WC: 1413
Around her the structures of old sat in disarray and tangled in growth. A chestnut roan doe stood staring up at one of the larger structures, wondering. What lived there, who would live in such a place? Who would even build such a thing.. Tilting her head to one side, the doe soon shook it. There were so many questions that she had, but never found answers for. Those that had lived in these ruins were now gone and there was no speaking to them to answer her questions. As the doe progressed deeper into the ruins, there was a bit of a crumbling sound echoed off to one side of her. Jumping slightly, she watched as small wall crumbled against the strain of a tree growing at its base, roots pulling high for space and reach deep for water beneath.
"Just some stones." The doe said a little nervously. "Just some stones."
This was not the first time this doe had been to these ruins. No, she was born here among the many spaces that were created by the structures. It had been many winters since she and what of her family had left. There were many memories, many good ones and bad ones. The worst ones were of those that had been lost. Stopping in her tracks to stifle a sniffle that came to her muzzle. Why was it that she had returned to this place, was there something here that she needed? This she didn't know, she just knew that she was going against everything that her father had told her.
'Russet Fawn, never EVER go back to those ruins. They are forbidden' her father had told her sternly as they moved into a more forested area. 'Do I make myself clear?'
'Yes papa.' a young Russet Fawn had told him back then.
"I am sorry Papa, I had broken your rule." She muttered softly looking around again, ears flicking to listen to the things around her. "I know you had said it was forbidden, but I had to come back. Come back and face the past."
Though there was no response from the ether around her, her father having returned to the earth a long time ago. His age had caught up to him, it caught up with everyone eventually. This was apparent around her as these structures continued to vanish, crumble and crash into the greenery around her. Pressing forward, Fawn stepped around a large section of stone that laid on the ground and stopped as it seemed that she had found what she was looking for.
The place was at the base of one of the structure, it had now collapsed completely that she almost didn't recognize it. The 'cave' was all but gone, hidden by the crumbling structure. It was here the earlier memories came back to her, ones she had thought she had lost in the splendor of the Homewood forest they had moved to. Shaking her head and backing up, tears streamed from her eyes as screams filled her ears.
'Mama! Mama!' a foal sized Fawn screamed as the ground shook beneath her small hooves. An earthquake had started to rumble through the Ruins that night. 'Mama!'
'Fawn, Run!' her father had yelled, 'Get out of here'
Russet Fawn just stood there as the ground shook beneath her hooves and the ceiling of their home fell in sheets, mostly dirt and smaller stones. She didn't want to run, she didn't know if she could run, her legs didn't want to move no matter how much her head told them to. It was only when her father, a larger lighter chestnut colored buck nudged her to move as a larger stone crashed to the ground where she had stood. Her legs finally unfrozen she ran from the home that she had known.
'Stay here I ha...' her father had started as he turned to see the entrance of the den collapse with his mate and Fawns hour younger sister trapped inside. 'NO!'
Fawn watched her father race over to the now stone and earth wall and try digging it open again. There were tears in his eyes as he tried moving the earth away with his hooves and horn, but the wall was too thick. By now the earthquake had settled and the ground stopped moving. Still standing in shock that within moments of her sister's birth everything was lost. Her mother had been too exhausted to rise as the earth started to shake.
'Come on Fawn, we're leaving.' her father said abruptly, nudging her to walk away from all that had been home. All that she had known in the few mere hours of her own life...
"Gone, it was all gone." Fawn rambled on in the present as she had fallen back onto her rump. Her body trembling as the memories had come back clear as if they had been yesterday. "Just... Just like that."
"Hey." Said a small voice off to one side of Russet Fawn, "HEY!" came the voice again this time a little louder as Fawn tuned quick, her hooves scattering small stones as she moved. "Easy there, didn't mean to startle ya."
The voice was from a cream and dark markinged Jack Hop, he sat on a fallen tree, one that had done its time and now laid to be used for someone's home. Looking down at the Jack Hop, Fawn slowly came back to her senses, seeing that it was just a creature of the earth like herself and not a ghost from her past coming to haunt her.
"Oh, sorry, thought you were someone else." her voice still shaking as she tried to calm her heart that seemed to be beating in her throat. "Was this your home?" She looked to where she had been sitting, it wasn't too far from the log, but her mind was still in the past. "I.. I'll just go now."
"No need to go, come have a n** of clover. Settle your nerves." The Jack Hop offered as Fawn had turned to leave, wanting to just run away from everything that was nipping like hounds at her hocks.
"no, no, thank you though. I.. I just have to leave, these ruins are forbidden." She stammered her voice almost too soft to hear.
The Jack Hop watched the larger Chestnut doe wander farther away from him. Ears falling back a little, though that didn't last too long as he took after the doe. Hopping at her side to try and keep up with her longer stride. Dusty blue eyes looking up at the doe's face.
"Forbidden? Why would they be forbidden?" The Jack Hop asked as he went. "I have lived here all my life and I never thought they were forbidden."
Fawn looked down, kinda in surprise at the Jack Hop that had followed her. Moving a little to one side, not wanting to really step too close to him. She didn't know what he wanted, she just wanted to go home. Just not sure which one she wanted to return to.. Now.
"Papa said it was. Papa never wanted to talk about this place after what had happened. Not even as he laid in his final moments." Tears welled at the edges of her eyes again. "Please, just go back to what you were doing and leave me alone."
The last bit had come louder then she had wanted, but it was how her moods were starting to swing. Her pace picked up to a ground eating dash. She ran head long through the trees that grew thicker near the edge of the Ruins. Breaking free of them, Russet Fawn only stopped when she couldn't see the towering structures. There were only trees around her, serenity slowly fell in where turmoil had started to blossom.
Never again, never again would she go back there. Though it was only now as the sun had started to crest the horizon and vanish, did she think of the Jack Hop. He had seemed kind, she could hope that nothing bad would befall him. Turning back towards the ever encroaching darkness, Russet Fawn was unaware that she had been followed. His lungs burned with trying to not lose her trail, but the Jack Hop had indeed left his Ruin home. He wanted to know her tale. That and... He felt she needed a friend and he was going to become that, no matter what!
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