Lupa turned to her left when she heard a branch snap. Searching the area, she grinned when she caught sight of a patch of blue peeking out from behind a tree.

"I see you Remus." She called.

Giggling reached her ears and Lupa watched in amusement as the patch of blue disappeared behind the tree. She stalked slowly towards the tree, taking care not to break any branches and alert her brother. She rounded the tree, fully expecting to find Remus standing there waiting for her to catch him. To her surprise Remus was nowhere in sight. Confused, Lupa circled the tree, wondering if Remus had slipped around the opposite side at the same tie she had rounded it. He had not.

Remus was nowhere in sight. Now even more confused, Lupa stopped on the side of the tree facing the yard and searched for anywhere Remus might be hiding. Without warning, the hair on the back of her neck prickled. Lupa spun around in time to catch Remus head on as the ten year old leaped out of the bushes towards her unprotected back. The force that Remus crashed into her with sent the siblings sprawling to the ground, Remus on top of Lupa.

Lupa blinked the spots from her eyes and looked up at her grinning brother.

"You're heavy." Was the first thing she said.

Remus giggled and let his arms give out, collapsing on top of Lupa.

"Oof." The girl grunted before shoving her brother off.

Remus wasn't fazed by his sudden meeting with the ground and snuggled closer to his sister. Lupa raised her left arm and allowed Remus to curl into her side.

For the next few hours, the siblings watched as the last of the daylight faded and the first twinkling stars had appeared. Remus refused to go inside until he had found his favorite constellation. So Lupa helped him find Canis Major in the sky. Remus smiled happily as he spotted the familiar group of stars. Then he allowed Lupa to pull him up and lead him into the house.

It was late; going on ten o'clock by the time Lupa get Remus up to his room and told him to get undressed while she drew his bath. Then she knocked on his door to tell him his bath was ready and went to take her own.

When she got out of the tub, Lupa was surprised to find that Remus wasn't curled up on her bed. For that matter, he wasn't anywhere in her room. That was unusual. Remus almost always came to her room and waited for her on her bed after he had taken his bath. If he wasn't on her bed, then he was usually standing or kneeling in front of her bookshelf as he picked out a book for them to read that night. The only nights he didn't come were the nights of the full moons and the following nights. Lupa finished drying her hair and hung the towel on the rack before going to find her brother.

"Tired little cub?" Lupa asked as she walked into Remus' room.

Remus mumbled an answer into his pillow.

"So do you not want a story tonight?" Lupa had a smile on her face as she asked that. She knew what Remus' answer would be.

Sure enough, Remus sat up immediately.

"I want a story." He cried.

Lupa's smile grew at the predictable reaction.

"Alright then. You get the book while I go down to the kitchen and get us a snack."

Remus nodded eagerly and scrambled off the bed to grab his favorite book. Lupa shook her head in amusement and went to get their snack. Down in the kitchen, Emily fixed up a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk and set them on a tray so Lupa could carry them upstairs.

Arriving back in Remus' room, she found her brother sitting in his bed holding his favorite book and eagerly watching the door for her. His face lit up when he saw her walk in holding the tray and scooted over to make room for her to sit on his bed. Lupa set the tray down on the night stand before climbing onto the bed next to her brother. She reached over and grabbed the plate of cookies and set it down on the bed next to Remus.

Remus' hand went straight for the cookies even as he handed his sister the book. Lupa smiled as she took the book, opening it to the page marked by the book mark and began to read.

"Not stopping to look back, Star took Night's hand and they ran into the forest. The trees quickly enveloped them and shielded them from anyone who might be pursuing them."

Lupa was able to finish the entire chapter before Remus started to drop off. She quietly marked the page and set the book to the side before taking the half-eater cookie hanging from Remus' limp hand. She placed the cookie back on the plate and moved it off the bed. Then she pulled the covers up and tucked them around Remus who had slid down onto his pillow and curled up on his side.

When she was satisfied with that, Lupa took up the tray and quietly exited the room to take the tray back downstairs. Emily was pleasantly surprised when she returned the tray and bid Lupa sweet dreams as she took it. As she was passing the dining room, Lupa heard voices that stopped her in her tracks. Curiosity aroused, Lupa pressed closer to the closed door and listened carefully. Sure enough, it was her parents speaking. Lupa hadn't even known they were back from visiting her grandparents. Then she focused on what her parents were saying.

"Are you sure this will work?" Her mom asked.

"Absolutely. They'll take care of him and we'll never have to see him again." Her father answered.

"But what about Lupa? She won't just quietly accept that the wretched boy died." Mary fretted.

Lupa pressed closer to the door. She thought she had heard her mother say that Remus was going to die. She prayed she was wrong.

"They'll make it look like an accident." John soothed. "And that's what we'll tell her happened. Her brother had an unfortunate accident at his new school and died as a result. We never need to tell the truth. That the brat was killed because of what he was."

Lupa had heard enough. She flew back up the stairs to her brother's room.

AN: I meant to update this last week but it wasn't quite ready. I do have the chapter for this week written up, I just have to type it. If I hadn't been so tired last night, I would have been able to. Oh well. The chapter for this week will be up later tonight.

On a different note, looking at my outline, this story is nearly done. Which means that the sequel to Outcasts will be coming soon. First, I have to outline the story.

My muse has come back and now I devote at least ten minutes of my morning before work to writing. It helps me focus during the day and gives me something to think about whenever the kids get too stressful. Being a counselor can be fun but stressful at times.

Well, I'll see you all in a bit. I'm going to finish typing the other chapter now.