Wild Cherry Orchard Don't go there 'cause you'll never return

All welcome!
RE: A shooting star flies overhead and you're left with the following prompt: It's the deepest hour of the night, and the forest is eerily still. Ahead of you, you can make out a perfect circle of deer, standing together with their heads bowed - what strange ritual have you stumbled upon?

At first Margo had left the pack territory to hunt for the day.  Hunting wasn't her favorite, but it was an easy way for her to get away and be alone with her own thoughts for a while so that's what she had set out to do.  Some time had passed, however, and she'd been done hunting hours ago.  It was quite unlike the Valle girl to drift too far from home, but it was like something was making her push forward.  She'd mentioned that she was leaving and didn't necessarily know when she'd be back, so the girl could only hope that nobody was worrying about her back home.  It's not like she was that far from the pack, or at least she didn't think she was, and she'd certainly stop soon to ensure that she didn't end up lost out here, but it was kind of exciting to just keep... going.  "I wonder if any of my siblings have found this place yet.."  Probably.  They were all more adventurous than Margo the homebody.
Just a little further now.    

Marguerite wasn't completely sure where she'd ended up but it definitely differed from home.  The trees were all shorter here and the paths were all large and clear.  If she had to describe the location in one word she'd stick with serene or tranquil.  The clear sky and bright moon above certainly added to the ambiance, making the experience simply delightful to the girl who never left home.  This was a place she'd like to come back to in the future.  She felt completely at ease as she traversed the wide, empty trail before her.

It wouldn't be long before those feelings of ease would slowly begin to melt away and replace themselves with the sensation of something being... terribly off.  Stupidly, Margo decided to shake those feelings away and just keep trekking.  She climbed up a small hill only to be confronted with the exact root of the problem, the thing.. things that were turning this peaceful place into some sort of tiny twilight zone.  Only some odd feet away from the bottom of the tiny hill revealed a perfect circle of deer, and they seemed to be delving into some sort of evil magic by the looks of it.  All of their heads were bowed and none of them were moving.  They hadn't even acknowledged her presence, and there just really was no way that they hadn't heard her coming.  They were deer, they have pretty good hearing and she wasn't really trying to be too quiet.  They were also completely blocking the path ahead, and Margo definitely didn't feel comfortable enough trying to pass them.

Backing up slowly, the Valle girl reversed her way back down the hill toward where she'd originally come from.  "What in the actual..." this was all too uncanny valley and Marguerite wasn't so sure that she was a fan of it.

Lately Sharlee had been traveling further from the pack exploring the lands around it. Sure she'd had her time away but it hadn't allowed her to see much since she'd been trying to avoid being eaten by that bear. Now she felt it was more important for her tondo this than it had been in the last year that they'd been in the lore. She felt she needed to know what was beyond their borders and maybe even meet some new wolves that weren't Valles. She loved her family but sometimes she felt that just having family wasn't enough.

That was what had brought her out to this place with the short trees. She wondered what kind they were when she saw them. The Valle woman had already been away from pack lands for a day and knew she'd have to return soon but there was still some time.

Night had fallen by the time she'd reached the strange treed but she went on exploring. She was also looking for anything that might help the pack. That was when when she saw the half grown figure. Immediately she knew it was her niece. As Eros had so kindly informed her The younger Valle had every right to be out there so the tawny woman didn't go in ready to dole out punishment. Instead she approached and as she got closer she saw that Marguerite seemed a little off. "What are you doing out here Margo? Is everything okay?" She asked concerned in her tone.

Marjorie straightened up at the sound of her relative's caring voice. She hadn't realized before, but in all of her anxiousness the young girl's body had crumpled inward into some sort of nervous heap. "O-oh, Sharlee!" The Valle child spoke with a tinge of surprise in her voice. Margo hadn't expected company. She'd hoped that the older wolf hadn't been sent here because others back home had grown worried.

"Just exploring.." Margo thought carefully for a way to best explain what she'd just witnessed happening over on the other side of the hill, but there really didn't seem like there was anything she could say that wouldn't make her sound like maybe she'd ingested one too many fermented berries or something. "I-I'm okay, there's just... There are some... Well... I guess I'm just not sure what's considered normal for deer versus behavior that would be considered out of the ordinary?"

It seemed to be a more common occurrence finding Valle children outside the territory. She thought that maybe Viorel should have been a little more specific about how far they could go. It wasn't really her place to say so she went along with it. At least she could say she'd seen them and they were fine. "I hope I didn't surprise you too much," she said because the child was clearly surprised by her appearance.

Marguerite voiced that she was just exploring, Sharlee smiled, "That just happens to be what I'm doing too," she told. Then it was time to get I to what had the younger Valle so upset. Sharlee sat back on her haunches to listen. An expectant expression came across her features as the girl tried to explain it. It was a rather odd explanation that she gave. Sharlee didn't think deer did much besides eat and run. "Maybe if you describe the behavior we can figure out if its normal deer behavior?" She suggested.

"I hope I didn't surprise you too much"

Sure, the sudden presence of Sharlee certainly did come as a bit of surprise to young Margo, however, the growing child wasn't quite sure if it would have been as surprising to her had she not just witnessed what she'd witnessed. She was relieved that the woman had also just been out exploring though, that meant everything back home must have been alright. With that in mind, it was actually a huge relief having a familiar adult with her out here. Adults knew stuff and how to handle things, Marguerite Valle hadn't really gotten a firm grasp on stuff and things yet.

"Well... So they were all in a circle with their heads down being all creepy, and..." This sounded ridiculous. "Maybe you could just go look? They're right over the hill..." That way they could both sound crazy together when they went back home.

Whatever Marguerite had seen with the deer seemed to have truly spooked her. It certainly got Sharlee's attention and made her curious. The younger Valle hadn't ever seemed to be one to make up stories so she took this seriously. She also wanted her niece to feel comfortable coming to her about things so she didn't want to brush her off or disregard her. That was why she asked her to explain what she'd seen then maybe together they could work it out.

Sharlee listened while Marguerite went on to tell her what she'd seen. A thoughtful expression crossed her features as she tried to figure out what the younger Valle had seen. Then it was suggested that she go and see for herself. "Oh, okay. You'll stay here?" Once the child had spoken she went up the hill as quietly as she could so as to not spoke the deer.

When she reached the top of the hill ahe saw exactly what Marguerite had described. It was very strange but a couple of thoughts came to mind. She turned and made her way back down to where her niece was waiting. "I see what you mean that is pretty weird," she confirmed, sitting back on her haunches. "So my first thought was that maybe they were mourning a fallen friend." Who knew deer could care about each other like that but maybe they did.

Margo nodded as her family asked if she'd remain put. There wasn't really much desire to see those deer again until she knew for certain that they weren't up to something malevolent. She watched as Sharlee quietly made her way up the hill to observe their behavior and eagerly waited for her return.

The explanation given to the Valle child made a lot more sense than what she'd filled the blanks in with herself. Now Marguerite kind of just felt bad. She thought they were experimenting with the dark arts, maybe summoning the dead. But instead they had perhaps been mourning it. If only the girl had brought flowers. "I... See.. Y-yeah! That makes sense I think... So standing in a circle like that, that's like some sorta' funeral rite maybe?"

When Sharlee had first looked upon the deer she had no idea what they might be doing. Since she'd never seen anything like that before she had nothing to relate it too. That was until she started to think about what she amd other wolves did when they were mourning a loss. The thought was still fresh in her mind from the day that they'd found Walleye. So the more she watched the deer the more that theory made sense.

Marguerite was still waiting when she returned from seeing the deer. It wasn't in her opinion normal but what did she had to judge it on. So she'd presented her idea of what could be going on to the young girl. It seemed that Marguerite also thought that that could be a possible explanation. "Maybe, usually we just see them grazing or running to get away from us. We don't see them when one of their kind has been lost to them. Ultimately we don't really know a whole lot about deer." So the reason she gave made the most sense.

"Huh..." was the only thing that Marguerite could offer in return at first.  It was true, the only experience the girl had with deer prior to tonight was when she was eating them or when she was about to be eating them.  Thinking too much about the feelings of other creatures was something that the Valle girl often tried not to do, as it always left her feeling really bad.. like she was some sort of horrible monster because these things had to die so that she and her family could live.  She hoped that these deer weren't grieving because of something someone in their pack did.  They were pretty far from home, right?  Maybe it was another wolf, or another animal, or maybe their friend had died of natural causes.

 

"Nobody's ever thought to learn more about 'em?"  She asked, though in her mind Sharlee had already basically provided that answer.  Maybe it was too hard because they were always running from wolves, or maybe nobody ever really cared to.  Maybe Margo would be the one to learn more about them.

(This post was last modified: Jan 31, 2022, 02:06 AM by Marguerite.)

Sharlee could tell by her response that deer having the kinds of feelings wolves did was a new idea. Frankly to her it was as well. She'd spent all that time chasing and eating them it never occurred to her that they might have feelings. Especially, that they might mourn one of their fallen friends. It was a strange thought to have and in all honesty Sharlee didn't really know how she felt about it. On one side of it she felt badly that she might be taking one of their friends or family members away. On the other she knew that in order to survive killing the deer was essential to her and her family. Another thought crept in, what about the other animals they killed for food.

Sharlee shook her head at Marguerite's question, "I'm afraid not. It's just not something that had ever been considered. I mean from the time we are pups we are taught that they are food and its our job to hunt them and kill them so we and our families can eat," she explained, "Maybe it's better to not think about them having such feelings like ours." She imagined that knowing that would make it harder to kill them even though it was necessary for their survival.