All Creatures Great And Small (Cinderella; open)

[greatprince]

The large form of some four-footed beast broke through the thick verdant growth on the hillside, revealing itself to be a large whitetail stag. Slowly but surely, the beast picked his way down the hill. Unless there was trouble afoot, the Great Prince saw no need to rush. The forest was calm this morning, even though most animals came out to forage at about this time.

After disappearing once more into the wood, The Great Prince continued down a trail. Suddenly, something jerked his left foreleg roughly, nearly causing him to loose his balance and fall forward. Fortunately, he managed to catch himself in time. Slightly dazed, he peered down and saw that a snare was tightly loped around his foreleg. Shutting his large brown eyes, Lucian calmed himself while contemplating his dire situation. How had he missed this trap before? He always checked carefully for anything that appeared strange and out of place. The culprit behind this was undoubtably Man. Such a mindlessly destructive creature, the aged deer thought bitterly. They had taken his loved ones and many of his friends. Now it appeared that he too would fall to their insatiable grasps.

How would he get out of this? He knew better then to thrash about -- the snare's metal bite would only grow tighter. He knew that some creatures would sacrifice their own limb to escape, but a three-legged deer could never survive in the wild. He raised his head to look into the distance, a defiant expression upon his face. When Man came for him, he would meet his end with dignity, just as he had done with everything else.

[Cinderella]

Tiny, dainty feet moved through the floor of the vast forest, followed by a hooves of a horse. Despite that she was now a princess, and therefore had all the comforts she could ask for, Cinderella liked to get away from the castle for a while sometimes. It wasn't that she disliked living in such a beautiful place, but growing up as a servant to her step-family meant that she'd had very little freedom, and now that she did, had decided to do as much as she could in life.

To someone who'd never seen her before, one would not immediantly think of her as a princess now. The pretty woman was attired in a dark yellow dress, casual looking, little brown shoes, and her hair was pulled back with a blue ribbon. Usually, she would've had Bruno with her, but this time, only her horse, Major, had accompanied her. When the trees had got too dense to ride through safely, Cinderella had started traveling on foot, gently leading Major with his reigns.

It wasn't long before the princess could make out a figure of an animal in the distance. Letting go of Major, she gave him a loving pat, before silently moved forward, attempting to get a better look at the figure. Naturally, Cinderella had come across woodland creatures before now in the woods - but she had never seen a larger animal out there before.

Getting as close as she dared to for now, she could finally see that the animal was in fact a stag. Still looking out, Cinderella wondered why such an animal would stop out here - she knew of their species, but didn't know much about them apart from their appearance. The young woman then noticed something attached to the stag's leg - to her horror, she realised it must be some kind of trap. Remembering the days she'd recused her mice friends from such danger, Cinderella knew that she should try to free him, though she wasn't sure how.

Ever brave, she stepped out from the surrounding trees, being careful not to make sudden movements. "You poor thing," she softly said when she got close enough, stopping her advance. "I just don't know how anyone could commit something like this," the princess added, her tone angered. Her voice remained quiet, as not to frighten the stag.

Examining the trap from her standing place, Cinderella didn't know how she could get it off without hurting the animal.

[greatprince]

He heard the stranger approach before he actually glimpsed her. Needless to say, the identity of Lucian’s would-be slayer surprised him. It was definitely Man. He had never glimpsed one up close before, only from afar, but it too walked upright and had strange colorful fur, including long, straight light reddish-orange fur on its head. But this one's appearance seemed softer and more delicate somehow then what he had seen of Men. Was this one female? He didn't think he had ever seen a female of the species before.

He remained still, warily watching for any sudden movements as she drew closer. For all he knew, the females were just as deadly as their male counterparts. The prince might have been restrained, but he would still put up a terrific fight if he could.

However, her movements remained slow and deliberate. Her words surprised him. He never would have believed that a Man would ever feel pity for him or any other creature. According to her, she was not the one responsible for his current condition. Something told him that he needn’t fear her, but all the same, Lucian wasn’t quite ready to welcome the two-legger as a savior. After all, he had been taught all his life that Man was dangerous. He decided to address the female Man.

“And who,” he began in his usual rather imperious tone, carefully choosing his words, “Are you?”

[Cinderella]

The young princess continued to examine the trap, her eyes flickering every so often to the animal. She shifted to get a closer look, her eyebrows lowering as she thought deeply about the situation. Perhaps if she could get the trap open enough to allow the stag's leg to get free...

Cinderella was aware that she would be putting him in a dangerous position, but, ever determind, she knew had to try to do something. The poor stag could be in a great deal of pain.

When he spoke, the woman looked directly to him, before answering. "My name is Cinderella. I didn't mean to intrude, but I realised that you might be in pain." Her manner was straight-forward, but there was a concerned tone in her voice. She once more glanced to the bound leg. "I could try and release it..."

[greatprince]

Silently, Lucian watched as the female Man studied the trap intently. She then introduced herself as Cinderella. A most unusual name, he thought, although he kept his opinion to himself.

She then offered to free him. There seemed to be nothing else he could do -- the wire was too tight for him to work an antler prong in and loosen the snare that way, something he had heard of some ensnared bucks doing before. Finally, with a sigh he gave a nod in her direction. "Do what you must."

[Cinderella]

Fortunately, the stag agreed to her request. Slowly bending down, Cinderella peered at the trap examining it closely. Thinking of her own horse, Major, who was stood just a few yards away, concealed by the foliage, the maiden realised how close to danger he might've been, too. 'I wish people would have more thought for animals,' she thought, her normal calm state fractured by the stag's dilemma, 'He could be in so much pain.'

Leaning forward, Cinderella had started realised that something was needed to release it, or at least loosen it. Looking at the trap once more, she followed the line of tight wire to its hold, where it was fastened half-way around the snare, with a little wire leftover. Grasping the hold, the maiden slowly moved it in the direction of the leftover material and glanced down to the stag's leg, finding that the trap began to loosen around it as the hold moved. From the nearby trees, Major watched intently, having wondered why his owner had left him so suddenly.

When she was sure the snare was as loose as it could be, the princess sat back, breathing out in an attempt to calm herself. Meeting the stag's eyes, she softly spoke, "There. I...I hope that didn't hurt you too much." Cinderella could only hope that the wire was now loose enough him to be freed.

[greatprince]

While his leg did hurt slightly, the stumble the Great Prince had taken when he hadn't realized he had been ensnared had hurt more. The prince bore his ordeal silently, carefully watching to see what this female Man was doing in case she chose to plotting some sort of trickery.

But to his relief, Cinderella was true to her word. When he saw that the wire was loosened, he took a step back, pulling his leg free. Relief flooded Lucian. He would go on to protect his forest another day. For a moment, his instincts told him to put some distance between the two-legger and himself. But then the eyes of stag and girl locked, and he remained where he was.

"No, it did not hurt. My thanks to you, Cinderella," As stoic as ever, Lucian dipped his head as he said this, mindful of his antlers. After a pause, he added, "You are... different from others of your kind I have seen before."

[Cinderella]

Though she had tried maintain some serenity in her composure, more for the benefit of the stag than for herself, Cinderella's concerned face notably eased as he managed to get free from the wire. He didn't appear harmed, though she couldn't have been sure without a through examination. The main thought was that at least he was free from the trap - and hopefully from harm now. The maiden was only glad she had found the stag before it had been too late.

She watched as he bowed his head and thanked her for releasing him - his words also quickly reduced her fear that he was injured at all. The girl responded by nodding respectfully, "You're very welcome. I'm just glad you could be freed - you were bound quite tight." Cinderella did still feel anxious over what could've occurred, but forced it to the back of her mind for the moment. At the stag's words, she felt a pang of dismay - what must he and the others in the forest think of humanity, when they'd likely only saw people who wanted to harm them?

Thinking carefully on what to say, Cinderella finally replied, "I...I suppose I've always been around animals. Most of them have become very dear to me and they've been with me through...well, through everything." As she said this, she found herself glancing towards the spot where she'd left Major.

[greatprince]

Lucian found himself liking Cinderella's respectful nature. Sad to say, some of his fellow forest dwellers didn't possess her manners.

It was fortunate that she had come along when she had. "Out of all the traps Man devises, that one is one of the worst." He glanced down at the snare, eyes simmering with great dislike. "Those who are caught in them suffer from thirst and hunger, and are caught out in the elements until the hunters finally come for them."

Lucian nodded as he listened to Cinderella speak about her animal companions. These animals were no doubt of the tame variety, he supposed. Still though, if they had taught her such kindness and understanding, then whether they were tame or not did not matter. "It would seem that spending time in the company of your friends has given you a rare appreciation and respect for all animals."

Following her gaze, Lucian could tell that there was another in the area, even though he could not see who or what it was. This wasn't like a psychic prediction or anything of the sort on his part, but rather, instincts that had been finely honed over many seasons. The wind was blowing in the other direction, so he couldn't smell the other creature. He nodded his head in the direction of the mysterious being.

"What manner of creature is that over there?" He inquired, genuinely curious.