RP

[Tammanae]

The spotted doe's eyes grew wide as the other doe spoke again. It seemed as though if she had referred to herself with a name. But how could this be possible? Females weren't worth the honor of having a name, of having an identity. She took a step back, wondering what trickery was going on here.

Her body language seemed to be failing as well. She wondered if perhaps this doe's herd had adapted a different body language, or if it was possible that she was a traveler and had decided that the rules of the herd were no longer fitting of her. This would explain the different smell on her, and might even explain why she was so eagerly talking. Shifting her eyes, she looked to her surroundings, almost as though if she were trying to make sure that no one was following or watching. Once she was sure she was safe, she turned back to the female, and her skeptic face turned to one of curiosity.

"Beebie?" she asked, her voice raspy and dry from lack of use, making her clear her throat with embarrassment, knowing that the word had not come out as smoothly as it had with the other.

Heavy, her child still unborn, Dew padded down the river, wanting to find a deep enough area that she didn't have to twist and turn around as much to give herself a proper bath. Her walk was a lonely one, as she hadn't been seeing much of Blossom since the kids had been born. She had been bothered by how the female twin had been revived without any explanation, and seemed to be among the healthiest of kids. There was no logical explanation for this. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a happy bleating laugh, and as she raised her head, she noticed none other than the twins following each other around, Blossom close behind.

Morning grazing done, Blossom was keeping a close lookout on her two kids. She preferred keeping to one place, but when they were in the mood for what could only be described as their version of tag she gave them the room to play, as long as they didn't stray too far from her line of sight. As she followed after them, she noticed a silhouette nearby, and noticed that Dew was at the edge of the stream, still heavy with pregnancy. Blossom hadn't properly thanked the arrogant doe after her help during her birthing, so giving her kids a call so they would know where she was and as a warning for them to keep nearby, she headed towards her 'friend', for lack of a better word.

"Hello there, Dew," she said, giving the spotted doe a smile, hoping that she wouldn't start with her normal quirks.

[Minnie]

^{"Yes, that's my name," Beebie stated, wondering why this lady was being so awkward around her. She noticed her dry voice, but thought nothing of it as the doe probably just needed some water.
Then something in her mind ticked, "You don't have a name, do you?"}

[Toadfoal]

Milky Way, who had been chewing on a particularly tasty flower, twitched one ear when she noticed her daughter begin to wonder off. Being a relatively motherly type, she followed and resumed grazing near the water so she could keep a close eye on Riall. She enjoyed feeling free again, even though she still had to watch over Riall, she could at least move more easily, and took time to clean her coat often, so that the stars came alive when she walked.
When the little doe spoke, Milky Way's attention snapped back and she lifted her head, swishing her tail. "A little goennec in the water?" She echoed, stepping forward until she was looking over Riall's shoulder. "Oh." She looked at the reflection staring back for a moment, recognizing the effect from other liquids. "I see two goennecs." She grinned, nudging the dark red kid, "Don't they look familiar?"

[Tammanae]

((Minnie, remember that the posts must be of one paragraph at least. I understand one short, but two in a row shouldn't occur. I don't mind waiting if you need some time to think of your response. ^^))

The doe's head was spinning. It was true, this other doe truly did have a name. But how could that be? Doe's were not meant to have names. Hearing her question, her ears flattened.

"Unlike you, I was not deserving of a name," she stated simply, her eyes distant despite staring at the other's face. A laughter of kids sounded in the distance, and her ears perked up, once more curious. It sounded like more than one voice, and if there was more than one kid nearby, then the herd was possibly not that far away. Still not certain of who the other doe was, but knowing that another loner would not be her path to survival, she proceeded to padding off towards the source of the voices, hoping to meet up with the herd that she had been able to sniff out before meeting up with Beebie.

Dew snorted a hello, her tail flicking with contempt as she continued walking downstream, looking for an appropriate place to bathe. "I see you finally come out of hiding with your kids. Here I almost thought you were going to hermit them away from herd life," she sneered at Blossom, her blue eyes glinting. The little green girl suddenly got in her way, almost making her fall, and a curse escaped her lips.

Her sneer turning into a glare as she looked at the girl going back to 'battle' her brother, she shook her head. "That girl of yours acts more like a boy than any young kid I have seen yet," she stated, obviously disagreeing with her behavior. "You should teach her proper manners. If you don't, she may not be as 'eligible' when she comes of age for Sivs." Dew spoke of this very seriously, thinking the Siv to be the most important part of a female's life, as it was the time that they could flaunt themselves and get chosen by the best of males if one was worthy.

A small chuckle escaped Blossom, knowing that Dew's vanity had somewhat of a motherly influence for once. "I don't think I want her to behave any differently though... So what if she acts more like a boy? At least she is healthy," she said happily, watching Sihir be followed by her brother, a happy laughter in her eyes. Her face changed from happiness to one of concern as soon as she saw two goennecs, does, closing in on her field of view.

"Sihir! Ander!" she called, a small hint of distress in her voice. She wasn't particularly worried about them being attacked, but instinct had taken over, and she knew that these stranger does could do harm to her children if they so pleased. As she called them, Ander quickly looked back and nodded, but Sihir stayed running towards them, making an exasperated sigh escape Blossom.

[Minnie]

<sup>Riall stared intently at the little one in the water, and of course it copied her. She twitched her ear, then an idea cam into her head.
She turned her head towards her rump, taking note of the pattern on it, then stood next to the water and looked in to see a clear view of her bottom.
She took in a breath as everything clicked together.
"Momma! That's me! That's me!" She squealed with excitement.

Beebie's eyes flattened at her harsh voice and she cringed back a little. She didn't want to hurt her, but she had and she definitely felt sorry, but it was so awkward for her to meet someone without a name.
A name was what identified you, gave you personality, and it was something to take to heart and memory in love of that name.
She was sorry, truthfully, and she had to admit it.
"I'm so sorry, please don't be mad at me, it's just not normal for me. Please don't be mad at me. What may I call you by?"

[sorry Tam, it was just sort of hard to reply to. ^^; ]</sup>

[Tammanae]

A strange smell filled the air, but Sihir had no idea what it was, not until she saw the two strangers padding towards them. Her ears perked up happily, curiosity taking her over. All of the members of the herd had a different scent, but nowhere near as different as these two. Her tail giving a playful wag, she rushed over to where they were at, ignoring her mother's calls, the need to know who they were bigger than not wanting to be scolded. When she was finally at their side, she looked up at them, noticing how different they were.

The bobtailed one gave her a strange look, one full of sadness, which made her feel strange. She was reminded of her mother for some reason, and she knew of one thing that always cheered her mother up, and that was when she attempted to speak. She always got looks of approval, and whatever was in her mother's mind seemed to just vanish into a proud smile. "Doe!" Sihir said proudly, her chest puffing up as she pointed out that she knew that these two were does, not stags, mostly noticeable by their horns.

The spotted doe kept walking as the other followed, and she heard her apologizing for some reason. She didn't understand why. It wasn't her fault that she had not been worthy of a name, that all she was good for was to ensure the future of the herd, or so it had been until her last child. Her mind had been pounding on these thoughts when a small green kid appeared in front of her, and her heart almost broke in two, thinking how unfair it was that her child was never given the chance to play and frolic like this one was doing. The kid seemed to notice something was wrong, but her following actions were not ones that the spotted doe understood.

Regardless of this, she gave the kid a small smile, noticing how proud she was of what she had just done. "You may call me Doe..."

[Minnie]

^{Beebie saw the little green kid as well, and she just gushed over it. She was so cute and little, being the newborn she it. Her markings were quite strange, but the little doe had the cutest personality ever.
She giggled when the little one spoke out to the bob-tailed one, speaking the gender of the one next to her. She tickled the little one with her nose, but when Doe had spoke, she jumped back up.
"Why... That's a perfect name," She spoke truthfully and smiled from Doe to the little goey. It spoke through the doe she had met, simple and to the point, yet cautious and small.}

[Tammanae]

A happy bleat escaped Sihir as soon as she saw the doe smile down at her, and she turned around to head towards her mother, but noticed that the white doe with floral pattern was already running towards her, Ander close by, and Dew trailing behind, her large belly slowing her down. Seeing her family so close, she gave a yell and ran towards them, then stopped midway and ran back towards the does, guiding them to where the newcomers were at. How they could be so slow, she would never understand. She could feel the second doe nuzzling her, and she looked up at her, then licked her nose, her tail wagging playfully once more as she reared in front of them. Her mother's voice calling her name snapped her back to her senses, and she was pleased to hear no anger in her voice, a good sign.

Sihir kept displaying kiddy antics to the strangers, and Blossom felt a mix of exasperation and amusement.

Doesn't she know the meaning of caution? she wondered as she reached her daughter and the two strangers.

Looking them up and down, Blossom regarded the strangers with caution, knowing that they had seemed friendly enough to her daughter, but still unsure of who they were and why they were here. "May I help you?" she asked politely, looking at both of the does.

A curious face poked from behind the white doe as Ander looked at the two does, and he slowly came out from behind her, his dual colored mane strikingly different to his sister's as well as his pure white coat. He bleated questioningly at Sihir, his face curious. His sister simple grinned up at him, and he shook his head at her, reprimanding her for not paying more attention to their mother. As he did so, Sihir's grin disappeared and she slinked under Blossom, obviously unhappy. He shook his head, knowing he would have to get back on her good side later, but ignored her for now, curious as to what his mother and the two strangers were talking about.

[Minnie]

^{Beebie felt the need to dip her head in respect, she wasn't sure why, but she had. Maybe just to be polite?
Her white, floral coat was quite odd and rare(she hadn't seen it before), but made her look gorgeous and delicate, but by the way she addressed her, she knew she was very far from being delicate and fragile.
She noted the little white ram and gave him a happy expression, to show she was not mean and was no harm to him. His white and black mane was quite attractive and his fur a little feminine, but she didn't care. He was so cute, just like his sister. (In the back of her mind she figured out they were twins.)
She looked up the cautious Blossom who was obviously being protective of her little ones, "I've been traveling over the mountains in hope to find a herd that would take me in. My old herd... Disowned me for reasons I do not know. If you do belong to a herd though, I could tell everything to your Prime in order to promise him that I am safe and I am not any harm. Just a lost soul trying to find home."}

[Toadfoal]

"Now you've got it!" MilkyWay bleated approvingly. She looked back down at the water, which rippled smoothly as it moved downstream. She saw herself staring back, but it was hard to see the features, just a black patch with white stars. How depressing, there's more truth to previous assumptions than I'd thought. She chuckled quietly, reminded of her sister. She hadn't seen Stargazer for a while, which wasn't terribly unusual, but she would have liked to at least know if her kid had been born yet. Perhaps they didn't get along that well all the time, but maybe their kids could be different. Riall might enjoy having a cousin to play with.
She broke the gaze of her mirror image and glanced at Riall, whose innocense seemed shapened by floppy ears and big eyes... It made her smile brighten. "I think I'd like to teach you how to read the stars. You'd make a fine story teller Riall."

[Minnie]

<sup>Riall bleated back excitedly and proudly as her mother cheered for her. It made her day that her mother was happy for her and loved her so much. It just made her young little heart flutter.
She noticed her mother looking in the stream so she did too. She looked from herself to her mom. They looked so alike, but yet so different. White dots speckled her maroon fur, and they hooves were white, but there was not a trace of black on her.
She compared their ears, floppy and perky, and their eyes white and blue. She felt connected to her mom, but not quite.. She couldn't tell.. Then she spoke, as if on key.
Riall's eyes grew wide, "Oh, I would love to read stars! Wait," she paused, "What are stars Momma?"

[the connection i'm referring to is the one we talked about toad. ^^]</sup>

[Tammanae]

Closing in on the talking females, Dew stood next to Blossom, her discomfort clear as she sat down to catch her breath. She listened to the colorful stranger speak, and she snorted. "You are lucky to have met up with Blossom then. The girl has quite the influence on the Prime," she said with a malicious grin, her tail flicking slightly as she looked them both up and down, ignoring the look on Blossom's face. "So do you lost souls have a name?" she asked, a lazy drawl on her tone as she seemed to stifle a yawn.

"Name?" Ander repeated, staring up at them, his tail wagging slightly, his expression showing innocent curiosity that contrasted quite sharply with Dew's arrogant one. His dark green hoof took a step forward as he sniffed in their direction, his head cocked to the side as he turned to look from one stranger to the other.

[Minnie]

^{Beebie glanced over at Doe, having just gone through this, she couldn't help but make a smile and a little laugh passed through her lips.
"Why yes, I do have a name," She said, keeping a straight face, "You can call me Beebie. I come from a herd over the BearClaw Mountains that live in the coniferous forest near the Frost Mountains."
She averted her gaze from Doe to Blossom, "Since you have connections to the Prime," She smiled, "May I speak to him now? Or is he busy?"}

[Tammanae]

"You may call me Doe," the spotted doe said calmly, unaffected by the tone of voice the arrogant one had just taken. She assumed that the pregnancy must be affecting her judgment some, as it wouldn't have been the first time she would have seen a doe acting strangely due to hormones. Certainly not one with arrogance taking over, but she assumed this was normal with how chatty these does seemed to be. Her bobtail giving a small flick, she turned her eyes to look at the young stag who was looking up so curiously at her. A small smile escaped her as well, her own maternal instinct still strong, not something unusual as her body was still not over the fact that she had no child, milk still being produced in her system.

"Doe? What kind of a name is that? You must have been quite the peasant in your old herd," came the mocking voice of Dew, her mane bristling as she shook from laughter. "Why... that's not even a name. That's the shadow of what you are."

"That's enough out of you," Blossom barked, throwing a disgusted look at Dew, who simply scowled at her and hmphed, getting up and heading away, her head held high in disapproval. A sigh escaped the white doe, and she shook her head before turning back to the strangers, then gave the spotted on a strange look. "Excuse her, she's not really all that bad," she said, wondering how far she was stretching the truth with those words, particularly 'that'. As Beebie spoke her ears flushed with embarrassment. "I don't really have any connections to Devi... I was just a doe in his harem last Siv. Dew likes to stretch things further than needed," she explained, her her ears flattened.

Noticing her two kids looking up at her curiously, she sighed again and cleared her throat, trying to recollect her thoughts. "I am sure that I can lead you to him however. At this time of day, he is probably at his watch hill. Just follow me and stay close, no one should bother you while you stay with me... I hope," she muttered, then turned around and led the way, hoping Devi wouldn't mind her taking two strangers to the heart of the territory, but unable to deny them a place to stay herself.

[Minnie]

^{Before Dew had left she gave her a sneer of disgust. She should have never done that to Doe. Who knows what her past was like, you could be hitting a very, very soft spot in her heart. When she left though, her attention and thoughts completely left her, knowing she shouldn't waste her time on a argument that wasn't even hers to deal with.
Even though Dew had said Blossom had close connections with the Prime, she denied quickly, so she wondered how close they were, not that it mattered.
"That would be wonderful if you could," Beebie nodded, and didn't disagree with staying close, she was in territory that wasn't hers after all.}

[Tammanae]

"She spoke the truth, no need for an apology," Doe said, her face as blank as it had been for the entire conversation, no trace of emotion in her eyes as she followed after the white doe. Despite this semblance however, in her mind she was curious about this female that led them deeper into her herd's territory. She seemed to be of stronger character than she showed, and despite having denied having connections with the Prime, her embarrassment had shown more denial than truth. She wondered if this was modesty on the doe's part, but knowing it was not her place to judge she remained quiet, her eyes on the path ahead. Beebie seemed to be a lot more anxious about meeting the Prime than she was, or at least, she showed some sense of worry in her body language.

Doe couldn't help but smile. Why would she be feeling this way? The does in the herd were obviously content, happy with their place. If anything, this gave Doe a sense of security she had not felt in a while. Hope had finally flickered inside the bobtailed female, and her eyes almost seemed to shine for a second at the thought of a sense of freedom in the herd.

Blossom looked back at the short tailed newcomer and she wondered about her. She seemed to have genuinely not be troubled by Dew's reaction. She smiled back at her, wondering if Dew would meet her match once more in an outsider. She quickly disregarded this however, as the one called Doe didn't really seem like the type to talk back to her arrogant friend. Leading them on, she walked for quite a bit, her children in front of her sometimes, running and tagging each other, yelps and bleats of joy escaping them, until finally, the proud crimson horns of the black ram were visible shining above the hill.

"Papa!" came the united voice of the twins before they both rushed in unison towards the stag, eyes shining and tails wagging happily as they approached him.

[kamaliah]

Devi looked up from his snack at the sound of two little voices calling out to him. He liked being called 'papa' just as much as he liked the title of Prime. The herd were his family, but these were his kin. He was just glad we did not have to choose.
The ram pressed his senses towards the calls, quickly picking out the twins as they raced towards him. His tail gave an involuntary wag at the sight of them and his face broke out in a grin.
"Ander! Sihir! What are you two up to?" He called, suddenly thinking Blossom must be nearby as well. He spotted her tagging behind them with two strange does. He suddenly frowned. Strangers where not usually allowed within his territory unless invited by himself. He figured Blossom must have deemed them safe to bring in and he trusted her judgement, but with his kids around, it still worried him.
He stood stock still on the hill, waiting for them to approach. An emotionless expression fixed on the newcomers.

"Da! Da!" Little Olympia hopped and skipped playfully around her mother. She took little leaps, butting her tiny horns against Endie's belly, trying her hardest to get her attention. She'd taken quite a liking to her father and she was constantly wanting to go play with the ram. She couldn't understand how her mother could spend so much time doing nothing at all with no one around.
"Da!" She bleated, demanding a reply as she pushed herself against the doe's cheek, trying to get her to stop eating and ignoring her.

"Not now, Oli" Endie said sternly. "I don't want to bother him. If he comes to see you today, you can play, but for now, hush."
She hated the idea of asking the ram for anything, but she also hated seeing her daughter so bored and with no one to play with. She watched as her kid flopped into the grass, pouting sourly. It tugged at her heart. Sighing deeply, very much disliking the idea of going in search of social contact, she nuzzled the annoyed brown lump in the grass.
"How about we go for a walk through the herd. If you see any friends, you can ask them to play, okay?"

[Tammanae]

As Blossom approached Devi, she noticed his face had changed from happiness at seeing the twins to a rare expression on him, one she had never seen before. She couldn't read what was going on through his mind, and somehow, she knew this was not the best of signs. Turning around, she faced the two does that accompanied her and she waved her tail for them to stop. "Devi doesn't seem to be particularly happy at the moment, so you two wait here while I talk to him. He may not be in agreement with strangers being so deep in his territory," she said, a small hint of apology on her voice.

Not waiting for an answer, she continued up towards the stag, no hint of fear or submission in her, as she knew that would simply make him grow irritable, but careful to not show an air of arrogance or fight, as she didn't want to pick an argument with him either. "Hello Devi..." she said shyly, despite herself. She turned to look at what he was directing his gaze at, and realized it was still on the two does she had left behind. "Their names are Beebie and Doe... and they have nowhere to go. They said they would be willing to explain themselves, and I couldn't just send them away. Besides, the kids liked them, especially Sihir.

At the sound of her name, Sihir reared playfully, all annoyance with her brother gone by now, the sight of the powerful stag whom she merely saw as one of the funnest play mates in the herd making her giddy, as he always did. "Like!" she agreed, saying it too loudly and falling as she surprised herself with the force of her voice, landing on her rear. A scowl appeared on her face, and she quickly got up, trying to recover her dignity some. As she did so, she noticed her brother chuckling, his eyes glinting as she got up. "No!" she yelped, referring to how he shouldn't laugh at her, and proceeded to attacking him while their parents discussed whatever they were discussing.

"Wooooooooo," came the usual cry of Sam when he was running wild around the clearing, bumping into others and just being a nuisance. Paws thudding heavily on the ground, making grass come out in clumps in his usual brisk manner, he made his amusement clear, much to the annoyance of the others. A grin on his face, he stopped suddenly by the river, in need to catch his breath and take a drink of water. "Sam... you aren't as young as you used to be," he said in an obvious voice, lapping water from the stream. Looking up once he had his fill, he noticed Endie and his daughter, Oli, close by, and his grin showed up once more.

"Oli! Endie! How are you two?" he boomed, prancing towards them happily, his head high in the air. Even though he did not have a preference between his does and his kids, he was always happy to see his little girl. Like Jay, she had boundless energy, something that made him happy, as he liked to see his kids grow healthy, and boundless energy was always good for that.

[Toadfoal]

"What are stars?" MilkyWay had to think for a moment about the best way to describe the dots that speckled the sky at night. Why not just describe them as Goennecs knew them? "Stars are what you see in the night sky. They are the spirits of those past, goennecs, rabbits, wolves, bears, deer, turtles, quail, and all the other animals. Those who can read the stars can see their shapes in the sky, and know their stories." She explained, "You've seen stars plenty of times." MilkyWay winked and turned to clean a spot on her back.

[Minnie]

<sup>When she saw how happy the little twins were with their father, she couldn't help but smile. They both had a great relationship with their father and their love for him was ever going and contagious. She remembered that Blossom had said she didn't have many connections with the Prime, but she was obviously in denial with herself.
Beebie saw the same expression Blossom saw and saw every reason to stay behind with Doe. She glanced over at the timid ewe, wondering what her thoughts were about this whole thing.

Riall wagged her tail. She would love to see pictures in the skies, tell stories about lost souls and their adventures they had taken to get their spot in the sky, "Ooo! Mommy! I would love, too! Please please please please tell me! I want to know all about it!"
Then her mom's coat brought her attention to it, "Are those stars?" She stared at it with interest, sort of getting lost in them. Her eyes darted all over, finding pictures and such.</sup>