(A/N): We're back with Elaine, Dahrya, and Remus.

So, on the 12th of March (the day after I posted the last chapter), we had to put my dog to sleep. You may remember that my cat passed away at the end of last August. Neither were a shock, but obviously, it's hard either way. Quite a few chapters from now, you will come across two chapters- one of which will mention in the author's note that I typed up the chapter the day I found out, and one that says I actually wrote the chapter throughout the two day period, from before I found out, to when I found out, to when we came back from taking her. This is when it happened, but those chapters are what I was working on at the time. If you're wondering, the two animals were polar opposites- cat was calm and gentle, dog was utterly insane, but still a good girl. Both lived good lives, and will be well taken care of over the rainbow bridge my grandfather, who met and loved both of them before he passed in 2019. We've decided we won't be getting another pet for a long, long time, if ever.

Trigger Warnings: Fairly graphic conversations about extreme violence (courtesy of vampirism/lycanthropy, lol), and references to past extreme violence (courtesy of Animagi). Vague references to self-harm, but only in so much that if you know what Elaine is referring to, you can make the connection. Talk of blood drinking, as is customary. Or, blood consumption, anyway.

Elaine

"...Leo's been having trouble, too?"

Panic and dread ran through me at the thought of Dahrya doing what Leo had been doing recently, and I could tell by the look on Remus's face that he felt much the same way- but not exactly the same, since there was definitely an edge to his expression... like he was angry, or more likely, struggling with his urge to protect the younger girl. I think we both knew that wouldn't go over well, but before we could say or do anything, Dahrya reacted to our panic like we'd physically shocked her. "Wha- Why are you-?" She half demanded, before her confusion- and what looked like a surprising amount of fear- forced her to pause. "Either I've misinterpreted the situation, or you have... and given that I'm never wrong, I'm inclined to believe it's your fault." As was probably to be expected, this whole thing was directed at me, rather than Remus.

I didn't think she genuinely thought she was 'never wrong'- in fact, it read as a giant bluff to me, but I doubt if I hadn't been dealing with Leo for so long- the king of the bluff- I would've been able to distinguish it as such. I- I didn't want to read too much into it, but my instinct was that it was a result of insecurity born of the unknown- of not knowing who her father was, most likely. It was a sentiment that reminded me of Leo, for some reason- despite the fact that his father was the least of his problems, usually. I guess I was just responding to that bone-deep insecurity that was slightly more obvious with Leo, than Dahrya. "Probably," I admitted softly, and Dahrya scowled at me almost immediately- almost. In that millisecond before she did though, I saw the shock on her face- the suspicion tempered by confusion, until she seemed to decide none of that mattered, and threw it aside in favor of assuming the worst of me. "I can't- I can't talk about what Leo's going through, that's not- not my place. Not without knowing that you're going through the same thing, and that's-"

She cut me off, tone- and demeanor- sharp. "So I'm supposed to just take a leap of faith and lay myself bare, when you've given me nothing in retur-" She was right, it wasn't fair to ask her to reveal anything- but Remus cut her off in turn, squeezing her shoulder gently.

"You're having control issues," He stated, no questioning involved, and Dahrya's cheeks darkened as though she wasn't just embarrassed, but angry.

"I'm a vampire," She snapped. "That comes with the territory." Then why was she embarrassed about it? "It's not- 'Control' doesn't cover it." What was that supposed to mean? Remus and I shared a look- "Don't," She practically spat. "Don't you dare! The last thing I need right now is you two judging me-"

She thought we were judging her? About that? ...had she forgotten that we were Leo's two closest friends? "Dahrya, we weren't-" Predictably, she cut me off.

"I know you aren't. I know that- but right now, I'm- We're-" She stopped talking to literally growl in frustration. "Paranoia, rage, an inescapable urge to-" To what? To drink blood? Was that what she was trying to avoid telling us- that she was struggling less with the blood lust, and more with the futility of trying to fight it? It made sense to me, but I had a weird feeling that wasn't it- a prickling down the back of my neck, telling me something was wrong.

Remus gave her an incredibly soft look. "Dahrya, it's okay. You're okay. I know it's hard-"

"I want to hurt you- do you know that?" Uh... "It's not just that I want to bite people, and that happens to hurt- I have this urge- this craving- to bring people pain. To make them suffer." Her earlier comment about making Leo suffer made more sense, now. Remus looked visibly uncomfortable, and I couldn't blame him- considering that he was the one Dahrya's 'cravings' were currently focused on. "It gets worse when you're nice to me- kind, gentle. It makes me want to dig my claws in, and rip and tear. I want to flay the skin from your bones and lick your blood off my fingers- That's not okay, Lupin."

...that- I didn't know what to say to that. What could be said, in the wake of such a thing? Clearly, Remus didn't know what to say either, because his only response was a muscle in his jaw jumping as he clenched it. "Dahrya," I started, then cringed. "If you're feeling this, then Leo must be feeling this, too. Maybe-"

"And that's what you care about, isn't it?" What? "You don't care about my struggles, you only care about him-" Dahrya's tirade was interrupted by her inhaling sharply through her nose- brought on by Remus's hand clamping down on her shoulder, fingertips digging into the muscle there.

"Dahrya," His voice was firm- firmer than I would've expected from him, but maybe that was brought on by the discomfort the subject obviously caused him. "Elaine isn't saying, 'Look at Leo', she's saying, 'You're not alone'. If you're feeling this, Leo is, too- and every other vampire." He hesitated briefly, then reluctantly admitted, "It's not... it's not a foreign concept to me, Dahrya. When I'm... During the full moon, the wolf is, understandably, animalistic. But it's not just that- I know Elaine has said that when she first transformed into her wolf form and attacked Leo, it wasn't... premeditated. It wasn't thought out or planned, it was pure, animal instinct driving her to attack the living, breathing, human being in the room with her. It isn't like that for me on the full moon, and sometimes it- it bleeds over."

Dahrya stared at him for far longer than I think either of us expected her to, and since she was silent for once, I took it upon myself to try to back up. "He's right, Dahrya. I wasn't turning this around to focus on Leo, I was just trying to say... if you're worried about us judging you, you can always talk to Leo about it- because you're the same. You're both struggling, so... even if you're mad at him- As I was trying to say earlier, if there's one thing I know for certain about Leo, it's that he'd never, ever, be okay with someone suffering, when he can do something about it. Especially not someone he cares about as much as I know he cares about you."

She nodded somewhat absently. "Right, yeah, um... can I ask- Did you mean to tell me that Elaine's an animagus?"

(A/N): Elaine: 'It was a sentiment that reminded me of Leo, for some reason- despite the fact that his father was the least of his problems, usually.'

Leo: *biggest problem is currently the fact that his father is dead, and he can't handle it*