Chasing Phantoms (Lupin/open)

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

Talon spun her sword between her hands as she stalked through the forest. She'd been sent looking for Fara...again. She really hated it when the werewolf ran off. She understood why Fara did; it was just annoying to have to go looking for her. Talon wound up searching for Fara in some nearby wilderness at least three times a month. She was starti g to get good at it...something that she wasn't sure she was comfortable with.

She paused in a clearing to stop and listen for sounds. This was a good training exercise, if nothing else. Getting the living hell kicked out of her by one of her cousins (or, even worse, her aunt Marisol) was good for toughening the body, but it didn't do much for sharpening the senses.

Hearing a twig snapping behind her, she slowly shifted her sword into a more comfortable position. Whoever was after her had picked the wrong girl. She was in no fucking mood, and they were up for a rude awakening.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus hated nights like this. It was a still maybe, what 5 days until the full moon. He was tired, but he kept taking the missions for the Order as they really needed to get everything done. While Teddy and a few other members were off on another mission, he was assigned to patrol the grounds of Hogwarts, in particular, the Forbidden Forest.

He had slowly patrolled, being careful, with his wand lighted, however, soon, he heard footsteps. He put his wand's light out, and slowly made his way towards the footsteps. Crunch! Went a twig under his foot. Damn it... Remus thought to himself. It could be a death eater out there, and he just reveled his location. When no spell came, Remus lit his wand so he could see, thinking it could've been an animal. He was wrong to say the least.

Before him was a girl, maybe 16 or 17 years old, wielding a sword. "What are you doing here?" Remus asked keeping his eye on the girl. He couldn't trust her, as she was just a random girl he found in the forest.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

Talon was in front of him with her sword pointed at his throat almost as soon as she heard him. Well, her reflexes hadn't taken a beating during the rigorous training Marisol had out her through before departure. That was a good thing. She'd honestly been worried about that, and now she was worried for Fara.

This guy must have horrible luck; he ran into the wrong Cavaliere on the wrong day.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she demanded, accent making her "r's" roll irritatingly. It always got worse when she was agitated, one of the pitfalls of being Italian.

[Remus John Lupin]

What was with her 'r's? Whatever, Remus was more worried about the sword at his throat. Remus decided to play it safe. He would tell a lie of course of why, because he could never be too careful. He wasn't actually scared of this young girl, but he probably would play it better than he did with that one Marietta girl. He might get more information.

"My name is Remus Lupin. I am here chasing after a known werewolf who may reside in the forest," Remus stated. It was a rumor that there were werewolves in the forest. It didn't seem too bad, right? Plus most knew him as a werewolf now after the year he taught here and word got out. Then again, maybe people forgot, which would be nice, but untrue.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

She narrowed her eyes at him. She was still only a Legilimens-in-training, so she couldn't discern his true intent like Riley or Leo, but she knew that he was lying. That kind of pissed her off. What kind of idiot lied to someone that had a sword at their throat? That just screamed bad idea.

"You're lying to me, Lupin," she snapped. "Why are you really here?"

Lupin...Lupin...Remus Lupin. He'd gone to school with her aunt Marissa hadn't he? She'd been one of the few Cavaliere that had attended Hogwarts, a Ravenclaw and a talented Seeker. She'd mentioned a few of her classmates. Talon could've sworn that Remus Lupin was among them. No matter. If he was really looking for werewolves, she couldn't let him go alone. He could get killed (which she'd get in trouble for) or he could find Fara (which she'd get in even more trouble for).

[Remus John Lupin]

Damn it. How'd she tell? She... No she was too young to kniw Legimency. No matter. It wasn't like she could tell his intent or she wouldn't be asking questions. He tried not to show his surprise that she had been right about him lying. It wasn't like she'd hurt him, right? It could get really messy, especially with a sword as a weapon.

"Prove it," Renus stated, "I'm not lying. Why wpuld I lie when there is a sword at my throat. Haven't you heard the rumors? As it turns out the last full moon one was heard nearby," Remus stated. True, but he left out the detail it was him returning to the shrieking shack as he didn't have the money for Wolfsbane last mkkn. He spent it on a ring for Nymphadora. So near, howling of a werewolf, just him.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

"No, I haven't," she replied drily. "If you couldn't tell from my accent, I'm not exactly from around here."

What, was he partially deaf or something...? She was clearly Italian, and they didn't traditionally attend Hogwarts. Her eye-color was also distinctive; not many non-Cavaliere Italians had it. So, he was not only partially deaf, she decided, he also lived under a rock. She almost pitied him...almost.

"Aunt Lore~!" a little girl's voice singsonged as it approached them.

"Damn it, kid! I told you to stay with Hagrid!" she snapped.

She'd been babysitting her cousin Gabe's daughter Lexi when she'd been instructed to go look for Fara. Since she really couldn't take a four-year-old werewolf-hunting, she'd left Lexi with Hagrid. How had the kid escaped him...? She would be having an extensive conversation with Hatrid about what was and was not allowed when watching small children. He apparently didn't know.

"Lexi got bored!" the little girl retorted as she skipped over to join Talon. "Eh...? Aunt Lore! Daddy said no swords!"

Talon shot Lupin a dark look, daring him to comment.

[Remus John Lupin]

Well, he did know about the Curia people, the Order was keeping tabs on them. But even still, it was a widely known rumor. Plus, there were kids from all over who went to Hogwarts, including all of the transfers that came almost a year ago. Don't tell him there are more transfers? The Order hadn't gotten too much information on Curia's current status, but it wasn't like he was going to fear a Cavaliere because of the London Blitz. That wasn't him. He was actually quite versed in the history that they knew of Curia.

"It doesn't matter anyways. I am here for a reason and I need to finish my job before sun rise," Remus stated, "You shpuldn't be in the forest, since you aren't from here apparently, you don't know it off-limits for all students." Unless they were given detention. The little girl surprised him, but just as he was about to comment he caught the glare of this girl, and he simply raised his hands offering no comment.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

Talon growled softly and relaxed into the parade rest, tip of her sword in the dirt as she continued to ponder whether she should knock him out and drag him to Riley. She couldn't let Fara be discovered; Marc and Riley had made that clear. If he was with he Order, though...

"I'm looking for someone, so I'm not leaving," she retorted with a scowl. "Do you know Asher Greene?"

That was Marc's assumed name in his role as a member of the Order. He'd picked it up when he caught on to the Order keeping tabs on them. He didn't want the Order knowing too much about the Curia and their actions in England. It would bring up a lot of unnecessary complications. The Curia's presence in London was widely-known, but they were still trying to play things safe.

Lexi fixed her eyes on Lupin and tilted her head to the side curiously. She didn't see much of England outside of the Salla, and she didn't have a lot of experience with the British. They probably seemed odd to her.

[Remus John Lupin]

Remus was quite surprised when she mentioned Asher's name . How could she know hin? Sure Remus didn't know too much about Asher's life outside the Order, but how would she know him? He'd ask Asher later about this girl. "How do yoi know Asher?" Well he might as well ask. All this trying to gather information like this wasn't his strong suit, he was usually the one with the upper hand.

Remus was ready if either of them tried anything. He had terrible trust issues. Who would've guessed? Everyone. He was ready for just about anything to come his way. Greyback coming after him, Voldemort trying to kill him, Voldemort taking over the country. Why wouldn't he have something up his sleeve to deal with this girl.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

"Tch. He's a friend of mine and the reason I'm in the god-forsaken forest," she grumbled. "He sent me here to find a werewolf. Her name is Fara Grey."

She kept her stronger hand on the sword and extended her hand to Lupin to shake it. Lexi continued to watch curiously. Gabe really sheltered that kid, she noted. He needed to take Lexi and her brother out more often. She would be talking to him about it later on...after she chewed Hagrid out. How the hell did he manage to get outsmarted by a four-year-old...? She hoped that Lexi hadn't somehow locked him in his cabin.

"I'm Talon Cavaliere," she mumbled as an introduction. "The pipsqueak over there is my cousin Lexi."

[Remus John Lupin]

"Fara Grey?" Where had he heard that name before? "Is she dangerous?" He didn't know how they ran things in Italy, but if it was like England, then they might just hunt that young werewolf girl for no good reason. Werewolves weren't animals... Sometimes. They didn't deserve to be hunted down like animals, unless they posed a threat. Fenirir should be hunted down. But Remus didn't kniw if Fara was a threat or not.

Remus shook her hand, surprised by the sudden change in this girl's attitude. Remus still didn't get who the little girl was and why the four year old was in the forest. "Shouldn't young girls stay out of the forest?" Remus asked looking at Lexi. She wasn't safe here, the little girl couldn't defend herself.

"Cavaliere? So you're one of those Curia protectors?" Remus said. Yeah, he knew that at least. He hadn't met very many Cavalieres before, though he did meet a few before. He wasn't scared of them. If that was bravery or stupidity, he didn't know or care.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

"Fara? Dangerous? No, not any more so than is to be expected," she replied emphatically. "I grew up with her; she's only dangerous at the full moon. She lives with Asher for the time being, though, and she's been MIA for a few days. Ash got worried and sent me to look for her. It happens every now and then; she hates being couped up."

She would swear up and down until the day she died that her friend was not a threat. She knew Fara; she knew that Fara never wanted to hurt anyone. As she was thinking, she realized that Fara never had hurt anyone. Not really. Not badly.

The change in her attitude was simple. He knew Marc, she could trust him. That was all she needed to know.

She suppressed a smile as Lexi glowered up at him sulkily and the little girl's blonde curls turned bright, angry red. She was offended. It was kind of cute.

"Lexi is my cousin Gabe's daughter. I was babysitting her and her twin brother when Asher asked me to go find Fara, so I left them with Hagrid while I went looking. Her brother is more well-behaved, though. I guess Lexi snuck out and followed me," she explained. "I'll be having a talk with Hagrid later."

She was, admittedly, a little surprised that he knew about her, ah, job. Most of the Britisb seemed to be under the impression that he Cavaliere were some blue-eyed demonic horde that the Curia sent to do their business.

"Si, I am...we, I'm in training. I won't be fully-fledged for a while," she admitted. "There's no war going on right now, so I'm going through the usual paces."

[Remus John Lupin]

"I see. It just sounded, the way you said it, that you were after Fara because she was a werewolf, in which case, I admitedly would help her escape," Remus stated. At least it wasn't related to her being a werewolf. Remus had enough of the discrimination against himself, and he took it, but when others were discriminated against, he just wouldn't stand for it. He didn't want others to feel the pain and loneliness that came with discrimination. It made monsters, and the world didn't need any more monsters.

"I see. Hagrid really needs to pull himself together; I would trust him with my life, but I would be wary to trust him with another's life," Remus sighed shaking his head. The thing with Hagrid was that he was trustworthy and would be the last person he'd suspect to betray them, but he could be quite reckless and not so careful. Hagrid was a great guy too, but sometimes he didn't think things through too well.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable, there's a war coming. It may or may not be a war for you to fight, but it's coming," Remus said looking up. Just so many things were happening at once, and the Ministry was obviously infiltrated by at,least one operative for Voldemort. It was just a matter of time.

[Lorelai Christine Cavaliere]

"It is partially because she's a werewolf," she admitted. "The full moon's approaching, and we all breathe easier when we know where she is. That's all. I trust her with my life; when she vanishes like this, I'm usually all for leaving it alone."

She didn't understand the British and their fear of werewolves. That sort of thing didn't really happen much in Italy; that was one thing they had going for them. They didn't care about race or blood purity. In that aspect, they were still very much Roman. What mattered was ability. Anyone who had any could make a life for themselves.

"I don't know him too well, but my aunt Marissa said that he was trustworthy, so I believed her she shrugged. "Aunt Mari doesn't lie."

She smiled darkly at the mention of war.

"You don't have to worry about that; I'm never at ease anywhere," she informed him. "It comes with the job."