{Prologue}

I had been nothing more than an average photographer with an old photography camera hanging around my neck. For me, love was thought of as a miracle, something that was rare and unexplainable. It was my belief that just being on the same planet with the person you love, or even could come to love for that matter, was a miracle within itself. And if they were alive, well, perhaps it meant that whoever that person was had been lucky somewhat; fortunate, if you had faith in the word. And if they felt the same way, somehow feeling those harsh wish-washy emotions of love that seemed so unforgiving, I'd consider that a blessing in disguise.
It was the mysterious and complicated idea of love that I strongly believed. Never having experienced it myself back then, I had no idea what the word love even meant. I remember wanting so badly to find out. Did love hurt like a bee when it stung? Was it as beautiful as the photos I took that people seemed to idolize me for? I recall being unable to fathom the changes love made in people, much less digest its intentions.
Why did people seem to constantly seek their counterpart whenever in love? Why did they always seem to become so much more aware?
Love is tricky like that, yet I didn't know that then.
If I could go back and tell the wandering me in the forest who thought only of love as he took pictures of paused nature, I would tell him that perhaps he should have better prepared himself for the sudden, upcoming and unchangeable changes that love would have on him. I guess you could call that a warning, but I myself would call it a wakeup call.
A call that perhaps I received too late.

{Introduction}

I had been wandering aimlessly through a forest I didn't know well. It was winter and lightly falling snow combined with the chilly air seemed to rust my bones. With every clicking flash of my camera my bones would unfreeze, thaw out with great speed so that I could capture a picture of great worth. Snow had been falling on my uncovered head, playing and melting about my black hair that I'd gelled back. Each time I sniffed back falling mucus my black rimmed circular glasses would wiggle somewhat on the bridge of my nose. I kept walking into this forest of the unknown, camera ready and being safely protected between my purple mitten hands. Every few seconds or so I would stop, capturing what was to me a masterpiece in the making; a work of value in the process. I was practically starved from not having eaten breakfast. I had been all too eager to take pictures of winter's white covered morning. What had caught me off guard was not the birds chirruping, or the small forest animals playing about in the distance, but a strange noise. It sounded as if it'd been some sort of dangerous animal, lurking about the white covered brushes. It was only wise for me to turn around and see. At that moment, within that passing sixty seconds of a minute, my eyes caught a blur, a glimpse of a passing organism. My first instinct was to take a picture; it'd been my first reaction, as natural as breathing for me. What I captured made me doubt my line of work for the first time in my life.
"A…deer girl?" I questioned, staring hard at the scene on my camera that showed a blurry image of some type of deer, and yet with the anatomy of a human woman. My eyes squinted, and of course I may have rubbed them once or twice. What I had been seeing real? Better yet: was it possible?
The sudden sound of someone breathing snapped me back to reality. I was sure I'd heard it. How could I not have when I'd stopped breathing myself just to listen?
"Is someone there?" I called out; practically to no one but the winder wind that chilled my bones the longer I didn't move. And then to my surprise there was another sound, much louder as the first. I searched around, but came up with nothing to confirm the evidence I'd caught on camera.
"Are you…real? Do you truly exist?" I called again. "Are you even there?" The forest quieted then, returning with no answer. I gave the impression of someone that would casually let the situation go and continued to walk, however now much slower than before. My awareness was on high alert; my curiosity peeked, so to speak.
That person…that deer girl that had been blurred in my eyes, as I could tell, her watchful eyes had been on a sharp level of alert as well. I could feel myself growing curious beyond belief.
What was it I would find here in this forest?
As my feet created traces in the snow, leaving behind my existence and then fading as if I hadn't existed at all, I was carefully listening. I tried to take pictures, just to seem my normal self so that she could think I wasn't paying any attention at all. Soft footsteps making footprints could be heard.
I came to a stop. "You're still there, aren't you? You'll come out…won't you? So that I could see you…"
Her footsteps became closer. Automatically my hands grabbed my camera without my having commanded them to. Her footsteps stopped.
"I won't hurt you," I promised, my voice soft with honesty. "I just want to see you. Are you real? Do others like you exist? What type of creature could you be?"
Footsteps sounded again, drawing in on my location. Closer and closer…
My eyes widen at the deer that appeared, hiding timidly behind a nearby tree. It'd been a deer, yet somehow with the body of a woman. She was beautiful. Her face one of divine wisdom that offered a lengthened distance of surreal comfort, like fine wine that ages and becomes something that withholds an exotic flavor of great taste that quenches demanding thirst. Her expression had been strong, free of readable emotions and somewhat fazed. Yet her eyes were intensely hard, solid with a certain firmness that gave the impression of accurateness. I stared, my mind unable to grasps what my eyes were seeing. What was this?
I approached her, my steps light, cautious.
"Hello there," I attempted polite conversation. "My name…it's…um, it's Allen. You…do you have a name?"
She nodded her head, her antlers moving too. In that moment I experienced true shock. I had stopped moving. Placed on her head had been real deer antlers, the shade of an off dark brown. They had been shaped like a backward S with tiny pieces sticking out like hangers that hung. Beneath the odd antlers was hair. Hair that was black and fell past her shoulders, draping down her upper back. It had been curled.
Her bangs, oddly cut in a wide V sort of shape, were straight.
"Those…they're quite real…I'm correct in assuming that, right?" I heard myself ask. The visible words that created a cloud of air told me that I'd spoken. She nodded once more, her black curls caressing the sandy brown fur of her cheeks. I thought for a moment, observing her. Like a deer she possessed the correct features. Her neck was long and thin, her throat white. Around her darker than black eyes was white and surrounding that white was the same sandy brown. Her long deer ears had been the same color. She had the long nose with the soft brown tip. Beyond that her features was now only human aspects. Her shoulders were uncommonly slumped, her collarbone deepened, and lips puckered naturally. Her bold thick eyebrows that had been cut to be small were black like her hair. Her fingernails were more deer-like, like black claws. What was I seeing?
"What's your name?" I asked, my own dark eyes meeting hers. She looked at me for a moment, hesitating. I waited, in no hurry. After a moment or so she stepped from behind the tree, revealing attire that I hadn't expected her to be wearing. She'd been dressed in a short Lolita dress that was made of thick soft brown cloth and stopped just above her knees that were covered by white stockings. At the end of the long sleeves was white fur, just as it had been around her neck. I didn't notice it right away, but the bottom of her white stockings had been to cut to reveal the darker brown hooves.
She approached me with cautious, as I had did her. I swallowed hard.
What had I been expecting?
"Are you afraid?" I ask when her pace slowed.
She lowered her eyes, her head turning from one side to the other, as if she'd been thinking. I noted the agriculture of her framework that had been is threatening different from that of a normal human female. Her anatomy had been untamable thin, yet was slender although she possessed little curves. Her built was something simpler to a pear.
She stopped, realizing how carefully I'd been observing her. I observed her with eyes of a documenter that hungrily devoured research.
I looked away, allowing myself to clear my throat.
I wanted so badly to take pictures of her, to gather information and have evidence of her existence. I wanted so badly to have knowledge of this creature. My fascination was getting to me, prickling at my flesh.

My eyes blinked back to her, although they did not lift to see her. I tried to focus on the snow, resisting the urge to capture such a beautiful creature.
"Um, about your name…" I tried again for conversation. "I didn't catch it. What was it?"
In that moment she ran, feeling the need to escape from the sudden sound of snow falling in the distance. My head jerked in the direction she'd begun running in, my feet starting for her eagerly, desperately. I chased behind her, my eyes taking note of her speedily clumsy running. Although she had been running fast, her feet hoofed feet tangled. She struggled to not trip over her own hooves as she ran in the snow.
"Hold on!" I called. "Wait for me."
My breathing begun to sound unsteady, as I was never the running type. But somehow, I knew I had to speak to her, to converse with such a creature that never existed before expect in mythological literature.
Now that I give it thought, she's an exotic being, so beautiful, so complex and yet so vulnerable somehow. She wanted isolation, if only for the need to protect herself. She's insecure. She's weak, but then again oh so strong in self. She lacks closure. She dares to want interaction, seeks some kind of human attention. Then she begins to hide, moving through this damned forest in silence, creating no noise to remind me that she's alone, but yet still wants me to follow by leaving behind her damped scent that drives me further into the forest. And it seems whenever a noise finds my ear, I recall the look of interest and hope on her face. She wants to be alone, but not lonely. And so I ran, following her.
"Come this way!" She yelled suddenly, her voice blaring, fighting against the loud wind. Her voice crashed into my ears. I blinked, still running behind her, my eyes searching frantically for her. Her voice, it'd been one of overpowering confidence, overwhelming certainty.
What was this woman-deer? Where had she been leading me?
Why did I follow persistently? Was it truly only for documentation?
As I continued to follow behind her, my heart pounded in my chest, something like butterflies invading my stomach. My interest in this creature had suddenly taking over my thoughts, causing me to run faster. Before I knew it, my eyes had captured sight of her. I'd grabbed her soft delicate hand of fur and pulled her towards me, forcing her to dodge a hunting dart that had landed in one of the trees. I eyes widened with intense worry. I swallowed hard, trying to catch my breath.
"What in the world is happening?"
"Come on," she said, her voice panicked. She pulled me away, gripping my hand as tight as she could. Then it hit me: we were being hunted, and she was allowing me to escape along with her, although I'd not been of her kind. At that moment I found my cheeks burning, blushing a bright red.
Had this most purest of unknown creatures taken an interest in me as well?

Author's Note:

The "Deer Girl" character belongs completely to Raevynewings over at DA. She was kind enough to let her characters be character for my story and so I'm greatly thankful to her. The character was modeled after two portraits, however because I only got permission to use Raevyne's characters, I will not be posting a link for the other character inspiration.
But here is Raevyne's link to the portrait I modeled the "Deer Girl" character after:

http : /browse . deviantart . com / ?order=9&q=Deer+Girl&of fset=120#/d 3dzaub

[The character was altered in this story, and also: she's the one on the right. The left will be her sister!]