Cernunnos - 1. Chapter 1

The woods were quiet, and the moon lit their way down their path. A herd of white-tailed deer crunched their small hooves over the snow covered ground as their head buck led the way. Their goal was slightly unclear, but they nobly followed their leader regardless. As they paced themselves in the mid-morning sun, the deer kept their eyes open and their senses heightened. There was no sign of danger, but there was no such thing as being too careful.

Consisting of seven adult bucks and four does, they traveled in a tightly knit circle. Should they run into trouble, they can break free, allowing the fastest to survive, and the weakest to fall. But Cyn focused on the beauty of nature around him. He had lived a peaceful life, for the most part. There were scares, of course. Packs of wolves tend to sneak up, but Cyn never worried. Despite him being the smallest of the bucks, he was the fastest. Playing games of chase, he easily conquered all members of the herds he had been a part of. He only joined up with this herd recently. Four days ago, his herd was ambushed by a rather small team of three wolves. He effortlessly got away, but did not dare return. He smelled the faint aroma of his fallen brethren’s blood, and kept it moving. No chances.

After wandering for a day, he met up with his current herd. The head buck was hesitant to allow him to travel, but once Cyn told of nearby wolves several miles back and the demise of his former herd, they let him accompany. Over the next few hours, he assimilated within their ranks. Still on the lowest rung of power status, he was deemed unfit to be a part of any mating or to produce fawns with their herd’s doe.

But it mattered not to the buck. It is predominately discouraged within his species, but Cyn preferred the company of bucks over any doe. He admired the strength of bucks, and their faster running abilities. Every now and again, a doe would come along and be able to smoke a buck or two in a game of chase, but interest never came to Cyn. He considered doe to be his competition.

Not that Cyn was brave enough to declare his affection for his gender. He didn’t want to find himself in a challenge, as his antlers were much to be desired. Although he had reached his full age involving growth, he found that his antler growth was stunted, and he always kept his six point antlers. Even as his antlers broke and grew back, they always stopped at six points. I’ll always have these. But it’s okay. I’ve lived so far.

And Cyn had. Despite being on the receiving end of multiple challenges from other males, his antlers weren’t able to help in a tussle. Throughout the herds he had been a part of, he was always picked on, by both doe and bucks. He may have been larger than every doe, but he was always the runt among the bucks. Over the several years of adulthood, Cyn began to think he wasn’t cut out to find a mate, or even a proper friend.

As the head buck kept forging on, Cyn’s thoughts floated in his head. Seeking positive reinforcements, he looked up and saw the light trickling in from the frosty red oak tree leaves. He had come a long way in his travels. For him, it had seemed he traveled farther than any other deer in the country.

Cyn is a cernunnos. A shapeshifter. A deer shapeshifter. One of the lowest shapeshifters on the supernatural food chain, even if the race was named after the Gaelic God of beasts. Despite his four-hooved appearance, he can turn into a human. Or more specifically, he is a human that can turn into a buck. Born and raised in north-eastern Texas, he lived in the rural community of Arthur City, which was very lackluster in the form of community. Cernunnos were a timid breed of shifters, and very antisocial. When it came to reproduction, they had to take the time to insert themselves in humanity’s way of life until their fawns were old enough to shift. When this was accomplished, they abandoned everything that humanity offered, and returned to nature’s woods and forests. Until then, they sequestered themselves in very rural communities across the country, staying away or hiding from local predatory packs.

But Cyn enjoyed what taste of civilized life he was given. He especially took to learning in the small school system the town had. Some of his favorite areas of study he paid most attention to was geography and historical studies. Even after he became able to shift on his own, away from the lingering effects of full moons, he kept up his studies when he could. When his herd ventured near a city, he would wait until the midnight hours and sneak away to find a local rest stop. There, he snuck in when no one was around to grab some maps. He loved learning about what forests he would be strolling in, where some tall peaks may be if he ventured near a mountainous area, or if there were a better path that could be taken. Some of the head bucks he traveled with took heed to Cyn’s knowledge, and stayed near cities that had a forest along the edges. Cernunnos did not like humanity and their ways, but predators stayed away from the city lights. If it gave the shifters a reprieve from watching over their shoulders, they took the extra rest.

A snap of a branch brought everyone’s heads up. The head buck halted, forcing the convoy to as well. Cyn turned his head towards the rear of the herd. Predators! He could see them through his enhanced shifter eyes. There was one other cernunnos with him in the herd, and they nodded with each other. The other shifter, Colman, huffed from his nose toward the head buck, warning of the stalking predators. Receiving a huff in return, the buck made a motion for the herd to bolt on his mark.

The herd kept their eyes on the hills behind them. Many moments passed, and when their nerves were about to call it quits, a blur of movement came just behind the hill. They’re getting into position! Motioning a head twitch to the head buck to signal that the time to move had arrived, Cyn began getting concerned.

But his distress was ignored. His head buck dismissed the notion, and he demanded to wait longer. Foolish. They’re arranging themselves! Turning back to the impending danger, Cyn inhaled through his nose. And he caught their scent.

Lycan. Three of them. And one is strong! He relayed information to his fellow cernunnos, who then directed the concerns to the head buck. Knowing the foe was wolven, the buck finally made his decision. He quickly snorted.

And the herd broke apart. They all turned to face away from the incoming wolves and darted as fast as their legs could take them. Cyn knew how wolves hunted: encourage the prey to make a turn and curb corners. Unfortunately, there was no time to tell the non-shifters. They were on their own, only to be guided by instinct. And as Cyn watched from the corner of his eyes, several of the doe were making that fatal mistake, as one of the smaller wolves broke away from the trio to hunt the strays.

Cyn kept his hooves moving! He knew to bolt in a straight line and to never stray direction. Keep going! I’m faster than they are! Just...keep...going! He had to remember to lift his hooves a little higher than normal, as the snow could easily cause him to slip. However, it did take its toll. The buck was keeping ahead of the wolves. And Cyn could tell from his instincts that they were both following him. Both? Why both? Are...Oh, no! They’re after…

His suspicions were confirmed as he noticed from the corner of his right eye, Colman was keeping pace, but began to falter as the smaller of the two remaining wolves drifted off to follow the other cernunnos. He followed me to distract Colman! Smart. Thoughts of concern for his fellow shifter crossed his mind, but tossed them away as he knew the strong wolf was on him. And he’s keeping up! We’re evenly matched. This is bad. Cyn knew if it came to a marathon, the wolf would simply lose interest. No deer is worth running for miles and miles over. And Cyn could go all day. Especially if his life was on the line.

But even after five minutes of solid sprinting, the wolf was relentless! Even Cyn had to give the lycan respect. But...why? The deer was nowhere near done running.

Until he caught movement ahead. In his sprinting pace, he couldn’t quite make out what it was. More wolves? No...not smart enough to plan an amb- Realization struck like lightning. I’m an idiot! They’re lycan! Not wolves! Knowing now that he was handling wolves with human intellect, he felt foolish. This small pack of wolves was merely the instigators. The new group ahead were the clean-up crew. Hopelessness tried to fill itself into Cyn’s head, but his hooves wouldn’t allow it. Keep going! If they block me, then...I’ll have to turn!

As the silhouettes ahead turned into clearer bodies, the deer’s worst imaginations became true. It was another trio of wolves. From the frantic scents he could gather, the ones ahead had an underlying familiar scent. Same pack. All lycan. Is...is this it? I’m going down?

His thoughts became pure distraction. Cyn didn’t pick his hoof up far enough and dragged in a thick patch of snow. His stride faltered, and the wolf behind him saw the opportunity. With a burst of energy, the wolf dead-sprinted at Cyn and landed a claw, swiping at the deer’s side.

Burning pain erupted from Cyn’s mind and side, but his instincts took over. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and kept pouring on the speed, correcting his stride. He knew he was losing blood, and eventually, the wolves would find him. But as hopeless and stressed as his mind was, part of his heart told him to not let them have an easy victory.

The wolf caught back up to Cyn, as the deer realized his speed had significantly decreased. My...my wound...deeper than I thought. Knowing its prey had been weakened, the lycan wolf toyed with his meal. A claw swipe at Cyn’s lower hind leg nearly caused him to collapse on the spot. A new burning sensation ripped the buck’s consciousness as he felt the blood seeping from the wound at an alarming pace. The snow touching the wound as Cyn ran was not easing any pain. His vision began blurring slightly, but he noticed the new trio of wolves were trotting at an intimidating pace. Yep...clean-up. Just...keep going...need-

A second swipe at the same new leg wound forced Cyn to let a bleating yelp out as he fell onto his damaged side. The open side wound was encased in the snow, further irritating the burning sensation as blood was smudged all over the white ground. He wriggled in agony as he knew his fate had been sealed. Struggling, Cyn tried to get back on all four hooves, but the hind leg was useless. He could run no longer. Is...is it time...to accept fate? Breathing raggedly on the ground, Cyn craned his head to the circling wolf. Getting his first good look at his victorious opponent, he saw it was a rather large silver wolf with darker gray speckles on his back, stretching down the legs and paws. One of the paws was bloody, and Cyn assumed it was his own.

The wolf kept pacing around in circles, watching Cyn take his curdled breaths. Your...he’s just...watching me die. Cyn let out a hoarse huff, calling the wolf a coward. Earning himself a loud growl from the wolf, the lycan slowly stepped forward and gave a huff of his own, telling Cyn that his kind is nothing but fodder. If Cyn was in his human form, he would start crying. He wanted to cry even harder as the wolf straddled over his bleeding body, surely to give the final blow.

A sudden burst of movement and wind flashed to Cyn’s attention. The lycan hovering over him had disappeared. Wha-

Howling, barking, and growling filled the forest’s air. Leaning his head up as far as it could be craned, Cyn tried to get a visual. When he saw his opponent on the ground, the deer couldn’t believe his eyes. There was another wolf on top of the silver wolf. What...the Hell? The new wolf was now flanked by the two others, one on each side, and all three were growling. Cyn noticed the silver wolf was now bleeding from a small underside wound, and began taking several steps backwards.

His vision began blurring, and despite blinking several times, it was not getting any clearer. And his breathing was becoming lighter and less effective. Cyn felt he was going to die. But a dominant bark from the center wolf caused his attacker to back off and retreat. Just as Cyn’s vision began to fade, the trio of wolves rushed to his side. The deer was purely afraid they were going to start feasting on his still live body, but the center wolf, the one that had driven away the silver one, began to shift. Using his remaining strength to stay awake, Cyn watched the fur recede into the wolf’s skin, along with the familiar bone crunching sounds that echoed throughout the silent winter’s day.

With barely seeing any distinctive features, Cyn couldn’t tell who or what he was looking at. But from the pink blurry blob in front of him, the deer could tell the lycan had turned into his human form. For...what...reason?

“Shift.” The deep and gravelly voice was nearly whispered from the man’s standing point of view. “Shift. You’ll begin healing. Do it now...or you die.”

R...Right. With a few more short breaths, and mustering any remaining energy that was left in his body, Cyn began his shifting. A few of his bones snapped, but when the damaged hind leg snapped into place, a fresh wave of pain hit him, forcing another bleat to pierce the silent woods. And everything turned to black.