Evan paced worriedly in his office, Kyrie tapping her foot irritably as she leaned against the cluttered desk of the Mireille Detective Agency, the room lit low. Her boyfriend and coworker had been acting strangely since the monster attack in Edge, though she hadn't really noticed it that much as she had been busy with a small part time job on top of her detective duties for some extra money to buy Vits a nice birthday gift, the boy ill and sleeping above the two. Kyrie waited for Evan to speak, the man having paced for the last five minutes as he collected his thoughts.

"Will you just spill the beans already? It's getting late." She said quietly, clearly annoyed with the lack of information. "You were supposed to be off this case, anyway."

"But it was so close to home. Shouldn't I be worried?" He tilted his head, his black hair swaying away from his bright blue eyes.

"About Cloud, no. But I guess you bit off more than you could chew, didn't you?" She pointed her thumb towards the stack of papers stolen from Valdt's office, Evan having just told her about his caper that morning before beginning his pacing session.

The detective stopped pacing and sighed heavily. "Right. Look, some guy confronted me outside the building-"

"Are you telling me that you were followed?" Kyrie's voice was angry and stressed, and she stared at Evan with a look that made him extremely uncomfortable as he put his hands up to hush her.

"...It was strange. He came to me after I finished lunch, but if he had followed me after I escaped the office he would have had a better chance of doing whatever he wanted with me. I don't know how he could have found me, unless he wanted to attack me in broad daylight." Evan scratched his head, the sequence of events not making sense. The man could have attacked during the night easily.

Was he the one who made those footsteps earlier? No, they weren't heavy, like the stranger's.

Before Kyrie could reply, both of them heard a low growl from the door, the couple freezing. They both looked towards the door then towards each other, and Evan put a finger to his lips. Sneaking towards the entrance, he slowly made his way towards the door as muffled voices began to speak. Intrigued, the detective placed his ear on the door, straining to hear what he could.

"Smells like...lives here." The voice sounded like it was low to the ground. Smells? It continued on, catching words here and there...Man-beasts, human flesh...

"Werewolves?" Evan knew that voice.

"They reproduce...Bites...been any strange disappearances lately?" The voice was too muffled for a moment. "You'll have to kill them before...Full Moon...Terrorize..." Are they talking about him?

"Talk at the bar? ...Vulnerable out here." Definitely Cloud.

Evan sat there, leaning his ear on the wood of his door for some moments still. Kyrie tapped his shoulder, the man looking back at her with wide eyes searching for answers to questions opened up by the conversation by his doorstep. The woman crouched down next to him, holding his shoulder. "They're gone. Looked like it was Cloud Strife and his red dog friend, umm..."

"...Nanaki." Evan responded, remembering his name after meeting him properly some time ago; the beast saving them during their adventure to Nibelheim.

"Right. Watched them from between the blinds." She let out a little breathless sigh. "Did you catch what they were talking about?"

Evan bit his lip while looking away from his girlfriend, mulling over what he had heard. He looked back, licking his dried lips, the conversation about to become surreal. "Ah, they said they think werewolves live here."

Kyrie gave a skeptical look. "Are you sure you heard right? They don't exist."

Evan shrugged. "I'm sure, and if those two are having a serious discussion about it, I'm more willing to believe in them." He got up from the ground, a hand on his hip as he thought. "Nanaki asked if there were any disappearances and that they'd have to kill the...werewolves, before the next Full Moon."

The woman frowned. "Full Moon? When is that?"

"Not sure. Never had to keep track of it." He gave a nervous smile, as if the question was some sort of joke. Most people never kept up with the moon phases.

"Great. I guess we can look it up tomorrow...I need to personally thank Mr. Valentine myself for saving your ass, if he's still at the bar..." Kyrie thought a moment as she moved towards the stairs. "Wasn't he at the bar before, a couple of years ago?"

Evan nodded as he followed her upstairs. "Yeah, just never introduced himself. Never went to introduce myself to him, either."

"Seems that nut job gave you both a reason to do so." Evan nodded, desiring his bed to sleep on the new troubles brought about; this was all too much, one thing on top of the other. He ran his hand through his long locks, wondering yet again if he should have just taken the damned money and forgot everything. But no, his curiosity and his desire to make sure his family was safe trumped his better judgement. He plopped his head against the soft pillow, making a note to visit Tifa before the noon lunch rush again.

'Ting-ting!' Tifa looked back cheerfully towards the door, only to freeze at the sight of Evan strolling into her bar again. It's not that he wasn't a common sight at the bar in the past, but after all this werewolf fuss he was still one of the last people she wanted to see in the bar. Even if he did give out information, his presence just unnerved her until his curiosity would be sated. Hopefully, without revealing Cloud's little secret.

"Hi, Evan. Same as yesterday for you?" She got her pan ready, but the detective waved his hand dismissively. Tifa looked at him with an inquiring look, unsure what he wanted.

He paused a moment, as if he was unsure he wanted to ask. "Tifa. I need to speak to Cloud. Is he here?" His crystal blue eyes beseeched her assistance as he spoke deliberately, the woman suspicious.

She leaned her hands against the counter. "He's on delivery right now. I'm not sure when he'll be back. Do you want me to leave a message?"

"...No. I'll come back later to see him. Thank you, Tifa." Evan went to leave, Tifa letting a sigh out of her nose as he softly closed the door.

"Please don't, Evan..." She mumbled to herself. She really didn't need this. Tifa was already worried about the children and planned to close the bar to pick them up from school, the thought of another, much less friendly werewolf sending chills down her spine. Cloud was fine, he proved she could deal with this new life of his that he hadn't asked for. Another werewolf, one that could be lurking about and hunting...She put a hand up to her chest, the thought worrisome and terrifying.

'Need to get some silver...' Cloud won't like it, but he'll understand. She remembered the reaction to the metal Cloud had, just a small exposure burned his skin brown for a day.

Tifa went upstairs to her room, the bar quiet. The door already open, she went to her dresser, fishing through her jewelry box. Since she found out about Cloud, she had begun wearing gold-tone earrings so she wouldn't hurt him during acts of affection and passion, but she had kept her silver items just in case. Fishing out a delicate chain of silver, she placed it in her back pocket, a comfort until she can get something more suitable.

As she stood there thinking a minute, Tifa heard the door to the bar slam open and quick, strong footsteps running in. She quickly charged down the hallway, the silver wrapped around her hands like a delicate ribbon, the footsteps charging up the steps. As she came to the staircase a head popped into view, yelling her name, and her silvered fist connected with it, the person it had connected with tumbling down the steps with a loud grunt, their hat falling off.

Tifa breathed heavily for a few moments, her chest rising and lowering shakily. She looked over at the hat, the felt black object with a little pin on it familiar. Picking it up, her eyes went wide, and she looked down the stairs at a bleeding, moaning Evan, his hair splayed over his face. As she pounded down the steps, she called out to the barely conscious man, wondering his reasons for such a reckless action in the home of two seasoned warriors. "Evan! Why did you do that, I could have killed you-"

As she reached down in an attempt to help him up, he grabbed Tifa by the shoulder, a desperate look on his face that made the woman forget about all the meddling and discomfort he'd caused in the last three weeks. "Tifa...I...Vits!"

"Vits? What's wrong with him?" Tifa helped bring the detective up after he stumbled some here and there. She took him to the front of the bar, placing him in a seat and steadying his balance.

Evan put a hand to his head, wincing. "He was home, sick...Someone took him while I was gone, Tifa. I..."

Tifa's eyes widened as she got a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a kitchen towel. She put it up to his injured face gently, Evan thanking her as she shook her head. No wonder he did something so rash. 'Does he actually trust us, deep down? To help?' Who else could he turn to? "I'm calling Cloud."

Evan let out a muffled "Thank you" as he rested his head on his folded arm, the coolness of the bag of peas keeping the swelling down. As Tifa called her boyfriend, he kicked himself mentally for charging into the bar like a mad chocobo. But Vits was missing, the papers were missing, and there were...claw marks on the walls.

Tifa listened to the familiar jingle of the phone, hoping Cloud would pick up. Nothing. She called again, and again nothing. She sighed, figuring he was on the road, but he would eventually feel the vibration hopefully. Once more, she called his number, this time hearing a click as he accepted the call.

"...Tifa?"

"Cloud! You finally answered!" She chimed.

She heard a light chuckle on the other side. "Was heading back towards Edge to pick up another delivery. Is everything okay?"

Looking over at the groaning Evan, she shook her head despite no one seeing it. "No, it's not."

A pause. "What's wrong?" His voice had become serious.

"Evan came back to the bar..." She heard a sigh hissing out of Cloud's mouth-"he said someone kidnapped Vits."

"Give me twenty minutes. I'll be home...Close the bar." Click.

Tifa looked back over at Evan, and came to sit next to him at the counter after putting out a closed sign and locking the door. Nanaki and Vincent had been out; they could use the unlocked garage to enter whenever they got back. She held the bag over his cheek, letting him rest his hand finally. "You must take protecting your family seriously, huh..."

Evan gave a weak nod of his resting head, moving it slightly to look at Tifa with a single eye. "It seems you do, too."

Fenrir roared through the streets of Edge, Cloud pushing as quickly as he could without crushing pedestrians on his way back to the bar. Finally making it to his street, he pulled into the garage after the door slowly opened, and jogged his way to the door. Swiftly opening it, he saw Tifa patting an injured Evan; The woman looked up to Cloud and bounded over to him, embracing him. As he returned the affections he felt a familiar burning sting on his shoulder, Tifa quickly removing her hand from his flesh as he let out a hushed grunt; she had forgotten to take off the silver chain.

"Sorry," she whispered in his ear before he tried to jerk away. "forgot to take it off."

"Why were you wearing it?" He whispered back, frowning. Tifa told him softly, and he nodded grimly. Still hurt like hell, that damned metal. He looked towards Evan, the man oblivious to the couple's whispered chatter. "What happened to him?"

"I, um...knocked him down the stairs...He barged into the bar and up the stairs in a fit of hysterics, and I didn't know it was him..." She fussed with her fingers, embarrassed.

Cloud snorted, slightly amused. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't wanted to punch him lately out of irritation. His mind went back to the kidnapped child; Cloud made his way to the other side of the counter, shaking Evan gently to get his attention. The detective stirred, his worried eyes staring into Cloud's; the warrior couldn't help but feel sorry for him now, especially with half his face swelling. "What happened, Evan?"

Evan bit his lip, not wanting to come clean. Cloud let out a sniffle, then relaxing somewhat as he stared back at him. He looked at Tifa, the concerned look on her face, then back to Cloud; if he wanted their help he was going to have to tell them everything. "Look. I...I heard part of your conversation last night with your friend..."

Cloud's face paled, his eyes wide. "You did, huh...?" He took a step back, wondering if his secret was spilt because of that argument last night.

"Yes. Kyrie and I heard a growl at the door, then we heard talking. Werewolves, right? In Edge?" If Evan knew anything about Cloud, his face wasn't showing it.

The werewolf nodded slowly, swallowing.

Evan continued. "I think one kidnapped Vits. There were claw marks on the walls..."

Tifa spoke up as she dialed a number on her phone. "Was there any notes, or anything?"

"No. No blood either, so I assume Vits is safe for now. Look, we can't wait much longer, what if it eats him, or tries to change him?" Evan looked terrified at either prospect, Cloud understanding the worry all too well.

"Look. we'll ask Nanaki to find the scent trail. Tifa's gonna call our friends that were staying with us, for now, take me to your place." He held his gloved hand out to Evan, the detective taking it after a moment. They quickly left the bar, heading for the detective agency quickly.

Entering the house, the door was partially off its hinges, hanging limply as they came in, and Cloud smelt a furry, dusty scent that made him exert effort to push down the heat attempting to rage in his chest, taking a long, calming breath. It would be so easy to just change right here and find that little challenger to his territory-

"Hey, Cloud. Are you alright?" Evan held a concerned look on his face as he stood by his office desk, his companion making a strange face.

Cloud blinked at him as he snapped out of his thoughts, then brought a hand to his face, covering his mouth. "Sorry. Allergies." He mumbled.

Evan raised a brow, then went up the stairs, creaking here and there. "A warrior like you has allergies? Well..."

"Mhm." Cloud touched his elongated fangs with his tongue, checking them; a little blood could be tasted. He needed to look through this house quick, or he was going to blow his cover; the urge was getting to him. They both entered the kitchen, claw marks marring the walls and nail scratches on the floor; they continued to Vits room, Cloud attempting to ignore the werewolf signs in what he considered his territory.

Vits' room showed signs of a small fight near the bed and on the dresser with an over turned lamp, but it didn't seem like there had been much of a fight. Cloud sniffed the air cautiously, a familiar tingle hitting his nose, a smell similar to ozone- the werewolf used materia. The window was open, leading to the streets below; Cloud would follow the trail with Nanaki.

"Evan..I think the kidnapper used materia, can you smell the ozone? Probably a sleep spell. My guess is he leaped out of the window and to where ever he was going to take Vits." He looked back at the detective, his face grim.

Evan looked down, damning himself for not being there to protect the child. Hadn't he been through enough already? This was his fault for meddling. Cloud made his way to the doorway from the other side of the room. "Guess you'll sniff him out, right?" The warrior froze, slowly looking back at the detective. "What? I mean with Nanaki...He can find the trail, right?" Evan raised a brow, slightly nervous at the look bored into him by those strange, blue eyes.

The delivery boy nodded, relaxing. "Yeah. He'll find them. Now let's get out of here before I have an allergy attack, it seems I'm allergic to...werewolves." Especially Vits room, the smells were creating a frenzy in his chest. The only thing stopping him was Evan's presence, and he supposed he could thank him for that.

Evan chuckled, following Cloud downstairs. "An allergy to werewolves...How novel."