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 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 1:39 pm
Atli's ears swiveled to and fro as he kept an eye on his surroundings, his little hooves crunching softly in the snow as he traveled. It was nearing early afternoon, and the little fawn had finally deemed it 'warm' enough to venture from his hiding place and out into the frigid white world in which he had come into existence. Truly, he knew nothing else, and though he was used to the cold, he still refused to leave his hiding place during early morning, when the chill seemed especially biting. The sun was out now, and where the trees did not block out the light, the snow glistened under the sun, as pristine as it always seemed to be.
Atli was not out to see the sights of the forest, however. He'd spent too many days doing such things; today, he felt, would be a day to have fun. He sped up a bit, seeing light ahead, a clearing. When he reached the treeline, the sight that met his eyes made him huff a soft laugh of delight, for not only was the area clear of trees, but a great frozen pond lay in the middle, and he hurried down the slope to investigate. He slid half of the way before he was back on his hooves, and it was only a matter of seconds before he was at the water's edge.
It was not the first time he had seen frozen water, but the little stream he visited was only ever partially frozen, and he could easily break up the ice to get a drink. Curiosity won over caution as he reached out with a forehoof to see if it was the same with the pond.(this is open to any who please to join, including adults)
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:32 pm
 Still within the dense woods, was Ixton who'd been bounding about in the snow, leaping into particularly large mounds of the fluffy stuff to make it spray everywhere! He quite enjoyed that, and it earned a ripple of giggles from the tiny fawn. He also took to following little prints in the white canvas coating the ground, that gave away hiding spots of other critters. One that he came across was a not too pleased badger in its den. When peeking his head in, Ixton was met with a frenzy of snorting, growling, and snarling, claws swatting towards him, causing the youngster to squeak and quickly back up in alarm. Blinking incredulously at the bemused creature, Ixton gave a small cant of his head before the irritated neighbor burrowed back into the hole beneath an old tree's roots.
Well.. that'd been fun. But now it was time to explore and scavange! He'd found that even though winter was a time of scarce resources, it also became a fun game to try and see what was left behind in the frost. There was mostly bark... but even some berries still remained! They were small, and a bit dense, but delicious all the same. He was able to find a bush that still had some further inside of its body, where his little head could wiggle in and snap off a branch successfully. With it between his teeth, he went prancing on, head held high with pride with prize in tow!
This was a common ritual for him... he could snack on one of these things when he found a place to settle! He headed towards the clearing that he knew wasn't too far off, tail flickering merrily behind him, ears flipping straight up as he caught sight of another figure already visiting the icy pond. Shocked, he stared for a moment, inspecting from afar, before deeming that the other was indeed one his own age! Delighted, his tail gave a more firm flutter, before he trotted on over, legs lifting high. He got right beside, Atli and smiled wide at him... as best he could with a twig between his lips, and made a cute little sound in greeting.
{please bold Ixton's name, or quote me if you're interacting with him~ }
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 7:06 pm
The other fawn's approach went completely unnoticed by Atli as he poked and prodded at the surface of the pond with one hoof, attention wholly consumed by the task. It was the subtle crunch of the other's tiny feet and his 'hello' that finally caught his attention, though, and he gave a startled bleat, nearly falling against the ice as Ixton stopped right next to him. He managed to stagger to the side instead, his brilliant blue eyes glaring immediately at the newcomer, embarrassed at having been taken by surprise. Atli merely hoped that the other fawn wouldn't laugh at him.
"Lookit you, tryin' to sneak up on me. Just the right color for it too." he snorted softly, puffing his chest a bit and drawing nearer to Ixton again. It was true, what with the other fawn's near-snow-white fur. Perfect for sneaking around in the wintery world around them. "Well, it was a nice try, but you'll have to try plenty harder to catch me by surprise." He added, and his own black tail gave a little flick. He had a right mind to give the white fawn a good headbutt for his troubles, but the other fawn's smile told him that he probably hadn't meant to do it on purpose, which was a darned good thing.
"My name's Atli. Where'd ya get that?" he asked, eyeing the sprig that Ixton had taken from some berry bush. It looked tasty, tastier than any of the stuff Atli ever found to eat. Usually he'd nibble at the sparse grasses growing near the spring, or dig down through shallower patches of snow to find whatever was hidden beneath.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 8:03 pm
The surprise from the other buck caused Ixton to get surprised himself, jumping a little from the small bleat that was given from his fellow fawn. Eyes widened, dot brows lifted up to the sky, he lowered his neck to quickly place down his precious treat, "Oh! Are you alright?" he asked with worry laced in his tone, stepping forward to sniff at the other youngster for scent collection. And his assumption was confirmed! He definitely did not know this young stag!
He blinked curiously with the retort shot back at him, ears wavering slowly, before a giggle bubbled up, "Oh I didn't mean to. But I guess I am cut out for it, huh?" he grinned, and gave a little turn to show off his pretty pale coat, tail flickering in a spiral before pointing straight up for show. Beaming at the other buck, for his reaction, it was then that he noticed those vivid glowing eyes. His own gold ones widened once more, and he stepped closer to Atli... in fact quite close, to peer into those sapphire gems.
"whoa..." he whispered in awe, "Your eyes are so cool.." he murmured... almost ignoring the question asked completely. That is until he registered it'd even been asked. Blinking away his entranced state, he was beaming once more, "I'm Ixton! It's nice to meet you, Atli!" he gave a playful nose lick, tail fluttering with his brimming excitement. With the attention directed to his find, he only grinned more, "Oh this? Found it in one of those dark bushes! Just gotta put your head in far enough to find them, since most are already picked clean on the outside." lifting up the twig with his lips, he held it out to the other youth in offering for a bite.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 11:43 pm
 Truth be told, fiery as he was, Rocinante wasn't too fond of the cold. The usually hyperactive yearling took to huddling away more and more often when the snow fell, wanting to feel the earth beneath his hooves, not this frost! ...But his sulking never did last long. Forced out of hiding, too easily bored, Rocín decided to make the most of the weather after all, making a game of avoiding the snow by prancing and hopping and trying to stay in the air as long as possible.
To others, his twisting and wiggling form probably looked more like a deer swarmed by bees, but Rocín continued his bounding, great puffs of breath trailing after from his wild laughter. He soon forgot his distaste of the snow, the whole reason he started this dance in the first place, jumping into snowdrifts not unlike a fawn passing through had earlier--and it was only then, noticing the hoofprints, that Rocín stopped his play.
Now there was an idea! Excited by the thought of finding another deer to play with, Rocín began following the marks, his larger hooves overlapping the smaller prints completely. Soon enough, after some meandering, the trail lead him true. A clearing with two fawns, Rocín's golden eyes gleamed as he spotted Ixton offering Atli berries. Well, don't mind if he had himself a piece of that, too!
Dropping in from seemingly nowhere, his longer legs carrying him swiftly over, he had no qualms interrupting whatever conversation the two might have been having with his majestic presence. "Save those for me, won't you?" Rocín laughed, peering down at the two expectantly. A big, cool yearling like him? They would surely surrender the berries, no problem!
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:19 pm
 The gray-ish coated fawn raced through the Wood, jumping over fallen logs and veering around trees that just appeared out of nowhere (or seemed to). She had begun to learn that she loved the snow! It was so much fun to race around and play in. Though the cold aspect she could definitely do without.
Perhaps it was the sound of all the sudden activity that drew the young doe towards the slowly growing gathering. Though she was curious, Willow hung back by the trees, watching with ears perked up and tail erect. She did not recognize two of the three, however one was familiar. Maybe. The fawn couldn't be too sure without getting closer. And she was going to, even taking a step forward...
And a clump of snow from the branches above splattered across her head. A surprised bleat escaped her followed by a giggle... and Willow pranced towards the young bucks cheerfully.
"Hallo! What are you all doing? May I join?" She asked all three bucks, nose twitching as she sniffed delicately towards them. "Unless this is a... boys only grouping or something." Willow added with a snorted giggle again. Until she spied the frozen lake. "Woah! The whole thing is frozen?" She asked in awe, unabashedly brushing right between them all to lower her snout and sniff at the frozen waters. "It's pretty cool." Will finally concluded, straightening to regard the others.
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:35 pm
"Sure are. Bet that comes in handy." he wondered aloud, pondering the possibilities. The newcomer was probably a pro at hide-and-go-seek, with fur colored like that. Atli was aware that he himself stuck out like a sore thumb, but it didn't particularly matter, or so he thought. He gave a soft huff as Ixton turned, trying not to look too impressed as the other showed off. It was when the light-colored fawn drew almost uncomfortably close that Atli's ears perked, and he beamed proudly at Ixton's praise.
"Glow like the stars at night, they do. Not much for sneakin', but I've given some good scares." Atli snorted in amusement at the memory of a prak well pulled. He was in the middle of such reminiscing when, all of a sudden, Ixton had licked his nose, and he made a funny face, not accustomed to such greetings. "Ixton. Nice to meet you, too." Atli gave a short sneeze as his new friend explained his methods, head canting to the side as he glanced about. Why hadn't he ever thought of that? He was about to respond when out of nowhere, some big fellow came bounding out of the brush, asking the exact same thing, almost, except much more demanding.
Atli glared up at the yearling and laid his ears back, spinning to face the older buck. "N' why should he? You can find your own, same as he can." the fawn said as he puffed out his chest, not one to let some older deer boss them around, or steal their food. Why, he didn't even have proper antlers yet. Not that Atli himself was better off, but the little nubs on the yearling's head were hardly enough to command any respect. The way the older deer carried himself rubbed Atli in all the wrong ways, too. Probably thought he was all that, didn't he, going around stealing berries from young ones?
Willow's arrival was a surprising distraction. It was all Atli could do not to roll his eyes at her boys-only comment. "'Course it's not, no more than the whole wood isn't." He watched her prance over to the lake's edge, but his attention remained solely on Rocinante, frowning up at him petulantly.
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:48 pm
There was clear envy in the little bucks own eyes as he gazed into Atli's in awe, almost hoping that perhaps some of that radiating glow would somehow rub off onto his own eyes! "I'll bet they look super cool at night." he almost sighed wistfully. How could anyone be afraid of such beauty?! such uniqueness! Such.. awesomeness! Ixton simply could not fathom.
"Oh Atli, how did you get your eyes to be like that? I'd like to have mine that way as well! Do you think it'd look nice on me?" he asked, batting his eyes as if that might help the decision making.. even turning his head this way and that to show the sides of his eyes. Perhaps there was a certain plant that had to be eaten in order to gain such an awesome trait! Ah but such things were put on pause as suddenly a new presence was upon them. An older one, at that! blinking to the newcomer, Ixton gave a sweet little smile, and the usual flicker of his tail, "Hello~!" he called out to the yearling before he made his way over, ears pricking upright with the demand that was given. His mouth opened to reply, but Atli was already on it! Looking at the puffed up little buck made him giggle lightly, and look back and forth between the two males excitedly, "We can share!" he suggested. There... really weren't that many berries to share, but.. he didn't want anyone left out! But surely everyone could have at least two. That'd be ok, right?
His attention veered off as a little female came into the picture, perking up again as he noticed her straight away. Oh! He'd met her once! Offering an inviting smile, though curiously watching as she instead found interest in the frozen pool. "We're going to eat some of these berries, if you'd like." he extended the invite, before looking back to Rocinante with a happy little smile, "What's your name? You look a lot older than us, with those spikes on your head." he giggled, finding the little nubs to be... somewhat amusing.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 8:28 am
Seemingly oblivious to Atli's hostility, or perhaps just ignoring it, Rocinante grinned down at the smaller male. "Sure I could find my own, but why bother with the work when it's already here?" Truth be told, Rocinante was tickled by the fawn's fiery spirit, almost wanting to provoke him further just to see if there was more to him than just chest-puffing, but there was still the possibility of food here! Satisfied that his wiser logic would placate Atli for now, Rocinante laughed and turned his attention onto Ixton, pleased with the pale fawn's much friendlier manner.
"I guess we could share," the mischievous yearling began with a bargaining tone, as though he was the one doing them a favor here, "but you see, I'm bigger, so—" So, he should get the largest share since a growing boy needs to eat, he would have said, logical as always, but the entrance of another fawn stopped him. Oh, Snowy! To immediately offer berries to a newcomer, his kindness was almost sickeningly sweet. There'd be nothing left at this rate! He was almost tempted to reply to the newest fawn that yes, yes this was a boy's only outing, big brother Rocín here was just taking the kids out to teach them some stagly activities, but she was already making herself comfortable.
He stepped back as Willow brushed past, a mix of amused by her boldness and resigned to the fact that he probably wouldn't be getting all the berries like he would wanted. Ah well, he really would be better off finding his own, not that he'd admit that to lightning fawn over there. But not all was lost! Flicking an ear, addressed by Ixton, now it was Rocinante's turn to puff out his chest, although in this case it was with pride. A chance to talk about himself was almost as good as eating!
"Glad you asked!" And boy was he, tail waggling furiously as he began to pronounce his name as if savoring every syllable. "I'm Ro-ci-nan-te~! And of course I'm older, these spikes will be big branches one day, just you wait." He dipped his head, eyes closed as though bowing modestly. No, there was nothing modest about this obnoxious yearling.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 8:36 pm
The previous conversation with Ixton forgotten, Atli scowled as the yearling continued to assert himself. That grin certainly didn't set well with him, and his little ears laid back in a very plain show of his disapproval. What nerve he had, coming around and saying those things. What burned him even worse, though, was that Ixton seemed to be ready to let the intruder walk all over him to get the food. Unthinkable! He wrinkled his nose as 'Ro-ci-nan-te~' introduced himself, and then made to end the sentence the older buck had left unfinished before.
"You're bigger, and fatter, so you don't get any! C'mon Ixton!" he snapped, and immediately he'd leaned down to clamp his teeth on the end of the little branch before whirling around. He was off in an instant, hurtling through the snow and skirting around the edge of the lake, fully expecting his little white friend to follow him. It wasn't even that he wanted the berries for himself, but how dare a yearling, of all things, try to shmooze such a rare find with his size and age as the reason for it.
Atli would show him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:50 pm
The little female giggled at Atli, ears flicking towards him as he spoke. "Well then you won't mind if I hang around?" She asked curiously with a little sweetness added in. What? She could be sweet! And she had maybe-sorta just barged in on their little grouping. But she'd been bored! And his eyes were really pretty. It also dawned on Willow that the third male was a yearling. She just blinked up at him.
Hearing Ixton's reply, Willow looked towards him, tail perking up and wagging. Oh! Oh oh she knew she'd recognized him! "Ixton! Right?" Willow paused, fairly sure she had his name right. Stepping forward delicately, the young doe sniffed at the white fawn. Yes! Yes she knew this scent. And he'd found more berries! She eyed the berries, head canting to the side as an ear flickered back and forth between the others as they spoke. Probably not enough to share with everyone... oh well! Surely there was something else that she could find if the boys wanted to share?
"R-Ross... Roci-nan-te." Willow tried out the name as the yearling introduced himself. "That's a nice name." She said with a cheerfulness about her features. "What's your name?" She asked, turning to look at Atli. "I'm Willow!" She slipped in before stepping back a little as the darker fawn called the yearling 'fat', and then before she knew what was going on, he'd snatched the berries and was darting off.
"Woah! He's pretty swift."
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:36 am
Little Ixton was quite excited to have all these younglings around. He'd met so many in spurts, and alone, that he was beginning to think everyone just stuck to being that way! He even smiled up at the yearling as he complied to sharing, tail flicking merrily with how well this all seemed to be going. Giving a nod in agreement, "I'm Ixton! will leaves and flowers and berries grow from your branches?" he was prepared to bow his neck and go ahead distributing the berries, but Willow caught his attention last minute upon uttering his name, making those pale ears flick up, and head keep upright. Smiling at her, he gave an eager nod, "Yup! That's me~!" he chimed blissfully, followed by a few giggles that spilled afterwards. "It's nice to see you again, Willy!" he too engaged in the sniffing, even giving her a little playful nose bump!
Oh but now things were starting to get heated.. blinking to Atli as he spouted such slander. Eyes widening with surprise, he was further astonished to see his new friend go darting off! Gasping, he didn't think much at that moment, and instantly went rushing after his fellow fawn, "Atli! Wait up!" he called, bounding as fast as his delicate limbs could carry him! He had to leap over some low shrubs to keep up, but managed to get to his friends side, peeking only once with confusion over his shoulder to the other pair. What had happened?
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:08 pm
So Ixton was his name! Less majestic than his own title, but better than Snowy, as Rocín had been prepared to call him. Considering his question, the yearling straightened up, golden eyes flicking upward in a futile attempt to stare at his own tiny spikes. "It would make things easier," he answered wistfully. Why, if he had berries growing from his own antlers, there'd be no need to go around taking from fawns. His reputation would soar! Smiling, having grown rather fond of Ixton's amiable nature, Rocín didn't even mind waiting for the berries as Ixton and the other fawn had their own little reunion. Willow wasn't too bad herself, complimenting his name! A surefire way to get on Rocinante's good side, he lifted his head proudly, ready for more mock-modesty--but the moment didn't last long as the feistier fawn spoke up, immediately bringing him down with that outburst.
Rocín's eyes widened in surprise, ears and tail pricking on high alert, ready for fight or flight... and it turned out flight was the response here, as Atli nabbed the berries and made a break for it. "This isn't fat, it's fluff!" He cried indignantly, even stomping a hoof for emphasis, but the fawn was fast fleeing and even Ixton, ever-friendly Ixton, was off. That wouldn't do, he couldn't lose friends and food! Turning back to look at Willow, trying to save face he put on the most determined look as he could muster—"Not swifter than me!"—he was off, ready to prove that fact, loping after the two runaway fawns and their delicious cargo.
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Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:36 pm
The little gray fawn giggled and pressed her nose into Ixton's neck briefly as he called her 'Willy'. He was, so far, the only one that had given her such a nickname before and the little doe loved it. "I knew it!" She said gleefully, tail wagging and ears perked up high. But they quickly fell, almost to her skull, as everyone seemed to suddenly take off. Where was the darker fawn going? He seemed pretty feisty and Willow wondered if maybe her initial thought of this being a 'boys only' gathering was correct?
Except... he'd taken the berries. And Ixton was chasing after him. Which left her with the yearling. The fluffy yearling! Of course Willow giggled at this, boldly stepping up to him and nosing at his fur, seeing if it really was fluff.
"Ooooh~ " With a laugh, Willow took off merrily after Rocinante. "Catch him, Roci!" Willow called after the yearling with amusement.
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 10:49 pm
"I highly doubt that!" Atli called back through teeth clenched around the little branch, smirking wickedly as he tore through the snow. He cared little for the yearling's banter about flowers and berries growing on antlers, because that was silly and quite frankly impossible. Just wishful, lazy thinking. His heart pounded, and he laughed aloud as Ixton took off after him. The other fawn's tone sounded more startled than anything, though, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop him.
When Atli was about halfway around the pond, he did something incredibly foolhardy. He veered away from the edge quite suddenly, only to double back, speeding toward the ice before leaping out onto it. He nearly let go of the branch, but what came instead was a loud, muffled bleat as the fawn slid across the ice, somehow managing not to flop down or go tumbling. He braced his front legs and lowered his rear end, and came to a slow stop somewhere past the middle of the pond before standing up carefully, ears and tail perked and looking back to see if Rocinante would follow.
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