John yawned and squeezed his eyes tighter; the sun shone through the window. He got up, got dressed, and headed out the door. He entered the barn and found Jack searching for something. "Pa, have you seen Uncle Arthur? I looked everywhere but I can't find him." Jack sounded worried. His father shook his head.
"No, son, I haven't. Sorry. But you do know that he's a deer? So he's gonna have some deer instincts." John picked up his saddle and threw it on his horse. "Wanna help me patrol the property? We got to keep a lookout for wolves." The teenager nodded and saddled up.
John mounted his horse and the two rode out of the barn and up the hill. John looked down at the herd of cattle in the pin. A brown cow threw up his head while a black and white female stayed close to her calf. Uncle could be seen by the fence, taking a 'break.'
John rolled his eyes and steered his horse through a gap in the fence. The open fields of the great planes lit up like fire when the sun shone on the grass. The two Marston's looked for any signs of the pack, but Jack also had his mind on something — or someone — else. A herd of deer grazed on the grass in the open field. It looked like a herd with mostly females and their young, with a few males.
Under the Great Oak tree, another buck stood in the shade. He looked at Jack and nodded his head. Jack immediately stopped his horse. The deer turned their attention to the male under the tree and he calmly walked towards them. Some of them parted to make way so he could walk through.
John noticed that his son wasn't behind him and stopped.
"Is that Uncle Arthur?" Jack asked himself. At the sound of his name, the buck turned his head. Arthur signaled the herd to stay put and that the two cowboys weren't a threat. He strolled over to his nephew and nodded his greetings.
What are you doing here, Jack? Aren't you supposed to be back at the farm? Arthur thought.
He gestured towards the farm's direction with his antlers and shrugged. He repeated this until Jack caught on to what he was trying to say.
"Me and Pa are looking for wolves," he said. "Have you or any of those deer seen them?"
The buck shook his head.
"Oh, ok. Thanks anyway." He went back to his father who was waiting for him. Arthur turned back to the herd and led them to the river.
...
That afternoon, Abigail was in the kitchen preparing some rat meat stew. John was a fan of it, and Uncle... well, not so much. The rest of the family was at the table waiting. When the food was done Abigail brought it out and sat down with them. Jack took a bite after blowing on it to cool it down.
"How was your day, my son?" Abigail asked Jack. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It was good. Me and Pa took care of them wolves. Good thing Arthur didn't see any."
Everyone froze.
"A-Arthur?" Abigail felt a tear run down her cheek. "He's-"
A bang outside made them all jump. Arthur hit the outside wall with his back hooves. The family ran outside and found where the buck was. Arthur looked up at them. John put a hand on Abigail's forearm.
"It's him," he said in a calm voice as if he might scare the stag away. Abigail held out her hand to the gentle animal. Arthur let her stroke the fur on his neck. Without warning, the woman wrapped her arms around him. The buck closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers.
The sun was shining on them, turning Arthur's fur gold in color. They stayed that way for a minute then slowly, Arthur backed up. On the ridge, Arthur's herd waited. He looked back at the family, then ran up the hill to the deer.