Aaron

[mooningremus]

Things had been pretty bad for Remus before the whole world went to shit, so in some ways it wasn't objectively worse. The worst part of all of it though was that his wand had snapped in half, and since Hogsmeade had burned to the ground he had no idea how to get a new one.

Small mercies, however, he'd found a place to chain himself up during the full moons. An abandoned house - there were many of those - not far from the city, where he was squatting as well (his house had basically fallen to pieces) and had concrete walls that weren't going anywhere no matter how hard the wolf yanked.

He assumed the howling and screaming could be heard from anyone outside, but it wasn't as if that would be the most unusual thing. And he figured that, chained up, he couldn't hurt anyone even if they stumbled upon him.

So just before moonrise he stripped out of his clothes, neatly folded them, and put a silver cuff connected to a chain coming fro the wall, around his ankle.

And eventually, the wolf was shrieking its displeasure as it threw itself around the room.

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[quitollis]

This was another side of Aaron. One not many knew of.

When word came to him of devils haunting a town just outside the city, he knew to take it seriously and investigate. So, he'd put on his old gear and went in search, armed and ready to kill.

But he did not find a devil. Instead, in those ruins, he found a wolf, chained to the wall.

[mooningremus]

The wolf turned towards the newcomer immediately. It growled, low and dangerous, staring at him with gleaming whit teeth bared, and... big, amber, entirely too human eyes.

[quitollis]

Aaron pulled out his rifle and pointed it at the wolf. He locked eyes with the beast, ready to shoot if necessary. But he was struck by the eyes looking at him and was unable to pull the trigger. They looked... human? Could this be?

[mooningremus]

The wolf did not make a move towards him. Its growl however grew increasingly frustrated. And eventually it howled and sank its fangs into its own leg.

... just as the moon dipped below the skyline and the first ray of sun appeared.

And the wolf began to change. Bones cracking in between howls and whimpers. Until a naked man lay there with his ankle chained to the wall, shivering, whimpering, arm bleeding.

[quitollis]

Aaron felt sorry about the wolf even before the transformation. Something about the way it bit itself.

But then...the change happened. And after a shocking and obviously painful transformation, a man lay on the floor of the ruins, naked, bleeding.

Aaron grabbed his duffel and produced a blanket from it, then rushed to the man to cover him. "Are you in pain?"

[mooningremus]

Remus looked startled, then alarmed. "Who - who are you?" he croaked, always having trouble finding his voice after. "Did you - " He saw then that he was still chained up. "Oh thank god."

[quitollis]

"I'm Aaron," he said. "I was hunting," he explained as his eyes fell on the bleeding arm. "I have some bandages, but...you probably need to have that looked at."

[mooningremus]

Remus looked down at his arm. Great, more scars.

"It'll be fine," he mumbled. "I'm used to it." He moved to get the key to the lock from where he'd stashed it under a loose brick, and winced in pain.

[quitollis]

"Not your first time?" Aaron observed as he watched him.

[mooningremus]

With a shaking hand, Remus released himself from the chains. He couldn't help the rueful chuckled in response to that question. "No," he said softly. "No, I have a lot of practice. Could you... do you have something I could use to bandage... oh, no I'm sorry for bleeding on your blanket..."

[quitollis]

"That's quite alright. The blanket has seen a lot. It's clean, though," he assured the other man. "I have some bandages," he supplied and searched his duffel for the bandages he always brought.

"Here, let me... bandage that for you," he said, as he approached. He didn't know this man, but he felt quite sorry for him and wanted to help him in any way he could.

[mooningremus]

"Thank you," said Remus quietly. "I ah, I have clothes but would prefer not to bleed on them."

He held out his arm, wincing. "A bite, I assume. I'm glad I didn't hurt you."

[quitollis]

"You- he was about to attack when he bit his arm instead. He seemed...frustrated more than anything. There," Aaron said, having bandaged the arm as best he could. "Thaf should hold, for a bit."

[mooningremus]

"Thank you," said Remus, and got a bit shakily to his feet, still holding the blanket around him, to go to where he'd left his clothes carefully folded. "You don't seem very alarmed by the existence of werewolves. I take it you're familiar with the supernatural world?"

[quitollis]

"I've never encountered a werewolf before," Aaron said. "But I've seen my share of... other-worldly creatures," he admitted.

[mooningremus]

Remus let the blanket fall and dressed. The man had already seen him naked, so it wasn't as if he needed to be modest. When he was done, he tried to gather up what dignity he had left, and turned back towards him. "I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Remus."

[quitollis]

Aaron noted the scars on the man's body as he dressed, the angry cuts and bites... Clearly the wolf had done damage in the past - and who knew what else might have caused them. "I'm Aaron. Good to meet you," he said, smiled, and extended a hand.

[mooningremus]

Remus seemed to relax a little, and he shook the man's hand with a little smile. "Thank you for your kindness," he said. "I'm a... I'm a wizard, as well, but I'm afraid my wand is broken beyond repair. The wandless magic I can do is very limited, and whenever I try to use it there's a good chance it backfires horrendously."

[quitollis]

"That's unfortunate," Aaron said. "Unfortunately, I know no other wizards, who might repair your wand," he said, always trying to be helpful.

"I know about magic, but I'm not a magician, or a wizard. I used to be an exorcist."

[mooningremus]

"Oh, I see. Well no wonder you weren't as alarmed as you might have been." Remus carefully folded the blanket. "I could try to wash this for you if you like."

[quitollis]

"No need, truly," Aaron said, struck by Remus' polite kindness. What cruelty such a gentle soul should become such a monster. "May I ask... how long have you... had this condition?"

[mooningremus]

"Since I was eleven," said Remus. "Ironically the same year I started wizard school. That was a big year." He set the blanket aside. "But I've been able to keep it from... hurting other people." Pause. "For the most part."

[quitollis]

Aaron nodded carefully. "Hence the chains," he said in understanding. Hence the scars too, probably.

[mooningremus]

"Hence the chains," Remus confirmed. "I'm afraid it's rather dangerous for the wolf to be loose. But this seems to work well enough. I don't typically get visitors."

[quitollis]

"I was out hunting. I thought someone was being attacked," Aaron explained.