The Silence of the Night

[tama]

Silently, I crossed the lands of Frosty Forest. There was a little snow on the ground, as there always was in this place. Frost decorated the leaves of the trees, occasionally dripping onto the grass beneath it. The leaves rustled in the breeze, speaking to each other in their own language. The night was cool and the trees blocked out the stars. That was a shame, for I enjoyed looking at the twinkling lights in the sky. The coldness of the land had surprised me and I shivered slightly, regretting my thin coat and wishing that I had a more generous covering of fur, but it was spring and my summer coat was coming through, as most places were warmer. This land was just the exception.

Reaching a small copse where there was no snow, I lay down. There were no other deer around. That was not so odd. After all, it was fairly late at night. I felt safe here, as there were no animals to threaten me, especially not any stags. I did not feel safe around them, as my father had, obviously, been a stag and he had been horrible to me, so I had a sort of innate fear of stags embedded deeply in my mind. The moonlight broke through the leaves, creating a dappled effect on my back, one which highlighted the purple stripe running down my spine. I wanted to go to sleep, but was scared that something would come along whilst I was sleeping and attack me. As a result, I stayed wide awake, though my eyelids were drooping slightly. Maybe I would sleep later. I’d have to sometime.

Word Count: 276
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

Spring had arrived, and many other Stags were getting wilder and were starting to battle each other just for fawns and does. They only wanted them for two seasons or rather one, then just kick them out and it angered Damon. The cheetah strode forward. Auds pricked up and his cheetah skin blended with the background. Walking casually and with a piece of meat in his mouth. Dropping the meat he started feeding. He jumped with fright, turning and growling as he heard something rustling, like it was lying down. His hearing was amazing and now he was intrested...a bigger piece of meat around? Trotting away from the kill he turned and grabbed it just in cause it wasn't something to eat. Dropping it he saw a young doe. Transforming to a Deer and walking forward. "Hello Miss. I am Damon." He spoke. He wouldn't say anything stupid right now.

ooc - bleh, that was crud!

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[tama]

Maybe I would sleep tonight. This place seemed safe enough after all. There was absolutely nobody else here, nobody at all. Surely it would be alright to sleep, just for an hour or two. What could happen? Lowering my head, I shut my eyes.

About half an hour later, I was still asleep, albeit a light sleep. I was enjoying the rest, as I had been on the move for a long time and it was exhausting. Flicking my ears in my sleep, I picked up on a sound. nuts, what was that? There was something there? My eyes flew open, my ears twitching this way and that, trying to figure out what was there. Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw something appear from the bushes, carrying something in its mouth. It dropped whatever it was carrying and I couldn’t see it, but I could guess what it was. It was probably meat, for the creature approaching me was a cheetah. Scrambling to my feet, I quivered in fear. I knew I had to do something. I should shift; I could get out quicker then. I couldn’t make myself do it though. Fear had prevented me from doing that. My eyes wide with fear, I took to the only method I had left. Spinning around, I bolted away. But then I heard something behind me. Hello Miss. I am Damon. Hey, that was a deer’s voice! Steeling myself, I stopped, before turning around.

Sure enough, there was a deer standing in front of me. It wasn’t much better though, for this was a huge, powerful stag. Well, he might not be that big, but he was compared to me, as I was only a small, lithe little doe. I froze, not knowing what to say. I might offend him by staying silent, so after a minute or so, I spoke, albeit quietly. I-I am Tama sir. I was shaking with in fright, scared of what this stag might do to me. What did he want with me and why was he out prowling Frosty Forest in the middle of the night?

Word Count: 354
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

Damon looked at the Doe. Flickering his auds curiously at her. She was preety all right, but shall compared to him. Shaking his 13 pointers he smiled. Was she that scared? Or was she teasing him. He looked at her, thingying his cranium. "Hello Tama. Please do not be afraid....." He cooed. Smiling at he and looking across her body. She had a stripe of purple down the indent of her back and he looked at her eyes. Damons tiger striped blaze stood out aswell as the cheetah pelt he wore as his own skin. He couldn't wait till he had melted fully, then he could have a darker shade of cheetah skin.

[tama]

Who was this guy? Well, he was obviously Damon, but apart from that, I was confused. He was a shifter. He’d, possibly unwittingly, used that to scare me. But I thought they were rare. Where I came from, I was the only shifter in a large herd of deer. My father had called me abnormal and beaten me for it. Was this stag the same? My breathing had been ragged and fast when I had first spotted the cheetah heading towards me. It was now calming down, but it was not back to normal, for I was standing a few feet away from a stag.

He spoke to me, his voice calming. Don’t be afraid? Ha! How was I meant to be confident? I had no idea who this guy was, he was a lot bigger than me and I was meant to be confident? How can I not be scared, when all that stags have ever done with me is beat me? How am I meant to be confident around one who so easily changes to a stag from a creature that eats the meat of others? I felt his eyes rake over my bodice, taking in my looks and he ended up looking me in the eye. I turned my head away, not wanting to meet his gaze. I noticed the mottled spots on his coat, spots that were also found on the body of a cheetah. Down his face, he had a blaze coloured with the stripes of a tiger. Everything about this stag’s colouring screamed danger, he looked like creatures that would have no hesitation about eating me. My every instinct was screaming at me to run away, but I did not move. I wanted to find out more about this new stud who had approached me.

Word Count: 301
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

Staring at her through green orbs he laughed a bit. Who was this doe? Did she really actually think she could boss him around and tell him that he was usless. A hunter that ate meat. Of course he ate heat. He ate other things. No Deer meat ever touched his lips nor throat. "My lips have no taste for deer meat." He said growling. Letting his form melt to a Cheetah he smirked. "Are you scared now?" He asked, through gritted teeth. Looking around and looked at his meat. Tearing a bit he ate it. "What form do you take up?" He asked, staring at her. She didn't like his gaze but prey had to meet the predators eye at one time.

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[tama]

I heard Damon’s cold laugh and my expression darkened. Why was he laughing at me? What right had this stag to mock me for my fears? I was growing to dislike this deer more and more, for he was just like the others I had met. He seemed to think that he was better than me. He claimed that he had never eaten a deer. That may be true and I guessed it was, as this stag did not strike me as somebody who would attack a member of his own species. But he ate the meat of other animals, something that I could not comprehend. Deer were not carnivores, so why did this guy so happily eat another’s meat? Sure, I transformed into a bird of prey when I shifted, but I did not eat whilst in that form, for the idea of eating meat disgusted me.

I watched as he transformed back into a cheetah and although I knew that this was in fact a deer, I still took a step back. It was pure instinct. He asked me if I was scared. To that I answered. Of course. Is it not instinct for a deer to be scared of one who eats meat, whether they be a true member of that species or a deer in disguise? I follow my instinct Damon. That is the only thing which has kept me alive, throughout my whole life. If I did not have instinct, I would not have any way of surviving. Snorting softly, I watched him closely as he tore off a piece of his kill and ate it. I looked away, disgusted.

He then asked what I shifted into the shape of. The bald eagle is the shape that I take. However, I do not eat meat whilst in that form, even though it is a bird of prey, so do not get some stupid idea in your head that I am a hypocrite, for I am not. Deciding to show him, I shifted easily into the form of an eagle, my brown fur becoming feathers and my head turning white. A beak sprouted where my muzzle had been and from my sides came wings. Now that I had shown him, I shifted back into being a deer, hoping that he would do the same so that I would feel a little bit safer.

Word Count: 397
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

He rolled his eyes as she looked away. "Yet you do not respect my diet?" He said smiling playfully and crouching low like he was about to pounce as she changed shape. Licking his lips. She did look tasty..."You look lovely to eat!" He growled under his breath and roared a bit.

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[tama]

There was still something funny about this stag that I didn’t like. I was pretty sure that he knew that I did not like it when he was in his shifted form, so why was he persisting with it? Nervously, I pawed at the ground, wondering what was going to happen next. I heard him speak again and I replied with this. If you want an honest answer, I do not. I just do not see why a deer would choose to eat meat. It’s my opinion and I have a right to have one, so do not condemn me for it. My tones were cold. I was growing tired of Damon now.

Noticing that he was crouched down, I froze again. He looked like he was about to pounce. No, he said he didn’t eat deer! My breathing grew fast and shallow. What if he was about to attack me? I saw him lick his lips and that just heightened my fear. I then heard his words and that was the final straw. He was going to kill me! Instinct took over and I shifted quickly into the shape of an eagle. Spreading my wings, I took off into the air, landing on the branches of a nearby tree, out of his reach. I spoke to him, my voice rough and changed from having a beak instead of a muzzle. I thought you didn’t eat deer? Are you enjoying the fact that you are scaring me? Get the hell away from me. I don’t have time for idiots like you. Tucking my wings into my side, I watched him silently with cold, staring eyes. It was true. I didn’t want to talk to him anymore. He was toying with me and scaring me. I just wanted him to go away.

Word Count: 301
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

He shrugged. "Okay then!" He smirked, a laughed followed and then his face turned soft and he turned. "See ya'!" He snorted and trotted off, halfway between a stride he turned back to a deer. Stopping he looked back, then galloped on.

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[tama]

Good, it seemed that he was leaving. I didn’t like this guy. He was rather arrogant and didn’t seem to be able to take in other deer’s opinions. Oh well, he was going. Sitting on the branch, I watched as he trotted off, then transformed back into a deer and sped up. I waited in the tree for a while, to make sure that I could not see him anymore, before flying back down and landing softly on the grass. Once down there, I let myself turn back into a deer, losing my wings and beak and becoming my natural form once more.

Lowering my head, I tore at the grass, as I had not eaten for a little while. I felt safe now that Damon had left, at ease and happy. I wondered whether there was anybody else around. If any stags came to bother me, then I probably wouldn’t put up with it and I’d just leave. I wanted to go back to sleep, but then I didn’t want to; in case something like what had just happened, happened again. I didn’t want to put myself at risk and so I just grazed, keeping all my senses alert, in case somebody tried to sneak up on me.

Word Count: 209
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

He waited. Damon sat in a tree and watched her. Smirking he let himself down from the tree. Prowling towards her. He got to the foot of the tree that she was underneath. Coming out of the tree he looked at her. "Look, sorry that we got off on the wrong foot." He paused, not making himself start laughing or do something silly. "But do you want to join me?" He asked gently.

[[done]]

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[tama]

Twitching my ears, I took quietly at the grass, chewing it and then swallowing it. I was constantly on the alert, in case somebody jumped out at me. I got the feel that something was watching me, but I shrugged it off. There was nobody here. How could anybody be watching me? I wanted the company of another doe, for I felt safer with someone like me by my side. Stags were a different story, but I had never met a mean doe, so I trusted them more. I knew that sometime I would have to find a herd. I could find one in the morning, when Frosty Forest would be full of other deer, looking for homes, or those who they could take back to their homes.

Hearing something behind me, I spun around, imagining the worst - that there was a lion or something there that wanted to eat me. Not seeing that there, a glint of recognition flashed through my eyes. There was a cheetah standing there in front of me. I knew who this was. I thought he had gone, but evidently he had not. Well, some deer just did not understand the meaning of ‘go away’. Damon seemed to be one of them. Stamping down with a front hoof, I lifted my head. I thought you had gone. I shook my head slightly, hearing his words. Got off on the wrong foot? It seemed to me like your were doing your honest best to scare me.

Looking away, I heard him speak again. Oh god, was this guy some kind of idiot? He’d scared the nuts out of me and now he was asking me to join him? Well, I did need a herd, but this guy wasn’t what I had in mind. Snorting, I spoke to him, my words cold and heavy. Give me one good reason why I should go with you, the stag who’s done nothing but terrify and disgust me from the moment we met. Go on. I looked him in the eyes, challenging him to give me a good reason for me to go with him, as unless I had a good reason, I wasn’t going to go. It was as simple as that.


Word Count: 374
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama

[rose xx]

He looked at her and bite his lip. He always mucked up this sort of stuff. "Okay...er..I will love you, give you a warm room, not sleeping outside, protection and...a fawn?" He said looked at her.

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[tama]

So this guy wanted me to join his herd? I wasn’t too sure about that, but maybe it could work. After all, I needed a place to stay. The thing that I would be worried about would be this guy trying to make me have a fawn with him. I wouldn’t want to. It was spring though and all the stags were getting kind of frisky. It was natural of course, but I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to have a fawn - I’d never had one and I wanted to make sure that I was with the right stag before I allowed him to breed with me.

Hearing him speak, I listened carefully. He was replying to my question of why I should go with him and these were his reasons. Love, protection, a warm room and sleeping inside. Oh and a fawn. The first four things were fine, but not a fawn. I didn’t want one. I thought it over in my head. I might as well go with Damon. There wasn’t really anywhere else for me to go to. Sighing, I spoke to him. Very well, I shall join you. However, I do not wish for a fawn at this point in time, so do not try and make me have one, else I shall leave. Are we clear? Stamping at the ground, I spoke again. Where to then? Hopefully he wouldn’t do anything stupid. If he did, then I’d be gone before he could blink, it was as simple as that. He’d better get that this time.

Word Count: 262
Muse: Good
Listening To: I'm Already There - Westlife
Character: Tama