Faolan spent a good amount of time in the cool water, rinsing his skin, his hair, washing his mouth out until he could no longer taste the blood. Halfway through this ritual, he waded back to shore and retrieved a bar of soap and jar of Pepsodent to clean himself and his teeth. Once he was done with this, he returned the items to his bag and simply floated in the water for a while. He tried to keep his mind blank, but images of the previous night continued to assault his brain, as they usually did. For a moment he was chasing a deer, then he was rubbing himself against a tree, then digging, then reaching for something that flew above his head, blood raining down on him...it was all a mess of images and sounds and smells, tastes and feelings. He hated every second of it, but over time he had begun to remember more and more. Maybe this was bad, maybe it was good, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Once he felt rejuvenated by the cool water, and properly iced down and relaxed, he waded back out, dried and dressed himself in fresh clothing, then sat on the bank, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his elbows on them as he looked out across the placid lake.

He glanced briefly at Lucien, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say. He dropped his gaze and looked away again. He couldn't fathom why on earth Lucien would want to stay with him after what he had witnessed...what Faolan had done. If it were him, he would have cut and run as soon as the transformation had begun. Although he had never actually seen the transformation himself as he usually blacked out around the time it began, he could feel enough to know it must be horrifying to watch. 

It occurred to him then that, although he knew vaguely what the other beast that attacked him looked like, he had never actually seen himself in that "form". It was strange, realizing this, and suddenly he wanted to know.

[color=a36209]"Lucien,"[/color] he heard himself say, quietly, as he looked at the water, [color=a36209]"Can you...can you help me with something?"[/color]

[color=burlywood]"Yes, of course. What do you need?"[/color] As Faolan spoke, Lucien put his calendar away and grabbed his bag before rising to his feet and walking over to him, taking a seat beside him and watching him attentively.

Faolan never took his eyes off of the water, feeling, of all things, shame, as Lucien took a seat next to him on the bank. [color=a36209]"Could you...maybe tell me what it's like? The...change?"[/color] His voice was tentative as he asked, which was unusual for him, but, then again, so was the question.