caught in the dark

Year 738 of the New Age -- Summer

Summer heat bore down on the world, singing the earth and sapping each leaf of life and the energy that made it a pliable ingredient in herbal remedies. The young doe scrambled under, over, and within thorny bushes. Her ears tight back to her skull and nose twitching with each painful barb of a sharp thorn. Why she had to be the one to fetch the damn leaf she'd never know. She sighed, bitter about her aunts request, and burrowed deeper into the thorn bush that held her prisoner now. I swear I'll get you for this Aunt she muttered to herself and stretched.

Alas! The leaf was in sight. Well protected from the heat of day it was still a proud, deep emerald, it's ragged leaves still trimmed in fine silver. She reached, plucking the leaf free of the captive thorn bush and retreated. Resting outside the thorns she dropped the leaf into its leather pouch. "There now, and you said I couldn't find the damn thing." mindelan beamed to herself, shaking her long, dark mane out of her face. She snorted and rose to her feet.

Taking account of each of her scrapes and bruises she turned round to head back and was instantly lost. How had she traveled so far from the protection of the caves? Of her Oakfern home? Tiny, dainty, and all too young Mindelan stared out into the growing darkness of the woods. Her mossy paint reacting slowly to the dimming light.

"Look what we have here, children. . ." sickly sweet and absolutely terrifying the disembodied voice bore heavily down upon the young Oakfern. She froze, paralyzed by the fear the heavy voice and its ominous presence. "A little Oakfern far, far from home. Why don't we give her an appropriate greeting darlings?" the voice cackled and brought with it the deep snarls of wolves as they pulled their dark bodies from the shadows.

"Get her," whoever it was they had a serious problem with Oakferns, and Mindelan, and she didn't even know who it was. But that didn't mean they weren't flesh and blood. She stared, stepping back from the wolves as they approached her, teeth bared.

"Oh no. . . ." mindelan gasped and leapt to the side as a large, black wolf charged her, snapping jaws closing on empty air. "Oh no you don't!" she found her strength pulling at the nearby stream, dragging the water to her in a desperate hid to protect herself. It swirled up and around her, twisting and tangling around her legs. A wolf howled and launched itself at her, driving her back. Water swirled from her in a ball and wrapped around its head, cutting off the air and drowning it.

"No! You won't! You can't! Gaelach save me." Mindelan jumped over the smallest of the wolves as he jumped for her. Bounding away from them she darted along the river, upstream, towards the caves that made her home, her shelter, that supplied her herd with their lives.

Severe pain drove through her body from the hip up to her neck. What the- weight, great, massive weight bore heavily down upon her. Claws and teeth digging into her tender flesh. "Get- OFF!" she screamed and swung her head up, her curled antlers swinging into the wolf. The growth lodged deep in its throat, catching on the bones of its chest and breaking off. The wolf howled and fell away. Two- that made two.

The third wolf didn't stand a chance. Before she could react to it water smothered the entire beast and pulled it towards the spring. The world dimmed and blackened around her, her poor sight fading further as darkness invaded her green vision. What- wait- no. The far-off battle cry ran in her ears as oblivion swept her away into the slumber.