Mary Morston was a smaller woman with fairly common features, brown hair, brown eyes and reasonably tanned skin. Much like John that had little effect on her presence. When Sherlock saw the woman enter his flat late on a Thursday night he was surprised to say the least but was not fooled by her smaller figure. His first instinct was to assume she was affiliated with Mycroft or one of his other enemies. Further inspection revealed that she was something else entirely. Judging by her knuckles she fought regularly and the cut of her clothes suggested she spent a lot of time outside. He was seated on the sofa at the time still studying John's medical files when she'd arrived but he quickly set them aside. He'd already placed multiple calls to Mycroft to have professionals inspect John's genetic material and see what they could make from the files as well. Sherlock could see that the lack of information there was the biggest clue to whatever John was hiding. With Mary's unexpected visit interrupting his research he didn't have much use of any of the social niceties that John always insisted he practice.
"Breaking and entering when the residents are still at home is a bit idiotic wouldn't you say?" He quipped and stood from the sofa letting his robe fall open. He hadn't moved since John left for work so the material of his pajamas were creased and his legs ached to be stretched as he stood solidly in front of the oddly intimidating female.
"I think you mean resident as in the singular, and considering the circumstances I'd say it is you who's the idiotic one." She snarled back and looked around the flat quizzically. She sniffed the air and sent a perturbed look towards the fridge before glaring at Sherlock once more.
The detective grit his teeth at the mention of his own idiocy and looked about the flat as well. It seemed she was correct John was not yet home. He observed the clock and felt a jab of panic when he realized how late it was.
"Where's John?" Sherlock asked in a dangerously low tone. It was no coincidence that this woman had decided to show herself and that John was most likely missing or being held captive. His thoughts circled around images of John in Semtex like at the pool or when he'd been strapped down with silver chains. He tried to clear his mind and focus on the woman in front of him; he had to try to get the answers he needed. He had to make sure John was ok.
"I'm not sure exactly, that's why I need your help." She replied and took a step closer as her eyes dragged across Sherlock's body. She clearly didn't care for him, but Sherlock could safely say the feeling was mutual.
"Why do you care? Are you one of the girlfriends he insists on having?" Sherlock questioned and tried to determine just how her face seemed to be contorting as she became more frustrated. He didn't care much for the girls that John had around, he didn't like the idea of them holding his attention for so long, especially in such a... sexual context.
"Why I care is none of your business, all you need to know is that we're mates. We don't see eye to eye much any more but that hardly matters now. He's gone and gotten himself kidnapped, surprisingly enough it isn't completely your fault this time." She snapped and moved further into the room when John's medical files caught her attention. "You shouldn't be snooping in places you don't belong." She growled and clenched her fists tight.
"Wherever John is concerned I belong." Sherlock answered steadily and observed the woman's animalistic behaviour with curiosity. It wasn't often that he met someone worth his attention and none of John's girlfriends had ever been able to manage that, not even for a moment. He instantly hated her more for being so damnably interesting.
"Stupid ape, you don't even know what you're tampering with. I'd kill you right now if it weren't for John." The woman snapped ferociously and was suddenly much closer than Sherlock remembered her being.
He took a step back and studied her for a tick before straightening himself out, not wanting to reveal his momentary shock.
"Much obliged." Sherlock drawled with only the most eloquent use of sarcasm. The woman growled at his tone and he took a beat to think. "You clearly don't like me." He stated factually.
"What gave me away?" She quipped and Sherlock chose to ignore her.
"And you have no qualms with killing me or-I suspect-any other person to your disliking." He continued and studied the furious creature in his sitting room. She nodded minutely and he smirked briefly. "Yet you claim to be friends with John. He would not affiliate himself with someone who has such low moral ambitions, which would explain why I've never seen you before… despite your eagerness to save him you're still reluctant to seek my help. You disapprove. So the lack of contact isn't completely one sided then… though it's odd that you would even know enough about John's current affairs to know that John was in trouble to start with. You've either recently begun tailing him or you're quite the devoted stalker. I'd assume the latter given John's magnetic qualities however you don't show even half of the signs. Given the facts I'd have to say you are most likely a companion of the rumoured bloody Mary or the very woman herself." Sherlock concluded and watched carefully as the woman reacted.
She narrowed her eyes briefly before taking a step closer.
"How do you know my name?" Mary asked in a dangerously low voice.
"I overheard a conversation between John and his inebriated sister. She claims you killed a friend of hers by the name of Jimmy. That and that you intend to kill both John and I." Sherlock explained casually though he was becoming equal parts more interested and more worried.
"She's an idiot. I would never kill John." Mary replied candidly and Sherlock relaxed a fraction.
"So you plan to kill me, yet you're asking me for my help." Sherlock said aloud as he processed the information and tried to understand what Mary expected to happen.
"There were no plans in motion to kill you. I know better than to think John would ever forgive me for that. He's grown… fond of you." She admitted and gritted out the last part with great pains.
Sherlock smiled at the new information and took pride in knowing John's affections were so well pronounced. He schooled his expression when he reminded himself why she was there in the first place.
"If not you then who has John, and why?" Sherlock asked and clasped his hands behind his back anxiously.
"Moriarty." She snarled out and the name sent a shiver down Sherlock's spine.
His stomach nearly lurched as he attempted to remain calm.
"That psychopath has Sebastian working for him. I found out just a few weeks ago from one of my scouts. Sebastian never had much loyalty to our kind, but this… it makes me sick to think I once called him friend. They've been conducting experiments on our people; I'm not sure exactly what kind. When John called me about meeting him and Sebastian today at the park I knew it was a trap. Sebastian had tried to lure me out before, I'm sure he assumed John's invitation would trick me into coming. I went, but I had to stay far enough away so they wouldn't smell me. By the time it happened I was too late. I was too far away to stop them from shoving him in that van, and there was no way I could pursue on foot in the middle of the day. I did my best to check out some alleged hang out spots for their gangs but I had no luck. That's why I came here, you're the only one John would trust with this and you're the best for the job. We need to find where Moriarty is keeping him. "She explained hesitantly.
It was obvious to the detective that it was taking her a great deal of effort to reveal so much to him. He attributed that to John, the man had a way of making people care. Something he found both infuriating and wonderful.
"This Sebastian was a friend to you and John. Why would he take either of you?" Sherlock questioned as he did his best to understand the situation. "And what exactly do you mean by 'your people'?" He added as he considered everything she had said. It was odd to use such a phrase for people who didn't appear to be any set ethnicity.
John and Mary certainly seemed to have different hereditary backgrounds so he doubted it had to do with that sort of thing. A cultural identity was possible, something religious even? Except John wasn't very religious from what he observed, though that might explain the falling out. However it could just as easily refer to his military affiliations, though he'd never heard such phrasing from anyone else in the army. Mary stood silent for a moment as she considered the questions and looked as though she were in the middle of a life altering debate.
"If I have anything less than full disclosure it will give Moriarty the advantage and put John at risk." He pointed out hoping it would help her make a decision faster.
It appeared to work as she rolled her shoulders and nodded. "This sort of thing tends to be a bit hard to believe, I'd rather skip the part where you decide I'm crazy and go straight to the part where I end up having to show you anyway." She explained as she moved the furniture around so that there was a large portion of the living room cleared.
Sherlock watched with fascination and wondered what exactly he was about to be shown. It seemed odd to say the least but then he'd seen many odd things in his time. Mary began removing her clothing and he started to become more than a little confused. Perhaps they bore some special mark on their skin? What did that have to do with rearranging the living room?
"Step back." She warned and Sherlock did as he was told, silently wishing that she would hurry up, for the sake of his curiosity and John's safety. "Oh, and don't scream." She added as she removed the last article of clothing and Sherlock rolled his eyes (Despite what Mycroft or anyone else thought he was hardly alarmed by naked women) after observing that she carried no obscure marking on her skin though she had quite a few scars.
Suddenly Mary's entire body began… changing. Her limbs stretched and bent at odd angles, which Sherlock suspected was being caused by multiple breaks. He could hear the snapping of bones and teeth as large fangs extended from her elongating mouth. With every passing second her humanity was being peeled away and being replaced with something beastly. Hair covered her at the end of the change and it was clear that she had transformed into a large wolf. A very large wolf. She towered over him and her bright eyes found his in an instant. She was clearly very aware of her surroundings though she was still out of breath. The change had taken a great deal of effort it seemed and Sherlock couldn't help but find himself speechless. He'd never seen something so magnificent or insanely impossible. It enraged him to think that Moriarty knew about this before he did, or that this is what John had been hiding. It explained the lack of medical treatment though, clearly their kind avoided discovery. He marveled at Mary's thick coat of brown fur and strong features and wondered how avoiding a few doctors visits could keep such creatures hidden for so long. He also wondered what John would look like. He wanted to know everything he could about these creatures; he wanted to know what John could do.
"Fantastic." He breathed out finally and drew himself closer. The wolf rolled her eyes and Sherlock couldn't help but be thrilled that they appeared to maintain human intelligence. "Do you all look like this?" He asked and received a shake of the head, which was so large it would be perfectly reasonable to assume she could devour him in one bite. "No? Does John look like this?" He continued, still trying to grasp the fact that all this time John held such incredible surprises.
She shook her head again and Sherlock felt excitement and curiosity bubble up inside him. He wanted to see John so badly, for more reasons than one. He reminded himself that John was in danger and that there would be time in the future to look into such things.
"Alright, so you're… wolves. Brilliant, let's hope that can be of some use. As far as finding Moriarty, my brother should know of several locations. We mustn't waste any more time." Sherlock declared and retrieved his phone as quickly as possible.