"What's all the kerfuffle about?" Mouser asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs that led towards the basement, the dudgeon and rooms where the hunting paraphernalia had been stored, Sebastian silently following. "Oh." She eyed the empty prison, the crimson puddle aided by the rain that dripped from the rather large hole in the wall and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Cor blimey that's a lot of blood innit..." Meyrin was standing up now, helped by Bard, shivering a bit in shock. Tanaka looked at the damage unemotionally. Sebastian approached the bars. "No way the blighter survived that... whatever it was."
"Humans can survive the oddest things." Sebastian mentioned as the sound of boots echoed through the stairs once more and the boyo appeared, Angela and Finny in tow.
"Master Barrymore!" The maid gasped, staring at the blood and hole.
The suddenly loud pounding on the front doors brought the group's attention outside, leaving the basement for the entrance hall, opening the doors to find one of the villagers dripping wet and in a state of panic and all he said was Devil Dog.
Mouser held up her parasol, keeping the rain from her and the boyo. The lace, woven into black roses and swirling rows of thorns, at the edges was soaked through but they were both dry. The idea had been "my parasol, my rules" in addition to the hats and jackets. Not that she had a hat. Then the boyo said he was the one paying her so he was entitled to sharing the protection.
The dog pit was filled once more, the villagers kneeling, praying through the same odd song, dogs sitting and howling into the air. Then a sudden flash of lightning illuminated Barrymore's corpse, propped against the wall, eyes open, unseeingly.
Ciel's eyes widened in surprise, glancing at Sebastian. The demon advanced through the crowd, crouching next to the man, examining his wounds. From a distance Mouser could see that his arm seemed bit off but the size of the wound suggested a single bite. There was no way a dog, a normal dog's mouth could encircle and rip away those arms. At least not in one go. And as lightning struck, showing Barrymore's dead form again and again the white haired maid passed out with a squeak.
"With that the case is at an end." Sebastian quoted dramatically as the Phantomhive and his staff assembled in the parlour. "Having declared such a thing this is rather unfortunate, isn't it, Young Master?" The demon mentioned, smiling slightly, a condescending look in his eyes. Mouser snickered before she could help herself.
"He said it?"
"Shut up." Ciel demanded a bit angrily, frowning harder than usual.
"What about Miss Angela?" Sebastian asked, recovering his butler veneer, looking at Meyrin.
"We've put her to bed for the time being." The maid answered with a tired, worried lilt in her voice. "It's no wonder she's tired out."
"It's so heart wrenching it's unbearable." Bard said grimly. Finny nodded, his big eyes full of worry.
"Why? The blighter's dead. Not as if he's going to be missed." Mouser crossed her arms, looking towards the fire.
"That's such a mean thing to say." Meyrin piped in. "What about Miss Angela?" Mouser glanced at her for a moment, her expression showing exactly what she thought about it.
"This village completely isolated itself from the rest of society, fearing the curse of the Devil Dog. Its existence was supposed to have been a farce Lord Henry created in order to rule." The boyo started, calmly, reviewing what he knew. "However that same Lord Henry has now...
"Those bite marks... Doesn't it as if they really are the Devil Dog's work, just like the villagers say?" Bard piped in, looking around worriedly.
"Maybe the real Devil Dog was angered by Lord Henry doing all those bad deeds in its name." Meyrin tossed into the conversation, spooked.
"Well it seems certain it was not the work of humans." Sebastian appraised. Mouser eyed him for a long moment then huffed, smirking.
"What do you mean by that?" Bard demanded, confused.
"Monsters are real." Mouser said in a low voice she used when telling horror stories to the kids under Jack's protection.
Mouser was sitting on the bed looking and feeling as grumpy as a bear awakened before spring, hugging the pillow lightly against her chest, her hair pointing in several directions, the bedding rumpled, eyes half closed, as Meyrin prattled on and on, gesturing wildly about ghosts, investigating, finding Finny, something about the Barrymore maid bonking a stranger, the boyo finding them and joining in with Sebastian or some such and Finny running away screaming.
"What?" She groaned, her head falling forward, snapping back up, the jerky motion stratling her slightly, asking slowly, in a raspy voice.
"It was just so exciting. It's like out of a novel and..." The pillow caught her squarely on the face. The maid screeched when the object was flying towards her, before contact. "Mouser..."
"Go to sleep..." Mouser snarled, snuffing out the candle, diving under the covers, turning her back on the maid.
Meyrin chuckled nervously, adjusting her glasses, sitting on the bed, flattening the sheets with nervous fingers. Maybe it hadn't been the best time...
"Today's snack is Cabinet Pudding prepared with blackberries from the surrounding regions." Sebastian placed the slice in front of the boyo along with the Assam tea.
Mouser glanced at the cake for a moment, pouting, sitting to the left of Earl, before returning to work, making a list of the lost classes, time tables to make up for it, what could be cut from the schedule and a list of chores to do as soon as she found out how much mail had been delivered. Usually where a Lord went his mail followed but there... isolation, rain and bad reputation was keeping everything at bay.
"You're quite laidback, aren't you?" Ciel asked, picking up his cup.
"There is no need to get flustered." Sebastian replied. Mouser grumbled, flipping the page, continuing her scribbling. Obviously he was not the one dealing with the schedule.
"Sebastian!" Meyrin barged into the dining room, followed by Finny.
"What is wrong? You're making a ruckus." Sebastian scolded with a calm harshness that made the noise dim slightly. Still the gardener-boy was too overwrought to be reduced to silence by the usual air of disapproving intimidation. He was contaminating Meyrin too.
"Miss Angela is nowhere to be found." Finny said, fists clenched, fidgeting.
"Ah." Bard acknowledged, understanding. "It seems there are some herbs that grow near the swamp. She said she'd go pick them." There was no worry in his voice, finding the action endearing and caring.
"On her own? To the swamp?" The gardener-boy said suddenly, worry growing over his features in a harder mask.
"Really? At a time when the Devil Dog may be running loose?" Meyrin adjusted her glasses, looking grim, following Finny's through.
"Ah, damn..." Bard gasped.
"Why did she go pick herbs at a time like this?" Finny complained, completely in fretting mode.
"It seems she was worried about how pale you looked." Bard explained, his voice low, thoughtful.
"For me?" The boy ran away suddenly, blanching at the news, bolting.
Mouser tapped her fountain pen, observing with disinterest.
"Sebastian we're going too." Bard announced, crossing the room toward Meyrin.
"Oh?" Sebastian wasn't showing much interest either.
"What? Don't you have any hot, red blood running through your veins? Let's go Meyrin." Bard was behaving like any other man. Let's go rescue the fair maiden his actions were saying.
"Yes Sir!" Meyrin saluted, getting into the spirit.
"What about you Old Tanaka..." The old man was already prepared for an expedition although it seemed he had dressed and packed supplies for elephant hunting in Africa.
"He's got the spirit." Bard said appreciatively. "Right! Let's go you rabble!" And they ran out after Finny.
The boyo took another bite from his snack, mostly undisturbed by the commotion, before glancing at Sebastian.
"So... What colour is your blood?" Ciel provoked.
Mouser looked up once again, capping the fountain pen, smiling slightly.
"I can tell you his underwear is black." She mentioned softly.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ciel blushed vividly, turning to the secretary, a bit bewildered.
"It seemed equally irrelevant." Mouser turned her look back to the sheets of black and white as the boyo regained control.
"Seems like that was something to get flustered about." Ciel teased again, putting the exchange with Mouser aside. Sebastian allowed a very put upon sigh to escape. "Show them how perfectly you play your role Sebastian."
"Yes, my Lord." And boy did he sound miserable about that.
"My, my... you're quite good at the shake hands command." Sebastian's voice rang out, still calm, still collected, slightly amused and a bit to their left.
"Sebastian..." Finny's voice came through the fog too, closer, a rather small whisper, the mists too thick to navigate without a guide.
Mouser turned a bit eyes narrowing, staring at the swirling white mass around them, the boyo next to her looking around too, trying to find his missing demon, the one who had moved ahead when he heard a growl.
"However, as expected, it's a bit too heavy." Sebastian's voice echoed again, giving them a direction, the scene suddenly apparent as they stepped close enough. A gigantic white dog with red eyes and black claws was fallen against the stone ruins of a wall, looking around, sniffing the air, looking a bit confused.
Mouser whistled low, watching, arms crossed under her cape. That was a big pooch.
"Hey. This isn't the time to be playing around." Ciel demanded, walking calmly towards his servants who turned, surprised.
"Young Master..." it was almost a one voice exclamation, the boyo's presence confusing them.
"Of course. I intend to clean all this up in just a moment." Sebastian was smirking slightly, standing between the group and the dog that kept sniffing, pointy wolfish snout twisting towards the demon butler. "It is a scent you cannot resist, is it not?" He began saying, slowly, softly. "Puppy's favourite. They'll want to eat it every day. It's Innuko." A box was suddenly in his hand, the dog's eyes following as it swayed slightly.
"Innuko?" The servants repeated a bit confused, looking around, at each other.
"He brought doggie treats?" Mouser chuckled, covering her mouth. He was quoting the newspaper publicity with a straight face and... "He actually brought the doggie treats?"
And from a vicious dog that attacked strangers Sebastian was now dealing with an overeager puppy begging for scraps with big eyes and a tail that would not be still.
"The best way to train a dog is to bend its will and strengthen its loyalty. In other words the carrot and stick." Sebastian moved, jumping towards the dog, nibbling on its nose. Mouser this time couldn't help it. She started to laugh, as the faces around her showed clearly they thought the butler was not only odd but utterly cracked. Punishment and rewards followed, the dog being tossed and led around by the demon, either looking bewildered after a punch or kick or wagging its tail at the prospect of a treat.
"This is a bigger show than I could have imagined." Ciel said, staring, doing a much better job at keeping any amusement he felt contained. Mouser snorted, trying to control the sounds coming out of her mouth.
"And finally..." Sebastian said before moving. "A big hug." That hug plummeted the dog against the ground, creating an enormous crater, dust rising around it, followed by a sudden silence. The group approached, peeking down the darkness, worrying. Mouser placed her hands on her knees, bending down to peer into the pit.
"What are you idling about? Come back here this instant." Ciel demanded, looking down too.
"Understood." Sebastian's voice echoed through the hole, a rumbling starting to build coming from the depths of that place. Mouser stepped back suddenly. So did the boyo.
Water shot up like a geyser, the demon and with a white haired, fair-skinned man on his arms.
The servants shrieked and backed away, quickly, spooked by the water's force.
"Hu... is this hot water?" Bard noticed, surprised as droplets rained over them.
"One thing essential for a resort is a centrepiece that will provide tourist attraction." Sebastian began, allowing his voice to rise and fill the space. "Bathing luxuriously in excessive amounts of hot water draining away the fatigue of the day. That is what this is. The spa." He jumped down gracefully. Mouser noticed one thing about the man Sebastian carried. He was still behaving rather dog like. "If one who serves as the Phantomhive butler could not strike a spring or two where would we be?" And the pooch destroyed the moment by licking his cheek.
Mouser chuckled at his annoyance. Meyrin just stared for a moment before turning away, talking about shock, blushing heavily, sneaking peeks of the naked male. Mouser eyed him unabashedly for a moment and shrugged.
"Pluto!" Angela appeared, her voice floating around coming out of the fading mists of the swampy area, running towards them all gracefulness and innocence. The pooch jumped from Sebastian's arms, barking before hugging the woman, latching on like, well... a dog looking for petting.
Mouser pressed her lips together to hide her amusement at the thing's antics and gave Sebastian a handkerchief as the others stared in shock at the scene. They had thought her dead. And she couldn't say she cared if things had turned that way.
"I found this little one about a month ago." Angela started to explain, sitting on the ground, the devil dog resting his head on her lap, enjoying some petting. "I love dogs and he was just so cute I ended up trying to tame him."
"Cute?" Finny and Meyrin exchanged a look, tossing the word.
"He has a bad habit of turning human when he gets excited though." She explained in an overly conciliatory tone. Mouser huffed, itching to cover her ears and screech.
"Don't try to settle this by calling it a habit!" Bard shouted, rather outraged.
"So, you kept him without telling anyone." Sebastian summarized, his face a blank.
"Yes. Lord Barrymore used the legend of the Devil Dog but in reality he was more afraid of it than anyone else. When I thought about what would happen if this one was found out... I suppose I was too naïve. I did not think for one moment that he would do that to Lord Barrymore." A giant wild devil dog. Of course he would not hurt anyone what an utterly silly idea. Mouser huffed, her heel clicking against the cracked stone. "I beg of you, is there no way he could be taken to Lord Ciel's mansion?" Big purple eyes shimmering like a picture of innocence and niceness. Beggar tears. Genuine ones? What had the world come to?
Sebastian's eyes widened in surprise and not just a bit of displeasure.
"Take him to the mansion?" Bard said, surprised by the request.
"If he's under Mr. Sebastian's tutelage I believe he will become a wonderfully obedient dog!"
"Well I am a hell of a butler but..." There was no denying the clear distaste for the idea in the demon's face.
"That sounds fine." Ciel said cheerfully. Sebastian's eyes narrowed menacingly. Mouser stepped a bit closer rubbed his back discreetly.
"Are you serious, Young Master?" It was not easing his mood it seemed.
"Yes, it sounds fun..." the boyo glanced up in smug challenge. "in many ways. Well whatever. Our goal was accomplished."
"Would it perhaps be the time to say that line you so carelessly uttered before?" Revenge with a polite smile.
"You do it." Ciel was not amused.
And Sebastian did, performing.
"With that, the case is at an end!"
"Don't forget about me Pluto." Angela was saying putting a collar on him, kissing his cheek, rubbing his white hair. "And lets meet again Finny." She kissed him too, making the boy blush intensely, smiling kindly.
Tanaka was perched on the driver's seat, reins in hand. Bard and Meyrin had already hopped onto the coach. So had Mouser and Ciel. The thief was kneeling next to the boyo, arms placed over the back of their coach watching the scene with narrowed eyes. Sebastian surveyed the last minute issues, walking around, mostly ignoring the goodbyes.
"Well then... Shall we make some headway?" Sebastian spoke, turning towards the white haired maid as the devil dog climbed onto the second coach, curling and drifting into a nap. He was examining her again, a deeply suspicious glint in his crimson eyes. Mouser clicked her tongue, shifting.
"I will definitely come to see Pluto sometime." The maid said, smiling.
What was it... The... favourites. It clicked suddenly. The girls whose value in the marriage auctions granted them protection and less to no work from the Headmistress. The enemy with fake smiles and power to punish. The minions and spies that tattled on every other girl while training the forged politeness that won over the glittering ball halls of the higher ups.
"If possible, I would ask you to refrain from doing so." Sebastian was unimpressed and untouched by the request and syrupy tone. "Taming a devil dog is not such an easy task, though you seem to have quite a talent for it..." Sebastian kept both his face and voice pleasant despite the narrowing of his eyes and the clear distrust behind them. Mouser smirked, catching the irked shift beneath the perfect porcelain doll appearance of the maid, smiling, turning away, sliding down the seat, crossing her legs.
"Let's go, Sebastian." The boyo demanded. The butler said nothing as he climbed onto the carriage and urged the horses into motion.
The sudden scream of pain accompanied by gasps and shouts of outrage and fear echoed through the inn's first floor. The rain had forced them to stop. It had been mostly empty, just a few gentlemen from the ton drinking and loitering about, talking about returning to London's gaming hells. It was just a place to stay the night.
Ciel stood up from the thin bed, disoriented, running towards the corridor, trying to see what was going on. Sebastian was already there, watching. Bard, Finny and Tanaka came out of the room they shared, next to his. They had left the new acquisition on the stables with the horses.
Three men, the drunken rich gentlemen, were in the corridor, in front of the women's designated room, cowering in fear.
The door was open, the empty space occupied by Meyrin who had no glasses on, wearing her rather modest nightgown and holding a pair of Mouser's pistols, her aim trained on the trio, her expression stony. The fourth man was pinned to the wall by his right hand, groaning in pain, Mouser's dagger digging into his palm, firmly held by the woman whose nightwear showed most of her legs and arms. And looked absolutely vicious.
The innkeeper hurried up the stairs checking the scene.
"Now see here! This is a respectable house..."
"Is it?" Mouser said her sarcasm rather thick, her wrist moving. The wood creaked where the blade was sunk. The man screamed as the bones surrounding the dagger snapped out of their proper places due to the pressure. Crimson blood streaked the wooden wall under the candlelight. "So... respectable means... two women..." another absent-minded twist, another howl. Ciel cringed a bit at the sounds, feeling rather fascinated. Sebastian seemed to be enjoying the show too. Finny shook his head in shock but realized if even Meyrin was being deadly those men could not be good. "can be raped..." Bard scowled, looking at the males, hands fisting. Another twist, inverting the direction suddenly, a sharper scream as wooden splinters were shaken free, digging into the wound. "Because... care to elaborate?" She looked the man in the eye, watching him weep for a moment, her question directed to the innkeeper, pulling the blade free, turning.
The man slumped to the floor, cradling the wounded hand, squealing. While they liked delivering pain the soft noble-kind of Britain was wholly unaccustomed to be on the receiving end.
"Indeed I would like to hear why my maid and secretary were forced to defend themselves in you "respectable establishment"." Ciel drew himself up, his voice dragging softly in menace.
Sebastian crossed the corridor, sliding his coat over the less covered Mouser, standing in front of Meyrin without impeding her aim, doing his duty and sustaining the Young Master's claim on the women.
"I... your Lordship... you see... I... the ladies were alone... I had not noticed they were part of your party... usually respectable ladies do not travel without... so alone... so I was forced to conclude they were not..." he stammered, shivering under the Phantomhive's estate glares. Young Master, servants and butler. Mouser was looking at her blade. The men scurried away, frightened, dragging their wounded friend. "proper ladies..." he finished in a tiny squeaky voice. "I am terribly sorry about my mistake... I will compensate you of course... forgive me your Lordship."
Grovelling.
Ciel shook his head. Not terribly entertaining.
"Sebastian. Deal with this." He demanded, turning back into the room, going to bed. The butler sighed, sending the servants away, to their rests, reassuring the innkeeper, encouraging him to call the authorities as he should, waiting for all but one to disappear inside their rooms.
Mouser tilted her head sniffing at the coat covering her shoulders. Sebastian caressed her hair gently, placing his lips over hers softly.
"Viciousness can suit you beautifully when the time is appropriate." He mentioned, red eyes gleaming. "Clean and sharpen the blade before sleep. A servant of the Phantomhives cannot allow their weapons to go blunt."
"Of course." He just smirked, disappearing into the boyo's room. "Sebastian... your tailcoat..." Gonne. Mouser huffed and shook her head, closing the door, propping a chair against it. The lock had been broken.
