The Forbidden Forest

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon darted between rocks and trees, ducking under logs, enjoying their game. She may be more powerful but he was more agile. He was laughing all over his long face, his wet pink tongue hanging out of th side of his razor sharp mouth.
He could sense her not far behind him and knew she was just playing with him. She wasn't even trying to catch him yet.
He ran through a big bush and sent sleeping birds and small mammals scattering in surprise. He barked with laughter. He hadn't had this much fun in years.

He ran up a tree and sat on a high branch waiting for her to catch up, barking down at her when her elegantly powerful black form came into view. He knew cats could climb and the challenge was clear.
ner ner ne ner ner, come and get me

[jemz]

Liz knew that he wasn't that far ahead of her, his scent was still strong enough whenever she jumped over logs that moments ago he had climbed over. She hadn't done this in her panther form in ages, though it was an extremely good way to stay in shape.
She stopped as she heard a commotion up ahead and growled at the creatures that ran past her. Simon was having fun that much was for certain. Laughing she continued after him, picking up some speed now. He wasn't going to be able to hide forever.

As she past by a set of trees she heard his bark and looked up sharply her eyes spotting him immediately on a tree branch. She roared, not too loudly but loud enough for him to know that she accepted his challenge. Eyeing how far up the branch up, she pounced, her claws digging into the trunk as she climed to the first branch. Reaching it, she then leaped to the next one, and the next till she landed on the same branch he was on. The growl that emmitted from her troat was clear checkmate

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon was astounded at how quickly she scaled the tree and realised that he may have bitten off more than he could chew. He knew she'd catch him eventually, but didn't think it would be this quick. He yapped at her before leaping onto a branch on a neighbouring tree and scrambled nimbly around the trunk leaping onto the next tree. He ran along the long branch looking for his next move. The next tree was too far to leap to so he darted onto a lower branch, still laughing. He jumped to the ground and dashed off into some dense bushes and foliage, ducking under a massive log. The gap was too small for her to follow and he scrambled under it and out the other side. He found himself at the edge of a large pond. There was a small island in the centre of it and he launced himself into the water, swimming quickly over to the small mound of dry land. He hauled himself out and turned to see if she would follow. Cats hated water.

[jemz]

Liz slowly made her way towards the small fox and then stopped in shock as he yapped at her and jumped to the next tree. Fine if that was the way he wanted, he was only putting off the inevitable though. She was going to catch him eventually.
Quickly she followed him, jumping onto the exact same branches he had. This was definitely better than staying in her office marking papers. Realising that he had jumped to a lower branch and then to the floor she pounced gracefully onto the forest floor chasing after him. She ignored the branches that scraped against her sleek body, knowing Simon had past through these and came out just in time to see him go under a log. Growling in annoyance she tried to see if there was a way around the log before leaping on top of it and over to the otherside before stopping to a halt.
Stupid water! If there was one thing she couldn't stand in her panther form it was the stupid water. She knew he was watching her and she bared her teeth at him snapping her jaws together. Pacing back and forth she tried to think of what to do, she definitely wasn't giving up and she ignored the laughter from Simon. Glancing up she noticed that some of the branches went over and there was one close enough for her to leap to the island. She ran up one of the trees and then pounced from branch to branch carefully before landing behind Simon pinning his tail under one of her paws casually.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon watched her climb the tree, wondering what she was upto. But by the time he realised, it was too late. Before he could even leap back into the water she had him pinned by his bushy tail. He yelped and then changed back into his human form, rolling onto his back and laughing.
"Ok, ok, you win." he grinned at the beautiul cat next to him.

A flash of white caught his attention and he look across the water to see two Unicorns sipping water at the edge of the pond.
"Elizabeth, change back, quickly." he whispered, afraid that the panther would scare them off.

[jemz]

Liz chuckled soflty as he yelped, the sound sounding strange in her panther form. She bent down and licked his face gently purring deep in her throat. She had told him that he would be caught eventually. Settling down, she lay next to him, remaining in her panther form for the moment.

Hearing the tone of Simon's voice she changed back to her human self and then lifted her head, seeing what the problem was. "Oh wow," she gasped, seeing two of the beautiful white unicorns. "Simon they're beautiful." No wonder he had told her to change back, she would've scared them if she had remained a panther.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon watched the Unicorns entranced. As she changed back ito her human form he suddenly became aware of how close they were, lying side by side in the middle of a pond. A oft smile played across his lips as she exclaimed quietly. Her face had lit up when she'd seen the white beasts across the water. Unicorns have a way of making you feel young, there's something in their innocence that reminds you what it feels like to be a child.
"You can tell a lot about a person by their reaction upon seeing Unicorns. A person long since removed from their innocence could break down upon catching sight of one; the memory too much to bear and leaving them disgusted at what they have become. Cruel, truly evil people often react in anger; the idea of their own purity disgusting to them." he told her softly, watching the expression on her face.

[jemz]

Elizabeth regarded the Unicorns with interest, examining their beauty and grace. Unicorns were majestic creatures that much was definitely true. Realising how close she was to Simon she froze for a moment and then relaxed, not caring.
"So if a person reacted like I did, what does that mean?" she asked him gazing at him. She couldn't believe that the creatures infront of her could make people act like that. "So if Kildara were to some how find herself near a unicorn, she'd hate them, just because they're so pure?" That was horrible, though the chances of a unicorn getting close to Kildara were slim if they were smart. "That's not fair though, the unicorns are pure, but at the same time, the person is equally evil so surely it's the person's own fault that they're no longer pure."

[Simon Hedwig]

"Well of course it's their fault, but they wouldn't see it that way. They are evil and evil people very rarely blame themselves for anything." he mused wih a grin.
He looked at her, watching her as she watched the Unicorns.
"Your reaction?" he asked thoughtfully, his voice soft. "It tells me nothing that I don't already know: that you're a good, sweet, intelligent, caring person who appreciates her blessings. And it tells me that I want to do this..."
He leaned towards her and placed a short, soft kiss on her lips, relishing as their soft skin touched and he tasted her. When it was over he leaned back again and gently brushed her hair away from her eyes, smiling.

[jemz]

"Good point," Liz said realising he was right. Kildara never blamed herself for anything, it was always someone else's fault and Voldemort had always blamed one of his DE when something bad happened.
She turned to him, hearing his voice as he thought about her reaction. Her eyes sparkled as she heard his praises and then stopped as she realised what he was going to do. When her lips touched his she sighed inwardly. This was better than the first time, because this time he was kissing her. "Wow," she breathed softly as he moved a piece of her hair. "You got all that from my reaction?" She couldn't help it but she was smiling more than she had done in a long time. "Thanks for inviting me to come with you."

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon smiled and took her and again.
"Thank you for agreeing to come." he replied, kissing her knuckles.
He looked back over at the Unicorns to find they were watching the two humans with interest.
"They've seen us." whispered Simon. "They sensed the affection. They pick up positive vibes." he told her. Slowly he clambered to his feet and pulled her up with him. He looked around at the water surrounding them thoughtfully.
"Ah" he said, voicing the problem. "Hold on." he said with a wink. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the water. "Glacius." he commanded and a flurry of white magic errutpted from his wand, freezing the water in front of them so that there was a solid path of ice between them and the bank of the pond. He carefully stepped out onto it and held out his hand to Liz.
"Watch your step." He warned her as he began to carefully make his way towards the land.

Once here they discovered thatmore of the herd had come down to the water.
"They must have heard our voices." Simon told Liz with a big smile. Almost immediately a young foal ran upto them and headbutted Simon's knee.
"Mehhhh!" it cried at him insistently. It sounded like a cross between a goose honking and a lamb bleeting. "Hi baby." simpered Simon dropping to his knees before the young Unicorn. It's coat was yellow-gold and shimmered in the dim moonlight. It's short horn was soft and almost furry like that of a young stag. Simon turned to Liz and grinned.
"Someone's hungry." he laughed.

[jemz]

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Liz said blushing as he kissed her nuckles. She wouldn't tire of his kisses anytime soon, that much was definite.
She looked to the Unicorn's and saw that Simon was right, they were both looking at her and Simon. "Well there was definitely a lot of affection," she smiled as he pulled her up. Remembering they were around water she sighed, she wasn't in the mood for a swim and if she changed into a panther she'd scare the creatures away instantly. With a confused look she watched him perform a simple freezing spell and then rolled her eyes. "Now why didn't I think of that?" she muttered. Greatfully she took his hand and followed him, makinig sure her steps went exactly where his had been.

"I didn't think we were talking that loud," Liz smiled and then giggled as he was headbutted in the knee. It looked adorable with it's golden coat and the short horn. "Apparently. As long as it doesn't eat you, then I'm fine," she laughed. She turned as her arm was nudged by something and turned to find the mother beside her. Slowly she reached out her hand and stroked it's neck, feeling the smoothness of the skin. "You're right, they're definitely used to humans," she said as the unicorn didn't move from her touch.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon looked up and smiled with delight as the female Unicorn nudged Liz's hand.
"Amazing." he breathed. "Liz she likes you. They're a good judge of character. They usually prefer women to men, but still. You should be honoured." he smiled at her.
"Actually this little one's the orphan I told you about. He knows I'm here to feed him. That's the pregnant female that's taken a liking to you. I need to check her over. Would you mind feeding this little guy whilst I attend to her?" he asked as the foal headbutted him again impatiently. Simon chuckled. "Ouch." he laughed. The horn may have been small but it still hurt.
He realised that he'd dropped his sack when Liz had chased him, so he summoned it. It appeared through the trees a few seconds later. He caught it and retrieved a bottle of what looked like a banana milkshake with a rubber teet for a lid like a baby's bottle. He held it out to Liz with a gentle smile. "Come on, it's easy. I'll show you." he said encouragingly. The foal was already getting excited at the very sight of his dinner and he made another honking neigh sound as though tell the humans to hurry.

[jemz]

Liz blushed but conintued to stroke the female as she seemed to like it. "Trust me I felt honoured being asked by you to come and see them, I don't think there's a word in the dictionary yet to describe how I'm feeling now." She shrugged her shoulders, although she did feel a bit stupid for not realising that the foal was the orphan. When the foal headbutted Simon again she laughed, for a little guy he sure had a lot of strength. "Take it like a man," she told him trying to regain some composure.
Looking around for the sac, she remembered that he had dropped it, but she saw it flying towards them. Part of her felt really scared, not because she was afraid of being headbutted, but she didn't know what to do. She smiled at the impatient sound of the foal and after giving the female one more stroke she moved forwards to Simon's side again. The foal really was cute, and she moved her hand over it's coat gently, it was definitely fluffier than the adults, and cuter in it's own way as well. "So what do I do?" she asked, looking at Simon.

[Simon Hedwig]

He smiled reassuringly and moved to sit beside and just behind her.
"Oh settle down on your knees and take the bottle in your good hand." he instructed, giving her the bottle. "Come on little guy, dinner time." he called and the foal neighed again and moved right upto them. He placed his from hooves on Liz's knees and nudged the bottle with his nose.
"Ok, now put our other arm around his shoulders." he said quietly, taking her hand and placing it over the foal's back. He didn't need to say much more because the foal took over, taking the bottle's teet in his mouth and drining urgently.
"There you go." said Simon chuckling happily. He watched he foal feed for a few moments before placing a reassuring hand on Liz's shoulder and kissing the top of her head.

He moved over the the female who licked his hand affectionately.
"Hello, sweetheart. Let's see how you're doing shall we?" he said softly to her. He dropped to his knees and the Unicorn lowered herself to the ground lying on her side. She knew the drill by now. He began by running his hand over her back, relaxing her. The he ran his hand over her prominent undercarriage, checking that her shape and baby's position was was it should be. It seemed to be fine. She was a good size. He checked her gums and teeth and was happy to see they were healthy. He pulle a small package from his sack and unwrapped it to reveal a large slab of chocolate cake.
"Here you go darling." he crooned softly. The expectant Mother neighed enthusiastically and began devouring the sweet treat.

Simon turned to Liz to see how she was getting on. "The chocolate seems to do pregnant Unicorns good. And they need extra fat and sugar too, so I combine the two in one and give them cake." he grinned.