Tea and Conversations

[prof_stargazer]

Date: Saturday, August 25, 2001
Time: afternoon
Location: Stella's Flat
Characters Involved: Stella Sinistra, Anne Shephard, and Caleb Moore
Rating: PG

Stella realized, as soon as Anne had arrived, that she'd made a mistake.

Not that inviting Anne over had been a mistake- ever since they'd run into each other in Diagon Alley last week, Stella's old

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[anneshephard]

The moment Anne had knocked on the door, a shock like a jolt of electricity had raced through her, making her gasp in pain and take several steps backwards. When Stella answered the door, she nodded at the explanation - feeling peculiarly disturbed by it. Clearly Stella's pro-werewolf leanings did not stop her from wanting or having to keep them out. She stepped aside, to let Stella make the necessary adjustments.

"Take all the time you need," she told her. She couldn't be offended by this, not when the gesture of inviting her spoke volumes about Stella's personality. It was one of the greatest acts of kindness in the past two years of Anne's life.

Having had to Apparate into a public place to get here, and not being comfortable with exposure anyway, Anne was wearing robes that covered her collar. She had few outfits now that showed her throat.

[prof_stargazer]

Apologizing to Anne again and cursing at herself for being so stupid, Stella stepped back inside her flat. It only took a minute or two to work Anne's identity into the already existing wards, but Stella was still feeling quite embarrassed by the time she finished. It really was not the best greeting she could have given- 'Hello, welcome to my flat that you can't enter-', and there also wasn't really a way to explain the need for the wards without bringing up a whole lot of other issues.

Stella's cheeks were still little red with embarrassment when she stepped out into the hallway to let Anne back in. "Sorry about that," she muttered as Anne walked through the door without a problem, now.

"Anne, this is Caleb Moore," Stella nodded between the two of them as she introduced them, moving to stand next to Caleb and gesturing for Anne to take the chair that sat nearby. "And Caleb, this is an old friend from school, Anne Shephard."

[anneshephard]

It was an awkward situation, but Anne got through it as best she could (calm face, deaf ears, ignore any blushing, it was routine by now), and when the wards had finally been set to allow her in, she went through Stella's front door. There was a slight tingling through her body as the magic accepted her.

Stella's boyfriend was a nice-looking man, probably a little younger than they were. She greeted him with a polite, "Hello," and took the offered seat, not shaking hands. He was a werewolf, then - she saw the collar around his throat and felt as if her own hidden one had tightened. She'd never sat down and had a face to face chat with another werewolf, and felt oddly anxious about the whole thing. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up.

She fought each sign of nervousness and smiled warmly, both at Caleb and at Stella.

[wolf_caleb]

The moment Stella had opened the door, Caleb had been nearly overwhelmed by the scent of another werewolf. He could smell nervousness and fear coming off the woman in waves and he was grateful they weren't any closer to the Full. He wasn't sure he would have been able to deal with all that emotion as well has having another werewolf in the flat. Caleb had spent very little time in the company of other werewolves and it always put him on edge. He wasn't sure if it was because she was a female or if it was just because she seemed so timid, but he didn't feel the need to assert himself over her, which was also a blessing.

Caleb waited until Anne was seated before sitting on the couch next to Stella. "Hi, nice to meet you," he said, attempting to smile normally. Stella had told him that Anne was a Hufflepuff, and they probably had a few overlapping years at school, which was probably why she looked vaguely familiar.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella glanced between Caleb and Anne- even without enhanced lycanthropic senses, Stella could still feel the nervousness in the air. She was beginning to doubt that this had been a good idea, and hoped that the tension would start abating soon.

She wasn't sure exactly what to say, or even if there was anything she could say, so she just sat quietly, reaching down to take Caleb's hand in hers. Stella would excuse herself to make tea, in a little while, but she wanted to make sure they were talking to each other, first.

[anneshephard]

"It's nice to meet you too," Anne said, feeling the tension stretch thin and twanging in the air. A huge balloon loomed between them, full of everything to do with the one thing they had in common, and Anne had no idea how easily Caleb talked about his condition. But that was why Anne had been invited to meet him, and it was too big a part of both their lives to be ignored without warping the conversation to ridiculous levels.

The decision, therefore, wasn't that hard. Anne chose to burst the balloon. "I haven't really met any other werewolves," she said, with only the slightest hesitation before the w-word. "I hope there's not some ... secret etiquette I'm breaking or something." She smiled weakly, nervously.

[wolf_caleb]

"No, no you're fine," Caleb said quickly, trying to reassure Anne. "I mean, if you are, I wouldn't know, but I don't think there is such a thing." Caleb ran his free hand nervously through his hair. "I haven't spent much time in the company of others werewolves either, but the first time was rather disconcerting," he admitted. "I didn't handle it very well actually."

[anneshephard]

"I'm - well, I'm feeling rather nervous," she admitted, with another, slightly less uneasy smile. "I mean, I'm not very used to talking to people who know about - my condition, let alone those who share it ..." Her hands clasped and unclasped repeatedly in her lap, until she saw what was happening and held them still. "It's not a very easy subject to talk about, either, for me, but I suppose it's why we're both here - so - well, if you don't mind ... maybe we could try being open about it." She shrugged. "I'm a complete amateur at this, though, so if you have a better idea ..."

She opened her hands, indicating that she deferred to Caleb's wisdom, and then shot Stella a quick look. Things didn't seem to be going badly, and she was grateful to Stella for organising this.

[prof_stargazer]

The conversation was stilted and awkward, but it was still a conversation, and for that Stella was thankful. Not that she had a lot she could contribute to this particular topic- as much as she had learned about werewolves, the fact remained that she was not one.

At the break in the conversation, Stella leaned forward. "I'm going to go start the tea," she said quietly, looking first at Anne, then back at Caleb. "Excuse me for just a few minutes." Stella smiled, squeezing Caleb's hand as she got up. She figured she would let them talk for a little while, and hopefully some of the nervous energy in the room would work itself out.

[wolf_caleb]

"I understand, honestly," Caleb told Anne when Stella had left. "If Remus hadn't taken the time to help me understand a bit more about myself, about being a werewolf, I'd still be completely lost instead of just mostly lost, which I am. It was easier when I turned my back on everything, didn't get involved with anyone." He looked down at his hands for a moment before looking at Anne. "But I couldn't take being that lonely anymore. I don't know that I have any answers for you, but I'm glad to meet you regardless," he finished, wondering if he was babbling again.

[anneshephard]

Her eyes followed Stella as she left the room, and then moved back to Caleb. She felt oddly aware of his presence, as if she would know each movement he made even with her eyes closed and back turned.

Being lonely. That word hadto resonate for most werewolves. Was he offering his friendship too? He must surely sense that Anne had no one left now, must deduce that Stella's offer had been eagerly snapped up because it was so unusaul.

"I haven't ... turned my back ..." she said, slowly. "But I've been isolated, yes, I've been isolated. It was such a surprise to see Stella ... we weren't close friends at school, we just shared a few lessons ..." Her hands convulsed once more.

"If you don't mind me asking - I know this is sudden - but when were you ..." She tumbled a hand, unwilling to say 'bitten'. "It's been nearly two years for me, and I still ... know very little."

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb watched Anne struggle and couldn't help but think of himself the last time Remus had come over to talk to him. He'd been a nervous wreck. He rubbed the back of his neck and considered her question. "I was bitten six years ago, I still don't know by who, or why. Well I know why I suppose," he said, sighing. "I spent the last six years hiding what I was and chaining myself up every Full so I'd have no chance to hurt anyone."

Caleb considered all of the scars on his body from the many times he'd hurt himself trying to get free. He knew they still bothered Stella to some degree, but he couldn't blame her for it. "It's better with the Wolfsbane. Have you tried it yet?" he asked curiously.

[anneshephard]

Anne flushed deeply as he talked of chaining himself up. At St Mungo's, she was locked into a cell, but presumably free to prowl that in wolf form. Or throw herself against the walls, whatever it was she did when the moon was high and her blood raced through an animal form.

"I've never had the Wolfsbane Potion," she said, eyes meeting his. "I've never been able to afford it. I've ... spent every full moon in St Mungo's, though. It's good, having the Healers so close, for afterwards ..." It was clear, though, that her heart wasn't in the words, that she knew the Healers handled her with fear and distaste, and that the care she receieved wasn't nearly adequate to her needs.

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb wasn't sure if he was supposed to tell her about the clinic or not. Remus had always been very careful and circumspect when giving Caleb information, and he didn't want to break the other man's trust. On the other hand, he didn't want Anne to have to suffer another transformation without it. "If you'd like to try it, I think it can be arranged," he finally said. He wouldn't mention any names until he'd talked to Ginny or Remus. He didn't want to cause problems for the two people who had helped the most when he'd returned.

And he'd rather Snape didn't hunt him down and turn him in to a goat.

"Have you ever met Ginny Weasley? She's a healer at St. Mungos and knows a lot about our condition," he said, testing the waters a little.

[anneshephard]

"Healer Weasley?" Anne asked, looking sharply at him. "Yes, I've ... spoken to her. She treated me at St Mungo's the other week - I had a swollen wrist." Did he know, too, then? He probably knew more than she did.

"Wolfsbane ... I couldn't afford it," she said quietly. "And I have to transform at St Mungo's, it's part of my tenancy agreement for my flat, so if I did have the potion they'd want to know who from ..." But there was definite hope in her voice. The thought of keeping her mind both terrified and exhilarated her.

[wolf_caleb]

At least she and Ginny had met, but it also meant that Ginny would have told her about the Clinic if she had wanted her to know. Unsure of what to do, he sidestepped the issue of the clinic altogether. "There are ways to get it, without money," he hastened to add. "Now that I'm working, I try and give the supplier some compensation, but it's not expected. The bottom line is, they don't want anyone to suffer." He didn't want to make her any promises, but he was 99% certain that Ginny would help her if she could. "So if you want to try it, I can try and arrange it."