Human Child

Racing through the forest that was her home, Elysia let her paws hit the forest floor heavily as she ran, not bothering to keep quiet. Tonight was the night of the full moon, the most precious time of the month for her clan, and it was the first time that the Alphas trusted her to go out on her own in a long while; their reasoning was that they were trying to keep their next female Alpha safe. And while Elysia didn't mind running with the pack, it was exciting to out on her own from time to time.

Basking in the light of the Moon Mother that broke through the leaves, Elysia's fur rippled and shone, a warm brown that become lighter in some places, mostly at her head and tail. Bursting through some bushes, twigs trying to snag at her fur, Elysia went farther and farther towards the edge of the clan's boundaries, sniffing the air a few times. The animals seemed to know that during the full moon her entire pack would be out, and hid deep in their burrows. But with her strong sense of smell, Elysia could smell rabbit not far off, which she didn't get as often as she liked since they were so hard to catch. So if given the opportunity, she wouldn't let one go too easily.

A faint howl from someone in her pack filled the air, and Elysia paused, coming to a halt as her ears twitched, listening to the call and wondering if something was wrong. She relaxed instantly though when she realized it was a call from her Alphas, to make sure everyone was well. Resting on her haunches and tilting her head back, Elysia parted her jaws and let a high howl, telling everyone that was listening that she was fine.

Once she was done with her call, Elysia didn't move again, letting her ears swivel as she listened for any sign of food. The rabbit probably was long gone by now, even if her howl didn't alert it where she was. She would have to find something else.

Suddenly, a loud bang filled the air, and without pause, Elysia was on her paws, her lips pulled back in a snarl and her ears flat as her head swung back in forth in search for the source. She knew what that was. It was a human gun. She had heard them before, from stupid humans that ignored their own laws not to enter this forest and tried to hunt. What was a human doing out here at this time of night, and on the full moon?

Frozen for a few minutes as she waited for another shot, Elysia finally relaxed a bit, though her ears will still pulled flat against her skull. It seemed the human wasn't going to shoot his barbaric toy again. She couldn't smell human in the air, nor could she hear one. Maybe they had gone another way, and her first thought was to turn away and get as far away from them as possible.

But Elysia didn't. She was curious, she never seen a human before. When she was still young and begged for human stories, Elysia's mother told her what they looked like; just like them, but in their weaker form. Surely it would be different to see in real life? But if anyone found out she went after a human on purpose... No, she would just tell them that she was making sure the human wasn't going to enter their territory. That was alright, she was protect their home.

So after a moment hesitation, she made her way to the part of the forest the shot had come from.

It was a few minutes later when Elysia caught her first scent of the human. But it wasn't what she expected. Blood, sweat, fear, and the salty smell of tears. Was the human injured? Still very curious, Elysia padded her way forward to get closer, sure that the human wouldn't hear the crunch of leaves as she approached; her mother said humans hearing was dull. She made them sound like they were so stupid - and maybe they were.

But somehow, the human heard it, and raced away her, even though it couldn't possibly know what she was. Not disappointed in the least, Elysia bound forward. So it ran. That's just meant she'd have to chase it a little, that was all. She was a hunter after all.

This time making sure that she couldn't be heard, Elysia sniffed the air, making sure she was on the right path. Yes, she could still smell the human, though the fear had increased. It smelled strange, she realized as the scent became stronger. It was a young human, she finally decided. Old enough to go without it's mother, but definitely not old enough to be wandering around on its own. What kind of human would let a cub out like this, and injured as well?

Sniffing the air again, the smell of blood had grown stronger, and Elysia knew that the human cub was close by. But it must have been hiding, not making any sound save for the faint beat of pounding heart, so she'd have to smell it out. Keeping quiet and her nose twitching while she searched, Elysia soon found herself standing outside the entrance to a hollow log, just small enough that she couldn't enter easily. It was actually a very good place to hide, in her opinion, keeping her from getting too close.

Bending her head down, Elysia looked inside the log.

The human cub inside whimpered, scrambling back. It was a small male cub, maybe four or five years old, with hair that was black as night and eyes like as the new grass in spring. But he was in bad shape, cuts adorning his face, his skin black and blue in some places, and he seemed to not want to use his right arm or his left foot, wincing when he did.

Whining in worry and confusion, Elysia tried to get closer, but the boy cried out, shielding himself with one arm over his face. "Please, no," he whispered. "I don't wanna die."

Elysia's ears fell as she whined again. She wouldn't hurt the cub. Now, all she wanted to to was help him. But at the present moment, he couldn't possibly understand her. Not her current form.

Laying down and letting her head resting on her paws, Elysia kept her ears low to show she meant no harm. She just couldn't leave the young one here, he was all alone. How would he get food, water, or worse, defend himself from other dangerous animals? She would just have to wait here until the sun rose and the Moon Mother released it's hold on her, the full moon the only time it forced her to stay in this form.

After a few moment, the boy lowered his arm, watching her with his grass green eyes. He seemed confused as to why she was still here, and still very wary. Elysia was proud of him, it was important not to trust anyone so quickly. He also seemed ready to defend himself at any moment, his good arm still held out in front of him like a shield.

'What a smart pup,' Elysia thought happily, her tail wagging briefly.

Hours passed, and the boy seemed to relax a little, as if realizing that she wouldn't be attacking him. He was also starting to get sleepy, his chin touching his chest more than once before waking up again. Often, Elysia would glanced at the sky, and she could see that the moonlight starting to fade. The Moon Mother would soon disappear for the night, returning the next night as she always did. Now that the full moon was over, the moon would start to disappear and take a rest before returning back to full strength.

A howl filled the air, and while the cub jolted away again, stiffening in fear, Elysia's ears perked up, listening to what the Alphas were saying. She whined in understanding - they wanted everyone to head back since the night would soon end. But she couldn't leave, not yet. Tilting her head back, Elysia howled her response, telling them she would be delayed. Although truthfully, she wasn't sure when she would be home. Her ears drooped, her Alphas would not be happy with her.

Another hour passed, and without even looking at the moon, Elysia could feel the power that was keeping her in wolf form leave. Stumbling up, she moved away, not wanting the little one to see her change. It wasn't unpleasant or even that frightening, but it might frighten him.

With whine as the last of the moonlight disappeared, Elysia left the transformation was over her, her body shifting back into its other form. Gone were her furry ears and snout, soon replaced with slightly pointed ears, small nose and mouth. The fur disappeared, leaving only long brown hair and smooth skin in its place. Her paws turned into hands and feet, and a sharp tug her tail retreated, making her wince. That part was always a little uncomfortable. And finally, her golden eyes turned a light brown that matched her hair.

Groaning, Elysia stood slowly and lifted her arms to the sky, stretching them with a wince. She finally looked like a human of twenty years, and while it was better for the cub that he saw her like this, she still preferred her other form more than this one. This one was weak, everything slightly dulled compared to her wolf form. But it would do if she wanted to help the child.

Clearing her throat, wincing at the dry feeling after not speaking in human tongue for over half a day, Elysia called out. "Little one? Are you alright?"

No answer. Stepping forward, the leaves crunching under her weight, Elysia knelt down at the entrance to the hollow logs, her long hair falling to the side. "Cub?"

Inside the log, the boy flinched, wary again. "W-Who are you? What happened to the wolf?"

"The wolf's gone," Elysia answered truthfully - the wolf she became was gone with the full moon until she wanted to transform again of her own free will. "Are you alright? What are you doing all the way out here? Its dangerous in these woods."

"I-" Instead of the answers she wanted, the boy instead started to cry loudly, tears rolling down his bruised cheeks.

Startled, Elysia shook her head. "No, no, don't cry, cub. Are you hurt? What's wrong?"

"My-my uncle l-left me here!" the boy sobbed. "Said h-he didn't want me no more!"

At the unexpected confession, Elysia growled lowly, not even heard by the still crying boy. Abandoning a child in the middle of the woods? Disgusting, vile, things humans were! They cared about no one but themselves. If she could hunt him down... but she couldn't just leave this poor pup out here, in the middle of no where. To Elysia, she only had one choice. She would have to take him back to camp. Elysia winced internally when she thought what the Alphas would say to this - they didn't approve of humans. But surely they wouldn't hurt a little innocent cub?

"Calm down, little one," Elysia said slowly. "Now why don't you come on out of there, mm? I promise not to hurt you, I'll make sure no one else does, either."

After a long moment of trying to stop his sobbing and hiccuping, the boy peered at her with his red-tinted eyes. "Really promise?"

Her lips twitching as she tried not to laugh, Elysia instead smiled and nodded. "Really promise."

"M'kay." Slowly, the cub crawled forward, using only one arm to balance himself. Elysia back up, her hair falling against her back again and waited patiently. It took a minute for the boy to crawl out, but when he did, he surprised Elysia by yelping, covering his eyes with his good hand and for an extra measure, ducked his head.

"What's the matter?" asked Elysia, glancing behind her for anything that might be dangerous.

"Y-You're naked!" the boy forced out.

Blinking, Elysia couldn't help but bark in laughter. "Yes I am, cub. Sorry, but I don't have anything to wear at the moment." She'd left all her clothes back at camp before she transformed. She forgot that humans were so sensitive about this. "I'm sorry if it embarrasses you."

The boy shook her head. "My aunt says is not right to look at girls when they're not dressed. Boys who do that are perverts."

"I don't mind right now," Elysia assured him. "Now would you come out of the log, please?"

Nodding slowly, the cub crawled the rest of the way out, though he didn't look up right away. So instead, Elysia knelt in front of him again, smiling brightly. "Listen to me, little one," she said softly. "I can't leave you out here. You're hurt. And alone. So if you don't mind too much, I'll take you to my home. Then we get you all fixed up, okay? And I'm sure I can get you some food, too. How does that sound?"

Glancing up briefly, and blushing when he saw she was still naked, the cub nodded. "O-Okay."

"Do you think you'll be able to walk well on that twisted ankle of yours?" asked Elysia, nodding towards the said injury. She had only seen a strip of skin when he crawled out of the log, and the skin beneath his trouser leg could looked very swollen. "It looks pretty bad."

"I don't know," replied the cub.

Frowning, Elysia reached out to look it over, only to stop when the little one flinched. "I won't hurt you," she said carefully. "I promised that, didn't I?"

Gnawing on his lower lip, the boy nodded again. "Yah."

"It still holds. I just wanted to look at your ankle, see if I can doing anything to help it," Elysia explained. "Can you give me your leg?"

She had to wait for a moment while the cub thought about it, but soon enough, he sat properly and held his leg out. His clothes were pooling around him. Did all human's wear such ridiculously large clothes? Pushing that thought aside for now, Elysia reached out again, pushing back the leg of his trousers.

It was worse than she thought. The whole ankle was bright red, with hints of purple bruising. It looks like someone had stomped on it, hard. It needed some herbs for swelling, and a wrap. But the main thing was, he couldn't walk on it without hurting it even more.

Shaking her head, Elysia looked to the grass green eyes that were avoiding looking at her chest. What a sweet pup. "You can't walk on this," she said. "I'll have to carry you to my camp."

"You don't have to," the cub protested. "Really -" A yelp of surprise left the cub with Elysia ruffled his already wild hair. "Hey!"

"Don't worry about that, pup," Elysia said with a smile. "I don't mind."

"My name's not "pup"," mumbled the boy.

"Then what do I call you?" asked Elysia.

"Harry," the human cub said with determination. "My name's Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter," Elysia, rolling the name around her mouth. "I like that name." She smiled when Harry flushed at the name she gave him, but she simply turned around, her bare back towards him and her hands out to hold him in place. "Come on, it'll take us a few hours to get there, so we better start now." The trip that would have taken an hour running in her wolf form would take a more than a few hours on foot and carrying Harry, they would lucky if they got back before dark. "Wrap your arms around my neck first."

A few moments of uncertainty passed before Harry finally wrapped his arms loosely around her neck, his chin resting on her shoulder. Reaching back, Elysia grabbed his thighs and brought them to her side, so if she need him to, he could wrap them around her stomach. "Ready?"

The little cub made a noise of agreement, which Elysia probably wouldn't have heard if he wasn't right next to her ear. "Um, can I ask a question?"

"Sure," said Elysia with a nod.

"What's your name?"

Oh. She didn't realize she hadn't told him yet. "Its Elysia," she told him.

"Elysia," Harry pronounced slowly and carefully. Just out of the corner of her eye, Elysia could see him blush before he hid his face in her long hair. "It's a pretty name," he muttered.

Laughing in a gentle way, Elysia nudged her nose against his cheek, which was a little too warm for comfort. She wanted to get back to camp before he started getting a fever. "Thank you, cub. You're a sweet little one." She tightened her grip on his thighs slightly. "Now, make sure you hold on." And with that, she started forward, to her clan's camp.

Harry looked around the forest with awe.

More than a few hours had gone by now, the sky was turning orange and red, and Harry was amazed, the trees got larger and larger the farther into the forest they went. He had never seen trees so big! Some of the leaves, which were gold and red and yellow around the edges, looked bigger than his hands! To test that theory, he lifted one hand towards the sky, to try and match it up with one of the many leaves. All it resulted in was him starting to lose his grip, and Elysia slowed down slightly as he put his arm back around her neck.

"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked in her soft voice. It wasn't at all like Aunt Petunia's screeching tone, or even Mrs. Figg's, who's voice cracked sometimes. It was kind of calming.

"Sorry," he said, flushing. "I - I was just looking at the leaves. They're so big."

He wasn't surprised anymore to hear Elysia laugh, like the bark of a dog. Nothing like Uncle Vernon's laugh, like it was cruel or forced. It was genuine. "Yes, the leaves are huge. They can become as big as my head some years." She glanced back him, even as she continued walking quickly. "Don't you have trees where you lived, little cub?"

There was that name again - cub. It sounded kind of familiar, although he couldn't remember anyone calling him that before. "No," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Not like these. The trees back at Privet Drive were much tinier than these."

Nodding in acknowledgment, Elysia looked forward again, though she went on talking. "Is that where you're from? This Privy-et Drive place?" Harry could see her wrinkle her nose. "Its a strange name."

"Uh huh, that's were I lived since I was a baby." Harry was briefly sad before he forced himself to talk. "And Privet Drive is a street, with a lot of homes along the sides."

"And there are no trees surrounding these homes?" Elysia said with shock. "Nothing to hide them from enemies?"

"We have that police to keep bad guys away," said Harry. He had seen the police a lot of times when his cousin watched the telly. "That's their job."

"Powice?" said Elysia in confusion, pronouncing the name wrong. "They must be like guards."

"Haven't you ever heard of police before, Miss Elysia?" asked Harry.

Another barking laugh. "First off, its just Elysia, no miss for me. A second, cub, I have never left this forest in my life. Its my home, I've lived here since I was born. Only the Betas and Alphas of my pack are allowed to leave, and only for supplies or for meetings with other packs."

"Huh?" was all Harry could say. His mind couldn't wrap around what she just said. "You mean you've lived in the forest all your life? How can you do that? What about food, and water, and shelter? And there are more people like you out here? What do all those names mean?"

"Curious little thing, aren't you?" teased Elysia. "Yes, Harry, me and my pack, my family, have lived in this forest for generations, hidden from everyone on the outside. Food we hunt, water comes from a stream we live near, and we build our shelter just like anyone else."

"And what does an Alpha and Beta mean?" Harry asked again.

"I'm getting to that, young one," Elysia said gently, not angry, but silently telling him to be patient. "The Alphas are the leaders of my pack, one male and one female. They are the strongest, the wisest, and make all the decisions. The Betas, another male and female, are below them in rank, and if the Alphas must leave, they are in charge."

Thinking about everything he had just learned, Harry was silent for a minute before he spoke again. "It sounds cop - comple - it sounds strange." he finally said.

Elysia chuckled kindly. "I guess it does sound complicated to someone who hadn't grown up with it," she said with a nod. "But to me, its normal. And its like we're one large family, even if I'm not related to everyone in the pack." She paused for a moment. "Harry?"

"Yeah?

"You said your uncle abandoned you here. What about your parents - your mother and father? Will they come looking for you?"

Shaking his head, Harry had to hold back the tears that threatened to escape. "No, they died in car accident when I was really little. I was sent to live with my aunt, my mum's sister, and her husband."

"Her husband," Elysia said slowly, as if not sure how to go on, "who is your uncle. He's the one that gave you all these cuts and bruises." It wasn't a question, more of a statement, like she knew, but wanted him to confirm it.

When Harry first opened his mouth, it was to defend his uncle, and say it was accident, like he had been told to if anyone ever found out. Of course, anyone found out, it would just mean more beatings. Then he closed his mouth. His Uncle Vernon wasn't around anymore. The man couldn't hurt him anymore. And if Harry somehow found out how to get back to a town, or a city, he wouldn't be go back to him. Not without a fight.

"Yes," he finally said, and Harry had to blink back more tears.

At first, Elysia didn't say or do anything. Then, slowing down again, looked towards him she nuzzled her nose against his cheek, be carefully not to press his bruises too hard. "Its alright to cry, little one. I can smell your tears. Let it out now, because I don't care what I have to do, I won't let you go back to that horrid human. I promise."

How she could smell his tears, Harry wasn't sure, but slowly, a tear rolled down each cheek, soon followed by another, and another. Soon, small sniffles filled the air, and he buried his face in Elysia's long hair, breathing in the scent of flowers - not like the ones Aunt Petunia made him plant in the garden, sprayed with nasty weed killer and surrounded by weird smelling dirt, but real flowers.

This woman, who her barely knew, had already made three promises to him. Not to hurt him, not to let anyone else hurt him, and that she would never let him go back to his uncle. After four years of living with the Dursleys, they had never made a real promise to him, except for Uncle Vernon, who promised him a beating if he did anything freakish, or didn't complete a chore, or anything else that offended him. It was... nice. Strange, but nice.

"Why?" Harry sniffled, pulling his face away from her hair. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"... Because I want to, Harry," Elysia said finally. "Because I even though I've only know you for a little while, I want to make sure you'll be alright." She glanced at him, and smiled. "I'll take care you, cub. Don't you worry about that."

Confused, Harry hid his face back in her hair. She was taking care of him... just because she wanted to? He never had anyone care for him like that before. Sure, maybe his parents, but he couldn't even remember them; he didn't even know what they looked like, or what their names were. But Elysia wasn't his mother, or even related to him. And yet, she still wanted to make sure nothing happened to him.

The next hour or so was silent as Elysia walked quickly through the forest, following a path that Harry didn't understand, and not caring that she had no clothes to protect her from twigs and vines. Yet he never saw her get scraped, or cut. She didn't even get out of breathe, or seem to get tired, even though it was starting to really warm as the sun reached its high point, meaning they had walked half the day. He felt a little hungry at the though of dinner, but he was use to not eating for long periods of time. He could wait.

Then suddenly, Elysia skidded to a halt, and Harry, who had had been watch the scenery go by, yelped in surprise, unconsciously tightening his grip around her neck for a moment. "Wha-"

"Harry, be quiet for a moment," Elysia said softly. It wasn't harsh, or angry, but firm. Harry let his mouth fall shut before he even had a chance to say her name. He could see her nose twitching, and she titled her head slightly. Then she flinched a little bit, like she was about to be kicked.

"Listen to me, Harry," said Elysia in a whisper. "I'm going to let you down, but I want you to stay behind me, alright? And don't say anything unless I tell you to."

Nodding against her shoulder, Harry loosened his grip on her neck as Elysia knelt down, letting him slid down her back to the ground, the twigs and leaves crunching just a little too loudly underneath him. Almost immediately afterward, Elysia made sure she was in front of him and held her hands out loosely, ready to fight or protect herself at any moment. "Remember what I said, Harry," she whispered.

For a minute, there was nothing but silence. Eerie silence. Harry was about to break the silence and ask what was going on when he could finally hear something. It sounded like footsteps. Lots of them. Biting down on his own lower lip, Harry shuffled a little closer to Elysia.

It wasn't much longer when finally, three figures stepped into view, almost out of no where. Harry glanced over them all. The one in the front seemed to be the leader, with long silver hair that reach the middle of his back and dark blue eyes that were almost black. He was also the oldest, at least in his mid forties. His clothes were really the strangest thing about him, with dark brown trousers that stopped at mid-calf, like they were too short for him, and a light brown long sleeve shirt that had strings instead of buttons towards the top. He wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Elysia," the man growled lowly.

Tilted her chin up, Elysia's shoulder's fell a little. "Beta Gavin," she said calmly.

Walking to her, the man named Gavin leaned forward, clearly not care that she was naked, his mouth opening part way and showing off his sharp looking canines that made Harry stiffened and want to back away, but did as Elysia said kept quiet as the man sniffed her bare throat before nudging it with his nose. At that, Elysia relaxed a little, and she rubbed her cheek against his.

"I'm glad you're safe, Elysia," said Gavin evenly as he stepped back. "We were getting worried after we heard your call." He glanced down towards Harry, and his eyes narrowed. "By the Moon Mother, I hope you have a good reason for your absence, and for bringing a human to our camp. You know the rules."

Blinking, Harry looked to Elysia, silently waiting for an explanation. Why had he said human like that? They were human too.

"I will explain it all to the Alphas once we return to camp," said Elysia, her hands still held out at the sides protectively. It was then that Harry understood what she was doing - she wasn't protecting herself, she was protecting him. Why, he wasn't sure, but she was still defending him against a Beta, who she said was one of the strongest people in her pack.

Watching Harry for another long moment, Gavin back away. "Lucas, her clothes."

Another wolf stepped forward. He was about the same age as Elysia, with dark gray hair that was cut short and eyes that were the same color, and was dressed the same way as Gavin. Lucas held out a small bundle of clothing, frowning slightly. "I hope you know why you're doing," he muttered softly as Elysia took them.

Sending him a small smile, Elysia slipped a dark green shirt over her head, and dark brown trousers came on just as fast. Finally clothed, she glanced down at Harry. "You'll have to get on my back again, alright cub?"

Harry nodded, but he flinched a little as the last man growled at him. "Don't call him that," he snapped. He was a little older than both Elysia and Lucas, maybe mid-twenties, with pulled back dark brown hair that went passed his shoulders and dark brown eyes that looked coldly at Harry. "He's not one of us, Elysia."

Growling back, Elysia pulled her lips back and showed off her teeth, her own canines elongated. Harry whimpered slightly, it was the first time he seen her angry. "Leave him alone, Logan. He's still a cub, even if he isn't one of us."

"He's a human!" Logan snarled. "Why did you even bring him here? You should have left him out there!"

"Enough!" barked out Gavin before Elysia could say anything. "Logan, do not start a fight with your pack mate. Now pick up the human, Elysia, and lets get going. The Alphas are waiting for you."

Nodding once, Elysia knelt down again, and still without a word, Harry wrapped his around her neck, letting her pick him up. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he was going to do as he was told and stay quiet and out of the way. Because it looked as if these people wouldn't hesitate to hurt him, for some reason.

Glancing at his fellow pack members, Gavin nodded, and as one, all of them starting moving along again, this time racing back to their camp.