Cruel Intentions [IC]

[PlatinumSkink]

"If I were your granny, the library would be far better organized than it is."

Molly giggled rebelliously at this claim, bringing her right hand before her mouth. Certainly, there would probably be a bit more order had Doc been in charge... Perhaps it was lucky she was not? Precision and order might be more helpful in the field of helping those in need, shouldn't it? Currently, Molly had no reason to defend her employer, as such she merely took the opportunity to giggle. And a heartfelt giggle it was. Poor Katya. Mollie would definitely defend her. Molly, though...

"And yes, I saw it. Calling this butchery work is stretching the term, however."

Molly glanced up at the doctor excitedly. Would she hear what she wanted to hear?

"It is contradictory at best. You will no doubt hear the ghastly exaggerated tales tomorrow, but what is true is that these two men have similar, single large bite wounds in their chests, and that someone also ripped out their eyes by some means. Obviously, not by the jaw that inflicted the chest wounds, and apparently not with claws. Possibly a beak, but that suggests two culprits instead of one." "For protection, I suggest you stay in the house, which you likely won't. Considering the fate of the most recent victims, I suggest you run for it when you see someone who might be the killer - apparently, that individual has both an enormous jaw and some appendage that allows for great manual dexterity. Given that the police is busy packaging the bodies for the most incompetent coroner I have ever encountered, that is likely all we will ever know about him."

Teh. The information was not as useful as Mollie would have hoped. Alright, the culprit is a monster with slight curse of misshaped form. No somewhere Molly should not be? No color she should not wear? Molly did not feel like trying to restrain her facial expression, so her opinion was out for all to see. Anyways, it was something, at least. Ah, well. Knowing the real truth is always good, as there would be tales tomorrow that were false. This was the truth. However, there were a few things that was bugging the little girl. A couple of hunches, that seemed to be creeping over her mind. Thinking about it, Molly fished up two peanuts out of her coat’s pocket and threw them into her mouth at a close range as not to miss.

A shiver went through Mollie. What? Did she think what she was told was scary? Um, sure, it really was. But enough to make her shiver? Had she feared the cause of the deaths this much so that she shivers just from hearing about it? No, wait. That was a REAL shiver, caused by a sudden decrease of temperature. What was this?

"Now that I have told you what I know and we are already here, indulge my curiosity: What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Slightly surprised, Molly looked at Doc with a suspicious and slightly fearful look. Her question and the freezing surrounding had happened too coincidentally. O-wow. Doc has powers over temperature? Like, supernatural style?

Molly grinned. This was far better information than what had come from Doc’s mouth. It confirmed to the girl… there really are unnatural things afoot. Thank you. This will make proceeding with this investigation FAR easier now that Molly was a hundred percent sure that this she was dealing with was unnatural in nature. The girl would have had doubts before, but now this dear doctor had confirmed it to her from the get-go. That deserved a bit of a reward. Time to "warm-up" to the Doc just a bit. While freezing somewhat, Molly hugged herself a bit to keep warm and let one of her hands up to poke at her own chin as if thinking. The girl put on her best impish smile and looked away from the Doc.

‘You referred to these deaths as the “nightly quota” before. Does that mean the killers strike every night? In that case, it could be the killer actually kills for food, but that would be illogical since the bodies are left. Feeding on eye-substance? Never heard of such a creature. Is it a sport or instinct? Is there a purpose in killing these people? Did they stray too close to something? Does those killed have something in common? Maybe the killers are actually taking revenge on a band of criminals that we don’t know about and they are the good guys from one point of view. Symbolism in how they were killed, perhaps? If so, public would not be in trouble. But however, if it is just a large unnatural monster, then we all would stand equal…’

‘Maybe we should check what the nights with kills in them have in common? Full-moons? Werewolves, then. Maybe vampires? Are the victims missing any blood? Are they actually members of a supernatural war against the same people that won’t allow us to leave Fort Lucy? Whoever claimed there would ever only be a single monster out there?’ As Molly started mentioning the supernatural, her eyes calmly scanned over the doctor and her smile became ever so mischievous. How would she react? Would what Molly now said be disregarded and viewed as childish idiocy or would it get attention? Molly lifted the finger into the air as if she suddenly realized something.

‘Ah! Perhaps the right person would be able to "see" the attacker the killed one saw from reading in the dead people’s eyeballs, and so the killer got rid of the eyes in order to throw such a person off track! Would that not make sense?’ Molly grinned as she looked towards the Doc happily. As happily as she still could without the cold getting to her. Had the Doc not convinced her unnatural things exist, she would not have been giving this theory. On the other hand, perhaps she had. After all, she was having fun.

‘Hey, also. If that coroner is so bad, how about you steal your way to the bodies yourself? You’re a doctor. Could you not say you have to examine the bodies to see if the wounds contain some certain disease? Like, some disease to tell from exactly what that bite was from? I’m no expert, but animal bites do contain bacteria, right?’ Molly giggled to her own suggestion. After all, this doctor would serve an excellent purpose, and already had. It was truly brilliant to be able to learn the truth about part of this town while not in a deadly pinch…

… It hit her. Almost at the same time as the cold started freezing through her coat and started touching her body. Was she not… in a deadly pinch? If the doctor was able to do this… and had just asked that… and had just shown her this… and told that… could it be..? Could it be she had only waved this presentation of power in order to do away with the little girl? While Molly was mentally telling herself her imagination was running rampant, the fact was she was getting colder. Was she supposed to freeze to death here? She hoped fear was not shining through her eyes as she looked to see if anyone was too close for the doctor to get away with murder here. Indeed, it was rather far to the heap of people over there, and through Molly’s eyes right now, it felt like it was way too far for her to be safe. Suddenly, Molly didn’t want to look at the doctor, in case she held a devilish smile. Because that would mean the end. But, she had to. She had to confirm-

"M-Mollie...?"

That voice. That soft voice that usually made one feel so safe to listen to at school, but yet now sounded a bit cautious and unsure. Nevertheless, in this moment it was both so wrong to hear her voice here in the dead of night while Mollie was Molly, as well as Molly had never been happier to hear that voice.

"Is that y-you?”

Yes, yes it is, you silly girl. Now come over here and let me hug you.

Meanwhile, it would appear someone was approaching from a slightly different direction. A red-headed woman with clear intentions of interrupting any conversation that was going on was striding close to the doctor and Molly. She stopped just beside them, as a large obstacle standing to prevent anything weird from happening, a guardian of the night marched in from the dark to create a block of warmth in the freezing night with her warm-looking aura, both in the smile and the color. Some heat returned to Molly, despite how impossible that seemed.

“Good evening ladies, it seems like I missed all the excitement. I couldn’t help but catch the end of your conversation. I keep hearing strange things these days but have been lucky so far because I haven’t stumbled into anything. Seems tonight is the end of that luck. What on earth is going on?”

… Even her voice sounded warm, and seemed to be in a situation more similar to Molly’s than the doctor’s. It was still cold, but woah.

“Hello ladies. I saw the lights and heard the sirens. What is it that I missed while trying to catch up on my beauty sleep?”

… Why was Katya here? Molly had to strain herself to keep herself from laughing out loud. If the purpose of the cold had been to kill her, then that plan had failed utterly. So utterly, it would almost seem as if there was a god that wished for Molly’s survival. And that amused Molly. Amused her greatly. Was there anything better than good luck to support one in the journey through life? This was almost too good to be true. This was idiocy, full of it. This could not be, and yet it was.

“So, apparently you lot are drawn in by dark scary parks and the possibility of being killed by a mad-man. Good thing I am too, I suppose. Curiosity dragged me here, as it so often does.”

A tall somewhat handsome man suddenly approached the group of girls. And the first thing he did was comment how they had something alike. Now not laughing became a true problem. There were other crowds discussing the murder over there, and this guy approaches the only one that was female only..!? What was this? A lousy attempt at being a player? What was this perfect add to make this scene into a perfect slash of comedy? The entire cast was already gathered! Complete with a pure comedy-relief kind of person! This was just… too much…

Molly sighed loudly, as she picked out her glasses out of her coat on the left side, incidentally away from the direction Lilith was in. Silently, Molly spoke to the doctor.

‘It would seem our conversation was interrupted. If you ever find something you wish to discuss with someone or just want to tell someone, don’t hesitate to call me. Now, I don’t wish to be slowed by a group of “know-nothings”, so I’d like to be on my way. I’ll leave these to you, expert.’ Molly quickly pirouetted around to Katya and bowed deeply.

‘Please do not tell my parents that I was out at this hour.’ While that might have been a rather desperate measure to try to keep out of trouble, it was the best one available. With the voice of Mollie saying it, she had said that as if she had very special reasons to why she was out here. Hopefully, her employer would be able to overlook this. Now, for the other person who knew her…

Molly put on her glasses while still bowing to Katya, completing the initial outlook of Mollie. Then… she spun around, and ran towards Lilith with a truly girly kind of run. She let fear flow into her expression. Really, she was not faking it; she was just letting another part of the truth show itself.

‘Li-Lilith…’ A weaker voice from compared to earlier came from the same lips, and it uttered the name of her classmate. Mollie almost threw herself to try to be caught in Lilith’s embrace. She wanted to hug her. Currently, she wanted to be in that embrace. There was no real explanation. She was shaking, both from the cold and the fear that had come from it. Now when she had gone over to being Mollie, crying was so simple. It was just a couple of pure embodiments of an emotionally weaker personality. The grin from when she was Molly was gone, as if had never been there, replaced with a smile that indicated nothing but pure relief. Relief from seeing Lilith there. It was as if it was a dream. As so, she’d live on a bit, now taking defense behind the pillar that was Lilith…

[KikuHonda]

"... Good ...evening." Ivan had somehow missed the nun a few feet away from him. He turned a slight bit to face her; a nun dressed in all white, the silver cross glinting even in the dim lighting. Someone from the church; the habit she had. or the cross. Either way, it said "nun". And he relaxed a bit, in her presence; it felt like he was safe. He always did in presence of the people of God.

Now thinking about it, Ivan had not seen someone from the church in what felt like eons to him. He hadn't been to the church in even longer a time. He craved the presence of someone who believed. He needed it; his paranoia would send him in fits of insanity against the poultry that was meant for other purposes. Ivan had not seen her before at Mass for the few times he could go- the lady in front of him would surely have stuck out in the drab that was the local church.

Hearing her ask about the scene at the park sent him with another wave of nausea and disgust. Out of sight, out of mind; and now it was back, the aroma of delicious temptation. His instinct to tear into flesh began to overpower him; the smell of the blood. He he took a few steps back, as Ivan struggled to keep the scent's enticing promise away from his animalistic cravings. He was disgusted with himself; would even God forgive those who were cursed like him?

"It was the killer again... the stench..." He coughed a bit, hoping to get the stench out of his lungs. He felt a bit awkward; he hadn't talked to a person in almost a week. Well, if he counted the real estate lady that had passed by his home that day...

Pardon my asking, but what is your name, Sister?" It was a distraction; a simple conversation to get him to use his vocal chords. To get him to cling on to a small piece of his faith, to grasp onto his God before he lost his mind, to hold the last scrap of humanity about him before he did something he would regret.

"Mother..?" Forest green eyes flickered at the dead body of the woman in the den. The moon light crept by behind clouds, pouring in through the window at random intervals. The fire crackled in the fireplace, the scent of the roast they ate together earlier wafting in from the kitchen. The boy's hands gingerly reached out; but all he could feel was the stickiness he soon found himself bathed in.

He didn't want that again; so he began to step back again. It was the first time he began to actually pray that his reputation as the awkward and mute young man that spent his days chained to books was known to someone- a strange feeling indeed- so he could make a quick run for the nearest (if still open) diner or restaurant. But he wanted, carved the presence of someone who dedicated themselves to God; he needed that connection he was denied so long ago. To leave now would be to leave his first brush with someone of those ranks.

He didn't want to leave; but his paranoia, his thirst, his curse- they kept chipping away at him. Her voice was melodious, like the choir he so often missed hearing. His books, his studies, his experience - they fell short when he tried applying them in real life. So he felt like running from it. Like he always did. She looked sincere, it obviously wasn't her fault; Ivan was just being paranoid and stupidly scared. He rubbed the herbs between his fingers again, his anxiety now clearly getting the better of him.

[Informatix]

"That means that we have more than just this killing here. I suppose a sort of sport makes the most sense for now, because the victims don't seem quite as connected to each other for any other motive - and their corpses are largely intact, as you astutely noted." Eliza replied thoughtfully - the girl's theories were outlandish, but given the situation they had here, it was perhaps time to start looking into that sort of idea. As long as she did not have to come up with said theories herself. Vampires? Werewolves? Some librarian's assisstant had been reading too many bad vampire books lately, she thought sadly. While she suspected the series might be a stealthy parody of that sort of teenage girl's book, most readers did not take it as such. Whatever the killer might be, she was as sure as one could be that he did not sparkle.

"I don't know of any symbol that could be represented by two massive bite wounds. Except for the symbolism of a very painful death at the hands of a savage beast." She responded in her usual style, but did not seem to mind the suggestion. "If one would be willing to suppose the existence of such a thing, yes, a werewolf would be a likely culprit." She reasoned carefully. "If." Frowning, she noticed that the girl seemed to be cold suddenly - the temperature felt just fine to her, but Molly had not reacted like this when she had first appeared.. wait, what was that? Dr. Cutter took off her glasses and polished them with the rim of her sleeve.

Ice?

Something was seriously strange here. For now, she stuck to what she knew - and that was the incompetence of her colleague at the morturiary at the moment. "Well, if I had access to the body, I might be able to tell something more. I suppose werewolves have a different gum flora then common dogs and wolves, but I highly doubt that it would be listed in a textbook. But if I could measure the bite, and make a few comparisons .. perhaps, yes."
Was Molly suggesting that they broke into the place? Well, given her impish nature so far, it would be no surprise. Probably just making fun of her, even with a serious matter like a murder. Still, the idea did not seem half as bad as it would usually do. At least it was better then trying to reconstruct the killing from the victim's eyeballs. What did Molly think eyes were - some kind of magical recording device that saved everything it had ever seen? If such a thing was possible at all, it would have to involve the brain.

But now, something had apparently scared Molly, and despite her inapproachable manner, Miss Cutter was a keen observer of such things. Or would be, if the sudden onrush of three more people had not interrupted their discussion. The doctor hated interruptions - not just when in the middle of an exam. At least Mollie had the decency of taking her leave with some politeness "Well, perhaps I'll have to see you for a vaccination soon. And long as you aren't catching a cold or a knife, your nightly walking habit is none of my business." She replied with surprising savvy as Molly decided to leave, and fiddled with her glasses again - they had not frozen over again, but she was definitely getting irritated.

"A good evening." She said to all three new nightly wanderers, and recognized that air-headed librarian Katya (perhaps the reason why Molly had suddenly decided to leave?), Rachel (or the village witch, as people dubbed her with undeserved respect) and a young man she did not, at the moment, remember - which was a bit odd in itself, given that he seemed a little sickly. Anemic? He looked the part, and as a man, it was probably not menorrhagia. The young folk these days .. did not even know how to eat properly.
"You missed out on the latest murder, I'm afraid." She explained to the three crisply, and recounted what she had told Mollie before - that the victims were killed by something that was both human and obviously not, and that the bodies were going to fall into the hands of the most incompetent coroner imaginable. "The young girl who just left suggested a werewolf attack. Given what we know, I would even call that a plausible theory." She said disapprovingly - disapproving of the lack of good information, not the werewolf idea. But for now, she gave Shaun a stern look through her rectangular glasses. "You look rather unhealthy, young man. And not in the way of an unhealthy fascination for the murders, which I suppose is just a case of human curiosity."

[Xaltwind]

Mollie... It was Mollie... It was Mollie because she said her name and recognized her! Yes, it was Mollie! Mollie and her glasses, Mollie and her voice, Mollie and her--

"Unghff~?"

Why? Why had Mollie dived into her arms? Why did she look so scared? So vulnerable? So little? Why? What had happened? Had she seen something scary? Had someone done something scary to her? Was she scared of being scared? Why? Why was she like this now? This was not how Mollie was supposed to be! Mollie was supposed to smile and laugh and clumbsily trip over her own shoes and throw the printouts the teacher wanted her to hand out to the entire class far and wide around the entire classroom with everyone snickering at her ditzy and klutz-like behavior! This was wrong... Much too wrong. Tears... Mollie was not supposed to shed those. Nobody had the right to make her look this way. Nobody... Nobody. NOBODY!

While she embraced her friend gently, holding her arms around the other girl's body and wrapping them both snuggly together, her calm and previously somber expression changed drastically. Her eyebrows lowered, her lips drew into a deeply curved frown, her eyes became like those of a beast, with her pupils taking on the shape of slits and her irises growing small in the whites. She stared with feral and unquestionable anger at the party of four who Mollie had just left behind, staring at each and everyone of them in unison, as if sizing them up. She retained this rather intimidating outlook for a good amount of time, before the quivering form that she held in her grasp brought her back. Her breathing slowed down, as it had been gradually increasing before, and her eyes softened, as did her face.

Turning her head back to her friend and classmate, Lilith let out a slight sigh and then moved her hand up, gently stroking the other girl's hair, she also made sure to rub her cheek against this one in a reassuring way - Nothing dirty about it at all! - so as to relieve the upset little kitten of her fears and doubts. When it finally seemed that enough time, and comfort, had passed and been given, Lilith slowly withdrew from Mollie and stood before her friend, smiling friendly as was Lilith's trademark, both at school and in town during the day.

"C'mon, Mollie, don't be scared! You shouldn't be out this late, y'know?" She said calmly and plainly, holding her index finger up as if to puncuate the importance of this bland statement. "Who knows what could happen to a cutie like you if you wander around in the dark, all alone! I-I don't wanna think about that, actually... C'mon, let's get you home, alright?" Lilith suggested, extending her hand in a gesture which invited Mollie to take it and tag along.

Something wasn't quite right though... Something was still off... Was it Mollie? It might have been... No, not Mollie. Mollie was Mollie... But there was something about that outfit that wasn't quite Mollie... Perhaps she should ask about it? Hmm, maybe... But later. Much later. Later, when they were no longer here, close to them....

Meanwhile, at the same time, but some distance away from the park...

"Hmm, is that so...?" The Sister replied thoughtfully as the gentleman answered her question regarding what had happened in the park. Another murder, eh? At this rate, Fort Lucy would run out of citizens, well living once at least, in a little less than five years maybe? Well, she wasn't a mathematician, so she would let whatever village council deal with things like statistics, for now... She was curious about this man... He was behaving very erratically...

As he asked for her name, she was about to answer but stopped. The man suddenly seemed more agitated and finicky than before. He became fidgety and noticeably nervous, taking something he had in his hands and sniffing at it without any concern for that she was watching. Was he... An addict...? A Junkie? Hmm... No, he didn't look the part, and besides... There was no drug she knew off that could be sniffed directly like that from one's own fingers with any lasting or mentionable effect... She briefly shut her eyes and let out a breathless breath, something along the lines of a soft sigh, then she returned to focusing her cerulean blue orbs upon the man. A thought and idea had come to mind.

"Claire, my name is Claire. You may call me that or Sister, everybody else does." Everybody else? Just who were these everybody else? Hardly anyone visited her home out near the woods at all. Anyway... "Excuse me, sir... But you seem a bit... Shaken up?" She tiried to choose as proper words as possible, so as to not agitate him further. Not that he could do anything to her, but it would be sort of annoying he suddenly dashed of in a panic, screaming and flailing wildly. "Would you like to go somewhere else? Lingering and loitering so close to a place where somebody has passed away so recently... I can understand how that would make anybody more than a bit anxious."

Her tone was soft, her smile was gentle and her eyes were warm. She said and did everything she could in order to prove and show to this man that she was neither a threat nor something to fear. She also suggested to go somewhere else, together, due the fact that he was less likely to flip out and cause a scene if somebody carefully watched over and reassured him. Besides... He was such a fidgeting little thing... Maybe he knew more about that murder in the park than he let on? ... Or maybe he didn't and was just a nervous wreck? He knew? Only time would tell, time and careful probing...

Claire tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled again, raising a slender hand slowly and making a motioning suggestion for them to leave this spine-chilling scene, for now.

[KikuHonda]

It was a delightful voice; clear-pitched and silky smooth. It was melodious, and with a promise to carry him away from the scene of death close to the area. He began to actually gain some composure about him; his forest green pupils lingered on the ground a bit, almost in pious gesture. He would follow that sweet melody, be it from an angel leading him to heaven or a siren dragging him to the depths of swirling dark waters.

"...Of course; I-I'll follow, Sister Claire." He could get lost in presences of her sort; to relish the company of one who loved God as much as he did. He could feel a thin thread of community bonding him to those like him; like his mother, his nanny, and the man who called himself his father. The man was probably dead, as much as he resented wanting that outcome. He hated admitting it, but he knew that his father was probably dead; courtesy of the other werewolves here no doubt. How he wished that they had torn his flesh apart, to have made him submit to their demands; but he shouldn't wish anything bad upon his family, or creatures like him, for they were creations of God. They all were; even the Beast was his creation, who plummeted to Hell upon disgracing the Lord.

So he shoved thoughts away, and instead began to match the steps he took to the clicking of heels on pavement. It was a steady beat; the scent of the mint and basil had begun to drown out the scent of blood. He pulled the jacket a bit closer to him, noticing that it had quite indeed gotten cold - even if it was late at night- when it was just fine minutes earlier.

"... where we are going?" His voice cracked towards the end; the creeping paranoia present again. He had boundaries; they were unspoken, but he could smell them, could feel prying eyes on him when he walked by; the others would look at him, wondering if he too was like his father. His own scent would be hidden in the basil and mint and rosemary and other herbs he rubbed on his clothing and the various sprays he used; he wore layers of clothing to ensure his peace of mind, and he thanked his lucky stars the scar of his father gave him from the 'gift' was not somewhere easily seen. But at night, he would not enter the town without a valid excuse. He could not - no amount of pushing or shoving or pulling would have him enter- even if he defied his God. He would not cross certain parts of the town; and even when he did go out into town, like now, he avoided staying out too much. His scent would come out eventually; and they would hunt him down.

His paranoia was chewing at him again; this constant fear to be looking over his shoulder in case someone was coming after him. Fear that someone found out. So he has his eyes wonder around as they whirled by: the real estate agent's face on a poster by her office; the ice cream parlor down the street; a still-open diner across from it; and a few other odd buildings he could see right at the moment.

"...need more basil..." Ivan muttered out loud to himself, or more like he would when he was in his home to make sure his vocal chords still worked. He took note that his basil leaves had just completely died in giving out a scent; it was only mint this time.

He also noted that his voice would crack towards the end of a sentence; he did speak more than what was necessary today. Perhaps his voice was not used to such strain? He had uttered just a few words at a time; he hadn't given a full speech in front of a crowd. This made him feel a bit out of tune with what could have been; and too tangled in what it was.

[Grif of Hearts]

It took a few moments for the members of the group to even register that another person had arrived out of the shadows to join them. Shaun thought nothing of it, as everyone here already seemed to be deep in conversation and wouldn't have been surprised if they hadn't noticed him at all. One girl, half way through her teens, gave a sigh at Shaun's arrival. Had he done something to annoy her already? Unlikely, but possible. The rest of the group showed few strong opinions towards his arrival, and as expected, continued talking about what had happened here in the park. What Shaun had specifically been told not to go investigate but had done anyway. One of the women in the group confirmed his suspicions about this though. It was definitely a murder. A death. A 'killing'. Someone had died one way or another way. Wait, had she said victims? As in plural? With an S? So, it seemed that more than one person had bitten the dust tonight. The plot thickens, said the gardener.

That was never pleasant though. Two deaths in the space of one day. One evening even. One death was bad anyway, but two was something else entirely, especially in a town like this. At this rate, in a town as small as familiar Fort Lucy, the area would be empty tomorrow evening just in time for tea.

“So, I'm probably asking the worst question here but does anyone know what happened exactly? Or at least wouldn't mind sharing out some of the basic details to an uninformed chap such as myself. I'm a little in the dark here. Someone, nay, two people have died, I know that much, but it has to go a little deeper than that to attract just about everyone in town down here.” Shaun glanced at Eliza. “I heard you say it yourself. It's more than just a killing, whatever it is.”

What did she mean by more than a killing? It meant some things about it didn't add up, that was clear, but what? How they died? Who they were? When this all happened? Something was clearly bizarre about this case, and that made it more exciting. In a strangely sickening way, it was very exciting. Shaun wouldn't say he liked the feeling, but it was different. Different and interesting.

And apparently the thing that did aforementioned killing wasn't entirely human. The woman, Eliza, mentioned bite-marks and even went so far as to use the words 'savage beast' to describe the killer. Unless of course Fort Lucy's police force were going to be dealing with a particularly savage cannibal who was hungry enough for second helpings, it seemed far more likely that the killer was some kind of vicious, rabid animal. A wolf maybe, or some other kind of wild dog. Something bigger like a bear would have been found by now, Shaun assumed, and something smaller not only would have had a lot of trouble killing a man (let alone two), but wouldn't have been able to make bite wounds that were “massive” even if it tried.

Eliza, the woman who seemed rather well informed, officially welcomed Shaun and a few others over to the group. It was a little late considering he had already leapt into the conversation that the group had been happening, but the formal hello was a pleasant welcome. He smiled and nodded in response, raising his hand in a short, static wave. Apparently some of the others here had recently arrived too, if it was aimed at more than just Shaun. Maybe one of them was the person Shaun had spotted earlier darting into the park? It mattered not if they were, but he wouldn't mind finding out, even if just to sate his curiosity.

Honestly though, the chances of it being a werewolf attack as the woman jokingly suggested were, in Shaun's own opinion, a little slim. That young girl who had suggested it a few moments ago must read a few too many monster books before she goes to bed. And maybe have eaten a slab of cheese for a midnight snack before she set out. It's supposed to give you nightmares and all.

“Must've been pretty big bite-marks if you're thinking werewolves did it, but I guess anything's possible in the long run, no matter how ridiculous or outlandish it might be.” Shaun paused for a moment, re-examining what the woman had said. He hoped she was joking. “You're not serious, are you? I'm pretty sure that werewolves don't exist, and even if they did they wouldn't be here.”

Then Eliza brought up Shaun's pasty complexion. Shaun was both surprised at how she seemed to be either informed or curious about everything, knowing just about everything about the recent murders and still wondering why Shaun looked pale in all of this chaos, and that it was so easy to tell, even in what dim light the street-lights could cough out. Apparently he looked like a walking corpse, best case scenario. “Yeah, I was meaning to head into the doctor's tomorrow morning to see if I'd caught anything. Or when I started coughing up blood and/or having all of my limbs fall off. Whichever came first. Either way, not sure why, just a couple of days ago, poof! I turned paler than a polar bear wearing factor 50. I don't even feel ill though, just look it. Can't tell what in high hell's wrong with me though, if anything's actually wrong. Might just be all in my head or something, if that even works. I think that's meant to be more in cases of hypochondria though, and if anything I'm the opposite of that. I'm an anti-hypochondriac.”

[Lillian Thorne]

Rachel listened to the talk around her and though it informed her of some it led to a great many more questions. The doctor rattled on quite a bit and Rachel seemed to recall from within her cocoon of disinterest that she wasn’t a fan of the Doctor. It wasn’t quite professional rivalry but there was a certain tension she’d always felt between her and the older woman. Perhaps the Doctor scorned the healing power of herbs and dismissed Rachel’s trade, or perhaps it was something more. She certainly felt something in the air between a pressure or energy or something. The Yarrow she’d placed in her mouth wasn’t going to help in that instance she’d need a different herb for that Agrimony perhaps would due. But it hardly seemed worth her trouble to dig through her basket for such things when all the Doctor was doing was talking. Rachel did shift so that she was back a step or two to alleviate whatever energy interference she was having, the Doctor’s field seemed rather far.. afield this night. The quip made Rachel smile which she supposed was a good thing as her expression had drifted into something less warm than her usual persona allowed for. She looked around at the groups and thought that she’d wrested all the information she could from the scene and decided to make her way towards the crime scene for her little collection project.

“Well I thought to have myself a walk and I suppose I shall continue that.” she said aloud to no one in particular. “This park is either the safest place to be in Fort Lucy just now or the least. Since the killing has been done and there are people all over, still alive as such, I will finish my walk. Hopefully not becoming victim number three in the process. Good evening everyone.”

She nodded her head at them all and slipped back off the path and onto the green spaces between where she felt more comfortable in any case. She put her hand on the poppet and pulled it out, needing the feel of the solid weight of it. She squeezed it, crushing the herbs and roving all around it until she could feel the quartz lump against her hand. It seemed warm to her, warmer than it could be from its proximity to her body and she knew it meant something. A warning? Affection? She dismissed that last bit, she’d never had such in her lifetime and she would not hope for it in the next. She knew it was a lie even as she thought it. She knew no matter her intentions she would seek and crave that affection that had been denied her. Squeezing the poppet until her fingers cramped she walked on.

She kept her steps quiet so that she might listen, not for the sounds of the missing killer, she was fairly confident it was long gone, whoever or whatever it was. No she was listening to hear what was happening over at the crime scene so that she might slip in and get what she needed. When she neared a light on the path, near but not too close to the scene she stopped and reached into her pocket and brought out a small, thin glass bottle. It was sealed with a drop of black wax and contained less than an eighth of a teaspoon of herb mixture containing: Aconite, Poppy Seeds and Wolf's Bane. She knelt down and put the fragile glass into the cup that she made with her palm and then in a sudden movement squeezed her hand such. Years of working wool and gardening had made her hands deft and strong and the glass had been chosen for its ability to break easily. It snapped with a quiet pop and there was a quick burst of pain in her hand. She closed her eyes and willed her blood to mingle with the herbs and activate them and the energy stored within them. She felt first a tingle in her palm where the blood welled up. The sensation traveled through her palm, up her arm and then slowly throughout her body. As it moved it filled her with something like lightheadedness. She was used to it, she’d done this many times before. Once she was filled with the effects of the spell she opened up her hand and looked at the mess of blood and herb there. She could see her hand, though the outlines of it were vague and hard to look at. She wasn’t certain what exactly other people saw when they looked at her, whether she was truly invisible or if they just felt the need to look away and not see her. Either way the end results were what mattered.

She slipped the bloody mess into her pocket, pausing a moment to pick out a small shard of glass before she moved forward into the path and towards the scene, another vial, one much larger, in her uninjured hand. Blood was powerful. Blood spilled in death had its own properties that she hoped would help fuel her own work without the need to spill someone’s blood. She was beginning to lose hope that she wouldn’t have to and so she couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

[deathbringer]

The night bit deep with an icy chill reminiscent of winter or the high winds that tore a howling path across the coasts. It sliced through his bones even as he shrugged his shoulders deeper into his coat, wallowing in the deep, throbbing warmth of the beautiful nectar festering in his stomach. His consciousness teetered, dwindling upon a knife edge, his legs seeming to veer at the slightest hesitation.

Thus he strode with purpose, his mental faculties locking upon the single innate purpose of any inebriated soul. The desire to return home. His mind focused totally upon driving his legs towards his familiar pit stop. A large oak tree just outside the pub walls, flourishing in a soaring afro of green foliage, towering above him. He was sure he had provided it with more water over the years than the rains ever had and he smiled as he placed his forehead against the trunk watching his steaming stream splatter over the base. His mind wandered, brain sending spinning thoughts slashing through his consciousness, every thought a revelation,spilling over his slurring lips as a growl of bitter discontent

"You know where i learnt to drink cheaply, my friend" he grunted to no one in particular, hand slapping the rough gnarled trunk with fond camaraderie, sliding up it to reach into the branches above.

His wisdom was punctuated by the rasp of a zipper and the clink of glass his grasping fingers found purchase in the branches above

"A support group for alcoholics, I mean those guys knew how to drink mate. Seriously"

The bottle glittered, a treasure glittering in the street light even as he unscrewed the lid and took a short swig, the acrid stench of cheap vodka making him gag even as it seered his mouth burning at the cuts on his lips. He ignored the pain giving a low chuckle and slapping the side of the tree

"No seriously, listen seriously." Both hands grasped the trunk and he leaned in conspiratorially voice lowering to a hushed shout.

"One of them right, bought booze for kids, and skimmed the top for his own booze as some twisted fucking like"

He struggled for the words reeling backwards with a slight guffaw hands stretching out imploring to the tree for the word he searched for, yet none came, the trunk remained stoically blank and unimpressed

"Ahhh fuck you anyway, you gnarly old twat."

He turned away and shuffled down the street a second swig of the acrid nectar failing to make him wretch, the bitter taste making him look at the bottle in deep reminiscence

"I remember my first drink. I was 13 and I nicked one of me dads cans. Fucking horrible stuff, swore I'd never drink that shit. Tasted like crap. Give me an apple juice any day, and now what am I doing"

He gestured to the bottle with disgust before taking another long swig. The road stretched ahead even as his right hand began to search his pockets for a key, feet pushing him across a deserted street heading towards the park, the darkness stretching out before him. His familiar yellow brick road to blackness, lying in a piss soaked bed.

"Fuck kansas, a slaughterhouse is a better metaphor, probably smell the same"

He halted, legs suddenly weakening, his head exploding with a moment of purest clarity

"I just want to go home" he yelled at the night, hands clutching at his head as he swayed, strength dwindling and he let out a wordless yell of frustrated anger. He checked his pockets searching for cash, a card, maybe he could call a cab, anything to get him home, to stop this fucking walk.

His pockets were empty, truly picked clean, he never took a card out, that was a rookie mistake, plus he doubted any cabby would pick him up, smelling like...

He roared with anger again even as he pushed on forwards, the hopelessness of his situation driving him homeward, spurred forth by another deep swig of the bottle.

"Fucking stink, bloody liars"

His voice went into a sarcastic falsetto even as activity caught his eyes, people moving around the vicinity of the park

"Oh yeah i got a remedy that will clear this right up, it's called deodorant. Maybe you've not heard of it."

He spat with vicious intensity

"Oh very fucking funny, you ugly bitch"

The falsetto returned

"No what you gotta do sir is stick these herbs right up your ass, no further... come on further, let me really fuck you hard with them. Herbs can solve anything, are they nice and deep, painful, feel really good and fucked? That'll be 20 bucks please"

He drained the bottle and sent it pinwheeling into the darkness behind him, its final resting place marking by a low crash as it shattered upon the concrete

"Stupid ginger whore, I ought to smash her little face in,"

He teetered on the brink of the light, the sheer level of activity surrounding the park baffling, the silence of the night broken by hubbub and kerfuffle, people milling in groups, pigs sticking their snouts into something he couldn't give two shits about.

Probably a stunt, pigs trying to encourage people to stay in their homes after dark, to stay silent in fear.

He let out a loud cackle and gave a dramatic cry, that split the night

"Repent sinners for you may die, god forbid you venture into the darkness of the night, for who knows what monsters lurk within the deepest blackness of your very hearts."

He let out a second echoing giggle and pushed on into the darkness of the park, even as the huddled groups continued their conversations with panicked eyes and concerned features and let out a snort of derision as he heard one of the men mention werewolves. Sammy, or simon some shithead, paler than an albino but without the daemon eyes, sickly and gangling like he'd been stretched

Fictional fucking tales, monsters they were suspecting, fucking hell.

He veered left steadying himself with difficulty upon the mans shoulder, he looked deep into his eyes struggling to force his mouth into a serious grim line

"I know whats wrong with you, and don't listen to the fucking herb lady, no matter what she tells you to shove in which orifice, she talks bollucks."

He balanced himself leaning in conspiratorially to the circle eyes becoming serious

"No but in all serious I've seen a person with your condition before."

He met the mans gaze with deep eyes, even as laughter rippled around his brain, the punchline heightened to be catastrophically funny in his ethanol soaked mind

"There's no cure, I'm afraid your just fucking ugly mate." he exploded with laughter slapping his thighs yet he regained his consciousness patting the man gently on the shoulder and missing as he returned to the sheer stupidity of the conversation

" No seriously, right seriously simon, werewolves.... werewolves?"

He gesticulated wildly, arms careening like a pompous windmill

"I mean when did we wake up in a fairy tale, I mean are we going to have to stick humpty dumpty back together again tomorrow and shove garlic in our trousers to stave off vampires. Have some sense people,"

He waved a dismissive hand to the circle and grunted

"Probably just a nutter with a knife, t's nothing"

[PlatinumSkink]

Molly had heard the doctor’s remarks and good bye before running to Lilith. It was a bit strange, really. Why would the doctor feel a need to treat the little girl so well that this would occur? That freezing surrounding... How would one explain it? There was no way, and as such Molly would have to find the answers. Maybe already tonight? With Molly surviving like this, Doc might become aware of her situation being threatened and might disappear altogether tomorrow, or something equally eerie. Like for instance... Molly disappearing forever. Might see her soon for a vaccination? Molly was but a young girl! Even with her interest, was there such a use discussing this kind of matter with her? With the fact that a time was missing from the description of the meeting, and the subject of the vaccination was held back, Molly felt she had to act before this time.

Now then, now to let Lilith treat... my more vulnerable parts...

It felt surprisingly good, as always, to have Lilith comfort her. She was very useful for this purpose, as if she was towel in which to dry off your insecurity and fear in. Mollie didn’t know how her schoolmate had found her way out into the streets a night such as this, maybe they were more alike than Mollie had thought, but the currently glassed girl found herself happy that Lilith had. With Lilith doing as she pleased, there was no way any of it could matter. Just... let it all out. Why was she being so true to herself? At times like these, Mollie could not help but wonder which her was the real her... or rather, the most true her. Both of them... came from her heart, and had been impossible to be had the not had a sense of it. As such, it was impossible to tell that Molly was faking it, which she would appear to be doing as she was so sure of herself before. Because... Mollie was not.

"C'mon, Mollie, don't be scared! You shouldn't be out this late, y'know?"

... Heh. Of course I should not, you silly girl. I am still working on the excuse, so hold off with the question for now.

"Who knows what could happen to a cutie like you if you wander around in the dark, all alone! I-I don't wanna think about that, actually... C'mon, let's get you home, alright?"

Mollie smiled at the friendly voice of her classmate.

‘A... alright.’

She gladly accepted the hand and let herself be guided through the streets of Fort Lucy. Between her sobs, Mollie understood that there was something that would need to be slightly cleared up between her and her protective classmate. After all, if this goes on then Lilith might tell someone, and if this should occur than maybe more questions would come, from other directions. Above all, Mollie was still the same Mollie that had once killed a student in supposed self-defence, with lots of suspicious eyes then. It had calmed down since then, but should it resurface that the young girl was out walking in the dark of the night the very evening such a thing occurred, then some of the glares might be drawn back into her direction. Mollie really didn’t want that. She knew there might be other sources that could spread that information now, but Lilith was one which she could deal with easily. After all... she wasn’t even sure Lilith knew Mollie been in such an incident.

‘‘Lilith...’ With a small, weak-sounding voice, Mollie spoke to her friend. The glassed girl held her head slightly higher than before in order to be able to look Lilith in the eyes. She had her left hand grasp her collar in order to keep it from shaking. She allowed her friend a small time to make a small reaction and then, unless Lilith’s response would catch her completely off guard, she’d continue...

‘I... I was out tonight to learn the truth. I’m sorry for worrying you. Th-these murders are getting more dangerous, and I wanted to learn how to protect oneself as well as the nature of the murderer... That’s why I was talking to the doctor... I-I’m sorry that I did something like this, but I’d never be allowed to go that far on my own... I di-didn’t know a murder would occur tonight! If I had, I might have... I don’t...’ Mollie took a number of deep breaths to accommodate her slightly untrue confession.

‘I... acted a bit differently from myself in order to avoid being recognized... So please, Lilith... could you act... like you didn’t recognize me tonight... when we get to school?’ Mollie made sure her desperate eyes were seen by her friend in this time of need. The emotion was true. She really... didn’t want them to know at school. Really...

[Informatix]

"I would not be to hasty about any conclusion, but we don't have anything that would make for a more plausible explaination of the events, young man." Eliza had to admit, werewolves did sound like the kind of hypothesis she would have expected from someone like Rachael - who, believe it or not, hadn't weighed in on the issue of the culprits at all. Perhaps she knew more then she let on? She didn't believe the self-professed herb woman was as uninterested as she pretended to be - the simple fact that she just decided to go out and most likely snoop around the murder site told her that much. But she was unlikely to find something new there, and the police had taken samples and fotographs of the site with excessive detail - after some careful reminders about doing their job properly, their friends and helpers could be quite useful. But for now, she also had to take care of the issue that fell under her professional responsibilities anyway - namely, obviously sick people daring to walk around as if everything was alright. Taking a penlight from her pocket and adjusting her glasses by the edge, the doctor made sure her eyes had not decieved her about Shawn's complexion - and of course, they hadn't. They never had.

"Anti-hypochondriac? That's a nice way to describe the people who won't consider visiting a surgeon when they have a gaping hole in their chest. Eliza Cutter, MD - I'll see you tomorrow at ten, then, if you don't have more urgent business than your deathly pallor. Would you open your mouth for me?" The doctor asked rather assertively, and gave Shawn a stern look over the edge of her rectangular glasses - she knew that sort of patient, and if she had to take her pick between that and an hypochondriac, it would pobably be the latter. While they could be an immense nuisance to tend to, they did at least do what she told them to. Shining her lamp into Shawn's opened mouth for a moment, she nodded briefly before turning it off again.

"As I expected, even your gums are pale. This isn't just you not getting enough sunlight, you're seriously lacking in blood. Unless you want to add vampires to our list of likely suspects, I urge you to show up rather sooner than later." She repeated her message. "Good night." And with that, she, too, wandered off into the dark. There were still things to find out - namely, what was going on with the ice on her glasses that she had to brush off? - but those did not call for company in solving them. She had a hunch that there was some connection between these things .. yet unexplained anemia was pretty minor business, but mysterious murders and apparently magical ice on her glasses were not. If anything, Shawn's case could at least help her focus for more the important riddles here.

Hopefully that Mollie girl had gotten her hint, too - she couldn't recall everybodies birthday without her files, but it was probably an appropriate time for some shot - seasonal flu would do if all else failed, and gave her a perfect excuse to call the family in a few days. If things turned out the way they should, her practice would be the center of some interesting detective activity. And probably turn up more useful information than the official investigation.. tonight would see some record-checking on Mollie, anyone named Shawn who had ever shown up, and the two victims of tonights murder.

The gum flora of werewolves, though, she would leave to Mollie to research.