A Wolf Story solo

They say there are strangers in the dark, waiting, counting on invisible clocks. You never know when it's your turn, when it's time for them to cross your path. Sometimes those strangers have real faces before you meet them. Sometimes they share something deeper with you, something that can no longer live in shadows. There are whispers in the wind, there are rumors murmured in corners, they touch your ears, but they are never clear enough for you to truly understand them. There are questions, so many questions...they all came unanswered. That's why I crossed some boundaries I wouldn't have otherwise, because I needed to know...

Meyra Lancaster-McCoire

July 8, 2026

One week after the end of another year at Hogwarts, a whole week in which Meyra had returned home and still hadn't mustered the courage to talk to her mother about everything she had done and discovered about Moray McCoire. A round of applause for the braviest Gryffindor! Whatever that old hat had seen in her that night, courage certainly didn't seem to be it. Or perhaps it had fled her body ever since.

"Morning mum!" She wished Harumi Mochizuki as soon as she glimpsed her mother while descending the stairs. The beautiful lady was already in the dining room having her breakfast, bringing the delicate Chinese porcelain cup to her lips and taking a small sip of what looked and smelled deliciously like lemon verbena tea. Meyra found her mother seated at the round table by the tall windows overlooking the garden. Harumi seemed so deeply engrossed in thought that she hadn't even noticed her daughter arrive, nor heard her greetings. Meyra gave a soft giggle as she reached the table, then sat down in her usual place. "Good morning, mum... is everything okay…?" She asked, looking at Harumi with a slightly furrowed brow, it was rare that she had seen her mother so distracted and with her mind so far from the present.

The golden rays of the summer morning sun already shone and bathed the dining room, falling on Harumi's features. Her dark eyes sparkled like two perfect pebbles when she finally looked at Meyra. She immediately noticed that something was different about her mother that morning. The smile that was expected at that hour, followed by a warm "Good morning, my love," did not illuminate Harumi's round and elegant face, and the words she addressed to her were no less unexpected, "Finally, you woke up." Just like that, without further ado, introducing a new tone to what used to be their usual cheerful morning conversations. Meyra stared confusedly at her mother after the reception, her heart suddenly tightening with a growing sense of guilt, her conscience whispering in her ear that her mother had discovered the letter that had "mysteriously" disappeared from her office at the tea shop.

However, Meyra swallowed hard, trying to remain calm until she was sure of what was happening. It wouldn't do her any good to appear nervous or give any indication that she felt guilty. "Is it that late already? I didn't realize..." Meyra replied shyly, glancing at the vintage-style pendulum clock, a Lancaster family heirloom, thus avoiding her mother's gaze. It was seven o'clock in the morning... actually, it wasn't that late, at least not for the holidays period. The freshly brewed tea steamed from the pot placed on the silver tray between them, Meyra calmly poured herself a cup, taking a small sip, while she waited for her mother to finally break the silence that had settled in.

Harumi was not of a severe and austere nature. Those who knew her were well aware of her affable and fun-loving nature, sometimes impulsive and rebellious, but never malicious. However, there was a side to her that made even the most audacious shudder, a side where she maintained a serene and icy composure, as if holding the blade of a saber between both hands, capable of cutting or dancing with the wind, depending on her intention and will. Intentions and will that were practically impossible to read by looking only at her posture. Therefore, Mey waited, trying to remain passive and giving Harumi the space to initiate the conversation, it was the most prudent way to act, not giving her mother's temperament any reason to surface in a less controlled manner.

It wasn't long before Harumi finally broke the suspense and addressed the subject that had made that morning considerably heavier than usual, even with the warm sunlight streaming through the windows. With deliberate calm, she set down her teacup, leaned over, and removed from the seat beside her what Meyra hoped not to see in her mother's possession, what her intuition had already revealed to her what it was all that about. In her hands, Harumi held the letter that was supposedly among Meyra's belongings, inside her luggage still waiting to be organized since she arrived from Hogwarts. The young Gryffindor held her breath as she watched her mother uncover, behind the white tablecloth, the piece of parchment that had until then traveled in the pocket of her robes and in her school bag.

Meyra felt a sudden regret about several things. First, for having been careless and leaving the letter in her room, so vulnerable to being found. Second, for not having had the courage to speak to her mother sooner. Perhaps she could have prevented the matter from becoming so serious? Or perhaps it was just a feeling of the moment? And third, fleetingly, she regretted letting her curiosity get the better of her, and consequently having entered that office and taken the letter with her. Still, she was certain that what she had done was the best choice she had made, given the whole context. Even if the gesture wasn't the prettiest, it was the only way she could find to learn the truth and finally get some of the answers she had always longed for. Answers to the questions her mother had always given vague answers to or avoided answering completely. “I found this among your things,” Harumi began in a serene voice that betrayed the storm in her eyes, “While I was tidying up what you had scattered around your room. Always messy, Meyra.”

Meyra felt paralyzed. A warmth rose from her chest to her cheeks, which certainly didn't hide her embarrassment and shame. Her green eyes landed on the letter that Harumi now offered her, and slowly, biting her lower lip, the girl took it in her hand. Meyra looked down, gazing at the slightly crumpled and worn parchment, worn from being unfolded and read so many times. Silence settled again, and Meyra knew that this time it was her mother who was waiting for her. But where to begin? How to explain to her the reasons for her less-than-correct decisions? Starting with the main and most obvious argument and telling her, "All this happened because you never told me what I wanted to know," didn't seem intelligent or sensible at all. She had to find a way to explain herself without getting into more trouble. A more impossible mission couldn't exist.

"Meyra..." Harumi's voice had interrupted her spiral of thoughts. Strangely, her mother's voice had sounded sweet, with a note of sadness perhaps. Completely the opposite of what Mey expected. The girl finally looked up at her mother, surprise etched on her face. The elegant lady sighed, glancing out the window at the weeping willow whose branches swayed in the light breeze, as if she herself were preparing for this conversation, “Meyra, I know why you did it.” She finally said, looking at her daughter with a mixture of tenderness and…regret? Was it? Or was she imagining things now? “It’s a gesture that doesn’t make me proud of you, but I also know I’m to blame.”

This was something Meyra hadn’t expected to hear…but she didn’t dare utter a single word, while she watched her mother seem to compose herself in her chair, seeking a more comfortable position. “Alright, I’ll tell you what you’ve always wanted to know. I think you’re old enough to understand, Mey.” Her mother told her. After these words, Harumi, keeping her promise, told Meyra her whole story. Meyra finally learned how her parents met and how they had built the Full Moon Sanctuary together. However, some of the information wasn't entirely new to the thirteen-year-old, it only confirmed or added small details to everything she had already heard from Colin and Liam. But it was still interesting to hear her mother's side, her perspective on what she had experienced back then.

“So… that attack… that night when our family was attacked by that pack… wasn't something you didn't expect to happen one day?” Meyra asked softly, as if saying those words would open a wound that would never fully heal. Silence fell again. Harumi seemed to struggle with herself, it was evident that it still hurt her too, probably in ways Meyra wasn't yet able to understand. “If I answered no, I wouldn't be completely honest with you. I tried to keep you safe as best I could, but it wasn't within my power to make all the threats disappear.”

“Was that why Aunt Reina stayed away all this time? Why did she keep Jun and me separated?” Meyra asked in a voice that sounded little more than a hoarse whisper. Her throat felt dry, as if she had swallowed a bale of straw, her tongue heavy with the weight of her words and everything her mind pieced together. Now almost everything finally seemed to make sense. “Yes, Mey…yes, that’s why.” Harumi confirmed, gently placing her hand on her daughter’s shoulder, a gesture that was both comforting and a painful apology, “Saburo…” Harumi’s voice finally faltered, her dark eyes glistening with tears welling up between her eyelids, “Saburo was my brother, Mey…and I miss your uncle every day. If there’s anyone who will never forgive themselves, it’s me dear.” She admitted, her voice heavy with emotion, “For that and…for other things…”

“This is what I want you to know:” Harumi paused, holding Meyra’s hand, which was clenched in a fist on top of the table, “That the forbidden questions are over. You have the right to know everything, you are old enough to understand it. And…” Meyra saw her mother swallow hard, as if she were swallowing something bitter and searching for the courage to say the words that followed, “You have the right to know your father.” Another pause in which Harumi looked intently at her daughter, “If you want, I’ll take you to him myself…”

@Colin McCoire & @Jun Mayumi Mochizuki