The deer people stare at him as he emerges from the shade of the jet turbine. A mother with her two foals: one boy and one girl.
They are a strange mixture, with deer legs but humanoid upper bodies, and faces that combine human features with deer snouts and eyes. The woman sports wide antlers, but the children have yet to sprout any of their own. He vaguely remembers hearing something about how fast antlers grow.
The little girl points. "You found my drawing!"
He looks down at his hand and realizes that he's taken the drawing down from it's place in the turbine. "You drew this?" he asks the little girl. She nods her head eagerly.
"It's very good." He looks from the paper to the girl. " Do you want it back?"
She smiles shyly at him. "No, you can keep it. It's the boat to Center."
"What are you doing here?" asks the woman, stepping forward and gazing straight at him. At first he hesitates, trying to think of an answer. Then he straightens up and looks back at her.
"This is my home now."
The woman considers this for a moment, then motions for the children to leave. "We have to get back to their father now. Good luck."
The deer family moves along the edge of the stream and over the rise of a nearby hill. He watches them as they leave, wondering what other surprises his new home has in store.
The fifth Chapter in a serialized series based on @mariannewest's daily freewrite challenge:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
And here is the link to Chapter Six
I also wanted to send a note of gratitude to @svashta for inspiring me to do a serialized story from the #freewrite challenge, namely he was doing one before I decided to try it. Please go to his page and check out his own ongoing series, it's at chapter ten at this point.
Written in five minutes from the writing prompt, "Children " as part of the #freewrite exercise. Image is also by me. You can view the prompt here and check out the other entries; abounding with energy and exuberance of youth. Thanks to @mariannewest for creating and running this daily tradition to be passed on from one generation to the next.