A Fawn's Journey

The gentle rays of the sun illuminated through the spaces between the clouds. The snow fell in flakes and curdled on the white blocks of buildings in the distance, almost seeming to merge with them. A large fence surrounded the premises.

Two guards were wearing the characteristic pastel blue uniform and a cap of the same color with a white logo that was difficult to distinguish from a distance. They were armed with rifles and guarded the main entrance, whose doors were opened wide as the convoy approached, it passed through the gates and continued during a few minutes before it fully stopped and the engine shut down.

Elain got off of the truck bed with a little jump after the hatch was lowered, Rainer went after her. The trip had presumably been calmer than the last one. Furthermore, this time only one convoy traveled with just a dozen deer, although they were a bit crowded.

Elain was quite shy around strangers, she didn't make much conversation during the trip beyond talking to Rainer.

Once everyone got off, the herd walked guided by a pair of guards towards one of the buildings, a low and long one, possibly a residence.

As they walked, Elain looked around while doubting several times in her head whether she was really making the right decisions. She didn't even like guns, she found their sound terrifying. She just wanted to go back to her village, but that was no longer possible.

Is this worth it? Isn't there another option? The intense silence of that environment, only disturbed by the hoofsteps, helped her mind to be filled with thoughts.

Once the deer arrived at the building they stood infront of a military buck who appeared to be of high rank. He stood rigid in the main hall, holding a few paper sheets with a hoof, frowning at the herd.

"Listen. Let's keep this short. On this floor there are two free rooms, divide yourselves by gender and settle in them. At 12 I want you on the field where you have been to start the first training session" He said bluntly with an authoritative tone. Rainer checked his watch.

"Have I said it clearly?" He spat at the silence generated by the confusion of the herd.

The deer said yes in different ways in a disorderly manner.

They are in such a rush for everything, is this even normal? Elain asked to herself.

"Great, now get out of my sight" He suddenly walked away while looking at the papers he was holding.

Elain was somewhat stunned by such spontaneity, but she quickly shook her head and followed the pair of does that were already entering in a room, she barely managed to see them. Rainer had gone with the bigger group of bucks to the opposite room.

The room was small and full of bunk beds and lockers, with a window on the other side opposite the door. When she got in, she spontaneously took over the closest bottom bunk by lying face up on it. Elain closed her eyes and breathed several times. Normally she would be snooping around the room, inspecting every drawer. However, she was too tired both physically and mentally. Too many things were happening and she needed a good time to assimilate it.

"Hey! How are you?" A female high pitched voice rang out in a sprightly tone.

Elain opened her eyes with a surprise drawn in them just to meet the doe's hazel eyes staring down at her.

"What?" Elain asked bewildered. The light from the window illuminated her white spotted grey fur and her light green antlers. She looked Elain's age, but she was shorter than the average.

"You were so quiet during the trip, We don't even know your name!"

Elain slightly cowered on the bed, that's when she noticed a long lump beneath her.

"Freya, Stop bothering her, if she doesn't talk it's because she doesn't feel like it" Another doe with a deeper voice said plainly from the other side of the room.

Freya rolled her eyes and walked away to argue with the other doe.

Elain was relieved, but she didn't look up to see who was saying that, instead focusing her attention on what she had been lying her back on. She sat on the bed and saw it, a training uniform consisting of a pastel blue sweatshirt and mauve pants with a pastel blue camouflage print, both folded. At least now I have new clothes She thought. Then she began to untie the cord around her neck with her hooves in order to wear off her cyan coat.

She left the coat hanging on one of the wall hangers next to the door and, while the does argued, she headed to the bathroom infront of her bed with the uniform, where there was a mirror.

Just before clossing the door she heard Freya ranting. "Of course she can speak! She has been talking to her boyfriend the whole trip!"

Elain's hears pinned back as she stared concerned at the mirror. I'll pretend I haven't heard that She said to herself as she shut the door, the argument suddenly stopped.

She left the pants on the sink, then started to wear on the sweater, she felt it quite comfortable and loose. The same thing happened with the pants. It was a sewing she had never tried before, and she also found its colors pretty. Elain smiled slightly as she enjoyed the view in the mirror.

She gently opened the door and, peeking behind it at the two does standing near the window. "What hour is it?" She asked shyly.

"Uh. . . It's 11:30" The taller doe answered disconcerted watching at the wristwatch attached to her auburn fur, then glanced at Elain with brown eyes. Despite she had short brown antlers she was still slightly taller than Freya.

"Thanks" Elain said as she walked towards her bed.

The couple glanced at each other.

"So, What's your name?"

"Astrid, Didn't you just say she doesn't want to talk?" Freya whispered out loud only to receive an elbow in her chest, she wheezed.

Elain suppressed a chuckle. "My name is Elain" She said with a little more ease.

"Pretty name! I'm Astrid and this is Freya" She said glancing down at Freya with a Smirk.

"Hey! What do you mean 'this'?" She complained.

Elain glanced at the door. "Well I should be going out there"

"Oh right! The uniforms!" Freya trotted towards her bed.

Astrid rolled her eyes at Freya's reaction. "We will be there in a minute" She assured with a nod.

Elain walked towards the open door and left the room with a smile.

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The whistle blew and training began with a speed test, the objective was to go around the field.

Elain began to gallop along with the other recruits. She narrowed her eyes and looked foward, focusing on the race. Her new clothes tugged to her fur comfortably so that it didn't get in the way.

Soon she began to leave the rest of the runners behind. She unconsciously caught the attention of most of the group, including the sergeant. She only had one recurring thought in mind to bury the silence of the race. I will go back home

The breeze hit her sweatshirt and gently swayed the fur on her face.

Before she noticed, the sergeant called her out with his powerful voice. "ELAIN!"

Elain stopped suddenly as her eyes widened, her rear skidding on the snow. She slowly turned her head to look back at him, terrified by those seconds of silence. "Y-yes?"

"You've crossed the finish line, stop running!"

"I'm so sorry" Her ears pressed against her skull. She actually was several meters beyond the line. The adrenaline that her body generated from running was exhausted and Elain began to pant.

The rest began to reach the finish line, the first was Freya.

"WOOHOO! That was amazing, Elain!" She celebrated with glee as she trotted closer.

"You think so?" Elain's fear expression was replaced with confusion as she cocked her head aside.

"Well, duh!" Freya pointed at the finish line, barely half of the deer had crossed.

Rainer and Astrid approached seconds later.

"How did you do that?" Rainer asked amazed.

"Yeah! How?" Freya emphasized as she took a step foward.

Elain blushed and looked away. "Stop it, There's no secret" She giggled.

The whistle blew again and Elain's ears pinned back, it would take her a while to get used to it.

The following physical tests passed normally. Elain did not stand out, in fact she was left behind due to her lack of stamina. The sweat began to feel uncomfortable under her outfit.

After a long hour, Elain was lying on the floor, panting and squeezing her eyelids. Her companions were near her in line in front of an improvised shooting range as a final test. There was only one rifle for the entire group and it used wooden bullets, it was somewhat disconcerting for everyone except the sergeant.

Once Elain recovered her breath, she sat on the ground and covered her ears with both forehooves before the rifle was fired.

"ELAIN!" The sergeant roared at her with a glare, visibly upset.

Elain quickly lowered her hooves and stood up. "Sorry!"

The first shot rang out, Elain couldn't help but cover herself by ducking behind Astrid, who was the penultimate in the line.

"Hey, It's okay. No one is going to harm you" The taller doe said as she turned around in order to pet Elain's head.

"I'm sorry, I'm not made for this" Elain apologized.

"Then why are you here?" Astrid asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Like I had another choice" She whispered.

Astrid fell silent for a heartbeat. "I see" She turned around as a second shot rang out.

Elain squinted her eyes but quickly got up to avoid being yelled at again.

Each deer had 3 shots to prove their aim. Each shot made Elain wanting to run away, but she knew she had to gather courage.

After a third shot that made Elain flinch, the next one to grab the rifle was Freya. Now Elain focused her gaze on her while, along with Astrid, she held her breath in anticipation.

Freya fired the three shots as fast as the gun would allow her, all three hitting the targets.

After the sound of gunshots stopped, Elain gaped at Freya, She simply replied with a wide smile on her muzzle, waving her hoof.

"Oh well, I didn't know she was that good!" Astrid looked proudly at Freya.

It seems like they've known each other for a long time Elain thought as she glanced at Astrid.

The turns continued to pass, Rainer hit all three shots, although it took him much longer to aim than anyone else, Astrid also took a while to shoot and hit two shots out of three. Now it was Elain's turn.

For the first time, she held a rifle between her hooves, it felt strange. She wanted to hold and appretiate it for a longer time, but, again, she didn't want the sergeant to yell her name again.

She quickly positioned himself, resting the butt of the rifle on her shoulder, just as she saw the others do. Then she pulled the trigger and the bullet was fired, the terrible noise it caused made her flinch and almost drop the rifle. Unfortunately, the shot missed.

What? Am I missing something? She glanced behind her, Rainer was blinking, pointing at his open eye with a hoof. Elain quickly noticed she forgot to aim. She fixed the rifle over her shoulder and closed one eye, aiming for several heartbeats before firing another shot. She flinched again, her right ear began to hurt. When she opened her eyes her face saddened as she saw that the second shot missed too.

Elain glanced at her left, the sergeant was silently taking notes. Everyone was watching her, which didn't help at all.

Her forelegs were shaking, Elain took a deep breath before firing the last shot. This time she didn't flinch but squeezed her eyes, the bullet stuck into the ground, just below the target. Elain was the first and the only one to miss all three shots. Everything went silent for several heartbeats.

"Everyone is free to go back to their accommodations. . . except Elain" The sergeant said bluntly.

All the deer walked back towards the building. Rainer, Astrid and Freya glanced worried at Elain as they passed by.

Elain lowered her ears and wrinkled her muzzle, she was tired and wanted to flee, she also knew this was just the beginning.