The Wild Children

[breezeshadow]

Title: The Wild Children
Genre: Fantasy
The Troops: Gareth
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13, just in case
Summary: Children are cruel. Children are even worse when some aren't human.

---

The summer months of school were always the worst months -- the oppressive heat stuck to the rooms, creeping into his skin and making him wish he could throw his clothes off without the missus sending him home with a stern note to his parents. Gareth didn't like those notes, or rather, didn't like the belt that tended to accompany them.

It was lunch time, though, and the children were free to leave the oppressive cramped quarters of the classroom and frolic in the tall grasses outside. He and his friends always rushed for the tree, though, with its sprawling branches that provided perfect shade. It was their tree, and no one else could have it.

"'Specially not them." Jeremy pointed to the group of wilds, huddled among themselves with their fur and feathers and snouts. "They're weird."

Somehow that conversation always came up at lunch. Today it was about the cat wild, because he had answered a question right that Emily had gotten wrong, and she was feeling a tad bit mad about the whole thing.

"He's so stuck-up. Most cats are," she sniffed, glowering at the tabby-striped humanoid as he settled down with a sandwich next to the rest of the wilds.

"Yeah and that yowl of his is so annoying. Someday I'm gonna squirt him with water. It works for barn cats. Should work for him too." Jeremy made the motion of throwing his water at the cat and they all laughed.

"I bet he likes nip," Gareth piped in, because he never liked to be left out in any conversation. "I bet when he gets home he rolls around in it and starts mewing like a kitten."

They all laughed at that, and in a stroke of genius, Gareth took out a sheet of paper and doodled a crude drawing of the cat wild rolling stupidly in some weeds. They all laughed and a few of them started calling out "Nip Addict!" toward the wilds, who did not even glance in their direction.

The missus came outside and yelled at that them all that lunch was over; as they all stood up Gareth watched Jeremy ball a bunch of grass in his fist. As they walked into the building, he snuck up toward the cat wild, and mashed the grass into his black-striped hair. He hissed and whirled around, fur standing on end and tightening his clothes. They all laughed and ran, and Gareth noticed the other wild plucking the plants out, leaving green stains.

But the rest of the day was boring as always, and soon Gareth found himself walking home with Jeremy, the two of them snickering over the cat wild and his new hair colour.

"It suits the little nip addict," Jeremy purred. "He's gonna be kicked out of school someday 'cause of that addiction, I bet. Get arrested and thrown in a cage where he belongs."

Soon Jeremy left, heading down toward his family's house. Gareth raced back to his, always hating to walk alone without someone to babble at. He burst through the door and upon seeing his mother, grinned and pulled out his drawing.

"Mum! Look what I made!"

But she did not smile and pat him on the head like she usually did when he showed off his latest creations. Instead she frowned, brow furrowing, and turned and walked into the kitchen, calling for his father. Gareth shuffled his feet, staring where she had left, and wondered what was wrong. Were the wild's legs too short? Had he gotten the pattern of his fur wrong?

She did not tell him, though, and so soon Gareth picked out a book from the shelf and hopped onto the couch to read. It was too hot outside to play and besides, all of his friends lived too far away for him to play with, and they tended to poke fun at some of his grander make-believe schemes. His parents always told him how creative and imaginative he was, though, so he kept on trying. Someday, maybe his friends would understand and join the fun.

This book was about dragons -- the real dragons, the ones they uncovered skeletons of and researched. It was so much more interesting than the fake dragons, what with their supposed rule over the world and passing judgment and all that boring stuff. Real dragons ate big things and breathed fire and did all kinds of cool stuff.

"Gareth, honey."

He looked up excitedly at his mother's voice, expecting a cookie for his good work -- but instead she was with his father. He did not see the belt anywhere except around his father's waist, though, and his father didn't look angry -- just worried. Gareth put his book down on the couch and got up, rushing over to his parents as they sat down on the floor.

"Yes, Mum?"

"Who is this drawing of?" His mother held up the picture.

"The cat wild."

"What is his name?"

Gareth paused. "I... I don't know."

"Why not?" His father this time, his voice gruff and serious. Gareth backed up a bit, but his father put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Gareth tried to relax, best he could.

"He's not my friend." Gareth glanced down at the floor.

"Why not?" His father again.

"He's... Different." Gareth made a face at the carpet.

"So do your friends look exactly like you?" His mother, looking very serious, though the question made Gareth giggle.

"No! Jeremy is really tall and strong, and Emily is kind of fat--"

"Big-boned, Gareth." His father tapped him on the forehead. "It's not nice to call people 'fat'."

"Big-boned." Gareth repeated; such a mouthful to say. "And then Eric is shorter than even me."

"Why aren't you friends with the cat demi, then?" His mother put the drawing down in her lap.

"He's like a cat." Gareth wrinkled his nose. "He's all furry and striped."

"Your father is kind of furry." His mother patted one of his father's hairy arms. "We call him a bear sometimes, don't we?"

"Yeah." Gareth giggled.

"So what's so bad about the demi being like a cat?" His father smiled softly at Gareth's little frown. "He speaks your language, doesn't he?"

"He hisses and yowls. Sometimes." Gareth quickly corrected at his parents' cool stares.

"Don't we meow at the barn cats when they drop by?" His mother imitated a cat meow and Gareth grinned, automatically meowing back. "See? So what's so bad about the demi meowing? It's natural to him. Like the barn cats meow to say hello, he does too."

"No, he says 'hello'. He just hisses when we throw grass at him."

"Well that's because that's not nice, Gareth." His father's stern voice made Gareth stand up straighter, looking up into the man's creased face. "Do you understand why?"

"No." Gareth frowned.

"Well think about it. He's different, but so what? Your friends are all different from you. And he speaks your language, and goes to your school, and he reacts in many ways just like you doesn't he? So why should you tease him and call him names when he's a lot like you? Would you like it if someone threw grass at you and drew this?" His father held up the drawing.

"No," he muttered, looking away.

"Well then the cat demi doesn't like it either. So you shouldn't do these things. And you should apologize to him too."

"What?" Gareth looked up, eyes widening. "But... But the humans don't go near the wilds! They're scary!"

"Well I guess you'll just have to find the courage to go up to him and say you're sorry won't you?" His father patted him on the shoulder. "And you have to do it yourself. No bringing Jeremy or Eric or Emily."

"But... But I don't wanna." Gareth squirmed away, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor. "I don't hafta."

"Yes you do. When you do something wrong, you say you're sorry, whether you want to or not." His father's tone left no room for an argument, and so Gareth just didn't bother saying anything. "I'll be sure to talk with your teacher and let her know to make sure you go over there and apologize."

"That's not fair!" Gareth glared at his father, who just stared right back; that was scarier than any wild ever would be, and Gareth looked down at the floor.

"Well, it's not fair that you throw grass at the cat demi and call him names just because he's a little different. Now promise us you'll say you're sorry." His mother paused, and then she got stern; that was when Gareth knew it was serious. "Gareth."

"Yes, mum. Yes, pa."

"Good." His mother stood up, folding his drawing up. "I'll go start dinner."

His father was wordless as he walked off with her.

~~~

He still didn't think it was fair. His parents usually left the missus up to doing the discipline, and let him play with whoever he wished. This sudden intervention, forcing him to interact with the wilds -- the wilds! As if they never taunted the humans, pulling pranks or purposely acting hurt and then laughing behind the teacher's back when she punished the victim -- when no human ever, ever approached them.

Jeremy was equally shocked.

"You have to do what? No, don't do it. They don't deserve it."

"If I don't, my parents will be mad." Gareth stared at the path ahead of them.

"Who cares? They're wrong! You should have let them know that too. Just don't go over."

"If I don't, Pa may beat me." Gareth shuddered at the thought; he hadn't been hit in a very long time, but the memory was still sharp.

"Take it then! This is stupid. No wild ever deserved an apology ever. Don't do it. If you do, I'm never talking to you again." Jeremy glared at Gareth.

Gareth stared at Jeremy, eyes wide. Jeremy was his best friend; they had known each other since they were able to walk. They always played together, laughed together, and egged each other one, daring them to go farther in life than they ever would before. Jeremy was a year older and, Gareth figured, a year wiser, a year smarter. It was stupid to go against Jeremy.

Maybe his parents didn't talk to the missus. Maybe he could tell them he had apologized and they would brush it off and everyone would be happy.

And then he saw his father, in front of the school, talking with the teacher who spotted him and gave me a cold stare. Gareth's legs became wobbly and his throat dried up; he swallowed a few times, and could feel Jeremy's gaze on him as he stopped walking, staring at the adults.

"Well? Ignore them."

But Gareth knew he couldn't. He felt it deep in his bones. If he ignored his parents' wishes, there would be hell to pay. He'd be better off with that stupid Fallen Dragon. He'd be better off being eaten by a real dragon.

"I can't believe you."

"Wait--" But Gareth was too late; Jeremy had already walked off.

"If you're still tough you'll come with me to the people. Otherwise you're just a loser." Jeremy did not look back.

Tears burned in Gareth's vision as he watched his friend -- his best friend, since he was a baby -- walk away. He chased after him, and then with a heavy thud knocked into something that yelped in surprise. They both fell to the ground, Gareth's knee scraping against a big rock.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, I'm--!" Gareth's blood turned cold at his own words, and seeing who he was directing them at.

The dog wild stared down at him with cold brown eyes, like a human's. His perked ears folded back against his head as he snarled, baring his fangs.

"Yeah sure you are. You humans are always so sorry for everything, aren't you?"

He then got up and walked away. Gareth shifted into a sitting position, staring down at the blood trickling from his knee, blubbering.

"You okay?"

He looked up at the new voice and scampered backward. The bird wild held out one of her hands; long flight feathers fell from her arm, though her hands were bare but for a bit of a down. He shook his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you; I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Don't bother, Vickie." The voice was distinctly familiar, and Gareth's heart skipped a beat; he looked over to find the cat wild, yellow human eyes cold, the few whiskers on his humanoid cheekbones pulled back against grey fur. "He's a human. He probably thinks you're diseased."

"Nice, Coby. Real sweet of you."

"Why should I be nice to him? Thanks to him and his stupid friends, everyone thinks I'm a druggie. I found weeds in my lunchbox a few minutes ago." The cat wild hissed at Gareth. "Thanks, moron."

"I-I-I--" The words finally flowed in a dam, along with the tears. "I just wanted to be funny, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin anything, I just--"

"Save it for someone who believes you." The cat turned away.

"What is wrong with you, Coby?" The bird wild whirled around, words coming out in a hawk-like shriek; Gareth stared, rooted to the spot from pain and horror. "The poor kid is sobbing, his knee torn apart, and you can't even be nice?"

"I'll believe him when he and his friends stop teasing us all of the time! Maybe if he stops throwing stuff at me and calling me a druggie and being an asshole I'll believe him!" The wild knocked Vickie's hand away as he walked away, fur bristling.

She started to turn around, but Gareth was already moving; he got up and ran, sobbing, blindly until someone grabbed him and hugged him. He recognized his father's burly arms and voice, surprisingly gentle, telling him to calm down. But he couldn't.

He just sobbed.

~~~

The rest of the school day was misery, but his father wouldn't let him go home; and so he suffered through it, unused to having no one to talk to. By lunch time his new nickname of "traitor" had already made the school rounds and found its way back to him, multiple times, constantly; he sat in the grasses, as far away from the rest of the kids as possible, but occasionally some grass bombs or balls of paper would make their way to him.

He walked home alone; Jeremy refused to acknowledge him except to whisper traitor and kick dirt at him. That gave him the encouragement he needed to run home, knocking open the front door and running to his room, refusing to even glance at his parents. They had already ruined his life.

Eventually he got bored of crying into his pillow, and decided to do his homework; as he sat there, mulling over the latest math tables, he heard a knock on the door, and his mother's polite voice.

"Ah, hello little miss. Are you a friend of Gareth's?"

"Not quite." Vickie's voice was barely discernible through the door, but Gareth recognized it and stiffened, glaring in the direction of the front of the house. "But may I come in?"

"Of course. Would you like some juice?"

"I am quite all right, thank you. Is Gareth quite all right?"

"He's in his room. Hasn't spoken to us since he got home, actually." His mother sounded worried; served her right.

"Yeah well he had a bad day at school, I bet. All of the humans are calling him a traitor now."

"Really?" His mother's tone turned icy. "That's... Interesting. I had hoped his apology to the young cat demi would have gone a little better. We asked him to do it, you see."

"Ah." Vickie did not sound surprised.

"If you want you can go to his room. It's just down the hall. Lovely feathers, by the way. What species?"

"A goshawk, ma'am, thank you. I'm going to go speak with Gareth, if you don't mind." Soon he heard her footsteps.

"Go away." He realized, afterward, that the preemptive shout just made it even clearer where he was.

"No thanks, I'm good." She stopped behind his doorway. "So I just wanted to say sorry on behalf of the demis. It's kind of rough, but Coby means no harm."

"Sure he doesn't." Gareth doodled on his math tables absent-mindedly.

"So if you ever want to hang out or whatever, just ask me. I'm the weird one among the demis anyway. It's cool. I can handle their teasing."

Gareth added a little fire to the Jeremy doodle's head. "Sure." He then paused. "The weird one?"

"Yeah. I hang out with the weres sometimes. They're really cool. You should introduce yourself sometime." She took a deep breath. "So... I guess I can go, if you want."

He looked down at the doodle on his tables. Jeremy, with his hair on fire, running around. No wilds, no other humans, not even his parents; just his best friend, the real traitor, the one who left him to drown.

"No. You can come in." And he stood up to open the door.