Chapter Text
Lenore was tired.
Tired of the verbal and even physical abuse she faced daily from her father, the passive mother who refused to even look at her, the mind-altering drugs brought to her by the medics of the herd to "keep her tranquil" per her father's requests, and the incessant looks she received from other herd members ranging from pity to rage, She supposed she deserved all of it. After all, it was her fault her beloved brother, Theo, was dead, squashed like a bug under a tree in a violent storm, all because she refused to be wed to a backwoods hick of a stag from a nearby herd.
She finally had enough; she would finally escape this hell hole once and for all and leave all of this behind her. She paced her room deep in thought, her cloven deer hooves clopping lightly on the wooden floor of the dusty attic of her family's cabin, which she had been resigned to for the last few years of her life.
Her plan of escape was all set, but anxiety gnawed at her mind as her thoughts raced: could she really leave her whole life behind? Where would she go once she got out?
"Anywhere would be better than here.." She whispered to herself dejectedly, tears threatening to spill from her glossy, oceanic eyes.
She took a deep breath—no more time to ponder—before opening up the rounded window, letting a cool breeze brush through her short raven hair, giving her a slight chill. She looked up, admiring the twinkling, bright stars, for a moment, realizing it was finally midnight before she quickly spun around, facing the room with a determined look in her eyes and her ears laying flat against her head.
She nodded to herself. This ended tonight.
Striding towards the shelf full of ether, she began sweeping them with fervor off and onto the floor, watching as they collided into a shower of glass and flammable fluid that filled the room with an intense, pungent, sickly sweet smell, making her slightly light-headed.
Walking back to her bed, she quickly scooped up her already packed shoulder bag, a gift from Theo. She took a moment to run her hand over the deep rose color of the red leather, smiling faintly before returning to her newly made mess.
Grabbing the already lit lantern with a flickering flame, she took one last look around the room before narrowing her eyes, lowering her ears, and shattering the lantern onto the floor, enjoying the satisfying crack of it shattering into a million pieces before flames burst out at her, threatening to set her ablaze.
Booting the attic door open, almost knocking it off the weak hinges as it let out a pitiful squeak with a single powerful kick of the leg, she practically tripped over her own hooves and tumbled down the stairs, landing flat on her face. With a groan, she shook off the pain and pushed onward to the front door of the cabin, now filling with a heavy layer of smoke, and into the wooded outside world, vowing never to look back.
The only sound that filled the quiet forest was her ragged breath, the pounding of her jackrabbit heart, and the occasional sound of a stray cricket as she weaved through trees, shrubs, and roots. The soft wind blew through her hair as she ran in a way that had never made her feel more free. Her lungs burned and her limbs grew tired, but she couldn’t stop, as if something was pulling her to keep going..
Even as the sun began to rise, the birds, once loud and strident, were now eerily silent. Perhaps it was an omen of the dangers that lay ahead, she thought with a dark chuckle, finding the thought oddly humorous, just fleeing her mind before her foot caught on something that made a sharp crushing sound as something sank into her cloven foot, shooting pain up her leg and sending her crashing down into the forest floor, slamming her head on a sharp rock, causing the world around her to spin before everything went dark.