→ old gypsy woman spoke to me,

[mapmaker]

When: Thursday, Sept. 12th
Rating: PG-13.
Characters: Remus Lupin & Derek Hale.
Summary: Two different kinds of werewolves meeting for the first time.
Log: [ Remus hasn't even been in the City for very long. But already he has friends and a part-time job and something almost close to normality. Of course that could all come crashing down around his ears. The moon is only a few days away and he has no way of preparing himself. Here there is no Shack, no Marauders. Knowing he could brutally slaughter all of those new acquaintances is a little hard to swallow.

Ginny had said something about a cabin. The old him had used it sometimes. He wonders if there he'll find a clue as to how he'd dealt with the moon. He wishes he just knew what to do.

So he rises early and slips out. He's wearing too much denim and a jumper that looks like it's from the seventies. Maybe it's because he found it in a second hand shop and it is He doesn't look like a threat and yet he is.

The woods are not like the kind back home but he finds his way easily. He walks for a while, gets lost in his thoughts. When the moon isn't full, Remus only has the slightest of alleviated senses. So it takes him a moment too long and a crack in the undergrowth for him to sense the other person. He pauses, a hand against the bark of a tree and calls out. ] Hello? Is there someone there?

Comments

[lupusalpha]

[Derek doesn't see a lot of people out here, and he prefers it that way. The fewer people out in the woods, the safer everyone is.

Usually he sees teenagers, which is no surprise at all. But he doesn't usually have teenagers who realize he's around.]

What are you looking for?

[He hasn't gotten close enough to get anything more than a look at him]

[mapmaker]

[ Remus turns towards the sound of his voice and ah - that's disconcerting. Usually blokes who lurk in the forest and look imposing are terrifying groundskeepers who gave him nightmares in first year. ]

A cabin. [ He shoves his hands in his pockets, hunches his shoulders. There's a bashful smile on his face. ] Ginny said it was somewhere. Sorry. Is this private property?

[lupusalpha]

[Don't worry you're cuter than the usual idiots he has to deal with. Too bad that will not help Remus not even a little bit. Derek steps out and shakes his head.]

Not private, just not that safe. Which cabin are you looking for?

[He's moving a bit closer.]

[mapmaker]

I'm not sure? [ He pulls a face, watching him. ] Ginny - ah, Miss Weasley? - said that I used to live out here when I first joined the City? But that was years ago and I don't remember it at all.

[ There's something on the air, a scent maybe. But Remus has a hard time understanding anything to do with the wolf. It's been him since he was five. ]

[lupusalpha]

There's more than one.

[He takes another step forward, and then finally gets a hit of Remus' scent]

You're a werewolf.

[mapmaker]

[ Fear spikes through him, Remus taking a step back. ]

I -- don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry, I actually don't think I'm in the right part of the woods at all.

[lupusalpha]

[Derek holds his hands out, and he actually visibly looks less intimidating.]

Don't run. It's all right. I am too.

[mapmaker]

[ He pauses. ]

I wouldn't be very good at running anyway. [ Another werewolf? It's not something he's expecting. His parents had kept him away from the groups, scared he'd pick up ideas. The only important thing had been the cure. ]

Really?

[lupusalpha]

[Derek nods]

It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you.

[mapmaker]

I haven't --.

[ He takes a step closer, his curiosity obvious. ] I haven't ever met another werewolf before. Sorry, it's a little --. A lot strange. ]

[lupusalpha]

[He relaxes a bit, offers a hand]

I'm Derek Hale.

You've been alone this whole time? How long have you been a werewolf?

[mapmaker]

Remus Lupin.

[ He shakes it, a shy smile now settling. Derek isn't how he imagined other werewolves. But Fenrir is all he's ever had to work with. ] Twelve years. Almost.

[lupusalpha]

You've been an omega for twelve years?

[A look of concern]

You were bitten when you were a little kid?

[mapmaker]

[ Omega? ]

I was four. Almost five.

[lupusalpha]

[There's silence.]

I've never heard of someone biting a child.

[mapmaker]

[ Crossing his arms. ]

He wasn't a very nice man. How long have you -?

[lupusalpha]

I was born, not bitten.

[He knows it isn't as usual, or at least it seems that way.]

[mapmaker]

You can be - ?

[ Of course the Ministry would have people believe that it was something hereditary. That werewolves shouldn't be allowed to breed because they'll catch the disease. Remus had dismissed it as much as he could. He was sixteen and he had no reason to think of marriage and children or anything beyond his friends and his school work. ]

Are your parents werewolves?

[lupusalpha]

[He nods]

And my sisters, and my uncle. There are packs that are families. There's a pack here, but none of us are related.

[mapmaker]

[ He laughs and it's a stupid, almost relieved sound. He could focus on the negatives, he could. He doesn't want to. ]

My mum would kill me for this. She thinks meeting another werewolf will automatically cancel out a cure. [ He says cure like it's an imaginary concept. It feels like it is. ]

[lupusalpha]

[He doesn't quite smile, not quite.]

Well, she's not likely to find out.

[mapmaker]

No, I suppose she isn't.

[ He seems sad for a moment but then there's too much to ask. ] How many of us are there?

[lupusalpha]

Here? Two others, right now. They're your age.

[He's trying his very hardest to be nice.]

[mapmaker]

[ Remus thinks he's actually very pleasant !!! ]

So there are three werewolves in the City? [ How has it survived? ]

[lupusalpha]

Counting you? Four.

Were you looking for a place to change?