Sibling Love.

“The capture unit are far better than they were years ago.”

The moonlight was watery through the clouds above them and the snowy surface of the world seemed to make the scene all the more ghostly. Two figures, matching in height, strode side by side through the undergrowth of the Forbidden Forest. One was wrapped in a travelling cloak trimmed with scarlet while the other wore the furs of an animal that was not easily identified by the way it hung from the elder man’s shoulders. It was clear from their mirrored stances that they were father and son. The expressions on their faces mirrored the anxiety they felt. It had been years since the Ministry had presented a threat to the Greyback pack and certainly, even then they hadn’t succeeded. Ariel could remember the day clearly in his mind and he hadn’t left that experience unscathed. Neither, of course, had his father. Both had been marked by the brush with the Ministry and the bitterness towards the people in charge seemed to grow by the day. Yet despite this, it was incredibly useful to have people present in the Ministry. Members of the pack like Ariel, those who weren’t as close to their wolf-self, had proven to be invaluable to Fenrir and it was nights like these, when the bitter winds battered the forest, that Ariel was glad for the company of his father. Not that he lived in the forest mind you, it was just easier when he had a familiar face with him as he walked.

“Ms. Gould knows how to run the department, Fenrir. That is why they are stronger.”

The elder of the two men regarded the younger out of the corner of his eye for a few moments before smirking and shaking his head. Ariel pursed his lips, his frustration showing, and picked up the pace in order to keep up with larger man. Ariel had cast a spell on his and his father’s feet, making their touch to the snow feather light so they didn’t leave imprints behind in the surface. He didn’t like the idea of being tracked. In fact, he loathed it. He was paranoid for the pack and though Fenrir had increased protection - especially for the little ones - Ariel was truly beginning to doubt it was enough. He was anxious, admittedly, but he kept his composure for his father’s sake. He had a feeling the man saw through him though. The smirk on the man’s face certainly betrayed his amusement with the younger man but he did not say anything for fear Ariel would say something Fenrir didn’t want to hear.

“Go and talk to your sister,” Fenrir said suddenly, stopping and turning to face the young man. Ariel stopped mid-stride and looked about himself, seeing nothing but the woodland around them. “Go.” Fenrir instructed. “I think we should keep family close now; especially considering the farce with your sister and Mr. Barker. It is time you start acting more like their brother, Ariel, and less like an enemy. You are to be my successor, are you not? It is time you start making nice with the females, even if they are insufferable and useless at best. I shall retire for the night. There are patrols going through the forest. They are armed, I warn you. Do not cause a scene.”

And with little more said, Fenrir disappeared into the woods, leaving Ariel by himself. The blonde twisted around on the spot, squinting into the forest in search of the sister Fenrir had spoke of. Ariel hadn’t any clue which one it was and he certainly didn’t have the patience to call out into the forest the names of the sisters he knew. Instead he lifted his wand aloft, muttered ‘Lumos’, and shouted into the dark of the forest, “show yourself!”

Ariel flicked his wrist, making the light on the end of his wand glow brighter than before. The forest was bathed in a white light that seemed to make it even spookier than before. He tucked his robes tighter around him and brushed his hair back out of his eyes, he’d neglected to gel it back that morning, and continued to glare into the dark of the forest. She would show herself in due time. Much to his dismay, the sisters were fond of theatrics and though Ariel knew where it came from, he didn’t enjoy it as his father did. If anything, the theatrics aggravated Ariel all the more. She wanted his attention, he knew, but she wasn’t going to get it if she was going to insist on making herself look imposing. She wasn’t going to inspire fear in him. He wasn’t afraid of little girls. She could try, by all means, but if he was going to feign interest then he figured they might as well have a civil conversation. He could manage it. He didn’t know whether she could though.

The voice that resounded through the forest left Ariel cold. He turned, his wand arm thrusting forward towards the sound, the light at the end allowing him to see the dark-haired girl that had emerged from the shadows with a threat on her lips. Ariel quirked a blonde eyebrow upwards at her and smirked before shaking her head and turning around, taking a few steps in order to put some space between them. He then turned back around to face her, his lips curling around his words as he smirked at her. “Come now. You wouldn’t do that to your brother, would you? But do enlighten me, child. Why, pray tell, should you kill me?”

She was blunt but Ariel didn’t expect anything otherwise. He didn’t think her to be a fool but she presented herself to be one in her distrust of the father they shared. He’d heard the stories but he did not know the ins and outs of what had occurred between the pair. Ariel hadn’t the time for such nonsense, after all. Her accusation almost made him feel like a guilty lover whose significant other could smell another woman’s perfume on his clothes or upon finding the ruby red mark of a pair of lips on the collar of his shirt, had confronted him. Instead though, it was a sibling face-off of sorts. Ariel wasn’t going to turn his wand on her though, mind you. He would rather have a battle of wits with her and though she seemed to favour saying very little, he didn’t doubt he could get something out of her after a while. Fenrir seemed out of the loop, almost. It felt as if he’d been expecting someone else to penetrate the perimeter of the forest. Knowing his father as well as he did, though, Ariel was going to safely say that Fenrir Greyback seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

Ariel squared his shoulders and inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement of her statement. He licked his lower lip, his tongue wetting the skin before retracting back into his mouth. He then pointed his wand to himself and cast a non-verbal cleansing spell over himself. He flicked it once he was done, Lumos one again igniting at the tip. He tipped his head to the left a little, a smirk lifting his lips upwards as he scuffed his foot across the ground. “Better?” He inquired innocently. “Really, whether I smell like him or not should not be of any concern of yours. Shouldn’t you be huddled up in the dungeons with all of the other girls your age, talking about boys or some rubbish? What are you doing out here?”

Ariel watched out of the corner of his eye as the sneer took his sister’s facial features and made her far uglier than she actually was. He couldn’t help but smirk at her. Truly, she was an interesting little thing. She wasn’t unattractive, by any means, but the sneer certainly made her appear so. Ariel didn’t really think any of the Greyback children, including himself, were anything particularly nice to look at. Naomi looked like she’d been dragged backwards through multiple bushes. Stan was unexplainable. Ariel himself looked like he’d been attacked by a knife-wielding harpy. This one, Victoria, just had an awful way of screwing up her face. Certainly, she could be taught better, but she clearly wasn’t particularly refined. He couldn’t blame her - she was only a child after all - but he did hope she’d have some sort of self control by this point in her young life. She just seemed needlessly angry to him, dark where there was no need to be. Ariel knew he wasn’t a creature of sunshine and rainbows but even so, she seemed too young to be so coarse.

“Would you prefer horny females, instead?” Ariel shot back, his smirk widening across his face as he flicked his wand about, conjuring hovering lanterns so he didn’t have to hold his wand aloft for much longer. Ariel kept the wood in his hand though, for fear the remark he’d made would set off the little werewolf. “Fenrir doesn’t have a habit of telling me about the souvenirs of his conquests. He enjoys me finding out about them, I think. I don’t mind but you I recognise, at least vaguely. Peculiar. Hm. I have a question though! Are you always this sour or are you making an effort just for me?”

Ariel barked out a laugh at her retort. “I’m merely trying to establish which gender my sister would refer to have relations with,” he exhaled the words out through his chuckles. He liked how she assumed he’d enjoy that sort of thing. He liked it a lot. Ariel had never been particularly fussed with women. He’d not been fussed with women having relations with women either. He had his few conquests, every Slytherin had. Sex did not come easily if you went after Slytherin girls and it was certainly something Ariel had taken delight in doing over the years. Jack, however, had not been a Slytherin and his relationship with her was a different kettle of fish all together. Jack had been something completely different, a girl he hadn’t been ready for but one he didn’t want to let go all the same. It had been months since he’d last spoken to her. Ariel missed her, admittedly, but he didn’t have the courage to put quill to paper and owl her. Something had changed between them. He had claimed it hadn’t but it was clear to him now that it had. He missed her though, that much was clear.

For the blonde, it was easy to see why Fenrir had no time for the sisters. Ariel was the calmest, he felt, of all of Fenrir’s children but he still had the bite. Naomi referred to him childishly as ‘puppy’ and though it was said many a time that his wolf was perhaps more human than he was, he doubted that the nickname was fair. Ariel had displayed the characteristics that Fenrir had wanted for a pack leader. Naomi was too brash. Stan had never been an option. Ariel, the eldest, seemed like a perfect fit. Fenrir had seen the way he’d handled the pack cubs, the women and the men. He was perfect material. The only problem was that Ariel wanted to be human. Every month he fought the ‘gift’ he’d been given by his father. Every month he went through hell because he didn’t want to live with the curse he had. Thankfully, his flatmates were good at brewing though it was a shame the same couldn’t be said for cooking. There was always a steady supply of Wolfsbane but it wasn’t enough. For Ariel, Wolfsbane never worked, it was about the trust he had with the animal.

His sister, Ariel saw, was more animalistic. Both were, in fact. He didn’t quite know what to do with this one. Naomi was difficult, beyond difficult in fact, and he had long since given up with trying to help her out, especially in light of the Barker situation. No, with this one there was promise. Little, but enough. Ariel conjured a few more things with his wand - two armchairs - and took his seat before gesturing for Victoria to sit also. “Well why don’t you tell me what you’re normally like,” He instructed gently, flipping his legs over the arm of the chair, his posture betraying his relaxation. “I’m sure there’s plenty to tell with you being almost grown up and all.”