Seed was no stranger to Iaurdagnire's side. The jade-coated stag usually approached him on quiet days when Dag pootles about alone with his thoughts, which is one of the best times to seek his company. What Dag loved the most about Seed is that he didn't mind sitting for no particular reason, and being quite the wordsmith they rarely sat in silence. On a very warm day, the pair of them found themselves sat by the old Oak which for once was completely deserted. Unlike other deer who sat close together or far away, Seed was the only one Dag knew who would either sit facing him, attentive, or sit just behind and to his side as a follower to a herd leader would. Although this did flatter him a great deal, he would never be able to see himself as a leading type. Dag could fix things - angry hearts, troubled minds - but lead? His soul was too soft for that sort of thing; he'd be utterly useless.
"It tingles like a limb gone numb from wading in the winter sea," Seed was reciting one of his many poems upon Dag's request, with his head high and golden eyes gentle in a soft smile as he finished, "Oh, that resonating him, echoing deep within the tree."
"Everyone has something to say about the Oak," Dag grinned, looking back at him with bottomless dark eyes that seemed to absorb every detail they settled upon, "but I doubt any of them are as eloquent as you." He dipped his head briefly as a thank you and let his eyes wonder far to the sunbeams bouncing off the pond just over the hillocks.
"If everyone has something to say about it, then surely you will no doubt have a tale about it." Seed's brow raised cunningly, shifting his mask. In truth, Dag felt very humbled to be sat with such a stunning creature; every inch of Seed looked positively regal, from his dazzlingly green coat to his decorated antlers. The heavy stag chuckled, relaxing onto his right side just enough for his legs to splay comfortably on the grass. Taking a long inhale, he let it out in the sort of humming noise one makes when pretending to think, but actually just prolonging an answer,
"I suppose I should return the favour," he replied, "but I fear my stories may not be a fit exchange for your beautiful poems. Perhaps you should lay down some conditions."
"Conditions?" Seed shifted in his place, "Conditions... right you are then! It has to be about the Oak, of course, and it has to involve magic as a good tale always should," he winked, knowing full well that any story Dag told would indeed involve forest magic, "and it has to be a long one! Also," he paused briefly and looked down onto the grass, "perhaps it could also involve... love." He ended without such a spring in his voice as the one he began, but Dag didn't ask why.
"You drive a hard bargain my friend! But it just so happens I might have the perfect story for you." The teller grinned, "It's the tale of the Doe and the Caterpillar, and believe me, it's a long one."
"The Doe and the what?" Seed seemed very bemused by the title, "I'm intrigued how the Oak can be involved with such a title." With a wise wherewithal painted so clearly across his face, Dag's voice mellowed as he replied,
"Then allow me to elaborate...
Our story begins as normal as any other. A long long time ago, a time before this forest became so colourful, and a time where there was little to worry about and little to do but run and play in the sun. One day, a small herd of does were grazing just up the bank of the Pond when they heard a peculiar sound. They didn't know what it was, nor did they care to find out. Whatever it was was of no concern to them. But it was the leader of the herd - a slender and inquisitive Doe who was always on her feet - who decided to listen closely to find out exactly what it was. It was a tiny voice, but she wasn't close enough to make out what it was saying. She found herself wandering to a tree, and at the bottom was a fern leaf curled around something. The little voice was coming from inside of it.
"... Hello?" The Doe asked, but not before checking that no-one was watching her talk to a leaf, "Is anyone there?"
"H... H-Hello?" A tiny voice answered, "W-What do you want, go away." It squeaked, and the leaf tightened.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the Doe laughed and sat down, "What are you?" She asked, "Come on out so I can see you." Her huge brown eyes were transfixed on the green bundle as it unfurled ever so slowly to reveal a small worm-looking thing. The Doe had never seen one before, so a huge smile erupted on her dainty snout,
"Wow!" She exclaimed, seeing just how pretty the worm was. It was covered in black, yellow and white stripes from top to tail, "You're the prettiest worm I've ever seen! I've never seen one like you before."
"I am not a worm!" It replied, feeling rather offended, "I'll have you know that I'm a Monarch Caterpillar. I'll turn into a butterfly soon, and I'll be even prettier than I am now, too."
"Oh!" The Doe nodded, "I'm sorry, but I didn't know butterflies looked like you first!" She giggled, "Pleased to meet you. I'm the leader of all the deer over there; we were wondering what the noise was. What were you saying?"
"W-Well..." The Caterpillar stammered, "I-I was hiding, and telling everything to go away."
"Hiding?" The Doe's nose wrinkled, "Whatever for? There's nothing to hide from in this forest."
"Maybe not for you, but there is for me. Lots of things in the forest want to eat me - birds mostly." The Caterpillar sniffed and raised its upper body so it was standing as tall as it could, "I wish I was big and carefree like you and the other deer. I hide in leaves and watch how much fun you have playing."
The Doe's ears flopped. She always thought the forest was safe for everything. Not her or any of her herd ever gave a thought to anything smaller than them,
"I'm sorry to hear that." The Doe mumbled. But then, she had an idea, "I know," she began, "why don't you come and play with us? You can sit on my head and see everything we do. You won't have to worry about birds - they don't ever bother us."
The Caterpillar rubbed its little pads together shyly, "... Really? I-I could come and play with you all?"
"Of course!" The Doe put her chin flat to the ground, "Come on, climb up!"
Little by little the Caterpillar wriggled its way onto her nose, up between her eyes and onto the top of her head. When the Doe stood up, the Caterpillar squeaked with delight,
"It's so high! I can see everything!"
But the Doe simply laughed and said, "When you become a butterfly, you'll be able to fly even higher, and reach places that all the other deer in the forest can't!"
And so they trotted off back to the herd where the Caterpillar was introduced to all the other deer. Excited by their new friend, they played all around the forest long into the evening. The Doe took him to see the Pond, the Playground, and lastly the Great Oak. The Caterpillar had never had so much fun, so he asked if he could travel with her and the others the next day. The Doe, of course, agreed."
Dag paused to notice how Seed's ears were pricked so far forward that they looked as if they were about to fall off,
"This is a very darling story so far," he said and inched just a tiny bit closer, "is it because of this story that you're fond of butterflies, by any chance?"
"Ah, quite possibly," Dag agreed, "but absence is really what makes us fonder! You'll see what I mean soon enough." Clearing his throat, the storyteller continued,
"Day after day, the Caterpillar and the Doe spent every waking moment together enjoying the forest with the other deer until one day, the Caterpillar said that he had something to show her. But because his world was so much smaller than hers, the Doe had to listen very carefully to his instructions; his landmarks were beyond the notice of her own eyes. She had to constantly keep her head close to the ground to look for things like the half-eaten leaf by the black stone, a grasshoppers hop from the two-year-old sapling, or following a snail trail until turning left at a two-leaved clover.
"Where are you taking me?" Asked the Doe, "This feels like some kind of treasure hunt."
"You're not too wrong, actually." Said the Caterpillar. When they came to a large bramble bush that had been a long time dead, he told her to stop.
"I want to thank you for being so kind to me. Being small, I can go in and out of all sorts of hidden places... go on, break these old branches with your hooves - I know you can do it." The doe was weary at first, but curiosity was what spurred her on to find out what was concealed behind the brittle thorns. With a few swift swipes from her forelegs, her hooves all but up-rooted the bush.
"Oh, Caterpillar!" She gasped, springing with delight on the spot. Behind that small forgotten bush sat the biggest and most plumpest mushrooms she had ever seen!
"There's so many! I... I can't possibly eat them all!" She licked her lips expectantly and wasted no time in snapping up one of them, thanking the Caterpillar with every chew. The Caterpillar explained that he knew all the best places to find the most delicious fungi and young tree shoots for the Doe and all her friends to eat. So, guided by the Caterpillar, she used her hooves to break away old tree roots and her teeth to pull back vegetation hiding delights in hidden thickets. Once they were all uncovered, she called her herd and invited everyone to feast upon everything the Caterpillar had given them. That night, they all gorged themselves, and the midnight air was filled with laughter and dancing in celebration of the Caterpillar's friendship.
As days went by, the Caterpillar spent entire days with the Doe and the rest of the deer. He wasn't scared of the birds, and with his fear gone he didn't think himself as Caterpillar anymore and neither did the deer. One day, the Doe was resting at the foot of the Great Oak, and the Caterpillar was curled up on the very tip top of a purple flower in front of her. He looked up at the Oak, feeling even smaller than usual.
"Doe," he began, "why is the Great Oak bigger than all the other trees, and why is it the only oak in the forest?"
The Doe didn't take long to answer, and she did so with a smile, "When the Gods planted the Oak, it was very small, perhaps even smaller than you! Then, the day they gave the forest deer, they bestowed some of their magic into the seed."
"Magic?" The Caterpillar questioned further, "What kind of magic?"
"Well," the Doe replied, "it is said that the Oak is symbolic of all the love the deer share in order to keep the forest alive and well. It sprouted from a tiny seed, into a sapling in just a few days. Then, whoosh! It grew a huge trunk, hundreds of arms and thousands of leaves in what appeared to be in no time at all. For you see, every day in this forest is full of happiness and smiles."
"Wow!" The Caterpillar squeaked, staring in awe at the Oak who's leaves seemed to rustle in confirmation of the Doe's story, "So, when we play with the other deer, or just sit with each other telling stories like we are now, the Oak grows? I can't see it moving yet." The Doe giggled at how sweet a mind the Caterpillar had,
"It's far too big now. I fear if it grew any bigger, its trunk would explode!" With that, the Doe stood up and danced around the tree with the Caterpillar on her head right into the night, both laughing and singing a made-up rhyme,
"Great Oak Great Oak,
we're loving folk,
a skip and a hop,
but please don't pop!"
The next morning, the Doe awoke under a willow tree by the Pond. She looked around to say good morning to her friend the Caterpillar, as usual, but he was no-where to be found.
"Caterpillar, where are you hiding?" She called, thinking he couldn't have gotten very far. But there was no answer.
"Excuse me," she asked another doe grazing in the morning song, "have you seen Caterpillar?"
"No, I'm afraid I haven't. Why don't you try the Oak? It sounded like you were having so much fun there last night, he might have gone to see if it had grown." She replied with a chuckle.
'Of course' the Doe thought, 'he could have wanted to see if it had grown since last night'. So, trotting over quite confidently, she searched all around the tree. Peering through cracks, sniffing under surface roots, but still she could not find him.
"Are you looking for something?" A squirrel asked clinging to the bark upside down.
"Yes," said the Doe, "a Caterpillar."
"A Caterpillar? You won't find any around here anymore!"
The Doe's ears fell, "Oh? Why not?"
"They've all turned into butterflies, silly!" The squirrel twittered, "If you look at all the flower beds, there's hundreds and hundreds of them!"
At first, the Doe was happy. But then she suddenly felt a huge wave of loneliness come over her. What if he loved being a butterfly so much that he wouldn't come back to play anymore? What if he had forgotten about her? Then, she knew what to do.
Running over to the first flower bed she could find, she sat herself down in the center and let all the butterflies swarm around her. Then, she asked a very simply question to a single butterfly,
"Butterfly, are you my dear friend the Caterpillar?"
"No, I am not." The butterfly replied.
So, she turned to the next one,
"Butterfly, are you my dear friend the Caterpillar?"
"No," the next butterfly replied, I am not."
One by one, the Doe asked each butterfly in turn whether they were the Caterpillar who she was missing so dearly. But each one replied the same way. So, she moved on to the next bed of flowers and sat down, asking the same question,
"Butterfly, are you my dear friend the Caterpillar?"
"No, I am not." Came the same reply.
Far off in the distance, there was a creaking of wood. But the Doe didn't notice.
"Butterfly, are you my dear friend the Caterpillar?"
To the sadness of the Doe, each butterfly replied the same way just as before. When the sun set, she traveled to another flower bed and fell asleep there so she could continue asking as soon as the sun rose again.
Through the night, the sound of splitting bark could be heard. But she paid it no mind.
By the third day, she was very sad and the loneliest she had ever felt, but still she did not give up asking all the butterflies she could find. However, little did she notice how her question had changed,
"Butterfly, are you my beloved Caterpillar?"
But still, those four words were all she heard,
"No, I am not."
As hours turned to days, the Doe got very little sleep and wasn't very interested in playing anymore. It didn't seem as fun if Caterpillar was not there to laugh along with her. But something happened that roused her from sleepless state.
CRACK!
The noise sounded like the world was splitting in two, and she was immediately thrown into panic. She ran to her herd as fast as she could, her heart racing, but for some reason she found them all gathering around the Great Oak. From the back of the crowd, she could just about see that the trunk had burst clean open! But that didn't explain why everyone looked so happy.
'Perhaps something is in the middle' she thought, and when the deer turned around to see her, they all parted to let their leader see what was inside.
There, in the middle, curled up with his back facing them, was a stag. He stood up and looked around - first at himself - before looking up and seeing the Doe standing in the entrance of the hollow. He opened his mouth and said,
"Great Oak, Great Oak,
Your magic I plead,
Turn me not into butterfly;
With her, let me be."
And all at once, the Doe began to cry. For you see... the stag had the most dazzling, most beautiful, Monarch Butterfly coat you could ever imagine."
Seed's smile beamed, as did Dag's; it was by far one of his most favourite stories. Standing slowly, he stretched his legs and shook the long fur around his neck. Seed followed and stood up,
"So... not only was that a love story," he said cheerily, "it was the story of how the Oak came to have its opening, and the story of the first butterfly pelt, right?"
Iaurdagnire laughed, "Oh yes, it's quite the all-rounder. But the main point of the story is that friendship - love, even - can be found in the strangest of places. And once more, you may not even realize it."
After sitting down for so long, both friends needed to release some of the high-spirited energy they had acquired from such a triumphant story. And you know what they did?
They played in a big patch of purple flowers, surrounded by butterflies.
Tracking~ <3
Totally track-worthy!
Tracking :D
Stalking. x) _____ The Noble
The Noble Guardian
Tracking<3
Beautiful, ohmygosh so
The Noble Guardian
Some of the best imagery
Thanks for sharing that with all of us. :')
Oh, this is so beautiful<3
I would love it if Dag told Saosin a story sometime.. Not that I'm asking you to write one.. I'm just really curious about what he would tell him. ^^
Oooh, a very nice story
I also like the way you handed Seed.
---
Join Nelle Rovine, my unicorn RP
VGC -> Thaaaaaaanks =)
Tera -> Awh thank you! I'm glad you liked it ^^
Saosin -> Of course Dag would tell him a story some time! An epic one too, about heroics and all that good stuff ;D
Seed -> I'm glad you like it ^^' Seed was difficult... I couldn't really get across his poetic-ness for some stupid reason which bugs me, but I ran out of things to do XD'
[Sir Dag]
It's very hard to do -- I
---
Join Nelle Rovine, my unicorn RP
Win. I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed it.
Absolutely stunning!
Absolutely beautiful! I love
I love this story so much.
Cheers everyone! And of
[Sir Dag]
omg I love this o___o I wish
#4b5160
Omg! Totally tracking this.