Bonsai: Backstory
#1 of Back stories
How Bonsai became what she is.
She was born into a very poor family. Her father constantly drunk and belligerent, beat her mother, her and her two brothers. She didn't know anything but the abuse. She would cower and run to hide whenever he got home from a long day of job searching, filled with failure, and too many drinks. He never left open wounds on them, though Bonsai constantly feared his sharp prongs. He was careful not to leave any suspicion, but maybe a bruise on the leg, or a jammed finger.
Her mother was very kind and gentle in nature, always loving on Bonsai and her brothers, telling them they would grow up to be beautiful strong bucks and her that she would be the most sought after doe in the town, with her long dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Her birthmarks were something that her mother taught her to love immensely. The crescent moons under both her eyes and the black snake like swirls that covered her body. She even loved the seven bold black dots that ran up her snout from her nose to her forehead. Her mother would trace them lovingly with her long fingers and sing her to sleep after her father passed out on the couch or lawn, wherever he made it to before the alcohol was too much.
One day, around four in the afternoon, Bonsai's father came home, sober. Shocked as the family was, they were happy and did everything he asked without fear of being hit.
"Let's go have a picnic!" He declared. Bonsai was wary of this idea but her mother took it in stride, and happily as ever started packing a lunch basket for all of them. Her brothers were soon hopping up and down with joy, dancing around their mother and giggling as father made funny faces at them.
"I have great news after we eat," her father said as they hiked to the spot he'd picked. Bonsai's mother smiled back at her and the boys and winked.
After they had all finished, Bonsai barely touching her food because of the bad feeling she had, Father started talking.
"Okay, the good news. You all are going on a long adventure, but without me." he sipped his herbal tea.
"Whatever do you mean, darling?" Mother asked, just as confused as the children. Father pulled out a very long, sharp knife, made from domascus steel.
"I mean, you are all going to die." He lunged for Bonsai's mother and quickly slit her throat, letting the metallic smell of her blood fill the air and her glass of water, slowly turning it into a deep burgundy. Bonsai sat in shock, the shook her head, looked at her brothers who were frozen in fear, jumped up and grabbed them. She took off into the woods with them, leaving behind their bloody handed father, whom she could hear coming after them. She knew they wouldn't be able to out run him.
"Donny, Harvard. You all are going to play a game with me." She said quickly, while still dragging them behind her. "Hide and seek. I'm going to let your arms go and you all are going to go hide. I'll come find you, but don't let daddy find you. Okay?" The boys bleated their yeses and she let go. Donny took off to the right, towards the lake, and Harvard went left, towards the town. Bonsai pushed herself and went deeper into the woods. She got about twenty feet and stopped. She heard the blood curdling scream come from the right. Donny.
"No....." She felt the tears slipping down her face and wiped them away. She pushed on, praying that Harvard would make it into town before their father got to him, hoped he would come for her first. She heard the twigs snapping behind her. She pushed her hooves down into the dirt and tried to go faster.
"You little bitch!" He huffed. "I've got plans for your little ass!" She heard him grunt and let out a scream as he landed on her back, successfully pinning her. He flipped her over and pressed the knife against her throat. He laughed menacingly.
"J-Just get it over with." Bonsai squeezed her eyes shut.
"Oh, no. You don't get the easy way out. Always sitting there, hatred in your eyes. I saw that you knew something bad was going to happen, yet you did nothing to stop it. Did nothing to save your mother and hardly help Donny at all. You're a stupid little bitch and you're gonna pay."
Bonsai didn't know what was going to happen but she knew it wasn't going to end well. She felt her father move the knife and opened one eye to watch what he was doing. He cut off her shorts with one quick and easy slash. Next her panties. She tried to squeeze her legs together, to keep him from seeing her private parts, but he just pushed down on her knees. He laughed evilly and then it started. It seemed like days to the young fawn, but in reality it was only a couple of hours. He raped and beat Bonsai within an inch of her life.
Finally he stopped. Thinking she was dead, he kicked her, rolling her over on to her stomach, and threw some dead leaves over her. She watched as he walked away, towards Harvard and the town. Three minutes later, Bonsai heard the shriek of a fawn.
"H-Harvard...n-n-no..." Everything went hazy and Bonsai finally was released from the pain as she passed out.
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She woke up with a start. Cold and scared. Where was she..Who was she.. The fawn sat on the floor of the woods, thinking hard. She had flashes of an older doe, then two younger male fawns. Flashes of a place were children, like her, gathered to learn.
A name. Carelessly scrolled across the top of a paper.
She caught the first letter; B. Then another, and more until she was left with six of them.
"Bonsai.." She whispered. "My name is Bonsai.." She got up and pulled her shirt down, covering her tail. Luckily, the shirt was a large and fit over her like a loose fitting dress. She started walking, occasionally wiping at her face and nose, her hand always coming away with red covering it. She made it to a lake, and took off her shirt to jump in. The water was cold, but she felt extremely dirty.
After washing away the grime she felt, she got out, shook herself dry and pulled the shirt back on. It was then that she noticed the pain between her legs. She ignored it. Knowing only her name and that she needed to get away from this area as fast as possible, she moved deeper into the woods. Toward the smell of food. She didn't know how long it would take her to get there, but she wasn't stopping until she did.
"Help.." She tried calling out, but her voice was too weak. A sudden wave of dizziness hit her like a boulder. She fell to the ground, tears filling her eyes, and watched as a large animal passed over her.
When she woke up, she was beside a fire, wrapped in a blanket and warm. She slowly looked around and saw that she was barely inside a cave. Her eyes finally landed on a large moving mass out in the night. She pulled the blanket up to her nose and watched. What stumbled into the cave was unexpected.
"Hello, little one. You seemed quite in need." A motherly voice came from the animal. It leaned into the fires light and Bonsai saw the face of a female bear. She couldn't help it. She let out a long bleat. The bear chuckled and set a bowl of berries and honeysuckles down.
Bonsai stared at the food, and the bear.
"Eat up, or you'll never get your strength back." She gestured at the berries.
"I-I don't even know you..." Bonsai said.
"My name is Hura. That is all you need at the moment. Now eat." Hura leaned back and closed her eyes. Bonsai tentatively poked at the food. It looked like blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries mixed with honeysuckles. Bonsai tried a few pieces and then hungrily gulped the whole bowl down.
"Good." Hura nodded.
Over the next few weeks, Bonsai learned that Hura was a mother of two, Burk and Fulke. They weren't exactly welcoming when it came to the fawn but put up with her for their mothers sake. When Hura started babying Bonsai more than Burk, he decided to take matters into his own hands, scare her off toward the wolf, whom he was sure would eat her and she would be forgotten about.
Burk chased her out of the cave one morning while Hura was out.
"Go. That way. It'll take you to the town. Never come back!" He growled at her and she ran, crying. She spent the next three days, searching for food, water and a place to sleep. She was trying to build a fire on the third day when she heard something behind her......
Continued in Adventure 1, Mint meets Bonsai