Chapter 13

• Stolen •

When the leopards were finally named, Stray wanted to do it with a sort of ceremony. Gwyl didn't mind in the least.

They set it up just as Stray wanted, though Gwyl had no idea why. They found poles that were long and straight and put them in the ground in two straight lines, and then made rough seats, which were positioned at the front of the lines of poles. Dog and Silver stood on either side of the seats, Dog on Gwyl's left, and Silver on Stray's right. It took a great deal of coaxing to get the leopards to actually stay in one spot until Stray sat down, but eventually they did.

They began walking forward even before she spoke, but she said it anyway, as if she were their dominant. "Come," she announced to the forest. Gwyl thought it was funny because no one was there, and he stifled a laugh but was otherwise quiet.

All three of them came forward lazily, and then laid down in front of the seats. Stray stood up and unsheathed her knife slowly and cautiously. She touched each of their shoulders one at a time and then named them. "I hear by name you Lancelot, Guinevere and Galahad," she said with the best air of authority she had.

Gwyl snickered, and the leopards yawned. "It is done," Stray said and sat back down, finally laughing happily.

The only ceremony Gwyl knew was the pack ceremonies, and he wondered where Stray knew hers from, but he didn't ask because he didn't want to bring back any memories. It was fun though, playing, they did it all the time because that's all Gwyl understood. Some of the games however were a little more traditional than learning weapons.

In fact, the most useful game Gwyl played was a strange version of hide-and-seek. It was a tracking game at first, teaching Stray to learn to track Gwyl.. He'd tell her to wait, and then disappear, and once he'd gotten far enough away he'd howl for her and then find a spot to hide.

Now, months after she'd come to the forest, the game had evolved because she was quite a bit better at tracking. Instead of just giving her any clues to where he was going, Gwyl would just disappear into the trees as they ran. It kept Stray on her toes as well, because when he did this, the quicker she noticed the easier it was to track him. Before, he'd left subtle clues but he no longer did. In fact, though often times he would double back and hide, it also became as much a chasing game as a hiding one.

While Gwyl still had the superior abilities to move through the trees unfettered by anything, Stray was getting much better at it and often times could actually keep up.

They explored the forest little by little and while they rested, Gwyl would tell her of his time alone in the forest. About the giant spiders who could be considered friends, but were enemies as well. He told her about finding Dog and then about hunting with the wolves. He even told her about the outside world, and the things he'd seen while watching the Zoo. Of course he left out that he'd seen her there too, because he didn't want her to wonder why she wasn't there anymore. Someday he would, but at the moment there was a voice inside telling him the time wasn't right.

The humans seemed to fascinate Stray a little more than Gwyl hoped they would, and so he also spent time telling her of the things that they'd done in the forest. He showed her the trees that had been broken and were dead. He repeated the encounters he'd had with them numerous times and recounted the stories Firenze had told him, though not nearly as well and always making the humans out to be quiet, but also vicious. It wasn't hard, really the centaur's stories always made the human out to be the bad person, and Gwyl didn't disapprove.

The fall came, and the pups who'd been born during the spring were old enough now to be inducted into the pack officially. To Gwyl, it was a good thing, he had a pup of his own, and he pushed more and more information into Stray as the days got colder. When the night came, Gwyl knew it without anyone telling him, as if a part of him whispered it into his mind. Silver and Dog knew it too of course, and Gwyl took Stray's hand and pulled her behind him only long enough for her to begin following. Stray was elated when they approached the pack, Ink standing rigid in the night air while the other wolves seemed to cower before him.

Silver took Stray's side as they approached the pack while Dog took Gwyl's. They approached the pack slowly and smartly, keeping to all fours and making sure that the pack saw them. Gwyl did this for many reasons, he knew he was dominant and none of the pack would challenge him save Ink, as was Silver. Dog's dominance was only present because Gwyl demanded it. He was strong, but he rarely played at it even when they were with the pack.

They stopped in the midst of the pack, bowing their heads just slightly to acknowledge Ink and then waiting. Stray knew all about what she needed to do and did not falter at all. Ink looked upon Stray, and then moved to Gwyl, saying hello with a light nuzzle. Gwyl returned the welcome, and then crawled backwards a few steps, allowing Stray to be in front.

Ink understood the gesture and stepped back a little to look over Stray. To him, she wasn't much different from Gwyl in looks, and they even smelled the same. She was pack, he knew it the moment he saw her, but it was a custom for each new member to be introduced by another pack member. Sniffing again, Ink stepped forward and growled softly at Stray but was not angered he waited. A soft growl was returned, and he sniffed her again, and then nuzzled her cheek.

The whole custom had been shown to her by Gwyl, and it didn't seem strange to her. The moment Ink had nuzzled her, the fear she'd had caved in, and she nuzzled back willingly, happy to be accepted. The rest of the pack came at Inks commanding bark and smelled their new pack member so that they would remember her.

Stray was extremely happy that everything had gone well, and it wasn't long before she was rolling around with the new pups on the ground. There were a few barks of concern from the mothers, but it was only a half-concern as they watched the pups. Even though she was new to pack, she seemed at home with them, which made the mother wolves comfortable with her.

Two sets of eyes appeared from above, and Gwyl blinked when he realized that the cats where present. He snarled, and they dropped from the tree almost instantly. What was the most surprising was the way the pack barely reacted; it was as if they'd been around the great cats a long time now.

The three, all of which Gwyl had left in the clearing, approached slowly and never once acting as enemies. They found a spot in front of Gwyl and laid down, wanting to be a part of the proceedings. Stray smiled and moved to them, bringing some of the newer pups forward to introduce them. She spoke, though none of the pack understood, introducing the leopards one by one.

Above, Gwyl could hear chattering, and he looked up to find the brown furry creatures with long tails above them. This surprised him more than the leopards coming to the ceremony, and he paused to look up at them. There wasn't one or two either, there were dozens and dozens of them. Until that moment, he hadn't seen a single one of them in the forest; he'd assumed that they hadn't come at all. When he'd first let them loose, they had refused entry into the forest, but tonight they were there among the trees. "Monkeys," Stray said beside Gwyl.

"But they don't live here..." she said getting slightly confused and screwing up her face in thought. Gwyl didn't like her trying to think, it meant she might remember, and he still didn't want her to remember, not yet.

"From zoo," he said quickly to alleviate any immediate curiosity. "Remember Gwyl letting them go, celebrate new pack members too. They friends because Gwyl free them."

"Food?" asked Stray innocently enough, and Gwyl shook his head, he wouldn't hunt them, but he wasn't going to tell the pack that. If the moneys wanted to stay alive, they had better stay in the trees. Still, he didn't want Stray to hunt them so he would tell her no. She understood when he shook his head and nodded slightly to him. They had many forms of communication, not just human words or pack.

"Monkeys new here. Not understand forest rules, they know human forest," he pointed out. "When they used to forest maybe be food and hunters too." He looked up to the monkeys again, remembering that they seemed to be extremely harmless, and he doubted that they would become hunters, but one never knew.

One of the monkeys, seeing Gwyl's look as some sort of signal, dropped down branch by branch, eventually perching on Gwyl's shoulder just as one of them had done when Gwyl helped them escape. It was curious to Gwyl why the animals had come, if these animals decided to come into the forest, Gwyl wondered what else had come, the monkeys and leopards weren't the only thing he'd let out.

The monkey on his shoulder chattered and pointed off in a direction. Then it calmed down and seemed to feel as at home on his shoulder as it felt in the trees. Gwyl wasn't sure what to make of it, he had let the monkeys go free, but he didn't expect their friendship at all, nor did he expect to have any of the other animal's friendship. It didn't matter, and he ignored the monkey for the time being.

"Come Stray," he said, and when she did he took her hand and held it out for the monkey to smell, showing the thing that she was a friend too. It sniffed her hand, pawing over it with its tiny hands, but then finding nothing interesting, resumed sitting on Gwyl's shoulder.

One of the leopards yawned and stretched out next to Gwyl as a breeze blew past. The smell reminded Gwyl of... humans, and he turned quickly to see where it had come from.

"Stay with pack," he commanded Stray, and then barked at Ink as he rushed through the forest followed by Silver and Dog. The monkey that had been sitting on his shoulder squeaked and kept a tight grip until Gwyl ascended into the trees. Then it took to following him instead of staying on his shoulder. Gwyl could hear some of the other monkeys behind him, but he ignored them. The smell was too close for comfort.

It took several minutes at full sprint to find the human he smelled, and he slowed as he neared the location. He approached cautiously, keeping downwind from the intruder. Very rarely did someone ever come so far into the forest.. The monkeys who'd followed him took their time approaching as well, finding that it was best to keep quiet. Even the one of the leopards, Lancelot, had followed him and stood in the next tree, waiting for Gwyl.

No wolves came, they had stayed with Stray because he'd commanded it. He wanted Stray safe, and he'd asked for Ink to keep her safe. There was a slight scuttling sound, and Gwyl could see that there were two spiders slightly larger than puppies that were in the same tree as him. "Tell family that I will drive off humans," Gwyl whispered to them. There was only one of them; he could handle it easy enough.

The little spiders scurried away, and Gwyl peaked around the tree. A long man was standing in the clearing, staring in the opposite direction. He wasn't focused on where he looked though, Gwyl was sure that the man knew he was there. There was something wrong though, something that made Gwyl stop to think twice about just slaying the man and getting things over with. This man smelled of pack, it was an old smell, but it was his smell and not from being near other pack members.

The man turned sharply, and his eyes were staring at the location where Gwyl was hiding in the trees. "Come out Wolf-Demon," he said calmly. "Hiding will do you no good around me."

Silver crashed through the bushes, and the man's focus slid away from Gwyl to the giant Silver wolf in front of him. She paused as well, confused, the smell of pack was strong enough that she didn't know if she should attack. Gwyl knew that it wouldn't stop her, there were other packs, and he definitely wasn't in their pack, but it slowed her thinking enough that the man seemed to find her only slightly irritating. Gwyl stared as the man's eyes turned back up to him. His eyes were even pack, as if he'd mixed somehow.

The monkeys chattered in an undertone, and the one who seemed to like Gwyl took up a position on his shoulders again as Gwyl slunk around the backside of the tree. He waited for a minute, trying to think of how the man could be both pack and human but found no answer. He knew what he had to do, and he quickly slid down the back of the tree and dropped to the ground.

Lancelot followed silently like a shadow. Gwyl growled, and Silver stepped back away as Gwyl emerged from the shadows of the tree. Lancelot followed along with Dog.

The man had to blink before he was able to recover from the surprise that showed on his face. "They are leopards," he whispered in awe and continued staring. "I've never seen one in real life. It's amazing that they'll even listen to you, not very social animals normally."

The cat moved under Gwyl's hand as if defying the logic, and Gwyl stroke his back, squatting slightly in case he needed to move quickly. Silver stepped forward towards the man again, sniffing and then stepped back once more, finding her place on Gwyl's right.

"You are pack?" Gwyl asked, trying to satisfy his curiosity, "and you are human?" he continued, ignoring the man's astonishment altogether.

The wolf eyes looked up at him, slightly confused now. "Pack?" he asked.

"Wolf," Gwyl growled, angry that the man didn't understand. How could someone who was pack be so stupid? He barked at the man, showing he was dominant, but the man didn't respond at all as he should have. That made Gwyl even angrier, the man should submit or show he too was dominate.

"Ah, I think I understand," the man said slowly. "You can somehow sense I'm a werewolf."

"Werewolf?" Gwyl whispered, remembering that another human had mentioned werewolf before. It had been when he was protecting the wolf from the men who were hurting him. The wolf had disappeared before Gwyl had returned to the pack, and Gwyl wondered if this was that wolf somehow. He concentrated a minute, trying to remember what the men had named the werewolf before. "Travis?" he asked louder, hoping that that was the name that the other people had mentioned.

The man-wolf was surprised. "You know Travis?" he asked. "And how do you know Travis?"

"He is werewolf," Gwyl said matter-of-factly, but there was still a growl on the edge of his voice. He didn't like this man; he was too human and not enough wolf. Maybe he would kill him and get it over with, he was already sure the man wasn't going to leave.

"Yes, that's very true, but that doesn't tell me how the two of you met. He isn't one that goes parading about on full moons, he keeps to his cellar and is extremely careful about that. He doesn't want to turn anyone else."

"Turn?" Gwyl questioned. He didn't understand the word fully, but he had an idea of what it meant. Could other people be turned to wolves?

"Yes, he ran into a bit of trouble a few years back and was outside during the full moon. Turned a little girl over before he was driven out. He seriously regrets it, but he's come to terms with it."

"Turn wolf?" Gwyl asked, still trying to grasp the concept of how a human could turn someone else into a wolf. The brown haired man nodded. "How?" he demanded immediately.

"First tell me how you came to know him,"

"Men come and hurt. He pack, I help. Kill men."

This time the stranger wasn't as surprised, like something had suddenly made sense. "It was a werewolf then that those dimwits had captured. I'll have to take this to the court and let them know what was happening, it'll certainly be interesting..." he paused and looked at Gwyl. "I certainly owe you a debt of gratitude, but there is no way I can pay it. What you did was criminal, you can't just kill men."

"They hurt pack," Gwyl snarled at him, not caring what the man thought. It wasn't a human forest. "They come in forest. I warn not to, they come still. Kill now, no come back. Humans not welcome in forest."

"According to who?" the man asked, making Gwyl even more agitated. He was on the edge right now and was only holding back because the man still hadn't explained how he was pack and human, how to make man turn to wolf. Gwyl wanted to know how someone else had done it without being pack all the time. It angered him that someone could do such a thing.

"The forest," he snarled and turned to leave, he didn't want to deal with this man, but he couldn't hurt him until he knew what a werewolf was exactly and how come this man could be wolf and man at the same time.

"Wait," the man called out and Gwyl turned back. The man paused and looked startled that Gwyl had turned back. "You wanted to know how men turn to wolves, didn't you?" he asked quickly and Gwyl seemed to think he was trying to trick him, but he was still alone and in the middle of a clearing there was nothing he could do if Gwyl wanted to leave.

"I can't show you, only Alpha wolves can and I don't know any of them - they're very rare. I can tell you about it though if you'll tell me about the girl that went missing just over three months ago."

"No human girls in forest anymore," Gwyl snapped. "Humans die or leave."

"She's not dead, we're pretty sure about that. She's was here though, for a few months, she showed up a few times but disappeared just as quick. We know it was around here, and we wanted to know what happened to her," the man said asserting some dominance as if he'd already proved himself. Gwyl felt like showing him who was dominant and then trying to figure things out, but he waited. Humans were different, they were used to playing word games, and he knew that he wasn't good with them so he had to be careful.

Still, the man was playing a game that Gwyl didn't understand, and he didn't want to play a game he couldn't win, so he turned to leave. He might send the wolves after this man and then force him to talk about turning wolf, but he wouldn't kill him, at least not right away.

He didn't get far, the man produced a wand-stick inhumanly quick and had said a word even before Gwyl was completely turned away. Gwyl found himself floating in mid air for a second time in two months. He snarled loudly, thrashing about but not able to move anywhere. "It won't work," the newcomer said. "You're not leaving here until you answer some of my questions and promise to be a good boy."

"I not boy," Gwyl snarled back, barking for Silver and Dogs help. Silver was already bouncing forward, but she too was suddenly floating in mid air only a few feet from Gwyl. Dog was more cautious and Gwyl snapped at him to stop when he started out of the shadows. Stopping for a moment to think he barked a command and the last he saw of Dog was the split tail heading back from where they'd come.

Lancelot was under him, but he didn't seem to be able to move at all. Not for lack of trying, Gwyl could see him stretching against the invisible bonds that held him.

"Go away," Gwyl growled angrily, trying his best to show his dominance, even positioned in mid air and barely able to move. "Take magic with you," he added angrily. He really, really didn't like magic.

"Oh? You know about magic do you?" the man asked as he approached Gwyl. "I wonder how much you know about it. I mean, maybe you were the reason we couldn't locate her, the spells that are used are very difficult to do. I hear that you've been taking up a collection of wands, is that the reason, to find the one best suited for you? Or are you doing it for some other purpose?"

The man had stopped several steps away, and Gwyl fought the barrier again, trying to do more than float in mid-air. No one trapped him, and the man wouldn't live through the night if he didn't let him go soon. With a good deal of snarling and jerking the barrier loosened slightly and Gwyl was able to move freely though he was still stuck in the air, unable to grab anything. The man moved closer again, and Gwyl swiveled back to him, growling and baring his teeth waiting for the stupid man to take another step forward.

There was a blink and a look of shock as the man stumbled backwards like an oaf. Gwyl growled again, trying to reach through the barrier and grab the retreating man but unable to do so. The man stepped forward after a moment staring, unblinkingly up at Gwyl. He reached forward almost lovingly to touch Gwyl, and Gwyl snapped, almost taking off his hand. The bonds tightened around him, and the man reached up again, pushing away the dark locks of hair with the utmost care. "Harry?" the man asked, barely speaking above a whisper.

The human name that had once been his caused a sense of panic to run through him. Before he'd been angry, but now he was scared, scared of what this man and his magic might be able to do. The fact that this human knew him and his name was so mind shattering that he howled louder, and viciously jerked away from the touch. The force that had been holding him exploded around him, and Gwyl dropped to the ground as the man was blown back. He snarled at the man and then bolted through the trees, trying to leave the man behind him. He was running from the pack because he didn't want this man to find them, but he knew he should probably redirect himself back in that direction soon, he wouldn't be enough to fight this man and his magic.

Guinevere and Galahad appeared before him, and Gwyl felt stronger than he'd felt a few moments before and much more confidant. Above him, the monkeys began chattering furiously, and Gwyl looked around as he ran, but saw no one, then he was stopped dead in his tracks as if he'd run into a tree. He looked up and four people appeared out of thin air in front of him. He gasped and scrambled backwards then turned only to find that he couldn't go far, a wall had been erected around him, an invisible wall. He snarled and then jumped at a tree to climb over the invisible wall only to find himself being yanked out of the air and thrown to the ground.

Gwyl growled and then screamed loudly for the leopards, both of which launched themselves at the new hunters who'd appeared in front of them. Neither made it very far, the woman in the group raised her wand-stick, and the two leopards fell to the ground as if dead. Gwyl snarled at the woman, and tried to leap at her but got nothing more than a bruised face. The man, the old man of the group smiled softly as if there were nothing wrong, and then he spoke in an even softer tone. "You're only going to hurt yourself more the longer you fight Gwyl. The cage will get smaller and smaller until you quit fighting it, or it stops your movements completely. I hate to hurt anything that doesn't deserve it, but we must speak with you."

The fervor in which Gwyl attacked only increased, he didn't want to speak with humans; he didn't like them and didn't want to be around them. Another part of the problem was the redheaded boy who had been with Stray when he'd taken her away was there, looking useless and very surprised at Gwyl. Gwyl refused to give her back, she had more fun in the forest, and she didn't have to be like other humans. She was better now.

It took a full minute, but Gwyl soon found himself caught in an uncomfortable position, completely unable to move. He simply growled lightly because he couldn't open his mouth enough to bark or howl.

"Albus," the man who was pack said as he approached looking distraught. "It's Harry! Those eyes, the one's that you said were bothering you, they're Lily's eyes, I'm sure of it. I didn't see a scar, but it looks like he's so dirty that it's just been covered up."

Gwyl snarled as best as possible, but found it was rather difficult. Muffled whispers came from the other three humans, and he tried to twist and see who was talking but found he couldn't. Both Guinevere and Galahad where below him just behind him, and just as incapable of movement. The monkeys were above chattering, and Gwyl wished he could speak with them and tell them to take away the wand-sticks but he couldn't. He understood a few words, but it was a vague understanding of what he'd learned while watching them at the zoo. It didn't help at all now.

Calming finally, Gwyl closed his eyes and let out a whimper hoping that the pack would show up soon. Dog was surely running with everything he had, but it wasn't a short run either and he'd already run all the way here.

The humans talked between themselves for a minute again, and then started walking out of the forest. He thought it'd be a long walk but somehow it was almost as if the forest was moving slower around them as they walked, or maybe it was that they were moving faster, but what should have been over a full nights run was gone in a matter of an hour. He felt more and more hopeless as they neared the edge of the forest, and he tried to howl one last time but still barely got anything more than a choked whimper out.

The pack wasn't there though, and he knew it, they were following but far into the darkness. They didn't come in time, and he was pulled from the forest as the sun rose over the landscape just as easily as he'd ended up in it. More humans were waiting for him as they left the forest. His face hardened as he looked at his captors, they were all sorts of humans, women, men, old and young, and all of them would face his wrath if he got lose.

They pulled him up the slopes that led to the castle and inside, past gaping red-faced children and paintings that moved. The energy that he'd been using to fight them for the last two hours was gone, and all he could do was watch and listen to the whispers.

-

Meanwhile, it was Stray who was raging inside, so much so that she was barely able to contain it as Gwyl had taught her. The pack was sitting below her at the edge of the forest. She'd come as quickly as possible when Dog had come back with the message that Gwyl was in trouble. She absent-mindedly stroked the Leopard that was next to her in the tree and tried to decide what to do.

Gwyl had told her about people, about their anger and their magic. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she had to go get him. They had taken the only thing she really knew away from her, and it made her angrier than she'd ever been. It wasn't hard to figure out where he'd gone, the humans were not good at covering their spore, and it was easy to follow their scent as well. All of them had gone to the castle that was above them, Gwyl with them.

Above, the monkeys chattered to her, and she slipped back into the shadows as a human walked along the edge of the forest.

Silver, who hadn't been injured at all, but also had only just caught up because she'd been unable to move, growled at the man but he didn't hear them at all, he was blind and deaf it seemed, so Stray ignored him. Maybe she would ask the spiders for help, Gwyl had told her about the spiders. Or Dia! She'd know what they could do, she knew a lot about the humans. Turning with a quick snap of a branch Stray bound back into the forest with the rest of the pack following her.

The man turned at the loud crack, but saw nothing and continued strolling along the edge of the forest as if nothing had happened.

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