Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter. This story is based off of twelve writing prompts found on Tumblr and compiled into a list that I then challenged myself to use all of. Kids, this is gonna get interesting...
Chapter 1
Remus Lupin finds himself standing in front of the Evanses' house yet again, merely a term after the incident that Remus quietly refers to as the 'CAT-astrophe' because it makes Lily laugh. He's finding more and more than he loves the sound of her laughing. It's not angelic or melodic or whatever other word you could use to describe a nice laugh, but it's so full of joy that he can't help sharing that feeling. Remus shakes his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts and moving to the front door to knock.
The door is opened moments later by Lily's mum, a woman he had seen at the train platform multiple times but did not meet until she turned up in the hospital to pick up Lily after the Cat-astrophe.
"Hello Remus, please, come in. Lily's just in the kitchen helping Danny with the turkey," Michelle Evans tells him.
Remus nods, smiling and handing over the flowers he brought with him. "It's lovely to see you again, Mrs Evans."
"And you dear. We're glad you could come over," She tells him. Remus had been shocked to receive an invitation to attend Christmas lunch with the Evanses, but he supposes his decision to put he and Lily on even footing by revealing certain truths about his own family after she'd had no choice but to tell him of her adoption would have prompted her to want him away from home over Christmas.
"I'm very glad to be here," He tells her with a smile.
The two hear a shriek from further in the house which prompts Michelle to sigh and roll her eyes. She leads Remus into the kitchen where they find Lily and her father, Daniel, throwing bits of bread at each other and laughing madly.
"What on Earth are you doing?" Michelle demands, the two turn in unison and look for all the world like children caught with their hand in a cookie jar.
"Remus!" Lily calls happily when she sees him, ignoring her mother's annoyance to fling herself at her friend and hug him. A hug that is gladly returned.
"Hey Lils. Having fun?" He asks, she pulls away from him, snickering.
"Daniel, your parents will be here any moment and now the kitchen is a mess! As if we don't get enough judgement from your mother..." This diatribe continues for some time with Daniel and Lily mouthing along behind her back as she cleans. Remus sniggers into his hand.
"Michie, don't worry Love. We'll clean it up, won't we kids?" Both Lily and Remus nod.
"No! Remus is our guest, he will not be cleaning up your mess," Michelle responds sharply.
"I don't mind, really," Remus says quickly.
"Nonsense. Have a seat dear, Lily will get you a drink while Daniel cleans up." Daniel splutters, gesturing to Lily and the mess.
Lily laughs, linking arms with Remus. "C'mon Rem, let's get a seat before Gramma and Grapps turn up."
Twenty-Five minutes later lunch is underway. Delicious food, great company, the occasional thinly-veiled insult from Lily's Grandmother to her Mother. Overall, things are going well, up until Danny begins telling a story of Lily and Petunia when they were younger.
He takes a sigh after his story, everyone still chuckling from it except Petunia who scowls at the table. "You two were so close back then," He mutters quietly.
"It's not my fault she grew up to be a freak," Petunia snaps.
"Petunia!" Michelle scolds.
Lily stands and turns to her sister, "I am not a freak!"
"You are. You and your freaky boyfriend," Petunia spits, glaring at Remus whose eyes widen.
Lily stutters, "He's not my boyfriend, and even if he were, what has he ever done to you?"
"Why is it he's here but Vernon couldn't be?"
Daniel sighs, "We told you he could come, Tunie. You didn't want him to."
"Because I don't want him to know what sort of freaks you let in this house! The only reason he is here anyway is because his parents don't want him around and Lily pities him!" Petunia shouts. Remus stops breathing, shrinking in on himself. He hadn't known Lily told them why things are so hard at home.
"The only one I pity here is you. Must be hard living with that much hatred in your cold, dead, heart," Lily viciously counters.
"Lily!" Michelle chastises, as before though, both sisters ignore her.
"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU AREN'T EVEN REALLY MY SISTER!" Petunia screams at her. The room freezes. Petunia sneers, "I think it's long past time you left my home. You've overstayed your welcome by a decade. Freak."
Lily stares in horror at Petunia for all of two seconds before she turns and runs out of the house.
Remus rises from his chair slowly, "You know Lily warned me you wouldn't be kind. But she told me how much she loves you, that underneath the anger and spiteful comments, you're a really nice and warm and loving sister that she has looked up to from the moment she became a part of this family." Petunia looks a little dumbfounded at that. "I suggest you really think on what exactly is looking back at her as she looks up." With that he goes to find Lily.
Remus sees a flash of red hair around a corner at the end of the street and he hurries off after her, rounding the corner just as a man comes up behind her.
"Stupefy," the man casts, a second man coming out from a van parked beside them and catching Lily as she falls.
"Hey!" Remus yells, running over and drawing his wand.
"Stupef-"
"Protego!" Remus blocks, "Expelliarmus!" The wand of the first man is wrenched from his hand.
"Stupefy!" the second man casts, Remus is too slow to block it, and as he falls unconscious he wonders if this happens to everyone who hangs around Lily or if he's just really unlucky.
As Remus wakes up, he looks around the place and sees Lily sitting against a stone wall and glaring at the barred door ahead.
"Lil?"
Lily looks over to him, "Oh thank Merlin! You took so long to wake up I was worried you'd fallen into a coma. I think you hit your head after being stupefy'd. I cleaned up the blood and healed the wound as best I could but, I'm not great at healing spells," She explains.
Remus blinks in confusion, mind moving sluggishly. Then her words catch up to him and he checks his pocket, surprised to find his wand. "I don't understand, why wouldn't they take our wands?"
"We've been wondering that," Lily tells him, "How bad is the concussion? I wasn't sure what to do about it."
"I'll be fine so long as I don't go to sleep. When I can think a bit better I'll heal it myself but, I'd rather not attempt that at the moment," Remus replies with a sigh, "Dad's going to kill me for getting into a wand fight in the middle of a Muggle neighbourhood like that."
"I don't think anyone was around to see, at least," Lily comforts.
Remus sighs again, nodding as he drops his head into his hands. Then he looks up suddenly, "Did you say, 'we've been wondering' before?" Lily nods. "Who's we?" Lily huffs and glares in a different direction. Remus looks over and sees a man who appears to be meditating, and a man unconscious on the ground. Remus blinks a few times before the identity of the unconscious man reveals itself in his mind. "Wren Von Dougall."
"Apparently he got picked up by this lot an hour after he escaped the Aurors," Lily explains, "Serves him right, if you ask me."
"Who are they? Why are we here? And, where are we?"
"I don't know who they are, but I don't think it's a coincidence that both Wren and I were picked up. And then there's that guy," Lily says, nodding her head at the meditating man, "His name is, apparently, Con Coyote." Remus raises an eyebrow, Lily nods, "Yeah I know, but that's his story and he's sticking with it. A bit odd but seems nice enough. Also has no idea where we are or what's going on."
"Does he have any connection with the Von Dougalls? I was only picked up because I tried to stop them from taking you. I'm surprised they didn't just kill me."
Lily nods gravely, "Hopefully that means they aren't willing to. No connection that I'm aware of, but an actual name might reveal more. Wren's never heard of him either. I don't reckon there is a connection though. I think something else is going on, something bigger than a grudge against my-his family," She responds, sending another glare at Wren.
"If he was awake before, why is he now unconscious?" Remus questions.
Lily huffs and rolls her eyes, "He's not, he's sulking because he's a child." She takes off her shoe and throws it at him.
He turns and glares at her, ditching the garment at her head. "Because that was oh so mature." He looks at Remus, nodding his head. "Random guy Piper's friends with who tried to blow me up."
Remus nods back, "Evil maniac with no familial relationship to my friend Lily who tried to kill me."
"Any brilliant ideas for escape from this literal dungeon?" Wren asks, seeming both sincere and sarcastic at the same time, like he wants to get out but doesn't actually think Remus can do it.
"I just woke up and have a concussion, give me a minute."
"We may not have that long," Con Coyote says, opening his eyes and looking to the door just as a woman walks down the steps and stops on the other side of it. The woman holds her hands up and flings them to the side, the prisoners all go flying to the walls of the dungeon. Only once Remus and Wren, and Lily and Con are stuck on two sides does she open the cage-type door and walk into the room.
"Who are you?" Lily demands but goes unnoticed.
In fact, the woman pays no heed to any of them. She walks forward to the middle of the room.
A moment later a small man rushes in. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Milady," He immediately tells her, almost desperately.
"Silence," She orders. He nods, and, after she nods her head forwards, he goes to stand in front of her.
"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Lily tries engaging the woman again.
"Silencio," The woman casts mindlessly. She then clears her throat, ignoring Lily soundlessly cursing at her as she focuses on the man and plasters on a smile. "Hello and welcome back to Powermatch, we find the power, you watch the match. I'm Phoenix, and today's contestants are a rare bunch. The brother and sister duo, their relationship founded on hatred and bloodlust." At this, she gestures to Lily and Wren, apparently strategically stuck across from each other so that the woman, Phoenix, could dramatically open her arms when introducing them. Remus had hoped her speaking would alleviate some of his confusion, but instead, the exact opposite is occurring. "And two boys with more secrets in their pasts than the ministry has in it's deepest vaults," Phoenix continues, stepping back to be between Remus and Con as she speaks, finishing with another flourished gesture to her sides. "This week will be greater than any other. Not only do we have double the competitors, double the destinies, and double the internal angst," She nods to the former-siblings again at this, "We also have double the arena!" She claps her hands, a bright light fills the room and suddenly, the four prisoners find themselves bound and on their knees on a forest floor, all facing the back of Phoenix in a line and unable to move. "As always, prisoners will be left with hidden and untold dangers lurking around every corner, only released when the others are dead. Will they unite? Or will they turn on each other to ensure their own survival? Find out, on Powermatch!" Her smile fades away, "Did you get it all?"
The man nods, "Yes Milady. I did not even blink, I made sure of it."
Phoenix nods at him before she turns, "I trust you understand what is expected of you, yes?" She gets four blank looks from her prisoners in answer. She shrugs, "Well, I'm sure you'll catch on soon enough. I'm told you're meant for great things. Well...you were meant for great things." Phoenix cackles as she grabs the squirrely man and apparates away.
The moment she is gone, the prisoners are released from their bindings.
"Right, so. Three of us have to die so that the last can survive, right?" Wren sums up.
"At least this explains why they let us keep our wands," Lily says.
Remus nods, "No point in a fight if your opponent can't fight back."
"What opponent? What untold dangers did she mean? Are there other things in this forest with us?" Con questions.
"We've been right beside you this entire time, how could we possibly have more information than you do?" Wren questions sharply.
"It sounds like there probably is, yes," Lily tells Con.
"So, you're just going to ignore me now?" Wren asks her.
Lily nods unapologetically, "Historically speaking, pretending I can't hear you has worked surprisingly well."
"So, what do we do?" Con asks, refocusing the subject before the two can bicker like they did in the dungeon before Remus woke up.
Remus sighs, turning and looking around for a moment before looking back to the group, "We survive," He replies strongly.
"...oh, is that it? For a moment there I thought you might actually be helpful," Wren comments, scrunching his nose up distastefully as he adds, "I should have known better than to expect that from a mudblood."
Remus rolls his eyes, "Look, this is obviously for the entertainment of some audience that is watching us somehow. You heard what she said, 'will they unite, or will they turn on each other?'. They want us to kill each other, that's the point of this. The sick amusement of some very twisted and probably rich bastards."
"Well, if they're paying, then we best give them a show, right?" Wren suggests before immediately pulling his wand, "Reducto!"
"Protego!" Remus casts, blocking the spell, his wand having already been out and waiting for this. "Expelliarmus!" Remus catches Wren's wand as it flies towards him. "I have a friend who's a bit like you, you know. But even the most unpredictable people sometimes make the obvious choice," Remus tells him. He throws the wand back to the seething wizard. "Care to go again?"
Wren raises his wand, about to cast something when Lily decides she's had enough. "Can you stop treating this like a game? This is serious," She tells them, "There are things in this forest that will try to kill us, and if we don't choose right now to band together and have each other's backs, they'll succeed. So, what's more important? Your life? Or your pride."
"I'm starting to see what Phoenix meant by angst and hatred," Con comments blandly.
"Shall we focus on what she meant by secrets in your past then?" Wren questions, "Or in yours?" He suggests, turning to Remus. Remus glares at him. "If you ask me, you're making things overly complicated. One of us gets out alive. The real competition isn't what else is in these woods. It's us."
"Well since you're the only one who thinks that, I'd say that means you're three against one on that battle. Do you really want to go down that road?" Remus asks bluntly.
Wren glares at him before he huffs, "What do you suggest?"
"We find what's in this forest and we kill it. Once all other danger is eliminated and we refuse to fight each other, there will be no entertainment. They'll have to let us go," Lily tells them.
"Or they'll just kill all four of us for the fun of it," Wren shoots back.
"...I can't believe I'm about to say this but...I agree with Von Dougall," Remus says, "We need an actual plan." They hear a large bang, and another, and another, sounding louder each time like whatever is causing it is getting closer to them. "I think that plan ought to start with running, yes?" Remus suggests, they all agree and sprint away from the noise together.
Sometime later, Con staggers slightly before he stops, leaning against a tree trunk, tears filling his eyes as his chest burns with the effort to breath. "I-I ca-an't," He stutters between heaves.
Remus, panting mildly, nods and walks over to him. "Right, we'll rest here then." Wren happily collapses to the ground, Lily bending to rest her hands on her knees and try to catch her breath while Remus helps Con to sit on the ground.
"How the hell...are you fine?" Lily asks him, huffing and puffing for breath.
Remus shrugs, "Lots of practice running away from trouble?" He offers with a mischievous grin. Lily rolls her eyes at him in annoyance, as she always does when any reminder of his place in the Marauders comes up. She's been far more accepting of them since the Cat-astrophe, especially seeing how they took care of Remus in the following days, but by no means does she like them or approve of their actions. And she still loathes James Potter. Remus doesn't think that bit will ever change.
"I still don't understand what Powermatch is," Con admits when he can breathe without feeling like he'll throw up.
"It's a cage fight, or it usually is. There're two opponents, powerful people, people who are meant to do something important," Wren begins explaining, "It's a fight to the death. Twists are thrown in, deadly snakes, a surprise third contestant, things like that. The point is for one party to kill the other but, most of the time no one walks away."
"How do you know all this?" Lily asks judgementally, obviously assuming he's somehow involved with it or an avid audience member.
Wren crosses his arms defensively, "Because I know the guy who created it."
"Why didn't you mention any of this before?" She asks, pulling herself upright.
He stands as well so as not to be at a disadvantage. "I didn't know. Not until the weirdo mentioned that woman's name after she left. It seemed familiar, but it didn't click until now."
"You know her?" Remus questions.
Wren shakes his head, "No. I know Phoenix." At everyone's confused look he shakes his head and sighs, "It's about as likely to be her real name as Con Coyote is to be his," Wren says, nodding to Con who purses his lips. "It's a code name, given to the host of these matches. It wasn't always her though, and it didn't start in cages and forests." Wren sighs again, rubbing a hand over his face. "It started in our living-room."
"What are you talking about?" Lily demands, short of patience as she always is when the subject of her birth family comes up.
"Our father was very sick when he was a child. They needed a healthy baby whose magic complimented his to keep him alive. They had our aunt and she gave him new life, so our grandparents named her Phoenix." Wren trails off for a moment, looking as though the story is physically painful for him to tell. "She was evil. She was evil and vile. She wanted control of the family name and fortune, she wanted to live at the top of everything, to have a seat at the head of the table, and she wanted us. Mother and Father wouldn't let that happen. She petitioned that, as the heir, our Father, would be dead if she were to die but she can live without him, she should be the heir. Or as close as a woman can be, so her husband would have been in control. Father challenged her husband to a duel that, if won, meant they would back down and if lost...they win." Wren looks up, true hatred in his eyes, "Father won, but Aunt Phoenix would not accept defeat. She killed herself knowing it would kill him, and the giver of life became the bringer of death." Wren turns, walking to a tree and pressing his hand to it for a moment before he half turns his head back, "That duel, that was the first of these Powermatches. Mother was never the same after Father died, she had no right to our family name and so, until I came of age, we were nothing. Not with our Grandparents now dead. She needed money. The first fight had attracted quite the crowd and sparked the idea in her head. What if she were to find others in a similar situation? And so, our house became the battle-ring of the rich and powerful, the ones who should have helped those below them and instead shoved us further down. The ones who brought drugs into our home and all but sentenced our mother to the pitiful end she met." Wren's had clenches on the front of the tree.
The others fall silent, unsure how to respond.
"Why didn't I know any of this?" Lily asks quietly.
Wren huffs out what was probably supposed to be a laugh but doesn't even come close. "You were a child, a daughter, an innocent being to be shielded from the big bad world."
"And why didn't you ever tell me?" Lily demands more forcefully, "After everything, when Mum died, when we were alone, you still said nothing!"
"YOU WERE NEVER ALONE!" Wren snaps, the others jerking back in surprise at his screaming, "I WAS ALONE! ...You ran. You ran as fast as you could and didn't look back at me once." Lily opens her mouth but...has nothing to say in her own defence. Wren nods at her silence, "You didn't want our family-My family-you never did. All you wanted was to have an easy life and be adored. Got yourself a nice little muggle family to wait on you hand and foot, and a friend in love with you to trail after you and do whatever you wish. I have never been good enough for you, the family has never been good enough for you. Why don't you know a damn thing about them? You've never cared to ask."
Lily blinks away sudden tears as she nods, "You're right. I... I abandoned you, after Mother died. I didn't understand what had happened. I was six and you told me she was never coming back. I..." Lily trails off, shaking her head, "I blamed you. I don't remember the family, Wren. I barely remember a damned thing from before she died. All I remember is you. I made such a toxic image in my head for you that I didn't think there could be anyone eviller, crazier."
Wren smirks slightly, but the look in his eyes speaks only of pain, "What is it your puppy said? There's always a crazier psycho?" He chuckles, "Well that psycho was the original Phoenix."
"…We should keep moving. Before whatever was following us catches our scent again," Con suggests when silence once more falls over the group. Wren and Remus exchange looks as Lily nods and the two walk on ahead.
"There's something about that guy, he's…" Wren trails off, but Remus nods his agreement.
"Something's up."
"What do we do?" He questions.
Remus breathes deeply, eyes watching Con's back as he walks. "Keep a close eye on him, but our priority is getting Lily out of this alive and in one piece. Agreed?"
Wren nods, "Agreed."
They continue trekking, directionless, for what seems to be hours. Dusk is setting in bringing with it a cold, blue haze over the forest.
Rather suddenly, Remus stops their progress.
"What is it?" Lily asks him.
Remus stays still, listening intently before he lifts his head slightly, scenting the air while trying not to seem like that's what he is doing. He notices an odd look on Con's face but puts it out of mind as a greater danger becomes apparent to him. "Something is hunting us. A pack of some kind," He answers quietly.
"How do you know?" Lily asks, just as quiet, unwilling to disturb the stillness in the air.
"Forget that, what are they?" Wren interjects, not caring too much about how this danger was found, only on how they can deal with it.
"Something smaller than wolves, bigger than a dog, canine like."
Con squats on the ground, looking at something before they hear his sudden intake of breath. They all turn to him as he looks up, "Coyotes."
"Well that's fine then, coyotes, they don't attack humans much," Lily says, even as they hear snarling, "So long as we don't appear as a threat-"
"Every living thing is viewed as a threat to a coyote," Con tells her, "The question isn't if they view you as a threat, it's if they think they can take you on. Usually coyotes hunt on their own, that's why they don't attack humans. For whatever reason, this family is hunting together."
"What do we do?" Remus asks him, deferring to greater knowledge and understanding.
"We need to appear bigger, scarier, make them run."
"How?" Wren presses impatiently.
Con seems to be growing flustered as he wracks his brain trying to think of a way out. "Okay, okay. Coyotes live in family units to protect each other but it's the same reason they hunt alone. If the whole family goes out, then the whole family is in danger. These ones hunting together must mean that it isn't safe to split up, but they won't want to put their cubs in any more danger than necessary." Twigs snap, bushes rustle, they know they are now surrounded.
"So, what do we do?" Wren snaps.
Con sighs, looking rather horrified with himself. Then he swallows and blinks away tears. He picks up a solid looking stick from the ground, "Who's the strongest person here?"
"I am," Remus immediately replies. Wren and Lily both raise an eyebrow at him in an identical fashion, but he ignores it.
Con hands the stick to him. "Aim for the smallest, hit it. Not enough to cause it serious harm or they will be out for our blood but make us more trouble than we are worth. The rest of us keep the adults occupied, make sure they cannot protect the cub," He orders. They nod, agreeing to the plan just as the coyotes begin their circling advance.
As the first snarling face comes into view, Remus bring the stick back much like a baseball bat, adjusting his grip out of nerves. What if I hit the cub too hard? What if this goes wrong? After spending my whole life worried about eating other people, am I to be mauled by a blasted coyote in some forgotten woods? Remus shakes off the internal tirade and focuses on the task at hand.
Five coyotes surround them and, as expected, there are two cubs, one of which is clearly the runt.
"Aim for the hind legs. When a coyote goes to leap, knock the hind legs forward," Con tells them.
The strongest of the unit circles until it faces Remus, head low as it snarls.
"If I throw a rock will it get their attention so that they attack me, and Remus can get the little one?" Lily asks Con who nods. She picks up a rock, preparing to throw it.
"When it hits, wait until it advances on you then jump back," He tells her.
Lily nods, aiming and pulling her arm back before she ditches the rock. It hits the snarling leader right in the head, they immediately turn to Lily and prowl forwards. Just as it bends back to leap, Lily jumps back. As the coyote tries to leap, Con knocks its hind legs out just as they had discussed, and it falls head first into the ground just in front of where Lily had been standing.
Wren helps Lily stand and the three of them attempt to keep four coyotes distracted while Remus waits for an opening on the runt.
"Get your wand out, Con," Wren tells him.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Lily questions.
"Something's wrong," Con says instead of a reply.
Wren huffs, "Yeah, you're standing there like an idiot. Get your bloody wand out!"
Con watches the coyotes for a moment before he shakes his head, "We aren't the only ones trying to keep their opponents distracted."
"What?" Lily asks, as the coyotes prowl closer to them.
"Con, get. Out. Your. Wand."
"I don't have one!" Con snaps at him, but before Wren can respond, a far larger coyote jumps over some bushes behind them, a growl coming from deep within its throat. It lands on top of Wren, about to bite his face when Con rams into its side, knocking it off but ending up pinned beneath it himself.
"AHH-Rgh," Con screams and groans as the true leader of the unit sinks its teeth into his neck.
They hear a whimper and suddenly the leader retreats, rushing with the others over to the fallen body of their smallest family member. Remus stands slightly away, bat still in hand after hitting the cub.
"Remus, st-step back. In front of us, make it o-obvious you wanted to pro-prote-ect us," Con stutters out as he holds a hand to his bleeding neck.
As the largest coyote turns and snarls at them all, the others in a tight circle around the hurt youngster, Remus can feel his wolf snarling back but fights off the instinct as best he can.
"Lower your bat, dip your head slightly," Con directs.
Asking for the truce in such a way goes against every primal instinct a werewolf has, but Remus manages it, despite the smell of Con's blood filling his senses and making focusing hard.
The coyote, rather reluctantly, lowers its head before snarling again and backing away. The rest of the family help the smallest as they all run off into the forest.
"Well…that was dramatic," Remus comments.
"Remus, heal. Now," Lily directs. He looks over to see her putting pressure on Con's wounds while trying not to choke him.
Remus clears his throat and nods, dropping to his knees beside Con and pulling out his wand. "Vulnera Sanentur," He casts.
Con gasps as he finds himself able to breathe again, "T-Thank you."
"He lives!" Wren calls, "Good. Now maybe we can get some answers on who the fuck you actually are."
"I'm the guy who just saved your life, that's who I am," Con replies with a glare.
"You're also the guy who almost got me killed. Why don't you have a wand?" Wren demands to know.
Con sighs, "Because I'm not a wizard."
"You're a Muggle?!" Remus asks, irrationally trying to hide his wand from him.
"No, well sort of, well…I knew about magic already. I…A witch cast a spell on me a year ago, one that made me what I am."
"What you are?" Lily asks him gently.
"…Human."
"Th-There's a spell that can do that?" Remus asks him carefully, he nods slowly.
"What were you before?" Lily questions as she sits more comfortably on the forest floor, anticipating a long explanation. It starts drizzling with rain and Lily hopes there won't be a storm.
"A Coyote," Con replies.
"That's how you knew all that before. About defending against them," Wren realises, looking mildly less defensive at the knowledge that he'd protected them against his own kind.
"Yes. I'm sorry that I lied. Humans…you always seem to be afraid or think yourselves superior. Both those things equal a very dead animal if one crosses your path and I didn't want to be the next victim so, so I lied."
Remus chuckles slightly as he leans against a nearby tree, "Con, have you ever heard of a Werewolf?" Con nods his head. "Well I am one, so believe me when I tell you I understand where you're coming from. But none of us will hurt you. Well, Lily and I won't, and I won't let Wren."
"Wait, I didn't know you could turn into a giant wolf. That's so cool!" Lily tells him.
"Does this mean we were both pretending to be human?" Con asks, Remus nods.
"We're just going to blow past any freaking out over the fact that he's a Werewolf?" Wren asks incredulously.
"We're not freaking out because there's nothing wrong with him," Lily tells her brother sternly.
"Okay, sure, fine. One small problem," He tells them, "Full moon is tomorrow night."
Lily's eyes go wide as she turns to Remus who winces and nods. "I was hoping we'd be out by then."
"Tomorrow night this ends. He'll transform, kill the three of us, be the last one standing, and then he'll be let go," Con states despairingly, dropping his head into his hands.
"No, not going to happen. I have never, and I will never kill anyone," Remus says strongly.
"Yeah and that sentiment is great, Rem, but if we haven't gotten out by then, you won't have a choice. Walking around this forest aimlessly has gotten us nowhere. We need a plan and we need it now," Lily tells them.
Con sighs, "Things weren't this hard when I was a coyote. I hate this."
"We've been here for hours. Maybe we should get some sleep," Remus suggests.
"Someone has to stay up. I'll take first watch and wake someone in a couple of hours," Wren says.
"Nope," Lily replies, "I'll take first watch."
"Don't trust me, Lils?"
"I want to, Wren," She replies, seeming genuine. "But no. As things stand, I don't."
As the group settles into trees to sleep as best they can, Lily remains seated on the ground at the base of the tree in the dark, damp forest.
"This isn't horror movie like at all," She mutters to herself a while later.
"I'd say this has been more of a thriller, honestly," Remus tells her from one branch above her head.
Lily jerks up in surprise, "Remus. I didn't realise you're still awake."
He smirks as he gets down and sits beside her. "I've never slept in a tree before. Apparently, it doesn't agree with me." The two sit in awkward silence for a moment, Lily clearly wanting to say something. Eventually, Remus rolls his eyes, "You can ask me about it you know," He tells her, "I can see that you want to."
"It's not about Lycanthropy," Lily tells him honestly, "I don't care about that."
"Then what is it?"
Lily bites at her lip, trailing her wand through the dirt. "Earlier, when he was chewing me out…Wren said I had a friend in love with me and trailing after me…and I'm pretty sure he was talking about you."
Remus intakes a sharp breath, "Can we maybe talk about that when we aren't in a death forest with fifteen or so hours to live? Well, for you lot anyway."
"And if we don't get that chance? If we don't escape?"
Remus sighs, looking pained, "Then it won't matter anyway."
The two once more fall into silence.
Meanwhile, high up in the tree…
"So, wait…are you telling me that you don't pick your partners by strength?" Con asks in bewilderment, looking away from the two down below.
Wren sighs, "Well, I suppose some do, but Piper has never been that sort of person."
"What sort of person is that?" Con questions, he's spent a year trying to understand the intricacies of human interaction and finds he is no closer than he was when first transformed.
"A shallow one."
Hours later, the four unwilling contestants sit in the tree, feeling safer up high after the events of the previous evening, and debate what to do now. It's not going well…
"You know for someone who's like nine hours away from killing three people, you seem awfully calm!" Wren complains when Remus attempts to remain cool-tempered and logical.
"I'm trying to come up with an actual plan."
"Why is it that you lose your temper over stupid things but when things actually matter, you're a dispassionate zombie?!"
"Wren!" Con chastises, "That's not helping."
Lily sighs, looking up down at the ground below their tree. She then looks up again, surveying the area around them. "Could've at least killed us in a more cheerful setting. Could have been a beautiful forest, but no, we got a death forest."
"That's not helping either," Remus tells her. Wren mumbles under his breath. Remus looks to Con in exasperation.
Con raises an eyebrow at him, "Do I look like someone you should come to for advice? I learnt how to walk on two legs and use a toilet less than a year ago."
"Fair enough," Remus admits.
"Sitting here isn't helping anything, maybe we should keep moving," Lily suggests.
"And go where?" Wren questions.
"I don't know just somewhere else," Lily replies snippily.
"Dying in this particular spot in the forest not working for you?"
"Might be an idea to look for water," Con suggests. "There could be a lake or something."
"Even if there is, what are the chances of us just happening upon it while walking around aimlessly?" Wren pushes.
"Better than our chances of finding it while sitting in a tree arguing," Remus responds coolly.
Wren glares for a few moments more, then huffs and nods, "Fine."
The group walks, occasionally talking, for hours and find no water. Eventually, Lily calls for a rest.
"This is it, isn't it?" Con asks as he watches the sky, growing darker from the setting sun. "After managing to survive for a year in human form, I'm going to die being mauled as prey like I would've been doing to prey of my own twelve months ago."
Remus grabs his arm, looking away in shame and for once not seeming so aloof about it all. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. Lily walks over to him and pulls him into a hug.
"No, I am." Remus and Lily look to Wren in shock. Wren sighs, "I've been thinking of nothing but watching my own back for so long that I didn't even consider…well we're the lucky ones in this situation, aren't we? We're going to die, but you have to live. You have to live with the memory of this."
Remus blinks away the tears in his eyes, but all it accomplishes is making one fall down his face. "Don't…don't do that. I'm not the victim here, I'm the mo-" Remus takes a deep breath, "…I'm the monster."
"You aren't a monster, Remus," Lily tells him.
"I'm not?" Remus asks incredulously, "In less than an hour I am going to eat you. I will tear you limb from limb and if you try to run, I will hunt you down and enjoy it," He says, growing hysterical. "I can't do this…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I can't-I don't want to…" Remus drops to his knees. "Kill me."
"Sorry-what now?" Wren asks, "What happened to 'sticking together is the only way to get through this'?"
Remus shakes his head, "We agreed, Wren," He says looking the man in the eye. "We agreed on the priority, and it's not me. This is the only way you all survive the night. Please…I don't want to be a killer. I don't want to walk around tomorrow knowing I killed you all…that your flesh is currently being digested inside my body. I don't want to wake up with your decimated corpses surrounding me. I don't…I don't want to wake up. Not after that. Please."
Lily kneels before him and looks him in the eyes, a hand on his shoulder and one cupping his cheek. "No." Remus closes his eyes, tears streaming down his face. She holds him close as he breaks apart, still whispering pleas that she ignores.
A while later, things have calmed down again. The calm before the storm.
"Remus…" Lily begins, Remus looks up from hanging his head in shame and defeat. "When you make it out of here…just tell my family that I love them. Tell them I appreciate them taking me in, giving me a home filled with love and warmth. Tell them that they've meant the world to me."
"Any other requests?" Remus asks after nodding at his friend. He hates that this conversation must happen, but there's no hope anymore. They won't kill him and, correctly assuming that he'd try and take care of the problem himself, Wren took his wand away from him.
"Take anything left of me back to Manitoba. It's in Canada, my pack lives there. If there's much left I might be able to feed a few of them," Con asks. Remus shuts his eyes against the images in his head, but he nods.
"And you?" Remus asks Wren.
Wren shakes his head, "I've nothing and no one."
"Maybe not out there," Lily tells him, "But here, you've got me." Wren looks at her in surprise, she smiles slightly, "I'm your sister. I'm supposed to be a nightmare only to come through in the end with love and support."
"And I'm your big brother. I'm supposed to protect you." Wren looks to the ground, "I'm sorry I've failed that so frequently. Even been the one to put you in danger."
"Past is the past. Doesn't do us any good to stay hung up on it. Particularly now," She replies.
Remus winces, shifting as pain shoots down his spine, "Argh."
"Remus?" Lily asks, looking over in alarm.
"I-It's starting," He tells them, fear in his eyes. Remus just about bends in half, crying out in pain. His body contorts as it begins taking a new shape.
"Remus, hey, this isn't who you are," Lily tells him, holding his face to look him in the eyes.
"Y-You should've run…should-should ha-have gotten away from me," He tells her before screaming. The scream ends in a not human sounding yelp. His fingernails turn to claws and when he opens his eyes again, they look far more wolf-like than human.
"Remus," Wren says calmly, kneeling beside his sister. Remus looks over, but Wren isn't convinced he can understand them anymore. He speaks anyway, "All that passion you've been hiding? Now's the best time to show it off. You are stronger than any curse or illness or monster." Remus maintains eye contact for three second more before he starts screaming again.
As he convulses, and his clothes start ripping, Wren pulls Lily away from him. Though what he hopes to achieve from this, he doesn't know. Lily and Wren both pull their wands out, hoping to hold off the wolf until moonset. Suddenly the screaming stops and before them is a fully-grown Werewolf who takes a moment to howl at the moon. Then it turns to them, sniffing the air before growling and heading forwards.
Something comes barrelling at it from the side. Con, Lily, and Wren look on, wide eyes and breathing hard from fright. The creature appears to be some sort of mutant bear and they assume it's what's been following them.
Despite the creature's size, the werewolf makes quick work of it, tearing it's jugular out with it's ferocious bite. It turns back to them, blood dripping from its teeth, tongue flicking out to taste it as it walks towards them once more.