There was once a time when he stood on the hills and kept his keen eyes watching over his forest. The trunks of trees were no impediment to his vision, for this was his domain, and he could see all. In the form of a stag, he stood on his hill and watched the children of the forest live, and love, and die. Forever, he thought, forever he would protect them.
But forever was an unreachable time as men came.
The old ways, the respect and obedience once paid to him and his siblings by the humans, had been lost. The men came with swords, pikes, and fire, and they razed his forest to the ground. He had no choice but to take the form of a man, to blend in with the hopes of finding a new home.
Now, in this place, this "Yellowstone", he was once more losing his forest home.
Sirens filled the night sky, mingling with the smokey plumes and fiery embers that danced in the air. From his mountain, he stood as a man, and watched with apathy on his face. First forgotten by the Celts, then run out of Britain, and now this... It was only the inevitable conclusion of his dalliance with the New World. He had no idea that, in the forest below, one of his kind hid. When his forest was burned, there seemed to be no survivors, save for himself. But below, hidden amongst the charred trees and violent flames, she tried to be brave and strong.
Her dark eyes took in the fire, and their darkness reflected the raging flames. Her spine struck the base of the tree she was huddled below, and her hands clutched her grubby knees. She was not the only one to follow him, but many of the others had long since died from old age. As the youngest, she appeared a young woman, but was still somewhat a child in mind. Their kind aged slowly, not as slowly as the Gods, but slow enough... She had been the only young one to survive, and almost all of her elders had fallen away.
She changed her form to that of a raven, and flew up into the branches of the trees, making her way toward the shouts of men. Their giant hoses gushed water at the flames, a feeble attempt to staunch the destruction. She waited patiently until they cleared a section of brush and trees, and then returned to human form, scaling the tree trunks to scoop frightened cubs and abandoned nests into her arms. Then, she took the young animals to her hidden cave. Phelan, the last surviving elder, waited there for her. He smiled as he saw her return.
"You must take a rest."
The cub lumbered over to a group of wolf pets, and they all descended into play with one another. The hatchlings were taken under the wings of the older fledglings, who seemed to understand the seriousness of the events occurring around them.
"I can not," she said simply, depositing her new friends on the ground of the cave. "You must stay here, I would be too worried if you were to assist me. You may not like hearing this, but you are older now, Phelan. I will not risk a fire taking you from me. I will rescue those I can, and you keep them safe here for me...please."
He sighed heavily, but she knew that he knew she was right. He was the closest thing she had to real family. He was her kind, but he was no raven. Ravens were meant to be social creatures, but she had lacked a flock since that fateful day in Britain. She had been alone so long... Sometimes she even cried, weakened in her loneliness and depression. Now, she had a task, a goal. Something specific to achieve and accomplish. Inside, she was worried about not yet finding any animal parents. They couldn't all be dead already, could they?
She closed her eyes to blink away the forming tears, and then turned and transformed, taking the sky. She let out a loud "kronk!" and flew, circling high above the licking flames and smoke, searching for larger animals. She would find their parents, no matter what.
Her call reached his ears, even on the mountain. An unthinkable idea blossomed in his heart; he swore he had heard the voice before, but damned if he could place it. It had been so long since he had thought of the Old World and his old home. To think any of his kind had survived it as well... It was impossible!
...but if it was true...
In his human form, he quickly scaled the mountain side, and when his feet hit the forest floor, he was already running. He didn't need to pay attention to anything like roots or tree trunks, for the forest was his domain, and it would bend to his movements. However, he was forced to slow as three wolves ran past him. They yipped at one another, sharing general fear and fear for their lost children. He debated helping when another "kronk!" filled the night. His eyes looked in the direction of the sound, and he was rewarded with the sight of a raven alighting on the ground...and then transforming into a beautiful young woman. What he most noticed were her eyes, red from smoke or tears, he could not tell. She held out a her hand to the wolves, and upon sniffing it, their loyalty visibly transferred to her.
She hadn't noticed him there, instead her attention singularly focused on the wolves. She began walking toward her cave, and the wolves followed. None of their little entourage noticed him following from a distance behind her. The troupe arrived without delay, and when the wolves arrived to see their puppies safe, they let out barks of pleasure. The pups paused their play to greet their parents, but this sweet reunion did not break the ties forged in flame, and soon the pups returned to playing with the bear cubs. The parent wolves took flanking positions around the hatchlings and fledglings, as if offering them protection.
"Cer-Cer..." Phelan began to wheeze in distress, and her head whipped around. She froze as she recognized his silhouette back-lit at the cave entrance. "Cernunnos!" Phelan finally squeezed out, before descending into a hacking, coughing fit. Her attention snapped to her friend, and she quickly went to him. She patted his back carefully, trying to offer him her support, while Cernunnos took a few tentative steps into the cave.
Yes, these two were certainly his forest dwellers. There was no doubt. The kindness with which they treated the animal residents and so easily befriended them... It had been something he taught his forest dwellers. These were his forest dwellers. Here. In the New World. He almost couldn't believe it.
Brenna paused, startled, when she felt a hand on her head. Phelan had his eyes closed and was breathing wheezily, but settled, by her. The hand could only be... She turned her head to see him staring at her, and she froze again. His other hand reached out towards her face, and she could not help the instantaneous reaction she had. Her cheek fell against his palm with ease, and his fingers gently brushed away the ash on her face.
"What is your name, little one?" He asked, fixated on her.
"Brenna." She didn't need to think about answering, she felt no danger or threat from Cernunnos - and why should she? She and Phelan, and the other forest dwellers who had died, they had always been his.
"How are you here, Brenna?"
He couldn't tell if it was the heat of the fire outside, or what, but her cheeks filled with red. "I followed you. Well, we followed you."
"You...survived it?" He heard a sad noise from the back of her throat and quickly shook his head. "Never mind. Let me help you."
"Really?" Her eyes filled with childish amazement, and he realized just how young she was. She appeared a young woman, but still had the mind of a child - if an incredibly intelligent one. It would be at least a year more before her mind finally caught up with her body.
"Yes. Tell me what you need."
"I could never tell you to do something." Her eyes were as wide as saucers.
He smiled kindly. "Then inform me of your desires and I can decide if I shall grant them or not."
She nodded slowly. "Okay. I can get all the birds and predators, but none of the bison, or deer, or sheep will come with me..."
"Then perhaps they will come with me."
--
Hours passed as the sirens continued to wail. To the dismay of the firefighters, they had seen no animals running from the flames, and it concerned them. What had happened? They couldn't have all perished, could they?
It was true they hadn't, for even now, Brenna returned with an eagle in her arms. "I think this is the last one..."
Cernunnos looked up from his spot on the ground with Phelan - she could tell they had been talking with one antoher. "Good. I have the last of the sheep as well."
She moved towards the two men, and sat down next to them all. "I hope the fire stops soon."
"Do you know how it happened?"
"Well, it has not rained for a while... Wind, dry grass, dry wood..." She shrugged. "It was a disaster waiting to happen."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I hope the firefighters can beat it."
"Firefighters?"
Brenna's brow furrowed. "Have you not experienced the world beyond the forest?"
Phelan let out a shaky laugh, and said, "Brenna, I have told you before, you are the first of our kind to try and explore the human world."
She let out a faint noise of protest, "I do not see why. These humans are different from those of the isle! Most seem to like animals and forests. That is why they have special places where the forests are left alone. They can be very nice too."
Phelan just shook his head, while Cernunnos snorted in derision.
"Anyway," She grumbled, "firefighters are humans whose job it is to stop fires. They use big spouts of water from their trucks, and they put out the flames! But this is a very bad fire.. I do not know if they can beat it back."
While Cernunnos processed this, a loud crash sounded from nearby the cave. Brenna tilted her head before standing and running toward the sound. Phelan sighed. "She fails to think about things."
Cernunnos cursed softly before saying, "I will follow her."
When he saw her crouched above a man, he became wary, but when he realized the man's hand was on her wrist, he felt rage fill him. As he moved over, violence in his heart, Brenna looked up, startled.
"No! Wait!" She stood up and quickly stood in front of the man on the ground, holding her arms out as if a barrier. "He is hurt! And he is one of the firefighters. We must help him!"
Though he halted, the anger did not leave him. "Help a human? I think not. Especially when he believes he can lay a hand on you."
"But... Please, Cernunnos! They are not all bad! If our kind did not live so long, I would be his age. Please..."
A sigh left him, and he already knew she had won from the first moment she said 'please'. "What do we need to do?"
"Bring him to his other firefighter friends. I can not carry him on my own..."
Without a word, Cernunnos scooped the man up and slung him over his shoulder, gesturing for her to take the lead. She gave him a smile of relief, and then began moving through the forest.
He followed silently.
When they left the cover of the forest, he was greeted by the sight of men. Four men were wearing heavy pants and cumbersome jackets, many with helmets in their hands. Their faces and hands were covered in soot, grime, and sweat. Of course, he didn't think of how he and Brenna looked to them; a beautiful, clearly wild woman with tangled hair, and a spark of something dangerous, and an imposing, tall man with a buck's horns sprouting from his head, and definite danger oozing from him.
"We found him collapses in the forest. He needs your help. Too much smoke inhalation maybe?" Despite Brenna talking, the men remained frozen, their brains unable to deal with the shock of what they were seeing.
Cernunnos was getting impatient, and opened his mouth, "Listen--!"
"Please," Brenna placed a hand on his arm. "They are only surprised. They are not certain how to react. You cannot be mad at them for being lesser beings to us - it is not their choice." He sighed in defeat once more and nodded. "How about putting him here?" She moved closer to the men, and gestured to a clear spot of dry dirt. He did as she asked, and then stepped back. A moment later, two of the men finally came to react. One grabbed a bright blue bag and went to his knees on the ground, checking on his comrade. The other moved to his head, and carefully supported it.
Brenna smiled at the men, and then grabbed Cernunnos's hand. He was shocked, and in the face of this, had no reaction. She began to walk back to the forest, but stopped to look behind her once more. She lifted a hand to wave at the firefighters, and then transformed to a raven. Cernunnos took the form of a stag. Together, they entered the depths of the forest in these forms, leaving some seriously stunned civil servants behind.
--
When dawn broke, the fire had been beating, and there weren't any glowing embers left. The stress of the night meant the many animals gathered by Brenna and Cernunnos would stay for a bit longer to sleep, to rest in peace. Once the woke, she would return the nests to their places, and everything could return to normal...for the animal residents.
For Brenna, Cernunnos, and Phelan, things were only just beginning.
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