He wasn't normally one to run from a fight, but seeing as it was 5 to 1 at the moment, he saw the genius in leaving the Alley quickly.  Arrow had made a grave mistake and was now paying for it.  Not that it was going to teach him a lesson, he'd just be more careful next time.  Arrow had approached a pretty, young thing in Diagon Alley earlier that day and in typical Arrow fashion, he'd flirted with her without shame. 

Oh, she'd told him she had a committed boyfriend, 3 times in fact.  All Arrow did was smile and keep trying to sweet-talk her.  It was obviously clear that there was only one thing on his mind as he was looking at her, but he kept that thought buried deep into his sub-conscious so if she could read his mind, she wouldn't see what he was really thinking.

What he didn't think about was her boyfriend being close enough to hear everything he was saying.  That reason, and that reason only was the reason he was hiding in the shadows in Knockturn Alley, evidently the boyfriend had four really good, big friends.  And even though he prided himself on his spell-casting, against five ticked off guys who surprisingly moved faster than him, he didn't stand a chance.

He thought he had a good hiding spot and planned to wait the guys out and then head home, but he heard something... something that sounded like a large group approached and his heartbeat quickened when he heard one of them say, "Snake's probably hiding in the shadows." Arrow scooted as far back against the wall as he could and held his breath, hoping with all he could that they wouldn't find him.

It always amazed Jack that, for someone who had so little, he could make so much waste. He had spent most of his day off cleaning his 'flat' (AKA room) and despite its small size, managed to come up with two full bags of rubbish. It was mostly food related due to his inability to cook anything that wasn't over a campfire or served in a tin, so the bags clinked and crinkled with bottles, tins and wrappers. This was a somewhat gratifying sound, however. It marked the first time in years that Jack possessed the money and space to make rubbish, let alone two bags.

After dragging the bags down several flights of stairs, since Jack's newly purchased wand was still mostly decoration for his back pocket, Jack soon found himself in an alleyway in search of a rubbish bin. Passing a group of burly wizards, who smelt of beer and anger, Jack felt his grip on the bags tighten. There was trouble brewing somewhere in the alley, as per usual, and Jack resisted the urge of the wolf inside to go and find out what it was. He was a legally registered citizen of the Wizarding World now and he didn't need the trouble, not when he was trying to keep his promise to Brynn.

Unfortunately, they were near what appeared to be the only rubbish bin in the entire alley and Jack had to squeeze past them to get to it, accidentally clipping one of their shoulders in the process. "Hey, watch it, ye git!..." the offended party started to snarl. Jack paused and stoically waited for him to continue, figuring that if they hit him first, he couldn't be blamed for what happened. Fortunately, the man's friend stopped him short muttering something about Jack not being the one they wanted and the 'snake' being in the shadows. With the wolf somewhat disappointed, Jack continued on his way to the bins.

As he tossed the bags in the bin with a bang, he smelt something amongst the rubbish that was clearly human. Glancing down, he saw a face peeking out from the shadow and stopped short. The man huddled in the shadows didn't look or smell dirty or desperate enough to be a hobo, so his presence was... puzzling. "... Oi mate... Whatcha 'idin' there for, then?" He suddenly inquired loudly, curiosity getting the best of him. There was a shout of realization from the group at the end of the alley and it dawned on Jack that this might be the 'snake' that was indeed hiding in the shadow. "...Ah."

Arrow flinched when he heard someone approach and then shook his head when he heard the person asking why he was hiding.  "Idiot, now they are going to find me." He chanced a peek out of the shadows and saw that one of the guys had stopped moving and was looking his way.  "Shite," he whispered and stepped back into the shadows, but it was too late, all 5 guys were now headed his way.

Not a second later a hand pulled him out of the shadows and shoved him into the other four guys.  "Hiding in the shadows snake?" the question was asked.  Arrow didn't say anything, he was - for the first time in his life - kind of unsure about the reaction his words would have on these guys.  He recognized one of the guys, it was the one that had confronted him earlier that day in Diagon Alley. 

He'd been flirting with a cute girl outside the bookstore and was making good progress until he suddenly was turned around by a rather large guy with a very angry expression.  After a heated discussion with his girlfriend, Arrow suddenly had a hand around his neck.  He was rather fiercely told to leave the girl alone and never talk to her again or he'd regret it.

Well, Arrow was never one to listen and so later, when he saw her inside the pub he went for it.  She resisted this time, but he kept going until he caught sight of her boyfriend coming into the pub and he said a hasty goodbye and left quickly. Even though he escaped notice from the girl's boyfriend, he did get noticed by the guy's friends who he was meeting there. 

That was how he found himself surrounded by five guys in the dark in Knockturn Alley.

Jack had no idea what was going on. One second he is throwing away some rubbish and the next, he is being pushed out of the way as 5 men swarmed around the bloke hiding in the shadows. Scratch that, he knew what was going on. A 5 on 1 gang assault was what was going on. And while Jack didn't know why it was happening, he knew that it wasn't in any way fair.

"Oi! Piss off!" Jack shouted suddenly. Rolling to his feet, he injected himself between the lead bully and the 'snake' and pushed the taller bloke back into his mates. Eyes blazing dangerously, Jack squared his shoulders and planted himself between the group and the victim, adding "Ah dun know what this bloke did t'piss ya off, but ah d'know tha there's nowt 'e coulda done t'deserve five'o'ya attackin' 'im. Tha ain't right."

"Oh yeah? If yer so eager to defend him...Why don't ye join in?" The lead bully snarled as he struggled to his feet. The smell of liquor on him was palpable and Jack tensed. Liquor effected everyone differently in a fight. Some people were more unsteady and bleary-eyed, making them easy to evade and overcome. Others were filled with liquid 'courage' that made them aggressive, unpredictable and able to take more pain. Jack couldn't be sure but he had a feeling this man was one of the latter. The bully steadied himself and put up his fists. This was a welcome sign for Jack, who was much more at home in a fist fight than a wand fight.

"Five on two then?" Jack retorted, cracking his knuckles with the air of someone who did it often and well. Glancing at his new mate, he added with a grin "Bit more fun, innit?"

At first Arrow didn't know what to make of this newcomer, but truthfully he did feel more at ease with an extra person there that was on his side.  He chose not to say anything and stepped out of the shadows with a shrug of his shoulders.  Standing by the new guy he adopted his smirk and looked at the group of five guys, "It's okay mate, they won't cause much damage."

A.N: We decided to 'cut to black' and not RP the fight, since this thread is more about them becoming friends

About 20 minutes later...

"THAS RIGHT, SOD OFF YE KNOBS!" Jack shouted, flashing a very rude two finger salute at the quickly retreating thugs. Well, they were trying to retreat quickly anyways, but with one unconscious bloke being carried between them and another with what seemed to be a busted ankle, it was more like hobbling away. One of them shouted some very unkind words in reply, which was met by even MORE unkind words from a denizen about three floors up, and Jack turned to Arrow with an exhilarated expression.

Looking him over, Jack's smile faltered a bit. He had taken his share of bruises and bloodied bits, but his constitution was bolstered by the wolf. His new mate, however, wasn't so lucky. The lad had taken a fair share of the beating and looked a bit worse for wear. Not as bad as the other guys though, Jack was proud to say. They had apparently thought that fighting the muggle way would catch their victim by surprise. Unfortunately for them, Jack was better without the wand and lucky when they didn't pull theirs.

"Ya 'ave a dead wicked punch there mate..." Jack said with the closest thing to a grin he could manage through the split in his lip. He offered a hand to Arrow, adding "Me flat's just ahead if ya need a place t'clean yerself up."

Arrow watched the retreating group from his spot slumped against the wall.  He wasn't that bad off, just felt like he may have busted his hand on a sideways punch and as he gingerly touched his nose with his other hand, one of them may have got lucky and busted his nose. He looked up to Jack, who was still standing, "I haven't had to fight this way in a long time, but it was fun." he added with a grin.

His grin slipped though because smiling hurt like crazy at the moment.  He grasped Jack's hand with his uninjured one and said, "Off to your flat, mate.  Don't want to scar up my pretty face." Arrow let out a chuckle that ended with a gasp of pain, "Might of bruised my ribs as well. Alright," he said as he finally stood up, "Lead the way."

The trip up to Jack's flat was pretty quiet except for the groans and gasps of pain from the two men struggling to haul each other up the stairs. Jack had failed to mention that there was no lift and he lived several floors up, since he normally had no issues jogging up the several flights on a regular basis. Now though, with twisted ankles and bruised ribs, the trip seemed a lot longer and tougher. In fact, he kinda felt like an ass for making his new mate go through all of this when walking to St. Mungos might have been easier. "Almost... there... mate" He managed to assure Arrow as they finally reached his floor.

Jack opened the door to his small, sparsely furnished, apartment, and tried to flop Arrow as gently as possible onto the lumpy futon in the middle. "Let me get a fire goin' an' ah'll make ya some tea. Milk or suger?" He said, secretly hoping that Arrow didn't want any milk. His icebox was dodgy at the best of times and he couldn't remember if it was fresh or not since he didn't use it often. Throwing some logs into the small cast-iron stove, he paused to consider using his wand to light it. He didn't want his guest to know he wasn't used to using magic but he also was a bit nervous about using any fire spells. Finally, deciding that getting Arrow warm and comfortable was more important than showing off, he lit the fire manually. It took a couple minutes longer but once lit, it quickly warmed the small flat.

"So what's ya story with them four blokes? If ya don' mind me askin'." Jack asked, rinsing out and filling an old tea pot. As he measured out tea leaves, he added, "Bit odd fer them t'jus' attack ya like that, innit?"

Pain.. and lots of it, was what Arrow was feeling at the moment, he didn't want to let on too much that he was badly injured to this stranger who had helped him out of a tough spot... he had a reputation to uphold - in his mind anyway. He tried to hold himself up as he lifted each foot to ascend the stairs, wishing every landing was the last one.  "How far up... exactly... do you... live." Arrow asked as he was almost out of breath.  The effort to keep going at the moment was monumental.

When he was placed almost gently on the futon he winced as something moved that wasn't supposed to move and laid back carefully, "Neither." he replied quietly as he leaned up again with a grimace of pain and took off his coat.  Leaning back against the futon he lifted his shirt, his right side was already starting to bruise and he knew he was going to be feeling the pain for a few days. 

At Jack's last question, Arrow's pain was forgotten for a moment, "Well, the big blonde one, I kind of hit on his girlfriend..." he smirked with cockiness, "Twice."  He lost himself in the moment briefly and continued, "But I guess the tough guy was unsure of his ability to keep his girlfriend and decided he needed help to scare me off.  Little does he know that I most likely won't give up, it's not in my nature to." He shifted and gasped as a sharp pain ran up his right side, "I guess he is stronger than he is smart."

Jack tried to raise his brows at Arrow's cockiness, but only the left one managed to comply. His right twanged painfully instead and he winced, touching it lightly. It was a bit swollen and he bet there was going to be at least a little bruising. Grabbing a small earthen pot of a rather foul smelling paste, Jack decided he would have to apply some of it to his wounds later, if there was any left after treating the other bloke. Those wounds were much more pressing than a slight swelling.

"Well, ain't ya fault the bird weren't 'appy, innit? Some blokes dun know 'ow t'treat a lady." Jack said with a sheepish shrug as he focused on preparing a pot of water to soak some rags in. Honestly, his experience with the fairer sex was limited and he, in general, didn't do much in the way of 'chatting up', so he probably wasn't the best one for sympathizing with the woes of courting. Not that he thought Arrow was talking about actually 'courting' this girl. He had an inkling that the bloke was more interested in the immediate 'fulfillment of pleasure', rather than the long game. Perhaps it was the grin.

To each their own, he decided. As long as Arrow wasn't forcing a girl into anything against her will, he didn't have issue with him being a 'playboy'. Well... If he tried to chat up Beth, Jack might have issue with that. Then again, if he tried that, she would likely return the favor in fist and/or curse form, so Jack was probably safe.

Leaving the water to boil, Jack brought over a tin of biscuits. "'ere, this is about all ah 'ave for snacks."... Or for dinner, or breakfast... actually, for food in general. Jack rarely did a lot of cooking since a free meal (read: Beer and chips) was one of the few pleasures he got at the pub. "Jus' relax for a moment, mate, the water 'as to boil."

Pulling up a nearby bucket, Jack tipped it over and used it as a chair so Arrow could have the entire futon. Grabbing a biscuit, he took a bite and chewed for a moment, before suddenly saying "Name's Jack by the way. Ah don't think ah caught yah's"

The pain Arrow had been feeling had faded and it didn't feel like there was something broken in his body anymore.  "Name's Arrow, nice t'meet you." Slowly he sat up on the futon and took one of the biscuits from the tin and popped the whole thing in his mouth and chewed quickly before swallowing.  "I don't really try to steal anyone, sometime it just happens, and sometimes, " he smirked, "sometimes they come to me."

Arrow eyed the boiling pot, "You know, you should take care of yourself first, I'm not too bad off anymore, I think you got the worst of it."  Truthfully, there was someone at St. Mungo's that he usually went when one of his conquests went bad.[1] "She's a saucy creature she is." Again, Arrow was lost in a fond memory, but shook himself out of it quickly. 

"Anyways, thanks for your help mate.  Once we're all pretty again, wanna go grab some grub on me.. I owe you that much."

1.	Know anyone that would fit for this job?

((Response to the foot note: Kale is close in age to Arrow (21/22) and is was a playboy type. He works creature injuries but I am sure he'd be willing to help out Arrow. It's KINDA like a beast attack, no? lol))

"Name's Arrow, nice t'meet you. I don't really try to steal anyone, sometime it just happens, and sometimes, sometimes they come to me."

Jack managed, barely, to bite back the urge to comment on the name Arrow as being quite... well... Different. Nothing wrong with it, he added quickly to himself, for some reason, Just different than I expected. But then, the wizarding world was full of strange names.  In fact, Jack's parents were probably considered odd for naming their children something as plain and muggle-y as Jonathan and Samantha.

He came out of this line of thought just in time to catch Arrow suggesting that he use the salve and hot towels on his own wounds. "Eh, Ah'll be fine mate. Fasta 'ealin' is the best part of being a werewolf, innit?.." He shrugged, eying Arrow to see his reaction to this off-handed mention of his curse. However, it was clear by the way Arrow was staring off into the distance that he was once again lost is his memories of this, apparently earth shatteringly fit, girl. Jack just shrugged this off as him being ok with it, or at least not so scared/offended of the idea that it could shake him from his thoughts. He'd just have to hint again, later on, just to be sure.

"Anyways, thanks for your help mate.  Once we're all pretty again, wanna go grab some grub on me.. I owe you that much."

"Ehm... Ah ain't th'type of bloke t'turn down free nosh, but ah don't think ya owe me nowt." Jack said sheepishly. He was always grateful for charity but also disliked accepting it. Besides, it wasn't like Arrow made him help him out, he did it of his own free will! So there really was no 'owing' anything. Feeling he had to offer something in return, to even the scales if nothing else, Jack added "'ow bout a pint on us, then? Ah work at the Sword n'Chant, so ah can get us a free pint or two."

Well, free was perhaps a stretch. Discounted, maybe. Full price, more likely. His boss was a bit of a cheapskate when it came to his employees, specifically Jack, sharing beer with their mates. The only reason Beth got hers discounted was because she was a guaranteed regular every Tuesday and Ethan fancied her a bit. He probably didn't like Jack enough to give Arrow the same treatment, though Jack could probably convince him to take it out of his pay later. Actually, he probably could just pay for it outright and avoid all the unnecessary fronting, but for some reason, Jack wanted Arrow to like him.

Arrow had caught Jack's reference to being a werewolf, but honestly it didn't bother him one bit.  So he was bit at some point in his life, big deal, didn't mean he was a crazy monster all the time, just once in a while.  He chose not to even acknowledge that he'd heard it, but really, he just didn't want to make a big deal out of it, after all the guy had just probably saved him from more broken bones than he'd had in a long time.

"I insist, you helped me out of a tight jam and I like to spoil my friends." Arrow finally told him after shaking his head and clearing his thoughts, "Although, I wouldn't mind a swallow of something alcoholic." he said with a smirk.