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Back to the magical forest we go! This time we get an inside view into the local centaur settlement. As centaurs are such expert archers I couldn't help but have an archery contest. I agonized for a long time as to whether female centaurs would have breasts and decided they wouldn't have them. I have no idea whether they do or not. I couldn't find all white and all black centaurs pictures so imagine the male centaur as all black and the female one as all white.
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Two figures suddenly appeared on the blackened earth. Tiago was fine and unruffled however Lena looked quite nauseated and sweaty.
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"How I hate apparation!" she groaned, "I'm going to be sick!" she retched but nothing came up, "Thanks Merlin I only had a bit of toast for breakfast," she remarked.
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We're here now, if apparation is good for something it's good for getting you where you are going fast," putting down the pot Tiago helped his sister steady herself.
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"You're right of course, I'm fine now, let's go find mama and papa," Lena straightened up and they both started walking in the direction of the pigsty carrying the pot between them, where a lot of work was going on: the house elves were busy scrubbing the floors of the various cubicles. The walls were clean already and just waiting for a lick of whitewash.
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"Menina Lena, Menino Tiago, how is you today? We is busy cleaning up!" a number of house elves greeted them.
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"We're fine. The pigsty looks really good! You are all doing a fine job," Tiago exclaimed, "Where are our parents?" he asked.
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"They is at the house looking for anything usable." they said.
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So leaving the pot they went up to the house and saw their parents rummaging in the blackened shell of their former home. They didn't have much to show though: just a cauldron and some kitchen utensils.
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"Good morning, you two!" Julia smiled at her children ruefully, "There isn't much left I'm afraid."
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"Listen, all the forest families are coming for a sardine roast today for lunch," Bernardo informed his kids, "So the sooner you move the plant the better."
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"I completely agree, where do you want me to move it to?" Lena asked.
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"When I got all the owls from the forest families inviting themselves over, your mother and I thought about just that and the only place we could think of was the centaur settlement. We've already got in touch with Seta and he is expecting you," Bernardo explained.
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"Well, I'll get started on that right away but first I'm going to call for some help," Lena proclaimed then shouted, "Mara, Mauro!"
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There were two pops and two house elves appeared; they were both wearing tea towels emblazoned with Tambangaisa School. Except for the fact that they were different sexes, they were completely identical: they both had big blue eyes and noses shaped like ski jumps. They were twins and had been born at round about the same time as Lena; the three had always been together so they were more friends than anything else.
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"Yes, Menina Lena," they chorused.
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"I'm going to need your help with a plant," Lena explained.
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"Sure thing!" they said.
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"By the way, Tiago, I completely forgot about the ashwinder eggs yesterday. There were two hundred of them, I'm going to keep six to give away so that leaves one hundred and ninety four for you to take to the bank," Bernardo exlained.
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"Absolutely, pai, where are they?" Tiago looked around for any evidence of the eggs.
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"I've put them in a corner of the pigsty for safe keeping," Bernardo explained as they all went to the pigsty that was still bustling with activity, while some elves painted the walls others swept the damp floor.
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Sure enough in one corner there were two baskets of grey ashwinder eggs which Tiago gathered in his arms, he then said good bye and with a pop he was off to work.
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Bernardo gave a brief tour of the pigsty. "The kitchen area will be at this end," he indicated with his finger, "And the bath rooms will be at the other end." He surveyed the activity with happiness. "It's looking good, elves, you're doing a great job." The house elves beamed.
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Picking up the pot, Lena turned to leave with Mara and Mauro, "We better get started on that plant."
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"Do you remember how to get to the centaur settlement? I want to give one of the ashwinder eggs to Seta; would you give it to him?" inquired Bernardo holding an egg in his hand.
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"Yes, pai, I remember, and I will be happy to give Seta the ashwinder egg for you," Lena remarked as she walked away with her elves, the egg and the pot.
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Soon they came to the fabulous plant sparkling in the sunshine. "Could you hold the plant steady Mara while Mauro and I dig carefully?" Lena requested. She walked around it very slowly admiring it as it twinkled; it was so beautiful and it gave off feelings of hope and peace. Even now she could sense the good feelings emanating from it. As she took a deep breath and exhaled, a feeling of utter contentment invaded her entire body. Lena noticed her two friends smiling as they stood gazing at it, "Can you feel that too?"
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"I feel peaceful," admitted Mara.
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"And I feel calm," admitted Mauro.
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"I feel that too and I also sense that I could do anything I wanted to. It seems to me that this plant gives me confidence."
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Lena gazed at it in wonder and could have sworn that the plant gave her a wink, or was it just a twinkle? She suddenly remembered the night before when she had blurted out her thoughts of starting a garden center and how well it had been recieved. For someone who was rather shy and didn't say much as a rule last night was a complete departure.
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That reminded her that she hadn't asked her elves to move with her to the Açores. She looked at them, her friends that had always been there from the time she was a baby. It would be almost impossible to make a go of it if they didn't come.
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"I have something to ask the two of you and I want you to think carefully before you say anything," Lena began. "I'm going to leave school and open up a garden center on the Island of the Crow, to start tree seedlings and other plants for the forest; I would like you two to come with me. There's a catch, however. Since we'll be dealing with muggles too, you will have to wear clothes, therefore you will have to be freed." Lena finished speaking with her heart in her mouth; what would they say?
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The two house elves stared at each other for a long time as though reading each other's mind; then they smiled, "Yes, Menina Lena, we goes where you goes."
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"Even if it means clothes," Mara shuddered.
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"And getting paid and one day off a month," Mauro grimaced.
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Lena kept her laughter to herself and stated, "Well, that's settled."
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With the help of her two friends she carefully dug up the sparkling plant and Mauro waved it into the awaiting pot. Mara levitated it with her hand and they were off to the centaur settlement.
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They walked through the forest admiring the trees: fig, almond, carob, cork, oak, pine and others. It was shady and peaceful; Lena could tell that they were a little parched but otherwise fine.
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They came to a stream that had once been full of water but was now barely a trickle. The other side of the stream was oddly misty for such a hot day.
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Lena turned to Mauro, "Would you ring the bell, please, Mauro?"
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He reached out and rang a bell that only a witch, wizard or other magical being would be able to see and two centaurs appeared out of the mist.
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The taller one was a vibrant male as black and shiny as ebony. His torso glistned in the sunlight. A happy smile appeared on his chiseled face as he swished his long silky tail and shook his head flicking his black shoulder length hair.
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The smaller one was a sensuous female as gleaming as polished ivory, with long white tresses flowing down her back and a red poppy stuck behind one ear. She, like all female centaurs, was poetry in motion. Although female centaurs do not have breasts, they do have a lot of graceful curves unlike the males who are all muscle; in fact most males have wash board stomachs. Swishing her tail, she waved at the people on the other side of the stream.
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They both had beautiful blue eyes and a bow and a quiver of arrows slung on their backs.
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"Good morning to you!" greeted Ebano, the black centaur.
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"We've been waiting for you!" greeted Marfim, the white centaur.
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The two centaurs crossed over the dry bottom of the stream and approached Lena and her elves.
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"Long time, no see!" they both greeted Lena and her elves by giving each a friendly nuzzle.
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"It has been a long time since I've seen you," Lena admitted as they started walking across the dry bed to the other side, "Do you remember when we used to play in the forest together?"
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"Yes, we had such fun," Ebano remarked, "Do you remember when you got stuck in the fig tree and Mauro had to use magic to get you free?"
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"How can I forget!" laughed Lena, "What about the time when you almost ate that poisonous mushroom, Marfim?"
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Marifm chuckled, "If it hadn't been for you, I might have eaten it!"
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"I've finished school now, what have you been doing?" inquired Lena.
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"We are both still studying about foretelling the future," Ebano muttered swishing his long black silky tail with annoyance, "It's really complicated."
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"Bit our srchery skills are top notch!" Marfim proclaimed proudly with a toss of her long white hair.
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"Mara, Mauro and I are going to start a garden center to help replenish the forest," Lena stated.
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"That's a wonderful idea! I know you will be successful and it has nothing to do with star gazing, you are so good with plants!" Ebano regarded Lena with pride.
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She blushed, "Thank you, Ebano."
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They walked through the magical mist which wasn't a mist at all but a protection devised centuries ago to keep out unwanted visitors: a smoke screen that had powerful anti-muggle spells, it could only be traversed in the company of centaurs. Passing through the dry mist, which didn't take long, they found themselves in the middle of a grove of fruit trees: all the citrus fruits, peaches, nectarines, almonds, hazelnuts and a gigantic persimmon tree covered with small unripe fruit. This was part of the centaurs' food supply and Lena used to come from time to time to help maintain it with her elves.
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"The fruit trees are looking really good, those peaches and nectarines are ready to pick, they are mouth-watering!" Lena exclaimed.
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"We'll pick some for you later to take back with you," Marfim smiled as she took Lena's hand and tucked it through the crook of her arm giving it a pat.
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They came to the settlement at last. In the middle of a circle of houses was a huge clearing where a dozen very young centaurs ran around with play bows and sticks for arrows practising their archery. They dropped what they were doing and ran over to greet the newcomers, "Hello! Welcome!" they shouted jumping up and down.
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Seta appeared and welcomed them as well, "I see you have brought the wondrous plant. I was thinking of placing it over there, next to my house, so I can keep an eye on it," he indicated a house on the right: it was barn like-the bedroom was full of straw mattresses to rest on, there were lots of brushes and combs and neatly folded blankets and ponchos (which were worn in winter). They placed the plant near the window.
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"I also have an ashwinder egg that my father wanted to give to you," Lena handed over the egg.
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"Thank your father for me; this will be good for malaria potions, we sometimes have outbreaks," Seta said gratefully as he put the egg carefully inside his house.
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"Come with me for a moment, I have been reading the mallowsweet fire over here and it is full of good omens for your endeavor," Seta beckoned the group over to a small fire and they respectfully waited while he finished his reading, "Yes, you will be successful in your garden center, and I also see love finding you within three years."
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He gazed at Lena with affection, "You have a great gift with plants; you will do well. I don't like wand magic but the special magic you have with plants is something I can really admire and respect! This community has flourished with your gentle help. You and your elves will be welcome here any time you wish to come," he proclaimed with a smile.
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"We are going to have an archery shoot in the meadow, won't you join us?"
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"I'm afraid my archery isn't very good, I haven't practised in years but I would love to watch!" Lena exclaimed happily.
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So they gathered all the very young centaurs and walked slowly through the trees until the air was filled with the sounds of pings, zings, whishes and thunks. Leaving the cover of the trees they came to a meadow where various targets were set up at different intervals. About thirty adults and numerous youngsters were shooting at the targets trying to get a re'em´s eye. There were centaurs stationed by the targets removing the spent arrows. They stopped when they noticed Seta arriving with Lena and her elves.
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"Now that I'm here, the contest can begin. I will sit on the side lines with our guests and the very young," Seta announced as he sat down surrounded by Lena, Mara, Mauro and all the little ones.
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The centaurs divided themselves into groups according to age and waited for the signal to start. A majestic honey brown centaur trotted to the middle, the sun bouncing off his sculpted torso and stated, "Each archer will get three shots, whoever gets closest to the re'em's eye wins! On my signal!" He trotted over to where Seta wa sitting, drew an arrow and shot it into the air-zing!: the contest had started.
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As this was a very serious event for the centaurs, there was no laughing or fooling around. Lena was fascinated by their skill and also by their courteousness to each other. The sound of the arrows flying was intoxicating. Each archer got his/her score from the centaurs stationed by the targets and then would move back giving the next archer a fair chance. Ebano and Marfim shot their three arrows in to the middle of the re'em's eye so they were in the top scorers. At the end of the shoot there were four with equal scores so there had to be a tie break. A single target was set up further away and each of the four would shoot at it. It was tense-everyone was staring at each of the four in turn as they loosed their arrows with a 'zing' and the following 'whish' as they flew through th air before they hit the target with a satisfying 'thunk'. Although they were very close the winner was Ebano who had managed to shoot his second arrow right through his first!
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Everyone cheered Ebano and Seta smiled at him, "That was some of the best shooting I've ever seen! Well done! What would you have as a prize?"
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If Ebano hadn't been completely black the furious blush would have been noticable, but he managed to stammer, "I don't know. I really have no idea." He stole a shy look at Marfim who gazed back at him and her blush was really noticeable on her whiteness. They both looked away and brushed the ground with their front hooves. The awkwardness wasn't lost on Seta (or anyone else) but he kept his silence believing that they should settle that matter between themselves. 'Ah, young love', he thought to himself.
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"That was brilliant, Ebano," Lena congratulated him warmly.
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"Yes, it was," echoed the two elves.
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"Thank you for letting us witness the contest, Seta. I have to get back soon but before we go I'd like to have a look at your vegetable garden if that's alright with you," Lena said.
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"Certainly, follow me," Seta led the way to the vegetable garden which was full of all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, peppers of every hue, beans, strawberries, raspberries. pumpkins, the list went on and on and it was well tended Lena could tell.
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"Hello there, come to see the garden, have you?" asked a merry old female centaur who had been weeding the cabbages; her name was Verbena and she was Seta's wife of many years. Old, grey and a little stout she had shiny, yellow eyes, a long braid of grey hair and a perpetual smile on her wrinkled face.
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"Verbena my love, the garden looks wonderful, is there anything we can spare to give to Lena and her family?" Seta asked his wife tenderly.
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"Of course! The peppers are ripe and so are the berries and some of the tomatoes. Please take some for your family and you must have some of the peaches and nectarines from the fruit grove. If I remember correctly you love nectarines, don't you?" Verbena smiled as her yellow eyes twinkled and she flicked her tail.
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So, baskets were filled with delicious things from the garden and the fruit trees and Lena made ready to go home, "Thank you so much! You are really kind. And thanks for watching out for the plant; I'm sure my father will be in touch with you about that. See you soon," Lena hugged Seta and Verbena.
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Ebano and Marfim walked arm in arm with Lena and her elves until they passed through the 'mist' and crossed to the other side of the stream. They both gave Lena and each of her elves a little nuzzle.
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"Good bye, see you soon," the two centaurs turned and walked back to their home, their tails swishing back and forth in harmony.
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Lena watched them leave and set off for home with Mara and Mauro levitating the food baskets.
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"Oh, before I forget, the 'earrings of the princess' plant is a secret. When they ask where we've been, just say that we went to visit the centaurs to give them the ashwinder egg," Lena looked at each elf in turn; they nodded.
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"Yes, Menina Lena, don't worry, your secret is safe with us," they said earnestly.
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"Alright then." She stole a look at the basket of fruit drooling. "Those nectarines are so tempting, I'm going to eat one," she said as she grabbed a particularly ruddy specimen, "Yumm, that's delicious!" she uttered as juice ran down her chin, "Why don't you have something too?"
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Mara and Mauro's eyes lit up with joy as they picked out some tasty strawberries to eat. Munching on the fruit they all walked happily home.
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*Ebano and Marfim-Ebony and Ivory
