The Lion & The Deer

Deer runs freely through the forest, not a care in the world. She looks around to see countless other deer, all running alongside her. Deer closed her eyes, running blind a moment while she enjoyed the cool wind, rushing refreshingly over her as she ran. She wasn't sure where they were heading, but she didn't mind. This was what she loved doing most. Just running, endless shades of green passing by in a blur, one of many. One of the herd.

One of the herd. Until the rest of the herd suddenly disappeared, and she was all on her own. It took her a while to notice. She just went on running, too busy enjoying the breeze and the blurry greenery she passed to notice anything had changed.

She heard it before she saw it. The deafening, unmistakable sound of a roar. Stupidly, she stopped dead. She froze, wide eyed, like she'd been caught in a car's headlights, simply staring into the nothingness straight ahead of her. Just for a second. A second too long. Because a second was all the time it took for him to come closer.

He stood tall before her, casting a foreboding shadow over her. Deer shivered. This chill was not pleasant like the cool breeze washing over her as she'd run. This chill was the kind that sent her heart racing up to a supposedly safer place in her throat. She looked up and into the blazing eyes of Lion. He bared her teeth at her, letting out a snarl from deep within his throat. 

Deer closed her eyes and took a breath, trying her best to ignore the heat from Lion's breath blowing against his face. Opening her eyes again, Deer took stock of her surroundings. The tiniest of smiles escaped her lips briefly at the sight of a small opening she could just maybe squeeze through. It was tight, but she could do it. She looked back to see that Lion had stepped closer and was bending down, his nose just about touching her own.

Little did Deer know of the experiences Lion had had growing up as the youngest cub in a large family. He's had to fight for everything he got. Food, water, affection from their parents. Though it would have pleased his father, the King of the pride, it had affected Lion deeply. He had buried the wounds as best he could and released his pain in his thunderous roar, at times a warning, at others a signal of his triumph.

And so he stood before Deer. One lunge toward her with his sharp teeth bared, one swipe with his piercing claws erect was all it would take. He looked at her, his eyes baring deep into hers. He could sense the fear hidden well beneath. He hesitated for a moment, before the loud rumble of his belly pulled him from his brief daydream. Opening his mouth, he lunged toward her, her neck soon in his throat.

Once Lion had wandered away, a younger deer emerged carefully from the bush where they'd been silently hiding. They approached their fellow herd member. A shudder ran through the younger deer at the sight of Deer, lying motionless, lifeless on the leaf strewn forest floor.

A fawn may have been traumatised by the sight, but this deer, though young, was old enough to know the ways of nature. This deer knew that Deer, just like him, was intelligent. He knew that Lion was ruthless, just as he'd been raised to be. This deer knew that a creature like Lion, had had a life before this, a life that had caused him hurt. He operated from a place of pain, the only way he knew how. By preying on the innocent.