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Post by greatprince on Aug 26, 2010 14:35:12 GMT -8
The Great Prince Of The Forest made it his personal duty to scout the herd's home territory, on the watch for potential threats to the deer or to the forest, such as predators, or something new that he may need to be aware of. This was the edge of the woodland, where the trees gave way to a vast clearing.
Head held high in the air, the regal old stag slowly walked out into the open. As he did, he used his primary senses, his excellent sight and equally excellent sense of smell, to make sure that there were no unpleasant surprises lurking out here in the open. He could see nothing, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was completely safe, of course. Here there was no cover for him to hide, and at the first sign of danger, the Great Prince was ready to bolt back into the safety of the forest.
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Post by bambi on Aug 26, 2010 15:23:35 GMT -8
Behind the forest's edge, safely concealed by thick trees and bush, lingered another deer. It, too, was a buck, but it would have been near impossible to mistake one deer for the other. This buck was years younger, probably not even two years old, and was only half the size of the larger stag, who nearly had the proportions of an elk. The younger buck's antlers were no more than two small, forked twigs, but the fact that it even had antlers, and had lost the spots of fawnhood, indicated that it was definitely coming of age.
Unlike the diligent old stag out in the open, watching for danger, the younger deer was rather carefree at the moment, taking the time to enjoy the fresh leaves of hardwoods and bushes, and soak in the relaxing atmosphere of the afternoon forest. After some lunch, he looked to the tree's trunk rather than its leaves, and began vigorously rubbing his small antlers against the bark. Most, more mature bucks would do this as a way of claiming territory; but Bambi was merely polishing his antlers, and seemed to rather enjoy the feel of them against the wood.
Soon enough, Bambi began to approach the edge of the forest, where the trees stopped growing, and grasses and flowers took over. Initially the young buck didn't pay much mind to the change in scenery, but soon noticed a large dark shape in between the trees, standing out in the field. Bambi was somewhat startled by its sudden appearance, but quickly registered that it was in fact, a deer... a large deer... and a familiar deer.
The young buck grew a smile, ecstatic to see his father once again after so many months. He began to approach him on his slender legs and light hooves, but almost immediately stopped himself. It looked like Dad was pretty busy right now... and it would have been foolish to approach him out in the open and give his presence away to whatever could be nearby. Silently, Bambi watched his father from the safety of the forest with curiosity.
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Post by greatprince on Aug 29, 2010 14:59:14 GMT -8
After a moment longer, the Great Prince was satisfied that there was nothing to be worried about for the time being. He lowered his head and began to graze on the lush verdant grass around his feet. After getting a mouthful, he raised his head, chewing. He knew that he must never drop his guard in the open, no matter how peaceful things might have seemed.
That was when he finally noticed the other deer's presence. As he peered closer, he realized it was his young son Bambi. Lucian remembered well the days when Bambi had been a small, timid fawn. After the death of Willow, Bambi's mother, he had taken the fawn under his wing, and they had grown close. It was unorthodox, since stags rarely became involved with the rearing of offspring. He could see that Bambi was shaping up to be a fine young buck. Which was good if he was to be taking over for Lucian when the senior prince was too old to continue acting as the herd’s guardian. Lucian was resigned to this fact. Old must give way to the new: it was the natural cycle of nature, repeating endlessly throughout time.
He approached the other deer, a rare smile gracing his muzzle as he did. “It’s good to see you this morning, my son. I trust the day finds you well?”
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Post by bambi on Aug 29, 2010 19:32:03 GMT -8
Soon enough, the Great Prince lifted his head, with the regal grace with which he always moved, and turned to look into the forest - Bambi knew he had been seen. Suddenly feeling just a bit awkward, the younger deer, looking as dumbfounded as he did as a fawn at that moment, smiled apologetically; seeing his father for the first time in so long, he was just a little bashful about it.
"Hi, Dad," he spoke up simply as the stag, who still towered over him, approached. Bambi's voice cracked just a bit, but it had still greatly deepened from when he and his father last spoke. The Prince's son took a few small steps towards his father as he came closer - he was clearly happy to see him again. Hearing his father's low voice again, dignified but gentle, couldn't help but lift his spirits even more. "Yeah," he responded with an enthusiastic nod. "Today's as perfect as a day can get, isn't it?" he remarked, his gaze starting to drift away momentarily from the Prince and at the foliage all around them. "I can't remember ever seeing everything so... so green!" his eyes locked onto the lush green grass covering the nearby meadow. It sure looked tempting, but Bambi knew better than to throw caution into the wind like that.
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Post by greatprince on Sept 5, 2010 20:03:42 GMT -8
The senior deer spared a glance up at the sky: it was a quilt of deep blue and fleecy white clouds, rather appealing actually. At one time Lucian never would have considered contemplating the sky of all things, becoming increasingly preoccupied with his duty of protecting the other deer over the years, but Bambi had taught him that there was nothing wrong with enjoying the lighter side of life as well. "It certainly appears to be shaping up that way." He replied.
Lucian chuckled warmly at his son's comments about the verdant meadow. With lucky, the young buck would go onto to see many more spring greens come and pass. "It's enough to feed an entire herd," Indeed, perhaps the deer would come here at dusk, when they had the darkness of the evening sky to better camouflage them. "Speaking of which, I was about go see the herd. Would you care to accompany me?"
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Post by bambi on Nov 1, 2010 17:18:29 GMT -8
At his father's suggestion, Bambi quickly shifted his attention from the tantalizingly green grass to the larger deer, with surprise in his wide eyes, innocent-looking even as a young adult. "Really?" he asked, very quickly becoming excited by the prospect of accompanying his father, the leader of all the deer in the forest, to see the rest of the herd. It was the sort of thing he'd dreamt of as a fawn!
"I-I'd love to!" he enthusiastically replied with a broad smile, almost forgetting to try and tone down his childlike eagerness in front of his father.
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Post by greatprince on Nov 6, 2010 21:58:33 GMT -8
The Great Prince merely lowered his head for the briefest of seconds, a slight smile on his muzzle as he turned and began to walk back into the woodland, expecting Bambi to follow.
It was quite clear that his son was still quite excitable, just like he had been as a fawn. At one time Bambi's enthusiastic reply would have earned him a look of disapproval from Lucian, but now the latter could do nothing but lightly chuckle. Learning how to enjoy life wasn't the only impression Bambi had left on his father.
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