[END] Smouldering [To Ashes/I Shall Not Want]

[Maxx D]

To Ashes was a doe of humility, honesty and simplicity. When night fell, she merely settled upon the land she had stopped at, a convenient little enclave near a spreading tree by a winding stream. Hooves gently and neatly tucked below her, the doe turned her face to the dim glow of the moon, marvelling at its clarity on this fine night. The stream burbled a little. A feeling of goodwill lay in her breast after a day of quiet grazing - it was a blessed day, and a blessed night. It was all she could ask for, and so much more than she would have. To Ashes was a good doe, and today, was nurtured by the swamp as such.  

[Jun D]

I Shall Not Want was a buck of toil and sacrifice, following in his parents' example, giving all of himself daily in service and asking none. When night fell, he finally left off his labour, and made for the winding stream to wash away the dirt of a day's hard work. I Shall Not Want was a good buck, and he was in for a ahem hell of a surprise.  

[Maxx D]

The grass tasted sweet in the evening dew as she lowered her head gracefully, lapping at the tender blades with reverence. The swamp was such a marvellous place, full of quiet delights and abundant indulgence. To Ashes felt unworthy, but was too polite to refuse the offerings of the Motherfather's land. That too, would have been disrespect, and To Ashes was nothing but respectful (and humble, and honest, and simple). Such was her rapture, that she did not realise another's presence.  

[Jun D]

I Shall Not Want hesitated by the brush when he noticed the shift of another Kin by the stream he was accustomed to. He was not particularly good with making conversation. He was particularly terrible at it. A buck who did nothing but toil all day made for dull company. Yet, how could he begrudge - NO! Begrudging was verboten. The stream was provided by the Swamp, for all. It was a good stream. Clear and sweet. He would brave company.

At least, until he saw - it was a doe!  

[Maxx D]

To Ashes, though immersed in the mercy of the swamp, was momentarily startled by the sharp rustle of the brush. The doe feared nothing, because all that came was of the Swamp's doing, a plan of which she understood she could not understand. She raised her front hooves, looking beyond, and called in a clear, simple, honest voice, "Who goes there?"  

[Jun D]

The doe spoke!!

I Shall Not Want had never laid his eyes upon a doe before.

Well.

That was not his mother.

Or his sisters.

I Shall Not Want had never laid his eyes upon an unrelated doe before. He could not bear to do so now - it was wrong.

"Hoot hoot," he said, "hoot!"

There, the doe would think it was but an owl.  

[Maxx D]

Now, her hind legs unfolded, and she turned bodily towards the hooting.
"Why do you call so?" She asked simply, if puzzled, beyond the bubbling of the stream. "Are you pretending to be an owl?"  

[Jun D]

This exchange was far beyond I Shall Not Want's simple means.

Hastily, he stepped back to flee - and in his haste, tripped upon a root and fell rump-first.  

[Maxx D]

"Oh!" She exclaimed, with concerned alarm, as she moved hastily towards the thump. Though the moonlight was glowing so, it was still night, and it was still dark, and To Ashes understood that this could be quite a hazard. Carefully stepping through the stream, she sighted the hooting creature, and was taken aback.

A buck.

To Ashes had never laid her eyes upon a buck before.

She had never known her parents, so she had not seen her father. To her simple knowledge, she had no siblings, so she had also not seen any brothers before. After all, she knew, the Swamp was her mother, and her father, and so -

To Ashes had never laid her eyes on a literal buck before.

He was compromised, seated so keenly. Though she had asserted her presence, she too stepped back momentarily, and averted her eyes.

"You are not an owl." It was honest, simple, and at this moment, a little meek.  

[Jun D]

Addled by the fall, he had allowed his eyes to alight upon the doe's entire form.

SACRILEGE.

He, too, averted his eyes.

"No," he said, full of remorse for his deception, "I am not."

He did not think to shift from his position.  

[Maxx D]

"...that's quite alright," she decided, understanding from the lack of movement and noise that the buck was still felled and poorly collapsed, and it was not right for her to withdraw help simply because she had never laid her eyes upon a buck before, "you tried your best." So To Ashes assumed, for she was honest, simple and humble. Gaze still downcast, she slowly shifted towards him, and stopped just a hair away from his hoof, feeling a confused warmth in her speckled cheeks.

"Are you able to rise? Would you like some assistance?"  

[Jun D]

The doe offered to touch him!

That simply would not do. I Shall Not Want sprang to his hooves, nearly knocking the poor lady over, and skittered sideways to half-hide behind a bush.

Half, because he was a fairly large buck, and it was only a moderate bush.

"Thank you kindly for your offer," he offered, eyes firmly fixed on the ground.  

[Maxx D]

To Ashes did indeed look at him once more, mostly in bewilderment by the flurry of activity, and saw the slightly muddy rump failing to stay hidden behind the moderate bush, which made her blush far less confusedly than before. Perhaps she would be forgiven for staring at his hind. She was not quite sure why she felt so guilty for it. She stood, hooves tightly tucked against each other, still next to the stream. She longed for something to say. She mulled the previous moments in her mind.

"It was a good attempt. It's the intonation," she eventually said, "at the end of the 'hoot,' that you might want to alter. It trails off a little more, from the middle." She had spent many nights listening to the gentle noises of the swamp.

She recalled it, and felt it rise from her breast.
"Hooo," she called, her voice trailing off at the end of the call, rolling gently just as the stream. "Hooo."  

[Jun D]

In his astonishment, he quite forgot he wasn't meant to stare.

It was astounding! The sombre call sounded precisely like an owl!

She was a marvel - a maestro at owl-call!

He gaped.  

[Maxx D]

When her eyes opened from the lull of owl calls, she met his gaze - momentarily, they widened, and she quickly turned her head away. Such incredulity! She must have done the Motherfather...shame, shame for being such a poor owl caller that he would be willed to stare so openly when he had previously been so reticent. Such was the mind of a simple, honest, humble doe.

"I apologise," To Ashes tilted her head with a little sorrow, "to have considered myself expert enough to critique your owl-call. It must have been terrible, that you would cast your eyes upon me so."