☽ 008 [ Waxing ] - - Action / Dictated / The morning after the Full / First Loss.

[lupinotuum]

 [ There's a rather horrible, gut-wrenching howl being broadcast through the journals this morning. A pained, frightened noise from a creature who had only been bounding through the forest, yipping and howling for joy just mere hours before. What had started out as a rather enjoyable night under the moon had turned into one of Remus' worst nightmares. Waking up to find himself still a wolf -- still Moony -- was something that had only existed in his dreams; a fear that had plagued him since he was very young. To have it become reality, well...

Let's just say he wasn't taking it too well at all.

The castle is responsible for this, that much he is certain of. He is lucky enough to have his full mind intact still, but the panic and the fear clouds his mind, impairs his judgement. Without any regard to Sirius -- nor any warning for that matter -- he bolts, tail between his legs and the whites of his eyes showing as he races through the pines toward the Castle. His heart is beating a million miles a second, all sorts of thoughts screaming and buzzing inside his skull like a swarm of angry hornets. He's beyond scared at this point.

Please, no no no ... not this!

Before long, he finds himself at the steps, and he stumbles as his paws scrabble over the melting snow and ice still covering the stone. If he can just get to his room before anyone sees him... ]



(ooc: anybody is welcome to either confront him in the forest or in the castle. He's safe to approach -- mostly.)

Comments

[courageous_wit]

[oh no that isn't a good sound] Remus? If you can understand me, bark once!

[lupinotuum]

[ Oh, now there is a welcome voice! Remus pauses, ears pricking as he looks around for his journal. He finds it laying open on the steps a foot away and he reaches for it, a claw snagging the page and ripping it a little as he drags it over.

He barks once, low and a bit pitiful. It sounds almost like a plea. ]

[courageous_wit]

Good, you still have your mind. I'll come find you. Try to stay out of sight until I get there.

[heirofficium]

Remus...? [ Sirius is confused to wake up without a certain tawny-haired wizard curled up nearby. Sitting up, he looks around. ]

Remus?

[ And then he hears the howl. Shit. ]

Remus! [ He's scrambling to his feet, only to shift back into Padfoot so he can find him faster. He lets out a few loud barks as he breaks into a sprint.

Moony where Padfoot find Moony ]

[lupinotuum]

[ Remus skids to a halt the moment he hears Sirius barking somewhere nearby and starts to pace rather frantically. His mind is torn between finding refuge in his room or finding refuge in one of Sirius' comforting embraces and eventually, the need for it becomes to great for him.

He turns and races back the way he came, following Sirius' calls.

Padfoot! ]

[heirofficium]

[ Moony! Padfoot skids to a halt as Remus comes barrelling toward him.

Moony human head? he warbles out, staring up at him nervously. This is bad, this is really bad... ]

[fanstheflame]

[now that the snow had gone, Gale was up at the crack of dawn, gathering up his tools and supplies to head out to the woods and start setting fresh snares. the wild creatures would be stirring, and he wanted a head start. living in a house with so many people meant catching a lot of game, even if it was just to augment the things they could get in town. he was in the process of stretching a low wire through some underbrush when he heard the howl and froze, listening. whatever that was, it wasn't anything he remembered from last spring's hunting, and it sounded far too much like a mutt for his tastes. he reached into the pocket at his hip for a piece of chalk and marked a tree nearby. if anything happened, Katniss and Ino knew his spots, and they could follow a trail...

for now, though, he waited and listened. maybe it was headed in another direction.]

[lupinotuum]

[ Lucky for Remus, he'd caught a whiff of Gale's scent ahead of time and he had enough conscience of mind to skirt around him, attempting to stay well out of sight. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't as accustomed to this body as Moony was and thus, he wasn't nearly as careful about where he placed his paws.

He freezes suddenly when he steps on a small branch, his weight causing it to snap with a loud CRUNCH. He has enough instinct to lower himself to the ground, hoping that Gale hadn't seen him. ]

[fanstheflame]

[the crack of the twig was closer than the howl had been, and Gale's hand moved slowly for the knife at his hip. he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his vision, and shifted his gaze just in time to see ... SOMETHING ... crouch down in the underbrush.

he breathed in slowly, forcing down his fear. whatever the creature was, it was hiding. either it was just as afraid of him as he'd been a moment before, or it was coiling to attack, hunching down to launch itself at him ...

fingers tightening around the handle of his knife, he held his ground and waited]

[silentrunning]

[As it happens, there's a Chell wandering down the steps that poor Remus is trying to scrabble up. in fact, he possibly slams into her...]

[lupinotuum]

[ Remus would have sincerely apologized for running into her, really. He was, unfortunately, rather incapable of doing so right now. Instead he yelps and tries to scramble away before she can even see what just bumped into her. His paws, however, slip over the stone and he trips before he can get away fast enough.

Yep, definitely not as graceful as Moony usually is... ]

[silentrunning]

[Chell would've giggled, had the situation not seemed so dire... Reaching out a hand, she catches onto him in an attempt to keep him from falling tail over nose back down the steps. And then she speaks. Hey. He's a wolf. Sure. Wolves have sharp teeth and claws. But she's always found people that aren't human to be way less of a threat.]

Hang on. You don't have to run away. But if you're going to, be careful? I wouldn't want you tumbling down the steps. That'd be painful. Hm. I'd imagine you're not usually in that form, are you? Because if you were, you'd be more graceful about it. So... what happened? I'm not sure if I could help... But I'd offer you company till someone who can shows up.

[She's got a good heart, she does. And she knows how the Castle fucks people up. She just figures this is someone on a loss. She has noooo clue she's dealing with a werewolf, and if she did, she'd probably just be fascinated and ask a billion questions... er when he was back n human form anyhow heh.

When she's sure he won't tumble down the steps though, she lets go. If he wants to run, he can.]

[wizard_redfive]

[Unfortunately for Remus, Dairine was on her way to breakfast when she hears the scrabbling noise of claws. She pauses, turning towards the source of the sound. 'What on earth...?']

[lupinotuum]

[ Remus, of course, does not hear, see or smell her. He's much too preoccupied with trying to push the main doors open so he can slip into the castle and get to his room. His claws scrape at the door in vain, and he growls in frustration. ]

[wizard_redfive]

[The scraping and growling does not sound like a good sign. Dairine can think of a good handful of nasties in the Lone One's service that could make those sounds as well as a few horror movie villians. Knowing the castle, it would not be surprising if something like that attacked the castle. However, it's equally likely that someone is on an animal loss. What to do, what to do...

Making up her mind, Dairine slips on a transparent shield spell before walking straight to the front door. Without further ado, she grabs the handle tightly and opens the door, peering outside.]

Hello?

[lightbranded]

[Will was out early in the woods this morning. It was spring, finally. And even if the trees had not yet begun to bud he had not been able to resist the urge to seek out the quiet of the forest. His hand slowly trails along the bark of the nearest trunk as he casts his thoughts back to the lore of trees. He murmurs the words to himself.]

Willow, the enchanter's tree. Pliant to the touch, yet bitter to the taste. As all magic in the end must be.

[Suddenly the boy's head jerks up as he hears the sounds of footsteps approaching.]

Hullo? Is someone there?

[lupinotuum]

[ There's a small snap of a branch and a growl somewhere behind Will, as Remus steps out onto the path. He's slowed down to a walk now, if only to try and watch where he's stepping, and he's panting from running so far and so fast. It's apparent that he wasn't quite paying attention to his surroundings, though, when Will's voice causes him to freeze right before he's ready to run again.

Ears pricking and eyes wide, he turns to look at Will, standing as still and as quiet as he can. ]

[lightbranded]

[Will watches the wolf calmly. There is no fear in his expression or voice. How could there be? For as his master had told him once, an Old One must walk into many dangers, but he must never fear.]

Hullo, there.

[wolfchild]

[ She had not expected to see the wolf again.

Arya freezes. Nymeria is with Grey Wind and they are both in Robb's chambers. She had felt waking them only to have them wait outside the stables while she fed Aemon. Now she regrets not doing it.

Arya does not scream. Does not run. She keeps still, hoping the strange wolf will ignore her. ]

[lupinotuum]

[ Remus lets out a frustrated and exhausted groan as he just flops down onto the steps and covers his face with a massive paw. He's panting and still shaking, but seemingly resigned to the fact that he's never going to get to his room without someone seeing him. He doesn't even know how long he'd be stuck like this, either...

He doesn't notice Arya at first, too busy whimpering and trying to console himself. When he does finally notice her standing there, it's her scent he catches on the breeze and he lifts his head immediately, staring at her with wide, frightened eyes. ]

[wolfchild]

[ She edges back. ]

Go on! Get!

[songsandstories]

[It isn't often she is out late, but Lady has been out hunting, and while the wolf can certainly make it on her own, she is the youngest and smallest of the three now in the castle. Besides being alone is one of the things she likes about this place. She has little time to do so in the Eyrie and before that was never allowed.

It's coming back from the castle after her direwolf appeared at the edge of the wood. She's nothing to fear with the wold beside her, though the howling she hears has her on edge -- not just because it's howling, but Lady senses it as well. It sounds sad, lonely.

She's careful to follow it, but how can she not. It isn't Nymeria or Grey Wind, but she knows there are other wolves in the castle.]

[lupinotuum]

[ Remus stops when he smells the wolf and glances around cautiously, ears swiveling this way and that and his nose twitching. It's not Arya's direwolf, Nymeria, whom he's met before, but this one has a familiar scent to her and he knows there are two other Direwolves living in the castle. Relations, maybe?

Even so, he isn't keen on running into this one.

Ducking his head low, Remus continues at a careful trot, unaware that Sansa is heading in his direction and is directly downwind of him. ]

James

[heirofficium]

Prongs, there's, erm... There's a problem. Do you have the cloak?

Sirius

[staggeringego]

[ Now if SIRIUS is saying that... then it's worrisome. ]

Got it this past Christmas. What sort of problem are we talking about?