Bambi 3: The Way of the Deer by GreatMarta
Chapter 8- The stray fawn Part 2
A long time ago, Flower the skunk had found an empty tree trunk, standing alone at a small hill in the middle of a beautiful glade, filled with colorful flowers. It was those flowers, their bright colors and sweet smell, that won his heart. The moment he saw the place he knew, that this is where he wants to live. All that was left to do was to fill the tree trunk with leaves, so to form a comfortable place to sleep.
Bambi had to admit, that his friend had a good taste. The surroundings were lovely indeed. Especially at this time of the year. The spring has come and brought all the briskness and freshness, all the life that woke up joy in hearts. He sincerely enjoyed visiting this place.
As soon as he came from behind the closest trees with his daughter and namesake, the little skunk's parents hurried to greet them. Little Bambi eagerly jumped into their welcoming embrace.
"Mama! Papa!"
"Bambi! Where have you been?" Bambi's mother Jasmine nuzzled him with greatest affection.
"It's not like you to just disappear like that" his father Flower remarked, petting his son's head and messing his hair.
"I heard something in the bushes and I was scared and I ran away" the little skunk explained "and then Lila and her dad found me and brought me home"
"Good thing you did. You can never be too careful" Jasmine praised him.
"But before you run, don't forget to use your special weapon" Flower reminded "There is no better protection for us than our smell" he smiled widely and turned to the deer "Thank you for helping our little one. Poor Bambi, he sometimes lets his emotions take over him. But I guess having too much fear is better than having no fear at all"
"Certainly" Bambi the deer agreed "Especially since there are so many enemies around. You have heard of the Howler, I suppose"
"Oh yes, the whole forest speaks of it" Jasmine suddenly became anxious "I've heard that beast manages to bring down even grown up bucks. It's terrible"
"And I've heard he could have an entire rabbit family for one meal" Flower added "He seems to be more dangerous than the dogs men use"
The Great Prince nodded. His friends were fully aware of the danger. Most likely, the whole forest was. That is to be expected, considering the amount of victims the monster left behind.
"He is to be feared. But we still have pretty high chances against him. I've asked Friend Owl and other birds to gather some information and it seems that the Howler only succeeds in every 10th hunt. As little consolation as it is, I think it is good to know" he informed the skunks. They appeared to be slightly relieved by the mentioned fact.
"It's certainly worth knowing" Flower admitted.
"I wish this knowledge could help us somehow" Jasmine didn't seem as convinced as her mate "With such a beast roaming in the neighborhood, I'm afraid we will have no choice but leave our home" she pointed at the tree trunk sadly "The entry is wide enough for that Howler to put his head inside. And if he does, he could easily reach us. We would be chanceless" she sighed, lowering her head. Bambi knew she was right. The empty tree trunk was no good protection against the Howler. Even if he somehow couldn't reach the skunks hidden in there, widening the entry shouldn't be any problem to him.
"But we can't leave our home!" little Bambi protested "This is our home, and home is only one!"
"Jasmine, darling" Flower tried comforting his mate "I'm sure if we keep marking our home with our smell, it will keep the Howler away. You know there is no creature that could stand it. I see no reason why he could be any different" he made a good point, but not good enough to convince Jasmine.
"I don't know, Flower" she told him "I don't want to risk. I love our home, but our lives come before anything else. I don't want to die. And I don't want to see you die. It may be hard, but the best we can do is to find a place where we could be sure we are safe. I know you'd agree"
"But mommy!" little Bambi cried "Where could we find a better home than this?" instead of replying, his mother embraced him. Flower looked at their home with sadness in his eyes and sighed heavily.
It hurt Bambi the deer to see his friends like that. He knew how devoted they were to this place, but he could understand Jasmine's concerns. He too wanted them to survive. If moving to a different home could grant them a little more chances for staying alive, he approved it. Some decisions could not be avoided. Sometimes lesser evil had to be chosen. That's how it was.
Lila examined the small hill the tree trunk stood on. She considered the idea she just came up with for a few seconds and finally decided to present it.
"You don't have to move out" she told the skunks "You could build a safer home right here!"
The entire family and her father moved their attention to her.
"Explain" Bambi encouraged his daughter.
"This hill is not very high, but I think it's high enough to dig a hole in it" Lila went on "And it is wide, so you could dig a tunnel long enough for Howler not to be able to reach you. Fortunately for you, this glade is filled with flowers, and at this time of year, they are pretty high. High enough to cover a possible hole in the hill I suppose. Oh, and you could make another hole on the other side of the hill. That way, if the Howler chases you, you could come in with one entry and come out with the other, and he won't see you from behind the hill. I think it's a good idea, isn't it?" she asked. Everybody was staring at her with widened eyes.
"It's brilliant" Jasmine said. She was too amazed to come up with anything else. Flower and Bambi the deer were speechless too, the latter one especially. The idea was great. And his daughter came up with it. When everybody else felt down, she sought the best solution to the problem. A solution, that seemed so obvious now. He didn't know weather he should be ashamed, because he simply assumed leaving their home was the best the skunks could do, or proud, because his daughter proved them all wrong. In the end, pride took over. There was no other option.
"Gush, Lila, you're a genius!" little Bambi exclaimed. The young doe chuckled.
"Oh, it wasn't so hard to figure out. Anybody could come up with such an idea" she assured.
"Anybody could, but only you did!" her friend insisted "You really are the best!"
"Such wisdom at such a young age" Flower praised the princess "Your parents must be proud of you"
"You have no idea" Bambi the deer confirmed and came to his daughter, smiling widely. So young, so smart and so modest. How could he not be proud of her? He lowered his head to nuzzle her, and she responded with affection. He couldn't help but picture her future. The animals of the forest will look up to her. She will give them advice and help them solve their problems. With her brain and good nature, she will be loved and respected by everybody. Yes. That's exactly how it's going to be.
"Digging such a hole would take a lot of time" Jasmine noticed, looking at the hill. Sadness seemed to have left her by now, but she still was a bit worried.
"Then we should start already!" her son decided and hurried to start digging.
"Bambi! Wait!" Jasmine followed him. Flower laughed.
"Thank you very much, Lila" he said "You really saved us a lot of trouble"
"I'm glad I could help" she smiled back at the skunk. He remained under great impression.
"You have a wonderful daughter, Bambi" he told his friend "With a princess like her, we may be may see the future in bright colors!" with that he hurried to join his mate and son in digging their new home. The joy the Great Prince felt right now was beyond his expectations.
"Well done, Lila" he praised his daughter "You gave them hope when they fell into misery. I am proud of you"
"I am happy I could help" the little doe smiled, pleased with the results she achieved. She sincerely enjoyed helping others and her parents always encouraged her to do so. To see their smiling faces was the best reward she could receive.
But in this moment, smile faded from her father's face. He rose his ears. He sniffed carefully. Lila knew something bad was going on. She tried to focus, to learn what her father had noticed. She thought she could feel a vibration in the ground, but she wasn't really sure. It was to vague. But Bambi recognized it instantly.
Faline and Lato.
Without a second thought, the Great Prince launched at the highest speed possible. His daughter tried to follow, but couldn't keep up with him. He ran like crazy. He had to hurry.
He knew his mate and son were in danger.
(…)
Howler's sharp fangs cut through dry wood. The trapped fawn moved as far away as it could, not drawing its frightened eyes away from the bloodthirsty monster. Howler put his paw inside. His claws nailed the ground right in front of the fawn. It gasped. This was it. Just a little more.
But no! A powerful kick sends the beast into the air. It hits the ground. It is furious. The doe who kicked him turns to the fawn.
"I'll distract him! You run away! Hurry!" she manages to say, before the Howler jumps at her with bared fangs. She jumps aside. He follows. She avoids his slash. He strikes again. She strikes him away with her head. She looks at the fawn. It hasn't moved an inch.
"What are you waiting for?! Run!" she cries. She hears a growl. She moves out of the Howler's way. Too late. Blood spurts out of her cut ear.
"Mom!" Roga cried in horror. He could not believe it. His mother was fighting the Howler. She was hurt. Why isn't she running away? She should be saving herself! She had to!
Faline and Lato stood beside Roga, gazing at the horrible scene. Rea was trying to save that fawn. But that fawn was paralyzed. There was nothing she could do for it. So why risk?
For a tiny second, Faline considered joining the battle. But her reason and instinct revolted against it. She had to stay with her son. She had to protect him and Roga.
"Let's get out of here" she wanted to say, but she couldn't force any sound out of herself. She was too scarred.
(…)
Bambi keeps on running. Faster, faster! That's not much further! Just a little more!
(…)
Howler reattempts his attack. Rea tries to run, but he cuts her way. He jumps at her. She rises her legs and nails him to the ground. He snarls at her. She pushes harder. He sinks his fangs in the flesh of her leg. She cries in pain. She waves her leg, trying to free herself. He doesn't let go. She panics. With one last swing, she sends him into the air and falls to the ground, exhausted.
(…)
Bambi breaks through the bushes. He can smell blood. He can sense fear. He hurries even more. He is almost there!
(…)
The Howler had won. They could all see it. They could not see his face, but they bet he must be smiling.
Rea tried to get up. She fell on the ground. Her right front leg was bleeding, seriously hurt. Her left ear was almost ripped. It hurt. It all hurt so bad. But everything she could think of was fear.
She looked at the Howler. He was coming at her, with wild satisfaction painted on his face. She struggled to get up. It was useless. She had lost.
Faline, Lato and Roga could hardly breath. Nobody knew what to do. Nobody was able to do anything. All they could was to stare. To witness the last moments of Rea's life.
And those last moments seemed to go on forever.
Finally, the Howler growled and rushed at his prey. She closed her eyes tightly. He opened his jaws.
A pair of antlers confronted his fangs.
A second and a loud crush later, he was a couple of meters away.
Rea opened her eyes. She was still alive. She looked up. A buck was standing above her. His dark brown fur was standing on end and muscles were bulging from anger.
She recognized her mate Ronno.
He was mad.
(…)
To be continued in Part 3
NOTE: Yes, I know I promised it would be soon. But I attend university now and spend practically whole day in there, so when I come home I am too dead tired to do anything.
BUT EmilieDuus came up with the idea of making a movie based upon my story! Do you believe it? A Bambi 3 movie! Coming March 2009 (at least supposed to)! It gave me more motivation than ever to work on this story, so the script could be completed!
BTW I had problems coming up with a name for Flower's mate, but guess Jasmine fits her.
AND I do believe you are able to write something more than "Great chapter, keep it up" in your review. I would be grateful if you did.