The white stag walked at the front of the herd with slow, measured steps, its presence alone enough to draw every wandering eye toward it. It was beautiful in a way that felt almost unreal, not because it glowed or carried some obvious magical trait, but because every part of it seemed too perfect to belong among ordinary creatures. He had never seen any creature like it in his whole life, definitely not in his world, but neither in the other worlds he had entered.

Aether exhaled, not taking his eyes off the beast.

Its fur carried a soft ivory color that shifted depending on the angle it was seen from. Sometimes it appeared completely white, smooth, and pure like untouched marble. Other times, faint shades of silver moved through it naturally, flowing along the curves of its body whenever it walked. It made him wonder how much it would be sold for; he was sure that people would pay a lot for that kind of effect, after all, it was unheard of.

The coat itself looked thick and impossibly well-kept, every strand lying neatly against powerful muscles hidden beneath the elegance of its frame. It seemed as if it knew how to take care of itself, but could you doubt it, when it looked so beautiful, did you expect anything else?

He hadn’t, a beast so beautiful could never be dirty.

And despite that elegance, the stag was undeniably large. Bigger than any deer he had seen, the amount of meat in its body, that alone could be enough to last him a while.

Its body towered slightly over the others following behind it, not exaggeratedly so, but enough to make the difference immediately noticeable. It reminded him of a bother duck leading its little children, though he didn’t know if the ones behind it were its children or just some followers. Still, it was pretty funny to see just how much bigger it was than the others.

Was it able to protect itself? Since it looked as if it were the bodyguard of the group.

Its chest was broad, its legs long and steady, and every movement carried the calm confidence of a creature fully aware of its own strength. There was no tension in the way it walked. No nervous glances. No sudden pauses. It moved like something that had never once doubted where it belonged.

Its antlers were the most striking part of it. The amount of damage they could probably inflict, he really didn’t want to see how it felt firsthand, after all, he really didn’t want to get his ribs crushed.

Massive branches extended upward from its head in smooth, elegant curves, splitting again and again into countless smaller points. They resembled the limbs of an ancient tree more than ordinary antlers, wide and regal without appearing monstrous. Thin silver lines spread naturally through them like veins beneath stone, and parts of the surface reflected light faintly whenever the stag moved its head.

He hated to talk about its body as things, but really, those antlers would be sold for hundreds of embers, he was sure of it, after all, with how beautifull they are, he didn’t doubt how many would want them just so they could add them to their collection and brag about to their friends, after all, for most that was what mattered, to be able to brag and laugh at others who didn’t have something they did.

It made them feel good, their ego got bigger, but what can he do, as much as he hated to fuel their ego, the money, he just couldn’t reject it, plus, what other job would he have for them?

The herd behind it followed without question. Almost like they knew its power. Like its authority was to be not questioned among them, it made him wonder just what the deer had done to get this many before it, after all, for a human to do this, it was pretty difficult to get, and not be betrayed at least once, and yet, a pack of animals had done it, quite easily so.

’Humans are the most social animals, yet at the same time, we hate working with each other, or rather, we hate following others; it always has to be us, the ones leading and making the decisions.’

They were all grown deer, mature and strong in their own right, though noticeably smaller than the stag leading them. Some carried young antlers still developing into proper crowns, while others bore rough marks along their bodies from older injuries and years spent surviving. A few were leaner, more restless in the way they moved, occasionally lifting their heads or shifting positions within the group.

It was quite the sight, seeing such a majestic beast have different generations following it. It was incredible how they protected each other from danger; the younger always had someone to follow, someone to look up to.

It made them feel more human than most. As they actually tried to help each other, instead of trying to cut the one around them down.

But the moment the white stag slowed slightly, every single one adjusted instinctively.

Not out of fear.

Out of trust.

Every one of its decisions was final. Without any question.

One younger buck moved closer to the great stag for a moment, nearly brushing against its shoulder before lowering its head slightly. The white deer merely glanced toward it briefly, its pale eyes calm and unreadable, before continuing forward without changing pace.

That single glance was enough.

The younger deer immediately settled back into step beside the others.

Aether’s eyes widened. Had he really seen this happen? From a single glance, the white deer had been able to put order into that small deers mind, it was unbelivble, he hated to keep making this comparison, but if one human had been acting up in this sitatuion, it would have been hard to trully make him stop, and that is if the others didn’t join him, which was hard to think that it wouldn’t happen.

Usually, people liked joining the chaos; they liked challenging order, for no reason. Just like we like challenging fate for freedom, even if everything is going well for us.

You could say we are ungrateful creatures.

And he wouldn’t deny that.

The stag’s eyes themselves were strange to look at. Pale silver rested within them, almost colorless at first glance, yet they never appeared empty. There was awareness inside them, quiet and heavy, the kind that made it difficult to see the creature as merely an animal. It watched the world with complete stillness, neither curious nor afraid, as though very little around it could truly surprise it anymore. It was probably why it hadn’t been killed until now; its eyes allowed it to sense danger better than any animal. It was probably its own Eden. Which was pretty terrifying to think, but it made sense.

For such a beauty, which probably could be sold for a heck of a lot of embers, to survive in a place full of monsters and bandits, it had to be able to sense danger from far away, and who knew what other secrets it had, if just its eyes were like that.

Even among the herd, nothing challenged its place. But was there even a need to? That was the difference; the deer knew that at the moment, everything was fine, even if they were being led by someone else, and at their mercy, that being wasn’t taking advantage of them, and they were also getting everything they needed to have to survive, plus safety.

In their eyes, there was no need to change the leader and their lives with him, since everything in their world was going great.

No deer attempted to walk ahead of it. None pushed against its authority or tried to claim dominance through aggression. They simply followed naturally, moving in rhythm with its pace as though the herd itself revolved around the white stag’s presence.

And perhaps the strangest thing of all was how effortless it seemed.

The creature did not lead through intimidation or violence. It did not show its strength openly or force obedience from the others. It simply existed at the front of the herd, calm and untouchable, and every deer behind it accepted without hesitation that it belonged there.

Trust really went a long way. All the other deer trusted it, and that was the reason none tried; they knew that it could assure them a good life, so they kept following, even if they had the choice to leave or try to take over the pack.

...

Aether smiled, clenching his bow, but he knew this wasn’t the right time.

He stared into the eyes of the best, not taking them off that hollow space. Almost as if he wanted to send the gorgeous animal a message.

He was going to kill it.

...

"There’s no other beast I would rather be my first prey."