Sherlock was fascinated with his newest experiment. Chara was an interesting study as far as he was concerned. He was using his magnifier to go along her body, cataloging all he saw. The sphinx had been nice enough to find him a notebook and a pen so he could write his findings. Bill wouldn't share his book, complaining that Sherlock's writing was horrible. Making himself more comfortable on the floor, Sherlock examined the scales of her tail. She seemed to be a mixture of different species.
"Slow down, pup. I'm not going anywhere. I'll answer all your questions." Chara said, resting her head on the seat of the sofa.
Sherlock nodded, full of unasked questions. How did she reproduce? How far could she fly? Did male sphinxes exist? All of many questions to ask and too little time for them to fulfilled. He extended his hand for a baggie, wanting to collect samples. The sphinx laughed at him, amused but gave Sherlock some fur, scales and feathers. She found his movements funny. Never had she met such an inquisitive human.
"Sherlock, are you even listening to me?"
Sherlock didn't so much as glance at Bill, jotting down notes in his notebook. "If it is about smugglers, then no. You enjoyed the fight after all. That smuggler won't breathe properly for a while. Military training came in handy after all."
"I was a nurse, you twat! I did the medical aspect like holding soldiers together."
Sherlock made a sound of acknowledgement but otherwise tuned Bill out. Bill tried to get his attention but it was no use. Both men didn't even realize the sphinx giggling at their little tiff. Bill grumbled and started to organize his notes, listening as Chara answered Sherlock's questions. Sherlock had taken out his penlight and shined the light into Chara's eyes. Her eyes were human enough but dilated into cat-like slits at the bright light. She took the penlight from him and examined it curiously, making soft chirping sounds.
If he was correct, he was sure the sphinx had more than excellent night vision. Though he startled once the light was shined back into his own eyes. Chara let out a chirp of delight and proceeded to wave the light around.
"You are funny, pups. Like play fighting in the nest. You are lucky, young pup. Most of my kind wouldn't take kindly to this inspection. They would eat you up." she said as she continued to play with the light.
Instead of looking frightened at the prospect of being eaten, Sherlock looked delighted. "Literally?"
"Of course. One of your humans wrote that down, didn't they?" she asked.
Bill decided for his best interest to steer the topic elsewhere. Last thing he wanted to hear was the eating habits on humans when it came to sphinxes. Sherlock could get the information later. Just not when he was around. Preferably not in hearing distance. Lord knows what Sherlock would do with the knowledge. He relocated himself to the floor, leaning next to Chara.
Chara noticed the relocation and stopped playing the penlight. She gave it to her snake head who took it with glee, rolling it around on the floor. Chara waved her hand at Bill to ask his questions. Sherlock did look put out but went to observe the snake head instead.
"Do all sphinxes have the same type of body? "he asked.
Chara shook her head. "Not at all. Only our feline parts are the same. Our wings and tail as unique in every way. Even our human parts are vastly different, just like your species."
"Amazing. Mind me asking how you got your unique assets then?"
"I have the feathers of the cuckoo bird from my brood mother. My lovely complexion is from my father."
Bill nodded as he continued to write and asked a few more questions. He learned that Chara had been alive since Nero's rule of the Roman Empire, she liked learning about humans and was partial to eating one if she got the chance. She then explained that if they hadn't stayed, she would have eaten the smuggler she had killed. In a sense, it was not reassuring but affirmed that while playful, she was(is) the most dangerous thing in the room. Even more unsettling was that she well aware of that fact. As their conversation started to stray to how Chara came to Liverpool, Sherlock decided to interrupt. He sat in front of Chara with a frown on his face.
"Did you hear anything that the smugglers said, Chara? A certain DI doesn't think my findings are coming from a 'valid' source." Sherlock said, glaring as his mobile as he sent a text.
Chara looked confused but went quiet in thought. She was silent for a few minutes before staring at Sherlock with a frown. She didn't think anything of it but thought it would be vital to the detective.
"Before they tried to force me into that infernal cage, they were talking about a warehouse on the docks. One of the men said that the next drop off point would Ireland. They never designated a leaving time." she said.
That meant they could catch them before the drop off. They probably would be busy licking their wounds to do any kind of operation tonight. Plus, not getting the sphinx they wanted was probably a huge setback. There was still enough time. Feeling his mobile vibrate, Sherlock looked down at the text he received.
Coming in. For the love of everything sacred, please don't have touched anything. GL
Well, that was rude. Of course, he touched the majority of things with gloves on. It wasn't like he was going to touch the dead bodies and leave his DNA. Sherlock sent an affirmation before pocketing his mobile. He then produced a tape measure from who knows where. He showed it to Chara before motioning to her wings.
"May I measure your wingspan?"
'It could have been worse.' thought Bill as the Yard came rushing into the house.
Someone had let out a scream at seeing Chara lazing about on the floor. She looked at them with curiosity but was far more interested in braiding her hair. She had coaxed Sherlock into cleaning her feathers, allowing him to get an in-depth analysis of her wings. The members of the Yard had various looks of shock and disbelief on their faces. Bill knew what it was like to see something that wasn't supposed to 'exist' according to stories. He guess that he had it good since John was the least strange of the creatures that he could have met. He wasn't sure how he would have managed with something like a sphinx.
Lestrade was the first to get his wits together. "What in the bloody hell is that?"
Sherlock rolled her eyes, lifting his head to stare at the group. He didn't stare for long as he brushed Chara's primary feathers.
"A sphinx of Greek origins. Fairly obvious, Lestrade. Next."
"And I am not a what, pup. The question is who am I. To answer that question, I am Chara and I'll be helping you catch your smugglers." the sphinx said in an offended huff.
Lestrade wasn't the only one who jumped when the thi-Chara spoke. Only Sherlock would be able to find something so outrageous. Oh God, that meant all the other cases had to be true too. Lestrade put his face in his hands. He didn't know what to think anymore. Donovan seemed to be the brave one out the bunch. Taking a step forward, she put a hand on her hips. She knew it was one of Sherlock's tricks.
"Knock it off, Freak. I don't know how you did but it's not funny. This is a crime scene after all. Bad enough you and your follower were here unsupervised. This is just insane." she snapped.
Bill was annoyed and offended. He and Donovan never hit off from the start. After he turned her advances down and mistakenly insulted her, things went sour fast. He felt like she was always overcompensating for something. What really sealed it though was insulting Sherlock so brazenly and the nasty remarks while their backs were turned. He closed his book and glared at her from his seat.
"Wow, who died and made you queen? Chara is quite real and knowledgeable unlike some people." he said, not backing down as she glared at him.
Donovan then rolled her eyes with scoff, standing her ground. "Prove it."
Chara looked at Bill who shrugged in response. As long as she didn't eat Donovan (apparently humans tasted like chocolate to sphinxes), she could do whatever she wanted. Smiling, Chara rose on all fours and closed the distance between her and the sergeant. Donovan betrayed her false bravery as she took a step back once the sphinx was in front of her. Chara reached up and smoothed a hand down the lapel of Donovan's jacket. She plucked the badge off, poking at it curiously. Her snake head slithered beside her, baring fangs in warning from being rude. Chara chirped, throwing the badge to the floor and sliding past her.
She took extra care to run along her side. The sergeant went rigid at the touch and took in a sharp gasp. The sphinx seemed to very real to Donovan now. Chara ignored her as she stopped to stand in front of Lestrade. She lifted his face from his hands with a finger on his chin. She chuckled and couldn't help blowing a kiss to him. He was adorable. Lestrade looked flustered and had to clear his throat to compose himself. He found himself jumping once more as she grabbed his arm with a smile. The fur and skin against his arm felt warm and very much real.
"You look like the leader of your little band of humans. My, you're cute. What is your name, darling?" she asked.
Lestrade quickly introduced himself with a tentative smile, not sure how to respond. Chara continued to flirt before explaining how she would help. But, on the condition she would be able to ride with Lestrade and her rescuers. She had never been a car before. With the negotiations in order, Lestrade had to split his team. He told Anderson to stay and process the scene with half the team. He would take Donovan and the other half to go find and arrest the smugglers. Making sure the orders were in place, the small group headed out to the cars.
Lestrade was glad that he had opted to taking the police van, assuming they would be carting a number of smugglers. He told Sherlock to get in the front, not trusting him with a dangerous creature. He wasn't sure how he lasted so long. Either Bill had soften the blows or even more terrifying, Chara had taken a shine to him. Truthfully, he wasn't sure which one was worse. Lestrade took a calming breath, watching as Bill helped Chara into the vehicle. She cooed in delight and ran her hands along every surface. She even went so far to lick one of the back windows. Bill had laughed and was the one to explain the mechanics of the van to her. That was all nice and dandy but it was time to get serious.
He waited until he saw the rest of the team to get in the other squad car before taking off.
"Sherlock, I need you to use that big brain of yours to find the fastest route to the docks. Bill, keep a lookout to make sure we stay together and man the radio? And um...Chara. You can enjoy the ride for what it's worth." Lestrade said, ear open to Sherlock's oncoming directions.
"Oh I intend to, DI. You humans build the most intriguing things." Chara replied cheerfully, having found the window button.
Wondering if it was too late to retire, Lestrade focused on driving. Sherlock gave directions in the snarkiest way possible, Bill ended up playing walkie-talkie between both cars and Chara played with all the buttons she could find (along with flirting with Lestrade). Their hadn't been a more weird and stressful car ride in history. It was saying something from a man with two kids. As they got close, Sherlock looked more like a kid in a candy store. He was going to see more of these mythical creatures. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to study them. But, he was anticipating of what he would see.
He would actually be able to meet John soon enough.