Welcome to Gaia! ::

Never will be going up for grabs in this contest. {: If you're interested in claiming her, please be aware that she comes with the baggage of a somewhat snarky, pain-in-the-a**, mouthy brother.

If you're cool with that, read on!

This is a contest all about mood. I'm not giving any length requirement, but I will say that you cannot write a poem for this contest -- because I want you to tell a story about Never in a film noir style. This means dark, first-person, and it should hold an air of mystery to it. I don't care if the story is an actual mystery, or if it just describes a scene in Never's life, but it must have the right film noir feel to it.

Some suggestions to get you started might be a mystery, a relationship, a passing encounter with a stranger, a fight, drinking, a storm, or anything else you can come up with.

Since this is an open and difficult theme, I'll be leaving this open for one month to give people lots of time to take a shot at this femme fatale edited doe. The contest will end August 31 at 12:01 AM EST.

spacerSome time deep into a clear, cool night, with barely a sliver of moon weakly dripping down a diluted supplement to the meager starlight, a strange sound awoke me. I lifted my head through the clinging, coddling fog of sleep, gazing about with a limp, dry curiosity and lazily tilting my ears for the source of my dreams' disturbance. The sound started again - something like a long, low moan - and I turned towards it.
spacerLimping through the underbrush was a wounded buck. From the way he was reeling and staggering, I thought that at least one of his legs was in a bad way, and he had lost a lot of blood. As I began so move out from my sleeping place, a relatively well-hidden dry patch that I had worked hard to build a sort of cover over, he teetered over to one side, leaned back the other way, overcompensated and fell over into the mire with a sad flop.
spacerNow, having led a life of relative seclusion to this point, I really didn't want to do a damned thing about this wounded buck, mere lengths from my den or not. However, given the state he was in, it was likely I'd have to move him sooner or later - now when he was still alive, or later when he was dead.
spacerI decided I'd rather not have to roll a corpse around in the muck the next morning. I stepped lightly as I walked towards him, and, after making sure he wouldn't resist - he was out cold before I got to him, so that saved me the trouble - I dipped my head under his submerged belly, with the back of my horns against his shoulder, and lifted him a little so I could breathe. I dragged him back to my den.


spacerThe next morning, I awoke to the sound of the buck trying desperately to stand up from where he was lying on his side. As I watched, he scraped his hooves against the ground, trying to gain purchase and turn over, but unable to use his hind leg that was in contact with the ground. I stood quietly and inched closer to him, and whispered,
spacer"It's no use to try and escape."
spacerMy words obviously put a fright into him, as he struck out wildly with his hooves and horns, attacking his unseen foe. He then tilted his head back to see me, peering out at him from under my black bangs with a sly grin, safely out of reach. He was panting and heaving, either from the pain, his furious exertions, my scare, or a combination of the three.
spacer"Who the hell are you, lady," he wheezed.
spacerI skirted around him, and skirted around his question. "You'll not be getting anywhere on that leg," I pointed out, adding "And you wouldn't get away from me even if it were whole. Not with what you've done," I said, meaning his transgression of my territory.
spacerHis eyes widened as he sputtered out a panicked response. "What do you- how much do you know about what I-" he stammered, then shut his mouth with an audible pok.
spacerObviously hiding a dark secret.
spacerI grinned in that menacing way I have, baring too many teeth like it was an accident. I was looking forward to teasing him over the next month or so while his leg healed (I was surprised I didn't need wound him myself this time) - I'd keep making vague statements that he could construe as knowlege of his past, and bring him just enough food to keep by (and not get all emaciated - didn't need to pity him, unless he proved he deserved it). And, eventually, he'd tell me everything about himself, since he thought I already knew it.
spacerThen, after the confession would come the judgement. If he made it through, he'd be let loose into the world again, no harm done but a little scare. If he didn't, I'd add him to the pile of dead bucks in the deep, murky pool not too far away.
spacerAnd, they don't often make it past the judgement.

spacerAlmost... Never. Ha, ha, ha.


spacerI love this game.

“You don’t understand,” Silverwind whispered. His hooves hit the ground choppily, stopping and moving in time with me. I admit that I stopped more than I had to and wound a little more than was necessary, but still. Excuses, excuses… I didn’t have time for this. I leaped over a small, sloshing brook, and that tied him up long enough for me to get a word in.

I had encountered the silver buck shortly after I had left.

“What are you doing here?” he had asked softly. It held no malice, not like the typical territory-guarding Kimeti. Comfort. I had stood silently, my head tilted. He repeated himself, but as my mouth opened and closed wordlessly, he saw that I had no words for him at all. With a laugh, he spoke again. “Are you lost?”

A thousand different responses leapt to the edge of my lips, most along the lines of, ‘Do I look that stupid?’ The one that found its way out was quite unlike me. “Are you for real?” I answered incredulously, more in suspicious wonderment than anything else.

I had expected - hoped, even - that he would snort and walk away. But that wasn’t the case, and when he laughed, I felt myself give up. I could see him as the type of buck I could give myself up to. Safe. Like his voice, comforting.

When I saw him, as much as I despise admitting anything so… weak… it felt like I had found my other half. Trust me, I’m just as disgusted to admit this as you are to hear it. But even still, it wasn’t quite like that. It felt like the stars had shifted, like the moon had moved from its place in the sky just to shine upon his fur. Like maybe the swamp had stirred in her careful dormancy to tell me something - the hair on my back had prickled.

It sounds so pitiful, doesn’t it? Like I fell in love with some puck I just met? Love at first sight? What a load of bullshit. No, it didn’t… feel like I was falling in love. I’m not going to deny that his eyes made my breath catch, the way he walked had me reconsider my solitude, and maybe the low purr of his voice brought a heat to me that permeated my being; inside and out. But… it didn’t make my heart feel sickly-sweet, like lovesick does had gushed to me when I would listen, didn’t make me feel like giving up.

It didn’t make me forgot that doe.

“Look here, Windy,” I hissed. “I have enough things on my back without you there too.” He started talking again, but I cut him off. “I’m trying to solve a murder here. Leave me the hell alone.” There was a deeper part of me, a part that hadn’t been scarred by this wild goose chase, that reminded me that it hurt to say that to him. Just him. But I shook that from my mind. I had no time for silly things like Silverwind and his incessant discouragement.

‘Forget this,’ he would say. ‘That dead fawn had nothing to do with you, Never. It’s nature. It happens.’ A bitter taste surfaced on my tongue, making me strong. That wasn’t true. Kimeti didn’t die like that. Silverwind was a fool, and it was better if I shook him. I lifted my head indignantly, staring into the darkness.

This time he stood his ground, pausing in a small circle of moon that had managed to breach the canopy. His fur - that so very familiar fluorescence that managed to catch my eye whenever I saw him… I couldn‘t help thinking that he looked like an angel, shining against the inky blackness of that night. --No, stop that. I didn’t have time for anything like that.

I turned, and without looking, I walked away from Silverwind. And for once, I did not hear him follow. For once, I was unsure of whether I had done the right thing.

My name is Never, and you can spare me the jokes. I’ve heard every one. My brother, Ever, never let that rest. But that isn’t the point. I had left Ever behind until I could complete… whatever I was trying to do.

Was it to find out who the doe was? Was it to find who - or what - killed her? Was it even to avenger her?

Hell if I know.

Weeks ago I had come across a young doe. She had lain on her side at the bank of a crystal-clear pond, and dammit, I remember everything about her like it had been yesterday. I grew up in a part of Matope that for one’s best interest, one didn’t care to remain in if sun didn’t shine. Back then, my future seemed bleak, limited to hiding interminably from whatever dangers lurked within the mangroves. And yet… until that day at the pond, I, Never, had never, ever seen anything like the doe.

The doe’s single, wide, innocent eye stared up at me blankly. They were a light green like the light that filtered through the treetops on the hottest of days, haloing the fringes of the sighing trees. Her fur, still bright and lovely, was the color of the ash trees in that clearing I had shared with my brother for so long. (Heaven forbid that my time with him has become the lesser of any evils.)

But the most disturbing part was what she lacked. I could tell she was beautiful in life, that having been only hours before. Hours before, she had lacked nothing. But now her body was twisted. Her legs jutted out at unnatural angles, looking like they were ready to pop out of her skin. But one of her eyes was missing. I thought I would be sick; some huge animal had found the poor thing and ripped her the hell apart. But instead I stopped. I looked.

And in my morbid curiosity, I saw.

There was hoof marks on her face. And then I wasn’t disgusted anymore. I was angry. I wanted revenge. It wasn’t some nameless beast that had mutilated her, it was a Kimeti.

And that was disgusting. I felt my blood boil, felt the acidic rising of bile, punched my hooves into the ground to remind myself to stand my ground. It was something that was impossible to forget, impossible to pretend that I had never seen. Hell, if I had been the pretty doe here shortly before, that could have been me sprawled out on the ground.

I could be dead.

And then I knew: That’s what any other Kimeti had to fear. What if it was me? That kind of fear - it was like poison spreading through my body, and I knew that I had to find the cure.

Weeks ago, I had left everything behind: my home, my brother… my entire life… to find her killer. Or, that’s what I had hoped.

What I had found instead was more death. More misery. A string of murders more brutal than the last. All of them shared the same traits: abhorrent disfigurement of the limbs and a missing eye. The killer, a Kimeti, was elusive. He did not, however, appear to have any preferences in victims. No relation in the ages of their poor prey, the color of the fur, their genders, their locations.

He just struck wherever he damn well pleased.

It was hard seeing Kimeti after Kimeti dead, sprawled on the ground. The only light in the last few weeks was, and here I go again, Silverwind. It’s so… painful… to admit something like that. As I traveled, the forest grew darker, but there always seemed to be a spare moonbeam to light up his pelt, to bring a shine to his eyes, a captivating spark to his voice. It made me hate myself for knowing that him being targeted would kill me. I had a feeling the killer knew I was following him. He had been looping through the forest in a casual manner, as if he was taunting me. It was only a matter of time, I assumed grimly, before he turned around and went after me. But moreso Silverwind.

Especially since Silverwind wanted something else. There was obvious chemistry between us. Many a quiet night, we had sat silently in makeshift shelters: a hollow in a tree, a bush, an abandoned burrow, and laid our heads in the crooks of each other‘s necks. It was one of the purest things I could remember.

But Windy wanted me to stop looking for this killer. It was too dangerous, he said. That was true. It was too traumatizing. Oh, Matope, was that true… Never in my right mind would I go so far out of my way to find some wretched, unsuspecting victims’ killer. And… He loved me. I didn’t know whether this was true. I tried not to think about it, because it made me feel like… like…

It made me feel.

And that just distracted me from what I had to do.

I awoke to the sound of songbird screeching above the tree I had rested under for the night. It was dark, a normal thing for the part of Matope the killer had lead me to. It was raining, the raindrops pattering softly through the canopy.

I had never seen rain to be a bad thing. Not a curse, not a bad omen. Rain had always been somewhat of a comfort to me: the constant thundering of the droplets hitting the ground, so out of synch that there was a constant harmony, a perpetual drumming. And it seemed to wash away what I was leaving behind. My old life. The first doe. The other nine victims, and their sightless gazes staring up at me, as if to say, Why didn’t you come sooner? You could have saved me.

It was strange to hoist myself up to stand with Silverwind nudging me softly, encouraging me to maybe lay back down, to lie with him a little longer.

And damn, how I wanted to do that. But I never indulged myself.

Today I wanted to stay where I was. I wanted to lie around, but it was too late to be with Windy. I had already pushed him away.

I couldn’t smell anything but rain. It was nice, actually. Soaked, I had tried to figure out which way I had to go to get away from where I had come. I was washing away everything now - even the last thing I had clung to. I didn’t dare even think of his name because I feared I would turn tail and run back to him…

Silverwind. I realized my mistake all too late.

Silverwind…

…Silverwind!

I could feel my heart stir, something inside of me move. It was even a little unpleasant, and I felt like I had to go back. I turned on my tail to return - to give up.

To surrender. There was something stronger telling me that it was what I had to do.

The rain cleared as if I was heading to salvation, a place without troubles, and I hoped that my taking it as a good sign was right.

In my head, I could imagine (or hope, at least) returning the brook where I had left him, and time stopping for the second time we met. Like strangers all over again. We would run to each other, wind our necks together, and never let go. Never. It hurt my heart, a sickly sweet anticipation, but it was more apprehensive than it was painful.

I would never have seen either one of them if I hadn’t been heading back to Silverwind, but there they were, standing on the edge of a riverbed. One was unfamiliar, a stunning doe with a blonde coat, perched delicately next to a buck - one that I would know anywhere.

My chest tightened. Silverwind with this… this doe? Without thinking, I ducked behind the nearest oak tree, my heart shuddering with every passing moment. He had already given up on me?

I could make out what they were saying, and that familiar morbid curiosity came back to me. I had to listen. I had to know what made her better.

“Have you ever heard the fairytale about the legendary Kimeti?” Silverwind asked, and his voice send a shiver down my spine. Beautiful. The doe nodded, a gorgeous buttoned smile bubbling onto her face. She was radiant.

“Of course,” she answered, her voice a creamy rasp. Seductive. “Who hasn’t? It’s the tale every Kimeti dreams to be a part of someday.” She paused, nudging him playfully. “But what a weird thing to say on a first date. Do you say that to every girl you meet? No ‘Let‘s go back to my place,’ no ‘Hey, baby, wanna split a Mirebeat-Walks-Between?’” Clever. She was so clever. “That‘s a new one.”

He laughed, and I felt bitterness welling up within me. But why? I had been the one to let go of him. “Do you know what they say?” He continued on, as if he was ignoring her, something I found strange since he had never been one to say no to banter. “About sacred fireflies glowing in the eyes of the Legendaries?”

She tilted her head. “Hey?” I was happy to see she was just as confused as I was. “No, really. Why don’t we go somewhere, okay?” He didn’t react. A frown tugged at the corners of her lips. “Listen, I’m not here to talk about foal stories.”

Silverwind turned, look at her, and I could feel the burning suspicion that she shared with me at that moment. “The fireflies have been sleeping in the eyes of its children,” he said, and I recognized it from a story I had heard from a traveling bard so long ago.

A tale of Legendary Kimeti.

“Okay,” she hissed. “I’m done.”

His face softened as she walked toward me, and I ducked back farther. Had he seen me? “Wait,” he called gently. Hooves. They stopped. A shift. She turned? She stopped? She listened?

Suddenly I wanted to scream. I wanted to jump out, tell her to keep walking, to start running and don’t look back. But I had lost the ability to talk, to walk, to scream. I could hear, see, feel what was unfolding.

Fireflies.

Fireflies sleep in the eyes of the Legendaries.

Oh Matope.

“Have you come to your senses, then, Silver?” she purred.

I didn’t have to see to imagine the smile spreading over his face. A gentle one, all sugar and sweetness. The one he showed me when he was happy, when I lingered on the trail with him for just a moment. “I’m afraid I have,” he answered, and I heard a sickening noise.

My legs shook, and the rest of my body trembled along with it. Eyes wide open, I mouthed nothings to the swamp in hopes that I could do something - anything. It seemed to answer my prayers, and I was able to stumble out from my hiding place.

Silverwind.

Silverwind…

He raised his head, looked at me. His blue eyes that had once been so comforting to me, so safe and angelic, bore into me eerily. The weight of his crimes pushed me forward, told me to take that one step. “Never?” he blurted, sad surprise alighting his face. I noted a jagged stick at his hooves, as if he were positioning it for something.

A tear fell from my face. I looked at the ground, where the broken body of the blonde doe lay, and I didn’t even have to see her to know that he eye was missing.

Like the time I had first met him, everything stopped. I could feel the swamp waiting, standing still, staying quiet to listen, and a thousand different things were waiting on my tongue for me to say.

“Why?”

He abandoned the stick for a moment, took a step toward me. Instinctively, I flinched; I brought myself away from the monster. “Fireflies sleep in the eyes of the Legendaries,” he told me quietly, stepping back and returning his attention to the branch.

“It’s just a story,” I told him shakily. My voice, although it quivered, remained calmer than what I felt like. “Silverwind… Windy… It’s not real. What you’re doing - it’s--”

Windy moved the stick so it stood straight up like a towering oak. I didn’t understand anything. He didn’t look at me. “I want to be a hero, Never,” he whispered. “My whole life has been all wrong. I know I’m destined for great things. To be respected, to be loved.”

A raindrop hit my nose. The storm had moved this way. “I loved you,” I said, my voice cracking.

He ignored me, and the rain started its haunting rhythm. “To be revered. Legendaries - I met one once. An old man. He blessed a doe right in front of my eyes, and all the Kimeti around could feel the magic stirring in him, the light.” He turned his gaze to me. “The fireflies.”

I closed my eyes. “This is not what a Legendary Kimeti is, Silverwind,” I managed. “You’re… you’re wrong.”

Silverwind looked at me with pity. “You don’t understand, Never,” he said simply, turning back to the stick. “The fireflies stir in the eyes of great ones. In my eyes. You’re the one who’s wrong. I am not. I am never wrong.” He faced the branch with purpose. “Never.”

And then he lurched forward, becoming one with his victims.

Silverwind…

In the clearing, Kimeti stirred. Ever beside me, looking excited despite his rotten disposition, I rose slowly. We had all gathered for what we hoped would be something spectacular - the coming of a nomadic Legendary Kimeti.

Silentbrush sidled up to me, her eyes sparkling. “Never,” she gushed, “do you think that I’ll be chosen?” I nodded wordlessly, offering her a warm smile. The smell of rain dominated my senses. A storm had raged the night before, like it was washing away everything else in preparation for… I don’t know. Something.

A stir in the brush. Movement. And then I saw her, standing tall with majestic steps and glowing eyes. Her poise - that of one who was truly a personification of Matope. A figure in her image, of her grandeur. Her white fire blew softly behind her, and the burning in her gaze swept over each Kimeti that looked silently upon her.

I picked Silentbrush out of the crowd, praying that the amazing Kimeti be drawn to her. Her slender head swiveled to look straight at me, and in her eyes I could see the glow that he had spoke of so long ago. I did seem to be fireflies sleeping within her. But within the gaze she held with me, I could feel everything that I needed to: comfort. Happiness. Regret.

Retribution.

Forgiveness.

She turned her head away, breaking the knowing link we shared. As if especially for me, she made her way soundlessly to Silentbrush. The young doe dropped to the ground in reverence, and I watched as quietly as the other Kimeti. “Are you keen to receive my blessing, my dear?” she asked, her voice like the softest breeze through the mangroves. Silentbrush nodded numbly, and with one deft movement, the Legendary Kimeti ducked her head, nuzzling the doe’s face gently.

And then she turned, moved. Left. She was gone as silently as she had come.

The clouds seemed to clear as if there was nothing left to wash away, and I turned my face to the skies solemnly.

And somewhere, the winds whispered through the trees, a somber reminder of things past.

Silverwind…

My expert team of fabulous judges [thanks vash and Kat!] helped me chose a winner...the most in spirit with the doe and the most noir C: