Great Escape

Featuring Starling & Einin
Mentions Fox & Corvo
Midsummer, Year 760 of the New Age
Windborne, Gumtree Hollow

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Einin
The healer was resting in the outskirts of Gumtree hallow, where the fawns were being kept. She was half dozing, taking a respite from checking upon the fawns. She knew Starling was close by, unable to come too close because of the guards keeping watch. Except, eyes flickered open when she heard movement, more than the normal shift of guards. Something was happening.

The chestnut rose to her feet, seeing Jeet, someone she'd only a little contact with, standing before a small group of does. Where where the guards? "Flit," Einin hissed, glancing at the creature on her shoulder. "Go get Starling, quickly!" she ordered, gesturing with her head out toward the open ground. With a twitter the swallow took off, having by know learned the tone and word associated with the chestnut stag.

With the bird gone on his errand, the doe trotted up to the others, her heart in her throat. An escape? There was an escape happening! Hope rose within her chest, determination soon following. She was going to help, and she knew Starling would too. However...something else had happened too. A bay doe sidled close to Einin, sympathy on her face.

"Einin," she whispered, tone low. "I'm sorry, but I just saw your fawn being ushered away from the does watching him earlier today. It looked like he was being taken to Fox," she told the healer, who had started to shake gently. "It looked like he was eager to go though, but I thought I'd tell you."

Corvo? Taken by Fox? Horrified gaze shifted, turning up her returned best friend as he approached. "Starling," she whispered, barely audible.

Starling
"But why should a fawn prefer the company to his father to his mother?" The chestnut stag shook his head slightly.
His informant, one of the does that kept regular watch of the main herd fawns while they played shook her head as well.
"I don't know, but he didn't hesitate, when the guard told him he was going to stay with his father now." She said.
Starling sighed deeply, so Fox had still managed to take Corvo. He had not ripped him away from Einin, but lured him away like a sly Blackwood. The fawn was weaned, so he was in no immediate need for his mother's milk anymore, but Starling still knew the news of her son leaving her to stay with his father instead would hurt Einin deeply. He had to tell her himself, he didn't want her to be told by any aquaintance from the fawnmaidens.
"Thank you Kalula, I need to go tell Einin now, I want her to know..." Starling was interrupted, when the familuar shape of Flit came into sight, the swift bird headibg straight for him, twittering and chirpping excitedly, when suddenly in the distance noise could be heard, like the herd was suddenly in motion.
"The fawns!" Kalula gasped and already was off.
"What happened?" Starling meanwhile asked Flit, yet already was following the bird back to Einin, who was standing with a doe, looking shocked, so he was too late, the doe already had told her about Corvo!
"Einin!" he called, as he approached, "What is happening?"

Einin
The swallow landed upon the doe's shaking back, chirping in worry, as his perch's eyes welled up with tears. "St-starling. Corvo, he's been....and the fawns, it's time..." voice trailed off, as Einin stood there in shock. What was she going to do? Her baby was in the hooves of Fox, someone she'd thought was different from the person who could fawnnap. But the captive fawns, there were so many, and they had a chance to go back to their mothers. All those mothers...against her one baby, who she knew adored his father. She shuddered, a pain like she hadn't ever truly felt before searing her chest. It had not even hurt like this the day Starling had left.

"The fawns...the guards are gone. It's time to free them. We have to go," Einin finally whispered, tone gaining in volume a little toward the end, as her heart chipped inside. She had to help those poor mothers, whose fawns had been away for so long. Had to help these scared little ones get back to their parents. If Corvo was safe, if he'd wanted to go with Fox...he'd be okay until she got back. Oh how she prayed to the wind, or whatever gods might listen, that was the case.

Others were already in motion, urging the startled young ones into motion, and then in the distance, a voice, and the sound of hooves as the guards approached. "We have to go!" Einin cried, leaping forward and nudging the closest fawns into a faster pace with her nose, tears sliding down her cheeks with the movement, as Flit darted into the sky once more.

Starling
The stag came to a halt, upon reaching Einin, nodding at her words with a sympathetic expression.
"I know, I heard. He apparently wasn't forced though, but wanted to go." he said, knowing this was a very bad comfort, but it might help Einin at least a tiny bit to know her fawn hadn't been forced away from her, but chosen to do so himself. It probably made the pain no less or the action more understandable for her, but maybe knowing he was save helped.
"I'm sorry, Einin. I . . ." yet Starling was cought off, when suddenly a great number of fawnlings came running their direction. Some adults and lots of fawns, whom they tried to herd away, some staying back to fight, while guards came after them.
The chestnut stag's eyes went wide, everything was Happening so fast, he heard Einin cry about them needing to help and already saw her racing off from the corner of his eye.
He immediatly ran after her, also softly, but determindly nudging some confused, panicing fawns into their middle as they ran, he didn't know were they were going exactly, but he suspected Westhaven, where he knew the alliance was currently residing.
"Keep on going! Keep pushing them on, this is probably the only chance!" he called to Einin beside him, when he saw a stag breaking through from the side.
Sending a strong blow at him, the unsuspecting stag found himself thrown off his feet, a fawn tumbling over him, Starling quickly nudging it back to it's feet and after Einin. They needed to stay close and run, run as fast and Long as they could. Einin had left her son behind to safe These fawns and bring them back to their mothers they had been ripped from and Starling was determinded to make Einin's sacrifice worth it!

Words:
Starling: 567
Einin: 546

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Follows this --->

So much fun to work with Dodger! She did the lines (I mean lookit em!) and I colored, shaded, and did a crappy background. Wheee!
This is a snippet after Starling and Einin meet back up again, when they help rescue the captured babs and join the Alliance!
But sadly, one bab got left behind, oh noooooo! ;A;

Starling played by DodgerMD
Einin is mine!