Chapter 6- Different
Faline tried to chew the grass in her mouth. Focus on chewing. Chew and don't think about your son. That nasty son. You should've known better than to let him play. You should've known he wouldn't want to stop playing. Sighs. Raising kids is so hard.
A gentle sound reached her ears. It means somebody's near. Wait, it sounds like a deer. Faline looked around. Somewhere in the distance, on the other side of the creek. She headed towards that direction. That's not so far, she'll surely remain in Lato's field of vision, wherever he's hiding, or more precisely pretending to be playing hide and seek.
Out of the forest, a doe and her fawn came to the glade. To Faline's happiness, those were the newly made friends of her family: Rea and Roga.
"Mom!" Roga noticed the Great Princess instantly "It's Lila and Lato's mom! Look!" he said. His mother was just as delighted as Faline when she saw her.
"Oh, that's a nice surprise. Good morning, Your Highness."
"Please, you don't have to be so formal" Bambi's mate insisted, coming closer "We're friends afterall"
"Indeed. I hoped we would meet again soon. My little Roga missed Lila and Lato very much" Rea agreed.
"Mom" Roga felt ashamed "I asked you not to call me little in front of everybody. I'm kinda too old for that"
"I'm sorry, darling" his mother said sweetly "I can't help it. To me, you will always be my precious little sunshine of joy" with that, she leaned to nuzzle her son. The fawn made one step backwards, but didn't push her away. All fawns enjoy being nuzzled. They just don't like admitting it.
Faline giggled. What a cute view. Yes, Rea had one fawn only and admired him beyond reason. She had two and had to divide her love between them equally. But, is it possible to love your children equally? Is it right? Lato was her son. Lila was her daughter. Sons and daughters are different and have different needs. Come to think about it... She couldn't tell if she was treating the twins fair. Perhaps she was paying more attention to one of them? Was she favoring Lila, because she was a female? That could hurt Lato. And explain, why was he so hyperactive. He was trying to get his parents attention. Now that she thought about it, Bambi seemed to be favoring Lila too. He treated her like a responsible partner, a one he could trust. As for the son... he was just a son. Just a cute, joyful fawn. It has always been so: responsible Lila and playful Lato. The twins played roles. How come she never noticed? Or maybe she's overdoing it? Lato never seemed to have any complexes, nor to feel inferior comparing to his sister. In fact, the twins didn't even know which of them was born first. None of them had reasons to feel inferior, nor superior. None of them seemed to feel so. Alright. Don't make a big deal. You are nervous, because of Lato's broken promise. That's it.
"Where are Lila and Lato?" Roga asked suddenly "I want to play with them"
"Lila is with her father" replied Faline "They're patrolling the area"
"With Lila?" Rea couldn't believe "Shouldn't he be taking the son with instead and leave the daughter with you?"
"That's what he was going to do" Faline's expression became sorrowful "But our son preferred to play with the rabbits than help his father, so Lila took his place"
"With rabbits?" Roga asked "Geez, rabbits are no fun, he'd better play with me"
"I'm sorry to hear that" Rea expressed her condolences for Faline "You must be disappointed with him"
"I am" the mother of the twins admitted "It hurts to see my own son acting, as if he had no respect for his father. And I am thinking... Sorry, I shouldn't push my troubles on stranger..."
"We're no strangers" Roga disagreed "I mean, we are still new here and such, but we've already met you. That's good, isn't it?"
"Roga is right" Rea supported her son "You can feel free to talk with us about your problems. It's not good to keep everything hidden. You'll se, telling us about your problems will make you feel much better"
Faline smiled weakly. Rea seemed to be a very friendly, cheerful doe, full of understanding and eager to help. A type that would make a good comrade. There was something in her... maybe her calmness, maybe the sincere look on her face... something, that made the Great Princess sure this doe is a person to trust. Come to think of it... a faithful follower and supporter, who expects nothing in return, would make just the mate a deer with big ego like Ronno needed. Heh. No wonder he chose her. Maybe she could help him cure his complexes.
"Thank you" Faline said, slightly relieved already "Yes, my son has been granting me a lot of hard times lastly..."
MEANWHILE
Jumper and his crew jumped above a log. They studied it with a serious focus. Carefully. With all the attention. One second. Two seconds. Three. Maybe...? Nope. Nothing here.
"Let's look behind that tree!" Topsy suggested, still full of enthusiasm.
"No, behind that one!" Jumper disagreed. His sister didn't seem to be happy about anybody having a different opinion than she had.
"But we checked that one before!" she noticed.
"But what about he hid there after we checked it last time?" Jumper made a good point. Good, in his own opinion. To Topsy, it made no sense.
"He didn't have time enough for that!"
"We haven't seen him in a while! How bout he got much faster?"
"So much? No way!"
"Yes way!"
"No way!"
"Yes way!"
"No way!"
"Fluffy, go check that tree and I check the other one" Milly told her brother, deciding Jumper and Topsy are unlikely to finish their discussion too soon. And time was precious.
"Okay!" he replied and jumped away. He and Milly checked behind both trees Jumper and Topsy pointed. But their goal wasn't behind neither of them.
"Nothing here!"
"Same here!"
"Oh geez!" this time, Topsy got annoyed. Hide and seek had tendency to get down putting, when it took too long to find the ones who hid "Where could he be then?"
"Behind the log?" Jumper suggested. With that, he became the target for Topsy's annoyance.
"But we've just came from behind it!" she reminded him.
"But what about he came there after we jumped above it?"
"Oh, come on! You seriously don't think he is so super fast, do you?"
"Why not? He is going to be the Great Prince of the forest one day! He has to be super strong and super fast!"
"And super smart!" added Milly.
"But not smart enough for us not to find him!" added Fluffy.
"Right! We have to find him!" Topsy agreed, feeling new strength waking up in her. Yup, those endless sources of energy from young body and mind!
"Everybody, into those bushes!" Jumper ordered "If he isn't here, he must be there!"
"Oh yeah!" the siblings yelled as they followed their eldest brother into the mentioned direction with full speed. The leaves flew up. The ground moved. The branches bend in all directions. The critical hit came.
"Aw!"
"Ow!"
"My paw!"
"My ear!"
"My nose!"
"My everything!"
Four rabbits jumped back to the safe, away from the bush, which turned out to be a nettle thicket. All of them were in pain, all of them were scared, all of them in shock.
"Ow! Mommy!"
"My back! Ugrh"
"Wha... My everything!"
"Sobb... hurts...!"
"Guys!" Lato appeared, running out from inside the log "Guys, are you alright? What happened?"
The rabbit siblings all stared at him with eyes out of sockets.
"Where did you come from?" Fluffy asked.
"Wel... I was inside that log. I thought you jumped above me, but then, you all started screaming, so I came out" the young prince explained. Jumper slashed his face.
"Oh, great! I told you we should check that log again!"
"But you didn't tell us to check inside it!" Fluffy pointed out through tears. Not only he was in pain, but now also his brother was angry. And he did nothing wrong.
"And you told us to jump into that something!" Topsy added, angry from pain. And she believed, it was all because of Jumper.
"You shouldn't have followed!" Jumper growled, hating to be responsible for the entire accident. Geez, everybody makes mistakes, it's not his fault.
"But we trust you! You're the eldest!" Milly cried. As the most vulnerable, she was totally confused and had no idea, what else to say or do.
"I know! And as the eldest, I swear this won't happen again!"
"It'll better be true! Otherwise, I'm taking your place" Topsy warned her brother. That got on his nerves.
"You can't! I am the eldest and I'll always be!"
"I should've been the eldest! I'm smarter than you!"
"But I am stronger!"
"But I don't tell others to jump into nettle!"
"But I don't jump into nettle when I'm told to!"
"Oh, just quit it" Fluffy said annoyed.
"Silence, Number 3! Number 1 and 2 are talking!" Jumper hushed him.
"That's not fair! You just always have to pick a fight and I'm just trying to help and you never appreciate it!" Fluffy cried. The feeling of being ignored and underestimated was more painful that the nettle effects.
"I don't want you to fight! I don't want violence!" Milly almost broke into tears. If only they haven't jumped into those bushes, if only they would have checked inside the log, it all would be okay now. But why couldn't it be?
"Umh.. guys?" Lato felt it's his turn to cut in. The siblings paid attention. Being a prince, he was an authority "Umh.. I thought... what do you mean by eldest? You were all born on the same day"
"Yes, but I was first" Jumper explained "I was first to enter the world, so I know it the best of us all. And my mom saw me first, and this means she loved me with her whole love, even for those few seconds before the rest was born. It makes me feel very important to know that" he puffed his chest up.
"But dad saw us all at once" Milly reminded.
"Okay, but mom saw me first"
"Oh, just forget it, we all look the same anyway" Fluffy noticed.
"Yeah, whatever, would be no fun not to have siblings" Jumper agreed.
"That's right! Unity is our force!" Topsy yelled.
"Yeah!" the siblings all yelled in union. And Lato felt, that he is slowly starting to understand. The idea of knowing the world for a few seconds longe... of being loved for a few seconds longer... it all seemed very interesting and made sense to him. Hmh... Those rabbits are really smart. Glad they're his friends.
"Hey, Lato, we never asked you before: who is elder: you or Lila?" Fluffy asked all of a sudden. Lato looked at him with shock.
"What?"
"Lato, of course!" Jumper stated "He looks to be so!"
"But that's no proof. Some things look good and taste horrible" Milly made a point.
"Oh, right. Then, Lato, tell us! You or Lila?"
"Yeah, who was first?"
"Who? Well..." the young fawn thought, trying to remember, in what order he and his sister were born. Who was first? It would seem he is... but... he had no idea. He could not remember. He has never thought about this before. He never asked his mother. To him, it was meaningless. Was it? Until now, of course. But the rabbits knew their order of entering the world. It was a shame that he didn't. And if they were making such a big deal out of it, then it surely must be a big deal. Something very important. If he was older than Lila... that would make him the boss, just like Jumper is. Would be cool. He is a good boss. Lila went along with his request, didn't she? And if Lila is older...? Nope. She is kind, smart and such, but has no spirit to lead. He is better leader than she is. Even if she knows all the plants and birds. But she cannot fight. A leader must fight and prove he's strong. Yup. Definitely.
"Well... I..."
"See? I knew he is!" Jumper said with pride.
"No!" Lato corrected "That's not what I mean!"
"But you are the boss!" Jumper stated "You told Lila to go tell your dad you can't come with him, and she did it!"
"She even went in your place!"added Milly.
"I thought it was our idea" Fluffy said confused.
"Lato did it all!" Jumper convinced his brother "For he is big boss, isn't he?"
"Yup! Lato, out Great Prince of the forest!" the four rabbits yelled, jumping around the fawn with joy. Lato laughed, but the whole problem remained on his mind. He or Lila? Who was first? He had to know. He had to know it now. At no condition.
This one impulse made him turn back and run. Run at the glade, where his mother was. She had to be. She had to be there and tell him the truth. The truth he wanted to hear. The rabbit crew ran after him. They all jumped out of the forest, to the open space. Lato noticed his mother. He ran at her.
"Mom! Mom!" he called her. She looked in his direction. She seemed angry. But why?
"Lato!" Roga called jumping from behind the two does. Lato froze. The sight of his new friend kicked the first-or-second-born problem out of his little head.
"Roga!" He was happy to see Ronno's son. So happy, that he forgot that his mother is right in front of him. And she didn't like it.
"Lato, we need to talk" Faline called her son, doing her best to sound strict and serious. He didn't mind. He was busy with Roga.
"How good to see you!"
"How good we can play!"
"Lato! Come here and listen to me!" Faline tried again. No success.
"But mom, I want to play with Roga and rabbits!"
"What rabbits?" Roga asked, confused. He just noticed Jumper and his crew behind Lato. "Ow, those?"
"Yes! They're my friends!" Lato admitted happily. He was glad, that his old friends and new friend meet. But Roga wasn't. He scanned Jumper and the others with cold sight, his eyes full of contempt. It seemed he doesn't like rabbits.
"Your friends?" he asked, clearly taking that statement for a weak joke. For a prince to be a friend of such miserable beings? That was beyond his understanding "Lato, come on, rabbits are stupid! And those look, as if they just jumped into a nettle thicket!"
"We did" confirmed Milly.
"But we are no stupid! You are stupid!" said Jumper, already knowing he doesn't like that strange fawn. Roga's expression turned serious and angry. Not only this little something dares to call itself a friend of Lato, but now it's insulting him, the great Roga? Oh no, no way.
"You're calling me stupid, rabbit?' he showed Jumper his most dangerous face, putting as much mental power as he could into scarring the life out of him. Thumper's son however used the same strategy, not moving a step backwards. The fawn has to know, he is not afraid of him.
"Yes! I'm calling you stupid, gray deer!"
"Why you..." Ronno's son was going to show Jumper, who is the boss, but his mother held him back.
"Roga, be nice." She asked her son. Then, she turned to the rabbits and apologized. Unlike Roga, she had a deep tolerance for all the living beings "I'm sorry for him. He didn't mean to offend you. He just thinks that it's better when deer play with deer and rabbits with rabbits. Right, sunshine?"
"No, mother" Roga said, angry for being called sunshine in public and for his mother didn't seem to be getting any point at all "What I mean, is that somebody who jumps in the nettle cannot be smart"
"You would jump there too, if your big brother told you!" Topsy insisted.
"No, I wouldn't!" Ronno's son claimed "I don't do stupid things! No matter what! And I am an only child!" this statement made Jumper and his siblings gasp and stir upon Roga.
"No siblings?"
"Poor thing, he doesn't have brothers or sisters to play with"
"Yes, it's horrible"
"Idiots!" Roga yelled "Deer are born alone! Rarely two, but almost always just one! And I don't need no siblings to play with, I'm fine the way it is!"
"But it's better to play together!" Lato cut in "Tag! You're it!" he pushed Roga and started to escape. The rabbit crew ran after him.
"We're getting him faster than gray deer!" they called, laughing. This Roga couldn't stand. Nobody dares to insult him like that.
"I'm gonna get you!" he took all his might and pursued Lato.
"Lato! Come back here!" Faline called after her son. But he didn't listen. She sighed heavily. Those children.
"Don't worry" Rea cheered her up "When the game is over, he'll be tired. Then, you'll have a chance to talk to him"
"That's the problem with my son" Faline explained "He never gets tired."
The game continued. Since Thumper's children were already tired, Roga easily left them all behind and reached Lato. After a few more rounds, seeing they have no chance against the gray fawn, the rabbits got angry. Not only he offended them, but is faster than them? Cannot be!
"You may be faster, but you cannot jump higher!" Jumper stated and started jumping. His siblings followed. They noticed butterflies and started pursuing them. Wanting to show them, that he is better than them in this field also, Roga decided join them. But then, he noticed a bird flying, not so high from them. He had an idea. He ran, jumped on Lato's back, bounced from him and jumped so high, that he caught the bird's tail with his teeth. The bird let out a loud squeak, as Ronno's son pulled the feathers out of his tail and landed on the ground, holding them in his mouth. Proud like hell.
A second later, he was pecked on the head. He started running. The angry bird pursued. He pecked Roga hard. Roga tried to kick him. The bird pulled his tail. The deer turned around rapidly, making the bird loose the hold of his tail. He charged. The bird flew up. The victory was Roga's. Lato and the rabbits cheered for him. He presented a view of his white smile and bowed slightly.
With a loud smash, something white landed on Roga's head. Lato and the rabbits held breath. Roga moved his nose. Smells bad. Feels wet. He looked up. He jumped back in fear. Another white bomb hit the ground in front of him. He sighed in relief.
"Hah! Who is the boss now, you bird...?" he looked up, laughing.
Another white bomb hit his face.
Another gasp from the audience.
"Yuck!" Roga waved his head, trying to remove the stinky substance. The audience laughed. It wasn't dangerous, it was funny. "Stop laughing!" Roga demanded "It's not funny!" but the rabbits didn't listen. Neither did Lato. Roga growled and charged at them. They ran. He reached Fluffy and hit him with his dirty head. He pursued the other rabbits. He got Milly. Topsy threw a small stone at him, but missed. He reached her in an instant and cut her way. Then, he ran after Jumper. The last rabbit made it to hide in a small hole in the ground. Pfeew. Safe.
"Hah! You missed it, looser!" he laughed with joy. Roga stood above the hole and lowered his head, so the bird poop would drop. Jumper gasped.
"You wouldn't dare!" Roga shaked his head a little and a bit of bird poop landed on Jumper. Roga had won.
"Never laugh at me again" he demanded "Never, understood ya?"
"Yes sire!" screamed the poor rabbit. Lato came to Roga, laughing.
"Man, it was great! I had so much fun!" Roga moved slightly and pushed Lato's side with his head.
"Mission complete" announced the gray fawn "Come, I gotta clean myself up" he said and headed towards the creek. Lato followed. So did the rabbits, but keeping a safe distance. They hated the gray fawn. And hated how he corrupts their friend. He was so mean. So impolite and aggressive. They will never play with him anymore. And will make sure, that Lato doesn't play with him either.
Everybody jumped into the water and did their best trying to remove the white substance. And to drink, since they all got tired.
"How stupid" said Roga, who was the only one not to drink "This water is dirty, and you're drinking it?"
"But we're thirsty" Lato explained, as if it was the simpliest truth of the universe. His friend sighed. It seemed that Lato is more stupid than he appeared. Oh well. And he thought, he would make a good company. No, wait, it;' not his fault for being so stupid. He surely is so much smarter than this. It must be because of those rabbits. Yes, it must. Poor Lato, seems he never had a real, deer friend to play with. Alright. Time to change that.
"Listen" Roga turned to Lato "I can see, that you've been hanging out with those rabbits for far too long. If you stay with them any longer, soon, you'll change into a rabbit yourself." Lato gasped.
"But I can't!"
"Come to realize" Roga insisted "You're acting, as if you were one of them. You do stupid things just because they do. Just look at you. Is that the way the prince of the forest should be? Drinking dirty water? Lowering himself to the level of such miserable beings?"
"But I..." Bambi's son started, scared by the vision of turning into a rabbit. Sure, he enjoyed their company, but becoming a rabbit himself? Rather not. "But we are just friends. And my dad was a friend of the rabbits too. And he didn't change into one!"
"That's not what I mean" Roga explained "I mean your soul. You may look like a deer, but your soul is one of a rabbit. As your friend, I want to help you. Trust me: deer should play with deer and rabbits with rabbits. They can't understand us, and we can't understand them. You can't deny the laws of the nature"
"Don't listen to him!" Jumper came in between the two fawns "Deer can't change into rabbits and rabbits can't change into deer. It's stupid to believe so. Friendship is always good, no matter if your friend is a rabbit or a deer." He insisted.
"He's right!" all the younger rabbits supported him. Roga refused to believe them. He has never played with anything different than deer before. His father would always tell him, that he must stay with his own kind if he wants to develop properly. And he wanted. He wanted to grow big and strong, like his father. He was already one of the strongest fawns, and believed it's thanks to his father's teachings and trainings with fawns his age. Before they moved into this forest, he would also train a lot, fighting with all of the other young bucks. With his own kind only. That's why he was so strong. And Lato? He was weaker than him. Okay, slightly younger, but weaker. And so naive. That must be because of those rabbits. They are much less intelligent than deer. And they push their stupidity onto Lato, the prince of the forest. Unforgivable. But he can't let them waste him. There's still a chance to make a buck out of him. And he, Roga, will be the one to take that job.
"Pheh. Come, Lato. Those miserable furballs don't deserve such a noble company" he stated and returned to the shore. He looked back, checking if the young prince was following him. But he stayed still. With a sad look on his face. Was that, what Roga said true? Was is really the law of the nature? But dad never forbade him playing with rabbits. He said it was good, that he had friends. So it can't be wrong. How come such a good thing could be wrong? He couldn't understand. And felt hopeless. He didn't want to loose neither rabbits, nor Roga. Why couldn't Roga give them a chance? Why can't he like Jumper and the crew, just like he does? Would be so cool. With so many friends to play with. Why does it have to be so complicated?
"You are not going to listen to him, do you?" Jumper asked with hope. Lato was his pal. No gray fawn has the right to break their friendship. Especially such a mean type. That Roga. Even his name was stupid. And he was ugly too. What did Lato see in him? No idea. He had a bad influence on Lato. That was sure. And he, Jumper, had to save his prince from that evil fawn's clutches.
"Of course he is going to listen to me" Roga stated, amused by the foolishness of Jumper "Because I want to save him from your bad influence"
"Well we want to save him from your bad influence!"
"You're saying my influence is bad?
"Yes! You are evil and will make him evil!"
"I want the best for my friend!"
"We want the best for our friend!"
"He's my friend!"
"Ours!"
"I won't let go of him!"
"Neither will we!"
"You wanna fight?"
"You bet!"
"GUYS!" Lato yelled, unable to stand the quarrel any longer "If you both want the best for me, then we do you fight?!"
Dead silence came between the animals. Lato's breath was unsteady. He hated being the reason for a battle. He hated seeing his friends fight because of him. He hated the hopelessness. He wanted them all to just play. Why couldn't they?
Roga remained anxious. The rabbits say they want the best for Lato. But what can they know? They're just a bunch of stupid rabbits. Nothing more. Just like his father said. What would happen, if all of the deer would play with all of the rabbits? Soon, they would forget all the differences between the kinds and fell into confusion. That couldn't happen. But mom... no, she never played with different kind either. She just tolerated them. As other parts of the circle of life. That could do. He could tolerate them, but not as friends. That would be so wrong.
"But" he started "But they are different. Can't you see?"
"So what?" Lato insisted "You and I are different too"
"But we're both deer"
"But you had fun while playing with Jumper and the company, hadn't you?" Lato made a good point. Roga thought. Had he? Well... it wasn't a game really. He was just trying to show them, that he is better than them. But he had fun. It felt so good to compete and win. No matter who with. But, again they were just rabbits. He couldn't treat them seriously. And besides, they didn't have any respect for him either.
"I had fun" Fluffy whispered shyly. Everybody turned to him. What did he say? Did they hear it right? "But I think it would be better if Roga didn't put his bird bomb on us" he added, seeing that everybody pays attention. The company exchanged looks.
"And he shouldn't call us stupid" Milly supported her brother "He doesn't know us"
"And it wasn't our fault that bird dropped poo poo on him" Topsy noticed.
"And he has no right to tell Lato that he shouldn't play with us" Jumper concluded "It is only up to Lato himself to decide"
Now it felt different. And Roga was surprised. They talked peacefully and actually used reasonable arguments. Amazing. Was it the same group of animals as before? What happened? Unlike him, they seemed to be understanding Lato's point. They made him think. But they are just┘ Gush. They actually have some brain. But they jump into nettle. It's stupid. Oh. This is so ridiculous
"But... my father said..."
"You are old enough to think on your own" Jumper stopped him "If your father would tell you to jump into the nettle, would you do it?"
"I just..." Roga ran out of arguments "Lato is the first friend I made here. I want the best for him"
"We too"
"So what is the problem?" Lato asked, bored of how long it takes for Roga to realize "All of you are my friends. I want the best for you too, and the best is when you give each other a chance and play together." In the end, Roga couldn't keep on denying. It would picture him as the one, who doesn't cooperate and creates problems. It would make him look more stupid than the rabbits. And he couldn't allow that.
"I can tolerate them" he said "That's all I can promise"
"We can tolerate him too" Jumper said "As long as he doesn't call us stupid"
"That's fine I guess" Lato stated. Finally, he brought piece among his friends. Yes, he indeed had leader skills. He would make a great Great Prince of the forest. Yup. So much pride and joy.
"Come" Roga suggested "If we move upwards the stream, we can drink clear water from there"
"Good! Let's do that!" Lato liked the idea. The company took their steps against the stream, just like Ronno's son said. But in a short while, they stopped.
A small, gray being appeared, slowly coming from behind some bushes nearby the creek. It was a fawn. Light gray, just like Rea. It was thin. So sadly thin. And so sadly gloomy. It moved with such fear. As if every single step costed it an unimaginable deal of power. It stopped by the creek. It lowered it's head to drink. It drunk. So peacefully. With so much sorrow. It seemed to be tired. As if it has come a long way. A really tough one.
None of the animals moved. All of them just stared at the fawn, as it drunk. It was a stranger. So pitiful. So vulnerable. A poor thing. Just the sight of it was very touching. And demanded deep focus.
"Hi!" Lato yelled, breaking the mood. The stranger fawn rose it's head and looked at him. It was scared. Terrified. But Bambi's son didn't seem to notice "I'm Lato. What's your name?" he asked.
The fawn turned away rapidly and ran back into the forest.
"No! Wait!" Lato called and pursued. A second later, having overcome the shock, Roga joined him. But the fawn was fast. So surprisingly fast. As if it was chased by a whole bunch of howlers. It disappeared from their sight in just a short while. Lato tried calling it a few more times, but soon, he gave in. That stranger was far too fast. Roga stopped by Lato's side and sighed. They were unable to pursue it. Well, they were tired. But that fawn... it seemed so weak, yet it lost them so easily. Amazing.
"Geez... you've seen that?"
"I just wanted to say hello..."
"Huh... Right... Come, let's go back"
"You know, Roga...?"
"Hmh?"
"That fawn... she looked like your mom"
"Hmh. Perhaps she came from the same forest as we? But it's so far from here... Whatever I'm sure her parents must be somewhere near. She ran to them. Now come. It's none of our concern"
So, the two fawns headed back. Yet, they still had the small, thin, sad fawn in front of their eyes.
NOTE: Once again, my plans changed. I really wanted to devote this one to the stray fawn, but the whole rabbit sequence, as well as bird sequence just popped out of my head all of a sudden, and I just couldn't ignore it. I was laughing my head off while writing, and couldn't help it. I would never believe such a childish story can be so inspiring. It practically is writing itself for me! With your help, of course .
About rabbits: I wasn't going to include them at all at the beginning of the story, but then thought "But Thumper was so good..." and so they are. To make them seem more real, I chose two to be the types to quarrel (Jumper and Topsy) and two to be nice (Fluffy and Milly).
Once again, great THX to everybody who review. More reviews faster updates .