Icelit

The white-tailed deer picked her way gingerly across the ground, lifting her nimble legs high and daintly and craning her slender neck as she did so. Her stomach was round and buldging with twin fawns that were soon due. Still, she had not learned to be very fearful of dogs or wolves. The trauma she endured over a year ago was still mentally crippling.

Kiva

Demon had been watching the doe for a while. Golden eyes gleamed with hunger, as canine stayed downwind. He sniffed the air quickly for any danger.

Icelit

Icelit's tail flicked back and forth now and then. She stopped beside the water and arched her head downward to get a drink. As she did so, her ears rotated about like sonars, listening for danger. Still, she wasn't as alert as she should be. Her glossy brown eyes searched over the murky water as she drank, wondering where her alligator friends were.

Kiva

He licked his lips. Why wasn't she skittish? Never had he seen a completly relaxed doe. A pregnant one at that. He continued staring, perhaps she knew something he didn't...He continued keeping a constant lookout for anything out of the ordinary.

Akili & Dima

From the water rose a dark brown snout, about a half a foot in length. Two speckled, golden eyes slid open next. Then the bumpy, log-looking back surfaced. The young alligator was only about three or so feet in length; nothing that could do a lot of harm to a deer or a wolf. She glided towards Icelit, keeping the entire upper part of her body visible as she did so. Once reaching the bank, she piped up, "Icelit! I haven't seen you forever!"

Soon, a second alligator appeared, slightly larger than the female, but shorter due to part of his tail being gone. He was also missing nearly all of a leg and had many scars on him. Not able to quite 'glide' through the water with part of a tail, he swam more furiously until he reached the shore. He climbed onto the land slowly, since the weather was not yet warm enough to permit the reptiles quick movements. "Hey, Icelit." he greeted her, then sprawled his three legs out to bask in the sun. These two gators, along with Galar, were the only ones in the marsh who wouldn't attack Icelit or any wolves. Other deer, of course, were still on the menue.

Kiva

Never seeing anything remotly resembling an alligator, he snorted a bit surprised. 'They know this deer?' he continued staring.

Fuzz

Fuzz the beaver was swimming silently through the calm water when he suddenly noticed waves pushing him back. trying to raised his head out of the water more, he paddled upward, and caught a glimpse of the two alligators, the deer, and the scent of a wolf. With a shrill squeal, he paddled quickly to shore, gasping as he waddled about in circles, then climbed up a near-by tree, where he noticed some good bark and started ripping it. He got to the inside, where the fresh bark was, and started ripping it off and eating it. He looked down from the big branch he was on and stared down hard. He sat back and silently nibbled and ate the tasty bark. He was completely noticable in the tree, for he was moving very much, patting his solf tail on the branch.

Icelit

Icelit drew her head up and gave it a toss, delighted to see her friends. "Akili, Dima! I'm glad to see you! Where's Galar? I should like to visit with him too." Suddenly her head came up and she looked about. Was that a snort she just heard? The doe turned and bobbed her head, letting her large ears swivel this way and that, trying to locate the noise she heard. It was deffinately from some other animal, but she could tell what or where. And again, instead of being frightened, Icelit was curious and not too alarmed at all.

Galar, Akili, & Dima

Just as Fuzz left the water, there was a great splash and two massive jaws snapped shut just inches from his flat tail. Galar's mustard eyes followed the movement of the beaver he had just missed catching. The cold weather had slowed him down too much, and there was something in the water... it was beginning to affect him and it would begin to affect ever other water creature in the marsh as well soon enough. Galar blinked at Fuzz before clambering up on shore and resting his huge body down to warm in the sun. He hadn't eaten all winter and his stomach was rumbling, but he could not hope to catch a beaver perched in a tree. He was too sluggish with cold to put up a chase on land, too.

Akili and Dima turned their heads in the direction of the splash they heard. "Heh, there he is. Just missed a meal, too. I can't wait till I'm big enough to catch a beaver." Akili pointed out, then looked to Icelit. "What is it? Did you hear something?" The alligators didn't have nearly as good of hearing as deer did.

Kiva

Noticing that he had just been heard, brute shifted through the trees quietly. Soon he saw yet another one of the strange reptillians. He watched as it attempted to snag a beaver. Though it was slow, it had an impressive set of teeth. He yawned, his stomach rumbled. He needed to find something to eat. He sighed heavily, a deer would've been nice. But the doe would live another day. He then got up from hiding and loped back to more fertile lands, white pelt standing out against the dark scenery.