Breakfast at Banges [Maxim]

Max sat bolt up-right, expecting to nearly miss the wall that was usually to his left. In a groggy haze, he began rubbing his eyes trying to figure out why it was so bloody cold in his room. He leaned forward, trying to find his glasses, but as he reached to his left, he was not met with the familiar feeling of the wood of his nightstand. Instead, his hand seemed to pass through the air and grazed some grass. Immediately his eyes snapped open. It was then that he realized that he was sitting in the middle of a field, completely naked. He looked down, his eyes going wide at the very sight that was before him, ”Dammit.” Max growled low, pushing himself to his feet. He had completely forgotten that last night had been the full moon, which meant that he had all but ripped through all this clothing during the transformation. He hated when this happened. He normally ended up in a strange place with at least a twenty minute jog back into town...without any clothes. It was awkward to say the least.

And so, with that very thought on his mind, Max began his jog back towards town and subsequently toward his shop. As he got closer to where he knew that people lived, he did his best to hide himself with his hands and stick to the shadows, but at one point, he ran past a woman who was out early letting her owl out so that they could deliver for a letter. He was silently cursing himself for not thinking of something better than this plan as the woman’s mouth fell open in shock and surprise. Max wasn’t sure what else to do, so he offered her a curt nod; afraid to move his hands from the protective position that they were now holding.

Luckily that was the only human encounter that he had that morning and he was able to slip into his shop undetected afterwards. He rushed to the back of the shop where he had his small flat. Quickly, he pulled on his boxers and picked up a towel. He began trying to dry himself off when the tingle of bells that indicated that someone had come into his shop. He had thought that he had changed the sign to closed last night, but he assumed that he had forgotten in his mad dash to get as far away from town as he could before he started to change. As if this day couldn’t have gotten any worse for him, Max knew that he had no choice but to go and greet his customer. He pulled on a pair of jeans that was lying around and then threw the towel over his shoulder, hating to keep whoever it was waiting, ”Hey sorry about-” He realized as soon as he walked out to his post behind the counter that it was Morgana, owner of the store that was across the street. He wasn’t sure what to say to her, but luckily, she seemed to come armed with fifty questions of her own, ”I know I have a couple books dealing with Fairy Tales and their connections to the magical world...” Max moved from behind the desk and realized that in his rush he had also forgotten to put on shoes. He could only imagine what Morgana was thinking of him at this moment.

Passing behind her, he walked toward the shelf that was closest to the far corner of the room and bent down, looking at the titles, trying to see if any jumped out at him as being something that M would be looking for, ”Why are you looking for them?” He asked as he pulled out a few books and started a stack to his left, ”Pleasure or project?” He had known Morgana since he moved into the bookstore three years ago and they had always been cordial toward each other...she was probably one of the only people that he actually recognized that came into his shop.

Max could hear her laughing, well, giggling more than laughing from the moment that he walked around the counter. It was as if she was trying not to burst into hysterics every time that she looked him. He couldn’t say that he blamed her; he knew that his current state of being was very much unexpected for a shop owner in Hogsmeade. He was supposed to be prim and proper and put together. But then again, Max, falling at only 19 and three-quarters, wasn’t exactly the typical shopkeeper in this town. Not to mention he was a bloody werewolf. Eventually it seemed as if she had settled on not looking at him at all and placed her hand over her mouth. Max looked up from his position on the floor and raised both of his eyebrows at her, letting her know that he was fully aware of the ridiculousness of the situation and aware of the very fact that she was laughing at him and unable to stop. He coughed loudly, ”Would you like me to go and fetch a pair of socks?” He asked, raising both of his eyebrows in her direction.

It seemed as if she managed to get a hold on herself and Moragana launched into an explanation of why she wanted the books that she was after and what she was actually looking for. Max looked down at the pile that was to his left and sighed, picking up a couple of the books and putting them back onto the shelf, ”Some of these are just that-” He explained as he cast a short glance up at her. He wasn’t surprised to see that she was trying not to laugh again; the entire situation was becoming a huge joke to both of them and he could see it. Slowly a smile inched onto his face, ”Most of these authors want to debunk the myths surrounded the Three Brothers.” He held up one of the books that he was in the process of putting back, ”This guy especially. But I mean, they are myths. And isn’t that the whole point of myths? That they’re falsified?” He shook his head, knowing that disagreeing with M’s point of view was probably the worst thing to do at this point. But, that being said, she was also still trying her hardest not to laugh at him every time that he moved, so he figured that she was in a pretty good mood as it were.

She asked if he was alright and he was slightly taken aback. Sure, they were neighbors, but this was hardly the time to bring up his...well, intense personal life. Slowly standing up, he brushed off his jeans and looked at her as he leaned against the bookshelf, ”Rough morning. Went for a jog and actually just got back.” He said as he ran his hands through his dark hair and then shook it out, trying to determine if it looked disheveled enough. What he had said was technically not a lie; he had indeed been jogging, the fact that he had been naked and all but exposed himself to the woman a few doors down was besides the point, ”Guess that I’m more out of shape then I realized.” Max offered her a small smile, enough to let her know that there was nothing else to be said on the subject. He didn’t want to talk about the real reason wit her...lest he be ashamed of what he was and risk someone else getting hurt.

He was eyeing the book that was already in her hands and knew that it wasn’t what she was looking for; it pointed out all the falsifications of the Three Brother’s story, but Max knew better than to point that out to Morgana. She would figure it out on her own, he was sure of that one, ”Right, I seem to remember you having a lot of weird old stuff around your shop,” He nodded, then realized how completely rude that sounded, ”And by weird I mean certainly interesting from a history’s point of view I’m sure.” He shook his head and leaned down to pick up the two books that he had pulled from the shelf that seemed to fit what she was looking for, ”Seems like we’ve both been working on something long term-” He was finishing up a book on Lycanthropy that he had been working on since he had been bitten all those years ago. M and Max seemed to share a lot more in common than just a store front in Hogsmeade. Thus, he had a sudden curiosity about the girl and what her long term project was, ”I’ll trade you.” He suggested as he held out the two books that he had pulled and held out his other hand for the one that was in her hand.