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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Serial / Series
- Published: 05/09/2018
The Way of the Forest Part 5
Born 1956, M, from Orlando/FL, United StatesCHAPTER NINE: LEADERS
Gurri watched her parents and sisters leave the forest. They ran across the open field toward the hill her Grandfather used to live on. That meant she was alone, which was fine with her. Geno was still here, but in her mind, that meant she was still alone. She turned back to Kelo and smiled at him.
“Let us go,” she said and raised her white tail and ran into the cover of the trees.
He saw Kelo take a large breath through his nose smelling her scent. She had no practically strong feelings for Kelo, but he seemed to care about her, and he listened to her. Despite what her Father and brother said, that was still a rarity. Tino and his friends had ignored her and they were now gone. Although she did not like to see any deer killed by Man, she felt some satisfaction after she told them to run away and they insulted her. At least the yearlings and some of the two and three season deer heeded her advice and were now alive. Even Relnor did not seem to mind when she spoke up.
As the days went on, the males finished scrapping the velvet off their racks. About the same time, she could smell the doe starting to put out scent. She did it too. She did not want to, but her body did it anyway. That was the signal for the males to start their fights. While she and Kelo were out eating, she saw Geno and his two doe, Margo and Edgi walk on the open field to eat. Both does were putting out scent and it did not go unnoticed by the other males. One of the three season males came up and started to sniff at Edgi’s tail. The male was larger than Geno but not as large as Kelo. He tried to nudge her aside and away from Geno. Her brother turned back quickly and put his head down ready to fight.
“Watch this,” she told Kelo.
“The other male is bigger than Geno and heavier,” Kelo said obviously thinking the bigger male would win.
The male charged Geno head down. Geno did the same. They met with a resounding knock they could easily hear. Both males looked stunned, but Geno recovered first and went at the male hitting him hard and forcing him back. The male backed up, shook his head, and then charge again. This time Geno did not follow through with his charge and pulled away letting the male rush past him. As the male went by him, Geno lunged at the deer’s exposed flank running his rack along his side. She knew her brother could have gutted the male seriously hurting him. Instead, he only scrapped his rack leaving several dark welts along the side. The pain was enough for the other male to keep on running now bleeding lightly. The male was not seriously hurt. Geno watched him go, did nothing, and went back to his two doe. She saw the other, larger males look at the fight. Her brother may be a yearling, but a yearling that others should leave alone.
“I never saw that in a fight before,” Kelo said.
She turned and smiled at him. “I know; that is my Father’s teaching. All of us know how to fight. After The Season, you should have Geno teach you some of what he knows,” she suggested.
“Maybe I will,” Kelo said.
That is what she liked about Kelo. He did not know like Geno and she did, but he was not stupid and arrogant. He would listen and learn.
Fortunately, none of the older males in the herd challenged Kelo for her. A few males came close to sniff at her tail, but Kelo always made them run away by just dropping his head. She started feeling more comfortable around this male. Man did not come back to the open field, which was good. As the days went on, she started feeling closer to Kelo than ever before. She knew that was The Season working itself with her. Her body also started putting out more and different scents. They slept close together at night. She found his scent overpowering at times. It seemed that Kelo would be the father of her fawn in the spring. Looking around the forest, she knew that other than Geno, Relnor, and those two males that were always near him, Kelo was the best male in the forest. He also did not seem interested in other doe like Geno. The next morning after Kelo got up and emptied himself, she could smell the scent of a male ready to breed.
“Come with me,” she told him. “It is time for us go and be alone.”
She led him deep into the forest where the trees were so thick, their overhead canopies blotted out the greater light. The forest was cool and damp. There were only a few openings among the trees and not much grass grew in these openings, but it was enough for them to eat. There were several small streams nearby. She looked and found a nice thicket like her mother’s near such a small opening. She could smell no predators and not many deer came near here. This would be a good place to give birth to a fawn. She would remember this place in the future. She marked the location with her own scent and then lay down on the cool layer of leaves.
Kelo came in very close and looked at her. “I do feel for you,” he told her and then kissed her on the mouth. He then nuzzled her gently not just on her face, but along her back, especially by her tail.
“I feel for you,” she told him. At that moment she and did feel an almost overpowering urge here with this male.
They fell asleep but she woke up midway through the day. The urges were now overpowering, almost guiding her in what to do. She got up and emptied herself near their thicket. Kelo came over and smelled her. She then walked away from him a few steps and then braced her front and back legs. She felt ready for something. She raised her tail. Kelo came up from her back and got on top of her.
She then let Kelo do the rest.
He did it that time and a two other times over the next day. This was what they meant by breeding. It went on and then suddenly the great overpowering urge stopped. Although the two of them stayed together, she did not allow him to couple with her again. That was over. It was the next day they decided to go back to the herd. Before they left she marked the place well.
“Remember this place,” she told Kelo gently. “When the time comes, I will have my fawns here.”
He said nothing but only kissed her again. They both walked back out into the forest closer to the open field. By now, The Season had spent its fury. One of the first deer she saw was her brother who was with his two doe, but not nearly as close to them as before. She went over to him.
“Are you well, Geno,” she asked?
He took a smell of her and nodded. “Yes, it was a good Season. I bred both Margo and Edgi, but now they both seem less interest in me. How are you?”
“I am fine,” she said. She knew her scent would tell Geno everything he needed to know. “Now that The Season is over, and before your racks drop off, I was hoping you could teach Kelo some of the things Father taught you about fighting.”
He looked at her mate and shrugged. “I do not mind, we can start tonight if you want too.”
“I would like that,” Kelo said gratefully.
“We must now be very careful,” Geno said. “Both Grandfather and Father told us after The Season would come the hunts. We must watch to see if Man comes back.”
“I know,” she said. “I just hope the others will listen to us if Man comes back.
That night she watched as Kelo and Geno sparred in the open field. Kelo was bigger than Geno and stronger, yet he had problems in pushing Geno back. Geno would change his position, change his stance, and always managed to throw Kelo off balance. This frustrated Kelo who knew he should win, but he could not. Then Geno would show him what he did wrong. This continued for a few more nights before Geno stopped one night and called her over.
“You are learning,” he told Kelo. It has been harder to push you back now that you can change position quickly. In any case, the lessons must end. I am going back to our old forest.”
“I thought you were happy here,” she said.
“I was,” he said sadly. “Neither Margo nor Edgi want anything to do with me anymore. Their feelings vanished with The Season. I am going to go back and help Father with the herd before Man shows up.”
“You can help here,” she told him.
“You know what Father taught as well as I do, Gurri,” he told her. “You have a large mate who this herd respects. You will do well here. I can help Father back at our old herd.”
She could argue with him, but his feelings for this place only ran as deep as his feelings for the two doe. If they were gone, he would be gone also.
“Very well, brother,” she said calmly “I will do the best I can. I just hope I can get the others to listen.”
“They will,” Geno said.
“You should tell Relnor,” she said.
“I already have,” he whispered. “I do not think he liked it, but there is little he can do. I have made up my mind to go.”
The following night, she watched her brother go like her parents. Other than Kelo, she was alone here now.
Relnor did not like the fact Geno went and started to ignore her. The younger deer still gathered around her at times to listen to her teach the lessons her Father taught her. This was not exactly what she wanted, but she knew she did not want to go back to her old herd. She knew she they would ignore her there. Here at least some of the deer would listen to her.
It was a few days later that she woke one morning to a funny smell. It smelled burnt. It smelled familiar when suddenly she realized what it was. It was smoke. She jumped to her feet and looked around. It was light and the smell was coming from the open field.
Kelo opened his eyes looking at her wondering when his nose smelled it.
“Man is here,” she told him.
Her mate shot to his feet looking at her. She listened carefully and heard no sounds. She walked forward toward the open field when Kelo stopped her.
“No,” he said. “We never move toward Man you told me.”
“Yes, but the other deer need to know to flee,” she said. “Man is not near us or we would hear him.”
She walked carefully forward picking her way carefully among the trees. The wind was blowing from the open field and even though she smelled smoke, she did not smell Man. They traveled slowly until there came to one of the clearings. This was as far as she would go. She lay down on the ground at the edge of the clearing. Kelo lay down next to her and waited.
A short while later she saw both doe and young males moving away from the field. She barked and called them over and told them to go hide in the forest. Soon she saw Relnor and his senior males come into the opening. She stood up and went over to him.
“Man is here, but it does not sound or smell as if he is in the forest,” she said.
“Will they try to chase us again into the field?” Kelo asked.
“I do not know,” she admitted, “But as long as we can hear or smell anything of Man we need to stay away from the open.”
“Just like your Father told me,” Relnor said. “I will call all the deer here.”
Relnor went out into the middle of the clearing and started bellow out loudly. “Here, Here all come here,” he called out.
Soon the deer started to appear. Fist the herd males, the yearlings, and then the doe and this year’s fawns. As soon as they were all there Relnor told them: “We need to stay away from the open field. Man is there. As Prince Bambi told me, Man will try to get behind us and chase us into the open where they will kill us. Stay in the deep forest. Man should not find us there.”
The other deer left and ran the way they came. She stayed still. She knew she was in no danger here and she wanted to hear what man would do. Kelo did not like that, but she insisted. Nothing happened for the rest of the day.
That night, very faintly she could hear Man shouting. She could also smell Man’s fire. It was only after the shouting stopped that the wind shifted so it blew from her side. There was silence from the open field. They ate in the small clearing along with Relnor and many others and drank in a small stream. She dreaded morning, but there was nothing more she could do.
Come the morning, they all heard in the distance the sound of Man coming into the forest.
“We need to leave,” she told those in the opening and she left and went toward their thicket. Soon she heard banging noise from behind her.
“HEEEYYYYAAAAHOOOOO,” the men called out and banged things together. She heard the shouting all morning, but always far away from them. Man had not gotten behind them. She also did not hear any sounds of killing sticks. Man had not been able to chase anyone into the open. That meant they were safe. The shouting and banging continued all day, but no sounds of killing sticks.
Next morning there was quiet. Again, the wind blew from the open field, but it brought no smell of Man or even of smoke. She wondered if Man had gone, but decided to wait the day in her thicket.
“Man may have given up and gone elsewhere,” she told Kelo.
“And no killing sticks,” Kelo said. “No deer died thanks to you,” he said and kissed her. When they heard nothing the next morning, then she felt it was safe. They walked to the small meadow and she saw Relnor there. He saw her and came over to her.
“You and your Father were right,” he said happily. “Man killed no deer,” he said.
The others gathered around her congratulating her that no one was hurt. She enjoyed finally getting someone to appreciate that she was smart enough to act like her Father. It was one of the happiest moments of her life.
That feeling continued for a few days. There was no sign of Man and she hoped that the hunts would be over. Then came one morning when she heard the sound of many killing sticks. They were not nearby but instead coming from her Father’s forest. She could also hear the yelping of dogs in the distance. She knew Man had brought dogs to her Father’s forest to run down and kill deer.
She took Kelo and searched the forest looking for Relnor and the others to tell him.
“That is bad,” he told her. “However, if they come here we can just run into the forest again.”
“Not with dogs,” she told him. “Dogs can smell us and lead Man to us. Man uses dogs to run down deer. The dogs either attack the deer or make so much noise that Man soon comes with his killing stick. My Grandfather told me you can hide from Man, but you cannot hide from dogs. The only way to avoid them is to go even deeper into the forest and hope the dogs do not notice your scent. We should do this now before they come.”
Relnor shook his head. “I could call the deer deeper into the forest,” he said.
“No,” one of the senior males standing next to him said. “If we do that we lose the grass in the open field. We need to feed on that with winter coming. There is no danger here and I do not think we should move unless we see danger like before.”
“If you see dogs, it may already be too late to run,” she said.
“Have you ever been chased by dogs,” the male said eyeing her coldly.
“No,” she answered boldly, “But my Father and Grandfather have and they told me how they survived.”
“When I see the dogs, I will run,” he said.
She shrugged, “If you see the dogs, it may too late. Dogs can run longer than a deer and will run you down. They also bring Man with them. Man brings his killing sticks.”
“I can run faster than any dog,” the male said with contempt and turned away from her.
“I will think about this,” Relnor said and left with the other senior male.
This left her burning inside. Kelo must have seen it. He nuzzled her gently. “They are right, we can run faster than a dog,” he told her.
She turned quickly seeing where this was going. “You can run faster for a while, but my Father told me you cannot run longer than a dog. They do not tire as we do. When we become exhausted and have to stop, they keep coming and calling to their masters at all the time. The dogs will attack the deer and sometimes tear them apart, or they call the Man to the exhausted deer and he uses his killing sticks on it.”
She spent the next day telling the deer what to do if they heard dogs. Many listened to her. Some thought like the Relnor’s senior male. It did not matter what anyone said. The moment she knew a dog was nearby, she was leaving for the deep forest near her thicket.
It was late the next day that she started hearing noises from the open field. There were first banging noises and the shouting of Man. The there were grinding noises and the shouting got louder near dark. At dark, she could hear barking from the open field. Man had brought dogs.
She searched frantically for Relnor and found him in the small meadow. She came up to him.
“I heard Man and dogs in the open field,” she told him. “We must flee deep into the forest.”
Relnor looked around him. “I think this is far enough. We can run if we hear dogs getting closer.”
“You are still too close to the dogs,” she told him. “They will be here tomorrow.”
“I do not think so,” the senior male said. “Take care of your own self, doe,” he told her.
Relnor did nothing else. She ignored him and went around the forest telling every deer she could find to flee deep into the forest. She could see Kelo was anxious at what she was doing. Doe usually did not give the herd advice as she well knew. Many deer did not believe her. Many others did and left. It was late in the evening when she finally looked up and told her mate. “It is time we leave. I am going back to our thicket. We should both be safe there.”
“Are you sure,” Kelo asked looking nervous.
Not him too, she thought. They could not see the danger like she could. “The only thing I am sure of is that we are too close to Man and his dogs,” she said as forcefully as she could. “What Man will do when the great light comes, no one knows, but I will not allow myself to get killed by some dog or some Man. I am leaving for my thicket. You can come if you want.”
With that, she left and made her way quickly into the deeper forest. She moved quietly past the small meadow, past the stream, and into the thick canopy of trees. She knew the way. She also went alone. Kelo stayed behind. Although she felt something for her mate, she was not going to let him tell her what to do. She was certainly not going to die with him.
It was after the great light rose when she reached her thicket. She drank in a small pool and ate some grass she found in the few open patches. It was enough to satisfy her and she lay down. It was a while later she heard something moving through the forest and caught a familiar scent.
“Come lie down next to me,” she told him.
Kelo appeared from the trees. “I thought I was quiet,” he said.
“You still need to practice,” she told him. “Now lie here, wait, and listen.”
It was quiet for a while and then they heard it.
“WHAMM,” echoed through the forest. This time the noise was coming from this forest. That sound repeated several more times. A few sounded closer to them. Then in the distance, she heard the faint barking of dogs.
It was not long after that she heard breaking sounds in the bushes along with the sound of rapid hoofs. A young male race by them; he was running past them into the deeper forest. He looked in a panic. Other followed shortly behind them. She managed to stop an older doe.
“What is happening,” she called out.
The doe turned, saw her, and recognized her. “It was like you said,” she gasped. “Man is using his dogs to run down the deer and kill them. As soon as I heard the barking, I fled like you told us too. Is this far enough?”
“Yes, as long as the barking does not get louder, we are fine,” she said. “Rest for a while.”
The doe stayed nearby still panting, trying to get breath back in her. She was just the first. Others came soon afterward: there were doe with this year’s fawns, there were yearlings, both male and doe, and some older doe. She did not see Relnor or any of the senior males. None of the herd males came. All the deer that were there were fleeing from the dogs and Man. Soon they had many deer waiting next to her. She listened, and noted the despite the continued sounds of the killing sticks, the sound of the dogs did not get closer. She stayed still until it was well after dark. She then got up and talked to the other deer there.
“We need to stay here until we are sure Man has left,” she said.
“Is it safe here?” one of the yearling males asked.
“Yes, but we must listen carefully,” she told all of them. “If the sounds of Man or his dogs get louder, we will need to flee deeper into the woods. We should all spread out. Having too many deer close together will only help draw the dogs closer.”
They all spread out doing as she asked. She then looked back at Kelo who just stared at her.
“You know, sometimes you talk like a male,” he said.
She smiled broadly. “That is because my Father raised me to know what to do.”
“I only hope he was right,” he said and walked away back to their resting place.
That night they ate and drank nearby with the rest of those who had fled. A few more young deer joined them, but only two of the herd males. The deer said little and all were resting before the great light rose again. In the deep woods, the light did not fill the forest like near the openness of the meadow and open field, but it was light enough to see. There were no problems in hearing when Man used his killing sticks although the number of times they heard it was much less than the previous day.
For two more days, they stayed there until there was silence during the day. Two days went by without them hearing or smelling any sign of Man or dogs. Then Kelo and she cautiously went back first to the small meadow to look around. There were some deer there. They found nothing of danger except the smell of death. Looking at the circling birds, she found a herd male that had been hit my Man and managed to get away before he died. His flank ripped open by a killing stick.
That night they went to the open field and saw no one. Man was gone for now. They ate fully and looked around. They found only a few herd males. Some had teeth and claw marks of dogs on their bodies. Others had managed to get away. All had stories. They all collected by the smaller meadow and were stunned. They found a few fawns that had lost their mothers to the hunts. What they never found was Relnor and his two senior males. They were gone.
Over the next several days, many deer asked her what they should too. She told them to watch carefully and eat as much as they could. She knew the winter would soon be here. It was only after several days of confusion the herd got together in the field.
One of the few herd males called to her. “You told us to flee or Man might kill us. You were right,” he said.
“You saved us,” a doe with fawn said.
“One of the herd males asked Kelo. “Are you herd leader now?”
She looked around. Yes, Kelo was the largest male that was still alive. “Do you want to be herd leader?” she asked him.
“I am not a herd leader,” he said looking a bit frightened. “You father and brother would be better than me.”
“They are not here,” she said bluntly. “You and I are here and they trained me. I can help you if you want.”
She knew the other deer would never accept a doe as herd leader, but her mate was now the biggest deer in the herd. She could tell the others what to do, or have Kelo tell them. It would take time to build the herd up again. It would mean letting him have the pick of the doe for The Season, but that is the way male deer were. She would also have his fawns who she could train to take their place.
“If you help me then yes, I will be herd leader,” he said but not convincingly.
“Well ask the others,” she told him. “My Father and Grandfather said a herd leader is chosen by the herd. See if any of the herd males say no. You can easily beat anyone here who will challenge you.”
Kelo did not look convinced but asked all the deer in the open field if they accept him as herd leader.
No one said no.
CHAPTER TEN: BLOOD
By the time he got back to Faline, Geno, Lina, and Eta, they had all gathered closely around the thicket. Faline looked up at him with obvious worry on her face.
“Geno told me what he saw,” Faline said, voice shaking.
“We need to stay still and listen carefully,” he said trying to sound reassuring. He remembered well the time dogs nearly killed Faline and him. She had been afraid of them ever since. Dogs frightened him too; he still had claw marks on his hindquarters when they attacked him. He would not admit that fear to his family and the herd.
The sky is beginning to lighten,” Geno said looking off into the distance. “If Man is coming, he will be here soon.”
“Lie down and rest,” he told the others. “We may need it soon.”
He laid down next to Faline with the twin lying next to him and Geno lying across from him. All they could do now was wait.
It was not long after the sky became light that he heard it, the distant yelping of many dogs. The noise got louder. That was all he needed to hear. He knew what Man was going to do.
“They are not going to chase the deer into the meadow,” he told them getting up quickly. The others just as quickly followed. “Man is going to use the dogs to run us down and then either have the dogs tear us to pieces, or to follow them with their killing sticks. This is much worse than before. We need to run now.
“Back to the old cave?” Geno asked.
“No,” he told them. “Man may come from there and trap us between them. We must go there,” he said and pointed to his left with his nose. “The ground is less hilly there and there is enough grass and small streams for food and water.”
He leaped away and moved quickly through the trees and bushes. The other followed him closely. They did not run. Running makes too much noise. Instead, they hurried quickly, but quietly. At first, the yelping got louder. Then he heard “WHAMMMM,” that repeated as Man used his killing stick. The dogs sounded excited as if chasing something. Man was after his herd and there was nothing he could do about it.
As they moved, he thought he heard some deer scream, but it was too far away for him to be sure. They went on until he could hear nothing behind them. That was good because soon the trees thinned out leaving only short bushes and tree saplings. Around them, the remains of dead trees that were burnt up in the fire. They were bare. They had entered that part of the forest Man had burnt down before. They found cover in some half burnt pine trees and got low to the ground. All of them stayed there and huddled.
The great light was still climbing to overhead when they heard more dogs. The sounds got louder and more frequent. They were after someone else. This time the scream was louder, much closer, and followed quickly by the sound from a killing stick. The barking then stopped.
“Father, I am scared,” Eta said looking at him. Her black eyes were shaking, as was her body.
“We are safe here,” he told her. “We will be fine here.” He hoped that was true.
The great light rose to overhead. He heard more sounds of the killing sticks: louder dog barking, even some Men shouting. They were hunting all over the forest. He had never seen this kind of hunting before. He started to wonder if anywhere was safe. The hunting went on until it was almost dark and then it stopped. Only after it was completely dark, did he allow himself or any of the others to get up. He looked around him. They were at the edge of the old forest. If they had to run from here, they would be mostly in the open. This place was unsafe. He got up and all of them fed on the new plant growth. Hardly anyone said anything. He decided to go back the way they came to inside the thicker part of the forest. It might be easier to hide in there if the dogs chased them.
They walked toward a small stream he knew about it when they all picked up the smell. It smelled as if someone had emptied himself, and there was an earthy rotten smell. He knew from the past that earthy smell was blood. The smell got worse the closer they got to the stream. Finally, he saw it. Lying still on the ground was a fox.
“Let me look,” he told the others. He walked up and looked at the body. It was dead. It was also mutilated. The dogs bit deeply into its side and tail taking out chunks of flesh. Deep claw marks were on the back. The side of the poor creature was ripped open by a killing stick and its inside oozed on the ground with lots of blood. Even though he did not like foxes because they would kill fawns, he could not help but feel sorry for the poor creature that died horribly. Its face still showed the agony of its last moments. They were light footsteps behind him. His son came up to look.
“How can anyone do this?” he said looking pale “Even the bears don’t leave who they eat like this.”
“Man is worse than bear and foxes,” he told his son. “The bears, foxes, deer, and other creatures all belong in the forest and live within it. Man does not and cares little for what he does.”
“Let us leave this place,” Geno said. “It is sickening.”
“Yes,” he said, “But it still teaches a lesson to us of what happens if Man catches us. We can expect to die like this fox.”
“The only ones who will do well after Man finishes are the scavengers,” his son said and walked off.
He made sure Faline and the twins did not see the remains. Like his son, it made him feel sick to his stomach. They found the stream and all took long drinks. He looked around and saw how thickly the trees and other plants grew near the source of water. It would be a good place to hide.
“We will stay near here,” he told the others. “It is easy to hide in and we can run in any direction if Man and his dogs come.”
Geno took in large breaths through his nose. “I smell nothing around here,” he said.
They moved around for the rest of the night grazing more of the grass and then emptying themselves away from this place so the scent of their waste would not draw the attention of the dogs. As soon as he saw the first sign of light in the sky he found the best-concealed site nearby and they all lay down to get what sleep they could.
There was not much rest. As soon as the sky was light, the barking started again. It sounded as if the dogs were going in many directions searching for animals for their masters. He listened and this time the barking sounded like it went away from them instead of towards them. Even in the distance, they could all easily hear the loud barking. There was never a problem in hearing the killing sticks. It did not matter, they all stayed together and they all stayed still for most of the day. It was after the great light was overhead that he heard a loud crashing noise in the distance. Someone was running through the forest. He looked up and a yearling doe ran close to them. He barked once and called to her. The doe either did not hear him or did not care because she continued to run past him. He listed but did not hear or smell any Man or dog following her. She was just in a panic running blindly.
The barking noises changed as more dogs found things to chase. Often afterward, the sound of the killing sticks closely followed. What really bothered him and his family was the screams of deer being run down and attacked by the dogs.
When it was dark, the barking stopped and the forest was quiet. He wondered how badly the herd was suffering, but he was not going to go wandering in the forest to find out. He was safe for now.
Only after it was fully dark did they again move through the forest to find food and water. Fortunately, they did not have to go far from their hiding place. As they ate, he heard another rustling noise in the brush nearby. The wind brought the smell of a male deer. It was Atlan and he was coming toward them. He waiting until the senior male was right next to him before he called out.
“You are alive,” he called out. “Bambi, it is terrible. There are many groups of Men and dogs going through the forest. The dogs chase a deer and then Man comes with his killing sticks. I do not know how many are dead. I know Delon is dead. The dogs ran him down. I heard him yell as they attacked him. There was a killing stick noise and all was quiet.”
“What about the others?” he asked.
“I know many are dead,” the senior male said, “But I do not know who. All I know is that I did not see a deer all night. I was trying to find a place safe from Man.”
He did not think there was a safe place. This killing would continue until Man finished. Nothing his Father had taught him could prepare the herd for this. He could hide the herd from Men. He could not hide them from Man’s dogs. They smelled deer to well for them to hide.
“Bambi what do we do now?” the big male asked.
“Try and stay away from the dogs,” he told him. “Man cannot find us on his own.”
“That is why I came this way,” Atlan said still looking behind him.”
“The thick forest ends in that direction,” he told him. It is where the trees burned before. Go that way and you will be in the open.”
“I will go that way,” Atlan said and pointed in front of them. “I will travel inside the trees at the edge of the forest. Hopefully, it is far enough away from the meadow that the dogs will not pick up on my scent.”
Leave now,” he told him. “The hunt will start again as soon as the great light rises.”
“I will,” the big male said and ran off.
Inwardly he was happy. Having too many deer in this part of the forest was sure to bring attention from the dogs and Man. He went back to his family and lay down. He could only hope they were far enough away where the dogs would not smell them.
The great light rose and again, the barking of dogs and the shouting of Men started up immediately. They remained in place for a while and then heard the barking getting close. The noises from the killing sticks were closer. Both Man and dog were coming his way.
“We need to go before they get closer,” he told his family.
“Which way, Father?” his son asked.
“Toward the edge of the forest near where there was the fire,” he said. “If they are still getting closer we will run along the edge of the forest until we get to the hills.”
No one argued. They left their hiding place and moved quietly. Again, they moved as quickly as they could. It was not long before he saw burnt trees around him and the forest thinning out ahead of him. They were at the edge of the forest. There they stopped and caught their breath. The barking noise had lessened and he heard no sound of Man. This place looked safe for now.
“We can stay here,” he said to them, but listen carefully and keep your noses in the air.
They rested for a while and then he heard it.
ARF... ARF...ARF,” came from the open area in the burnt part of the forest. It was near.
“YEEEEHHHAAAAHOOOOOOO,” he heard a Man shout near the dogs.
That was too close he knew. “We need to run along the trees toward the hills,” he told his family
They all ran quickly away from the sound. Behind them, the barking increased. They ran straight ahead. The wind was at his back. He could not smell anything in front of him. At least the wind did not carry their ascents back to the dogs.
He heard at least one dog howl loudly. The dog smelled something. They ran as fast as they could, but it did not matter, the dogs stayed right behind them. They could not keep running like that, the fawns would get tired quickly. Although he could hear the dogs, he could not hear the Man behind them. That gave him an idea.
“The rest of you run toward the hills. I will lead them away,” he told them.
He stopped and watched his family disappear into the forest. He looked around and found a place hidden from view. He emptied himself nearby so the dogs would follow the scent to him. All he could do was hope this would work.
It seemed only a short while later he saw movement in the trees. A large brown and white dog was running along the same path they had come by. The dog followed it until he came to the spot he had emptied himself. At that point, the dog turned and started to follow him. He looked back. He saw one other dog in the distance. He still had his rack. He put his head down and waited for the lead dog to get closer. The lead dog let out a powerful howl and came toward him. He waited until the dog was several lengths away then charged.
He bounded forward surprising the dog. The dog saw him and leaped. As he did, he brought his head up catching the dog as he leaped and throwing him aside. The dog flew through the air hitting the ground hard. The dog rolled to his feet and came at him again. He charged again, but the dog was ready for him. The animal leaped from his side and landed on his back. He immediately fell pain as the dog bit into him and used his claws. He reared up on his rear legs throwing the dog off his back. As he did, he kicked out hard with both rear legs. He felt his left hoof hit something solid and there was a cry of pain from the dog.
By now, the other dog was running at full speed toward him. He turned to run, but it was too late, the dog was there. Again, he kicked out with his rear legs and felt both hoofs hit the dog in the chest. There was a horrible yelling noise and the dog flew aside. He turned to see both dogs looking hurt. They were not attacking. Then he caught movement in the trees. This was no dog. It was a man with a killing stick. He leaped ahead twice and turned.
“WHAMMMM,” sounded close behind. Then something hit the tree next to him sending pieces of wood everywhere. He fled with all his strength. He ran back toward the meadow. He ran at full speed until he was tired. He stopped to catch his breath.
“WHAMMMM...WHAMMMM...WHAMMMM,” he heard from the side of him. It was toward the direction his family had run.
He wanted to go, but he was too tired. His back also hurt and he was bleeding. He lay down on the ground and hoped no one else came after him. Fortunately, there were no more sounds of hunting for the rest of the day.
That night, after it was dark, he went off toward where his family had gone. His back hurt, but the bleeding had stopped. He needed to find more of the healing leaves before he got a fever. He looked through the forest smelling as he went. He had no idea where they could be now. He went towards the direction of his Father’s cave. When he was sure no Man or dog was around, he called out loudly. Almost immediately, he heard another deer call out a ways away. It was Geno’s voice. He started toward it. He bellowed twice more before he found his son moving through the forest, alone. He noticed he was limping slightly.
“Geno,” he called out and ran up to his son. They met and he nuzzled him like a fawn. “What happened?” he asked.
“After you left we ran but the wind was in from our backs. I could see or smell nothing in front of us. As we got closer to the hills, I saw movement in the trees. I told mother and my sisters to go another way and I turned away. I leaped twice and the turned to my left quickly. I am glad I did.”
Geno turned and showed his father his white bushy tail. The end of it was gone and the rest covered in blood. The killing stick had cut away the tip of his tail.
Geno gave a grin. “If I had not turned quickly, the killing stick would have hit me in the flank and I would be dead. Your teachings and Grandfather’s save me.”
He embraced his son. As he did, his son looked at him. “You have been attacked by dogs,” he said.
“Yes two of them,” he told him and explained what happened. “My Father taught me how to fight dogs so we are both alive because of him. Now, where are your mother and sisters?”
“I do not know,” his son said. “After I turned and Man hit me I ran in a different direction from them hoping to lead Man and his dogs away. I have not seen them since.”
Inside his heart glowed. His son had done the right things when it counted. He had learned his lessons. “Let us go find them,” he said. He then looked at his son and said as sincerely as he could, “I am proud of you, my son. I could not have done better. You are ready to take your place in the herd.”
Geno just nodded. They went looking in the forest, but he could not find a scent. Later after the lesser light rose, he called out to Faline.
A short while later he heard her reply. Both he and Geno walked quickly toward the sound. In the distance, he could hear other deer, both males, and doe, calling out. Some of them had survived. They looked and found Faline and Lina resting in cover. Eta was not there.”
“I do not know where she is,” Faline sobbed. “After Man used his killing sticks, we all separated. I found Lina, but not Eta. I was afraid to call out to her.”
“I will go look for her,” he said. “Geno can stay here.”
“No, Father,” you should stay here and I will go. I am not hurt as much as you are. If we get separated, or there is more hunting, I will meet you at Mother’s thicket or Grandfather’s cave.”
Before he could say a word, Geno was off disappearing quietly into the trees and darkness.
He nodded and lay down next to Faline and Lina. If was then his mate noticed his injuries. “Does it hurt badly?” she asked.
“Some,” he admitted. “I will get some of the healing leaves when Man leaves,” he said looking in the direction Geno had gone. “He has grown, Faline. Our son has grown up.”
“I know, and he is alive and well because of you as we are too,” Faline said and nuzzled him, as did Lina.
During the rest of the night, he would hear Geno call out to Eta from time to time, but there was no response from his daughter. The calling stopped after a while and there was just silence until just before the greater light appeared. He heard and then smelled Geno approach. His son walked into the tress they were lying in. He had his head down and he looked awful. Faline next to him froze.
“What happened, my son,” he asked.
“I found Eta,” he said. “She was lying in the bushes not far from where Man used his killing sticks on her. She was hit in the shoulder. She managed to run a while, but she fell.” He then looked up, his face full of dread. “Eta is gone,” he barely stammered out. “By the time I found her, the scavengers were already there. I chased them away, but there was nothing more I could do so I just came back.”
“Eta,” Faline cried out and buried her head in his side. Lina was also sobbing.
Geno looked like he would burst out crying. He quickly got up and went over to his son. His own heart was breaking.
“There was nothing you could do, my son, he told him. “The rest of us survived.”
He turned and wandered off. He felt too filled with sorrow to stay. Only when he was alone did he let his feeling out.
Once the day came, there were fewer sounds of the killing sticks. When they heard sounds, they were coming from Relnor’s herd. He could only hope Gurri would be all right. They remained in place staying as still as possible until well after dark. They had to travel toward the hills to find water, but they managed to find enough nourishment to satisfy them.
He looked around. They were near the hill where his Father died. If they went ahead, they would come to the open meadow that they need to cross to get to Relnor’s herd. This looked like another good place to hide for a while. He also saw no deer around them. When the great light rose, they all stayed there.
That day they heard no sounds of killing stick, nor did they hear the barking of dogs. It was quiet all around them. He stayed still and did not move even at night. After the next day with no sounds from Man or dog, he decided it was safe to go back to his meadow. That night they all traveled back to Faline’s thicket where they ate and drank. After another day passed in quiet, he decided it was time to return to the meadow.
That night, he and Geno crept carefully onto the meadow and looked around. The smell of death from those killed still filled the air around them. There were several places on the meadow where it was obvious a deer had died. There were the prints of both Man and dog everywhere. The worse was the lingering putrid smell of Man that covered the meadow. Both his son and he waited to see if any of the herd came. He saw a couple of herd males come on to the meadow. A few doe with this year’s fawns came. None of them stayed long, just long enough to eat and drink. It was late in the night when he saw Filon enter the meadow. He went over to him.
“Why, Bambi?” was the first thing he said to him. “I have seen Man hunt before, but not like this. He went around the forest using his killing stick on every deer he could see. I do not know how many I heard die, some very near me. I saw one herd male Carlan run down and torn at by the dogs. Man only came after the dogs finished with him and the deer was bleeding to death. It was only then Man used his killing stick on the poor male. I know the dogs smelled me, but Man was too busy with Carlan and left me alone.”
“Man did not kill just deer,” he said and told Filon about the fox he found.
“This was bad,” Filon said. “We have to do something different next year. We lost maybe one deer out of three.”
“I know,” he said. “My daughter Eta is dead.”
“I am sorry, Bambi,” Filon said. “I do not know who is alive or dead.”
“Next time we will need to spread the herd out father from the meadow,” he said thinking aloud. “Man and his dogs stayed near the meadow and the deer that stayed near the meadow died.”
“That is good to know,” Filon said. “The dogs chased me deep into the forest into a place I have never seen before. I think Man called them back, but it took me a while to find my way back.”
“This was worse than anything my Father ever told me about,” he said. “The only thing to do now is to see who comes back.”
Man and his dogs did not return. Man left them in peace, but it took a while for deer to trust enough to come back. As the seer returned, he saw most of the doe and fawns were all right. A few fawns came back alone without mothers. He could only hope they survive the winter.
There were many fewer herd males than before saw. Only Atlan and Filon returned from his senior males. All the others had gone. The yearlings were mostly unhurt. Man likes his deer bigger so he would hunt them next year.
No one talked to him about the hunts. Most were still in shock at what happened. Almost all the deer had stories of almost being killed by either the dogs or Man. All were still scared. No one criticized him about him leading the herd, but inside, he knew he should have been able to do better. He promised himself he would do so next Season. He had to. If there was another hunt like this, the herd would be gone.
Time went by and they forest remained quiet. Another season had passed. Soon their racks loosen and fell out ending the killing for this season. There would now be peace. The main thing now would be to use this time to put on enough weight to last through winter. Slowly the herd came back, what was left of it, and things moved on as they always did,
On the first night, he noticed the chill of winter he stood next to the meadow with Filon and Geno. They were watching the herd eating.
“I hope this winter is mild,” Filon said. Many of the fawns that lost mothers will not survive a very harsh winter.”
“I know,” he said. “We may have to show some of them where to find food.”
“I will do that if necessary,” Geno said. “I am just happy the hunts are over.”
“So am I,” Filon answered. “The problem is they keep coming back. There seem to be nothing we can do except die.”
“We can always do something,” he told them. “We must do something. This cannot happen next season.”
“We can only do the best we can,” Geno answered before adding, “And hope it is enough.”
His Father could not have said it better.
The Way of the Forest Part 5(Wilbur Arron)
CHAPTER NINE: LEADERS
Gurri watched her parents and sisters leave the forest. They ran across the open field toward the hill her Grandfather used to live on. That meant she was alone, which was fine with her. Geno was still here, but in her mind, that meant she was still alone. She turned back to Kelo and smiled at him.
“Let us go,” she said and raised her white tail and ran into the cover of the trees.
He saw Kelo take a large breath through his nose smelling her scent. She had no practically strong feelings for Kelo, but he seemed to care about her, and he listened to her. Despite what her Father and brother said, that was still a rarity. Tino and his friends had ignored her and they were now gone. Although she did not like to see any deer killed by Man, she felt some satisfaction after she told them to run away and they insulted her. At least the yearlings and some of the two and three season deer heeded her advice and were now alive. Even Relnor did not seem to mind when she spoke up.
As the days went on, the males finished scrapping the velvet off their racks. About the same time, she could smell the doe starting to put out scent. She did it too. She did not want to, but her body did it anyway. That was the signal for the males to start their fights. While she and Kelo were out eating, she saw Geno and his two doe, Margo and Edgi walk on the open field to eat. Both does were putting out scent and it did not go unnoticed by the other males. One of the three season males came up and started to sniff at Edgi’s tail. The male was larger than Geno but not as large as Kelo. He tried to nudge her aside and away from Geno. Her brother turned back quickly and put his head down ready to fight.
“Watch this,” she told Kelo.
“The other male is bigger than Geno and heavier,” Kelo said obviously thinking the bigger male would win.
The male charged Geno head down. Geno did the same. They met with a resounding knock they could easily hear. Both males looked stunned, but Geno recovered first and went at the male hitting him hard and forcing him back. The male backed up, shook his head, and then charge again. This time Geno did not follow through with his charge and pulled away letting the male rush past him. As the male went by him, Geno lunged at the deer’s exposed flank running his rack along his side. She knew her brother could have gutted the male seriously hurting him. Instead, he only scrapped his rack leaving several dark welts along the side. The pain was enough for the other male to keep on running now bleeding lightly. The male was not seriously hurt. Geno watched him go, did nothing, and went back to his two doe. She saw the other, larger males look at the fight. Her brother may be a yearling, but a yearling that others should leave alone.
“I never saw that in a fight before,” Kelo said.
She turned and smiled at him. “I know; that is my Father’s teaching. All of us know how to fight. After The Season, you should have Geno teach you some of what he knows,” she suggested.
“Maybe I will,” Kelo said.
That is what she liked about Kelo. He did not know like Geno and she did, but he was not stupid and arrogant. He would listen and learn.
Fortunately, none of the older males in the herd challenged Kelo for her. A few males came close to sniff at her tail, but Kelo always made them run away by just dropping his head. She started feeling more comfortable around this male. Man did not come back to the open field, which was good. As the days went on, she started feeling closer to Kelo than ever before. She knew that was The Season working itself with her. Her body also started putting out more and different scents. They slept close together at night. She found his scent overpowering at times. It seemed that Kelo would be the father of her fawn in the spring. Looking around the forest, she knew that other than Geno, Relnor, and those two males that were always near him, Kelo was the best male in the forest. He also did not seem interested in other doe like Geno. The next morning after Kelo got up and emptied himself, she could smell the scent of a male ready to breed.
“Come with me,” she told him. “It is time for us go and be alone.”
She led him deep into the forest where the trees were so thick, their overhead canopies blotted out the greater light. The forest was cool and damp. There were only a few openings among the trees and not much grass grew in these openings, but it was enough for them to eat. There were several small streams nearby. She looked and found a nice thicket like her mother’s near such a small opening. She could smell no predators and not many deer came near here. This would be a good place to give birth to a fawn. She would remember this place in the future. She marked the location with her own scent and then lay down on the cool layer of leaves.
Kelo came in very close and looked at her. “I do feel for you,” he told her and then kissed her on the mouth. He then nuzzled her gently not just on her face, but along her back, especially by her tail.
“I feel for you,” she told him. At that moment she and did feel an almost overpowering urge here with this male.
They fell asleep but she woke up midway through the day. The urges were now overpowering, almost guiding her in what to do. She got up and emptied herself near their thicket. Kelo came over and smelled her. She then walked away from him a few steps and then braced her front and back legs. She felt ready for something. She raised her tail. Kelo came up from her back and got on top of her.
She then let Kelo do the rest.
He did it that time and a two other times over the next day. This was what they meant by breeding. It went on and then suddenly the great overpowering urge stopped. Although the two of them stayed together, she did not allow him to couple with her again. That was over. It was the next day they decided to go back to the herd. Before they left she marked the place well.
“Remember this place,” she told Kelo gently. “When the time comes, I will have my fawns here.”
He said nothing but only kissed her again. They both walked back out into the forest closer to the open field. By now, The Season had spent its fury. One of the first deer she saw was her brother who was with his two doe, but not nearly as close to them as before. She went over to him.
“Are you well, Geno,” she asked?
He took a smell of her and nodded. “Yes, it was a good Season. I bred both Margo and Edgi, but now they both seem less interest in me. How are you?”
“I am fine,” she said. She knew her scent would tell Geno everything he needed to know. “Now that The Season is over, and before your racks drop off, I was hoping you could teach Kelo some of the things Father taught you about fighting.”
He looked at her mate and shrugged. “I do not mind, we can start tonight if you want too.”
“I would like that,” Kelo said gratefully.
“We must now be very careful,” Geno said. “Both Grandfather and Father told us after The Season would come the hunts. We must watch to see if Man comes back.”
“I know,” she said. “I just hope the others will listen to us if Man comes back.
That night she watched as Kelo and Geno sparred in the open field. Kelo was bigger than Geno and stronger, yet he had problems in pushing Geno back. Geno would change his position, change his stance, and always managed to throw Kelo off balance. This frustrated Kelo who knew he should win, but he could not. Then Geno would show him what he did wrong. This continued for a few more nights before Geno stopped one night and called her over.
“You are learning,” he told Kelo. It has been harder to push you back now that you can change position quickly. In any case, the lessons must end. I am going back to our old forest.”
“I thought you were happy here,” she said.
“I was,” he said sadly. “Neither Margo nor Edgi want anything to do with me anymore. Their feelings vanished with The Season. I am going to go back and help Father with the herd before Man shows up.”
“You can help here,” she told him.
“You know what Father taught as well as I do, Gurri,” he told her. “You have a large mate who this herd respects. You will do well here. I can help Father back at our old herd.”
She could argue with him, but his feelings for this place only ran as deep as his feelings for the two doe. If they were gone, he would be gone also.
“Very well, brother,” she said calmly “I will do the best I can. I just hope I can get the others to listen.”
“They will,” Geno said.
“You should tell Relnor,” she said.
“I already have,” he whispered. “I do not think he liked it, but there is little he can do. I have made up my mind to go.”
The following night, she watched her brother go like her parents. Other than Kelo, she was alone here now.
Relnor did not like the fact Geno went and started to ignore her. The younger deer still gathered around her at times to listen to her teach the lessons her Father taught her. This was not exactly what she wanted, but she knew she did not want to go back to her old herd. She knew she they would ignore her there. Here at least some of the deer would listen to her.
It was a few days later that she woke one morning to a funny smell. It smelled burnt. It smelled familiar when suddenly she realized what it was. It was smoke. She jumped to her feet and looked around. It was light and the smell was coming from the open field.
Kelo opened his eyes looking at her wondering when his nose smelled it.
“Man is here,” she told him.
Her mate shot to his feet looking at her. She listened carefully and heard no sounds. She walked forward toward the open field when Kelo stopped her.
“No,” he said. “We never move toward Man you told me.”
“Yes, but the other deer need to know to flee,” she said. “Man is not near us or we would hear him.”
She walked carefully forward picking her way carefully among the trees. The wind was blowing from the open field and even though she smelled smoke, she did not smell Man. They traveled slowly until there came to one of the clearings. This was as far as she would go. She lay down on the ground at the edge of the clearing. Kelo lay down next to her and waited.
A short while later she saw both doe and young males moving away from the field. She barked and called them over and told them to go hide in the forest. Soon she saw Relnor and his senior males come into the opening. She stood up and went over to him.
“Man is here, but it does not sound or smell as if he is in the forest,” she said.
“Will they try to chase us again into the field?” Kelo asked.
“I do not know,” she admitted, “But as long as we can hear or smell anything of Man we need to stay away from the open.”
“Just like your Father told me,” Relnor said. “I will call all the deer here.”
Relnor went out into the middle of the clearing and started bellow out loudly. “Here, Here all come here,” he called out.
Soon the deer started to appear. Fist the herd males, the yearlings, and then the doe and this year’s fawns. As soon as they were all there Relnor told them: “We need to stay away from the open field. Man is there. As Prince Bambi told me, Man will try to get behind us and chase us into the open where they will kill us. Stay in the deep forest. Man should not find us there.”
The other deer left and ran the way they came. She stayed still. She knew she was in no danger here and she wanted to hear what man would do. Kelo did not like that, but she insisted. Nothing happened for the rest of the day.
That night, very faintly she could hear Man shouting. She could also smell Man’s fire. It was only after the shouting stopped that the wind shifted so it blew from her side. There was silence from the open field. They ate in the small clearing along with Relnor and many others and drank in a small stream. She dreaded morning, but there was nothing more she could do.
Come the morning, they all heard in the distance the sound of Man coming into the forest.
“We need to leave,” she told those in the opening and she left and went toward their thicket. Soon she heard banging noise from behind her.
“HEEEYYYYAAAAHOOOOO,” the men called out and banged things together. She heard the shouting all morning, but always far away from them. Man had not gotten behind them. She also did not hear any sounds of killing sticks. Man had not been able to chase anyone into the open. That meant they were safe. The shouting and banging continued all day, but no sounds of killing sticks.
Next morning there was quiet. Again, the wind blew from the open field, but it brought no smell of Man or even of smoke. She wondered if Man had gone, but decided to wait the day in her thicket.
“Man may have given up and gone elsewhere,” she told Kelo.
“And no killing sticks,” Kelo said. “No deer died thanks to you,” he said and kissed her. When they heard nothing the next morning, then she felt it was safe. They walked to the small meadow and she saw Relnor there. He saw her and came over to her.
“You and your Father were right,” he said happily. “Man killed no deer,” he said.
The others gathered around her congratulating her that no one was hurt. She enjoyed finally getting someone to appreciate that she was smart enough to act like her Father. It was one of the happiest moments of her life.
That feeling continued for a few days. There was no sign of Man and she hoped that the hunts would be over. Then came one morning when she heard the sound of many killing sticks. They were not nearby but instead coming from her Father’s forest. She could also hear the yelping of dogs in the distance. She knew Man had brought dogs to her Father’s forest to run down and kill deer.
She took Kelo and searched the forest looking for Relnor and the others to tell him.
“That is bad,” he told her. “However, if they come here we can just run into the forest again.”
“Not with dogs,” she told him. “Dogs can smell us and lead Man to us. Man uses dogs to run down deer. The dogs either attack the deer or make so much noise that Man soon comes with his killing stick. My Grandfather told me you can hide from Man, but you cannot hide from dogs. The only way to avoid them is to go even deeper into the forest and hope the dogs do not notice your scent. We should do this now before they come.”
Relnor shook his head. “I could call the deer deeper into the forest,” he said.
“No,” one of the senior males standing next to him said. “If we do that we lose the grass in the open field. We need to feed on that with winter coming. There is no danger here and I do not think we should move unless we see danger like before.”
“If you see dogs, it may already be too late to run,” she said.
“Have you ever been chased by dogs,” the male said eyeing her coldly.
“No,” she answered boldly, “But my Father and Grandfather have and they told me how they survived.”
“When I see the dogs, I will run,” he said.
She shrugged, “If you see the dogs, it may too late. Dogs can run longer than a deer and will run you down. They also bring Man with them. Man brings his killing sticks.”
“I can run faster than any dog,” the male said with contempt and turned away from her.
“I will think about this,” Relnor said and left with the other senior male.
This left her burning inside. Kelo must have seen it. He nuzzled her gently. “They are right, we can run faster than a dog,” he told her.
She turned quickly seeing where this was going. “You can run faster for a while, but my Father told me you cannot run longer than a dog. They do not tire as we do. When we become exhausted and have to stop, they keep coming and calling to their masters at all the time. The dogs will attack the deer and sometimes tear them apart, or they call the Man to the exhausted deer and he uses his killing sticks on it.”
She spent the next day telling the deer what to do if they heard dogs. Many listened to her. Some thought like the Relnor’s senior male. It did not matter what anyone said. The moment she knew a dog was nearby, she was leaving for the deep forest near her thicket.
It was late the next day that she started hearing noises from the open field. There were first banging noises and the shouting of Man. The there were grinding noises and the shouting got louder near dark. At dark, she could hear barking from the open field. Man had brought dogs.
She searched frantically for Relnor and found him in the small meadow. She came up to him.
“I heard Man and dogs in the open field,” she told him. “We must flee deep into the forest.”
Relnor looked around him. “I think this is far enough. We can run if we hear dogs getting closer.”
“You are still too close to the dogs,” she told him. “They will be here tomorrow.”
“I do not think so,” the senior male said. “Take care of your own self, doe,” he told her.
Relnor did nothing else. She ignored him and went around the forest telling every deer she could find to flee deep into the forest. She could see Kelo was anxious at what she was doing. Doe usually did not give the herd advice as she well knew. Many deer did not believe her. Many others did and left. It was late in the evening when she finally looked up and told her mate. “It is time we leave. I am going back to our thicket. We should both be safe there.”
“Are you sure,” Kelo asked looking nervous.
Not him too, she thought. They could not see the danger like she could. “The only thing I am sure of is that we are too close to Man and his dogs,” she said as forcefully as she could. “What Man will do when the great light comes, no one knows, but I will not allow myself to get killed by some dog or some Man. I am leaving for my thicket. You can come if you want.”
With that, she left and made her way quickly into the deeper forest. She moved quietly past the small meadow, past the stream, and into the thick canopy of trees. She knew the way. She also went alone. Kelo stayed behind. Although she felt something for her mate, she was not going to let him tell her what to do. She was certainly not going to die with him.
It was after the great light rose when she reached her thicket. She drank in a small pool and ate some grass she found in the few open patches. It was enough to satisfy her and she lay down. It was a while later she heard something moving through the forest and caught a familiar scent.
“Come lie down next to me,” she told him.
Kelo appeared from the trees. “I thought I was quiet,” he said.
“You still need to practice,” she told him. “Now lie here, wait, and listen.”
It was quiet for a while and then they heard it.
“WHAMM,” echoed through the forest. This time the noise was coming from this forest. That sound repeated several more times. A few sounded closer to them. Then in the distance, she heard the faint barking of dogs.
It was not long after that she heard breaking sounds in the bushes along with the sound of rapid hoofs. A young male race by them; he was running past them into the deeper forest. He looked in a panic. Other followed shortly behind them. She managed to stop an older doe.
“What is happening,” she called out.
The doe turned, saw her, and recognized her. “It was like you said,” she gasped. “Man is using his dogs to run down the deer and kill them. As soon as I heard the barking, I fled like you told us too. Is this far enough?”
“Yes, as long as the barking does not get louder, we are fine,” she said. “Rest for a while.”
The doe stayed nearby still panting, trying to get breath back in her. She was just the first. Others came soon afterward: there were doe with this year’s fawns, there were yearlings, both male and doe, and some older doe. She did not see Relnor or any of the senior males. None of the herd males came. All the deer that were there were fleeing from the dogs and Man. Soon they had many deer waiting next to her. She listened, and noted the despite the continued sounds of the killing sticks, the sound of the dogs did not get closer. She stayed still until it was well after dark. She then got up and talked to the other deer there.
“We need to stay here until we are sure Man has left,” she said.
“Is it safe here?” one of the yearling males asked.
“Yes, but we must listen carefully,” she told all of them. “If the sounds of Man or his dogs get louder, we will need to flee deeper into the woods. We should all spread out. Having too many deer close together will only help draw the dogs closer.”
They all spread out doing as she asked. She then looked back at Kelo who just stared at her.
“You know, sometimes you talk like a male,” he said.
She smiled broadly. “That is because my Father raised me to know what to do.”
“I only hope he was right,” he said and walked away back to their resting place.
That night they ate and drank nearby with the rest of those who had fled. A few more young deer joined them, but only two of the herd males. The deer said little and all were resting before the great light rose again. In the deep woods, the light did not fill the forest like near the openness of the meadow and open field, but it was light enough to see. There were no problems in hearing when Man used his killing sticks although the number of times they heard it was much less than the previous day.
For two more days, they stayed there until there was silence during the day. Two days went by without them hearing or smelling any sign of Man or dogs. Then Kelo and she cautiously went back first to the small meadow to look around. There were some deer there. They found nothing of danger except the smell of death. Looking at the circling birds, she found a herd male that had been hit my Man and managed to get away before he died. His flank ripped open by a killing stick.
That night they went to the open field and saw no one. Man was gone for now. They ate fully and looked around. They found only a few herd males. Some had teeth and claw marks of dogs on their bodies. Others had managed to get away. All had stories. They all collected by the smaller meadow and were stunned. They found a few fawns that had lost their mothers to the hunts. What they never found was Relnor and his two senior males. They were gone.
Over the next several days, many deer asked her what they should too. She told them to watch carefully and eat as much as they could. She knew the winter would soon be here. It was only after several days of confusion the herd got together in the field.
One of the few herd males called to her. “You told us to flee or Man might kill us. You were right,” he said.
“You saved us,” a doe with fawn said.
“One of the herd males asked Kelo. “Are you herd leader now?”
She looked around. Yes, Kelo was the largest male that was still alive. “Do you want to be herd leader?” she asked him.
“I am not a herd leader,” he said looking a bit frightened. “You father and brother would be better than me.”
“They are not here,” she said bluntly. “You and I are here and they trained me. I can help you if you want.”
She knew the other deer would never accept a doe as herd leader, but her mate was now the biggest deer in the herd. She could tell the others what to do, or have Kelo tell them. It would take time to build the herd up again. It would mean letting him have the pick of the doe for The Season, but that is the way male deer were. She would also have his fawns who she could train to take their place.
“If you help me then yes, I will be herd leader,” he said but not convincingly.
“Well ask the others,” she told him. “My Father and Grandfather said a herd leader is chosen by the herd. See if any of the herd males say no. You can easily beat anyone here who will challenge you.”
Kelo did not look convinced but asked all the deer in the open field if they accept him as herd leader.
No one said no.
CHAPTER TEN: BLOOD
By the time he got back to Faline, Geno, Lina, and Eta, they had all gathered closely around the thicket. Faline looked up at him with obvious worry on her face.
“Geno told me what he saw,” Faline said, voice shaking.
“We need to stay still and listen carefully,” he said trying to sound reassuring. He remembered well the time dogs nearly killed Faline and him. She had been afraid of them ever since. Dogs frightened him too; he still had claw marks on his hindquarters when they attacked him. He would not admit that fear to his family and the herd.
The sky is beginning to lighten,” Geno said looking off into the distance. “If Man is coming, he will be here soon.”
“Lie down and rest,” he told the others. “We may need it soon.”
He laid down next to Faline with the twin lying next to him and Geno lying across from him. All they could do now was wait.
It was not long after the sky became light that he heard it, the distant yelping of many dogs. The noise got louder. That was all he needed to hear. He knew what Man was going to do.
“They are not going to chase the deer into the meadow,” he told them getting up quickly. The others just as quickly followed. “Man is going to use the dogs to run us down and then either have the dogs tear us to pieces, or to follow them with their killing sticks. This is much worse than before. We need to run now.
“Back to the old cave?” Geno asked.
“No,” he told them. “Man may come from there and trap us between them. We must go there,” he said and pointed to his left with his nose. “The ground is less hilly there and there is enough grass and small streams for food and water.”
He leaped away and moved quickly through the trees and bushes. The other followed him closely. They did not run. Running makes too much noise. Instead, they hurried quickly, but quietly. At first, the yelping got louder. Then he heard “WHAMMMM,” that repeated as Man used his killing stick. The dogs sounded excited as if chasing something. Man was after his herd and there was nothing he could do about it.
As they moved, he thought he heard some deer scream, but it was too far away for him to be sure. They went on until he could hear nothing behind them. That was good because soon the trees thinned out leaving only short bushes and tree saplings. Around them, the remains of dead trees that were burnt up in the fire. They were bare. They had entered that part of the forest Man had burnt down before. They found cover in some half burnt pine trees and got low to the ground. All of them stayed there and huddled.
The great light was still climbing to overhead when they heard more dogs. The sounds got louder and more frequent. They were after someone else. This time the scream was louder, much closer, and followed quickly by the sound from a killing stick. The barking then stopped.
“Father, I am scared,” Eta said looking at him. Her black eyes were shaking, as was her body.
“We are safe here,” he told her. “We will be fine here.” He hoped that was true.
The great light rose to overhead. He heard more sounds of the killing sticks: louder dog barking, even some Men shouting. They were hunting all over the forest. He had never seen this kind of hunting before. He started to wonder if anywhere was safe. The hunting went on until it was almost dark and then it stopped. Only after it was completely dark, did he allow himself or any of the others to get up. He looked around him. They were at the edge of the old forest. If they had to run from here, they would be mostly in the open. This place was unsafe. He got up and all of them fed on the new plant growth. Hardly anyone said anything. He decided to go back the way they came to inside the thicker part of the forest. It might be easier to hide in there if the dogs chased them.
They walked toward a small stream he knew about it when they all picked up the smell. It smelled as if someone had emptied himself, and there was an earthy rotten smell. He knew from the past that earthy smell was blood. The smell got worse the closer they got to the stream. Finally, he saw it. Lying still on the ground was a fox.
“Let me look,” he told the others. He walked up and looked at the body. It was dead. It was also mutilated. The dogs bit deeply into its side and tail taking out chunks of flesh. Deep claw marks were on the back. The side of the poor creature was ripped open by a killing stick and its inside oozed on the ground with lots of blood. Even though he did not like foxes because they would kill fawns, he could not help but feel sorry for the poor creature that died horribly. Its face still showed the agony of its last moments. They were light footsteps behind him. His son came up to look.
“How can anyone do this?” he said looking pale “Even the bears don’t leave who they eat like this.”
“Man is worse than bear and foxes,” he told his son. “The bears, foxes, deer, and other creatures all belong in the forest and live within it. Man does not and cares little for what he does.”
“Let us leave this place,” Geno said. “It is sickening.”
“Yes,” he said, “But it still teaches a lesson to us of what happens if Man catches us. We can expect to die like this fox.”
“The only ones who will do well after Man finishes are the scavengers,” his son said and walked off.
He made sure Faline and the twins did not see the remains. Like his son, it made him feel sick to his stomach. They found the stream and all took long drinks. He looked around and saw how thickly the trees and other plants grew near the source of water. It would be a good place to hide.
“We will stay near here,” he told the others. “It is easy to hide in and we can run in any direction if Man and his dogs come.”
Geno took in large breaths through his nose. “I smell nothing around here,” he said.
They moved around for the rest of the night grazing more of the grass and then emptying themselves away from this place so the scent of their waste would not draw the attention of the dogs. As soon as he saw the first sign of light in the sky he found the best-concealed site nearby and they all lay down to get what sleep they could.
There was not much rest. As soon as the sky was light, the barking started again. It sounded as if the dogs were going in many directions searching for animals for their masters. He listened and this time the barking sounded like it went away from them instead of towards them. Even in the distance, they could all easily hear the loud barking. There was never a problem in hearing the killing sticks. It did not matter, they all stayed together and they all stayed still for most of the day. It was after the great light was overhead that he heard a loud crashing noise in the distance. Someone was running through the forest. He looked up and a yearling doe ran close to them. He barked once and called to her. The doe either did not hear him or did not care because she continued to run past him. He listed but did not hear or smell any Man or dog following her. She was just in a panic running blindly.
The barking noises changed as more dogs found things to chase. Often afterward, the sound of the killing sticks closely followed. What really bothered him and his family was the screams of deer being run down and attacked by the dogs.
When it was dark, the barking stopped and the forest was quiet. He wondered how badly the herd was suffering, but he was not going to go wandering in the forest to find out. He was safe for now.
Only after it was fully dark did they again move through the forest to find food and water. Fortunately, they did not have to go far from their hiding place. As they ate, he heard another rustling noise in the brush nearby. The wind brought the smell of a male deer. It was Atlan and he was coming toward them. He waiting until the senior male was right next to him before he called out.
“You are alive,” he called out. “Bambi, it is terrible. There are many groups of Men and dogs going through the forest. The dogs chase a deer and then Man comes with his killing sticks. I do not know how many are dead. I know Delon is dead. The dogs ran him down. I heard him yell as they attacked him. There was a killing stick noise and all was quiet.”
“What about the others?” he asked.
“I know many are dead,” the senior male said, “But I do not know who. All I know is that I did not see a deer all night. I was trying to find a place safe from Man.”
He did not think there was a safe place. This killing would continue until Man finished. Nothing his Father had taught him could prepare the herd for this. He could hide the herd from Men. He could not hide them from Man’s dogs. They smelled deer to well for them to hide.
“Bambi what do we do now?” the big male asked.
“Try and stay away from the dogs,” he told him. “Man cannot find us on his own.”
“That is why I came this way,” Atlan said still looking behind him.”
“The thick forest ends in that direction,” he told him. It is where the trees burned before. Go that way and you will be in the open.”
“I will go that way,” Atlan said and pointed in front of them. “I will travel inside the trees at the edge of the forest. Hopefully, it is far enough away from the meadow that the dogs will not pick up on my scent.”
Leave now,” he told him. “The hunt will start again as soon as the great light rises.”
“I will,” the big male said and ran off.
Inwardly he was happy. Having too many deer in this part of the forest was sure to bring attention from the dogs and Man. He went back to his family and lay down. He could only hope they were far enough away where the dogs would not smell them.
The great light rose and again, the barking of dogs and the shouting of Men started up immediately. They remained in place for a while and then heard the barking getting close. The noises from the killing sticks were closer. Both Man and dog were coming his way.
“We need to go before they get closer,” he told his family.
“Which way, Father?” his son asked.
“Toward the edge of the forest near where there was the fire,” he said. “If they are still getting closer we will run along the edge of the forest until we get to the hills.”
No one argued. They left their hiding place and moved quietly. Again, they moved as quickly as they could. It was not long before he saw burnt trees around him and the forest thinning out ahead of him. They were at the edge of the forest. There they stopped and caught their breath. The barking noise had lessened and he heard no sound of Man. This place looked safe for now.
“We can stay here,” he said to them, but listen carefully and keep your noses in the air.
They rested for a while and then he heard it.
ARF... ARF...ARF,” came from the open area in the burnt part of the forest. It was near.
“YEEEEHHHAAAAHOOOOOOO,” he heard a Man shout near the dogs.
That was too close he knew. “We need to run along the trees toward the hills,” he told his family
They all ran quickly away from the sound. Behind them, the barking increased. They ran straight ahead. The wind was at his back. He could not smell anything in front of him. At least the wind did not carry their ascents back to the dogs.
He heard at least one dog howl loudly. The dog smelled something. They ran as fast as they could, but it did not matter, the dogs stayed right behind them. They could not keep running like that, the fawns would get tired quickly. Although he could hear the dogs, he could not hear the Man behind them. That gave him an idea.
“The rest of you run toward the hills. I will lead them away,” he told them.
He stopped and watched his family disappear into the forest. He looked around and found a place hidden from view. He emptied himself nearby so the dogs would follow the scent to him. All he could do was hope this would work.
It seemed only a short while later he saw movement in the trees. A large brown and white dog was running along the same path they had come by. The dog followed it until he came to the spot he had emptied himself. At that point, the dog turned and started to follow him. He looked back. He saw one other dog in the distance. He still had his rack. He put his head down and waited for the lead dog to get closer. The lead dog let out a powerful howl and came toward him. He waited until the dog was several lengths away then charged.
He bounded forward surprising the dog. The dog saw him and leaped. As he did, he brought his head up catching the dog as he leaped and throwing him aside. The dog flew through the air hitting the ground hard. The dog rolled to his feet and came at him again. He charged again, but the dog was ready for him. The animal leaped from his side and landed on his back. He immediately fell pain as the dog bit into him and used his claws. He reared up on his rear legs throwing the dog off his back. As he did, he kicked out hard with both rear legs. He felt his left hoof hit something solid and there was a cry of pain from the dog.
By now, the other dog was running at full speed toward him. He turned to run, but it was too late, the dog was there. Again, he kicked out with his rear legs and felt both hoofs hit the dog in the chest. There was a horrible yelling noise and the dog flew aside. He turned to see both dogs looking hurt. They were not attacking. Then he caught movement in the trees. This was no dog. It was a man with a killing stick. He leaped ahead twice and turned.
“WHAMMMM,” sounded close behind. Then something hit the tree next to him sending pieces of wood everywhere. He fled with all his strength. He ran back toward the meadow. He ran at full speed until he was tired. He stopped to catch his breath.
“WHAMMMM...WHAMMMM...WHAMMMM,” he heard from the side of him. It was toward the direction his family had run.
He wanted to go, but he was too tired. His back also hurt and he was bleeding. He lay down on the ground and hoped no one else came after him. Fortunately, there were no more sounds of hunting for the rest of the day.
That night, after it was dark, he went off toward where his family had gone. His back hurt, but the bleeding had stopped. He needed to find more of the healing leaves before he got a fever. He looked through the forest smelling as he went. He had no idea where they could be now. He went towards the direction of his Father’s cave. When he was sure no Man or dog was around, he called out loudly. Almost immediately, he heard another deer call out a ways away. It was Geno’s voice. He started toward it. He bellowed twice more before he found his son moving through the forest, alone. He noticed he was limping slightly.
“Geno,” he called out and ran up to his son. They met and he nuzzled him like a fawn. “What happened?” he asked.
“After you left we ran but the wind was in from our backs. I could see or smell nothing in front of us. As we got closer to the hills, I saw movement in the trees. I told mother and my sisters to go another way and I turned away. I leaped twice and the turned to my left quickly. I am glad I did.”
Geno turned and showed his father his white bushy tail. The end of it was gone and the rest covered in blood. The killing stick had cut away the tip of his tail.
Geno gave a grin. “If I had not turned quickly, the killing stick would have hit me in the flank and I would be dead. Your teachings and Grandfather’s save me.”
He embraced his son. As he did, his son looked at him. “You have been attacked by dogs,” he said.
“Yes two of them,” he told him and explained what happened. “My Father taught me how to fight dogs so we are both alive because of him. Now, where are your mother and sisters?”
“I do not know,” his son said. “After I turned and Man hit me I ran in a different direction from them hoping to lead Man and his dogs away. I have not seen them since.”
Inside his heart glowed. His son had done the right things when it counted. He had learned his lessons. “Let us go find them,” he said. He then looked at his son and said as sincerely as he could, “I am proud of you, my son. I could not have done better. You are ready to take your place in the herd.”
Geno just nodded. They went looking in the forest, but he could not find a scent. Later after the lesser light rose, he called out to Faline.
A short while later he heard her reply. Both he and Geno walked quickly toward the sound. In the distance, he could hear other deer, both males, and doe, calling out. Some of them had survived. They looked and found Faline and Lina resting in cover. Eta was not there.”
“I do not know where she is,” Faline sobbed. “After Man used his killing sticks, we all separated. I found Lina, but not Eta. I was afraid to call out to her.”
“I will go look for her,” he said. “Geno can stay here.”
“No, Father,” you should stay here and I will go. I am not hurt as much as you are. If we get separated, or there is more hunting, I will meet you at Mother’s thicket or Grandfather’s cave.”
Before he could say a word, Geno was off disappearing quietly into the trees and darkness.
He nodded and lay down next to Faline and Lina. If was then his mate noticed his injuries. “Does it hurt badly?” she asked.
“Some,” he admitted. “I will get some of the healing leaves when Man leaves,” he said looking in the direction Geno had gone. “He has grown, Faline. Our son has grown up.”
“I know, and he is alive and well because of you as we are too,” Faline said and nuzzled him, as did Lina.
During the rest of the night, he would hear Geno call out to Eta from time to time, but there was no response from his daughter. The calling stopped after a while and there was just silence until just before the greater light appeared. He heard and then smelled Geno approach. His son walked into the tress they were lying in. He had his head down and he looked awful. Faline next to him froze.
“What happened, my son,” he asked.
“I found Eta,” he said. “She was lying in the bushes not far from where Man used his killing sticks on her. She was hit in the shoulder. She managed to run a while, but she fell.” He then looked up, his face full of dread. “Eta is gone,” he barely stammered out. “By the time I found her, the scavengers were already there. I chased them away, but there was nothing more I could do so I just came back.”
“Eta,” Faline cried out and buried her head in his side. Lina was also sobbing.
Geno looked like he would burst out crying. He quickly got up and went over to his son. His own heart was breaking.
“There was nothing you could do, my son, he told him. “The rest of us survived.”
He turned and wandered off. He felt too filled with sorrow to stay. Only when he was alone did he let his feeling out.
Once the day came, there were fewer sounds of the killing sticks. When they heard sounds, they were coming from Relnor’s herd. He could only hope Gurri would be all right. They remained in place staying as still as possible until well after dark. They had to travel toward the hills to find water, but they managed to find enough nourishment to satisfy them.
He looked around. They were near the hill where his Father died. If they went ahead, they would come to the open meadow that they need to cross to get to Relnor’s herd. This looked like another good place to hide for a while. He also saw no deer around them. When the great light rose, they all stayed there.
That day they heard no sounds of killing stick, nor did they hear the barking of dogs. It was quiet all around them. He stayed still and did not move even at night. After the next day with no sounds from Man or dog, he decided it was safe to go back to his meadow. That night they all traveled back to Faline’s thicket where they ate and drank. After another day passed in quiet, he decided it was time to return to the meadow.
That night, he and Geno crept carefully onto the meadow and looked around. The smell of death from those killed still filled the air around them. There were several places on the meadow where it was obvious a deer had died. There were the prints of both Man and dog everywhere. The worse was the lingering putrid smell of Man that covered the meadow. Both his son and he waited to see if any of the herd came. He saw a couple of herd males come on to the meadow. A few doe with this year’s fawns came. None of them stayed long, just long enough to eat and drink. It was late in the night when he saw Filon enter the meadow. He went over to him.
“Why, Bambi?” was the first thing he said to him. “I have seen Man hunt before, but not like this. He went around the forest using his killing stick on every deer he could see. I do not know how many I heard die, some very near me. I saw one herd male Carlan run down and torn at by the dogs. Man only came after the dogs finished with him and the deer was bleeding to death. It was only then Man used his killing stick on the poor male. I know the dogs smelled me, but Man was too busy with Carlan and left me alone.”
“Man did not kill just deer,” he said and told Filon about the fox he found.
“This was bad,” Filon said. “We have to do something different next year. We lost maybe one deer out of three.”
“I know,” he said. “My daughter Eta is dead.”
“I am sorry, Bambi,” Filon said. “I do not know who is alive or dead.”
“Next time we will need to spread the herd out father from the meadow,” he said thinking aloud. “Man and his dogs stayed near the meadow and the deer that stayed near the meadow died.”
“That is good to know,” Filon said. “The dogs chased me deep into the forest into a place I have never seen before. I think Man called them back, but it took me a while to find my way back.”
“This was worse than anything my Father ever told me about,” he said. “The only thing to do now is to see who comes back.”
Man and his dogs did not return. Man left them in peace, but it took a while for deer to trust enough to come back. As the seer returned, he saw most of the doe and fawns were all right. A few fawns came back alone without mothers. He could only hope they survive the winter.
There were many fewer herd males than before saw. Only Atlan and Filon returned from his senior males. All the others had gone. The yearlings were mostly unhurt. Man likes his deer bigger so he would hunt them next year.
No one talked to him about the hunts. Most were still in shock at what happened. Almost all the deer had stories of almost being killed by either the dogs or Man. All were still scared. No one criticized him about him leading the herd, but inside, he knew he should have been able to do better. He promised himself he would do so next Season. He had to. If there was another hunt like this, the herd would be gone.
Time went by and they forest remained quiet. Another season had passed. Soon their racks loosen and fell out ending the killing for this season. There would now be peace. The main thing now would be to use this time to put on enough weight to last through winter. Slowly the herd came back, what was left of it, and things moved on as they always did,
On the first night, he noticed the chill of winter he stood next to the meadow with Filon and Geno. They were watching the herd eating.
“I hope this winter is mild,” Filon said. Many of the fawns that lost mothers will not survive a very harsh winter.”
“I know,” he said. “We may have to show some of them where to find food.”
“I will do that if necessary,” Geno said. “I am just happy the hunts are over.”
“So am I,” Filon answered. “The problem is they keep coming back. There seem to be nothing we can do except die.”
“We can always do something,” he told them. “We must do something. This cannot happen next season.”
“We can only do the best we can,” Geno answered before adding, “And hope it is enough.”
His Father could not have said it better.
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