The Forbidden Forest

[jemz]

Liz listened to him and settled on her knees, resting on her heels as she took the bottle into her right hand. The foal was so urgent, she wondered when the last time he had been fed, but it made her laugh as he nudged the bottle. Feeling Simon take her hand she smiled to herself and glanced up at him before the foal started drinking, causing her arm to jerk suddenly. "He's definitely strong for a little guy." She wondered whether she was doing things right, but the kiss on her head made her smile again, all her worries forgotten.

She heard Simon talking to the pregnant female and smiled, he was definitely kind and gentle, if the unicorns trusted him around their expecting mothers. Glancing over she had to admire the sight, the unicorn in all her beauty was gorgeous and simon seemed to fit in with them like a jigsaw piece. Seeing the slab of cake her eyes widened, she didn't know they were allowed cake!

The sound the foal made seemed sad and when she turned her attention back to it realised that he had finished. "It's all gone I'm sorry," she apologised as it nudged her arm, searching for more. Hearing Simon she grinned, "Wish I was a pregnant Unicorn, that cake seemed nice." She hadn't eaten much at dinner cause of her nerves, and the thought of dinner reminded her of her conversation with Magesta. "Simon, Magesta and I were talking earlier and I was wondering whether you'd like to go out for a drink at somepoint with Magesta and hopefully Lucien if she plucks up the courage to ask him."

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon looked over and smiled.
"There's another bottle in the sack." he told her when he realised the baby had finished the first one. "I have more cake back in my office, we can get some later if you want." he suggested with a slightly hopeful look in his eyes and a grin. He laughed as the Unicorn neighed insistently at Liz. He seemed to like her, which in his book was a good sign. Happy that the female was alright he left her to eat her cake and scooted over to sit beside Liz.
He nodded with a casal smile as she asked if he wanted to go for a drink with her friends.
"Sure, sounds good." he agreed. "You and Magesta are good friends?" he asked. He remembered the woman from the Order Meeting, but didn't know her at all well. If she was friends with Liz he certainly wanted to know her better. "Magesta has a thing for Lucien I take it?" he asked with a grin. He didn't know Lucien either and was certainly aware of the lack of male company around here.

[Emilia Pettigrew]

Emilia and Kit appeared in a quiet pop, behind a tree. "This is my favourite place here. You see that" she pointed at a small cave "a small family of foxes live here. They must be out right now, but they'll be back in a while." She looked at Kit and smiled. Suddenly she heard voices. "Who else could be here" she asked more from herself than from Kit. She turned around and walked towards the sounds. She saw unicorns by the lake and stayed behind a tree, not to disturb them. She definetely didn't expect to see Simon and Liz there. She turned to Kit to say something, but as she opened her mouth, no words came out.

[jemz]

Searching in the sack Liz found the other bottle and took it out, causing the foal to neigh in excietment and earning a headbutt for taking too long. "Ouch," she laughed. As Simon came back to her side, she grinned at the look in his eyes. "That sounds perfect. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep for ages right now anyways."
She knew Magesta was going to kill her when she found out that they actually had to go out for drinks now and giggled at the thought. "We've known each other since school really," she told him. "Then she played Quidditch professionally for a while before coming to teach flying here." She rested her head on his shoulder as she continued feeding the foal and then nodded at his second question. "Yup we sor of made a deal. She'd ask him out if I asked you to come as well. She knew that I liked you and thought that it was fair punishment for making her go and ask Lucien."

[Simon Hedwig]

When Liz rested her head on his shoulder Simon looked down at it in wonder, his chest swelling with pride. A smile slowly crept onto his face. His stomach was doing a somersault. God he felt like a schoolboy on his first date, her every touch making his heart flutter. As she began to feed the baby again he sighed and rested his head on the top of hers, sliding his arm around her waist. They sat there together, the forest seeming so peaceful around them. What little did they know...

[Kitania Walker]

When they appeared in the forest Kit was completely taken aback.
"What did you bring me here for?" she asked in a whisper. She listened as Emilia talkd about the foxes and couldn't help smiling. She loved animals. "We may see them anyway." she suggested when Emilia said they were out hunting. She froze solid when she heard the voices. She knew who it was. She knew Liz and Simon were out here tonight. She reached out a hand to Emilia's back wanting to tell her come back.
"I think we should go." she said quickly, but Emilia didn't seem to have heard her. "It's probably just Centaurs!" she hissed, but it was too late. Emilia had seen them. She looked at her face nervously for a reaction. This wasn't going to go well.

[Emilia Pettigrew]

Emilia looked as Simon and Liz sat side by side. She was turning her head between them and Kit. She sank down under the tree and stared at Simon. Her head was burning with thoughts. She tore her eyes away from him and looked in Kit's eyes. She felt tears falling but she didn't feel she was crying. She just looked at her and let out a long and sad howl. She felt being between rage and breaking up. She knew, that it showed from her face. When she looked at Kit again, her pupils were getting larger and she let out another howl.

[Kitania Walker]

Kit looked at Emilia with the deepest pity.
Emilia I'm so sorry. I didn't know they were seeing each other. I knew she liked him, but..." she trailed off in horror as Emilia's face began to change. "Emilia! Emilia don't change! Calm down! Don't let it control you." she pleaded, backing off a step. She wanted to hold her but she was also too wary to get close to her.
She looked to where Simon and Liz were sitting oblivious. Had they heard her howl? If Emilia changed they would all be in danger.
"Emilia, listen to me, please. I knew Liz liked him but I didn't want to tell you until I knew whether he liked her back. I didnt see any point in upsetting you unless it was necessary. This was just an unfortunate accident." she tried to reason with her. She took another step back ready to apparate in a split second if she needed to.

[jemz]

Liz let out a contented sigh, she didn't know why but she was happier than she had been in a long time and it was all because of Simon. Feeling his arm around her, set her heart beating faster, it was definitely a nice sensation. One that she hadn't felt in ages.
Her head shot up hearing a howl and then another howl shortly afterwards. The unicorns appeared to be getting nervous as well and the foal and stopped feeding. By what she knew there was only one animal that made that noise and there was only one person who could change into that animal. "Please tell me I was imagining that," she whispered, cringing as she heard yet another howl.
She knew Emilia had had something with Simon a long time ago, but that was over. They had finished it hadn't they? She couldn't help the fear that was over coming her, and the worry of the unicorn's safety. Emilia had already killed one recently, she wasn't going to kill another.

[Emilia Pettigrew]

Emilia dropped on to all four, as Kit spoke. She could feel her backing away, but she wanted her close. She needed her. A part of her knew, she should fight back, but he other part got control rapidly. She crawled over to Kit and grabbed her hand. "Don't leave me" her voice sounded hoarse. Her ears had turned pointy and she looked up at Kit. She felt her nails growing, so she let go of her, afraid to hurt her. She let out another loud howl. She knew her and Simon were over long before, he had the freedom to do what he wanted, though it still hurt like hell. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but her body didn't obey her. "It;s just like christmas" she growled between breaths "when I was angry at Kelly. Stop me !" she almost screamed her last words, which turned into another howl in the end.

[Simon Hedwig]

Simon looked up in alarm when he heard the howl, the peace immediatey broken. His arms tightened around Liz's waist as the Unicorns began to stir.
"No you didn't imagine it." he replied, his voice low. The baby Unicorn neighed nervously and backed off. At the second howl Simon rose to his feet pulling Liz up with him. He looked around anxiously trying to tell what direction it was coming from. He pulled Liz close to him, feeling extremely protective all of a sudden. Instinct told him it was Emilia and she didn't sound very far away. If she'd seen them they would most definitely be in danger.
The Unicons were starting to leave and his eyes went immediately to the pregnant female who had risen unsteadily to her feet. She trotted over to join the others who were moving away from the water and starting to disappear into the trees.
"I think we should leave." he said seriously.

[Kitania Walker]

Kit gasped as Emilia grabbed her hand staring at her friend in horror as her body began to change shape. Emilia begged her to stay but Kit didn't know what to do. SHe lookd over at Simon and Liz and saw they'd risen to their feet, the Unicorns disappearing into the forest. She wanted to call out, to warn them. But Emilia was begging her for help. What should she do?
"Emilia, you have to calm down." she pleaded. She felt her nails growing into claws and was relieved when Emilia dropped her hand. "What do I do? How can I help?" she begged desperately. "Emilia, listen to me. Breathe deeply. Focus. Focus on yourself, focus on who you are. Don't let go of it. Concentrate on your breathing. Focus on anything except the wolf." She spoke calmly and clearly, trying desperately to keep Emilia from letting herself be taken over. "I know you can do this, you're strong, you can control this." she insisted, dropping to knees so she was eye-level with her. She looked over at Simon and Liz again.
Why won't they leave?!

[Emilia Pettigrew]

Emilia kept gasping for air. Every word that Kit said kept burning her head. She tried to fight it, but it was too strong. It had never been so painful than it was now. Tears were falling from her eyes, as she was caught somewhere in between a wolf and a human. When Kit dropped to her knees, she tried to look in her eyes, but saw her looking in the other direction. Where Liz and Simon had been before. She felt the wolf-side pressure in, but she didn't want to hurt Simon. She loved him, didn't she. The pain was coming unbearable. She forced her claws into the dirty soil. She was pushed close to the ground, as if something was pressuring her back. Suddenly it all stopped. She gasped for air and looked at Kit, with a pleading look. "Help me" was all she managed to say, before she clutched to the dirt again. She was twitching on the ground, being incapable of transforming in any way. She tried to get herself up, but collapsed and fell down a small slope, leading to the water. She tumbled down and landed right at the edge of the water, where she continued twitching and gasping for air.

[jemz]

Liz didn't think she had been so scared in ages, the last time being five years ago during the war. The feeling of his arm around her though was slightly reassuring and she tried to focus on that more than anything. She felt really sorry for the unicorns because their peace was being interrupted but she knew the foal had the rest of the herd to look after it. She allowed Simon to help her up and then felt even better as she was held tighter.
"I agree," she said wanting to get out and back to the castle as fast as she could, especially seeing the unicorns leaving. They had to be good at sensing danger and if they were leaving, so was she.

[Kitania Walker]

Kit gasped and almost fell over backwards. Emilia seemed to be in excruciating pain. She kept reaching out to her, wanting to touch her, then pulling back at the last second.
"Tell me what to do!" she begged, wanting so much to help her friend as she begged her. Kit couldn't think of anything. Emilia seemed to be stuck in mid-transformation, half wolf, half human.
When she stumbled and rolled down the hill towards the water Kit screamed in panic, tearing down the slope after her. She crouched over her body, now too afraid for her friend's wellbeing to be afraid for her own. Emilia was just twitching and yeowling in pain.
"SIMON!" she screamed in desperate fear. "SIMON HELP!" she cried, tears falling down her face. She didn't know what to do.