A minute later, Wynonna stepped out from Remus's room.

"Did you sleep well?" Remus asked as he took a seat at the table, now missing the messy pile of books, two plates with eggs and toast in their place.

"Fine, why?" She asked, taking a seat across from him and avoiding looking in his eyes. Images from her dream were still too fresh in her mind to chance looking at him.

"Just asking," he replied quietly, confused by her tone and avoidant gaze though not enough to comment on it.

"Right...and you?"

"Good, yeah. Sorry if it's a little bland, I'm not much of a cook."

"Melin's tits, Lu, relax. I'm not expecting a five-star meal for fuck's sake," she said, a touch of hostility in her tone, as unfairly directed at him as her earlier bark when he'd woken her up.

Remus raised his brows, not only confused but feeling a little assaulted by her tone. All he'd done was make breakfast and couldn't fathom how that could have possibly upset her. Yet she clearly seemed to be bothered by something.

"Are you all right?"

"'M fine," she bit out, pausing for a moment before she chanced a look at him. She regretted it almost instantly upon seeing the look on his face, feeling bad for taking out her frustrations on him. Though in her eyes, it was his fault she was frustrated, but she couldn't very well explain that to him. "Just…" She gestured at the food in front of her, "hungry I guess." She finished lamely, before looking away from him and taking a bite of her food.

"Right...well, as soon as you're finished eating, we should get ready and get going. I've got everything packed up and ready to go. I just need to shower and you might want to do the same. It might be awhile before you can shower properly again."

"Speaking of that, uhm, where exactly will we be staying?"

"I've got a tent. Well, I've borrowed a tent."

"Right, I guess that makes sense."

"Are you sure you're okay coming along?"

"Yeah, I said I'm fine."

"It's not going to be the most comfortable trip," Remus said with a shrug. "You don't have to go along."

"Do you not want me to go or what?" She asked, looking up at him once again. This time she was genuinely frustrated with him in a way in which she felt he'd earned.

"No it's just-you're still healing and…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, go on, Lu, tell me," she said, dropping her fork on her plate with a clatter, sitting back and folding her arms tersely in front of her.

"Really, it's nothing...I just-you don't have to do this. You don't owe me or the Order anything."

"Owe you for what?"

"For saving you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask to be saved in the first place, so, yeah, I know I don't owe you anything."

Remus looked taken aback again by her hostility and shook his head, not at her but at himself for somehow continuing to piss her off when he was trying to do the opposite. From the minute he'd woken her, she'd seemed to be angry with him, and now was determined to stay that way for whatever reason.

"That's not what I meant, I just…" he paused again and shook his head. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything you don't want to do."

"Well, I wanna go."

"Why?"

"For fucks' sake, Lu, does it matter?"

"I guess not," he answered, keeping his response short and to the point. It seemed the more he said, the more likely he was to just irritate her further. Then, standing, he grabbed his plate and took it to the sink before waving his wand so it began to clean itself. "I'm going to get in the shower then."

Wynonna said nothing, just stared back at her plate, finishing her breakfast in silence. When she finished, like Remus, she set her plate in the sink where it began to clean itself.

While she waited for him to shower, she decided to poke around the rest of his place, marveling at the fact that he'd managed to outfit his small flat with so many bookshelves. As she pursued their shelves, she noted many of the books were educational in nature though was surprised to find an entire shelf dedicated to what appeared to be Muggle books. None of the pictures on the front were moving, so she just assumed. And she could distinctly remember having seen similar titles being read by Lily, who was Muggle-born.

A few more pictures littered these shelves, most containing the same two individuals she'd observed in the one clearly celebrating Remus's birthday. There was another birthday photograph, this time with the number nine on the cake, and again Wynonna examined it closely, seeing more and more of the features she was familiar with growing on the young boy's face. And again she noticed in this photo as well that his arms were covered in the same strange markings she'd seen in the other.

Struck suddenly by a realization, she scoured the shelves for more photographs of him in his younger days, finding the one she was looking for, the one of him preparing for his first day of school. Just as was the case in the photo of him with his friends, in this one as well he wore a long-sleeve sweater. A few more were taken from his school years and all of them had that in common. All the photos after he started school, he was never pictured without long sleeves, which tracked with her earlier realization that she'd never seen him in short sleeves. Only pictures with his parents when he was younger showed his arms and her suspicion from the night before returned.

Had he really not been even five years old when he was bitten? Did he have scars similar to the ones now littering her own body? Was this the reason, as she had so tastefully put it a few nights ago, that he dressed like a walking sweater?

Before she could think more about it, she heard the bathroom door open and she jumped and whipped her head around quickly. She blushed, feeling like she'd gotten caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing but he barely even looked her way. Instead he had slipped quickly from the bathroom to his bedroom and as she pondered those photographs and what they concealed, she was sure she knew why: To hide his own scars from her view. He'd been too late though. As he'd hurried into his room, she'd caught a quick enough glance at his exposed back to see.

She wasn't sure why she was so surprised. She already knew he was a werewolf, but somehow it shocked her to imagine that at some point in his own life, he had suffered through as painful an attack as she had. And though she wasn't positive, it appeared as though he'd been quite young when it had happened. She just found it hard to picture someone like him being a werewolf. He seemed so...good, that it just didn't add up that he'd been attacked in the first place, let alone that it hadn't turned him into some kind of monster.

It's what she'd always grown up believing, that werewolves were nothing but monsters. Not just subhuman but inhuman. When looking at herself it felt like some sort of cosmic justice that she'd be turned into one. She was a shitty human being, it only seemed fair. With Remus, it just seemed cruel.

"Your turn," his voice rang out, stirring her from her thoughts as he stepped back out from his room. She couldn't help but notice that once again he was dressed in a long sweater that seemed much too warm for the weather.

"Right. I'll try to be quick," she said, as she slipped into his room without looking at him to grab the small bag of her things she'd had with her on the night she'd been attacked before heading to the bathroom.

A short half hour later, the two, freshly showered, stood in his small kitchen, Wynonna standing idly beside him as he double checked they had everything they needed.

"I think we're good to go."

Wynonna hummed in thought. "Nope, something's missing," she replied, containing her grin. Her hot shower had washed away not just dirt and grime but all depressing or frustrating thoughts about the man next to her.

"What?" He said, poking through everything laid out before them, eyes alight with concern.

"Whiskey."

He stood up straight, turning to face her with a scowl. "Funny."

"I'm not joking," she answered dryly, and she really wasn't. "It's a necessity."

"I'm sure," he replied sarcastically.

"No, seriously. You do not wanna see me without my whiskey. I'm a nightmare."

"Oh, yes, can't imagine what that might be like."

Wynonna blinked before a wide grin spread on her lips, dimples appearing again. "Did you just make a joke, Lu?" Then she elbowed him in the side playfully without waiting for an answer. "I didn't know you were funny."

"There's a lot about me you don't know."

"Ooh, mysterious," she teased and Remus frowned, seemingly unamused. Though he couldn't hide his small grin.

"We'll get a bottle on the way."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"You trying to get me drunk?"

"Somehow I don't think I'd really have to try."
"You're not wrong," she replied, smiling at him. "Well, let's go then. Aren't we in a hurry or something?"

Remus rolled his eyes and gathered the things into a backpack he'd magically enhanced to fit far more things than it ought to and the pair set out. After a quick stop at the liquor store down the street from Remus's flat, they wound their way into a small alley before disapparating to a field on the outskirts of a large forest.

"So," Wynonna said as she looked around as Remus began walking toward the woods, "what exactly are we doing anyway? Or is that confidential information."

"No," he replied, shaking his head, "It's not confidential. Dumbledore's been having me keep tabs on a few werewolf packs, ones on the fringes, to see whether Death Eaters come recruiting."

"And have they been?"

Remus nodded in silence and continued walking. The field was wide and open and he wanted to get under cover of the large pine trees in case they ran into any one, friendly or otherwise. They could apparate again but the noise was loud and Remus didn't want to alert anyone unnecessarily.

"Were The Seven?"

"What? Being recruited?"

Wynonna nodded in reply.

"I don't know. All the information I've heard of them, they keep mostly to themselves. As far as I know, they're not interested in picking sides." Pausing, he looked over his shoulder at her. "What do you know of them? You probably have better information than I do as far as they're concerned."

She shrugged and shook her head. "Nope. You've got about as much info as I do. But to be perfectly honest, we weren't exactly concerned about their motives. We only cared about one thing."

Remus hummed, a quiet, thoughtful sort of sound, feeling sure he knew what that one thing was. And it wasn't something he had an interest in bringing up. It did neither one of them any good to bring up her past and her family's business of hunting werewolves.

A silence settled between them after that and for nearly a half hour, they pair walked in silence until they reached the cover of the woods. Standing still, Remus craned his neck, listening intently. Though he was now over a week out from his last transformation, his senses were still heightened if he focused them enough. He might not be able to hear as well as he could in the day or two leading up to or from a transformation, he could hear far better than the average person.

"What're you-?"

Remus cut her off with a shake of his head, placing his fingers to his lips before turning his head again to listen closely. He wasn't sure exactly where the pack they were to watch would be camping so from here on out, they had to tread carefully. "I want to get a little further in," he told her in a whisper, walking deeper into the woods.

Another ten minutes passed in a tense silence, Wynonna wondering whether she ought to be on guard or if Remus was simply being cautious. Either way, she kept close to him and stayed quiet. When they reached a small clearing, Remus stopped again.

"If you can, start getting everything out of here," he said, slipping the backpack off his shoulder and handing it to Wynonna.

"What are you going to do?"

"Set up some enchantments so we can't be seen or heard."

Wynonna nodded in silence, before unzipping the bag while Remus walked around in a large circle around them, wand raised, muttering a stream of spells under his breath. For a moment, Wynonna got sucked in to watching him work, watching his intense focus as the air shimmered around them with whatever magic he was performing. At one point he had turned and she hastily busied herself in emptying the bag.

She took out the whiskey first-priorities-then worked on taking out the other essentials. After a minute or two, Remus made his way back to her side, staring at the pile of everything she'd pulled out. He grinned when he saw the whiskey.

"All the important things, I see."

"You know it," she said with a wink.

"Do you think you can gather up some wood for a fire?"

"Sure," she said standing and looking around. "Er-the perimeter?"

Remus smiled, then quickly explained to her the bounds of his enchantments so she knew where she could safely go. She set off, only to return a moment later, taking her bottle of whiskey with her. Again Remus grinned, shaking his head as she set off again and he began setting up the rest of their camp.

The tent itself was easy enough, though he fumbled the spell the first time and nearly tangled the whole thing. On the second try, it was erected perfectly and he stepped inside it to unpack other small essentials.

Being a tent borrowed from another wizard, it was larger on the inside than would appear from the outside, but it was still rather small. There was a small area that served as a sleeping area and a small area that could serve as a kitchen or dining area, but it was so small, Remus figured they'd just eat outside around the fire anyway.

When Remus stepped back outside, not only had Wynonna gathered enough wood for a campfire, but had lit it as well. And, Remus noted with another grin, she'd already poured herself a small glass of whiskey.

Remus took a seat beside her, taking a break and raising a brow at her as he eyed her drink. "What? It's afternoon now and I deserve a drink."

"Oh, yes, gathering firewood is such hard work."

"I'm still healing, dickhead."

"Em hm," he replied, narrowing his eyes playfully. "Though apparently not your liver."

"Whatever," she said, pouring herself another glass. "Do you want some?"

Remus remained silent for a moment, contemplating. It was a tempting offer, really. The day was chillier than expected given it was still summer, but the clouds had hidden the sun and its warmth. In the end, however, he shook his head. "Maybe later."

"I'll hold you to that," she replied, and Remus was certain she meant it. She'd been like that when they were kids too, not necessarily in regard to himself as she generally limited actually speaking to him as much as possible, settling instead for glaring and teasing from across classrooms. But he had seen her egg on others, particularly James, who, strictly speaking, didn't need egging on, and Sirius who usually had a glass before she could offer him one.

"So, what's the plan for today, Lu?" Wynonna asked a quarter of an hour later as Remus returned to the fire again now that he'd unpacked their belongings and the tent was now fully set up.

"Afraid there isn't one really. We're just here to keep an eye on things and report back. In a bit I think I might go have a look around and see if I can't pinpoint where this pack is holding out." With an exhausted sort of sigh, he took a seat across from Wynonna around the fire, staring into its orange flames, reveling in the warmth offered. "Though you don't have to join me for that. I know you didn't exactly sign up for this," he added with a sympathetic shrug.

"Didn't we go over this already? I didn't turn it down either," she replied, taking a small sip from her whiskey.

"I know, but as you said, you're still healing and you really ought to rest. You shouldn't be doing anything too strenuous."

"So I'm just supposed to sit here all day?" She asked, annoyance dripping from her words. Though if she were being perfectly honest, tagging along and doing a bit of recon didn't tickle her fancy either.

"You're more than welcome to wander around within the perimeter I've set up. It's more than enough space."

"Well, thanks, Captain," she replied sarcastically.

"You really don't have to stay if you don't want to," he said again, and though he could have been harsh with his words, since he'd given her plenty of outs already, they were as sincere as ever, almost infuriatingly so. Sometimes she wondered how he was able to do it. How he was able to summon so much patience with her when others would have kicked her to the curb by now.

"I can arrange a Portkey to take you back," he continued after she gave no reply.

"No," she replied quickly. "No-er, it's fine," she said, slower this time. The truth was, she didn't have anywhere to go. Deep down a part of her knew they wouldn't turn her away if she tried to take up residence back at headquarters, but she had no interest in returning there. There was nothing there for her and joining up with the Order wasn't part of her plans.

As pathetic as it was, Remus was all she had right now. Loathe as she was to admit it, she needed him too. This new life of hers, being a werewolf was all new to her and it obviously wasn't new to him. If there was ever a person qualified to help her transition to this new life, it was Remus.

"But, uh...just out of curiosity, how long are we going to be out here?"

"At least until the next full moon."

"Three weeks!?" Wynonna bolted upright from where she sat on the other side of the fire, spilling a bit of whiskey from her cup, staring back at Remus with wide eyes.

"It's a stakeout, Earp. That's sort of how they work, it's just a lot of waiting. Again," he he paused, sighing, already feeling he knew what her response would be this time, too, "you don't have to stay. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to turn back, no one would. It's not exactly glamorous work." For people like him, unglamorous work was usually all they could find, even amongst the ranks of the order who liked to preach their tolerance and acceptance. Even for them, those things only stretched so far.

"No," she replied once more as Remus had known she would, her voice firm and set. As worried as she was for the full moon in three weeks time, she knew it would be far better to be with him through it than on her own. In this one regard, she was willing to put aside her desire to be a lone wolf. Try as she might to portray otherwise, Wynonna wasn't totally fearless. "I want to be here," she added finally, quietly, her voice almost shy.

"Well, make yourself comfortable. I shouldn't be more than a few hours," he said, deciding now was as good a time as ever to get started on the business of the day. Remus retreated then back into the tent to pack a small bag of things he may need.

Just a few minutes later, Remus emerged, wand in hand. While he was out, he figured he'd try to find something to eat as well and had packed a few things in his magically expanded bag for fishing. Having magic at his disposal made it easier by far and it was really as simple as summoning some fish from a nearby body of water.

The hardest part would be finding a suitable place to do so. As he and Wynonna were no the only two werewolves using this forest for cover, Remus wouldn't be the only one searching for a source of food. The trick would be avoiding a run in with the pack they were tracking and getting the fish he needed fast.

After that, making dinner was easy enough. Remus was no expert at domestic spells like those required to make a meal, but he could at least scrounge up something edible. It would have to do for the time being. Once he was sure where they other pack was, he'd have a better idea of where they could and could not go so as to not run into them.

Within a half an hour, he'd found a small creek with a few fish ready for the taking. With a lazy flick of his wand, he summoned a few fish, fumbling to catch them all as they flew out of the water toward him all at once. He grabbed the largest, placing them in his bag and quickly threw the others back into the water before continuing on.

As he traversed slowly through the woods, pausing every so often to listen to his surroundings, expecting at any moment to hear sounds of the werewolf pack, his mind kept drifting back to Wynonna at the camp and how strange it was to be in such close company with her.

It was still strange to him that of all the people he could have wound up being forced into close company with, it ended up being Wynonna. Even more strange was how little it felt like a burden or something he was forced into. While he could never say he would have chosen her as a work companion if given the choice, it was hardly as bad as he would have expected it had someone suggested it.

All of his work for the order thus far had been done alone for obvious reasons so he had hardly ever expected to share space with anyone let alone Wynonna Earp. Or as Sirius had called her, his old flame. As he walked, he laughed to himself at the very idea of her having been anything close to an old flame. For that to have been true, there would have had to have been some sort of an actual relationship between them, though that was far from the case.

Apart from their one kiss, the memory of which had cropped up in the past week on more than one occasion, Wynonna had never been much more than an adolescent crush, a school boy's fantasy. Even if she hadn't so viciously and obviously despised him back then, he'd never imagined having a relationship with her. Not even if, by some miracle, she had shown any hint of interest in having one with him.

Truth be told, Remus had never imagined having a romantic relationship with anyone. During his years at Hogwarts, relationships hadn't been at the forefront of his mind, nor had that changed as he'd gotten older. Being what he was, relationships were a touch more complicated than they were for others. People in the wizarding world weren't exactly queuing up to be involved with a werewolf. One wrong move, one kiss too fierce, one nibble too hard, one scratch, and Remus could risk spreading his condition to someone else. But even if it weren't so easily spread from one person to another, the negative stigma against werewolves was so strong, most could barely even look at him once they found out what he was.

That wasn't to say that Remus hadn't dabbled in relationships since leaving Hogwarts but his experience was limited. There were certain precautions he could take, measures to ensure that whomever he chose to spend time with in that way wouldn't contract his disease, and he always took all of them. In the end though, anything beyond an evening, maybe two, was too much of a risk and too much of a hassle. There was no point getting close to anyone only for them to discover what he was and leave.

Where Wynonna was concerned, he had never gotten the impression she was interested in relationships. After all, she hadn't been known so much for having many boyfriends as she was for spending the night with many boys. Whatever her particular reasons for not keeping any of them around longer than a night, Remus couldn't speak to, but it was clear she had her own aversion. Thus, instead, the pair had seemingly fallen strangely comfortable with their frustrated flirtation, neither wishing to take things any further than that one kiss that one evening.

Nearing a small clearing, Remus suddenly heard voices coming toward him, effectively tearing Remus from his thoughts of Wynonna as he couched low, ducking into cover among some bushes, holding his breath as a group of people approached. Without needing to see them clearly, he could already tell this was the pack he'd been looking for. His senses were still heightened from his recent transformation and he could smell them as clear as day. He hoped their numbers and respective scents would disguise his own from their notice.

As they stepped into view, Remus noted that none of them looked familiar to him, but he'd never made it a priority to try to mix or mingle with other werewolves. He wasn't fond of his condition, nor did he have any desire to embrace it as so many others did. He never judged the others or looked at them with disdain, those feelings were all directed inward to himself, but he also never wanted to be a part of their world.

"Did you hear that?" One of them asked, holding out his arm to stop the others. Wordlessly, Remus put a disillusionment charm on himself. The only way they would be able to see him now would be to look very closely indeed. At just a glance, all they would see were the bushes he was crouched behind.

"It's a woods, Rafe," another, deeper voice replied. "What you think it's gonna be? Place is crawling with things. For all you know, it was a bloody squirrel."

"Yeah, or it could be something else," said the first voice again.

"Oi, come off it. No one's looking for us out here. No one cares that we're out here. The Dark Lord doesn't give a rats arse about any one of us, no matter what he says, " the second, deeper voice rang out again.

A few grunts of agreement sounded among the group as their footsteps picked up once more, the group heading to the east. Remus took a change to adjust enough to see them depart, noting one lagging, muttering under his breath, looking mutinously at the departing group before eventually falling in line behind them.

Remus watched a moment longer as they departed, until they disappeared deeper into the woods and he could no longer hear or smell them. He then headed back in the direction of his campsite. With the conversation he'd overheard, he didn't deem it necessary to follow them to their exact location. Knowing their general whereabouts was good enough for now.