Woot woot! Another chapter! (I would have updated again yesterday but my mom made me go to the After Christmas Sale- I nearly died. SOO MANNY PEOPLLLLEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!! *cough* Anyway….
ENJOY! ^_^
The moon was high overhead, signifying how long she had been searching. Her legs were getting tired and her hooves were sore, but still she searched.
She had galloped through the air, paying close attention to any sign of her master's presence, intently focusing on the areas where the presence was thought to be strongest, but still she had found nothing.
She was somewhat confused.
Whenever she sensed a stronger presence in one area she would go to search, only to realize that an even stronger presence was in the opposite direction.
Nearing the crowded city, she started to descend toward the earth once again, hoping she would be luckier if she searched through the crowds as a human, not in the skies as a deer.
Crowded streets surrounded her. All the people shopping for Christmas were so close together it was starting to make her feel claustrophobic, but she ignored the weight in her stomach and gulped down her discomfort.
She could not be bothered by such little things now.
Christmas decorations and ornaments were everywhere. Illuminated stars plastered to doorways, candy cane walkways leading to nowhere, and men dressed in red Santa Claus suits and women dressed as elves were just a few examples.
Sakura wrinkled her nose.
The real Santa Claus did not have such ordinary attire. His uniform was elegant, beautiful. It was a deep red that reflected blindingly in the sunlight, and it had wool from the whitest, softest, cleanest sheep of the entire northern hemisphere. His belt was made of pure gold with precious gems studded around it from the deepest mines in the south. It was an outfit that was fit for his occupation; fit for his standings, for he was the highest ranking man in both the Artic and Antarctic regions.
It was not something that common people could duplicate, but no matter how annoying it was, Sakura could not find it in her to hate them. After all, she was Dancer, the gentlest of all the reindeer. She could not hate anyone, no matter what they did.
Elegantly making her way through the crowds, Sakura continued her search.
Every person she touched gave off no signal; not the hand fluttering on a shoulder, nor the tap of a hand on an arm. Nothing worked.
Where is he? she asked herself.
She had been here in the city for nearly three hours with now luck.
Perhaps, she thought, he is not a city goer… I should probably look by the park. There are houses over there that may hold a clue to his whereabouts.
Doing just that, she waded hurriedly through the crowd until there were hardly any people in sight, leaving them all behind as she ran.
I'll definitely find him.
"It feels much stronger now…" She huffed, marching her way through the shin high piles of snow at an even quicker pace.
If front of her was the park, but not the kind with a playground and benches, but a large forest type park. Tall evergreens grew boldly throughout the entire region of land, maple trees shadowing close beside them. It was almost impossible to see completely through the thick mass of trees. It was a dark abyssal wall of nature.
Soft chirping calls from birds filled her ears, the muffled thumping from the rabbits running around in their burrows made her relax, and the gentle fluttering of falling snowflakes made her long to return to the freedom of nature, to home.
"I need to hurry." she breathed, the painful longing to be reunited with her master filling her gut.
She looked around, her deep green eyes soaking up everything, searching for any possible humans that could see her.
She could see none. She could hear none. She could smell none.
Dashing into the darkness of the forest, she felt her blood heat up, her senses increase, and her body shift into the most familiar animal she had ever known.
Then she took off running.
The rush of the wind filled her ears, the coldness of it stinging her eyes in a familiar assault as she ran.
She sprung throughout the maze of trees, elegantly springing between them with ease even thought they were merely a foot apart.
Dancer was not the fastest of the reindeer, that title belonged to Blitzen alone. She also did not have the most stamina or endurance, that belonged to the always serious pale-eyed Prancer. The one who could persevere the most was also the one who made everyone feel at ease, Cupid. In fact, everyone seemed to have something that the others had, claiming their titles above her. There was, however, one thing that no one could match that Dancer had.
Dancer was the most agile of all the reindeer.
Combine this with her above average speed, her unswayable determination, and the fact that no one could change her mind once she had set it, she was completely impossible to catch.
They, the others, always tried to keep a close eye on her. Though she was the youngest, the deer in her was the most loyal to their master. By not looking for him she felt as though she had betrayed him, so she always tried to search for him, even if it was only from the window in the confines of her bedroom.
She had tried to run away many times in the past to look for him by herself, so much so that Blitzen had ordered to lock her in her room, and to keep a guard posted by the door and window. It was a harsh punishment, but it was the only way they could keep her at bay. They already had one member of the team to look for, two would be even harder. One time she had succeeded in escaping from the home they all stayed in. It had been in a past life, nearly thirty years ago. She had only been able to get fifteen minutes of time to run, but that had allowed her to make it a third way across the country in her search. That was, until Blitzen found her and dragged her back.
Confused, she had demanded to know why he had been able to find her.
"Hrm…that would probably have to be…a father's intuition." Blitzen had responded with a smile.
Dancer did not understand what he had meant until later.
It was two years after she had tried to escape when a sudden overwhelming feeling in her gut had made her try to run away again. Something in her instincts had yelled at her, ordered her, demanded of her that she run to the woods by the eastern mountains. She didn't understand the sudden urge to go until she saw the look of terror on Blitzen's face.
"Cupid." he had breathed, and he immediately shifted, even in the house, bolting through the door and taking off running with a speed that earned him the title of Fastest Among the Eight.
He had returned that evening, carrying a sleeping Cupid on his back, who had reverted back into human form. Cupid was clawed and bleeding, large gashes running down his side, with a large bruise on his forehead just beneath his fair blonde hair, the wounds that made the scars that he had today.
She had looked to Blitzen for answers, and received only one word.
"Wolves."
That was when she understood everything.
Everyone, Dasher, her, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, D and B…all of them were connected. If one was in danger, the others would know immediately. If one was hurt, the others would have the intolerable desire to rush to their aid. No matter where they were, they would know exactly where to go. No town had to be mentioned, no map needed to be drawn, all they had to do was take off running.
They were all linked, they were all bound. They were their to save each other. They were also there to imprison each other.
No matter where you ran, no matter how far you traveled, they would always know where you were. Blitzen would always come and find you, for he was the most linked to all. Even if you desired to run away from your duty, you would never truly be free.
She had been annoyed with it, the bond that they all shared that kept no privacy between them, but she had loved it too, for it was the same type of bond that was leading her toward her master. The only reason it was not as strong was because Santa was not a deer, he was a human, but it was still there. As long as the bond was there, as long as that instinct to search was within her chest, she would never stop looking. She would find him.
Her silver hooves gleamed in what little light melted through the trees.
Senses sharp, legs giving the same rhythmic beat as she ran, heavy huffs of breath became the chorus along with them, she ran even faster.
The sounds of animals had become near impossible to hear with the concentration she had. The silence was almost intimidating.
She stopped, taking a long deep breath in order to capture all the scents in the air to assist her with her search.
Soil, tree sap, rabbit, fox, urine, bark, human…
Human?
Dancer nearly choked on the air.
Wait a minute… Didn't Donner say something about humans… she thought seriously.
She tried to think back to what he had said in the living room, her mind having trouble remembering through the haze of her tiredness then.
His familiar voice finally filled the ears of her memory.
"Hunters are getting more fearless. They've been shooting at deer in the park even, thinking no one will notice since it's so wooded."
Fear started swelling in her, her adrenaline kicking in, a slight paranoia infiltrating her mind.
She looked around slowly.
Where is it? Where is it where the humans are? I know they're close by…but where?
She shook her head quickly, shaking the excess thoughts away. If there were human hunters she would need to have a clear head. She would need to be ready to run.
Wait a minute, why didn't I just start running already? I highly doubt they'd be able to aim at me, much less hit me with a bullet.
But before she could even spring into action, a loud sound resonated through the air, a deafening, terrifying sound. The sound she had been praying not to hear.
Gunshot.
It took her a while to realize what happened.
The forest was incredibly silent. Even the wind no longer wished to make a sound, as though the wind itself was holding its breath.
Dancer was frozen, caught in the headlights of the noise. She was startled, confused, and uncertain of what had just happened.
The sound of gunshot was still ringing in her ears, the loud pounding of her heart filling up her head so that she could no longer concentrate. She felt as if she had just swallowed her stomach as it tried to flee through her mouth.
A dull burning was emitting from somewhere; a steady, painful throbbing.
A new scent filled her senses.
Blood.
Doubtfully, still not believing what had happened, she turned toward her tail. Red trickled, smearing against her beautiful copper coat as it drizzled down.
There, on her thigh just above her right leg, was a deep bleeding wound.
I've been hit? she thought confused.
That's all it took.
Ignoring the pain, she dashed through the woods, darting in and out of the tree-filled-maze, trying to lose her pursuers.
No, I've been shot! They know they hit something! I can't just stay put! I have to run! They'll be following me, all of this slow is leaving tracks. The only thing I can do is put as much distance between them and me as I can… I have to bear the pain…I have to…
But even as she thought it, her back legs gave way, and she tumbled forward on her front, a new searing pain emerging in her as she crashed into a thorn filled bush.
What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I haven't put enough space between us…I've slowed down because of the wound…I'm just like a normal deer now… No!
She looked around frantic, trying to find any source of shelter she could, any source of a shield.
To her left, only two yards away, was a vastly large Evergreen with a trunk thick enough that she could hide behind it ease, but not as a deer.
Slowly, painfully, she picked herself up. She swayed slightly from side to side, stumbling as she tried to walk. Her back leg having to be held up, making her limp in a slow unsightly manner.
I need to…
She felt the relaxing pull as the shift came. Her blood stained hoofed legs became human feet in Eskimo Uggs, being towed along by two strong human legs.
Her wounded leg was numb, and she could only drag it along as she limped slowly forward toward the tree.
A stinging gash was on her left her arm, on the inward side of her elbow, bleeding heavily from when the skin was slashed when she fell into the thorn bush. She held it at bay with her other arm's hand, applying pressure and trying to make the pain as dull as possible.
Her pink hair stuck to her face from her blood and sweat, her hat making her bangs uncomfortably plaster to her face, blocking the complete view of her eyes.
The cold made her gasping breathes visible, and she had to wince every time she took one because of another thorn gash on her neck.
Finally making it close enough to the tree, she collapsed beneath it, tired and cold, alone and scared.
I…I just have to wait it out. They'll pass…they'll definitely pass… Even if they find me…I'm not a deer…so they won't kill me… I hope…
A tree branch snapping from somewhere behind her made her freeze.
The sound of a footstep filled her sensitive ears, followed by the soft crunching of the snow beneath the weight of its owner.
Sakura clamped a slightly bleeding hand to her mouth, trying to silence her heavy breathing, and slammed her eyes closed. Soon she stopped breathing all together, to scared to keep her lungs moving.
He was following her blood trail. The change of footprints was probably unnoticed by him, he was only following the bright color of the blood.
I'm sorry, Master. I need to stop looking for you for a while. Only a little while…just until this passes… Please…forgive me…Master.
A single tear made its way down her cheek.
She had been so close to finding him, she knew it. He was somewhere close by, extremely close, but still…he was still so far away to her.
Another footstep somewhere behind the tree crunched in the snow, the loud sound of oncoming death to her. Even though she wasn't breathing, the stench of dead animals' blood still filled her with a sickening pressure.
Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me, Master. I don't want to die!
Another footstep sounded, this time right next to her.
Her eyes snapped open in sheer terror, a quick gulp of air being swallowed in her shock.
That hunter couldn't have moved over here so fast…no without me noticing. Impossible… It couldn't be… multiple hunters?!
She could not move, she was paralyzed in fear. All she could do was listen and cry salty tears as the second hunter got closer and closer.
Her heart was in her throat now, ignoring the fact that it was causing it's owner to choke.
Thu-thump!Thu-thump!Thu-thump!Thu-thump!Thu-thump!Thu-thump!
The fingernails of her hand dug into her skin as she tried to keep her screams down, clamping her hand even more painfully to her mouth.
I'm going to die. Even if Blitzen knew I was in trouble, he could never get here in time, even though he is the fastest. This is it, isn't it?
The wound on her thigh was still bleeding immensely, her head was becoming woozy with the blood loss. She tried to stay focused, but as the hunter got closer, she found she didn't want to.
This is she thought terrified.
A pale hand reached for her through the darkness
The end!
Her mind went black, her body went limp, and she fell into the coldness of unconsciousness, completely succumbing to whatever death would have in store for her, no longer having the strength to fight it.
Did you like it? I might be able to write/upload another chapter today, but I promised to finish a friend's story, so I can't promise anything for this story for today. Sorry.
Anyway, read and review please!