Wolf Pack on the Move!
14 July 2026
Colin had wandered out into the cottage's front garden, just wanting to be alone for a bit. Deciding to practice his transformation skills, Colin found a secluded corner and set to work. Ever since discovering that he and Liam could even do this, he'd settled on dear old Aunt Aggy as the subject for triggering his transformations. He'd gotten fairly good at it too! Colin had discovered that other traumas could work as well, and with varying degrees of success.
He let out a long sigh. The day was actually quite lovely. Da had arrived two days before to talk with Aoife about something important. Neither of them were to be seen in the house yesterday or today. Colin lay back in a huge patch of fragrant mint, letting the afternoon sunshine warm him. His thoughts wandered, and one caught him completely off guard! Wild red hair. Long and tangled. Harsh eyes staring at him from above. "Oh crap!" Colin managed to whisper before he transformed!
The transformation was so sudden, so brutally fast that he barely had time to register the process! It didn't hurt a lot less, but as Colin leapt to his feet and shook the stems of mint from his white fur, he found that it didn't bother him quite so much as before. He sniffed around the garden, then leapt over the gate and tore along the narrow lane that led to a wooded area. Perfect for zoomies!
There was something liberated about running in wolf shape. He felt the suffering and the trauma, not so much less in wolf shape, but differently. It was weird in a way. It was like there was another whole land of memory here in the wolf mind. He could switch over to wolf mode and the world became that of scent and movement, of fluid instinctual motion. Colin revelled in that freedom. The red haired vision, a veritable harpy she was, Colin thought, was still there, but of lesser importance. The scents of small animals, marmots, nifflers, registered first and foremost. And of the few folks who had wandered in here to collect potion ingredients.
Colin rolled around in the leaf mould! He chased after some squirrels and rabbits! He tried climbing a tree, but wolf claws weren't suited for that. He found himself dangling from the low branch he'd grabbed onto with his jaws. "Rrrrrouch!" he muttered. He hoped no one would see him like this. Finally, after some inelegant flailing about, he managed to hook his forepaws up over the branch so he could look around a bit better. The drop wasn't very long, so Colin let go of the branch, tumbling into a drift of leaves.
Right. Climbing trees in wolf shape is a no.
He tried again, just to make sure. Nope. Still a no.
Colin shrugged. As well as a wolf body can shrug, anyway! Colin whuffed in disdain. Shrugging was also apparently a no. His attempt ended up looking more like a play bow! He discovered that by balancing more on three paws, he could kind of make a one shouldered shrug! That was something! He sniffed around the tree with mild interest. Someone had been here with their crup. Colin took off, but the scent trail was too old and disappeared.
Colin shrugged. "Nkff knff!" he giggled. He took off along the lane back towards the cottage and its garden. Leaping back over the gate, he padded back over towards the patch of mint and transformed back into his boy shape. He balled up his white shirt into a makeshift pillow, lay back and relaxed. Stretched out with his arms spread wide, he let the Sun warm his bare skin.
His mind wandered.
He still hadn't told the others what actually happened to him. Not even Liam. Certainly not Lily. Aoife had been giving him The Look ever since she got the gang safely to Ottery St. Catchpole. He'd happily gone with the story that Manksbridge caught him in the narrow alley behind Andrew Walk and roughed him up. Hamish had also been in the vicinity, which only served to lend credibility to the emerging story.
Colin had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Lark --- Colin snarled at the very thought of the name --- was the wild card in the story. Colin had said he couldn't recount much, which was actually true after a fashion. Technically to recount means to actually speak the words of the story, which in the moment he really could not do. This didn't mean he didn't remember...
He'd been battered and bloodied, true, and that seemed to satisfy the younger McCoires. Apparently, according to Cursa's recounting of the tale, Lily had Manksbridge floating in the air and she was bopping him back and forth between the walls on either side of the alley! Liam made especial notice of her aim when kicking the poor fellow right where it hurt most! For his part, he could only vaguely recall seeing an unconscious figure, bound and gagged on the cobbles, in the dim light of the alley.
His thoughts naturally turned to Emmi. He loved Emmi with all his heart! And now this --- Emmi deserved so much better than what Colin had become, what he had done. His heart broke and not for the first time over the last week he cried. He was already mourning their inevitable breakup. How could such a sweet girl ever stay with him? He already had a bit of history, but this was so much worse! His mind went back to the train ride coming back to Hogwarts last year. He'd made a promise to Emily that day --- and now he'd already broken it into a thousand pieces!
Colin sighed deeply.
He dried his tears on his shirt. Faint scuffing sounds came to his ears from a little way down the lane. Colin listened intently. They didn't get many visitors this far out of the village. A single person, not in any hurry. Colin sat up and listened. The footfalls neared. He got up and wiggled through the shrubs growing along the stone wall to see if he could see who it was. He couldn't see around the curve, though.
Then it hit him. A familiar scent! But --- how!? Colin wriggled back out of the hedge, snagged his shirt and put it back on as he trotted over to the gate. He scratched his head. There were bits of leaves and tendrils of mint lodged in his hair.
"Liv!?" he called out as the walking figure neared the garden wall. Colin waited for his mate by the gate. "Wh-What are you doing here? How did you get here!? Come on in, I'm sure supper will be ready soon!" As sad as he'd been a short while ago, he was genuinely surprised and happy to see Olivia coming up the lane!
Interacting with: @Olivia Williams
Mentions: @Emily Shephard
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire
Wolf Pack on the Move!
Olivia Williams, 14th of July, @Colin McCoire
After the confrontation with her father, Olivia had left the house and the neighborhood behind her. She walked towards central London but stopped when it hit her that she didn't know where she was going. As I said, she had no relatives, she didn't know where any of her friends were and she couldn't spend the rest of her life on the leaky cauldron.
Then she figured it out. Colin McCoire. He had told her that he would spend at least part of the summer in Ottery St Catchpole. She didn't have time to send him a letter but he would probably be happy to see her if she knew Colin right.
The only question was how she was going to get there? After a few minutes she got an idea. It was obvious. The night bus.
She had never taken one before but she knew how to do it. So she stretched out her stick and the bus sped out of nowhere. The ride wasn't the most comfortable Olivia had ever had but it was efficient to say the least. It was quick and after a while she was dropped off on the outskirts of the small town.
Now to find Colin, which shouldn't be completely impossible. She started looking for a white-haired man or a house that matched the description Colin had given her before the summer holidays. It took a long time and since she had never been here before, she got lost a few times.
Finally she wandered around a corner and saw it. Then her nose was also hit by a familiar scent. Then she heard a voice that made her heart almost jump out of her chest.
"Liv?!"
Colin.
She quickened her steps and stopped when she saw him at the gate.
"Wh-What are you doing here? How did you get here!? Come on in, I'm sure supper will be ready soon!"
A thud was heard as Olivia's backpack slipped off her shoulder and landed on the ground. Then she took the last steps forward and put her arms around Colin in an embrace. She had missed him more than he could ever have imagined.
“Sorry I came without warning,” she whispered, not letting go of him. “I didn’t know anywhere else to go.”
| Olivia Williams - Gryffindor | Whether you're a werewolf or human, love is still love. Betrayal is still betrayal. |
Wolf Pack on the Move!
"YEEP!" Olivia didn't even bother saying so much as hello before she dropped her bag and jumped into Colin's arms! He spun her around and laughed to see his friend just appear from the lane like this. But he was still confused. Why had she come here? Didn't Liv stay somewhere in London?
“Sorry I came without warning.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I didn’t know anywhere else to go.”
Colin held Olivia at arms length, looking her up and down. "Liv. Ye look a mess, lass! What happened?" Olivia looked like she hadn't slept in days. He shook his head and went to fetch her backpack. "Come on in, so we can talk!" Colin led her through the garden. "Mind the dirigible plums!" he called over his shoulder.
Colin skipped along the narrow brick path until he got to the side door that led through to the long comfy kitchen. The smells of cooking from the far end of the kitchen were so enticing! The crew of house elves was busy and Colin could barely wait! He hopped up onto the bench and crouched down onto the ancient wood. He set Olivia's backpack down on the bench before him as he wiggled around and finally settled into something like a sitting posture.
"So!" Colin searched Olivia's face for any clue to what was going on. "It's totally cool that came here! Me sister Aoife has loads of room too. I'm sure she'll let ye stay as long as ye like!" Colin paused, his brows knit. He had to get to the bottom of this! "Liv. Sis. Tell me what happened! Ye look like ye haven't slept in a week. And I should know! I haven't slept well the last fortnight!"
He let out a deep sigh.
He didn't want to talk about that just yet. He shook his head like a dog. Reset lad! "Is everything okay? Did something happen to you? Were ye attacked!?"
Interacting with: @Olivia Williams
Mentions: @Emily Shephard
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire
Wolf Pack on the Move!
Olivia Williams, 14th of July, @Colin McCoire
When they broke the hug, Colin held Olivia at arm's length to study her. He asked what had happened, noting that she looked like a mess.
As he reached down to pick up Olivia’s backpack from the ground, she bit her cheek. She didn't quite know how to explain it, but she didn't have to think about that just yet, as Colin began leading her through the garden toward the house.
They entered through a side door, and Olivia was struck by the aroma of food. She hadn't smelled anything so delicious since Hogwarts. But she didn't have time to investigate what it was before Colin sat down on a bench, so Olivia did the same. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
Then he started speaking again, telling her it was perfectly fine for her to stay there for as long as she needed. Olivia felt a wave of relief; coming here had been the right choice. She glanced at Colin and saw him furrow his brows.
"Liv. Sis. Tell me what happened! Ye look like ye haven't slept in a week. And I should know! I haven't slept well the last fortnight!"
Colin sighed deeply, and Olivia grew very curious about what he meant, though Colin shook his head and continued instead:
"Is everything okay? Did something happen to you? Were ye attacked!?"
Now it was Olivia’s turn to sigh. She turned her face away and thought about how to answer. The last few hours felt mostly like a blurred haze in her mind. Finally, she glanced down at her shoes and took a breath. "Physically," Olivia began, "I’m doing okay, I guess. But you’re right—I haven’t been sleeping very well lately, and the last few days—and especially the last few hours—have been... a lot. My dad..."
Olivia paused; she wasn’t sure how to go on.
"My dad," she started again. "It turned out he’d lied about so much in my life, and I just... my heart couldn't take it anymore."
She rested her forehead against her knees and let out a shaky breath, hugging herself tighter.
| Olivia Williams - Gryffindor | Whether you're a werewolf or human, love is still love. Betrayal is still betrayal. |
Wolf Pack on the Move!
Colin watched Olivia with growing concern. She sat on the bench before him, knees tucked under her chin and her arms around her legs. He'd seen this before. He'd even done this before. It usually meant something was really very wrong. He wondered if it had to do with that boy they talked about last year.
Colin narrowed his eyes. His jaw shifted slightly. If that dork ever hurt Liv, he thought, he would most definitely set the lad on fire and beat the bogeys out of him! Olivia sighed. Another bad sign, Colin thought. She turned away from his gaze, just as he leaned in closer. She looked down at the ancient tiled floor before she finally broke her silence.
Olivia began with the word physically. Colin's heart jumped and he drew a sharp breath! "I'll absolutely kill him..." he muttered under his breath.
"Physically --- I’m doing okay, I guess." Hmm. His eyes scanned her form. She looked normal. No unusual scars or anything. Apart from appearing super anxious about something, she didn't smell]/i] wrong. Maybe a little fiercer than usual? He couldn't quite put his finger on it. "But you’re right," she continued. "I haven’t been sleeping very well lately, and the last few days—and especially the last few hours—have been... a lot. My dad..."
Colin's expression of building himself up to dealing with some boy their own age, suddenly disappeared. Her dad!? Her dad was the source of her present misery? That --- his brows knit again. Family shouldn't be the cause of a kid's sadness. It broke his own heart to hear Olivia tell him this. He felt like how he did when Emily talked about her own parents. They seemed to bring her no end of sadness and misery.
"My dad," she began again. Okay. Whatever it was, it was going to tumble out now. "It turned out he’d lied about so much in my life, and I just... my heart couldn't take it anymore."
His own parents had never lied about his background. In fact, quite a number of juicy tidbits about his family history could be read in old books in their library back at home! Colin brushed back Olivia's hair. "Liv! I don't get it. W-Why would he lie? I mean. Ye're his actual daughter, right? Yer own da shouldn't lie about you." Colin shook his head emphatically.
He leaned over and rested his forehead on Olivia's. His voice softened, as it always did when his heart was hurt by someone else's pain. "It doesn't make any sense. Tell me everything, Liv. What actually happened?"
Interacting with: @Olivia Williams
Mentions: @Emily Shephard
Keep your mind in hell; and don't despair.
Cursa McCoire
Rigel McCoire