A fire leapt up my legs, a delicious spark that travelled from my hooves to the tips of my pointed ears. The other deer had melted into the woods, but I felt them ahead of me and Duncan beside me. We ran together, our hoof beats keeping time with each other. Deeper and deeper into the woods until we exploded into a moonlit heath. I felt the openness like a dangerous tingling all over my body, but when I lifted my head I saw Cernunnos and the beautiful doe grazing on the hilltop and knew it was all right. I looked to Duncan and saw that he was also grazing. I lowered my head and nibbled the silvery moonlit grass. It tasted like … summer, like life, delicious, but fleeting. I didn’t even bother to chew it. It slid down my long throat into my second stomach where I would store it until I had more time. Now I sampled one tuft of tender green shoots and then another, drifting across the heath with the others. A young fawn kicked its hind legs and butted its head into its mother; a group of young bucks rubbed their antlers against the back of a fallen log. I rubbed my face against a clump of clover and lifted my nose to sniff the fragrant air.

Beside me, Duncan lifted his head and then rubbed his neck against mine, spreading clover and musk into my fur. A delicious tingle spread in my legs and before I knew I had decided to move we were running. Just Duncan and me now, across a wide meadow and then into the woods again. I felt Duncan’s breath hot on my neck as we ran side by side. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him, his strong neck stretched forward into the run, his fur tipped with gold, his antlers glistening with moonlight. A wild desire spurred me on while at the same time I wanted to knock myself against him, twine my neck with his, feel his rough fur against mine … but for now running together was enough. We were linked by the Aelvesgold, bound as surely as if we had been yoked.