Ch. 2 First Friend

After finishing the movie Myrddin gets up from his recliner chair. He keeps quiet as he takes a plate and 2 cups to the kitchen sink.

Ada had fallen asleep and Myrddin didn't want to wake her up. So he quietly washes the 3 dishes and leaves them on the counter. He isn't sure where to put them since they just moved in and haven't fully unpacked yet. But it seems Ada has been busy since there are pictures of the family around the house. It's mostly Myrddin, Gwen, or Ada in them. But Sebastian is in a few of them with some dead giveaways about what holiday he came back on. Like a christmas tree in the background, some painted eggs and baskets, a big family dinner for 4, or a cake with candles. But the birthday pictures are very dated. There is one that is recent and it was on Valentines weekend last year. Myrddin likes this photo the most because it captures how happy his parents are together. Even though he knows why they were so happy to be together on Valentine's Day. But still, it's a nice photo of his parents.

After he finishes cleaning the dishes he grabs a blanket from a box and puts it over his mom who enjoys the warmth in her sleep. Myrddin also turns the tv down but not off. This is something they often do when they are in big houses. Mainly because it's background noise. It gets creepy when you are in your house and it's silent and you hear the house creak or other weird sounds.

After making sure the front and back door are locked Myrddin makes his way back to his room. When he gets to the top of the stairs he swears he saw Gwen's door close. But his eyesight is trash so it could have just been his mind playing tricks on him again.

——————

The next morning Myrddin struggles to stetch his back. And in his mirror he can see that his back is badly bruised. Those books really did do a number on him.

So he takes his time moving his things in his room. His clothes were easy. But setting up his Xbox 360 was somewhat difficult to do without hurting his back. But he did it.

Not only was his back pain annoying, his hair was also annoying. His bangs kept moving around and irritating him. He wanted to grow it out to see how it would look, but now it's just getting annoying. It normally is fine, but since he was moving around so much while he was unpacking it became more of a problem.

Once he was done unpacking he went downstairs to the kitchen. And he saw a plate of food with a note next to it. The note was from his mom to him.

Apparently Ada has taken Gwen to go shopping, something about not leaving her alone and a sort of punishment for tackling him. Myrddin is just happy to not tag along with them. He doesn't mind shopping, but shopping with his mom or Gwen? He'd rather not. They turn a 30 minute trip into a 2-3 hour ordeal.

Next to the note is a red house key. He adds it to a keychain full of colorful keys from his previous houses. Each one had a unique color or pattern on it. He's forgotten some of them just because he's lived in so many and remembering each one would be an impressive feat. Gwen manages to either loses them or throws hers away, something that is very common with her.

Myrddin finished eating and grabs a jacket from his room before heading out. He could study some more, but after his mom pulled him out of his groove he was in he hasn't been able to get back in it. It's like a part of him doesn't want to sit still.

There is a new place to go out and explore.

And now he's old enough to go on his own walks. He was able to be left home alone when he was 10, and he was allowed to go out on his own when he was 11. Granted he went for walks alone before that. But he has been more mature, and more intelligent, than other kids his age.

Gwen? Let's just say her phone has some various trackers on it so that she can't just turn off the original one on her IPhone. She's the problem child, so her privileges are a little more strict.

Myrddin walks out the front door and is greeted by the bright afternoon light that shines through the thick lens of his glasses and somewhat blinds him. It's only for a few seconds as his eyes adjust. At least it's not as bad as it was in Miami.

He makes his way down his driveway to the sidewalk and just lets his feet carry him in a direction. He ends up passing by the gates to the private residence where he now lives. It makes it sound extremely fancy, and maybe it is. He hasn't ever lived in a private, gated, community before. Sure he's lived in big houses, but this one is truly special. Even among the other houses it stands out.

He remembers passing by a house that caught his eye. It was probably the small white dog that was barking at him from a second story window. He likes animals, they are much simpler to deal with than humans. And they are also more loyal than humans… Atleast the dogs are. Cats are real drama queens. If he had to choose he would choose a cat, but a dog would be nice too.

Neither he nor Gwen were able to convince their mom in the past to get a pet. They were told that they moved too much to get one among other reasons.

"God" Myrddin cringes about the way he used to act. He wonders how his mom put up with him and his sister… but maybe it was easier back then since he and Gwen actually got along. It was like middle school changed Gwen and how she views him. He was no longer the cool intelligent older brother.

Myrddin shakes his head as he continues his walk. All the houses are big. Even the ones outside the gated community. And there are so many trees around. Each house a lawn, and some houses don't have a fenced backyard so he can tell the backyards are also decently spacious. He wonders what his backyard looks like. He only got the inside tour, maybe they had a shed in the backyard? Or a treehouse? It was dark last night so he didn't see much, but it wasn't like he was looking for anything.

Along his walk he gets to a road and gets to some various buildings. These are like gas stations, fast food, unique shops even. Like flower shops with gorgeous roses of various color, most being red. There was a phone and electronics repair shop.

But he ends up just looking around and begins to pay less attention to his surroundings. He puts his headphones on and begins listening to some of his music. The place is good to look at as long as you don't pay too much attention to it like he was before.

When Myrddin realizes where he is at he finds himself in front of a vet clinic. And for some reason he finds himself drawn towards it.

'Beacon Hills Animal Clinic'

Myrddin reads the sign as he walks past the building. He also saw that the clinic is open from 7:30am to 5:30pm.

What's weird is that Myrddin doesn't remember the route he took to the clinic. So he makes sure to pay close attention to how he leaves and where he is at. Something about the clinic makes him want to remember it. It's almost an ominous feeling like he will find an injured animal in the near future that he might need to take to the clinic.

——————

Unknown to Myrddin, there is a man inside the clinic with a serious and neutral expression. The man watches as Myrddin stops in front of his clinic for a few moments before passing. The man watches until he can no longer see the scrawny boy with thick glasses.

——————

After making sure the location is remembered Myrddin continues on his way. He tries not to catch the attention of the other townspeople. There are families in parks, couples at cafes, groups of girls going between shops, groups of boys at arcades, the people of the town go about their usual Sunday business as Myrddin observes them.

He doesn't see his mom or sister, probably because the town is bigger than one might think, but still smaller at the same time. 'Beacon Hills is very deceptive' is the conclusio Myrddin comes to.

"At least I know where my school is for tomorrow" Myrddin says as he looks at a big building near the edge of the city with the forest nearly surrounding most sides of the school.

"If I remember, this is the Beacon Hills Preserve" Myrddin mutters beneath his breath as he walks across the empty parking lot. Trees line around not only the school, but also the parking lot and an open field behind the school.

The field is weird to Myrddin. It's almost like a practice field for a football team. There are cleat marks dug into the dirt all over the place. There are somewhat small bleachers on only one side of the field. But they are still big enough to host a fair number of people. Myrddin would think this was a football team's practice field if it weren't for the 2 patches on the ground, probably where something is placed for long periods of time. And it seems to be the net of lacrosse. Myrddin doesn't know much about it, just that a team has sticks and try to throw and catch balls with said stick. He'd much rather watch football…

He goes back to the school and gets a feeling similar to the shop. But he thinks he is going crazy.

Of course he would need to come back to this place! It's his new, and first, high school. So he would be coming back, as late as tomorrow since he doesn't like skipping school. He doesn't skip school even if he is a few grades ahead. It's best not to stand out, so he just stays quiet unless he is called upon. He scores the top grades of his class nearly every time. The only time he struggles is when he has to do anything physical. His middle school P.E. grades were the lowest. But still and -A, only due to the fact that he at least tries anything. It's just that his body doesn't like excessive physical activity. But the teachers can't say he doesn't try, because he really does.

After pulling his attention away from the school he looks at the edge of the nature preserve. Before he realizes it his feet bring him towards the woods. He doesn't try to stop, it's not illegal to go through the woods. He just has to make sure to not disturb the woods or litter, because he could be fined to hell and back for messing with the preserve.

Myrddin turns his music down and takes frees his right ear. He isn't naive enough to think he is perfectly safe out here. Sure it is relatively safe, but there are always dangers. He should read about what kind of creatures are native to this area.

But even without checking the local info, Myrddin knows generally what animals could be here since it is california.

There is a list of animals. Such as: deer, raccoons, birds, bobcats, bears, more specifically black bears, skunks, bats, reptiles like rattle snakes, squirrels, wolves, elk, beavers, maybe sea otters or sea lions, other small rodents, and a few others.

It sounds worse than it actually is. And even if he encounters one of the more hostile creatures he might be able to get away. But for the most part the creatures are more afraid of him than he is of them. Except skunks. Those little shits might be scaredy cats but they will mess you up with their spray.

The walks is actually very peaceful and calming. The chirps of birds, shuffling of leaves from squirrels or other small rodents. There are old tracks of deer in the area.

You can't miss the flora either, it is also equally as interesting. The trees are giant with very green leaves. The epilobium canum, more commonly called the California fuchsia, is the most common plant in California. There's also petunia, woolly blue curls, hibiscus, canyon snow iris, poppy's, African violets.

The Beacon Hills Preserve definitely deserves to be preserved. It's one of the best places Myrddin has been able to find. And the best part is that he is alone… in the woods… deep in the woods alone…

Myrddin looks behind himself and finds that he has wandered very far. He doesn't panic yet, he still has his phone and it isn't dark yet. Right now it's probably around dinner time, the sun is still in the sky. However, the blue sky and white clouds are changing color to a magnificent darker blue and shades of orange.

Where he is standing he can already spot a few stars, but he knows they are just satellites since real stars can't be seen until it gets a bit darker.

"Grrrrrrrrrr~"

Myrddin freezes for a few seconds from the surprise of hearing the low growl to his left. He slowly turns to see what type of wolf animal he is dealing with.

And he's somewhat surprised to see a full grown coyote.

"Shiiiiit…." Myrddin repeases his breath as he calms down. It was more spooky and surprising than soul shatteringly terrifying.

The coyote continues to growl and yelp at him as it lowers down towards the ground with its ears pulled back.

"Ahhhhhh!" Myrddin shouts at the top of his lungs and waves his arms over his head.

He feels like a fool but it's either this or get attacked.

The coyote pauses it's slow stalking march forward upon hearing and seeing Myrddin. But it simply tilts its head to the side.

"Ahhhhhh…!" Myrddin's shout dies down a little as he realizes the coyote isn't running away. "Run! Go! Get! As soon as you leave I'll leave too!" He tries to convince the coyote.

But the coyote simply stands back up and it's ears relax a little.

Myrddin furrows his eyebrows. His arms stay outstretched and waving over his head. "Don't give me that, I'm the human here. You shouldn't be putting me…"

The coyote tilts its head to the other side and slowly walks forward. It's previous hostile actions gone just like Myrddin's dignity if someone saw him.

As the animal approaches, Myrddin takes a step back. The coyote pauses for a second but continues forward at a steady pace even as Myrddin continues backing away.

Both Myrddin and the coyote go from slow steps to a walking pace. But Myrddin is at the disadvantage here. He's slow and wouldn't be able to outrun this coyote or out climb it either if it wanted to attack him.

He bends down really quickly and grabs a handful of sticks, dirt, and small rocks. He throws one but it goes way to the far left. Sure he didn't try to hit the coyote, it it was still way off his mark.

The wolf-like animal watches as the small pebble Myrddin three goes off to the side and hits a tree. Then it turns it's head back to Myrddin and yelps.

"I know I suck ok! I don't need a coyote to tell me I can't throw…" Myrddin says basically to himself at this point.

At this point he's fairly certain this coyote is just trying to guide him out of its territory. It seemed like it was trying to scare him before, but after that didn't work it is now threateningly pushing him out. Myrddin wont complain, he doesn't want to stick around and find out what the coyote would do when it gets hungry.

The coyote continues to walk towards Myrddin. He doesn't like walking backwards without looking where he is going. But he's concerned that if he takes his eyes away from the coyote it would attack him. He keeps his eyes locked on it and finds its eyes somewhat weird. They look different than normal coyotes, but that might be because he's only seen pictures or videos of them in the past. He can also smell its bad scent. It's not terrible, but it definitely isn't good or pleasant.

*Thump!* *Thud!*

"Gah-" Myrddin trips on a stick or log of some kind and his world spins.

He was looking at the coyote one second, the next he was watching the canopy of the trees and the beautiful sky. He just lays there as his glasses fall off to the side or something. He isn't sure, all he is sure of is that he can't see much besides blurry colors and that he might die in the next few seconds.

The headphones he was wearing fall off disconnect from his phone. His music that was quietly playing now fills the woods around him. The song 'smack that' by Akon.

Myrddin didn't even realize this song was playing. It's a terrible song to die to though.

A few seconds go by yet he doesn't feel like he's being attacked. He sits himself up slowly as his back stings with a sharp pain. The bruise really making itself known. But with a small struggle he sits up and looks around.

He can't see anything but he does spot a light brown blur laying down in front of him. His ears do pick up the music that isn't coming from his pocket anymore, and it sounds like it's coming from the brown blur.

Since he can't see anything he slowly searches the ground around him for his glasses. His heart twists as he's reminded of his sister's teasings. "Jinkies…"

He looks at the light brown blur and cans sort of make out it's bright blue eyes but even that is difficult. After a minute of searching he flips back onto the ground. "I'm going to die out here…"

The song continues until it ends and the next pop song plays. It was just a playlist he found interesting. He hasn't paid much attention to lyrics in the past, just listening and feeling the best of the song is what he enjoyed from listening to music. And being unable to see causes his hearing to be slightly better, but it's not superhuman like how other people make it out to be. It's like how he can hear the coyote moving around to his left.

Wait.

He turns his head to the left and can feel the hot and stinky breath hit his face.

"Finally decided to get your meal? Sorry but I'm mostly skin and bones. Guess you'll have something to chew on for a while, right?" Myrddin jokes as he sighs. He's surprised how ready he is to die at this moment. He expected there to be so much more. He expected to have his life flash right before his eyes. To feel bad about leaving his mom, dad, and sister. Any fear, grief, regret, happiness? But there is nothing. He just blankly looks into the coyote's blue eyes that are close and looking into his own dull green eyes.

*Thut*

Something falls next to him and the coyote lays, or sits, back on the ground. He isn't sure due to him being legally blind at the moment.

*Slllp~*

"Ewww!" Myrddin complains as he feels a rough and wet tongue lick his cheek.

He closes his eyes and wipes the sliver from the coyote with the back of his hand. "If you don't kill me I hope your germs don't either"

He then feels the cold nose of the coyote press against his neck and his heart skips a beat as adrenaline floods his body. But he's already resigned to his fate and doesn't move. But then he feels the coyote nudge him again.

Myrddin's right hand moves slowly as it crosses over his body and moves towards the wild animal that is acting very strange. He then feels his hand get warm and wet.

The coyote has lightly grabbed his hand in it's mouth. Myrddin expect to feel a sharp pain as the coyote decides it's time to enjoy its appetizer for the night. But his expectations are proven wrong when the coyote brings his hand to the ground where he feels something. He pats the ground to feel what it is and he recognizes what it is.

The coyote brought his glasses over to him and is returning them to him.

The coyote releases his hand and boops his hand with its snout before licking his hand.

"Fine, I get it. Thank you Mr. Coyote" Myrddin nonchalantly grabs his glasses and brings them to his shirt. He cleans not only the lens but also the frame. He can even feel some indents in the frame where the coyote likely but it to carry it over to him.

As he places the glasses back on his face he feels the coyote move and lay its head on his left shoulder and beneath his chin.

Myrdinn can feel his heart pound hard in his chest. Not as hard as if he was running a marathon, but as if he was struggling to climb stairs with boxes full of books. His left arm is buried beneath the beast, but his right hand and arm are free.

So he bring his right hand to the coyotes head and begins to slowly and cautiously let it. He doesn't want to startle it for many reasons. But one is because he is enjoying its warmth, it's much better than any blanket he's ever had before.

Myrddin can see the coyote close it's eyes as it pushes its head against his hand. "What are you doing out here so early? I thought coyotes were nocturnal animals?"

The rather large coyote opens its left eye a little and stares at him.

"What? Early bird gets the worm?" Myrddin asks. "Er- I guess it's more like 'The early coyote gets the meat'…? I was going to say rodent but coyotes also hunt and eat larger animals too"

He watches in shock as the coyote rolls it's eye at him. He can't see the other eye, but he's sure it also rolled. "Hey, I'm trying. It's not easy coming up with… oh forget it"

The black hair on his head rests on the somewhat damp dirt ground as he looks up at the sky as it transitions to nighttime.

Music continues to play, some songs are worse than others but he can't exactly get up to grab his phone near his feet.

"My name is Myrddin Wyllt" He says out of the blue.

He can see the coyote open it's eye and turn it's head towards him. The coyote even moves it's body beside him and fess his left arm as it looks at him with both its eyes now.

"Yeah. I know it's a weird name. But you're weird too" Myrddin pats it's side with his left hand.

Myrddin slightly flinches when the coyote suddenly yelps.

"Sorry, did I hurt you? Or did I hurt your feelings?" Myrddin was somewhat surprised when the coyote closes its eyes like it was trying to respond as it yelps again. But this time it didn't sound painful like the last one.

When he felt the coyote's side he didn't feel any blood or an open wound. It's likely that it might be bruised or something internal. Since it's a wild animal it likely has to fight for food. "Did you get hurt from something? You aren't bleeding. So you might have a bad bruise or a cracked rib. Or maybe it's something worse. And when I called you weird it wasn't in a bad it. I meant you are unique and intriguing. Not the way rude people call other people weird because they're different"

A huff of air comes from the coyote and the hot air washes over Myrddin's face.

"I… have no idea what that means" Myrddin continues petting it's head as he carefully moves his left hand back to the coyote's side. "I'm going to touch your side again. Ok? So don't bite me or something while I try and figure out what's wrong with you"

Myrddin watches the coyote's eye narrow at him.

"Still don't know what that means" Myrddin says as he gently and carefully touches the coyote's side. He can feel that all of its fur is still there so it's unlikely that another predator attacked it. But that doesn't mean it didn't get attacked. The coyote could have been hit by a bear's fist and received this much damage. Or it could have been kicked by an elk or something.

Probably the elk or deer theory since a coyote since would gun an animal. Sure it would try and go for its throat, but as it catches up to the elk and tries to bite into it or dig it's claws in the elk would responds with a kick if it didn't have antlers or something to try and get free with.

The coyote lets out a growl as he tries to move the fur to get to the skin.

Before Myrddin can takes his hand back the coyote stands up and glares at him.

"I wanted you before I did it. I'm only trying to see what's wrong. We're you kicked by an elk or deer? That's my current theory" Myrddin says as he sits up with a struggle. He has to lean to his right and push himself up with his arm that shakes like a flimsy twig.

When he sits up he sees the coyote sitting down and looking at him inquisically.

"I'm going to show my back to you, okay? I don't think you'll attack me, but I need you to promise me you won't. I do kinda want to live now, and you might even be my first friend here in town. It would suck to be stabbed… bitten… in the back" Myrddin sees the coyote give him a blank expression.

"At least I find myself funny" Myrddin mocks the coyote and comforts himself as he turns around and pulls his shirt up to show the bruise on his back. "I think you might be bruised like this. But you may have also cracked a rib. I haven't seen you run but I bet you would struggle to do so right now. You probably couldn't even jog depending on how bad it actually is. So I ju- OOOWWWWW!!!!"

Nearly every muscle in Myrddin's body tenses up as an incredibly intense pain shoots through his body.

*Thud!*

Myrddin is pushed into the dirt from behind. And when he tries to push himself up he finds that the coyote is standing with its front paws on his shoulders.

"H-hey Mr. Coyote. I take back what I said. You very clearly aren't hurt if you can move that fast. But I am still hurt and in pain, so could you get off of me? Pretty please?" Myrddin tries to get up but with the full weight of the big coyote on his shoulder blades he can't get any leverage to get free.

Myrddin is just glad that the coyote isn't straddling him from the other direction. He doesn't want to picture the coyote trying to jump him. That wouldn't be very pleasant. And he can't even check to see if the coyote is male or female at the moment on account of him being pressed into the damp ground. And of course they managed to be in one of the few areas without any grass or flowers.

*Sllllrp*

"Oh sweet mother of God!!!" Myrddin balls his fists and grits his teeth. "Don't lick that! That's a very sore spot right now!"

But the coyote proceeds to ignore him and continues to lick his bruise.