Chapter 2 – Conflicting Memories
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The elder who led his group before was much older and wiser than any other deer Esta had seen. The old buck had made it through countless winters using his intelligence and toughness to guide the herd through the forest’s challenges. Even during tough times, he would give up food and water to the younger ones, going days without sustenance. Esta always looked up to him, believing he could do no wrong.
A few years ago, when the grove came into view for the first time after following rumors of something new in the forest, he saw a change in the old buck’s eyes. A sign of hunger and greed that went beyond anything he had seen before pulsed beneath his pupils. Pushing the herd forward with reckless strides, he had dashed through the thick bushes and lashing vines, causing countless injuries to the group and the death of a weaker doe and a few fawns. Even with the cries of pain and pleading, the old buck didn’t even seem to listen, scaring Esta as he automatically ran with his instincts to follow still strong.
When they reached the meadow's edge, the buck ran forward, not caring about the herd he left behind. At that point, Esta sensed what made the old leader mad, the rich smell of mana with a tinge of fruity essence that seemed to touch his very core. Being much weaker, it took him longer to sense it, but when he did, he began to go mad too, running along with the herd. Never before had something smelled so enticing.
Just a few steps into the meadow, the old buck had fallen, the tall grass wrapping around his legs and the ground becoming swampy, pulling him in. He thrashed and cried out against the trap, but it didn’t matter, and within just a minute, he was pulled completely out of sight. Luckily, the shock made the rest of them stop for a few moments, or they would’ve met the same fate as the old buck leading the charge. The scene and its sounds had never left Esta, leaving him more cautious and thoughtful than others.
He realized that day the temptation of power and why those who came from areas of richer mana scoffed at the meager resources of the forest. Mana was enticing, and to the previously weak herd, it was a tempting path to something greater.
Still that same day, he pushed on, using a much worse control over the petals to mark a path forward and reached the mana-filled berries that empowered him further. His herd healed their wounds, and he gained the most, becoming the leader. He had gone from barely having any mana within himself to beginning to fill his mind as he went from Early to Mid Gathering Tier, same as the old leader. Though it was just the mid tier of the first rank, it was still good, as in this region it held sway. By observing the old leader’s mistakes and following his own desires, he made the decision to focus on his mind and not the body, as most deer would. His mind had already started gathering mana at that point, but before he had regretted it, thinking it would make him weak. Not anymore.
The decision was the best for him, giving him a much greater control over manipulating the mana he gathered and a better mind to think of plans to help his herd. Now, years later and with experience that coursed through him, he had reached the Late Gathering Tier and was close to reaching the peak of it. The herd grew in numbers, and more of them reached the Early and even the Mid tiers following his guidance.
Stepping all the way to the end of the meadow, now to a flat resting area, he looked back at the herd as they all successfully made their way to safety and began to rest.
“This isn’t the end, I can’t be complacent. There are still plenty of challenges ahead, but for now, we need to make it to the center of the grove; the outer mana berries won’t cut it now.”
Looking ahead, he saw a dense, spindly forest, this time with various thorns and brambles seemingly covering every visible spot. Within them were patches of red earth, clearly from the blood of those who had made their way through before. Esta steadied himself.
“While all of the forest folk run through this deathtrap to try and gain more mana, the real winner is the grove. It’s feeding on those who fail and empowering those who win in hopes they eventually fail. I know some believe it's evil, but…I don’t think it is. Though I know it desires for me to fall, I won’t stop now. If I don’t get stronger, the other regions will kill us all, and we won’t be strong enough to stop it.”
Confirming his thoughts and reaffirming his actions, he gave his herd time to rest, and once they were done, he began leading them to the next area. The uncertainty of what the future held frightened him, but, with no other options, he had to move on. The herd walked forward, disappearing into the brambles. Farther back at the beginning of the meadow, on a large mossy rock, sat a group of big, gray squirrels that were much different than the red ones of this region. They stared ahead with their big beady eyes, blinking silently, and a few played with various objects like sticks or nuts. In some of their hands were dead red squirrels, bloody and beaten to death by their more powerful counterparts.
At the front of the small scurry, memorizing the herd’s path, was a thinner but more muscular gray squirrel. It was heavily scarred along its head and stomach, and if one looked closely, the rest of the group was the same, but to a lesser degree. The leader unconsciously twitched their paws as they looked at the meadow. Even as the tall grass smoothed out, they continued to try to understand the route forward, as this was their first time here.
“At least we found this sanctuary after we were driven out. I haven’t had a good meal in weeks, and my mana reserves are getting low. I just hope the boss is doing ok, he has a lot riding on getting us some resources.”
A chunkier, heavily injured squirrel with a bent tail and matted fur sat near the edge of the scurry. His one good eye drooped down as his mind had grown fuzzy with the thoughts running through his head. Remembering the harsh journey here and the boss’s attitude didn’t help. A slight tremor ran through his body without him even realizing it, immediately catching the eye of the “boss”.
“Divy. Up here. Now.”
The harsh chittering of the boss reached Divy’s ears as he realized that he was speaking to him, the tremor only growing as a bad feeling went down his chest and into his broken tail. The boss’s scarred, thin body turned towards him fully now, looking at him with a piercing glare.
“NOW DIVY! DON’T KEEP ME WAITING, YOU DOLT.”
“Y-y-yes, boss, coming n-now.”
With hesitant steps forward, Divy made his way to the front. The other squirrels looked at him with a range of emotions: helplessness, anger, joy, and sadness. They knew he was the weak link in the scurry, and while some were glad he was chosen over them, others hated being in this scenario. Getting driven from their home, many of them being eaten or heavily injured, and the long journey to this forest left them tired both mentally and physically. None stood up for Divy.
As Divy reached the front, the boss harshly grabbed him by the ear, the leader's sharp, jagged claws digging into his fur and flesh, causing him to wince in pain. A slight smile just barely crested the mouth of the boss, before it went away as the incessant anger in his stomach calmed down, only temporarily satiated by the pain he inflicted.
“Now, to prove you’re still worth something, you’re going to go in front of us and walk where I tell you to. Got it?”
With that, he increased the pressure on Divy’s ear, drawing blood that began to curl around his head and sting his one good eye. Fear ran through his body as he knew he was being made a sacrifice and couldn’t run. Looking up at his leader, the blood blurring his already limited vision, he saw the boss from the past, a kind and strong friend. He remembered the times the boss had helped him up when he fell, fed him when he was starving, and talked with him about getting stronger and planting trees so tall that they could be seen from all across the world.
“His cruelty now was only caused by the destruction of the tribe we once knew, the kind boss was still in there…right?”
“I’ll go, boss, y-you’ve brought us this far, and I won’t let you down,” Divy said as he pushed himself up, focusing on the memories of the past instead of the pain that was the present.
The boss was taken aback, a glimmer of a memory rolling through his head, the two of them on a branch looking at the sunset, eating acorns, and feeling full of hope. It cleared his vision for just a moment before ruthlessly being pushed away as he snarled, tightening his grip on Divy’s ear for a moment before letting go in the next. He stared at him for a few moments, the blood and loose fur coating the right paw he used to hurt Divy, and the left one, clean, but dirtied by the world that hurt him.
With the left paw, he pointed towards the meadows. He didn’t speak, but the meaning was clear.
Divy got up, ignoring the pain, and walked forward with a slight limp. Hope, still burning in his chest, was being fueled by the now smoldering memories and the desire to help, one last time.
The difference between the gray and red squirrels in this chapter comes from how in real life gray squirrels are invasive in Europe from North America. Gray squirrels spread disease and take over red squirrel habitats causing lots of destabilization, but unlike in this chapter, there is no evidence of aggression between the two species. Invasive species will be a bigger theme in this story, in simple and complex ways.
Also the name for a group of squirrels is a scurry, which I used in this chapter.
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Fun fact - this chapter was originally merged with chapter 1, but after I reread and edited it, it came to about 3,800 words. I decided to split them up as my goal is for each chapter to be at least 1,500 words and at max 3,000. I mainly go off of what feels like a good ending place for each chapter so chapter lengths can vary.
If you’re enjoying, please follow, it helps the story reach more people. Thanks for reading!
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