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Time Lapse
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The sun rose over the thick trees as morning broke, the wolf was no longer a wolf. It had transformed in agony the moment the moon was no longer full. The boy whimpered in human agony as he tried to stand. Disorientated and confused Alex just about managed to get to his feet before he realized that Rose was there. Picking up her wand he magiked himself some clothes and put on his boxers just before she noticed he was awake. Sighing he ran his hand through his hair, pulling out the twigs and leaves. He winced as he noticed the huge scar on his side and a similar one on his arm. What had he done? He turned and noticed two blood covered arrow heads on the floor. Frowning he walked over and picked one up, it was heavy and still damp with his own blood. Turning back he saw Rose and sighed, how had she got there? Why wasn't she dead - shouldn't she have been attacked by the wolf? He bit his lip and magiked her a blanket and wrapped it around her. He wondered briefly why she was in her underwear, but he would ask when she woke up. Turning back he pulled on a pair of trousers and used the shirt to mop up the dried blood. He was a mess and he didn't remember anything.

"You're awake," she whispered, sitting up immediately and pulling the blanket up around her, shielding her almost naked body from him. Her wand was in his hand. She had no power. She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned back against the tree trunk, as if taking up the smallest amount of space possible would make Alex less angry at her. He was scarier to her as a human than as a wolf. Her eyes darted to his injuries, and a puzzled expression crossed her face. "You're...still hurt? I... What were you dreaming of? You couldn't keep still. You were very scared, I think..." But she trailed off and looked away, not wanting to enrage him more than he undoubtedly already was. Just her presence made him irritated, and her talking more so, and he would be furious now he'd just found her lying next to him. But Gary hadn't found him in the forest. Gary had wandered off again. Rose was staying.

Alex sighed and handed Rose back her wand. "I don't remember," he said simply turning his back on her and wrapping the arrow heads in his shirt. "You know more than I do," he added turning back to her and dropping the arrow heads at her feet, "How long were you there? What did I do?" he asked his eyes locking with hers. This was the worst bit, waking up the next morning with no clue as to what had happened. "Why didn't I kill you?" he asked, not meaning to sound disappointed that he hadn't. But he was slightly. He looked around the clearing, trying to hear other people. But there was no Gary. He wasn't anywhere nearby, he hadn't bothered to come. Alex sighed and sat down on the floor, still tired, but he needed to get back to school. They both did.

"Well, I found you eating a deer, while I was in animagus form. Don't ask me why I'm not dead - I don't know - but instead of hurting me you picked me up and carried me to different clearings I didn't recognise. Then a centaur came, and you killed it, but it shot you a few times before you managed to beat it. Then we had to run, because the whole herd would have been after us. We stopped here because you were exhausted. I had to change back so I could get the arrows out and heal you. Then you...killed a rabbit and ate that, then fell asleep next to the tree, and I slept next to you, because I was cold and you weren't dangerous." And because... she began to think, but couldn't express even to herself the other reasons she'd slept in the wolf's embrace. She looked up at Alex, then down at her knees, covered by the blanket. "No one else came," she said quietly, knowing that he would be wondering if Gary had been there or not.

Alex sighed and hung his head in his hands, "I killed...a centaur?" he repeated, feeling terrible. He hadn't mean to, he would never have done it if he knew what he was doing. But he couldn't control the wolf, no one could. By the time the next full moon came the wolf would rise up and forget what it had done the last full moon and rip everything apart again. He slammed his fist onto the floor snapping a few twigs. "I'm sorry I put you through that," he said quietly getting up and moving next to Rose, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "But um...what happened to your clothes?" he asked not really looking at her, more looking through her. He didn't know what to think anymore. He had killed three things the night before, one could possibly end his life. If the heard found him there would be no escape. Unless they didn't know who he was as a human.

"You're not sorry," she muttered, shrugging his arm off and hanging her head, not able to look at him. "I took my clothes off myself - they're right over there. I might be a slut but I'm not into bestiality, don't worry yourself about that..." She hugged her knees tighter and closed her eyes, breathing deeply and slowly to calm herself down. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. If you cry, he wins. Don't cry... she repeated, but her eyes were stinging all the same, and her throat felt hot and prickly as it always did before bouts of sobbing. She couldn't give in - she wouldn't let him beat her this time. She cried enough for him in her dreams and while she slept, he didn't need the tears now.

"I-i hadn't even though...Rose," he began crossing his arms over his bare chest, "I am sorry. It's bad enough waking up in the morning with all the aches and pains but at least I can't remember what I did, who I killed or who I bit, but you will have it forever." He paused a moment and looked at her, "I just...I thought I might have torn them off or something," his voice faded away at the end as he got to his feet, "We better go, I need to get my things and you need to go back to the castle." Turning to her he offered her his hand as he waited patiently for her. Alex knew she would be just as tired as he was, but they couldn't stay in the forest. The nurse would come looking for him and he doubted she would be pleased to find Rose there too.

She got up without his help and dropped the blanket, immediately going to her clothes and trying to dress as quickly as possible, but buttoning her shirt wrong and almost falling over when she pulled her stockings up. She scowled and bit her lip, then drew in a sharp breath and straightened up, turning to Alex with a horribly fake smile. "I suppose we'd better be off, then. Nothing nicer than a walk in the forest at dawn," she said brightly, but her voice cracked towards the end, and she turned and stalked away into the trees before he could see the freshly formed tears in her eyes. It wasn't fair! Why did he hurt her so much? Why did he have so much power over her? And why did she let him hurt her?

Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaving the shirt with the arrow heads in the floor as he jogged to catch up with her. Biting his lip he caught her arm and slipped his hand down into hers. He smiled weakly at her but forced her to slow down. They needed to be careful, there was a herd of centaurs after them. He sighed and looked around, trying to hear them. He caught them moving but they were a long way away, all of them. They were safe. He bit his lip and looked around again, the trees getting further apart as they reached the river. "Rose..." he tried again, "I'm not angry at you. I want to be, but I'm not."

"You shouldn't be angry with me, I saved your life," she said miserably, holding his hand tightly. She stopped suddenly and turned round to him, pressing her body to his and crying onto his shoulder, with no pretences now. "Why do you do this to me?" she moaned, her tears dampening his shirt. "I thought...everything was better, and Marcus was back, but... It's all useless! It's all so bloody useless! All I ever do in life is dig my own grave!"

Alex wrapped his arms around Rose and kissed her head lightly, "I should be angry at you. You should have known I would be in the forest and yet you stuck around and...and...oh I don't even know!" he exclaimed letting her go and turning away. He bit his lip and turned back to her, "You have Marcus - why is it useless? You don't love me Rose, you can't. You know why. It would be better if we didn't...see each other again. Then you can get on with your life and I can get on with mine. I'm leaving Hogwarts at the end of this year to fight - I'm not coming back for anything. If Gary isn't back I'll leave him behind. I can't stay here anymore, not anymore." With that said he turned and crossed shakily over the river.

But I still dream of you. His words hurt, but they were true. It was impossible; she wanted it not to be, but at the same time wouldn't change it. She ran to catch up with him and took his hand just as he'd taken hers, locking their fingers together. "We've both been deserted," she whispered, more to herself than as part of a conversation. "We've been left, stranded, in the rain. But...we could be alone together, if we wanted to. The wolf liked me - that must mean something. It let me stroke it and it licked my face, and let me kiss its fur and heal its wounds, and didn't wake up when I fell asleep in its arms, so to speak. You don't hate me - at least, I hope you don't - and we don't have anyone else. Edward and Faith are busy with Daphne, and Marcus and Gary are both gone. I gave Marcus back his ring. Let us be alone together..."

Alex pulled out of her grasp, "No Rose. I was angry at Gary for kissing you and no doubt Marcus was mad at you for Tristan - even if he didn't show it. You may want to be alone with me but the feeling isn't mutual. I don't love you! I don't want you Rose." He didn't care how much the words hurt her, she needed to know. Maybe the more he hurt her the more she would stay away from him. "The wolf isn't me, not really. It probably didn't like you, it was just too exhausted to attack. By the next moon it would have forgotten all about you and try and rip you apart. I'm not going to let that happen." He turned to look at her and shook his head, "I'm taking you back to the castle but then that's it. I don't want to see you again."

"Wait! You don't understand what I mean! I mean...we've both been left. Gary kissed me, Marcus slept with someone else while he was away. So we're both alone. But...two lonely people can still spend time together, yes? To get over their loneliness? Friends, Alex, friends. The wolf liked me - I know it. It played with me. So next time... If I help it, I can stop it killing things it shouldn't, like...centaurs." She stopped short as they reached the clearing where it had happened. The body had been removed, but it still reeked of blood, and there was the vague outline of an equine figure at the foot of a tall tree, marked by a rusty stain on the leaves. Rose went over to the place where the body had been and knelt down, running her fingers along the bloodstains and biting her lip. The centaurs wouldn't forget this. Alex had put himself in serious danger by killing instead of running. And he'd put her in the tree, out of harm's way... "I can stop it next time, I know I can," she said determinedly, turning to Alex, her tears drying in light trails on her cheeks.

Alex shook his head and turned to walk back into the trees, "What can a fox do to stop a wolf?" he asked as he continued to walk through the trees, not wanting to see the remains of the body or the blood stains it had left behind. He could still taste it in his mouth, a cold reminder of what he had done. He would stick to what he had said. The moment they got back to the castle they would go their separate ways and he would never see her again, "Hurry up," he snapped, climbing over a fallen tree, "Before the centaurs get you," he added. Even though they were at the edge of the forest, they could run a lot faster then he or Rose could, if they decided to catch their killer he wouldn't have a chance, he didn't even have his wand to defend himself.

"Why would a wolf play chase with a fox? Why would a wolf hide a fox up a tree to keep it safe?" she replied rhetorically, having convinced herself of her argument. She stood up slowly, with little care for the herd or anything other than making this walk as long as possible. If what Alex said was true, and they would part after this and never speak again, then this morning would need to last. She would need good memories from it. And...she could see the wolf every month, if she wanted, and it wanted, just so long as she woke up before Alex and ran away without a trace. It would be like being with him, if it came to it. She caught up with him, a little happier now she had a back-up plan, and nearly tripped on a tree root, dragging her feet as she walked.

Alex sighed and took her hand to stop her falling. He knew what she would do, but he didn't understand why. She said she loved him, but did she really? He doubted it very much, she had Marcus...Sammael...anyone but him. But Sammael wasn't around anymore and Marcus had left. She was right, they were both alone. He sighed and stopped, turning to her, "Please Rose...don't try and find me when the moon is full. What if something happens? What if I kill you? How do you think that'll make me feel?" he asked running a hand through his hair. He didn't know what to think any more. Even if she promised she wouldn't come she still would because he wouldn't remember.

You'd be glad, if you killed me... She said nothing; she couldn't promise anything for certain either way. Perhaps the full moon would come again and she'd be too scared to find him, or maybe she'd be eagerly anticipating his transformation. She didn't know. "I'm sorry I keep doing this to you," she mumbled under her breath, staring at her feet. "I just...I don't know. I don't really know what's going on right now, with...dad and everything, and... I'm just very confused and I know it's not an excuse, and I'm sorry I had to ask Gary to do that for me - I never apologised to you about it - but...I need him, Alex, and I wouldn't have been able to live without him. I would've drowned myself how I'm always threatening to... I'm sorry about everything; I'm sorry about kissing him, I'm sorry about telling you how I felt - should've just kept my mouth shut - I'm sorry for making him b-bite dad, I'm sorry for letting you kill that centaur, I'm sorry for crying about everything, I'm sorry for dreaming about you, ever... Is that enough? I know it isn't, but I am sorry..."

Alex sighed and continued walking, leaving her behind, "It doesn't matter now, does it? He doesn't care about me or he would have been here. You don't care because, even thought I've asked you not to, you're going to come back every time I change. Faith and Edward don't care because they're too wrapped up in their own lived to give a damn about anyone else. No one cares. Poor Rosey posey, unable to live without something that was ripped away from me. You think turning him into a vampire would make it better? The curse you've put on him because of your selfishness? Think of the people he will kill, drink blood from. You've made your own dad into a murderer." He turned back to her sharply, "You're right. You should have kept your mouth shut."

"Then we can be murderers together... Alex, if Gary was dying and you had the chance to save his life, you'd do it, no matter how difficult it would be, wouldn't you? Dad didn't want to leave me, I didn't want him to go. It's cruel of you to say I'm weak for loving my father too much, just because - because yours hated you!" The moment she'd said it she knew it was wrong. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring in horror at him and anticipating some sort of retaliation or attack. "I care about you more than you think," she managed to whisper, as if it would make a difference. She'd never known anyone else that could hurt her so much - not even Gary - or someone she so eagerly wanted to impress and take care of, and be taken care of by. It was quite sickening. Marcus could keep his ring. She'd wander the forest like Echo, dogging the heels of her Narcissus until she faded into non-existence. That would do her just fine.