Again, he received no answer. He could only watch as Faolan began to remove his clothing, much to the Frenchman's confusion, but he couldn't really do anything about it. He had followed him, picking up the clothes he was dropping, but the sounds of pain Faolan was making was a lot more concerning to him, especially when he began to see the changes that were happening to his body. He dropped the clothes, his entire instinct was telling him to do something, anything to help him, but what could he do? Faolan was seemingly aware of what this was, and he was desperate to have him leave. Considering the Irishman was aware of his healing abilities, if they could help him.. he felt like he would have told him so. The desperation in Faolan's voice caused his wings to twitch, wanting to listen to his words, but his body wouldn't move.

He watched in horror as Faolan's body began to reform. He had never seen anything like this before, and by now he could tell that Faolan was changing into.. something else. What that was, he wasn't sure, but all he could tell was that it was incredibly painful for him, and it hurt him to have to hear his screams and see his expression of agony. As this.. change, had seemingly finished, he was met with a different sort of creature, seemingly wolf-like in nature.

"F-Faolan..?" Lucien's voice was almost a whisper as he spoke, but as he did so, he flapped his wings almost instinctively, wanting to take to the air as Faolan had asked of him earlier. Whatever this was, it was probably best he kept his distance.

The wolf's nose twitched and a gout of steam escaped it's nostrils. It blinked, finally its vision clarifying. It's ears rotated in their sockets, listening for any sounds of movement or approaching creatures. It heard something, distant, something talking words at it, and it shook its head in confusion as its mouth began to drip viscous drool. It was hungry, insatiably so, and wanting nothing more than to gorge itself on fresh, hot, living meat.

It smelled something strange behind it, and sniffed loudly several times before turning its head to see. It smelled almost like a man, but there was something overpowering the smell of its flesh: something pure, like clean snow. The wolf's bright green eyes came to rest on the man thing behind it, and its lips snarled back to reveal two-inch canines and dark red gums. Pure or not, it was made of flesh.

The beast steadied itself, still a little wobbly from the change, and turned its body to face the tiny creature before it. Faolan had fully transformed, taking the shape of a large creature that had the anatomy of a wolf blended with the stature of a human. It was nearly seven and a half feet tall and loomed over the small creature before it as a low growl started to vibrate through its chest cavity. It was covered in dark red fur, the same color as Faolan's, and its eyes were that same dark green color, but there was no semblance of the man behind them. The man had gone quiet inside this new form, his base instincts to hunt, kill, and eat had fully taken over. In most cultures, this was known as a Lycanthrope, or werewolf, but the creature knew nothing of this, nor would it care. Its sole purpose was to destroy living things, to rend them apart until they were just meat and blood and bone.

Its nose twitched again and its eyes flashed as it saw the little thing trying to escape, to fly away on wings of white. Before it was out of reach, the creature slashed out with its claws, a little sluggishly because it was still weak from the change. It needed more time before it would be strong and fast enough to eat this one.

It seemed the transformation had taken a lot out of Faolan, as it took a while for his new form to begin to move. As soon as his eyes flashed in his direction, Lucien had attempted to take to the air as fast as he could, trying to avoid the claws that were headed his way. He was unable to completely evade them, as he felt the claws tear into his leg. For the first time in his life, he felt a searing pain shoot up his entire leg, causing him to falter in his flight for just a moment but he was quick to recover. He raised a hand and placed a barrier around himself, in case the creature tried to go for another swipe, as he tried to get higher and higher into the air. Blood trailed down his leg, feeling incredibly hot. There was a part of Lucien that hadn't immediately registered the fact that he had been hurt, that his blood had actually been shed.

He recalled Faolan telling him once that he could not smell him when his barrier was around him, so he counted on that to make it harder for the creature to detect him, even though he hadn't stopped persuing him. How high could that jump? He couldn't risk stopping until he had completely broken the canopy of the trees. It seemed like that was enough to seize his pursuit of him. Honestly he was still incredibly confused. It had all happened so quickly. Was this.. what Faolan did every full moon? He tried to think back to any knowledge he might have of this kind of creature. While some of the things he had read were a little restricted, he knew he had read a few books in relation to other creatures. It had only been allowed so Lucien could be aware of the other evils out there, like demons and such. Considering Faolan's current appearance, the only thing he could think of was Lycanthrope. With the full moon, it was the only thing that made sense. Hearing the creature go off in a different direction, he lowered himself enough to be able to sit on the branches of one of the tallest trees. The pain in his leg was too much to ignore. It was quite a deep gash, and his leg almost trembled from it. So.. this was what pain was like. He grimaced as he reached out with his hand and attempted to begin to heal it. His breath hitched as the healing process began. Being on the receiving end of this was certainly.. different, and honestly physically exhausting. He was incredibly grateful to have wings, as it meant he didn't have to go around running through the forest.

When the healing process was finally finished he exhaled, not realizing he had been holding his breath near the end of it. To think Faolan of all things would be one of his weaknesses.. it was ironic, but it wasn't something he was focusing on right now. Now healed, he didn't want to lose track of the beast. If he recalled correctly, this lasted.. all night? He had to make sure Faolan didn't get too far, but also not too close to another town. He dove back down, maintaining his barrier as he reached out to grab Faolan's scattered clothes, before shoving them into the man's bag, and taking off again, attempting to follow the trail the creature had left behind.

The creature elated in the smell of fresh blood as it hit the air, and his chest cavity filled with air as he breathed in the scent. It was warm, and delicious. He put the claw to his mouth and a long crimson tongue slid out to lap the salty sweet liquid from his paw. But, his prey was getting away and he needed more then a taste.

Now that the hunt was on, he felt his energy level rise rapidly as adrenaline pumped through the creature's veins. It looked up as the man thing tried to flap away, wounded, but could no longer smell its flesh or the blood that was dripping from the wound. The wolf crouched low, then rocketed into the air in a high jump, desperate to try and grab the meat, but its claw bounced off of something solid. Now angered and starving, the wolf looked up as the man thing flapped away.

Realizing that this would not be its meal this night, the wolf snarled and crouched low on all fours before throwing its head back into a long mournful howl that rent the night sky and caused nearby birds and small game to scatter in terror. After this, the creature bounded off into the forest in search of its next quarry.

Lucien continued to fly through the top of the trees. With the amount of noise Faolan was making as he traversed through the tree's, it hadn't been too difficult to find him again, but he still made sure to keep his distance. In the times the creature seemed to.. have caught a meal, Lucien would use that chance to rest on a tree a decent distance away, not really wanting him to track him again. Keeping up with him was more tiring than he thought it would be but.. he managed.

He wanted to be sure to be close enough whenever he shifted back.. which he assumed would be when the sun came up. The more he thought about it, the more other things began to make sense. His sense of hearing, smell, and his strength were highly above the normal human, and now he knew why. There was a part of him that wondered why Faolan hadn't told him. He had always been a pretty private person but.. the thought that he might not have trusted him with his secret saddened him. He shook his head, trying to shake off the thought. That wasn't really what was important right now. As Faolan began to move again, so did he. It.. was surely going to be a long night.

The creature tore through the trees and the underbrush, making no effort to hide itself. Why would it? After all, it was the most powerful creature in the woods that night. Any animal, be it small game or large, would cower when facing its might. The beast ran, jumped, sniffed, hunted, and devoured its prey all throughout the night. It stopped only to howl at the moon, track, or rub itself against the trunks of nearby trees to leave its smell and make sure all of the denizens of this place knew it was here to feed.

Throughout the night, it caught several rabbits, a deer, and a wild dog. The beast ate every bit of every meal, flesh, blood and bone, until there was nothing left but a spatter of blood on the dirt. The creature then sensed sunrise coming, and ran as fast as it could in a singular direction as if trying to outrun the very rays of light. But even this beast was not fast enough to evade the natural order. As soon as the first beam of sunlight shot through the canopy of the trees to fall on the creature's red-furred hide, it weakened and began to shift back.

This time was no less painful than the one before. Bones shrank, snapped, then reformed again. The tendons tightened, muscles contracted and twisted until they were their original size. After a few minutes of this agony, the beast writhing and growling in pain, Faolan's unconscious and nude body lay in the dirt as the gashes, cuts, and scrapes from the beast's night of gallivanting slowly closed and healed.

By the time the sun could be seen on the horizon, Lucien was completely exhausted. It was hard to keep up with the beast as it ran with all his might, and his wings were screaming in protest, but the growls of pain from the beast became much louder as he flew near, as his body twisted and writhed just as it had when Faolan had first shifted into it. It was hard to watch, so he turned his gaze away. Honestly just imagining how often Faolan had to go through this was just terrible.. no one deserved that much pain. When the beast had finally gone quiet, Lucien turned back toward the now human Faolan, seemingly unconscious. Finally, he brought himself to land safely on the ground, wincing slightly as he put weight on his left foot. Despite being healed, it was still incredibly sore from having been torn into. This.. pain thing was certainly a new thing for him, but it was the last thing on his mind. He awkwardly limped over to Faolan, and took out his clothes from his bag throwing it over his nude body, before setting his backpack beside. He flew back to an opposing tree, and finally slid down to the ground, tucking in his wings.

He kept his worried gaze on Faolan's unconscious form. He wanted to give him space, as he didn't really know the immediate after effects of this change. Now it was completely understandable why it was he was so exhausted whenever he returned from his trips. Anyone would be.. after going through such agony twice in one night. He tried to think back to more on this Lycanthrope curse but, he hadn't read it in so long, it was hard to remember all the details aside from the basics. He supposed he could just ask Faolan but.. they would certainly have a lot of things to talk about when he awakened.

A couple of hours passed. The sun made its slow crawling arc through the sky, and the small animals and birds that had once retreated the area gradually began to return. Sounds and evidence of life slowly crept back into the woods, and Faolan began to stir.

The sun had cut a beam straight through a part in the canopy above to land on his dirt-caked face. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he grimaced as the sun blinded him momentarily. For a few minutes, he simply lay there as his eyes and body adjusted to his new, well, his original form. Doing this every night had made him used to waking up like this, so there was no urgency in him as he slowly forced himself to consciousness.

His entire body ached. His muscles screamed when he attempted to move them so he could lift himself from the ground. He tasted blood and dirt, and his tongue was raw from licking rough hide, his jaw creaked from crushing bone, his fingers were stiff from tearing and shredding flesh.

After he felt a little stronger, he slowly pushed himself up to his knees. He was naked, which was no surprise, but he felt cloth slide off his back as he moved. At first, this did not bother him as he took a mental and physical inventory of his body. Despite the pain, there appeared to be no major injuries. He had completely healed, but he was exhausted. He spit into his hands, which were stained with blood, and found that even his saliva was red. He needed to find a stream somewhere to rinse himself.

He braced himself against the ground and slowly tried to rise to a standing position, but his calves gave out after just a moment. He was too weak now, he would have to wait.

That was when his mind drifted to Lucien. Where had he left the lad this time? As he sunk back to the ground, he through out an arm to steady himself and felt the cloth beneath it. Slowly, his fingers closed on it and he pulled it around to his face so he could see. It was a shirt...his shirt, totally intact with just a bit of dirt on it from where he had picked it up. It was not ripped and barely stained...there was no way he had been wearing this when he changed. But, if so...how did it get here?

And then he remembered. Everything came flooding back all at once, and suddenly his heart was pounding so hard in his chest that he thought it would burst. "Lucien." he said to himself, his eyes wild as he forced himself to stand. He cried out in pain as he staggered forward, the shirt clutched in his hand. He took one step forward, and his eyes fell on him.

He was here, sleeping against a tree. But how, it was impossible...impossible unless...

"Lucien!?" he called in a raspy, cracked voice. He felt fury, worry, confusion all swirling within him. If he was here, that means he had seen, he knew...had he been hurt? Images, memories, flashed through Faolan's brain and he closed his eyes and clutched his forehead as a headache struck him. It was all too much. He was dizzy and dehydrated and exhausted...he sunk to the ground once more, crashing into a sitting position as he slid himself backward to put his back against a tree.

Lucien had not expected Faolan's awakening to take so long. After the first hour of waiting, it became a lot harder for the nephilim to remain awake after all the flying he had done last night, so he had eventually trailed off into sleep. It wasn't until another hour had passed that the man was startled awake by the sound of Faolan's voice.

"Faolan!" Immediately he tried to rise to his feet to go to him, but again that stinging sensation shot up his leg, causing him to wince and remain where he was. This pain thing would certainly take a little while to get used to. He glanced over to Faolan, who had sat up now, but realizing he still hadn't... dressed, he tried to avert his gaze to literally anywhere else, a little flustered.

"Are.. are you alright?" He asked him worriedly. It seemed like his head was in pain. "Do.. you want me to heal you?" He added a little more quietly, unsure of what to really do in this situation. Despite his exhaustion, he figured he could manage it. Considering the previous circumstances he had healed him after his return, he could only imagine it was much worse right after shifting back.

Faolan let a wave of dizzyness and nausea pass over him, steadying himself by pressing his back into the bark of the tree. It was rough, but it helped to ground him. Once it was over and he felt his vision had clarified, he opened his eyes to see Lucien approaching him.

He looked up at the lad, and relief washed over him for a moment when he realized Lucien was unharmed. This calming effect was quickly replaced by anger when he saw the state of the Frenchman's pant leg, which had been torn nearly to shreds by what appeared to be long, thick claws.

"No!" He barked, his voice breaking as he looked up at Lucien with furrowed brow. For a moment, he had no idea what to say, and then weakly added, "Stay away..." he lowered his gaze to look at the ground and focused on breathing, counting the seconds between each breath. He could feel himself evening out as everything began to slowly stop spinning. He just needed another moment, and he thought he would be able to walk.

Lucien flinched at Faolan's response, and made no attempt to near him, taking a seat back on the ground. He didn't want to anger him further by doing anything that might upset him. Clearly this whole transformation took a lot out of him, and it seemed he was still trying to recover from it.

"I brought all your things.." He muttered, referring to his duffel bag off to the side of where he sat. Honestly he was glad he had, they were way too far from where he had first transformed, and going back for it would have taken a long time. Seeing how long it usually took Faolan to return from his errands.. he supposed doing that also added to his return time. Lucien maintained his gaze on the ground, trying not to let his eyes wander. He didn't know what to say, so he simply stayed quiet and allowed Faolan his time to regain himself.

Faolan merely grunted at Lucien's indication but did not look up or interact further. He simply sat resting his forehead against the heel of his palm, and let the silence hang over the two of them for a solid ten minutes while he regained his strength. These moments did him good, as he felt the head and muscle aches subsiding and the rock in his stomach growing more and more bearable with each passing second. He had never had a companion nearby for this process...it was strange, but also a quiet rage bubbled inside of him. He didn't know what to say to Lucien for a long time, as thoughts swirled about his head, memories from the night before. It was all a maze of interconnected images that flashed behind his eyelids with no sequence. It was a collage, not a timeline, and it was hard to decipher.

After a while, when he was feeling more or less himself, he let some words escape him but did not look up. "What are you doing here?" It was all he could manage at the moment, the only thing he could say that would not come out as a roar.

The silence that loomed over them was a little nerve wracking, but Lucien didn't break it, deciding to simply wait until Faolan decided to speak. When he finally did, he maintained his eyes on the ground as he responded.

"I.. followed you from the air.. I didn't really know what else to do, so I just... kept a reasonable distance.." He muttered. Maybe he should have stayed and waited like he always did but.. he couldn't just leave Faolan on his own after seeing what had happened to him. He didn't regret his decision to follow him, if anything it made it so the man didn't have to return for him. Considering how exhausted he seemed, wasn't it better this way? Despite that, he didn't feel Faolan would see it that way.

Faolan grunted again, a little more forcefully this time, but was quiet again. After a moment, he leaned forward and stood before walking a few steps to the bag Lucien had indicated on the ground. He was still a bit wobbly, but a majority of the pain had subsided and he was now able to walk without getting lightheaded, at the very least. He crouched in front of it, then pulled a pair of pants and belt from its depths. He stood again and began to dress, his back to Lucien.

After another moment he said, "You shouldn't be here." That rage that he was keeping hidden under his weakened exterior was building, slowly, but enough. Soon, he wasn't sure if he would be able to hold it back. He wasn't even sure why he was trying to, at this point. He had told Lucien to go, to leave him alone, and the Frenchman stayed. He put himself in harm's way for no sane reason. And the things that he must have seen...Faolan never wanted anyone to have to see that again, least of all Lucien. He felt embarrassed, ashamed, dirty. He couldn't even look at him.

"I told you to leave me." He said, finally. "I told you to go...and you didn't, and look what happened." The tone of his gravelly voice grew harder and louder with each word. He pulled his shirt over his head, but still faced away from Lucien as he stood there, fist's clenched and teeth grinding.

Lucien heard Faolan shift, causing him to shoot him a quick glance before he returned his gaze onto the ground. He grimaced as he spoke. By then he had partially dressed himself, so he looked back at him. His back was turned to him, that was his first clue that Faolan was upset with him. He always looked at him in the eye when he spoke to him.

"I'm sorry.." He said, but despite that, he didn't regret following him. "I couldn't just.. leave, I didn't know what was happening to you and you were in so much pain. I couldn't just leave you alone." As he spoke, he finally rose to his feet again, but didn't put his complete weight on his left leg.

"Nothing happened, Faolan. I'm sorry that I didn't listen, but I was careful. I was just worried about you." He attempted to defend his decision to stay. To him they were perfectly valid reasons to do so. Once he stayed out of reach, and he couldn't smell him, the beast had completely ignored him. The injury he sustained was healed. It was annoying, but regardless it was healed, and he knew the pain would eventually fade. He just couldn't have imagined himself leaving Faolan completely alone in this situation.

"Nothing happened?" Faolan snapped, the muscles in his back tensing beneath his shirt as he spoke. His fists and jaw were clenched so tightly that it was beginning to cause him pain. When he couldn't bare it anymore, the fury inside him boiled over and he whirled on Lucien, suddenly and violently.

"What do you call that!?" He asked, his voice louder than he had ever used with Lucien. He could see the Frenchman's face now, and it was all he could do to not turn and take his fury out on the tree trunk behind him. "What if I had aimed a little higher, huh? Maybe there?" He asked, pointing to Lucien's midsection. "Would you have been able to heal yourself with your guts spilled out in the dirt!?" He took a step forward without realizing it, and nodded toward's Lucien's throat, "What about there, how would you have stitched together a torn esophagus!?"

Lucien flinched as Faolan turned on him, his back against the tree. His eyes darted around the clearing, clearly flustered by this sudden line of questioning, "I-I...it--"

"You don't know, do you!?" Faolan screamed, interrupting the Frenchman, taking another step closer. "I told you, I said, it would only be a matter of time before you found the thing that got you...well," he paused, then held out his arms, "Here I am."

He stopped there, three or four paces from Lucien, his chest heaving in anger, his face flushed under the filth that streaked it, and his eyes wild. Imagining what could have happened to the lad, it made him sick to his stomach.

The following silence hung in the air for a moment, and then Faolan turned on his heel again, stumbling slightly as he made his way back to his bag. "It's too dangerous." he said, finally back at his normal tone. He crouched to pick the bag up, then straightened, "I'm too dangerous." He said, his back to Lucien, his head turned only slightly so he could see the Frenchman out of the corner of his eye. "I never should have let you come along with me." He slung his bag over his shoulder, then made to take a step forward.

Lucien couldn't deny he was startled when Faolan began to yell at him. He was more than just angry, he was furious, and that made it hard to form words to counter with. This was the first time he had ever seen Faolan like this.. and honestly in this moment he found this more frightening than the beast from last night. He didn't like it, he didn't want Faolan to be angry with him like this. He wasn't given too much time to try to formulate words to counter his argument, he didn't know how. Even he was confused as to how Faolan had wounded him. It couldn't be that he'd be his weakness, that was too coincidental and didn't make sense.. but he didn't want to think about that right now, as Faolan grabbed his bag with intentions to go. This immediately alarmed him. It hurt to hear him say such a thing. To think that one night could change the trajectory of their journey just like that. He didn't want it to just end like this. He didn't want to say goodbye to his dearest friend. He spread his wings, and flew to catch up to him. Despite the soreness that plagued him, it was still better than limping to catch up with him.

"Wait!" He shouted. "Please don't leave! I-I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you! But what did you expect me to do? I didn't know what was happening, I was confused! Now that I know.. things will be different! You don't have to go!"

Faolan stopped at his words, glancing over his shoulder. "You don't understand."

Lucien didn't let Faolan's response deter him, he flew over the man, and stopped in front of him, a small attempt to block his path. "Then please help me understand! I know that it's the curse of Lycanthrophy, I won't be that reckless again! It'll be okay!" He sounded desperate. He didn't want Faolan to go. He didn't want the man to have to deal with this on his own, after seeing the agony it put him through, having to live with this secret, he understood it, having had a secret of his own, but if there was more to it, he would never be able to understand if he didn't explain.

The Irishman had heard every word, but had nothing to say. Despite Lucien's pleading, Faolan knew the only way to keep him safe would be to go off on his own again. This was why he had avoided companions in the first place. For so long he had been alone, wandering, with no home and no one to call family, no one to love him and no one to be loved, but this had been by choice. It hadn't been hard for him, once he had gotten used to being alone all the time. He liked it, in fact. He had no one to hold him accountable, no one to question or pester him, no one to watch his every move and no one to share his thoughts with. It figured that the first time he assented to sharing his life on the road this would happen. He could not, no, he would not allow Lucien to be hurt because of his recklessness. He could not have any more of the Frenchman's blood on his hands.

Faolan was forced to stop as Lucien made his way in front of him, not feeling strong enough to work his way around, and not being able to stomach the thought of touching him. The last time he had touched him, he had nearly torn the boy's leg off.

"No, it won't!" He screamed, looking down into Lucien's face, furious. "I could have killed you, don't you understand that!? I can't do this, I can't let it happen again." His words were forceful and firm, as he stared into the Frenchman's golden eyes, he felt what little of the strength he had leave his body. He deflated, his shoulder's slumped and his bag slid off of his back and onto the ground with a quiet thud. He let his chin fall and his eyes focused on the ground, his legs gave way and he slid to his knees before Lucien, completely and utterly drained.

Images of his family's faces, his ma, his pa, Fiona, his little sis...they rifled through his brain like a slideshow. For a moment, all he could see was them, living and happy, cleaning the kitchen or chopping wood or chasing chickens in the yard. Laughing, eating, holding hands...

"I didn't want you to see me like that." He said, his voice low as he looked up at Lucien for the first time.
"That beast, it's not...it isn't me. Not really."

Lucien tried not to flinch as Faolan screamed at him, determined to stand his ground this time. He didn't want Faolan to think that he was afraid of him, that would not help his argument in wanting him to stay. As he spoke, he could see the anger and strength leave him, and as he fell to his knees, Lucien lowered himself to the ground, and went down to his level. From his words.. he could tell that there was more, that there was a deeper meaning to his worry. He at least knew that his greatest concern lied in hurting him, and he was determined to not let that happen again, but he didn't feel like Faolan would just accept his words.

For a moment, Lucien reached out to hold Faolan's hand, but he stopped halfway, and pulled it back, feeling that it would be best to not touch him right now.

"I know.. Faolan.. I knew that it wasn't you.. from the moment I looked into its eyes.." He said quietly, an attempt to reassure him. "I'm sorry that I wasn't careful enough, I swear it won't happen again, but please.. talk to me. I'll keep your secret, I swear it, just.. please help me understand you.. You don't have to deal with this alone."

If Faolan had been a crier, he would have broken down there in front of Lucien, but he had never been one for tears. Besides, he was too exhausted to weep even if he could. Now that all of the anger had left him, Faolan felt almost relieved. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, though he had never realized he had been carrying one in the first place. Lucien knew, and now there was nothing to hide. He could let everything go, what would be the harm? It had been almost twenty years since he had left the farm and truly begun his life. In all that time, he had shared with no one what had happened. Would this give his family's memory some peace?

He started speaking without really thinking about it, just absently, like he was an automatic doll. "I grew up on a small farm, south of Ireland, poor. In those days us Cluchies really had no prospects. Me da taught me to hunt, to fish, fix things...help around the house. Me ma taught me and me sister, Fiona, to cook...it was simple, easy."

"One night, I'd been out huntin'. I was sleepin' out there in the woods, tracking a deer, and I heard this sound like crashing waves. I thought the whole forest was comin' down on me head. I jumped up and saw that deer run passed me, straight through the trees with wild eyes. Then this...this beast, eight feet tall, glowin' eyes, claws like a bear's, came after it. It stopped when it saw me, turned on me. It took a chunk out of me shoulder," at this, Faolan stretched his neck out instinctively, showing the scar on his trapezius muscle that wrapped around his back. "But I had me knife, I got 'im in the eye. It ran, howlin' and spittin'."

"I don't remember gettin' home. I stumbled in a couple hours later, sweatin', nearly bled to death. Me ma and da patched me up, laid me down. I had a fever for a week, delirious and all. I don't remember it. Everyone was shocked when I pulled through, doctor said he was sure I'd pass on. Me ma prayed at me bedside every day and every night, said it was the Lord that saved me. But it weren't no Lord..."

"I healed up quick, regained my strength, and was back out doin' normal tasks within a fortnight. I didn't venture too far into the woods, and most didn't believe what I'd seen, thought it was the fever givin' me visions...but I knew, as soon as those teeth sunk into me, I knew it was real."

"Two weeks later, it happened." Faolan paused a moment and looked down at his bloody palms, then tried to wipe them on his pant legs, but to no avail. The red stained his skin. "I shifted, for the first time. I didn't know what was happening, woke the whole damn village with my hollerin'. When I came to...well, they were dead. Me da and ma...little Fiona, couple of neighbors, the Doctor and his wife. I'd killed them all, eaten some." There was another small pause, "and then I left," he finished.

Throughout the tale, Faolan's voice had been even and low. He was telling it as if it had all happened to someone else. Despite his seemingly detached state, the memories hurt to relive. The telling, though, that was not painful. In fact, it was liberating. For the first time, someone else knew what he had seen and done, knew the reasons for his self-induced isolation and why he was so protective of his privacy. Though he was not happy with how this had come about, he could not deny the feeling of satisfaction that came with this release.