"Hmmm." A quiet thoughtful sound escaped Sunday as the little gold doe examined some brambles. It was quite the feat to pluck ripe berries among the thorns with no dexterous hands to help. She tilted her head, then reached a hoof out and used it to gently coax the ripe berry off the end of the stem, onto a leaf on the grass below. Plop It landed among the others she had very diligently gathered. It was a time-consuming task and not for the first time she wished she had digits or claws.. or a friend like the fae critters to help her out. She looked at the bush, trying to find another juicy berry. The ripest ones came off with the touch of a hoof so were best for gathering. Sunday had been feeling down. She was very lonely, but her crippling anxiety impeded making new friends. Her parents were gone, once she had been barely old enough to fend for herself hey had trekked off to parts unknown, deeply devoted to healing missions or..something. They had not been good at having a foal. Shaking her head, she tried not to dwell on her current lot in life. Being an adult wasn't that bad, she got to do as she pleased and live how she wanted. She had a good, simple life. And today, to cheer herself up, she was making herself the best of meals. A feast even! Starting with a pile of ripe bramble berries.
There was another perfect berry, and Sunday grabbed the edge of her large leaf and pulled it over to catch her find. A twig fell nearby, giving her a startle. That was strange...there is no wind. she looked at her growing pile, it had taken much effort and she was proud of it. She hummed as she poked the next berry off the vine. A little chittery sound responded from a nearby tree. One large ear flicked toward it as she froze trying to identify the noise. The leaves high up in a tree overshadowing her rustled a bit. She relaxed when she heard the light chitter again. Must be a squirrel creature. They were not dangerous, she had seen them in trees before around Homewood. Going back to her berries she paid it no mind.
A moment later, there was a squawk from her left, and one of the little squirrels leaped from a tree, landing in the grass. It clacked its beak while it ruffled the crest on its head. It was a strange little thing, but kind of cute. Sunday watched as it proceeded to hop about, swishing its furry tail around crazily. The doe couldn't help but smile at the antics. Was it playing? Showing off? She swished her tail too. It stopped and tilted its head.
Something rustled to the right, and the doe looked down to see her plate leaf of berries... was gone?? Startled, she looked around the grassy area by the brambles, and there, sliding the whole giant leaf along with both paws was another squirrel! "You little ...pest!" She cried and trotted after it. It saw her coming, puffed itself up, and squawked loudly. Others dropped down from the trees nearby and several leaped on the leaf. Before she could get a step closer they had devoured the whole pile of her hard work.
"Oh no nooo!" She nearly sobbed, taking the last couple steps to the scene of the berry massacre. The little squirbs scattered off, berry juice covered and chattering excitedly with their victory. They had been distracting her on PURPOSE. She sat back on her haunches and stared at the leaf, now shredded around the edges. So much for her feast. Sniffling, she told herself she was not going to cry over dumb berries.
As she sat pouting, the last little squirrel came over and started nosing around the area where the berries had been. Even as she had a pity party for herself, she felt a little bad for it. It had done all the 'dancing' and its pals had taken all the goods. They must not be able to climb the brambles, she realized, to get their own berries. It bit the leaf, then dropped it. Slowly, she got up and backed up to the berry brambles.
"Hey... little guy?" She whispered, unsure if it would flee. "You...want a berry?" It looked at her and chitered, making a move like it was going to run. She knocked a berry off the bramble with a hoof then slowly moved down the bushes a bit. It eyed her, then the berry, then hopped over to have a look. The doe could tell he didn't trust her fully, he was being very wary, but he also did not run when he had munched the berry. He seemed to hesitate, almost waiting to see if she would knock down another one. She did, and to her growing delight, he came even closer to get the next one. Her afternoon was spent sharing berries with the little squirrel creature, and it was a nicer meal than she had ever planned to have on her own.
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