A/N: I know this is a quick turn-around from the previous chapter, but I don't care I'm on a roll.


Nine

Days crept by slowly.

During daylight, the couple would go hiking around the bothy, taking in the serenity found in the cold shrubland or the ancient trees nearby. When the weather turned for the worse, they would rush inside and warm themselves with a fire, some cocoa, and sex every now and then. They would read while cuddled up and told stories of their own when they couldn't concentrate on the ones across the pages. It was an enjoyable holiday away from everything, one that they knew didn't have to be their last.

One evening, a few nights out from the full moon, Clara and Basil were taking a stroll underneath the partial moon and all the stars of the heavens. They wandered around, enjoying the clear and tranquil night around them. By the time they returned to the bothy it was time for what had become an embarrassingly-late dinner, which Basil appeared to prepare for by taking off his clothes soon as Clara was done bolting the door.

"What are you doing…?" she smirked. She watched as he went down to his pants, folding up the rest of his clothes to leave on the bunk.

"I'm going to get us a hare for dinner, since it's a late one anyhow—I haven't had a Cairngorms hare in years, and if you like goat, then you might like that."

"What does that have to do with putting your pants on backwards?" She pointed at him as he shimmied out of the question-mark-laden fabric and, indeed, proceeded to put them back on the wrong way.

"It's for my tail to go through," he stated. "I can't go asking Nardole or Heather for a mend simply because I didn't have the foresight to turn them around."

Now that confused Clara. "I thought you couldn't transform."

"Not into a full wolf or the Scottie dog you first met, but an in-between. A sort of halfway point, if you will, thanks to the partial moon, and will make things easier on the big night."

"Oh…" She nodded and sat down, bracing herself for what she was about to see. Instead, Basil knelt down before her and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I was going to go outside and transform; don't worry."

"No, do it here, or else I won't get used to it. I'm braver than you know."

"Clearly."

At that, he stepped back and closed his eyes, concentrating on the task at-hand. Clara gripped the edge of her seat as she watched her fiancé's skin became covered in hair and his skeletal structure began to change. It was very much like the nightmare she'd had before, except with silly-looking pants and when he did finally open his eyes back up, they were the same ones that had been gazing upon her the entire trip. Those human, youthful, adoring eyes of a light steel-blue comforted her before he turned away and left the bothy.

…and his tail was sticking out the back of his pants, of all things.

Instead of idly sitting around waiting for Basil to return, Clara decided to take an inventory of the food they had left. There was enough for about four more days—five if the hare for that night's dinner was on the larger end—and it gave her the great satisfaction to know that they had planned their excursion perfectly. She made sure to feed the fire and make sure it was burning brightly, so that not only would there be a warm place for her nearly-starkers Basil to return to, but that it kept the bothy clearly lit in order for her to read and take lesson notes by the light.

It felt as only fifteen or so minutes passed when Clara heard some rustling outside. She paused her note-taking and glanced towards the door, hoping to see Basil walk in at any moment. A knock reached her ears instead, which caused her to put her pencil down and stand.

"Clara…?"

That was not Basil's voice.

Clara rushed over to the door and opened it wide, confused beyond belief. There, standing in the doorway, was Adrian Davies. He looked filthy and scruffy and as though he hadn't had a proper sleep or meal in days, yet she could still fully recognize her coworker in the dim light.

"Adrian…?" she marveled. "What are you doing here…?"

"I heard you were coming up this way, and something didn't feel right about it," he admitted, almost sheepishly. "I feel like a right tit now that I'm up here, but there was something I couldn't put my finger on—still can't—and I needed to hear from you that things are alright."

"I have been up here nearly a week; how did it take you this long to find me?"

Adrian took a beaten paper map from his pocket and unfolded it to show her. A bunch of tiny circles, lines, scribbles, and x's covered the map, along with his neat, trim cursive in certain spots. "I looked in every bothy around here at least once… but then I realized that you weren't on the map, and when I saw the light from the fire peeking out from the cracks in the shutters..."

"Danny did say you worried too much for your own good," Clara laughed. She hugged him, glad that he was such a caring friend, only for a thought to bring her from the moment. "How did you know that I was here?"

"Mr. Coburn said that you and Mr. Smith were out this way," he explained. He took his backpack off and set it on the floor before moving towards the fire to warm up. "Why are you out here with him? Is he an experienced enough hillwalker and hiker for this terrain? I didn't think you were into the stuff, and to go out here with someone who doesn't even…"

"Basil and I are engaged," she blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth, eyes going wide, as she realized the potential error she just made. Adrian's eyes nearly bugged at the news, unsure how to process it.

"You two are what…?" He sat on the floor and stared at his friend, completely taken aback. "Since when have the two of you been engaged?"

"Recently," she admitted, sitting next to him. "We're getting married next autumn, after I move to Bristol in the summer."

"…and you're getting married?! Moving?! Clara, are you sure about this?"

"Yes, but it's difficult to explain," she replied. "Basil and I have a plan—it's a very good plan—and we know that it makes us much better off than other couples, some of whom have been together for ages. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."

"So then he's not forcing you into anything?" She shook her head. "It's not because of some weird fit brought about by the Anniversary?" Another silent denial, after which he blushed slightly before whispering, "Are you pregnant?"

"No," she laughed loudly. It only made him blush more, his entire face going red. "I appreciate your concern, but we don't plan on that happening until after we get married."

"Good," he nodded. "I've been afraid for a while that what happened a year ago changed too much of you permanently. It wasn't easy burying a good mate before his time, but it was probably harder watching another act not-herself, even if it was because she had a right to be in mourning."

"Shit; you, Danny, Basil… you're all idiots," she laughed. She then stood and helped him up, directing him towards the sink. "Wash up there and when you're done I'll put on some tea. Basil's out trapping a hare for dinner and should be back soon." He nodded and brought her in for a tight hug, knowing that everything was going to be fine.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Adrian was almost instantly pulled from Clara and shoved up against the wall. Basil had returned, his front covered in hare's blood as he growled his disdain for the stranger in his bothy. He snarled and barked, snapping his jowls mere inches from Adrian's face, making the man freeze in terror.

"Basil, stop it!" Clara demanded. She tugged on his left arm, attempting to pull him off their coworker. His muscles, she realized were incredible strong—stronger than he was as a human being. He looked at her, his eyes furious, and she stood her ground. "It's Adrian, you idiot! Can't you tell?!"

The werewolf looked back at the man in his grasp and realization kicked in. He let go and slowly stepped back, letting himself shift to his human form as he did so. Before long, Basil was the pasty, thin, greying scruff of a man he normally was, except now with the hare's blood going from his mouth and unshaven chin down to his belly. Adrian stood against the wall the entire time, his entire body shaking.

"Fuck… what are you…?" he gasped.

"Language," Basil insisted. He went back towards the still-opened door and picked the twin dead hares up from just outside the threshold. "Is illiteracy that much of a problem amongst the staff of Coal Hill?"

"What…?"

"The sign, again, you pudding-brained nit." Basil put the game in the sink before grabbing a washcloth to clean himself up. "Clara, you explain; I'm clearly beyond his grasp and you're used to explaining things to people who need a few passes to understand."

"Basil…"

"Yes?"

"Apologize to Adrian, now," she demanded.

"The man comes into my bothy, is alone with my fiancée, I have no idea what his intentions are… I think I'm justified." Now clean, Basil went over to his pile of clothes and dropped his pants to turn them right-side around before dressing again. He had his socks and trousers on before he noticed Adrian was still staring at him. "What is wrong with you? Are you broken?"

"What is wrong with you?" Adrian asked breathlessly. "How… what… what just happened?!"

"Basil is a werewolf," Clara explained. She brought Adrian over towards the sink and found a clean washcloth for him to use to scrub off all the days of being outdoors. "My flat wasn't broken into—it was my neighbor seeing him during the day."

Adrian reached a new level of shock, one that Clara hadn't exactly thought possible from before. "You're marrying your dog?"

"I am going to marry the woman who saved my life," Basil interrupted. He was pulling his hooded sweatshirt on now, no longer making the other man uncomfortable with his blatant nakedness. "The incident with the police made me want to leave Clara's care after making certain she was comfortable in her own home again, but we were attacked during a walk and plans changed."

"…so when did you know he was a… werewolf…?"

"The night the police were in my flat," Clara replied. "The walk we went on was very late, and I dragged him back home after being attacked by a snake-cat-thing. He reverted to a human form right on my kitchen floor."

"I still feel like I'm missing a lot of information," Adrian said.

"Which is none of your business," Basil said. "Now what are you doing here and how did you find us, coblynau?"

"Just because I'm from St. Asaph doesn't mean you can call me by any Welsh spook's name!"

"It's in your blood, boyo," Basil stated. "Plenty of non-assuming, otherwise useless, human beings have ancestry that involves a preternatural creature or three. In some circles it was considered a miraculous feat if the offspring of such unions kept the magic abilities more than a generation out, and those people were coveted as tragic figures in society."

"That sounds… highly unlikely."

"It's one of my many areas of study, the history of the magic folks and their marginalization as humankind rose to prominence. One can say that it's an excellent local example of the Scots, Welsh, and Irish peoples being the oppressors and colonizers of one subset of people while being oppressed and colonized themselves."

"You're mad."

"…and you just watched me transform from a non-human state into this one," Basil motioned at himself, "only to stand there wetting yourself while fighting the urge your brain has to dismiss what you just saw as nonsense. We're out here for a reason, and that reason is that I need space when the full moon finally hits me, or else things would be apt to go viral."

Clara gently backhanded Basil's arm as she went and brought Adrian back towards the table, having him sit down in one of the chairs. Whilst the werewolf dressed and cooked his kill, his fiancée explained all that was left to tell their coworker, attempting to keep him calm and collected. They ate dinner together before turning in, with Basil stripping again so that he could turn into his half-wolf form and lay on the ground as a warm pillow for Clara so that Adrian could take the bunk.

It was quiet as the three went to sleep in the dimming light of the fire, with not a one knowing what was coming their way… something that would make Adrian's paradigm-upending revelations pale in comparison.