“Welcome back, sir.”

“I hope you're feeling better.”

“You certainly look like you've improved quite a bit over the last few days.”

“How was your vacation, chief?”

“Terrible.” Kent spat as he stepped into his office. “I was on sick leave, how the hell do you think it was?”

“I imagine having more time to spend with your family after your recent loss was worth the pain.”

“Like I can look them in the eyes while Andy's killer is still out there on the loose, Morris.”

The other man, Morris, stepped into the room as well, tightened his patterned, navy blue tie, wiped off his grey suit, and ran a hand through his thick, brown hair. He dropped his shoulders slightly and watched Kent out of the corner of his eye. “I don't mean to fan the flames at all but Andy's case was ruled as a natural cause, a disease that went unnoticed. You've seen the reports, right? The girl in question only looked at him after he tripped her. She never laid a hand on him and there's no other evidence to suggest they even interacted before the event. Even if she did kill him, we have no way to prove it.”

The chief fell down into his chair ungentlemanly and covered both of his eyes with one hand. leaning on his desk. “How long have we been friends, Morris?”

“Us? Hm...” He stroked his chin lightly. “Late high school I suppose.”

“And you still say those things that piss me off?”

“I prefer to think of it as making sure you keep a rational state of mind and don't end up making things worse for yourself. Your wife scares me a lot more than you do if I'm being perfectly honest. As such, I'd rather piss you off by speaking logically as opposed to pissing her off by letting you do something stupid.”

“You really know how to push my buttons, huh?” Kent snarled and snapped his hand down onto his desk with a slap. “Forget it. Give me a report on everything that happened in my absence.”

“There's not a lot to tell, though we do have something interesting to go over. First thing's first though, there's been a rise in petty theft as of late. It looks like the common thieves from the slums are starting to make their way into the opulent areas. I think the sudden 'plague', as it's come to be called, is inducing some degree of panic. To that end, people may be starting to prematurely prepare for a false apocalypse.”

“Ridiculous. Increase patrols in that area until we have more information, assuming you haven't done already. Next?”

“Secondly, I'm not in charge of it, so I don't have the details, but a handful of our men are suspect of being corrupt. To that end, a representative from the NCC is requesting to speak with you at some point today.”

“Has anyone from our department spoken to them already?”

“Most of us have kept tight lips since we hadn't yet gotten your permission, not that any of us truly believe our colleagues are actually corrupt. That being said, one of the gung-ho newbies did bring up a handful of names of people he felt weren't conducting themselves properly. I already gave him an earful about involving authorities early but unfortunately, the damage has already been done. I think in the future he'll remember to try and solve things at the lowest level first.”

“Hm. Next.”

“This last one is the one that I think you'll find interesting, if not terribly confusing. It involves the girl who you suspect murdered your son.”

Kent shot up onto his feet, slamming both hands into his desk. Old photographs fell to the floor with a crash and several other staff stared in surprise through the office window. “I'm listening.”

“That was enthusiastic. As I said, it's interesting but also one of the most bizarre reports I've ever read. I'll be spearheading the investigation moving forward, but at the moment there isn't much of anything sensible to go off of. The details are skewed like the witnesses were hiding something and though all of them gave the same story, there's something missing. All of them claimed that she tried to murder two more students, but...”

“But what?”

“Well, one of the students effectively had his arm cut clean in half, length-wise. The other student didn't seem to have any physical injuries, but rather critical psychological trauma. We confirmed the conditions of both victims however we haven't been able to find any sort of weapon. Security camera footage shows the girl leaving the classroom with an unidentified man, empty-handed. The officers who arrived at the scene first couldn't find anything that might have made the cut either. When the witnesses were questioned, they must have all been still in a state of shock. They told us that she cut his arm with her eye.”

“Her eye?” Kent echoed and recalled the day he and Thomas tailed Luna. Her eye did something funny before she took my sidearm, didn't it? He shook the thought out of his head, “Did she do anything to the second victim before he went critical?”

“Apparently she tapped him in the forehead with... a claw?”

That sounds like her. “What else was reported about her?”

“Well, the witnesses refused to tell us what might have instigated-”

“I don't care about what started the fight. Just tell me everything they said about her.”

“But-”

“Next.”

Morris sighed. “Fine, fine. The only other salvageable information we could get from the students involved was that before she attacked, they said they discovered that she wasn't human. Security camera footage revealed that she does indeed appear to have a tail and inhuman ears, though they could easily be accessories. Why she's naked save a jacket though, and further why she's still got the accessories, I don't know. To wear a butt plug at that age as well-”

“Morris.”

“Ah, right. That's pretty much it for her. Two victims hospitalized with an unknown motive, reports that she's not human and no weapon to be found. I'll be heading over to the crime scene before long to take a look at things for myself, though the press has been making it difficult. As soon as the students started talking about getting attacked by a girl pretending to be human, they've been swarming like flies.”

“I'm the first person you report to if you find anything of importance-, no, if you find anything at all, no matter how trivial about that girl, you tell me. I want to know everything there is to know about that little monster.”

“Kent, don't make this personal-”

“That's an order, detective.”

Morris scowled and stiffened his posture. “Yes, sir. If you'll excuse me then.” He turned and grabbed the doorknob before he got stopped again.

“On your way out, tell the NCC I'll meet them in half an hour. Also, send that newbie here right away.”

Morris hesitated. “What are you planning?”

“I'm just going to make sure you didn't miss anything when you lectured him. What, you don't trust me, old friend?”

The detective slowly opened the door and with his back turned, he whispered, “Not when you have that look in your eyes.”

* * *

“It seems like it'll be a while until your mother is up and moving again, even with Aileen's magic.” Luna commented to Ian and Grian. “She must've been fighting illness for quite some time.”

“Step-mother.” Ian stated under his breath and turned to face Luna, keeping pace with her as they walked through the woods. “Is that why we're out here? To kill time?”

“Pretty much.” Luna looked at the little fox-girl holding her hand. “Grian here and Te both looked a bit pale to me, so I guessed that they don't get out much. I thought getting out and about would be good for them. Barely any humans come into these woods since they're too distracted by their cellphones and video games. Even if we do run into one, it's easy enough to hide amidst the trees. Was I wrong?”

“No, you're spot on. Both of them are made to stay inside quite a bit since we live in a more population-dense part of town. Their ears are also longer than yours so even wearing a hat or a hood doesn't hide them all that well. In the winter they can get out a bit more frequently but in the warmer weather, it's rare.” Ian replied.

Luna squeezed Grian's hand. “You don't have to worry about hiding out here. Just be yourself.”

The little girl nodded and curled her lips slightly. “I'll try.”

“Don't force yourself.” Ian instructed her.

Luna elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “Yesterday I never would have taken you for the protective type. Life's full of surprises, huh?”

“And I never thought I'd have a peaceful conversation with you, so I guess that checks out. I'm still shocked that you let me off so easily.”

“If you don't give me a reason to think of you as an enemy, I won't treat you like one. You got me out of that situation eventually so I'd say it more than makes up for your petty bullying leading up to it.”

“If you say so. Sorry, again. It really wasn't my first choice but-”

“Are we really going to start this for a second time?”

“I suppose there's no point in beating a dead horse. Or in this case, nagging a stubborn wolf.”

“Hey, hey.” Grian began to tug on Luna's shirt. “Can I call you sister?”

“Sister?” Luna inquired.

“Mom said that you might become her daughter-in-law. That would make you my sister, right?”

“Eh? Is that right?” Luna shot Ian a sideways glance as he jumped back, his face rapidly turning red.

“Squirt!” He yelled.

Luna shrugged her shoulders and patted Grian on the head. “I don't know about this daughter-in-law stuff but I don't mind being called sister.”

Grian's eyes sparkled and she grabbed Luna's hand in both of hers. “Thank you, sister!”

Luna smiled kindly and closed her eyes. “You are most welcome, sister.” She then pointed ahead of them, toward a pond. “See that there? It's probably the most peaceful place in this entire land. Do you want to check it out?”

“Can I?”

“Of course.” Luna answered and Grian ran forward, stopping at the edge of the water.

“You're unexpectedly good with kids.” Ian observed.

“Demi-human kids, sure. They trust me instinctively. Human children on the other hand tend to run away from me, even if I'm trying to speak softly or help them or whatever.”

“Is that right? Does that have anything to do with this cursed eye of yours?”

“You could say that. It does draw out people's hatred, though, in the case of children, I think it has more to do with basic intimidation. My nature as a wolf makes me difficult to trust, I guess, even if people don't know that's what I actually am. My... uncle once told me I have the same, 'stay-the-fuck-away-from-me' gaze as my dad.”

“Your... uncle? Why the pause?”

“I was going to say dickhead in black but I doubt you've met him, so you could have mistaken him for someone else in that case.”

“Do you refer to all of your family members that way?”

Luna shook her head. “Stella and Aileen are Stella and Aileen. Dickhead in black and his wife are Styx and Shaffra. They're vampire royals, apparently, not that the cunt gives off that impression. The flamboyant one and his wife are my uncle Idel and Nao, a human and a fairy.”

“That's certainly an interesting family tree. You mentioned something at the shop about a sister as well I thought.”

“Two dead sisters, yes.”

Ian flinched. “Sorry. I missed that part when you mentioned it earlier.”

“Don't worry about it. They died before I was born anyway. One alongside my parents, the other sometime before.”

“But... you still remember them?”

“Kind of.”

“Does that have anything to do with your father's memories?”

“One of the abilities of this curse connects me to the memories of past users, yes. I can, in theory, search all of my father's memories if I so desired. I can check anyone's, but with other people, I can only look at memories that have to do with rage.”

“That sounds... strange.”

“More or less.” Luna giggled and rubbed the back of her head. “I'm still trying to make sense of it myself.” She was then distracted by something similar to squawking above them. She looked up to see a black bird flying circles over top of them. “A raven?”

“Oi!” Someone else yelled from down the path. Both of the teenagers turned to see Ryan, Liz, and Stella approaching them. Ryan, however, had already started sprinting forward before they even noticed him. He stopped just in front of Luna and grabbed both of her hands. “Are you all right? I got a message that said you might be in trouble but when I got to the school, the police were denying entry. Someone said that you left in a hurry or something but when I went back to your place no one was home. I checked here after that but...” He continued to explain himself as the other two caught up and Luna just grinned at him awkwardly.

“Oh? Ian is here as well?” Liz asked as she stepped up beside Ryan who immediately jumped and peered around Luna.

“Ian!” He yelled and clamped his hands over top of Luna's ears, then pulled her close to himself. “Funny stuff that this heat does to you, huh? This heat mirage almost makes it look like Luna has longer ears or something.” He laughed nervously.

Liz sighed. “I'm pretty sure he's already figured out that they're real. You should probably unhand Luna as well before she pops.”

“What do you mean?” Ryan asked and looked down at her. He was shocked when he saw that her face had turned red as a cherry.

“She's not used to that kind of attention, especially not in front of other people. I'd suspect she's really embarrassed.” Liz laughed. “In any sense,” she turned to look at Ian. “Who do we have here?”

Ian felt someone clutching his leg and found that Grian had come back to him when she heard the commotion. He lifted her up and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. “Seems like they already know. Introduce yourself.”

Grian kept one hand in front of her face and softly told Liz and Ryan her name to which they gave her their own. Luna recovered and gave her attention to Stella who handed her a new eye patch. “Idel had just finished making a spare when you guys got back so he sent it to me via teleportation magic. This should help keep the Ríastrad under control more so than that bandage. Figured I'd drop it off at the same time as escorting these two, who just showed up to see how you were doing.”

“I would like to think.” Luna replied and quickly put it on, keeping her eye closed while it was uncovered. “How are things looking in town?”

Ryan and Liz exchanged glances. “News is spreading fast about the 'inhuman' high school girl who hospitalized two students. I don't think any pictures have been released yet but it's only a matter of time.” The two took turns explaining. “Ian should be safe for a little bit. If no one has come to look for him yet, that probably means that the only people who saw him and knew who he was were in too much shock to recall.”

“This is going to become really troublesome really quickly.” Stella declared. “I didn't think your classmates would gather Beast bane of all things and use it to play a prank on you.”

“Can this sort of thing really be called a prank?” Ian inquired. “She was buck naked when I got into the classroom.”

Ryan flinched. “You were?”

Luna shrugged her shoulders. “I can't remember all that well. That whole turn of events is a bit of a haze. I can say with certainty though that these clothes are different from what I had on this morning. I would never wear polka-dots of my own accord.”

“Do you not like it?” Grian asked shyly.

Luna rubbed her cheek with one hand. “I didn't say that. It's just not something I own. I also prefer pants instead of dresses. They're easier to manage.” She then looked at Ryan again who was staring at her intently but she sighed and turned towards Stella. “How long do you think before it gets too risky for me to be around town?”

Stella put a finger under her chin. “I guess if you have anything you absolutely need to do, tonight might be your only option. What did you have in mind?”

“I'm just going to check up on someone is all. To that end,” She grabbed the sleeve of Ryan's black hoodie, “Can I borrow this?”

* * *

It doesn't seem like there's a lot of people out and about at the moment, which I guess works for me. I'll stand out more, but at least that's less concern about being checked. Luna thought to herself as she wandered into the city park. She stopped in front of a set of rusty playground equipment where an elderly man with greying hair, a scruffy beard, and dirty clothes appeared to be sleeping.

His head raised as Luna approached and his eyes opened slowly at first. “You're...” he started to say.

Luna smiled innocently at him with her hands in her pockets and said, “Long time no see. You certainly look much cleaner with your haircut.”

The man got onto his feet. “I wouldn't have been able to do so had you not given me that money. I can't believe you gave a hobo that much.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I wasn't using it, so I figured it would be better for you.”

“Well, I can't argue with that. I've been using it sparingly since I have no means of generating more. Semi-regular trips to the barber to keep my hair manageable, food, and the rare visit to a hotel when I really start craving a shower.”

“You do smell better.” Luna chuckled.

“Right?” He agreed but his posture immediately sank. “So, what trouble are you in?”

Without breaking her smile, she dropped her shoulders slightly. “You can tell, huh?”

“You haven't been coming by for regular visits at all, so when you just show up out of the blue like this, it gives me the impression that you're only doing so because you feel like it'll be your last chance. Stuff like that used to happen all the time back in my army days.”

“I can imagine.” She stated with a satisfied smirk. “Where to begin then?” She briefly explained to him the recent chain of events that lead to her waking up in the butcher's house.

Ray rubbed the top of his head and asked her, “So you're the one that they're claiming isn't human, is that right?”

“Would you believe me if I said they were right?”

“Would it matter? Not like your species would change who you are.”

“Not many people share that sentiment, unfortunately.”

“That doesn't surprise me.”

“Right?” Luna then stared at the ground and sniffed at the air twice. “I smell gunpowder.” She stated without looking up.

“Eh? It just so happens that six guys in thick coats just entered the park, and they're walking straight towards us. I don't think they're just going to give me a warning for loitering.”

“You think they're cops?”

“They definitely have that walk to them, but that spring in their step gives me a bad feeling. What do you plan to do?”

“It would be counter-productive for me to get arrested here, especially after having been a victim.”

“Somehow I doubt they're here to arrest you.”

Luna smiled. “Right? Well, you should get out of here. No point in you getting caught up in my problems.”

“Runaway and leave a little girl to fend for herself? I think the fuck not. Besides, even if I get arrested it'll just mean three meals a day and a roof over my head.”

“I guess that's true.” Luna then turned around as the six men formed a horseshoe in front of them.

The lead man who wore a brown leather coat reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge as he spoke. “Good afternoon. I wasn't expecting to find anyone outside given everything that happened today. It isn't safe, so I'd recommend you two go back home if you can. There's a potential murderer in the area after all.”

“I didn't think he'd actually bother to show his badge...” Luna whispered to Ray.

“Saves us the trouble of guessing in any sense.”

“That being said, can you lower your hood for a second? We'd just like to make sure there's nothing out of the ordinary.”

Luna felt Ray's eyes shift towards her when she answered. “Sure.” Her tail unwrapped and she removed the hood, allowing her ears to spring up. “That good enough?” She yelled with a smirk.

The six men exchanged glances and the first man spoke again. “Sorry lass. It's nothing personal, but...” with his face expressionless, he drew his handgun out from within his coat. “A job's a job.” As all six of them pointed their weapons at Luna and Ray, she noticed that he didn't flinch at all. That is, not until he saw her iris begin to spin. He watched in bewilderment as the first man's blank expression contorted in confusion and his trigger dangled loosely in his trigger guard. “What the hell?” He barked and his goons followed suit. Ray heard a series of loud and persistent dings as several thin, aluminum cylinders fell at Luna's feet.

He picked one up and inspected it. “A firing pin? How'd you do that without disarming them first?”

“That's an inhuman secret.” Luna mused. “Now then,” She turned to the first man who clicked his tongue at her. “Since you were prepared to kill me, I assume you were prepared to be killed, yes?”

The six each backed up a step and the first asked, “What are you?”

“What am I?” She echoed and put a finger on her chin. “If I had to put it into a single word, I'd probably say... hm...” She grinned mischievously and her eye opened wide, glowing. “I'm pissed.” In the instant that the words left her mouth, the first man was engulfed in a red mist, and Luna vanished. When the mist cleared, his body fell forward and Luna stood behind it, his head in her hand. She tossed it to the side and scanned the remainder with a poker face before kicking the first man's firearm over to Ray. The matching firing pin floated in front of him.

He grabbed it and muttered under his breath, “I've seen some weird shit in my day...”

The five dirty cops left all watched Luna cautiously and she wondered if they'd even clued in that their leader was dead. They all exchanged glances and started to slowly back away. Luna raised one eyebrow and scowled. “Seriously? You're running already? Did you really start this hunt without knowing what you were chasing?”

Neither of them said anything. Instead, the one furthest from Luna's focus tried to run to her blind spot but she didn't even turn to watch him. A loud bang rang out from behind her and the runner fell forward. A crimson puddle began to grow around his head. Luna smirked again. “I appreciate the help.” She told Ray as he stepped up beside her.

“After that display, I'm not sure you need it. They all look like they'd turn and run if you gave them the chance. But...”

“They'd report it to their boss, right?”

“Most likely.”

“I'll be in trouble either way since they were looking for me, to begin with. You, on the other hand, will only be in trouble if a witness reports what's happening here. So...” She lunged forward and in the blink of an eye, had her hand placed on one of the standing undercover cop's chest. “Three.” She declared and swept his legs out from underneath him. She used her hand on his chest to force him down, slamming him into the dirt. She could feel the chain of cracks and crunching under her palm as several drops of a warm liquid splashed onto her face. “Two.” She focused her gaze on another and snapped her fingers. He screamed in agony as his body was covered in a lime-green blaze. Another man tried to attack her from behind but she sidestepped him without even looking and threw him down onto his knees. She placed one hand on his chin and the other on one temple, then rotated her arms in a circle. His head popped off like a cork out of a bottle. “One.” The last man jumped backward but immediately fell as another gunshot echoed through the park. “Zero.” Luna acknowledged and nodded towards Ray. “Thanks for the help. I really didn't mean to get you involved in anything.”

“Don't mention it. Not like killing a few dirty cops is going to put a blight on my conscious.”

“Is that right?” Luna asked, falling quiet.

“What's wrong?”

She stood over top of the first man's corpse. “I was smiling... wasn't I?”

Ray hesitated, then answered, “Yes.”

Luna put her hands into her pockets. “Can I ask you something?” He didn't respond so she asked anyway. “Am I... a monster?”