Chapter Nine: Winter of Darkness
He crept slowly along the stream testing the air often until he reached Bambi's cave. He smelled nothing except the lingering scent of the Skunk from all around him. The wind was mostly in his face and blew the piercing scent to him overpowering any scent of Man or dog. He crept up toward his old thicket and caught a new smell. It was blood, lots and lots of blood coming from in front of him. He suddenly went cold. Were they all dead? As he moved closer to the cave he caught two other familiar scents. Bambi and Faline were there. At least they survived. He looked into Bambi's cave. There Bambi and Faline were lying next to one another almost motionless. They did not even say anything to him only looked through him as if he wasn't there.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"We are unhurt," Bambi said. Bambi had a strange look to him. He looked lost, yet tense. Faline was the same way. They both looked out of their cave like they expected Krono or Geno to appear. It was almost like they were half dead. Something was wrong.
"My Friends, what has happened?" he asked.
"We are waiting for Man to return so we can kill him," Bambi said plainly. Faline just nodded.
"Kill Man?" he repeated not believing what he was hearing. It sounded like they both lost their heads completely. "Bambi if you try and kill Man, you will both die."
"That no longer matters," he said as if their lives were nothing to them.
He stood up and took a step back. This was so unlike them. "Why, what has happened?" was all he could say.
"Go over by that large Burch tree and smell there," Bambi told him.
He did as he was told, the smell of blood got much stronger, almost as overpowering as the skunk smell. There on the ground was a huge pool of blood still soaking into the brown soil. He bent over to smell it. It took him only a second to realize the pool had the scents of both Jolo and Gurri. He quickly realized with that much blood spilled, they had to be dead. His throat started to tighten.
"They are both gone," he muttered.
"Now come back to where the Spruce tree grows in front of my cave and do the same thing," Bambi ordered.
Again he approach, and again there was a smaller, but still a large pool of blood. He smelled that. It smelled of Gerta. In a moment he realized she was gone too. He dropped his head almost to the ground and fought back the urge to start crying again. Jolo was a large deer with a good rack, Gurri was a large doe, but Gerta was hardly more than a fawn. Why her, he asked himself. Why would Man kill her? He could not keep his feeling back. He walked to the end of the clearing with his back to the two of them and just let his emotions run out. He felt as if the bear had torn out his insides. After a while, he gained control of himself and went back to the cave.
"I am so very sorry," he said with a sob.
"They came for us this time, Stranger. Not just any deer, they came for us. They used the skunk odor so we could not smell them until it was too late. They wanted to kill us all. If Jolo and Gurri had not raised their tails, they would have killed us all. Now the Men all have to die and I will kill them myself. Faline will help. Then we will go join our daughters."
That was crazy. "No," he pleaded. "They are both dead. We can do nothing about that. We have to live for the ones that are still here. Balo is alright, he is with me. You have to live for him."
"I knew he was alright. He ran off with Stena," Bambi said.
"Stena was almost killed," he said and then told them what had happened to her.
They both just shook their heads but the hollow expression on their faces remained. "Go, Stranger," Bambi ordered. "Do not come back here. This is a place filled with death and the smell of death. Soon there will be even more death here. Take care of Balo. He and Stena will make a nice pair."
He backed away from the cave not knowing what else to do. He felt the need to get away. For one of the few times since leaving Man, he felt fear, Fear of what Man had done, and even more fear of what happened to Bambi and Faline He felt a burning in his throat. He almost ran from near the cave because he was so eager to leave. Bambi was right, he would not come back here again. This place was too full of the smell of death. He ran away like a scared fawn until he almost got back to the clearing and then stopped. He collected his thought. As he did it suddenly occurred to him the pain he felt had not yet ended. He still had to talk to his own family and Balo. He stopped, took several deep breaths, and fought to get his control back. He could not be weak. Others of the herd still depended on him. He gathered himself and when he felt ready, he walked into the clearing. Stena was resting on her knees. Claris and Balo were around her. He bent over and rubbed the side of her face. Then he looked up at Balo.
"Balo come here," he said like the herd leader.
The tone of his voice must have warned him. He timidly walked over to him. There was no good way to do this so he just said it. "Balo, your mother can no longer be with you, she is gone. She is gone with Jolo and Gerta."
"No," Stena cried out in pain. "Gerta is dead," she said and broke into tears. He heard Claris also sobbing. It was all he could do not to join them. He had to stay strong.
All Balo said was "Mother," and turned to walk away. Balo went to the edge of the clearing. He lay down with his tail toward them. He looked at the fawn for a second and felt the urge to try and comfort him, but he did not know how or what to say.
He then heard Stena grunt and saw her forcing herself up on her wobbly legs. She got up to her feet, but her face was racked in obvious pain.
"Stena, lie down," her mother told her.
She shook her head no and looked up at them both. "Balo needs me more," she said calmly.
With that, she stumbled over, lay her good side against him, and lay down and nuzzled him along the side of the face. She had done what he should have and at that moment realize there was more between the two than just friendship.
He turned to face Claris, tears running down both their cheeks. They lay down in the clearing close together just happy to be alive. "That is settled," he said looking at the two of them. They were a pair, if only fawns or not. Then they both sobbed until they fell asleep.
Thankfully, that was the last hunt of the year in his forest. He heard in the distance forests sounds of the killing sticks, but nothing nearby. Men still used the Man caves, in his meadow but as he watched he noticed they left the caves early in the morning and returned after the greater light set with their mangled victims. At night there was still yelling, shouting, drinking, and the sickening smell of burning deer meat, but there was no more hunting in their forest. He tried to force from his head who they might be burning, but he could not get the image out of his mind. Several deer came to the clearing and he told them what happened. Other than the three deer he knew about, there were no other deer killed other than Jolo, Gurri, and Gerta. He spent a couple of days going around the forest and noting if there was anyone else that had been killed. There was no one else.
After several days, both Bambi and Faline came back to the clearing, still shaken, but thankfully alive. With Jolo now gone, Bambi was the only other leader he had. He would need him more in the coming days and the winter Both Bambi and Faline lay together in the open part of the clearing and said nothing to anyone at first.
Then Stena and Balo came over to them. Stena still hurt despite the leaves Balo gave her. Bambi looked at her side and was about to say something when Stena said. "I am so sorry for Gerta and Gurri," and started sobbing again. Bambi kissed her like he would his own daughter and Faline kissed Balo. There was a lot more sobbing that day and for days to come.
Most of the herd went their own ways. Now that The Season and the hunts were over, there would be little to do except survive winter. Word of what happened to Jolo, Gurri, and Gerta had gotten around quickly. Most deer had the sense to leave them alone with their sorrow. The only problem that arose is when Sinno and Duro came to visit the clearing. They both glared at him so he figured they were not happy for some reason.
"I said that I did not know if your plan to hide on the hill would work. We still lost six deer." Duro said it as an accusation.
That angered him and saw Bambi was getting even angrier. "We lost three deer because they did not listen," he reminded him. "We lost three more due to a trick of Man."
"Then Man fooled you," Duro came back hard.
Even Sinno backed away from his friend. He fought to remain calm and not rip Duro apart. "Yes, Man fooled me. Sometimes that happens. Last year we lost deer too."
"That should not have happened," Duro added. "You should not be herd leader."
Bambi started to move forward toward the two deer. The look of rage was coming back. He shot a glance at him telling him this was his problem. Not because he objected, but because he did not want to see Bambi kill Duro. Instead, he turned and dropped his head as a threat. "If you can do better, you can challenge me for herd leadership. I do it while you still have your rack."
Duro laughed openly, "I cannot challenge you. You are far too strong," Duro said with spite in his voice. "However being strong does not make you right."
With that Duro turned and left in a hurry with Sinno and two other deer leaving quickly behind him. He watched him go fighting back the urge to smear their backside throughout the forest.
"Ungrateful pile of waste," Bambi said.
He turned to face his old friend. "I agree with you. However, that does not mean he is wrong. Man did fool me and you lost two daughters because of it. I will never apologize to Duro and his friends. It is you and Faline that I should apologize to, I just do not know how to after what has happened. You two of all the deer in the forest should hate me." He bowed his head as his eyes started to water again.
Bambi and Faline walked up to him. Bambi leaned over and lifted his head and looked at him, the hard black eyes soften. "I cannot blame you without blaming myself," the big deer said in a low voice, but now his eyes were wet. "Those Men fooled me too. If I blamed you, I have to blame myself since I was there with you. I should have seen the trick, but I did not and my two daughters are dead because of it. What else can I say to you, my mate, and my dead daughters except I am sorry."
With that Bambi and Faline walked into the forest. He felt empty on the inside at Bambi's words and walked out of the clearing. He wanted to be by himself for a while. In truth, he was having trouble controlling himself when he thought about Jolo, Gurri, and Gerta. The death of those deer hit him hard, and like the injuries that he got from the killing sticks, it would take a long while to heal. It was late the next day before they came back to the clearing. All he could think about was that he did not see the Man trick and three deer close to him had died because of it.
No one ever mentioned what happened to them to him again; not from the herd, and not from his family. It was a feeling of loss he have to carry for the rest of his life. One of many.
The days grew shorter, the wind picked up, and the air turned cooler. Soon his rack loosen and then fell out. Once that happened, he knew the season for killing was over. The weather then warmed for several days. Most of the herd used those last warm days before the cold of winter to feast in the meadow once more before the snow covered the grass. What little weight was lost during The Season and the hunts were quickly regained. As the fall went on, there was quiet in the meadow. Man had left. At least he was happy Men would not stay or come year-round. Many of the other members of the herd came to the clearing, telling him what was going on, which was not much and then left. Most often everyone concentrated on getting as much food as possible in case the winter was hard.
Stena did get a fever from her injury. He was pleased that Balo asked him about the bushes he had used to cure himself and Bambi. He showed the now young male where the plant grew and how much to take. Balo brought the leaves to Stena every day. He also helped her stand to eat. She grew stronger fortunately was almost normal before the first winter snow came. Stena never came back to him and Claris to sleep, but instead found a place near the clearing where she and Balo bedded down together each night. Even Bambi had to admit they were a pair and there was no changing it.
It was just after the first snowfall that Claris told him she could feel the new fawn growing inside her and that she would have a fawn in the spring. Faline was the same. He thought again about the Way of All Things. Some life was gone, and other life would replace it. Life in the forest would continue, but with different animals. He wondered how long it would be before it continued without him, but there was no telling that, so he decided to follow Claris' suggestion and just enjoy what he had now as long as it lasted.
The first snow was mild and vanished almost as soon as it fell. He soon took to taking walks throughout the forest to check on the other deer. They all seemed to be in good shape. Soon Bambi and Balo joined them and later Claris, Faline, and Stena. By now the bear was in his den sleeping. It was well after the first snow that they walked near the tall oaks again. Bambi had realized they had not seen the Old Owl for some time now. Bambi suggested they visit him so they all walked near his tree. They came up to the large old oak tree the owl had lived in for many seasons. Bambi kicked at the tree.
"Friend Owl," Bambi called since he had known him the longest.
"A young, well-developed Owl stepped out on the branch. "Can I help you," he said to Bambi.
That was a surprise to all of them. He had no idea who the new owl was. "We were looking for the Old Owl," Bambi said. "Have you seen him?"
"No," he said. "I am from the other forest over the hills. There were many of my kind there so I decided to come here. I came to this place and found it empty although Owls have lived here before."
"You have not seen an Old Owl?" Bambi asked.
"No, unless that is him over there under those two smaller Oaks. While catching field mice I came across the remains. They had been scattered by the ferrets."
"Where?" Bambi spoke up.
The young Owl flew to a branch many lengths away and called. They went over. At the base of the two young oaks were scattered bones. They were remains of a large bird scattered about along with some old dark gray and white feathers. Bambi leaned over and took a deep breath through his nose. At once his eyes closed tightly. Bambi stood up quickly and turned away from them.
"I have known the Old Owl from the time I was born," he said in a low voice. "He came here with me when we left the old forest behind. Now he is gone too," he said his voice now chocking. "They are all gone. There is almost nothing left."
He wanted to go over but sensed Bambi wanted to be alone. Bambi walked off by himself toward the clearing.
"I am sorry," the young Owl said. "My name is Oswell, and I live here because it is close to the mice and shrews I eat.
"I too am sorry," he said. "We are not being good guests; the Old Owl was a friend of ours for many seasons. He used to help us at times. We are just sad at the passing of a friend."
"I understand," Oswell said showing some sympathy. "I am afraid I do not know many of the deer in the forest. From your size, I think you are the deer they call Stranger, the herd leader. The other deer that left I think is your friend Bambi."
"You are wise," he said. "That is correct. The others here are my mate Claris, Bambi's mate Faline, my daughter Stena, and her friend Balo."
"Pleased to meet all of you," the young owl said. Now I must get back to catching mice."
With that, he flew away. They all walked back to the clearing except Bambi. He went back alone. He did not return until the next morning. Both Claris and Faline were also very sad that night. More of their friends were dead.
After the first snow, the sky cleared and there was another period of unusually warm weather. They were able to use the meadow for a while longer. The grass was soggy, but it was good to eat. By now Stena had recovered from her wound. The wound was not as deep as his had been and the damage to her muscle was not as great. It took her a while to get her rear legs to move as they did before, but by mid-winter, she was back to normal. She did make fun out of joking that now she even looked more like her father. It did leave a scar like his, but Balo did not mind in the slightest. It looked like it was going to be a mild winter and that meant few deer getting sick and dying of disease. Since they had no old deer in the herd, he did not think he lose any of the herd over the winter.
It was right after the second and heavier snowfall that Sinno came again to see them again. He and Duro lived near the edge of the forest where the stream from his forest flowed out toward Bambi's old forest and into the large lake there. He looked concerned, but not frightened this time.
"I have seen another strange deer near where I live. He is big like you two," he said.
"Was it the same deer that came before?" Bambi asked.
"No," Sinno said with relief. "This one did not attack me. He is also bigger than the other deer. He just looked at me and went on his way. Another thing, it looked like he was limping."
"Interesting," he muttered. "I will go back with you and look for him."
"I will go too," Bambi said, "Just in case it is someone else from my old forest who wants to cause trouble."
"The rest of you stay here until we find out who this new deer is and what he wants," he told the others. "Bambi and I will take care of this."
They followed Sinno back to his bedding area. It was day, but there was no activity from Man around. This was the season they were left in peace. Sinno took them past the old cave, down the hill, across the meadow, and followed the stream outward. The ground rose on both sides of the stream as it left the forest for the great open field that lay between them and Bambi's old forest. These hills at the end of the meadow were filled mostly with pine trees and a few young oaks. Man had cut many of the larger oak trees down some time ago. Finally, near the edge of the forest, Sinno looked up and said.
"I saw him at the top of that hill," he said and pointed his head to the right.
"Thank you, Sinno, now you stay here," he told him and Bambi and he started to climb the hill.
They got to the top and started to smell around with their noses. At first, there was nothing. No one lived up here as far as he knew. He did see some large deer tracks. From them, he knew he was dealing with a large male, but the scent was weak and neither of them could tell who it was. Finally, they came across a patch of waste. He smelled it and he thought it smelled a little like Bambi. Bambi smelled it and froze as still as a tree. Then he raised his head quickly to look around. He could see the concern on his face.
"Stranger, it is my son Geno," Bambi said almost in a whisper.
"Geno " he repeated. "Why would he come here?"
"I think I know," Bambi said and walked quietly across the top of the hill. They walked for a while seemingly unconcerned about who was there. The air was still and cool. Bambi constantly had his nose and ears in what little wind there was searching for something."
As they walked in silence, Bambi motioned to him they were being followed. From time to time he thought he could hear some leaves moving behind him. Whoever it was, that deer was quiet and kept the wind in his face. Finally, Bambi stopped and without changing directions called out loud. "You still cannot sneak up behind me, my Son."
He turned quickly and out from behind the trees walked a large deer, as big as or maybe bigger than Bambi. He was limping from his left front leg. As he got closer he also noted other cuts and marks on his head and flanks. These were cuts from racks and hoofs. He had been in a fight and had not come out well. Geno stopped about five lengths away keeping his head straight upright. He looked ready for a fight.
"Greetings, Father," he said almost politely. "You must be Stranger the others have told me about."
"What do you want?" Bambi asked with contempt in his voice.
"A place to stay until spring," he said simply. "Then I will leave."
"NO!" he said flatly. "After what you did to your Father, and after sending Krono here to take over my herd, you are not welcomed here."
"I could insist," he said and lowered his head.
He was not impressed. "Go ahead and try," he said dropping his head. "Unlike your Father, I will hit you back so if you do not leave on your own, I will chase you out."
That did not seem to affect Geno in the least. "Normally, I would take you up on your challenge, but I admit I am too hurt to fight well now. You would have the advantage and my father taught me too well to fight at a disadvantage. "
"At least you remembered that much and from what I heard and very little more. You are a great disappointment to me. You forgot everything me and my father taught you."
Geno laughed. "You mean helping the herd," he mocked. "I did learn one thing and it was not from you or your father. The strong rule, and the weak obey. That is how it really is in nature."
"You should go" he ordered him.
"And go where?" Geno asked.
He didn't care, but he had one idea. "You see the hill behind me to the right of the meadow?"
"Yes," he said.
"Climb to the top of that hill, where the trees end you will see a large forest in the distance. Maybe two days and a night's walk. If you are lucky maybe no one will kill you while you are in the open. They do not know you in that forest. You can do as you please there."
"Go, Geno," Bambi said angrily. "This is my home now and here I will fight you myself if you stay."
"You did not even ask why I am here," Geno said.
"I do not have to," Bambi told him. "The other males threw you out like I knew they would."
Geno seemed surprised his father knew what happened. "They all did. Not one of them could fight me on their own so Ronno got many four and five-year male deer together during The Season and they attacked me, Krono, and Roto at one time. I killed two, but they overpowered me and killed Krono and Roto. I barely escaped."
"Krono is dead, that is good news," he said.
"I assume Ronno is now herd leader," Bambi added.
"How did you know that?" Geno said looking again surprised.
"He knows because he is a good herd leader and knows about his herd and the deer in it," he told Geno bluntly. "He also knows how to treat deer and earn their respect, something you never did. If you had studied your herd, you would have known Ronno always wanted to be a herd leader but could not with Bambi or me around. He could never get enough deer together to go after your father or me so he could do nothing here. We were too popular with the herd because we took care of them. We heard from your mother and sister what had happened and how you led your herd. It would have been easy for Ronno to find deer to get rid of you. Sooner or later they were bound to throw you out. You are lucky they did not kill you."
His words seem to sink in. Geno nodded his head. "One more question," Geno said, "Mother and Gurri, how are they?"
He could see the pain cross Bambi's face, so he answered instead. "Your mother is fine. Your sister Gurri and your younger sister Gerta were killed by Man just after The Season along with Gurri's mate Jolo. For that I am sorry."
There looked to be a show of pain on Geno's face, but it vanished in an instant. "I am sorry to hear that too," he said in a low voice. "Very well, I will eat in the meadow and then go up the hill. I will cross over tonight to the other forest."
"Fine," he told him. "Now be on your way."
Both Bambi and he followed him down and watched him eat his fill by digging up grass under the snow of the meadow. He drank in the stream and without a word started climbing the hill toward the other forest.
"It is a pity," Bambi said with a moan. "He started out as a good boy, the one who I wanted to follow me as herd leader. What did I do wrong? Maybe I am not a good Father."
"Not a good father," he repeated. "Look at your other children. There was nothing wrong with Gurri and Gerta, they were both fine deer. Your son Veron and your daughter Gena are fine deer. "Sometimes things just go badly with no one to blame," he said and rubbed his friend's back.
"Let us go home," Bambi said and turned his back on his son.