A/N: Inspired by Pelvella! When we got talking about accidentally hitting animals with our cars, (don't worry, we haven't actually hit any!). I also thought Terra sounded a lot more majestic as a stag than a kangaroo! Hahaha! Enjoy :)
Chapter One.
It was bad luck, that's all it was – Ventus never worked Sunday's, but here he was anyway, speeding his way across town in his beat-up Hyundai, his fingers tapping anxiously against the hard plastic of the steering wheel.
The kind, old man that ran the service station where Ventus worked part-time had called him some twenty minutes earlier, all but begging him to come in on short notice. Even though it was a little disheartening knowing he'd have to be standing and working the register for the next eight-something hours instead of sleeping in and watching movies, it wasn't in Ventus' nature to let anyone down, and besides, the extra money was always a big plus.
It was still quite early in the morning, and Ventus wound his little car around bends and up hills, dappled sunlight bursting through the forest canopy flanking the road on both sides, and blinding him every so often as he drove closer into town.
He had lived here all his life, long before his tiny, little country town had grown into a miniature satellite city, but as his grandfather was a farmer, he still existed way outside of the stifling bubble of suburbia and skyscrapers, which suited him just fine.
Ventus didn't like the hustle and fuss of city life, finding his solace knee deep in his grandfather's rice paddies, with the lush green of the forest breathing all around him. He had always felt connected to the earth – more than anything else, and often loved getting lost in the forest that surrounded his home, the cheerful wren trilling and flittering high above his head, and the soft texture of peat moss, cool and damp beneath his bare feet.
Lately, his lifestyle had been too busy for him to find the time for a walk, but maybe, when he got home this afternoon he could wander out and explore. If nothing else, he missed the serenity.
Wondering about the time, Ventus took a chance and glanced away from the road, his fingers fumbling to light up the screen on his phone. A split second of inattention was all it took – something remarkably huge leaping out of the forest to his left, right in front of him.
Crying out, Ventus braced himself and slammed on the brakes, but it was too late – his little car screeching and sliding all over the road, the right side of the bonnet just clipping the large animal that had foolishly wandered across his path.
"No...!"
Still stomping the brake hard, Ventus finally skidded to a stop and just sat there stunned. The engine of his car was hissing and whining in protest, definitely too old and tired for such an extreme ordeal. With shaking fingers, he managed to turn the key into the off position, the sudden silence almost deafening.
Luckily, he'd managed to bring the car over onto the side of the road, right before he'd been caught up in another sweeping bend directly in front of him which was all but hidden from view, swallowed up by the thick overhang of the forest.
More of the shock wearing off by the second, and the panic swift to set in, Ventus scrabbled to get his safety-belt unclicked and threw his car door wide open.
This stretch of road ran straight through a particularly thick part of the forest, and Ventus knew there were many wild deer here that would call this area their home. He felt sick to his stomach thinking he might have accidentally killed one.
And there, just a little way back on the opposite side of the road was one of the largest stags Ventus had ever seen. Steeling himself, he approached it nervously, but quickly, the beast collapsed on its side and lying deathly still.
"What have I done...?" Ventus whispered to himself, his eyes racing over the stag's crumpled form.
Judging by its size, the stag was most likely incredibly old, and sure enough, just underneath it's long, graceful neck, Ventus could clearly see long streaks of grey and white fur adorning its broad chest. The rest of its colouring was a deep, rich brown and its antlers were so large they surely spanned the same length as his car. It was an impressive sight, yet so painfully tragic. To kill such a beautiful, magnificent creature would be sure to haunt him for the rest of his life...
But then, Ventus looked into the stag's eyes and saw light flickering there, and his heart was fit to burst.
The stag was still alive.
Ventus' relief was so palpable he nearly fell to his knees and sobbed.
As if to confirm that his mind wasn't simply playing tricks on him, the stag's giant chest suddenly inflated, a puff of air escaping through its nose.
Stumbling backwards on his feet, Ventus whirled away and raced back to his car. He threw himself inside, reaching for his phone.
There was no time to waste as he quickly dialled the number for the local wildlife rescue. Hopefully he wouldn't be too late – at all costs he had to make this right!
-0-
"Are you the one who called in the injured stag?"
Starting slightly, Ventus looked up into the face of a kind-looking woman with startlingly blue hair. He was quick jumping to his feet.
"Uh – yes, that was me!"
She smiled at him, albeit a little sadly. "My name is Aqua; I'm the lead veterinarian here."
Aqua offered her hand, which Ventus hurried to grasp.
"I'm Ventus, but please just call me Ven. It's nice to meet you."
"And you," Aqua answered in turn, releasing Ventus' hand.
"Um, how is he?" Ventus mumbled, rubbing at the back of his head. "Is he going to be okay?"
What remained of Aqua's smile vanished altogether.
"I'm afraid it's not good. Although the stag only sustained minor bruising around its ribs, its right, hind leg has suffered a fracture clean through."
"That's not fixable?" To Ventus, who knew nothing about these sorts of things, it didn't sound that serious of an injury.
Aqua shook her head. "Unlike with humans, we can't ensure an animal will keep still enough to allow time for the break to heal correctly. I'm sorry, but there's nothing more we can do."
Ventus was stunned. "W-What!? You don't mean –?"
"I know it's hard to accept, but we see this all the time, unfortunately." Aqua placed a hand on Ventus' shoulder, her blue eyes sincere. "But thank-you, for calling it in. A lot of people don't, and that's the real tragedy here."
"There has to be something you can do – please!" Ventus begged. "He's got to be the largest – oldest stag I've ever seen! ...It's not fair..."
"I'm sorry, Ven, I really am," Aqua murmured, her hand slipping from his shoulder. "...Would you like to see him, to say goodbye?"
Blinking away the uncomfortable prickle in the corner of his eyes, Ventus nodded, heaving in a deep breath.
"Yeah. Okay."
Giving Ventus another pained smile, Aqua turned and showed him through a set of double doors, leading him further into the rescue centre.
This facility had become an integral part of the community over the years. As the population rapidly grew in the area, so had the animal related emergencies as well. They treated both domestic and wild animals here and often times depended on donations and goodwill to keep fully operational. Ventus had fortunately never had to bring an animal in, but had still regularly donated blankets and food. He loved the forest, and all of its inhabitants, and by default held the utmost respect for the people here who dedicated their time in helping those poor creatures that needed it most.
"He's right through here," Aqua quietly informed him, stopping just outside of a room simply called 'C-17'. "He's been heavily sedated, but just be mindful not to startle him too much if he's awake."
"Thank-you," Ventus returned in kind, already pushing through the door.
Directly in front of him was a large, stainless steel table, but it was mostly bare, save for a messy pile of blankets and several, brightly coloured, hot water bottles.
The stag was lying on its side on the floor beside the table instead, obviously far too large to be situated any other way. A nest of blankets and more hot water bottles surrounded it on all sides, Ventus easily catching sight of a simple splint supporting the stag's right, hind leg.
There was a puff of air and Ventus swiftly looked up, meeting the stag's gentle, brown eyes.
"...You're awake, huh...?"
The stag watched him silently, its gaze unwavering before heavy eyelids fluttered and closed. It breathed out another forceful puff, its head shifting restlessly under the weight of its magnificent antlers.
Shuffling closer, Ventus slowly crouched down and sat on the floor.
"I'm...so sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking on the last word. "I can't believe I caused this... It's all my fault!"
Ventus buried his head in his hands, tears already slipping past his fingers. "...I wish I could save you..."
A soft scraping sound startled him then, and Ventus hesitantly lowered his hands to look.
The stag was sitting upright, as much as it was able to, with its hind legs still lying amongst the warmth of the blankets. It was facing him now, its eyes far too clear for an animal that was supposed to be heavily sedated. Ventus briefly wondered how the stag could even lift its head, its antlers that had scraped along the floor now towering high above him.
With a low, mournful sound, the stag tilted back its head and called out, its front legs straightening slowly before curling underneath its giant chest. Brown eyes met his again, and Ventus' breath hitched. A strange feeling welled up inside of him, his heart beating like a drum.
The stag pushed one of its hooves flat against the floor and shakily attempted leveraging itself up.
Ventus immediately started forwards in a panic.
"H-Hey! You can't get up! You'll hurt yourself more!"
The stag trembled with one of its legs recklessly supporting all of its weight while it tried moving the other one into position, but Ventus reached out a hand without thinking, his fingers just brushing along the stag's neck.
Ventus gasped in shock, a strange sensation tingling along his fingertips and all the way up his arm.
At Ventus' touch, the stag went completely still before sinking back down to the floor, both of its hooves still tucked underneath.
"What...was that?" Ventus breathed, his hand still resting on the stag's broad chest. The sensation was gone as quickly as it had come, but the warmth of the stag's body almost seemed to be soaking into him.
And... something else...
The stag softly called out again, its chest rumbling underneath the curve of Ventus' palm. Ventus sighed and let his eyelids fall closed, concentrating on the steady deep thrum of the stag's thundering heartbeat. Ventus frowned and the curious sensation was flowing back again, his own heartbeat rushing in his ears.
Slowly, he raised his other hand to his own chest, pressing hard over his heart.
Ventus' eyes flew open.
It shouldn't have been possible, but the proof was right there in front of him. His heart and the stag's were perfectly in time – almost as if they were beating as one...
The stag just watched him, its eyes shining with a keen intelligence. It puffed out another breath, and then oh so gently nuzzled Ventus' hair.
His common-sense flaring, Ventus realised how absurd this situation actually was. Stag's were wild animals that would not hesitate in being on the offensive, so currently being so close to one like this should have been somewhat terrifying.
But, it wasn't. Ventus felt no fear at all, just an unwavering, gentle calm that seemed to resonate within his very being.
-0-
Ventus drove home that afternoon with a heavy heart. Fortunately, his car had only sustained minor panel damage in the front, so it was still fully operational, but despite that, he didn't feel lucky at all.
He'd tried begging Aqua to save the stag's life one, last time before he left, but Aqua had just reiterated there was nothing she could do. She had done her best to reassure him that they would be making the stag's last moments as comfortable as possible before putting him to sleep, and that it was completely painless and quick, but Ventus had found no comfort in knowing that – it had only served to make him feel worse.
Somehow, he'd managed to get through his shift at the service station without any trouble. More than anything, he'd just wanted to go home, but he couldn't let the old man down, not when there was no one else to call in. It had mostly been all a blur as his mind was still fixated on the poor stag, his voice hollow and his movements robotic as he carried out his duties as cashier. He'd been so caught up in worrying over it, he'd nearly ended up selling a group of teenagers some cigarettes before realising at the last minute and crossly shooing them back out the door.
Arriving home, Ventus parked his car around the side of the old farm house, where his grandfather would be unlikely to take much notice of it. He would tell him about the accident later on, but right now, he just didn't have the heart to.
Wandering straight out towards the rice fields, Ventus unexpectedly found his grandfather standing knee-deep in one of the paddies closest to him, a worn grub hoe in his hand. He was staring off into the distance, his expression solemn. His approach going completely unnoticed, Ventus followed his grandfather's line of sight over towards the gently shifting forest. There was nothing but green there as far as Ventus could see, but his grandfather barely moved, still fixated on whatever had drawn his attention.
"…Grandfather?" Ventus called, wondering if he should be more concerned than confused right now. "What's wrong?"
"The forest." His grandfather murmured simply, his eyebrows creasing. "…She weeps."
Ventus felt like the earth had fallen out from under him. His heart sharply ached as he immediately thought of the stag. Looking back into the shaded depths of the forest, Ventus went still as well and focussed. Sure enough…he could feel it too...
Something…was very wrong…
He didn't need his grandfather to explain – he already knew what he meant.
