hungry like the wolf (Gray)

[Nathan Spencer]

It was going to be a very long night. Nate's stomach turned at the thought of what he may, or may not do tonight. All because he'd forgotten one potion! Just one! Now he was going to lose control over his mind, something which had never happened before and quite honestly, scared the Slytherin to death.

Up in the dorm room, Nate was wearing simple tracky bottoms with trainers and a plain t-shirt. On his bed was an open bag, which he was stuffing clothes and water in. His light eyes were dazed, he wasnt concentrating wholly on what he was doing, his mind was still berating him for forgetting the most important thing. His potion. God, how he hated being dependant on something.

He wasnt sure how'd he'd be, so he'd asked Alfie not to join him tonight. It would suck majorly if he turned on one of his closest friends and he didnt think an arctic fox could do much against a fully grown, vicious and violent werewolf. Violently, he pulled the strings on the bag so the mouth closed and slung it over his shoulder. He was worried about tonight... there was no doubt about that.

He saw Alfie lounging in the common room, Nate nodded to him. He knew where Nate was going and for what reason. As he slipped out of the trapdoor, he found it hard to breathe. The moon was rising now, he could feel it... but more than the power of the moon he felt something new... a different kind of fear. His heart was racing in his chest, he was almost hyperventalating so he wasted no time in getting out of the castle and into the forest.

He'd cut it fine.

As he walked through the clearing, the moonlight shone down on him. It was now fully risen, somehow Nate managed to get the bag onto a tree branch and smother it with Eucalyptus Oil and Lavender... which he would be able to find easily in the morning, wherever he was.

So it began.

The body shape of Nathan Spencer changed. Cracking bones could be heard, his screams into the night could be heard and he found himself leaning on the tree for support. His throat tore, he was no longer able to scream. His heart rate increased to a dangerous level, until it stopped alltogether. Every inch of him was burning as his body broke, and repaired itself. Soon enough, in Nathan's place was a sandy wolf, the heart of the werewolf was a lot smaller now, and worked a lot harder. The golden eyes gleames and the mouth snarled.

Nate... was Nate no more.
He was a beast. An animal... with absolutely no control over his mind, or his actions. He wanted blood, he wanted to tear into something, take its life... Eat it up. The wolf was hungry... God help the animals in the forest.

"OWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

[Graham Kerr]

Gray hadn't been able to sleep well that night. He'd been tossing and turning, thinking about Mickey and other things that were just as significant. He thought of home and work and graduating Hogwarts, and all in all he was still awake by the time the clock struck four. The Hufflepuff slipped out of bed, quietly fumbling around it to search for his clothes.

There was just one remedy for this kind of a night, and it was to go for a good, long run. If he went now, he might be back in bed by six, just enough time to catch a short nap. Or maybe, depending on how long he'd stay out, a strong, black coffee. Either one would have to do to get him through another day, but he figured that one look at Mickey would be better than either of those options. The younger male tended to make him insanely giddy ever since they'd ended up really talking the previous night, and he was looking forward to seeing him in class again.

Tying the laces on his shoes, he pulled a sweater from his cabinet and slung it around his shoulder, careful not to make too many sounds as he exited the dorms. He put on the sweater as he snuck through the common room, and dodged one of the Professors patrolling the hallways on his way out the castle.

As soon as he was outside, Gray broke out into a run, getting away from the castle as quick as he could. He wasn't sure why he headed into the direction of the forest, except that he didn't want to get caught and be put in detention again. Although the forest was dark, Graham ran into it at a quick pace, jogging around and hearing nothing aside from the cracks of the fallen tree branches he trod upon.

[Nathan Spencer]

Crack

The sound of branches snapping under footfall caught Nate-Wolf's attention. He circled around to the source of the noise and found the broken stick easily with his snout. A new scent was on their air now. Human scent and it made Nate-Wolf's mouth water. His snout raised in the air picking out the scent, it turned left.

Prodding along silently, Nate-Wolf managed to avoid fallen twigs and anything which would make the silly human boy aware that a werewolf was following him. He licked his lips in anticipation of this game. He reared up on the hind legs and sniffed the air, the scent was strong... he was getting closer.

He could see the human now, Nate-wolf was running silently behind-paralell to him. If a wolf could grin, he'd be grinning right about now. Picking up his pace, he found him running infront of the boy now and with a large bound he jumped out from behind the bushes and landed directly in front of him.

His mouth was salivating with the hunger for the young flesh. He reared up again, stretching to full height and let out a deafening howl which was clearly one of triumph. His golden eyes fell on the boy as he found his front paws again, padding slowly and menacingly towards the boy. His teeth were bared and it was obvious this was no friendly werewolf.

This werewolf wanted the boys blood.

[Graham Kerr]

That piercing howl was enough to freeze him right in his tracks, let alone seeing a werewolf that huge standing on its hind legs in front of him. Gray gasped for breath as he came to a halt, nearly falling over his own legs. He had no room for thoughts in his mind, other than the all overpowering RUN!! that repeated itself over and over. He'd heard of werewolves before, sure, but he had never expected them to be real. Of course they are, his brain told him, suddenly starting back up again; magic is real, why wouldn't werewolves be? But the blonde honestly could have done without EVER finding out that this particular piece of folklore wasn't just a myth.

Trying to breathe through the fear, the Hufflepuff took one careful step backwards, keeping his eyes fixed on the monster in front of him. He knew about dogs gone wild, knew that you couldn't show any fear or they'd attack, but what had been said about werewolves? He was sure that they'd been mentioned in class, but he hadn't paid attention because he hadn't thought that those fuckers were real. It was odd how he was suddenly running on logic, then again, that was what usually happened when he was scared shitless. He'd try and think his way out of a situation, focused on the exits and leeway he had; only...how on earth did you outrun a werewolf?

[Nathan Spencer]

You couldnt.

There was no way a normal sized human could outrun a werewolf without some form of a head start, and this boy definatly didnt have a head start. Nate began to walk around him, sniffing him out. Getting the scent fully so when he did run, there would be no place the boy could hide.

The game was on.

Nate turned on his back and ran to the other side, the both of them were quite far apart now. He put his head close to the ground, never once taking his eyes off the male before him. If he was going to run, now would be a very good time. Not that he'd get very far. Nate would find him and tear him limb from limb. It was dangerous for him to be playing this game, with the moon nearly gone.

The boy began running.

Five seconds passed, that was all the time Nate-Wolf was giving him. The wolf bounded after his pray, sniffing the scent on the air and listening to the rushed breath coming from him. He was running leisurly behind him but was fast growing bored as the blood lust became higher.

Enough.

Picking up his speed, Nate found himself running faster. With one jump, he was on the boys back, pinning him to the ground. Teeth bared as his claws sank into him. Ripping the boys flesh, feeling the blood oozing over his paws. He bent his head and licked the blood. Menacingly, he let out a snarl followed by a howl. The howl of a winner, before baring his teeth and lowering his head. Sinking the long fangs into the shoulder, feeling the rush of blood coming into his mouth.

SNAP

The moon fell beyond the horizon, before Nate transformed back his mind slowly came back to him. His golden eyes flickered downwards and his stomach turned. He didnt remember hounding this boy, but it was clear on what he'd done. His teeth were still in him and his blood was still seeping into Nate's mouth.

The wolf jumped back violently and gagged. Slowly, the wolf began losing the fur, his snout shortened and after a moment, there was no longer a wolf... instead there was Nathan Spencer. Mouth covered in blood, gagging and feeling sickened. He was worried about something like this happening... now it had and the damage had been done. The boy lay infront of him was alive, and that was worse... alive and a werewolf... or dead and at peace. Nate knew what one he would have chosen, if he'd have had the chance.

[Graham Kerr]

Gray had let out one piercing shriek as the wolf sank its claws into his skin, before rapidly losing consciousness. He wasn't aware of the fangs, of the way the animal toyed with him, his body jerking from side to side. All he could sense was this blackness, this complete nothing that he floated around in, before it began. The pain. It was more than just physical pain, though Gray wasn't nearly conscious enough to sense the difference. All he knew was that he was gasping out, clawing at the ground with his fingernails, trying to get away from the wolf who, for some reason, seemed to have abandoned him.

The blonde was sure that he was going to die if he didn't run now, but running had proved fruitless before. Still. He wanted to be alive. He wanted to live his life, make his mum proud. He wanted a shot at something real with Mickey. This was all infinitely more important than what would happen to him, and the Hufflepuff slowly began to push himself up. To his knees first, then a deep breath, then possibly to his feet if the murderous animal behind him let him. He hadn't noticed that the moon had disappeared, that the wolf behind him was in fact transforming back into someone who felt as sickened as he did.

[Nathan Spencer]

Nate looked over to the guy... he recognised him... a fellow student... Graham... Gray. He watched as he pushed himself up, trying to get to his feet. Not clever, dont move... You'll weaken yourself even more. He thought to himself, he knew he should have said it aloud but Nate couldnt bring himself to speak at all. He was too disgusted in himself, he didnt have the right to speak to the guy who's life he'd just destroyed.

His blue eyes flicked downwards, oh now this was embarrassing. Not only had he bitten the guy, ruined his life by making him like Nate... Nate was also stark naked. His eyes snapped up and he scuttled behind the bush, trying to keep his...areas... to himself. Looking up, he saw something, unconciously the wolf must have driven the boy here. He snatched the bag he'd left there and took out another pair of trackys, his trainers and a t-shirt and clumsily shoved them on.

He didnt feel like he always did. He felt full, of course... technically he had eaten something. This turned his stomach even more, but he didnt feel as tired nor as ill or as in as much pain as he usually was... but he wasnt going to do this every month just because it made him feel more alert and awake. He pushed out from the bush, looked over to Gray for a moment before walking to the three and sitting in its roots. What sort of idiot walks into the forest on a full moon? He wasnt going to ask if he was okay, of course he wasnt. He'd just been mauled by a werewolf... He felt guilty, sick and hated himself more than he thought possible.

He hated the wolf inside him.

[Graham Kerr]

There was someone behind him, but the noises were different. They weren't as threatening as they had sounded mere minutes ago, and suddenly passing out seemed like the proper thing to do. Gray was still fighting though, to stay conscious, to win the battle against the pain that seemed to overtake every part of his senses. He couldn't feel, see, smell, hear anything besides the pain, and so he lay there shivering on the forest grounds, shirt and sweater mauled and soaked in blood. The blonde didn't move until a good ten minutes later, when he finally managed to push himself up into a kneeling position, only to throw up, shuddering violently.

He wasn't stupid. If there was one thing he remembered about werewolves it was how they came to be. The thought that he would end up like this, every month, a monster, it was enough to make him gasp through the last of the retching, the Hufflepuff still clawing at the forest ground in front of him. Finally the shivering stopped and he sank back down on his ass, moving carefully as to avoid being in more pain. It was then that he noticed the boy sitting at the base of a tree, looking horrified and pale. Was this the boy who had attacked him...or had this boy saved him?

[Nathan Spencer]

Nate watched the boy in front of him, he looked as though he was going to pass out at any given moment and to be honest with you, Nate wouldnt blame him if he did. Afterall, he'd just had wolf-fangs embedded into his shoulder. Nate's blue eyes watched carefully for any signs that he was going to make a movement which would be very bad for him. After ten minutes, he pushed himself up and was promtly sick in front of him, Nate raised his eyebrows expecting that. "You should try to stay as still as possible for a couple of hours while your stomach settles... or you'll keep being sick like that.

Nate couldnt look the guy in the eyes. He spoke quietly, knowing full well Gray's head would not handle any kind of noise. He reached up into his bag and pulled out the bandages he usually packed for himself in case he sustained any injuries. He walked over slowly and rather fearful and bent over the boy. "This may hurt." Pulling out another bottle, it wasnt anything special, just something which helped half-heal wounds. He dabbed some onto the bite, though it wouldnt heal it properly and opened his shirt so he could wrap the bandage securely around his shoulder, the bite and the other wounds. Nate didnt want him bleeding to death afterall. Nate's face was drained of all colour, his eyes wide and fearful and a look as though he'd been up all night.

[Graham Kerr]

Gray heard his voice through the haze that his mind seemed to be in, managing to nod a little before retching again, though there was nothing left in his stomach. He crawled away far enough to be away from the vomit on the ground and then collapsed again, letting his cheek rest against the muddy forest floor. The boy was right, moving made things worse, but he had some shred of dignity left and didn't want to be found in a pile of his own sick.

As the other came over and did something to his shoulder, he hissed, closing his eyes. He didn't feel completely safe, but at least the werewolf had disappeared, and there was someone with him. It'd have to do for now. As soon as the man stepped away from him, Gray lost consciousness, and he stayed like that for over an hour.

When he came back to, he felt a little better, and pushed himself back to a sitting position, finally facing the boy that was with him. He recognized him as a Slytherin, though he couldn't quite recall his name right now. "How did you find me?" His voice was weak, his hands covered with mud, bloodied clothes. He looked awful probably. "What happened? I mean...one second...and then...I thought I was going to die."

[Nathan Spencer]

When Gray passed out, it gave Nate time to sit and think of what he was going to say. He could always lie and say he never saw any wolf, but that would be bad and besides, he was the only werewolf anywhere near Hogwarts and all the professor's knew that. Besides, as much as he didnt want it, or didnt even like to admit it the guy who was now sleeping on the muddy floor was Nathan's responsibility. It was up to Nathan to teach him how to deal with his new and horrible life, to show him how best to go about living your life with the huge complication. He let out a sigh, the problem was telling the guy what he was, and what Nate was... and the fact now they'd have a connection with eachother.

Odd.

"I smelt you." He gave a shrug, it was true. Nate-Wolf had found him by sniffing him out. "I never left you... I've been with you since... well more or less since you step foot in the forest." Nathan wouldnt look at Gray, his shoulders were shaking and his voice was slightly unsteady. He felt sick, lightheaded and rather dizzy as he thought his words through. But even as he thought about them, they didnt come out right. "The easiest answer is to simply say the wolf never left, only reverted back into the human shell. I'm sorry... I'm the wolf who bit you... I was careless this week, I missed one of my potions and lost my mind all three nights running. I wouldnt have bitten you if I'd have had even an ounce of my human mind but I didnt and... well... you know the rest. I bit you, now you're here... and I'm sorry but your life is going to change."

"But what the hell were you doing wandering in the forest during a cycle of the full moon anyway!" As though he just remembered, "This place is forbidden, especially during the most dangerous time."

[Graham Kerr]

This was. This boy. He'd been the one who. It was all too much for his mind to comprehend, and Gray pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. It was ridiculous. He wanted to be in his bed, waking up and knowing that this was just a horrible nightmare. Instead, when he closed and opened his eyes, he was still in the Forest, smelling his own blood. "You bit me. And now I'll be...This is insane. Are you for real?!" Of course he was. He could feel the evidence in his shoulder. As much as he wanted to believe that this was all a joke, he couldn't.

Shivering, he rubbed his hand against his jeans, trying to get some of the mud off. "You weren't in control of yourself, so you would've bitten anything. I just happened to be the tasty treat that passed by." It made him wince, thinking of all the people it could've happened to. Reese. Mickey. In a way it made him glad it was him. Not that he'd be able to deal with it gracefully, hell, he wondered if he wasn't better off dead, but at least none of his friends were turning into a monster. "I don't know. I went for a run, didn't want to get caught. Been in the forest a lot of times, I figured I'd be able to handle myself."

[Nathan Spencer]

It was all Nate's fault and he knew it.

"Yeah... I'm for real and so is this. You're a Werewolf now, like me..." Nate let out a shuddering sigh, ran his hands through his long, raggy hair. Three days and nights in the forest took its tole on you and Nate was definatly looking as though he'd gone through the mill. Gray's blood was splattered on the bits of bare skin you could see on Nate, blood around Nate's mouth, down the side of his face, on his hands, fingers... it sickened him. "... You know there's no cure... You'll be like this for the rest of your life."

Nate looked at him with wide eyes, was this guy for real? Shrugging it off as though it didnt matter! Yeah, he was right Nathan would have gone for anything, the scent of humans though is much stronger and much more appetising to a Werewolf, but even so... Nate couldnt get his head around it. "What? That's it? No yelling or hexing? No calling me a son-of-a-bitch or any other random names you could think of?" Nate watched the boy carefully, trying to work out if he was for real or not. "If you had the strength I'd be surprised you werent attacking me muggle-style... I wouldnt stop you, of course... I'm a monster and I've destroyed your life."

He'd forgotten his potion.
He'd bitten the guy.
It was his fault he wasnt in control of himself.

"There's more than just Werewolves in here... There's no way a... I dont know."

[Graham Kerr]

Yea, he knew he'd be like this for the rest of his life, but it wasn't really registering now. He had a feeling that the anger would come later, that he'd sit here being numb for a good, long while before any of it hit. So when the other told him he'd expected an attack - any form of it, he just chuckled dryly. "Maybe later. I'm in no state to do any of that, mate." A werewolf. A fucking werewolf. As in, howling to the moon and growing fur all over your skin. It was so surreal. "What's it like? I mean, usually?" He wanted to know as much as Nate could tell him. About transforming, about the Potion and losing your mind and most importantly, how it influenced day to day life.

This was much less life-altering than being a vampire for instance, right? It was just three days a month and the Potion could stop you from losing your mind. If that was really just it, then he might just be able to deal with this. Possibly. Gray was holding onto that one thread of hope, clinging to it with all his might.

[Nathan Spencer]

There wasnt any words in the English language to describe how bad Nathan felt right now. He'd destroyed Gray's life, upset the lives of those who were closest to him and quite possibly made sure Gray would never be able to have a stable relationship because of the instability of his own body. Well done Nathan, you've definatly done it this time! Gold star for you boy. "I guess you're not." His voice dripped in guilt and he couldnt hold the boys eyes. Nathan Spencer, a bloody monster.

"Not now." Nate said, "You've got a whole month to learn the fundamentals of dealing with your... well... being what we are. For now we have to clean and seal those wounds before you bleed out all over the place." He walked over to the male and bent down next to him. "This will probably hurt... I'm sorry but I have to pick you up."

He managed to pull Gray onto his back. Being a werewolf he was naturally stronger than humans. He walked for about ten minuted further into the forest and found a small spring-pond. The water here was unbelievably clean. Laying Gray down, Nate opened his bag and pulled out the bandages he used for himself if he got hurt and a soft sponge. Dipping the sponge into the water he ran it over the boys slashed flesh, feeling ever guiltier. Then, he poured a potion over the bandages and began to wind them around him. "There's a skin sealer in the bandages now, it should help you heal... although those scars will always be a bit pink. Like scars are, but the one on your neck where I actually bit you will stand out more than anything. There's no way this can be undone, I wish it could but it cant." He turned away and leant against a tree stump. "You should rest now."