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Description

Featuring: Ariel , Quill and a few NPCs
Winter, 770 of the New Age
Glenmore, Royal Glades to the Glenwood

Wordcount - 1000+

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“Very good, m’Lord, now try again without stopping to think about your feet, once our antlers connect. Them feet are one of the biggest weak spots of most stags. You easily forgot to mind them feet, when you try to not get your eyes poked out.” Murphy told Ariel, when they both had taken a step back. The red guard seemed hardly out of breath, while Ariel already felt the sweat on his sides and the bad consciousness of it being true, that he probably had been a bit lazy when it came to keeping himself in shape. Well, it happened easy, if you didn’t care all that much about rut fights and in whole rather were an artistic and academic mind. That all had been fine, while he still had been living in his father’s glade, but now he owned his own glade and had a number of does sharing it with him, who expected him to be able to protect them as well as to proof his values as a stag, should some undesired suitor step up and wish to claim one of them. He had promised them to protect them and to make sure they would be safe in his glade as long as they’d desire to stay, with no stag laying hoof on them or forcing them into anything they didn’t want to – to keep his promise, he however had very quickly realized that he really badly needed to beef up some.

Thankfully he had Murphy, who took no shame in training his Lord as well as he was anything, but a stag to gossip and even if he knew there still was a long way ahead of him, Ariel felt he already was starting to feel all the tedious training and sore muscles was starting to pay off somehow. He nodded, so Murphy knew he had understood, before he lowered his head again and soon both stags once more charged, their antlers connecting with a loud clacking noise as they began to shove against each other. “Your feet, what did I say?” Murphy said and just as Ariel was looking down, he found Murphy draw back, then forward again, crane his neck around one of Ariel’s feet, pull away his leg, give him a shove with his shoulder and the young Lord already was rolling rather disgracefully on the ground. “Oy, told you to mind them, not let yourself be distracted by them.” Murphy just grinned, when Ariel shortly shot him a frown that however soon turned into an amused snort and a laugh, “You did indeed, but you must say, with fine legs like mine it’s easy to get distracted.” Ariel joked, which Murphy answered with a laugh of his own, “Dazzling legs, m’lord.” He snorted.

Getting back to his feet and shaking off some dirt, Ariel was about to suggest another round, when suddenly he saw his butler Francesco come trotting in a very hurried trot. The little grey stag was one of the most regal and controlled people Ariel knew and so the way he seemed rather riled up as he approached, Ariel shared a concerned glance with Murphy, before taking a step towards the butler.

“What is it, Francesco?” he asked.

“My lord…my lord…” Francesco said, breathing heavy through his massive moustache, “A messenger came! He came with the news…of you….betrothal!”

“WHAT!” Ariel’s head shot up, his ears back. Well, he had somewhat been expecting to eventually end up with a princess. Every son in his family had and understandably so, they were a long, pure and good line always loyal to the king and kingdom, yet Ariel had always been a bit of the black sheep, he had been quite sure, the king and Lord of Families would try to wait as long as possible to give him a princess, so to not insult his family, but also not waste a precious princess on an odd one like him.

“Who…who…is she?” Ariel eventually managed to ask. He somehow expected one of the princesses not considered beautiful or precious – maybe a somewhat dark one, a widowed one, maybe also a formerly tainted one or would they perhaps even dare ending him with a pied princess? No, he somehow doubted that. His mind was racing going through all the princesses he knew might be in need for a lord, yet when Francesco spoke, he hardly could believe the small stag’s words.

“Princess Oleander.”

“C…come again?” Ariel just spoke, his voice hallow and chocked.

“Princess Oleander, my Lord. That is why I came running right away!” Francesco said dutifully, knowing his lord and the young princesses were connected through a deep friendship.

“I…I need to find her.” Ariel just said, his brown eyes full of all sorts of emotions, “Th-thank you, Francesco.” He managed to say, but he already was off, racing for the glade of his grandmother. He didn’t know what to think. Sure, he had known his dear Andy would be betrothed the coming year, he had feared it, feared it so much, feared she would be given to a boring old lord or a young one who felt he needed to own her – if he was being honest to himself, he also had feared she might be given to a good, kind lord, one whom she’d love. Love more than she loved him, but no matter what, he had feared they no longer would be able to be friends.

And now?

A voice inside him told him he should be happy, that this was the very best thing that ever could’ve happened to him and hopefully also to Andy, for what was better than to be betrothed to your very best friend in the world, the one soul that you felt was like the missing piece to your soul that you always knew you searched for and if you were around it, you knew you were finally complete. And still. He was afraid! Afraid what Andy might do, when hearing the news! She had been acting strange lately, his training and chores had ended him with less time to come visit her than he would like, but he had felt that there had been something wrong. However, whenever he had asked her and tried to find out what troubled her, she had assured him everything was alright. He had eventually decided it might just be her upcoming betrothal and therefore also something she felt not comfortable sharing with him. Still, he knew she was in a difficult and fragile phase…what if…what if she wouldn’t want him?

His thoughts were interrupted, when he finally spotted the young stag he had been looking for – Quill. The guardsman was a rascal, but he had his heart on the right spot as well as a habit for bending the rules, which also was why he had given him to Andy, in hopes he’d be able to help her keep up some of the freedom he knew she needed after her betrothal. The pale stag was talking to a young doe and for a moment Ariel thought it was Oleander, yet upon approaching he spotted it was one of the hoofmaidens of his grandmother.

“…so I go to this big bloke and I tell him, like, I tell him straight in his face, leave the lady alone and he’s like…” Quill gave a start, when suddenly a voice behind him boomed, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!” the young stags ears folded back as he shrunk to about half his size, the hoofmaiden slipping off like a shadow, while Quill turned around, finding himself face to face with Lord Ariel – or rather – the tall dark lord towering over him and for the first time Quill realized just HOW tall the other stag actually was.

“Yo, hi, um, Lord Ariel. Have you grown lately, because I could swear…ayyy!“

“SHUT UP! Where is Andy!” Ariel just barked at the young guard.

“Gosh, in her den? I donno. She’s been super weird lately. All crying when she thinks she’s alone…”

“And you didn’t feel like asking her WHY?”

“I…I…man, I dunno that was part of my job, okay?”

“THAT IS YOUR JOB YOU IMPROBABLE LITTLE WORM!” the tall stag yelled, “I gave you to her, so you could be her best friend, when I couldn’t be! I gave you to her, so she could tell you things, she wouldn’t want to share with me! If you saw her crying, you are meant to be the first to offer her comfort, that is the only and sole reason I gave you to her and believe me, I can make you tainted and I mean TAINTED enough so you would only wish to actually having been exiled with a fricking flick of my tail, if I wanted to. So I ask you again, where is Andy?”

Quill felt like he might have just peed below him a tiny bit, gulping hard, “She…she’s been packing a little bag and watching the guards patrol…I thought she was just planning one of your adventure…I…what even happened?”

“She learned that she’ll be betrothed to me, that’s what happened!”

“Uhh…shouldn’t that be…a…good thing?” Quill blinked, confused. The two adored each other, he really didn’t see the problem. Ariel took a deep breath all of the sudden and for a moment Quill thought he saw murder in his eyes, “If I was you, I would prey to all gods I find her and she hasn’t gotten hurt in any way.” He then suddenly hissed, “Because, I swear, you’ll regret it if she only as much as cracked a hoof.” And with that the dark lord leaped into a gallop where he stood, shoving Quill out of the way forcefully, the buck tumbling and ending up on his backside, watching Ariel be off with big eyes. What had just happened and worse, what was going to happen now?

---

You are between these two:
*you are here*

---

Ariel learns about his betrothal to his best friend, Princess Oleander...and kinda loses it. XD

Thank you Killer-Kame for this wonderful OTP! *3*

Description

Featuring: Ariel , Quill and a few NPCs
Winter, 770 of the New Age
Glenmore, Royal Glades to the Glenwood

Wordcount - 1000+

----

“Very good, m’Lord, now try again without stopping to think about your feet, once our antlers connect. Them feet are one of the biggest weak spots of most stags. You easily forgot to mind them feet, when you try to not get your eyes poked out.” Murphy told Ariel, when they both had taken a step back. The red guard seemed hardly out of breath, while Ariel already felt the sweat on his sides and the bad consciousness of it being true, that he probably had been a bit lazy when it came to keeping himself in shape. Well, it happened easy, if you didn’t care all that much about rut fights and in whole rather were an artistic and academic mind. That all had been fine, while he still had been living in his father’s glade, but now he owned his own glade and had a number of does sharing it with him, who expected him to be able to protect them as well as to proof his values as a stag, should some undesired suitor step up and wish to claim one of them. He had promised them to protect them and to make sure they would be safe in his glade as long as they’d desire to stay, with no stag laying hoof on them or forcing them into anything they didn’t want to – to keep his promise, he however had very quickly realized that he really badly needed to beef up some.

Thankfully he had Murphy, who took no shame in training his Lord as well as he was anything, but a stag to gossip and even if he knew there still was a long way ahead of him, Ariel felt he already was starting to feel all the tedious training and sore muscles was starting to pay off somehow. He nodded, so Murphy knew he had understood, before he lowered his head again and soon both stags once more charged, their antlers connecting with a loud clacking noise as they began to shove against each other. “Your feet, what did I say?” Murphy said and just as Ariel was looking down, he found Murphy draw back, then forward again, crane his neck around one of Ariel’s feet, pull away his leg, give him a shove with his shoulder and the young Lord already was rolling rather disgracefully on the ground. “Oy, told you to mind them, not let yourself be distracted by them.” Murphy just grinned, when Ariel shortly shot him a frown that however soon turned into an amused snort and a laugh, “You did indeed, but you must say, with fine legs like mine it’s easy to get distracted.” Ariel joked, which Murphy answered with a laugh of his own, “Dazzling legs, m’lord.” He snorted.

Getting back to his feet and shaking off some dirt, Ariel was about to suggest another round, when suddenly he saw his butler Francesco come trotting in a very hurried trot. The little grey stag was one of the most regal and controlled people Ariel knew and so the way he seemed rather riled up as he approached, Ariel shared a concerned glance with Murphy, before taking a step towards the butler.

“What is it, Francesco?” he asked.

“My lord…my lord…” Francesco said, breathing heavy through his massive moustache, “A messenger came! He came with the news…of you….betrothal!”

“WHAT!” Ariel’s head shot up, his ears back. Well, he had somewhat been expecting to eventually end up with a princess. Every son in his family had and understandably so, they were a long, pure and good line always loyal to the king and kingdom, yet Ariel had always been a bit of the black sheep, he had been quite sure, the king and Lord of Families would try to wait as long as possible to give him a princess, so to not insult his family, but also not waste a precious princess on an odd one like him.

“Who…who…is she?” Ariel eventually managed to ask. He somehow expected one of the princesses not considered beautiful or precious – maybe a somewhat dark one, a widowed one, maybe also a formerly tainted one or would they perhaps even dare ending him with a pied princess? No, he somehow doubted that. His mind was racing going through all the princesses he knew might be in need for a lord, yet when Francesco spoke, he hardly could believe the small stag’s words.

“Princess Oleander.”

“C…come again?” Ariel just spoke, his voice hallow and chocked.

“Princess Oleander, my Lord. That is why I came running right away!” Francesco said dutifully, knowing his lord and the young princesses were connected through a deep friendship.

“I…I need to find her.” Ariel just said, his brown eyes full of all sorts of emotions, “Th-thank you, Francesco.” He managed to say, but he already was off, racing for the glade of his grandmother. He didn’t know what to think. Sure, he had known his dear Andy would be betrothed the coming year, he had feared it, feared it so much, feared she would be given to a boring old lord or a young one who felt he needed to own her – if he was being honest to himself, he also had feared she might be given to a good, kind lord, one whom she’d love. Love more than she loved him, but no matter what, he had feared they no longer would be able to be friends.

And now?

A voice inside him told him he should be happy, that this was the very best thing that ever could’ve happened to him and hopefully also to Andy, for what was better than to be betrothed to your very best friend in the world, the one soul that you felt was like the missing piece to your soul that you always knew you searched for and if you were around it, you knew you were finally complete. And still. He was afraid! Afraid what Andy might do, when hearing the news! She had been acting strange lately, his training and chores had ended him with less time to come visit her than he would like, but he had felt that there had been something wrong. However, whenever he had asked her and tried to find out what troubled her, she had assured him everything was alright. He had eventually decided it might just be her upcoming betrothal and therefore also something she felt not comfortable sharing with him. Still, he knew she was in a difficult and fragile phase…what if…what if she wouldn’t want him?

His thoughts were interrupted, when he finally spotted the young stag he had been looking for – Quill. The guardsman was a rascal, but he had his heart on the right spot as well as a habit for bending the rules, which also was why he had given him to Andy, in hopes he’d be able to help her keep up some of the freedom he knew she needed after her betrothal. The pale stag was talking to a young doe and for a moment Ariel thought it was Oleander, yet upon approaching he spotted it was one of the hoofmaidens of his grandmother.

“…so I go to this big bloke and I tell him, like, I tell him straight in his face, leave the lady alone and he’s like…” Quill gave a start, when suddenly a voice behind him boomed, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!” the young stags ears folded back as he shrunk to about half his size, the hoofmaiden slipping off like a shadow, while Quill turned around, finding himself face to face with Lord Ariel – or rather – the tall dark lord towering over him and for the first time Quill realized just HOW tall the other stag actually was.

“Yo, hi, um, Lord Ariel. Have you grown lately, because I could swear…ayyy!“

“SHUT UP! Where is Andy!” Ariel just barked at the young guard.

“Gosh, in her den? I donno. She’s been super weird lately. All crying when she thinks she’s alone…”

“And you didn’t feel like asking her WHY?”

“I…I…man, I dunno that was part of my job, okay?”

“THAT IS YOUR JOB YOU IMPROBABLE LITTLE WORM!” the tall stag yelled, “I gave you to her, so you could be her best friend, when I couldn’t be! I gave you to her, so she could tell you things, she wouldn’t want to share with me! If you saw her crying, you are meant to be the first to offer her comfort, that is the only and sole reason I gave you to her and believe me, I can make you tainted and I mean TAINTED enough so you would only wish to actually having been exiled with a fricking flick of my tail, if I wanted to. So I ask you again, where is Andy?”

Quill felt like he might have just peed below him a tiny bit, gulping hard, “She…she’s been packing a little bag and watching the guards patrol…I thought she was just planning one of your adventure…I…what even happened?”

“She learned that she’ll be betrothed to me, that’s what happened!”

“Uhh…shouldn’t that be…a…good thing?” Quill blinked, confused. The two adored each other, he really didn’t see the problem. Ariel took a deep breath all of the sudden and for a moment Quill thought he saw murder in his eyes, “If I was you, I would prey to all gods I find her and she hasn’t gotten hurt in any way.” He then suddenly hissed, “Because, I swear, you’ll regret it if she only as much as cracked a hoof.” And with that the dark lord leaped into a gallop where he stood, shoving Quill out of the way forcefully, the buck tumbling and ending up on his backside, watching Ariel be off with big eyes. What had just happened and worse, what was going to happen now?

---

You are between these two:
*you are here*

---

Ariel learns about his betrothal to his best friend, Princess Oleander...and kinda loses it. XD

Thank you Killer-Kame for this wonderful OTP! *3*