CHAPTER FIVE: TESTING

"Do you see anything Stabo?" his father asked.

"I see some very small stones in his skin," he answered. "They did not go through the skin. I think I can remove them with my rack."

Stabo used his velvet-covered rack to push into his skin and force the small black stones out. He did this many times and it hurt, but not badly enough that he asked him to stop. This went on for a while before the old deer finished.

"I see nothing more," his uncle told him. "These stones were smaller than the ones that hit Stranger and Stena. He then looked down at him lying there. "You were lucky Stafen if those stones would have been bigger or the Man closer when he used his killing stick, the stones would have gone into you and you would have died."Stabo then leaned over and felt his head again with his nose. "Not as bad as last night."

He was still lying on his side which was uncomfortable with his rack growing out. As soon as Stabo stepped aside, he got up on his feet again.

"I still want you to eat the leaves until the fever goes away," Stabo said. "But I do not think you were hurt like Stranger. He had problems moving his rear leg for almost a season after Man struck him. If it was not for the bear taking out the large stones, he would have died."

Bambi stepped forward to look him over. "As soon as the fever goes away, we will continue training. The best way to get over an injury is to use it until it becomes stronger."

The herd leader then came over and looked him over carefully. "You seem healthy otherwise."

"Thank you, herd leader," he answered. "I like to finish my training this season."

That will not happen he said. We have not trained you as a herd leader yet, that we will do over next winter."

That surprised him. "I never said I wanted to be a herd leader," he told Bambi.

"Neither did Stabo and neither did I, Bambi barked harshly."We became herd leaders anyway. Just as my father's death forced Stabo to act, it could be Stabo's and my deaths that may make you herd leader.

"What about my father and the other senior males?" he asked. "They would become herd leaders before I would."

"Your father and Juon," perhaps," Bambi said. "The other senior males are worthless. Their leadership only goes as far as getting their doe in The Season. They do not know how to lead. They never asked for us to train them as you did. If something happened to Stabo and me, I think you make a good herd leader."

Suddenly he just stood there and started to shake. He remembered again what Garris had told him about how he was afraid he could not live up to what Bambi and the herd expected of him. He now felt the same cold feeling of fear run down his legs.

He tried to speak but the words caught in his throat. He drooped his head. "I…I…I am sorry, Bambi, but I am not sure I could do that."

Stabo came over quickly and lifted his head and looked deep into his eyes. "If that time comes, you will do it if for no other reason than the good of the herd. The herd is important, you are not. That was the one thing my father and Old Bambi pounded into me. It was the one thing my sister and Balo could not understand. I understand it, Bambi here understands it, our mates understand it, your father and Juon understand it, and now you must understand it. Being a herd leader is not just giving orders and getting your pick of the doe. It is about caring for the herd, even if it will cost you your life. My friend and Bambi's father Vernon understood this and died because of it. My father was hurt many times because of it. I and others have also been injured. Why is this? It is because while we or any deer will live and die, the herd goes on past us and even our children."

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "I am sorry, but I am not sure I am a deer who can do this."

Stabo laughed. "Of course you do not know. I did not know, Bambi here did not know, even my father did not know. However, when the time came, we all did what we had to do and the herd continued. You have it in you, Stafen, I can see it, and so can the others. If the time comes, you will lead the herd well."

That shook him most of all. He felt his knees shake. "I wish I felt like that," he said quietly.

"You look healed enough," his father said. "Go spend time with those pretty doe of yours. Come back tomorrow night and we will continue."

"Very, well father," he said and walked away. His stomach felt like butterflies were inside it, and he felt unsure of what they just told him. At least he found comfort with his doe who all seemed glad he was back alive. He was not so sure.

Summer went on and his training continues. Bambi and Stabo were pushing him harder and harder and he pushed back harder and harder. Stabo and Bambi still knocked him around, but it wasn't as bad as before. Yes, they often pushed him back, but it was harder and harder to knock him to the ground. It was during the summer with its plentiful grass that he put on weight. It was not fat, but mostly muscle. He was also growing. He could feel himself getting taller, bigger, and stronger. He could now see level into his father's eyes and only Stabo was much taller than he was.

For the rest of the summer, not much happened. Although Man came back several times to the Man cave, they did not hunt anything except birds. They only stayed for the day or two and left before night. Mostly, there was peace on the meadow and in the forest. During this time the changes in him were being noticed more by the herd. At the start of spring, he would stand on the meadow and no one would pay attention. Now he noticed others were looking at him. Not just doe, but also the herd males. It did not bother him and other than for light sparing the other males left him alone. They also left his doe alone mostly. On the few occasions a male came sniffing around his doe, a quick turn and a lowered head were enough to drive off any over-curious male. The one thing he loved was that any doe that came sniffing around him, got the same treatment mostly from Allia, but also sometimes Dala would chase them out.

His rack grew out. His father said this rack would be smaller, but next season, he knew it be much bigger. He knew his rack looked small when compared to Stabo, his father, Juon, and especially Bambi, but he had to expect that.

From time to time his father or his uncle would bring him over to the senior male group. He knew he was not ready to join that group, but he felt next season he would. One thing continued however, Bambi kept sending him out in this and the old forest to look for trouble, but he seldom found any. When he had something to report he just walked up to the herd leader and told him. No one seemed to mind as long as he spoke, only when spoken to, or reported back on what he found.

One thing that he was happy about was his doe still seem close to him. He had been teaching them how to walk quietly and Dala and Allia could do very well, but Nalene was just not able to avoid twigs or kicking bushes.

One thing did happen to him during the later summer. It was when he went to talk to Bambi and Stabo about something he had seen looking in the old forest. There had been the track of Man near the far edge of the forest near where Oswal lived. He went to report it, but he did not want to interrupt Relnor talking about the doe on the meadow. He finished but before he could speak, Relnor turned and asked him.

"Well young male, how many of these doe will you take for yourself." He was sure he said it in jest.

"None," he said.

"None," Relnor looked acting surprised. "I thought a young male like you would want many doe to breed."

"I already have three," he said. "I do not need anymore. "The rest of you can take any of the other doe you like. I have what I want."

"You are being generous," Toradas added with a slight sneer.

"Not so," he answered respectfully. "I simply have what I want. The rest belong to you."

"Did you ever think some male may want to take them from you?" Toradas added.

"That would be bad," he said nodding his head, "For him! These are my doe and I will fight anyone who tries to take them from me."

"Including one of us," Toradas prodded.

"Yes, including you," he answered.

He could see Bambi and his father looking intently at him. "We are bigger and strong than you are young male," Toradas answered.

"Yes you are," he admitted.

"You think you can beat us," he said.

At that point, he understood what Toradas was trying to do. The senior male was trying to get under his skin and see if he could get him to get mad at him. He would not get mad, but he was not going to back down.

"I do not know if I can beat you," he said honestly. Inwardly he did not think any of the herd males could fight as well as Stabo or Bambi and he could stand against them, mostly. "As long as you don't try to take my doe, it doesn't matter. I am not looking for a fight, but I will not run away from one either."

Relnor looked at him suspiciously as if expecting him to attack. "I think you would," he said warily.

"Excuse me, I need to talk to Stafen for a moment about what he saw and it is getting late," Bambi said and pulled him aside.

He told Bambi about the Man print he found and where. Bambi said nothing more about his talk with Toradas. It was only later his father ran him down as he headed back to his bedding area.

"I think Toradas is marking you as someone he is going to have to fight soon," his father told him.

"As I said, Father, I am not looking for a fight, but if one happens, then it happens. That male wanted to know how far he could push me, and I told him. The rest is up to him."

His father put on a half-smile. "Yes, Son, you told him, and nicely too."

"Just as long as he keeps himself off of my doe, or I will fight him as best I can, using any means I know to beat him," he told his father.

"Yes, I think you would," his father said repeating what Relnor said.

Throughout the summer brought the heat and rains. Almost every afternoon it rained heavily and then cleared. It was pleasant afterward. Bambi and Stabo continued to teach him how to fight, and by now he was feeling good about it. His leg had healed completely, his chest widened; even his rack looked nice, but not mature.

"Congratulations my Son," his mother told him one night with a bitter voice. "You look now like a deer that Man would want to kill."

She glared at him and he nodded and smiled. "Then I will just not get struck by any more by the killing stick."

"I wish it was that easy," she said and walked away.

That night on the meadow he noted another deer starting to look at his doe. This deer he knew. It was Rufo. He had pushed him back before, and he was here again. Did he think he had gotten weaker? Remembering what Stabo, his father, and Felon told him he decided he would not get mad. He stopped eating and turn and slowly walked back toward the three doe standing behind him. By now Rufo was sniffing around Dala's tail making her nervous.

"She is mine, leave," he told him.

"Maybe I should ask her that," he sneered.

"Maybe you should leave," he repeated more forcefully.

Rufo backed up and shot a glance over to the senior males. Toradas was looking at them eagerly. The other senior males were talking and did not notice, but Toradas was watching them carefully and Rufo was looking back as if looking for that senior male to tell him what to do. One other deer was looking at them and that was the herd leader. Then Toradas just moved his head quickly. Then he understood. Toradas was going to use Rufo to test him again. This time he would not play their game.

He did not make a move to attack and instead looked at Rufo with utter contempt. This was not Rufo, this was Toradas seeing how far he could be pushed.

Rufo lowered his head and came forward slowly. He stood still and slowly lowered his head.

"You wish to spar," he said like it was a friendly match.

Rufo stopped and looked at him. Seeing he was ready for any trouble he just called back. "No not tonight," he said and then moved off. As soon as he was gone, he walked over to the senior males even though he was not invited. He came up close to Toradas who stared at him looking a little anxious. He stopped about three lengths away.

"Did you learn what you wanted to know?" he asked boldly.

Toradas just turned away from him and walked back into the forest. He turned around and just shot a glance at Bambi. The herd leader just looked at him and nodded his head gently. He walked back to his doe and nuzzled each one openly.

"If that deer bothers you again, just come get me," he said to all three of them. "I will take care of him."

They finished eating and went back to his bedding area. There he lay down and his three doe lay next to him. He was content.

Toward the end of summer, he was eating just after the greater light had gone and before the lesser light rose when he heard a noise from far away. He looked around and saw down the Man Path a bright light heading his way. It was another Man animal Stabo told him about.

"Look!" he barked out loudly so the entire herd heard him.

All the deer turned toward him. He pointed his nose down the Man Path at the light that was getting bigger.

"Man animal is coming with Man inside," he called out. "Everyone get off the meadow. Now RUN!"

The deer on the meadow scattered and he led his three doe back into the woods. Once inside he stopped and looked around him. The wind was blowing on his tail away from the meadow. Man and his dogs could not smell him from the meadow. By now his three doe had stopped running and walked up behind him.

"Go back to our bedding place and wait for me," he told them. "I need to do something for the herd leader."

"I will stay," Allia told him.

"No, you go," he said. "I will come later."

"All three doe left him alone. He found a place inside the trees where he could not be easily seen. He lay down and looked. Stabo had told him many times that Stranger used to look at Man and could tell sometimes what Man would do. He decided to try the same thing. As he waited, the light by from the Man Path got brighter and brighter until the Man animal drove on the meadow. The Man animal smelled of smoke and other orders horrible to his nose. He watched the Man animal move to the Man cave and stopped. Two Men came out of the side of the Man animal. They were big, taller than he was but not nearly so long. He caught their putrid scents, but he could smell nothing else.

They opened the back of the Man animal and took out things and went into the Man cave. Soon a light came on inside the cave and all was quiet. A little later he heard a slight rustling of leaves and then a soft voice called out.

"It is me, Stafen," his uncle called out.

"Sure enough the old deer came out of the forest and lay next to him.

"What have you seen?" he asked.

He told him in a whisper.

"No dogs?" Stabo asked.

"None," he said.

"Hmmmmmmm, just two Men and no dogs" Stabo muttered. "It is not The Season yet so they are not after us. Why are they here?"

They both lay there quietly looking at the Man cave. Soon he heard more sounds coming from the Man Path.

"Rooom," he heard in the distance. At the same time, the light along the Man Path got brighter. Another Man animal was coming.

"Stabo, another Man animal comes," he whispered.

"I do not like this," Stabo said. "We are too close here. Come with me and be quiet."

"They walked away as quietly as they could and went deeper into the forest. Just far enough so they could still see the Man cave clearly. The light near the Man Path got brighter and soon two more Man animals drove into the meadow. These Man animals were longer. The two Men inside the cave came out and four more Men came out of the two Man animals. Something else came out.

"Wooooof, Wooof, Wooof," he heard the deep panting. Out came four dogs. They were not the dogs he had seen before, these we much bigger dogs, heavier dogs. The wind was still blowing in their faces so they could not smell them.

"I need to find Bambi, fast," his uncle told him. Stabo's voice sounded scared. "These are the big dogs. They almost killed Stranger and Old Bambi, and they helped Man kill Vernon. They can run down and kill any deer in the forest."

"But it is not The Season," he said not sure of what was happening.

"They might not be after deer, they might want larger animals," Stabo answered quickening the pace.

The realization hit him in a flash. "Uttral," he said out loud. "They might be after Uttral."

"You might be right," Stabo said. "First we have to warn the herd.

"My doe," he said out loud. "They may be too close to the dogs."

Stabo stopped immediately. "You are right," he said. "Look, I will tell Bambi and you bring your doe to the place near the Man Path we met before. Now hurry, we have to get the herd away before dawn."

"He turned and ran for his bedding place. Although he tried being quiet, speed was more important now. He ran and ran hard towards his bedding area. He reached it soon afterward and all three doe were there.

"Listen, he said almost out of breath."Man is on the meadow again and he has dogs, big dogs; it is not safe here. We have to go."

"Let us run," Nalene cried out.

"No, we need to move fast, but we cannot make a lot of noise," he explained. "I will take you to the place the herd met before. Just follow me and be as quiet as you can."

With that they moved off at a fast run across the front of the forest, but still well inside the trees.

"HHHHEEEERRRREEE," he heard Bambi call out. "All come here" A short while later Bambi repeated his call. He hoped all the deer would listen to it. The large dogs certainly started barking loudly when they heard the call of the herd leader.

They moved on as quickly as they could without making enough racket that the entire forest would hear them. It was late and the lesser light had set when he found the others. They came into the opening and found all the senior males were there along with their mates and some fawns.

"Did you hear anything else," Stabo asked him.

"No, I think they went inside the Man cave. I heard no dogs in the forest."

"Good," Bambi said and then looked at him and Stabo. "You both did well in spotting the danger. If they do hunt for us we can all flee deep into the forest."

The realization then hit again. "What about Uttral, should we not warn her?"

Stabo nodded and just thought for a few seconds. "No, we cannot," Stabo said. "The only deer she knows is Stelar and me. Stelar has fawns and I am needed here to take the herd into the forest with Bambi, Juon, and Helos."

He noted he did not even mention the other senior males. They were useless here and the five of them knew it. There was a solution, however.

"Uttral knows me also," he said. "If I leave now and hurry, I can be on that other hill before the greater light rises up to far. I can warn her and then stay there until Man goes away."

"And if these dogs come your way they can run you down and tear you to pieces," his mother told him.

"No," he told her. "The forest is still open. I can see them coming. If they start to come toward me, I can run over the hill and into the other forest."

"In the daytime," Bambi said. "That is risky."

"It is either that or we let Uttral die," he said. He turned to Bambi. "I will do what the herd leader asks, but Uttral is part of our family as was her father."

Bambi just stood there alone and thinking and shaking his head. Finally, he looked up. "I will not ask you to do this. What I will say is if you want to do this, then do it."

He nodded his head. "I will go now," he said.

Bambi walked up and put his forehead against his. He could see a tear in his eye. "Then go, and I wish you well. No matter what happens, I can tell you this, you are ready."

He did not understand. "Ready for what?" he asked.

"That you will find out if you return," Stabo added.

He looked to see his mother and father. They were not pleased with what he was going to do. He just smiled and waved his head turned back to Stabo. "See my doe get to safety, Goodbye."

"I will," his uncle called as he ran into the forest.

He moved quickly until he came to the Man Path. He looked carefully to make sure no more Man animals were coming. He saw nothing and ran into the other part of the forest. He moved as fast as he could. He could see, hear, or smell no danger around him as he continued to move. It was sometime later when he came to the edge of the forest. He walked out into the still darkness. Off in the distance, he could see the first signs of light. He could see the other hill that ran among side his meadow and ran toward it. He only stopped long enough to get water from the spring. From there he could see the Man cave. The dogs were resting outside the cave and not moving. The men seemed to be burning something again. Once he filled himself he reached the far hill by the time the greater light was up.

He looked over at the Man cave and saw the dogs were starting to move around. Man would be hunting soon. He continued moving even though it was light. He got near the top of the hill and started to move across it. All the while he was sniffing for the bear. He continued on and then started to hear the dogs barking. He had to hurry. He saw the other forest to his right. But it was almost completely open between here and there. If Man saw him there, he would die. He could smell no sign of anything until he reached a spot that looked familiar. He had stood in the other forest and saw this same place near where he talked to Uttral.

He went back down the hill toward his meadow. He was following the bear's scent now. He went faster. He was about halfway down the hill when he saw the mound and now he could smell three bears.

"Uttral," he yelled.

Nothing happened, no movement at all.

"Uttral," he called again.

"Still nothing; not even a sound of movement. He approached closely ready to leap back if she or any of the cubs came after him. Finally, he came up to the side of the mound.

"Uttral, it is Stafen, you are in danger," he yelled into the cave.

There was nothing but silence. The bear and her cubs were not there.

"WOOF...WOOF...WOOF," he heard from below. They were getting closer. He could not run downhill, Man would kill him for sure. Going back the same way was impossible. He could run to the other end of the hill and try to lose the dogs, or he could just run toward the forest over the hill. That seemed the best idea for him. He started to run up the hill. All the while the dogs were below him looking for a scent. If they found Uttral's den they find his scent as well.

He got to the top of the hill and looked down the way he came. He saw mo movement, but the barking got louder. He waited near the top and rested for a moment. He was starting to feel tired and he well-remembered Stabo and his father telling him these big dogs could run down and kill a deer. Right now they did not know he was here, and that is when he realized that the hill he was on was between the hunters and him. They could not see him. At that moment he decided he was not going to wait for the dogs to find his scent. He was leaving now. He could only hope there were no Men on this side of the hill.

He ran down the hill through the broken trees. He did not run in a straight line but made turns every few leaps. He got to the bottom of the hill and now the trees disappeared altogether. He would be fully visible in the open fields. He looked carefully and saw no sign of Man. All the noise was behind him.

He took several deep breaths and then just ran as fast as he could for the other forest. The grass was tall, but the ground firm. He had no problem covering the ground. He got halfway before he started to feel tired.

"YAAAAOOOOOLLLLLL," he heard a dog howl from behind. One of them found a scent, he could guess whose. He continued running now mostly in a straight line for the forest getting closer by the leap. He was nearly there when he looked up and something appeared from the edge of the other forest. He looked at it and saw it was big and black and had two smaller things running next to it. That must be Uttral. He leaped toward it. He got to within ten lengths and stopped quickly.

"Uttral, Man is at your den with big dogs. They are after you," he tried to call out but he was out of breath.

The bear stopped and he got closer, maybe too close. The cubs came forward, but a grunt from Uttral called them back. He stopped not more than three lengths from her.

"Men with big dogs at your den, I think they come for you," he repeated.

"You came here to warn me?" she asked.

"Yes," he gasped and looked around. "We are in the open here, too easy to see us," he said.

"To the forest," she said.

At that moment the barking got louder. He turned quickly and saw four dogs at the top of the hill he climbed. There was no Man with them.

"They see us," Uttral called out. "Run and do not worry about me. Save yourself Stafen and thank you."

Uttral took her two cubs and ran directly for the forest. He turned slightly as not to lead the dogs to her. Maybe they would follow him. It was getting harder to breathe. He knew he was slowing down, but his legs ached, especially the one Man hit. He moved as fast as he could and ran behind some short trees at the edge of the forest. A few moments later he was in the heavy trees of Felon's forest. He fell to his knees with exhaustion but still lay where he could still see the way he came. The dogs were running down the hill toward where they were. Just then motion at the top of the hill caught his eye. Four Men stood there and they had killing sticks. The dogs were still following his scent when he heard it.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," it sounded. "It was like a high pitch bird call or a cry from a hurt animal.

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE," it sounded again.

Then the dogs just stopped in the open and turned around. They started running back to the Men. He had no idea what was going on but he was not going to wait and see who they chased next. He forced himself to his feet and continued to move deeper into Felon's forest.

He ran until he simply could not run any longer. Now he was truly exhausted. He lay down, but he could not hear anything barking behind him. He did not want to sleep, but he could not help himself. It was sometime later he awoke. He had no idea where he was. He knew it was a long walk until he got to the meadow the Felon's herd ate in. He did not know how late it was, the trees were thicker in this forest and he could not see the greater light. The wind also did not blow hard on him with the thick trees growing so chose. Not only that, the trees were thicker, taller, and sturdier looking than in his forest.

"Woof," he heard in the distance. There were not close, but still around. He decided to continue on. There was no wind to blow any scent so they were all unable to smell much in this heavy part of the forest. He decided to keep moving until it was dark and find his way home. As he moved he was surprised he did not smell many animals in this part of the forest. He soon found out why. There were bear scents all around. Most were very old and he could hardly smell them. The only recent scent smelled like it was from Uttral. He kept going and soon came across her trail. She was there along with two other scents. They must be her cubs. No deer or other animal would walk in this part of the forest with a hungry bear around. He hoped if she was nearby, she was not hungry enough to eat him. He walked slowly and cautiously for a while before he came across a very fresh pile of waste. Again it was Utrall's scent. She was close, He stopped, and knowing scents did not travel far without the wind to carry them, he listened carefully. Nearby, but deeper in the woods, he heard branches breaking.

"Uttral, it is Stefan again," he said loudly." I ran into your forest to escape the big dogs."

He heard a growl that sounded like her saying 'stay here' and then heard movement coming toward him. Being much larger than he was, a bear could not move quietly as he could. Inwardly he told himself to run away, but he did not. Uttral never tried to eat him before, he hoped she would not eat him now. Besides, if he ran out of this forest, those dogs would do the same and those dogs he knew would kill him. The dirty fur and fat smell came to his noses and he saw a black shape running toward him.

"Did the dogs follow you?" she asked.

"I did not hear them behind me," he told her and then looked behind him. It was quiet.

"Good," she said and moved up close to him. At this distance, one swipe by her huge claws would cut him open more than any deer could.

"I hope they do not go after the deer with those big dogs," he said. "Uncle Stabo told me they almost killed Stranger once and did kill Vernon, Bambi's father."

"Dogs like also killed my father," she growled. "If not for Man and his killing sticks, I would cut those dogs open and eat them."

He looked at her. She was huge, more than twice the size he was. He remembered Stabo told him her father was even larger.

"Thank you for not killing me," he said.

She turned and looked at him and then came forward and nuzzled the side of his face in affection. "No, I will not eat you, just like my father would not eat Stranger, Old Bambi, and the others. They were all there to make life better in the forest. I think you are the same way. Stabo and the others taught you well and you certainly act like Stranger."

"What about you cubs?" he asked.

"The female Kela would eat you if she could. She is a pure bear. Kilo my son is different. He likes to look closely at the animals around him. He is curious, perhaps too curious at times."

"Watch them," he told her "I know there was a pack of five coyotes around here. That pack now is only four."

The large bear grunted her approval. "I know of them. They do not come into this part of the forest. None of the smaller animals come here. Fortunately for me and the cubs, most of them are not as good as spotting danger as your mother and uncle so we eat well here."

That thought made him uncomfortable, but as Stabo once said, deer eat the grass, the bears and others eat us, and Man eats everything. It was part of the Way of All Things as Stranger would say. He then realized there might be others in danger also.

"I should go and find Felon and warn him," he realized. "Those dogs might try and run down deer in his herd. Then he asked, "Can you tell me the way there."

"And you care about the other herds, also just like Stranger," she said grinning. She stood and pointed her nose. "Go that way and walk until dark. You will find them. I would wash in the pond first. They may not listen to a deer that smells like a bear."

"That would smell strange on a deer," he said seeing the humor in it.

"Thank you Stafen," Utrall said and nuzzled him again. "Your mother is right; you are like your grandfather. Now go and do not come back here. Sometimes I am not alone and have a male here. That will not be this winter; my clubs will stay with me and no male will come close. By then both cubs will be large enough to kill you."

"I understand," he said "If you want to see us, come on the meadow. I am sure my mother and uncle would like to see you as well as me. Now I must go."

The big bear nuzzled him again and off he went to warn Felon. Despite Man and his dogs and coyotes, it still felt great to be alive.