Chapter 8

A Not-So-Divine Intervention

Ashling was late. Not by very much, just a couple of minutes, but she was still late. The others had managed to get to work on time, though they were all exhausted from the events of the night before. It was, of course, understandable why Ashling would be late. Changing from Shinigami to werewolf, then back again, had to be a tiring process. Plus, she probably had mixed feelings about showing up to work. It must be difficult to face the ones you could have hurt like that. Ashling was quiet enough already; having caused so much trouble surely subdued and shamed her.

The other Shinigami glanced up as the door to the office swung open and Ashling slowly ambled inside. She looked worse than they had thought- frayed suit, pale skin, and dark circles under her green-yellow eyes. She greeted the others with a quick, shamed nod before making her way to the door of William's office. She looked back at the others, who nodded at her encouragingly, before pushing the door open and walking inside. William looked up from the report he had been reading, looking somewhat surprised to see her.

"Ah, Ashling. I would have thought that you'd sleep in after last night's events." he said mildly.

"Well, it wasn't one of my better nights, but that's no reason to skip work. Uhm, William...about last night-" Ashling began softly, but Will raised a hand to stop her.

"We'll all talk about that later. After work we're all going to meet at the cafe on the first floor of this building. We can get something to eat and discuss a few things then." he said sternly.

"Yes sir." Ashling replied quickly, her face heating up in an embarrassed blush.

"Today, I want you to do some desk work. I've got Grell and Ronald slated to go out into the field. Now go get to work." William returned his attention to the report he had been looking over.

Ashling quickly retreated from William's office and went to her own desk, sinking into her chair. She did her best to ignore the curious, concerned looks from her coworkers as she opened her first file. She groaned softly as she read over it; this was one of the files from the murders of the night before. The murders she had committed, albeit in another form. She read over it quickly, her stomach sinking as she looked over the extent of the injuries she had caused. These deaths had not been quick; they were brutal, painful, animalistic.

"This is sick..." she whispered to herself, slapping the file shut and dropping it into her "done" pile.

Ronald and Grell exchanged quick looks, about to leave for their days reapings, before Ronald approached her.

"Are you alright?" he asked lamely, realizing afterward what a stupid question that had been.

"I'm fine. You had best go before William comes out and scolds you." Ashling replied softly, not looking up at him.

Ronald sighed and clasped her shoulder reassuringly.

"The thing that killed all of those people...it wasn't you. This is you, here, helping people. Giving them more comfortable deaths. That was just...something else." he tried to comfort her, realizing that he wasn't sure what to say.

"Thank you, Ronald. Now please, go. I don't want to talk about it yet."

Ronald nodded, then followed Grell out of the room. The day passed in an awkward silence. William only left his office a couple of times, and was always in a rush to return to his work. Alan and Eric kept their attention on their work, not wanting to bother Ashling. She appreciated it, even though she suspected that they were being so quiet only because they didn't know what to say to her. Ronald and Grell returned a few minutes before work ended, and the group stood in the room waiting for Will once the clock struck 6:00.

"Alright everyone. Why don't we all go to the cafe and talk about a few things?" the Shinigami asked once he had joined them.

"Yes, good idea. I've been burning with curiosity all day."Grell replied.

The group filed out of the office and made their way down to the small cafe. Seeing the tense, and somewhat terrified, expression on Ashling's face, Ronald took her hand gently. She looked at him with surprise, and he offered his signature grin. She smiled softly and allowed him to lead her to a large table near the farthest wall away from the door. The others sat in a circle around the table, and they waited until they had ordered and received their food before speaking. William cleared his throat.

"So, Ashling...it seems there was something your report didn't mention about you..." he began.

"My report stated that I could not be out in the light of the full moon. That should have been enough." Ashling replied dryly.

"Did the Administrative Department know why you can't be out?"

"Yes, they did."

"And they still hired you?"

Ashling narrowed her eyes at him, growing tired of these pointless questions.

"Obviously."

William sighed.

"Right. So, first thing's first. Why didn't you just tell us you were a werewolf? Why couldn't you just let us know from the get-go?" he asked pointedly.

Ashling sighed.

"I've worked a lot of different jobs. I've worked in food business, pet care, home improvement stores, you name it. I never once quit a job. I was always fired. Someone would find out what I was and report to someone else, and the news spread rather quickly. People would freak out, they don't like werewolves. We're very prejudiced against. I went from town to town, city to city, to escape from people trying to kill me simply because of a curse I can't help that I have." she answered slowly, looking away from them.

"So, you didn't tell us because you didn't want that to happen again?" Alan asked, looking at her sadly.

"Yes. I like this job, and I like all of you. I didn't want you to be nervous or afraid around me. It's not something I can control. It scares me half to death, and I hate it. But I can't do anything about it."

The others sat and thought over her words for a moment, then William sighed.

"That's somewhat reasonable. You still should have told us. Werewolves are listed as dangerous creatures, and it's important to know about them before you see one change form." he said severely.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I guess I'll pack my things tomorrow." Ashling said softly.

The others lifted their eyebrows at that.

"Why?" Eric asked.

"Well, I'm used to having to leave after people find out what I am. You guys actually saw me. Hell, I could have killed you!"

"You're not being fired. Sure, the incident last night was partially your fault, but not completely. It was also Grell's for slinging you out into the moonlight after you repeatedly warned that it was a bad idea. And also partially mine for ignoring your report's warning." William reassured her, and she gave a relieved smile.

"Just know that you're not doing night shift. Ever." Alan joked, and the others chuckled.

"I have a question, Ashling. Last night, before you changed, you said something odd to us." Grell said quickly, before anyone else could ask anything.

"What was it?" Ashling asked curiously; she had never spoken with anyone who had seen her change before. Most of them were dead.

"You said "You Shinigami shine bright like the Sun, but all I need is the moon." It was really creepy. Sent shivers up my spine, and not the good kind."

Ashling furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

"That is pretty creepy. I have no idea what that was all about. I don't remember anything after you tossed me out into the light. I just remember waking up out in the forest, and running home." she said slowly, confused.

"My question is this. How did you become a werewolf?" Ronald asked, tightening his grip on her hand a bit.

"It happened when I was in my early teens. I had been arguing with one of my sisters, and I decided to take a walk to cool off. It was pretty late, and it was really dark out. Except for the moon. The moon was full. It still haunts me, sometimes, how big the moon looked that night. I was walking, and I saw this large creature lumbering out of the woods. I froze in fear. I had no idea what it was.

It didn't seem to notice me at first. It was snuffling around, and looked like something was bothering it. Then I guess it caught my scent, because it looked at me suddenly. It's eyes were pitch black. Ugh, those eyes...I've never seen anything else like them. They scared me more than a demon's gaze could. The thing, which part of me had realized was a werewolf, growled at me and charged. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I kind of crossed my arms in front of me, and it locked its jaws around my right arm. Damn, it hurt! That thing had a vice-grip on me." Ashling shuddered.

"How did you survive? It didn't stop with a bite." William asked intensely.

"I was saved. The wolf was pulled away from me, and it ran away without doing anything else."

"Who managed to do that?"

"It was...a demon."

Gasp! WHAT!? WHHAAAAAAT!? A demon!? What happened? Who could it have been? When am I going to stop teasing you with these questions? Why am I out of mac and cheese? Guess you'll have to wait to find out! Allons-y!

~Silver