A Sharp-eared Werewolf in Tarant

The foulest stench is in the air

The pair stared at her. Neither one spoke. They only looked, one at the other, as if wondering who should say what and how. Lilya repeated her question:
"WHOSE BLOOD AND BONES DID I CLEAN UP?!"
Quite a few men turned around. Chanti left the table, spilling drinks on laps or the equivalent until only the most steeled drunks and eavesdroppers remained: the bartender, a dark elf, and a gnome. The bartender scratched his head.
Suddenly, Mahyar replied: "Okay, let's return to act five, scene--"
"--EXCUSE ME, MADAM, BUT THIS IS NOT A THEATRE!" the bartender interrupted.
Some of the men whose pants had been soaked had returned. The dwarf was among them. Mahyar looked around her. Suddenly, she remembered herself.
"Call me sir, you uncultured--"
"That's it! OUT! OUT, or I'll call the guard! I used to wonder about the rule forbidding women from entering the club. I wondered, perhaps if it was limited only to exotic dancers, women could be permitted entrance. Now I realise the wisdom of the original edict! Get out, out, OUT!"
Mahyar looked about ready to cast dominate will or quench life or something far more terrible on the bartender. Chanti whispered in her ear: "Madam, if you kill him, you'll never get away from the scene."
Mahyar's mouth curled in a wicked grin. "That's what you think, Chanti."
Chanti's face drained of color, invisibly. "But Lilya--"
"Take her with you, then, coward!"
Chanti turned toward Lilya, who was obviously confused. He whispered in her ear: "All your questions will be answered, my love."
As Lilya and Chanti ran toward the door, Mahyar had already begun her transformation. Lilya ran with abandon, not daring to look back as she heard an unworldly howl which added volumes of body to her hair as every hair on her body tried to stand on end. The bartender watched in horror, the gnome watched in a drunken stupor, the dark elf watched in morbid fascination (perhaps expecting something from the dark necromantic colleges) as Mahyar cut her hands, holding the blood underneathe her nose and licking at it.
She fell to the floor. Her back arched one way, then the other, her fingernails scraping the floor. She gasped and growled as her face grew in eccentricity and ferocity, her normally vegetarian teeth gaining a canine quality. Her hands turned to paws, her fingernails to claws, her hair growing at an alarming rate and thickness, all over her body. Those returning through the door backed away but would not all leave. The dark elf dropped his drink on the floor, sprinting for the door. He punched out a dwarf in order to get out. A few moments later, he turned around, apologized to the dwarf, and stood in joint awe at the beast he saw through the window of the club. Something teleported into the bar.
"All right, Rick, it's time to go home."
The gnome argued that he was darely brunk. The gnome that had teleported in looked up and saw Mahyar's glowing eyes staring back at her, the viscous drool hanging out of her maw.
"KERLIN'S TEETH!" Mahyar charged at them, but the pair teleported out together just moments before Mahyar's jaw could have closed around Rick's head.
The beast roared. Turning, it eyed the bartender. Its face grew increasingly fearsome as it grew nearer, sauntering as it did very slowly, almost like a rabid dog. The bartender reached under the bar, pulling free a shotgun. Aiming it at the creature, the bartender walked sideways toward the door. The beast leapt the breadth of the bar, skidding to a halt just within the door. The crowd behind her fled in every direction, down every street, through every alleyway, including the guard. The man's shotgun shot at the blur once, then jammed. Once again, Mahyar was staring him down. The man's sweat tasted so sweet in the air. Salted meat without the effort, thought Mahyar. The man fumbled with the shells of his shotgun. Finally, technology won over Mahyar's magic aptitude and the shotgun unjammed. The man shot again as Mahyar leapt onto his gun, claws outstretched.

[OOC]I will reveal Lilya and Chanti's position shortly. In the meantime, please do not look for them specifically just yet. The scores of people running from the scene of Mahyar's transformation should be cause enough to go there, non? Just so you know, Lilya and Chanti are not currently on an intercept course with the investigator. Don't worry, though. I'm not trying to protect my character. She'll be back shortly. [/OOC]

 

The funk of forty thousand years

[OOC] If the chief of police doesn't come realise there's a werewolf in Tarant soon, he's on drugs.[/OOC]
Lilya and Chanti entered a small brick building with seemingly no purpose, no windows, and no one living there. Chanti had carried Lilya part of the way at demonic speeds. Once they reached the safe place, Lilya immediately wished to return to her mother.
"What's happened to her?!" Asked Lilya.
Chanti lowered his head. He was not bound by pact to keep Mahyar's secrets, but he nevertheless felt uneasy about maligning Lilya's mother, especially to her daughter, his love. He breathed in deeply, then exhaled slowly as he gathered the words with tact.
"Once a month, when the moon allows, your mother changes into a beast. Usually, she's a were-tiger, but she's been known to become a werewolf if she's feeling especially... female-wolfy (PUN!)"
"What?! Why?"
"It was your father's curse."
"You know my father?"
"Yes."
The wheels in Lilya's head turned slowly, affected, no doubt, by her strong magical aptitude.
"You said 'was'"
"Yes...."
"They were his bones and blood..., weren't they?"
Chanti nodded invisibly. When Lilya didn't say anything in response, Chanti slapped himself in the head inaudibly. "Yes" he said, at last.
Lilya sat down on a crate, running a hand through her hair.
"Tell me about my father's curse."
"All right...." Chanti was about to run a hand through his horns, but he remembered that he didn't have hair. Instead, he took a labored breath, as if about to make a speech.
"Make this brief. Mother might need my help"
Chanti rolled his eyes invisibly. "All right...."
"You've said that already."
Chanti frowned. He decided against charms and went straight for the toy at the bottom of the box: "He was an orc, cursed with lycanthropy for his great grandfather's sin of smashing a rabbit with his fist in a sacred grove."
Lilya stood, mouth agape for a second, then burst out laughing.
"Haha... But... haha... elves and orcs... hoho... don't breed... it's... it's...--"
"Impossible, I know. But where others failed, your dad succeeded."
"But my mother would never sleep with an orc!"
"Right you are, Lilya, right you are."
"Then how.... Oh... my...."
"No, it wasn't rape."
"Then how?"
"Whenever someone is cursed with his form of lycanthropy, through blood or through exchange of fluids, the curse chooses a species which the cursed greatly resembles on the inside for him or her to change into. Haughty as he was, his curse turned out to be not so bad."
"What species did he change into?"
"An elf."
Lilya just stared at him.
"No, really. That's how he was able to sire you. That's how he was able to seduce your mother. He was rather surly, but your mother always liked that kind of man. Besides, he'd grown quite adept at seducing elves over the years."
Lilya turned it over in her mind. She was an orc! She'd never spat upon orcs or thrown rocks at them, but that was mostly due to her isolated childhood. She had never met anyone with orcish blood, or so she'd thought. Now she knew that she, herself, was half orc. She started to cry, saying: "No, no, no, no, it's not true!"
"Remember when you asked me about your teeth and nails and somewhat feral face?"
"...*sniffle*... Yeah"
"And I told you that you were beautiful?"
She nodded.
"And I let you feel all over my hideous form?"
Lilya at last understood what he meant to say. "I don't think you're hideous, Chanti."
Chanti didn't believe her, but he replied: "Then neither are you. You're still the beautiful girl who wanted to marry me before your father was killed."
"...Mother... mother killed him."
Chanti was silent.
"Mother flayed a living being alive!"
"..."
"My FATHER, even!"
"--HE was back for more!"
"More what? ...Oh, goodness, nevermind. I know. But why would she kill him over that?"
"...He also wanted you."
"THAT'S DISGUSTING!"
"No, I mean, as his daughter. He wanted custody."
"But why? Wouldn't that interfere with his swinging?"
"When I told him that he had a daughter, he remembered your mother. He wanted to marry her, to settle down into a family life."
"Why did you tell him?"
"Your mother told me to find someone to adopt you."
Lilya's hands made a fist. She turned away. "And, even then, she killed him! My father had come for me, and she KILLED him?!"
Lilya's back arched. Her eyes glowed red. Her two front teeth grew longer, her skin lighter, her hair furrier, her thighs more muscular. As she changed, she screamed a half humanoid/half rabbitoid scream.
"Nyah... What's UP, CHANTI?!"
"I forgot to tell you. When you bit your mother as a child, she got the curse from YOU."
"WhAt Am I cHaNgInG iNtO?!"
"A bunny."
"A BUNNY?! ALL THAT RAGE INSIDE ME IS CHANGING ME INTO A BUNNY?!"
"Sorry, Lilya. You're too good to change into anything ferocious."
*Boing*
"But don't worry, Lilya: you can still defend yourself. You're quite a formidable kickboxer."
*Boing* Lilya's sanity was slowly making way for a bunny mind.
"Hold on, Lilya! Fight it!"
Lilya's nose pointed toward the herbalist's shop. She held back the urge. Instead, she concentrated on her mother. Kicking open the metal doors, Lilya started hopping back toward the gentlemen's club.
*Boing* *Boing* *Boing* *Boing* *Boing*
"Wait! Lilya, wait for me!" Lilya's pace slowed, then turned around. She hopped slowly beside Chanti, who purposefully walked at a snail's pace to impede Lilya's efforts to place herself in danger once again. Lilya's eyes glowed a fiery red.

 

"Run for your life", screamed a frantic 'gentleman'.

I grabbed him by the arm, jerking him around to face me as he tried to flee.

"What's happening?"

"Gentleman's club!" he panted, eyes wide and darting. "Horrible monster inside. We must get the City Guard!" With that he pulled himself free of my grip, and started trying to find a hole to hide in, not the Guard.

I pulled out my flow specktrometer - the needle was weakly twitching. There was magick up ahead, alright, but it wasn't a very strong field. I pulled on my goggled helmet - no sense being hit in the head without protection - and drew my silenced pistol with my left hand, and featherweight axe with my right.

I approached the Gentleman's Club cautiously, pistol first, looking for the 'monster'. It didn't take long to see what the fuss was about. A large, well, 'thing' in a great cloak was standing over a barman who I could see (thanks to the helmet) from here frantically trying to use a shotgun to take the creature down.

I didn't hesitate - I took aim at where I surmised the head of the creature to be, and fired...

 

And grizzy ghouls from every tomb

Mahyar shreiked as she vainly tried to dig the bullet out from the back of her head. She suspected, in her blind, animal rage, that the projectile had originated from the shotgun, however. As she released the man's shoulders, he fired the shotgun again. This time, however, the shell made it's mark and exploded in Mahyar's gut. Suddenly, she flashed red, her amulet a fiery red, actually burning her fur and skin. The demons had granted her a quench life casting. Her eyes a reflection of the infernal plane, she roared at the man with the shot gun. Evil spirits' arms and wings reached up and around the bartender, grabbing hold of his soul and pulling it down with them into death. Some trace of ectoplasm slipping into this plane also managed to cut the man in half. :-o Mahyar leapt onto the still-fresh corpse to eat it. If she could only eat enough to return to elvish form, she could heal herself. The wounds would be smaller, much easier to handle.... No! She was losing too much blood. She flayed the corpse with her hands and feet, spinning wildly to keep her momentum.
As Chanti felt his mistress' death nearing, he let out a deep, bellowing laugh. The bunny looked at him in confusion and pain.
"Umm.... A monk, a priest, and a rabbi--"
"--SQUEAK! RRROOOAR!"
"Okay, okay! Let's... pick up the pace."
The invisible demon struggled to keep up with the gigantic bunny rabbit, who had grown to the size of an elephant, its hops shaking the very ground as she neared the scene of her mother's battle....

 

The large 'thing' started to spin around. It looked as if it was trying to feast on the now dead bartender. That had been a nasty demonstration of the necromantic college of magick, but I was far enough away for it to not have affected my gun. I walked slowly forwards, and fired until the chambers of the revolvers were empty. Whatever it was couldn't stay alive much longer, not with at least one round from a shotgun and the best part of (if not all) six from a revolver in it.

I calmly hung my axe back on my belt - it appeared I wouldn't need it for now - and swiftly reloaded the pistol. I continued walking forwards, my arm steady, and my right hand near my axe just in case.

The shaking of the ground as some came closer managed to distract me from finishing the task at hand...if it was even necessary to do so...

 

Are closing in to seal your doom

The beast stopped spinning and faced its attacker. With all it's strength, it dropped its claw on the floor and dragged itself, trailing blood, toward its newfound foe. Suddenly, it howled. The eyes rolled into the back of its head and it began to change back into its original form. It never fully reverted, however, as Mahyar fell over, nude, bleeding, at the half-orc's feet, the bartender's blood mingling with her own on her blood-stained teeth and crimson tongue.
Outside, the bunny came to a complete stop. It put its paws over its eyes and cried, kowtowing before the grim reaper as he passed by. The bunny began to shrink back to her normal height. In the meantime, Chanti's whole body began to rise. He could feel the endless choice flowing around him, the freedom from his bonds, and he began to change, to adapt to a form which could more easily survive on this plane. His back sprouted wings, his feet turned to hooves, his legs grew hair, and his horns became more goatlike. He moaned in pleasure as each and every bond he had with the underworld snapped, one after another, until, finally, he could no longer feel the pain. He looked down, and his body began to opaque. Opaque.... Oh no!
"I've got to get out of here!" said Chanti
"Don't leave me! Not now!" cried Lilya
Chanti wrapped his arms around the bunny-woman and pushed hard against the ground, his black fur and gray feathered wings shielding the pair from sight as they rose. Suddenly, however, Lilya's visage changed. Her eyes glowed red, and she became more like a bunny once more, growing in size. Gravity pulled Chanti slowly down as his wings struggled against the extra weight. When he could hold her no longer, the bunny leapt out of his arms and landed with a boom on the street. A manhole cover flew up and off the manhole. Lilya turned her face toward the moon and roared, her prominent two front teeth gleaming in the lamp light. Chanti swooped down and grabbed the fur on its back, his own back facing the empty street. He shouted above the roar: "Lilya! Don't! We have to get out of here!" Lilya leapt into the air and landed with another boom, sending Chanti to the street. As she leapt back into the air, Chanti jumped into the sewer to avoid being crushed. He held onto the ladder, his hooves only a foot away from the slime below. As Lilya landed, the slime sloshed, the street threatened to break beneath Lilya's feet. Chanti jumped up, flying out of the manhole, and clung to her back once again. Lilya now just barely overlooked the club. She roared again, her breath smelling of carrots and radishes.
Suddenly, the city guard appeared behind her. A revolver sounded off. The man in charge shouted with fear and amazement "Hold your fire! It's just the rabbit." Turning to a bookish man in glasses and a suit, the leader of the guard whispered: "You were right. It's a lycanthrope. What do we do?"
The bookish man stared in awe. Not changing his expression or taking his eyes off of the rabbit, he reached into his satchel. And pulled out a handful of herbs. "I have the cure, but I can't give it to the beast in this form. We have to sedate it and wait for it to change back."
A guard put a dart as large as his arm onto the end of a blade launcher. He aimed it at the rabbit's neck and fired. The rabbit leapt, but not quickly enough. The dart landed in the rabbit's upper back. As it landed, it span about, took a ground-shaking step toward the shooter, swayed, forward, backward, and fell, face first, on a screaming guard.
"Help! Get this thing off of me!"

 

And though you fight to stay alive

*TWO DAYS AGO ON A TROPICAL, SEEMINGLY DESERTED ISLAND*
A man in a labcoat walked in with a clipboad. "Sir?" He cleared his throat. When the gnome behind the desk lowered the paper he was reading, the man in the labcoat continued: "The creatures have spoken their first... eh... words"
The gnome lit up. "Which one? Was it 23245-J?"
"Yes. Yes. Just as you predicted, he developed the fastest."
"And the second batch?"
"That's the problem, sir."
"What?"
"Come and see."
The gnome lowered his leather chair with the handle on the side, hopped off, and walked around his teak desk to follow the man in the labcoat out of the office and into the breeding pens. The name on the door of the office said "Dr. Jojo Mingle, Chief of Experimental Genetics". The man in the labcoat stopped and looked at the door. He turned to the gnome and said, "When are you going to take down that sign? You were fired decades ago."
"When they find my island, that's when. Keep walking... or should I hold the doors open for YOU?"
"Yes, sir, sorry, sir."
"And call me Doctor Mingle."
The man in the labcoat opened the door to the breeding pens. He pushed a button on a viewing window beneath a speaker.
"Baaaaa!" "BAAAaaaa" "BAAAAA!"
The gnome grimaced, "Why are these children behaving like sheep?!"
The man pressed the button again, shutting off the speaker.
"The new polymorph technique is a great success, physically, but it seems to have psychological and mental side effects."
"Kerlin's TEETH!" The gnome knocked over a tray of baby bottles
"Have we tried brain builders?" he continued.
"The results were the same as before: highly intelligent sheep-brains in half-elf, half-orc bodies."
The gnome took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "Take me to see 23245-J"
The man in the labcoat walked past the viewing window into another large room with a play area and a viewing window. A small boy sat at a chessboard, moving the pieces with his mind. The gnome smiled.
"I see the growth drugs have improved his mind as well."
"Yes, but he's very gifted."
"That's what I bred him for."
"We decided on a name."
"What are you calling him?"
"Joseph, after his creator."
The gnome grinned as he opened the door to the play area. The man in the labcoat stayed behind the false mirror, taking notes.
"Hello, Joseph."
"Hello, Dr. Mingle. Is it time for my vitamins?"
"Oh, Joseph, you've made me so proud."
"What?"
"Do you know, Joseph, that you're one of a kind?"
"But Dr. Munch said there were at least two others."
"But none of them with half of your intelligence, Joseph"
Joseph looked away. "Have you come to play with me, Dr. Mingle?"
Dr. Mingle shook his head, patting the boy on the shoulder. He walked out of the room and turned to his collegue, saying: "We have to make more of him"
"But, Jojo, it's not possible! The conditions under which he was conceived were never duplicated!"
"...Then perhaps we can try for the next best thing...."
"What, breed him with the sheep batch?"
"Perhaps, but they are not yet fully grown, and the growth serum hasn't been working on them."
"Then what?"
"I've read reports of an orc who can change into an elf. I want you to find him and all offspring he's made so far and bring them to the island."
"You mean, kidnap them?!"
"Precisely"
"But, doctor--"
"BUT NOTHING! Unless you, yourself, would like to become part of an experiment...?"
Color drained from Dr. Munch's face. "I'll see what I can do."
The man in the labcoat walked to the mercenary room. Closing the door, he explained Dr. Mingle's orders. One of the mercenaries grinned from ear to ear.
Dr. Mingle watched young Joseph play himself in chess. Soon, thought Jojo, soon I'll prove them all wrong. And, when they realise what I've accomplished, it will be too late. Dr. Mingle laughed maniacally. The nurses in the hallway were more than a little disturbed by this but said nothing. Dr. Mingle headed back to his office. "Arcanum is MINE!" he growled to himself.

 

I watched as the City Guard ran forward to free their comrade from the bunny. After several minutes of pushing and shoving the giant beast, they managed to drag him to safety.

"We'll need to take him to a healer. Let's go," said one of them. He and another man picked up the one who had been crushed and carried him away.

I holstered my pistol, and surveyed the scene. The beast that had originated in the bar was dead, and while the Captain probably didn't know which one had caused the panic, I'm sure the real story would filter through to him...or I could just tell him now. At any rate, I thought it best if I could have a talk with this still-living lycanthrope, just to be sure that the right one had died.

As I walked over to the Captain to make my request, I pulled my goggled helmet off, and tucked it under my arm.

"Ah, Captain, might I have a word with you?"

He barely glanced at me. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"It's about the lycanthropes."

"Lycanthropes?"

"Yes, the second - or should I say, the first - is lying dead in the Gentleman's Club. I happened to be in the area when it first appeared. I can tell you that this giant bunny was definitely the second to appear on the scene."

"The first one is dead? How do you know?"

"Would you like to check?"

He nodded, and we walked over to the ruined entrance of the Gentleman's Club.

"I saw this one in beast form," I said, giving the dead body a good hard kick, "cast a very nasty necromantic spell on the bartender, who managed to shoot the thing once or twice with his shotgun."

The captain bent over and inspected the body, noting the numerous wounds from my own weapon as well.

"I see," he said. "Who was responsible for killing it though?"

I smiled, and patted my pistol.

The captain stood up. "Well, it looks like we owe you our thanks. But just who are you to take this thing on?"

"Me? I'm just a concerned citizen."

The Captain stared hard at me. "I see. Well, lacking proof indicating otherwise, you are free to go. Goodbye."

"One more thing, Captain. I expect a visitor will show up to question the giant bunny later on, at least once it has resumed human form."

"This visitor can ask all he or she wants, but they won't get to."

"It wasn't a request," I said, walking away...

* * *

I knocked on the door.

"Come in," called out Mr Trellain.

I entered.

"Ah, Dreig. How goes the investigation? I heard about a disturbance at the Gentleman's Club. Know anything about that?"

I told him the whole story, and my suspicions.

"So, all up, I think it likely that the beast I killed was the one who killed your brother. The giant bunny just didn't seem capable of it. For starters, I doubt it would have been able to strip the corpse as it did, whereas the beast in the Club most certainly could have. I suggest you send someone over to the City Guard to interrogate the bunny, once it has resumed human form."

"What about the young woman you were tracking?"

"Well, she wasn't the beast. She could be the bunny, but I don't know why I'm saying that. In any event, I'm not sure she's connected to Gavin's death at all."

"You've done an excellent job, as always Dreig," said Mr Trellain, standing up, and walking around his desk towards me. "Thank you, for resolving this matter so quickly and efficiently. I will do as you recommend, and send someone to interrogate the bunny."

I stood as well, and simply smiled and nodded my head once in thanks, before leaving...

 

Your body starts to shiver

Lilya woke up in a hospital bed in a jail. They had administered the treatment out on the street and carried her to her cell. Lilya's vision was blurry. The room slipped in and out of focus. Although she was concious, the tranquilizer remained in her system. The tranquilizer was intended for a giant bunny, not a frail half elf half orc girl, so they had administered an antidote. Suddenly, Lilya's eyes were wide open, and she tried to reach an upright position. Her arms and legs were in straps, and an IV stuck into her arm. "Technological healing.... Typical." Lilya examined her bonds. They required a key to loosen. She could use an unlocking cantrip, but that would, no doubt, set off the magic alarm installed above her head. It had been adjusted to her natural aptitude, so the needle read "zero". If any more magic entered the room, it would go over and set off the bell.
Lilya heard the sound of a gate opening. A man in a guard's uniform walked up to her. "So, the little bunny is awake."
Lilya noticed a star on the man's uniform. Her mouth smelled of something unnatural. No! Not AGAIN! She had to ask. "Are you the man in charge?"
"Of this section, yes."
"Was I.... Was I violated while under?"
The man winked at her, stroking her belly under her sheets. Lilya wanted to scream, but she knew that would only get her drugged again, or worse, beaten.
"Why am I being held here? I've commited no crime!"
"The trial will decide that. Until then, Lassie, you're mine"
Lilya cried. Suddenly, a man in a white coat walked into the cell.
"What were you doing?" asked the man.
"I was... checking the prisoner's bonds"
"Get out! Get out of this hospital, you briggand!"
"I'll not accept that tone from the likes of you! Remember your rank!"
"I'll have you arrested for corruption" retorted the doctor.
"Oh, really? And what proof do you have?" spat the section chief.
The doctor smiled wickedly. Lilya suddenly saw the needle of the flow analyzer move onto the tech side. No alarms went off, as this posed no threat of magic. A gnome appeared where there had been none. He had been invisible, watching the chief the entire time. Other guards came in and took the man out.
Lilya was confused: "How could you have known he would do such a thing?"
The doctor replied: "There's actually a port for listening to the room which leads to my office. I've heard him doing things before. Because my word against his is useless, I set up this little ambush with a member of the council." The gnome tipped his hat. Lilya turned her head toward him.
"Sir, I have to ask: was I violated while under?"
The gnome shook his head. "He was bluffing about that. He takes no pleasure in unconcious women. If he did, he could simply take a trip down to the morgue. He prefers humiliation and concious violation."
Lilya sighed, relieved. "So why does my mouth taste strange?"
The doctor thanked the gnome council member and indicated that he was free to go. The gnome tipped his top hat once more, then made his way out of the cell. The doctor walked up to Lilya and released her straps.
"Thank you, doctor, for saving me."
The doctor winked at her. Paradoxically, this was reassuring. "Don't mention it."
"So, why, exactly, am I being held?"
"You're being held for questioning, but that shouldn't take too long. There may be a trial, depending upon your answers. You're not on trial now, however, as you've committed no crimes."
Lilya smiled, rubbing her wrists.
"You asked why your mouth tasted strange. We have a lycanthropy professional in Tarant, so we had him cure you while you were under."
"But my mother said that my curse was genetic."
"Close, but no. It does pass from parent to offspring, but the disease is transmitted through fluids, any kind of fluids, even those involved in reproduction."
Lilya smiled. She was no longer part bunny. "So, I guess my chances at being a pin-up girl have been squelched."
The doctor raised an eyebrow.
"It's a joke, doctor."
"Oh. Ha. I don't get many of those from my patients."
"I can see how injured prisoners might lack a sense of humor."
The doctor obviously didn't get that one either. He nevertheless replied "Hmm. Indeed. Hmm. All right, now I just have to ask you a few questions."
"Go right ahead."
"Please state your full name."
"Lilya Roshni Aryenish-Marduk"
"Your age, please."
"One-hundred eighty."
"Your race, please."
Lilya faltered. If she told him the truth, he would not believe it. To cover her pause, she asked, "I'm sorry, what was the question? The drugs haven't all quite left my system yet."
"What is your race?"
"Elf"
"All right. Now where were you the night the gentlemen's club was attacked?"
"Before it was attacked, I was having a conversation with my mother in the bar."
"Very interesting. How did you gain entrance into the bar?"
"My mother was already inside, so they let me in."
"Ah. And your mother's name is?"
"Mahyar Roshni Aryenish-Marduk"
"You have the same middle name?"
"It's a custom of the tribe we hail from to give a child its acting father's middle name. If no father can be determined, it is given the chief's middle name. Because I had no father and I had no chief, my mother decided to give me her own middle name."
"I see. And you don't know who your father was?"
"No, I don't."
"Ah. So, what was your discussion about?"
"Shouldn't I have a lawyer at this point?"
"You can, if you like. And we never read you your rights, but Tarantian law has a loose interpretation. You were out cold when we brought you in, and you're no longer suspect."
"No longer suspect? Why?"
"We found no evidence of you ever eating men's flesh, but we did find an unusual amount of vegetables. We determined that your lycanthropic form was vegetarian in nature. A few of us had quite a laugh at that one.... Ehem. So, no, you're no longer suspect. If you feel you need a lawyer, you may have one, but I doubt a lawyer provided by the state would help much, if you catch my drift."
"I do. Thank you. To answer your question, I had come to Tarant to investigate my mother's disappearance. She had left clues leading up to the Gentlemen's club."
"We have witnesses saying you were discussing a murder."
"Yes. As I found out, my mother had killed a man. Flayed him alive. I later learned that she had eaten the man. And there may have been more than one."
The doctor gasped. "Would you be willing to sign a statement swearing to that?"
"Yes. But... wait. My mother is dead. How can there be a trial on a dead person?"
"If you sign a testament, there won't be any trial. You're in no way suspect. It's just we like to have this sort of information on file."
"I don't believe my mother was in her right mind at the time she ate those people."
"Neither do I. Lycanthropy is a versitile disease, affecting the body as well as the mind."
"Why do you call it a disease?"
"And not a curse? I come from the empirical school of medicine. I don't blame magic and curses unless a magical signature is found. I'm a man of science."
Lilya tried not to let him see her rolling her eyes. The doctor was writing something. When he'd finished, he presented it to her. She read the statement carefully, then signed it. The doctor started to leave.
"Wait!"
"Yes?"
"Can I leave now?"
"We have another investigator coming in to ask you questions about a different but similar crime. It would save them time in finding you if you stayed here tonight. Do you have a better place to stay in Tarant?"
"No, but you must understand my hesitation to stay in a place I was almost violated by a guard."
"Well, then. Perhaps if you stayed at my place?"
Lilya raised an eyebrow.
"N-no, m-madam I-I'm n-not h-hitting on y-you--Nnot that y-you're not beautiful--I m-mean attractive. Err."
"It's all right. I believe you." Lilya blushed. The doctor was handsome, if a little rigid. She looked down at the front of his labcoat. Okay, very rigid. She smiled. "All right, as long as you don't get fresh with me. I'm not that kind of girl."
"I didn't think you were."
Lilya sat up. Suddenly, she gasped. She was naked again! The doctor blushed and turned away.
"Where are my robes?" demanded Lilya.
"They're in evidence. You'll find some clean robes in the closet on the right hand side of the room. We'll try to get your clothes returned to you as soon as possible."
Lilya opened the closet, pulled out a clean, white robe and shoes, and put them on.
"I'm dressed now. You can turn around."
"Ah. Splendid. Shall I escort you to my home?"
"Yes, thank you."
Lilya followed the man through the gates, through check-out, through the streets of Tarant (they could not take the subway because of Lilya's magical aptitude), and to the man's door. "I live in a relatively safe neighborhood," he told her. Lilya had a hot bath and then went immediately to bed. The doctor slept on the couch in his study. Lilya lay there awake with her eyes closed for hours. She bit her lip and dreamt about the doctor from the time she lay down and through the long night of sleep. Perhaps, when the investigation is over, she would invite him to her country home for tea and a picnic.... Lilya secretly wondered if she was becoming her mother.

 

For no mere mortal can resist....

Lilya's dreams took a turn for the worse when the good Doctor Powlowski faded away, replaced by that shotgun-toting giant carrot farmer. Lilya tried to fight the dream, imagining it only a nightmare, but it would not yield. It was not merely a memory of the man, but his very soul. A farmer's murder had gone unavenged, and his tortured soul refused to leave this plane.
"Hello there, bunny! Remember me?" said the ghost in her dream.
"N-no!" studdered Lilya
"It took me a while to find you, bunny, but I finally did. And now that I've found you, I'll haunt one sixth of your dreams once a month for a full week for the rest of your life!"
Lilya couldn't help but laugh. When she saw the ghost protest, she apologized: "I'm sorry, but did you say--"
"--what? Yes, I said one sixth! I tried to get more, but they said my death was an accident."
"But I didn't kill anyone!"
"Oh, really, lassie? Allow me to refresh your memory."
Lilya saw herself as a bunny once again, eating carrots in the man's farm. Suddenly, she saw the man shooting at her. She jumped up and kicked. Sending the man flying into a lemon tree, to his death. Suddenly, it vanished. The farmer smirked.
"Had enough?!"
"WHAT THE HECK? You were shooting at me!"
"So?"
"I kicked in self defense!"
"You were trespassing and eating my giant carrots!"
"Excuse me... but did you say 'giant carrots'?"
"Yes. It was a breakthrough in agriculture, a way to keep carrots growing all day, all night, and throughout the seasons, far beyond their normal capacity for growth! I was going to be a millionaire once my crop got large enough to show them all. I had to hide them until the time was right, you see. I couldn't have other farmers stealing my technique before it was patented. I had it all figured out... until YOU tresspassed onto my farm, ate my giant carrots, and KILLED ME!"
"Didn't you have other animals eating your crops?"
"Well... yes, of course."
"Rabbits included?"
"Yes... and I shot at those too!"
"Yes, but don't you see? I was just like those rabbits! I was a wild animal seeking nourishment on land that some human claimed as his own!"
"I have the deed to that farm! Well... had. It's passed on to my city-born nephew. He wouldn't know a hoe from a stalk of corn."
"Really? And from whom did you obtain this land?"
"I bought it from the government with grant money for my research."
"Oh? And who gave that land to the government?"
"I suppose the farmers who lived there before."
"And who gave the land to the farmers' ancestors?"
"I don't know! Eh... the gods?"
"Do you have THAT deed, farmer?"
"Pff. This is nonsense! I bought the land, fair and square."
"And you sold it to me for two Loopas, right?"
"NO! Anyway, what's a Loopa worth? I've never heard of such a thing!"
"It's worth nothing, of course."
"I didn't sell you anything."
"What proof do you have?"
"You don't have my deed."
"Neither did the farmers' ancestors."
"Okay, okay, I get your IRRELEVANT point. What's this got to do with my death?"
"The of the jungle."
"What's that?"
"You can only kill to eat or to keep from being eaten."
"I wasn't going to eat you!"
"Did I know that?"
"You MURDERED ME!"
"Believe whatever you want to believe, farmer, but I reacted in self defense as an animal."
"Animals were put on this earth to serve man!"
"Really? Then man was put on the earth to serve elves."
"That's ridiculous!"
"Give it up, farmer. You know I'm right."
"I want vengeance!"
"You're dead. You can't have vengeance."
"I can! I'll... I'll... I'll possess your body!"
Lilya laughed. "You can't, and you know it."
"Oh! I give up! I won't endure a lifetime of this! This is torture!"
"What will you do, then, farmer?"
"Stop calling me farmer! My name is Galt. John Galt."
"All right, then, John. Will you move on to the next plane of existence, or do I have to send you there myself?"
John stared, wide eyed, at Lilya: "Y-you're a n-necromancer?"
"On the light side, yes. I know a form of the sanctuary spell which will banish you to the realm of the dead where you belong!"
The farmer frowned, then sneered. "You're bluffing! Why wouldn't you do that now if you could?"
"Because it would be very... painful to you. A lot more painful than your death was, I can assure you."
The farmer stared for a long time in silence. "Okay. I'll go. But promise me this:"
"What?"
"Don't let my method for growing gigantic plants slip into oblivion."
"Why?"
"It was going to make me filthy rich when I was alive, but since I died, I've thought up other uses."
"Such as?"
"Well, for one, plants that grow all year round and to that size and that quickly could solve world hunger, you halfwit."
Lilya scowled at him. "And the other uses?"
"First let me tell you the secret."
And so, Farmer Galt explained his surprisingly simple method of growing giant plants to Lilya and its uses. She could not take notes, but Lilya was certain she would remember, When he had finished, a door of white light appeared behind him. He said, "Well, I guess this is goodbye! I'm off to the next plane, hopefully a higher one, but probably the same. See you in the next life!" and stepped through the door. Lilya awoke immediately.
She was thirsty.
She eased out of bed and made her way to the technologically convenient kitchen. When she stepped in, the machines howled and barked at her, but she managed to reach the water pump unscathed. She filled a mug with water and drank, then tried to make her way back as quietly as possible. It wasn't quiet enough. Dr. Powlowski had awoken. A look of guilt passed over her face, as a look of relief passed over the doctor's. Both faces were illuminated by the light of his lamp.
"I'm sorry. I was thirsty. I didn't know the kitchen was so... noisy."
The doctor shook his head, sitting down on the couch.
"It is I who should apologize. I didn't think to leave water for you in your room."
"Oh, but I woke you."
"Trust me, you did not."
"You had trouble sleeping too, doctor?"
The doctor blushed.
Lilya continued: "I was tormented in my sleep by dreams."
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "What were the dreams about? Eh. Err. If you don't mind me asking. ehem."
Lilya sat down next to the doctor and leaned into the lamplight. "I was dreaming of you."
"Oh! Well. Hmm." The doctor tugged at his collar and glanced at the lamp. "Is it hot in here?"
Lilya leaned closer to him. "And what's kept you awake, doctor?"
The doctor looked about to answer, but instead found that his hand had wandered onto hers. When she smiled, he brought it to his lips and kissed it. "M-madam, I-I h-have ssomething I w-wish to ask of you."
"Yes?"
"W-why do you have such large canines?"
Lilya faltered. If she wasn't more careful, people would eventually find out about where she came from. Regaining her composure, she replied,
"The better to leave a mark on your neck with, doctor."
And, before she knew it, Lilya had become just like her mother.

 

The evil of the thriller.

Lilya awoke. His arm was still around her. She turned around and kissed him on the hand, eased out of bed, and slipped on her clothing. She was thirsty, but she couldn't very well go back into the kitchen and wake him up. Dr. Powlowski was smiling in his sleep. The sheets made a little tent on his body. Lilya smiled at this. She walked out of the bedroom... and looked up to see a man in a guard's uniform looking at her, his eyebrow raised. His eyes drifted to the naked doctor sleeping in the next room. Lilya covered her face.

OOC This post marks the end of "A Sharp-eared Werewolf in Tarant". Lilya's story continues in "The island of Doctor Mingle" OOC