Meeting again before the moon (Howl & Cryssie)

Sam had walked about until he came across the City of Azorat and found the lake not far form the city itself.
He sat by the side of his lake, the gentle roar of the waves relaxing him. The full moon would come soon...

His mind was a mess... he needed to get away from everything that was happening for a while.
He wondered if Cryssie would find him eventually. He had said he wanted to see her again; have just one more good day before he turned.

He hadnt been able to stop thinking about her... He had so much to cope with in his mind but thoughts of Cryssie always pushed their way through.
"Cryssie..." He closed his eyes and leant his body back as he breathed out.

Crystella was out and about exploring the towns that surrounded Hogwarts. She had donned her disguise as Clarian and looked about cautiously, hoping she wouldnt bump into Kerew.

As she wandered about, she spied a lake, fairly private and quiet too. She was suprised to see Sam there in a world of his own. She could tell he needed to get away for a while. He always was unpredicatable and stressed before a full moon came.

"Sammy...?" She bent down and tilted her head towards him so he would be able to see her face as he turned his head to see who it was. "Hello again. Do you mind if i join you?"

Sam shuffled up and patted the ground beside him, gesturing for her to sit down. She sat down and kicked off her shoes so she could dip her toes in the lake as small waves lapped over them.
"Its so peaceful here..." Cryssie closed her eyes and smiled contently as she breathed in. "How are you...?"

Sam was happy to see it was Crystella, well, Clarian.
"No no, go on." Sam shuffled up and gestured for her to sit down beside him. He liked her being close to him.

He rested his head on her shoulder. "I'm as ok as i can be... just a little melancholy... im not as bad though now ive seen you." He smiled, as he took hold of her hand and squoze it. "Im trying to find a place to go when i turn... or at least somewhere i can hide myself after it all... How are you?"

Sam kicked off his shoes too and made his feet splash hers playfully. The cold water was nice. Hearing Crystella laughing and having her with him was nice.

It made her sad to see Sam was down, but she could understand it. She was the same with good days and bad. They both had depression, but Sam's was worse due to his werewolfism. She blushed as he took hold of her hand. He was always so sweet to her.

"I'm alright..." She said half-heartedly, staring out across the lake.
"Hey!" She laughed and splashed him back. They were always such a pair of kids when they were together.

"Full moon tomorrow huh...? I never know what mood you're going to be in from one second to the next when the moon is this close..." She gave a weak halfhearted laugh. It was hard to make light of a situation like Sam's.

He said something then his looked changed.
"Sammy....? Are, are you alright...?"

Tomorow...? It'd been a month already.... .... Where did the time go?

He could feel different things clicking in his head, like cogs. He stared hard at Crystella, evidently with a strange look on his face judging by her dubious reaction.

He took hold of her hand and held it close to his face:
"I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss...
Go on Cryssie... you know the rest..."

"Sammy...please not the poetry thing again... and how cheesy are you right now?"
"Say it....."

Oh no... she knew what he was doing, trying to romance her with Shakespeare knowing she couldnt resist it. But she couldnt go down that path with Sam again, and with the full moon so close, it wasnt him talking; he probably didnt even know what he was doing or saying, and that worried her...

In a shaky soft voice she replied:
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers'..." She coughed away the last word.

"Ha ha, th-thats n-not going to work Sam, t-try something else." She stammered nervously, trying to make light of the situation despite feeling very anxious.

She looked down at her hand as he squoze it tighter and pulled it onto his chest. She didnt like were this was going... his wolf side was coming through...

He placed his other arm on her back and pulled her towards him slightly to whisper to her.
"Alright, how about this?
'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date..."

Her pulled her so their faces were literally millimetres apart.
"...So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

He lunged forward and kissed her passionately, pushing her into the ground and kissing her wildly, deaf to her protests. He couldnt control himself. He wanted to show her he loved her, he wanted her to love him back.

Crystella trembled at his touch as he pulled her close to him. She slowly and subtly reach for her wand...
She tried to push herself away but he pulled her closer. "Sam... let go...this isnt funny..."

She loved that sonnet, but the way it was said now, made it chilling. She squeaked in fright and protests as he lunged forward and kissed her, pinning her to the ground. She knew it wasnt it fault, it was the wolf, he couldnt help it, but she was scared and didnt want this to happen.

"Sam please, get off, this isnt you!" She pushed at him and freed her arm that held her wand. "FLIPENDO!"

Sam flipped back into the air and landed on all fours a few feet away from her. She stood up and pointed her wand at him. "I mean it Sam... stop it! I've told you no! You dont love me! You just think you do! And i dont love you, you need to understand that."

He growled slightly under his breath and crept towards her still on all fours, folling her as she backed herself into the lake.
"Sammy stop it! For gods sake look at yourself! This isnt the Sam i know! Please! You need to calm down! I dont want to hurt you!" Tears rolled down her cheeks into the lake, sending rippled towards him. It always pained her to watch as Sam lost himself more and more to the wolf. She feared that one day; there would be no man left at all...
She screamed as he approached closer. "Get away from me!!!" She fired a warning blast beside him and cried, shaking.

Sam was in a state of disbelief that Crystella would attack him. The wolf in him felt challenged or threatened and crept towards her into the lake growling.

It broke his heart and he whined sadly when she said she didnt love him, but then he was angry again and tried to approach her, snarling, the blast only infuriating him further.

Her screams snapped him out of his state a bit and he stared curiously as tears flowed from her cheeks. He followed the ripples they created and looked down at his reflection were he looked savage and terrifying.

"Oh god... what the hell am i becoming..." He pounded the water with his fist and buried his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry Cryssie..." He choked and shuddered as he cried.

How could he just let himself lose control? He could have seriously hurt her....again... He felt so ashamed of himself. He hated what his werewolfism did to him; his mind would just black out and he would lose control of what he was doing.

She could always tell when Sam's tears were his own, and when they were genuine or not genuine. This was one of those times were they were genuinely his.

She waded towards him slowly, still keeping her wand at her side, and stroked his hair.
"Dont cry Sammy... its ok... i know you didnt mean it... you just scared me...."

She hated seeing him cry like this.

"I think i should go now...." She spoke in a low soft voice. Her throat was dry from crying. "It doesnt bode well...us being near each other... i dont think we should see each other again unless we have to... im sorry... Just go back to the school and pretend this didnt happen..."

She waded past him onto the shore, although she felt guilty about leaving it this way.

He'd scared her... he felt sick.... he hated himself...
She waded past him. His clenched his fist, closed his eyes and shouted:
"Yea coz thats just so easy for you isnt it! To run away and hide from it all! Well i cant do that!"

Then, he started to quote Shakespeare, but angrily.
"How can I then return in happy plight,
That am debarred the benefit of rest?
When day's oppression is not eas'd by night,
But day by night and night by day oppressed,
And each, though enemies to either's reign,
Do in consent shake hands to torture me!'
And no matter what you say Cryssie, you may not love me, but that certainly wont stop me from loving you... i cant help it... and its not the wolf talking its me! You should know that! ....I thought...you knew that..."

His tears hit the water as he could hear her walking away along the shore.
"Be of thyself so wary
As I, not for myself, but for thee will;
Bearing thy heart, which I will keep so chary..."

She paused momentarily to reply back with a sigh:
"Presume not on thy heart when mine is slain,
Thou gav'st me thine not to give back again..."
And then she was gone; disappearing into the streets of Azorat.

Sat sat back in the water and stared sadly at his reflection, sighing to himself.
"But day doth daily draw my sorrows longer,
And night doth nightly make grief's length seem stronger..."
He was so messed up inside right now....

Then, a shadow appeared behind him. He clenched his fists.
"What do you want...? Just leave me alone.... im not in the mood for you and your games...."

Crystella started to cry again but kept her sobs stifled and her shoulders steady. Sam was so angry at her. She was hurting him so much. But she would rather him hate her. And she would rather pretned to herself that she didnt love him in order for this to be easier. After all, as Saizilia had said, she would just be a distraction to him. She would be the reason he died becuase he would want to protect her rather than his own life. She didnt want Sam to die becuase of her.

She returned his Shakespeare before she left up the hill that lead back into the city streets. They had always done that together, and she wasnt going to be crueller to him than she already was being. But it wasnt just him who was grieved and troubled by all this. She wished she could make him understand but it was useless trying to get through to Sam when he was like this.

She sauntered into the city dragging her feet with a sigh and quoting:
"Such civil war is in my love and hate,
That I an accessary needs must be,
To that sweet thief which sourly robs from me..."

She just wanted this to be over... she just wished the pain could stop for the two of them... but thanks to Kerew, it was likely that would never happen...

Kerew hid in the shadows and watched Crystella emerge from a secluded path that lead to the lake.
"So thats were you have been hiding...."

It would have been easy to kill her there and then, but with the full moon so close, he couldnt pass up an oppurtunity to mess with Sam.
"I'll get you soon enough Crystella..." He grinned darkly and silently descended down the hill, his shadow stretching over the lake next to Sam.

"What do you want now Kerew... im not in the mood for your games..." He heard Sam mutter.
"Me? Want anything? Oh why so sceptical mon ami?" Kerew smirked.

He waded through the water to Sam who had been crying and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder.
"You see? I told you... its THEM you cant trust... its THEY who want to hurt you, not i...."

He leant forward and spoke to Sam's ear, knowing Sam was easy to manipulate and twist, especially before a change.
"They've just been messing with you this whole time... She never even loved you, but she's been stringing you along... and Saizila even told her to do it just becuase she hates you and wants to make you suffer... "
Sam tensed and moved his shoulder away.

"You know im right mutt face... they dont care about you... they mess you around, wont even tell you the truth.. whereas i have always been straight with you... tried to look out for you... and you turned your back on me for them... buts thats what they wanted... they didnt want you to be strong or happy... they just wanna put you down..."

"No... you're lying... they wouldnt do that to me...."
"Ahhhh, but they would wolfy boy. They've never cared about you. No-one ever will care about you, except me. Even after all you've done to me, im here to stop them from hurting you anymore... You've thought these things yourself... that they're just jerking you around, hurting you on purpose for no reason, even Cryssie. Its what they do Sam... she's on their side now, not yours, but iv always been in your fighting corner... i'm always going to be there... always..."

Sam knew what Kerew's game was... he was there to mess with his head so Sam would be a savage beast when he turned. He shuddered with disgust when Kerew touched his shoulder. He still hadnt forgave him, and he still hadnt forgotten all the shit stuff he had seen Kerew do i the past.
Sam tried covering his ears to block him out. He couldnt let Kerew get to him... to mess with his head...he rather had a talent for screwing with peoples heads...

"No... thats not true...they wouldnt do that to me..." Sam moved his shoulder away from Kerews hand and shook his head, trying to stop Kerew from getting to him, to stop that idea sinking in. Of course his family cared about him. Didnt they...?

"Shut up Kerew shut up!" Sam banged the sides of his head with his fist. He had had these thoughts about his family himself, but he couldnt let them get to him, not before a change. "They love me, they were trying to protect me... you just wanna ruin everything! You're lying... they wouldnt do anything like that to me..." Would they?

Sam had to try really hard not to let himself cry in front of Kerew. No-one would ever care about him... except for Kerew.... he might as will kill himself now then if that was the case. Maybe.... maybe there was some truth to what Kerew was saying...? How did he know he wasnt being lied to by both sides? Who could he trust? Arrrgh, it hurt his head to think about it, he was so confused and angry and upset right now... he didnt know what to do or who to turn to... He couldnt reduce himself by turning to Kerew, but he didnt have his family or Cryssie now either. He felt so isolated and betrayed.

Kerew had already disappeared when Sam looked up again, leaving him to battle with his conscience, that had now been thrown into turmoil. He couldnt trsut anyone. He just wish he could escape for a while, rid himself of these thoughts in his head... but he couldnt... he never would... not until he knew the truth once and for all...