Disclaimer: There is one but I am too lazy to write it again…. Arin is mine…that is all I say…

Ok, This may work

Sirius jerked into awareness. Hopping up, he stumbled slightly (how long has it been since I was in human form?) hurrying after his unintended stalker. He caught a glimpse of fiery red locks before their keeper stumbled in a hidden gully.

Sirius approached the gully cautiously, thinking he had startled some poor lad while he was fishing on the stream. 'I'll just explain the joke to him…He'll understand…won't he?' He paused as the figure emerged from the gully, and then gasped as the lad standing before him holding a sword much too big for him turned out to be a girl.

The girls locks were cut short, short enough to be a boys. She held the sword slightly awkwardly in her tiny hands, as she stood ready to attack. Her voice rang out, shaking slightly.

"What are you?"

Sirius rubbed the back of his neck in thought. 'What am I too tell her?' "Err…I am a mage…Conducting an…. experiment, ya! That's it! An experiment." Her dark eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Why would a mage be way out here instead of at the University or back at the castle?" He brushed back his long hair. "Well, I'm not really supposed to…" Her features suddenly brightened, "You don't have the king's consent, do you?"

A thought struck him right between the eyes. "Well not really…they know me in my other form; I just need someone to break it to them… if you did, maybe I can get you out of this forest."

She laughed cruelly, "I would if I could, but I can't so I won't."

"What?! Why not?!

She replaced the blade. "Because…I am a thief…a hunted one at that…if I showed my face I would surely get the noose tightened." She placed her hands around her fair neck and dramatically died, hanging herself from an invisible rope. Sirius smiled despite himself. "Quite the actor, now aren't we? What's your name, kid? And why do you have a price on your head??

The girl smiled foolishly, "Well, as for my name, it's Arin… and for what I did…I will keep that to myself I think…" Sirius shrugged, turning his back on her, "Well I guess you can't help me…But I am sure than the Wild Mage would be sympathetic if you brought me back."

Her eyes flashed. "You mean she would make them forgive me and I could live regularly… you know, without being hunted?" He smiled; he had her right where he wanted her. "More than likely… Wanna try it? If it doesn't work, I could create a commotion so you could disappear unnoticed…do we have a deal? He held out a large paw-like hand to her.

She pauses, thinking as he tried to make his face look convincing and innocent at once. (James would be laughing so hard if he could see me now!) She studied his face for a time before placing a delicate, long-fingered hand in his paw-like one. And the deal was sealed.

A just to think, the 19-year-old thought to herself, I was just minding my own business (well, I was actually running from the city guard) and happened upon this very interesting fellow. Her thoughts wondered back to their meeting a girl and man sat at a smokeless fire in the dwindling light of the setting sun.

She had recently stolen a ruby from a lesser noble for a client (she didn't ask why, that wasn't her policy) when one of her old friends snitched on her, selling her out to the city guard.

She smiled at the thought of leading several big, yet brainless, guards on a wild foxhunt through the city and outer keep. She had gotten rid of al but one by the time she had reached the forest.

Thick underbrush and an unusually hot day steered him away, giving up on the little street rat, and try again some other day. Navigating the forest, she easily came upon the stream that meandered through the forest until it made its long journey to the sea, all water's destination. Kneeling to grab a drink, she noticed around the bend sat a great black dog, half in the water.

'Well, what is that brute trying to do, drown himself?' Humming softly to herself, she takes a step toward the great animal.

Coming back to her senses long enough to take a piece of the cooked bird the man offered her, bringing more resent questions to mind. 'What is he doing here? And where did he get those weird clothes?' Shrugging slightly to herself as the memories appeared more clearly as she ate.

The slight pop when her turned into his human form, her scream, the chase, and the deal. Surprisingly, it all seemed to blend together, no matter how hard she tried to separate each moment from a hour… it was almost like choosing one thing that was given to you when you were young, no matter how hard you try, you loose interesting, it breaks then collects dust. She sighed again, wondering if she, Arin Fang, would get out of this alive.

Sirius sighed as he looked over the forest, precariously perched upon a rather large tree. 'Will I be able to keep her safe? And if not…how can I get back?'

For a moment, the thought horrified him. No more Harry, Hermione, or Ron. No more Albus, Remus, or Minerva. "Hey! Dog-man! Are you going to stay up there all day?!"

Sirius jumped then wobbled upon his unstable seat. Once his balance seemed to replace itself, he returned her glare for glare before hopping safely to the ground. "No… I am not going to sit up there all day and my name is NOT Dog-man!!" He heard her soft snort of amusement as he returned to their campsite of the previous night.

'Well, at least she is good at cleaning…' He though as he studied the ground, making sure no tracks were visible or any reason for anyone to believe anyone had spent the night here.

"Are we going to go? And how will you get me inside the castle?" She smiled an increasingly sweet smile as he looked at her suspiciously. For some reason she smiled too sweetly for him.

"And why…Do you ask?"

She cleared her throat. "No reason…Ready to go?" Sirius snorted as the first seed of doubt sprouted in his mind. A soft pop sounded hollowly in the air as he resumed his dog form.

"Oh…Yes…There is one thing…" Sirius quirked a dog eyebrow at her. "Well, I did have a friend in the castle but we, um, had some differences and couldn't see eye to eye…"

'What the hell is she blabbering about?!'

"All I'm saying is that if he sees me then we are done…" Sirius shrugged in his dog like way of showing little heed. He would have to deal with that when the moment comes, but right now he was hungry and they needed to get to the castle before dark.

Arin looped a rope around his neck, startling him. "Well, I have to look like I'm bringing you back, don't I?" He rolled his eyes toward the sky then trotted obediently beside her as she gently led him back to the castle.