The tawny colored youth jumped from in between the trees, his light hooves not making a sound other than the quietest crunch of the amber leaves that littered the forest floor. His eyes shone excitedly, like glittering obsidian. His ears flapped in the wind as he sped along, chasing a bright blue butterfly in the silence of night.
The fawn didn't realize he left the safety and protection of the older deer of his herd, and he leaped along happily. He didn't notice the change in his surroundings, or the hardened ground turning to marshland. He didn't realize the scent of other deer had faded entirely into watery, muddy scents arising from the waterside.
If it hadn't been for the butterfly spindling upwards into the spire-like treetops, the young fawn would've fallen into the stream right in front of him, its banks steeply falling into the dark, forbidding waters below. The youth didn't realize how close he had come to falling into the deep waters, for he was to busy observing the blue butterfly as it spiraled into the moon.
"Come back, I only want to play!" the little fawn called, rearing up on his spindly hind legs, thinking his voice would travel farther. But the butterfly spindled away, out of the poor fawn's reach.
Disappointed, the young male let his front hooves drop to the marshy ground, making a splashing sound under his hooves.
It was then. he realized, he had wandered far from home.
The fawn froze in place, looking down at the churning river waters. His long ears were straight up in fear, his eyes stretched wide. His little tail flicked around nervously as he backed away from the water, stumbling into an oak tree and falling on his light-brown rump. He looked around wildly, searching for any signs of his herd. But, alas, the mud was unchurned, other than the nervous and frantic fawn's own from moments before.
"Mom! Dad!" he called, looking around wildly.