"I'm sorry," Elias stammered, wiping his hands on a rag. "I didn't see you."
A deer stepped out. Not a painted deer. A real one: a young doe with eyes the color of amber and flanks the texture of velvet and dusk. It blinked at Elara, unafraid. It dipped its head and nuzzled the wet strawberry plant on her desk. A Little Dash Of The Brush Enature