Bumping, sorry.
Hum.
I feel very odd today.
What is this?...
So... So very odd...
I notice that the little fawn is gone from my side. Hum... I wonder how long it has been since I fell asleep?
The snow still falls. The flakes are gentle and not the least bit cold on my back. So different from the rain, though they were both made of water...
I close my eyes. There's barely any use in keeping them open, really; all I see is eternal midnight, anyway.
A memory stretches its head out from my heart's depths, seeking. I breathe deeply, readying myself, and let it wash over me...
------
The loud rush of rain.
"Mother... When will the rain stop?"
A gentle sigh.
"I... I don't know, dear..."
A pause. The voice continues, fake and cheerful.
"I'm sure nothing will happen to us. The rain will stop soon, dear. We'll be fine."
Silence filled by the roar of the rain.
------
My breath catches in my throat and I swallow it down. Mother... Mother, Father, I miss you.
That was the beginning. That was when everyone thought it was just the seasonal rain storm, just the usual downpour...
------
The loud rush of the rain, weaker, but still there.
A whimper.
"I'm so thirsty, Mother..."
A strained voice, dry and harsh. "Dear... There isn't any water..."
"B-but all the rain! There's so much water! Why can't I drink it? I'm so thirsty! Mother! Mother-"
"There isn't any clean water! The rainwater has mud, leaves, dead things in it! Drowned things! Do you want to get sick and die?!"
A sickening silence. A sob.
A stag's sigh. "Lilith..."
Tears running down to wet the wet ground even more.
"M-mother... I'm sorry..."
"Oh... Oh, Clover..."
------
A sigh stutters from my lips. Yes. Clover... I am Clover. My name. Clover. Hum...
I smile a little bit. It is a good name. The Hat Lady Clover.
I perk my ears and sniff the air; Queze! He is about! I scramble up, as strangely exhausted and odd as I feel, and go forth to find him in the snow.
He is resting near the pond, but stands quickly when he finds me beside him. We greet each other, and I feel happy and at peace.
How blessed I am to have him for a friend, as well as the others... Lemon, Seed, Kaoori, Corvus, the little fawn...
There is a tall mushroom close to the water which serves for a good shelter, even for the two of us. I invite him to sit there with me and watch the snow, though I am blind.
Indeed, Queze need not know of that... Not yet. I'm sure it would sadden him...
------
The loud rush of rain, continuing forever...
"Clover..."
"What, Mother?"
A pause.
"What's wrong?"
"Your father... H-he... drowned..."
Thick, shocked silence.
Mother's hoarse, grief-stricken voice.
"Dear... If, one day, you find me still, you must run away. Do you understand?"
"M-mother-"
"You must! You must run, away from the rain. Somewhere you'll be able to find other deer, live a good life, and eventually forget all these horrors.
Do you understand?"
A shaky breath.
"Yes, mother."
------
A whimper flies, unstoppable, from my mouth. I sense Queze glance over at me, puzzled, but I shake my head and say that I am just a little cold, is all. He presses closer to warm me, and I am grateful.
I set my jaw and prepare myself for what will come next. I know it is horrible. I know it is the worst one of them all, and I know it would have been best for me to forget it...
------
"Mother! Mother, come quick! I found a spring - a spring of clean, fresh water! And it's on higher ground, so the floodwater hasn't reached it yet, and-"
Silence.
"Mother..."
A fly buzzes by, quickly smacked to the ground by the rain. It floats away, dead, upon the rippling surface of the flooded lake.
A fly from the- Oh, no.
A sodden lump of fur... White, white eyes, open mouth.
A fly crawls out and rises.
Silence, save for the roar of the rain.
------
I strain to block the images but they are stark and lit in my mind. I blink rapidly, trying to stop the tears, and I am successful except for one drop. Has Queze noticed? Thank the gods, no... H-hum...
Hate comes next.
------
"I HATE YOU!"
The loud rush of water.
Falling and pounding the ground to a pulp...
Falling and flowing over the banks of the rivers...
The loud rush, drowning everything out -
Everything except for the peal of a child's scream.
"YOU TOOK MY MOTHERRRRRR!"
The rain laughs, dancing on the ground.
"YOU TOOK MY FATHERRRRRR!"
It splatters as it is kicked by a child's hooves. It is shattered as the scream rents the air.
Still it laughs.
"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!!!"
Tears mingle with the soup that is the ground, and the small, weak, figure drops, holding a violet hat with three green feathers in it close to her chest.
Mother's favorite hat.
"Everything..."
------
I shudder and stifle a cry, scrunching my face up tight. Yes, I remember. I remember everything.
For the best, I cannot say. But I remember my name, now... And why...
Why my hat is so precious to me. Mother always wore it, and I always loved it. It fitted her well...
Does it fit me well?
A strange peace surrounds me.
I feel weak and heavy, helpless... Hum...
I know that Queze is smiling beside me, watching fawns and adults play.
I nuzzle him suddenly; gratitude for his friendship has overwhelmed me and I feel the need to do this one last time. He makes a curious sound at the sudden gesture but returns it, because he is a kind fellow.
I feel the age upon me, now...
I do think that only I aged within this forest... For, surely, since magic exists here, why not immortality?
The snow falls, gentle frosting that it is...
A sigh shutters from my lips and I lean against the comforting warmth of Queze.
I close my eyes, and say, in nearly a whisper,
"My name is Clover. I remembered,"
...for he ought to know, being my best friend.
I feel his joyful surprise and hear words of praise, but he falls silent when he sees me with my eyes closed.
I open my eyes. I look up, and see the stars...
The stars forming the last path for me to take.
So I whisper, again, with the last bit of strength left in me. I whisper to Queze the words which I hope will eventually reach every deer in this lovely blessed forest, which I hope will reach all my friends and all the places which were kind to me...
"You may wish to mourn my death,
But I wish you will celebrate my life."
And I know that I love them all, more than anything.
The stars beckon to me, twinkling merrily in the dark sky. I laugh and rise, with all my weight and blindness and age gone, and I feel like a fawn again! Oh, hum! I remember this fleetness of foot, I remember the feeling that if I leapt high enough, perhaps I could fly, fly to wherever I wished! Oh, I never! The stars, the stars! They form a path for me to take; a beautiful pathway, carved out of the stars, set out just for me.
Run! Run! And I am running and leaping like how I used to, when I was young and full of energy! Running and running, light as a feather, towards something, something wonderful...
Mother, Father, I'm coming home.
{...and with a name at last, she sleeps forever, a smile on her sweet white face.}
------
Yes.
First of all, I'm sorry.
This was a very hard decision for me, even though I had already decided from the beginning that this would happen.
I will miss her, too.
And... a big thank you to everyone who befriended her, and even those who frightened her - you played a huge part of her story. And another thank you for those who read and commented on these entries.
If any of her other friends wish for a final goodbye, I think that may be possible to arrange.
;___; I'm in tears dfghrtkj
-- Dannii <3
Aww fjdhfgdhs *hug* Thank
That was so touching, tugged
Aw damn ._. That made me
--Stays a lonely Seele
*is at a loss for
I've been following this story for quite some time now, never really commenting, but always enjoying the story it told.
And now...she's...
*hugs now-fawn tight*
She will be missed. D:
Oh, Tera. Thank you! :'D I'm
I'm sure having him beside her as she went let her have a very peaceful death. I have to say I was glad to have gotten the timing right with meeting Queze. Again, thank you! <3
I'm going to make a table of contents of her story to put on my updates, so it'll be easy to read them in order and everything.
Misakooo aww yeah... D: Only once. But thank you
Shimmy! Wow, I'm honored xD Wudiin's story was a huge inspiration for me. So thank you. For both his story and reading these.
Yes, I love her as a fawn, too. So cute!
I got tears in my eyes at
---
The Dragonfly Deer's Biography
Pega's Forest Philosophy: "Look for Friends. Let Love find you."
"If you don't like something, tolerate it."
Awww.... It's all sad and
I think Seed would like to see her a last time: All of the other friends of his who've left, he's not gotten a real "last chance" to see any of them. As it is, Seed just keeps losing people... It's probably for the best that they didn't meet much.
---
Click My Creatures Please!
8o wah?! I didnt expect
Corvus is gonna miss her D:
___________________________________________________________________________
DraakxMitra C:
Pega, aww. Thank you. Seed:
Seed: I think I know approximately when you're online... I'll have her in, sleeping beside a tree close to the pond, for the next few days.
I'm really sorry especially for Seed. ;_; I know he's been losing lots of people lately.
Draak, aw, yeah...
I can get her in right now.
Awww that'd be nice
___________________________________________________________________________
DraakxMitra C:
I'll do my best to find her,
---
Click My Creatures Please!
fff noo Kaoori's going to be
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I'm a little wolf inside a girl.
Lightbringer-apprentice to Yorres
;_; I know... I'm really
I'd love to, but I'm not
edit: it's 11:29 est. i'll pop in the forest for a few minutes..if you're around look for me.
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I'm a little wolf inside a girl.
Lightbringer-apprentice to Yorres
I am crying. This is simply
Beautiful. Voice: "Thy life
Voice: "Thy life was a beautiful gift to this forest. Ye shall be missed, though ye are happier now. I shall uphold thy wishes; I shall remember what I came to know of thee and thy life. I only regret that I did not have the time to know thee better. May the afterlife be as beautiful as thy life for thee."
Kaoori... Are you usually
Kaoori... Are you usually in-Forest at the time that you posted your comment?
If so, I can try to get her in sometime tonight at that time (11:29 for you is 8:29 pm for me)