Mindlessly his cold finger traced over the side of his neck where the purple sigil tainted his pale olive skin. For hours he had been trying to coax his mind into drifting off to much needed sleep, but it was to no avail. He gave a sigh before rolling onto his side to face the moon. Wan and pale, the silver orb rose reluctantly over this forsaken village. Its cold light cast everything in its humble glow, but, this town was not deserving of any light—not even the moon's.
He wondered if there truly a demonic hound under the same lunar light as him. And if there was, what had suddenly possessed it so seek out Lord Barrymore? Why would it stop at just one man? All of it was rather strange especially with the Queen's guard in the mix. He closed his eyes at the thought knowing it would do no good to worry during these late hours. Again, he attempted to lull himself to sleep.
All he could do was stare at the ever swaying flames of the fire as his thoughts merely spun in circles. This had never happened before, he knew women were easy to seduce and weak to his suave ways. They were for extracting information, fulfilling desires, and to manipulate. Never were they supposed to seep themselves into his thoughts. His brow furrowed with frustration as he saw her face in the bewitching flames.
If only he could snuff out the ember in his heart he'd be free of her. Sebastian frowned briefly before turning to the window as the storm had finally cleared. The ever pristine beauty of the moon graced the rolling hills of flaxen and green. Stars dotted and scattered all along the inky night but their light was nothing compared to the lunar might of the moon. It was the same chunk of rock with the same gaseous balls of fire displayed in the atmosphere. What was so special about that? While he might understand why a human would be entertained by the night sky, he simply could not wrap his head around the thought that a demon would. They derived pleasure from other's agony and pain, not from mundane things of the human world.
Sighing, he swore to himself he'd rid his mind of her by any means.
The morning was slow and crept along reluctantly. The thick fog coating the town erased all sense of time as all anyone could see was endless grey. So, it was no wonder when Torio had a rather rough time of waking.
"I believe investigating the crime scene takes precedence, young master." Kaoru reminded the boy as he slowly ate his breakfast.
He nodded in agreement as he recognized his sluggish behavior. Forcing himself to pick up some slack, he quickly ate his breakfast before leaving the inn and walking over to the Barrymore manor.
As he went to knock on the door, with a creak it opened. Sebastian greeted the two.
"Good morning, Lord Torio, my young master is currently eating breakfast. He's been expecting your company." he gave a smile before turning to Kaoru "And good morning to you too, Lord Torio's maid." she was slightly confused as he didn't call her by name. It also seemed he forced a smile with his closed eyes and grin.
The two headed over to the dining room to see Ciel leisurely enjoying his breakfast. Torio regretted speeding through his.
"Good morning, Ciel." the older boy took a seat near his ally.
"If this can be considered a good morning." he gestured to the thick fog and mud outside. Torio chuckled at that.
"I completely understand, Kaoru and I are eager to make our way back to the manor. But, before we can do that, the murder of Henry Barrymore must be resolved." he placed his top hat on the table and folded his hands.
"I suppose there is that. But there's no rush, I can simply send Sebastian to go find the party responsible." he wasn't completely sure it was a demon hound that had murdered the Lord as many of the villagers were furious with the man. They could've easily had their dogs chew off his arm. Although, he wasn't sure how they could've broken down a stone wall.
"I agree, and I think we ought to have them deal with the issue." he looked to his maid who stood by his side like a sentinel. He nodded at her and with that, she turned to take her leave.
"Go help her, Sebastian. If there is a demon hound deal with it swiftly." with boredom he ordered his servant. He bowed before following Kaoru.
The two wandered through the damp forest of dead trees and drowned plants. So far nothing had been said between the two. The maid feared that at any given moment Sebastian could turn on her and finish what he had started the other day. With the help of her revealed cat ears, she listened to the butler who trailed behind her.
Sebastian simply stared at Kaoru as he begrudgingly yearned to touch her ears and tail. At every noise they turned, perked up, and flattened just as a normal feline's would. The deep brown and hazel appendages looked so soft and sensitive, perfect for detecting the slightest noise. Her brown, nearly black, tail swished and easily maneuvered over the tall grass or occasional stump of a tree, yet another perfect thing about cats.
"Are you going to help or gawk at me all day." she halted before turning to the butler with her arms crossed. Her ears flattened indicating her frustration. Such wonderful body language.
"My apologies, I was merely distracted by your feline characteristics. They are rather entrancing to watch." he gave a small bow. She sighed at his excuse.
"If you'd help me maybe I'd allow you to inspect them further, but, clearly they're too distracting so perhaps I ought to scout by myself." if anything, she was rather sure Sebastian had a strange taking with cats, so she hoped to bribe him to her advantage. The butler attempted to resist his temptation, but, with Ciel's orders and the high stakes, he gave in.
"Very well, I'll focus more on helping you then." while he may not like the woman, he had to admit she was rather persuasive, or simply taking advantage of his fascination.
Eventually the two found an abandoned cemetery where the fog seemed to clear. Upon further inspection, there was a large dirt mound toward the center of the clearing with withered and decaying human limbs sticking out. Kaoru could sense something nearby as its presence put her on edge. She was sure it was the same monster from last night.
"It's nearby." she whispered as she leaned out from a steep hill.
Sebastian agreed with her before a humanoid figure stepped out from the fog and to the pile of dirt decorated in human limbs. A naked man with silver hair inspected, what was assumed to be, his trophies from kills. Both the servants noted the freshly cut hand with Lord Barrymore's ring. The man sniffed the it before moving it slightly.
"I'll try to hold it down." she turned to Sebastian before silently approaching the man. He did not turn nor hear her silent steps. So, with ease, she ran up behind him and choked him while restraining his arms.
Sebastian followed suit before suddenly the man began to transform into something much larger. Kaoru clung to the neck of the beast as grew to be as tall as the trees. White fur now cushioned her as she pulled and rode the monster. Frustrated with the new complication, she jumped down from the mutt and adjusted her peacoat.
Howling, the demon hound attempted to take Kaoru into its maw. With ease, however, she stepped to the side before effortlessly punching its snout causing it to fly toward some trees. She turned to Sebastian with her glowing eyes and fierce smile.
"Come on, lets kill it." he was slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm to do away with the beast. But, he had orders to help Kaoru 'deal' with the creature, this of course did not specify detain it or put an end to its strange existence.
"I have an idea of how to handle this, as our masters did not say to kill." he reminded her. She groaned as she had been looking forward to a fight.
"Very well, now, what did you have in mind?" both watched as the beast slowly recovered.
"It's rather easy to bend the will and mind of a dog, and I think such rules persist even with a supernatural beast." he pulled out a cloth carrying a few biscuits in the shape of a bone. Did he really mean to tame the mongrel?
"Really? We're going to teach it how to sit and shake hands? I'll play along for now, but, should it ignore your treats I'm going to handle it my way." she gave the butler an amused smile.
Before Sebastian could say anything, the silver furred hound came barreling toward them, as he caught a rather intriguing scent. The butler gave a grin as he recognized he had captivated the dog and would soon have complete control.