The faint smile that appeared on Karina’s face was a pleasant sight as it reminded him of who she had been when he had known her at the Ministry, and it gave him perspective on the situation since she was a real person, not just an angry, withering latent werewolf. JT rarely looked at others in a cruel light since it was not in his nature to actively stereotype but he was far from perfect so he couldn’t help but judge Karina when he had found out she had been bitten. He had only seen her briefly over the past five years and the auror in him had told him to be wary of her and to, regrettably, think of her as a threat. Sitting across from her in her flat, drinking her beer, and sitting on her chair, he realized just how unfair it was of him to feel wary of her…sure she had quite a bit of bark, and on the wrong night she’d have quite a bite, but right then she seemed to be a vulnerable woman who had been treated unfairly for circumstances she’d had no control over. They both had been acting instinctively but they could come to some kind of common ground since they were both reasonable at heart.

"Look, it's not that I'm trying to protect him for any sort of personal reason; thing is, the Ministry is prone to blaming my kind for things they aren't involved in."

He sat back in his seat a little, listening while being careful not to react too quickly. There was no way to argue that point since that was one of the things that really bothered him about the Ministry. He nodded, showing that he did agree and that there would in no way be an argument coming from him.

"You give me your word, JT, that you'll treat him fair..."

Sitting forward just as quickly as he’d sat back, he leaned forward so he was closer to her and wouldn’t have to speak too loudly. “You have my word,” he spoke calmly. The smoke drew his eyes to her lips but only for a moment before he met her eyes again. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure he is treated fairly.” JT would never give his word if he didn’t mean it and though Karina might not have known him well enough to know that, he did and that’s what mattered. Keeping his word to her meant keeping it for himself as well.



This ain't no place for the weary kind.