"Please don't go. I've never seen a deer in the forest before. I promise I won't hurt your fawn. I-I was a mother too, once. Just for a few... wonderful moments. But... then I had to give my kits away. I had to, because I love them. So, so much. They are all I have to live for now, and the only way I could keep them safe was to give them away. All I want is to protect them. Oh, I wish they knew who I really was. I wish their father knew they were his. But that can never be. So... please don't be afraid. I understand, I really do. I've been a mother, and I would never lay a paw on your baby. Never. Because I know how it feels to lose those you love..."

The story in the picture: While out picking herbs, Leafpool bumps into a doe and her fawn. The doe immediately steps in front of her fawn, blocking her from harm's way, and Leafpool, who has given her own kits to her sister just a few days ago, is stricken with a sudden grief and compassion. She begins to pour out her turmoil of feelings to the deer, even though she knows it can never understand. Even so, the confession makes her feel a little bit better.

Another one of my entries for this contest on DA.