Waning
Waning
It was noon next day before Alexi and Chiara finally reemerged from upstairs. I'd expected them to be looking a little worse for the wear, tired, pale and sickly. As was my experience with Chiara from before. But I was not prepared for just how rough they looked, it was terrifying.
Both of them were covered in deep, barely closed scratches and bite marks. They'd clearly both showered and attempted to heal each other before coming down but that just made me more afraid of what they'd done to each in their Werewolf forms. They were also both acting very awkwardly, giving each other much more space than usual and not looking at each other.
"This was a bad idea." I told them. "What the hell happened last night?" Neither of them spoke.
Diego having heard my voice came out from the kitchen and stopping dead in his tracks dropped the glass he was holding. It shattered on the floor.
"Alexi!" he hissed, his eyes filling with tears before he turned around and fled the room. "What happened?" I repeated. More silence.
"Fine, you don't have to tell me. But I really don't know anything about healing Werewolf bites, or scratches." I added. "It's fine Samhain. I already took care of it. Powdered silver and dittany, for future reference. Not that this will ever happen again. It probably looks worse than it is because they're so fresh." Chiara finally said, aiming an incredibly dirty look at Alexi before huffing off to Apparate home.
Alexi looked so upset, I automatically moved forward to hug him but he backed up a step and held up his hands as if he couldn't bear to be touched. "I didn't mean to. I couldn't help it, we couldn't help it. She's so angry with me, but she's lying to herself too, I know she remembers. She's acting like it was all me but it wasn't, it was both of us" he explained.
"We knew you might hurt each other but I didn't think it would be this bad. And there was also a chance that you'd recognise each other and, I dunno, not be so violent right?"I asked him.
Alexi shook his head at me saying, "Samhain you really don't understand Werewolves. I don't even understand a lot of it, but it's not about the bites and scratches, that's nothing. We heal quickly and we were ready for that part of it."
"What do you mean it's not about that Alexi? Why else would Chiara be so upset?" I demanded. He hesitated, looking into my eyes I could see how much he was hurting, emotionally. "Alexi? Talk to me, I don't understand but I want to help." "Yes Alexi, please explain to us what happened last night." Diego had returned from outside, having calmed himself somewhat.
Alexi hung his head in shame. "Chiara and I, we, I don't even know what to call it. Mated I guess. As Werewolves. We couldn't help it any more than we could help attacking each other before that. We did recognise each other, and we both were active participants in it. But she's acting like she wasn't, and that it's my fault, that I was the aggressor. But I swear it wasn't like that. Diego please, believe me. I didn't mean for it to happen and I swear I couldn't control myself."
Diego sighed. "I do believe you Alexi. I reacted badly, I was being a jealous prick, I know. Sorry. And I know you couldn't help it. Come have something to eat and we'll talk okay?" Diego coaxed Alexi into the kitchen and I let them go. Hearing about what happened was indeed upsetting but I was a lot more concerned about Chiara at the moment. I turned around thinking I'd go find her and see if I could calm her down, but I came face to face with Ismelda. She'd heard everything too, and from the look on her face she was not concerned, she was livid.
"So the rapist Werewolf gets a cuppa with his boy toy? Seriously Samhain, are you for real?"
"Ismelda you heard him, it wasn't like that." I defended Alexi furiously. "That's not how Chiara feels apparantly" she spit back at me. "We don't know how Chiara feels because she hasn't told us!" I yelled right back at her.
"Don't be like this Ismelda. You haven't been like this in a long time. You know as well as anyone if Werewolves don't take Wolfsbane they go feral on the full moon. They might remember things when they transform back but a feral Werewolf goes on animal instincts. I'm not going to let you call Alexi a rapist." I exploded at her. But even as I said it, part of me wondered why I was taking Alexi's side over Chiara's. Because he was the one who stayed there and talked about what happened? Because of how hurt and upset he was? Ismelda had stalked off upstairs in disgust, but her words still rang in my ears. Maybe I shouldn't have been so quick to assume he was innocent. Chiara was obviously not okay about what happened.
I ran straight to the fire, not caring that it was rude to just walk into someone's house uninvited, I threw in a fistful of floo powder and stepped into the green flames shouting "Chiara Lobosca's flat!" I spun fast in the enchanted fire, praying I'd come out at the right gate. Having never been to Chiara's place I knew I'd risked getting myself stuck up a chimney but I didn't know what else to do. Luckily when I stopped spinning I was able to step out into a kitchen.
"Chiara?" I called out. "Leave me alone Samhain, I'm not up for company" she replied from the next room over. I followed the sound of her voice and found her curled up on her bed. "Chiara I'm sorry I just barged in but I had to make sure you were okay." I hesitated before saying, "Alexi told me what happened. Well, he told me and Diego, and Ismelda heard too. She called him a rapist and lost her ever loving shit on me for not throwing him out of the house. I know you're hurting but I need you to tell me what happened."
She sat up wide eyed, "I never called him a rapist. That's.. that's not, well it's complicated. He and I decided together that it would be more dangerous if only one of us took the Wolfsbane. I offered him mine and he said if I wasn't taking it he wouldn't either. We knew we might not see each other as friends if we transformed together but we both agreed to take the risk. It's just, I didn't think that we'd, you know. Never even crossed my mind" she paused there and took a deep breath. I joined her on the bed and took her hand in mine.
"But was it like that? You didn't want to.. mate with him?" I asked awkwardly. "Ew, please don't call it that. And no, I mean yes, I mean I don't know! In human form, I wouldn't have let that happen. First of all because he's with Diego obviously, and second because I hadn't ever, and I don't know, I was waiting. But in our Werewolf forms, instinct takes over. I know I'm being really unfair to him. For all I know he feels the same way I do, that he regrets it, regrets doing that to Diego. I just feel sick about it. And so embarrassed. I was supposed to be the experienced one showing him the ropes but I was stupid and got us both into that situation. I could have just stayed home and taken the Wolfsbane and let him figure it out on his own, but I really do care about him Samhain. I thought of him going through his second transformation ever, alone without Wolfsbane and it broke my heart. I just really wish it hadn't happened. I wish I'd been smarter and less kind. I wanted my first time to mean something to me and the person I shared it with. Instead I feel like we both just used each other. It was the worst feeling in the world, waking up next to him, naked and covered in blood, remembering I'd lost something precious because of what we are."
She started crying then and couldn't go on, so I pulled her into my arms and just held her for a while until her sobs turned to sniffs and eventually stopped. When she could speak again Chiara seemed a little more like herself.
"I've got to talk to him. Clear things up. I was so upset this morning, I acted like a right hag. I totally unloaded on him, while I was healing his wounds, that I gave him! So he couldn't even get away from me. I need to apologise and I have to tell Ismelda it's not what she thinks before she tells anyone else or says anything else horrible to him. Can we go right now? I won't be able to do anything else today with this festering."
I smiled at Chiara encouragingly and said, "Let's go. Whatever you need from me I'll be with you."
Talking things over took some time. At first Chiara wanted everyone at my house to be there so they understood no one was the villain and it was just an unfortunate and messy situation. After we got that sorted out Ismelda apologised to Alexi and to me, and we all agreed we didn't know enough about Lycanthropy to be making assumptions about our friends.
After that Chiara, Alexi and Diego went to sit outside and discuss some personal things and the rest of us turned out attention back to my cursed engagement ring and started making a plan to get more information out of Lee Manor.