Fae was practically jumping up and down in excitement. It was like she was 10 again and going on her first family vacation to Florida. But like, 20 times better. She and Remus had been tasked with seeking out the werewolf pack in the west and forging some positive corrections. They didn't even have to recruit or bring up the Order or the war just yet, just make friends so they'd be open to the idea at a later visit. Fuck yes!

It was a good thing Remus had a day off the next day because Fae practically kept him up all night, asking about the pack and who he'd seen and where they were and what it was like, being near so many other wolves, and what they should bring and how they should play it. Remus, the darling, took her enthusiasm in stride.

He'd discovered them about 5 or 6 hours away in Cornwall, sticking close to the coast of the Celtic Sea. About 16 of them, mostly young to middle-aged adults, set up a camp of large tents around whatever abandoned buildings, barns, cottages, or such they could find. Some would go into a nearby town for some food or other necessary items, but most of them hunted and fished. He suspected they were semi-nomadic and preferred to live off the land as much as they could.

The two people that Romulus and Athena knew in the pack were two of their very first penpals - Jim Hanson and Willis Schneider. Jim had been in that first group Athena had reached out to, and Willis showed up with the next moon. Jim, who had been doing better, had showed up to have his wounds treated and decided to pay forward Athena and Romulus' kindness. They were around the same age and had hit it off. She was excited to meet them, talk to them, hear about their lives and how they met the pack and everything.

That entire week was unbearable, Fae was so excited. They had planned to go two days after the full moon, which was that Thursday on the 6th. Too many days away. She was brimming with energy and had packed and unpacked and repacked her bag a million times, rereading her letters from Jim and Willis, as infrequent as they were, for anything that would be helpful. Merlin, she couldn't wait to meet them.

Still, there were things to be taken care of before they could go. The full moon for one. Their jobs for another.

"So how'd your job take it?" Remus asked over dinner.

"Hmm? Oh fine," she said, shrugging. "I've been there since they opened and now that the summer is ending and the grand opening buzz is dying down, the business is leveling off. Josh was a little unhappy about me being gone for three weeks, but he bought my story about it being a planned trip from before I started working there."

Remus nodded. "Oh that's good."

Fae stole a bite of chicken off his plate. She'd already finished her's, but it was just damn good. They'd outdone themselves tonight. "Lucrecia is cool with you leaving?"

"Yeah, you know how she is. Says I've earned a vacation twice as long if I wanted it and with the summer business dropping off…."

"Good deal," Fae said, grinning. "Looks like we're free."

He shrugged. "Almost - what are you going to do about Klara? She isn't going to miss you for three weeks?"

Fae's smile turned sheepish and a bit sad. "Oh. Well. About that."

"What happened?"

Fae cleared her throat. "Sirius caught her making out with Auror Jiminez in the supply room. How cliche, huh?" she said rather quickly. Like ripping off a bandaid. She'd be lying if she said that hadn't hurt a bit. Klara had been her first girlfriend and Fae had really enjoyed their time together.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. But, the timing is nice and there's plenty of fish in the sea, right?"

So work was taken care of. No girlfriends or boyfriends to worry about. Lily and Peter agreed to help Sirius look after the house and keep him from being too lonely, as did the cute bartender named Marco who'd made it a month and as such, had been honored with being brought home and introduced to Fae and Remus. He was very attractive. A little older than she thought, but the maturity and sense of responsibility and security could only balance out her wild brother. She and Marco got along very well on account of being in the food industry. Remus didn't count because he just worked the register and baked for the most part.

Before the moon, Fae got another tattoo. This one, she admitted, was a little ballsy. It mirrored the dragon seal and Chinese characters on her other shoulder. The symbol for alpha marked the outer curve of her shoulder and below it, a sword wrapped in flowers. Remus watched her get it very nervously. He'd told her all about the pack dynamics he perceived. The western pack clearly answered to one individual, one man, one alpha. They were supposed to make friends, and yet she was declaring herself another alpha boldly. Fae assured him it would work out with her usual Fae-like grin. Bonus - enhanced healing during the full moon would have her new tattoo all healed in two days flat.

The moon was perfect and Fae hit her five hours. She downed two of Romilly's magic shots and shoved a mug of the tea-version into Remus' hands before setting him gently in the backseat of the Thunderbird, packing up the car herself, and speeding down the highway a day earlier than they planned. She made sure to rudely wake up Sirius and give him a kiss on the cheek before she left.

Remus, in a role-reversal, slept through most of the morning while Fae drove. When he woke up, he crawled into the front seat and she shoved the picnic basket into his hands. There was another thermos of the magic chamomile tea and breakfast for the two of them. He'd have to feed her, she insisted, because she was not going to stop driving for anything. Remus rolled his eyes, took a hefty drink of his tea, and did as he was told.

He didn't need Romilly's magic shot to remember, but he liked tea and it did help him wake up and soothe away the exhaustion. It hadn't taken him long to reverse engineer the shot, make it into a proper tea brew, and figure out dosage before and following the moon for optimal effects, although he was eager to test it on other werewolves since Fae wasn't having it. As he fed her, the little bastard purposefully got syrup on her shirt and would sometimes hold the forkful of blueberry pancakes to her mouth, only to steal it for himself at the last second.

Remus took over navigation about 6 hours in, guiding Fae towards the very tip of the coast where he'd remembered seeing them in spring. It wasn't too surprising that they weren't there anymore, but Fae was still fascinated with the signs that they had been there. Old fire pits, foot prints, marks from tent stakes in the ground, many strong and wild smells. It had been an abandoned and rundown farm with two barns, a chicken coop, a few tool sheds, and an old farmhouse. Fae walked in slow, pacing circles, taking in all the signs of life. The only thing really left behind was a scarf that smelled like wildflowers and honey and sand.

They sat for a light lunch and to look over the map, guessing based on geography and movement of the ending tourism season where the pack might've gone next. The two young werewolves then hid the car under a charm, strapped on their backpacks, and started walking. Well, Fae started running and Remus had to chase after her numerous times and grab onto her to slow her down, eventually just holding her hand so if she ran, she'd have to drag him. Which she did a few times, before taking pity and walking at a more sedate pace.

"You are out of your mind! It's the day after the moon, how do you have so much energy?" He asked tiredly.

"Romilly's magic shots! How are you so slow, knowing we're going to meet other werewolves?" she teased, swinging their hands obnoxiously to make him stumble.

He scoffed. "Aren't you nervous? At all?"

Fae inhaled deeply and then sighed, laughing lightly. "A little bit. You're the only other werewolf I've met, face to face," she admitted.

"Likewise," Remus said. Then he grinned. "You're not going to go tackling any of them on sight are you? I don't think their alpha will appreciate that very much."

"Of course not, you were just a special case," she insisted, ramming her shoulder into his. "Besides! I was 14 then."

As it happened, Fae did not tackle any other werewolves. Instead, they hiked and camped for a day when Fae finally caught the scent from the scarf she'd found and followed it far north to a small tent city on a cliff with a lighthouse and a little stone house. For all her excitement and rushing, when she actually saw it, saw them going about their day, she paused at the edge of the woods and could only watch nervously. Remus took her hand, laced their fingers together with a gentle squeeze, and tugged her forward.

"Hi there," he said easily, walking up to a group of three men playing cards on a wooden picnic table. "We're looking for either Jim Hanson or Willis Schneider. Are they here?"

"Who's asking?" questioned a slim, blonde man as he stood up and approached them curiously.

Feeling more confident with Remus at her side, Fae grinned. "Who do you think?" she asked, and then let out a loud, wild, werewolf howl to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody.

The brown-haired man behind him stood up suddenly. "It can't be-"

"Athena! And Romulus?"

"That would be us."

Jim had brown hair, a crooked smile, shy blue eyes, an average build, and a happy air about him that Fae was pleased to see. And Willis was blonde and beautiful and bouncy and cheerful.

They were very welcoming, bringing Athena and Romulus, as they'd decided to remain being called whilst on a mission, in for light hugs. No sooner than Fae had wrapped her arms around Willis did a huge, hulking black-haired man with a truly sexy beard and truly deep frown storm up to them.

"Who's this?"

The black-haired man was Christian, the alpha of the group. He was also apparently Willis' boyfriend, because he'd yanked the blonde away and kept him either behind him or wrapped in his arms since. Willis gave him sweet kisses and nuzzles on the jawline to calm him down as Jim explained who they were.

"You're younger than I thought," Jim said, smiling and laughing in disbelief.

Christian, while noticeably calmer, was all business. "Are you here to join us?"

"For a little while, if that's okay," Remus answered politely.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Fae smiled brightly. "It means that Romulus and I have homes and loved ones and jobs to return to, that we can't just leave behind. But we wanted to come see you and come see what life was like with a true werewolf pack."

"Athena and I, for all our experience with lycanthropy, have only ever had each other," Remus added.

Christian looked surprised at that. "Jobs? Homes?"

And by that point, Remus and Fae realized they'd drawn a crowd. Like majority of the pack, it looked like. So Willis eased the tension again, invited them to sit and tell their stories. Fae and Remus, or Athena and Romulus, had a lot of stories to tell and Fae reveled in the looks of wonder on her fellow werewolves' faces. Even Christian looked curious. Some looked envious.

"You've really been able to control your transformation?" a woman with short red hair asked. Fae grinned at her. And realized, she was the one who'd lost the scarf - she smelt of wildflowers and sand still.

"Yeah," Fae answered proudly, sharing a grin with Remus. "We both can."

"Prove it," Christian said.

Which, how the hell could she do that when the full moon had just passed? So she shrugged and did her best, rolling up her sleeve and showing off the nasty purpling on her forearm, as well as her beautiful new sword and alpha tattoo. "Well - this bruise here? Romulus and I were playing Hide and Hunt the other night and he decided to tackle me into a tree a little too roughly."

"I said I was sorry!"

"It's okay, silly," Fae said, headbutting his shoulder playfully. "And besides, I got him back," she told the rest, winking.

Romulus showed off the bruise on his knee and sardonically drawled, "She made me get stuck in a tree."

"I did not make you," Fae argued, rolling her eyes.

He huffed. "I don't understand how you're bigger than me in werewolf form and yet I'm the one who gets stuck when you take those tricksy escapes," he whined.

Fae laughed wickedly. "Like you said - I'm tricksy. And just more graceful, clearly."

"I've seen you in a kitchen, I can assure you, you're not," he deadpanned.

"That's because the kitchen is your domain, darling. And the woods are mine."

"So Romulus...is your beta?" Willis asked, breaking up their banter.

Fae blushed horribly and tried to answer that no, Remus wasn't her beta or lover or anything like that. Just friends. Practically… practically family. But instead, Remus answered immediately, sidling a little closer into Fae's side.

"Yes," he said. Fae looked up at him and he looked back, winking just a little and edging his eyes towards the on-edge alpha staring daggers at them. "I am."

"I see," Christian said, visibly relaxing.

She thought about it for a moment and then exhaled. Remus was trying to make her less of a threat to the other alpha. She didn't know quite how to feel about him volunteering himself as her's. But. Well. When would she get the chance to be close to him again? She'd been doing amazing at keeping a friendly distance between them since they'd started living together. So, you know, she deserved to indulge and enjoy her best friend like she was used to. And they could go back to normal when this was over.

"You two are… very strange," one of the others said.

"I get that a lot," Fae said, grinning and slipping an arm around Remus' waist easily. It was as easy as breathing, for both of them apparently, because he just leaned into her and let his jaw settle against her head.

"But they have a lot they can teach us," Jim said.

"Teach?" Remus asked.

"Of course! You know I've been struggling with transformation for years and I still can't see in the dark for shit. Now's the perfect chance to learn."

Fae perked up, shared another look with Remus which was basically her convincing him in two seconds that this was definitely a great idea. "Well. I don't see why not. As long as you're okay with it?" she said, looking at Christian.

Willis nodded, whispered in his ear, nipped the lobe, and smiled. Christian looked down at him and they shared a sweet kiss. Fuck, they were so adorable. Then the alpha nodded. "We shall see what you young ones can show us."

"Great," Fae said, smiling all teeth. "We start at dawn."

The rest of the day was mostly easy chatting and getting to know each other. Athena and Romulus were introduced to the rest of the pack and most were receptive. At dinner, they all gathered around the bonfire and she and Romulus took turns, explaining to them all the different things that they'd found out how to do in the past years, and what they could teach them. Most looked amused and super skeptical.

When it was time for bed, Willis and Christian retired to the stone building to sleep and Fae tried really hard not to imagine them having hot, kinky sex. They were the most beautiful and in-sync couple she'd ever seen. The rest of the pack slept in one of the tents, magic to make it big inside although with only a few beds still. It seems sleeping together communally was a thing here and Fae approved. That being said, she and Remus set up their own tent, also magic, also still fairly small, and fell back on the twin sized bed in unison. Completely dazed by the day they had. They then turned to each other and grinned.

"Well that went well."

Their first day was lots of running, at dawn as promised. Fae had the majority of the pack panting and dying only halfway into what she and Remus did on a daily basis. They took a break and she explained to them that running was her way of growing stamina, endurance, strength, meditating, and spending time with nature. She ran them until they couldn't run anymore.

Then she moved them onto strength training and running drills. By midday, most were too exhausted to move. They certainly couldn't laugh or run away or make fun of them. Pets or 'domesticated' some liked to joke. All they could do was listen as she explained the importance of getting in touch with wolf characteristics to increase chances of gaining awareness. She talked about the process of it and what it had been like for her. Then she passed to Remus who explained his own process and further explained sensory training.

There were a million questions, plenty of them ignorant or disbelieving or trying to point out flaws, but Fae and Remus always had an answer. By the time they decided to go for their evening run, which left most of the group gaping in shock, she figured she had captured their attentions enough to give her methods a decent try. Only Christian, a dark-skinned teenage boy named Silas, and the red-haired woman, who was named Maddy, were able to go along for the evening run with Athena and Romulus. And dinner was accompanied with another bonfire and some teaching of songs and howling together.

It was fun and exhilarating and Remus and Fae told lots of stories by the fire at night and they sang to their favorite songs, beaming with every one that joined in. And then she and Remus huddled in their tent, staying up far too late, as they excitedly planned out a proper, thorough curriculum for the next few weeks.

The pack was divided into two groups, one to work with Fae and one with Remus, switching halfway through the day. Fae took care of physically training wolf instincts while Remus taught sensory training and meditation. At meal times and in the evening, they both covered research, stories, and questions. It was a bit of a scramble and a learning process for them as well - they'd never actually officially taught anyone. But it was extremely fun. Fae was thrilled because she got to learn so much and gather more information than she'd ever dreamed about the differences between individual werewolves and just how many of her methods or observations could be deemed universal.

Hannah took to running like a duck to water. She'd been dragging her feet on day one, but by mid second-week, she was going for third daily runs and doing her best to out-run Fae on her best days.

Patrick hated running. He instead took a deep interest in push-ups, pull-ups, and other strength training exercises. And then when he'd felt he gathered enough strength, he climbed trees and jumped limb from limb after them through the woods. It was incredible.

And Silas, Silas was a slow-learner and was average at most tasks - except for his extraordinary hearing. He had incredible control of his ears, which were lovely and pointed and noticeably twitched when he shut off, yes shut off, his enhanced ability, effectively making himself almost deaf if he wanted. Or vice versa, able to hear how many seals were making merry on a rock all the way out, kilometers at sea.

And Maddy? Maddy made progress in all areas unbelievably fast. She bitched about it the whole time, but would also be obviously and distinctly displeased when she failed to learn something the first time and then become the best at it by the second time.

It was amazing. They were amazing and many of them were flourishing. Even better, it was amazing to see how they worked together. This pack was clearly extremely close, protective, and supportive of each and every member. They worked together as an extremely cohesive unit, more often than not. Fae was so fascinated as to whether that was a werewolf thing - she could certainly relate, she'd felt so connected to Remus the moment they met and Remus admitted the same.

Of course, not everybody was on board, which was expected. And amusing. Remus warned her not to push buttons, but she just couldn't help it sometimes.

"What is the point of all of this?" Christian asked. Fae had been sitting cheerfully with her whistle, watching as her group did numerous jumping jacks until she felt like telling them to stop. And honestly, paying more attention to the way Remus' shoulders stretched as he conjured birds for his group to hunt with wide, graceful arcs of his lean arms. Christian had joined her and continued to tower over her instead of sitting, frowning as usual. Really, he reminded her a great deal of Severus.

"Well other than becoming stronger and more skilled, it's my theory that the closer you bond your human side and wolf side, the easier it is to bond them cohesively during transformation and eventually, gain control," she said, explaining it to him once again. He'd been there for every lesson, but was either being obtuse on purpose, was looking for a different answer, or was just really dumb.

Not sure which it was, Fae went on another lengthy explanation, just for him, doing her best to dumb things down without making it obvious that she was dumbing things down. Lots of anecdotal examples and simple sentences.

"Basically, you smudge the line between human and wolf, but you must still remain both if that makes sense. As a human, you gain wolf abilities like enhanced sight or smell or healing or strength. As a wolf, you gain human abilities, particularly the ability to think like one rather than blanking out and relying solely on primal instincts."

"And just how much have you.. blurred the line?" he asked, eyeing her like she was dangerous and crazy. Which, to be fair, yes. She was.

"I can maintain awareness in wolf form for five hours per night so far," she announced proudly. "And as for my enhanced abilities in human form…. I think it's more fun if I show you."

Their time was already halfway up and the pack had made tremendous progress. Fae and Remus decided they probably had a decent fighting chance by now. It was time for Hide and Hunt. So instead of lessons that night, Fae and Remus led them all into the woods. Explained the variations of their favorite game. And then Remus sent them all running so Fae could hunt them. Which she did. Blindfolded. In less than twenty minutes.

And Remus? Her darling, sweet Remus? Wasn't about to let her have all the fun. So he went next and hunted them himself. He did it with his eyes open, but he also announced which one he was going to hunt next and found them based on his sense of smell alone. In fifteen minutes. Little shit.

Christian's frown grew deeper as his pack's awed gazes and delighted smiles grew bigger. But it was just too much fun. So Fae and Remus picked a half of the pack each and played an elimination-tag style Hide and Hunt, one group hunting, the other evading capture for a set time before returning to home base, camp, if they could. They played well into the night and many were able to further develop wonderful night vision. Fae was practically dancing with joy.

With all the talking and explaining and training and running and Hide and Hunt and conjuring birds over and over - it was no surprise that most nights, Fae crawled into her shared tent with Remus, collapsed on him as soon her excitement eased off, and immediately passed out until the sun rose. Only to jump out of bed and do it all again. But then there were other nights where all her racing thoughts just wouldn't quit and the energy of the day kept bursting instead of fading.

On those nights, she took her journals and climbed up to the top of the lighthouse. She leaned back against the inner wall and like the Hogwarts Express, she had an amazing view despite the fact that her feet were nowhere near the edge. The sound of the waves calmed her as she spilled all her thoughts and findings and questions onto the pages, so excited for the next day and the next new thing to learn that she didn't want to sleep and also wanted to sleep as fast as she could so it would be here sooner.

"I'm calling bullshit," Remus said, voice queasy. "You clearly like heights more than you said you did." The tall boy was slowly making his way up to her and eventually joined her at her side, sliding down the wall and sitting heavily.

She laughed. "I like the view of the ocean. Just don't look down," she told him.

"Easy for you to say."

"Close your eyes then, wimp."

They nudged each other's shoulders playfully and then Remus looked up at the stars while Fae returned to her notebooks. It was so nice, his side was perfectly warm through the midnight seabreeze which was becoming a tad chilly. The wind and the waves and the satisfaction in their bones and their easy closeness. It was perfect.

"What are you thinking about up here?" he asked after some time passed.

She laughed lightly. "You know what I'm thinking about." Because he did. He always knew what she was thinking, as long as she wasn't thinking about him.

"Yeah, silly question I guess."

"You are silly," she said, turning and giving him a nuzzle. He smiled and nuzzled back. Two weeks of him being 'her' beta and it still astounded her how easy it was to just be this close with Remus again. Holding hands, arms around each other as they relaxed by the fire, cuddling up at night, casual hands running through hair and over shoulders and across backs. No clue how she was going to give it up, but she'd cross that bridge later. For now, they were relaxed and easy and there weren't any dumb, romantic feelings or any confusion between them. They were just Remus and Fae.

"They are incredible, aren't they Romulus? It's indescribable being with…" she tried to answer his question, but trailed off, getting lost in her thoughts again.

"Yeah. They really are something," he said, voice surprisingly dry.

"What's with the tone?"

"I just…" he trailed off. Then sighed. "Do you like it more? Living like this and being all…" he said, waving a hand around and gesturing to the gorgeous land around them.

"What? Free? Wild?"

"Unhinged?" he joked.

She giggled. "It certainly has its appeal," she answered. "I don't even know how to say it, what it feels like to be with so many of our own. You know?"

Which was true. She couldn't even imagine having the closeness she felt with Remus, but feeling it with an entire group of people. That much love and trust and instant understanding and unity.

"It feels like… being home and being unconditionally accepted. It is really nice," he said, putting her thoughts into words.

"Yeah, it is. That's exactly it!" Fae said. Then she looked down at her notebooks. She'd started three new ones since she'd been here - only one of which was a continuation of her research journals. One was for the Order. And one was just for the people, for their personalities and stories and abilities and lives. To remember them and Fae's time with them. "It's kind of jarring too, isn't it? Hearing all of their stories. It makes me sad.. And it makes me realize that we've been really lucky Remus. To have so many people who love us."

As much as Fae and Remus had told them about their lives as werewolves, the pack members had one by one returned the favor. Most of the stories had not been pretty.

Remus sighed and then leaned his head on Fae's shoulder. "I'm lucky I had you. I'd have probably ended up in one of these packs if it weren't for you. Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing.. But it's…"

"Yeah, I get you," Fae said. With a hum, she closed her notebooks and settled into Remus' side, draping an arm over him and arching her wrist to settle her fingers in his soft, tawny hair and party a little. "And you know you'll always have me, right?"

"Of course," he said, voice adopting a pleased lilt as she stroked. "And you'll always have me. We're a team."

"I'm proud of them for finding happiness, but it's sad that so many of them feel like this is their only option."

"Mm."

"But you're right. We are a team and we are helping them. Making a difference, bit by bit. Giving them a few more choices. Right?" she said.

He nodded, hair and eyelashes tickling her collarbone. "Absolutely. Fae, I've no doubt that you've completely rocked their worlds. For the better." And then she felt him grin, making her shiver a bit to feel his lips so close to her skin. "And for the worse - Maddy looked especially wrecked today, what did you do to the poor thing?"

Fae cackled devilishly. "What? She's one of my favorites. I see a lot of myself in her, you know. I think she's starting to discover that she's stronger than she thinks she is and that she'll be a great leader one day."

"Oh, so you're toughening her up?"

"Yup."

"Only you, Fae," he said fondly and she prayed he didn't feel or hear how her heart skipped.

"You're helping them too, Remus."

They talked into the night and Fae drifted off, leaning her head across Remus' hair. She woke only briefly to the feeling of him carrying her down the lighthouse and settling into bed beside her, comfortable, warm, smelling perfectly like vanilla and books.

As their time wound down, Fae had more nights at the lighthouse and filled notebooks at breakneck speed. So many aspects of her research had been confirmed with many of the pack members showing similar processes and results. So many more new questions needed to be asked. There was so much she didn't know and it was amazing. And it was also, not good, particularly how little she knew about bigger pack dynamics.

She and Christian had been butting heads here and there. He was clearly uncomfortable with almost everything about her - from her alpha status, to the way she playfully commanded and kept attention of his pack, to her clear strength and speed, to her casualness and touchiness with everybody around her, to the way she used wandless magic for funsies. He clearly didn't like her hanging around Willis so much, but Willis reminded her so much of Sirius and was so funny that she couldn't help it.

And then she learned that Christian was so nervous about her magic because he had a thing against the ministry. Fae found this out, exiting the forest one day after a run. It had been unusually hot and she had stripped down to her sports bra. She had sauntered out of the woods, playfully shoving Willis, and Christian saw the ID tattoo between her shoulder blades. And saw red.

"You are but a pet of the ministry and you have crossed the line in taking charge of my pack. Is it your plan to make them pets of the ministry too?!" he demanded, streaking across the field and shoving Willis behind him as he got all up in Fae's face, towering over her as he so liked to do.

Fae had never cowered. Not once. Always looked him in the eyes. And well. He wasn't wrong? Sort of. "Shit. Look, it's more complicated than that," she tried to explain.

"Traitor!" he roared. "You are no werewolf!"

"Oh fuck you, I'm more of a werewolf than anybody else here!" Fae growled, arching up on her toes and getting up in his face.

"Then prove it," he snarled, shoving at her.

So they got into a good old fist fight, Fae swinging the first punch across his cheek so hard that she heard his teeth smack together painfully loudly. It was satisfying as fuck. Because frankly? She was annoyed as hell by his hovering and his suspicious glances and the way he constantly questioned her methods even with real, actual results happening before his very eyes and strengthening his pack.

Christian rushed forward and they grappled as he slammed her against a tree. Fuck, he was pretty big and strong and heavy. But she was stronger. Fae head butted him and then ducked inside his rib cage, pushing off the tree with a growl, shoving him off her and onto the ground. She jumped on him, straddling as she started punching him across the face. He got a hold of one of her wrists and rolled them, sending her into the dirt face down while he held her wrist behind her back. She writhed wildly and the bone snapped as she took her wrist back.

With a cry, she pushed off the ground and bucked him off, rolling herself the opposite direction, getting to her feet, and then spinning to kick him across the chest. He staggered, but kept his ground. Then rushed her in a rage so she swiped low, getting inside again and shoving the heel of her palm upwards to break his nose. He keeled over, cried out in pain, wrapped a hand around her neck, and threw her across the ground. Her head slammed against a rock and it left her dizzy enough for him to rush her and land a kick in her gut. The second kick she caught and then twisted, breaking his ankle and sending him crashing to the ground.

The instant he fell to his back, she was on him again, this time settling her full weight on his thighs, pinning his wrists with her knees, and wrapping hands around his neck. They locked eyes as he struggled for breath.

And then she eased her hands back a tad, took some of the force out of her strong legs.

His eyes widened and he bucked, sending her flying over him into a roll. Acting quickly, he got to his feet, nearly fell over with his broken ankle, and then shoved her against the tree by her sternum, holding a punch over her face. She grinned at him, eyes blazing through the blood trickling down her head. He stopped. Frowned. Let go.

They stepped apart. The fight was over and the pack rushed in, Remus and Willis getting there first. Remus began to fuss over her sweetly, both betas demanding to know what had gotten into them. Christian and Fae maintained eye contact, although her right eye was blurry from the blood and his right eye was swollen black and blue. He reached out and clasped her shoulder.

"You are strong," he said, finally looking at her as a friend instead of a potential threat.

Fae cocked her head back, flicked her hair, grinned Fae-like. "Yeah."

"You let me win," he said, voice accusing and grateful and confused. Which, she had. He was the alpha of this pack, not her. And she did respect that and acknowledge that she had overstepped her boundaries.

And Fae sighed. Began healing his wounds and letting Remus close enough to heal hers. The danger was over and she had some explaining to do. The entire pack was here. Might as well.

"Yeah," she said. Clasped his shoulder back. "Look man, I'm sorry. I never meant to question or challenge your authority. I sincerely meant to get to know you all and I'm really happy I was able to help and pass on the things I've learned."

Christian nodded. "I am sorry as well. You have been a good friend to us."

Fae smiled and then winced a bit. "You're not...entirely wrong about us though. We don't work for the ministry. Actually, fuck the ministry. But we are here to do more than just forge bonds."

"Explain," he growled. He wasn't attacking again and likely wouldn't, but still. Fae shifted to make sure Remus was behind her.

"Romulus and I are part of an organization that is fighting a war with the Dark Lord," she said bluntly. "Voldemort works against everything I stand for. Where he condemns and destroys anybody or anything that's different, I seek to preserve it and celebrate it. He's the one using werewolves as pets, threatening rich, pureblood families with being bitten should they not obey him. He must be stopped."

"And you would have us fight?"

There was silence as the question fell on every werewolf around. Remus had gone stock still and nervous as hell. She reached back to grab his hand and squeeze it comfortingly. Then smiled and shook her head. "No. I choose to fight, as does Romulus. We both have our own reasons, and I admit that making a better world for werewolves is one of them. But I see that you all have a good thing here. I am proud of you and happy for the life you've made for yourselves. As such, I won't ask you to jeopardize it," she answered honestly. Moody would be pissed, but that's just how it was. Her goal was to save lives, not endanger more.

Christian considered this for a long time. "Although I am the alpha, I will not speak for the entire pack," he eventually said, turning to address them all. His werewolves looked to him respectfully, reverently, faithfully, gratefully. He really was an excellent leader.

Then he turned back to her and, for the first time she'd ever seen, he smiled at her. "You live up to your name, Athena, as brave and wise and, I suppose, crafty."

Fae gaped. A smile and a joke?

"I owe you thanks for what you have taught us. And I believe in your cause and your strength. I will fight with you."

"You owe me nothing, you know."

"Yes."

"Thank you, " she said sweetly, and then bestowed upon him a flower crown. He went adorably cross-eyed looking up at it and then accepted her gift gracefully.

Needless to say, training of any kind was over for the day. Fae received six more pledges to join the fight, including Jim and Willis and, surprisingly, Maddy among them. Remus and Willis screamed at her and Christian for a solid hour, ranting about how there were better ways to solve disputes.

"You're crazy," Remus said, voice soft and sweet and awed as they cuddled up that night to sleep.

They left a few days later. It was with lots of hugs and tears and a promise to return soon. Jim and Willis would keep writing and tell her how the next moon went, particularly if anybody gained awareness. She also teasingly made Jim promise to write if he managed to gather up his courage and ask Maddy out. Christian would write as well, and begin a correspondence with her leaders in the Order of the Phoenix.

Remus took her hand and guided her away after a hearty lunch, bags packed and ready to return home. However, Fae had other ideas. There was no sprinting or running excitedly this time, just calm, quiet, thoughtful walking. When it began to get dark, Remus suggested they camp again for the night, but Fae tugged him forward, stating she was worried about the Thunderbird having been alone for three weeks and would feel better if they could get back and just sleep in the car. Remus, the utter sweetheart, agreed. It was probably 3 in the morning when they made it to the car and the tall, drowsy boy passed out almost immediately. Fae grinned, started up the car, and started driving in the opposite direction of home.

A few hours later, they arrived in the small, beautiful, coastal town of St. Ives, just in time for Fae to wake Remus up for the sunrise. He looked around in shock, registered that this was not home, and then turned a searching gaze on Fae. She grinned and shrugged. "Surprise!"

Remus laughed heartily and they bolted out of the car to run down to the beach, kick off their shoes, and stand in the water. St. Ives was gorgeous. The beaches were golden and already warming with the sun, the water was sparkling and clean, the fresh air and the salt breezed over her skin like kisses. This was perfect - exactly what she'd been wanting. They had three days before they needed to be home and she figured there was no shame in having Remus all to herself for a little longer.

"I'm a little surprised you didn't take the chance to spend more time with the pack," he said.

"Ah, well. I decided we had earned a little vacation," she answered easily.

"True," he said. "But…?"

Fae laughed and rolled her eyes. Really, he never missed anything. "It was really great and everything, but it was a little overwhelming?" she said lightly.

"Overwhelming."

She nearly shoved him into the water. "Oh quit it, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

He shrugged and smiled mischievously.

"It was incredible. For sure. And I learned so much and it was awesome to meet Willis and to fuck with Christian and to see Jim dance around Maddy all lovelorn and stuff-"

"Pft."

Fae sighed dramatically and turned to him, planting her hands on her hips. "But it was also… like a lot? I'm so happy that I could help, but that was almost.."

"Too much too soon?"

"See, you do know what I mean," she said, laughing.

He laughed too and ran a hand through his hair, tilting his head back and letting his eyes roll tiredly. "I'm so exhausted."

"Ugh, me too! And I'm so sick of being asked questions and pulled into these crazy long conversations and being surrounded just all the time. I'm an alpha, but I don't think I could ever actually lead a pack that big, I don't know how Christian does it," Fae gushed, leaning into him.

He wrapped his arm around her. "Oh Fae, I know you could. Easily. It's just that any pack fully-trained and led by you would be filled with significantly more self-sufficient individuals. Less clingy and less..ignorant."

Not that Christian's pack was bad or lacking in any way. They were excellent. It was just too many new people all at once and with no sense of privacy.

"One can dream," she hummed, smiling as she fantasized. Then cuddled deeper into his warm side. "No, I think I like the one-on-one teaching method better, at least for now. After all, you turned out pretty damn good, if I do say so."

He huffed and tugged her hair playfully and a tad painfully, git. "Well I think I figured some things out on my own, you know."

"Exactly! Hence why you're the perfect beta of my self-sufficient, non-clingy, absolutely badass pack of rascals."

They laughed together again. Then he dropped his head on her's, softly murmured into her messy hair, "Can't say I'd rather be part of anything else."

Fae beamed, heart racing. "Can't say I'd want anyone else to spend full moons with. No, I'm happy with just you and me for now, Remus. That's all I need."

The tall boy groaned and it did unfair things to her. Seriously unfair. He had no fucking clue. Ugh. "Mmm, sounds good to hear you say my name again. I kind of regret picking Romulus now."

"Speak for yourself. I could get used to being called by the name of the Greek Goddess of battle and wisdom. Just…. Not a million times a minute."

Having been awake for a day or two now, Fae insisted on napping on the beach. When people started trickling in, she and Remus left, looking for a place to stay for their mini-vacation. Tourist season was over, but St. Ives was still pretty busy as they were currently having their September Festival. Maybe, just possibly, Fae had planned this before they left.

They managed to find an inn that still had one room left and it went without saying that they were happy to share it. And indulge in indoor plumbing. Fuck, that had been one of the best baths of her life. After getting cleaned up and setting a few of their properly washed clothes on a line to dry, they went back out into the bustling streets. Tried tons of food, wandered the vendor alley, cooed over art, bickered over books, laughed at the street performers. At night, they danced and swirled and dipped and shuffled. When the bands began to wind down, they went home and slept like the dead for 14 straight hours.

Fae woke up first. She gathered her notebooks and her phone and left him a note, knowing that even without it, he'd know exactly where she was and what she was doing without him all day. No, she loved Remus and was glad they were close again and comfortable as friends, but she wouldn't be able to share this with him again. Not this day. Not that much of herself.

She wandered past the party and the liveliness, walking for what felt like hours before she finally found a small bit of hidden cliff side to spend her day remembering her former life. When the sun began to set, she made her paper boat, walked back to the beach, waded into the water, and let it float away. When she turned back, Remus was there, waiting and smiling.

It was a quieter, more somber night, but still nice. He told her all about his wandering that day as they sat down to a nice, easy dinner of take-out on their Inn bed. After dinner, he led her to an open-air theater to watch a play. It was Shakespeare and they leaned in close, 'translating' the lines into 'modern speak' and snickering the whole time.

When she woke up the next morning, it was, bafflingly, to Remus tying something onto her wrist. She blinked dazedly and sat up, inspecting the bracelet.

"Happy 19th Birthday Fae," Remus said sweetly. It was a twine bracelet, covered in white seashells and gorgeous moonstones, expertly charmed for durability because he knew her. It was beautiful and Fae tackled him in a hug, thanking him in happy shrieks. And then nearly screaming as he disentangled them and handed her a giant tray of pancakes, tiramisu, bacon, eggs, and every other breakfast food under the sun. They enjoyed breakfast in bed and then Remus decided to give her one more surprise. She closed her eyes and let him apparate them. They popped into existence on a cliff. A cliff famous for cliff diving.

"No fucking way," she said.

"Absolutely not," he agreed.

"We are not doing this. Are you insane?"

"We definitely are not. We hate heights," he said.

"The very idea is horrifying and we'll probably die."

"Yes."

And then they clasped hands, screamed like lunatics, ran, and jumped off the cliff. Because when were they going to be in St. Ives and get this chance again? It was a mad rush and they hit the water still screaming, although they emerged grinning and laughing, completely disbelieving that they had done that.

19 was looking pretty damn good. Fae and Remus swam in the ocean and collected seashells for their friends and took photos of the sights and bought a few too many new books and cool things for home, patronizing the arts and getting some pretty framed paintings for the kitchen. Fae had gone completely red and nearly tried to drown herself when she caught sight of the trinket on Remus' left ankle, a perfect twin to her own new seashell and moonstone bracelet. And then they freaked out when they realized it was well after noon and they were going to be late getting home. The drive home was warm and windy and full of laughter and singing and more swerving and speeding than was necessary.

They made it back just in time for Fae's birthday celebration which was a big dinner at the Potter house with the family and several members of the Order and Lucrecia, who interestingly enough, waved at Moody and greeted him like an old friend. Apparently Lucrecia had been married a long time ago - but her husband, an Auror on Moody's team way back when, had been killed in action.

Moody was solemn and still sorry and uncharacteristically heartfelt. Lucrecia told him to lighten up and offered him a weed brownie. By that point, Remus and Fae realized she knew about their involvement in the Order - the woman had suspected as much and her dearly departed darling would've been all up in it. He was kind of like Sirius, she recalled fondly.

The actual Sirius clung to them all night, having missed them desperately, because he couldn't cook for shit and Lily was no fun and James was useless at anything, but pranks. Lily and Peter were desperately happy to see them so they could finally give up babysitting duty. The house was a slight wreck, but Fae managed to get Remus to forget about it for the night so they could enjoy her birthday dinner. They'd give Moody the good news and force her brothers into cleaning tomorrow.

It was good to be home.

A/N: Going nice and easy for a bit again, before we jump back into some serious business.

Hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all of you.