HOME | DD

Description

Collab with SanjanaIndica and ShadowCatsKey
Sanjana did lines and colors, Margot did sketching, bg and writing, I did shading! c:

Look Out Below

Reward: +5 antlers and 1 special event loot roll prize!

As the storm crashes into the sanctuary, it has grown more fierce.

The arms have spread over the territory, and with them, howling, vicious winds have begun to tear at the landscape, and the human buildings within.

Anything can become debris; branches or entire logs could be sent through the air.

Stones could be hurled.

Parts of man made structures or vehicles could crumble, be picked up, and dropped elsewhere.

Art Antler Rewards for each participant's character: +8 Fullbody + 2x2 (other character bonuses) +5 (event) = 17 antlers and 1 special loot

Lit Antler Rewards for each participant's character: 2,470 words +8 antlers = 8 antlers

Implied to have happened at the start of Summer, 2019.

-----

Over the last day, the weather had taken a horrible turn. Rain was normal during this warmer part of the year; one could predict when it would fall if they felt the change in temperature, in humidity... and so on. Many leaves would also turn upright and expose their bellies to the skies, there would be a certain taste in the air... and boy had those signs been prominent. The trees may as well have screamed that a storm was coming until every creature went deaf- and anything that hadn't listened was punished by the wind and water and sound that came with them. Whatever this storm was, it was different- angry- and admittedly, it terrified Dew. Manning had long since vanished in her eyes; the boy had run where her tree-bound path couldn't follow, and the weather had done its best to hide his trail. Her original intent had been to follow the boy, to warn him he was going North, a terrible direction- but was she going to risk her pelt going after some wolf pup? No. Gales caused trees to bow and break, downpours had rivers and lakes overwhelming the shores with water that couldn't be contained-

The pup was on his own.

Dew was going to save her skin.

Her body soaked, her pelt plastered down onto her frame, her body screamed for her to get up into the mountains. Mountains could stretch upward, into the sky, right? At times, their peaks could break through the clouds; there had been nights during her travels where she had witnessed lightning from above, in all of its oddly, seemingly benign glory. If lightning could be bypassed- maybe the entire damn storm could be left behind. Mountains also meant stone- stone, to Dew, meant less chance for overflowing rivers, broken branches, and liquefied soil that threatened to trap her limbs. So she toiled, worked slowly along the ground in an agonizing effort where her infuriatingly small form was shoved around by the winds. Damn larger creatures for being able to maneuver more easily- at least she wasn't treated like some poor songbirds, tossed about like a leaf... though she wasn't far off.

After an agonizing trip, one which took far too long, a time where the skies had been dark then had become at least somewhat illuminated once again, she had finally reached the first incline. Up this hill would eventually be a path which took her to gloriously familiar mountains; mountains she yearned for, mountains she wanted to climb just to spite the damn storm she was trapped in. So close, Dew could feel some strength returning despite her cold, despite her shuddering. It was only a matter of time now. The storm could abuse her how it liked; she would win in the end.

Claws out, she hauled herself up the loosened soil. She wove back and forth, maneuvered around ground level plant life that could hinder or stop her- last thing she needed was to become entangled in a bush. Her paws, though light, left comparatively deep grooves, and with how the earth gave under her legs, to climb even that short distance took her breath away, as every step from her struggle compounded. Still yet, she forced herself on, forced herself to climb an oddly muddy hill, one where roots stuck out, one where a broken tree sat off to the side, uprooted as if some great wave had rushed through-

Beneath her feet, the earth moved.

Horrified, Dew scrambled up several steps, and in her wake, tore a great divot beneath her. With wide eyes and slitted pupils, Dew glared downward. Honestly, she had expected to see grass and gravel and dirt where she passed, but instead, there was... Fur? Part of her rejoiced and leaned back down at the thought. Fur! Some idiotic creature had gotten themselves flattened under the earth. (Yet another reason she preferred to travel by tree.) Their mistake would mean a potential meal, and given how badly her body was suffering through this weather, she wanted some damn food. She deserved something to eat once she got back to that wonderful crevice she called home.

With swift, almost angry paws, Dew began to dig out around the patch of fur, a deep brown color. With all the mud, mildew and rain around, she couldn't get a smell from the animal beneath her. Maybe some of the mud had blocked her nose; her entire body was caked with who knows what, dammit. So she dug, until she got a gap cleared around what appeared to be a tall, thin neck. A deer, maybe? A small one- which mattered not, at least to her. She so rarely got the chance to eat deer. One less leaf-brained herbivore, one more meal for her! She put her teeth into what fur and loose skin she could find, though she had to, at one point, bite into part of the neck itself to get a grip. Back and forth, she started to pull, as her legs worked to clear more mud away from what she hoped would be the base of its neck, so she could get at its stomach-

It moved.

In her jaws, the deer moved, its muscles contracting and the exposed parts of its body reacted with purpose.

Dew dropped the thing and backed away once more, her mouth bloody, her pulse racing. It was still alive?

By that point, the deer - a fawn, based on the size - had begun to help itself. Thanks to Dew's efforts, its head was free, and one foreleg pedaled against its slick prison. Writhing, the little thing did little good on its own- but it wasn't long before Dew was back down upon it. Well, if it was alive, then it could help dig itself out. That would mean far less work for her. So she grabbed its neck again, in that advantageous spot, planted her front legs, and began to carve into the mud behind her with a back foot- aiming to free more of the fawn's lower body. That system worked, as the fawn got the opposite foreleg, then the first back leg above ground. As soon as that happened, they began to buck, and Dew opened her mouth to avoid trouble. Without that source of support, the fawn tumbled down the muddy hill and fell onto the ground below, its chest heaving. Efforts to stand and run were futile with how their legs wobbled wildly, unable to support them. Exhaustion, most likely, since everything pointed in the right direction, thus making injury less likely.

...right then, anyway. Dew watched the fawn, who stared up at her with narrowed, challenging little brown eyes. Despite the way his cheat heaved - she had gotten a good look at his anatomy when he had gone end over end, so a he he was -and mud clung to his mouth, he dared to look at her with fire in his gaze. For a moment, Dew met his eyes, impressed. A prey item with dignity. While that would make him substantially more annoying to kill, she at least could appreciate his spark, even if he was nothing more than a soaked little rat. At least his body would have the honor of being eaten, instead of being trapped and wasted in the slop.

Pointedly, she began to gather her legs under her, began to prepare for a pounce-

-when the earth moved again under her feet.

Another one?

She peered down into the hole that the first fawn left behind, and caught sight of another fawn's partially uncovered face and front legs. This one was much paler in color, which made him easy to see; she could've sworn he was almost white. But white deer didn't exist, did they? He was just... pale, most likely. Either way, Dew stared down at this second creature for several heartbeats before, finally, she set out to do the same as she had done before; she grabbed at the fawn's neck (on this one, her grip was significantly closer to his head) and put her legs to work.

"H...Hey!" She heard at one point from down below. "You better not hurt Gun, you hear me?"

What on earth was he saying?

"Because- Because I'll go up there-" Said the fawn who tried to stand again, only to flop back onto the ground more pathetically than a newborn. "And... And you'll see-"

With her mouth full of pale fur, Dew rolled her eyes and ignored him. Some digging, some pulling, and a little bit of contorting later, and this second one was free. Where the first one had fought and scrambled away after freed from the muddy prison, this lighter colored one cowered beneath her. His body shuddered as if in deep cold, his tail tucked, he kept his eyes angled away- and the moment Dew dropped him from her mouth to look at him, he slunk away. Down the hill, his thin legs took him, where he stumbled and rolled over once before before he came to a stop near the other fawn- another male. Brothers, perhaps? Or herd members, since they looked so different? What did it matter? Even though they now lay side by side, the braver one now looking over his terrified companion, that didn't change the fact that they were alone.

How did Dew know this?

From where she stood near the now gaping hole in the mud, she could see one more bunch of fur; an adult deer. A doe by the looks of it, who had been hidden by the two fawns. Only, this time, the animal was well and truly dead. Or, well, a head bent back so far that it was no longer fully attached to the body- that sure as hell meant deadin Dew's eyes. Something to eat that she didn't have to kill sounded pretty good right then- so she went back into the hole, cleared out what little more of the debris she could, and set into the dead deer's neck. The meat there wasn't her favorite - she would prefer to get at the belly - but there wasn't any way she would get through that much mud, or be able to move the deer's body on her own if it were to fall on her. So, easy pickings it was- and that was something, at least. Something for her troubles these past few terrible, travel dominated, rain-filled days.

When her stomach was content, Dew emerged. A quick look around showed that the two fawns were still where she had last seen them- down on the grass, still on their bellies. The darker coated one had taken to trying to clean off its brother - that's what she would call them, anyway, brothers - and the white one lay with their head pressed against the darker one's side. Upon seeing her, the one tensed and flared his nostrils. "D-Don't bother me or Gun, you short... cat-thing! I'll stomp you! Or bite you! Or-" He called. Again, with that moxie. It amused her, admittedly- she liked the spunk, and even smirked down at the boy in response.

It was almost a pity to leave them there to die. Two fawns that young, in this weather, in a place filled with predators? Oh yeah, they would be lucky to see a day where the sun wasn't covered in clouds. They'd be lucky to see the damn moon again. Hm. Such a pity. They were two male fawns, after all- males of their kind grew those curved and vicious antlers, weapons that could be used to attack the woodland, gore predators, or even cause grisly deaths among one another. A spectacle, those males were - and anytime they won against the likes of wolves and cougars, well. That was a victory in her book. Now, if she had been a larger creature, she would show the world how to properly hunt those things- shewouldn't become a victim to those antlers- but alas, the boys would never-

With another low roll of thunder, Dew's thoughts came to a halt. As she stared down at the fawns, who both had turned to look at her by then, an... idea... began to form.

Bucks. Stags. Formidable- That's what they would be. Would. But the doe down in the mud? Likely their mother. Dead. No caretaker meant no chance at survival, especially since all the normal meddling humans seemed to have sensibly run away from the weather.

Except... maybe...

What if she turned these two fawns onto her side?

Would it be possible to have those antlers be not against her, but forher?

What other choice did these two have?

Dew sprang down from the mud, her ears up, her tail high. The darker colored fawn sat up and put his legs protectively over the light colored one in response, his ears pinned.

"Now, listen to me, you little grass-eaters," Dew called over the rain and the wind. "Do you want to live?"

"I- I want you to leave Gun and mealone-"

"Shut it!"

The fawn tried to strike at her as she went forward, but she smacked at his leg; unbalanced, he fell over. The light colored one whimpered in response, and lowered his chin to the ground. "P...Please-" Its softer voice begged.

"I'll ask again," Dew hissed. The rain on her back continued to be unpleasant; the wind only hinted at worse things to come. Every inch of her body screamed to get up to shelter- so she didn't have long to play this damn game. If they turned out to be not worth it, she'd leave them- they didn't matter... unless they decided to makethemselves matter. "Do you want to live?"

"Yes!" The light fawn blurted out, his voice a sob. "I want to get out of the mud and out of the rain and away from-"

"Then stand!" Dew smacked at the white fawn's hindquarters; startled, the boy bolted up. In response, his brother came up as well- but before he could do anything stupid, Dew turned to stare at him. The fawns were already taller than her, but those spindly legs would be easy to break. Maybe the young one realized that, as well, because he didn't move- only stood there, his body just as easily rocked by the weather as her own. With her lip curled, she motioned with her head toward the hill. "You got long legs, right? Use 'em! Walk up the hill with me."

"Why should we listen to you-" The dark one began to challenge, but thunder silenced him, a booming roar that came along with a nearby, brilliant flash of lightning that seemed to silence and compress the world around them.

"Because I've all you got!"

Description

Collab with SanjanaIndica and ShadowCatsKey
Sanjana did lines and colors, Margot did sketching, bg and writing, I did shading! c:

Look Out Below

Reward: +5 antlers and 1 special event loot roll prize!

As the storm crashes into the sanctuary, it has grown more fierce.

The arms have spread over the territory, and with them, howling, vicious winds have begun to tear at the landscape, and the human buildings within.

Anything can become debris; branches or entire logs could be sent through the air.

Stones could be hurled.

Parts of man made structures or vehicles could crumble, be picked up, and dropped elsewhere.

Art Antler Rewards for each participant's character: +8 Fullbody + 2x2 (other character bonuses) +5 (event) = 17 antlers and 1 special loot

Lit Antler Rewards for each participant's character: 2,470 words +8 antlers = 8 antlers

Implied to have happened at the start of Summer, 2019.

-----

Over the last day, the weather had taken a horrible turn. Rain was normal during this warmer part of the year; one could predict when it would fall if they felt the change in temperature, in humidity... and so on. Many leaves would also turn upright and expose their bellies to the skies, there would be a certain taste in the air... and boy had those signs been prominent. The trees may as well have screamed that a storm was coming until every creature went deaf- and anything that hadn't listened was punished by the wind and water and sound that came with them. Whatever this storm was, it was different- angry- and admittedly, it terrified Dew. Manning had long since vanished in her eyes; the boy had run where her tree-bound path couldn't follow, and the weather had done its best to hide his trail. Her original intent had been to follow the boy, to warn him he was going North, a terrible direction- but was she going to risk her pelt going after some wolf pup? No. Gales caused trees to bow and break, downpours had rivers and lakes overwhelming the shores with water that couldn't be contained-

The pup was on his own.

Dew was going to save her skin.

Her body soaked, her pelt plastered down onto her frame, her body screamed for her to get up into the mountains. Mountains could stretch upward, into the sky, right? At times, their peaks could break through the clouds; there had been nights during her travels where she had witnessed lightning from above, in all of its oddly, seemingly benign glory. If lightning could be bypassed- maybe the entire damn storm could be left behind. Mountains also meant stone- stone, to Dew, meant less chance for overflowing rivers, broken branches, and liquefied soil that threatened to trap her limbs. So she toiled, worked slowly along the ground in an agonizing effort where her infuriatingly small form was shoved around by the winds. Damn larger creatures for being able to maneuver more easily- at least she wasn't treated like some poor songbirds, tossed about like a leaf... though she wasn't far off.

After an agonizing trip, one which took far too long, a time where the skies had been dark then had become at least somewhat illuminated once again, she had finally reached the first incline. Up this hill would eventually be a path which took her to gloriously familiar mountains; mountains she yearned for, mountains she wanted to climb just to spite the damn storm she was trapped in. So close, Dew could feel some strength returning despite her cold, despite her shuddering. It was only a matter of time now. The storm could abuse her how it liked; she would win in the end.

Claws out, she hauled herself up the loosened soil. She wove back and forth, maneuvered around ground level plant life that could hinder or stop her- last thing she needed was to become entangled in a bush. Her paws, though light, left comparatively deep grooves, and with how the earth gave under her legs, to climb even that short distance took her breath away, as every step from her struggle compounded. Still yet, she forced herself on, forced herself to climb an oddly muddy hill, one where roots stuck out, one where a broken tree sat off to the side, uprooted as if some great wave had rushed through-

Beneath her feet, the earth moved.

Horrified, Dew scrambled up several steps, and in her wake, tore a great divot beneath her. With wide eyes and slitted pupils, Dew glared downward. Honestly, she had expected to see grass and gravel and dirt where she passed, but instead, there was... Fur? Part of her rejoiced and leaned back down at the thought. Fur! Some idiotic creature had gotten themselves flattened under the earth. (Yet another reason she preferred to travel by tree.) Their mistake would mean a potential meal, and given how badly her body was suffering through this weather, she wanted some damn food. She deserved something to eat once she got back to that wonderful crevice she called home.

With swift, almost angry paws, Dew began to dig out around the patch of fur, a deep brown color. With all the mud, mildew and rain around, she couldn't get a smell from the animal beneath her. Maybe some of the mud had blocked her nose; her entire body was caked with who knows what, dammit. So she dug, until she got a gap cleared around what appeared to be a tall, thin neck. A deer, maybe? A small one- which mattered not, at least to her. She so rarely got the chance to eat deer. One less leaf-brained herbivore, one more meal for her! She put her teeth into what fur and loose skin she could find, though she had to, at one point, bite into part of the neck itself to get a grip. Back and forth, she started to pull, as her legs worked to clear more mud away from what she hoped would be the base of its neck, so she could get at its stomach-

It moved.

In her jaws, the deer moved, its muscles contracting and the exposed parts of its body reacted with purpose.

Dew dropped the thing and backed away once more, her mouth bloody, her pulse racing. It was still alive?

By that point, the deer - a fawn, based on the size - had begun to help itself. Thanks to Dew's efforts, its head was free, and one foreleg pedaled against its slick prison. Writhing, the little thing did little good on its own- but it wasn't long before Dew was back down upon it. Well, if it was alive, then it could help dig itself out. That would mean far less work for her. So she grabbed its neck again, in that advantageous spot, planted her front legs, and began to carve into the mud behind her with a back foot- aiming to free more of the fawn's lower body. That system worked, as the fawn got the opposite foreleg, then the first back leg above ground. As soon as that happened, they began to buck, and Dew opened her mouth to avoid trouble. Without that source of support, the fawn tumbled down the muddy hill and fell onto the ground below, its chest heaving. Efforts to stand and run were futile with how their legs wobbled wildly, unable to support them. Exhaustion, most likely, since everything pointed in the right direction, thus making injury less likely.

...right then, anyway. Dew watched the fawn, who stared up at her with narrowed, challenging little brown eyes. Despite the way his cheat heaved - she had gotten a good look at his anatomy when he had gone end over end, so a he he was -and mud clung to his mouth, he dared to look at her with fire in his gaze. For a moment, Dew met his eyes, impressed. A prey item with dignity. While that would make him substantially more annoying to kill, she at least could appreciate his spark, even if he was nothing more than a soaked little rat. At least his body would have the honor of being eaten, instead of being trapped and wasted in the slop.

Pointedly, she began to gather her legs under her, began to prepare for a pounce-

-when the earth moved again under her feet.

Another one?

She peered down into the hole that the first fawn left behind, and caught sight of another fawn's partially uncovered face and front legs. This one was much paler in color, which made him easy to see; she could've sworn he was almost white. But white deer didn't exist, did they? He was just... pale, most likely. Either way, Dew stared down at this second creature for several heartbeats before, finally, she set out to do the same as she had done before; she grabbed at the fawn's neck (on this one, her grip was significantly closer to his head) and put her legs to work.

"H...Hey!" She heard at one point from down below. "You better not hurt Gun, you hear me?"

What on earth was he saying?

"Because- Because I'll go up there-" Said the fawn who tried to stand again, only to flop back onto the ground more pathetically than a newborn. "And... And you'll see-"

With her mouth full of pale fur, Dew rolled her eyes and ignored him. Some digging, some pulling, and a little bit of contorting later, and this second one was free. Where the first one had fought and scrambled away after freed from the muddy prison, this lighter colored one cowered beneath her. His body shuddered as if in deep cold, his tail tucked, he kept his eyes angled away- and the moment Dew dropped him from her mouth to look at him, he slunk away. Down the hill, his thin legs took him, where he stumbled and rolled over once before before he came to a stop near the other fawn- another male. Brothers, perhaps? Or herd members, since they looked so different? What did it matter? Even though they now lay side by side, the braver one now looking over his terrified companion, that didn't change the fact that they were alone.

How did Dew know this?

From where she stood near the now gaping hole in the mud, she could see one more bunch of fur; an adult deer. A doe by the looks of it, who had been hidden by the two fawns. Only, this time, the animal was well and truly dead. Or, well, a head bent back so far that it was no longer fully attached to the body- that sure as hell meant deadin Dew's eyes. Something to eat that she didn't have to kill sounded pretty good right then- so she went back into the hole, cleared out what little more of the debris she could, and set into the dead deer's neck. The meat there wasn't her favorite - she would prefer to get at the belly - but there wasn't any way she would get through that much mud, or be able to move the deer's body on her own if it were to fall on her. So, easy pickings it was- and that was something, at least. Something for her troubles these past few terrible, travel dominated, rain-filled days.

When her stomach was content, Dew emerged. A quick look around showed that the two fawns were still where she had last seen them- down on the grass, still on their bellies. The darker coated one had taken to trying to clean off its brother - that's what she would call them, anyway, brothers - and the white one lay with their head pressed against the darker one's side. Upon seeing her, the one tensed and flared his nostrils. "D-Don't bother me or Gun, you short... cat-thing! I'll stomp you! Or bite you! Or-" He called. Again, with that moxie. It amused her, admittedly- she liked the spunk, and even smirked down at the boy in response.

It was almost a pity to leave them there to die. Two fawns that young, in this weather, in a place filled with predators? Oh yeah, they would be lucky to see a day where the sun wasn't covered in clouds. They'd be lucky to see the damn moon again. Hm. Such a pity. They were two male fawns, after all- males of their kind grew those curved and vicious antlers, weapons that could be used to attack the woodland, gore predators, or even cause grisly deaths among one another. A spectacle, those males were - and anytime they won against the likes of wolves and cougars, well. That was a victory in her book. Now, if she had been a larger creature, she would show the world how to properly hunt those things- shewouldn't become a victim to those antlers- but alas, the boys would never-

With another low roll of thunder, Dew's thoughts came to a halt. As she stared down at the fawns, who both had turned to look at her by then, an... idea... began to form.

Bucks. Stags. Formidable- That's what they would be. Would. But the doe down in the mud? Likely their mother. Dead. No caretaker meant no chance at survival, especially since all the normal meddling humans seemed to have sensibly run away from the weather.

Except... maybe...

What if she turned these two fawns onto her side?

Would it be possible to have those antlers be not against her, but forher?

What other choice did these two have?

Dew sprang down from the mud, her ears up, her tail high. The darker colored fawn sat up and put his legs protectively over the light colored one in response, his ears pinned.

"Now, listen to me, you little grass-eaters," Dew called over the rain and the wind. "Do you want to live?"

"I- I want you to leave Gun and mealone-"

"Shut it!"

The fawn tried to strike at her as she went forward, but she smacked at his leg; unbalanced, he fell over. The light colored one whimpered in response, and lowered his chin to the ground. "P...Please-" Its softer voice begged.

"I'll ask again," Dew hissed. The rain on her back continued to be unpleasant; the wind only hinted at worse things to come. Every inch of her body screamed to get up to shelter- so she didn't have long to play this damn game. If they turned out to be not worth it, she'd leave them- they didn't matter... unless they decided to makethemselves matter. "Do you want to live?"

"Yes!" The light fawn blurted out, his voice a sob. "I want to get out of the mud and out of the rain and away from-"

"Then stand!" Dew smacked at the white fawn's hindquarters; startled, the boy bolted up. In response, his brother came up as well- but before he could do anything stupid, Dew turned to stare at him. The fawns were already taller than her, but those spindly legs would be easy to break. Maybe the young one realized that, as well, because he didn't move- only stood there, his body just as easily rocked by the weather as her own. With her lip curled, she motioned with her head toward the hill. "You got long legs, right? Use 'em! Walk up the hill with me."

"Why should we listen to you-" The dark one began to challenge, but thunder silenced him, a booming roar that came along with a nearby, brilliant flash of lightning that seemed to silence and compress the world around them.

"Because I've all you got!"