A gentle buck, while he inherited the strength of his mother and father he has little interest in testing it. Even as a foal his fascination was with all manner of creature and plant, he could be found staring at plants and nests, watching them grow and develop. Eventually this evolved into trying his hand at it himself, testing out how much water to give plants, the best foods for small creatures, where they should live and how much sunlight they needed. His strength came in handy during his work, as digging up small trees to drag them through the swamp to a better home or wrestling with injured animals to assist in their recovery would have been much more difficult without it. Dedication to enrichment of life, to discovering exactly what makes it thrive, not just live, has earned him his Totoma name. Nurtures Life does just that, and despite this achievement he still knows he has much to learn, something he continues to do with the same, single-minded fascination he did as a young foal.

When she sleeps, she goes there. It is as though the ground has fallen away from her, pushed her past the colors above it, but the lights that brighten the night sky still twinkle far beyond her reach. An endless expanse of darkness, surrounded by a strange and all-encompassing silence. She floats, weightless, in the space between the sky and the stars. She hears them, before she sees them. An echoing bellow, high and low at the same time, like the wind singing through the mountains. Strange, graceful creatures. Flying through nothingness, gentle fins shaped like flower petals flutter to and fro, long tails like vines twisting behind them. They seem to swim forward, spinning and swaying, dancing in the emptiness. She watches them for what feels like forever.

And then she wakes up. It's such a strange sensation. It feels so real, so natural that it doesn't seem a dream, yet everyone tells her it can be nothing else. After all, how can you wake up from reality? When she was a newborn she didn't understand, and would often ask about the strange world she saw and where it was. How could something she'd experienced from the moment she'd been born not be a part of the world she lived in? She refused to believe what she experienced was an illusion, and as she grew older, though she came to accept it as the dream it was, it was not in the way the others expected. They thought it was a passing fancy, the games of a child, and she would simply grow out of it. She, however, knew it was real. As she grew, she came to the conclusion that if what she saw while sleeping was only a dream, then she just had to find it in the waking world as well.

When she was still a foal, she was reckless. Jumping off tall rocks, trying to throw herself off small cliffs, anything in an attempt to fly up and toward her dream. This earned her quite a number of bumps, bruises and scrapes that would be far from her last. As she grew, so too did her plans. As a filly she tried jumping into rivers and lakes, swimming up waterfalls, wiggling her headplates in a vain attempt to fly and other such things. Interspersed in these attempts she began to ask more questions, anything to give her a hint as to what she might be able to do. When she didn't get the answers she wanted to started to watch and study the other creatures and plants to see what she could learn from them as well as her fellow kin. She began watching the world itself, to see what hints it might hold for her and her quest.

Eventually, she grew to be a doe. She had moved on from her small steps, and with the knowledge she'd gained from her years of seeking she began to try more. She climbed mountains, seeking a height that would lead her into the sky, but finding herself ever beneath it's beautiful colors. She attempted to fly up and above the land that was her home by jumping into the most powerful updrafts of wind she could find, hoping her headplates might act as leaves on the wind, only to find herself gliding back to the ground. The others, having grown used to her antics by now were still impressed by her dedication, though many expressed sorrow she didn't put her skills to a better use. After many months of feeling trapped, like she had already explored all this land had to offer, she became aware she was beginning to develop an intense wanderlust. Several others felt it too. An intense need to go, to travel away from these lands to find whatever it was that was calling them. For the others, it was the first time, but she knew it was just another step to the place she had been seeking her whole life.

So they went, many of them had never left the mountains they all called home. For some, it was because the desire to see more of the world could not be ignored. For others, the perfect way to earn a name. For her, she knew it had to be a sign, something that would lead her to the space between the sky and the stars. This small group of Totoma began their journey, and as they travelled they saw things they'd never thought possible. Large, seemingly endless expanses of flat land. A strange and gentle warmth that swam through the air and nestled in their fur. A damp and murky wetness that spread out before them, the place they were searching for. From the other kin they had met on their journey, they learned the place they were heading was called the Swamp, something they had only heard of in whispers, and tall tales. But strangely enough, they were here, on the edges of this place that none of them had ever believed was real.

One night, as they walked across a stretch of marshland, the water just passing their hooves, the Totoma began to notice the stars were reflecting off the water. They had seen this happen before, but never to this extent. The darkness was flawlessly mirrored in the waters surface, and if they stood perfectly still, it appeared as though the night sky surrounded them, sparkling stars in all directions. The land and the sky became one, and as the others looked up at the doe who had wandered ahead of them, headplates like flower petals and tails like vines, they remembered the dream she'd told them so many times they could practically recite it. A space between the sky and the stars, filled with strange creatures with round flower-like fins and long vine-like tails. And for a moment, they all saw it, and in that instant they shared the dream.

And there it was, the closest she would ever get to completing her impossible quest.

"Are you happy?"

The doe seemed confused, and tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"You've found it." The same buck spoke, as though it was completely obvious. The others exchanged knowing glances.

"Found what?" The doe asked, genuinely seeming to have no idea what he meant.

After a few chuckles the buck shook his head, glancing back at the rest of their group and receiving a shrug in return. "Nevermind."

"If you say so." The doe said, tilted her head again and turning around to continue on her way.

The others approached the sighing buck, the group filled with rolled eyes and exasperated laughter at the doe before them. They probably shouldn't have been surprised. After all, she was just Running Away from Reality... again.

As the Totoma expertly climbed along the sheer rock face, she finally spotted her destination. The Golden Eagle's nest! How long she had waited for this moment, spying out possible locations and searching the skies for the most beautiful eagle she could see. Watching as the mother preened itself and settled further onto it's eggs the doe's eyes sparkled, and she grinned. Leaping down from her position, a few hoof-lengths above the eagle's perch, she slid down using her momentum to move her toward the eggs. The mother, obviously surprised by this sudden intrusion, was flustered enough to leap up from the nest.

Exactly what the Totoma had planned.

It had taken her many moons to manage such a feat, and much practice. Eagles were very watchful, and knowing how and when to strike was key. The doe had practiced this act on many nests, eventually getting it down almost perfectly. She couldn't risk trying it on her target and failing, as that would mean the bird would expect such an act again. This was also something she had discovered through study, and it had resulted in some painful wounds. All that practice had not been in vain, her loud grunt as well as the rock slide she created from her quick movement had done just what she had wanted. The eggs were exposed, and hers for the taking.

Sliding right up to the nest, she slide the leaf she held in her mouth under the nearest egg, grabbing both sides to create a basket. Due to the small amount of time she had before the mother began attacking, it the was best she could do. Having tried several methods before, each of which either failed or resulted in smashed eggs, this was the only viable option she had discovered. Removing the egg from the safety of the nest she turned to continue her slide, her escape, down the hill.

The eagle had other plans.

Pecking at the doe violently, the eagle shot over her back and into the air, readying for a deep swoop. The blood, now beginning to cover the doe's eyes, made it virtually impossible to dodge. This was ignoring the fact that the egg would tumble and break if she even tried. The doe turned her head, careful to keep the leaf steady and secure in her mouth, and shifted her feet from their secure position. Pushing forward she began her slide just as the eagle began it's descent.

Due to the limitation she had on her speed, the Golden Eagle managed to dig it's claws very deeply into the doe. They were so far in when the eagle continued she was almost pulled along with it, and when the eagle's claws did detach they took with them a good amount of her flesh. Crying out in pain through clenched teeth, and struggling to stay upright after nearly being lifted into the air, the doe continued down the slope. Several more attacks, all very successful, had nearly brought the Totoma to her knees. One had almost knocked the egg from her grasp!

She was almost there.

Reaching the bottom, and the edge of the trees, she slid to a stop. Not wanting to tumble over an exposed root, she had to progress more carefully. The trees were thick enough the mother would not be able to fly freely, and she knew the quickest way through this area. Glancing back up she could see her blood splattered all over the rocks, a sight that made her dizzy. Well, it was either that or the shear amount of blood she had lost. Stumbling backwards, she retreated into the trees. Watching the mother eagle fly above, she continued deeper into the woods. Unable to continue her assault, and flying much too far from her eggs, the mother eagle finally returned to it's nest.

Collapsing onto the ground, the doe set her prize between her outstretched hooves. Staring at the smooth surface in wonder, she couldn't help but smile. She had succeeded, and all the doubt others had pushed upon her had meant nothing. The doe had won, and in doing so had won her name.

Egg Snatcher

It was a good name.