He didn't know why he was here. He didn't understand why the people around him seemed to know who he was, and yet he didn't even know his own name.
He stared blankly out the window of the police car, his mind and memories as empty as the back streets they drove through. He wished he could remember something, but at the same time, he wanted to remain in blissful oblivion.
He knew that he was, impossibly, a Wolf. It shouldn't make sense, but somehow it was the only thing that made any sense at all.
He was a Wolf. An animal. He was nothing short of a monster. If it weren't for the misguided kindness of the police in this small town, he would have been arrested. Amnesia or not, the Wolf had hurt people. He was supposed to be locked up, and he didn't even know what for, and the thought was terrifying and made him feel like he was going to be sick.
A part of him wanted to break out of the car, run into the woods, and hide from the people who could lock him up without a second thought. Another part of him was almost desperate that they do just that, to protect the innocent people in this town. If the Wolf was a threat, wasn't it better to be safe than sorry?
Instead, he just sat in the car and waited anxiously as Hamstead drove him past the farms of Ferryport Landing. He didn't know what to do and where to go from here, so he thought it might be best to just sit and let Hamstead take charge.
The cop was giving him a chance, but he wasn't a fool. He had still sworn to protect and serve the people of Ferryport Landing. If he let the Wolf go, Hamstead wouldn't hesitate to take him right back to prison. It was that knowledge that actually made him feel relatively calm about this insane situation.
He didn't want to hurt people. If he really was a threat, Hamstead would, and clearly could, take care of it. He wasn't being given complete freedom, he was just being granted an opportunity, and that distinction was just enough for him to allow himself this chance.
Hamstead talked to him during the whole drive, though most of what he said went in one ear and out the other. He picked up on important tidbits: They were both apparently Fairy Tale creatures, people like them were stuck in this town, and the Grimms were humans that were involved with, but not exactly part of, their community. He didn't really catch the specifics.
By the time they drove up to a large house, he was starting to feel antsy. His leg wouldn't stop bouncing. He wondered if it was the Wolf part of him, not liking being stuck in an enclosed space, even for this short time. He was eager to get out of the car, but his relief was short-lived as soon as he saw that there was a school bus in front of the house.
"Don't tell me the Grimm's have kids." He muttered. Hamstead parked the car and gave him a look through the rearview mirror.
"They've got two boys." Hamstead said. A teenager stepped off the bus and shot an anxious glance towards the cop car before he ran inside. "That was Jake. A nice kid, but a real trouble-maker. Basil must've been too busy to pick him up today. I wonder if he's on a case."
He didn't entirely understand what Hamstead meant, but his mind was reeling too much to think about it.
"Is it safe for me to be near children?" He asked. He didn't think getting a second chance was worth risking the safety of innocents.
"You've got control of the Wolf." Hamstead said with a confidence that he didn't quite share. "If you didn't, you already would have torn apart that school bus and eaten every kid inside."
Those words weren't a reassurance. He found himself wondering if he actually had done something like that. Or, more accurately, if the Wolf had. Was there really a difference? Just because he couldn't remember didn't mean that things the Wolf had done hadn't happened.
He was starting to feel slightly dizzy and he realized that he wasn't breathing. It wasn't enough that he forgot everything, but his body also had to forget basic necessities that should come naturally.
Hamstead got out of the car, and he forced himself to take in a deep breath as he followed him out. His legs felt numb and weak as he walked. The fact that he had somebody to follow was the only thing keeping him going. They walked to the front door and Hamstead knocked. They heard a lot of rustling and clicking sounds from inside for a long minute before the door was opened by a middle aged woman. She smiled at them, but there was a cautious look in her eyes, like she expected bad news. It didn't make him feel any better.
"Sheriff," She greeted Hamstead. Her gaze shifted to him. "I hope my son wasn't responsible for any damage to your property or something along those lines."
"I told you, I didn't do anything!" Jake poked his head into the main hall. A man came out of the room behind him, and he didn't look happy at all.
"You can understand why we have a hard time taking your word for it." The man, presumably the boy's father, said.
Hamstead chuckled. "Actually, for once, Jake has nothing to do with this situation." The sheriff gave him an anxious look. "Relda, Basil, there's been a bit of an incident, and we need to talk to you."
The parental anger in their eyes faded away, though there was a hardness and suspicion in their eyes still, though also an odd excitement.
"Jake, go to your room and get started on your homework." Relda said.
"What? No way!" Jake sat on the stairs, grinning. "I never get to see anybody else in trouble."
"Now, Jacob." Basil said. The boy pouted, but he stomped upstairs. Basil turned towards his guests. "Let's talk in the living room."
"You two get started." Relda looked at him and eyed the clothes that he was wearing, which were absolutely massive on him, but also far too short. "Basil's brother was rather tall himself. We might still have some old clothes of his, if you would feel more comfortable wearing something that fits a little bit better."
He blinked and found himself nodding. He followed Relda upstairs. "So, I like to think that I know a fair amount of people in this town of ours, but I've never seen you before. Are you new?"
"I don't know." He said. Relda gave him a concerned look.
"Someone must've gone too hard with the forgetful dust." Relda muttered to himself.
He probably wasn't supposed to have heard that, but he responded anyway. "Hamstead seems as confused about my lack of memory as I am, so I don't think it was anything magical."
Relda raised an eyebrow as she led him into the master bedroom. "You know about magic. Are you an Everafter?"
"Hamstead says I am." He said.
"Can I ask who?" Relda asked. He shook his head.
"I don't even know who I am." He said. "Not even my name." He could feel the Wolf roaring at him, but he ignored it. He couldn't very well say he was the Wolf. Not only would it probably frighten and scare off this nice woman, but that didn't feel quite like who he was. The Wolf was a part of him, but it wasn't all he was. What else he was, he had no idea.
"Well, maybe we can help you figure it out." Relda said. "Basil and I are good with mysteries, if I do say so myself."
"What?!" There was a shout from downstairs, quickly followed by the thudding of someone storming up the stairs. "Relda!" Basil ran into the master bedroom, defensive fire in his eyes. Basil stormed right up to them and pulled Relda away from him. The man then grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. "Stay away from my wife, you beast." Being man-handled and glared at made the Wolf want to howl, bite, and fight back, but still he did nothing. He wasn't here to hurt anybody, and he wouldn't blame him for hurting him. He was just an animal after all. A monster. The kind of creature that men needed to protect their families from.
"Basil!" Relda grabbed her husband's arm and pulled him away. "What's gotten into you?"
Hamstead, breathing heavily, came running into the room. He looked anxious until he saw him standing there. The sheriff breathed a sigh of relief. He must have been worried that he had let the Wolf out and reacted to the threat. "You…you have better control than I thought."
"Control?" Basil looked at Hamstead like he was crazy, though his gaze didn't stray far from him. "The Wolf has never had an ounce of control."
"Wolf?" Relda looked at him. Her eyes weren't as kind as before, but they lacked the fury and protectiveness that her husband's gaze had. She just looked curious and worried.
"Basil, I told you, something happened when we went against him." Hamstead said. "He can't remember anything. He's still the Wolf, but he acts nothing like him."
"That doesn't make him any less dangerous." Basil said. "He's still a monster, and I want him out of my house."
"It's our house." Relda said. "And I'm not kicking a poor old man who doesn't even have clothes or a name to call his own out onto the street to fend for himself."
"What do you want us to do?" Basil gave his wife an incredulous look before he glared at Hamstead. "What do you want from us? Help him get his memory back so he can go right back to terrorizing the people of this town?"
Hamstead shifted uncomfortably. "I was actually wondering if you would be willing to let him into your house for a time, just until we figure out where to go from here." They all looked at him as though he had spontaneously started speaking Greek. Hamstead hurridly continued. "He's perfectly safe. He was confronted by Charming and didn't so much as bare his teeth. But if he does lose control, I'd feel a lot better if he was around people who can try to tame him."
Relda frowned. "He may be the Wolf, but there's no need to speak of him like he's a wild animal."
"He is an animal." Basil pointed out. He thought he might agree, but Relda's eyes flashed with irritation.
"He's only as much of an animal as the sheriff is." Relda said. "He's our guest." She crossed her arms, looking thoughtful. "We don't currently have an empty room, but I'm sure if we ask Henry and Jacob they'll be willing to share a room for a time."
He blinked, unsure if he was hearing this right. "You'd let me stay in your home?"
"Of course." Relda said with a smile. He didn't return the grin, but he felt his mouth twitch and relax ever so slightly. His chest warmed and the anxiety in his chest eased, if only just a little bit.
"Absolutely not!" Basil shouted. "We're not having a murderer in our home!" And the warmth vanished in an instant, replaced by the familiar chill.
Relda's mouth thinned. "From what I heard, the Wolf hasn't been much more than a minor nuisance for hundreds of years."
"Minor nuisance?" Basil's eyebrows nearly shot up to his forehead. "He terrorized the town last week."
"I'd hardly call scaring livestock and teasing the mayor the work of a monster." Relda said. "Jake did just that a few months ago."
"Yes, but Jacob hasn't eaten anybody before." Basil said.
He stiffened and felt his stomach roll. His throat tightened and he felt like he was going to be sick. He ust have looked as nauseous as he felt, because Relda gave him a concerned look.
"Henry's not home right now." Relda said. "His room is the last one on the right. Why don't you go get yourself changed and make yourself comfortable? Get some rest while we continue our discussion."
He felt a little awkward watching this couple that he didn't know fight about him. He nodded and tightened his grip on the clothing in his arms. He stepped past Basil and Hamstead and stepped back into the hall. He numbly made his way into Henry's bedroom, which clearly belonged to a young adult, with the furnature and decoration being the awkward middle ground between childish and grown-up. It was the room of somebody who wanted to grow up, but wasn't quite ready to let go of their youth.
He sat on the bed and rested his elbows on his legs, putting his hands in his hair. It had been a long day. He was hungry and exhausted, but he didn't think he'd be able to eat or sleep right now.
He didn't understand what his life had become, but that wasn't anywhere near as bad as not knowing how his life had been before. He felt like an empty slate, and he had no idea who or what would be written in the future. He didn't even want to think about it. He didn't want to think about anything.
He wanted to shut out the argument and occasional shouting he could hear down the hall. He wanted to forget that Hamstead was probably standing just outside the door, making sure that he didn't sneak out and attack Jake while the Grimms were distracted.
Most of all though he wanted to make the howling Wolf in his brain be quiet and give him a moment's peace. It seemed that the Wolf was here to stay though. He couldn't make it stop. Whoever he was, it would include the Wolf, and there was nothing he could do about it.