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Thread: The Beast Within

  1. #1
    Axis Sunsoar's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default The Beast Within



    Two days ago, Daniel Scrubs-Scarrow, Ministry employee and husband of auror Penelope Scarrow had been murdered and a prophecy stolen. Now as the day waned, Glenn Richards, also an auror and a close colleague of that same Penelope had locked himself firmly in an out-of the-way shack, where he sat, surrounded by unadorned walls. A single light flickered dimly on the ceiling. To the untrained observer he might appear completely as ease, as he drained the last sip of a firewhiskey and sat in the chair that represented the only furniture in the room, dressed in a pair of plain, loose-fitting sweatpants and a comfortable shirt, rather than the robes that were the official symbol of his role in the Ministry. To one who knew him though, the tension was very apparent, in the tightness of his jaw and the way he held himself. He had been here for three hours now, and though he could not see outside - the windows were boarded up as a risk he could not take - he knew that the very last dregs of sunlight would be falling away from the world, and that the moon looming above would be full. His knowledge of the passage of time told him as much, as did a feeling he had. Something felt like it was creeping up, casting a shadow over his mind...

    He awoke suddenly, lying on his back, unclothed with his body covered with bruises and scratches. Sweat matted his hair and stung his open wounds. A trail of blood crept down his chin from the corner of his mouth, and more welled up from a rent in his shoulder. He drew himself to his feet, and saw that the shack looked about as rough as him. Deep gashes were carved into the walls, and blood was smeared across the floor and up their height, but that was not what concerned Glenn - the cabin belonged to his uncle who had sided with the Dark Lord, he and his cabin could both be damned as far as Glenn was concerned. His concern was much more pressing than property damages. Glancing around, and finally checking the deadbolt at the door, Glenn was at last able to draw a deep sigh of relief. The blood was all his, the shack had held him in. He could now take full stock of himself. His hands and face still felt strangely stretched, as if they were not quite the right shape, and his legs were shaking violently with the effort of holding him up. Casting about the shack he found his chair, cast into a corner and reclaimed it, setting it back on its feet and sitting to alleviate the burden. For a moment he was almost overwhelmed by the desire to vomit, as bile welled up in his throat, he conquered it with effort. The first small victory in what he knew would be a long process, mastering his body with his will. To this end, he forced himself back to a standing position, against the protests of his legs, and walked slowly across the room to a small trunk, which contained a pair of fresh, clean clothes to replace those which had been torn off in transformation. He was slightly disgruntled to find that the wolf had torn it open and flung the clothing across the room, but everything was still intact and he was able to track them down and dress himself.

    He then sat back down, and began to think. The use of physical force, force in anything, was completely foreign to him. His passions in life had always tended towards what his father might call "soft" books, herbs, poetry. His magical proficiency was mostly focused in the rather delicate field of charms, where subtlety, of motions and pronunciations, was everything. Yet, it seemed force was now to become a part of who he was, and his body, even un-transformed, was already changing to reflect it. He had to come to terms with this, more, to embrace it, and so he began to try and recall what had transpired. He had to make these memories his own, make that mind his own, because he knew as long as he allowed any difference between Glenn and the wolf, there would always be the chance for the wolf to take over, to do something he did not want. That was not something he could allow. He had mastered animagus transformation with the same understanding although he had to admit, even to himself, he had never quite gained complete control of that form, and he could not get away with such laxity now. However, it gave him some understanding as to the nature of what he must do, and that at least was a small advantage So he settled himself down carefully, and began to reflect back to the time when his mind was dark, and slowly images came to him, images of a creature that was him, and yet not him thrashing around at the cabin which was its prison for the night.

    When Glenn finally emerged, still weakened and starving from the cabin, it was nearly four o clock the day after the full moon. He had taken the first steps of a process that he knew would not occur overnight, but it would not occur at all if he did not begin. Over the next weeks Glenn began an intense physical training regimen, taking advantage of his body's seeming natural tendency to increase in size and newfound ravenous appetite. It was all part of the process of embracing this new identity, and also enabled him to practice forcing his mind to conquer his physical form. Along with continued meditation on his experience of this first, he prepared slowly and steadily for the next time he and the wolf met, knowing that maybe not that night, but some night, he would conquer it.
    Last edited by Axis Sunsoar; January 23, 2018 at 10:26 PM.

  2. #2

    Default Re: The Beast Within

    Penelope stood outside, having apparated some time later, closer to midnight. She sucked down some tea from a flask and wiped her mouth before producing her wand. "Protego Horribilis." She incanted as the protection charm spread in the area of the cabin. They had decided to protect Glenn's privacy. It wasn't his fault, after all. Penelope was the only one of their team who wasn't an animagus, she had to rely on more conventional protections. She may eve have to curse Glenn if he emerged...she did not relish the thought. Her only consolation was that Glenn wouldn't remember it. She knew her protection charm would keep Glenn contained, unless he was feeling particularly adventurous. She opened the lasted copy of the Prophet and was viewing the sports section as the full moon rose.

  3. #3
    Axis Sunsoar's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: The Beast Within

    As the moon rose full in the sky there a moment of stillness, enough so that Penelope took notice, glancing up from the Prophet and looking around the clearing, bathed in the white light from the moon. A heartbeat passed, and then a scream erupted from the cabin, not a sound she had ever heard Glenn make before, but still unmistakably torn from his throat. It dragged on an inordinate amount of time, changing as it did so. The shift was subtle at first, so that she did not even notice, but by the end there was no doubt that at some point the cry of a man had become the howl of a wolf. The howl subsided, and was replaced a moment later by ragged, growling breaths, which stopped abruptly. Without any other warning, a crash echoed throughout the clearing, the walls of the small cabin shook violently. A howl rose again from inside, as blows now fell against the walls in rapid succession. However, whether courtesy of sound construction or Penelope's charm, the cabin held up to the punishment. It did not seem that the creature inside the cabin had any sort of tactical approach to breaking out. For a moment there was scrabbling around the door, as if it might find a way to throw the deadbolt, but the effort was abandoned, and the slamming continued.

    Hours passed before the assault on the structure subsided, and the rasping growls reclaimed preeminence, although the breaths seemed to be coming shorter now. The respite lasted only a few minutes before the siege was taken up again, raising a shocking amount of clamor, which was concerning until Penelope recalled Glenn's casting of Repllo Mugletum around the area, which would help maintain their privacy further. The creature exhausted itself much more rapidly this time, and as it pulled away again she thought she could hear pained whimpering.

    The night continued in similar fashion, but any thought that the beast would escape was gone. By now most of its energy had clearly been spent. The cabin would contain it successfully. Early the next morning, Penelope heard a groan, once again very human, and shuffling sounds inside the cabin. There was a gentle thump, as if furniture were being moved, and then more shuffling and scraping. The cabin then went quiet again. It was clear Glenn had lasted the night, but he had not made it clear how long the next part of his plan would take, so Penelope couldn't know how long he would remain in the cabin. It was up to her if she headed back to the Ministry, or home, or waited around for Glenn at this point.

  4. #4

    Default Re: The Beast Within

    Penelope opened her lunch pail. An apple and a small sandwich looked back up at her. She took another swig from her thermos, and as she did she took a flask from her pocket. She added a swig of fire whiskey to the churning black liquid as a defense to the chill of the night. The sounds coming out of the cabin had been bone chilling. At first she stood with her wand aloft, ready to impede Glenn the moment he emerged. After some hours she grew more contented that there was no escape from that special cell, and that their spells had indeed done their work. Her charm would ensure he tired out more quickly as well, and may even be able to sleep in that form. She took a bit from the apple only to find that she still had no appetite.So setting it down she once again picked up the book she had been reading. "Lumos."

  5. #5
    Axis Sunsoar's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: The Beast Within

    Perhaps Penelope dozed off, perhaps her attention had merely been elsewhere, but when the sliding deadbolt and the opening of the door startled her to attention, it was clearly afternoon, the sun full in the sky. Glenn, still dressed in muggle clothing, half-limped out of the building, following the door which he had thrown open. With every step he took further forward into the light, his ragged state became more apparent. His forearms, extending from a plain grey t-shirt, where mottled green and purple with bruising, and marred by a cross-hatching of scrapes and scratches. He had been unsuccessful in fully cleaning a spot of blood from the corner of his mouth, and there was evidence of another significant wound where the left shoulder of his shirt seemed to be sticking to a spot high on his arm, and the end of a gash was exposed from the sleeve. He looked weary, with dark rings under his eyes, and his posture was slightly slumped over. All the same, he mustered a slight smile as he drew close. "I seem to make a rather persistent werewolf," his voice sounded drawn, weary as the rest of him looked, but it was clearly a dry attempt at a jest. He continued, "I'm starving, lets go find something to eat before we head back. Although," he paused for a moment, throwing a glance down at his arms, "I might want to find a sweatshirt or something if I want to avoid too many questions."

    He extended a hand to help Penelope up from where she sat, next to her still-ignored lunch pail and the copy of the Prophet, she had brought along. As he did so, she thought she heard him mutter, "Thank you. I'm glad you stayed," but his voice was so quiet she couldn't be sure.

  6. #6

    Default Re: The Beast Within

    Upon hearing the door open, Penelope drew her wand forth. Seeing Glenn, she tucked it back into her robes. He looked awful, if truth be told. Haggard, tired, half dead or drowned. "It was my pleasure dear." She said and put a hand on his arm. She produced a small bag from her robes and opened it. "Accio." She ordered, and soon a bundle of clothing wrapped in brown paper and tied with white chord. "First, a change of clothes, I think." She said, passing over the bundle. "And then what are you in the mood for, steaks maybe?" She indulged in a small titter, making light of the situation. After all, it was over and had gone all according to plan.

  7. #7
    Axis Sunsoar's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: The Beast Within

    Glenn ducked back inside the building briefly, long enough to change into more presentable clothing, and then reemerged, seeming slightly reinvigorated by the prospect of food. "Yes, I think steaks will do just fine," he said with a smile. The more he thought back to his time in the cabin, the more he was convinced that he would be able to conquer the wolf. He allowed his smile to widen as he and Penelope left the clearing together, looking for somewhere to go eat.

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