AN- This is a little bit of a transition chapter, just setting the stage for later developments. I think you'll find the next couple chapters a bit faster moving. I've got to get the boys older so some of the action will be believable without spoon feeding them information.

Conversations like this ":- are not spoken aloud - they are mind to mind -:"

Conversations in italics are Elvish, as usual.

PHOENIX and DRAGON: Through the World Gate

Chapter 12

"Gwydion!" Myrddin stood on a rock outcropping at the edge of the village, looking into the rapidly darkening forest, concern clear on his face. He'd been calling for his grandson ever since the sun first began to set, and he was beginning to get frantic. "Gwydion!"

Gavin sat on a slightly higher rock, absently kicking his feet against the fronds of a fern growing from a crevice below him as he listened to the first song of the night begin in the village center. He wasn't concerned about Gwydion at all – Lord Herne said his brother would be back by dark, so he would be.

"He'll be here Grandfather; I don't understand why you are so worried…he's with Lord Herne." Gavin slid off the rock and moved to stand next the Myrddin, taking his hand comfortingly. "I hope Gwydion can talk him into letting me be an animal too…," he continued softly.

Myrddin glanced down at Gavin and got an odd look on his face as he heard that comment, as if he just found half a worm in an apple and realized he'd eaten the other half. 'Not if I can help it," Myrddin thought. 'Bad enough Gwydion is a…wolf. Elves don't turn into wolves….' He looked up suddenly as the normal sound of the birds twittering as they settled for the night stopped. 'Was that movement?' He jumped down off the rock and moved closer to the edge of the woods, trying to see through the gathering darkness. "Gwydion!"

Gavin turned to look behind him, then grinned and bowed respectfully to the large black wolf standing at the very top of the outcropping. A smaller grey wolf sat panting at his feet, happy, but obviously exhausted as it was leaning against the larger wolf's legs to stay upright. Gavin's movement caught Myrddin's eye and he turned quickly, freezing in place when he saw the pair behind him. He hesitated for a moment then something he saw in the black wolf's eyes made him bow as well. The wolf nodded its head slightly, and reached down to nudge the smaller wolf forward. Gwydion lurched to his feet, and looked up at his liege lord questioningly. Lord Herne licked Gwydion's muzzle then gently pushed him toward Myrddin, watching the mage as the cub approached him as if gaging his protégé's reception.

Myrddin watched as the juvenile grey wolf padded forward and stopped at the edge of the rock, his eyes even with the man's. "Gwydion?" he asked wonderingly, reaching out to gingerly touch the wolf's fur. He jumped when the cub yipped and wagged its tail wearily before sitting down and closing its bright green eyes. It seemed to shiver, then opened its eyes again and turned to look over its shoulder at the black wolf.

":-My Lord…I…,-:" Gwydion thought apologetically, directing his words toward the black wolf as he'd been taught.

":-Do you need help changing back this time, cub?-:"A deep voice asked in his mind.

The cub nodded its head gratefully, and the black wolf stepped forward, the cub turning to face him and raising his eyes to meet his elder's.

":-Just once more, then you need to show me you can do it on your own.-:"

Gwydion nodded his understanding. A long moment of staring, black eyes meeting green, and then the cub shimmered and a small boy sat in its place.

Myrddin started to reach for Gwydion, but Gavin caught his arm. "No, he's not done yet. Gwydion has to do it without help first." Gwydion nodded his thanks to his lord and closed his eyes…a moment later he shimmered and there was a cub on the rock. Shimmer and it was Gwydion…shimmer, and a wolf cub sat there once more. Gwydion repeated the transformation several times more, and each time the change seemed to come faster and easier. The black wolf finally woofed softly and reached out to nuzzle the boy's cheek. Gwydion wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck and leaned against its side for a minute, his face buried in the soft fur, before he gave it a weary hug and let go. The wolf turned to look at Gavin before it turned and bounded off into the darkness.

"That…," Myrddin swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "That…was the Lord of the Hunt?"

Gwydion nodded and stood shakily, laughing as he wobbled a little before Myrddin reached to steady him with a hand on his shoulder. "I need to practice catching my balance; I'm not used to just two legs now! Four legs are a lot easier!"

Gavin started giggling as he wrapped his arms around his twin for a quick hug. "You've got to tell me what you did today! Did you go hunting? Where did you go!?"

Myrddin picked Gwydion up and set him on his hip before starting back into the village. The boys were getting taller everyday and soon would be too big to carry comfortably. They were already about 38 inches tall, average for an elfling their age but tall for a human child, and they were growing like weeds. "Where did you go?" He asked curiously. Gwydion put his arms around his grandfather's neck and leaned his head against his chest wearily.

"We went out to the cliffs then down to the sea shore, near where we went to collect sea shells last time with Great Grandmother Etain, and then we crossed the river just up from where it gets all marshy, and circled back around the far side of the centaur village. Did you know wolves can swim?" He yawned and closed his eyes. "Lord Herne said he didn't want to bother the centaurs so we went hunting for mice in the big river meadow." Gwydion explained as he yawned again, his head growing heavier against Myrddin's chest. "It was fun, but it was kind of strange to eat mice for lunch; he had to catch most of them. I chased a rabbit but I didn't catch it… Lord Herne said I would get better…and that I needed to learn how… to live… as a wolf would…." Gwydion's voice trailed off, and Myrddin realized the boy had fallen asleep as his arms went limp and he heard a small snore.

Myrddin considered what Gwydion had said as they walked home, and found something odd about the explanation. Prior to this, neither boy could say much about their interactions with the deities. This time, Gwydion had given a quite detailed description of what he'd done; even repeating what the Lord had said.

They soon reached their house, and Myrddin decided Gwydion was going to have to miss a night of the solstice celebration, as well as his birthday party; he'd have to open his gifts in the morning. He laid his grandson down on his bed then gently tugged off his soft ankle boots and outer clothes, before laying a light blanket over him. "Happy birthday, Gwydion." He bent down and gently kissed him on the forehead. "Sleep tight little cub." He stopped, still bent over as he noticed something he'd missed before. A small rune had appeared on Gwydion's cheek, directly below the symbol for the Wheel of Life. It was Uruz, the symbol of the sacred hunt, signifying change, freedom, understanding, and the reformulation of self. He gently stroked it, awed by what he'd seen tonight.

"Gavin, do you know why Gwydion was able to talk about what he did today?" Myrddin asked softly, standing up finally and pushing Gavin toward the door. This was the most important night of the week long Lughnasadh celebration, and people would miss them soon. "Usually you can't explain things after you've been with the Lord or Lady."

Gavin got a thoughtful expression on his face. "I think it's because Lord Herne was here as a wolf today, not just talking in our minds. We go someplace different when they talk to us and teach us things, and I don't think the words come back with us."

Myrddin looked confused, so Gavin continued. "I mean, we remember what we learn, but the words to speak about it aren't there." He shrugged, at a loss as to come up with any better explanation. "He said we could tell you about our shape changing though, and Etain, Llygoden and Awel too if we wanted but to not tell anyone else. We might need to use our other forms to fight or escape… something…." Gavin paused as something he'd said seemed to strike him and his eyes got wide. "He said WE! He's going to teach me too!" Gavin bounced up and down, a wide grin on his face. "I get to learn to be an animal too!"

"Skreeeeee!" A shrill cry tore through the afternoon quiet as a large brown and gold bird swept across the meadow, its seven foot wingspan casting a dark shadow across the grass. "Skreeeeee!

Yips from a long legged adolescent wolf answered as it flushed a rabbit from its hiding place inside a small thicket. The young golden eagle banked, flapping its wings five or six times to gain height again as the rabbit changed directions, then suddenly dove at the rabbit again. The eagle missed, ending up on the ground with its feathers ruffled and its talons full of grass. The wolf seemed to laugh as it took off after the madly dodging bunny before eventually giving up and retreating to a patch of shade under a windswept tree to rest, panting happily with its tongue hanging out. The eagle soon followed to perch on a dead branch overhead, preening its feathers in irritation.

The tree was one of only a few still struggling to survive here on the exposed cliff top; the steady breeze off the ocean twisted its growth sideways as it clung to the rocky edge overlooking what would be called the Irish Sea, if this had been the human world. The elves just called it the Western Sea and left it at that.

":-You waited too long to dive, fledgling,-:" a deep voice advised in the boy's minds. A black wolf raised its head off its front feet and looked up at the golden eagle. ":-Next time try to dive when you're about a body length behind your prey. If you can come in with the sun in front of you, your shadow won't be so likely to warn it.-:" The wolf rose to its feet and stretched, its wide yawn displaying a mouthful of large white teeth. ":-Would you like some more practice riding the thermals?-:"

The young eagle chirped eagerly, and took to the air, watching as the wolf trotted toward the edge of the cliff, speeding up as it got closer and taking several running steps before jumping off the edge and changing into an adult golden eagle as it dropped to wards the crashing waves far below. Soon the young wolf was lying on his back; feet in the air, nearly dozing as he idly watched the two eagles playing follow the leader in circles above the cliff. They floated effortlessly through the late afternoon sky without flapping their wings, only the trailing edges of their flight feathers and their tails moving at all.

The days seemed to speed past after that; the cycle repeated as Summer turned into Fall, the Winter storms arrived, and eventually Spring brought new leaves and the rebirth of the land. The boys grew and learned many new things. They continued to visit the centaurs nearly every day, and spent time with the goblins perfecting their grasp of that language and the tunnel dweller's customs.

The next couple years passed quietly as the boys studied magic with Myrddin, herbology, astronomy, and forest craft with the Centaurs, metal working, warding, and combat magic with the Goblins, healing and potions with Awel, and runes, arithmancy, magical theory, and rituals with Dylluan.

Gavin began to show signs of being a seer the Spring of his eighth year, so he started spending time with his Great Grandmother Etain, learning to scry and the principles of divination.

Summer arrived again and then the days began to shorten once more. Soon the leaves turned colors and fell to the ground; a sure sign that winter was on its way once more, and the storms would begin.

":-Do you see the doe yet, Gavin?-:" Gwydion asked his brother silently as he carefully crept through the rustling leaves. It was two weeks into November, and the boys were practicing their hunting skills again.

":-No, I think it went toward the river though...lets loop around that way and see if we can catch it between the river and the centaur village. It will be dark in a little while, we'd better head back if we don't see it soon. -:" Gavin was flying above the treetops looking for rabbits in the small meadows, or an unwary squirrel, while Gwydion stalked a shy deer from the ground. They'd perfected their techniques with the smaller creatures like rabbits and other small rodents, and now sought larger, more challenging prey, although it was unlikely they could actually kill a full grown deer, even with both of them attacking it. Eventually Gavin would be able to kill a young deer however; he was already starting to loose the white feathers that indicated his youth. Gwydion had grown considerably in the last year as well, and he now weighed nearly 80lbs, on the large side for a native grey wolf but he still had not reached his mature size, even if he looked nearly full grown.

Many miles away, a hunter of a different sort stalked its prey.

Llygoden stepped carefully behind a large fir tree, using its bulk to hide himself from the one he was spying on. Llygoden had been told by a friend that this elf was involved in a plot to gain control of the twins, so he had followed, hoping to learn more. He'd been following since his quarry had left Lindenwood Grove the day before, and now the man had met up with a larger group. They had apparently settled for the night so he took a chance and moved carefully closer, trying to hear what they were discussing around the fire one had lit earlier.

Llygoden heard a slight rustle behind him and was half turned when the arrow pierced his side, driving deep between his ribs. He only had a moment to realize he was hurt before he instinctively drifted, aiming for the marker stone in the Oakwood village center.

AN – Myrddin is a half-elf/half-human but he was raised primarily by elves so his reactions are based on their cultural norm. Elves can't make the animagus transformation, so it is alien to all he knows, although he is aware that wizards can make the change. I know there has been speculation that Gavin/Gwydion would turn into a phoenix/dragon (per the usual uber-Harry cliché) but that isn't where their 'prophecy names' come from. It is more of a metaphysical designation that I will explain in a later chapter - think ancient alchemy terms.