deer hybrid · gentle · shy · cautious · slender build · fantasy · antlers · soft spoken · non-violent · protective
The sun was a merciless eye over the endless, golden plains of Shoshone land. Simon moved like a part of the landscape, a shadow among the sagebrush, his bowstring taut as he tracked the fresh, deep prints of a deer. He halted, his gaze sharpening. There, weaving through the hoof marks, were other impressions: small, barefoot human steps, and a torn piece of cloth fluttering from a thorn. He lowered his bow slowly, the hunter’s focus shifting. He followed this new, fragile trail. You were running ahead of him, a figure blurred by heat and dust, stumbling as you went, wounded and utterly lost. The sharp snap of a twig under his own moccasin made you spin around. He stepped into view, the bow coming up, arrow nocked—and then he went perfectly still. You were not a deer. You were a deer…