second waning gibbous ☾

[werewolfoflondon]

[action - 1485 Kramden]

[Honestly, those sword-fighting "lessons" with Crown had been far less "lessons" and much closer to "beating Remus' face in with a piece of wood." The day following had found him laying very, very still on the couch and rather wishing he were dead. Now, he's simply approaching everything quite gingerly.

Going about his daily life in excruciating pain. My, but this feels familiar. Perhaps he's simply a glutton for punishment.

Reasoning that perhaps it won't be quite so bad if he binds it, Remus has left the bathroom door cracked, and -- shirt abandoned on the floor -- is trying to work out the best method of wrapping ace bandage around all of the bruises on his badly-mottled torso. Most of his ribs and abdomen are an angry purple bruise at this point, but the shirts hide it well.

When he hears the front door, he pokes his head out of the bathroom.]

Lily? Is that you?


[action - library; later]

[Torso properly bound, Remus feels far more confident in his ability to venture out into public. Granted, cycling to the library isn't exactly comfortable, but he contents himself with the knowledge that he'll be able to barricade himself in an armchair with a stack of books when he arrives.

And that is precisely what he does.]

Comments

[bespell]

[Her features soften somewhat as she remembers her first days in this town.] When I first arrived here, I armed myself with a baseball bat. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.

[Kneeling before Remus on the ground, just beside the couch, Lily raises a brow as in request before taking out her wound and murmuring "Episkey" to mend the broken skin on his lips and the minor fractures in his ribs.]

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus hisses in a quick breath, but the fact that that doesn't feel like a knife in his side is a fairly good indication that the spell worked.]

...well that's better. Thank you. Might have gone all summer as a complete invalid otherwise, and I doubt Pads would let me live that one down.

[Gingerly, Remus sits up, and grins in satisfaction at the relative ease of it.]

Yes, much better.

[bespell]

Just don't make a habit of it. As much as I want to get some healer training under my belt, this is not the way I want to go about it. [Lily lets out a shaky breath. At least he's not been mauled by some creation of the town.] All I mean is, be careful. And you're welcome.

[werewolfoflondon]

Well... [Remus trailed off, rubbing at the back of his neck.]

Crown said he wants me to keep up with it. I'm supposed to meet him again next week for round two of getting my arse beaten into the ground.

[bespell]

Is this a test of manhood we girls aren't privy to? [Her tone is light, however, and she turns to fix the small rips in Remus's trousers and shirts.] Do you enjoy it?

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus snorted.]

I don't enjoy a great many things that are necessary. But I'm a bit of a limp fish, in case you hadn't noticed. Pads has a gun and his aristocratic fencing nonsense, James can more than hold his own in a brawl. But me?

Without my magic, I'm afraid I'm not much.

[bespell]

[Black owning firearms will never cease to worry Lily, but she doesn't bring that up, at least yet. Sitting back more comfortably, she hugs her knees to her chest.] That's our downfall, without magic. But I thought you might be getting some pleasure out of learning how to fight.

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus manages a deep, open laugh at that.]

No. I think it's safe to say I take no joy in it. I don't think I'm cut out for physical activity after all. I daresay I get quite enough of it during the fu--

[Remus bites back the rest of that comment.]

...when I'm ill.

[bespell]

[It doesn't make much sense, as aware as Lily is of her classmate's absent days from their days together as prefects, but she chalks it up to some therapy of sort.]

You haven't felt out of sort since you've arrived here, right? You used to be out of commission quite often.

[werewolfoflondon]

At least once per month. [Remus says with a bitter smile.]

No. Remarkably, the atmosphere in this place seems to agree with me. At least in that respect.

[Remus becomes rather seriously for a moment, something almost like a frown on his face as he carefully sits up. He fixes Lily with a critical look, tilting his head slightly in question.]

Have you really never had your suspicions about me?

[bespell]

Remus Lupin, we've worked together as prefect for two years. [She lets out an exasperated sigh. It isn't in Lily's nature to gossip, but she's never been immune to curiosity, either. Looking up from her lap, she meets Remus's eyes at last.]

You're not quite alright in body, are you? And it might never be cured?

[werewolfoflondon]

There is no cure.

[Remus seems hesitant, and for a very long moment, only silence stretches on between them. The others would be furious if Remus told her. It's the sort of thing they should, by rights, all do together. And yet, it's Remus' own secret to share or keep as he wishes. And simply having someone else who could understand, with whom he could share a bit of the burden...

That counts for quite a lot.]

There's something in the works, or so I've read. A potion. The Prophet is still vague about it, but it may make the entire thing a bit more bearable, at least.

[bespell]

[Lifting herself off the floor, Lily's first instinct is to comfort, rather than gloat in being right. She settles herself on the couch, resting a hand on Remus's shoulder to draw his attention subtly, a gentle squeeze.]

How did you bear it all this time?

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus simply offers a smile and a shrug.]

James, Sirius, and Peter. They're a great help, believe it or not. They take care of me. Make sure I'm not a danger to anyone, or myself. It's better help than I got when I was younger.

[bespell]

[She's quieted into a sort of admiration, if not outright respect. It makes sense that friends looks out for each other, especially with in a tight band, but a profound act of selflessness doesn't touch her lightly.]

It may be presumptuous of this, but you're a lucky man.

[werewolfoflondon]

[Remus laughs, though it's really more of a balk than anything else. Lucky. Yes, that's what he is. Luckiest bloke in the world.]

In the sense that I have help, yes. I am.

[bespell]

You have not one, but three dunderheads making it their business to take care of you, after all.

[werewolfoflondon]

You know, I never would have expected it. But believe me, it never fails to escape my notice that I'm lucky to have them. They've gone above and beyond anything I could have hoped for.

...though it's really not my place to go into detail about that. You ask them yourself, they'll probably tell you.

[bespell]

Probably. [But is it really a good idea? Male comradeship was nothing like how she bonded with the other girls.]

I remember Potter and Black making the most elaborate excuses for whenever you weren't up to being out and about.

[werewolfoflondon]

I suppose a good deal of them were more palatable than, "Sorry, he's laid up on account of being a wolf last night."

[bespell]

[Lily's eyes still widen despite herself. She supposes she's not getting used to the notion any time soon, but she dips her head, with a smile.]

There was one time when you were diarrhea and had bolted the loo shut on account of needing the whole area to yourself, and the time when you were out of commission for drinking Pettigrew's rat tunic. On that note, when did he ever keep a rat?

[werewolfoflondon]

Oh... he's--

[Remus catches himself on the cusp of another easy half-truth, and tamps down on the desire to perpetuate the ruse. No. No more lies around Lily. She deserves better than that.]

As I said, that's their business to tell you. But really, they couldn't have come up with something more flattering than that?

[bespell]

I always knew you wouldn't miss class because you shaved your head on a dare, and were too embarrassed to come down before growing it back.

[werewolfoflondon]

Alas, you've proven yourself more clever than James Potter and Sirius Black. [Remus smirks.] As if there were ever a doubt.

[bespell]

Maybe it's because I actually exercise my brain. [Bitter? Not at all!]