an:
This is based on a picture of recently done Artwork kaledya did for her detective series.
8*8
Trembling Healer:
Wyatt was trying his best to fix what looked like a broken horse carousel miniature. Gears were rusted and glass panels on the center cylinder were cracked through. Golden pillars were broken or had cracks forming on them with a beaded chain. Only had six figures all around in different poses. His sister sat side saddle on a saddled goat with a mermaid tail. Wearing a mixed expression in her blue, skirted suit with thigh high slit skirt and her grandmother's knee length boots. He sat mounted on a dragon version of Awara in his father's haunter attire with white armband with red cross. Vones could be seen running beside them. Dr. Faust was casually dressed and reclined backwards, cross legged pose smiling. Sitting on a gold fringe checked cloth on top of Fenrir with only three paws. Konstantin was casually dressed, sitting on white furred ram with gold fringe, red cloth looking backwards. Corbeau and Hepzibah sat on an albino raven themed bench with black cat between them. Owls on top looked strongly like his sister's unnamed owl with other hidden details.
"Earth to Wyatt?" Serenity's voice concerningly addressed him, "What is that?"
"Payment from a vet friend." He set a miniature horse carousel down.
"Are those us?" Serenity noticed the figures.
"Strangely yes," Wyatt didn't know what to do with it, "It has a broken appearance, but works."
He ended up tapping it once when Konstantin joined them and watched the carousel come to life. Beads on the chain softly lit up as figures started to slowly turn. A clucky melody started to play like a soft lullaby he once heard from his distanced childhood. Made their hellhounds start to openly howl and their only black cat scattery off.
"Hello detective and Dr. Faust," Elaine greeted them while putting in her hat pin, "I am heading over to the zoo with my niece and nephew to be filled in on our new case. Coming along?"
"We're going to see a rare black unicorn," Corbeau explained, "Spiral horn over a traditional cone."
On her shoulder her owl landed as Hepzibah showed a picture of this rare black unicorn beside Elaine. She wore a high collar blouse with long sleeves cuffs stopped at her first knuckle. Lace accents and a bloodstone brooch she wore pinned to a fixed collar. Long skirt that stopped at her ankles where she wore a pair of simple boots. Hair tied up in an embroidered ribbon and barrettes on one side of her ear. Giving sliced apples to a mild mannered unicorn of a black coloring with little interest.
"How about it?" Serenity looked to Konstantin.
His attention turned back at the miniature horse carousel before it came to a complete stop. He reached out to pick up the porcelain and metallic crafted piece with care. Noticing the smaller details from the crescent moon encircled by a four pointed star. Cycles of the moon and snakes were one of many symbols found throughout.
"I think …I will." Konstantin became interested.
He put down the miniature horse carousel back onto the bartop where he found it. To only find figures stop in place as lights of the beads fade and music grows quiet. Making a mental note to ask Goleon about this object once this was over. Drive was a quiet one using a vintage vehicle driven by Wyatt through back streets. Elaine and Konstantin sat on either side of Serenity with one lost in thought.
"I hear you paid a visit to Konstantin's residence?" Serenity asked Elaine, "Had fun?"
"Just wanted to help him with his headache." She informed her.
"Miss. Richards likes you." Serenity pointed out.
"She was surprised I was another woman beside yourself to visit him," Elaine brought up how thrilled the landlady was, "Quite an old soul who knows a thing or two."
Two ended up chatting with Konstantin actively listening and noticing the shift in their conversation. He went wide eyed when Serenity became animated with a genuine smile. Responding to Elaine with her memories involving interactions with Miss. Richards. Some were from past cases she worked with Konstantin and others she was visiting.
8*8
They came in through the back of the zoo to keep the visitors from becoming informed by troubles. Mythical animal section housed all sorts of cryptids and Supernatural creatures. Currently closed to public access for one hidden secret the zoom keepers knew.
"Harvesting animal parts?" Elaine and Konstantin repeated the answer.
"Started with someone feeding from our unicorns and removing the eyes of our juvenile basilisk," Head vet said, "Don't get me started on motherless litter of displacer cubs and poison sake of our horned snake being crudely harvested."
Pictures of dead animals with parts of their body and organs have been removed in an unprofessional way. Littered the table top that helped them call in to look over as the story was spun.
"They only strike at night and go after animals held in section," Zookeeper spoke further, "We worried they may go after our pregnant unicorn or our rare black one."
"Who is dumb enough to go after a unicorn is brain dead," Elaine huffed, "Anyone in their right mind knows once you drink unicorn blood. You already lost."
"A half-life, a cursed life." Konstantin recalled legends told to him as bedtime stories.
"I know a broken horse carousel miniature isn't much as a payment," Zoo keeper addressed them, "Please help us before we lose more."
Before answers could be given into the room a runt of a displacer cub ran with milk stains on his lips. Not seeing where he wandered and hid underneath Konstantin's chair. Began to cry out for his dead mother when he curled up freighted with his handler. Left Elaine to start laughing at Konstantin's inconvenience when asked to help retrieve. Blanket and bottle was handed to Elaine as Konstantin got up from his seat. He kneeled down facing empty chair with his eyes near his legs.
"Careful." Handler warned him.
"I don't have much to worry about," Elaine assured them, "I think he's a natural."
Konstantin was rather annoyed as he barely reached out a gloved hand to the hidden cub. Not needing to say much when a cub wobbled out from his chair with his ears flat. Taking one shaky step after another a sleek, tiny, blue-black panther- looking cub, distinguishable only by a second set of forelegs and a pair of long raking tentacles waving from their shoulder blades. Dried milk on his lips while stumbling toward his fingers until fully near him.
"Does he have a name?" Elaine cooed at the cub.
"He's a runt and we are trying to keep him alive." Handler answered them.
"He is a part of the motherless litter?" Konstantin inquired.
He was careful in taking the blanket from Elaine to take hold of the wary cub and securely wrap him up. Taking his seat beside Elaine as the cub became calm when he looked up at them.
"Lucian." Elaine thought that name suited him.
"Really?" Konstantin asked her.
"Why not?" She asked back, "What would better suit a hellcat then being named after the devil himself?"
"If he makes it …." Konstantin was lightly smacked by Elaine.
He ended up being shown how to bottle feed the cub by Elaine where a rare miracle took place. Cub accepted aid of being bottle fed by Konstantin's gloved hands as he began to pur. Soft hum following their short time together was a bonding one. Since the cub needed to be taken back to his siblings by his hand he emptied the bottle.
"You're a natural." Elaine teased Konstantin.
"Not what I am worried about." He whispered to her.
Thought of who the cub was named after was shoved to the back of his mind when they walked. Making their way through the hidden buildings to the vet office, where Wywatt and Serenity were. Two were given a chance to look over the latest victim of crude incisions. Cuts where the organ was removed by an amateur at best with little effort. Ticked off Wywatt and disgusted Serenity at who would want these animal parts.
"Poor thing." Serenity was saddened by how the creature was carelessly killed.
Wywatt was trying to look past his anger to clearly think as he looked away. Recalling the details of the last necropsy and lab results of the tested animal tissues. Disliking how it wasn't enough sedative In late animals systems, to block the pain of having their organs taken out.
"Who would heartlessly leave cubs without their mother?" Hepzibah spoke about orphaned displacer beast cubs.
Corbeau was too sad to say a thing when he was reading other necropsy reports in a serepate corner. His aunt's owl resting on his shoulder reading with him. He put chronological order depending on the dates of when these happened. Konstantin noticed when he watched Corbeau quietly work without alarming him.
"May you be in the company of Saint Francis of Assisi." Elaine spoke to the deceased animal.
When she reached out to close the animal's eyes, Serenity couldn't believe what she saw. Image of the hooded man's side face couldn't clearly be seen. Carried a heavy sorrow when he reached out to the creature's body.
"Hey," Wyatt's voice caught her attention, "You alright?"
"I think I am seeing things." Serenity looked away from Elaine.
"You're not," Hepzibah replied to Serenity, "Aunt Elaine has a weird arua."
Hepzibah' eyes lit up like the light of the moon to see what Serenity only saw for a few passing seconds. Looking upon the lingering finger avoided flesh stretched from a robe's sleeve. Gold thread of a glass embroidered on the edge of the sleeve was made out.
"Daughter of human trickster," Black crow on his shoulder cawed at her, "Ask your question."
"Any clues to lead us in the right direction?" Hepzibah asked.
Her answer came when Elaine explained her niece shared a unique ability having to do with interacting with death. Always allowed her to be allowed to interact with him and his crows. One that interested Konstantin as light in Hepzibah's eyes began to fade.
"Person who did this …had a ruining scent," Hepzibah answered, "Don't know what that means."
"I know the perfect memory recall spell." Elaine got an idea.
"Gets us proper lead." Serenity was all for it.
"Moments lost
Make witch's wonder
Warlocks plot or
Demon plunder
If this is not a prank
Help us to
Fill in Blanks." Elaine chanted and ended up echoing.
Crackling in the air was instantly noticed by Serenity with the image of a single person with yellow skin, who couldn't be seen since they wore a hood the whole time they moved around. Sluggish way they stepped before and after butchering animals didn't distract them. From the pendants sewn onto their clothing to the way they spoke.
"Of all people." Wywatt knew who the suspect was.
8*8
A member of Haunted who came from a shaman background that retired due to illness was arrested. Using a tea they brewed from harvested organs as a form of cure for their ailment. Which came with a nasty side effect of growing bestial ferocity. One that had Wyatt personally handling his friend he confronted them about the killings. Ended with him having to treat them like a wild animal in the end with a sleeping draft.
"Want some company?" Serenity found him at the bar.
"Not drinking." He laughed.
Dera was in the middle treating his bite wound as Goloen reviewed his report Wywatt was giving to police. Blood stained shirt that was bitten through lay on another barstool. Next to the one Wyatt sat on with pieces of his other clothing he removed for treatment.
"Done," Dera withdrew her hands, " … sorry about your friend."
" … thanks." Wywatt replied in time.
He wore a fresh shirt and quickly redressed with Lioet placing his head on his lap and others surrounding his feet. Making his pause when Sere ith took a seat next to him.