Sore hooves and Odd pelts

Scath:

How good it felt to be back among familiar trees, paths she could walk with her eyes closed, and not lose her way even once.

In all honesty the doe was glad to be heading home, she had been away so long, Scathach missed her little hollow. Worse yet she feared what Guinevere might have done in her absence, the bundle of fur could certainly take care of herself, yet the pearl feared for her stores of herbs.

Lest the russet colored creature make a den of them again.

The horror that her herbs and skull bowls were possibly being made into a nest… The pearl shivered and flicked her tail.

She had other reasons for wanting to be home as well, in all the excitement she had forgotten about the little one she carried, and not just the little fawn now known as Dalor straddling her back, against his will she might add. But the little one within had grown larger, her sides filling out more so than before, and not just from getting a good meal.

Snorting she turned an eye on Baeric, the poor stag carting back the pile of goodies, she’d so happily acquired. He didn’t seem to mind acting as packhorse, but he never seemed to mind anything she asked of him, so willing to do anything for the doe he deemed his savior. She smiled when his good eye caught her staring, “Nearly there!” She chirped, though nearly there would’ve been already there, if not for the nervous looks he gave her whenever she picked up speed.

Bae & Dalor:
Since finding the little Water Mouse things had changed a little. Bae had made a silent pledge of devotion to the doe who had, without a shadow of a doubt, saved his life. What other purpose could he have after all or greater one could he serve? He was willing to stay, to do as she wished as long as she would keep him. So far she seemed pretty tolerable of his constant shadow which was a major relief to the always anxious, worried stag.

Dalor had been a little happy sun spot in the group, the little fawn already having grown (albeit only a little) and found his voice a bit more. He was still leery of Baeric but wasn’t above sticking his tongue out at the old grump and running back to Scath for safety. It had stopped being annoying so much those days and Baeric got a kick out of it, often trying to make the little fawn grumpy just to see his faces.

However the more pressing matter that had come to light was the fact that Scath was in deed with fawn. He knew it was foolish and downright stupid but...it actually made him a little jealous. Sharing her with Dalor was one thing but a baby...a real baby? It would change things...a lot surely and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it. He had never been around a newborn before and it terrified him more than anything.

When she spoke up though he offered her his best smile, nodding before looking back to the fawn who was darting in between Scath’s strides before tearing off ahead of them. He would giggle, paw ‘viciously’ at a plant before running back for praise from Scath.

“At least he’ll be ready to crash by the time we return.” Bae snorted, shifting the satchels of herbs on his shoulders. He rather proud to be her pack mule.

Scath:

Having finally relented to letting the hart down to motor about on his own, Scath watched Dalor with amusement, his vicious antics to garner her praise, drawing more than a few snorts of laughter from her. The interactions between the fawn and Baeric had been another source of enjoyment for her, the dark stag no longer seemed bothered by Dalor’s lack of interest, or rather fondness for taunting with his cute faces and hiding beneath her. Something she thought wonderful, and a marvelous improvement on his nature, he usually seemed almost timid. The longer he was around doe and water mouse, the more he seemed to come out of his proverbial shell, meeting her gaze without a reminder, little jokes or worrying for her safety. Definitely something wonderful, though she did keep her mind and magic partially trained on his emotions, not wanting another surprise like before.

Curiously for the doe, Baeric had seemed sad, his heart filled with tiny pricks of jealousy, that soon it wouldn’t just be the three of them anymore. Though he practically had been filled with terror when she informed him of their impending new companion, his wish for her safety had been heightened considerably since that day. And the more her pregnancy showed, greater his sense of worry became.

“I think we all could use a good rest after that atrociously long walk,” She winked and giggled, green eyes bright with merriment, a familiar sound soon caught her ears. A soft yet high pitched bark, one would think a wolf at first, but Scath recognized Guine’s tiny voice. Soon enough the russet colored creature came scampering from beneath the foliage, Dalor started in surprise, a tiny bleat escaping him as the stoat rushed forward. Guinevere clawed her way up the doe’s leg, making a funny noise that sounded roughly like “dook”, she snuffled Scath’s neck and chittered happily.

Where had this silly giant been all this time?

Who were the other two giants?

Though one was quite small, and watched her with big eyes, not something of consequence to the stoat.

“Hello, Guinevere.” Purred the doe, gently nuzzling her pet, and often times sole companion.

Bae & Dalor:
“Aye, I can agree to that.” Baeric smiled, shifting the packs on his back a little. His hooves had started to throb about 2 miles back but he sure as hell wouldn’t say anything. He was trying his damnest to appear as young as possible around Scath, finding that his normally neglected demeanor was something that sorta...mattered now. He tamed his normally matted coat and tried to keep his mane and tail less greasy than normal. Of course...it would have actually been more helpful if the damn water mouse would HELP.

Bae knew it was a bit much to ask such a young fawn for magic but he knew it was something Scath wanted to observe. It would be his luck he would have found her a talentless one but...only time would tell.

His ears perked when he heard the fawn cry out, the stag moving up to see what had caused his alarm. He snorted, watching as the fawn took shelter under Scath. Of course, he was only further horrified when the strange creature continued forward and up over his hiding place. He yelped, rushing back and out from underneath her before finding himself under Bae.

The stag smirked at that, letting the fawn slowly come to realize who he was hiding with..
“Enjoying yourself?” He smirked, the fawn giving him a huff and pinning his ears at him. Baeric smirked, laughing more as he earned that scowl and his stuck out tongue before he was sauntering back to look at the creature that ‘mom’ seemed to be in control of.
“I think she missed you.” Baeric offered then, keeping a safe distance as he observed the stout with his good eye.

Scath:

Guine wiggled and rubbed herself over the doe’s withers, determined to erase the scent of the tiny giant from her perch upon Scath’s back, “I think so,” the doe chuckled. The pearl female flicked her tail, drawing Dalor closer, Guine made a disgruntled noise - having put a scent to a face - worrying her perch would be stolen once more. The russet creature’s fears were soon soothed as Scath’s familiar sway rocked towards home, though she keep intent brown eyes on the small giant, who returned her intense stare with one of his own.

Trees adorned with bones and warding scents, soon greeted the group, the doe happily gesturing for Baeric to drop what he carried. And no doubt get off sore hooves, even she could see a limp starting to form, quick inspection found her stores mostly intact. There were a few herbs she didn’t remember having when she left, the pearl assumed one of her family had stopped by and trading for something, thankfully nothing of true value to her.

Seeing Dalor had happily thrown himself down upon her pile of furs, Guine most amusingly peered at him, before settling next to his nose. The doe turned to the dark stag eying her space,  “Baeric, how are your hooves?” She prodded gently, doubting he would complain even if they were on fire, asking seemed more polite then just poking around his head.

Bae & Dalor:
Baeric followed her lead, shaking his head at all the shenanigans that filled the hollow she called home. He made quick work of finding a place to leave the satchels he had been carrying before moving back out to give the quickly growing family some space. The den had been meant for Scath and Guine so the addition of his lumbering form plus Dalor and Scath’s swelling belly didn’t really make it the most roomy.

He lurked outside, keeping his head down and lips shut as Dalor made himself at home. He was rolling about, snuggling into the furs that laid about before noticing the stoat staring at him. He huffed and sat up, staring right back at her in silence as he found new determination to not be afraid of this strange looking mouse.

Baeric chuckled some, shaking his head ideally at him before Scath’s question drew his attention.
“They’re fine.” he lied, forgetting nearly constantly that the doe could easily tell if he was lying or not. Her Enthralling was just as pesky as it was helpful for him at this point. He shifted on them a little at her question and moved to settle down just outside the opening to the hollow. He would make himself a space, wait and see what it was she wanted to do and stay on guard in the meantime..

Scath:

As much as he didn’t want to admit, he had to be sore, she wanted to pry but felt that would be too much. It would be easier just to offer him something for it, but did she have anything for pain?

“I wonder if he’d have anything on hoof…” She muttered while poking around her shelves.

Her herbal stores weren’t exactly for healing, most of her collection of items were far too lethal if used incorrectly. And though her confidence in herbal brews grew with each day, she didn’t want to risk making a mistake with Baeric. The poor stag didn’t need accidental poisoning on top of everything that had occurred recently.

A dried purple flower hanging above the doorway caught her eye, foxglove, she pulled it from a hook-like protrusion on the tree and laid it next to him. “Here, nibble on that.” It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

She smiled and shifted almost nervously on her hooves, should she do something else for him? He seemed content outside her den, although he seemed to adjust how he was laying nearly every ten seconds. Perhaps the ground and tree roots were too hard for him? Turning she thought to grab a fur from her bed, but found Dalor had fallen asleep next to Guine. Scath didn’t want to wake him. She chewed her lip before spotting a streaked pelt sticking out of a mess in the back.

Tugging the fur out from a pile in the corner the pearl doe shook the dust out, as well as another curious object, a rather large skull with a broken antler still attached. Ah...a gift from mother. She cautiously shoved the skull and the piece of pelt it was still attached to back into the pile. Before turning and inspecting the one she held for holes, her gaze near meticulous to insure it was still usable. This also was a gift from mother, a bite mark stood out near the edge, two large holes very similar in distance to her own tusks.

Satisfied with the rest of it being in relatively good shape, she tossed it rather haphazardly out the door, the fawn spotted fur landing a nose or so away from Baeric’s knee, “You can lay on that, much more comfortable than those old tree roots,” she giggled, she hoped he wouldn’t mind the pelts source…

Bae & Dalor:
The day had been made, the herbal hunt a success and a long rest felt as though it was earned. The stag was struggling to find a nice place to settle but he figured it was his problem to handle. He wasn’t the springy young kid he had once been after all so it wasn’t surprising that he would be left to suffer through things a little. He shifted one last time before jumping as something came fluttering down by his side. He lifted his head, giving a low snort at the sign of...was that….surely not?

He tried not to overthink it, looking back to the doe as he nodded his thanks and shifted to rise. He frowned at the cracking of his joints that such a small move led to. He plopped back down then, casting a look over his shoulder at the doe and the happily snuggled up fawn. Of course…

“I’ll probably be out soon...should you need anything from me, just wake me.” He offered with a small smile before he thumped his head back down into the pelt. At this point, he was so tired he didn’t care what he slept on.