December 8th
4:30pm

Gripping his gloved hand around a rather ancient looking pocket watch, Simon Reid made his way across the familiar cobble stones. After the lengthy amount of travel he had found himself weathered and beaten but still standing the test of time. Simon stretched his arms a little before tilting his neck, hearing an almost deafening crack, he smiled a crooked pleased smile. There were so many things he had missed about England, the scents and sounds of Romania were nothing compared to his jolly old stomping grounds. The scent of the rain was not the same, Simon missed hearing the droplets crash on the near by roof tops. It had been months since he was even able to see the place he called home.

---Earlier that day---
A loud crack resounded about the dimly lit alley way which lead to his humble and honest dwelling. Since moving from his squatters dwelling and into a more suitable home, Simon barely had a chance to do anything with it. Creaking open his large wooden door, he closed it slowly behind him. Inhaling deeply he took in all the scents that mingled among his sparsely furnished flat. There were the standard items needed for living of course, but other than that he had a small bed and this long chair which passed as a poorly padded sofa. The cushions looked worse for wear than he last remembered. Stepping fully into the room he dropped his heavy stretched leather briefcase on the dust covered padding. “Sweet Merlin I need a ruddy maid... or …” Simon paused and lost track of his thoughts as a pungent scent filled his nostrils.

“Bloody hell,” he grumbled as he realized the scent was something he left in the hanging vegetable basket. Holding back a gag, Simon swatted at his own nose hoping to pinch shut the foul stench. Homesickness had dulled his otherwise keen senses for only a moment. Grabbing his want quickly from his pocket he shot a levitating charm at the corner basket and kept it a safe distance as he opened a window. With a swift wave of his wand the baskets spun in a spiral out the open glass square and smashed atop the roof of a nearby building. “Whoops” he looked about and shut the window quickly still plugging his nose. Simon decided to douse the room with cleaning solvents and wander to his bedroom for a nap.
---Flash Forward---

The faithful leather gloves still wrapped around his dated pocket watch, Simon now fully rested, wandered to his place of business. There at the ministry he worked under Covi, who had sent him out to study his brothers and sisters at arms. Those who suffer, as he does, outside of the United Kingdom, have lives he never expected. Growing up somewhat privileged gave him a skewed view on those around him. Simon found that he was far more grounded since gaining the position. Covi dragged his sniveling nose from the dirt and forced him to smell the muck he had been shoveling, it truly cleared his mind and his vision.

Making his way to the office he once shared with his boss, before she finally got him his own, Simon raised his knuckles to the door and rapped upon the frame firmly twice. His right arm hung a little lower than his left due to the weight of his briefcase, Simon was ready to pass off his findings so he might enjoy a lighter carrying case for a spell.

“Come in!” came the barely cheery voice from the other side of the door.

Anyone who would have entered would find the Department Head pale with heavy bags under her eyes.  For a little over a month the tiny witch had been pouring over huge dusty tomes of astrology and astronomy, divination and prophecies, scrolls kilometers in length between those who had connections to other centaur herds around Eastern Europe.

Quietly Speedy paced along the edge of his human’s desk, shooting the now three decade old woman a nervous glance.  His steps were careful and silent as if he was concentrating specifically on not disrupting any of the paperwork.  He even strained to keep his disabled wing higher than it usually sat, exercising muscles that he didn’t know he even had.

Occasionally, and most likely subconsciously, a skinny hand with long pale fingers reached out to pet the raven’s back and head or scratch his chest.  It was almost as if some part of her brain recognized that her appearance and actions were distressing him. 

He was a good bird.

Noticing some mud clinging to his black leather boot, Simon kicked at it on the carpet outside of the office. He didn't wish to track mud and muck into the sanctuary of his boss if he could help it. Sufficiently satisfied with his quick removal of the mud, Simon turned the knob and entered the little office. There was his boss hunched as usual most likely deep in thought. Simon had a deep respect for Covi, she was a rare person who had gained his trust without seeming likely break it.

That might have been why he felt such a kinship with her, Simon could go to Covi about issues and she took them to heart. It gave him hope for humanity, though it was only so much hope considering the Reid clan was cut from a similar clothe. Ministry workers were not all the same, that was a comfort to him to say the least.

Moving to a chair near the desk, Simon took a seat. "Hey there boss, miss me?" He chuckled giving the bird a nod as he moved to his leather bound briefcase. Sure it wasn't the best or the most expensive, but it kept the papers from sliding about and well... he did get a five finger discount. Granted he did give up most of his previous ways and tendencies, Simon still found the need to rummage through his former home pilfering things from his father. Somethings never changed.

Pulling the report he wrote from the case he placed it on Covi's desk, "There you are. I outlined the complaints of the werewolves roaming through Romania. It seems they are mostly nomadic without much of a central voice. They could use some guidance though it may take sometime before they trust someone claiming to be a ministry official..." he thought of how long it took for him to gain their trust. It was after they experienced a lunar cycle that Simon gained their attention. The wolf inside him refused to back down without them at least listening to him.

For the fist time in at least a week as happy grin spread across her face.  Quietly she resisted the urge to jump up, launch herself over her desk and hug the young man before her.  It would be totally unprofessional, and just because of that she reigned herself in, “Simon!  Already back so soon?”  Taking out her pocket watch her wide eyes went even wider.  “Merlin’s tightie whities… I have completely lost track of time.”

As the lad took a seat the raven stepped towards him… and gently attempted to wiggle his head under his gloved hand.  He realized that this human was able to make his human brighten up, something Speedy felt he had miserably failed to do.

When he lifted up the heavy briefcase she held up a finger, and with one quick flick of the wrist the pile of work atop her desk flew over their heads and organized itself in the new bookcase behind Simon.  Gratefully she thanked the man as he put his heavy report before her and became to flip through the paperwork.  “Excellent… I appreciate all that you got from them.  They are indeed slow to trust, quite like the centaurs there,” the species of animal which had been on her mind quite frequently lately.  Looking up she grinned again, “If you ever come across them again, just tell them I sent you.”

Taking her eyes back down again she continued to smile at the wealth of information her Head of Lycan Legislature provided.  There was a copy of the general culture of werewolves there and the laws about werewolves within the local Ministry.

With a deep breath she admitted, “I believe our next step would to consult with Poland, they haven been supporting the rights of those infected with lycanthropy for decades, though they have closed their borders from other countries.  There was a great migration there, spreading out their resources too thin.  Some had to go without Wolfsbane, Safe Houses became so crowded that more and more ‘accidents’ occurred, too many territorial induced injuries between the natives and the immigrants.

“I will have to be there to present you to the Ministry when we visit; they are slow to trust as well.  It would be wise to start a correspondence first.  I may have to give you a crash course in the language.  They would appreciate the effort greatly.  We must make it clear that we are there only for consultation and advice.  We must not ‘steal’ anything from them, we will need to put our own twist on things to prevent any conflict.”

Taking a deep breath as her eyes narrowed on the words before her, continuing to flip through the pages as she talked at top speed, letting her mind go straight to her lips, occasionally biting the lower one as she put things into coherent words instead of mangled fragments.

“I will need your help first to write our rules into law.  I am woefully ill-equipped to do it myself.  I am not experienced in the process at all.”  Pouring herself another cup of coffee she asked, looking up at the wizard for only the second time since he arrived.  “Beverage?  I have tea as well.”

A hug. It was something so simple, and yet they were rare things for the twenty-something Lycan. He was not exactly born into a particularly loving environment, not to mention that his father was more likely to cuff him in the back of the head before he hugged him. Simon never would have hugged the old duffer anyway, he preferred to act as if neither were even in the country let alone a similar gene-pool. The only sort of pool he would have gone in with his father was if he was holding his head under the water until the bubbles stopped. So when his boss ran up to hug him, Simon could only reach out and pat her back wanting to keep himself from saying 'There there' as if he knew what he was doing.

His gloved hand gently stroked the top of the Raven's head, Simon looked down at Speedy and gave him a knowing nod. Funny how they went from both despising each other to a secret understanding. Either way, if it kept Covi from throwing him out of the office, Simon was pleased.

Simon heard Poland, and his ears perked up. "Now would I have to make another extended stay, or do you think that being a little more modernized I might be able to just make day trips?" Simon was more familiar with the area they lived in, so he was always curious to if he would be sent to another place to do info-recon. It wasn't unusual for him to go away for long periods of time and gain as much intell as he could. It was all for the cause, to better his situation as well as others like him. To stand for something, not very like Simon not until he was attacked.

A request for help, caused Simon to once more snap out of his deep self indulgent thoughts. "As always," he said with a nod. Covi was one of the few to ever gain his respect, so when he asked him to assist her he made sure to give her his full attention. Well for the most part, sometimes things tickled his senses causing him to drift off into silent thought. "No, thank you though" he said at the offer of tea. A yawn snuck up to his mouth, Simon brought his right gloved hands to his lips trying to cover his sharp intake of air. "Guess I am still rundown from the trip, it wasn't exactly easy on the old bones," he chuckled with another yawn escaping.

With a smirk she answered after her first sip of coffee, “Day trips will suffice.  I may even join you from time to time.”  Thinking of something she flipped over to a new page in her journal (one of the few things that had not been banished from her desk upon Simon’s arrival) and refreshed her quill with a new load of ink.  She still had yet to break in the fountain pen her father had given her.  The first present she had gotten from him in ten years.  It could wait.

Writing down a note with the familiar scritchy-scratch sound that was so often Speedy’s lullaby the witch completed her note.  “Just remembered now that the Poles owe me for taking care of a fighting pair of Ironbellies who leaked across the border,” a couple males had become so engrossed in their fight for a female’s attention they went north along the Carpathians, past the border between Ukraine and Hungary, into the Slovakian region and finally into Poland where the real trouble started.  When the dragons finally crossed over from the Outer Eastern portion of the mountain range into the Outer Western Covadonga was called in.  Poland didn’t have much in the way of a Wrangling team and while Ukrainian Ministry had a large department devoted to such things… they were a bit reluctant to cross the border.  They, like many elite groups, were a proud sort of people.  Too proud for their own good.

“And if they are still being stubborn we could always go, ‘Oh well, might as well move on to Germany…’ that should urge them to step up,” Germany’s Black Forest was a hub of Werewolf activity and had one of the best research facilities for lycanthropy across the globe, she actually already had a few of their Magizoologists booked to do lectures in the Wing during the spring.  “We would have to save that as a last resort, lest they take it as a threat.”

Flicking her wand sharply over her shoulder she drew a short stack of stuff she had been able to summarize all the services the Werewolf Wing provided from a file cabinet behind her.  I need to trim this down further, specifically, for the law books.  I find I am a bit long-winded when it comes to writing of such things.”  With a quick gesture she urged the young man to go through paperwork.

Simon found himself once more relieved to not have to take another long trip. "Not that I mind the work, it's just nice to be in my own flat for a bit." As sparsely furnished as it was, the place he was to dwell, that he worked so bloody hard to afford was his home. It was more of a home with nothing on the walls than the estate he grew up in. There with no memories of his family and his past demons, Simon found himself feeling the most at peace. Granted he had a spare room and could use the company, the often surly werewolf didn't think he would ever find someone willing to room with a mutt. With the way the wizarding world was reacting lately to his kind, Simon wouldn't have been surprised if someone figured he had wet dog smell or liked to chew on the side of the sofa from time to time.

Regardless, Simon was home and there he planned to set down roots. "Bringing you with me should be a little easier to convey our message I think. Seems like when it's just me they don't feel like a wolf is all that trustworthy," Simon gave her a sly smile as he spoke. It was true, he was quite the trouble maker growing up as well as during his earlier years as a young adult. Maybe it was written on his face that he wasn't always to be trusted right off the bat, he couldn't be sure.

"Really, bringing Germany into it... I like your style." It was a cunning maneuver, he wouldn't have been surprised to see her wearing Silver and Green back in school with her attitude. Simon nodded, "Pride I have found can be ones greatest undoing. I should know," it was his pride having been broken that caused him to fall from grace initially in the eyes of the Ministry an other officials. Covi brought him back up from the depths of being an untouchable. This action of kindness only strengthened his resolve to help others who suffered as he did, by any means necessary.

Watching with his wolfish eyes, Simon saw each flick and movement of her hand to her wand and the wand to the cabinet. There he would find more work awaiting him, "No rest for the weary right?" Simon chuckled and pulled himself from the seated position leaning to grab up some of the papers which had been retrieved from the cabinet. "Trim it down? I suppose that I could be handy in that..." where was a book of matches an a good dust bin when he needed it. Work was not all gallivanting about fostering peace and brotherhood. Sometimes there would be a need to wade through paperwork and play pencil pusher. This sadly fell upon his lot more often than he would like.