Four bucks traveling together

friends, it seems

quietly munching on breakfast

in deep thickets, away

from that which hunts

Each has a favorite bough

some low, combined with grass

some high, succulent new growth

on the trees in the thickets

some in the middle level

They travel together

moving from thicket to thicket

one leading, others following

seeming friends, sharing space

carefully stepping around each other

Yet there is a tension

each testing the others

not yet competing, but

feeling the potential

which will win alpha?

The contest begins

heads lowered, antlers meeting

not yet challenging,

gentle pokes and prods

sufficient for now

Soon enough they will challenge in earnest,

as the season cycles, striving to become the alpha

will relationships change?

Will they remain friends

after the battles for the top?