees. There was a deer Man could kill as far as he cared. Juon and he went to the edge of the forest and lay down still inside the trees.
"We can watch better from here," Juon said pointing his nose at the Man caves. "As soon as we see Man stirring we will run back into the forest and look closely for other deer, especially the fawns and yearlings. They do not know any better and Man has been known to kill young deer at times. Tell them to run into the deep forest, but keep your ears open so Man does not get behind you. As soon as Man gets close, stop what you are doing just run into the forest as fast as you can. I will go to the center of the forest. You stay on this side near the Man Path. Understand young male?"
"I understand, Juon, I am here to help," he told him.
"I know," the deer said rubbing his side. "You are not my son, but I like to think of you as mine. The sons I have show no interest in helping the herd or even to become senior males, then again, none are as big as you at your age."
They both waiting quietly as the greater light came from the sky. He started to hear voices from the Man caves. Soon a Man came out of the Man cave.
"That is it," Juon said, "Now go and good luck."
He leaped off staying close to the Man Path keeping his eyes open for any deer. He moved quickly around the forest. He found two yearlings and showed them where to run. He saw no adult deer so the rest must have left. He kept looking for a while when he heard the noise of Man coming into the forest. Man is not quiet. He knew it was time to go. He moved faster than Man, but he still kept looking for other deer. He heard a bleating near him and he ran to it. There was a doe fawn standing alone.
"Mother," it called out.
"Come with me," he told the fawn, I will take you to your mother."
The fawn ran after him and he just continued into the forest. Sometime later he heard behind him.
"YYYOOOOOOHHHHAAAAHHHHEEEEY," Man called out over and over. There was also banging of some sort. They were behind him. He also knew that there were few if any deer behind him now. Man would have a hard time chasing what is not there.
He kept moving with the fawn behind him until he looked out and started to smell the fresh signs of deer.
He bleated out to let the others know it was him. He heard a low bleat in return. It sounded like Stabo. He ran toward the sound and soon found the big deer alone.
"Good work," Stabo said looking at the fawn behind him. He pointed to the fawn. "Go this way and you will find your mother," he said.
"KAAAABBBAAANG" echoed through the forest, followed quickly by two more blasts.
"Someone did not listen," he muttered.
"Nothing we can do about that," Stabo said looking at where the blasts came from. "Let us join the others."
He followed Stabo back to the other senior males and there remained where they were until the noise of killing sticks stopped. While waiting he went looking for his doe but they were not there. No matter where he looked, he did not find them.
"They were with me, but when we got deeper in the forest the herd split up and I lost sight of them," Bambi told him.
Other deer he asked had not seen them either. For the next day, he searched while noises came from the meadow. The day after that it was quiet again. The only thing he could think of was that for some reason they went back to his bedding area. As soon as he felt safe, he slowly made his way back there. He went very carefully and took his time before he got there. There he saw Allia and Dala, but Nalene was gone. He approached while they were sleeping.
"Where is Nalene?" he asked.
He surprised them. Both doe shot to their feet and looked at him. Allia looked angrily at him.
"Where is Nalene?" he repeated.
"My sister is gone," Allia spat out. "You and Bambi were going to protect us, but you did not."
He was utterly bewildered. He had led them away. Why did they come back? "Why are you here, I left you with Bambi?"
"Bambi was too busy to watch us and you cared more about the herd than us," Allia continued to berate him. "Toradas came up when no one was looking and told us he was going to kill us because of what you did to him. He kicked me and went to lower his head. We all ran away. We all called out, but no one came to help. Toradas chased toward the meadow. We ran and we ran until we were exhausted. We ran to the meadow, but Dala and I remembered what you told us. We stopped while we were still in the trees. Nalene was so scared she ran out into the meadow. Man struck her with his killing stick."
He could not believe what he was hearing, yet the way his doe looked at him, he could not doubt their word. His rear legs gave out and he sat on the ground. He could not believe it.
"Nalene is gone," he repeated.
"Yes, my sister is gone," Allia continued to fume "You were supposed to protect us, but you cared more about your herd than us and so now she is dead and Toradas wants to kill us. We are hiding from him."
"I will take care of Toradas," he growled and stood up. He looked at his doe. "Come with me," he ordered.
"He will kill us," Dala said.
"No he will not," he said and walked away to where he knew Bambi and the others would be. The doe did not move. He had no time for this.
"COME WITH ME!" he shouted at them and they slowly followed him back to where the herd would be. He found Juon first with his father.
"Stafen," what happened?" his father said after taking one look at his face.
"Have you seen Toradas," he said slowly.
"No," his father told him. "I have not seen him since you beat him, why."
"You will find out," he said. "Where is Bambi? He needs to hear this."
"Near his clearing," his father said. "Stafen, what happened, you look like you are ready to kill something."
"You are right father," he said and walked off. Now all of them were following him. He came to the small clearing and there stood Bambi, Galene, and her two fawns. There were other deer nearby. They all looked up surprised at their guests.
He looked at his doe. "Tell him," he grunted. "Tell the herd leader what you told me."
The two doe told everyone there. They all looked horrified. He let them finish before he called out.
"Has anyone seen Toradas," he asked loudly.
"I saw him back in the deep forest where we ran too," one of the herd males said.
"Thank you," he said and turned to Bambi. "I am going to leave my doe with you. Watch them this time," he shouted and bounded off.
"Stafen, wait!" he heard his father call out and with several others. He was not waiting. He moved on asking every deer he saw where Toradas was. Finally, he found out that Toradas had not gone back with the others. He used his nose and smelled around. He caught bits of his scent, but he did not find him. After he had gone almost back almost to the mound they hid on before, it was there he caught the scent. He followed the scent off. It soon led him to a place of thick brush. Rather than walk ahead with the wind at his tail, he changed his path to walk around the scent to approach from crosswind of him. That meant that neither he nor Toradas would have an advantage in hearing or smelling each other. He slowly moved forward. As he went forward he could hear something up ahead. It was well after night when he picked up his scent. He was near; he took a sniff of the air and knew he was close. He crept until he heard bushes moving in front of him. He stopped and took several deep breaths
"Stafen," he heard his uncles call out in the distance.
He heard the bushes starting to move faster. Toradas heard his uncle's call too. He would not wait. He charged ahead and came out in a little clearing to the side of Toradas. Without hesitation, he charged. Toradas barely had time to turn and meet him. It did no good. His rage gave him strength. He hit Toradas in his rack. The impact sent the former senior male hurdling backward several lengths into a tree. The heavy impact stunned Toradas for a moment. His rage returned and felt nothing except the desire to rip that deer apart. His training told him exactly what to do.
"Stafen," I can explain," the deer tried to cough out.
He was no longer going to listen. "Explain this!" he shouted and kicked with his front hoof. Normally he hit with the top of his hood so it would not cut into the flesh. Now he turned his hard hoof so the sharp end pointed up and out. He felt his hoof hit, and bite into the neck deeply. He brought his hoof out. Instantly a shower of blood gushed from Toradas' neck as he tore it open.
"IIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," the wounded deer scream in panic. He came down and then plunged headfirst into his open chest. He felt two of his point go deep into Toradas' chest causing more blood to flow out. Then he pulled back and slashed the same flank he did before, only this time he went in deeply with his whole rack tearing it open. Toradas collapsed to the ground. Then he lifted himself up and started to pound the bleeding flank with his front hoofs as hard as he could. He could not remember how many times he pounded him before he stopped. Toradas was certainly not moving.
"That is the last time you hurt one of my doe," he said with satisfaction.
He walked out of the small clearing and toward the way he came. He immediately ran into his uncle.
"What happened to you," Stabo yelled. "You are covered in blood."
"It is not my blood, Uncle," he said with satisfaction.
At that moment Bambi, his two doe, and his father came up to him. All look horrified. "That male will never hurt another doe again," he said breathing heavy. "If Uttral was nearby, I let her have what is left of him."
He then looked at his two doe. "You do not have to worry, that male will never hurt anyone again."
"But my sister is still dead," Allia shouted at him. "She is dead because you cared more for your herd than us." By now she was breathing as heavy as he was. "You think this makes it right. If you had not been so eager to help, she would be alive now. I thought you cared about us. I was wrong. I never want to see you again Stafen. I no longer want you. I do not even want to raise your fawn. Stay away from ME!" she screamed and then turned around and ran back toward the meadow.
He just stood there mouth open not knowing what to say. He looked at Dala who just spoke in a normal tone.
"I will raise your fawn, Stafen, but Allia is right, you do care more about this herd than us, Goodbye, Stafen."
With that, she also turned and slowly sank away leaving him alone.
Bambi walked up to him slowly. "I am not going to say I approved of what you have done. I am sorry this has caused trouble between you and your mates. I am truly sorry I did not prevent what has happened. This is partly my fault so I will not blame you for what you have done. For now, go to the spring and wash yourself off. You look hideous covered in Toradas' blood."
With that Bambi and the other senior male left him standing in the forest.
Never in his life had he felt so much alone.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WANDERER

He was standing alone near the edge of his forest. He had been alone now for several days since he killed Toradas. In that time, whenever he walked on the meadow, he felt the cold stares of other males and doe upon him. Despite the reason he gave for this actions, most of the others in the herd did not like what he did and did not accept his explanations. The other deer made sure he knew about it. None in the herd would speak to him. No one would stand near him. They looked at him more in fear than respect. The only deer that talked to him were his parents, Bambi, and Galene. Even Juon and Kena avoided him. What hurt the most was Allia who complained bitterly to the other does about how he had abandoned her and her sister leading to her death. At times she did this with him standing close by. Rufo also complained to Bambi about his killing of Toradas. He told the herd what he did was not right. He said to the herd leader and other Toradas would never have killed Nalene and that she was killed because of her foolishness.
He said nothing to Allia about her complaints and would never do anything to hurt a doe, but he certainly made sure Rufo did not complain about him within his hearing. He took exception one time and told that male openly he was a liar. The fight that followed was short and painful for Rufo which only caused the herd to avoid him even more. Several times he saw groups of males and doe talk to Bambi, each time with him not nearby. Bambi would not tell him what they said, but he could guess what they asked. He was no longer welcomed here and it was mostly his fault/
He stared into the open space that separated his forest from the old forest. The forest his grandfather lived in. He was waiting. He had asked Stabo to bring his father here after the greater light had gone. He had made up his mind what he was going to do. It was not long after the greater light disappeared that he heard two deer approach.
"I am here," he called out.
Both Stabo and his father walked into the clearing. Both looked concerned. He turned and faced them.
He spoke solemnly and as sincerely as he could. "I asked you to come here to tell you of my decision. I am going to leave the herd and go elsewhere."
"Stafen, no," his father pleaded. "If that has anything to do with Toradas, do not let it worry you."
"It is not just Toradas," he explained. "You have seen how the deer, all the deer, avoid me on the meadow. None of them will come within several lengths of me. Even Allia and Dala will not even get close to me. I have heard some have even asked Bambi to chase me out of the herd."
"Bambi will not do that," Stabo added. "He knows this was not your fault."
That was nice to hear, but not much comfort. "You are wrong, uncle, this was my fault. I abandoned my doe to help the herd and they suffered for it. Allia was right; I did care more about the herd than them. I always thought that if anything bad happened while helping the herd, it would be me that suffered. Now others who had no part in what I do for the herd have suffered. The other deer think I am a killer, and they are right. I am not sorry I killed Toradas. I'd kill him again if I could, but it has made me an outcast in this herd, and I should leave. It will be less trouble for Bambi and the rest of you if I was not here."
"That is not true," his father said. "You are a senior male of this herd and we need you."
"No you do not," he countered. "I understand better since I killed Toradas. All I ever wanted was to become a senior male in this herd, and now that I am, I find that wish empty inside. I think I spent my time trying to please you two and Bambi that I have forgotten I need to please the other deer in the herd. That I have not done. I thought that by helping the herd, I could become a respected senior male and the herd would at least respect me if not appreciate me. I now know that I was wrong. The herd only cares about what I did to Toradas, not what I have done for the herd leader and herd. The others do not care about me. Those that did care about me, I let down and now one of them is dead and the other two hate me, and with good reason. I think understand the depth of Garris's fear of letting down the herd because I have done that. This herd will never trust me again. It is time that I leave."
Stabo took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Where will you go?"
Past the top of that hill in the old forest, there is a large open space and then a large forest in the distance. You have told me, many of our family have gone there. They do not know me, I am going there."
"That is several days in the open, Stafen," Stabo told him. "You will never live through it."
"Others have and so will I," he said calmly. "I need to go now before the first snows come and tracking me will become much easier. I just wanted to let you all know. Say goodbye for me to mother and the others."
There was nothing more he wanted to say. He turned and ran out of his forest across the open space to the old forest. Behind him, there was just silence. He ran on changing direction often and soon came to the burnt-out remains of the old forest. He moved inside the ruined trees until he came to the stream between the hills that he saw before. He then followed the stream out in between the two hills of the old forest, past where those who came before him lived. He stopped by the edge of his forest and looked out. He would stay here until tomorrow night and start the rest of his trip then. He knew following the stream would take him to the other forest.
With no one around, he ate well during the day, something that he would never do normally, but he felt protected here. He lay down after eating his fill and rested. As soon as it was dark he followed the stream out of his forest and into the open. He moved carefully testing the wind constantly. There was nothing around him. The stream led him on all night until he caught the first glow of the greater light. He found what looked like a good place to stop to rest and lay down."
The grass grew higher here. There was no one to eat it. He could hide here as long as he did not stand up. He looked around and saw little. As the day came, he heard the roar of a Man animal off to the side of him. The Man animal moved back and forth across the open area. In front of him, the grass was open as far as he could see. He could see the hill of the old forest now further away. The place he was going to was larger, but still a ways away. After the Man animal went away he slept until it was night.
He followed the stream during the second night. He drank and emptied himself in the stream, so any hunters could not find his scent. He heard the scattering of field mice running underneath and other small animals he did not know. There were no big animals about him. He could smell or hear nothing around him so he continued his journey. Again as night faded, he found another spot with high grass and again bedded down.
There was no Man animal noise today, but later he heard light footsteps near him. He caught the scent of an animal. It was like a dog, but not the same. It was a fox. He waited and saw the fox stick his head through the grass and drink at the stream. As he drank he suddenly stopped and looked up at him lying there.
"A deer," the fox said sniffing the air. "I see few deer out here."
"I am traveling to the other forest," he explained. "I will not be here long."
The fox gazed at him intently. A fox could kill a fawn, but not anything close to his size. Still, the fox looked him over as if sizing him up to see if he was a meal.
"I am far too big for you and I have my rack and hoofs. I would cut you open if you tried it," he told him.
"Oh no," he said and backed away. "I would not think of attacking a prince of the forest."
He remembered what his uncle said about foxes. "There is only one thing to believe about a fox; they are always hungry."
"There are field mice and other small animals nearby. Try hunting them," he suggested and glared back at the red and white creature before him.
"Yes, prince, I will do so," the fox said and went back into the tall grass.
He slept again until nightfall.
On his third night the clouds blew in and he could see fire in the sky. It rained and it was a cold rain. His winter coat had begun to grow out but he was still cold. The rain and wind slowed him and continued until near dawn when it finally stopped and moved away. He was very close to the other forest; if he rushed he could make it after the greater light rose. He decided not to. All it takes is one Man with a killing stick and he would be as dead as Toradas.
The grass was shorter here so he could not hide as well. He slept as best he could. The air was much cooler this morning. The sun was still warm and he lay in the sunlight all day and that comforted him. Again he saw nothing around him. No Man, no bear, no large animals at all. It was all open; neither hunters nor hunted could hide. Because he felt exposed, he slept uneasily, but motionless. He was ready to go when the greater light left. He got up and moved cautiously into the tress of the other forest.
He made it.
The first thing he noticed was the size of the forest. The forest looked bigger, the trees looked taller, and there were many scents from deer he could smell. There were also other animals here: foxes like the one he met, coyotes in packs, he even smelled a bear. He walked alone through the forest following the stream until he finally came to a lake, around which many, many deer were eating. It was a meadow at least three times bigger than his meadow. This forest was huge.
He walked to the lakeshore near where the stream ran into it. The grass was still green despite the late season. He reached over and started eating. It still tasted good. He ignored the other deer around him, and they mostly ignored him. He then drank by the lakeside and watched the antics of the other deer. The season was over and so were the fights and other posturing by males. Now was the time to store up fat before the first snow. He ate his fill and then looked at the herd around him. They went about their lives not seeming to have a care in the world. They took no notice of him. He was curious he saw no signs of senior males. They should be out keeping watch over the herd. This went on until late night when he heard a large male call out.
"Leave now," he bellowed.
He could not see the male who made the call, but he could tell where the voice came from. He walked over to where the thick woods began and started to walk inside the woods toward where he heard the bellowing. He kept walking until the greater light was up. Then he found an empty place and lay down. He slept until night and started his trip again. He walked among some doe and herd males. They looked at him but said nothing. He kept walking until he heard something, something very faint behind him. It sounded like the rustling of the newly fallen leaves on the ground. He turned and walked with the wind to his tail. Sure enough, the wind blew the scent of a male deer to him. He smelled like a big deer. He walked on until he came to some tress he could use for cover. He waited and saw a large deer, maybe the size of his father walk up. He was young and had a full rack. He walked right by him. He was not that careful.
"You have to be quieter than that to sneak up on me," he called out loud.
The deer raised his head quickly and turned toward him as he stepped out into the open. The large deer walked up to him. He was maybe a four-season male at least and looked big and strong enough to be a senior male.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," the other deer said.
"I am a visitor," he said. "I came from the old burnt forest over the far hill. I came to see what this forest was like."
"Is that all you came for?" the male asked rudely.
"What else, it is too late to breed any doe. The Man hunts are over. I just wanted to see what was here. Now may I ask your name?"
"I am Striko," he said, "And your name?"
"I am Stafen, from the Man Path forest."
"What!" he heard another voice call out from downwind of him. There was a breaking of branches and ever a bigger deer came up. This one was tall, sleek, and heavily muscled. He had a huge rack. If the other one was a senior male, this had to be the herd leader.
"May I ask your name, herd leader?" he asked respectfully.
"I am Gerro," he said and studied him closely. "I am not the herd leader, my father Galin is"
That was a name he remembered from his mother. He walked up closer to the tall male and smiled.
"I have heard of your father's name from my mother and Uncle Stabo. I am Stelar's and Helos' son."
Gerro looked shocked. "I have heard of Stabo. My mother is Stabo's daughter," the big male said. This one here is the son of Koren and Garla."
"And Koren is Stabo's son," he said and looked to the other one.
"Now I know why you were so quiet," Striko said nodding his head. "Stabo and Young Bambi trained you."
"Yes along with my father Helos," he added. "I heard this one behind me, but I did not hear you approach," he said to Gerro.
"Like you, my father trained us too," the big deer grinned. "Come, we will take you to my father," Gerro told him.
He followed both of them who led him through the trees. "This forest is so big when compared to mine. Your father is herd leader over all these deer?"
"Yes, before Stabo, Stranger, and Old Bambi trained my father, there were several herds here that just ran around. Man killed many every season. After my father and the others finished their training, they came back here and started their own herd and beat anyone who opposed him. Koren and Garla along with Garten and Faline helped out. Now that we are old enough, we help too."
"That is good," he said. "Bambi and Stabo have my father and Juon to help him."
"What about you?" Striko asked.
"That is a long and unpleasant story," he answered. "I do not want to burden you with it." With that, the two males stop questioning him as he followed them to the end of the lake. They travel into the wood beyond; as they did, they came to another open meadow with many deer on it. This herd was huge compared to his herd.
"Here we are," Gerro said. "This is the area we keep for the senior males of the herd. It allows us to move quickly to either meadow when needed."
He could smell other large deer around him. Soon they started to appear.
"This is Tufan, my younger brother. Datlan, who is behind him, is Garlan and Koren's younger son. The big deer behind him them is Lanco, a deer from this herd who is strong enough and smart enough to be a senior male."
Then he stopped and stepped aside so all could get a look at him. "This is Stafen, a visitor from the Man Path forest. He is Stelar's son and was taught by Young Bambi and Stabo, the same deer that taught my father. He is also trained."
He bowed and looked at all of them. "I thank you for welcoming me here."
"Why are you here," Tufan asked eyeing him carefully.
"I had heard about this herd from my Uncle Stabo, the herd leader Bambi, and my mother. I decided to come to look for myself."
"Is that the only reason," he heard a loud voice call from a distance. Behind them, all walked a very large deer with a large rack. The other deer deferred to him. This must be the herd leader Galin his mother talked about.
He swallowed hard, but he was not going to lie. "There was some trouble with the herd and I thought it would be better for me to visit other places."
"And why was that," Galin asked looking at him harshly. "Some seasons ago I had to get rid of Stuben and Carie before they came here. I threw them out before they could cause me trouble, I will do the same to any deer that causes trouble."
The harshness of his voice was insulting and made him angry. There was no way he would show weakness here. He walked up past the other deer until he was three lengths from the herd leader. "What happened to me was personal and did not concern my herd or the herd leader. If the herd leader here really wants to hear about it, I will tell it to him, IN PRIVATE!"
Galin nodded, "You act like Young Bambi and Stabo young male. Very well we talk in private then. Now come with me. I also want my son Gerro and my mate Charlene since she is Stabo's daughter."
"As the herd leader wishes," he said and followed them.
He walked on and out of nowhere appeared a doe of several seasons. She was handsome and must have been a real beauty in her youth. "You are Stabo's daughter?" he asked.
Immediately he started to kick himself because now he has to tell another of Stabo's daughters her mother was dead. This was all getting too much. They went on and came to a nice clearing through which the lesser light showed.
Both Galin and Gerro stopped and lay down with Charlene lying close to the herd leader.
He lay down too.
"So what is your story?" Galin asked.
So he told them. He told them everything that happened from the start of spring until now. It took a while and the greater light was shining down on them before he finished and answered their questions.
"In a way, this is a relief," Galin started. "I was afraid you had tried to take over the herd and got thrown out. I do not need deer like that in my herd."
"I understand especially after Balo, Stena, Stuben, and Carie. I assure you I am not here to take the forest. Looking at your senior males, I doubt if I could have done it in any case. You, your son, and the others look like large and powerful deer. They have all been trained it looks."
"Then why did you come?" Charlene asked him.
"Because I felt I could not stay with my herd. After I killed Toradas, the other deer shunned me. I know some asked Bambi to run me out, but he would not. I just felt the herd no longer trusted me and I was more trouble to Bambi than I was worth. I thought leaving would solve most of those problems."
"For Bambi, it did," Galin said. "It did not solve them for you, however."
"That is my problem and I will solve it myself," he said flatly.
"That is not true, Stafen," Charlene smooth voice said. "But it still does not answer Galin's question. Why are you here?"
He thought about that answer for a few moments and then had to admit he did not know.
"I do not know for sure. I knew I did not belong there. What I am not sure about now is if I belong anywhere."
Galin and Charlene broke out into laughter. For a second he was angry because he thought they were making fun of his trouble. "That is funny?" he growled.
"No, it is not," Galin said still smiling. "What you just said is about the same thing Stranger said to Old Bambi when he first came to his forest. According to Old Bambi, Stranger did not know where he belonged either. He did find out, although it almost killed him several times. I think Grandfather and Grandson share a common lifestyle. As for wandering, a lot of us have done that, even I wandered when I went to Stranger to learn how to become a herd leader. Stranger wandered for several seasons. Stuben wandered about and finally woke up and settled down with Bambi's son Gorro. My father wandered into here and had a family. You are not the first from this family that has traveled, and I doubt if you will be the last."
"Then I assume I have the herd leader's permission to stay for a while," he asked tersely still smarting about when they laughed at him.
"Yes, stay as long as you want," Galin answered. "As long as you do not cause trouble you are welcomed. Besides, with Young Bambi's and Stabo's training, you are a young deer I can use."
"Thank you," he said coolly and got up. He dipped his head in respect and turned quickly to leave. As he walked out of the clearing he heard Charlene say. "He has a temper like my father when he was young."
He walked out to the meadow and ate his fill. Other deer came close, but no one bothered him until a male his age came up and dropped his head, but did not charge. It was an invitation to spar. He accepted and lowered his head and they started. This deer was serious and tried to push him around, He had to use several tricks Bambi and Stabo showed him to get position and push him back. He drove the other male into the ground and then pulled back immediately. He then went to the lake and drank his fill. When he turned there was Gorro several lengths away.
"Yes, Gorro," he said.
"You got mad in my father's clearing, why?" he said with an edge in his voice.
"Because when they laughed at me; I thought they were making fun of my problems," he explained. "That angered me."
"Hmmmmmmmmm," Gorro muttered. "Very well, I understand, then."
The big deer walked up to him and looked down in his face showing just how much bigger than him he was. "I have heard your story and I understand you have been through a lot. If you are going to stay here you have to know some things. First and foremost is my father, the herd leader, does not make fun to hurt other deer. Neither do the other members of the senior males. We sometimes laugh when something strikes us as funny, but it is not to insult those below us. You, Stafen are a little too edgy for your own good. I could see that in the tale you told us and I can see it when you walk around. You study everything intently. That can put some deer on edge. I know that was most likely part of Stabo's training, but do not be so obvious about it. One other thing you have just seen. We have a big herd here. Many males want to be senior males. Because of that, there is a lot of sparing that goes on around here, a lot of sparing, but seldom any big fights except during The Season. The spar you just did with Blanso you did not have to push him into the ground. You should have pulled back earlier. It was obvious who was the stronger deer and better fighter. You did not have to drive him into the ground to prove your point. If you are going to stay here, you are going to have to calm down, Stafen."
He was a bit surprised. He did not think he was being excessive. "I am sorry, but I was just following my training that Bambi, Stabo, and my father gave me. I was always taught if you fight and beat a deer, that deer has to know he was beaten. It leads to fewer fights later."
"Yes, that is true," Gorro told him. "However, in this case, once you pushed Blanso into the ground, you should have pulled up. You did not have to push his face into it. That was excessive."
He stood up shaking his head. This went against what the others taught him. "I am sorry if it looked that way," he said softly. "I assure you I am not violent deer but I will not be pushed around either. No deer can do that and keep any respect in the herd."
"I know you do not want to look like a bully," Gorro said trying to act understanding. "Otherwise I would have kicked your tale all over the meadow. I am just telling you to calm down if you want to stay here. You are young, and when I was your age I was like you. I thought I always had to prove my place in the herd. My father helped me understand this was wrong, sometimes by kicking my tale around the meadow, but I learned. What he told me, I will now tell you. You do not have to impress us. You already have. No two-season male is going to become a senior male unless they are very good, or the only ones left. My father knows Young Bambi; he knows that herd leader would have never sent you out to look for trouble unless he trusted you. Believe me, after what my father told me about Young Bambi and Stabo, if they trust you, my father will trust you. If you stay here I can see no reason why you cannot be a senior male next Season. Just do not walk around looking angry at times, and above all go light on the sparing. In time, the other males will know you are a male not to be bothered, as they know about me, and the other senior males. We have a large doe herd and you will get your pick of them next Season. Do you understand me, Stafen?"
He stood there partially stunned. His father, mother, Stabo, nor Bambi ever told him that. "I do that?" he asked, "Walk around looking mad."
"Not so much mad as intensely," Gorro answered. "You look always on edge like some hidden danger is behind every tree."
"That is Stabo's teaching. He said a deer must always be alert. A slow deer…"
"Is a dead deer," Gorro finished. "Yes, I remember the lesson. I do look intently, what I do not do is show that edginess and neither should you. Watch me and the other herd males and you will learn."
"No one has ever told me this before," he said.
"I suspected that which is another reason I am here," Gorro answered smiling for the first time.
Very well," he said with reservations. "I will try to not do this; I will watch you and the others. I will especially watch my sparing."
"That is all we can ask," Gorro told him and walked off leaving him alone.
He found a concealed thicket that was not recently used near the second meadow. He went over and lay down and thought long and hard about what Gorro told him.
The night he got up and walked across the meadow and into the forest on the other side. It was thick like Fenton's forest and covered in deer trails, some were very old and well used. He avoided those. If deer used them a lot, hunters of all kinds would also use them. He moved about trying not to get in the way of the other deer. He tried to relax, but he still looked carefully around him. He went on a ways before he picked up a lingering, yet pungent scent. It smelled like a skunk. He knew skunks lived in the forest, but he seldom saw them in his forest. He went on and the scent got stronger until he found it. It came from plants near a place in the forest. There was no skunk he could see, but instead, he saw something else on the ground. It was a hoof print in the dirt, but it was no animal, it was a Man. Then a story Stabo told him came to his mind about how Man had used the scent of a skunk to cover their scent and then got close to where Old Bambi used to live with Stranger. Man surprised them and ended up killing Old Bambi's younger and older daughters. He looked out and saw from where the print was, he could easily see the herd. He looked again and saw the hoof prints of Man disappeared into the forest. Was Man trying to use the scent of a skunk again to hide from deer? This he needed to tell someone.
He left the forest and went toward where the senior males were. He was no longer a senior male so he just could not walk up. Instead, he looked around and saw Striko standing near him and he was alone. He walked up and as soon as Striko saw him he bowed.
"I am sorry to bother you," he said in a low voice. "When I was walking around, I found the scent of a skunk on the ground just inside the trees across the meadow. Around the smell I saw a hoof print of a Man. I think Man has been looking at your meadow."
"We know about it. Man was watching our meadow before the hunts just after The Season," Striko told him tersely. "We did not think it was important enough to tell the herd. You will not tell the herd either. It would only upset them."
He paused for a moment to make sure he heard that correctly. Upset them," he repeated. "I do not understand. How can warning the herd about Man upset them? Isn’t that what the herd leader the senior males are supposed to do?”
Striko looked down his long nose at him. "That may be what your herd does, but Galin had found warning the herd too often causes the herd males and doe to become upset. They ask too many questions. Keeping the herd calm is better and allows the senior males to control the herd better. We know better when to warn the herd than they do. Please do not mention this to the other deer. Galin will get angry at you if you do."
He just stood there stunned but recovered himself quickly. He nodded his head and walked away. He did not think Stabo and his father would agree with Striko. This was not the way to control a herd. Instead, he went back to his bedding area and thought long and hard about this all day.
The next night he woke up and decided he have as little to do with the other deer as he could. After what Gorro and Striko told him, he was not sure he would fit around here. He did not want to take action like before. All that would do is get this herd as mad at him as his old herd. The best way not to offend anyone is to stay away from everyone. He ate the grass and when satisfied, walking well inside the trees so he was concealed from the herd. He tried to relax, yet he would always look for danger. He tried not to stare at anyone, and walk around with at least a smile on his face. Maybe the others would think he was friendlier, although he never considered himself to be unfriendly. His parents and Stabo never told him about these things before. They certainly did not run their herd like this. He was not sure of himself here and that concerned him. He was beginning to think he had no place here either. He walked for the rest of the night and found a new bedding area near the end of the second meadow.
The next night he moved on again. There was another cloudy night and the rains came. It was a cold rain and it turned cooler in the morning. He found a spot just inside the trees where the lesser light could still shine on him. It kept him warm. His winter coat had not yet fully come in so he felt cool, but he was comfortable.
"YAAROOOO," he heard call out from behind in the meadow.
For a moment he thought it was dogs again, only this did not sound like dogs. He wondered if it was a coyote or a pack of them. He had never heard them before in his forest He wasn't going to take the chance. He stood up and started to move slowly. By now it was full light and the meadow was empty. He moved quickly within the trees but did not run. That would only make more noise.
"YAAROOOO," he heard again and this time it sounded a bit closer. If they picked up on his scent, they chase him. He moved until he came to the end of the lake and saw the small stream that came from the large lake here. That gave him his idea. He remembered how to get dogs and other animals off your scent. He needed to run in the stream. Dogs and other animals cannot follow your scent in water, but it was in the open. He took a large breath in his nose and smelled nothing. He decided to wait until the coyotes got closer.
He waited for a while until he heard several calls from the coyotes. They were near where he had bedded. They must have picked up on his scent.
He ran.
He ran toward the stream and then into it. The water was cold, very cold, but he kept moving through it emptying himself as he went. He moved on but he could not run. He saw fish in the water but did not stop. He continued forward until the numbness in his leg became so bad he could almost not stand. He ran out of the stream and into the forest on the other side. He wanted to get to a place where the wind did not blow his scent behind him. The wind came from the flank so we went deep into the woods until he could see nothing of the stream and waited.
He waited until the greater light shone overhead through the branches of the pine and oak trees. There were no more sounds from any animal.
At least for now he was safe.

CHAPTER EIGHT: REALIZATION

That night the wind turned cold and blew harder driving the bitter breeze into him. The open place he was bedding in did not offer much protection. He spent the night huddling between two trees for partial shelter. He fed on the grasses and plants near him, but their fresh taste had vanished. Winter was starting with all the hardships it brings. Come morning the greater light seemed especially brighter and he could see a light coating of frost on the plants near him. As soon as it was light he bedded down again, cold or not. He was not going to walk around in the day.
Now he had to decide where to go next. He could go back to Galin and his males, but he was not sure about his place there. One thing was sure, they did not take care of their herd as Bambi and Stabo did. He did not like their way. He could continue moving, but with winter coming on that was not a good idea. He could also just stay around here. There was no good place to protect him from the cold but it was near food and water, and the trees in the distance looked closer together than here. There he could hide from any dangers. There were also few signs of other deer around here; that meant more food for him. He decided to continue his walk following the stream. From Stabo, he remembered that this forest connected somehow to the old forest that Old Bambi came from even before Stranger. There, Old Bambi's son Gorro was herd leader.
That night he left his place and continued his trek. The forest closed in to within several lengths of the stream. Off in the distance, he saw a tall hill, but he had no idea where that place was. He moved on until just before light he came out of the forest into a clearing, maybe a bit smaller than his meadow back home. The ground also became hillier so there were hollows between the hills where he could bed down out of the wind. There was something else. There were deer scents here, fresh deer scents. Tonight he would look around more. He found a small tree sheltered hollow between two hills that blocked most of the wind.
It was after dark that he walked on the nearby meadow and started to eat. The wind blew the scent of other deer to him. They were close, but they stayed in the forest as if hiding. After he finished and drank by the stream, he walked off the meadow and hid in the trees, and watched. A little while later, two doe still with this season's fawns came out to feed. With them came several smaller males, and a few yearlings. All were small and most were scrawny. What he did not see were any senior males or even large herd males with them. He saw no one guiding them; this herd was left by itself. "How strange," he thought.
It was after the lesser night passed overhead; he saw a larger male enter the meadow, only this deer walked stiff-legged. His shoulders drooped lightly, and his movement seemed labored. It was an old male, older than Stabo. Maybe that male could explain what was going on. He slowly walked back out to the meadow and approached quietly downwind of the male until he was several lengths from him when the male's head shot up and he looked back at him. In an instant, his tail came up and he started to bound for the trees.
"STOP!" he called out. "I am not here to harm you; I am a stranger to this forest. I would like to talk to you."
The old deer bounded twice more and came to a stop. He turned and faced him. "Who are you," the old voice cracked.
"My name is Stafen and I am a visitor from another forest," he answered trying not to sound threatening.
"A visitor," the old male repeated. "We get no visitors here. The only things we have here are deer not wanted by the herd."
"I know that feeling," he replied grimly.
"How did you get here?" the old deer asked.
"I walked," he explained. "I walked from my old herd across the open area to his forest. I then continued to follow the stream. After I met Galin and the other senior males I kept walking until I found you."
"You met Galin?" the older deer said as if he did not believe him. "He just let you come here?"
"Why not?" he wanted to know.
The old male looked astonished, "Because we are the other deer of their herd. The deer no longer wanted, so they send us here."
Did he hear that right? "No longer wanted," he repeated. "Why are you no longer wanted?"
"Because we are old, or are lame, or are smaller and weaker than the other deer," the old male went on. "Galin and his senior males just send us here where we will be out of their way. This way only the strongest and most powerful males and doe breed. Galin does not care about what happens here. We are just out of his way. He leaves us alone so that the praetors can more easily hunt us instead of them."
He had never heard anything like this before. Yes, there were small and scrawny deer in his forest, and most never bred, but they were all part of the herd. "And just what are you supposed to do here?" he asked.
"We are supposed to die," the old deer told him. "If the winter does not kill us, the bears and coyotes will. By throwing us out, the main herd saves the best grass for them, and they use us to feed the predators rather can have them hunt the other deer. Since we have no protection, the hunters know to come here and feed rather than the main herd because the senior males watch the main herd more carefully and warn them when danger approaches. No one warns us here."
He had never heard of such of thing. What kind of herd leader would do this? "I have never heard of such nonsense," he said. "The herd I come from has always been for all the deer there and not just some. The herd leader and senior males looked after all the deer."
"Then you have not been in this herd for long, young male," the old deer said shaking his head. "I thought they sent you here like us, but you look too strong to be sent away from the herd. Now I understand."
He had a hard time believing this whole story. No one lets part of his herd die. You lose enough deer already from sickness, hunger, predators, and especially Man.
"My name is Stafen," he said.
"I am Tylos," the old deer answered.
"I was thinking of staying here for a while," he said. "Is there enough grass to feed everyone?"
"Now there is," Tylos said with satisfaction. "We lost a lot of deer last winter when the snow-covered the meadow deeply. There was not much grass. Some of the weaker males and fawns did not live through it. We also lost many to the coyotes."
He could fix that he knew. "I can show you how to avoid coyotes," he explained.
"You can," the old deer said as if amazed. "Only the big and powerful deer are trained like that and they do not waste their time teaching us. We are useless to them."
"In my herd, we teach anyone who wants to help the herd," he said. "We even train some doe from time to time. I thought all herds did that. I do not understand why Galin does not do that."
"Galin only cares about the deer in his herd, not us," Tylos repeated. "How did you learn this at such a young age?"
"My father and herd leader Bambi taught me when I was growing up in my forest before I left."
"Bambi," the old deer gasped. "We have all heard of Bambi. He was the herd leader in a forest near here for many seasons. Now his son Gorro leads."
"That is Old Bambi, his grandson Young Bambi is the herd leader of my forest. Is Old Bambi's forest near here?" he asked.
"Yes," the old deer said. "Follow the stream until you come to the end of this forest. Then turn right and continue along the edge of the trees until they thin out. Off in the distance is a small forest. However, there is only open land between the end of this forest and the other smaller forest. Man grows things there but we do not know why. Once through the small forest, Bambi's old forest is right in front of you about a full night's travel. We occasionally get deer from that forest, but not lately."
This was interesting. He could go there if he had to. If he started now he could reach it before the snow started.
"Could you help us avoid some of the predators?" the old male asked. "We could use some help."
He knew he could teach them, but it would take time. If he did it, he would need to wait until spring to travel to Old Bambi's forest. There was not much he could do before spring in any case. On not much more than an impulse, he nodded his head. "I will show you how to do this. Bring your herd here out on the meadow tomorrow night and I will talk to them," he told Tylos. "Tell them do not be afraid, I will not hurt them. I will see what I can do for them."
The old deer's tired brown eyes looked at him and he swore he saw a tear in them. "Thank you," he said and bowed his head in respect.
He spent the day in troubled sleep. He could not believe Galin would do such a thing to his herd. The herd leader protected all in the herd, not just parts of it. Could it be that Galin did not learn like Balo and Stena did not learn what Stranger and the others taught them? It was a troubling thought that bothered him. One other thing bothered him. By teaching these deer, was going against the order of this herd's leader? That could lead to serious trouble. He did not care. These deer needed him and more importantly, seemed to want him. That was more than his herd and Galin herd did. He felt a need to be wanted after his herd rejected him.
The next evening he went out into the meadow and after the deer gathered he looked them over. Most were lesser males, either too small or too weak to even become a herd male. There were small females; almost none of them had fawns. A few yearlings that looked smaller than normal. The only doe with fawns looked small. All the deer here were the ones that were too small or weak to ever amount to much in any deer herd, but that did not mean they were useless. It meant they would never get to breed, nothing more. That's the way a herd was; only the strongest males got to breed. However, even Stranger took care of all the deer in the herd, not just the senior males and best females. Stabo and his father were the same way.
He gathered the deer around him and started to speak. "Tylos has asked me to show you how to avoid hunters here," he started. "I know about the lack of food and the predators that come every winter. About the grass and plants, I can do nothing. They will grow as they will grow. I can show you some ways to maybe get more food than you usually could. What I can teach you is how to avoid predators like bears and coyotes. This will also work to help you avoid Man. The thing to remember is that bears, coyotes, big cats, and the others all track you the same way, by your scent. You cannot hide your scent, but you can confuse those following you. I will show you this if you wish. It will take a while and I will have to teach you all to walk quietly through the forest."
"How?" one of the small males asked.
"By leaving as little scent as possible and making as little noise as possible. When you just walk normally through a forest, you brush against plants and trees as you walk. You leave your scent there. If you pick your way carefully among the plants and leaves, you leave less scent. You can also not break twigs on the ground or rustle the bushes so you will walk so quietly that no one, not even Man, can hear you. Also, when you empty your waste, do it far enough away from where you bed down as you can. Others use scent from your waste to tell who is around and how far away you are. Finally, if you have to run from predators, you run with the wind at your tail. That way the wind does not blow your scent back to whoever is chasing you." Now first finish eating and then come with me and I will show you how to do this.
It was well after dark when he took them into the forest. The first thing he did was show them how to walk along the ground without disturbing any leaves on the bushes, nor breaking and twigs on the ground. He showed them all these things several times and then let them try it. Predictably, they all failed miserably as he did the first time he tried. He went back and showed them again. At first, you have to concentrate hard not to make any noise, but with practice, a lot of practice, you could glide through the forest unheard. When it got late he sent them all back to their bedding areas and told them he continue on the next night.
That was the first night. He continued concentrating on silent walks, always showing them how to pass bushes and not make a sound or leave much of a scent. Everything else depended on knowing this, and it is why it was the first thing his father, mother, and Stabo taught him when he was a yearling. This went on night after night until he could see they grew tired of it.
He then stopped that lesson and taught them how to throw someone off their track. He would get them to smell him and try to track him through the snow. He would lead them until the wind was at his tale and then he leap several bounds away from the path he was traveling. Those leaps left very little scent. He then circled back around them and disappeared. It was exactly how Uncle Stabo taught him to throw hunters off his trail. He continued that teaching through the first snow that lasted two days before it melted. By now his rack had fallen off and he was as bare-headed as the doe.
By the time of the second snow, they were getting better at throwing others off their track. This snow lasted for several days and he showed them how easy it was to track a deer through the snow. He then showed them how to travel in the stream or the small brooks to cover their scent. So far the snow had not lasted long enough to cover the meadow for long. There was still grass there, but it diminished both in amount and taste as the winter wore on.
It was right after the second snow melted, that one night, they all heard an all too familiar sound in the distance. "YYYAAAAOOOOOOOOO," echoed through the forest. He was teaching in the meadow and he told everyone to follow him. He led them across the meadow and into the stream. It was bitterly cold, but not frozen over like the small lake. He had them follow him and move quickly down the river. There were many complaints about the cold water, but he did not care. Once they had traveled downstream, he quickly ran into a part of the forest close to the stream. The others followed him into the forest. He then turned them so they faced the meadow with the wind in their faces. He then had them watch the meadow.
"YYAAAOOO" came the same cries again. He and the others saw four of the dog-like animals run out on the meadow sniffing around. They could easily follow the scents as they ran toward the stream. Once they got into the stream, things change. The moment they entered the stream, they jumped right out. They did not like the sting of the cold water on their feet. All of them followed the stream for a little while and lost the scent. They then turned around and went back the way they came.
"You see, they cannot follow your scent through the water," he told them. "They do not know we are here so they will go away. This is how to protect yourself."
"AAARROOO, AAARROOO, AAARROOO," came quickly from near where the coyotes went into the wood.
"They found someone," he whispered as loud as he dared. "All of you stay quiet."
More calling that got closer and closer.
Suddenly a small yearling male broke out of the cover of the trees with the four coyotes just behind him. The male ran across the meadow, but as he got halfway across it near the stream, one of the chasers leaped forward and grabbed him by the rear legs.
"IIIIIEEEEEEE," he screamed and fell. All four of the animals were on him in an instant. He heard three pitiful screams of pain before the coyotes tore the yearling male to pieces. He and the others had the unpleasant experience of watching them eat their fill. When they finished with the caucus, they just carried most of the pieces away. They would have plenty to feed themselves for the next few days.
He turned to face the others. "That is what happens to you if hunters chased you and do not know what to do. That male did not come here to learn. He did not know what to do and now he is dead. That could have easily been either you or me. However, they did not find us and that is the important thing. Because they did not find us, they did not eat us, and we get to live another day. That male is gone."
He looked them all over noting the shock on their faces. It was as if they did not believe what they saw. He remembered Stabo warning to him, 'Some deer do not learn and those deer usually die first.'
"We will stay here tonight. There is grass growing between the trees. Eat that tonight, and we will stay here tomorrow. We do not want to use the meadow with those hunters around. If that pack thinks no one is near to them, they will go hunt elsewhere."
The deer with them said nothing. Some looked sick, some coughed up their cud, others just stared. It was like Stabo telling him Stranger's story; only that story was just words, here the deer saw what would happen with their own eyes.
The next morning they all slept the best they could. It was times like this he missed the three doe he had. Their warm bodies took the edge off the cold. He found the best spot he could and slept uneasily. They passed the day in quiet.
The next night he kept them there and again showed them how to walk silently through the bushes and trees. There was a renewed interest by the deer in learning after what happened the previous night. From time to time he could still hear the coyotes howl from the other side of the stream, but they kept searching and found only some smaller animals.
They stayed in that forest eating what little grass was there, waiting for the hunters to clear out. After three days they heard no more howling, so he let the herd go back.
The third and heaviest snow fell two days later. This covered the meadow in snow about halfway from his hoof to his knee. The small herd had to dig into the snow to find anything to eat. They started to eat the grass in between the trees along with any leaves from plants that were left. This snow stayed for several days. It did not take long to eat all the grass near the meadow. He could see the animals getting thinner including him. They could find enough grass to survive, but nothing more. This place was not as rich with grass as the larger meadows. He sent the herd on either side of the stream on either end of this meadow to look for grass. They found some grass and ate it. He spread out the small herd to make it easier for them to find food. His lessons stopped until the grass started to grow back. He could only hope they learned enough.
Since he was no longer teaching at night, he decided to try something new. He followed the stream out of the meadow and toward where Old Bambi's home was. He went down the stream and then went into the forest on either side of the stream. In the forest were trees with little snow and several patches of uneaten grass there. There were also some plants whose leaves tasted awful, but what he did find was a large stand of oak trees. Under those trees, he found some acorns that he ate with relish. That filled him, but what of the rest of the group here. He was not herd leader here, he made that clear to the others, yet he still felt something for these deer. He started to realize that like it or not, these deer depended on him.
That night he went back to the meadow and called to all that could hear him. He explained he had found some food that could feed them for a few days and the lead his following back with him. They all went into the woods there and ate better than they had for days. Many needed it or they might not have survived. Tylos was especially thin and slow. It took them a few days but they ate that place out soon. So he went over the stream to the side and looked. It was the same there without the oak trees. He took his group over there and fed. After they got their fill his small herd left and went back to their normal bedding places.
He slept that night there near the trees. The weather was getting warmer. As he lay awake he was bothered by something. Even though he showed these deer how to avoid predators and how to find food, no one said hardly anything to him, even thank you. Even after showing them how to walk quietly, avoid predators, and even finding food to keep them from starving, he thought some would at least say thank you. Other than Tylos and one doe with a wasting fawn, no one said anything to him. They just accepted what he said quietly. It was almost as if they expected him to do this for them. It was like what he did was somehow his duty to them. When he thought about it and realized it was the same back in his old herd with Bambi and the other senior males. He had gone out several times to look for danger as had the others. His father, the herd leader, Juon and Stabo had shown the deer where to hide to avoid Man, how to find food, and to alert them to dangers. Few deer ever thanked them, fewer even came to help. You would think they appreciate the senior males more. He had thanked his father, uncle, and herd leader many times for teaching him what to do, yet the herd was mostly silent about it. They did what they told him and just went on with their lives.
That raised many questions within him. Why were more deer not like his family and him? Why did most of the deer go along with what he, his family, or any herd male said yet seldom did anything themselves? The biggest question was why he was even doing this? These deer were not part of his herd or his family. He realized it was not how they felt toward him; it was what he felt toward them. He had no idea why he should have cared for the deer. They were not his herd and he was no herd leader for them. The questions did not answer themselves as he eventually fell off into sleep.
Eventually, the snow in the meadow melted, but the cold would not let go. Two more times before the cold grip left the coyotes came back to find nothing to eat. He could hear them coming and they all went elsewhere. Even a bear came down from the nearby hills to look for food. As soon as he smelled the bear he told everyone to scatter. They were lucky to get off with the loss of one male. It was a pity it was Tylos. Even with his lessons, the old deer could not run much any longer and the bear ran him down. Another lesson from Stabo came to his mind. 'You cannot save every deer. You can only try."
Over many days, the cold slowly lessened; the sun became warmer, and on their meadow came the first signs of grass shoots and new buds from the bushes and the trees. Soon it would be spring. It also meant he was now a three-season male. This Season he have a full rack. Now, what should he do? He wasn't sure. Part of him told him to leave, another part of him told him to stay. He had done what he could to teach these deer. He had even continued his lessons after the snow melted. The herd here seemed to lose interest in what he said as the new grass sprouted. As it happened so many times in his life, something from outside helped him to see what to do.
He was feeding that night when the breeze brought him the scent of a new deer. He turned and saw a large male, maybe his age walking toward him. He stopped and looked at him for a moment before walking cautiously up to him.
"Who are you?" the new deer asked.
"I am Stafen, a visitor to your forest," he answered.
"Stafen," he said like it was familiar. "Yes, I remember. I saw you when they brought you to the herd males. I am Datlan. We did not see you again. We thought you left or died."
"No I spent the winter here," he said.
"Here, with the wastelings?" he question. "Why would you do that?"
That term made him angry. "Gorro said I put your herd on edge, so I came here because I did not want to offend anyone. He also said some things I did not like so I came here rather than cause trouble. I found a group of deer here that needed help so I stayed to help them."
Datlan took a step backward suddenly looking very serious. "You helped them, how?"
He answered calmly trying not to get aggravated himself. "They had problems avoiding predators and finding enough grass to last them through winter. I showed them how to avoid predators and find more grass."
"WHAT!" Datlan said almost loud enough to be heard back with the senior males. "You taught them how to avoid predators. We put them out here so the predators would find them and not attack the main herd. Do you have any idea what you have done? Several coyotes came into the main herd and killed a few yearlings because they could not find anything here. We were all wondering why they could not find food here like they usually did each winter. Galin and the others thought it was because these wastelings were all dead, not because someone was trying to help them."
So it was true, Galin had not learned the lessons of Stranger either. Galin was as bad as Balo and Stena. He was suddenly filled with a mixture of revulsion and anger. He took a couple of deep breaths and remembered about getting mad.
"Listen, Datlan," he said in a low serious voice. "A herd leader is the leader of all the deer, not just most of the deer. A herd leader is responsible for all the deer and not just some. If these deer were so useless, then Galin should have thrown them out of the herd. Instead, he kept them so they would die by starving in winter or have the hunters kill them. That is not right. That was not the way they taught me."
"Who cares how you were taught," Datlan interrupted. "This is not your herd and you are certainly not the herd leader. We made this decision and we decided what we would do. We do not need you interfering in our herd."
He smiled and bowed. "I suppose you are correct with what you said, but I know what my herd leader taught me. I know what Stabo and the others taught Galin and it was not this. You protect the herd. That is the responsibility of the herd leader. Many in my family have died doing it, but not like this. I am sorry if I offended Galin, but I will not apologize for this. I know I did the right thing here, and if Galin does not realize this, then I feel pity for him and not respect."
He could see the young senior male go red in the face. "You can explain it to Galin himself, you are coming with me."
"No I am not," he said and shifted his weight to meet a possible attack.
"I will pound your tale into the ground and then take you," Datlan spat out also getting ready for a fight.
"You can try," he said. "Bigger deer than you have tried so if you want me, here I am."
"Fool!" Datlan shouted and charged him.
If Datlan was trained like him, we would expect a rear leg sweep to take out his front legs. He would expect a side step and lung at the flank. He might even expect a fake retreat by and a double kick from the rear legs into his face. He would try something else. Datlan came toward him, head down, but eyes up. He did the same. Datlan came on fast, but not recklessly. He waited until he was close and then jumped up into the air using his two powerful hind legs to push himself up. As he did, he brought both front hoofs up with the sharp hoofs pointing down. He wanted to beat the male, not cut him open. His two hoofs hit the chest and under the deer's chin with two heavy blows.
"DAOOFFF," Datlan grunted as he knocked the air out of him and smashed into his jaw. He knocked the big deer sideways. He tripped and ended up face down. After he hit the ground he lay still and then rolled over. Before the down deer could recover, he charged and drove his body and shoulder into Datlin's exposed flank. The impact pushed the deer further into the ground He lunged again into his exposed flank. He heard several popping noises from inside Datlan's side. He then pounded him lightly once with his front hoofs and then stopped.
He looked down at the beaten deer. "It is going to take a better deer than you to beat me," he grunted. "Now limp on back to Galin and tell him I did the job he should have done, and I did it better than he did."GET OUT OF HERE."
With that, he pulled backed and let the senior male get up and stagger away. He turned and saw several deer on the meadow looking at him in awe.
He did not have to be a herd leader to know what was going to happen next. Galin would send his largest males to come to get him, maybe even himself. One deer he could fight. Many deer as big or bigger than he was he could not. Now, what to do? He could not go back the way he came. He would run into whoever they sent after him. He could try hiding in these woods. Galin would just keep on looking until they found him. He could go further downstream and try to lose them. No, his best chance was to leave the forest altogether. He only hoped Tylos was right about Bambi's Old forest. He turned to face the other deer.
"The herd leader is coming here. He is not happy I taught you how to avoid predators. He may try to hurt you. Run and hide in the forest. He will come after me so I will hide further away. Remember what I taught you and teach it to those who come here. Good luck."
No one said a word as he walked down the length of the meadow now in the late evening. Not one of the deer on the meadow seemed to care if he was going, and no one offered a word of thanks. They just went on with their lives as if he had not ever been there. He had taught them, help them survive, and drawn the anger of the herd leader for his efforts. He had asked himself before why he did this. Now, however, he had the answer.
It was like what Stranger taught his son and the others. Someone has to step forward if anything was going to get done. Otherwise, everything fell into disorder. He saw it clearly for the first time. Being the herd leader was not just what you felt toward the deer in the herd and what you should do for them. It was what you felt inside of you of what you must do for them. In the past, he had done what he did here and back in his herd not to hear praise from other deer, or get the respect of the senior males, although that did help. He did it because he knew he had to do it. Something inside him told him he had to do it and that was the only thing that mattered.
As he walked through the forest, he thought more and more about this. The more he thought about what he did and, how the others trained him, and what all the others told him, an idea slowly crystallize in his mind. It was he and he alone who decided he had to help. No one else could make him want to do that. He had to want to do it on his own. Stabo, Bambi, his parents, and Juon then taught him these skills on how to help and not get killed doing it. They gave him the skills, but it was up to him to know what to do and when to do it. Those skills plus his desire to help are what made him a senior male and why the other deer were not. That need to help was born into you or it was not there, then no amount of training would put it there. That is why Garris failed. He had the skills, but not the need to help. With the skills and his desire to help the deer he understood at last: it was not the thanks from the herd, it was not praise from his family, it was not even getting his pick of doe to breed. He helped the other deer for one reason and one reason only.
It was simply the right thing to do.

CHAPTER NINE: RELATIONSHIPS

This forest was also big.
He had walked into the forest the previous night. Now as the greater light rose he could see it much better, including the tall hill he had seen from far away. From his mother, he remembered that a stream of water came from the tall hill and emptied into the lake nearby. The stream that came from that lake ran into the meadow of his old forest and combined with the stream from the spring in his meadow. The combined stream then ran toward Galin’s forest. He knew from tales his mother told him that The Great Prince had been herd leader of the herd here for as long as anyone could remember. He was followed as herd leader by his son Old Bambi. It was from here that deer first came to the old forest after the fire here had burned things.
His travel from Galin's forest had been uneventful. He followed the stream as Tylos told him and when the forest ended, he turned right and crossed a large open area. In the open ground, he saw nothing growing. It was all barren soil. All the soil was mounted in neat rows, but there were few animals there. He saw Man animals moving on the empty ground during the day, but they ignored him. The only water came from straight and narrow streams that crossed the open space. The water there tasted funny. Over two nights he moved across the open area and reached the small forest. Inside the small growth of trees, there were a few deer but nothing larger than the group he had trained during the winter. They were also smaller and scrawny like those deer had trained last winter. There was nothing he could call a herd. These deer showed no interest in him so he continued to the edge of that forest. There across an open grassy space, he saw this forest. He crossed it in one night. Inside this open space were other large animals. They spoke so strangely, he could not understand them. They also ignored him. There was nothing of interest there. By morning he had arrived in this forest. He decided to rest the day among the trees and continue tonight.
He only knew stories from his mother and Stabo about deer in this forest. He knew Gorro was trained by Old Bambi, and Stranger, but not much else. He knew his other uncle Stuben had gone here after being thrown out of his home herd by Stabo. Other than that, he knew very little. He just hoped senior males here had not become as bad as Galin and his group. He continued to walk openly always heading for the high hill. There were some deer here, but they mostly ignored him. Some larger herd males did note him and followed him. He did not mind. As he got closer to the hill there was an open meadow not as big as his meadow back home, but open and green. The grass looked nice so he stopped and ate.
Other deer were eating nearby as he filled his stomach. He noticed several males looking at him. Again, they looked like herd males. He saw one leave and others continue to watch him. He pretended they were not there. He wanted to talk to Gorro and Stuben his uncle if they were still alive. As soon as the lesser light was gone, he found a stream and a bedding place and went to sleep.
That night after he got up and emptied himself, he continued to walk toward the high hill. As he moved around the open area in front of him he caught the scent of three males. The scents smelled familiar. He continued walking until he saw them standing along the path he was taking. One was older and the two others were his age. They moved to block his movement. He stopped about five lengths from them. The wind was blowing from his tale now and he could not get a good smell of them.
"Can I help you?" he said politely.
All three deer walked slowly toward him sniffing the air as he came. They all continued to look at each other as if something was wrong with his scent. As soon as they got three lengths from him he called out in a louder and firmer voice.
"Can I help you?"
"Father, his scent is familiar," one of the young deer said.
"Yes, my son, it is," the big deer said. He walked up to him until he could smell the big deer. He smelled a little like his mother.
"Who are you?" the big deer said warily. "You are not from this herd."
"You are right," he answered politely. "I am a wanderer. My name is Stafen. What is your name?"
"I am Stuben," the big deer said. "These two are my son Tium and Johon. I am a senior male in this herd and this season my sons will become senior males also."
He broke into a huge smile which seemed to confuse Stuben even more. "Uncle, I am Stelar's son. I come from Young Bambi's and Stabo's herd."
He could see the big male relax instantly. The big deer leaped forward and took a large smell of him. "Yes, your mother's scent. I can smell it. I never thought I smell that again." With that, he lowered his head and rubbed his forehead gently and affectionately. He felt embarrassed. Stuben turned quickly to his two sons.
"This is the son of my sister," he said happily. Then turned to him again, "How did you get here?" he asked.
"That is a long story some of which is unpleasant," he told them. "I came here to see you and Bambi's son Gorro."
"Then let us go," Stuben said. "You can tell us all at the same time."
They led him around the large hill and just as his mother told him. Beyond the hill was a large lake, surrounded by a large open meadow, even bigger than the one in Galin's forest. He saw many deer feeding all around the lake. He saw a group of four large male deer standing near the bottom of the high hill. All looked nearly the same size or slightly bigger than he was. As they approached he saw them turn to face him.
"I see you found him," the big deer said.
"That I did and it is certainly a surprise," Stuben answered. "He is from my old forest. He is my sister's son who came here. I have no idea why he is here or where he came from."
The big deer looked shocked. "You are from Stabo's herd," he said.
"No, Stabo is no longer herd leader," he explained. He was getting old and decided to give it to the son of your older brother Vernon. Bambi, or who you would call Young Bambi. He is now herd leader. Stabo did train me along with Young Bambi, and my father. My father is Helos who Stranger and your father trained."
"That is new," the deer said. "I am Gorro, the herd leader. He then pointed to the largest deer there. "This is my oldest son Delos. My next oldest son is Salos, and my youngest son Micolos. The other male is Gedel, the best of the herd males who I made into a senior male."
He bowed politely to them all before Gorro continued. "Now Stafen, I am very curious about how you got here. I am more curious about why you came."
"I like to hear that story also," Stuben added.
"Very well for now Stafen eat and drink your fill and when you finish, I have a clearing in the forest where I am sure you will have our attention as you tell your tale. I also like to get my mate Delene, and Delos' mate Sharlis to come. I think you will have a nice crowd."
Later after he finished eating he followed Stuben and his two sons. They walked deep into the forest into an open clearing. All of them lay down in front of him and he started to talk. He started with what happened before he was born. He saw it hurt Delene when he told her that her parents, Balo and Stena were dead, killed by Man. He then told them of the events leading up to his leaving his forest. Finally, he told them of his travel and the problems in Galin's forest. The greater light was high overhead and several deer were yawning when he finished."
Stuben spoke first. "It is an interesting tale, Stafen. It bothers me greatly about Galin. He and Charlene were both trained by Stranger, Bambi, and Stabo, and should know better."
"They are trying to protect as much of their herd as they can," Delos countered.
"No my son," Gorro said. "Young Staben is right. As herd leader, you are responsible for the entire herd, not just most of it. Most deer will never be strong enough to breed in The Season, but that does not mean you can toss them aside. As for you, young Stafen, what you did was unfortunate, but hardly wrong. All of us here have made mistakes, me included."
"I know that feeling," Stuben added.
"What are you looking for," Delene asked him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I am not sure. I think I am looking for someplace I feel I belong."
"I know that feeling also," Stuben said, his voice held low.
"But you found a place," Gorro said to Stuben. "I think you can find a place here, Stafen if you want it. As for the rest, we will have to see." The herd leader yawned, "This deer is tired and darkness will be here soon. I think we should all rest. We can look for answers tonight."
They all left and he looked and found a place nearby to lie down."
"Excuse me," a soothing voice called from behind.
He turned to see a two-season doe walk out of the bushes. She was very good-looking; her body was sleek, her face lovely, and her movement precise. She looked vaguely familiar. She also gave off a very pleasant scent.
"Can I help you?" he asked politely.
"I heard your story that you told my father and mother and the others. I was curious about the herd of deer you taught in Galin's forest. Did he really put them out there to die?"
Her voice was as pleasing as her scent. Then he remembered why she looked familiar. She looked like Galin's Charlene. She looked nearly like her in her body only much younger. He started at her and noticed she was looking back at him waiting for him to answer.
Forgive me," he said and bowed his head. "You look very much like Charlene, The mate of herd leader Galin. For a moment I thought you were her. To answer your question, yes he did that because he wanted the predators to kill them. He also left them with little food. No herd leader worth their name would do that."
"I know my father would not," she said.
"Your father?" he asked.
"I am the youngest daughter of Gorro," she said. "My name is Marla."
"I did not see you there when I was talking."
"I was hiding downwind in some bushes," she explained. My father does not want me near the senior males for now."
"Has your father trained you?" he asked.
"Yes, I can walk quietly and I have a mean rear kick."
"Good," he said and lay down. "Please excuse me but, I am tired."
"Of course," Marla said and walked away. Her tail was also lovely to look at and she walked beautifully.
He slept soundly with a smile on his face.
He awoke after dark and went out to the meadow to feed with the others. There was plenty of grass and he ate his fill. He looked over the herd. He was walking back when Gorro called over to him. Come here, young male, I want to see something." He then turned to Stuben and his sons. "Can I use Tium for a while?"
Stuben nodded eagerly, "Good idea, I like to watch myself."
He walked over and looked at Gorro."Yes, herd leader."
"I want to see how well Stabo and Young Bambi trained you. You and Tium are the same age and both of you were trained. I like to see you two spar, nothing fancy and no tricks, just light sparing."
He walked up and locked his shoulder against Tium. They tried to push each other back. He locked his back legs and so did Tium. When he dropped his head to get position, Tium immediately countered. When Tium tried it with him, he did the same. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gorro and Stuben looking at them struggling. It was as if they were studying him. It soon became clear neither of them could get position.
"Stop," Gorro said. "That is enough."
They both broke away cleanly. He could see Tium was sweating.
"Stabo and Young Bambi taught him," Stuben said. "No question in my mind. There is no three-season male in this herd that can stand up against Tium and very few older deer that can."
"He is strong, Father, I have to admit that," Tium said.
"That he is son," Stuben said.
"Yes, but how strong," Gorro asked before turning to his oldest son. Delos please spar with him and again no tricks."
"As you wish father," the big deer said.
This he was more concerned about Delos since he was two seasons older and heavier than he was. He locked his shoulder and him and they started. At first, Delos stayed put like a rock while he pushed against him. It was like pushing against Bambi, only Delos might be stronger. He was certainly as fast. He tried everything they taught him about getting position and Delos counted every move. Then suddenly Delos shifted his weight and came at him. He was strong so he kept shifting his weight to keep from getting pushed back. Delos got up and shoved hard against him. The effort broke his grip on the ground and he was pushed back maybe a length before he could stabilize himself again.
"Enough," Gorro said.
Delos broke contact and stood up, nodded his head, and turned to his father. "He is strong," the big deer said with conviction. "I had to use all my weight and strength to push him back. It was only my extra weight that did it. This one knows how to fight."
"Yes, I can see Stabo's teaching in you. How long did the train you?"
"Most of my yearling season and almost all last season," he answered.
"You leaned very well," Stuben said.
He grinned and answered, "I got tired of Stabo and Young Bambi pushing my face into the dirt. I had to get good."
They all broke into laughter. "I think Stuben and I can understand that," Gorro said still smiling broadly. "Fighting Stranger sometimes was that bad. He always managed to get position on me. Only age lessened his skills. Now that deer was strong." He then stared at him closely. "You resemble Stranger in many ways. This makes me glad."
"Can I try, Father?" Johon asked.
"Another night," Stuben answered. I think we strained this young male enough for one night."
He walked away inwardly happy with himself. He might have found himself a place here.
He spent the next few days mostly by himself wandering around Gorro's forest and herd. It was a nice place. He saw some tracks of predators including foxes and a large cat, but he saw no coyotes or bears. It was a nice place to be in. He sparred with several of the herd males and found he was stronger than all the herd males who tested him. Only among the senior males did he find deer that were stronger than him. Stuben's two sons were tough, but not trained as fully as he was. He knew moves they did not and following Stabo's advice, did not show them these moves. Delos was strong, he thought stronger than his father Gorro who was as strong as Stabo was. He even thought Bambi would have trouble with him. Fortunately, he seemed to have no interest in becoming herd leader himself and followed his father around. His two younger brothers we also strong like him and were an even match for him as far as strength and skill. All the senior males seemed to get along, yet he noticed that Gorro did not talk to Stuben all the time. In his forest Stabo, Bambi, his father, and Juon talked often. It was Marco and Relnor Bambi who never talked with much with since they were not interested in how to lead the herd. Gorro treated Stuben and his sons much the same way.
As spring turned into summer Gorro invited him to follow Delos and his other sons around to see the very large herd. He listened to Gorro give the lessons on being herd leader to his sons, many sounded familiar from his talks with Bambi and his uncle. As they walked, he listened closely Gorro did not mind him asking questions. As spring turned into summer he noticed Marla started to accompany them. It was unusual for a doe to come along when herd leaders trained others, yet he remembered both Bambi and Stranger taught their doe, and Gorro's father and Stranger often took the advice from their mates and well as the males. He did not mind her being there, and as he knew from before, her scent was pleasant.
Also during summer, his rack started to grow out. This would be his full rack and it looked large when he saw himself in the lake. At the same time, he started to grow again. He was getting bigger and heavier. He was soon bigger than Tium and Johon as well as Stuben. He knew he would grow to full size this year and next. Both Gorro and Delos were still bigger than him and he thought would remain so. He was now a full adult and while that pleased him he vividly remembered his mother telling him he was now the perfect deer for Man to kill. It was at this time something truly surprised him. Gorro asked him to accompany Delos and his brother into the deep forest away from the other deer. There Gorro showed them the special tricks that his father had taught him as well as asking him to show them the tricks Stabo and Bambi showed him. These were the tricks they never showed any deer. By the middle of summer, other than Gorro and Delos, he did not think there were any deer in the forest that could beat him. During their practicing from time to time, he caught the scent of Marla watching from a distance. While this would have angered Bambi and Stabo to have a deer spy on them, it did not bother Gorro who must have known she was there. He said nothing and just listened to the lessons.
Gorro then started sending him out with one of his sons to look for any danger. They seldom found any, but strange as it seemed he also sent Marla with him. Delos told him it was because his father thought Marla was smart for a doe and wanted to train her as much as possible. He also got to see Marla more at night on the meadow. At first during these trips and visits not much happened, but as the summer reached its high point, she would come over and talk to him. She wanted to know about the forest and her grandfather and grandmother. He would talk to her on the meadow until close to dawn. When he got back, from his trips looking for the danger they could go off in the forest and talk. Every time she got close to him, her scent would fill him with pleasure. He was starting to think he might not only found a home here but a mate as well.
It was in the late summer as the meadow and other places came fully into growth, the herd ate hardily filling themselves. As started to move around the herd he drew the attention of both males and female. While no one deferred to him like the other senior males, he noticed many of the herd males kept their distance from him. Any that would spar with him he beat easily. Only Gorro and his sons gave him any trouble.
"One late summer evening, just before dawn, Gorro came over to him."I would like to look at the other end of the forest where you met Stuben. Some deer have caught some unusual smells and I want to see what is there."
"Who is going with us," he asked.
"No one," Gorro replied."Stuben and his sons are looking around at the far end of the lake. I am letting Delos and Salos stay here and act as leaders while I am gone. It will be good practice for them."
That sounded a little funny to him. He had been out with Gorro before but never alone.
"I shall do as you ask, herd leader," he answered.
The next night they left the hill and walked past the trees and open area until they came near where he entered the forest. There was a seldom-used path there. He smelled around and did not notice any dangerous scents except the lingering scent of some dogs. There was nothing in the open space between their forest and the small forest he came from. Gorro sniffed around until it got near dawn. They both bedded down behind some trees. As the greater light rose, Gorro looked closely at him. Now he understood, Gorro wanted to talk to him alone without others knowing it.
"Very well, Gorro, you brought me out here so we would not be disturbed. What is on your mind herd leader?"
"Yes, you are fast," Stafen," he said. “I want to ask you about Marla. You have spent time with her. She seems to like you."
"I like her," he confessed. "She is a beautiful doe. The way she looks reminds me of how they talked about your mother when she was young. I never got to know her."
"You are right; she does look like my mother as a young doe. That is why I did not want her forced to breed with just any herd male. I was getting concerned because there were no good males around who were not her brothers."
"What about Stuben's two sons?" he asked. "Neither of them are normal herd males."
"No they are not, but I have already told my daughter that I will not allow her to mate with either Tium or Johon.
That struck him odd. "I do not understand. They will soon be senior males I am told."
"That is true; I need Stuben and his sons. I have so few deer I can count on. What I will not do is trust them. All three still have the blood of that wicked Carie in them. I heard from your mother what they did to Stranger and the others. I knew Stabo threw them out and why. I just do not trust them. The only deer I trust to follow me are my three sons. I have a yearling son, but he does not seem to have the size, strength, or has even asked me to train him. He knows he can never be a senior male. If one of Stuben's sons mated with Marla, I have to bring him closer into my family, and I do not want to do this. To be honest, I rather have you. I have asked all my sons and they agree you are a better deer than either Tium or Johon. Delene feels the same way. None of them would mind if you bred my daughter and neither would I."
That was a shock, to say the least. "You know Stuben is my uncle," he reminded the herd leader.
"And Stelar is your mother, "Gorro went on. Stuben and Stelar had the same mother Carie and the same father Stranger, yet your mother seemed untouched by Carie's blood or manners. She never tried to take over the forest or find someone who would help her take over the forest. He always tried to help Stranger. While she was here, I wanted her to stay and mate with one of my sons, but they were not old enough, so when she learned her father was alive, she went back to your forest and I did not try and stop her. Stelar was one of the nicest doe I ever met, along with being smart and brave. Your grandfather might have been the best deer to ever live. I also see him in you Stafen what I cannot see in the others, except my sons, is someone I can trust. If not for my sons, you could be a fine herd leader in one or two seasons. I think you would be the perfect mate for my daughter."
He laid there in silence. "I do not know what to say. If anything I thought you object to me being with Marla. In any case, I think it is more up to Marla than to any of us who she chooses for a mate."
"That is true," Gorro replied. "If she did not like you I would never have suggested it, but she likes you. She has liked you from the first time she met you. This is why I took her with us and let her watch our practice. I wanted her to be sure of who she wanted, and she has told me she is sure about you. I and the rest of my family also like you. You are not exactly like Stranger, but you are close enough to be of great help to me and my sons who will follow me. You would also be of help if Stuben gets any ideas about making this forest his."
That was the most shocking of all. "I have never heard him say anything like that. Stranger told my mother in the end he felt Stuben learned his lesson, but it was too late for him to stay in our herd. That is why he came here."
"I know this," Gorro replied. "He told me the same thing when he got here which is why I let him stay. He bred several does and his two sons are the only fawns he produced that were good enough to be senior males. You are different, Stuben. Besides being smart, brave, and kind; you are strong enough to help my sons hold this forest. My father and grandfather were herd leaders here and I intend to see my family continues here for many seasons to come. You can be a great help with that, Stefan, and that is why I like you so much."
He bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you for your kind words, herd leader, when I get back I will ask Marla and see what she thinks. If she wants to come with me, I certainly will not object."
"Good," Gorro said and lay down. "Now let us get some sleep."
The herd leader slept soundly, he did not. He kept thinking about what he said. It bothered him he still did not trust Stuben or his sons. What bothered him, even more, was that he was almost asking him to breed his daughter, not that he would mind. It spun around inside his mind trying to think what he should do. When the answer came, it was simple, ASK HER!
The next evening he followed Gorro home. There was nothing much to talk about. He did not see Marla for two days but one late summer evening she came out of the forest and to the lake that was shimmering with the glow from the lesser light. She looked beautiful and he saw he was not the only male who saw it. Several of the herd males started to get closer. He bleated loudly to let the others know he was there and to back off. He walked up to her.
"You look lovely tonight," he said staring at the image in front of him. "After you finished eating could I talk to you in private?"
"Of course," she said and went off to eat with the other doe.
He finished eating and drinking and then went to empty himself in the forest. When he came out she was standing there. He walked over. "Please come with me?" he asked
"I will come with you," she smiled.
We both walked off the meadow together. Some younger herd males followed at a distance until he turned quickly and lowered his still-growing rack. "Leave!" he grunted.
The three males turned tail and ran away. Following Marla's wonderful scent into the forest, she led him away from the herd. Once alone in the forest, she stopped and looked at him with her bright green eyes. "What do you want to ask?"
The words almost stuck in his throat but he got them out. "I wanted to ask if you liked me."
She smiled and looked at him. "Yes, I do like you," she said. "Do you like me?"
"Very much so," he answered. His heart was now racing.
"More than the three doe you bred last Season?" she said the voice a little shrill.
He could only tell her the truth. "Marla, they were herd females. I liked them, but after what happened with Nalene, neither wanted anything to do with me. I will be honest, I do not blame them, but they did not understand that for senior males, the herd must come first if all are to be safe."
She nodded her beautiful head. "I have seen that from my father and my brothers. I understand why they do what they do. I think you will be a senior male this season. I know that you will help my father. I have also now heard from you what can happen if the herd leader does not help all the deer. My father and brothers will never do that. A deer that is big, strong, and is like my father and grandfather is a deer I would like to have with me."
That left him excited and nervous about his next question, but he had come this far. He would finish what he started. "When The Season comes, I would like you for my mate."
She came up to him and kissed his forehead. By reflex, he stepped forward and pressed his mouth against hers and kissed her long and hard and as with as much passion as he could. She responded immediately. He could see the ripples travel down her side. Ripples were going down his side. He felt pressure build up inside him, but this was far from The Season. At that moment he wanted this doe and he would fight anyone who said no. They finally broke away.
"No one has ever kissed me like that before," she gasped.
"And no one has kissed me like that," he answered.
"No one?" she questioned.
"No one," he told her in a firm voice. "Tomorrow after we eat and drink, we will find a bedding place for us."
"I know a thicket in the deeper woods," she said now openly grinning. "It would be the perfect place to bed for the day."
"Take me there tomorrow after we finish eating," he said.
"Until tomorrow," she smiled and walked away raising her beautiful white fluffy tail.
He looked around and there was still a while before the greater light appeared. He walked over to the field and there at the end of the lake stood the three sons of Gorro. He walked over and bowed and then looked around making sure they were alone.
"I wanted to ask you all a question," he said. "I have asked your sister Marla to come with me. She has said yes. I talked to your father about this, but I wanted to ask you three if any of you had objections."
Salos started laughing. "It is about time," he said. "Of course we saw you two. No, I do not object as long as my sister wants to go with you."
Delos spoke next. "I rather see her with you than with some other useless herd males. I will tell you something, Stafen, other than the three of us, you are the best young male in the herd. I have sparred with you and I think you are stronger and better than Tium or Johon."
Micolos then added in a very low voice. "I rather she have you than Stuben's sons. I think I will enjoy seeing your fawn on the meadow next spring, with my own of course."
As he turned away he saw Delene and Gorro walk out from the trees. Before he could utter a sound of explanation, Salos called out. "They went and done it, Mother and Father."
Both the herd leader and his mate walked up to him and nuzzled him. "I am happy for you and her," Delene said. "Getting the right mate is the best thing that can happen to a deer. Both Stranger and Old Bambi use to say the same things. I know it is true also from experience." she said and kissed Gorro who responded immediately.
It would seem he found a family.
The next night he was eating on the meadow when Marla came out and started to eat next to him. They said nothing to each other as they ate or drank. She looked at him with those green eyes and led him back into the forest. They went deeper into the woods. He followed her scent trail from her tail almost inviting him to follow. He followed her until they were far from the meadow. The forest opened up and there was a small clearing only a few lengths wide. On the other side was an open place behind some trees enclosed by bushes.
Excuse me," she said and went off by herself. He started to hear the noise of a deer emptying herself. He went the other way to do the same. They both got back to the thicket and Marla went in and lay down on the ground. He lay down next to her.
"You can lean on me, I do not mind," he told her.
"I never lay with a male before except my father," she said.
"I think you will get used to it quickly.
They both fell into a deep sleep.
The last important event of the summer happened a few days later. He was eating on the meadow when Stuben walked up to him.
"Can I talk with you for a moment in private?" he asked.
"Certainly," he said and walked away from Marla.
Stuben did not hesitate but spoke up.
"I noticed you and Marla are a pair," he said. "I had hoped she mate with one of my sons," he said.
"She told me she wanted to go with me," he told him not thinking this was any of his business. "If you do not believe me, ask her yourself."
"No I believe you," the big deer said. "I just want to avoid trouble. I know at least one of my sons wants her. He wants her so badly; he might fight you for her."
That was a challenge if he ever heard one. He stood up and looked Stuben right in the eye. "Marla is mine," he said emphatically. "I will fight either of your sons or both of them for her."
"I can see you would," the big deer said and leaned over to glare into him.
He leaned forward and put his forehead on his uncle and glared back. "Yes I would," he said grimly. "I would even fight you for her."
Stuben looked harshly at him for a few moments and backed away.
"Yes you would," he said. "You have it. When my father got angry and someone challenged him, he would get a wide-eye, hard, and brutal stare on his face and black eyes. Anyone who saw it saw the determination inside my father and backed off. Now I see it in your eyes, young male. I will talk to my sons and hopefully prevent useless fighting."
"That would be good for all of us," he said and walked back to Marla.
"What was that about?" she asked.
"Making a point," he answered and went back to feeding.

CHAPTER TEN: DECISIONS

"You have a nice rack," Marla told him as he scraped off the last of the velvet.
"Thank you," he said and then kissed her.
He walked with her to the meadow being extremely careful. They were close to The Season, and that brought Man. They ate together on the shore of the lake. The lesser light was still high overhead. While on the meadow he picked up the first signs of the scent doe put out that told the males The Season was near. He could already see the agitation the scent was making in the males. Fights were already breaking out between the herd males. It would only get worse as The Season drew nearer. So far no one had challenged him for Marla, but he was ready to fight anyone who did.
He knew from his talks with Gorro that Man had no Man cave in this forest like he had back in his home forest. Man came and put up Man caves and then took them away after the hunts. Gorro also said they always went to the same place to set up their Man caves and that was the other side of the tall hill in the small meadow he passed by on his way here. He decided to go there himself to look and stay the day watching. He told Marla there was something he had to do for her father and traveled to the other side of the hill while it was still dark. This time he went alone. He did not need any males along with him while they were feeling the coming of The Season. He certainly was not going to take Marla or anyone else. It was far too dangerous. He moved along the far side of the hill that faced the open area that Gorro told him Man liked to use. There were not as many trees and bushes on this side of the hill as on the side of the hill that faced the lake and meadow. He would need to take great care in the daylight. He moved quietly and carefully and ate some not-so-tasty grass near the bottom of the hill. When he saw the first sign of the greater light, he found a place where the bushes were growing as tall as his chest. He moved among the plants until he was surrounded by them yet he could easily see the meadow. Here he lay down to wait for the day hidden from view.
There was nothing in the clearing he saw at night other than deer and other creatures eating. They all left the meadow as soon as it became light. He decided to sleep here during the day. In the morning, nothing happened He went to sleep, but shortly after the greater light rose higher he heard the roaring noises of Man animal that woke him instantly. He knew what the sound meant. The roaring got louder as he lay as flat as he could. There was no easy place to run to from here. He opened his eyes and saw three large Man animals driving from the open space between this forest and the other nearby small forest. They came to the clearing and then stopped. From inside each Man animal many Men got out and started to walk around. They then took large things from the rear of each Man animal and started to move them around. As he watched in fascination, they spread these things out on the ground. Then they started hitting things that made a loud noise. As the day continued, each of the things they removed from the Man animals was lifted to make a Man cave. Then he understood. These Men were making Man caves like the one back in his meadow; only these did not look as big or sturdy. The reason was obvious; Man was coming here to hunt.
He counted four new Man caves they made and as the afternoon continued they took other things out of the Man animals and put them inside the Man caves. The Men then started to dig a shallow hole in the ground and removed all the grass from nearby. This went on until the greater light was gone. Finally, the most mysterious thing of all, all the Man got back in the Man animals and left. The Man caves were there, but no Men. There were also no dogs and no killing sticks. They just made the Man caves and left. That seemed curious to him. He waited until after dark. As he lay there he remembered how Stabo and Young Bambi would get near the Man cave on his meadow. As long as Man was not there, the Man caves were not dangerous. That is when he had his idea.
After the greater light left and it got dark, he got up and moved to the far end of the hill. He then slowly walked to the Man caves staying in cover as much as he could. He took in great quantities of air through his nose, but he smelled no Man or dogs. All was quiet. He decided to look closely. He walked carefully up to the closest Man cave and looked at it. There were no other scents around except those of Men and a deep musty smell from the Man Cave. He got close to look at it. He poked it with his nose and felt it was soft. The Man cave back in his meadow was hard. He looked around and saw no sign of anything else except the small pit they dug that was near all the Man caves. He stayed and looked around before he decided he had seen enough. With the Man caves, no other deer entered the meadow. He was alone. He ran back into the forest and around to the front of the hill.
The senior males were where they usually were, but they were more spread out from each other. He could smell the changes in the males and the females as he approached the herd. He found Gorro and his three sons and walked over. They looked at him wondering why he was there.
"There are Man caves in the clearing behind the high hill," he told them. "But there are no Men there. There are also no dogs, but Man was there today. I saw Man make the Man caves."
"How did you see that?" Delos asked.
"I spent the day on the far side of the hill hidden in some plants. Man did not see me, but I watched him. He came, set up the Man caves, and then left as the greater light set."
"That was good work, Stafen," Gorro said and came over and stroked his forehead. "That means Man will be here soon to hunt. He always sets up his Man caves there."
"He is early, Father," Salos said.
"Man comes when he wants and kills when he wants," Gorro said. He then turned to him. "Thank you, Stafen; that was good of you to do that even without being asked. It just confirms what I was just talking about to my sons."
"I agree with you Father," Delon spoke up and smiled.
"So do I," Salos added.
"It is fine with me, Micolos," spoke up.
"I do not understand," he said.
"We were saying it is time for you to join the senior males. You have proven your worth and are ready to help lead. You would have made your grandfather proud as well as your mother and father."
He suspected that was why they took him all around the herd on all those visits and taught them their way of fighting. It was still nice to hear it from them, especially from the herd leader. He knew he could beat any herd male here, but he did not think he join the senior males this season. He felt honored and it was good for Marla also. He bowed his head in thanks. 'I will do my best for the herd."
"I know that or you would not be here," Gorro said. "Right now I think you should do your best for my daughter," Gorro said with a grim. "We will meet here tomorrow night and I will call for a gathering of the herd. I will tell them about Man being so nearby then I think the herd will split up for The Season. This season we must be especially careful with Man so close to us this early. He may hunt while the herd is apart."
"I will be here tomorrow with your daughter," he said and left
He turned and walked away and found Marla eating on the meadow. He came up and rubbed her side. That told all the males who this doe belongs to if they didn't know already. They spend the day sleeping with each other in their bedding area. He told her what he found and what her father had done. She just smiled and kissed him. It made him feel very warm inside.
They got up together the next night and walked out onto the meadow. The doe herd was looked nice. It had some fine-looking doe, but nothing that compared to Marla in his eyes. This Season he would breed only one doe, not many as last Season and he would stay and watch his fawns be born into this forest. It was also time for the herd to know he had become part of the senior males. The other deer would accept that whether they liked it or not. There would be a fight if they objected. It was right after the lesser light rose that he heard Gorro and his sons call out.
"HERE…HERE…ALL COME HERE" echoed through the meadow.
In small groups, all the deer came toward the hill. He took Marla and he walked right up to Gorro and his sons and just stood next to them as if it was nothing. If any deer objected to his presence, they would tell him. All the herd males looked, but no one said a thing. They all knew he was a senior male and they all knew he could beat them. Sometime later, Stuben, Tium, and Johan approached and did the same thing. As with him, there were no objections, but Gorro, and Delos both turned and left when Stuben's sons approached. This was not a refusal, but a show of what the herd leader and his son thought of their worth. He could see it made Stuben angry. His sons were even angrier, but with the herd leader leaving, it also made his two sons feel ashamed. At least no one objected to them being here. He thought it was a mistake to insult Stuben's sons, but he was a senior male now, not the herd leader.
Nothing happened except he saw Johon walk over toward Marla and him. The male looked tense and ready to fight. He prepared and watched him carefully. Johon walked over to until he was about three lengths from him and Marla.
"I would speak to Marla," he told them. It almost sounded like a command.
He looked directly at him. Both of them were tensing. "So speak," he spat out.
Johon looked at Marla and said. "I have liked you since we were fawns. I hoped you would go with me during the Season. Have you made up your mind to go with Stafen?"
"Yes," she told him plainly. "Stafen is my choice."
"Very well," the male said and turned away and walked back to his father.
He was glad. He thought he could beat Johon, but his rack was about the same size as his, and he was nearly as strong as him. Still, he did not want to get into a serious fight with him, but he would if necessary.
"Look at the doe herd," he said to all the other senior males there. "There are many doe on the meadow that are nice looking. As far as I care, you may all have as many as you like. I do not claim any of them. I have all I want."
He could see on their faces everyone agreed with him and peace was maintained among the herd and senior males. Marla also came over and openly kissed him. Now everyone would know who she belonged to.
As Gorro and his son entered the wood he stopped and called out. "It is time to break up the herd for The Season. We must remain careful because Man is nearby. No one goes on the meadow. If you hear Man or his dogs go deep into the forest and do not go near the meadow. Man is here and he will start hunting soon."
All the other senior males bowed their heads in acknowledgment. "I will see you all after The Season," Gorro told all of them. "Just remember Man will hunt soon."
"That is true," Stuben said to the herd. "And he would not mind killing any of us."
With that, his uncle walked away with his two sons. Gorro's other two sons headed out to the doe herd to make their claim in the increasing number of males. He saw both Delene and Sharlis standing near them. Gorro went with Delene and Delos went with Sharlis. He turned to Marla. "Please come with me," he said gently.
"Of course," she told him and nuzzled his flank.
He led her back to their thicket. By her smell, he knew she was not ready to breed yet, but she would be soon. He went into the thicket first and lay down. She followed him and lay close to him. They slept through the day and that night played around like young fawns chasing each other and nipping each other's tails. They ate near their bedding area under the lesser night and drank from a small stream. He felt close to Marla. Last Season he bred three doe it was fun, but he never had the depth of feeling for those three do as he had for this one doe. He liked all three of them, but he was not sure they stay with him after The Season. As it turned out, that never mattered. The two that lived left him. They never understood his place in the herd. They could not understand he had to help the herd. They could not accept the herd had to come first as Stabo, his father, and Bambi taught him. Marla did know and also knew he continue to help her father. That is what made the difference. Here was a doe that liked him and liked the fact he helped the herd despite what might happen because of that. She would be a good mate to any senior male or herd leader.
They lay down when the greater light rose and fell fast asleep. It was in the mid-morning that Marla got up and walked away from him. He smelled the change in her scent. She let a little waste fall from behind her. He eagerly stood up and smelled it and smelled her tail. She was ready to breed. She walked away and then arched her back, stiffened her legs, and raised her tail. It was an invitation he gladly complied with.
They repeated that twice more that day and the next before she lost her scent. Now there was no doubt, she was his doe and it would stay that way. With The Season over for them, he was going to take her to the meadow that night when early in the day, they heard it.
"PHHHWWWWHHAAAMMMM," echoed through the forest.
He whispered into her ear. "Tonight we will travel through the forest to find your father. We do not use the meadow for now."
"Yes," she said and they tried to sleep, but it was impossible with the many loud noises.
That night they got up and moved through the deep forest until they found the clearing Gorro and Delene used. Both were there along with his oldest son. All looked pleased and their scents told him all had followed the path of The Season.
"Man came a little early this season," Gorro said. "They have camped on the other side of the high hill as Stafen said. They hid this morning on the high hill as they did before when they killed Ronno and his family. Some deer were slow getting off the meadow. At least one of them is gone."
"What do we do, Father? Micolos asked.
"We call the herd and tell them to scatter into the forest. Did anyone hear any dogs?"
"No," he said as did the others.
They called out to the herd and then walked out very close to the high hill so any Man above could not see them. Gorro then bellowed out.
"Leave," he called out. "Leave the meadow, Man is here."
Gorro did this a few times. Off in the distance, he heard Stuben call back, "We go," he said.
"All of us go hide in the forest," Gorro ordered. "Wait until you hear no Man noise for three days before you come back."
He took Marla back to their bedding area and they stayed there. For the next two days, there were noises from the meadow. They stayed near their bedding area eating the grass and leaves near them. At first, it was just the noise of Man as he moved into the forest. Sometimes they could hear plodding in the forest, but not near to them. At least twice a day they heard PHHAAAAMMMMMM of the killing sticks. He was starting to feel safe when on the third day, it all changed. Off in the distance, he heard the familiar, "AARRFF...AARRFF...AARRFF."
"Man has dogs in the forest, be ready to run," he told Marla
"Where do we run?" she asked.
"Deeper into the forest and away from the dogs," he answered staining to hear more. He could pick up no scent of Man or dogs but there was little or no wind among the trees where they bedded.
"Do we run now?" she asked.
"No, we wait until we hear the dogs get closer. There are lots of different scents in the forest. We can only hope the dogs will not catch our scent. If we stay quiet and still, they may not find us."
They huddled together for the rest of the day, but the sounds of the dogs did not get nearer. At dark, they got up to feed and drink and stayed as close to their bedding place as they could. He knew that because these Men did not have a Man cave nearby, he could not watch the deer in forest as closely as they from his old forest. The best chance for the two of them was to stay away and hope trouble did not come toward them.
The next morning trouble started just after the greater light rose. Immediately he heard dogs not only on the meadow but in the forest. There were also loud banging noises from deeper in the forest.
"HHHEEEYYYAAA…HHHEEEYYYAAA…HHHEEEYYYAAA"
"Man is trying to get behind us and chase us into the open meadow with his dogs," he realized.
"They sound like they are getting closer," his mate told him.
"They are," he answered, "We must go into the deeper forest. We must keep Man and his dogs between us and the meadow."
They both got up and went deeper into the forest away from the noises. They moved quietly making as little noise as possible. Soon they were in a place he had never seen. "
"PPPHHHAAAMMM' he heard from the meadow. He heard other noises from the killing sticks throughout the day. None came close to them. They found a spot and bedded down. They found enough grass to eat, but no water. That night they spent together alone and content to stay that way. The next day he heard nothing that sounded like Man.
That night they had to find water which they did as they as they wandered back near their old bedding area. It rained that night soaking them to the skin. It was a cool rain that he knew meant winter was getting close. It was late evening when they found their bedding place again, but one of more dogs had emptied themselves near there and the smell was horrible. There were also the tracks of several dogs around them. It was not safe here; they had to leave that place and go elsewhere to sleep. At daylight, they hid and rested again and listened for Man sounds or dogs barking. There was none.
That night they traveled well inside the wood toward where Gorro bedded down. To their horror, they found the scents of dogs and Man nearby. He did not smell any death so he did not think Man killed them. They went on past the clearing until the forest started to thin out near the open space behind the hill. He thought he look and see if Man was still around. He led Mala around the high hill to look into the smaller meadow. He looked at the open spot behind the hill, it was clear of all Men and Man caves."
"We will wait here today and see if Man returns. If not, I will go on the meadow and call the herd back. "
Marla looked relieved and so was he. They had come through The Season and the time of Man. Now all they had to do was survive the winter. They relaxed close together. He felt warm and comfortable lying next to her. In the afternoon he heard the sound of a deer approach. It was Delos with his mate.
"You are walking around in the day?" he asked.
"There are no Men around," Delos said. "There are no dogs in the forest, and we are well hidden here."
"The Man caves are gone from the small meadow," he told them.
"Yes I saw," Delon smiled. "I hope they stay gone. If I hear no more sign of Man today, my Father will call the herd together tonight on the meadow. We need to eat as much food as we can before the first snowfall." Then Delos started to sniff the air. "Do you smell smoke?" he asked.
He smelled nothing and told Delos so.
"I smelled little whiffs of smoke all day," the big deer told him.
They all stayed together until nightfall when Delos went out to the large meadow.
"HEEERRRRE," he bellowed. "All come here."
Shortly in ones and twos, the deer started to come to the meadow to eat. He saw Stuben and his two sons, Gorro and Delene, and his two sons. He took his place among the senior males and Marla stood near him.
"We think the hunts are over for The Season," Gorro told the herd. "We lost a few deer, mostly those who did not stay far enough away from the meadow. It is now time to eat as much as you can to put on weight before the first snowfall. This does not mean wandering on the meadow during the day. Sometimes Man comes back. For now, just be careful."
As the herd leader stepped away, his nose caught a slight scent of smoke. He turned to Delos, "I smell smoke now, but I do not think it is nearby."
Salos and Micolos also smelled the air. "Yes I smell it too," Salos said and Micolos just nodded.
"I do not see any fire nearby," he said sniffing again. “Could it be from Man?"
"One way to find out," Delos said and started for the high hill. His two brothers followed as did he, but not before he told Marla to go back to the place they bedded last night. She looked disappointed but did as he asked. Delos led them to the place he had watched Man make his Man caves before. The open space behind the hill was empty of Man or Man caves."
"One more place to look at," the big male said and started to walk around the side of the hill. There he saw a narrow path that led up.
"Come with me, but be quiet," Delos told them. "My father showed me this path."
They walked up the kill. They went up and up. Soon he was above the trees, and they still went up. It took a while and he started to feel tired when they got to the top. He looked down. The lesser light showed him everything below him was so small, even the deer feeding on the meadow were small. One thing he noticed, the smell of smoke was much greater up here.
"We are far above everything," Delos told him. We can see almost the whole forest from here.
"Cannot see anything in this darkness," Micolos complained.
"Then we will have to wait for the light," Delos said.
"Is that safe?" he asked.
Delos turned about. "We can see Man coming from far away from here. There is no Man near us. If we lie down here, no one could see us. Man comes up here sometimes and tries to hunt deer on the Meadow.
He felt uneasy up this high, but the other deer were not afraid. He would not show them he was afraid.
Delos moved away from the path and found some grass growing. He lay down and ate some. "Let us relax until morning and then we will see if we can see any sign of fire."
They all lay down and waited. Salos then smiled. "Did you all have a good Season," he asked with a smile.
Micolos spoke up. "I managed to breed three doe on the meadow. No one gave me any trouble."
"I had three also," Salos said now grinning openly.
"I had the one," Delos said looking down his nose at his two younger brothers.
"I also just had one," he said and looked at the older brother.
"Good for you," Delos said and put his head down. That ended the conversation.
He closed his eyes and must have slept. The first thing he felt was warmth from the greater light on his rear. He opened his eyes and the open space below was clear to see. He saw nothing there. The only thing he smelled was the smoke that seemed to get stronger. Delos got up and followed a small path to his right until he came to an open spot.
"I see no smoke," he said.
He walked forward to the end of the path and looked out. Below him, the meadow was laid out. There were still some yearlings on the meadow and in the open. If he was Man, he could easily kill them. Then he looked up and saw it. Over the trees past the edge of the forest, he saw a black cloud rise.
"Here it is," he said. "It is a fire, but it is far away."
He looked out and saw the stream that ran out of the lake near the large meadow. He knew that stream ran from here to his old forest. He could follow the stream from his height. The stream turned and headed off directly at the smoke cloud in the distance. He knew from his mother there were no other forests between here and his home this way. A realization suddenly hit him.
"It is my old forest that is on fire," he yelled out, "Look!"
The three other deer came forward and looked. "You are right," Delos said.
"My forest is on fire again," he said breathing hard.
"Nothing you can do about it," Delos told him. "We are all safe here. After dark, we will go talk to my father. He will know what to do."
They waited until night and carefully picked their way down the hill trail. They found Gorro and he told them what he found.
"That is bad news," Gorro said to him. "I can understand why you are upset, but there is nothing we can do here about it. It is too late in the season to go there now anyway."
"That is bad," Stuben said but he did not seem to care one way or another. Of course, this was the same herd that threw him and his mother out. Stuben did not have good memories of his home.
Gorro was of course right. He could do nothing here. He felt bad but he walked off with Marla back to their new bedding are and she went to sleep. He still felt restless and his mind was troubled.
The most he could hope for was a few hardy deer might want to come here. Other than that, he was stuck here. He had a mate, a place in the herd, and the herd leader that needed him. As he tried to sleep that day, the sight of his forest burning gnawed at his insides. He thought about his other herd. It was the herd of his family and they might need him now even more. He thought about his mother and father who were there as well as his uncle. He felt troubled and uneasy. He got up quietly trying not to disturb Marla. Even though it was now day he walked away and leaned against a pine tree.
What should he do he asked himself. He understood now what Young Bambi meant when he said the herd leader was there for the herd and not himself. He had seen what happens when the herd leader only cares about some. He had also seen here and at home just how good a herd can become if the herd leader does care. Young Bambi and Gorro both told him he could be a herd leader, but he recoiled at the suggestion. He was not sure he could be only for the herd and not be not just for himself. What of Marla and his fawns to come. He already had two does that left him because he cared more about what Young Bambi and Stabo thought about him than about what his doe thought about him. If he left, would she feel the same way? He felt trapped between what he felt for his old herd and what he felt for this herd. He felt the need to help both herds, but how could he do that? It was stay here or go home. He could not do both. He knew both herds needed his help; so which one was more important? When he was teaching Galin's wasteling herd, he realized that what he felt for them was more important than what they felt for him. What he felt was his responsibility to that herd and that had guided his actions. He knew he had a responsibility to both this herd and his home herd. What he felt for this herd and his home herd told him both were his responsibility only which one was greater or more important. He felt the need to help, yet now he needed to do two different things and there was no way to do both. He was torn by a decision on what he should do and it upset him. He felt torn, almost split in two. There were his obligations both to his old herd and this herd as well as to himself. He felt powerless to help either herd. There was a choice he had to make.
"What is wrong, Staben?" he heard.
He turned and looked behind him and Marla was standing there in the daylight. He turned to face her.
"I feel bad," he said. "I like being here. I like your father and brothers. Most importantly I like you. I just cannot get the picture of my forest burning out of my mind. I know those deer. They are my family, the ones that spent so much time teaching me. I owe them something and I am doing nothing to help them by staying here. Yet I know I owe your father the same thing because he took me in and taught me. Both your father and Stabo and my father did train me and they trained me to help. Right now I feel I am not helping anyone."
"That is not true, Stafen," Marla told him and rubbed his side. "You are of help here, yet I can see you want to help your home herd. You can do that only if you leave here. I understand that. The herd will always be what is important to you. While I want you to stay here, my father does have Stuben and his sons to help him. From what you told me, Bambi does not have that many deer to help him."
When she said those words, it was more of a realization than a comment. It also fixed in his mind what he had to do. He swallowed hard because now he had to do the one thing he hated.
"I like you," he said. "There is nothing more I want than to watch our fawn grow up and maybe add to our family. I just cannot stay here. I have to go help my herd. It is what they trained me to do. It is what I have to do."
"I know," she said. "You would do exactly what your grandfather would do despite the costs. That is why I think I care so much about you. When will you go?"
"Tonight," he said. "I have to get there before the first snow and it is getting cooler. I just do not want to leave you and our fawn."
"You will not because I am coming with you," she said calmly.
"What, you cannot come with me. The passage is dangerous. We might find nothing when we get there. The herd might be gone. The grass and food might be gone. There might not be anything to eat on the meadow. There should be grass on the tops of the hill and in the other herd, but it will be hard. If we go, there is a good chance we may not even live to get there. I am willing to risk myself because I have to do this. You do not have too and I do not want to risk you and the fawn."
She walked right up to him and nipped him in the tail. "I am coming with you," she said and then nuzzled his flank. He could see she was as determined as he was.
He kissed again like they were back in The Season. "Thank you," he said almost tearing up. "Very well," we leave tonight and we tell no one. Your father and brothers may not approve if they knew and might try to stop both of us."
"We can move to the end of the forest now," she suggested, "And be gone as soon as it is dark."
They moved off and slowly made their way toward the end of the lake. They got there late in the day and rested. They slept and woke up right after the greater light was gone. They both started to move toward the stream when he heard a voice behind him."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" they both heard.
Both turned and watched Stuben walk out from behind the trees. "I thought you might do this," he said. "You are too much like my father and this is what he would do."
"I have to," he told his uncle. "My herd needs me. It could use you also."
"No," the big deer said. "Remember they already threw me out once. I also do not feel for them as you do. I do not feel the need to help them as you do. Other than my sister, I feel nothing for that herd and the deer in it. This is why you are most likely a better deer than me. No, I am quite happy here and here I will stay."
"Tell Gorro what we did and why," he asked. "I do not want him to think it was something he did that made us leave."
"I think he already knows, but I will tell him," Stuben said with a smile. "Now you two need to be off. Stay next to the stream and watch for wild dogs. You will see big stupid animals you will not understand. Ignore them and they will ignore you. If you hurry, you can get there in two nights. If there is nothing left there, then go over the hill to Felon's herd and winter there and come back after your fawn is old enough next summer. Now go," he said.
As they turned to leave, they heard Stuben say one more thing: "The others are right, you are like my father. I just wish I was," he said sadly and turned away.
They disappeared into the growing darkness.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: HOME

They stood outside the gap between the two hills where the stream entered his forest. The first thing that shocked him was the bare hillside; all the burnt trees; from before were gone. The hilltops were as barren as were the side of the hills. Even the stumps were gone. He walked into the stream and slowly moved past the two empty hills. All he could smell was the remains of smoke. He saw no sign of fire.
"Where are all the trees?" Marla asked.
"I do not know," he said and slowly moved on. He then moved between the hill and into what was the meadow that he ate in so many times. It was now a barren land of dark dirt. It was also barren of all grass and other plants. The only thing he saw in the meadow was a pile of smoky-smelling dirt. It was like no dirt he had seen before. It was thin and seemed to fly away from them as they walked through it. The hills that surrounded his meadow were also bare with no sign that trees had ever been there. He could easily see the tops of the hill from the meadow, something he could have never done before. At the far end of his meadow, he could see the Man cave was a burnt ruin. Everything around him was blackened and barren. Not a blade of grass could he see. This forest was not burnt, this forest was gone. No one could live here.
They continued to walk along the bare ground of what was his meadow. He looked to his left and saw where Uttral had her den. It was open now for view. He could even see part of the mound that was the top of her den. Nothing stirred near it.
They continued on and soon looked at what was left of the Man cave. It too was all burnt and mostly fallen. The only things remaining he could see, hear, or smell was the odor of burnt trees. They walked over and found the old spring and stream were still there, but the lush grass that grew nearby was completely gone. They both took a drink from the spring, but even the water tasted like smoke. All the trees near the edge of his forest were gone, but there he saw at least the burnt-out stumps. The clearings he and his three doe live in, where his mother and father lived, and where Bambi and Galene bedded gown were also burnt bear. He saw the Man Path, but instead of running into this forest. It went through open ground. The part of his forest where he lived was gone, destroyed by a huge fire.
"It is all gone," he muttered barely hiding his tears.
By now there was the first showing of the greater light in the distance. Soon day would start. They had to find cover. Anyone could see them here. He led them deeper into what was his old forest. As they move further into the remains of the forest near the Man Path, the burnt stumps were replaced by burnt trees like those here before. As the light of day came, he could see better and they found some yellow-green plants that had not burned. He also started to see some trees that had not been completely burnt. He could see leaves on some of the branches. Also, there was some green between the trees. They found just enough grass and plants to eat and found the best cover they could. What bothered him the most was, there were no scent of any deer he could find.
"We will go deeper into the forest tonight, maybe my herd is back there," he told Marla. "There is certainly nothing here."
"I am frightened," she said. "Suppose they are all gone."
"Then we will go over the hill you saw when we came into the meadow and go live in Felon's forest. However, it looks like there was less fire the deeper we go into my old forest. I can only hope my herd escaped to there. I smelled no death when we walked here."
Just before dark they woke and in the fading light found a small clearing with some grass and plants. They ate and then drank out of the small stream he knew of. He continued back until he came to the mound where the herd had hidden before. The trees looked alright. The grass and plants were alright. He could see some signs of burning, but at least here the forest was starting to smell the same. He started to sniff around and found recent deer scents. He did not recognize them, but someone had survived.
"I am going to try something," he said and stood away and took a deep breath.
"STABO!" he called out as loud as he could. He then waited and called again.
"Here," he heard in the distance in front of them. The voice was not Stabo's but sounded more like his father. "Let's go," he said.
They both continued to walk carefully, both testing the air for strange or dangerous scents. Both walked quietly through the increasingly dense forest. There were more grass and plants here. The trees looked normal. The fire had not reached here. They ate some more and continued on all night only stopping at dawn. Now the forest looked as he remembered it, there was no sign of fire. There were scents of deer, but he saw none. There was food to eat and water to drink. They slept better during this day. The almost choking smell of smoke was gone. It was late in the day when he got up and again called out for Stabo.
"Here, Stafen," he heard and much closer to them. "This time he knew it was his father.
"Come," he said with a grin. "It is my father."
They both rushed towards where the call came from. As they continued, the number of deer scents increased. Some smells he remembered from before. He bleated once, and suddenly there were two deer in front of him, his mother and father. His mother had a male and doe fawn next to her.
He ran up to his mother and kissed her like he did when he was a fawn.
"You have come back," she said with tears of joy. "My son is back."
"And he did not come back alone," his father added looking closely at Marla. "Who is this beautiful doe?"
"This is Marla," he explained. "She is Gorro's daughter." He then motioned for her to come up to him. "She is also my mate and came with me from Old Bambi's forest." He then turned toward his mother, "Your brother is still alive and has a nice family."
"That is wonderful to hear," his mother said and kissed Marla.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Come, let us find a place to rest," his father said. "It is a sad tale."
"They walked away and soon came to a large thicket. He smelled both his mother's and father's scent here along with her two fawns. Both fawn now almost yearlings lay next to her.
"This is your bother Tebor and your sister Tala," his mother explained. "They were born in the spring. Say hello to your big brother."
"Hello." the doe said looking bright eye at them. The male looked shy. "Hello," he barely whispered.
"Now what happened?" he asked again. "We saw the fire from Gorro's herd on top of that high hill near their meadow."
His father cleared his throat. "After you left in the late autumn, many men and many Man animals came and started tearing down the burnt trees from the hills. This went on all last spring and into the summer. They took all the trees and piled them together at the far end of the meadow. Poor Uttral had to leave her cave and went to live in the forest over the hill. While they worked, some men lived in the Man cave. All of last spring and early summer we could not use the meadow. Poor herd leader Bambi had to make do with the other grass in the forest. Then Man left after they took out all the trees that had burned in the last fire. After they left, we had the meadow to ourselves for the late summer. Then, just as The Season came upon us, Man came back. We thought they were going to hunt us, so we went deep into the woods to hide, but there was no killing sticks or dogs."
Stabo saw them go over and throw water on the logs and then start them on fire. The old logs burned and soon the huge pile was burning in a great fire. Bambi had no idea what was happening, so he and Stabo watched. The fire was huge, but at first, stayed away from our forest. Suddenly there was a great storm and the wind blew the flames toward our forest setting several trees near the meadow on fire. It was very fast. Bambi sent me and Juon to lead the herd into the deep forest and he and Stabo went to make sure no one was left behind."
After that his father paused and his mother broke out into tears. "We never saw them again," his mother cried out. "Even Galene was gone."The fire spread fast and we had to run for our lives just to escape."
"We all came back here," his father went on. "There were not many deer here. There is some grass and other things to eat. I hope we have enough food for the winter,"
He took a deep breath. "I hope so too because there is not a blade of grass on the meadow, or the hills nearby, or even in our forest near the fire. It is barren. A chipmunk could not live there. It is all empty. All I did see was dirt that was so light when I kicked it, it blew away." Then he stopped for a moment. "I am truly sorry to hear about Bambi, Galene, and Uncle Stabo. Are they really gone?" he asked.
"None of us had seen them since that day," his father said moaning. "Besides them, we have not seen many in the herd. I hope they ran to Felon's forest, but we have seen nothing of many of the deer we knew. I think we may have lost almost half the herd."
"So who is herd leader now?" he asked.
"No one," his father went on. There is hardly enough of us left to form a herd. We just live here trying to live. So that is what happened here," his father said. "I like to hear what happened to you. At the time, I thought you were foolish, but at least you did not get caught up in this mess."
"It is a long story," he told his parents.
"Then perhaps I should get Juon and Kena to come and we can all hear it," his father suggested.
"I think we should eat first and then talk," he said.
"I agree," Marla said.
They all ate in the clearings and between the trees. The food was there, they just had to find it among the trees. His father left and a little while later came back with Kena and Juon. Kena has a cute doe fawn. Both were glad to see him back. The only thing he heard from Juon was that he thought maybe half the herd had come this way into the deeper forest when the fire started. What happened to the others he had no idea. Other than his father and him, there were no senior males left.
"There is only one other place they could have gone and that is to Felon's forest," he said to them. "I will go there shortly and ask. Also, Uttral is gone along with her den."
"Now what had happened to you since you left?" his mother asked. "You have been gone a full season."
"He then explained where he had gone and what had happened. It took a while to explain. There were several questions about Galin and Gorro and Stuben. When he was finally done the others shook their heads in disbelief.
"It pains me to hear about Galin," his mother said. "My father thought he could be a good herd leader especially with the deer that went with him. Then again he was wrong about Stena and Balo too. Maybe Old Bambi was right. Some deer cannot learn their first duty is to the herd."
"It does not matter," Juon added. "Galin went his way and we went ours. At least your son found the right way and he did not find it alone."
That brought to his mind an uncomfortable question that might hurt Marla, but he had to know. "Has anyone seen Dala and her fawn?"
His mother looked at him. "Yes, had a nice doe fawn and was often on the meadow. She is another we have not seen since the fire."
"What are we going to do now?" his father asked.
He thought about it and could only think of one thing. "Until spring, nothing," he said. "After that and the fawns are born we will try to get the herd back together. That will give me time to go see Felon and see if any of our herd is there."
"That sounds like a good idea," Juon said. "If we do form a herd, we will need a herd leader."
That left him cold. "Before we decide that, let us make sure our herd leader is gone."
"When will you go," his father said.
"I like to go before the first snow which may come any day now," he said. "It is starting to get cold."
"I hope it is a mild winter," Kena said looking up. "What is left of this herd will not do well here with heavy snow on the ground."
It was late enough into the day where they were all tired and decided to sleep together in the clearing. That night he got up and saw it was warm and clear.
"I think I will go tonight to Felon's forest," he announced. "It does not look like it will snow soon."
"I agree," Juon said. "Travel light and fast," he told him.
He understood what he meant, travel alone. He asked Marla to stay here while he left. He went with his father and Juon to the edge of the forest near the Man Path. It was now more open to the spring and beyond. He stopped and spoke to them.
"I will leave you here and go on alone. It is open from here to Felon's forest. I will have to hurry to cross it. Take care of Marla and I will be back as soon as I can."
"Take care, my son," his father said.
He took off at a fast walk. He did not want to run and tired himself out, but he did not want to be in the open when the day came. Man might still be around. He saw the grass had all burnt past the spring and the hill. It was all like the light dirt he had seen in the meadow. He moved on now that he had no cover to hide. The grass was black until he got to nearly the edge of the other forest. He ran into the forest and stopped. He was at the far end of the forest and a ways away from Felon's herd. At least he was in cover. He kept walking and kept sniffing the air. It was near dawn he picked up a scent. It smelled like fat and fur. It was also fresh and nearby.
"Uttral," he said out loud. He looked into the forest. "Uttral it is Stafen, I have come back," he called but did not bellow.
There was a large rustling of leave and shortly a large bear more than twice his size came out of the forest and looked at him. "You are alive," she said with astonishment. Then she looked at him carefully with those red eyes as if considering him for a meal. "Your mother told me you had left the forest after some trouble."
"I came back after I saw the smoke from the fire," he said. "I saw the bare hills and your old den and I was afraid you were dead also."
"No, once they started tearing down the trees around my den, I left. I came here and have lived off raccoons, possums, and an occasional stupid deer that wanders into these woods."
"Are your cubs alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I think," she said. "I turned them loose in the summer. They are on their own now. My problem was with the fire, the male bears left the area and I did not breed this year."
"I am sorry about that," he said. "I came over to see if any of my old herd came here after the fire. About half of the deer in our herd are missing including Stabo, Bambi, and Galene. My mother is afraid they are gone."
"Ahhhh poor Stabo," she moaned dipping her head to the ground. "I liked him. Then she looked at him. "I have not seen them. I have to tell you that the fire here was so strong, I did not even find any bodies to eat. They were all charred black. They did not even smell like deer."
He did not need to hear that but the truth was the truth. "Then maybe they are all gone."
"What are you going to do now," the bear asked
"What escaped of my old herd went back deep into the Man Path forest. After the winter, assuming any of us are still alive, we will try to put the herd back together."
"I suppose that is the only thing to do. I will not go back because there is nothing to go back to. It will be long after we are gone before the forest will come back here."
"You are right," he said. "I think I know now how Stranger and your father felt when they saw the old forest burn. It must have hurt them deeply."
"Both were very wise," Uttral said. Then she looked at the rising light. "I must go," she told him. "Soon it will be time for my winter's sleep. Tell your mother I will be staying here from now on. Good luck Stafen."
The big bear disappeared into the forest. He saw the increasing light and decided to stay here for the day. He ate some nearby grass, but there was no water. He would get some tonight near Felon's meadow. He passed the day in peace and noticed the air turned cooler. Near dark, a large cloud came over and started to rain on him: a damp, cold, soaking rain. When it was dark he continued and found his way toward the meadow. The herd was still there and the senior males were still in the same place. He walked into the meadow and stood near the senior males until Felon looked at him and came over. He got about a length away and stopped.
"Stafen, why do you smell like a bear?" the herd leader asked.
He hadn't thought again, of course, they would have picked up Uttral's scent on him. He went to explain to the herd leader and the gathering number of senior males.
"I remember your grandfather was friendly with a bear and I thought he was crazy. Now you are friends with the bear's daughter? You are as crazy as your grandfather. That bear can eat you as fast as you can fill your belly with grass."
"Yes, she can," he told them, "But Uttral is friends with my mother and my Uncle Stabo if he is still alive. That is why I came here. Have any of you seen any deer from my old herd? We are missing about half my herd including Stabo, Bambi, and Galene."
Felon turned his back and dropped his head. "No,' he said. After a few moments, he spoke up obviously upset. "Next to Stranger, Stabo taught me more than any other deer. If he is gone, then the forest is empty. I also remember training with him and Young Bambi." Then he turned and he could see tears running down his cheeks. "I am sorry Stafen, they are not here. Some of your old herd are here, but not close to half. I think many deer died in that fire. May Man burn like that," he cursed.
"What about mother," Mikor said in a low voice. "Stabo was her father."
This is worse and worse," the herd leader said and walked away slowly still visibly upset.
"I always seem to have bad news," he said to the others.
"No," Mikor said. "You are the bearer of the truth. Most of the time the truth is bad."
"I do have a favor to ask of this herd," he said.
"What?" Mikor asked.
"Can you tell the deer that came from my herd that we will try to put the herd together after spring. If they want to come back, they will be welcomed. If they want to stay here, that is up to them and your father."
"We will do this," Mikor told him.
"Then I need to get back," he said. I think it is going to snow soon and I do not want to cover open ground covered with snow."
"That is wise," Mikor said. "I will say goodbye to my mother and father for you."
"Thank you," he said and bowed to the senior males and left.
He managed to travel back to the far end of Felon's forest and stopped there for the day. He could still smell Uttral in the forest, but he decided not to go try to find her. He waited during the day. After the great light was overhead, a dark cloud came in and a storm started again only this time it was not cold rain. This time it was snow.
"As if there wasn't enough trouble," he muttered to himself and tried to sleep.
Besides being cold and wet, the snow made following him so easy a newborn fawn could do it. He had to hurry to get back before the greater light rose and exposed him alone in the open. It was not an easy journey and he was tired when he got back.
The first snow did not last long. The grass and plants were covered by a light covering of snow that melted a day later. Throughout the early winter, he and Marla walked around the forest. The deer were spread out since there was no meadow to eat on. The deer he found were a mixture from his old herd and other deer in the deeper forest that were never part of his old herd. He was also looking for sources of food. At first, there was enough food for all and there was no hardship. If there were any bad feelings between his old herd and him, they did not show themselves. The most vocal of the herd males that wanted him gone before were simply not here. Whether they fled deeper into the forest or did not survive the fire, he did not know and he didn't bother to find out.
As the winter wore on, it got worse. The second snowfall took several days to melt and covered the ground with even more snow. It also caused many of the leaves on the bushes to fall off and get buried under the snow. It was also at this time his rack, and the racks of all the other males fell off. The deer had to paw at the ground to uncover anything to eat. The herd was not starving, but food was in shorter supply.
"I hope it does not get much worse than this," his father told him.
"I hope so too, but I think we may run out of grass before spring," he told him. "We need to find more."
"Yes, but where?" his father asked
"There is only one place," he said. "We will have to go over the Man Path to the other part of the forest."
He could see his father disagreed. "Deer will not cross the Man Path, the smell keeps them away,"
"Smells will not kill a deer," he told him. "Lack of food will. There is also untouched grass in the open between our forest and Felon's herd. That grass was never eater."
"That will mean going out into the open," his father realized. "How much grass do you think we can find?"
"Well I am going to find out," he answered. "Watch Marla for me, I may be gone a few days.:
He left and spent the rest of the night traveling to the Man Path. He rested there by day and that night he walked across the foul-smelling ground. He knew that unless a Man animal was coming, he was in no danger. He crossed the black dirt and looked around. By now the second snowfall had melted here leaving grass between the trees and leaves on the bushes. The grass and leaves were mostly tasteless, but they would fill his hungry belly. He could feed lots of deer from here.
He then traveled toward the old meadow and the spring. It was much more in the open now that the trees in this part of the forest were gone. The grass was burnt and the ground barren and dry, but as he walked into the open, he found near the other side of the hill Utrral lived on, there was grass that was also tasteless, but there was more than enough to feed many deer. The only thing was they were well into the open. It was not like bounding a few times then being back in the forest. It required a while to get to safety. While running away any deer would be easy prey for a Man with a killing stick. He would only use this grass if all other grass was eaten.
He moved around the other places and noted that there was grass and no deer. They could eat, but it meant going far from their feeding grounds. He returned home to his father, mother, and especially Marla.
"I can feel our fawn inside of me," she told him.
He kissed her and told his parents. His mother was also carrying one of more fawns. His father was especially interested in what he found in the other parts of the forest.
At first, he did nothing. There was still grass where they were, but it was an effort to find it. It was only with the third and heaviest snowfall that things became bad. It covered the grass and bush. Most of it was eaten out and for the first time, deer started to go hungry. That is when he decided to act on what he knew.
One night he told his mother and father and Kena and Juon to meet him by the Man Path and told them what he planned to do. He then called out loudly to the herd. "HERE…HERE…ALL COME HERE," he called.
It took some time but many deer came. They looked at him and he started.
"The grass and other food in this forest are getting short and many of you are getting hungry. I have found grass in the forest across the Man Path. If we cross it, we can find food on the other side."
"You die if you cross the Man Path," one of the herd males called out.
"No you do not die," he said. "I have crossed the Man Path many times and I am still here. The only time the Man Path is dangerous is when there is a Man animal on it. There are no Man Animal now so you can cross it safely.
"That is silly," an older doe said.
"Watch me," he said.
With that he walked a short distance to the Man Path and seeing that there were no Man animals around, he walked out onto the horrible smelling ground. He heard many deer gasp. "See, there is no danger," he called back to the others.
The herd looked amazed yet no deer made a move. They were still too frightened. Then something happened that surprised him. Marla walked away from the other and came out onto the Man Path with him.
"See," she called out. "There is no danger."
"After that, his father and mother and Kena and Juin came out onto the black earth. Now several deer were standing on the black hard surface. He led them over the Man Path and they started eating some of the grass that was not covered by the snow near the Man Path. Whether it was the fact that he and his family had crossed the Man Path without harm, or that the others were hungry, soon one and then many deer crossed the Man Path into the other forest and started eating. It was not long before the entire herd crossed over and started eating. The herd was fed again. One other thing that surprised him, no one mentioned anything about Toradas or what happened before. Whether they forgot about it or did not care, he did not know and he did not ask.
The herd spread out across the other part of the forest and hunger vanished for now. The deer were happy. More importantly, they were now fed. They ate there until late winter. There were a couple of warm days before suddenly a great storm blew up and soon the entire forest as far as he could see was covered in a thick blanket of snow. The air was also freezing cold. The forest past the Man Path still fed them, but soon he could tell they would need more. It was time to call the herd again.
This time he called them together again at the edge of the forest. "I have found more grass out in the open," he said. "We will need to walk there to eat, but there is plenty of grass for all of us."
With that, he sniffed the air and then walked out into the open. He had to walk further than his old meadow to eat it. As before Marla and his family followed them. After some hesitation from the other, the herd came out and did likewise. However, they were far from the protection of the forest. He felt he had to warn them.
"We must be very careful about eating the grass here. We are not near the safety of the forest to run back and hide. We must all be alert. At the first sign of danger, speak up loud. Other predators are nearby. We must only come here late at night when these dangers are not here."
"What about the bear?" one doe asked.
"She is asleep in her den," he answered. "She will not come out until spring. However, she is not the only threat. There are coyotes in the forest also and they would gladly eat a deer. That is why we must be careful here."
The herd listened to him and that is how they spend the rest of their winter. Soon afterward he noticed the bellies of the doe stall to swell with the fawns they carried. He also felt the days and nights getting warmer. There was no more snow that winter.
The first sign of spring came soon after. Then something amazing happened. From the dead barren ground that covered the meadow and his other bare spaces, a slight color of green appeared. As the days worn on and the weather got warming the light coating of green became heavier. To their collective amazement, both the meadow and the other bare spots started to grow grass again. This was especially true in places where there was a thin layer of the light dirt he had seen after the fire. The grass grew in there quickly. It was not as thick as before, but it was more than had been there during winter. Also, the part of his forest that had burned down started to show green, but it would be many seasons before trees returned. It was not long afterward that they could easily feed on the meadow and the new grass that grew in the forest. They had managed to come through the winter while only losing a few deer. As the spring wore on, the grass everywhere became heavier.
It was on a mid-spring day that a large belly Marla told him she had to go away for a while. They had made a bedding area on the mound they used to meet when Man was in the forest. The rest of the doe left soon afterward. He stayed away but did not go far from the mound. He came back the next night and found Marla feeding a single male fawn. It was his fawn and he looked alive and healthy. He learned over the spotted mound of fur and took his scent. It smelled a little like him. He was so happy, he found it hard to speak.
"Thank you for this," he said and kissed Marla.
"What will we call him?" she asked.
"We will call him Stabo," he said and hope he becomes as good a deer as he was."
"I like that," she grinned as she looked up to him.
Over the next few days, his mother gave birth again to twins, this time it was two doe. Kena also gave birth to a doe and a male. There was now good grass for the mothers to feed on and there was milk enough to feed all the fawns. They kept close together as a family until the fawns could keep up with their mothers. As soon as he saw all the fawns had been born and looked healthy, he called his father and Juon. The herd needed to form again.
"Now is the time," he said. "We need to put the herd together again."
"I agree," Juon said. "Now who is going to be herd leader?"
"One of you two," he said as if it was obvious. "You are the only senior males left from the old herd."
"No, we are not," his father answered. "There is you."
"Me?" he said. "I never said I wanted to be herd leader."
"Remember what Bambi and Stabo told you," his father reminded him. "They did not want it either. They were just the best deer in the herd. All the other deer agreed. You are the best deer around and you have seen what happens to herds where there are both good and bad herd leaders. You are ready to lead my son. Both Juon and I will gladly follow you. It is time for you to take your Grandfather's and Uncle's place."
"If the herd will have me," he said.
"They will have you," Juon added. "They saw how you showed them where food was this winter. You helped them stay healthy. They listened to you. They will remember this."
"Are you two sure?" he asked.
"They are very sure," he heard his mother from behind. "As am I, you are like my father. Take your place as my father did."
Marla was standing next to his mother with his son. "I am sure too, and when he is old enough, you will teach our son so one day he may follow you."
"You know what this may mean," he told Marla and the others.
"We all know," Juon told him. "We will go on as long as we can. That is all any of us can do."
He took a deep breath knowing what would be in store for him for the rest of his life from this night on. It scared him some, but inwardly he knew this was what he must do. It was simply the right thing to do. He only hoped he could do it well.
"Very well," he said trying to show confidence. "Let us call the herd together and ask."
"As you wish, herd leader," his father said.

EPILOGUE

He stood in the meadow and looked over the herd. It was bigger now. The meadow had returned to what it was before the fire. There was even plant growth on the hills surrounding the meadow. Late in the spring when he became herd leader many Men came back to the forest. They spent many days on the meadow and used many Man machines. When they left, there were many small trees put on all the hills surrounding the meadow. That was three seasons ago. Since then, those trees had been growing. The forest would come back to what it was, but not while he was alive, but that did not matter. The herd would go beyond him and even his sons.
He stood and saw his old father and mother standing talking to Juon and Kena. Neither doe had fawns any longer. He still kept both deer as senior males even though many of the younger deer could beat them, especially his oldest son Stabo who was almost as big as he was now and just became a three-season male. He had a nice collection of doe last Season.
He also had his mother's son Tebor, who was now a four-season male. Both were senior males he would use from time to time to help him out. He was also training his second son Bambi to become a senior male this season or next. He had a happy and growing family. It was the greatest joy in his life not only because he had children, but when something happened to him, they would carry on. The herd would continue.
"Herd leader, it is getting late," Tebor said to him.
It was getting light. He stepped out and called out to the others. "Off the meadow, it will soon be light."
The other deer heard him and started to leave. He started to walk off the meadow and saw Marla walking next to him with two doe fawns born only a little while ago. He looked at the hills again and thought of Felon's forest. He had visited there late in the fall and saw they were doing well; although Felon was no longer herd leader. His oldest son had taken that over. Even Uttral had her new den there. The most important thing was there was quiet. After the fire, Man had not returned to the meadow except to shoot birds. Man did not make another Man cave in this forest. They heard the killing sticks at times during The Season, but they were far away.
"What are you smiling about," Marla asked him with a smile of her own?
"I was just wondering if my grandfather was ever as happy as this," he told her and then kissed her and the fawns.
Life was good.

THE END

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