"Shhh," Chell nudged Wheatley in the side, giving him a soft glare as she nodded towards the deer. "You're going to scare them away."

With her house being on the edge of the woods, Chell had taken to feeding the deer in the winter. The sight was pretty enough, Wheatley would admit- a yard full of deer, poised in the snow- but he would much rather watch from the safety of the indoors than actually tend to the creatures.

"Okay, yes," Wheatley whispered, "But consider, wild animals do belong in the woods. Generally. Right?" A dozen dark eyes watched as he waited for an answer he didn't receive. "So, really, would it be such a bad thing, if-"

"Hush."

He frowned with a pout as Chell continued several steps without him.

"Do we have to get so close?" Wheatley jumped, nearly spilling his bucket of feed as the closest deer darted to the edge of the woods. The bare trees didn't do much to hide the scrawny thing, but it made it's point: it was uneasy. The other animals seemed to copy the sentiment, stamping their feet and tossing their heads. Wheatley gave a huff of laughter. "See, they don't like it either."

Chell tried very hard not to shake her head at his antics.

"They're skittish." She said. "And hungry." Chell noted how much farther they needed to go (how much closer to the deer they needed to get), and how Wheatley's footfalls (and ramblings) were much louder than hers. She relented. "You don't have to come any closer if you don't want to."

"Thank you."

Wheatley handed off his bucket of feed, watching with wonder and mild worry as Chell proceeded onward without him. Despite the snow, her movements were graceful and almost completely silent. For this reason, or perhaps another (she was now carrying two buckets of feed, she had fed them before and they recognized her, or maybe just because she was Chell), the deer didn't seem as frightened of her. They backed away a step or two, flicking their ears nervously when she got too close, but for the most part their glassy eyes watched with cautious fascination as she came towards the feed trough where they were gathered. Chell was much the same: a soft smile tugging at her lips as their dark eyes met hers. She held their gaze.

And, much to Wheatley's surprise, (for all her talk of being quiet) Chell also spoke to them. Her voice sounded different than usual- softer, more placating- but (Wheatley couldn't help to think) it was soothing to listen to, and it seemed to do the trick in calming in the flighty creatures.

"It's alright." Chell murmured, still watching the deer as she carefully filled the trough. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just here to help."

The deer came to her after that, sniffing at her as they slowly stalked forward. Once they reached the food she'd brought they were far more trusting, leaving Chell to her own devices a foot or so away while they ate, their meal only briefly interrupted as they watched the two humans observing them.

'Deer' was submitted by TomBurd on DeviantArt. Thanks so much for the prompt! I hope you enjoyed it! ^^