I N F I N I T E S

The Forest Prince

    The being awoke with it's strange eye opening and widening. He was lying on a bed of newly flowering daisies somewhere in a forest. There were tall trees encompassing him like great fortress walls. Their leaves, though close together, let sunlight filter through to the forest floor.
There was an area of tree branches that had been cleaved away from when the being fell. The sun shown its light down on his body, and in turn his body reflected the light. The scene was very picturesque. It was almost as if he was in a stained glass window. His black eye was like living glass as it moved and adjusted.
Animals had gathered all around him in curiosity as he took in his surroundings. He began his attempt to stand up. His hands touched the grassy ground and he looked down. He observed his hands looking them over. Five fingers: index, middle, ring, pinkie, and thumb were all there. However upon putting his feet on the ground he realized he had no toes. His foot was smooth and white. It did not concern him that he had no toes as he didn't know what toes were.
His legs did not wobble as he stood, but he did need to catch himself a few times so he wouldn't fall on his face. He stood up fully and then put one foot in front of the other. He did this with repetition and paced a circle around the flower bed. By now animals of all kinds had gathered around to watch him. None of them had sensed any danger from him. To them he was no more dangerous than a baby taking it's first steps.
He started to quicken the pace of his walk. It helped that there were no roots or branches to get into the way of his learning. His walk turned to jog, then run, then sprint. He was looking at the ground when suddenly he saw a pair of hooves appear in front of him. He stopped to a halt with a bit of a skid and trip.
Looking up his eyes met a large great deer. It was broad shouldered with two mighty horns upon it's head, and two even bigger lance-like ones protruding from its shoulders. It had a light brown fur coat dotted with white. It's legs were long and muscular and ended with dirt stained hooves.
    Standing there in front of the great beast the being felt no fear, and neither did the deer. The being looked into the kind eyes of the deer. The deer, amused, stuck it's tongue out and licked the being's face. This was the deer's way of saying: "greetings newcomer." Had the being had a mouth he would have smiled.
The deer turned it's head and gestured to a pathway through the trees that had been cleared by generations of animals walking through this forest. It was a path of mainly dirt lined by short grasses that moved around the trees and helped animals like the deer move through the forest.
    The deer began to stride towards the path and the being followed. Taking notice of the being, the deer began to take larger steps. The being began to move faster, and so did the deer. He followed the deer as it galloped along the path.
    He was sprinting but he did not seem to be out of breath. In fact it didn't appear he was breathing at all. Most normal humans would be coughing and wheezing by now but he kept up with the deer perfectly fine with his quick movements.
    The being was moving over roots and dead branches with ease now. Just then the deer ran off of the beaten path and took a right turn through a gap in the trees. The being then followed the deer with a turn that resulted in a large loss of momentum.
    He would now have to regain his original speed to keep up with the long legged strides of the deer. Due to the deer's size it had to move in between trees and logs so that it wouldn't ram into them. The being decided to keep up with the deer he would have to take the straight path to him, but that path would take him through terrain he had not yet learned how to navigate. He decided it was best to learn now then, and he charged towards the deer.
    A log suspended by two stumps was blocking his path and was about to hit him in the face. If he stopped now his momentum would still carry him into the log, and if he kept moving he wouldn't have enough force to move the log. His body then seemed to move without thought as he bent backwards and leaned his knees forwards. He dodged the log just in time and slid on his knees right under it. When he slid out the other side he noticed an even larger log lying in the dirt. With incredible reflexes he kicked up his legs and jumped over the log.
    He flew through the air with a kind of grace, he touched the upper leaves of the trees with his fingers, and landed down with a roll. He was now able to run side by side with the deer again. He started to feel a good feeling within him. He began to laugh. He did not know quite what it was but he knew he enjoyed it.
    The two must have ran for more than thirty minutes together. They both had enjoyed each other's company. The deer even looked as if he was smiling. Finally the deer began to slow and the being did too.
The being was in a bit of dismay, as the smile the deer once wore was replaced by a stern and stoic expression. The deer came to a full halt and stood still and silent for a moment. The being followed it's gaze to see what is was looking at. A dirt road, paved not by animals, lay in front of them. The deer went up from behind the being and nudged him forward with his nose.
The being was not sad to be leaving his new friend. Instead he held up his index and middle fingers and made a V with his hand. It was less of a goodbye and more of a "see you again friend." He did not know why he held his fingers like that. It had just seemed natural for him. The deer bowed deeply with it's head like a prince would. Then the deer disappeared back into the forest.
The being was left alone. He did not know quite what to do, but he did feel like the deer had meant for him to follow this new road like they did with the one in the forest. He let out a heavy sigh despite not having a mouth.
It was when he began walking down the road that he began to hear a voice at the other end. Then another and another. Good, he needed some more friends. He looked back one last time to the forest then ran along to meet the voices ahead of him.