Lupin understood and immediately stepped forward.
He knelt on one knee, lowering himself as he spoke softly in gentle Italian. "Don't be afraid. We aren't enemies. I'm also... one of your kind."
As he spoke, he deliberately released a trace of the werewolf presence in his blood, without a hint of threat.
It had no effect on ordinary people, but to the old man before him, it was like catching the familiar scent of a campfire amid ice and snow.
Sensing that presence, the old man's iron-tense body relaxed slightly, but the impenetrable fear and wariness in his lone eye remained fixed on Lupin and Douglas, who was approaching behind him.
Douglas walked over with steady steps and took a vial of potion glowing a clear blue from inside his robes.
"Calming Draught."
Keeping his words brief, he handed the crystal vial to Lupin and signaled with his eyes.
"Basic Calming Potions that I've improved. The side effects are minimal. It should help his taut nerves relax a little."
Lupin took the potion and carefully brought it to the old man's cracked, peeling lips.
A cool, fresh herbal fragrance spread, carrying a soothing power.
At first, the old man turned his head away in resistance, a threatening growl rising in his throat. But Lupin's unmistakable presence as one of his kind, and the untainted sincerity in his eyes, brought a flicker of conflict to the blood-red madness in the old man's eye.
At last, a whimper of surrender escaped his throat, and he weakly opened his mouth.
The cool liquid slid down his throat. His rapid breathing visibly steadied, and his violently trembling body gradually calmed.
Only then did Douglas step forward and pull the whistle from his pocket:
"This is the Moon Speaker's token."
He paused, his voice clear