Greetings again. I had intended to go back to posting on Sundays, but that didn't happen this week. I feel like some things are OOC and that maybe this installment falls short, but it will do. At any rate, I did try to explain any foreign concepts, but if anything is still unclear, let me know.

I own nothing you recognize.


My first week passes uneventfully. It's mostly paperwork and mundane calls, a few minor scuffles and nothing else. I return to my run-down apartment as had become routine and head to shower without checking the answering machine. I stand under the hot water for the longest time, shaking off the cold and rain and thanking my lucky stars that we actually had water pressure. A knocking at the door destroys my relaxation. I quickly redon my garb and go to answer it.

I put the chain on the door and peek through the gap. Wolf is there, looking a little more upset than usual. Strange, I saw him not twenty minutes ago. I let him in and he glances around my studio. There's no couch, so I gesture toward the desk chair and sit myself on the bed.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion. I called, but I guess you hadn't come home yet." He apologizes and takes a moment to explain himself. "Something's...happened."

"What kind of something?" I press, raising my eyebrows as he lights up a smoke and ashes it into the tray on the desk.

"A murder." He's blunt about admitting it, but he still doesn't sound sure. "It looks like a wild animal, but we're not sure." My heart thunders around in my chest. His gaze flicks to me, as if he can detect the change in my scent. "It's probably nothing. I've checked for evidence already but I thought maybe you'd want to take a look."

"But it's still a murder," I chime. I imagine wild animals aren't exactly prevalent in the area, so I could see why it would raise red flags. If it was a Fable...or worse...they had to do something about it. "Do you know who it was? The victim, I mean."

He shakes his head. "No. Some Mundy, I guess."

I depart to slip on my shoes and grab my personal effects, then follow Wolf through the rain to where the body is being held. White is waiting for us when we arrive.

The corpse of a young woman is laid out on the table. The tang of blood hits my nose immediately. Jesus, how long has it been since I've had a drink? I shake off the urge and approach the body. There's a series of deep gouges across her torso, glittering dark. White misinterprets the face I'm making and touches my arm. I offer a brief smile and rake my gaze up and down the corpse. "It certainly loks like a wild animal," I conclude. Wolf has been watching me, and now he walks around the table and points at the neck.

"The problem is this," he emphasizes, and I make my way around to stand next to him. Two punctures stand out against the sallow skin. I inhale sharply and he looks at me curiously.

"That is a problem," I agree. I grimace and sigh heavily. "I guess a week is long enough. What happens in this room, stays in this room."

The pair is obviously confused. "Sure," White consents in spite of her befuddlement.

"You're dealing with a Childe of Caine, a Kindred, a..vampire." Using the word sounds so silly. "The wounds – something like that would have bled. There's no evidence of that. They were drained try, and the lacerations are to try to cover it up."

"So how big of a problem is a vampire?" Wolf asks the inevitable as White digests the information.

"Normally, not any. They uphold the Masquerade. I'll guarantee there's plenty of Kindred in this city. They're no stupid. This had to be a Sabbat fledgling."

"Sabbat? Fledgling? Plain English here, Jacoby," Wolf chides.

"You can't just Embrace – turn a human into a vampire. You have to seek permission from the higher ups. The Childe has to be educated before hand; when they're not, things like this happen. The Sabbat are...are a bunch of assholes. They like to make shock troops – most of the time they're just turned and bashed over the head and hell, a lot of them are lucky if they even know they're a vampire. And at any rate, if it's a not a Sabbat fledgling, when you drain an innocent dry, you lose Humanity, and when you lose Humanity, the Beast awakens and you have to suffer the consequences. That's when it becomes a problem." I finish my speech and light up a cigarette, waiting for the inevitable questioning.

"So, then, you're...?" White begins to ask, but Wolf interrupts her.

"I said I wouldn't ask what you were and I won't-"

"Yes, but I didn't," White snaps, glaring at the man.

"I've already said too much ma'am, imagine telling a human about your situation. I'm sure you can understand." From the interview and the following conversations, I'd gathered enough to know we were both in hiding. She falls silent and nods.

"Then what do we do about this?" she revises, and they both look at me expectantly.

"Well, normally, the Prince, the head vampire of the city, would handle it. Send their errandboy. But I assume Fabletown doesn't have a Prince. You could contact the Prince of New York, but I don't know who they are or where to find them. It might just be easier to find the fledgling ourselves."

"We could ask the mirror," Wolf suggests, looking to White for agreement.

"Do you think it would work?" she asks us both. Personally, I shrug.

"Maybe, but tracking down one individual would be work, and you don't know who's behind them, how many more you would have to eliminate. I think it would be best to have them put down as quick as possible. As for the Prince, they're generally elusive."

"And just how do we put them down?" Wolf asks, crossing his arms across his chest.

"A shotgun blast to the head. Fire. Sunlight."

"What about a stake?"

"Only bad news if it catches them in the heart, then it's only paralysis."

"So you're not one of them? You walk around during the day," White points out.

I purse my lips. "It's complicated. Everything would take too long to explain, and it's not exactly something you need to know. I'm not going to hand out a tutorial on how to kill me. Besides, I've already pretty thoroughly violated the Masquerade, please understand." Neither of them seem content with my silence, but agree nonetheless.

"Well, that's it then. We'll ask the mirror in the morning," White summarizes, clasping her hands together.