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[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

Jelindel sat alone in the Three Broomsticks, reminiscing about the days she had spent there with her friends as a teenager. She had been away from Hogwarts for years now and still she missed it. She never would have been drinking alone if she were back at Hogwarts. She hated to drink alone, but who did she have to drink with, none of her friends seemed to be around anymore. Still, she wasn't exactly sad, nostalgic, sure, but there were very few occasions when she was actually sad.

She played with her shot glass, rolling it along her fingers, she wondered, why had she come out tonight? It seemed such a strange idea and yet there was nothing else to do. Perhaps she should have stayed in London, gone to the Leaky Cauldron, but something pulled her back to her old haunts. The glass slipped through her fingers and smashed on the ground. Clumsy, clumsy, clumsy, classic Jelindel. She absent mindedly mumbled "Reparo" The glass came back together and she placed it on the table and didn't pick it up again.

She considered getting another drink, but decided against it, all it would lead to was another and another and another and a rather bad headache in the morning. "Aguamenti" The glass filled with water and she took it in one shot.

[Shade McCallister]

As he entered the Three Broomsticks, the barkeep acknowledged him.

"How are you this evenin', Mr. McCallister?" the keep asked boisterously.

"The same as every other day since I have been an adult. I am sure you know the feeling," Lupus responded a little heavy heartedly. His hair, auburn, cascaded down to his navel in neat spirals. His brow, a little overly pronounced, seemed troubled by excessive thought. His eyes, slightly sunken, but not so that there was that dark shadow that sometimes comes with it, probably mostly due to the pronounced brow, shone a bright Antifreeze green with a black burst radiating from the pupil.

"Sorry, lass, I suppose I should have asked before I sat down so close... Do you mind?" Lupus asked genially, his full lips spreading just enough to reveal a set of extraordinarily straight dull white teeth, though the lateral incisors and canines on either side, were both slightly elongated and came to a brutal point. They were the only aggressive aspect to his persona, but they were imposing.

His posture was slightly slouched, though his overall demeanor seemed to hold an air of pride in it, and the slouching was most likely stemming from exhaustion.

There were a few faint scars on his right arm, but the most noticeable aspect of his entire figure was the full sleeve Celtic Knot that covered the entirety of his left arm, shining with a silver glow.

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

Jelindel didn't notice the man enter, people were always coming in and going out and she was focused too intently on her shot glass. She wasn't just staring blankly at it, she was concentrated on it. Some of the dust from the floor had been caught in it when she had repaired. She considered purifying it, but decided against it, imperfections made glasses, and people, who they were. She was thinking about something else as well, but if anyone had asked her what she wouldn't have been able to explain. It was one of those thoughts in the back of her mind that aren't quite as loud as the others, but three times as important.

"Sorry, lass, I suppose I should have asked before I sat down so close... Do you mind?"

Jelindel started, she hadn't noticed him sitting close to her at all. She wouldn't be so upfront to admit that she was glad that he had, but she smiled. It was strange his eyes were a bright green, brighter even than her's, which was saying something. Their colour seemed almost unnatural, but who was she to judge. His teeth seemed strange as well a few of them were sharper than they should have been, she wondered, was he part something else? Before realising that she was being rude in not replying.

"Of course not, of course not. I could use the company anyway. Can I buy you a drink?" She sounded rather nervous and for some reason she was. She had talked to strangers in bars before, but something about this guy made her flustered. "Oh dear, I just asked to buy you a drink without even introducing myself, how rude. I'm Jelindel, Jelindel dek Medisar." She smiled nervously. He had a Celtic Knot n his arm, she wondered, [i]why?[i] She didn't mention it.

[Shade McCallister]

"No need to be flustered, Jelindel Dek Medisar. I am Shade Lupus McCallister. Either of the first two will suffice." Shade introduced himself genteelly, his sly smile slightly fading. Her eyes were the first he had seen that rivaled the splendor of his own. He was caught in them for just a moment before an embarrassed smile and a blush washed over him and he looked down at the table.

Sorry... he muttered in his embarrassment.

Shade rapped on the counter twice two get the barkeep's attention, and with a sly smile and a charming air, called "Two of..." he paused, plucking the shotglass from his neighbour, glancing at it oddly for a second, giving it a faint sniff, smelling only the water, and a faint hint of frewhiskey, though it seemed off... "Whatever this was..." he finished with a gesture to his occupied hand before placing the shotglass before Jelindel once more.

So, what brings you here on this less than marvelous evening?" he asked idly, his interest, however, was genuine.

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

Jelindel wasn't quite sure what he was apologising for, but smiled anyway. He sounded a bit like her, she was always apologising for things that no one else understood. The things they had in common seemed to be adding up.

"Firewhiskey," mumbled Jelindel, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. It seemed so sordid to be out drinking, alone. She could not look back into his eyes and so stared down at the table.

She couldn't help but look up when she asked why she was there. She wasn't exactly sure what to say as she didn't know if she actually knew why she was there. She went with the most obvious answer, "Reminising, I suppose, about Hogwarts. Pretty all my friends have moved away and it's just nice to think about when we used to come here together." Was this too much information? Did she sound like some sort of outcast? "Did you go to Hogwarts?" She asked politely, trying to draw attention away from herself.

[Shade McCallister]

"Quite some time ago..." he trailed off, shuddering at how long it had been, how many of those that were close to him then were now gone...

"So long ago, now, that it seems it were another lifetime..." He added sheepishly, his voice slightly faltering as he spoke. He really should shut the fuck up, but he just wanted to speak with someone that actually seemed to have a soul...

"When did you graduate, lass? he asked casually, his voice returning to its previous confidence level.

(note: Shade only looks to be about 24...)

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

Jelindel smiled, it felt the same way to her, like a life time ago, but it was no where near. She had only been away for 4 year and he couldn't have graduated more than a decade ago. Time seemed to drag though, everything went a mile a minute at Hogwarts and when she had left, the whole world seemed to slow down.

"Oh, only 4 years ago, feels like forever though. Wish I could go back. I'd love to see the new Ravenclaws, see if they're keeping up the house's reputation." Jelindel had been one of the smartest Ravenclaws when she was at Hogwarts and they were after all labeled the "brainiac" house. She remembered spending hours in the library reading about ancient runes and magical history.

"You can't have been gone long either. I feel so bad, we must have been at school together and I can't recognise you." She blushed, maybe she shouldn't have admitted she didn't recognise him, but it seemed obvious. She tried to think back to prefects and quidditch captains. "Shade McCallister..." She hadn't meant to say his name aloud, her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink.

[Shade McCallister]

"Think back all you want, you won't find any recollection of me... I attended long before your time, and, unless you studied my works in potions or transfiguration, I doubt you have heard of me..." he admitted. He had been the Gryffindor quidditch captain, as well as a prefect all three eligible years, a real model student... That went to hell...

He looked up at her, allowing his true face to come forth slowly, and then only for a moment before bringing it back to what he had it set as. His eyes were quite sunken from time and a hard life, weighted with sorrow an regret, his fair ski was riddled with scars, and his brow protruded fiercely. The wear of time had been hard on his soul, but his outward shell had managed to conceal most of the damage.

"I am a bit older than I look..." he whispered before snapping his face back to the youthful mask that he wore in social situations.

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

Long before her time, that seemed unlikely, he might have been old enough for her to have missed him by a couple of years, but no more than that and even then he looked young for his age. He had written about transfiguration and potions, Jelindel felt embarrassed that she either did not know or could not remember his works. She would have to look for them later.

Jelindel could not keep the surprise from her face when his transformed. Why did this man have two faces? Perhaps he was, as she had thought early, part something else. He looked old and worn. In his eyes she could see a hard life, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

"Uh," Jelindel looked for the right words. "Um, how, what, who? I mean..." She hadn't quite found them. "Sorry, who are you?" She realised how stupid this must have sounded after he had just introduced himself. "I don't mean your name." Also stupid, but at least slightly explanatory if very far from coherent.

[Shade McCallister]

"Breathe..." he whispered. He knew that she would react this way, they always reacted this way...

"I am... not exactly human. And, luckily for me, I was gifted with metamorphmagus... Shape-shifting. Now, I am sure you have questions, and I would be glad to answer them, just, please, remember the setting. Try not to make a scene, or we could go somewhere more private, though most people prefer a public place when encountering the unusual. Either way, just do not cause a panic, and it will be fine, I promise..." Shade said soothingly, his Irish accent and deep, smooth voice working together to relax the lass.

His eyes were non-threatening, and his demeanor sincere. He meant her no harm, and he was willing to answer any questions she raised, but he was not about to give anything away that she did not wish to know...

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

He thought she didn't know what a metamorphagus was, was she really coming off as that stupid? She had better pull herself together, he seemed to think she was about to get up and start screaming "freak, freak!" or something when she could not have been further away from doing that. She had to know who he was and creating a scene would not help. Did she really come across as the sort of person bent on making others' lives harder?

"I'm, I'm not going to make a scene. I'm sorry for being rude, you just surprised me." She took these sentences to steady herself, to make sure her brain was able to come up with something coherent. "I'm happy to stay or to go, I'm not worried you're going to hurt me if that was what you were eluding to." She always prided herself on being understanding of others' situations and this was no different. Still, she had to know what this man was. Vampire? Werewolf? It was hard to say.

"If you're not exactly human, what are you?" What are you? It sounded so dehumanising, even if he wasn't exactly a human he still deserved the respect humans got.

[Shade McCallister]

"I have the name 'Lupus' for reason..." he began, his right hand raising in to plain sight, revealing the nails were not nails at all, but rather short claws that came to a vicious point.

"Hardly a life I would have chosen, however, there are many things in life that are beyond our control. Perhaps some 'Higher Power' has a plan for me, and that is why I am this wretched thing, or perhaps I am simply fucked, either way, what I am is not particularly pleasant, and therefore usually avoided in social settings..." he attempted to rationalize the situation. Rationale was something that usually went right out the fucking window when dealing with his kind, but he had done his best to retain all of his logic and etiquette.

By now, the drinks arrived. The Barkeep had done them a kindness and made them doubles. A small smirk appeared on Shade's lips as he grabbed the glass, raising it to his full lips, not letting it touch his tongue as it shot down, something he grew accustomed to after years of Absinthe drinking...

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

Lupus, latin for wolf... he was a werewolf. How odd that he would admit this to a stranger. Most people in the wizarding world did not look to kindly on werewolves. As far as Jelindel was concerned as long as they behaved themselves as best they could she had no problem with them. Not the type of person you met everyday.

"I'd tell you I know how you feel, but I really don't." Jelindel was always honest, she couldn't help it, never brutally so, but she almost never lied. She couldn't imagine what it must be like, to be a slave to the moon. She imagined lying in bed with someone, the light of the full moon creeping in through the curtains and tearing them t pieces. She hated to admit it, but she was happy it wasn't a full moon tonight.

"Even if what you are isn't pleasant, who you are is." Jelindel tried to comfort Lupus, but she was sure he had come to terms with his affliction long before he met her. "Do you take the wolfbane potion?" If he had known works written about potions she presumed that he could make this one.

[Shade McCallister]

"No, lass, the Wolfsbane's effect is but a myth, just like the enslavement to the moon, well, after your first full moon, that is..." he admitted. The allergy to silver, however, was true, though his aversion to it was not so radical as some of his brethren, he would never let another know that.

"You have never experienced blackout rage? Blinding malice? Most have, though they seldom care to admit it. These things are little different from what I suffer from...."

[Jelindel Lydia dek Medisar]

The wolfsbane potion was a myth? Jelindel wasn't sure whether she should believe it or not. If she did believe it, every werewolf around was doomed. If she didn't believe it, she could not trust her new friend. She chose to believe him, or at least set the thought aside for the time being, until she could do some more reading on it. She took her drink and downed to double in one go, it was all very overwhelming.

For the first time in her life Jelindel hated to admit that she never really got angry. There was only one time she could remember getting blindingly, painstakingly, bloodthirstily angry and that had been when she discovered that it had been her own brother who had murdered her entire family. She could imagine that feeling being close to how Lupus felt every time he changed. She had wanted to slit her brother's throat, but unlike Lupus Jelindel had still had enough of her mind in her to stop herself, to let go of the hatred. "When you discover your brother has killed your whole family at your grandmama's and niece's joint birthday party you can get pretty angry." She shared this little known secret with Lupus, he had revealed a very large secret to her and she figured he deserved something in return, a token of trust.

"Do you kill people then?" The question was very upfront, she had to know the answer, either way she wasn't going to go running from the bar or alert the authorities, she just wanted to know. It was sort of like a research project.