Alliss Rivera's Cottage: To a Professor's Home on a Full Moon (Tag: Jim)

"Make yourself at home whilst your here Jim, don't treat me as your Professor, you can call me Alliss," Alliss nodded and smiled as she followed Jim inside and closed the little wooden door behind them. Riley would be in bed now, he would probably be waiting up for her, reading a book or something. She smiled to herself as she gestured up the stairs. "There is an attic room at the top, you should find everything you need in there, but first lets see to that shoulder." Gesturing for him to follow her into the kitchen, she wet a cloth with warm water.

"Are you sure you want to know who was there?" Alliss sighed, she wasn't sure it would help matters. It may just upset him, she had seen him with Evaine often recently. Without futher ado, she walked over to him and tearing his robes further, she removed the sleeve so it was easier to get to his wound. Gently, she dabbed and cleaned it. "It may sting a little." She warned.

"Okay...Alliss," Jim replied, trying the name out. It was a little weird of course, calling a teacher by her first name, but if Alliss insisted, he might as well go along with it. He did feel a little out of place though, standing in a spotless, little house while his robes were covered with dirt and blood. He bit his lip as he followed Alliss to the kitchen.

His brow furrowed at Alliss' hesitance to tell him who else was there at the Shrieking Shack. Did that mean that somebody he knew wast here, and she didn't want to upset him? He swallowed, not sure now if he wanted to know. "I don't know, I just...I don't know if I could ever bear the thought of one of my friends...seeing me like that..." He sighed, feeling confused, not entirely sure how to put what he was feeling into words. All he knew was that he was scared about it all. "I guess things were a little simpler when I was alone and I didn't have to worry about things like friends," he said, thinking aloud more than anything else. He hissed in a breath though when Alliss pressed the warm cloth against his shoulder.

Alliss reacted to Jim's hiss by being even more cautious with dabbing it, when it was clear, she scurried over to Riley's cupboard and to her delight found a phiall of Essence of Dytanny. Returning to Jim's side, she pulled up a chair and began to apply the ointment to his shoulder.

"Jim," Alliss frowned. "You do not need to worry about that! You are not you when you are a werewolf, you can't think your thoughts and you clearly don't remember the events. You cannot thus be sufficiently blamed for what occurs when you are in that state." She spoke frankly with a warm smile as his shoulder gently began to heal.

"If you want to know who was there, I shall tell you, I don't believe in keeping secrets or lying, but Jim. You are never better off alone," Alliss was being uncharacteristically nice to him, she assumed it was his general similarity to Riley that drew her to him. Also the clear fact he could quite easilly be their son that made her feel particularly maternal towards him.

"Plus, I was there and made sure both you and the other students were safe, you have no need to worry from now on," Alliss placed her spare hand onto Jim's and gave it a tight reassuring squeeze. "I shall always be with you if need be."

"I know, I know," Jim said, having heard the words many times throughout his life. His parents always told him that: that if he hurt someone, it wasn't his fault. But Jim couldn't help but feel guilty if he ever found out he hurt somebody. He knew he had no control, but he just wished he did, that he wasn't so helpless. "Just, the thought of being the cause of somebody else's pain, having no control over what I do, it just..." He swallowed, trying to find the right words. He hadn't really talked about this with anyone besides his parents, and even then, that was rare. Eventually, he just felt like talking about his pain and fear was becoming like a broken record for them, especially since there wasn't anything they could do. "It makes me feel...dangerous, a...a monster." His lips pressed together, feeling like he had said too much. He looked at the floor, not wanting to see how Alliss was looking at him.

Jim was still a little doubtful about that. If he was alone, then he wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone he care for. Worrying about hurting people like friends was almost a foreign feeling to him. He never had to worry about hurting his parents, they knew not to leave the house when he was a werewolf. But his friends, they had no idea the dangers that lay in the Shrieking Shack on the full moon. And even worse, they didn't know that the danger was him. He knew that would change if he told them what he was, but anytime he thought about doing it, he would practically get sick to his stomach and his palms would get sweaty. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. "I guess...I don't want to know," he said quietly, eyes cast downward. If one of his friends had been out there, he knew he wouldn't be able to bear it. He would still feel guilty, even if it wasn't entirely his fault.

he did look up when he felt Alliss squeeze his hand though, and he saw her smiling at him again. She did reassure him a little bit on that note. She was top-notch when it came to fighting monsters and scary things like himself. If she was around, then he knew that nobody would get hurt. "That makes me feel better," he said truthfully, giving a little smile back. "Thanks."

"Jim, if you saw one of your friends being attacked, would you help them? Would the monster hurting them disgust or appeal to you?" Alliss frowned, she was trying desperately to get through to him, Jim was not a bad person in the slightest. "The fact you care proves you are not a monster but a decent human being fighting a terrible curse that I will help you fight." Alliss nodded in a determined fashion before she softened her eyes and smiled once more. The wound had cleared, she cleaned it once more with the cloth which was stained in blood before throwing it into the bin under the work surface.

"Alright, I shall not speak of it then," Alliss understood Jim's decision, nonetheless, she was sure Evaine might mention her encounter at some point. "Jim, I want you to come to me if you ever need to talk to someone about this." She spoke decisively. "I do not want you to feel at all alone," She shook her head, knowing that a secret shared was similar to a problem halved.

"You are welcome," Alliss nodded, glad she could help him at all. "Now, are you hungry?" She got up and walked over to the hob, wondering what Jim would really like to eat. Personally, she was not an amazing cook but was sure he would be hungry and wanted to make him feel at home. "Though, don't blame me if I food poison you!" She laughed and turned to wink playfully at Jim before searching the cupboards. "Anything you fancy?"

Decent? Him? That wasn't a word often used to describe him, but if Alliss saw some good in him, then maybe there was some in him after all? "You...really think so?" He still found it a little unusual to be having a conversation like this with a teacher, and especially this one. It was like she was a different person outside of the classroom. Was she always this way, or was he an exception?

He nodded, the idea of going to her for help not being too bad of an idea. He usually hated going to people for help, especially when it involved his werewolf nature. But he felt better knowing that Alliss would be there for him, even if nobody else was. "I will. Don't worry." The idea of actually talking to somebody about this made him feel a little happy. Having somebody that understood, or at least without listen without judging, was a good thing to have.

"I'm...not sure if I could eat anything right now," Jim said, his boot tracing a circle in the floor. "Just...so much has happened, it's all a little...overwhelming." He had a lot to think about and hunger was the last thing on his mind. No doubt he would feel it later on, but right now, his stomach was all in knots.

"Of course I think so," Alliss laughed lightly as Jim's lack of confidence, nudging him playfully in the side. She couldn't believe he didn't see how much of a decent individual he was, after all the evil she had come across in her life, she could say with absolute certainty he was a good person.

"Good," Alliss nodded, pleased he felt as if he could talk to her and as he said he didn't feel hungry, she laughed a little. "Probably for the best, my cooking is not the best." She tried to lighten the situation. "I understand," She finished with so he didn't feel she was patronising him before shutting the fridge door and rejoining him at the table. "Anything else I can help you with?" She wondered, wanting to make sure he felt at home.

Jim found himself smiling again. Sure, his friends said he was a good person, but it felt different hearing it from Alliss. Maybe it was because she was an adult, and her words had more weight. Or maybe it was because she knew what he was, and thought he was good anyway. Would his friends think the same if he ever told them his secret? He hoped they would.

"Oh, no, I'm...feeling a little better just being here," he said, running a hand over his face. "Maybe some other day, I can...test your cooking." He gave a little laugh. He didn't care of Alliss was a bad cook or not. Being with her made him feel safe, and that was more than enough for him.

((It's the next full moon and I've started a thread for that, so do you just wanna say that Jim toddled off to bed, then he and Alliss headed back to the castle once he got enough rest?))