The swamp is dark and lovely this evening as Soul Drift picks his way through a densely populated clump of mangroves. Tonight the moon is full and clear in the sky and provides more than enough light to see by, and the night music of small creatures carries delicately on the air. He breathes in deeply and pauses a moment to simply listen and enjoy the view.

His ceaseless wandering led him to the brief, but fruitful, company of a lovely soul not so long ago - and before his departure she had sought him out to tell him of her condition.

Not one to leave without at least ensuring their safety, Soul Drift now seeks the aid of one of the blessed kin...


Unbeknown to him, his worries have already been felt - and from the branches of one of the trees ahead a small mongoose watches. She is still and quiet, though the bright glow of her eyes and markings gives her away in the velvety dark.

Soul Drift pauses when he notices her, for her has never seen a mongoose with such a light in its eyes before - and he is an older buck, now, who has seen many mongoose in his time.

"Good evening," he says, the notes of his voice smooth and mellow.

The mongoose watches him, and then blinks, before its shape melts into that of a beautiful zikwa, her little round ears twitching toward him. The ghostly spectre of a mongoose shifts in and out of existence near her feet...

"Good evening," she says, her own voice like that of rustling leaves in the wind. Pleasant, but soft. "I felt the call of your heart and followed it here. What troubles you so?"

"Ahhh," the buck sighs, but smiles, for he finds her presence soothing - moreso for the way her gentle voice blends with the chorus of night sounds around them. "I am to be a father, but it's not in my nature to stay in one place for too long. My soul pulls me ever onward, a call I cannot deny, yet I would not - could not - travel onward without at least doing what I might to ensure my children and their mother have some protection."

Hush tilts her head. For her own part she could not fathom leaving her own children - but then she is a doe (though she knows plenty of does who abandon their sacs at birth to the whims of fate). She doesn't judge, for that is still as natural as anything... And at least this buck is seeking her aid, whatever good it might do.

"And what would you wish for your children?" She asks, her eyes seeking.

Soul Drift feels her gaze like a lance through him, as though she sees into him in a way he cannot fathom. Her dainty demeanor is somewhat at odds to the power he knows she carries.

"Safety, health and happiness of course... And to always be true to the path they are drawn to, wherever that may lead."

"Then, traveler, may your children always find the trail they seek, and may their troubles be less, and quickly resolved that they might know peace over misfortune." She smiles warmly at him and then turns to go - melting back into the shape of a mongoose and scampering off once more.

The sounds of the swamp filter back in, and Soul Drift, too, continues onward - for the path is always calling.