Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I wasn't too sure of this piece so it really helps… The PoV bounces a bit between the two parts so I'll apologize in advance for the incongruity and claim artistic license and all that…

Red Moon

by SJC

Willow studied the man sitting across from her over the rim of her coffee cup. A silence –not quite comfortable, as if any with a perfect stranger would be- had settled between the two after he had volunteered his help. What help he could be, she wasn't sure, but he held himself in the manner of a well-educated man, and given his nocturnal activities, she was betting his knowledge extended to the supernatural as well. Of course, the impression could have been gained solely by his voice. Too many years of listening to Giles must have caused her to subconsciously associate British accents with intelligence.

He seemed like the quiet type, or perhaps it was simply the awkward situation that caused him to hold his tongue, meeting her eyes briefly before shifting more pancakes to his plate. If he was anything like Oz –and for a short irrational moment she found herself wishing desperately that he wasn't- his body would require large amounts of food to make up the energy lost during the change.

He was a good-looking man she decided, with an air of subdued attractiveness, though that could be the accent again. She couldn't say his age exactly. He was younger then Giles, but still must have a decade on her. He had streaks of gray in his otherwise light hair and lines on his face, but they seemed to have been brought on more by stress then maturity. She could recognize the signs as easily as her reflection in a mirror, knowing firsthand how it felt to be forced to grow up much too young.

She felt an odd empathy for the possible killer werewolf in front of her. It caught her a bit off guard, as she hadn't felt much other then grief or guilt for the past few months. She sent him a small, sad smile as he caught her staring. He had finished the meal and now pushed away his plate, as further indication.

"It's not that I'm not grateful for your friend's…. clothing, but perhaps now that we have settled both the matter of the previous night and our breakfast, I could return to my hotel and reclaim my possessions?" He broke the silence with his innocent query, asking more for the sake of politeness then for permission.

"I wouldn't quite consider the matter settled. If such a potion as you claim to take exists, and if you do in fact take it, what's to say you didn't make a conscious decision to kill those people? Just because I'm not making any accusations doesn't mean you aren't still on our list of suspects."

"Still, murderer or not, doesn't your country brag about no 'cruel or unusual punishment'? I hardly think I should be forced to wear… this," he gestured to the obnoxious Hawaiian shirt trying to lighten the mood, "for a crime we haven't even proven I've committed."

"I don't know that I'd call that cruel..."

"Ah, but you don't argue that it's unusual."

"I'd never argue something of Xander's was usual." She gave a defeated sigh for show, really trying to suppress a grin, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you grab your own clothes, you might as well move it all over here."

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" A smile teased about his lips, "I'm flattered, really."

"Don't be. It just makes more sense for you to stay here, rather then a hotel, at least until we get this mess sorted out. I'm afraid I can't simply take your word that you have control during the change and as we still have one more full moon to go…"

"I see. Well if I'm not to be flattered, should I at least be offended that you're not worried for your virtue? I mean, all supernatural pretenses aside… I could be some lecherous old man."

"I have a steel cage in my basement and you're worried about my virtue?"

"Good point." He laughed, much too at ease with a woman who found him lying naked in said still cage only an hour earlier.

"And I don't live here alone. One of my best friends –who, by the way, is incredibly capable of kicking your ass- and her sister live with me, and sadly you'd be far from the first abnormal guest we've sheltered, willingly or otherwise."

He wondered at her last statement, but didn't have a chance to ask her for clarification.

"Willow?"

"Speak of the demon…" she muttered under her breath as Anya entered the breakfast room.

"Oh, there you are." She noticed the man sitting at the table and paused for a moment. "You have a guest. At nine in the morning. Who ate breakfast here. And is wearing Xander's clothes." she announced each observation as it came to her, "Oh! Well good for you, Willow. I mean, when you rebound you really go to the other side of the court but still-"

"Remus, this is Anya. Anya," she interrupted the Vengeance Demon, "say 'hi' to the nice man I'm not sleeping with."

"Huh?" the blonde took a moment, "Oh. Hello." She turned her attention back to Willow, "I need to talk to you- preferably without the nice man you're not sleeping with in the room." Her eyes darted from Willow to said nice man and back again.

"If it's about the murder, he already knows."

"What if it's about…" Anya made an exaggerated twitching motion with her nose.

Willow rolled her eyes but still weighed the question. The man had done nothing to earn her trust or confidence, but she didn't want to leave him alone when he could escape either. She wasn't sure what she could actually do to stop him should he choose to, but she felt better at least keeping an eye on him.

"Just tell me." She was painfully aware of the fact that Remus was watching their exchange with great interest.

"I found the spell I told you about. If we can get to the victim within 36 hours of it's death, we can perform a sort of magical autopsy on them. That gives us about five hours."

"You're a witch." He couldn't say he was too surprised, she had displayed far too much knowledge of the occult to be a muggle. The two ignored him however, continuing their conversation as if he hadn't interrupted.

"That doesn't leave us much time, did you get the supplies?"

"No, I need to stop by the Magic Box."

"Ok, get the ingredients and meet me there." The blonde- Anya, he tried to remember- left and he was once again alone with the Willow. "So…" she turned her attention back to him, "who wants to go to the morgue?"

"The morgue?"

"You said you wanted to help."

"I did." he gave her a hard look, his previous assessment of an innocent young beauty forgotten, "I'm in. But can we at least stop by the hotel to get my wand?"

* *

"You weren't joking."

Remus turned around to find Willow staring at him, clearly dumbfounded.

"Excuse me?"

"When you said you wanted to get your wand, you were serious?"

"Yes…" Remus wasn't quite sure where he lost her. She had admitted she was a witch and agreed to go to his hotel, for his part, he agreed to use muggle transportation. They had just arrived, he grabbed his wand… and somewhere along the process she must have lost her mind.

"You actually use a wand."

"Of course." He waved it a bit, uttering the proper incantation, and reclothed himself. It was still muggle attire, but the dark slacks and white button up shirt made him feel infinitely more like himself.

"It seems so… stereotypical." She wrinkled her nose. She hated peoples image of witches and wizards and here was one of her own furthering it…

"I suppose, but then what do you use?" He tugged on each cuff a bit to straighten out his sleeves.

"Use?"

"If you don't use a wand, what do you use to channel your magic through?"

"I don't channel it through anything. I don't need to. Is there something in your wand to amplify it, or is it just for focusing that you use it?" She seemed genuinely curious.

"A bit of both I suppose, I'm ashamed to say as much as I know about what to do with a wand, I don't know much about how it works. Are you saying you didn't go to any school of wizardry?"

Even muggles had some magic, just not in a great enough quantity to become a wizard. It was far from uncommon for some to learn to do a few simple spells, but they'd never be able to do much more then party tricks. He wondered if he had overestimated the girl.

"I was self taught mainly, but I did study control with a coven for a bit." She left out the fact that she studied it after she truly needed it. "As fascinating as your wand may be," the memories their talk of magic stirred up were the only things that kept the blush off of her face, "we have an appointment at the morgue."

Remus decided to let the matter drop, but he would make sure to pursue it later, though he had an unsettling feeling that he was more interested in pursuing her. He had learned long ago that it was best for everyone if he avoided romantic entanglements, and now of all times it'd be beyond imbecilic to get distracted- but what a distraction she would be.

His feelings weren't all that complicated. They were actually fairly reasonable. She was absolutely beautiful, simply put. It didn't run any deeper then that. The moment he had woke, naked and dirty, he had been floored by a vision of brilliant red hair and bright, clear eyes peering down at him. He might have found her striking in passing her by on a street, but to be confronted by such loveliness after living so long in a world completely devoid of it… -he couldn't say he'd stumbled across much grace trying to dig up information from Sunnydale scum and long before that the wizarding society had given up on him- well it caught him off guard.

But easy to understand or not, his feelings were dangerous. His attraction was certainly superficial and shallow, but it was no less real and no less deadly. That was something he'd simply have to remember.

***

Do a little dance… make a little love… review tonight ::disco points:: review tonight!