How Not To Be A Werewolf (Editing)

The Brown House

As the top part of the elevator finally submerged under the ground, around us there was a moment of pure darkness as we carried on slowly going down, before suddenly the light returned. As we came to a stop we found ourselves looking at a comfortable living area where an inviting fire was roaring with bright green flames. The elevator doors hissed open and we both stepped out. It was by far the strangest room that I had ever been inside.

"What the hell is this place?" I asked as Kian led our way over to sit down on one of the comfortable-looking brown leather sofas that sat in the middle of the large room. They were at odds with the other decorations dotted around.

There were Oriental pictures of birds and Chinese landscapes, ugly wooden African statues of naked women, and a marble bust of a Roman general which sat on a small oak sidetable. The light of the fire reflected off the smoothed out surface of the rock that formed the walls. It gave the entire room an errie underwater hue.

"Kian?"

An angry and shocked female voice made us both turn around. Standing in a doorway, with green flames burning away in the palm of her hand, was a woman with long curly brown hair and bright green eyes that were filled with both shock and anger.

She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes, none of which matched in either style or colour; from a black and white polka dot t-shirt to florescent yellow leggings and a pink mini skirt. In essence, she looked a complete fucking nutter. I could tell that she had styled the room herself, although from the expression on her face I really wouldn't want to mess with her.

"Hi, Victoria." Kian replied slightly sheepishly, "How have you been?"

"You've got some fucking nerve turning up here." She replied, putting her hand down so that the flames disappeared. "And, who are you?" she asked then, suddenly turning her attention onto me.

"I'm Alec. Colby." I replied, trying not to annoy her any more than she already was.

"The fugitive werewolf," Victoria replied. She frowned at me for a moment before turning her gaze back to Kian. "Did any of SPECTRE follow you here?"

"Wow, news travels fast. We weren't followed." Kian assured her, "I made sure of that. We just need to lay low for a few days, at least until we can sort things out with The Council."

"And, you thought that I'd be the one to hide you?" Victoria asked, "Even though I haven't heard from you in four years?"

"Well, actually, that was kinda what I was hoping for." Kian admitted, "Will you help us?"

Victoria sighed and stood aside from the doorway, "Go on through," she replied, "You're lucky that I do have some spare rooms available otherwise, trust me, I would be sending you both back out on your asses. I don't do charity."

I didn't doubt it. I wasn't sure whether to be glad that we had someplace to hide out, or be scared of the fact that our host didn't seem to like either of us very much. As long as I was safe from The Council for the moment, I guess it really didn't matter.

It turned out that Victoria, our flame wielding host, was a witch. Not the kind to wave a stick about and shout out 'stupid childish words' in her own opinion. No. She was much more dangerous than that. She didn't need to use a stick at all.

"Welcome to The Brown House," Victoria announced as she led me and Kian through to a hallway where the wallpaper was a deep dark red, at odds with the soft green velvet carpet beneath our feet.

Off of the hallway were a seemingly endless number of doors that led to the sleeping quarters, the bathroom (the Roman kind of bath apparently), a large modern kitchen and then there were the various classrooms where the boarding students that lived under Victoria's protection learned to wield their magic. Kian hadn't been kidding when he said that the place was protected, although The Brown House was less Hogwarts and more like the Overlook Hotel.