The Forbidden Forest

[JadieLou]

It is dark and rumored to have monsters. No wonder its forbidden! Do not enter if not accompanied by a proffesor. If you are found in here you will be puished. You have been warned enter at own risk.

[Kelly Black]

Kelly walked to the edge of the forest and sat down. She looked up at the tree above her head. Then she let her eyes follow the bug in front of her feet. Just like the start of last term, she thought to herself. She felt anxious inside, as if something great was about to happen, but from the outside she looked calm and peaceful.

For how long she had been sitting there, she did not know, but she started to feel hungry all of a sudden. Though the thought of going back inside the school didn't seem like best idea, she knew she'd have to do it sometime anyway. She slowly got up and drifted away towards the front door.

[jemz]

Liz laughed and then grew silent as they made their way further into the forest. She could remember some parts of the way to the unicorns, but she let Simon guide her. It was nice being with him and she couldn't help remembering what both Kitania and Magesta had said about him and her. "Have they gotten use to your smell?" she asked, suddenly worried that she was going to scare them all away.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon looked down at her and smiled through the darkness. She was quite tall, but he still towered over her.
"Yes, they come to me now. You shouldn't worry. They'll know you're with me. They'll smell me on you and they'll know from our body language." he told her reassuringly. She still clung to his arm and he smiled to himself. He like it.
"You don't ned to worry about keeping quiet. The herd move around a bit. If they hear my voice they'll probably come looking for me. Plus, if we make noise it'll scare the other beasties away." he said teasingly, watching her face to see her reaction. "I think there are still acromantula in here..." he added, trying to scare her a little. He grinned to reasure her. "I'm joking." he laughed. "I hope." he added more quietly. Even if the colony were still in the forest they were in much deeper than anywhere they would be going anyway.

[jemz]

Liz laughed, looking up at him. She didn't have to look up to most people but Simon was still considerably taller.
"That wasn't what I was worried about," she mumbled softly, keeping her grip on his arm. She was more worried about getting lost in the forest than anything else, especially with Emilia being a werewolf. Her attention was drawn back to Simon as he mentioned beasts and she looked up scared her eyes flickering with fear at the sound of Acromantula. She had always been scared of spiders and it was only when he said he was joking she relaxed. "That's not funny!" she exclaimed hitting his arm lightly. "I thought you were being serious!"

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon chuckled evily.
"Well that was the idea, my dear." he chuckled again, laughing when she swatted at his arm. "Ow!" he cried dramatically. "First the sexual harrassment and now physical violence. I should report you Professor Peterson." he mocked, pretending to be afraid of her.
The trees were becoming denser and what little moon there was was being eaten up by the leaves. He flicked his hand and a ball of fire appeared just ahead of them lighting their path. He looked at her face, reflecting in the flame's light and felt a calm serenity pass over him. Simon Hedwig was falling.

[jemz]

Liz rolled her eyes at the sound of his chuckle. It really wasn't that evil but it still sent chills up her spine.
"I'd watch it Professor," she teased. "It's so easy for a panther to lose track of how sharp her claws and teeth are." Not that she would ever bite or hurt him, she didn't think she could to be honest. She laughed. "Report me for what? Being a woman? Kildara wouldn't give two wand cores, infact she'd probably laugh as well."
She could tell things were getting darker as the ventured further into the forest and when she glanced up, realised there was no longer any moonlight. When she saw the fire ball a head of her, she glanced at Simon to see him looking at her and smiled. He looked really good with the flames' shadows passing over his face from time to time. Maybe Magesta was right, maybe he was her romeo.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon snorted in bemusement at the coment about Kildara.
"Yeah you're probably right there." he agreed. "I don't think I could count on much support from her anyway." he mused.
"Well the panther's got to catch the fox first." he told her, his voice mildly suggestive.
He caught her smile in the firelight. She was beautiful and her smile was so sweet. In that moent he realised he'd made his decision. The problem was how to explain to Caitlyn.

He stopped walking and turned to Elizabeth, taking one of her hands. The ball of fire stopped and floated near the, the shadows flickering over their faces.
"Elizabeth...Liz." he began, looking at the floor. He looked up into her face. "I really like you." he told her, his nervousness evident in his voice. "A lot." he added. "You're one the loveliest people I've ever met. And, if you like me too..." he paused looking at her questioningly. "I would very much like for us to know each other better" he told her cautiously. He paused to study her face for any reaction. "What do you say?" he asked gently.

[jemz]

"No one can," Liz said rolling her eyes. It was hard enough being nice to her during school times. She grinned at his next comment though. "Panthers are quicker than foxes remember. It would be easy to catch a fox," she laughed not taking her eyes off of his. "And panther's are stronger," she added as she rememberd another fact. Chances were though, that Simon was probably stronger in human form no matter how strong she was in her animagus form.

She stopped as soon as she saw that Simon had done and wondered what was wrong. When he took her hand she raised an eyebrow puzzled, but she didn't pull away, she liked it. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard him say that he liked her. He was extremely sweet and telling her this was probably extremely hard, which only made her like him even more. She bit her lip and waited for him to finish, already knowing what she was going to say. "I say that I would love to get to know you better," she replied squeezing his hand lightly. "On one condition though, you need to pay up for being late when we're done."

[Simon Hedwig]

"Oh you're a little overconfident, I think." he protested. "A panther may be faster once upto speed, but the fox is the faster sprinter. He is also more lithe and cunning. Even if you could keep up with me, you'd still have to out manoeuvre me." he concluded, smiling wickedly. In truth he would have no problem with her catching him at all. He quite liked the idea.

When she squeezed his hands and spoke her reply he looked up into her eyes, his own full of happiness and hope.
"Really?" he asked, almost disbelieving. He smile and laughed nervously. "I...I thought you liked me, but I wasn't sure. And then you kissed me and...I don't know." he shook his head embarrassed by his burbling. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of out of practise at this kind of thing." he apologised with a red-cheeked grin. He just couldn't stop smiling.
He took a deep breath. If they were going to start a relationship, he wanted to start it right.
"There's something I need to tell you."

[jemz]

"I'm not over confident you just under estimate me," Liz replied shaking her head. "Panthers have more energy than foxes though, as soon as a panther gets up to speed, the fox is out of energy." She looked at him and a smirk came to her face as she thought of an idea. "Tell you what, we'll test the theory shall we?" She had a feeling she could catch him but it would probably take time.

She couldn't believe she'd been asked and it took a moment to make sure that she wasn't actually dreaming. "Yes really. I did like you.. I mean I do like you. The kiss was.. I don't know part of me thought that when you said it that you had been thinking of kissing me, so I decided to try." She stopped explaining and squeezed his hand again. "Don't worry my last relationship was three years ago, so we can remember together."
Liz looked at him, wondering what he needed to say. "What?" she asked, hoping to god that it wasn't anything too bad.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon took her hand in both of his and took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn't ruin everything.
"The first night I was back in the county I met Caitlyn in the book shop. She was nice and I liked her. I didn't know anyone in the country, really and I asked her out on a date. She agreed. I'm supposed to go out with her tomorrow night." he explained awkwardly. He felt awful. "But then I met you, and, well...like I said I really like you. But I think she likes me too and I've decided to tell her the truth, but...I just wanted to be honest with you about it. She came to see me just before in my office to make sure we were still on for our date. She even kissed me. It caught me totally off-guard, and I don't know what to do about it. I want to start our relationship off honestly with nothing hanging over us." he stopped and looked at the ground, unsure what Liz's reaction was going to be.

[jemz]

Elizabeth stood waiting for him to finish. She didn't blame him for planning a date with Caitlyn, she was really pretty and extremely kind. Tomorrow night was a bit of a problem though, considering that she was going to want to be with him as well. She smiled at him, it took courage to tell her, he could've just not told her at all. Hearing that she had kissed Simon though, her anger rose a bit and her panther side growled inwardly before she rememberd that at the time he wasn't going out with either of them.
"Hey," she said taking a hand and lifting his head up to look at her. "I'm glad that you told me. Personally I think you should still go with Caitlyn to wherever you were going, but whilst you're there, tell her that you'd rather remain friends with her instead of taking the friendship any further. I'm not quite sure or not though, whether you should mention us just yet though. I don't know how she'd take it."

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon sighed with relief. She wasn't angry with him. He could see a flicker of annoyence when he mentioned the kiss but she seemed to remain calm. He listened as she spoke and nodded. He couldn't believe she was being so understanding.
"I know, I've been struggling with what to say to her. I do like her, she's nice, and I don't want to hurt her. I kind of want to just tell her the truth. She's going to find out eventually, and she'll want to know why I'm breaking it off. What can I say without lying? But I don't want to cause any tension between the two of you. We all have to work together after all." he said, still unsure what he was going to say to Caitlyn.

"So..." he began giving her a playful smile. "...you still think you can catch me?" he asked, dropping her hand and takin a few steps back from her. He changed into the fox and barked at her before turning tail and dashng off into the darkness of the trees.

[jemz]

"If you think the best thing to do is to tell her the truth then tell it to her gently," Liz said kindly. "I'd rather have her know the truth if it's what you want, and there will probably be some tension at the beginning but we both have to work so we'll figure something out." She smiled at him and stroked his cheek, it was unfair for him to have to make this decision.

Looking at him she noticed the playful smile on his face and grinned. "I don't think, I know," she laughed before turning into her panther form. Her eyes instantly adapted to the darkness and she growled playfully before chasing after him, his smell hitting her nose before she spotted him further in the woods. He had been right, foxes were fast sprinters, but knowing she'd catch him eventually she slowed down and stuck to the shadows, her coat blending in with the darkness.