And wait Sybille did.
Watching from the shadows as she quietly observed the Young Prince's life from afar, his progress on learning the ways of the Forest with Nettla's teachings, and sometimes him visiting his two friends.
That squirrel was perhaps the most constant presence compared to the brown rabbit, the crow noted; adulthood was approaching fast for Eike, it wouldn't be long until she needed to step away and look for a mate. The squirrel still had some time left, so there was little to worry about.
Speaking of time, Bruno was supposed to have left his caretaker's den quite a while ago, wasn't he?
Usually yearling bucks start living on their own not too long after they reach one year of age; incredibly rare to see one who still lived with the mother.
Outside of the lessons, why was he still with the old doe? Unless he noticed she wasn't looking as healthy and strong as she was before in spite of age. Perhaps the years were finally catching up to her...
In any case, the days remained mostly the same; spring flowers bloomed and the forest was as bright as always prior to autumn and winter, full of life and death alike past its surface.
And thus time passed...
...
-A couple days later...-
"Mornin' Bruno!"
Eike waved from her burrow as the Young Prince was passing by, then hopped towards his direction in excitement; she indeed looked older than he remembered, not that he minded! "Where ya goin' all prim 'n proper like that?"
"Nowhere in particular. Just practicing my stance! As Aunt told me earlier, a Prince must show dignity," Bruno said as he held his head up high during his walk, with eyes closed, "and walk with pr-Ah!"
He bumped his little antlers into a couple small branches with blossoms, startled out of his explanation.
"... pride."
Eike giggled at the sight, shaking her head when Bruno tried breaking free, and earning a frustrated huff from him when the branch wouldn't let him.
"Tsc tsc, ya gotta duck down, Young Prince!" Eike motioned as she spoke. "That happened to fella Bran a lot."
"Bet it did- oof!" The Young Prince ducked as told, finally dislodging his antlers and making many petals and leaves fall down as a result. Then he and Eike wordlessly agreed to walk away from those branches right away. Best to not risk another bumping again.
"Gotta be glad ya didn't bump into a beehive. And gotta keep both eyes open, ya know?"
"Yeah I know that." Bruno rolled his eyes, not quite glad that his demonstration was unceremoniously turned into an embarrassing situation. "Anyway, I must keep practicing. Do you want to accompany me?"
"Ah, nah I can't. Been pretty busy, lately, y'know?" She said as she patted her cheeks with a big smile, then picked up a fallen flower. "Me 'n some other bunnies makin' ourselves look pretty! It's Spring, after all."
"Really? Is it something like Groundhog's Day? What is it like?" Surprisingly his questions made Eike drop the flower in a flustered manner as she laughed nervously.
"Ahaha, no no no, nothin' like that! It's uh… It's stuff ya gotta be older to know. Or just ask yer aunt or Friend Owl or whatevah!" Eike's paws moved in quick succession while she tried to explain. It only made Bruno have more questions than answers, but he decided not to pry further into the subject.
... "Something you gotta be older to know", huh? What else was there for him to know outside of the ways of a Prince?
...
-A couple weeks later…-
All songbirds had returned to the woods, their nonstop tweets and whistling heard from below the trees.
Not quite unwelcome for Bruno, but he admitted it was hard to stay focused in feeling the Forest when gossip made it to his ears that easily. He hoped someday he could just filter out the distractions... But curious as he still was, the Young Prince ended up listening to the birds' conversation from a distance:
Things about more lives coming into the woods soon, the chance of visiting newborn Young Princes alongside other animals, and something about keeping the crows away. That last part made Bruno let out a little laugh. Typical of birds, he thought.
So the animals visited when a new fawn was born?
... It made him think about the very short time he spent with his mother. He barely knew her, outside of vaguely recalling her voice and face, and Nettla making sure to not let him forget her name. Felicie.
If anything, Old Nettla was the closest thing he had for a mother in his life after Felicie was gone. Would things have been different if she was still around?
Nettla did try her best, although she was too gruffy to give him enough affection, and he was too shy to dare ask for it. Even now he didn't expect her to outright show or say she cared about him, but it's fine. Completely fine.
Time would continue on and Bruno would never ask for it. So long as he made her proud of him for learning well the ways of the forest, learning well the ways of a Prince, it was all that mattered.
And still…
… No matter how much Bruno tried pushing it away, a small thought still made its way back into his mind.
A small yet terrifying thought.
His mother was long gone, he never had a father. Half his friends were nowhere to be found. The two remaining ones might leave someday.
And Nettla, no matter how much he wished otherwise, wouldn't be around forever. She was the only family he had. After she died… He would be all alone, wouldn't he?
Just like how that crow said once. "The kind of deer who'd be better off alone," she said.
… No. That's not time to think about it.
In spite of his thoughts, he put on a reserved and dignified expression on his face, not letting any of his emotions spill out this time. He had to do this, for Old Nettla. That's what she taught him for so long, why would he do otherwise?
A Prince must appear brave, proud, and unflinching to all who see him, and never show weakness or fear to anyone. So long as he does what's best for everyone, his feelings won't matter.
Twilight was coming, and so he started making his way back to his caretaker's den.
The walk back home felt like an eternity away.
...
-Nearly halfway through Spring, somewhere else...-
It wouldn't take long until the songbirds announced the birth of new fawns in the forest, as they always did it every single year. The difference was in the amount of animals to visit them. Sometimes many would come, sometimes only a couple bunnies, and sometimes a single quail would visit.
There used to be a time when a Great Prince's fawn was born, and many animals would come to see them. But not anymore...
As of that morning only good old Friend Owl would be checking today's little one, something more private; there was enough fuss already a week prior! So off he went at break of dawn, flying and gliding in between the trees until he reached his destination but keeping himself behind a few branches so he wouldn't disturb anyone living there.
In a relatively small thicket lay a grown doe and her newborn just beside her; little thing came to the world but a couple hours ago when it was still fairly dark in the morning, now fast asleep without a care in the world. Then with a small nudge from their mother's muzzle, they stirred themself awake.
With a tiny yawn, they shook their head in an attempt to stay awake, ears lightly flopping with this motion. Then, they opened their eyes at last. A pair of shiny maple-red eyes blinking in awe and curiosity, earning them a lick from their mom. Friend Owl couldn't hide the smile that made to his face.
Unwilling to disrupt this scene, he decided to leave and let them have their rest. Maybe he could meet them again later...
...
The tiny doe opened her maple-red eyes.
She had no idea of what was happening around her, only that it was dark and a bit cold. All sorts of greenery surrounded her and she blinked her eyes in awe despite not knowing anything about the world. She felt something warm from the back of her head, and she turned around.
Someone much bigger than her, keeping her close and warm, speaking in a soft voice. Although the little one couldn't quite understand what was being said, it didn't matter! The fawn felt safe and warm, smiling at the bigger figure. The latter in turn spoke again, this time the little one heard with a little more clarity:
"... My dear Ava."
A word she'd soon recognize as her name.
Ava.
