- Roused
- Chapter 036
~ The Circle of Life
Young Briar Rose and Aunt Merryweather are outside of the cottage gathering the dried laundry. They are dancing elegantly around, unpinning and folding the laundry; a few of the forest friends have made them dance partners with some of the clothes.
Aunt Fauna is tending an injured bird on a table outside on the warm spring day.
When several birds come winging to the cottage. They say there is a doe having trouble with the birth of a fawn.
"Show us where!" says Aunt Fauna, as Rose rushes inside, pulls aside the little curtain to the cubby by the door and grabs the medical kit and they follow the birds deeper into the forest. As Aunt Merryweather struggles with carrying the tall stack of laundry into the cottage.
They find the small doe lying in the grass, panting and straining, contractions rippling across her belly. The rear-end of a large fawn is only half out, lying in a pool of blood.
Briar Rose holds the head of the doe, giving comfort and handing things to Aunt Fauna, while Aunt Fauna goes to work.
Soon the fawn comes out, along with a large amount of blood.
Aunt Fauna reaches in for the afterbirth, but still more blood flows. Soon it becomes apparent that the blood will not stop.
Aunt Fauna moves to the head of the doe next to Briar Rose.
"I'm sorry, but I can't fix it," the disguised fairy says to the dying doe, who nods weakly.
"Can't we do something for her," asks Briar Rose.
"We need to get the fawn to a doe who can feed her, so she can live. This doe will die, I can't do anything about that." The fairy called Aunt Fauna says, knowing that without her wand she can't so anything more for this poor doe. She did not dare do magic out in the open where Maleficent or Aurora could see it. Aurora must be protected, even at the cost of the life of the animal and even their own lives.
Well, there was one last thing she could do to help the doe, and it didn't need a wand, and it would provide a lesson to Briar Rose.
"Rose, there is something I need to teach you now. You have probably noticed the fox behind me."
Briar Rose had not, as she spun her head around to find it. It wasn't all that far away, sniffing the blood in the air.
"We need to take the fawn to a doe who can feed her, but it would not be kind to leave this doe here, the carrion eaters will come for her and pick at her while she still lives. That would cause her great pain. So I will kill her myself right now so she does not suffer that."
Young Briar Rose's eyes went huge. Aunt Flora, sadly, took the head of the doe from her and laid it down on the ground and lifted the chin.
"Most animals are vulnerable around the neck. The muscles on each side of the neck can be quite strong, but the very front is not. Here, you can feel the place where the windpipe is."
She laid Briar Rose's hand along hers on the neck of the doe as the lesson continued.
"You can get your fingers around it like so. And then you do this." There was a dull crunching sound.
Aunt Flora had a sad look on her face. "Good bye and thank you for allowing us to learn from you. Come, Rose, we must get the fawn away before wolves come to feed."
The weakened doe shivered for a short while, that seemed to go on forever, and then went still.
They gather up their things and the fawn and move quickly away as the fox and wolves approach.
"Why did you do that?" asked young Briar Rose.
"I did what needed to be done. It is a terrible way to die, to be eaten while still alive. I helped her take the next step on the circle of life. She was prey and would be eaten by wolves. Eventually the wolves die and return to the earth and become the grass which other deer will eat and become food for the wolves."
- End of Chapter 036
Author's Note: Did you like the Lion King reference?
Come now, you don't think they just sat around doing nothing did you. Aunt Fauna isn't a complete ditz. She cares about animals, and that's about it. But she has a straightforward practicality that is unnerving. I like her. Where do you think Briar Rose learned that trick that allowed her to defeat the alpha? Could I have put this chapter before the alpha fight chapter? Yes, but what's in this chapter is important for the next chapter and I wanted greater immediacy for that.
Oh, and that medical kit is behind that little curtain covering a cubby carved into the tree by the door, which you can see in the movie. Have you ever thought about what could be in there?
Aunt Fauna taught Rose a valuable lesson about facing death.
Review!