Phantom Hollow Save your scissors

By dusk, the herd had reached the forest, a dark mix of conifers and deciduous with buds ready to burst with the next rain. Here, a bed of dead ferns lay below the thin veil of mist, making each step ring out with a crisp crunch. Here, Fancy thought, they might be safe. Even a sure-footed predator would have trouble sneaking up on them without being heard. 

She led the band toward fresh water, ambling along at a slow pace so that Cedar could keep up. She could see a hollow sunken in above the mare’s eyes, and the concern that lined her brow. She was in pain, but there was little she could do for the mare other than keep her safe. Even if she did survive the injury, her ankle would be thick and knotted; she would be the weakest link in the band aside from @Selenia’s foal. 

The water of the river burbled quietly. Fancy stood watch so that the others could drink in the waning light.

cedar was not doing well. selenia whickered softly to her, taking a sisterly role and seeing that both her foal and the injured mare slaked their thirst there beside the water.

hunger drove her to nibble at the ferns, and she arched a brow at fancy when the others had settled, sidling along the lead-mare. 

"should we talk with the elk? or the deer?" she asked, nosing toward the cut of antlers in a nearby tree. selenia was not averse to traveling with others, and now that maplesmoke was nowhere, she found herself antsier to be alone.

perhaps those wolves had killed him. her heart ached.

Fancy flicked an ear toward the mare, though her eyes continued to track a lone sparrow that flitted through the woods. It was so quiet, she could hear the fluttering of its wings over the rippling river. 

A moment later, she registered what Selenia had asked, and snorted softly. A glance told her that the question was serious, and she remembered that Selenia had survived for some time under the protection of the bison. ”If you have any luck talking to elk, let me know,” She drawled. ”Then again, deer’ll flee at the first twig snap. If there are wolves in the area, they’ll know, but they won’t stick around.” They would be dropping their fawns now, too. She shook out her mane and considered Selenia with a longer look, before she gave the mare a slightly skeptical smile.

”I’m not used to considering other beasts as herd,” She said, reaching for a mouthful of green. ”Though their stories aren’t too different from ours,” She admitted.

fancy's skepticism slowly paled beneath her provided clarity. selenia nodded. "one of the bison, umini, well. she was the one who convinced her clan to take me in. their herd has many family groups who travel together. only her relatives tolerated me on their side of the grass."

"and you're right about deer, but they have to stay close. they leave their fawns in the deadfall. wolves roaming means dead fawns. elk are the the rudest," selenia declared, taking another hungry mouthful of fernleaf. "they truly think they're better than all the other plant eaters, because they're tall, but once i helped one get his dumb antlers unstuck and he told me that each elk can be called upon to help, just once."

there was more to say about caribou and antelope, but selenia went on eating now, casting a protective eye on silverbirch and then cedar.

Selenia’s wisdom had never truly been overlooked, but it had been under appreciated. Fancy’s ears flicked forward as she spoke openly about other hooves creatures, noting with interest the story about the elk. 

She huffed, impressed. There was lore here that had not yet been tapped; she was eager to hear more of it. 

”We’ll have to call you Herdspeaker,” She said.

"i'll do it," selenia grinned. "there's help for horses, always, if we know where to go and where to look."

assured then, she drew close to fancy, intent to follow when the lead mare joined their herd together once more for any travel.