Descend - Wolfstar + Marauders

The Packs

Cold. It was always so cold here. His blood moved through his veins like ice and as close as he got to the fire, he could not get warm. He took another puff of the joint in his hand and held the smoke as long as he could. He passed it off to the nervous looking teenager sitting bruised beside him. The kid took it gratefully.

It was the day after the full moon and tensions were running high. Remus listened to Oliver, a big, burly bloke with thick grey hair and more tattoos than Remus could count, as he lectured the man and woman standing sheepishly in front of him. They were a few years older than Remus. A couple, he was pretty sure. They usually kept to themselves. Paranoid types.

“You want to act like fucking animals then you can sleep out in the cold like fucking animals,” Oliver spat bitterly.

“We won’t start no more shit! It wasn’t even us, that little asshole was mouthing off, like,” argued the young man. The woman beside him was gripping his arm tightly, nodding vigorously in support.

“He’s fifteen, you lousy cunts! Being mouthy is what they fucking do!” Oliver towered over them, holding them in his intimidating gaze. “You left your old pack to get away from all the fucking chaos, so you either make this right or you can fuck off back to the shithole you came from.”

For a second they looked as if they were going to continue arguing, but one more stern look made them think better of it. A moment later they were in front of the kid. The woman shot Remus a dirty look, but otherwise they didn’t acknowledge his presence.

“Sorry kid,” said the man, kicking at the dirt.

“Whatever,” the kid replied.

“Now that’s the kind of love I like to see,” said Oliver, walking up behind the couple and putting his arms around their shoulders. “Now, if I see the two of you so much as piss in the wrong direction, you won’t be sleeping inside for another week,” he said, shoving them both away from the fire. “Might want to go start your own fire somewhere, it’s gonna be a cold fucking night.”

They begrudgingly shuffled away, the woman still gripping her partner tightly. Oliver sat down on the other side of the fire across from Remus and the kid. Everyone else had retired to their various tents and caravans scattered around the edges of the clearing, knowing better than to stick around when Oliver was dolling out punishments. Only the three of them were left by the fire.

Remus would have cleared off himself if he hadn’t been the one to stop the others from beating the kid into a pulp. He got himself a black eye for the trouble. Still, he’d had worse outcomes from trying to stop violence on these missions before. There were times where he hadn't been able to stop it at all. He blocked that thought out. At least in this place the leader of the pack was on his side, rather than the one perpetrating the attack.

“So kid,” Oliver said, “You wanna tell us your name now or are we gonna have to beg?”

The kid looked hesitant. He’d only come on the morning of the full moon. That's usually when new people showed up in the packs. They were very transient populations, but when the full moon came it was good to know you weren't facing it alone. If Remus had to guess he’d say it was his first time doing a transformation in this way. Some kid whose family had kicked them out, showing up after hearing a rumor about one of the packs, not knowing where else to go. He’d seen it before.

The lack of scars was the giveaway. Not all of them were as scarred as Remus. The ones who had done most of their transformations in the woods were better off than those who’d been locked in enclosed spaces. Even then, they all had scars. This kid was practically brand new.

“Simon,” he said eventually, though Remus was almost certain it was a fake name.

“Well, Simon, I’m working very hard to make this place a little less of a hellhole than most of these cunts are used to. The thing is, keeping the peace takes work and I need everyone’s help to make it happen, like a motherfucking community. There are two rules around here: Don’t give shit, don’t take shit. If someone hassles you I don’t expect you to take it like a bitch but if I catch you starting anything you better fucking believe you’re gonna answer to me. Got it?”