• Fire eyes heard a piercing cry of pain coming from pure heart forest. He followed the sound and soon came upon a snarling wolf attacking something small. He managed to scare him away. Then the moonlight revealed an almost human face, but he could see the crying creature wasn't human at all; it was a baby centaur. It was quite an unusual baby centaur: His coat was almost golden, and there was a star-shaped birthmark in the center of his head. His blood was...everywhere. the wolf had bitten his leg. Fire eyes took of his riding cloak and wrapped the baby in it. Then he carried him back to his hut. The baby centaur needed to rest and heal before it could be returned to the herd.

    A Week Later....

    Ireth pulled her cloak tightly around her as she knocked on the door of Fire Eyes hut. The wind was blowing fiercely. She was in Cerak to see her step-father, lord Galdor and decided to drop by to see Fire Eyes. She heard his daughter was with him, and the little one, Earwen Muriel, was surprisingly normal in appearance. The half-human blood of both her parents seemed to have resulted in a perfectly human-looking child. Fire Eyes was quick to open the door, but seemed to be intentionally blocking the entrance. He was acting very oddly. The only other time he'd seemed so suspicious was when he'd had that baby dragon. She knew Fire Eyes hadn't had a proper pet since Fang died, and she hoped he wasn't hiding anything illegal.

    "Hello, Fire Eyes," she said. "Good to see you Ireth. I haven't seen you since you left Cerak." Ireth smiled. "Well, I was here to see my step-father, Galdor, and decided I couldn't leave without a hello to you. I heard your daughter is here." "No, she's with her mother, but I got a picture. Wait here." Fire Eyes turned to go in. "Can't I come in?" Ireth then heard a very human cry from inside the hut. "If your daughters not with you, who's crying?" She looked past Fire Eyes before he answered. He shifted enough to allow Ireth to see inside (though she could see nothing out of the ordinary from where she was), and then he moved and allowed her to enter the hut.

    She saw what seemed to be a human baby sitting on a bed of straw under a blanket, but the shape was odd under the blanket, not human at all. She saw why as the baby got shakily to it's feet and the blanket fell off. It was an adorable baby centaur with traces of black hair. He was no bigger than a goat, and his coat looked quite golden. He wobbled as he walked over to her. "How long have you had a centaur!" Ireth asked as she looked into the centaur's big, blue eyes. "Couple of weeks," Fire Eyes said, getting a bottle and handing it to Ireth. "That's what he was crying for, Give it to him. He's used to it now. His legs are much stronger, so he should be ready to go back soon."

    "He's beautiful," Ireth said as she tipped the bottle to his lips. She was sitting now, and his hands were holding her leg as she fed him. He looked up at her and she clearly saw the birthmark on his head that looked like a star. "A wolf attacked him. Lucky to be alive, that baby is." Fire Eyes said. "A wolf?" questioned Ireth. "In a couple more weeks, he'll be ready to go back into the forest." "Do you know his parents?" "Not exactly." Fire Eyes replied. "What if he's attacked again, Fire Eyes he's just a baby he needs his mother." cried Ireth franticly to Fire Eyes. "He'll be ok with the herd."
    “Do you know how to get him to the herd?" Ireth exclaimed harshly to Fire Eyes. "Not exactly," Fire Eyes said. "Centaurs are private folk. Hard to find when they don't want to be found." The baby centaur finished the bottle, and without thinking, Ireth began patting him on his back. Eventually, he belched. "You got good instincts Ireth. Make a right good mother one day." Fire Eyes sighed as he looked at the baby centaur. "I've been thinking maybe I should send lord Galdor a message. He knows..." Fire Eyes kept talking, but Ireth was suddenly seeing the baby locked in a pen somewhere while the kingdom officials from the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures figured out what to do with him.

    "I'll take him," Ireth said, cutting off whatever Fire Eyes was saying. "Ireth you can't..."
    "Just until he's old enough to survive on his own." replied Ireth calmly. "He may look like a human baby, but he's a completely different creature." answered Fire Eyes comfortingly. "He's not a beast. Centaurs chose to be classified as such; you know that. I can take care of him.“ Ireth already had his blanket and was asking about bottles and his sleeping schedules and other essential knowledge for his care. Fire Eyes answered her questions in between attempts to think up arguments against her taking the baby centaur. He gave up on it.

    *************************

    "Ireth," Moon blossom called, slipping into the house they shared. The two had shared their current home for a little over a year now. They'd also shared a residence while they were on a research team in Thistle. They'd been investigating evidence of a secret alliance of wild elves from about 1,000 years ago. They had invented a number of magical cures for mystical ailments that wild elves were still working on. When they returned home, they were so used to being roommates; they'd decided to buy a house together. Moon blossom stepped into the kitchen and saw Ireth preparing a bottle. "How did the visit go?" Moon blossom asked. "I don't want to talk about it," Ireth said.

    "Why wouldn't you..." the blond headed woman began and then paused. It only just occurred to her that it was quite out of place for Ireth to be preparing a bottle. Moon blossom heard a soft tap-tap behind her. It sounded like hooves. She turned and saw a baby centaur. He smiled at her. "A centaur?" Moon blossom questioned. "Ireth, it's a centaur. "Yes," Ireth said, sitting down. "We're going to be taking care of him for a while." He came to Ireth and started drinking from his bottle. "Isn't he beautiful?" Ireth asked. "Ireth do you realize how big centaurs get?"
    "He's not a pet. We're not keeping him forever.
    "He's a centaur," Moon blossom repeated. "Moon blossom, look at him. Just look at him." Pleaded Ireth softly.

    Moon blossom came over and took a good look at the little one. He was quite beautiful and unusual, even for a centaur. She, too, noticed the odd mark on his head and started to touch it, but then pulled back. There certainly was something special about him, though she couldn’t figure out what is was. "He is quite beautiful," she said with a smile as he finished the bottle. "Momma," he said, hugging Ireth's leg. "What did he call you?"
    "It's okay."
    "Ireth he thinks you're his mother.”
    "Well, I am in a way...don't worry Moon blossom the situation is under control." Moon blossom looked doubtful. She agreed that the boy was beautiful, but she didn't feel as maternal as Ireth.

    "I know what he is. I know he's not my son, but he's a baby, and he needs a mother." "It's easier, isn't it?" answered Moon blossom softly to Ireth."What?" questioned Ireth? "Loving a baby, it’s easier. I know you shut yourself off after the whole thing with Fire Eyes."
    "This has nothing to do with Fire Eyes!" Ireth said sharply. She calmed herself before continuing. "Listen, he's not old enough to care for himself. the Kingdom would cage him and treat him like a beast because they wouldn't know what else to do with him. Centaurs are only classified as beasts by choice; they are as much a being as you or I.
    They speak and think and learn just as well as any human child. I just want to be sure that, in the absence of an adult centaur, he gets what he need.“

    “Okay," Moon blossom said, never as good at arguing with Ireth as her brother was (then again, nobody was). "But we're going to have to be very careful. This baby is classified as a beast. And no matter how cute and human-like the little bugger is now, that's what the Kingdom of Avalon sees him as, a beast. And wild elves with magical pets, especially those classified at the level of fifty"
    "He's not a pet!" Ireth said sharply. "Listen, he's mine to worry about." "Okay," Moon blossom said. "It's temporary," Ireth replied. She stroked the baby hairs on the little centaur's head as he played with the fingers on her free hand. Moon blossom could tell by the look in Ireth’s eyes that she was already far too in love with the little centaur to let go easily. So she decided she wouldn't argue with her today. It had been a long time since she's seen such joy on her friend's face. After all, what harm could come of it? It was just a tiny, baby centaur