Breakfast in Bed
The stag picked his way carefully through the dense forest, snuffling for enticing berries and edible grass. The forest was quiet - he had neither seen nor scented any predators for hours. He wandered into a patch of bushes that seemed promising for tasty treats.
Instead, his nose, ever vigilant, picked up a most disturbing scent. Human! screamed his instincts. Run! Before the message got to his hooves, however, the human poked its head out from within the undergrowth, and its gaze met his.
I am not a threat, the human seemed to convey to him, speaking on a level that his instincts understood, and found soothing. I have treats for you.
The stag liked the sound of that. It was nice to know that humans weren't all savage monsters, that some of them just wanted to be kind and give him food.
The human held out a handful of berries in its paw. The stag lowered his nose to the berries and snuffled at them cautiously, still a little mistrustful of anything a human might offer him, but soon decided that food was food. He peered up at the human, and again the human spoke to him as its eyes met his. Come along, and I will show you where all the berries in the world grow.
Convinced of the human's sincerity, the stag trotted along beside the human, as it led him out of the thick of the forest and into a small clearing. He recognised the signs of human activity - a large canopy the colour of dead leaves, and a pair of the large, clumsy creatures called horses - within the clearing, and looked to the human for reassurance of his safety. We are safe here, the human reassured him.
At the human's urging, the stag walked into the clearing and made his way into the canopy where the human must have built its den. It knelt down next to what looked like a giant coccoon on the ground, the same colour as the canopy. The stag peered curiously as the human unwrapped the coccoon, revealing another human, but this one had the stillness and pale skin of the recently dead. Was the human sad because its mate had died, he wondered?
Wait, dead humans aren't supposed to move, or have teeth like wolves...
Lady Hamersley drank her fill of the stag, and the boy caught the carcass before it hit the floor of the tent. "Thank you, boy," she said, smiling at him. "Very thoughtful of you."
The boy smiled and bowed his head. "You're most welcome, ma'am. I know you like to hunt yourself, but the nights are getting very short, and you said we wanted to get to the next village tonight." He dragged the carcass outside and began carving it up and shoving pieces onto sticks over the campfire that had been set well away from the tent.
The lady shed the last of her canvass coccoon, brushing the dirt of her daytime resting place from the material. "Is there running water nearby, boy? Clean enough for bathing?"
The boy pointed to the billy boiling over the campfire. "Clean enough to drink, ma'am. It's just down that slope to the north-east," he said without bothering to point. "I left some blankets hanging up down there so you'll have some privacy. Although I pity anyone foolish enough to spy on you, ma'am."
The lady smiled at the boy, then looked at the dismembered stag on the ground, butchered by the boy and his machete. "Indeed, boy, we both know how that ends, don't we. I sha'n't be long." With that, she ran lightly down the slope in her nightgown. The boy's eyes followed her as she departed, filled with admiration and longing, then turned back to the remains of the stag as he got back to work.
Instead, his nose, ever vigilant, picked up a most disturbing scent. Human! screamed his instincts. Run! Before the message got to his hooves, however, the human poked its head out from within the undergrowth, and its gaze met his.
I am not a threat, the human seemed to convey to him, speaking on a level that his instincts understood, and found soothing. I have treats for you.
The stag liked the sound of that. It was nice to know that humans weren't all savage monsters, that some of them just wanted to be kind and give him food.
The human held out a handful of berries in its paw. The stag lowered his nose to the berries and snuffled at them cautiously, still a little mistrustful of anything a human might offer him, but soon decided that food was food. He peered up at the human, and again the human spoke to him as its eyes met his. Come along, and I will show you where all the berries in the world grow.
Convinced of the human's sincerity, the stag trotted along beside the human, as it led him out of the thick of the forest and into a small clearing. He recognised the signs of human activity - a large canopy the colour of dead leaves, and a pair of the large, clumsy creatures called horses - within the clearing, and looked to the human for reassurance of his safety. We are safe here, the human reassured him.
At the human's urging, the stag walked into the clearing and made his way into the canopy where the human must have built its den. It knelt down next to what looked like a giant coccoon on the ground, the same colour as the canopy. The stag peered curiously as the human unwrapped the coccoon, revealing another human, but this one had the stillness and pale skin of the recently dead. Was the human sad because its mate had died, he wondered?
Wait, dead humans aren't supposed to move, or have teeth like wolves...
Lady Hamersley drank her fill of the stag, and the boy caught the carcass before it hit the floor of the tent. "Thank you, boy," she said, smiling at him. "Very thoughtful of you."
The boy smiled and bowed his head. "You're most welcome, ma'am. I know you like to hunt yourself, but the nights are getting very short, and you said we wanted to get to the next village tonight." He dragged the carcass outside and began carving it up and shoving pieces onto sticks over the campfire that had been set well away from the tent.
The lady shed the last of her canvass coccoon, brushing the dirt of her daytime resting place from the material. "Is there running water nearby, boy? Clean enough for bathing?"
The boy pointed to the billy boiling over the campfire. "Clean enough to drink, ma'am. It's just down that slope to the north-east," he said without bothering to point. "I left some blankets hanging up down there so you'll have some privacy. Although I pity anyone foolish enough to spy on you, ma'am."
The lady smiled at the boy, then looked at the dismembered stag on the ground, butchered by the boy and his machete. "Indeed, boy, we both know how that ends, don't we. I sha'n't be long." With that, she ran lightly down the slope in her nightgown. The boy's eyes followed her as she departed, filled with admiration and longing, then turned back to the remains of the stag as he got back to work.