Nevaeh tried her best to listen to her mother throughout spring as she slowly grew. Her mother allowed her more leniency when she went out alone, as long as she was exceedingly careful and trusted her instincts. She hadn't seen Drought since he had stood up for her and attacked Sliver. She wasn't purposely looking for him when she foraged for food, but she wouldn't have been disappointed if she saw him.

    While she was making her way through the forest she found a small brush and started to nibble on the leaves. Once she had taken off a few and swallowed them, she noticed that there appeared to be some sort of entrance for something behind it. Curiosity got the best of her, as it usually did, and she stretched her neck forward. She managed to peer through and she gasped in surprise when she saw that there appeared to be a whole new world that she had never seen before just through the brush.

    She pulled herself through and breathed in surprise as sun shown down through the sun that streamed through the canopy above her. A stream cut through the middle, but it was small enough for her to jump over. Lush grass was everywhere as well as different flowers, grasses, and plants of all kind. She started to look around before she just stood where she was and gaped in awe as she looked around.

    Nevaeh suddenly froze when she heard small hoofbeats. Her head swiveled around slightly as she saw a fawn, about the same age as her, standing across the stream. He had the beginning of antlers peaking out from between his ears. His eyes showed determination and Nevaeh could tell that he would one day grow up to be a very powerful and striking stag.

    The two looked at each other before Nevaeh crept closer. She kept her gaze locked on him in case he tried anything as she skipped over the stream and walked over to him. The two of them didn't speak as they drew themselves closer and closer to each other before the young buck spoke.

    "Who are you," he asked quietly.

    Nevaeh dipped her head in respect. "My name is Nevaeh and I live around here," she answered softly. "Who are you?"

    The buck slightly flicked his hoof against the ground in embarrassment. "I'm Barrow." His gaze met hers and Nevaeh immediately felt a flutter of nervousness in her stomach, as if butterflies were fluttering inside of her.

    She smiled as she lifted her head and looked around. "How did you find this place," she asked as she started to walk around, allowing the soft grass to tickle the bottom of her legs.

    Barrow leaped over the river and landed beside her before the two started to walk side by side. "By accident, I assure you. I was just wandering around and I fell into it," he explained. "How about you?"

    Nevaeh giggled. "I started to eat and there was something behind it." She took in another breath of awe as if she couldn't believe where she was. "I never knew that something this beautiful could exist."

    Barrow seemed to be looking at Nevaeh, but Nevaeh didn't realize. "Yeah, beautiful," he added.

    When Nevaeh's head spun around, Barrow instinctively looked elsewhere, pretending to be entranced by a spider spinning it's web. "Do you live around here," Nevaeh continued.

    Barrow shrugged. "A little. My mother and I live almost past the ravine, but the meadow."
   
    Nevaeh sighed just at the thought of the meadow. "My mother doesn't like to go anywhere near the meadow unless my father is around. She's worried about something beyond the trees, but I don't know what," she confessed in frustration.

    "Oh, you mean man," Barrow asked.

    Nevaeh spun around and looked at him in confusion, her head tilted. "Man?"

    "Yes, man. They're these creatures that walk on their hind legs and wear bright fur. They like to hide in the forest and they have these strange branch objects that sound like thunder when they use them," Barrow explained softly with his head bowed.

    Nevaeh's eyes widened. "What do they do with them?"

    "They use them to kill us. They kill us and then take us away," Barrow explained as he saw the horror showing in Nevaeh's gaze.

    The young fawn shook in terror as she gulped. Barrow understood that he was scaring her and quickly retracted a bit. "But, they only come at certain times and they're not that stealthy. That's why you have to be vigilant and not usually go to the meadow alone."

    "You sound like my mother," Nevaeh joked warmly.

    Barrow snorted. "She probably just wants to keep you safe. Besides, I think there's much more to eat here," Barrow pointed out as he stretched out his neck and pulled at some leaves from a nearby brush and started to nibble off of it.

    Nevaeh couldn't tell if he was lying or not, but she appreciated the effort that he made to make her feel a little better. She smiled as she lowered her head and started to eat the grass while Barrow seemed to like things higher, especially those that he could only reach while rearing on his hind legs.

    The two ate until they were full and the sun threatened to set on them. Knowing that her mother would worry if she was out past dark, she reluctantly started toward the brush. "I had better go. I don't want my mother to worry," she told Barrow.

    Barrow bounded forward, almost in front of her, and looked at her with a hopeful expression on his face. "Do you think that we could meet here again, tomorrow? I'm sure that the food won't run out."
   
    Nevaeh smiled, feeling the butterflies rise up in her again. "Okay," she decided.

    Barrow bucked a bit in excitement as he started toward the stream. "See you tomorrow, Nevaeh." Her name seemed to roll off his tongue and actually caused Nevaeh to shiver.

    "See you soon, Barrow." Nevaeh watched him disappear out of the brush before she did the same with him still on her mind.