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!
Darkness had surrounded him, the sounds were getting louder - the screams had suddenly stopped. Peter had stood in the middle of the woods, looking around, spinning in circles as he searched for the the source of the noise. Nothing. Then the screaming started up again, and his legs had moved forward quickly, toward the screaming. It was her screaming, the blood curdling scream belonged to Mara and he had no idea where she was. But then the cabin appeared, the door kicked in and blood stained the ground before him, causing him to stop in his footsteps. The screaming stopped, and then he heard it. The low chuckle, and the Russian man came out, a hand around the throat of a bloodied up Mara. He wanted to move forward but he couldn't, it was as if he was frozen in place, vines from the ground wrapping around his ankle. "Hello, boy." the man had said as he tossed the girl in front of him and Peter could tell that she was gone. Her eyes were open, staring straight into his soul. "Look at what you did, Peter. Look at the blood on your hands."
And he did. He sank to his knees, his eyes were filled with tears when screamed. End
Peter’s eyes flew open as he shouted, starting to panic a bit as he found the space in the bed next to him empty. Sweat rolled down his face as he patted Mara’s side of the bed and he rushed out of the room, looking around the cabin and couldn’t find her. ”Mara!” he called out, but no one was around and he went to the door, swinging it open and went outside barefoot and shirtless into the cold winter weather. ”MARA!” he shouted, and grabbed an ax that was in a tree trunk.
He moved around the property, shaking his head and crying softly. It was then he heard footsteps coming up behind him and he quickly turned, ax in hand and ready to kill the intruder.
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
It was winter and with winter the cold came. There had to be enough wood for everyone to stay warm with the fire. Especially since no one is used to being in a cabin for the rest of their lives, Artemis and Dallas had been doing this for soon two years now and this time her and Mara were up early to get the wood before they become too drafty to use.
The male almost fell out of bed when he heard shouting and groaned when he got up to check what the problem was. He walked out of the cabin and cocked his head as he walked out of his room. He watched Peter run outside to look for his girl and Dallas just followed him with a frown.
"Hey easy buddy put down the bloody axe before you hurt yourself!" he said and rose his hands in defense. "Mara is out getting wood with Artemis and probably breakfast too." he said and eyed Peter.
Peter was in panic mode when he suddenly heard Dallas’ voice and lowered the ax in time before he could do any damage to the redhead. No, he wasn’t going to let go of the ax after he had that dream, after he heard the Russian voice over and over in his head. Were they still after him? Was he putting people in danger for just being there? Perhaps he should just leave, run and hide where no one could find him. He was a danger to everyone, including Mara and the thought of her dead because of him made him sick.
The fifteen year old boy stared at Dallas, his eyes wide of fear and he opened, then closed his mouth. His heart was racing in his chest, and he tried to take in a few deep breaths as the tears started to spill.
”The Russians…” he said, not being able to think clearly. ”I need to get out of here.” he said, turning and attempted to head to the woods.
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Dallas was quite confused as to why the kid suddenly deciced to swing axes around and there was not much Dallas felt he could do to help him. Surely his girl will be back soon. With a frown he watched Peter flip out and Dallas just moved closer. "Just give me the axe Peter, it's not going to help you." he said and frowned for a moment.
"The russians don't know you're here. Mara is going to be back any minute okay bud?" he said and reached for his arm which might have been a bad idea but Dallas didn't care. The kid was traumatized and he got it but they were safe here.
Peter hadn’t been himself since he had woken up from that nightmare, and he was balls out terrified that someone is going to come after him. He had stopped when Dallas had grabbed his arm, making him drop the ax onto the ground as he turned around while he took one glance at the woods, letting out a shuddering breath. Usually Mara would have been able to calm him down, but she was around and he was scared that she was out there with Artemis. Why didn’t she wake him?
”Th--they killed her.” he said as he shook out of fear, and the cold. ”In my...dream. They killed her. They...tried to take her from me.” he said as he looked toward the woods. ”Why didn’t she wake me?”
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Dallas cocked his head to the side as he watched the boy. He slowly reached to take the axe and sighed. Dallas looked around and frowned. Dallas wasn't going to spoil the surprise she had for Peter either, she would kill him. "She was getting you something special and you weren't allowed to see it." he said softly, yep he was a dead man walking.
"Do you really want to go shopping with girls bud?" he said and smiled. "Come on, let's get some hot chocolate." he said and motioned to the cabin. "I'm sure they can't hurt Mara, she is tough."
Peter had frowned for a moment when Dallas explained that the girls had gone shopping, and he let out a tiny sigh. Even though it wasn’t entirely safe, he knew damn well that Mara can handle herself if needed, and she had mama bear there to help her. Even if he never seen Artemis become violent, she did have the attitude like a mom and some feared her whenever she did get mad. ”Shopping. Right.” he said softly, running a hand through his hair.
The male nodded, heading toward the cabin and up the steps. ”I’m sorry for almost beheading you…” he said softly, groaning a bit. Damn cold ground on his bare feet did not feel good at all.
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Dallas nodded and helped Peter get into the cabin where it was warm, especially to the bare feet they were both walking on. With a frown he walked to the kitchen area and started to heat up a pot with milk. The hot chocolate should be done soon and the girls should be back soon too.
"Don't worry about it. I had worse." he said with a small smile. There was a huge scar across his chest, his shoulder and arm. Dallas had been through worse, they all had.
"You know you won't lose your girl right?" he asked the boy with a smile. "She is smitten."
Peter had been through so much in the past several months, and he was leaning on Mara for almost half of it. The girl had saved him from what could have ended up with his death or a prison sentence. She had gotten him back, talked him through his episodes and made sure he was safe. He felt safer around her, and he owed her his life. He needed to find a way to thank her, and he was at a loss about that. He had no idea what to do to show her that he loved her.
”She’s a lot tougher than me. That’s for sure.” he said, and seated himself at the table. He looked out the frosty window. ”It’s getting cold out there….” he said with a frown.
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Dallas listened to Peter and nodded. Those two were close and he knew the feeling to depend on the girlfriend because she is the one who gives you strength. The redhead looked at Peter and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Both of them are. You are not the only one who needs a girl to keep them in check." he said and smiled a bit. "I have.. anger issues.. but Artemis keeps me from exploding most of the time." he said and gave Peter a smile.
Peter had thrown a glance at Dallas, listening to him about the anger and he looked back at the window with a tiny sigh. Anger, he was reminded of the time he’d do something for those Russians and feel disgusted with himself. No, he never killed a human but he came close too, even beat someone up to get information from them for his bosses. The male didn’t want to do it but he had to do what they said because they controlled him. They brainwashed him.
”I owe Mara my life. I didn’t think I’d ever see her again until I saw her in Russia. It was like fate, and she saved me from those guys. Stopped me from doing terrible, unspeakable things.” he said and frowned. ”They made me hurt people for them, scare people.”
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Dallas knew Peter went through some bad shit. He heard some little bits here and there but they never really talked about it because Dallas wasn't a pushy person and not the best shoulder to cry on either, no matter how much he tried to be one. Dallas was quite certain that whatever traumatized Peter was still out there but they wouldn't dare to touch him, not as long as Dallas was alive.
The male listened to Peter about the Russians, about what Mara meant to him and he could relate. "Artemis saved me too, from myself more than anything really." he said and frowned a bit. "Look you'll always be safe here, none of them will ever be able to come and get you." he assured him though hearing that Peter was meant to scare people for them was about the image of a bunny trying to scare a wolf.
Not realistic but Dallas wasn't going to argue. "Mara won't leave you.." he was about to finish that sentence when the girl in question entered the cabin.
"Hello boys!" she said with a sweet smile and pulled Artemis inside as well.
Mara had done more than just save him from the Russians, but she saved him from himself and had managed to undo the brainwashing that they’ve done to him. Sure, Peter still believed his family wanted him gone and didn’t trust them entirely. Even if he had written to his sister, and she said their father was destroying himself because Peter went missing, he didn’t trust it. He had told his sister to tell their father to stop looking, that he was safe. And he was safe in a way. Dallas and them had told them over and over again that they’d keep him safe even if they didn’t know much of the trauma he had gone through.
Peter was about to open his mouth to say something before the girl in question walked into the cabin as if she owned the place and it made him jump, causing him to smack his knee on the leg of the table. ”Ow…” he growled, and looked at his girlfriend.
Artemis chuckled as she walked inside, looking at her girl friend, and rolled her eyes. ”Don’t mind her, I tried not to let her have some caffeine.”
I will tiptoe down that line but I will feel unstable
Dallas was not the most helpful of friends but luckily Mara had entered the cabin along with his own girl. The two looked radiant like they went out and actually had fun, something they were allowed to have even in these times. The boy smiled a bit and eyed Artemis. "You lost didn't you?" he asked her as Mara skipped over to her boyfriend, taking his hands in her own.
Mara stuck her tongue out at Dallas and Dallas just winked in return before heading over to Artemis, giving her a kiss. "Had fun?" he asked her and smiled a bit as he did so. Mara turned to look at Peter and just stroked his cheek.
"Something's wrong isn't there? Oh no did you have a bad dream? Do you want to sit down?" she asked and took in the scent of hot chocolate. "That smells good, can I have some too?"
”Of course I did. I’ve learned not to say no to a Young when it came to caffeine.” Artemis had said, kissing him back and hummed with a nod. ”Yep. Now I’m going to go shower. Some random old guy had hugged me thinking I was his granddaughter…” she shuddered, and chuckled, patting Dallas on the chest before she headed off to the bathroom while Peter looked rather confused at them just suddenly appearing and he had taken a seat at the table once more.
Peter looked at his girlfriend with a small frown, leaning into the touch and let out a tiny sigh. No, he didn’t want to talk about his latest nightmare because the last thing he needed was for people to pity him. Not leave his side. ”I almost beheaded Dallas with the ax outdoors. Nightmares are getting worse.” he mumbled as he looked down at his hands. He didn’t want her to worry, he didn’t want her to ask what it was about. ”I thought they were back. The Russians. Dallas had to...call me back to reality.”
