Surrounded by magnificent oaks and slim pines, with the air around her carrying scents of daisies and berries, the young princes did her best to focus. She loved it to simply admire the beauty and power of her father's green kingdom, but now it was time for her to concentrate on each detail as it was by itself and decide what its role in the whole was.
"Remember, Lila," her father, the Great Prince, reminded "When you observe, you must use all of your senses. You must see, hear and smell, all in the same time. Only if you manage to do so, you will be able to notice all signs of possible danger. Do you understand?"
"I do, father" the little doe confirmed "See, hear and smell. All in the same time" as if to demonstrate her understanding of the task, she opened her eyes wide, rose her ears up and moved her nose. Bambi chuckled, finding a great pride in how much she reminded him of himself when he was at the stage of learning the forest wisdom. She was just so unbelievably cute.
"Well then. Now focus and tell me, what do you see" he encouraged her. The princess took the task very seriously. She carefully turned her head right, then left. In next turn, she rose it and scanned the branches above her, catching a glimpse of a spider making its web in quite a hurry. She also managed to notice a couple of birds flying by. To an average person, this fact would stay meaningless, but Lila was far from average.
"The spider is making its web in a hurry and swallows are flying lower than usual" she reported "It means it's going to rain soon"
"Well done, Lila" Bambi praised her, amazed by her professionalism "Now, what do you hear?" he asked. His daughter closed her eyes and concentrated on her hearing. As she did so, he smiled to himself. She was such a good student. So willing to learn and bright academically. Much smarter than he was at the same age. If she only had more confidence in her skills, it'll all be perfect. If she only was a boy… the forest would be safe with such a Great Prince. And Lato… sighs… what should be done about him?
"I can hear a cuckoo, and a woodpecker" Lila reported "A few additional birds, but nothing out of order"
"Bravo, sunshine. Now, what do you smell?"
This time, Lila didn't have to think much before answering. One good sniff was enough.
"A skunk?!" she cried in surprise. Bambi took a few sniffs and found out his daughter was right.
"Definitely a skunk" he confirmed "And it smells like one that is afraid"
"We have to help him or her!" Lila decided. She bounced in the direction, from which the smell was coming. Her father followed her. Both kept on sniffing. After a few jumps, they stopped near a dry, empty log. Or so it seemed.
Lila took a look inside the log, discovering a pair of huge, frightened eyes. The skunk was found.
"You can come out now" she encouraged him "It's safe"
The skunk stared at her for a second. Deciding she meant him no harm, he took a few steps forwards. Lila kept on encouraging him and praising for the progress. The skunk seemed to trust her and walked with more confidence. Soon, he became visible enough for both deer to recognize him.
"Bambi!" Lila exclaimed, as the skunk had been named after her father.
"Lila!" he replied, hugging her front leg "How good to see you!"
"How good to see you too!" she leaned her head to nuzzle her friend "Pity we haven't had a chance to meet recently, I have so much to tell you!"
"Well, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation…" Bambi the deer cut in "…but I'm afraid that little Bambi is quite far away from home" he pointed out. Bambi the skunk caught his head.
"Oh gosh, you're right!" he admitted "Oh, I shouldn't wander off, but I didn't mean to! I was just playing, and then I've heard some scary noises, and something moved in the bushes, and I thought it was going to eat me, and I started running, and when I stopped I was lost, and I don't know where to go, and my mommy and daddy must be worried about me!" he cried. Lila comforted him gently.
"You were wise to run away" she said "We must be careful about such scary noises and things moving in the bushes. You just need to have good hiding places around the are where you live, so you had where to run in case of danger. That way you wouldn't have to run so far away to get lost"
"I know" the skunk sobbed "But I was so scared… I couldn't think of where to run… I'm so sorry"
"Don't be" Bambi the deer decided to comfort his namesake "It's no shame to be afraid. Our fear makes us aware of danger and enables us to avoid it. If we didn't feel fear, we wouldn't know what should we stay away from and it could lead to our death. It's good to be afraid, as long as you don't let your fear unable you to think"
"You think so?" the little Bambi asked, his eyes filled with hope and gratefulness. The Great Prince nodded.
"Yes. A little fear is good. A lot of fear is bad. And we must control ourselves, so we always stay above our fear. But this is difficult and comes with time. When you practice your courage, you will be able to think soberly even in extreme situations. And so, you will be able to keep yourself alive" the Great Prince's words clearly cheered the little skunk up.
"Oh, I'm going to practice! Thank you so much you're the advice, Your Highness!" he expressed his gratefulness, with all the sorrow gone from his face.
"Wow dad, you're so smart!" Lila was impressed with her father's speech. He smiled humbly. All parents seem smart to their kids. He himself didn't feel smart. He just possessed experience Lila and Bambi Junior lacked. When they reach his age, they surely will be just as smart. And Lila might even turn out smarter than him. That's how he felt.
"I'm doing my best" he smiled at them "Now come, we are going to walk Bambi home"
"Alright!" both children agreed. Now, the three of them headed towards where the skunk family lived.
(…)
Meanwhile, at the glade, the two does were involved in a friendly chat, waiting for their children to loose energy, so they could talk to them. Faline felt much better having confessed her worries concerning Lato to Rea and Rea seemed to be feeling more open herself. Faline's royal title made her shy at first, but now that she learned the Great Princess is in fact not much different from other does, she felt natural around her. Even dropping the honorifics came as simply as that.
"You know, Faline" Rea started "You and your mate seem to know Ronno quite well" she simply stated. Faline felt alarmed. Ronno didn't seem to have told his mate much about his past. She wasn't sure of how much she could reveal without damaging the trust Rea had for him. In the same time, she didn't feel like lying to her, even if they barely knew each other.
"We happened to share a few briefly conversations" she stated. It felt like a safe answer. And there wasn't much lie to it.
"Right. That's what he told me as well" Rea nodded. Faline was glad her reply turned out to be so fitting, but a slight change in Rea's expression caught her attention. The gray doe seemed somewhat sad with what she's heard and said "Brief conversations, that was all he could get. Nobody ever wanted to talk to him. Poor Ronno, he had always been so lonely and uncared for" she sighed. Faline's eyes and ears winded. Ronno? Poor? Uncared for?
"What do you mean?" she asked. What did Ronno tell her? Is that how he really felt? That bully, that arrogant brutal and a liar?
"Oh, it's such a sad story" Rea went on "My darling never even had a real friend. When he was little, his mother would be very protective of him and rarely leave him out of her sight. She had always told him he is the most precious fawn in the world and that nothing can compare to him. He trusted her and relied on her with everything. For that reason, the other children called him a cry baby. He couldn't understand why, since he learned to think of himself as of the most precious in the world. Around that time he begun to distrust his mother. He started to run off on his own and seek adventures. He was quite strong, but not enough to compete with the other fawns his age. They still laughed at him. On top of that, Ronno managed to overhear rumors saying that his father had left his mother, because he didn't see much in the son she bore him. It was the critic point. Since then, Ronno believed only the strongest deer can be respected. So, he searched for company among younger fawns, to whom he could appear as strong. He thought he could impress them with his charisma and arranging funny situations, but it never worked. He was so desperate for attention that he made up stories of dangerous adventures he had, but nobody wanted to listen. Ronno did everything to make them notice him, but they hated him and he didn't know why. When I imagine how horrible must it have been for him to watch the other children play and laugh together, while he was so lonely and unhappy himself… oh, I cannot even imagine. I always end up crying when I try" she explained and Faline just stared at her, amazed with the story.
She had always thought Ronno was simply mean when he scared the other animals and laughed at them. He appeared to be a type that enjoyed amusing himself at the expense of others. On top of that, he never seemed to understand that what he's doing is wrong and that it only causes him enemies. Moreover, he only talked about himself and how special he was. Of course, when it came to face the real danger, he would be the first one to run away. And he never admitted his loss. One miserable guy he was.
But Rea's story made her put some thought into it. She had to admit, that Ronno was in fact sickly desperate for attention. With everything he did, he made everybody dislike him, but at least they knew he existed. Was it what he wanted? Was it better to him to be a bully than an anonymous buck?
And all of those adventured he claimed he had… Surely, when he talked about them and showed off, they all listened and watched him. He just made it all sound so… interesting. And he was so well prepared for his performance, knowing such detail like what type of tools men use. He did put his hart into making those stories up. And had quite a big imagination. Even if they knew he was lying, they couldn't help but feel amazed by what he said.
And coming to analyze his behavior at the beginning of their "relationship"… well, he didn't seem to be having any hatred towards her and Bambi. Well, he clearly disrespected Thumper and Flower. But isn't it what Roga did too? He sought friendship among other deer. He just used wrong methods. Naturally, they had the right to reject him after he made fun of them. But he also had the right to envy them, seeing the friendship they shared. And envy is a destructive feeling.
And the worst of it, the rumor of how his father rejected him. There was no need for a better explanation of why he turned out the way he did.
"That is a sad story indeed" Faline agreed. She felt she could understand Ronno a little better now, knowing his point of view. Perhaps if they met him a little earlier, before he started to think strength is everything, if they knew the truth behind him, they could end up as friends. Perhaps.
"It sounds even sadder when he tell it" Rea said "When he first told me about his childhood, I couldn't help it but cry. And he was so glad somebody was finally willing to listen to him, he just kept on talking and talking. I guess he needed it very badly"
"So it seems…" Faline couldn't help it but feel sorry for Ronno. She decided to tell the entire story to Bambi. Maybe there still is a chance for a friendship with Ronno. Especially since their children like each other so much. It is never too late to set things right. And with Rea as a supporter of both sides, everything seemed possible. Now Faline was really glad that her former bully has found such a caring mate and that she had a chance to meet her.
"Thank you for telling me this story. It was a valuable lesson" she smiled at Rea. The gray doe nodded.
"I think so too. It's good that we can learn from the stories of others and don't have to experience everything on our own. Even as grown ups, we still discover new things we can learn and each new experience makes our lives more colorful. Then we share the joy of this knowledge with our friends and family and thus tighten the bonds and increase the chances of our children on their way to adulthood. That's what my parents believed in and that's what I'm trying to teach my own son. I just hope I'm half as good teacher as student"
"I don't doubt you are" Faline stated, as she found her friend's beliefs very wise and admirable "It would be great if my Lato could learn your philosophy and apply it to himself. It'll do him good"
"Sign our little monsters to the classes too!" a voice called from beneath them. The two does turned their heads to the ground. Next to them, two rabbits stood. A male and a female. The female was Trudy and the male was Thumper, one of Bambi's most trusted friends. Also, the father of the four children who played with Lato.
"Thumper! Welcome!" Faline greeted him.
"Well good day, Faline! Trudy said I should drop by. She told me about the incident with Lato. I'm sorry for my kids' behavior"
"It was mostly Lato's fault" Faline sighed "I guess we'll just have to teach our children a lesson in responsibility" with that, the doe reminded herself that Rea didn't know the rabbit couple yet. Trudy left to find Thumper shortly before Rea and Roga appeared, so they missed meeting each other. Now, it was time for introduction.
"Thumper, Trudy, I'd like you to meet Rea. She and her family are new to our forest. Rea, these are Thumper and Trudy, the parents of those little rabbits you met before" Faline told them. Rea and the rabbits exchanged greeting formulas and the doe complimented the spirit and friendliness of the rabbit children. The couple admitted that their children cause them a lot of troubles, but are a source of great pride and joy too. It wasn't long before the "source of pride and joy" joined the gathering, emerging from the direction of the creek.
"Mom! We saw a fawn!"
"Oh! It's dad!"
"Hi mom! Hi dad!"
"It was so small and so gray!"
"We were having good fun!"
"Okay, everybody" Faline tried to silence the children a little "Don't speak all at once. And don't be so hasty. We can talk in peace"
"This is my so, Roga" Rea took the opportunity to introduce Roga to Thumper and Trudy "Roga, say hello to the parents of your new friends"
"Hello. But we're not much of friends yet" Roga added, still not sure of how much he allow himself in socializing with animals different than his own kind.
"Mom, there was a fawn there by the creek" Lato spoke up "I haven't seen it before"
"And it was gray!" Jumper exclaimed "Like Roga!"
"More like Roga's mom!" Milly corrected.
"And Lato and Roga chased it, but it ran away and didn't even want to talk" Fluffy added.
"Oh" Rea was surprised "Then it must have come from the same land as we have. But when we were moving out, no other family joined us"
"Well, they might've decided to move out some time later" Faline noticed "I don't think we should worry about it. Perhaps that fawn's parents will turn out to be some acquaintance of yours?"
"But there were no parents" Lato pointed out "Only the fawn"
"Its parents must be somewhere near, I tell you" Thumper assured him "You too wander of on your own from time to time, it's nothing so strange"
"But that fawn was very small" Lato protested "Too small to be without any care"
"Lato" Faline nuzzled her son "You don't have to worry about that fawn. I'm sure there is no need to…" at this moment, a sudden change in the surrounding aura caught her attention. The wind changed. So did the scent. It was coming from the direction of the creek. The other adult animals noticed it too. They all turned their eyes and ears in that direction. The children all felt alarmed. They sniffed. Familiar. And that vibration in the ground. It's coming.
Like on fire, a ball of gray color rushed from behind the bushes. That fawn. It run like crazy. Straight at them. Even more frightened than before. A powerful growl filled their ears. The Howler jumped at the daylight, with its eyes set on the gray fawn.
"Run!" Trudy called. The entire rabbit family made their way out of the glade. The deer followed. If they make it to the trees, the escape will be easy. It's not that far. Quickly!
Lato took a glare back. The gray fawn. It reached an old tree and hid underneath its roots. The Howler hit the roots. Not enough space for him to fit in. But no way out for the fawn as well!
"Mom!" Lato called "The fawn! It's trapped!"
Faline stopped. So did Rea and Roga. They looked back. The Howler growled in anger, striking the roots with his head and paws. He'll make it eventually. They knew.
"It's safe in its hiding place" Faline told Lato, realizing there was nothing they could do to help the fawn "It'll be alright"
Right now, the Howler put his fangs into work. The roots still remained firm. But the first breaks were about to appear.
"We have to do something!" Lato cried. His heart pounded like crazy from just watching. And the horror went on.
"Don't be stupid!" Roga scolded him "We have to save ourselves!"
"But that fawn…!"
"The Howler will get us too if we stay here! One victim is better than five, so let's get outta here!"
"Roga is right" Faline supported Ronno's son "Lato, there is nothing we can do. We have to run. And we'd better do it before he notices us!" she cried. Lato froze. He didn't want it. He didn't want that fawn to die. And to let it die… it was cowardice. He looked back yet again. The Howler has just ripped a piece of root off. Soon, it will happen. He didn't want to see it. No. It was unfair. So unfair. But he couldn't do anything. They couldn't help. That was the Howler. And they were too weak.
Run away. Run before it happens. Run and don't think. Do it. Now!
"Mother!" Roga's shout kicked him out of his thoughts. What the…? It can't be!
Rea was running straight at the Howler.
NOTE: I do realize it's been almost a year since I updated. One thing I can say as my excuse is that it was my final year at high school. I have just recently passed the A level exams and am waiting for the results. Hopefully, will be good enough to go to University. Sorry folks, but real life comes first. I promise to do a better job from now on. Part 2 of the chapter will be soon.