As Marcella was pressed onward by her canine captor, she refused to let her brewing tears bubble over onto her cheeks. She twisted her fingers together and hummed comforting nursery rhymes in order to ignore the low and constant growl at her heels. The sun was setting when Silva guided Marcella to a low bush, filled with red berries.

"What? You want me to eat these?" The wolf sat and stared, flicking her tail. Marcella inspected the berries and played her fingers through their colors. They giggled and called to her, tempting her to fill her grumbling belly. "Are they going to kill me?" She looked at the ever silent Silva, who licked the scar on her snout with a lazy yawn.

Marcella didn't care anymore, if she died she'd be done with this whole misadventure, if she lived then at least she'd be full. She tasted one of the berries and the explosion of flavorful juices soothed her dry mouth. She found herself picking the bush clean in seconds, then licking the red from her fingers.

"Those were delicious . . ." She looked at Silva, who had gotten to her feet. "On the go again, so soon?"

Marcella's feet ached as she climbed over rocks and roots. The darkness which followed in the wake of the glorious sunset penetrated every corner of the forest, making the trek that much more difficult.

"Please . . . I'm so tired. Can we take a break?"

Nothing but a growl came from Silva, whose colors penetrated Marcella and lent her their energy. Her back straightened and her gait became more confident. She turned to the mysterious totem and nodded in thanks. Was this energy a gift, or simply a means to an end? Silva clearly wanted to take her somewhere, but what exactly was waiting for them at this other place? Marcella hoped that the feeling of joy she'd experienced in the basement was there, but realistically she knew it was more likely to be pain of some sort.

They came across a deep ravine, and Marcella peered over the edge. A jagged carpet of rocks covered the ground beneath them.

"Well?" She asked Silva, "what now?"

The wolf sniffed the air and prodded Marcella along the side of the ravine. Marcella became aware of the presence of other animals watching from the trees and hoped there wouldn't be a problem. Silva bit gently down on her sleeve and they both stopped walking. The wolf stepped out in front of the girl and sat, curling her tail around her flanks.

A slender doe stepped into view, her mouth moving slowly as she chewed a sprig of leaves. Silva stood on all fours again and inclined her head as the deer came close, tawny and purple frequencies dancing across her pelt. Marcella could see the last few lingering spots of her youth lining her back.

Suddenly there were deer everywhere. Adolescent stags, adult does, a gaggle of fawns who leapt in the grass together. A family that all stared with their intent gazes at Marcella and the wolf.

As Silva reached out and licked the still spotted doe, Marcella felt the air crackle and pop. A stag bigger than any other in the numerous herd bounded into the space between Silva and the doe. His antlers were out-of-season but enormous none the less. A roadmap of crisscrossing branches which seemed to join those of the trees above the beast.

The stag's colors were different from the other deer. They had a buzzing quality similar to the one which surrounded Silva. A quality which felt wrought with power.

The doe leapt back to join the others as Silva lifted her head, straightened her neck and tried to make herself seem bigger than she was. Her coat was puffed out and her tail curled into the air. The stag stared down at Silva, snorting and clapping its hoof against the ground until the wolf lowered her head in a bow.

With another snort and a flick of his stumpy tail, the stag turned to the ravine. He moved towards the edge, then looked back at Marcella. Silva joined him at the lip of the cliff as the herd of deer encircled Marcella, sniffing her and nibbling on her clothes and hair.

"Hey! Hey! Excuse me, that's mine!" She pulled her sleeve from the mouth of a particularly young fawn, then screeched as a cold nose wiggled under the hem of her shirt.

Silva sat at the stag's right and they watched the opposite side of the steep valley. Their frequencies tangled and the lights around them became one mass of colors. The stag looked down at Silva, who looked up at him and they turned on Marcella. She made eye contact with the stag, then turned to fend off another curious young doe.

The stag moved to a skinny tree and bent his head. He pressed his skull against the narrow trunk, one antler on each side, and Marclla heard the snap-crack of breaking wood. The tree fought back only minimally against the strength of the stag before giving in to the whims of the beautiful beast.

As the tree bridged the gap of the ravine, the stag turned back to Silva, who urged Marcella to cross.

"No way, what if I fall?" Silva didn't stop though, she pressed her head against Marcella's back and growled deep in her throat. Marcella sighed and whispered curses to herself as she climbed up onto the felled tree. She crawled on all fours, catching her breath every time her dead-tree-bridge shifted under her weight. She closed her eyes and pulled herself slowly along, aware that Silva stood behind her, poised to cross as well.

The wolf stepped up onto the tree and leapt over Marcella, who screamed. She looked over her shoulder and saw the stag blocking her path back to the other side of the ravine. The other deer, however, had their heads lowered in a deep bow. Marcella looked back at Silva, who was standing tall and proud, waiting for the girl to finish her crossing.

As Marcella moved on, she felt the tree crack and shift and she screamed again. She felt Silva's teeth rip into the back of her shirt and the wolf heaved her weight forward. The girl just managed to grab hold of solid ground before the tree snapped and fell into the sharp looking rocks below.

Marcella pulled herself up and looked back at the deer. All except the stag were still deep in their bows. Silva howled and pressed Marcella onward, with their backs to the ravine.

---

The stag turned back towards his herd. He snorted at the man who'd only just then made his presence known. The man reached out a tattooed hand and placed it against the stag's face. The man smiled and the stag pressed his nose against his hand.

The rest of the deer lifted their heads, each one stopping to sniff the man's long hair before continuing on their way into the forest. The man and the stag remained together until the others were gone and as suddenly as he had appeared the man vanished into the darkness of the night.

The stag continued on, disappearing after his family.