Curiosity almost killed the lion.

[Minoas Stratis]

Slowly fading light; increasing shadows. What was left of the sunlight was shining vibrantly red and orange, among the utterly still trees , statues in a living museum where no leaf dared to fall. The unnatural muteness of the forest was disturbed by snapping twigs and rushing feet, shuffling through detritus. Minoas was running for his dear life. As his exams were over and had more than the necessary spare time in his disposal, he came up with something reckless. Maybe the most residents of the castle had forgotten the incident with the murdered professor but he hadn't. Most students prefered to stay in the great hall and enjoy a peaceful, carefree dinner but he was in a mood of exploring and adventure. He ventured inside the forest for a long time, visiting the place where the professor's body was found but he got carried away and without noticing he trespassed the boundaries of the forest, into the centaur land. It wasn't long until the herd became aware of his presence and starting chasing him away.

He had no idea what was going to happen if they were managing to capture him and he didn't want to learn.
Breathing the earthly air, he was running as fast as he could, darting like an arrow between the new shadows and dark patches around him. He could hear the storming galloping behind him. How many could be after him? As an answer, an arrow whizzed by him and pinned on a tree. Minoas left the wobbly sound of the arrow behind him and without hesitation, he started running in front of the tree to use it as a shield against any other shooting arrows. He knew that the centaurs were faster and sooner or later they would be catching up with him. He had ran against a centaur before and it was a useless attempt to outspeed them. However, the smart lion was aware that the centaurs' hooves had trouble with rocky terrain and obstacles. He knew the forest far too well after his numerous visits and he knew exactly where he was leading them.

Suddenly, the terrain changed. The trees became sparse and the ground was covered with longer grass, hiding stones and rocks among their concealing, green tufts. Furthermore, the uneven ground along with the fallen branches and trees covered with thick moss, were an assistance to his escape. All those obstacles didn't slow him down. He maneuvered his way through the natural labyrinth, a smirk forming on his face as his pursuers seemed to be falling behind, their yells and gallopings growing distant. He slowed down a little bit only when he heard the sound of cloth being ripped. It was the first time that he looked behind him since he had started running. His glance noticed that the briars caught at his robes and now a little dark piece of cloth was snatched by the thorns.
He sped up, worried about that. Centaurs were outstanding trackers and if he was going to keep leaving behind him tracks, he wouldn't manage to get alive from that forest.

Coming up with a great idea, slowing down a bit, he reached blindly for his robes' hem and with his teeth he ripped off a piece of cloth. He took the wand out of his pocket and casted a banishing spell to send the piece of his robes, away from his course as a diversion for the centaurs. He did the same thing, not really caring for his robes, while running a zigzagging course, scattering pieces of cloths all around the forest. Unfortunately for him, terrain was changing again. Now his trainers were sticking into thick mud, imprinting his distinctive footprints. He cursed under his breath and used once more his wand. He tried an obliteration charm. A quite advanced one but he had read it once in a book containing interesting spells. However, his inexperience and the fact that he was out of breath, turned his attempt into a fiasco. Only a few of his footprints were completely erased. Most of them remained intact and a few others were deformed into something irregular. Regardless of his fruitless effort, he kept casting the unseccessful charm, picking again a zigzagging track to increase his chances.

Suddenly, a stroke of hope in the form of a distant sound, grow louder in the silence of the forest. He just then remembered that there was a stream around the area. The same stream he had used countless of times to drink water whenever he was venturing in those parts. Usually, the stream was out of water during summer but the recent rains seemed to have revitalized it. In his last attempt to fool the centaurs, he took of his robes and casted a banishing charm again, sending them to the opposite direction from that of the stream. He then vanished between the trunks of the trees, following the smell of th water that the soft breeze was carrying. He stumbled up the hill, flashes of liquid light winked through the trees ahead and his legs tremored.

Long after the sun set, the frothing current swept past in front of him like a dark, angry dragon, snapping and thrashing its tail against the smooth rocks. The rain wasn't enough to completely fill with water the eroded banks, leaving between them and the stream a small area of sand and pebbles. That worked in favour of Minoas. He slided down the bank and hid at its foot where the water in the past had eroded and created a curvy hideout. Only someone from the opposite bank could see him among the rushes. If the centaurs weren't going to fall for his diversion and they were following him here, by standing on that bank they wouldn't be able to see him. Even if they were deciding to cross the raging waters, they weren't going to spot him unless they were deciding to have a look behind them.
Minoas waited patiently in his hideout bringing his knees closer to his chest, gasping for air.
The crashing of the stream was muffling any other sound but he kept listening, trying to distinct any sign of the centaurs.

A quarter that seemed like an hour passed. Minoas was shaking violently both in fear and because of the sudden drop of temperature as the sun was almost set completely. He believed that the centaurs would have came this way if they had figured out his course and hesitantly he left the safety of the bank and the rushes. Casting vigilant looks behind him, he reached for the stream, filling his hands with the cool water to drink greedily as he was getting dehydrated from the long chase. He faced again the bank where he came from and he was expecting centaurs starting emerging out of the trees. However, there was no sign of them. He climbed back again the sloping back, keeping his body low to the ground, cocking his head as he was trying to see whether the coast was clear.

 

[Thraex]

Armed only with his axe, the lone centaur was in search of firewood as the sun was setting behing the blocking foliage of the dense forest. He was becoming familiar with his new home. He had never left the ground of his herd before and he had no clue what the world looked like outside his homeland. That part of the forest was far more alive and that was why he had chosen it as his new sanctuary. He no longer belonged to his herd, to his tribe. It was almost two weeks ago that he was banished by his own kind along with several other foals for breaking the new rules of the herd. The adults were becoming more and more obnoxious to the presence of humans around their tribe's parts. It was almost a year since they had killed an innocent, adult human and that brought dispute among the members of the herd. Many adults were banished months ago as they stood against the actions of the leaders of the herd. This time, Thraex's mates, other young centaurs came in contact with humans. Young humans from the stone castle, who were secretly entering the forest, even from their own kind. Thraex himself, hadn't met a human in his life but he supported his friends when the enfuriated leaders accused them for betrayal. He had to defend the rest of the tribe. The elders seemed to have been adopting a tyrranic way of leading, choosing their own rules that were serving their own purposes. Thraex spoke up, unintentionally offending the leaders who turned against him.

He was chased away. The same happened to the other young centaurs, scattering through the forest panicked. In his attempt to escape from the blood-thirsty leaders, he lost his allies and he was captured by the adults. He was tortured as a lesson for his irreverence. Scars and bruises on his body were still verifying that as he was carefully walking in the silent forest. He had to be extremely careful. He hadn't found his allies yet. Probably they were scared, hiding deeper in the forest. Thraex wasn't going to leave that place until his wounds were completely healed. His old herd wasn't entering this part of the forest and he could call it for now his home. He had to survive on his own and he was unaware of the dangers that the forest was holding outside the safety of his old herd. That was why he needed fire. Beasts were afraid of fire and he was feeling less lonely with the company of a cracking fire in the middle of his camp. That was why he was looking for dry wood. Normally, he wasn't hurting the trees and the forest. So he was heading towards the stream, where close to it were located dead, fallen trees that he could use their branches as his firewood.

When he arrived, he started working fast. He was feeling vulnerable away from his shelter for a long time, especially when darkness was falling. He started hitting his axe on the old bark cutting pieces of wood, enough to sustain a fire. He stopped for a moment to wipe out of his forehead his sweat and cast a look in the distance where parts of the stream were visible among the trees. He was ready to start chopping again when his eyes instinctively locked on the motion on the other bank. It was a young human, a panicked child looking for a place to hide. He used the cover of the trees while his eyes scanned further in the distance, in the forest from where the human appeared. He recognised the figures of other centaurs. They were members of his old herd. They seemed to be chasing the child, much like they had chased him and his allies a couple weeks ago. They were heading however, to a different direction deeper in the opposite bank's forest. Whatever the little human did was successful, they seemed diversed by something else as they were vanishing behind the trees. Thraex had noticed that the human had taken cover at the opposite bank, among the vegetation. Whatever the child did must have outraged the herd as the centaurs were looking determined to find it and capture it. Thraex had no news from his family, from his brothers and sisters who where still members of the herd. The human could be a good source to learn what was happening and besides he wanted to learn why they were chasing him away.

The human left his hideout like a scared animal, reaching for water to quench his thirst. Then he turned back to check if the centaurs had lost him. It was Thraex's opportunity to approach him, slowly as he couldn't see him. He jumped off the bank, not bothering to be quiet as the running water was producing the kind of hum that was blocking any other sound close to the stream. He easily walked through the stream and he slowed down his pace on the opposite bank, silently getting closer to the human. He was afraid that if he was going to talk to him, he would startle him. He didn't know how a surprised human would react. Maybe he was going to start shouting, bringing the furious herd right back at them or he could try to run away, something that Thraex couldn't risk and lose his chance to learn more. He looked at the axe in hands while the human, unaware of Thraex's presence behind him, was cocking his head to check out if he was safe. He didn't really processed in his head his next move. Clenching his teeth and closing his eyes, he used the handle of his axe to beat the human on his head.
He opened them again when he heard a thud on the ground and saw the unconscious human on the dirt.
"I'm sorry." he murmured to the unconscious body of the child before checking if it was still breathing.
He looked around him, making sure that no one was watching and picked up the human, placing him on his shoulders. He returned back to the other side of the stream, struggling a little as he was trying to climb up the bank with the extra weight of the human on his shoulder. He picked up a few logs that he had cut earlier and paced back to his shelter.

His shelter was located in the edge of a clearing. It was a wooden, stable-looking structure, a few rocks scattered in front of it along with a tall pole stuck on the ground. He dropped the firewood and his axe on the ground. He carefully placed the unconscious human downd and unbinded a piece of rope that was wrapped around the wooden pole. He used it to tightly fasten it around the human and the pole, binding him on it. When he was going to wake up, he would be unable to escape. He checked the human's head on the spot where he had beat him with his axe's handle. The spot was swollen and by examining, Thraex guessed that it would be painful when the human was going to regain his senses. He went towards his shelter and picked up a bucket full of cold water. He casted a sympathetic look at the defenseless human and poured the water with a loud splash on his face. He looked at him, checking if he had got his senses back.​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Like a lion stalking its prey, he made his way crawling, up to the hill. He scanned carefully the area, there was no sign of the centaurs. He had managed to disorient them away from him, something that he couldn't believe that he had achieved. A wide smile formed on his face, letting a long sigh of relief as he was feeling that two years of his life were lost because of his fear and anxiety. He didn't want to imagine what could happen to him if they had managed to find him. That local herd seemed to be functioning very differently than the centaurs he knew back at his homeland. They had killed before an adult, what could guarantee that they weren't going to kill him as well for trespassing their land? He knew that he hadn't to relax a bit. Centaurs weren't stupid. Sooner or later they would realise that he had tricked them and they would return to find him. He wasn't expecting to think of it so intensively but he had to leave the forest immediately. He was going to stand up and make a roundabout for the castle, when he felt a presence behind him. He froze on the spot, his ears trying to distinguish the foreign sound against the stream's permanent roar. Before he was able to react and turn around to face what was standing behind him, he felt an acute pain on his head along with a creepy sound. He felt dizziness taking over, fighting to stand the pain and cast away blurriness that was shadowing his eyes. The dark shapes of the forest lost their regularity and the veil of blackness covered his sight, his hearing and plunged him in the void of unconsciousness.

Coldness exploded on his face, pulling him off the darkness. The blurred vision returned. He was facing done, the form of his legs against the green grass slowly returning back into his eyes. He moved his heavy head and he felt that pain again at the top of his head. Regaining total control of his body, he tried to move a hand on the source of the pain to relieve the pain but something was preventing him. Trying to keep his eyelids open, he was feeling water dripping of his hair and cheeks, his clothes stuck against his skin and the cool breeze freezing him. He looked up and his eyes widened like never before. He started struggling to stand up and run away. There was a centaur in front of him, they had captured him and now there was no escape. As his senses were returning violently back to assist his fright, he realised that he was in the middle of a clearing, tied on a pole. He struggled a little bit more but it was useless. He succumped to his fate and faced the centaur in front of him. Surprised, he looked younger than those that were after him, quite bruised and wounded. Minoas thought that probably he was left there guarding him while the rest of them were out for hunting as he couldn't see anyone else around.

His mind was feverishly working although he had settled down and had gave up his attempt to release himself. They were going sooner or later to unleash him to face his punishment. He would have a chance then but what he could do? He had still his wand on him but how some second year's spells could help him defend himself from a herd of magic hating centaurs. Transforming their heads into pumpkins or cursing their skins to sprout thorns were going to make matters even worse. After all he didn't want to use magic against them. He had to try civilized. "Where am I? What do you want from me?" he asked as brave as he could, trying to hide his panic behind his words. He could guess that he was taken back into their land, he was just trying to buy him some time while he was examining his surroundings. Starting shouting for help would be vain and could cost him his privilage that he could still speak and he wasn't gagged.

 

[Thraex]

The centaur backed, leaving space for the human to regain his senses when he noticed that he started reacting. It took him a few moments to realise where he was, before starting struggling to release himself. Thraex backed even more in defense as the human seemed determined but in the end, his attempts were effortless. He noticed that the boy was trying to find an escape, probably brainstorming to bargain his freedom. He let a smile when the boy talked. It was obvious that he hadn't realise that he wasn't part of the herd and that his life wasn't at stake.
"Don't worry. You are safe human." he reassured him as he went closer to him. He didn't want to be perceived as intimitating by the boy so he decided not to talk a lot, at least for now as he was getting used to the surroundings.

He examined the boy's head, where he had beat him with his axe's handle. "Does it hurt?" he asked him as he was applying a soft pressure on the swollen area with his fingers. He didn't waited for the human to respond. He returned in his hut, away from the boy's optical field. He got a mortar and pestle before returning back. From a pouch on his waist, he took off a couple of arrowheaded, fleshy leaves and crushed them in the mortar, producing a fat, olive colored paste. He dipped his fingers in it and approached again the tied human. "It might sting a little. You will feel better soon." he told him before applying the paste on the swollen area. He made sure that he had put enough portion to heal the pain and placed the mortar on one of the craters that were surrounding the camp. "The word recklessness can't describe your foolish actions. Did you had a death wish human? No man with soundness in their mind would have crossed centaurs. Especially the centaurs of that heard." he said as he was wiping off his hands the remaining paste. It was his turn to start asking questions to learn what he wanted. He crossed his arms on his chest, demanding answers from the boy.​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas chuckled with an ironic expression on his face when the centaur tried to calm him down by saying that he wasn't in real danger. "Sure, sure. Said by the one who abducted me." he spoke, not losing his sarcasm even in those crucial moments. He stirred a little bit, as much as the binding rope was letting him, trying to see if his fingers could reach the knots. He stopped immediately when the centaur checked his head and kept talking, trying to distract his attention from noticing what he was trying to do. "Of course it hurts. What have you used to knock my out? A boulder?" he asked boldly as he could feel that pain on his head intensifying with each pumping of his blood. There was his opportunity, when the centaur left and went somewhere behind him. With the corner of his eye, he saw the hut in which the centaur entered inside. He wondered only for a split of second where there were the rest huts and centaurs but as soon as he was left alone, he checked again what he could do with the knots. Only his index finger could reach them and they were so tight that were impossible to untightened just by the use of a mere finger. He gave up when he heard the centaur returning, plotting a plan B in his head.

He watched as the centaur was crushing some kind of herbs, unable to understand why he was doing that when he and his kind were going to punish him. He made a grimace as the herb pasted was applied on the knob on his head as it intensified the pain for a moment. Few seconds later the pain went away, already feeling better.
"Thank you but why you do this?" he asked him after he had thanked him for the first aid. Minoas was confused.
He couldn't understand the intentions of the centaurs along with the fact that the rest of his heard was nowhere to be seen. He was going to talk again and ask a torrent of questions but the centaur talked first, questioning his sanity. From his words he realised that maybe the centaur in front of him wasn't a member of the herd that was pursuiting him. "What do you mean? What's wrong with that herd?" he asked as he had drew his attention.

 

[Thraex]

He ignored the caustical comments of the young one, he should have been more intimidating. Obviously the boy had sensed his inexperience with humans and got the upper hand with his impertinent boldness.
Thraex picked up his axe from the ground and twirled it in his hands, an attempt to make the boy behave without having to tell him. "That would be the work of my axe's handle. I apologize for my action but I had to take that measure in order you weren't going to escape." he asnwered to his question full of sarcasm. He explained why he had to do that but he was sure that he had created a whole new wave of questions in the boy's head.

He nodded as the human was polite enough to thank him for his healing intervention. Thraex realised that the boy was now completely confused and that he was believing that he was a member of the herd that was chasing him off their land.
"Why I shouldn't?" he asked still armed with his axe and his tail moving to-and-fro.
"I'm seeking for some answers and I am convinced that you can offer them to me. You are more useful to me alive than dead." he replied to the boy. He decided to mock him a little bit as he was the first one to start sarcasting. He wasn't going to harm him in anyway. After he had the answers he wanted, he would let him go back to his kind.
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of 'wrong things' with that herd. I'm a former member, banished from their grounds. Now, I am wandering alone but I have family back there." he explained, deciding not to perplex things in the boy's head.
"Here is my new home. You don't have to worry, the herd doen't come in these parts of the forest. You are safe...for now." he prepared the scene to ask him his questions. He let him process the information he had shared with him before talking further.​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas' sarcasm ceased when the centaur took in his hands the axe. His eyes locked on it as he twirled it flawlessly, something that Minoas would like to learn to do. For now, he was worried that the axe might be shot towards him rather than thinking of cool tricks. However, the centaur in front of him wasn't looking of having such an intention. He looked friendlier than Minoas was expecting and probably it could be easier to bargain his release by talking to him. "Of course I was going to escape. I was going to avoid...this." he said as he stirred a bit to sit more comfortably, pointing at the ropes that were squeezing him.

The centaur drew his attention when he mentioned that he required some answers from him. Was he going to listen some kind of centaur scolding for entering the forbidden forest and trespassing their territory or what? Minoas would prefer thousand times better to be in professor Kingsley's office, getting a detention from her for his thoughtless actions. "What do you mean? I'm not planning to cooperate with you or your fellow herdmates unless you untie me. Then I would listen to you and apologise for whatever you want me to apologise. I didn't mean to break any rules of your herd. I was lost." he lied a little bit as he wasn't sure how he would react if he was going to say that he was trying to learn why they killed the professor last year. He might think that he knew things that he shouldn't know and decide to hush him up.

Minoas wasn't expecting the reply of the centaur about the herd. He spoke as if he wasn't a member of the particular one. Maybe there were more than one herd in the forest but that was something that Minoas hadn't heard of before. The explanation came soon as the centaur talked about how he used to be a member but was banished away from his family. Minoas nodded as his eyes shifted from the scars on the centaur's body to his bruises. "They did that to you?" he asked him with a nod. "Why?" he asked him, stop bothering his mind with his escape for a moment as he was feeling safer now that he knew that he wasn't captured by a centaur from the herd that was pursuing him. "Look, I promise I won't run if you let me free. I can guess that you just want to talk and I can help you with that if you release me. It's not really comfortable and my hands are going numb." he suggested, his teeth chattering from cold as the sun has given its place to the moon and the warmth of the day was replaced by the coldness of the night. He double sneezed as the cold pressed on his wet clothes and he hoped he wasn't going to end up in the hospital wing, if he was going of course to be released. "I'm Minoas by the way." he introduced himself, trying to make the centaur feel comfortable and seal his decision to free him.

 

[Thraex]

Thraex listened as the boy was asking to be released in terms to talk. For some reason he knew he could trust him. His words seemed genuine and his eyes reflected honesty.
"This is what happens if you disrespect your elders and I was disrespectful." he replied to the boy that was questioning the nature of his injuries. He knew that the members of the herd had to be respectful towards the elders but the new leaders of the tribe were ruling differently and he wasn't in favour of their ways.
"Wounds heal over time. There are other things that can't be never, ever healed." he refered to the fact that he would be forever an outcast, an interloper.
"There will be a time human that would have to sacrifice things in life in order to stand for your ideals and your beliefs. Whether it will be the right thing to choose or not, you will find out only if you do it." he said with a smile, suspecting that the boy was clueless about what he was talking about.

"Alright biped. I will trust you." he said and stooped to untie the knots to release him. "Don't forget. If you try to run off I'll catch up with you and I might have to use my bow." he said pointing at a bow and a quiver that were leaning against a barrel. "And trust me, I don't miss easily. Even in the darkness of the night." he added, getting his axe from his left to his right hand to remind him that he was still armed if he was going to do something foolish. "I am named Thraex. Honored to make your acquaintance." he introduced back himself.

He noticed that the boy was shivering and he decided to d something for it. "Come here if you want to warm up." he invited him closer to a small pit surrounded by stones. Around the circle there were logs for him to sit down. Thraex picked some of the firewood he had collected earlier and put three down for the base of the fire. He made several layers of logs to make the fire burn for a long time and on the top of them a dome made of twigs. He placed some coconut husk next to the small tower of logs inside the circle and with his machete and some flint, he create a spark that ignited the husk. He quickly placed it within the structered firewood to set it in fire. Soon, a nice, bright fire was cracking in the center of the stone ring. Thraex lay down on the grass, facing the human that was trying to warm up himself.
"I guess now you are warm and free enough to speak. So what happened and the herd started chasing you off?" he began with the basics to conclude to what he really wanted to ask.​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas was surprised to hear that he was disrespectful to his leaders. As far as he was informed from his own centaur educator, members of the herd were respecting the hierarchy of the group and never spoke disrespectfully to the elders. Nomads were a different story, usually being more expressive with their views but members of herds had to obey rules. "It must be something really serious to make you disrespect your leaders. Clash of opinions?" he made a guess, wanting to learn more. He wasn't surprised when the centaur started talking philosophically, the kind of talk that most centaurs were using, even the younger ones as it seemed.
He was used to that and he quite liked it from his educator. The centaur's last word however, put him into deep thought as he told that he was going to find later in his life that sacrifices should be made. He wondered for a moment whether the centaur was talking generally or was trying to say something to him. Centaurs were known for their ability to see the future through stars and although Minoas didn't believe in soothsaying, he felt the uneasiness inside him that the centaur could actually see things that he couldn.t

When the centaur approached him to release him, he let a short sigh and thanked him, rubbing his sore wrists upon his release. He then crossed his arms on his chest to block the cold as he was shivering. He followed the centaur to a fire pit and sat on a log while watching him creating a fire without the use of magic just with primitive tool and methods. "I would like to learn that one day." he said as he felt the fervor of the flames touching his cold cheeks. "You can't always rely on magic and still I'm not able to cast a fire spell yet." he added, not sure if he should be talking about magic to the centaur that introduced himself as Thraex. Not all centaurs were quite open to magic as far as he knew. As Thraex settled down as well by the fire, he began his questions.
Minoas couldn't guess what he would like to learn from him but he was thinking to tell him everything he could possible now. His gut was telling him that he could trust the nomad.

"Umm, to be honest, I was just wandering around the forest. I do that pretty often and today I just finished my exams so I had a lot of time to do so." he paused as he realised that the centaur wouldn't be to the slightest interested in his exams. "I wanted to learn more about the professor's murder that occured a year ago. I couldn't believe that it was caused by centaurs. I was educated in the past by your kind and it seemed to me unreal that you could commit the murder of an innocent person." he decided to speak the truth. Maybe he was going to get the answers he was seeking of as well. "I know it is stupid but yes, I trespassed your herd's territory. I mean yours old herd. That's why they were after him." he answered honestly to his question. He hoped that Thraex was satisfied of his answer and that he wasn't believing that had might tried to steal anything from the herd or something similar.

 

[Thraex]

A sigh left his lungs as Minoas asked if there were differences between him and his elders that could have expained his disrespect. There was a moment of silence only interfered by the roaring fire.
"You guessed right Minoas but I shouldn't have spoke up. I should have lowered my head and accepted what my elders had requested me." he said with his eyes lost in the dancing fires. He had regreted for standing up for himself and his friends but it feeled so right at that point. Now he had to compromise and leave alone for his rest of his life. "What comforts me is that I stood up for friends." he sighed and took his eyes off the flames back to the boy. He let a weak smile as the boy showed some enthusiasm about his fire making techniques. His mind was still bothered by those thoughts of regret. "I can teach you whenever you like." he offered, recognising some wisdom in the youngster's words as he admitted that he couldn't always depend on his magic.

He was glad to see that Minoas was going to keep his promise. Not only he didn't tried to run off and escape but also had started answering to his questions. He wasn't expecting that answer from the boy but it sounded sincere. Thraex sensed that Minoas wasn't going to trust him at first with the whole true but he did in the end. What he found peculiar, was the fact that the young human had received education from his kind. "That is anusual." he said thoughtful but interested to learn more. "My kind used to teach to human in the long past. Subsequently, you humans lost that privilage as you started destroying our land. Believe it or not, our forest was extended throughout the area of your school's ground but your ancestors deforested a great part of it to built the school and the village." he informed the child about the stories that his grandfather used to tell him about the humans, told to him by his own grandfather.
"What kind of arts have you been taught by your educator?" he asked him interested to learn.
"It is really noble of you to still care about the dead. Usually humans forget that the dead are not gone but live still inside them." he said, impressed that the boy was still searching for the truth after such a long time. "Was he an acquaintance of yours?" he refered to the human that was murdered by his kind. That could have expained why he was still searching for the truth.​

 

[Minoas Stratis]

The flames pulled higher, straining against the embers-a fiery rebellion yearning for freedom.
The chilling wind might have picked up, grabbing at his hair, trying to ensnare him, but the fire's warmth was defeating it. Minoas could see that Thraex was now having second thoughts for the reasons he had disrespected and rebelled againsth his leader's but when he talked about the fact that he did that to support friends then Minoas spoke up. "If you did that to stand up for your friends then I think you did the right thing." he was going to do the same if this was going to happen to his friends, not really caring if he was going to be expelled from the school or not. He let a smile when Thraex showed readiness to teach him how to make a fire. It was reminding him of those old, good times.

Thraex picked a sudden interest on Minoas' past education that he had received from a centaur. He seemed so interested that for a moment he had put the questions he had aside. "I noticed that you don't have the best relationships with us here." he admitted as most people were finding the fact that he was educated by centaurs, unusual. "I'm not from here, from New Zealand. In the country I was born and raised is a custom to be educated by centaurs before attending at the actual magic school. It's something that has its roots to antiquity. Known as mythological heroes and heroines to muggles, were having back then a special training from centaurs." he explained how he was brought up and what where his relations with Thraex's kind.
Minoas felt some kind of vindication when Thraex revealed that they used to have that kind of relationship in the past with humans. The fact that those relations weren't existing anymore, could be their own fault as the centaur's story could be true and humans might have trespassed their lands in more catastrophical way than the way he did today. "That would explain a lot about the herd's reactions against us." he nodded and extended his arms for his hands to absorb some heat from the fire.

"Now with school, I had to slow down my extra education and confine my extra lessons for the summer." he admitted that he had slowed down that part of his education. "Up to this point, I have been taught ancient greek, latin and a lot about astronomy and herbs. That actually helped me a lot when I came here. I already new a lot of things that were taught here and it was an easy trip for me." he said grateful for the knowledge he had received from his teacher. He looked above them, at the stars that were hanging like silver chandeliers on the dark ceiling of the night sky. "I can also navigate and find my way by looking at the stars. It's fascinating that the celestial bodies can hold information about your position." he admired the beauty of the night sky as a star fell, forming a silver arc that glimmered for a split of second and the disappeared. "Now I'm supposed to practising my archery skills as well as my swordsmanship. That's why I'm coming so often in here. Professors' would be freaked out if they saw me practising in the castle's corridors." he said and took a panicked expression as he was visualizing that in his mind. "Later, I'm supposed to study stealth, climbing combined with some sorts of acrobatics and then a martial art along with philosophy." he enumerated them, discovering that some of them were completely irrelevant with each other.

"I like justice, that's all. My parents taught me to seek always for the truth so here I am." he replied to centaur's comment about caring for the dead. Minoas agreed with him about the fact that the death were in fact present in their lives. "I didn't have the chance to meet him but I know his daughter. She was devastated when she learnt about it." he said with a scratchy feel in his throat, not sure if that was caused by the flames' smoke or because he remembered Madlyn at the end of the year feast. "Why they did that? You were a member of the herd back then. You should know." he decided to make his own questions as Thraex seemed to had paused for a while.

 

[Thraex]

Thraex wasn't expecting to be comforted by a human and especially of such young age.
"I do not have anything against humans. You are the first one that I meet." he said when Minoas spoke about the relations between the centaurs of that forest and the humans. "Our elders have a different opinion though. My friends that I defended were talking with some humans from your school. The elders found out and they were banished from the herd. I stood up for them and I was banished as well as tortured for my disobedience to the rules." he wanted to show to the boy that they were different views among different individuals of the herd. He listened as Minoas was talking about his country's tradition of centaurs teaching to young wizards and witches. To Thraex, that was sounding like a perfect relation that was showing trustworthiness from the wizards and witches part. "I like what I hear. I knew that with cooperation and mutual respect, our kinds could do wonders." he said wishing that the situation one day was going to become like that one that Minoas had just described.

He listened impressed to the list of arts and languages that the boy was taught.
"I am not really good in foreign languages but I can say that I could teach you the rest of them. I am an exceptional archer. My father taught me when I was younger. I used to go with him hunting." the tone of his voice filled with the emotions of his memories. He didn't know if all humans were like the boy in front of him but Minoas looked like a very bright personality. "It is great that you had the chance to learn so many things from my kind Minoas. I am sure that one day you will find them useful. Knowledge never goes in vain." he mentioned when the boy told him that he could navigate with the aid of the celestial bodies. It was something that he was using every single day of his life.
"I know how it feels to lose someone you care and love. I can feel your friend's sorrow." he felt sorry when he heard that the murdered professor had left family behind him that grieved for him.

"That unfortunate day, there was a shift of power, a reclassification of hierarchy. Before that, our rules stated that we should just avoid coming in contact with humans, that we should just ignore your existance." he started explain how things that day concluded in such dramatic way. "However, the pair of peace-making leaders we had back then was dethroned by new ambitious leaders who had different plans and rules for the herd. The first rule they established was that the forest was the earth of the herd and that no one else should trespass it." he said with a short pause. "Since then, there was no problem with you entering the forest. The forest is no ones possesion. It belongs to every living creature on this earth." he wanted to clarify which were the initial rules. "However, our new leaders decided otherwise, establishing a rule that was stating that whomever was going to trespass into the forest, was going to be sentenced in death." he said with a frown, like he was disgusted by his own words. "That day, my father and other male centaurs along with our new elders, were out for a hunt. When they met those two humans in the forest, most of our group didn't attack them. Our new elders however, charged against the humans and killed the one of them in cold blood. My father that refused to follow those orders told me that they didn't warn the humans. They just attacked, unleashing their animalistic frenzy." he said, ashamed of the deeds that his kind had commited that day. "Later that day, there was an uproar within our herd. There was a group of centaurs, including my father that tried to rebel against the new leaders. Unfortunately, they failed." he concluded and inhaled the hot air to let a long sigh.

"Most centaurs in the herd are against their mentality but they can't do anything. I did and now I am not allowed to return back." he said and shrugged a little bit pained. "You had an opportunity to see the herd, hadn't you? Did you saw if everyone was alright?" he asked agonizingly as he had no news from his brothers and his mother and wanted to know that they were doing fine after his banishment.
​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

"That is good to know because I would need some improvement with my aim. Maybe after holidays I could visit you again and have some archery competition. Unfortunately, tommorow is the last day at school." he accepted Thraex's offer to train him in archery. He had found another reason to sneak in the forest now and possible a new friend. He noticed that Thraex was talking a lot about his father. He reminded him of his bond with his father. They used to do many things together when he wasn't in Hogwarts and that was a reason he was looking forward to his holidays. "I know. I really feel privileged for that." he simply said about the knowledge he had selected from centaurs.

Minoas had the impression that Thraex was indeed feeling deeply sorry for Madlyn's loss, despite the fact that he didn't know her. He listened absorbed, hanging on every single word of Thraex's description about the incident. His narration was like a story that was reborn in the flickering shadows of the fire. Even after Thraex ended his narration, Minoas remained for a few moments hypnotized while he was slowly processing the information he had gotten, in his head. He had finally learnt what had happened that day and probably was the only one, except from the centaurs, that knew in depth the reasons why that incident happened. "What happened to those that failed? What happened to your father? Were they exiled as well from the herd's land?" he managed to get out of his mind's slumber and ask him, wondering if that was the case, why Thraex hadn't reunited with the other exiles and his father.

He could see that the fact that Thraex was no longer belonging to the herd, was bothering him. When he refered that he had still family in the herd, Minoas could understand and share his concerns. "I'm sorry. I didn't manage to get into umm the village. I guess that's how you call the place where you live." he said knowing that his answer wasn't the one that Thraex was hoping to listen. "I was spotted too early and the only centaurs I saw were some big ones, males, that started pursuing me. No idea who were they but they seemed extremely aggresive. I feel so lucky that I managed to escape them." he said, indeed feeling extremely lucky that he was sitting now by the fire, talking, without his life at stake. "I can try again though. I can try to go again at the herd's land and see if you family is safe." he offered a little bit reluctantly as he didn't want to experience that again. He might haven't be showing it but he was terrified. Being chased by armed centaurs wasn't something that he was doing every day and he couldn't forget that arrow that missed him for the tree next to him. On the other hand, he could see that Thraex was desperate to learn news for his family. Minoas could understand now that the reason why Thraex had knocked him out and dragged him all the way here to his hut, was because he wanted to see if he knew anything about his family. He could somehow justify his action. The young Gryffindor would have done the same thing if he was in a similar position like Thraex's.

 

[Thraex]

"Whenever you want. Feel free to visit me. I assume that you know well this forest so you will be able to find your way back." he supposed since they boy had said that he used to enter the forest a lot.
It was more than a couple of weeks that he had the opportunity to talk to someone. Maybe talking to a human wasn't going to be his first choice as he would have prefered to have found the rest of the exiles.
However, Minoas was nothing like the description of the human he was given as a foal. They were saying that humans were greedy, disrespectful and liars but there the boy that he had in front of him new about centaurs' culture and customs and was thankful for having a piece of their knowledge. Furthermore, Thraex could see in the boys eyes kindness and truthfulness.

Thraex was afraid that he would have to answer the boy's question sooner or later. He hadn't continued his story in hopes that the boy would lost interest and he wouldn't have to refer to that part.
"No. They were actually killed by the new elders." he said emotionless but inside him a mix of hatred, sorrow and pain was stirring up like over boiled water. "They were executed. The new elders were afraid that the rebels were going to dethrone them later and they couldn't take that risk." he explained further as he could sense another why question coming from Minoas about the reasons the elders chose to do something like that. Minoas' news made things even worse. Apparently the young human didn't manage to get deep in the herd's land. However, Thraex's impression about the boy was confirmed when Minoas offered to try again and get closer to the herd's land, despite the grave dangers.
"I would advise you to erase that though from your mind for your own well-being. Luck favors the bold but not the reckless ones. I hope you realise how fortunate you were tonight and that you had a narrow escape." he tried to cast away any foolish thoughts or plans that the boy might was devising.
"I would really like to know however, how you managed to escape. It is something that you could brag about as you were chased by the best trackers of the herd." he admitted, curious to know how the child succeded that.​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

"You bet!" he replied to Thraex's guess that he was able to navigate successfully within the forbidden forest.
"It mind sound like a thing that a centaur would say but I feel this forest like a second home." he said as he looked towards the darkness that was concealing the treeline at the edge of the clearing.
"It's quite strange that I'm saying that since I was almost eaten by acromantulas in this parts last year." he said, remembering of that day that he had fallen in that deep trap hole in the ground and he was eventually saved by Briar. "Oh well. All good memories from this place." he joked with a smile as he used his hands on his arms to shield them from the sudden pick of the wind, flapping around him.

He wasn't expecting the end of Thraex's story and as things couldn't be worse after the death of the professor, the elder of the herd decided to take the lives from the rebels, including Thraex's father.
"I feel so sorry for hearing that. This is so unfair!" he snapped as he could share Thraex's emotions, whichever were that. "I think you did the right thing that you stood up for yourself and your loved ones. Your father would be proud for your choice." he tried to soothe the centaur's pain, supporting his latest actions.
"How come you haven't find your friends yet?" he asked him about the rest of the exiles, those for whom he had sacrificed his place in the herd. Thraex's prevention and rejection of his idea of trying again to trespass the herd's lands was familiar. He reminded him of a mix of Briar emphasizing that he shouldn't commit one of his reckless ideas with professor Kingsley's preaching that was trying to point out how much he had risked his life.
Minoas nevertheless, could understand the seriousness of the situation and he was going to obey Thraex's demand as his words of wisdom had convinced him that next time, luck might not favor him.

When Minoas found out that Thraex wanted to learn the way he managed to escape his pursuers, he couldn't stop his smile of mischievousness from forming. "I was pretty lucky I must confess but some credit must go to the fact that I know my weaknesses and my strengths along with yours. At the beginning, I lead your leader, or your ex-leaders, to rocky terrain with a lot of natural obstacles like fallen tree trunks." he said, remembering of his strategy. "Unfortunately, then the ground became muddy and I was leaving my footprints everywhere. I know that you are great trackers so I used a charm to cover my tracks, not very successfully but it did its work obviously, and at the same time I scattered pieces of my robes towards different directions to confuse them." he concluded, pointing on him that he was without his robes now and frozen.

 

[Thraex]

What the boy said about the forest, made him smile.
"I'm glad that you think like that for the forest. Most humans mistreat it, forgetting that it is as well an organism." he spoke about his home and the only place that his eyes had set on. Thraex had no idea what might was awaiting outside the boundaries of the forest. He just knew that there was a village and a castle where the young wizards and witches were educated. The particular little wizard in front of him, hadn't stopped surprising him with every chance he got. "I might not know you well but I can say quite confidently that you attract a lot of trouble on you." he said, not sure if the boy was doing it deliberately or accidentally.

He hadn't though before of how his father would feel if he knew that his son rebelled for a good purpose.
Thraex might have been wandering around and living alone for something more than two weeks but he just then realised that he needed someone talk. He was feeling like he had removed a really heavy load right off his chest. "You are right. I'm sure he's proud, wherever he might be right now." he agreed, convinced that his father was around him. "I tried to find them. I spend a week searching but I do not have a clue where they decided to move and settle down." he explained about his friends that he hadn't manage to find yet. "It's so lonely around here. I haven't met any centaurs around these part and I am sure that there are other nomads like me." he said as he remembered the leaders, discussing about interlopers coming from other place in their forest. Probably they were on the run or hiding, he was in a similar situation.

Thraex stood silent as the boy was describing how he had managed to escape arrest from the centaurs of the herd. He was amazed by his wit. He was right about using what he knew about centaurs in his favor and it seemed that he knew well about their strengths as well as their weaknesses. "You got it right kid. We have a hard time walking on a rocky ground but we can outspeed you easily. You were lucky that ain't happened." he warned him as he didn't want the boy's head to fill with reckless confidence and try something worse next time. "As for the idea to leave false traces behind, is a genius move but you should know again, that probably they would have figured out by now that you have fooled them." he imagined that they would have become furious by that. The leaders were believing that they were superior and being played by a child, would have hurt their egos. In fact, Thraex was having some kind of uneasiness, as if his insticts were trying to warn him of something so he had his acute senses in readiness.
"Excuse from my unacceptable impoliteness for not offering you anything yet, Are you hungry Minoas? Would you like to join me and dine?" he asked the boy, betting that after his adventure and his fright, he would be starving.​

<i></i>

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas eyes widened when the centaur talked about the forest as it was actually a living entity.
"I swear that sometimes I feel like I hear it whispering. Calling me or something." he confessed, hoping that he wasn't sounding like a lunatic that his mind had flipped out.
He smiled awkwardly when Thraex pointed out that he wasprobably the kind of person that trouble was seeking him. "I know. That's something I'm hearing really often from the people around me. I guess life isn't going to offer me the easy way." he said with shrug, wanting to make clear the fact that he wasn't always asking for trouble. Sometimes trouble was just having its way and was finding him. Nevertheless, he would have to agree that he was one lucky person. Recounting the past couple of years, he could remember of situations that he had got into them that were quite unusual and hazardous for someone at his age.

Minoas smiled. He noticed that Thraex was feeling better and more confident about his choice as he was thinking of his father being proud of him. Generally, he was the type of person that rarely regretted about his choices and his actions and he was of the opinion that the centaur did eventually the right thing. It might have costed him a lot but maybe he was going to achieve more in the future. Listening to him talking about his fruitless efforts of finding his friends and the fact that he hadn't see any centaurs since he was exiled, Minoas remembered for a moment, Aspen. The young centaur and sister of Briar that he had meant months ago in the forest.
"Hmm, I have seen another lone centaur but I'm pretty sure that she wasn't from your herd. She mush have arrived here in search of her sister." he referred to Aspen as she had trusted him with her story and the purpose of her journey. "I'm sure that one day you'll find your friends and as you can see, you can make new ones." he pointed out, urging him subconsciously to look around and meet other nomads.

With today's experience and all the talk, Minoas had ignored the complains of his rumbling stomach by patting his tummy to tame the growl that it was coming from inside it. "Actually, yes, I'm starving but I don't want to waste your hard-won resources." he said, not wanting to take advantage of his hospitality. He knew that he had to hunt on his own to get his food and that wasn't an easy task when you were alone. Even for an experienced centaur.

 

[Thraex]

"That does not sound peculiar to a centaur. We are in a constant communication with this place. We humbly respect and it provides for us. A religious person of you humans, would say that it is our god but it is more than that." he declared as he wasn't finding Minoas' confession about his communication with the forest, a strange incident. "You learn in the hard way though and knowledge is a living man's treasure." he said about the fact that the boy was usually getting through the hard way. Thraex was convinced that Minoas was hardly seeing that in this way. He was a child, he was experiencing more a fun time that life lessons.

Thraex's hopes for a few moments went high as Minoas mentioned something about meeting other, young, nomadic centaurs. However, his description wasn't fitting his friends' profile. Maybe by meeting those nomads, he had more chances to find his old allies. There was the possibility that some of them could have ran into his friends.
"I will keep that in mind, thanks." he thanked him for showing him the way to begin searching again for his friends. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get acquainted with new centaurs. For the herd, those new centaurs were hated interlopers. If the elders were going to meet one of them, they were going to chase them away from their forest, their territoty. He was already in the elders' black list and he didn't want to difficult his position even more by hanging around with the newcomers.

"Nonsense. I have no problem sharing my meal with you. I hope you don't have any problem with deer steaks." he said and stood up on his hooves. With a mattock, he dug a shallow hole on the soil, placing burning embers in it. Then he placed a white, stone slab on the hole, trapping the heat of the embers underneath. He left Minoas alone for a while and went back in his hut. When he returned, he was holding four steaks of tender deer meat that placed with care on the stone slab that had absorbed the heat from the embers. The meat seared upon its placement on the scorching slab and the smell of cooking meat was released in the air. "It would take a little while to get done. I assume you prefer it well cooked?" he asked, the boy. Most centaurs prefered their meat a little bit raw but Thraex liked the juicy taste of the well done.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas knew that centaurs had a different way of perception of life. Not that he was disagreeing with Thraex's words but it was quite difficult to believe that the forest had its own personality. He didn't comment or questioned anything, he just nodded and made a mental note of Thraex's last phrase as he liked and wanted to use it in the future. "What I like about your kind is that you can say so many things in so few words." he said the fact that was impressing him on centaurs. "I wish we had a centaur professor. I can think of a professor that I currently have that I could swap them easily, even for one of the blood thirtsy elders." he said with a grin, thinking of the professor he was disliking the most.

It seemed that Minoas had no option but stay and dine with Thraex. He was starving anyway and if he was going to return back to the castle with an empty stomach, he would have to wait until next morning since it was getting late. Minoas had never tried deer in his life and he had no problem to try it. "To be honest, I've never tried before. I didn't have the opportunity but I'm not really picky with food." he reassured him, preventing him from going to fetch something else. He was finding interesting the way he was going to cook the steaks. His centaur educator was living a quite similar life like them. He had never thought of how centaurs were surviving out in the wild.
It seemed to him like a never ending camping. "So how is it to be part of a herd? In what kind of activities you involve and engage?" he asked to learn about their life.

 

[Thraex]

"That is because silence is golden." he replied with another saying before laughing.
He had never thought of how it could be to be teaching to wizards and witches. It wasn't something that he would turn down if he was asked to do it but definately, it would be quite awkward at the beginning.
"I sense you have some favorites in that castle." he used an ironic comment, as Minoas definately wasn't speaking generally but had someone specific in his mind. He guessed that humans, much like them, had their favorites and their distastes. Maybe their kind was disliking the people that were higher in hierarchy more easily. That could have explained why Minoas was finding Thraex's rebellion against his herd's leaders, a not to feel bad move. They probably had a quite different taste preferences as he couldn't understand how they boy haven't tried before the mouthwatering meat of deers.

"I think you'll like it. It has a finer texture and is leaner than the beef meat that you prefer." he said as he was turning a couple of the steaks over. "It's like a really big family. There is unity, there is safety, there is everything that your family provide to you." he tried to describe the meaning of the herd to an individual. "Our day begins early in the morning. Each one has specific tasks assigned to them. Firewood, hunting, water, cooking, forging, herb gathering and so many other activities, devided equally among the members. For the younger ones is time for learning. Field trips around the forest to learn about its flora and fauna, being taught the art of blacksmithing and weapon designing, get familiar with philosophy and life itself and of course last but not least, hours spending under the stars. Learning about the constelations and the secrets of the cosmos." he said as he looked at the bright night sky.
"Of course we are not working or learning all the time. At night we gather around fires, sharing our ancestor's stories, playing music or even have archery competitions." he said and his face beamed. He was going to miss all that. Now he had not only to do all those tasks alone but he had no other to share some social moments by the fire. "What about you? How's life behind the stone walls of that castle?" he asked the boy.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

Minoas received the new saying of the centaur with a smile. It was funny how he could turn everything into words of wisdom. The smile grew larger when Thraex sensed his dislikeness for some of his professors.
"It's impossible to like all the people in that castle. Inevitably you are going to dislike someone. Especially those who are trying to be intimidating" he said, having clearly in his mind his defence against the dark arts professor.
Minoas usually, wasn't biased when he was meeting new people. First impressions were a key factor but he was always willing to give more chances to get to know someone. However, there were sometimes that his insticts were warning him for specific people and his intuition was rarely mistaken. He might was a little bit alarmed when he found his senses, binded on that pole but now he was feeling that he could completely trust Thraex.

He listened mesmerized as the centaur was describing the herd's activities and lives. Minoas realised that he was jaw dropped when he felt his throat dry from the fire's smoke. "Wow! I never thought that you were having such a great time." he said after he cleared his throat with a small cough. "I would definately like to be in one of your night bonfires, listening to your stories and your music." he said excited, knowing that centaurs were really good at playing the wind and percussion music instruments. His educator used to play the pan flute after their lessons to soothe the exhausted soul.

"Life at this school is really diverse. You never get bored." he began, locking his arms around his knees.
"The castle is enormous. I keep discovering new places even now after two years. We have lessons about potions, charms, protection, astronomy, herbs, history." he enumerated some of his classes, grimacing a bit when pronouncing the word 'history'. "We have four houses. Imagine something like four sub-herds. I belong to the house of the lions. We also have the raven, the badger and the serpent. We have many feasts throughout the year, with a lot of food and socializing in a spacious hall with long dining tables. We have some competition when we have quidditch matches. A sport played on brooms and finally we have the vastness of the grounds were we use to hang around in our free time. By the lake, in the forest." he pretty much summed up the most important parts of a student's life in Hogwarts. "The conclusion about life here is that no matter if you think that you had witnessed everything, there will be always something new to surprise you and change you your mind." he said, not even imagining that morning when he woke up that he would be pursued by centaurs and then he would hang around with one of them, by the fire. "Have you seen the world outside the forest?" he asked Thraex, wondering if the centaur had set his eyes, apart from the trees and the beauty of the forbidden forest.

 

[Thraex]

Threx laughed when Minoas said that he couldn't like all the people he was associating with. That reminded of some members of his herd that he was disliking them as well. "What you just said is true. Even I, in my herd, I had some unnecessary competition with some other centaurs of my age. Some personalities cannot be matched no matter how much you may try to bring them together" he absolutely agreed with Minoas.
He was glad that he had managed to impress the young human with his herd's ways. He knew that most human believed that centaurs were living like savages, just hunting and wandering around the forest but that was far from truth. They had customs, habits and different ways to strengthen their bonds.
"Ι would also like to experience the magic of such night gathering by the fire. I promise when I will find my mates, I will organize I night of story telling and music. You will be our guest of honor" he said, unable to hide the sudden burst of excitement in him. Suddenly, not everything looked pitch black. He could see some good in all these. Maybe he could create his own herd in the future.

Their lifestyle had a variety but also a student's life in the castle, seemed to be also a good experience.
Thraex was listening to Minoas' information, confirming his already knowledge about the school's operation and structure as well as getting some new information about wizards' and witches' hobbies. He had heard of some kind of sport on a broom, chasing different kind of balls but he didn't know details about it.
"It is nice that you enjoy your studies along with your other activities. There is no better place that your school could have been located, although it had hurt a part of the land" he said, not forgetting his ancestor's claims that the forest was streching over the deforested area where the school was located.
"But maybe, just maybe, you have to demolish something to build something greater" he added a more optimistic view. He checked the meat that was changing color slowly as it was getting cooked.
He had thought numerous times of the question Minoas had asked him. He didn't know if other centaurs were thinking about it but he did, since he was a little foal. "I am afraid that I have not really seen nothing that awaits outside the forest's limits" he said remembering a daring game he used to play with his friends.
"We used to dare each other to get out of the forest. Who would be able to go further away the ending treeline but not really travelling away from our home" he explained. "It would be strange for even wizards and witches, watching centaurs outside the forest, let alone muggles. They would think that Greek mythology was set loose out of the pages of a mythology book" he pointed out the reason why he hadn't commited to explore the world that was awaiting outside the forest.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

As Thraex was refering to some kind of competition between him and probably another young centaur of the herd, Minoas wondered how centaurs were solving their differences. Wizards and witches could duel but what about them? Maybe an archery competition was the answer. At least Thraex didn't look like that kind of centaur that would fight to death with someone that he didn't like. "That would be really cool!" he beamed at Thrae's idea of having a bonfire with his friends. "I could bring another centaur, friend of me." he suggested, having in mind Briar's sister, Aspen. It was long since the last time he had meet her and he was wondering know and then how she was doing in her new home.

"Yes, the place is perfect and the forest and the lake, its jewels." he tried to say something sophisticated like what Thraex was telling but he wasn't that successful. He was wishing he had brought with him his journal, to write down few of his sayings but he had forgotten it in gryffindors dormitories. He smiled when he said that it would be a rather unusual scene for muggles to see centaurs wondering around but still Minoas couldn't understand howthe centaurs haven't tried to move outside the forest. If he was in their position, he would have explored the mountains that were surrounding the forest or visit other forests that were stretching away from the school's grounds. "If I were you, I would have explored every single bit of land that my feet could take me." he said, impossible now to stop his stomach growling as the smell of the roasted meat was tickling his nostrils.

 

[Thraex]

Thraex just then realised that the boy knew other centaurs around those parts. Probably some of the nomads that were wandering in the area. "I could not imagine that a human would have so many centaurs friends." he said as he checked for last time the steaks on the hot slab. They looked ready and well roasted.
Thraex knew already that Minoas had a centaur as his educator, now that he had a friend centaur. He wondered if he was that popular with humans in the castle. Thraex admired personalities that could socialize easily, something that he quite lacked. His social skills always needed some assistance to unfold.
"That was well put! I couldn't have said it better myself!" he replied to Minoas' phrase as he compared as jewels the beauty of the nature that surrounded the castle.

"I will be back soon." he said and stood up to go to the treeline. He grabbed two broad leaves and returned with them back, on which he placed the steaks. "Here you go. I know that you are used to eat on plates or dishes but I just started settling down around here and I could not afford some yet." he aplogized for the way he had served their dinner. He knew that Minoas wasn't used to eating on a large leaf. "You have to know sometimes your limits. You cannot always do what your heart desires." he simply said, as he really would like to explore what was existing outside his world but he wasn't created for that.
"I should have added some spices and herbs but I didn't have much time to collect them." he apologised for the simplicity of their meal. "I hope you like it." he said and took a bite from his steak. "So what would be your favourite food?" he asked, knowing that humans had some strange preferences.

 

[Minoas Stratis]

"I don't have that many." he replied, processing what Thraex had just said. "With you, the number of my centaur friends would be just two. I don't consider my educator exactly as a friend. More like a father figure." he said, considering now Thraex as a friend, whereas, he was respecting his educator too much to call him a friend.
"Thank you!" he said with a smile and bowed slightly his head. "It would be unacceptable if I hadn't picked anything after all that time I had spent with centaurs." he pointed out. The truth was that he was used to listen to such kind of sophisticated phrases that he had used to them and he was using them as well without really realizing. It was true that sometimes he was speaking somewhat maturely for his age.

For a moment, he thought that Thraex had set off to go for hunting as he was going towards the trees. When he returned with a couple of large leaves in his hands, Minoas understood where they could be proved useful.
"Are you kidding me? This is so fun. I've never eaten on leaves." he said enthusiastically as he took the leaf with his steaks. He was feeling like a survivor, casted away in the middle of nowhere, using primitive means to survive.
He took a bite from the steak, using his hands, listening to the centaur as he was talking about limits.
The steak tasted better than he expected. It was true that it needed some salt, pepper and probably some origano but it was still nice for just meat. "No it's alright. I'm already eating from your food that you could perhaps keep for tommorow's meal. I don't wanna abuse your hospitality by damanding more." he said and took another bite, recalling what Thraex said about limits. He shook his head negatively. "I don't like setting limits to my life. Even if I have to, the I put greater limits that my actual purpose. My dad always advises me to aim for the moon. Even if I fail, I'll manage to be surrounded by stars." he shared his father's favourite quote. Words that were inspiring Minoas to keep doing exactly what he wanted.
The answer to Thraex's new question was easy. "Chicken. No matter how it is cooked. My favourite though would be with rice and tomato, basil sauce." he answered. "Let me guess. Yours is deer meat." he kind of teased his friend.