Sulking through the dark shadows of the trees, Ronno trudged along with an exasperated expression. The smallest sound of the forest threatened to make him snap, be it a gentle bird it the rustle of a tree. A gaping hole lay pit in his gut, bottomless as he swallowed down his rage. A part of him wanted to shove his antlers into a tree and tear out whatever he could, only suppressed by the need to keep low.
Grumbling profane nonsense under his breath, he shot a glare at whatever critter watched him from behind the flowers and bushes. He walked silently until he arrived at his destination: a dug-out den hidden in the ground. It was carefully excavated in a patch of dirt under an obscuring plant, providing enough room for a small animal to hide inside.
"Home sweet home," he chuckled, trying to lighten his own mood.
The inside of the den was comfortable but rather tight-fitting, forcing Ronno to squat as he climbed inside awkwardly. "I could've dug this if I had better help," the fawn mused to himself, then grimaced, "as if anyone would help me to begin with." Smells of dirt and worms would've been heaven for a bird, although the hiding deer only twisted his nose at the stench. The air was cold, seizing the absence of sunlight to lower the temperature to a chill. A shiver scampering up his skin, Ronno contorted himself tightly to conserve warmth. Folding his legs in and squatting down on the soft floor, he nosed a small pile of dirt to expose a stash of grass and plants. "And this should hold me for..." he did a quick calculation in his head, "...maybe a little while if I let myself starve for a bit."
Prideful of his secret hideout, Ronno smirked to himself, a congratulatory pat on the back for his cunningness. The grin faded shorter after, as the glaring flaws of the den began to rear their heads. Loose dirt fell from the ceiling and landed on his head, and the presence of earthworms was not enticing. Ignoring the negative aspects, Ronno rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, "just a day. Just need to hide for a day, then I can go back and everything will be fine again."
His ears bounced a little, tuning themselves in a search for sound in the silent den. Outside the muffled wind flowed through the tree branches, but it was little to break the ear-splitting quiet. Absently, he began clicking his tongue, producing faint sounds from his muzzle to ease the boredom. Tossing and turning slightly, Ronno let out a bored sigh as he slumped over. His body begged for a run, energy flowing through his muscles struggling for an outlet, yet still he was forced to remain in place. "Uugh!" He rolled onto his back again, "I couldn't have dug out a running tunnel into this thing?" The idea of an underground running track was quite grand, yet Ronno had truly no idea how he'd ever get such a thing.
He zoned out for a moment, letting his mind whisk away into a daydream about sprinting through a field. Sitting still for a solid while, the call of an overhead bird suddenly snapped him back to reality with a light jump. Instinctively, Ronno turned his head to the left, looking for his mother in the direction he knew she slept in. Upon seeing nothing he quickly remembered where he was, ears drooping in disappointment. This was usually the part where he crept over to her and laid down against her stomach, eager for the comfort of his mother while he slept. Only she wasn't here, and Ronno felt himself becoming much more alone than he had once felt.
"Wish I had someone to talk to." He sighed, letting one leg cross over the other. It was only then he realized what had just left his mouth, quickly bringing an aftertaste of shame that he would ever think such a thing. Pushing the thought away, Ronno sat firmly and took a deep breath, reminding himself repeatedly that the animals of the forest hated him.
"But everyone loves Bambi," he hissed, drawing a line in the dirt with his hoof, "the poster fawn of the Great Prince." Venom dripped off his tongue as his mind thought back to the younger deer. "Being loved must feel nice, wish I could tear those pretty little ears off," he spat violently. A dark cloud of malicious thoughts churned in his head, granting him vile daydreams of getting one up on the confounded prince. "Then maybe I could be the prince, and everyone would love me too." His voice broke gently, and for once he was never happier to be alone.
Sniffling slightly as his eyes gently stung, he pressed his forehead into the dirt wall to force his emotions to cease. He reached far within himself, searching for a spark to ignite his hatred back into wiping his inner thoughts. To his silent dismay; he couldn't find one. A deep sorrow had overwhelmed him inside, threatening to sprew and break out. Growling and shaking his head, Ronno aggressively fought himself into suppression, clenching his teeth and distracting himself with mindless noise and fog. The desperate measure worked, and his body returned to normal with only three tears escaping his eyes.
The sound of crunching grass and twigs suddenly piqued Ronno's ears, making him snap his focus to the ceiling. Something was walking nearby, wandering the forest and growing quite near to his hideout. The deer scowled in annoyance knowing what he had to do, determined to keep his den hidden. Pushing himself up, he walked out into the light, brandishing his antlers to confront the trespasser.
-.-.-.-.-
Bambi wasted no time sprinting back to the field where he last saw Ronno, charging as fast as his spindly legs would carry him. Anger boiled in his blood, threatening to snap his usual timid and soft-spoken mannerisms. The act of poisoning a family of rabbits was too far, the utter lunacy of such an act all in the name of pettiness was crossing the line. Dozens of confrontational scenarios all played out in his head, and the small deer puffed with steam as he jumped through the tall grass.
"Where'd he go?" He muttered, looking around the field for any sign of the older buck. His fur grew hot from frustration, staining a scowl on his face.
Upon putting his nose to the grass and giving his last known position a good inspection, Bambi came across a tragic sight of stomped flowers. A petty act undeniably linked to Ronno, he frowned and shook his head. "I just don't understand you," came the gentle words from his muzzle. "Why do you have to be the way you are?"
Picking his head up and sitting still, Bambi realized quickly how lonely he felt standing in the field alone. He'd at least have Ronno for a hesitant company once he tracked that idiot down.
"Seriously, why?" He said, talking openly in an attempt to make him feel less alone, "I tried to be friends, we all did." The dark edge of the field met his gaze, a wall of trees that acted gateway to a shrouded section of the forest. The sight of it made Bambi contort slightly, the trees almost commanding him to take a step back. Ignoring the shiver running up his spine, he gulped his fears down and approached it.
Ronno had disappeared into an area that Bambi's father had warned him countless times about. The zone was usually avoided by any animal that couldn't fly over it, the terror of what it stood for keeping them away. The dense maze of trees and foilage was a route to the forest's edge, a forbidden area notorious for the presence of an apex predator: Man. The hunters were known for lurking at the edge, trudging their dirty, heavy hooves in the ground and twinging their greasy face-fur.
The mere sight of Man was flashing in Bambi's mind, "maybe they-" he gulped, heartbeat increasing, "maybe they aren't there." His words did little to reassure the quake in his stomach, "Ronno's just hiding and needs someone to... pull him out. Oh this is so stupid," he grimaced, "this is stupid, this is stupid, and it's..." his body refused to move forward for a moment, before the fawn finally snapped out of it, "and it's where I'm going."
Pretending not to look at the looming shadows that surrounded him, Bambi focused on an automated mindset; just one foot after the other, never stop moving and don't look back. Faint shivers crept up his spine, keeping his head down low as he swallowed down his temptation to flee. It was just grass, ordinary bushes with ordinary trees, yet the threat radiated all throughout the silent branches above him. The wind whistled mockingly at him, and quickly Bambi felt much smaller than usual.
"I should've just gotten my dad," he scolded himself, "better he chase after this fool than me, I shouldn't have come out here." He tried to ease his fears, puffing out his fur in an appeal to look larger. "I hate being small," he said with a quiver, before picking up his pace. "What am I even going to do when I find him, drag him back? I'm nowhere near as strong as him." Anxiety pooled in his stomach, fierce regret over his decisions beginning to pull him down, "I can outrun dogs but can't even stand up to a stupid bully." It felt hypocritical to say, given that Bambi had talked Ronno back just a while earlier, but he convinced himself it was mindless drive and not actual confidence.
He let himself come to a stop by a small river, rushing quietly under the darkness of the trees. The water felt colder than normal as he dipped his hoof in, a shock that made him yank it out quickly. Deciding not to stick around, Bambi drank quickly, dipping his tongue in a few times before scampering off. An unnerving feeling kept him from relaxing, leaving him unable to slow his heart rate as he breathed harder. Climbing up a small hill of boulders, his mind screamed at him that he was being watched, tripping his fear and making him break into a run. Sprinting for a long while, fueled by panic, Bambi didn't stop until his leg caught on a root and tripped him up. Slamming roughly in the dirt, pain chiseled into his chest and face. A loud groan left his mouth as he sat on the ground in shame.
"Wow, some prince, huh?" He said grimly, "oh yeah, my favorite part was when he got scared of a forest and ran away." Sniffling, he stood up to shake the dirt out, "oh yeah yeah, some deer." He grimaced, a tear running down his cheek, "can outrun a few dogs but can't travel in a forest alone. Those mutts were slow anyway, that's no grand achievement."
"Ronno's right about one thing," Bambi pushed his head through some bushes, trying to hone in on the older buck's scent, "I'm not a leader, I'll turn this whole forest to ashes the moment people start relying on me." Anger flickered across his face for a split second. "Why can't I be a normal fawn? I'm born and right after everyone just..." he shook his head, unable to find the words. "I should just disappear, go find somewhere else."
That word floated in Bambi's head; disappear. It wasn't like people would magically forget about him, they would surely notice if he never showed up again. Yet the thought of escaping was enticing him, "I could just run," he thought absently, "find another forest, tell everyone I'm a new deer. They'd never know I was supposed to be a prince." A smile peeled to his cheek, "I could run wherever I want, and no one would be there to tell me not to. No more training, no more listening sessions, sure there'd be another prince to obey, but that'd be fine." He stepped over an anthill, "I'd be free, free from a stupid role I'll never be good at doing. They like me now as a friend, but they'll hate me as a leader." A sad sigh left him, deflating his posture, "they'll all hate me."
Muttering deprecating thoughts under his breath, Bambi jumped through the grass and walked out into a clearing. He didn't see the hidden den initially, as his eyes were darting about trying to make sense of where he was. It wasn't until his hoof blindly dipped into slanted dirt that he discovered the tunnel. Snapping his head to it, he raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Huh?" Leaning down, he sniffed the canopy of leaves obscuring it, then gripped the branch in his teeth and yanked it away.
"A hideout, well that's typical," he quipped. "Does he have any friends at all?"
His curiosity lulled his interest, and Bambi stick his head into the cool darkness of the tunnel. The dirt walls and floor were soft, and the pile of grass Ronno likely planned on eating was sitting nearby. There were odd scratch marks on the floor, tracks that Bambi was unsure how a deer could leave. Even in his annoyance, Bambi couldn't help but approve. "Huh, I guess this is pretty cool. I'd like a den like this, even if it goes lonely."
Realizing he was giving Ronno too much credit, he retracted from the underground den and stood up. "Figures he'd be in here, but he isn't." His ears lowered in confusion, turning his head to look off the side, "he just has to make everything difficult, where is he?" Trying to listen for anything that could be a clue, Bambi realized he had hit a dead end. Despite finding the perfect place for Ronno be, he simply wasn't there. Huffing in frustration, the prince realized his mistake, "I knew this was a terrible idea. I knew it clear as day, and I still did it. My dad is going to kill me." He bent his neck to clean himself, when something caught his eye, making him stop cold.
It was a pawprint, Bambi narrowed his eyes and got up to approach it. It certainly wasn't a hoof, so it couldn't belong to Ronno, yet it wasn't any kind of track he had ever seen. It was long, flat, and significantly large in size with no trace of toes or claws. It felt familiar, but he couldn't place it where he had seen it before.
It all happened so fast.
Bambi's ear picked up a sound, prompting him to turn his head. A metal cord suddenly latched around his neck in the blink of an eye, tightening in a millisecond and snatching him violently backward by the throat. A panicked bleat was forced out of him, his airway painfully squeezed shut as his body was thrown against the ground. He landed on his neck, forcing the air out of his lungs as he was dragged further back. Overwhelmed with fear and panic, Bambi struggled against the cord's hold, jerking his head around and desperately trying to run away. Blood began to leak down his neck as the cord tore into his skin, staining his fur a sickly red. His efforts were left pathetic, as the Man only bellowed in laughter and gripped its metal rod tighter, dragging Bambi along as he cried out for help. The Man pulled the rod in, yanking Bambi to its stained, buckled black hooves. It reached down with a furless paw, coiling its fingers around Bambi's neck and holding him in the air.
The Man muttered something in a dialect Bambi didn't know, grinning with sickly yellow fangs. The young deer in its grasp was slowly becoming asphyxiated, his brown eyes starting to dull while the air left his head. His blood began to slow, and gradually Bambi began to go limp.
Reaching behind its back, the Man drew what could only be defined as an oddly shaped stick. He held one end and put it to Bambi's chest, then squeezed his paw. A click was heard, and Bambi felt a painful needle stab into his chest in the blink of an eye. The Man then released him, dropping the fawn to the ground as he gasped for air. His lungs screaming for stability, Bambi scrambled to his footing and tried to run.
"Help!" He cried out. "The-" A calming sensation gently pooled in his body. "The Man... they're..." his running slowed, his mind growing heavy with tranquility. The fawn drunkenly stumbled along, the poison seeping into his bloodstream. With every step his energy bled away faster, and great exhaustion overcame the young deer. His vision blurred over, blinding him as he knocked his head against a log and further disorienting him. "Dad," he tried to call, "Dad..." His voice lackluster and tired, the prince slowed to a stop and collapsed into the dirt, completely pacified.
A yawn left the deer as he lay still, the Man coming over to retrieve its prey. It reached down again and grabbed Bambi by his scruff, lifting him into the air. He wasn't awake enough to know how far he was being carried, his eyes remained pointed downward at the passing ground as he was pulled through water and knocked against rocks. They approached a structure unlike anything any animal had ever seen before, something exclusive to Man. It was pale and made of hard material, growling as if it was alive. Black, smudging clouds puffed out of the back, and a smell of grime and blood seeped from the building.
The Man gripped the back side of the structure and pulled open a swinging wall, a stench of fear and grime washed Bambi. Grunting with the deer in the hold, the Man swung his arm and tossed Bambi into it. He landed on the rough flooring and tumbled painfully, coming to a crashing stop on another deer that had been caught. "Oof-" Bambi squeaked as he collided with the other, "what, what's going-" he tried to stand, fighting the poison that drained his energy.
The darker-furred deer below him stirred from the noise. The sudden force of Bambi landing on him was enough to make Ronno briefly open his eyes, fighting through his own exhaustion. Ronno's fur was ruffled and matted, his neck speckled with blood and dirt. He too had been caught and poisoned with the highest dose, too strong for him to even move a leg. He opened his mouth, likely to spit a retort or an insult, only for his head to fall back to the floor and fall asleep. Bambi fell to his own sedation soon after, and he collapsed lifelessly at Ronno's side.
Chuckling to itself, the Man slammed the walls shut, bathing the two deer in darkness.
The floor underneath them lurched into movement, as the structure flared to life with a roar. Abducted by the apex predators, they were driven out of the forest and into the unknown.