Five Ruts He Didn't, #3: Y764 NA by Horsepoint, literature
Five Ruts He Didn't, #3: Y764 NA
Featuring Ralin and May (NPC), with mentions of Elodi
Early Winter, Y764 NA
Glenmore, the Glenwood
Ralin frowned deeply at the grass. It remained stubbornly lacklustre. He shot a glare at a likely patch of ground that didn't have snow on it. It remained unadorned by flowers. He heaved a sigh, and went back to watching the rut.
Occasionally it felt like he was standing still in time, seeing so many of the same stags clashing year after year. Sometimes that feeling was welcome, a warm nostalgia for simpler times when kings didn't get dethroned and innocent fawns didn't get run off into exile by association (except that that last one wasn't tru
Featuring Ralin
Early Winter, Y763 NA
Glenmore, the Glenwood
Some had taken to calling it "The Beast from the East". Ralin had thought that a little grandiose, recalling far more bitter winters at the Needle - all until the sky had apparently taken offence to his lack of concern, turned the colour of Iandu, and immediately dropped what seemed to be a fawnling's height of snow on everything.
The one, single upshot was that the fawns were having a great time. They pranced around through the powder, occasionally disappearing into drifts, and used their heads and hooves to construct misshapen lumps of accumulated snow that they declared to be li
Five Ruts He Didn't, #2: Y763 NA by Horsepoint, literature
Five Ruts He Didn't, #2: Y763 NA
Featuring Ralin, May (NPC) and Lady Talliaris (NPC), with mentions of Elodi
Late Autumn, Y763 NA
Glenmore, the Glenwood
"This might be a little improper of me, Officer, but..."
A moment passed. A throat was cleared, pointedly.
Ralin started, and looked around. A doe stood nearby, eyes wide in a somewhat studied display of innocence and head tilted coquettishly. She brightened as he met her gaze, and he realised she'd been speaking to him, only he still wasn't used to being addressed as "Officer" and it had gone miles over his head.
"My apologies, ma'am," he said, nodding slightly to her. "I was, er-" he gestured with his rack towards the e
Five Ruts He Didn't, #1: Y762 NA by Horsepoint, literature
Five Ruts He Didn't, #1: Y762 NA
Featuring Ralin
Early Autumn, Y762 NA
Glenmore, the Glenwood
Another autumn, another rut. Ralin snorted idly and rested a hindleg, casting a resigned eye over the proceedings. Sometimes, particularly right at the beginning and end of this half of the year, one could go several days, or even weeks, without a doe-claiming fight breaking out. But then you'd get days like this, when a good half a dozen of them were at it at once. Bellows echoed through the air, punctuated with the sharp crack of newly-cleaned antlers meeting. The stags pushed, shoved, leapt and all but danced with each other as they sought the upper hand, each making their stand
Featuring Ralin, Elodi and an NPC guard
Autumn, Y764NA
Glenmore, between the Glenwood and the Ridgeback Range
Elodi
Cold. Elodi shuddered and huffed as he tried to stave off the stubborn chill that had settled into his bones. It was only Autumn, but it seemed snow had come early that year, leaving a coat of white over the ground and a shiver in his bones.
Grimacing, Elodi forced himself to ignore the cold and move on, a grim set to his mouth.
It had been a long time since the exile from Glenmore. The memory of that day never failed to bring a clog to his throat, the last memory of seeing Ralin and his other friends a wound that still hadn'
Featuring Ralin and a lieutenant (NPC)
Winter, Y761NA
Glenmore, Glenwood
"I've...come to confess, sir."
The lieutenant, facing him, tilted his head slightly. The gesture wasn't a judgement in itself, merely invitation to continue, but the older stag's silence, stretching out emptily, felt like the beginning of a punishment already. Ralin swallowed thickly.
He wasn't late, this time. He wasn't even expected. His duties had been minor; so minor that he hadn't needed to check in regularly. That was what he had taken advantage of in order to go up to the Ridgeback Range, in fact, to prove to himself that he could deal with the borders as well a
Outsourcing the Magical Detective Agency by Horsepoint, literature
Outsourcing the Magical Detective Agency
Featuring Ralin and Fionnuala
Winter Y761NA
Glenmore, Glenwood
Ralin
If Ralin had thought that his last trip down to the Glenwood from the mountains had been bad, it now paled in comparison. His shoulder joint ached and stiffened with each day, and though the cut on his leg soon clotted and stopped spotting his path with blood for predators to find, he still limped heavily. Negotiating the slope of the mountainside while trying not to put too much weight on his leg was agony, but it took all of his concentration for every waking moment he spent there; the same went for the rough, rocky country in the foothills. But as the ground levelled and
Arved had been secretive about their outing, giving only enough detail to convince Haakon that whatever was to happen was important enough to be worth staying out overnight on the tundra. They had packed up the dires at sunrise and set out north west at a steady pace. Both Kaia and Yamal seemed familiar with the route and traveled with little prompting while Arved was deeply preoccupied, leaving Haakon with his thoughts for most of the day.
They reached their destination a little before sundown and Haakon looked on, unimpressed. The lake they stopped at was small, barely large enough to escape the classification of pond, and while the surfac
Arved had been secretive about their outing, giving only enough detail to convince Haakon that whatever was to happen was important enough to be worth staying out overnight on the tundra. They had packed up the dires at sunrise and set out north west at a steady pace. Both Kaia and Yamal seemed familiar with the route and traveled with little prompting while Arved was deeply preoccupied, leaving Haakon with his thoughts for most of the day.
They reached their destination a little before sundown and Haakon looked on, unimpressed. The lake they stopped at was small, barely large enough to escape the classification of pond, and while the surfac