With the capture of Verandi Farley and several high-ranking Trossach members, the British wizarding world has finally caught a break. The rate of rogue werewolf attacks have started dropping at a steady rate and, hopefully, things will stay that way. The Ministry is starting to loosen some restrictions, like not arresting werewolves standing on the street for loitering, however there’s still an obvious power imbalance between wizardfolk and werewolves.
The Cotswolds pack are continuing to advocate for the rights of werewolves and petitioning to change the legislation that has been set in motion by the current Minister for Magic, whilst the remaining Trossachs members are trying to stay out of the spotlight and keep a low profile… for now.
Whilst the British wizarding world seems to have calmed down, the same cannot be said for over in Northern Europe where a rebellion of magical creatures has risen. The state of things has gotten so bad that the European Ministry has enacted protocols to protect those under eighteen whilst their adult witches and wizards fight to keep control of their countries.
Students from Durmstrang have been sent to Hogwarts to keep them safe and those not old enough to attend school have been sent to live with relatives or designated British Ministry officials outside of Europe for the time being.
Will the low rates of werewolf attacks in Britain continue? How long will Durmstrang students stay at Hogwarts? Will the creatures usurp the wizardfolk in Northern Europe? Only time will tell.
SEPTEMBER 2019 It's been a very long, eventful summer in the wizarding world. A baby was stolen, several high ranking Trossach members were imprisoned, and werewolf attacks have drastically dropped as a result. What will happen now school has returned?
MAY 2019 An attempt to capture the beta of the Trossachs has been launched. Were the Aurors successful in their mission? Go read more here!
They'd moved camp once more, staying on the move, lest the Ministry came back to comb the area. All the effort put into keeping them off their tails would go to waste if they'd manage to get caught now, so they didn't stay anywhere for more than a few days. Vaughn didn't know how long they'd keep up the pace, but he had a reason to want to stay in their current spot for a bit longer.
The reason? A stream of fresh, running water mere minutes from the campsite. He was kneeling in the wet mud on the side of the stream, dressed only in old, blue jeans, blowing air on a hastily made campfire to warm up the large kettle of water hanging above it. Vaughn was going to use this chance to wash his hair and maybe feel like an actual human for the first time in a long while.
His old, ragged t-shirt that once had been white was tossed on a low-hanging branch nearby, and his worn out boots were drying next to the fire. A piece of crumpled newspaper was sticking out from one of the boots -- he'd acquired a bit of soap several months ago.
He was in a good mood -- something that had been rather rare in the last few years of his life. Hell, he even started whistling an old tune, enjoying the sun and the tweeting of birds.
Post by TERESA NOTTINGHAM on Feb 15, 2020 8:19:13 GMT
It was mid-morning and out of the corner of her eye, Teresa watched carefully as Vaughn headed towards the stream nearby, wondering if now was the time to talk to him. Ever since she'd connected the dots a few days ago about him and Damian being related, then pretty much offered to set up a meeting between the two brothers without Vaughn's permission, she'd been waiting for a chance but... she hadn't managed to catch him alone, and it wasn't exactly a conversation they could have in front of the pack.
It only took a second or so for Teresa to make up her mind, and wiping off debris from the log she was sitting on off her jeans, she took off in his direction... only to find that he was half-naked because, yes, okay, a stream usually meant showering or bathing. "Don't worry, I'm not here for a peep show," she said, although a part of her was disheartened to admit that. The guy looked good shirtless, the muscles of his chest and abdomen all carved out like a statue of Adonis. It was certainly a better view than the chests of men she was usually treated to. Although she let her dark eyes linger for a moment, they quickly flickered up to meet his own piercing eyes. "I need to talk to you about something."
It didn't take long until Vaughn had company by the stream. The Trossach's were a reclusive bunch, mostly keeping to themselves but fresh, running water after a long winter... Who could say no to that. He was still down on his knees by the fire, when Teresa spoke up, eliciting a short laugh from the young man.
"Please, I don't mind. Nothing you haven't seen before," they had tents, yes, but growing up with all three of his siblings in the same room had made Vaughn lose all his inhibitions when it came to undressing around other people. Plus, there wasn't much anyone in the pack could do for fun. "Not much to do for fun around here, so you're welcome to watch," he continued, getting up from his knees and brushing off the dirt from his pants, winking to the younger woman.
His hands proceeded to move down, to unbuckle his belt and get out of the old, blue jeans as he kept his gaze on Teresa. The playful mood he was in was dampened by the words that followed. It was never good news with a phrase like that. "Hmm? And what would that be?"
Post by TERESA NOTTINGHAM on Feb 19, 2020 1:23:16 GMT
"Like being watched, do you? Exhibitionist," Teresa shot, arching her eyebrow in his direction. There was no malice behind the words, however. She didn't particularly give a shit what got people off unless it was outright illegal, and enjoying having an audience didn't necessarily fall under that category. "I'll take advantage while I can. Maybe I'll get to see more than I do at camp." A small smirk slid onto her lips because... unlikely. Vaughn was fairly shameless with his nakedness around others, more so than the rest of the pack seemed to be, and she'd definitely gotten an eyeful before.
But she had a feeling that her viewing privileges were going to be stripped fairly quickly when she told him just what had transpired between her and Damian. "You didn't tell me you were a Belanger. I should have put it together because how many people are named Vaughn and look like the spitting image of a family I went to school with," she started, before deciding fuck it. She'd just rip the bandage off and tell him instead of dragging this out. "I ran into Damian. I told him you're a werewolf because he deserves to know instead of thinking you're in France. I also told him you were going to meet up with him because he wants to see you."
Vaughn chuckled at the thought of being an exhibitionist -- the thought hadn't really ever occurred to him. Believe it or not, even a strapping young man like Vaughn didn't have terribly much experience in bed, so maybe Teresa was onto something there. But this really wasn't the place, nor the time for Vaughn to consider his likes and dislikes, especially as the woman continued talking, the playful mood being washed away by the frigid waves that overcame Vaughn in the next few seconds.
His blue eyes were pinned to Teresa, widening with every word. Damian? She'd told Damian that he wasn't in France? That he was a werewolf? Just like that, without even considering why Vaughn hadn't told it himself? He closed his eyes, inhaled through his nose and his lips pressed together in a thin line as he tried to gather his thoughts.
"It wasn't for you to tell." He gritted through his teeth, opening his eyes and trying to destroy her with his gaze alone. "It wasn't for you to tell, Teresa." He stepped towards her, an extended index finger pointed in her direction, "Did you for a moment consider that I had a good reason not to tell them?"
Post by TERESA NOTTINGHAM on Feb 22, 2020 0:47:43 GMT
The expression on Vaughn's face wasn't exactly unexpected but Teresa refused to be intimidated by him, instead straightening up and shoving her hand forward in case he decided to intrude on her personal space even more with that bloody finger of his. "I'm not some little girl you can cower into a corner with your big, hulky body and if you lay a hand on me, trust me when I say that everyone will hear about it," she said, words strong and loud as she unwaveringly met his gaze.
"Yeah, I did consider that. I'm not an idiot. But I also considered the fact that Damian used to be my friend, or at least kind of one of the only friends I had, and I couldn't sit there pretending like you live in France. I couldn't lie to him. He doesn't deserve that shit." She felt like she had more loyalty to the younger Belanger than she did to Vaughn who she barely knew anything about besides the fact that he didn't like the Cannons and he was a werewolf.
When Teresa swatted his hand away and accused him of intending to hurt her, Vaughn felt like she'd grabbed him by his hair and dumped his face straight into the pot of cold water above the small fire. They might be a reclusive bunch, and yes, Vaughn had turned at least one person into a werewolf -- that person being Rue Howard, but this wasn't a moment to think about her -- but he wasn't some kind of savage that just went around beating people for wronging him... Well, if they wronged him for something else besides being a werewolf.
He stumbled backwards, crossing his arms on his chest, lips still a thin line and listened to Teresa's defense, which promptly made him roll his eyes and sigh. After a few moments he spoke, his voice steady, even somewhat defeated already.
"And neither does my family deserve to be stressing out over my problems. This was and is my problem, and you shouldn't have brought Damian into this. I know my family, they'll be tearing their hair out, blaming themselves for this, trying to find the money for at least one dose of wolfsbane for me, when there have been times when we can scarcely afford the clothes on our back." He turned around, facing the stream, rather than the woman, trying to make sure she wouldn't see the few stray tears in his eyes glistening in the sun, "Now they've the burden of me. One they cannot afford."
Post by TERESA NOTTINGHAM on Mar 17, 2020 7:13:16 GMT
Teresa didn't miss the stricken look on Vaughn's face when she threatened to blab if he touched her but frankly, she didn't give a shit if his feelings were hurt because she'd rather preemptively stop a possible smack across the face than play the nice girl. She'd been the nice girl in situations similar before, and it didn't stop a thing.
"Yeah, well, it's too late and I can't rewind fucking time so you're just going to have to deal with the fact that he knows and so does the rest of your family and from what it sounds like, they'll accept you with open bloody arms," she said, bitterness creeping into her voice. She got where he was coming from - that he didn't want to be a burden to a family that was struggling financially - but fuck, jealousy boiled inside of her nonetheless because her family? The Nottinghams that lived in a manor and had galleons coming out of their ears? They saw her once in the hospital after she was bitten, then threw her out on her arse and onto the streets when she was allowed to come home. They didn't care enough to even consider buying her wolfsbane, let alone give her a roof over her head.
"Your brother... he's a good person. When I was bitten..." A subject she hadn't actually spoke to Vaughn about before. "... he tried to owl me afterwards when most of our classmates didn't give a shit to check up on me, but I ignored him because I was so angry and sad and - " Teresa cut herself off, furiously shaking her head. "It doesn't matter, but knowing what kind of person he is... I couldn't play dumb and just pretend like you were in France."
