Black and Yellow.

Chapter 13- Tallus

Ruby can hear it. The soft padding of quiet feet on damp earth. The soft whisper of movement as it tip toes through the trees. The soft crunch of leaves as it strips the branches. She moved slowly to the right making no noise in the dark forest, peering at the deer through the breaks in the thick leaves. The deer couldn’t see her. Mindlessly, it crunched on the leaves from a bush, its brown eyes dull, and not alert. Ruby felt her muscles tensing, leaning back on her haunches, preparing to jump,

No. She thought sharply to herself, forcing her mind to control her instincts. She stepped back, away from the deer, landing on a stick, breaking it. The deer looked up, and ran, and Ruby forced herself not to follow it.

She padded in the opposite direction, further away from Hogwarts, deeper into the forbidden forest, the bright, ghostly light from the full moon lighting her path. She weaved her way through the trees, her eyes up, her ears already, listening, watching, for anything interesting, anything at all.

So far, the other animals in the forest had avoided her. Once, she had saw a centaur, but it was too far away to make our properly, and at the sight of her, it had turned and walked away without a second glance. Another time, Ruby could have grown she had seen a giant spider, at least the size of a car, but she must have been imagining things. She had met no other werewolves.

But she had only been here a couple of times. This was, actually, her third time in the forest, the full moon of November. And she still has six more years to explore to grounds. She would know the forest better than anyone else by the time her stay at Hogwarts was over.

The trees were thinning out around her, the moonlight becoming more visible, and the forest brighter. Up ahead, there was a clearing, light and empty. Ruby walked towards it, stepping into the moonlight. It was pretty, the stars and the moon shining down on her. She walked to the centre, and sat, looking up at the moon.

“Hello,” said a voice from behind her. Ruby whipped around, snarling, only to see a centaur, a brilliant white one, standing at the edge of the clearing. It didn’t look hostile; he simply stood there calmly, looking at her through wide, young eyes. Ruby took a step back, away from the centaur. She had been told by the teachers to say away from the other creatures, especially the centaurs, apparently they were very territorial. But she as began to walk slowly away, he called her back.

“Wait,” he said.  “I won’t hurt you.” Ruby cocked her head, confused. Oddly, he was talking to her like a person, like an intelligent being, not just an animal, which she found strange. He smiled at her, and took a step closer. “I’ve seen you before. You’re a werewolf right?”

Ruby gave him a funny look. He ought to know that. The centaur seemed overly excited, more jumpy and agile and happy than what she had heard about them. His hair went to his cheeks, and was a light blond color. His eyes were a brilliant blue. He had a kind smile, and looked young, in human years he looked to be in his early twenties.

“You can talk, right?” he asked her, looking worried. “I could understand you if you did.” He told her. Ruby stepped back in surprise. Speaking while she was wolf was an odd this. She could understand what people said to her in English, but her mouth couldn’t move the right way or make the right sounds to be able to speak back she could sometimes understand when other dogs talked to her, what they were trying to say, and she could sometimes talk to them. She barked quietly, a question. He smiled.

“Yes, I’ve learned to speak all the languages of the animals in this forest. I’m able to speak to all of them, take all their knowledge and wisdom. It’s very interesting. But you’re the first werewolf who’s been calm enough to talk to me. What’s your name?”

Ruby told him, quietly. He smiled again. “Hi, Ruby. I’m Tallus.” He said, walking even closer to her. Ruby made herself relax .He’s not going to hurt me. Nothing’s going to happen.  She told herself. Allowing her curiosity to show, she asked him how old he was.