Chapter 10
• Gwyl •
"What manner of creature do you bring to the encampment?" an angry centaur asked as Harry was held at the gates of the makeshift community. The lines on his face creased in anger, and Harry could feel fury coming off him in waves. His black body matched his black hair perfectly. His dark eyes irritated Harry to no end; it was perhaps the way he looked down upon Harry, as if he were nothing. Harry didn't like to be looked down upon; even Shepaud had figured that out quickly.
The centaur named Ronan stepped forward, "Please leave us be Bane, we have a matter to take before the council."
The head of the new centaurs, the one whom Ronan referred to as Bane, took an angry step forward. It was obvious he didn't like Harry or the wolves, but at the moment he was focusing on Harry. Silver, who seemed more annoyed than Harry, took a few leaps forward to stand next to Shepaud, snarling with teeth bared. Shepaud, who hadn't much like Silver didn't move at all. In fact he seemed to have an even greater distaste for Shepaud than he had for Silver.
"What sort of beasts is this, baring its fangs at me?" Bane asked, backing up angrily and reaching for the crossbow he carried.
With the threat of a weapon being pulled, Harry nudged Dog just slightly and reached around to his back, hand on his knife. Once Dog had stepped forward Bane paused, staring at Harry.
"I suggest that you leave us be Bane," Shepaud said with a smirk. "We wouldn't want these two wolves to tear you apart, and they wouldn't be at fault if you pull a weapon on our guest, the Wolf-Demon."
Bane paused and looked between Harry and the wolves and then over to Ronan who nodded to him. Then, with the utmost surprise on his face Bane stepped away from the gates, those behind him stepped back as well. Most of them had serious looks and were far more wild looking than the two with Harry. None of them liked Harry very much it seemed, and they had a contentious look even though they backed away. There were a dozen of them at least, and all of them followed Bane so Harry made a note of each of their faces – he knew they were his enemies.
Inside the compound Harry found that the other centaurs gazed upon him with awe, and the children had to be held back by the female Centaurs so they didn't run forward. Harry had never seen naked woman at all and something about them threw him off a little, it wasn't something he was expecting at all. The children fought to stand in the front of those who lined the path that had formed and some of them waved at him then hid behind the older centaurs.
Some of the centaurs that were no longer children, but not yet adults, watched Harry with defiance, but not hateful. Most had never seen a human before or anything else that was very far beyond the boundaries of their home.
"Ronan!" an elderly centaur said from the end of the path. "For what reasons have you brought guests amongst our herd?"
Harry realized that Silver and Dog were being considered guests as well and he had an instant liking for the old Centaur. He smiled brightly and wished he would have brought a gift like Firenze had given him when they had met for the second time. Silver was still cautious, but Harry calmed her with a soft whine that most probably didn't hear at all.
Two more elderly centaurs appeared as well, and though they said nothing, Harry liked them as well. They didn't look down upon him. They simply smiled and waited. Shepaud took the lead as they neared the three centaurs and when he slowed Harry slowed with him hoping he was doing things right. He did not understand everything so he simply copied Shepaud.
Shepaud bowed and with him Harry bowed the wolves dropped to their bellies but their eyes stayed alert, ready to strike if something happened. When Harry rose from the bow he paused and spoke slowly and as clearly as possible. "Is honor," he said hoping it was the right thing to say.
The elderly centaurs were all smiling even brighter when Harry finally met their eyes again. Shepaud took another step forward and gestured to Harry. "Allow me to present Harry, the Wolf-Demon. We have come to discuss his presence in the forest and his affiliation with Firenze."
The elders seemed a little surprised, but they didn't say anything. Instead they turned and entered a cave that lay beyond them. Shepaud followed, and Ronan waited behind until Harry followed as well. Silver was cautious on entering the cave, taking a moment to sniff and was on guard as she entered. Dog proceeded with the same thing, though his tail was raised in the air like an antenna. Harry had seen him do it, but it was only when he was very uncertain about where he was.
After following the centaurs for several minutes down the path, deep into the cave, they entered into a large cavern. More of the elderly centaurs were gathering there, they seemed to have known Harry was coming. There was a crude chair that had been placed under the raised area the elderly centaurs stood on, and Harry was led to it. After seating himself Ronan stepped forward and spoke quietly to all of the elderly centaurs for a moment. Harry assumed these people were the council that he was coming to see.
"You've come to us as a friend?" an elderly centaur said, breaking the silence that had overtaken the cave. "And yet you bring two beasts of the forest amongst us who have no desire to be friends," he continued slowly but quite clear. Then he waited for Harry to answer.
"They pack. Friends, not let come alone..." he paused searching for the right word. Firenze had told him lots of words; it just took him a while to remember them sometimes. "Be Guards, not like others. Listen sometimes, but not always."
"And do you find yourself under threat here amongst us?" Another asked, he was much louder, and from what Harry could see much younger as well.
"When I come here..." Harry said, pausing and thinking again. He understood what was going on; they were playing games just like the wolves did, only instead of fighting or making threats of attacking, they played games with words. Harry was not good with words like Firenze, but he tried his best. "There were a group that angry when come. Centaur Bane show weapons. I carry weapons to... survive... but not threaten any centaur. Bane enemy – not like, want hurt. Wolves here because not trust all centaurs. I here because friend need help."
The man who had spoken up had nothing more to say, but the elderly man who had met Harry just beyond the gate did. "It is a rash thing which Bane did. He does not feel at peace with much of the world, including the animals of the forest. While he is a part of the herd, he does things which insult us sometimes. We are sorry for the lack of comfort you feel amongst us and are grateful that you have come to use to remedy the wrong which we have done to Firenze."
Several of the group nodded adamantly and Silver and Dog chose this time to lay on the ground, watchful, but no longer tense. Harry was happy he hadn't had to ask them and knew that their actions had not gone unnoticed. Centaurs were very aware of the things that went on around them.
"You speak to these wolves then?" The elder man asked again. He seemed to be some sort of leader of the group from the way he was positioned. He actually even wore a bit of jewelry around his neck, something none of the others did. Harry nodded his answer and moved his hand slowly down and Dog rose to it quickly, understanding the signal that he was being given. While most of the speech was verbal, there was more and more nonverbal things that Harry had been learning the longer he spent with the wolves, and they began to understand him even though his body was built different and he could not use the same signs they did.
Some of the centaurs seemed astonished as Dog rose, the movement had been so slight that it was almost a natural movement and not something out of the ordinary, so they did not see it. When Harry's hand rose again just slightly Dog again dropped to the ground and closed his eyes quietly. He was far more trusting of the centaurs than Silver was, he had been around Firenze a lot longer. "They hear you without words?" The old centaur asked.
"Speak in many ways," Harry replied back, having already decided what he was going to say. "They pack, I pack, we speak... without speaking. They not hurt anyone without being... angered, they safe to have here."
"That had been made known to us," he said calmly, "as well as your friendship with Firenze, son of Chefmith. It is curious to us how you became known to him, and we would ask that you help us understand."
The suddenness of it surprised Harry. He'd been wanting to get to it from the beginning, it was hard to play the games of words, but he was patient, hunting required much patience and he had learned it long ago. Now that they had brought it up, Harry took another moment to pause and remember all the words he had wanted to speak.
Meet while hunting in winter," he said not telling them that he hadn't really been hunting because he didn't know any other way to explain looking around the forest to explore new things. It was simpler this way. "I... walk into him, new to forest then. Not hear all things like now. Never see centaur before, so different, man in horse, not understand. When speak to me make scared. Think might make return to place before. Not want to go back, not like it there."
Again Harry paused, trying to make sure that he got it all right. He knew some of his words weren't quite right, but he was trying to do the best he could. "Run, hide in tree before he follow. Tree old, it say it dying, but only good tree around. Tree make noise, Firenze see me, speak nicely. Only man ever speak nice so I think to come down. Firenze have weapon, see before, so tell go away. He is talking about seeing we meet and he not go away. Take off weapon, try be nice, show not harm. I still not believe... growl at him."
"Dog," Harry motioned to the Dog on his left, "come, scare Firenze. Firenze think attack, I think Firenze hurt Dog, jump on back. Shake off, and go back, but when he turn I have weapon. He know I hurt if not leave, so he leave."
The next part was even more memorable to Harry. He'd heard Firenze repeat it to him a few times when he asked what had happened, how Firenze had come upon his home in the forest. "Firenze look for me much. Find when pack fight spiders. Do not kill spider, but... wound. When pack kill first spider they kill second and I is left alone. Firenze think they hurt me too, does not understand pack. Take me to cave and heal me. When heal I go back to pack and Firenze follow. When morning come again he give presents, trying be friends. I try be friends too, he always come back help learn forest better, learn words better. He tell of trees, plants, food, night, day, teach many things. Fire help stay warm when away from home, give me weapons and talks much.
There was a whisper that ran through the elders and Harry stopped, hoping he hadn't said anything wrong. He remembered something else too, and he added it, hoping it would make things better. "I ask Firenze not tell others about me. Do not want to be human again."
That too caused more whispers, and Harry could only watch as all of the centaurs spoke between themselves. Shepaud came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Silver watched, but did not move from the position she'd found on the ground while Harry was talking.
The council finally stopped talking and the elderly centaur addressed Harry again. "Why do they call you Wolf-Demon, the wizards of the town nearby?"
Harry wasn't sure exactly what a wizard was, but he understood that they were people. The people from the town the Will person came from. "They come into forest and take... troll," Harry said, remembering what it was – Firenze had told him it was not a bear, but a troll. He'd tried explaining it further, but it had confused Harry for the most part and Harry hadn't really listened, but he did remember what it was called. "I run them away. Humans not welcome, not need in forest. They come hurt things, spiders, I make leave. Warn them not come back. They come again now and hurt pack – other pack, wolf. I hurt them back and send man back tell him not come back and tell others."
Shepaud cleared his throat and Harry stopped, looking to him. "It was not a normal wolf," he said aloud once Harry had paused. "The wolf that the wizards had captured was a werewolf. We saw it being captured and left so that the wizards would not see us. When I found the Wolf-Demon he was with the werewolf and they were eating a fresh kill. We had tracked them from the dead wizards to make sure that the werewolf did not come to the herd," Shepaud said, and paused. Harry could see the old men nodding between themselves before Shepaud continued. "Ronan was behind me in the dark to make sure I was not in trouble, and he came out when the Wolf-Demon spoke to me. Harry the Wolf-Demon asked for Firenze immediately, he didn't like either of us at all. The werewolf did not seem to like us either, but he called the beast away from us easily. He also spoke to the two great cats that have been roaming the forest since winter, and let them feast upon the kill. They listened to him as well, and he called them his own, he also refused to be called human and said he was an animal."
"It seems Firenze has been good friends with him, he was told about the ruling of the council when Harry was deemed an animal and that Firenze should leave him be. I believed that Firenze was away from the herd because of Harry..."
Harry growled, hating to hear his name repeated over and over again. Harry wasn't scary and was given to him by humans; it wasn't something he liked very much. Wolf-Demon was also a human name, but they had given it to him because they were frightened of him and that made things a little better.
It struck Shepaud as odd, that Harry growled at his own name, but he remember they way Harry had introduced himself in the forest, happily calling himself the Wolf-Demon instead of just using his name. "I had come to believe that Firenze had reason to be away from the her and that the Wolf-Demon was the reason for this. I had wondered until a moment ago, why he never spoke of him, it would have saved him from leaving, but if he made a promise to the Wolf-Demon to not speak of his presence he kept that promise fully no matter the cost."
Once again he paused, letting everything sink in. Harry was glad that Shepaud was speaking, he was having a hard time with it and needed a few minutes to think of more words he could say.
"I propose," Shepaud said, "that as he is of the forest we return Firenze, his crimes are minor compared to those which he was charged with before. They are diminished even more by his friend the Wolf-Demon driving the wizards from our forest. We have avoided blame because of this and the Wolf-Demon has done us a great service. I also propose that since he has come to us as an animal of the forest, that we give him a true name, something he can call himself with pride. The wizards call him Wolf-Demon, but he is much more than that, and his human name is of no consequence anymore."
More whispers came from the council. Several of the older ones nodded directly to Shepaud and then to Harry, with smiles on their faces. The whispers last much longer than before and Harry took the time to turn to Shepaud. "No more human name?" he asked, excited that he would be given a forest-name, something he could call himself without thinking about before. Shepaud nodded back earnestly; glad Harry was happy about it.
"As for the matter of Firenze, he will be called back from his quest and he will be retried. If the information that you have given us is correct, and his actions are purely because of the teaching of the forest to this Wolf-Demon, then his crimes will be no more. We are glad to have such a beast in the forest, such intelligence is hard-won and to have revoked the status of being a human or wizard is a great thing to the council. It is true that he is a beast of the forest and this council recognizes that fact in front of all those witnesses today. As for his name we would ask Harry, the Wolf-Demon if he would like a new name so that he may become even more separated from the life before."
"Yes," Harry replied enthusiastically, so much so that Dog's tail rose suspiciously, and he opened his eyes wearily to see what was going on.
"Then the council has decided to name you Gwyl in honor of the great black wolves that were named Gwyllgi. They once roamed the forests and the great land beyond us. Their howl struck fear into muggle and wizard alike, and their eyes were as beautiful as yours. With your pack you are well fit for this name. Do you accept it?"
The once savior of the wizarding race, Harry Potter was no more in almost an instant. The new animal, Gwyl bobbed his head up and down. He was named after a wolf, or a pack of wolves and it made him ecstatic inside, so much so that he pulled back his head and howled into the cave. Dog and Silver joined in. The echo made the howl hum for several minutes after Gwyl and the wolves stopped. Some of the council seemed to find the outburst funny while others simply smiled at Gwyl.
Finally the old centaur, who has spoken most of the time, spoke once more. "Then Gwyl it is."
"And what shall we tell the wizards if they come?" one of the other centaurs asked. "Hagrid will certainly show up, he comes into the forest often and he'll find a reason to come looking for Gwyl. His winged beasts often come close to the encampment if he doesn't keep them fed. That'll be an excuse, he's used it before."
"Then perhaps we shall say we have seen very little of the Wolf-Demon in the forest. We shall give him the name Gwyl and say that is all we know. The wizards speak in half-truths to us, and it is our charge to protect the animals of the forest. Is he not one of them that does as he sees fit to protect the forest? We should protect him as he protects his pack and the great-spider who was endangered."
"Is this how the council feels things shall be done," a third centaur asked, this one looked utterly tired and his face was the only one which had not shown any emotions during the whole proceedings. The rest of the council muttered approvals, one even rearing and saying he would protect Gwyl as he would his own foal. "Then it is decided," the emotionless centaur said. "We shall not tell the wizards where you have come from or that you are any different from the other animals. You shall be Gwyl, the Wolf-Demon and that is all we will say."
Gwyl smiled broadly at his new name and the promise the council had made. He certainly didn't want to return to the human world now, he liked it much more in the forest where he was with animals that cared for him, animals he protected and who protected him.
"What of the weapon he carries, does the council not see that it is from the unspoken cavern, that it was a magical items which the elders had hidden away long ago? Why does he wear it? Did he steal it from the cave?"
Gwyl checked his belt; he only wore the knife and rope. The sling had disappeared sometime during the night, he would have to go looking for it, it had been lost once before as well, but he had found it. The rope was no weapon though, at least not normally, so they must be speaking of the knife. Either way Firenze had given them to him and he did not want Firenze to be in trouble, but neither did he want to hurt his new friendship with the centaur herd.
"Perhaps they were given to him," Shepaud said, taking the choice away. "The cavern is not forbidden, it is simply ignored. We are not to use magical items, but Gwyl is of the forest, not of the herd, he has no reason not to use these weapons. It is good to give them away, even one, so that they do not defile our grounds. It has long been council to bury them away, but it was never said not to return them it was simply something the council did to insure we were not insulting the wizards who offered them to us."
"This is true," one of the council members said, "it is good to rid ourselves of such things, perhaps we will be able to empty the cave in the future so that we are not tainting the grounds that our herd has held sacred for so long."
"Then there is no problem for Gwyl to carry these weapons, they are not something we value or want, Firenze was good to give them to Gwyl as an act of kindness." Shepaud said. The knife had not gone unnoticed, and he had suspected it was something that Firenze had given him, though he'd not mentioned it until it had come up. "It is late and the stars have risen and the moon begins to fall, is there anything else the council would ask of Gwyl before we take our leave?"
No one spoke and Shepaud bowed, with Gwyl following close behind, trying his best to respect the elders. He was happier than he had been since releasing the animals from the zoo, and it was showing on his face as Shepaud showed him out of the cave. "You must wait for a while to allow the word of the council to spread before you wander into the camp," he explained. "I will go and get some food and water for you and your friends. Please, do not wander away."
Dog and Silver settled against the rock with Gwyl sitting in between them. Gwyl nodded off and was only awakened by a booming voice that carried through the encampment. The giant named Hagrid was at the gates of the camp and Gwyl didn't like that. The centaurs would keep their word, they would not tell the humans of him, but if Hagrid saw him then it might not matter. They would come again and again.
Though Shepaud had asked him not to move, Gwyl took a path that led away from Hagrid so that he would not be discovered, Silver and Dog following close behind. There was a surprised gasp and Gwyl found himself face to face with a Centaur that wasn't much older than him. "Hello," the girl said and Gwyl blinked, unsure what to do. If he turned to leave and the Hagrid man was there, then there really wasn't a point in trying to get the centaurs not to talk about him.
"Hello," he finally replied back, doing his best to talk normal just as he'd done in front of the council. It was difficult, but easier now than when he was with Firenze, because recently he'd been doing it more and more. Though at the moment he wasn't sure if he wanted to speak to the girl, while she seemed rather friendly he wasn't sure if he wanted any centaur friends really, Firenze was enough and he would be coming back soon.
"I am Dia and you are the Wolf-Demon, right?"
His reaction must have been funny because Dia laughed. "Everyone one knows about it. Bane is going around trying to rally people against you saying you cause a ruckus in the forest to bring the humans here."
"I tell them stay away," Gwyl said, "Warn them to stay out of forest. They not belong here."
This seemed to surprise her. To Gwyl she had had the most variety of emotions of anyone he'd met since he before, when he was outside the forest. "The others will want to know this," she said happily. "So they do not listen to Bane and his urgings. They have chosen to wait to see what the council makes of you, but many are already angry that you are here."
As best as possible Gwyl ignored the comment about Bane – while he was an enemy he was also a centaur and fighting with him might make the council reconsider their position. Until Bane became physical and tried to harm Gwyl, Gwyl would do nothing. "Elders say I am animal of forest. Give me name so that I am... known among animals. I am Gwyl."
It seemed that Dia knew what the name meant, or maybe it was the fact that they had given him a new name. Though he hadn't given it to himself it was better than the humans giving him a name, and his old human name he did not like very much. To him, it was better to be named by another animal of the forest than to be named by those from beyond it.
"Are you a wolf then?" she asked. "You walk like a man who has not learned to walk properly. You look a great deal like a boy but you are different too."
"You seen man?" Gwyl asked, knowing that rarely did the children get to wander far from the community. It was not something that they wanted – for their children to be corrupted by men. Firenze had told him of this and said how stupid the idea was, that all of them should have the choice to do as they wanted.
Dia looked irritated for a minute and then she smiled smugly. "I've watched them for hours at a time when they come near the borders of the forest. There is a house on the edge of their city which all are afraid of entering. They believe it is filled with evil so none dare enter it. I watch from the trees just beyond it, humans do not come there."
Such a place was the most interesting thing Gwyl had ever heard of in the human town. A place – a building of their own were they would not even wander. If he were ever at the edge of the town again he would look to see it. "Many times?" he asked, curious as to who had taken her, but not asking directly.
"My father believes that we should not thing badly of the muggles or the wizards, they have not harmed us in a very long time so there is no reason other than our packs customs."
"You're quite outspoken for being one so young," Shepaud said from behind Gwyl in a pleasant, but teasing voice. Gwyl had of course noticed the centaur approaching, but since neither Silver nor Dog had reacted he had assumed it was either Shepaud or Ronan, otherwise they would have reacted more defensively. It did surprise Gwyl a little that Silver was already getting along so well with Shepaud though, she had not taken a liking to Firenze in the short time she'd known him even though the other wolves did not mind his presence.
"There is a man named Hagrid here from the school that is beyond the forest. He is asking questions about you, Ronan is speaking with him now," Shepaud said. "It would be best if you and your wolves did not make an appearance while he is here. Dia can take you to a place where you may sleep. She will wait with you there until Hagrid has gone."
So the castle was a school. Even if the people didn't interest Gwyl there was still some fascination with the world, and he had never been to a real castle. He'd only seen this one for a few minutes. Maybe when everyone went home he would break in and see the castle for himself.
It was quiet as they walked down a beaten path but Dia seemed happy, enough that she almost bounced as she trotted along the path. Silver wasn't paying much attention to her, but Dog seemed to use it as an excuse to try and play, running up and down the trail ahead of them playfully. Gwyl was still tired, even though it was already morning the short amount of sleep he'd gotten wasn't enough.
"This way," Dia said, pushing some bushes aside and taking a less worn path beyond. Gwyl just followed silently as Dia led them to a safe place, wherever that was. In the end, all it was, was a clearing, not that Gwyl minded, he simply found a soft spot of earth and lay down quickly falling asleep under Dia's watchful gaze. She didn't seem to need sleep.
It was Silver who woke him with a slight growl. Gwyl was lying over a good portion of her body drawing from its warmth with Dog on the other side of him. Silver was awake watching Dia. She was the reason Silver had growled, she was playing with the knife that Gwyl had had on his belt before he fell asleep. It startled him that she had it, and he hadn't awoken with her taking it, but Silver hadn't either apparently because she was only now growling. Neither Silver nor Dog would allow someone to disarm Gwyl without some sort of signal and Gwyl knew that.
Somehow Dia had done it though and now she was playing with it. It irritated him slightly more because she actually had it than the fact that she was playing with it, but she didn't seem to be doing it any harm, and he certainly wasn't using it at the moment. So instead of saying something he watched her, touching Silver so she would keep quiet while he watched. Dia balanced it on her finger, pointing down, and then walked around slowly, humming childishly as she did. Then, after walking around for a bit she'd snap her finger up and try and catch the blade is it fell.
Amazingly enough she didn't once cut herself, though she did drop the blade once to the ground. She seemed quite good at doing it. Gwyl never said anything, simply studied the way she was doing it until she stopped and walked backwards. Then, flicking the blade she watched it until it slammed into a tree, and fell to the ground. Retrieving it, she tried it again and again until finally Gwyl saw what she was trying to do. When the knife embedded itself into the tree she giggled and ran to try and pull it out.
"Father says I shouldn't act like this," she said when she turned and saw Gwyl's eyes open. "He thinks it is improper to do so, that I should learn how to heal and sew. Shepaud doesn't though, he tells father that I'm still young, that I should be able to do whatever I like. I think father wants me to do it to, and only says it so that the other centaurs do not think he's against the teachings, he lets me when no one else is watching."
"Why you throw knife?" Gwyl asked, curiously as he stood, moving the two half-sleeping wolves out of his way with ease.
Laughing Dia threw it again and missed once more. "When I get older I don't wish to depend on another to keep me safe. I want to do what I like, when I like. The only way to do it is to practice. Father always has to take away my knives when someone catches me with them, so I don't have them very often. Do you know how to throw a knife?" She asked as she walked towards him holding the knife out to him.
Gwyl shook his head, but still took the knife. "Here," she said, taking his hands in hers. "The easiest way is to put the knife like this and then hold it like this..." she stopped as Gwyl held the knife correctly and nodded her head. "Good now flick it like... No, harder next time," she continued as his knife went sailing through the air but landed far to the right of the target.
It wasn't like throwing stones, it was much more difficult, Gwyl determined quickly. Still after forcing himself to learn the other weapons Firenze had given him, learning to throw a knife wasn't too extremely difficult, and Gwyl sound was able to hit the tree every time, and it even stuck every fifth or sixth time. "Wow," Dia said happily. "You're already better than me. What else can you do?"
Gwyl uncoiled the rope from his belt, and she paused as she watched him. With a few small movements, Gwyl had a loop formed in the end and he tossed the rope up, catching Dia's two hands together and cinched it tight almost instantly. She yelped with surprise, but seemed extremely happy once Gwyl had released her. "That's like some of the traps my father taught me, but it's with a real rope that you hold, not a trap. How did you learn that?"
The truth was that Gwyl wasn't sure, he remembered seeing it somewhere on a box, something called a television, but he didn't remember why it had done it in the box, or why he'd seen it, so he just shrugged. "I see human do it," he explained as best as he could remember. "Before I come to forest, when I human."
"So you where human?" Dia asked curiously. "But you're not any more. That's good because we're not allowed to talk to humans, but I don't think I'll get in trouble if you're my friend."
Friendship was still a relatively strange concept to Gwyl, Firenze was his friend, but he'd never had a friend his own age besides her, and he had disappeared even before he could get the silver-haired girls name. "You want to be friends?" he thought out loud, not sure exactly how he felt about that. Could a person have more than one friend?
"I thought we were," she said cautiously, not really sure anymore.
"Then we friends," Gwyl said, clearly making the end to the discussion of their friendship. She was nice enough; perhaps it wasn't bad to have more friends.
The tone of the conversation changed a little, Gwyl suddenly seemed less suspicious, and more comfortable in her presence. "Have got other toys," he said, not really understanding that there was a difference between a weapon and a toy. It was perhaps because no matter what sort of toy Dudley got, if it had the ability it was weapon in his hand. More often than not that so called 'toy' was used to hurt Gwyl until it was broken.
"Firenze give me whip and sling, but... lose sling last night before come here. Have crossbow, but too big to carry lot," Gwyl said happily, but he was still sad about losing his sling, it had been a fun toy.
Dai pulled a sling from somewhere, and Gwyl looked at her surprised. He hadn't seen the sling at all on her. Dog, immediately recognizing the sling stood playfully, waiting. Dia seemed a little surprised. Even though the two wolves had been sleeping with him and almost always near him, she didn't seem to notice them until then.
Knowing what Dog wanted, Gwyl searched for a moment before finding a pinecone the right size. Tossing it to Dia, he looked to Dog for a moment, and then returned his look to Dia. "It's game," he said. "Throw far as can with sling."
With a quick jerk Dia sent the pinecone sailing through the air. Dog was off like a bolt of lightning darting through the trees until he leapt of a small stump and caught the pinecone mid air. "Wow," Dia breathed as Dog came trotting back, pinecone in his mouth. Smiling brightly, she took it and launched it through the air once more, and once more Dog was after it like lightning.
"Not all," Gwyl said and barked. Silver stood, stretching her muscles calmly and almost humanlike. She did this a great deal when she was waking or standing after resting. When Dog came trotting back and saw her standing he brought the broken pinecone to Gwyl instead, but Gwyl shook his head and barked at him so Dog took the pinecone to Dia again. "Try throw between two trees," Gwyl said, pointing at a path that led off in one direction. It was perfect for the demonstration.
This time, when Dia whipped the sling in the air, she was concentrating a lot more and Gwyl watched her, fascinated at how she held the sling. Firenze didn't hold it right, and he had told Gwyl that, so Gwyl had had to learn on his own. Until now he'd never seen the thing used correctly. The pinecone shot through the air on a much straighter path. Both Dog and Silver took off after it this time. Silver, however, easily outdistanced Dog and even passed by the pinecone, she jumped at a tree to the right, springing off it and twisting her body then sprung off the second tree easily ten feet in the air. The pinecone sailed by and she grabbed it in her teeth as it passed underneath. She landed catlike and then trotted back to Gwyl almost smugly.
Dia had no words, just like Gwyl when he'd first seen Silver do the trick. To him, it was almost like she was flying, and he had tried and failed a few times to do the same trick, but he couldn't balance himself to spring off both trees and make it to a third without problems. Usually he could get a good spring off the second but wasn't able to control where he was going to be headed. Dropping the pinecone at Gwyl's feet, Silver laid down again to his right and waited.
"How did she do that?" Dia asked when she could finally speak again. "It was like... like ... she was..."
"Flying," Gwyl finished her sentence. "Don't know how, just can." That was his best explanation. She'd done it on her own when Dog was being playful, and since then she would do it when he asked, but not until then. Gwyl wondered what sort of other things she could do. It made since in a twisted way for Gwyl, because she had been the pack leader she had to possess more than just normal skills.
Someone approached, and Dog and Silver both rose at Gwyl's side almost immediately. There was no growling, but Gwyl could feel them tense. Dia noticed the newcomers too and put away her sling before they appeared.
"Dia it's time for Gwyl to go," the male centaur who appeared said.
Dia brightened up significantly upon seeing him. "Dad, Gwyl's my friend now, he even said. It's alright isn't it?"
The man looked slightly perturbed when she said this, and he looked to Gwyl. "You are friends with my daughter?" he asked, his eyes sizing Gwyl up. It wasn't something that bothered Gwyl; since he'd arrived he'd been sized up by almost every centaur who'd seen him, with the exception of Dia and the elders.
Muted, Gwyl nodded, finding that it was suddenly hard to talk again as if his mind had blocked it out. "Yes sir," he barked trying his best to seem like nothing more than what the man saw in front of him.
Dia's father finally nodded and he looked to Dia. "It is alright, the elders have made a decree it the herd stating that Gwyl, the Wolf-Demon is not to be injured by any centaur unless they have been struck first. For now he is safe, but I can't say that everyone will abide by the ruling, there are still a few who contest it, even if only in secret, but that is enough. Gwyl you must be careful when you visit the heard, do not bring any centaurs to anger or it will be a bad thing. The night sky reveals nothing of your future, so it is perhaps something that is still undetermined even by the fates. Go home now and we shall see you again, right Dia?"
There was a swift nod and a smile from Dia, and Gwyl returned the smile then took to the trees.
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