†wïlïgh†'§ ÇhïlÐ is a story to reveal Kumiko's past. While much of it she had forgotten, there is still much to be told for it explains why she is the way she is.

She was a young fawn who was born outside of the Endless Forest. Her early days were peaceful and happy. While being a bit of a trouble maker, Kumiko had a fairly easy life until the mistakes her parents made in the past caught up with them. Now their ghosts from their pasts have returned with Kumiko being the new target as a way of revenge, leaving the young fawn to watch as everything she knew and loved shattered before her eyes.

Sample: All the does who had helped Serenity with her labor were now standing outside of the cave, creating a path for Castor. He slowly and proudly entered. A small hole was in the ceiling of the cave, casting moonlight down into it. There in the dim light, Castor saw Serenity laying with her head on a tiny fawn. She was a lean, gorgeous doe. Her pelt was as black as night with an unique pattern around her eyes in the shape of hands. She looked up when she heard his footsteps, "Castor..."

He walked over to her and nuzzled her gently, "I'm sorry, Serenity, that I could not be here sooner."

She returned his nuzzle, "I knew you would come as fast as you could. It does not matter when you arrived, all that matters is that you are here now." She gasped at his antler. "Castor, are you...?"

"I'm fine. It will grow back and I'm not worried about it. I only care for you and the fawn."
She looked down at the fawn beside her, "Well, this is her, Castor. Your daughter."

Sample: Some time had passed by. The sun was hanging low in the sky, slowly approaching its bed below the horizon. Kumiko and Constant had been wandering the unbeaten paths of the forest. Both were growing tired and both were growing scared. The low sun cast long shadows across the ground as if demons were reaching out to grab the two fawns and drag them to damnation. Strange noises began to pick up as creatures moved all around them.

"Er...Kumiko?" Constant asked with a shaky voice, "Are we there yet?"

"Almost!" Kumiko stomped her hoof in frustration. "I told you that we just need to find the rock that looks like a bird's beak. Then we'll be there."

"But you said that a long time ago!" he whined. He looked around at the trees. "That one looks familiar. I think we were here already."

"Don't be silly. This is the first time we came this way." She hurried front of him and jumped onto a log to get a better view. "Home is eh...It's..."

"You don't know...Do you?" Constant sat down; his feet were killing him.

Sample: Maia shook her head, "No, it's ok. I've been holding this in for so long, it's nice...in a way... to talk about it."

"If you don't mind, may I ask what happened?"

Maia sighed, "It still hurts to talk but, I can't keep this bottled up in me." She looked up at the sky, watching as more stars appeared. "We were a happy, new family. Rainer was so thrilled to have son but one day, he came home saying he didn't feel safe. He said that humans were moving closer to where we lived and he wanted what was best for us. So we moved...We started out one morning and moved west. We were crossing one of the roads that the humans had just built when it happened." A tear came to her eye, "It happened so far...That machine the humans were in, it was so big...So fast..."

Sample: Two sets of footsteps could be heard from behind Castor, one light and one heavy. He glanced back to see Serenity walking up to him with Kumiko prancing next to her. Serenity then stopped when she caught glance of the stag. Her mouth opened with her lip trembling and her eyes wide. "It can't be..." she said to herself.

The stag's grin widened as he caught sight of Serenity, "Serenity...Oh, how I've missed you. How long has it been? You remember me, right? The one you ran from."

Fear overtook Serenity. She slowly back away with Kumiko standing between her front legs. Castor, sensing Serenity's discomfort, stepped in front of her. Standing between his mate and the stag, Castor stomped his hoof and lowered his head, revealing his antlers. "I thought I recognized you," he snapped, "Silvanus..."

Silvanus chuckled, "Ah yes...I know you now. You're the one who stole her from me." He scratched the ground with his front hoof and lowered his head, revealing his antlers and snorted. "She was rightfully promised to me. I was to own her, not you."

"You talk like Serenity is property!" Castor snorted in return as he stood tall in front of her.

"What's going on, Mom...?" Kumiko asked innocently as she cocked her head in confusion.

Silvanus looked down at her, "So, I see you have a fawn..."

Sample: Castor sighed as he stepped close to his mate. Looking at her deep blue eyes, he said, "You know I will. And he's not coming after you."

Serenity looked away with sorrow on her face, "I know. It's just...The way he looked at me..."

Visions came to her. Deep within her mind, Silvanus' cold, gray eyes returned. Staring at her with no life in them, only a lusty hunger. His gaze, while just a memory, cut through her sending shivers down her spine. She shook the memory away before turning around to lay back down.

Castor stood there watching as she returned to Kumiko's side and placed her head on the fawn's back. She did not return his gaze but instead stared off into space, deep in thought. He knew that she was afraid of what Silvanus may do; he was never a kind stag, not even to Serenity, which filled Castor with rage even to this day. Just the thought of Silvanus raising his voice or lowering his antlers to her made him stomp the ground and now they had a fawn. Kumiko was young and weak. She was also the most important thing in Castor and Serenity's lives, making her the perfect, easy target for revenge.

Sample: "Constant...?" she whispered to herself. "Can it be?"

As the figure grew closer, Kumiko could see the familiar face in the moonlight. It smiled back at her as it caught sight of her and ran towards her. Skidding to a halt, Constant was now standing in front of her with grass stains on his legs.

"Constant! It is you!" Kumiko leaped out of the cave and circled him while hopping.

"I found you!" he replied as he stood on his hind legs, batting at the air with his front.

The two fawns giggled with delight as they nuzzled each other. With smiles on their faces and the stars twinkling in their eyes, they gazed at each other feeling a warmth deep within.

"I missed you," Constant said, finally breaking the silence between them.

"I did too," she replied somewhat blushing. Her rosy cheeks only made her look cuter in the moonlight.

Sample: Castor stepped back, nearly tripping over a dead stump. The three deer stepped forward, with the older deer always standing slightly in front of the others.

The raven hopped about the stag's antlers as he began to speak, his voice echoing through the empty world, "Castor, Son of the Rebel, chosen stag of the Tranquil One and Father of Twilight's Child, we- the Divine- have come for the hourglass's sand grows thin."

"The Divine...?" Castor spoke with a shaky voice.

The old stag nodded, "We are the Watchers of Life."

The black stag stomped his hoof, "I am Tartarus- the Captor of Those Who Fall."

The white doe stood proudly, "And I am Nirvana- the Guardian of Those Who are Right."

The raven squawked, "And I am Hafsa- the Collector of Souls."

Sample: "I sensed danger before you arrived, Castor. The trees and the wind...They whispered amongst each other. They sent out warnings to each other and I have spent my day trying to decode their language. I feared for my family and now I see why. I have heard of Silvanus' return and of his meeting with Kumiko. I beg that he had not taken it upon himself to harm such a sweet fawn."

"What shall I do, Mother?" Castor looked at Sumati with hope and trust twinkling in his eyes.

Sumati slowly got to her feet. She gazed up towards the sun, barely making out the tree top outlines as she awaited guidance, "Take Freya and go. Kumiko is safe. I do not smell blood in the air yet but I do smell rain. I feel the electricity in the air. A horrible storm is coming and the raven shall take flight soon."

Sample: The sky grew dark as black clouds swallowed the sun. Long shadows engulfed the forest, pulling the life out of everything. Birds refused to sing their songs of happiness. Thunder in the distance silenced them. Rabbits and squirrels retreated to their nests waiting for the storm to blow over. Other deer in the forest grew restless as electricity filled the air. A strong scent of rain over powered the sweet smell of the flowers. Everything stood still; it was the calm before the storm.

Beyond the horizon, the sky light up as streaks of lightning ran across the sky. The wind howled madly as it ran upon the still woods like a beast on its prey. Branches creaked as they bounced in the swirling wind.

In the darkness, Silvanus could still see the black stag as the candle light cast a glow on his face. His eyes glowing red in the shadows stared back at Silvanus. His words continued to echo in his head, You know what to do...Silvanus looked back at the fire. It's flames batting away the darkness that growled at its door. He gulped as he stepped closer to it. Visions of the burning leaf returned to him as temptation called to him.

Sample: "I'm scared..." she as she leaned up against him.

He rested his head on her's as they walked on. He let out a small sigh. He did not want to have to say good-bye to her yet but he could sense her discomfort from the storm, "Ok, I'll take you home."

The wind picked up, blowing dried leaves around them. An unusual smell filled the air; it was a smell unknown to either young fawn. A thick, black cloud hung over the trees down the path they were heading towards. All around them, animals ran blindly. Birds screeched above their heads; the chatters of chipmunks and squirrels filled the air as they jumped from branch to branch. Adult deer stomped crazily around the two cowarding fawns.

"What's going on?!" screamed Kumiko as she pulled her ears back and her tail hung below her.

"I'm not sure," Constant had a look of confusion on his face as he cuddled next to her.

A bright light glowed in the distance. With each minute, the light grew brighter and closer. Almost as if it were a creature crawling across the ground. Flames continued to engulf each tree. Burning branches fell from the trunk and landed on the ground thus allowing the flames to spread farther on the blades of dry grasses and leaves that lined the forest floor.

Sample: "Mommy?!" Constant called out from Kumiko's side.

"I'm...Fine..." she said between her teeth. She let out a long, low sigh of pain as she attempted to get to her feet. She was bruised and beaten, but her will was strong. Kumiko and Constant were only fawns. They could not defend themselves from Silvanus.

Constant took a few steps towards Maia before stopping. Quickly, his head began to bunch back and forth between Kumiko and Maia. Who do I stay by...? he questioned himself as he stomped his hooves in nervousness. Kumiko...Or Mommy? His heart pounded in his chest. Behind him, Kumiko had gotten to her feet but stood weakly. Her little legs shook under her weight as she tried to keep pressure off her hind leg. Constant glanced back to see her trying to keep from falling again; his mind was made up. He leaped back to her side just in time to catch her. Her body leaned heavily against his as she slowly tried to steady herself once again.

Silvanus continued to look down at Maia. His eyes were red with rage and showed no mercy. It was almost as if he was completely soulless as if a demonic entity overtook his body and controlled every aspect of him. "Fool," he said under his breath, "The fate of you and your fawn has been chosen."