Notice: The following chapter takes place in the Feur Valley, where no human has ever set foot... yet. The main inhabitants of the valley are cervitaurs, beasts aliken to deer, however with human torsos and heads. (Aka centaurs but with deer instead of horses) ~The Author
Around the same time...
POV- Maelyn
I bent down on my front forelegs and my light, naturally purple, hair fell across my face. I brushed the hair out of my face, revealing my shamrock green eyes, and then reached down to pull some yellow lichen off of a piece of tree bark. Straightening back up, I asked, "Can anyone tell me why this is unsafe to eat?"
I looked around but none of my three pupils had an answer. "Erin, would you like to guess?" I was counting on Erin to know the answer, even though she was too unsure of herself to say so.
Erin beemed up at me. "I bet it's dangerous because even though our second digestive system, the deer one, can process it but it can be very poisonous to our human stomach."
It took me a second to process that run-on sentence."That's correct," I nodded, tossing the lichen back onto the ground.
Between Erin, Spik and Del, Erin surely was the smartest. She'll probably become a teacher, my replacement, I thought.
"Del," I began, noticing she wasn't paying attention. "Can you recite why our tongues are made up with both human and deer taste buds?"
Del's ears twitched at hearing her name. Ears are one of the few deer features that made it to our upper half. "Oh, is it because we like food?" She answered.
I sighed. Spik piped up. "So that we can tell which foods are bad for either of our stomachs!"
"Yes, very good." I saw Davim approaching. Davim is the Senior Teacher. While I'm stuck teaching the ten and eleven year olds, he gets to teach thirteen and fourteen year olds. I focused on teaching fawns on how to forage and how to not die . Davim taught things like culture, reproduction and moss gathering.
"Davim," I said, nodding in recognition.
"Little one," he said, nodding as well.
"I told you to stop calling me that. I'm sixteen, only one year younger than you, remember?"
"You know you love it," he grinned. Davim stepped closer to me.
"Both classes are dismissed," I called out, not looking away from Davim's piercing blue eyes. They were a great compliment to his dark hair, newly sprouted antlers and darkish fur. I heard some giggles from Del and one of Davim's pupils as they wandered off.
Davim got even closer. "Oh, are we going to need privacy?"
"I thought it would be nicer to be alone is all," I said, shrugging both sets of shoulders. "Don't be getting any ideas."
Davim chuckled obnoxiously. "So you're not looking to mate?"
"Gods, no. I just turned sixteen. I'm not that eager," I explained. I really didn't want this to be awkward. It wasn't like him to suggest such a thing. "Did you eat brumble berries?" I asked accusingly, wrinkling my nose.
"Squeezed and drank a few I suppose," Davim admitted as he grabbed my upper arm. My short tail twitched. "I'm not certain you're sure you don't want to mate," he argued.
I jerked away from his grip. "Fuck you," I cursed.
"Okay, when?" He asked.
"My gods, you asshole," I exclaimed heatedly.
Davim had a stupid grin on his face. "I asked when, not where," he mused.
I stooped down and picked up a pretty large stick. Standing back up quickly, I swung out with as much force as I could. The stick landed across the side of his naval and sent him sprawling onto the ground.
I uttered an obscenity and, being sure he was fine enough, pranced off. Guys are such jerks sometimes.
The sun had been up for at least five hours and i was quite tired. I found a coniferous tree, one I slept under often. I got down onto my side and fell asleep.
* * *
I woke up just before dusk. My mouth was dry. I must have slept with my mouth open, again, I thought.
I stood up slowly and adjusted my moss bra. I looked around and noticed Erin sleeeping on the other side of the tree from me. It wasn't uncommon for her to come and lie with me, especially since her parents were typically out foraging during the day. I got back down on my front legs and kissed her on the cheek, careful not to wake her. It was a sign of deserin, respect for the innocence and trust of the young.
Straightening back up, I purposely popped my neck, a bad habit of mine. I walked west toward the nearest stream. When I got there, I saw a deer, an actual deer, not a cervitaur. I got up right next to it and pet its head. "Hey, girl," I coaxed. I could tell it was female from the spots on her back.
Getting down, I cupped my hands and brought some water up to my mouth. The deer wandered off the water tasted... well you know how water tastes with a dry mouth, right? I decided to go in search for something more piquant, and I knew just the thing.
