Chapter Text
April 3rd, 2020 | 12 PM
Village of Avonhaven
~~~
It was relatively warm for early April, the midday sun bathing the forests of Avonhaven in golden light and a comfortable heat.
Beau thought the scene looked rather serene from where he was standing, greenery mottled with the bright pink cherry blossoms of spring. As the petals fluttered through the sky, Beau reached out to grab one, only for it to escape his grasp.
As he gave the forested village one last look, he knew he would miss this place. It was a cosy little community, and it had been his home for 2 years. There was nothing wrong with it really, the fruits matched his fur remarkably well, and they were delicious. He didn't think ‘orange’ was a very creative name for an orange fruit though.
Still, as much as Beau appreciated the village, he felt it was time to leave. He felt new horizons calling to him once again, and that was a call he could never resist. He already knew where he was going, it was just a matter of getting there now.
As he entered Avonhaven Train Station (he had always liked how that rhymed), the relative darkness and coolness surprised him a bit. He blinked and rubbed his eyes with a paw as he adjusted.
Then he realised there was no train. Beau had been told a train to the city would be arriving at midday, but he was pretty sure that he could not see, nor hear any trains nearby. He briefly wondered if he had somehow overslept again, and had to check to confirm it was indeed 12 o'clock.
Beau let out a surprisingly high-pitched yawn as he began to wonder why he had made so much effort to get up and get here in time. He walked toward Porter, the monkey who seemed to have an improbable amount of identical siblings, and cleared his throat.
“Uh… excuse me, I was told there'd be a train to the city coming at midday. Do y'know what happened to it?” Beau asked tentatively, peering out slightly to look down the train tracks.
Porter lifted his head, a smile spreading across his face. “Ah, Beau. On your way out I take it? Unfortunately, we've had a few delays these last few days. Apparently, Easter eggs keep being found scattered along the tracks. Makes me wonder who would go to the effort of putting those there, eek eek!”
Beau winced slightly at the shrill sound of the monkey's screech. “Eggs on the tracks? Who'd do that when they could just eat them? That's what I'd do… in moderation of course, saltlick!”
“Well why don't you sit down over there,” Porter gestured to the seats to Beau's right, “It'll be a while until the train arrives yet, eek eek!”
Beau sharply exhaled at the sound again, before moving to take a seat. He placed his suitcase beside him. Considering it held all of his current possessions from his house, it was surprisingly light, and was covered in stickers of every fruit imaginable.
Beau sat back in the seat as he readjusted his green jacket. It looked a little faded and worn, and wasn't exactly suitable for this weather, but he found great comfort in wearing it whenever he could. It had a lot of nostalgic smells attached to it.
Feeling comfortable and still quite tired, it didn't take long for Beau to fall asleep, his mouth open as he snored gently. He didn't even realise he had dozed off until a tap on his shoulder jolted him awake.
Wide-eyed and sputtering, Beau saw the massive human head of Avonhaven's Mayor before him. Mayor Thaddeus Bluebelle grinned at Beau's response, and stood back. He was a young man, dark-haired and with green-ish eyes, and with a constant playful smile plastered on his face.
“Beau! You weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you? I thought I'd missed you already.”
Beau regarded the human with bewilderment from his interrupted slumber. “Wha- you nearly made my antlers fall off, Thad!” Beau took a moment to slow his breathing before continuing, “Anyway, I thought I said goodbye to you yesterday… or did I dream that?”
Thaddeus laughed at the deer's startled response. He'd made a habit out of waking Beau from his afternoon dozes over the years, often to all kinds of different responses. “Well, yeah you did, but I wanted to say goodbye again. You'll be greatly missed around here Beau, everyone only has nice things to say about you.”
Beau smiled widely, his eyes lighting up in gratitude. “Thanks Thad. I'll miss Avonhaven, and you'll always have a place in my heart.”
“Well, I wish you the best of luck on that new deserted island. I can't imagine navigating such a wilderness myself, but you seem to love it!”
Beau remembered how Thaddeus has always been more of a town person. Avonhaven was rural, but also very organized and curated. You could barely get out of your front door before you saw some kind of project that Thaddeus was working on.
“I have to say though, that island is in good hands. After all, my mother's at the helm!” Thaddeus said this with a particular pride.
“Wait, really?” Beau stopped to think for a moment, “Oh, of course! That's what caught my attention in the first place. Well, that and the fact that I've been told by a friend that it's a wonderful home for a deer like me. I saw the name ‘Indiana Bluebelle’ and thought it sounded familiar.”
“Yep! She's always had a thing for the wilderness. The island will flourish under her, I guarantee it,” Thaddeus glanced back at the clock, which now read as 12:40. “Well I suppose I better be going. I've got very important mayoral duties to attend to, like shaking all the trees. I'll see you around, Beau.”
As the human turned to leave, Beau stood up and reached a paw out to grab his arm. Thaddeus turned around in surprise, and was even more surprised when Beau pulled him into a warm hug, the deer's furry arms wrapping warmly around him.
“Why do you smell like salt, Beau?” Thaddeus said through his smile.
“That's ‘cause I eat salty snacks, saltlick!” Beau responded through his giggling.
After a moment, Thaddeus stepped away and gave Beau a wave.
“See ya, Thad. Maybe we'll meet again one day.” Beau called to Thaddeus as the human walked out into the sunlight again. After he was out of sight, Beau relaxed slightly. He yawned again, his eyes closing with the effort. He always found goodbyes to be exhausting, which is why he usually avoided them. He didn't need another reason to be tired all the time.
On cue, Beau heard the approach of his train in the distance, nearly an hour late. He turned to face the gates, suitcase in hand.
Porter spoke up again. “Eek eek! You're train is here. Let me open the gates for you. Don't forget to mind the gap!”
As the train came to a halt and the door opened, Beau prepared to step in before hearing a high-pitched shout.
“BEAU! WAIT UP!” a familiar voice called out to him. Beau turned to see a small and very breathless duck running into the station before him.
“Huh, Molly? I uh… was about to leave. Is everything alright?” Beau gently asked the small duck that looked up to him with widened eyes.
Molly breathed heavily, her face flushed with effort. “Before you go I just wanted to say goodbye.” Her breathing evened out as she stepped closer to the deer. “Also… uh… if you meet a deer called Fauna when you arrive… could you… uh… tell her I said hi.”
Beau tilted his head, looking at quizzically. “Um… sure, assuming I remember her name by the time I get there.” Beau smiled at her and then turned toward the train again, “Anyway, I really need to be going now. See ya, Molly.”
Beau stepped onto the train, and turned to face Avonhaven Train Station one last time. Just before the door closed behind him, he heard both Porter and Molly call in unison, “Have a safe trip!”
He took an unoccupied seat and raised a paw to wave at Molly as the train began moving out of Avonhaven.
~~~
April 3rd, 2020 | 1 PM
Beau attempted to lift his suitcase to a compartment high above, but was having trouble reaching all the way.
“Oh wow, I feel like I'm about to break something.” Beau mumbled to himself as he stretched upwards, “Why is it so high up? Did they make this train for giraffes or something?”
“Well, not quite.” Spoke a deep voice from behind him. “But I know they at least make them for horses.”
Beau jolted in surprise, dropping his own suitcase on his head. “Owie! Wha-” he said as he turned to face the one who had spoken to him, while rubbing his head. He looked up in surprise at what he saw before him; a tall horse with pure black fur and stern red eyes looked down upon him.
“Let me help you with that, kid. Trust me, you're not the only one here who has trouble with these.” The horse took the suitcase from the ground and lifted it to the compartment effortlessly. “You're a funny looking little one, very orange… name's Roscoe by the way.”
Beau was still in shock as he stared at the figure before him, his mouth hanging open. He'd never seen a horse up close before. All the folk in Avonhaven were his size or smaller. “H-hi, uhh, t-thank you Roscoe.”
Roscoe smiled briefly, the expression contrasting with his very intimidating… everything. “No problem, kid. Let me know if you need anything else.” With that, Roscoe walked away and took a seat on the other side of the carriage.
Beau stared after him for a moment, before deciding to take his seat again. As he sat back and relaxed, he decided to focus on the new life he was about to enter. He'd never explored a deserted island before. He already knew he'd love it for certain. Of course, he first had to navigate multiple stops on his journey, as well as the big city, and to top it all off then had to take a flight to reach the island. It all sounded incredibly exhausting.
As he decided to fill his mind with bright sun, lush greenery, and the chirping of birds, he didn't even notice when he dozed off again. As he shifted in his sleep, trying to find comfort in the worn train seats, he briefly opened his eyes again.
Someone was sitting across from him. Beau's eyes snapped open suddenly as he regarded his latest visitor. A blue and white cat.
“Oh hi. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I thought you'd stay asleep. I just needed a place to sit.” the cat waved at him before continuing, “My name’s Rover, I'm a cat. What's your name?”
“Uh… that's good to know, Rover. I'm Beau, and I'm a deer. Hopefully you can already tell.” Beau continued to blink away his sleepiness as he yawned again.
“Hello Beau, good to meet you. I like your antlers, and your eyes, very nice.”
“Ah, thank you. I'm proud of these antlers.” Beau said bashfully, “I used to stick fruits on ‘em when I was younger, so I could always carry an emergency snack. I stopped after an apple started rotting while still attached to me…” Beau shuddered slightly at the thought.
Rover's eyes widened in surprise. “Oh… that sounds… unfortunate. Anyway, all this travelling is exhausting isn't it? I suppose you're moving somewhere new?”
Beau looked at the curious cat, quizzically. “Don't know how you figured that out, but yes. A deserted island especially for deer. Part of the new Nook Inc. Getaway Package. I can't wait!”
“Ah, of course, that's very popular at the moment. I suppose you're on your way to Isla Beira then?”
“Wha- how did you know what it's called?”
Rover gave the deer a knowing look. “Well, I get around. Cats are good at doing that. That Isla Beira holds potential, I can see it. Special place that one, it was only formed 2 weeks ago.” He turned his attention back to Beau, looking closely into the deer's eyes. “I see something in you too. A love of nature, and food, and… sleeping. Interesting. I see something else… a longing to truly belong.”
Beau shifted uncomfortably, not sure of what to make of the cat reading him so easily. “You uh… do this often?”
“Oh no, not really. Sometimes I just see interesting things in folk. Apologies if I unsettled you.” Rover smiled slightly, as if trying to reassure the deer across him. “Although if you want to know, I think you'll be finding plenty to love about Isla Beira. Perhaps, more than you think. Life does have a way of surprising us, or so I find.”
Beau nodded slowly, although not quite sure if he was following what Rover was saying anymore. Suddenly the intercom announced that they were stopping at Jasminia Train Station, startling Beau from his silent contemplation.
“Ah, that's my stop.” Rover stood up alongside a few others, “It was good meeting you Beau. I hope you find what you seek. Maybe we'll meet again someday.”
“See ya, Rover.” Beau said to the bizarre cat. The train came to a stop and Beau was left alone to ponder his new life once more. He had no idea what lay ahead of him, but he hoped it involved lots of snacks.
~~~