FB: Deerest Friends (Patreon)

Good news, everyone, I fixed my old tablet! >:D Also, I settled on a name for our reindeer fella (thanks for your suggestions!). Meet Theodore. Ted, or Teddy as his friends call him, is a big dude with a big (infectious) laugh, a big appetite, a big penchant for befriending every patron of his cafe, and a big, BIG love of all things holiday-related. This boi is a big ol slut for Yuletide season. This stands at odds with Lune, who has never celebrated the winter holidays before. Or any holiday. Or his own birthday. Hm.

buckle up kids here's the part where i talk about furry religion

Lune and Victoria both hail from an isolated mountainside all-deer community, known as Rangale. The people are collectively known as the Herd. Rangale is a quiet, frosty town filled with even colder people. The deerfolk there are devoted followers of Hart, (also known as the Heavenly Stag), a deity said to contain the Sun and stars within his antlers. All bucks (males) within Rangale are expected to dedicate themselves entirely to glorifying Father Hart, leaving little room in their lives for anything except work, study, and worship. Does (females) are to live by the guiding light of Dunn, (also known as the Earthly Mother, or Mother Doe), and throw themselves dutifully into maintaining the home and bearing and raising obedient, well-behaved little fawns. Societal roles are firmly divided by gender, and total obedience is expected from all. A deer must be as inflexible and strong as a tine of Father Hart's antlers, for the outside world is wicked, with beasts awaiting to lead the innocent into wickedness and sin. Holidays, and other such worldly frivolities, are banned. Birthdays celebrate the self and steal glory away from Father Hart- an unspeakable offense. Creative expression is all but banned, with emphasis instead being on humility and pragmatism.  Clothing is plain and unadorned. Music and art may only exist as a means to worship. All marriages are arranged by the counsel of elders, and births are tightly controlled.

so yep, Lulu and Vicky never celebrated crimmas

Lune, however, being the son of the leader buck, was permitted a bit more freedom than the other fauns. He was allowed to dance for the elders' entertainment, and later, even permitted to leave the community, as his dance performances could be used to entice new wayward souls for salvation. Lune became a favorite among the leaders, and was allowed to partake with them when they indulged in their own secret, worldly vices ( which was permissible behavior for the leaders, of course). Lune was allowed to listen to outside music, read the occasional comic book, and even have candy from time to time. All this he secretly shared with Victoria, who was deeply bored with her own, much more rigid existence. Victoria was happiest of all to hear her brother's tales of the outside world, even if the people there impudently spurned the loving light of Father Hart.

Eventually, however, Lune grows old enough to marry. The counsel inform him that he is to wed a doe of their choosing, then continue his father's work. Lune accepts, but deep down he's terrified. He's known all along that his duty was to one day produce new fauns and lead the community into a new age of prosperity, but now that the day has come, he can't sleep. Can't eat. Can't think of anything but a lifetime with a leash around his throat, tying him to the village. A leader can't engage in something as undignified as dancing. He sees himself becoming his father, a buck with empty eyes and a secret flask hidden within his robes.

After days of agonizing and fasting and whispered prayers, Lune decides to flee.

Victoria catches him packing in the night, and surprises him by begging to come with him. Lune staunchly refuses, he won't drag his only sister into his sick, selfish future of loneliness and sin- but Victoria balls her fists and breaks the facade of docile doe, for the first time in her life. She won't let him go it alone, if they're to be damned, then they'll be damned together. Whatever's out there cannot be so terrible as life in a cage.

Lune knows it's selfish of him to want to keep a fragment of his family, but he can't help but nod. The siblings clasp hands, tears streaming down both their cheeks, and run away into the night. They will never be permitted to return.

~~~

Everything about Lune's old life was pre-planned, even meals. They were eaten communally twice a day, with no snacking allowed in between. Ted is SHOOKETH when he learns this. Even if he doesn't know the full extent of Lune and Victoria's backstory, he can sense that they are deeply repressed, mournful people, and has resolved to treat them with as much kindness as possible. This means lots and LOTS of free food.

i tweaked the deer bois expressions a little to show that they actually do enjoy being around each other. Lune especially takes a long time to warm up to Ted, but all that ridiculous fluff and jokes and gingerbread smell slowly wear at him, and over time, he comes to feel….relaxed. Sometimes, just sometimes, he might dignify Ted with a laugh and a roll of his eyes. Ted's whole day is made whenever this happens.

bonus facts cuz apparently i can't shut up tonight

-Lune and Victoria are still pretty skittish about engaging with the world. It took Victoria a long time to muster the courage to walk into Ted's shop, and she only managed because he held the door open for her. They both struggle a LOT with guilt for abandoning their family and way of life. In the beginning, they often prayed for forgiveness after little things, like wearing casual clothes, and often need to comfort each other. Victoria still stammers and freezes when nervous, this is owed to emotional abuse she faced back home. They're both aware of their respective sexual orientation (Lune is queer, Victoria is a lesbian), but both are still very shy about exploring that part of their identity, as "sexual deviance" was condemned within the community. Baby steps.

-Lune is still every bit the stuffy repressed dweeb Moondancer is and insists on calling Ted "Theodore". Ted teases him but doesn't push the issue.

-Whitetail deer wiggle their tails when they feel at ease.

-Fun fact: in the future, if Ted and Lune ever did smooch, they'd have to be careful not to accidentally lock their antlers together. This happens more often than you’d think, and deer citizens sometimes end up in the ER needing a professional to untangle them. Thus “tangling antlers” is a common joke among queer deer, and refers to a couple getting a bit too carried away.