Summary: Before his birth, Shikamaru is foretold to be taken by the barasingha, a clan of deer-monsters who ensnare young travellers and devour their souls. His parents kept him away from the dangers, trapping him inside at night and in a loveless betrothal, but Shikamaru has secrets of his own. On one such night expedition, a young barasingha saves him from being gored by a boar and from then on, nothing can stop the fated events from unravelling.

Pairing: Neji x Shikamaru

Written for My Fandom Needs Fresh Blood contest.

The amazing prompt was given to me by MayaNara and even though I deviated a lot, she has been nothing but wonderful.

A Fate Foretold

They'd come to the shaman's hut simply because everyone else was doing it. The shaman, an elderly woman, was said to predict the future of your unborn child, had been doing it for decades, and was a wise-woman and healer. Of course she could be trusted, but it was also just a bit of fun.

The thick scent of myrrh hit the back of Shikaku's throat as Yoshino led him inside the hut, letting the beads over the door fall against the wooden frame with a clatter. The sound was mirrored a moment later by the shaman herself as she walked over to Yoshino, smoothing a gnarled hand over her belly as she shifted a staff in her other hand.

"You come here," she said, voice rasping and foreign to the village. "You want to know?"

Yoshino nodded her head and Shikaku shifted uncomfortably, the incense cloying at his throat, constricting his airway. He hadn't wanted to come, hadn't wanted to know the future of his son, but Yoshino had insisted – and who was he to deny his wife?

"Ahh," the shaman said, cackling in glee. "He is a boy," she announced, stepping away from Yoshino and muttering to herself again, moving to the back of the hut and her shelves, moving through the objects until she plucked one out.

"He's built of a good heart," she said, thumping her own chest. Dried seed pods and bones rattled on her staff as she moved forwards, a thick, curved shape in her hand.

"Now, now child," she crooned, smiling widely with blackened teeth to Yoshino. "You must not be afraid, no, no fear has no place here."

She looked at Shikaku then, still smiling, before pressing the object she'd been holding into Yoshino's hand.

"The antler, yes, the antler will save him," she mumbled, stepping back and running her eyes over the bulge. Her hands reached forwards, palpating the baby inside of Yoshino's womb, humming gently as she did so.

"You will see him before the full moon," she said lightly, pressing down at the juncture of her pubis. "His head is low, it's good."

She stepped away again, looking at Shikaku and narrowing her eyes. He took a moment to look at the object in Yoshino's hand, taking it himself and smoothing over the grooves in the antler. It was thick, looked as though it would belong to a fine twelve-pointer one day, though it only had two spines now. A fine antler, but unlike any he'd seen – and as master of the village deer, Shikaku had seen a lot of antlers.

"With twenty summers passing, you son will move to the call of the barasingha. His Dolhorina will call to him and he shall pass from us to them." The shaman raised a shaky hand to gesture at the antler. "That will save him, keep him safe, yes."

Yoshino sucked in a harsh breath, eyes darting to meet Shikaku's, and he knew why. The barasingha were the clan that inhabited the forests and swamps. From the few who had seen them, they were known to be a clan of deer and men, some even going so far to say deer-men, though the claims were wild and impossible. Such things couldn't exist; magic was dying in the land and modern technology ruled supreme. Half-men-half-deer creatures would not be able to live in such a climate and so peacefully as they did.

They were dangerous though, as creatures of magic often were. Many men had been lured into the woods and swamps by their calls, enchanted beyond all reasoning. Once you fell to the barasingha's call, there was nothing that could be done.

"No," Yoshino whispered, shaking her head. "No!"

The shaman looked at Yoshino sadly.

"Don't be sad," she said, shaking her head and chittering to herself. "He will be bestowed great honour."

The shaman had no words of comfort for them, nothing that would contradict her prediction, and so there was no reason for them to stay. While other parents left the hut with whispers of future jobs or spouse matches, they had been told a terrible thing.

"We can't let it happen," Yoshino said quietly when they arrived home, a compound on the outskirts of the town.

The Nara family had looked after the herds of deer that Konoha relied on vastly for decades. The deer were used for many things – meat, clothes, some even as pulling animals – and Shikaku was in charge of looking after the herds. This had afforded them a larger plot of land, slightly secluded from the rest of the village.

"No," Shikaku replied, holding her tightly. "He'll be safe from them. I promise."

They spent the night holding each other, thinking of the dreadful fate that had been predicted. Even if magic was dying, it concerned their son and Shikaku refused to let something terrible happen just because the shaman might be wrong.

The antler was tucked away, waiting until their son could understand its importance.

I count to no one, hold nobody's ear

The sun had reached its peak hours ago and Shikamaru sat watching the last of the full day, spotting clouds as the sun lowered itself in the sky. He was sprawled on the tussocks of a hill, arms wide and legs splayed, eyes half-closed as a gentle breeze passed over the fields.

Something spooked the nearby deer and Shikamaru watched as they hurtled off into a nearby copse before he noticed the reason. A woman stopped halfway up the hill, calling out.

"Oi, lazy-bones," she said, closing the last of the distance between them until she hovered directly over him. She blocked the sun, but Shikamaru just closed his eyes and shrugged, settling himself more comfortably into the grass.

"Cloud watching?" she questioned, though it was redundant. She knew what he was doing, had been here plenty of times before.

"You know," she continued, sitting down on the grass beside him. "I've always wanted to be a bird. Imagine all that power, to be able to fly anywhere you wanted with a simple flick of your wings."

Though he didn't bother opening his eyes, Shikamaru knew what the expression on her face would be. Full of wanderlust and wanting, for things that she couldn't have. He rolled onto his side slightly, cracking open an eye.

"Luck would have it that you end up one of the birds that have pathetic wings and doomed to fail. You wouldn't be flying, only able to watch as the rest around you do." His voice was bland, unsympathetic, but hit in all the right places.

"Luck?" she whispered furiously. Shikamaru opened both eyes then, taking in Temari's angered face, and not for the first time. "Luck has nothing to do with it, but that is so typically you, isn't it?"

He didn't reply. There was nothing that Shikamaru could say that would help; they'd had this argument too many times already and there would, doubtless, be many more.

"You're the one who could change everything. It kills me to say it, but a man's word here is worth far more than a woman's." Temari paused, sighing heavily. "I had plans. I wanted to see the world, see all the amazing things I've only ever been told about."

Her voice dipped sadly. "I wanted to fall in love at least once in my life. I wanted to find someone who I could love and would love me back… but that was destroyed when I was told that we're to be married."

The timeless argument, one that had almost certainly ruined the last dregs of their friendship. Shikamaru couldn't blame her, not really, because he had ruined her plans; her life. He didn't want to marry her, not really, but the alternative was to go against his parents' wishes, something he simply couldn't do. What would the point be? They'd just marry him to someone else, and even though Temari resented him now for it, they'd been life-long friends.

If he had to be trapped in a marriage, he'd rather it be her, and it also saved Temari from an alternative match, one of more political means. At least they were friends was what he kept telling her, but she hardly listened.

"You never do anything," Temari said, wholly defeated unlike Shikamaru had ever heard her. "I thought that maybe, just this once, you'd actually do something, but you never did."

She began to walk off, picking her way down the hill carefully. Shikamaru knew that he should follow her home – the sun was lowering faster and faster now and if he didn't then he'd most likely have to run – but he couldn't. Temari hated him and she needed her space. They'd be forced together soon enough.

"There's only a month left," she said sadly, voice drifting up on the wind. "I know you won't do anything now because it would be too much effort," she said, scorn dripping with each word.

She left and Shikamaru waited until the herd came back to graze, content then that she really was gone. The sun was pitching colours of orange and pink against the sky now and midnight blue had spread over the horizon, signalling that Shikamaru would be reprimanded when he arrived home.

He pushed up off of the ground with a sigh, shaking his head to clear his thoughts as he began the walk home.

He didn't want to marry Temari, but had been given little other option. His parents had dominated every aspect of his life before and it had been no surprise that his marriage was the same way. The only surprise had been the identity of his wife; the daughter of the village's chief official. A powerful contract would be forged in their marriage which was likely the main reason Temari had been chosen.

In all truth, Shikamaru didn't want to marry anyone. He was content to walk the fields and tend to the deer all day rather than tend to a family. He could happily live amongst the Nara herds, submerge himself in the nature of the land, but things were never so simple.

"It's almost night!" came a shrill voice as Shikamaru's mother ran to greet him. She'd clearly been waiting on the porch to spot him, and grabbed him by the arm, glancing over his shoulder and back into the woods he'd come from.

It was like this every night, ever since Shikamaru could remember. When night fell, he'd been trapped inside, locked in his room. He'd protested when he'd learnt from school that it wasn't natural, that he was the only one whose parents locked him up inside at night, but the fight had drained from him soon after. What was the point when they weren't going to change? You had to change your tactics rather than forcing others to change theirs.

Shikamaru ate dinner quickly, not surprised to see that his father wasn't home. Shikaku spent most of his time away from home now, either in official trade negotiations or out with the herds, in effort to get away from the arguments that seemed almost constant between him and Yoshino. They'd always argued, but ever since Shikamaru had started approaching his twentieth summer, the fights had become brutal and less forgiving, Shikaku spending as much time away as possible.

There was a click of his lock as Shikamaru entered his room, Yoshino locking the door behind him. His room was plain, hardly anything marking the shelves or walls. What little there was almost all revolved around deer; books that had been in the family for generations, little carvings or figurines, images of different species.

All of the artefacts and objects Shikamaru had accumulated over the years had once belonged to another member of the clan, to more than one in most cases. There was only one that had always been his, only been his, and that was kept on his belt at all times, even under his pillow when he slept.

It was an antler, something his parents had given to him the day he was born – though he hadn't actually held it until he was old enough to understand what being careful and looking after things was.

His father had never told him the deer it had come from and Shikamaru had been unable to locate any possibilities in the books he'd gathered. It had the makings of a large deer, one with an impressive amount of tines, perhaps hedging up to twenty even.

Shikamaru kept the antler attached to his belt at all times, save for when he was sleeping when it was placed under his pillow. He'd taken time to sharpen the tips of the small tines until they were dagger-sharp. He could slit a man's belly if he had to, if he needed to protect himself or someone as much.

He sat in his room, lounging on the bed and letting his dinner go down, until he heard the unmistakeable sounds of his mother getting ready for bed. He waited a further few moments before slipping off the bed and into his boots, grabbing a jacket from the wardrobe. It was his routine, when the lights were out around the house and his parents were none-the-wiser.

He wasn't permitted freedom, so Shikamaru had learnt to take it. He was smart, smarter than a lot of the village children, though no one knew exactly how smart. He didn't like to push himself – what was the point, for almost all cases? –and so had hidden his natural talents largely.

They came in handy now though, had done for years when Shikamaru had first thought of sneaking out in the dead of night.

It was easy to slip the lock on his window, popping it open after years of practice. He slipped out of the now wide open window, making sure to leave it slightly ajar so he could get back in quietly.

Though he had been doing this for years now, there was a magic to the forest that Shikamaru could never get used to. Every night, no matter if he'd spent the day in the very same forest or field, night brought a new quality to the land, something different and wild. This was the time that Shikamaru relished in, antler tied to his belt and free to the world.

He began the evening tracking one of the herds. They were getting close to rutting season and the herds were grouping together, stags buffing the last of the velvet from their antlers and preparing to fight for their right to mate.

Shikamaru had done what many others never would. In tracking herds, he'd often crossed into the dark forest set at the edge of the village land, a place where no others would for fear of magical beasts. It wasn't that Shikamaru didn't believe in them – he had seen some strange things during his walks – but he didn't believe that he should fear them.

The walk was calming, allowing Shikamaru to ease out the stresses that had been piled on him recently. He used to be able to confide in Temari, but she had finally given up on him, and before her there had been Chouji. Now, though, Chouji was miles away in another village, having been picked up for training, too far to visit. They wrote, but they were not substantial enough, petty letters detailing basic life, nothing of their actual lives.

Shikamaru sighed, entering into a clearing and sitting down on the ground. Pine needles had fallen early and the ground was blanketed in mulch, but it was dry and comfortable, allowing Shikamaru time to himself, free of marriage and expectations.

The calm didn't last long, and Shikamaru's brain was distracted from trying to solve the problem with Temari by a huge crash through the undergrowth. He stood up quickly, gripping his antler and pulling it free of the strings binding it.

Though it was dark, Shikamaru had keen eyes and could see a bulky form picking its way through the forest, throwing logs over and crashing through bushes. It was a boar, but one bigger than any he'd seen before, and his eyes widened, trying to calculate how he could escape it.

Climbing a tree would have been the ideal solution, but the trees were thin and branchless on their lower levels. Even if he could get up onto the higher branches, Shikamaru doubted they'd take his weight. That left hoping the boar wouldn't find him or fighting it head on, and fighting it head on was not something he'd be able to do unless there was no other choice.

Shikamaru was almost certain he'd gotten away without being noticed. The boar passed a few meters from him, but he held still and waited, the action paying off as the creature moved on, snuffling the ground. There was a strange noise a moment later, something of fleet-foot and fast, and the boar turned its head back, catching Shikamaru's form in the process.

It squealed, going for the charge at once, and there was little else he could do but run. Shikamaru didn't want to hurt the beast, but there was only one way to stop a boar on the charge that didn't result in your own death.

He tripped suddenly, all plans of finding a good place to ambush the pig falling from his mind. He scrabbled at the dirt for his antler, slashing out with the horn as best he could, swiping a trail of blood across the boar's neck.

That angered it even more, setting back on its powerful haunches before slashing ahead with its tusks. Those tusks could kill a man, would kill a man, and if Shikamaru was caught on them, it would be end game.

"GET DOWN!" someone roared from across the forest, and Shikamaru obliged, every sense in his body willing him to comply, even though he should be trying to run from the boar. There was a sound, like something speeding through the air at a fast pace, and then then another squeal from the boar.

Shikamaru watched as another volley of arrows was let loose on the boar and the creature finally sank to its knees, howling in pain as it passed over into death. He couldn't move, but wasn't sure that he wanted to considering the men around him had just taken down an angry, mature boar in a few seconds flat.

Someone laughed and the tension that had flooded the area dissolved. Still, Shikamaru kept his head down, wanting to monitor the situation first.

"That'll make a fine meal," someone said, calling for a few of the party to collect the boar.

Shikamaru scuttled back into the undergrowth as people came closer, tying up the boar and dragging it back. They had to be on horses as they were able to pull the beast along quickly, as judged from the sound they made moving through the forest.

"Hizashi-sama will be pleased," someone commented, before there were more, soft hoof beats. They sounded off to what a horse should sound like; maybe the forest people had smaller animals, fleeter of foot to dodge between the trees.

Shikamaru waited a little longer, until he was sure they had gone, before he climbed out of the bush, looking at the crushed undergrowth, marking the path the hunters had to have taken back. Oddly enough, it led further into the forest, away from any civilians. If these people were made enough to hunt here despite all the rumours and whispers, could they possibly be so unafraid as to camp here?

Another thought crossed Shikamaru's mind. What if they lived in these woods?

"I knew the boar wouldn't have taken off like that just because of us," a harsh voice cut into the silence of the wood, and Shikamaru froze, eyes darting through the shadows to try and find the source of the voice.

"People from the village never come here, but we picked up the tracks of someone the other night… I'm willing to bet that was you too?" Shikamaru had located the voice now, a man sat astride a horse. Or at least, that's what he'd thought, before the man steered his animal closer and Shikamaru realised there was no animal.

The man's taunt stomach merged with the russet chest of a deer – stag to be correct. From the strong chest, Shikamaru mapped the large haunches, powerful and deadly should they kick out, and down the thin legs, to cloven, strong hooves. It was one of the finest creatures he had ever seen and would have proclaimed it one of the strongest stags, had a human body not been attached onto it.

It was a man, around his age if the large antlers astride his head were anything to go by. They curved up and out in perfect symmetry, fourteen-pointers that would probably gain more with a few more years as he hit his very peak.

There was one thing that Shikamaru knew, and that was deer. This creature, though partially human, was also part deer, and a magnificent specimen at that. If he'd been a stag of the Nara herds, he would have raised plenty sons and daughters before being bartered forward for the king's hunt, the ultimate trophy prize.

But he couldn't deny the humanity in this creature. He had a human torso, muscular and define, broad shoulders and a human head. Aside from the antlers and elongated ears, he would have passed for a human easily if he'd been able to hide the deer-body.

His eyes were milky-grey, flashing silver under the moon, and Shikamaru kept eye contact as he moved forwards, hooves barely making a sound across the mulch.

"You do come from the village?" he questioned, brows furrowed. "Are you so desperate to get yourself killed you'll even go looking for trouble in the woods?"

Shikamaru ignored the question, and the creature – centaur, his mind supplied, the only appropriate word to give as a name – looked as though he was about to probe again when an odd noise floated through the forest. The centaur snorted and turned his body around in the direction the men (though they'd probably been centaurs too) carrying the boar had gone.

It was a song, Shikamaru realised, and he looked at the half-turned centaur with startling clarity. He had to be a barasingha, one of the creatures he'd been taught to fear his entire life. The beasts that would lure human men into their clutches and devour their souls.

"I pray to the ancient gods that my brother and sisters will be fleet of foot and fast of mind," the barasingha said, startling Shikamaru with the deep tone to his voice. "I promise to care for Her and protect Her, to nurture my brothers and sisters and to love my home."

He turned back to Shikamaru a moment later, frowning heavily.

"I'll need to make amends when I get back for missing Evensong," he said, more to himself than Shikamaru.

Shikamaru and he realised then that the song his village were so scared of was a sacred rite, a prayer to the gods they believed him and a way for the clan to come together. To miss it was a terrible thing, judging by the barasingha's reaction, and Shikamaru felt a pang of guilt for keeping this one behind.

"Look, whatever you're doing out here, I'd suggest you stop. You got lucky with the boar today, we were able to kill it before it killed you, but these woods are no place for a human." The barasingha took another step forwards, looking Shikamaru up and down. He seemed as though he was about to dismiss Shikamaru and turn away when he suddenly lunged forwards, reaching for Shikamaru.

The antler was snatched from Shikamaru's grasp and the barasingha moved back, Shikamaru following with an indignant cry. He couldn't lose that antler, not when it was the only thing he truly had.

"Where did you get this?" the barasingha asked sharply, voice angered as though Shikamaru had committed a grievous crime.

"I don't know," he brushed off instead, hoping that all interest would be lost if the barasingha thought it meant nothing. "I've always had it and sharpened it. It helped me against the boar," he offered, reaching for it again.

The barasingha pulled back again, raising one of his legs in warning.

"Do you know what this is?" he questioned, raising the antler. It was streaked with the boar's blood and Shikamaru frowned, not deigning to answer.

"It's an antler of a barasingha buck, their first antler to be more precise." His nostrils flared as he stomped his hooves, and Shikamaru looked at the antler in amazement. All this time he'd been carrying a barasingha antler, something that should only belong to myth and legend.

"Where did you get it from?" the barasingha demanded again, but Shikamaru could do nothing but shake his head.

"It's always been there," he said blandly. "My parents said it was a gift from a shaman."

The barasingha let his foot fall back onto the ground as he deflated, holding the antler to his chest. Whatever had just occurred, it was important to the creature and there was nothing Shikamaru could say. That didn't stop him, however.

"Does it mean something?" he asked curiously, searching the barasingha's face for any emotion. His lips had drawn tightly together, but that was all Shikamaru could see as an outward reaction.

"The first antlers of any barasingha goinjak, be they branderi or ranjitsinhi, are taken and given to their soul mate." His voice was empty, and though Shikamaru was unfamiliar with most of the terms, he understood that the antlers were important.

Was he the soul mate to a barasingha then? If he'd had the antler of one, the very first antler of a Barasingha stag, did that mean he was supposed to join them?

And then what? Did he become one of them? Shikamaru couldn't imagine being with a creature like Neji, not when it was half-deer and half-human. Plus there were the other issues to consider, the more practical issues. Just because he didn't wave it about didn't mean that Shikamaru didn't have urges, and he doubted the barasingha were celibate beings. The logistics didn't make any sense.

"Then it's a mistake. The shaman must have given it to me by accident," Shikamaru said lazily, wanting the antler back even though he now knew it didn't technically belong to him.

Funny, he suddenly thought. All fear of the barasingha had gone, instead leaving an itch to claim back his antler. Shikamaru wasn't afraid of the creature, even though it dwarfed him in size and could easily slot one of the arrows from the quiver on his back through Shikamaru's chest. All it would take was a carefully nurtured swing of the arm and pull of the bow and that would be it. Shikamaru would be dead.

But his people were already so wrong about the barasingha. They'd always had it wrong, cultivated fear out of misinterpreted information. Simply because they were a magical tribe, the villagers had feared them, not bothering to learn the truth.

"There are no mistakes," the barasingha said sharply, rising back on his hind legs and stomping his forefeet on the ground in anger. "The shaman used the power of the earth, and the earth has never failed us before."

His ears flicked back, like a stag listening for predators. He seemed to be considering something before he looked at the antler in his hand.

"This is too big for just us," he said in defeat, the words sparking something inside of Shikamaru, though he didn't know why. "We have to ask the clan elders."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "We?" he parroted, unimpressed. He hadn't signed up to meet a whole clan of barasingha, no matter how misconceived his perceptions of them were. He was good not meeting them in fact, would rather go home now and stick to less inhabited forests in future.

The only thing stopping him was the fact that his antler was clasped tightly in the barasingha's hand and there was no way he'd be able to prise it free. If Shikamaru wanted to keep the antler, then he'd have to follow the barasingha back to his clan and pray that the rest of the tales about them were untrue.

They began walking, the barasingha's hooves falling gently on the ground, a stark comparison to Shikamaru's scuffed steps. He could tell the noise irritated the creature, but he was the same creature that had stolen his antler, so Shikamaru wasn't so inclined to be forgiving.

All of a sudden, the barasingha's body tensed and he sighed, letting the tension flow from him like ripples of water.

"I suppose it can't do any more harm," he said to himself, looking down at the antler before halting, turning to Shikamaru.

"We'd go faster if you sat on my back," the barasingha said, and Shikamaru looked at him in disbelief, not quite believing what he'd heard.

"You want me to ride on your back?" he repeated dumbly, looking over the thick haunches and narrow back, leading to the waist of half-man half-deer. It was far from grotesque, but Shikamaru knew somehow that this wasn't something to be dealt with lightly. You didn't just ride a barasingha.

The cloven hooves shifted in the mulch, impatient, and Shikamaru realised that there was no way he could get out of this now. He'd have to sit astride the creature whether he liked it or not.

Climbing onto his back was easier than Shikamaru had first thought. For one, the barasingha was surprisingly flexible and his strong forearms helped haul Shikamaru up, but he was sturdier under Shikamaru's weight than he'd anticipated. The barasingha allowed him to get comfortable before he set off, trotting away and causing Shikamaru to grip tightly around his waist.

They eventually settled to a rhythm, negotiating seating positions and pace, and the wildlife around Shikamaru changed. Trees stripped away to more hostile marshlands and there were signs of human handicraft. Perhaps the barasingha weren't' so different after all.

At least that was what Shikamaru thought as they moved into the main camp, pressed against the barasingha's bare skin and taking in the sights. There weren't many around, but the creatures gathered were an odd mix. A few large deer pricked their heads up at their arrival, somewhat interested before dropping their heads and moving off.

Though there were one or two barasingha, the main focus of the camp was, surprisingly, human. It was strange to see deer, humans and a creature that was a combination of both all in one place, and a horrible notion formed in Shikamaru's mind. He dismissed it straight away, for it was impossible even for magic users to mate with animals and produce offspring, but there was little other explanation.

"Neji?" a voice called out and Shikamaru felt the barasingha he was astride tense and turn his upper body, revealing the speaker to be a young woman. Neji, Shikamaru realised, had to be the barasingha's name, and whoever this woman was, she had to be related somehow. They had the same eyes, yet he still couldn't work out the connection between them all.

"Are you determined to bring disgrace on your family now?" the woman asked, shooting a pointed look at Shikamaru.

"Dolhorina," was all Neji said, waving he antler in the woman's direction. Her mouth fell open and she shot another look at Shikamaru, incredulous this time.

"But-"

"I need to speak to Hiashi-sama. Please, Hanabi," he added, addressing the woman. She didn't even hesitate, nodding and turning to run.

A strange thing happened as she turned though. Instead of simply running on, a shimmer coated her body and Hanabi grew, legs elongating and neck stretching, until a doe bounded off in her place. Shikamaru watched in amazement as he realised these people were shape-shifters, or at least the humans and the deer. It didn't explain how Neji fitted in, but he was closer now.

Neji helped him to get down, one handed as the other held the antler tightly, and Shikamaru had the chance to look around, despite the gawping bystanders. The camp consisted of dome-shaped structures, covered in moss and blending perfectly into the surroundings. Some were slightly raised and Shikamaru wondered if the swamps in this area flooded their camps in the monsoon season and if they spent more time in their deer forms at that time.

His thoughts of the camp were cut short as two deer came sprinting back, the slender doe Shikamaru recognised as Hanabi and a thicker, fourteen-pointer stag. He was barrel chested and taller than the counterparts around, strong with bright eyes. If anyone was the head stag of this herd – could it be called a herd? – then it would be him, Shikamaru was sure of that.

The transformation was smooth and Shikamaru couldn't tell when the deer changed to human until a man stood before him. He was tall, long haired like Neji and dressed in formal robe attire. He looked serious, eyes only brushing over Shikamaru once before he turned to Neji.

"Perhaps this is a private conversation," he said, looking pointedly at Neji. Shikamaru felt him shift, hooves scuffing the ground, as a hand passed the antler to the leader.

Shikamaru didn't know what he'd expected. Part of him hadn't believed that Neji was capable of shifting, what with being a half-human half-deer hybrid of sorts, but the fact that he could wasn't a surprise. As Neji took his place beside him, Shikamaru looked over, seeing the familiar face and bare torso of the barasingha, but a trousered pair of legs and antler-less head added to them, making the man seem a far cry from the creature he'd been before.

Though he hadn't seen it when he was in his barasingha form, Shikamaru realised that Neji was extremely attractive. His parents had kept him fairly sheltered so Shikamaru had never really had a proper chance to meet people of his own age, so he'd come to appreciate others from afar. None of them, however, had elicited the same feelings that Neji had, and Shikamaru was somehow frightened by the depth of what he felt.

The small group, Hanabi included, walked through the camp. Neji was a warm and welcome presence by his side, not that he'd admit as such, and though Shikamaru didn't understand why, he knew that he wanted Neji to stay with him.

As they neared one of the igloo-shaped huts, Shikamaru could see that it was covered in moss. Their homes were part of the earth itself and as they stepped inside, the earthy scent of mud overtook Shikamaru's senses.

"Sit," Hiashi commended, looking at Shikamaru's antler as he took his place on the ground, a fire stoked up in the middle between them. Neji sat down beside Shikamaru, surprising considering the reaction Shikamaru had received from him before.

"Excuse the delay, but what is your name?" Hiashi asked of Shikamaru. "And perhaps you could enlighten me as to what you were doing in our forest?

His voice was calm and commanding, not harsh or swaying as Shikamaru had feared. He wasn't angry for the trespass, instead gently asking for information behind the scenario. Respect for Hiashi grew in Shikamaru's eyes.

"Shikamaru of the Nara family," he said, drawing himself up a little. Though his family may have locked him up and bartered him off like a common goat for slaughter, he was still proud to be a Nara and did love his parents.

"I was walking," he continued, "when a boar went for the charge. If not for Neji, I'd likely be dead. I owe him my life." Shikamaru was amazed that he didn't stutter over Neji's name and had kept his composure. It wasn't easy to admit having a life-debt, but for some reason he felt safe in Neji's hands.

"Neji?" Hiashi asked, turning to the other man. "Did you explain to him what this antler means?"

Though he didn't say anything, Neji squared his shoulders and Shikamaru knew that was all the answer he'd give. It was enough for Hiashi to draw his own conclusion, and his mouth narrowed, lips thinning as a frown crossed his brow.

"I'll start from the beginning then," Hiashi said, shifting into a more comfortable position. This hut was oddly bare, the fire pit and a curved table on one edge the only things of real interest, but the ground was soft, moss covering it and providing a cushion.

"The land used to be full of myth and wonder, yet it has been dying for decades now. We, the barasingha, are one of the last earth species, one of the last species to have been born from the magic of the land." Hiashi looked saddened and tired at the thought and Shikamaru looked down. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to know your kind had been dying for years now.

"There are two clans in the barasingha. There is the main family, the ranjitsinhi, and the branch family, the branderi. The branderi are sworn to protect the ranjitsinhi, and this is where the difference in transformations comes in." Hiashi shot a look at Neji.

"My brother was made a branderi and I doing so, he lost his ability to fully transform. Neji was born into the family and carries the same gift. I believe you'd refer to the branderi clan as centaurs, though they are still very much our family." Hiashi smiled at Neji, tightly as if it was slightly forced. There was history between them, of that Shikamaru was sure, but they looked to be moving past that now.

But he'd been able to see the link now. Neji was the same as Hiashi and the others, but he was charged to protect the camp and its people. The branderi clan were given a half-transformation to serve the needs of the barasingha, but that didn't explain why Neji had taken the antler.

"There is a term we use between males, goinjak, and females, gaoni, to describe their destined. We are a monogamous species, unlike our non-magical cousins, and our mates are often decided for us by the fates the moment we are born." Hiashi looked at the antler in his hand, considering it with care.

"The term is Dolhorina," he said, the word softly spoken. It was a sacred term, Shikamaru could tell, and he nodded eagerly, needing to know more. "There are any combinations of Dolhorina, goinjak paired together, gaoni together – though they are rare and more difficult to predict without the use of antlers – and even some barasingha Dolhorina to humans."

The stare that Hiashi fixed Shikamaru with was warm, accepting. Shikamaru felt his stomach plummet; surely Hiashi wasn't meaning him? He couldn't be destined to one of the barasingha, it was absurd.

"A shaman visits us to collect our antlers. She will then divine who belongs together and pass the antlers out. Each set of antlers is split, one staying with its owner and the other to their intended." Hiashi smoothed his hand over the antler, standing a moment later and offering it back to Shikamaru.

"Neji shed his velvet and dropped sooner than most. Until the shaman arrived, we all thought it was bad luck, instead the shaman told us his intended, his Dolhorina, would be crowning the world by the end of the moon's phase and that his parents were seeking her guidance. Neji has always been your Dolhorina, your fate, just as much as you have always been his." Hiashi bowed his head slightly, stepping back until he could leave the tent, dropping the bombshell and retreating tactfully.

Shikamaru sat staring at the coals on the fire. He could feel Neji beside him, but he didn't turn to him. The antler – Neji's antler – was warm in his hands, but he gripped it loosely. It wasn't his antler anymore, not something that had been his at all.

He should feel more outraged at that, Shikamaru knew, but all he wanted to do was turn to Neji and look at him, see if he felt the odd connection between them. Perhaps they were destined, though Shikamaru had been sceptical before of that term. It couldn't be true and yet… and yet it was.

"So you're…" Shikamaru began, drifting off when he didn't know what to say. It was too hot in the tent and he was uncomfortable with the revelations, but what could he do? He was thrust into a fate foretold before he was even born. You couldn't mess with powers as strong as that, no matter what Shikamaru wanted.

And what exactly did he want? The prospect of spending the rest of his life was strangely natural. Fear didn't claw at his belly and up his throat, as it had when his parents had announced his betrothal to Temari, and though Neji had yet to speak a word to him in human form, he already felt so differently towards him.

If Shikamaru believed in the fairy tale tellings of love, then perhaps he'd think that was the cause. But he didn't believe in them, couldn't for they were a child's myth and nothing more. True love, in the blink of an eye, didn't exist. Even the barasingha with their Dolhorina matches were simply a bit of magic mixed with the belief of fate.

"You're not what I expected," Neji said, casting a glance in Shikamaru's direction. The firelight caught the silver sliver of Neji's eye, and something struck deep inside of Shikamaru. It was, perhaps, the moment he realised that he'd never be able to let Neji go, no matter if he rejected him or cast him aside. It was the magic of the Dolhorina pairing, he was sure, though he was unsure if he wanted to be ensnared in such a way.

"Do you feel it?" Shikamaru asked softly, half-scared to hear the answer. In all his life he'd never felt like this and he wasn't sure he could bear to hear Neji cast him aside so easily.

"You cared for my antler," came the reply instead, quiet and almost unwilling. "I can tell, it looks as new as if it's shed its velvet."

Shikamaru looked down at the ground, letting his fingers splay out beside him, moss blanketing skin.

"Yeah," he muttered, "It was the only thing that belonged to me. It was special… and it still is." He looked at Neji again before making his mind up." Look if you don't want me here, I'll just leave. I'll find another forest to walk in and-"

His words were cut off though as Neji, fast as the deer he could shift half-into, reached a hand out, thumb stroking Shikamaru's lower lip tenderly.

"No," he whispered, so different to the stoic image he'd been before. "I feel it. I mean I've always felt it, but now it's whole and amazing."

Neji licked his lips, locking eyes with Shikamaru.

"I've always felt the connection to my antler. Only the strongest of Dolhorina bonds can do that." Neji's hand grazed Shikamaru's cheek and he leant closer, closing his eyes and brushing his nose against Shikamaru' sneck.

"You cared for it, kept it with you all the time. It was more than an antler to you, wasn't it?" Neji was far too close, but Shikamaru found he didn't mind, instead pulling him closer, wrapping himself against Neji and drawing them even closer.

They moved even closer now, lips a bare centimetre apart, when the door flap to the hut opened and Hiashi strode in. he wasn't angered to see them so close, in fact he looked somewhat pleased, but there was another look in his eyes, one of urgency.

"Dawn will be approaching soon," he said, nodding respectfully to Shikamaru. "It would be in all our best interests if your Dolhorina was protected and suspicion kept low of his actions. You know how the villagers think of us."

Neji pulled back with closed eyes and a sigh.

"I'll escort him," he said, not an offer and Hiashi smiled at the response.

"Of course," he replied before stepping from the tent once more.

Neji rose smoothly, offering a hand to Shikamaru and hauling him up too.

"I'll shift," he said, leading Shikamaru from the hut and back out to the forest entrance.

The transformation Neji made was smooth and untraceable with the eye. No one else was around at this time, so when Neji offered to pull Shikamaru up onto his back, there was no hesitation. He wrapped his arms around Neji tightly, breathing in his scent and essence as they took off, strong legs bounding through the forest as the sun began to shape the land.

"This is as far as I can risk," Neji said, sounding pained at the thought of leaving Shikamaru so soon. Shikamaru dismounted and Neji shifted again, so that they were standing nose-to-nose.

"I'll come back tomorrow," Shikamaru said lightly, words curling over Neji. He reached out a hand to pull Neji closer, hesitating at the last minute.

"You never need to ask," Neji said, closing the distance and kissing Shikamaru, warm and loving. "And I will always be waiting," he said after pulling back.

This time it was Shikamaru who instigated the kiss, moving forwards and kissing with ambition. He didn't want to leave Neji and though the spiral of their relationship was sudden and complex, he needed Neji more than he'd needed anyone else.

But as with all kisses, this one had to end and Shikamaru pulled back with regret, looking at the sun with a frown. He'd be lucky to make it home in time, but he still couldn't tear himself away.

"Go," urged Neji, letting his arms drop from Shikamaru. "You have to go."

With a last, burning look, Shikamaru prised himself away and started off at a run, crossing the fields between the forest and his home, slipping through his open window as dawn brought the choir of birds and the caw of a rooster upon his heels.

He changed hurriedly, slipping into night clothes and throwing the dirtied ones in his wardrobe. His shoes were thrown under the bed and he managed to lie back on the pillow with eyes closed as he heard the lock on his door sliding free. A moment later his mother poked her head in, making sure he was where he should be as he always did.

She left and Shikamaru smiled. Neji's antler was clasped tightly in his hand, hidden by the covers, and he wouldn't be expected to rise for hours yet. Tonight he'd return to Neji's side, spend the night with his fated Dolhorina, and there was nothing that could stop him.

I long to become you and know what it is that you feel

Notes:

The next chapter (and last part) will be up in a few days. First time with this pairing, but I hoped you enjoyed! Comments are always appreciated but not mandatory.