Username: ShadyBro
Name: Ahli
How did she get separated from her family?:
(I am so sorry for the wall of text this will surely become.)
The drought had been hard on the desert pack this year. The rains had yet to come, and the ground opened up in a vein work puzzle of cracks and despair. Bones and rotting bodies of Dusa littered the plains, as the group dragged on, scraping their hooves across the dirt as a sign of respect for the fallen. They bowed their heads, nuzzling their young close, and trudged on towards something they weren't sure would ever come. Ahli seemed especially broken spirited, as she hugged her mothers flank closely, never stepping farther out to nose a dead shrub or pounce on a gust of wind like the other fawns once had. She was full of fear and boiled over with anxiety, shivering and cowering closer to the pack each time they passed a pile of bone and fur, each time the smell of death would reach her, each time she watched as a tired Dusa would fall and lay still mid walk. Her mothers sunken body turned in front of her, sheltering her eyes as another fawn tripped and stumbled to the ground, never to get up again. It continued on like this for a while, long enough for the pack to loose half of its mass, before Ahli was startled by an odd feeling on her snout. She stopped and shook her head, her eyes wide in confusion, and it happened again. A pin prick on her tired nose from above. She looked up, and the heavens poured down on her. The whole pack stopped and called out to the sky in thanks as the rain pelted them with life saving water. Ahli ran about and splashed in the water as carefree as she ever was, farther away from the rumble of hooves from the more antsy Dusa. As the rain billowed down it became clear again where the lakes and streams had meant to be, and the pack rushed forward in a wild tumble towards the closest ever-growing stream. She turned to follow, and paused. Several Dusa were left where the pack had stopped, too tired to drink, taking in their last final breathes. Ahli watched sadly, thinking of how awful it must have been for them to make it this far, and yet never truly reach their salvation. Looking over the bodies she decided to say a final farewell to them, to show some kindness where the others had not. The first body she reached had been horribly trampled. The doe raised her head and looked Ahli straight in the eyes, a sad smile on her face, before laying back and going still as death crept over her. It was Ahlis mother. She was gone, and yet Ahli knew she could not let go. The little fawn laid down beside what was once her mother as the rain washed over them, curling her thin body into a tight ball at her mothers flank, just as they had used to sleep when the nights were cool and the trees overhead bared no cover from the chilling night air. Ahli shivered now, as she had then, but it was not of the cold this time. She closed her eyes and felt the downpour wash over her and ground turn steadily to mud, leaving the heaps of still warm bodies around her to sink into the ground, forgotten to all.
When her eyes opened, the world was alive again. It seemed a whole forest had sprung up around her in the matter of a few hours, as small saplings and desert shrubs began to show signs of green, birds sung overhead, and the tune of the desert played to the beat of humming insect wings. Ahli dug her way out of her muddy grave and shook the remnants of caked on mud out of her pelt. She was burdened with sadness, yet new hope, as she limped slowly towards the gushing river. It too had swelled overnight, and now ran clear with life. Ahli took no time jumping in and washing herself free of the scent of death, snapping her jaws at waterbugs and even slurping up a delicious lone toad for breakfast. However as she drug herself out of the water and lay at the bank, she realized a terrifying reality. The rumble of hooves and echos of snorts could no longer be heard. She stood and looked around at the swelling rivers and vibrant flora, only to finally see she was completely alone. A few lone desert creatures had made their way to the water as well, from small rodents and birds to larger more dangerous predators, and yet not a single Dusa remained. They had left, leaving Ahli all alone in the middle of the wild and dangerous desert, to die at the jaws of some cat or perhaps the pangs of her own heart breaking. She stood there and watched, as the world around her played on, leaving her forgotten as it had the others.
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