Ronno was up early the next day.
Emerging from the bed of grass he slept on, he hobbled up and yawned out his drowsiness. Arching his back, he stretched away the lingering aches for sleep, taking a moment to uncurl himself. Stiffening his legs out and leaning his head back, loud pop suddenly emitted from his spine. "Ung- ow," he winced, flinching a little as mild pain briefly flickered in his back before dying down. Shaking himself off, he dusted his tail and took a second to groom his chest. He quietly grazed his tongue over his fur, knowing he couldn't be too loud or he'll awaken his mother nearby. If everything was to go to plan, he had to slip away in silence. As he finished cleaning himself, then stopping to spit out a clump of fur, he took a deep breath and walked out into the morning.
The air was cold, subtly carrying a sharp chill that made him fluff up his fur for warmth. It would warm up later, but mornings in the forest always seemed to have low points in temperature. As he walked down the grassy path, gentle chirps could be heard in the trees above, a symbol that the birds were waking up. Ronno undeniably hated the sound, making him grit his teeth and wish he could ram his antlers into the trees and knock down the nests. He didn't have the strength for it, much to his annoyance, leaving him with the only option of flattening his ears and sucking it up as he walked.
He pushed through a wall of tall grass, crossing into a small dip that led to a rushing river. The beautiful water with shining stones and gentle plants made his face twist in disgust, remembering the humiliating fall he took the day prior. Despite the hateful thoughts swimming in his head, he couldn't resist his own thirst and leaned down to dip his tongue in the water.
"Hi!" A cheerful voice poked nearby, prompting the deer to flick his eyes up at the sound. A bright blue songbird was standing in the water, looking at him with a friendly smile. "Good morning," it said with a chirp, before quickly dipping its head in and shaking the water around it.
"Sure, I guess," the buck rolled his eyes, turning away a little as he continued drinking.
"Do you like the morning? I like the morning," the songbird continued, splashing more water over itself, "it's so pretty, the sky and the wind." It gave a short hop closer to the deer, who wasn't even looking. "Everyone's talking about you, by the way." He pointed with his feather, finally prompting a reaction from a deer.
"What are they saying?" Ronno looked at the bird with a raised eyebrow, water dripping from his mouth.
"You fell into the river, right?" The small avian giggled, "frankly, I think that's hilarious. But don't worry, I used to fly in the rain all the time and it made me-"
"I didn't fall, Bambi pushed me," Ronno said almost immediately.
"He did? I didn't-"
"Yes, he did," the deer sharply cut him off, "anyway, where's that field with the purple flowers?"
The bird hesitated, taken aback, "the... what?"
"The field, with purple flowers," Ronno growled, punctuating each word, "sheesh, are you listening?"
Taking a small step back in the water, the songbird lowered its head a little, "uh, yeah, sorry," it said apologetically, "it's just down there, past all the caves." He pointed with his wing off to his left. "Are you-" the bird stopped as Ronno sharply turned and walked off, leaving the avian alone in the river. Feeling hurt, the songbird gave a small sigh and went back to his bath.
"I hate birds," the deer muttered grimly as he kept his head low.
Speeding up his pace, the deer walked out into an expansive field generously gleaming with colored flowers. The number of trees in the area was scarce, allowing the sun to shine right down onto the petals and give them a lovely shine. Crushing a blue flower under his hoof, he scanned his eyes over each color as he bulldozed his way along the field. Finally stopping in his tracks, he spotted a clump of purple flowers among the whites and yellows.
"There you are." A grin spread across his face.
Bouncing over to the pile, he carefully lowered himself to the ground and snipped the stems with his teeth. Taking great care not to let the petals touch his tongue, he grabbed hold of three flowers in his mouth and ran off with them.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Across the forest, Bambi sat on top of a high ledge that overlooked a large portion of the land. Sitting back, he stayed still with closed eyes, trying again to hone his senses for the forest. With steady breathing, he kept his ears open as the cool wind passed along him. The sounds of the branches shaking their leaves in the breeze, the distant singing of the birds, there was a meaning to it all that he strived to understand. Frustration climbed him, causing a faint twitch on his lip as he fought to keep his focus. After a few quiet seconds, Bambi moved his head slightly as if he was tuning himself until his face completely twisted in agitation.
"I can't find it," he sighed, giving in as he opened his eyes, "what am I doing wrong?"
"Don't see it as doing something wrong," came a deep voice behind him, "think of it like something is missing."
"Well what's missing then?" Bambi complained, turning his head back to his father.
Pushing himself up from where he watched, the fully grown stag walked over to his son, "well, what do you think is missing?"
"I don't-" Bambi stuttered, shaking his head, "how am I supposed to know?!" Sharp agitation flashed in his voice, "this is what I'm fated to do but I can't even do it properly!" He faltered for a few seconds before his voice faded into a sigh, "I'm never going to find it, aren't I?"
His father gave a warm smile, "don't say that now, in time you will find your way."
The young buck refused to make eye contact, looking crestfallen as he lifelessly gazed at the ground. "You know, everyone already refers to me as the prince, even though I'm not. It's like they forgot you existed."
"I don't think so," his father chuckled slightly, "it sounds like they're welcoming you, happy to accept you as the future leader."
"I mean, sure, but..." Bambi paused slightly, trying to find his words, "I kinda just wish they... didn't?"
"You don't want to be the prince?"
"No- wait, I mean- yes!" He stuttered, "but like... not right now, I guess? I'm barely growing out of being a fawn, I don't want people to already want me to be some... great royal figure who has to do all this stuff." He paused for a moment, hating his inability to form his words, "I just... I just wanna play sometimes, you know? Didn't you ever get to play when you were a fawn?"
It was a genuine question that floated in the adult stag's mind, making him look out while his old memories returned to him. "I did," he said simply, letting a smile crawl on his stern expression, "I had friends, three of them to be exact. The one I was closest to was named Azi," his voice filled with old remembrance, and Bambi looked up at his father as he continued, "we got into a lot of trouble as fawns, me and him." He laughed, "oh this poor old doe, she yelled at us so many times!"
The mood lightened, Bambi giggled at the thought of his father being a troublesome fawn, "so... where's Azi now?"
Frowning slightly, the stag sighed for a moment before answering, "well, we grew up. He went his own way, and I went mine. That's just how it ended, Bambi, not everything lasts forever."
"I wish it did..."
"My point is," he said, switching a sterner tone, "I understand not wanting to be a prince, especially at your age, but you are and you need to learn how to be one. However, that doesn't mean you won't have time to have fun," he smiled softly, "sometimes you just need to do the more important things first, then go play after."
"I hate that," Bambi said dryly, sticking out his bottom lip.
"We all do," his father stood up, looking down at him, "now, feeling hungry?"
Breaking into a smile, the small deer eagerly nodded his head. With a bounce in his step he followed the older stag down the hill, although the spoken words earlier still lurked in his mind. He dared not speak of it, but Bambi had plenty more to say regarding his future position, only stilling his tongue to save himself from any reprimanding.
They walked along a forest path, the sun shining down on them from a break in the treeline. "Can I ask you something?" Bambi spoke, trotting beside his father.
"Of course."
"How did you and mom meet?"
The question stopped the older deer for a split second, freezing him in his step. His gentle eyes widened, showing small flickers of panic as he hastily regained his composure. "Your mother, eh?" He said, trying to ignore the climbing sadness in his heart. Flicking his gaze down to Bambi, who was still looking up at him innocently, he sighed and looked off into the distance.
"I believe I was young, my antlers were just stubs at the time, just like yours. I was running with Azi through the forest," he stopped mid-sentence to chuckle, his old eyes filling with wondrous remembrance, "we were just chasing one another, not really going anywhere in particular. I'm pretty sure we were shattering twigs and bushes as we raced through them, and you wouldn't believe all the animals that yelled at us as we passed."
"Really?" Bambi skipped ahead, walking backward as he watched his dad, "how many?"
"Half the forest I'm sure!" He said joyfully, holding his breath to force down a fit of laughter, "as I said, I got into quite a few antics back then, wouldn't be surprised if I broke a nest or two. So after a while, Azi and I crossed into a field where some of the herd was feeding. It was my turn to run away, and I thought I could lose him darting under everyone."
"Did you?"
"Absolutely not," the stag waved off, a chuckle bouncing through his voice, "but Azi never caught me fair and square, I just got... distracted."
"Distracted?" Bambi almost tripped over a rock with how mesmerized he was by the story, "by what?"
"That would be your mother," a starry expression spread on the Great Prince, "I saw her and... well that was it. I couldn't look away from her, at least until I crashed into her dad."
The fawn was aghast, breaking into joyful bleating noises, "you hit her dad?" He said in disbelief.
"Indeed I did," his father gave a nervous chuckle, "I had never seen someone get so mad. Azi was probably uttering apologies like crazy, but I just couldn't take my eyes off your mother. We met then and there, and from that point on, she started making jokes about me fighting her dad."
"I wonder if I'll meet my mate like that," Bambi wondered aloud, imagining the possibilities.
"Meet your-" the older stag blinked in confusion, "I thought you already had one? I was under the impression you and Faline were close."
"What?" Bambi's face twisted, stuttering in his words, "no, no no no, ew. We're just friends, I don't like her like that."
"Really? You had me fooled."
"I don't think I'll ever have a mate to be honest. There just isn't anyone I really feel that way towards."
Nodding in understanding, the older buck gave his son a small smile, "don't worry about it so much. Our loved ones tend to appear when we least expect it." He suddenly frowned, his tone falling, "you've grown well, Bambi, if only your mother could see you now... she'd be very proud of you."
Coming to a slow stop, Bambi could feel the shift in the mood as his face gently fell. He quickly regretted his question as his stomach ached, leaving him with only a sinking empty feeling inside. An uncomfortable silence followed them as walked through a wall of foliage, emerging into a sunny field of vibrant green grass. "Now, enough of all that," his father perked up, "why don't you eat something for now?"
Not needing to be told twice, the young buck sped ahead, jumping into the field as he searched for a good spot. His father watched him with a remorseful gaze, the sting in his heart growing more difficult to suppress. Shaking his head softly, he sighed to himself and walked down to join his son. There was a feeling of uncertainty as he approached the fawn, a mood Bambi was completely oblivious to as he pulled up chunks of grass.
"So um," the fawn turned, a flower halfway in his mouth, "I do have another question though, and this..." he trailed off, face scrunching up in confusion, "I'm not really sure how to ask this."
His father looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You tell me all the time," Bambi ran his hoof along the dirt for a moment, "that I'll find a doe to spend my life with."
"And you will," the adult deer nodded.
"But what if I..." the fawned winced, looking aside, "what if I'm not looking for a-"
A voice suddenly sprung up a few feet away, "Great Prince!!" A rabbit sprinted over, cutting off Bambi's train of thought. Both deer turned their heads at the interruption, Bambi secretly thankful his question was cut short. Coming to a stop in front of them, the white bunny panted in exhaustion, his face tired and panicked.
"Hey now," Bambi's father stood up quickly, his face gone serious, "what's the matter?"
"Everyone-" the rabbit coughed out loud, needing to stabilize itself to breathe, "everyone's sick!"
"Sick?" The fawn echoed, "with what?"
"We- I... we don't know!" The bunny said in quick succession, "we all ate from our meal pile, and suddenly everyone fell ill!" His frail voice cracked under the fear, "the infants have nearly turned green!"
The mention of the children sprang the Great Prince into action, his face hardened as he turned to the rabbit, "where are they?!"
"This way!" The small animal bounced off, with Bambi's father walking beside him.
"Wait!" Bambi tried to follow, "what about-"
"We'll talk later!" His father shouted over his shoulder, "go home!"
Slowing a stop, the fawn stood slightly crestfallen as he was left alone. Frowning as he watched the two disappear back into the trees, he sat back down in a slump and tried to resume his meal. Several minutes passed of Bambi pushing around his food with a sigh, wishing he had someone to talk to. As the silence around him was filled with the rustling of leaves and wind, he lowered himself onto his belly and tried again to listen to the forest. Shutting his eyes, he slowly went through some deep breathing, deeply inhaling and exhaling to calm himself as much as possible.
"Peace..." he whispered to himself, "peace-"
A darker-furred deer stalked up behind him, scoffing loudly, "you talk to yourself now? Weird."
Bambi opened his eyes at Ronno's voice, immediately slouching in agitation, "can you go away, please? I'm trying to do something here."
Raising an eyebrow, Ronno leaned forward to whisper in Bambi's ear, "you're weird." The close contact made the fawn jump up in surprise, shaking his head at the itchy sensation that tingled his eardrum. "But at least now we know," Ronno said with a condescending voice, "that you're nothing but a lowlife princess who can't even hear correctly."
"Who are you calling a princess?" Bambi said with an annoyed tone, ears flattened in agitation. "Just go away!"
"Do you believe in omens? Magic, all that stuff?" The boastful deer continued, walking over Bambi's grass patch, "well, the whole forest just saw one. The bunnies are sick!"
"You-" the young prince began, before widening his eyes, "you know about that?"
"Of course, I just came from there! It was such a horrible sight," Ronno said with a coo in his voice, "all those poor cottontails sick and ill. It's an omen, Bambi; a sign that you're gonna bring this forest down worse than Man ever will."
"That's not-" Bambi started to say, anger rising in him, "you can't- why would..." he searched for an answer, slow confusion turning to horror. Even if he didn't believe a word the young buck was saying, Bambi's own insecurities were quick to take the helm. His voice shut off for a second, his breathing quickening as a dire cloud formed in his stomach.
Ronno took it a step further, circling the other deer with his head raised high, "oh if only we had someone with an actual spine to be your father's successor. Maybe bigger antlers too..." he muttered to himself, musing with an imaginative expression, "maybe darker fur, I can think of a couple of deer who would be perfect," he turned to him with a smug expression, "I think I could do it, what do you think?"
Not listening to a word he had been saying, Bambi felt himself begin hyperventilating. Without another word he turned and raced off for the forest, kicking up grass and flowers.
"And then- hey!" Ronno protested as Bambi sped past him, "I wasn't done talking about me!" His shouted words fell on deaf ears as the young deer raced away, vanishing through the bushes and knocking leaves into the air. Now left alone, Ronno scoffed to himself, "left with someone else was talking, rude." The mental image of Bambi looking panicked and terrified was his new favorite look, an expression he hoped to see on the young prince every day. Amused at his crooked interest, Ronno leaned down to bite at the patch of grass for a quick snack. "Alright, time to get out of here." He spits out specks of dirt, before turning to run off, aiming for the farther edges of the forest. He'd have to hide out until everything blew over, but it wouldn't too bad as he stockpiled food in a distant area. Now he had just had to play the waiting game.
-.-.-.-.-.-
"Omens don't exist," Bambi repeatedly told himself as he traveled, "but do they?" A sick feeling climbed in him, "I shouldn't be getting so worked up about this." Shaking his head, he tried to quell the feeling of dread scratching his skin. Anxiety bubbling in his stomach like a bad case of indigestion, he jumped over a small river and came to a stop at the other side. Sniffing the air, he honed on the direction leading to the burrows where he'd find a close friend.
"Thumper?" He called out, trotting over the small hills of dirt that marked the tunnels. "You around? Hey!" He fixed his eyes on a bushy white tail sticking out of the dirt. "Thumper, that you?" The deer raced over and came to halt, looking down at the tail.
The rabbit below pulled itself out, surprised by the sudden voice. Bambi furrowed his eyes upon seeing that it was just another bunny. "Oh sorry, I-"
"Great prince!" The small animal cut him off, "everyone's sick!"
"I know, I got the news earlier. What happened?"
Letting out a shaky sigh, the small animal looked afraid, "well... we all gathered around our pile like we usually do."
"You eat from a pile?" Bambi accidentally interrupted.
"We gather plants and other things into one big pile for a feast," the rabbit hastily explained, "it's quite nice, and it gives us time to spend with each other as a family." His voice gained a flicker of endearment, only to soon drop back into cold fear, "they started before me, I was late to the dinner and my mom considers it enough to not be formally seated. I came back, and everyone was sick."
"You didn't eat any?"
"Do I look sick to you?" The bunny retorted.
"Sorry, sorry," Bambi said with a wince, "I'm just... really confused right now. Do you think I'll be a bad leader?"
"A bad le- what?" The rabbit tilted its head in confusion, "where did this come from? You lost your spots like a few days ago, you're barely grown." Tapping its foot in annoyance, it furrowed its brow and turned to dig back underground, "I'm a little occupied with my family being sick to worry about anything like that."
Feeling awkward, Bambi turned to leave despite worrying that he had offended the rabbit. "Hey what a minute," he suddenly turned back, "do you still have the pile?"
"I... I guess, it's still in the burrow, I don't wanna touch it."
"Okay, uh, dumb question," the deer sat down in the grass, "but could you maybe... like, bring it to me?"
"The pile?"
"Yeah, my dad is currently with the others, I don't think he'd mind if I did a little investigating." A bitterness rolled off his tongue, as Bambi knew full well how much of a lie that was. Despite being strictly told to go home, a good leader didn't sit idly by while everything went to chaos. "Or maybe just bring me one of everything," he added, "there's gotta be some kind of clue in there."
"Oh, well if you think it'll help." The bunny said, then turned and dug completely into the tunnel, disappearing underground. Letting his ambitious demeanor fall for a split second, Bambi let out an uncomfortable sigh. Leaning down to groom his leg, he tried to wash away the feelings of anxiety and discomfort, praying his father would find him somewhere he wasn't supposed to be.
The bunny finally resurfaced, carrying a bundle of plants in its paws. "Alright here, this is a little of everything we had in the pile." They spread their arms and let it all fall into the dirt. A variety of leaves and plants collapsed before the deer, and right nothing looked too out of the ordinary.
"Grass, leaves," Bambi muttered, pushing them around with his nose, "stems... what's this?" He raised an eyebrow as he nudged a leaf out of the way, revealing a purple petal underneath it.
"Oh that's a flower," the bunny noted, "we eat petals all the time. They're not too healthy, but they sure do taste good."
"Okay but, this petal," the young buck tapped his hoof on the small plant, "where did you find it?"
"Dunno, we just found them all outside our burrow."
It took Bambi a moment, but a wave of shock finally went through him. His ears flattened as he turned back to the rabbit, "do you know what this is?" His voice had risen slightly, "these flowers are poisonous!"
"They are?"
A stomachache churning in him at the mere sight of the petal, Bambi crouched low to inspect the vibrantly-colored plant. "Father says they're called Wispbane, really pretty to look at but terribly poisonous if eaten." Disgusted at the flower's presence, he recalled the rabbit's words and realized something didn't add up; "You said you found them outside your burrow? They don't grow in these parts, I'm pretty sure."
"They weren't growing," the bunny pointed, "momma said they were just kinda... dropped. They looked tasty."
"Dropped? Was anyone else around?"
"Uhh, coming back, I ran into a deer," the small animal narrowed its eyes, thinking hard about the events prior, "I said hi, but he practically ran over me."
"A deer?" Bambi questioned, fearing where this was going, "what did he look like?"
"Well, he looked like you, for starters, but a little darker and he had a chipped ear."
That first part tripped Bambi's senses, "like me? You mean he was on the younger side?" His voice was pained, dreading the answer to the question.
The bunny eagerly nodded his head, "yeah, sound like anyone you know?"
"Yes," Bambi said with flattened ears, grimacing with disgust in such a way that made the bunny stutter, "in fact I just spoke with him, back in the fields from where I came."
"Really? Maybe we should tell your dad."
Bambi didn't answer right away, the words hung in the air and suspended around his mind. To get his father would technically be the best option, but in the process, he would forfeit much of what he was already working for. Furthermore, alerting his father would simultaneously reveal that he disobeyed the order of going home, and Bambi wasn't too keen on getting hit with another reprimand. Shaking his head, the deer knew what he had to do. "No, I'm not going to annoy my father with something I could do myself."
"Yourself?"
"A good leader doesn't wander helpless and ask for help," Bambi said fiercely, "I'm going after Ronno. Just wait; I'll drag him back here, and he'll get the justice he deserves."
Before the bunny could say anything else, Bambi had jumped up and sped off back for the fields. Thinking purely on impulse, his heart filled with drive and ambition, supercharging with every thought of dragging Ronno in.