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holymosesgraves · 6 years

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the beast of bladenboro: COMPLETED moses graves tw: animal attacks, blood/gore, death & grief (animal and human)

april 16. afternoon. morrow residence. bladenboro, north carolina.

Moses is excited to be heading to North Carolina, if a little upset at the thought of a slain ten-year-old. How this wasn’t taken care of far before this point is a mystery to her. But she’s here now and she’s determined to get to the bottom of what’s happening in this strange little Southern town. Her first thought had been a werewolf, or more than one of them, even. However, not all of the dates of attacks lined up with full moons and it’s rare for werewolves to attack when not transformed -- despite what prejudiced individuals might try to get the population to believe.

She’s still holding the idea of werewolves in her mind as she Apparates just outside the Morrow family farm. It’s not smart to discount any possibility, certainly not so early in the case. With an open mind, Moses climbs the porch and knocks on the door. A pretty young wix opens inside door, but leaves the screen closed, eyeing Moses with suspicion. “Can I help you?” she asks, North Carolina thick in her voice.

Moses musters up her best smile and nods. “Sure can. I’m Moses Graves, with MACUSA. Here about the attacks, and your father’s dog. You are Angelina Morrow, right?”

The girl sighs a little and nods, opening the screen and gesturing Moses inside. “Finally, one of y’all come to talk to him. I been sending letter after letter, since what happened to that Compton boy, but my Daddy’s a NoMaj so none of y’all want nothing to do with him.”

Moses follows the woman deeper into the house, letting her vent her frustrations with the local aurors. Truthfully, Moses feels the same way as Angelina. She’s a strong proponent of Rappaport, but not to the detriment of a case. Sometimes, NoMajs have information on crimes and the aurors should ignore that.

As they enter the kitchen, Angelina calls out, “Daddy! MACUSA lady’s here.” With that, Angelina waves a hand to one of the chairs at the table. “Have a seat. You want some tea?” Even with a chip on her shoulder, Angelina is still the picture of Southern hospitality and Moses has to smile at it. She nods to the offer of tea and Angelina produces three sweating glasses of sweet tea. When Moses takes her first sip, she finds herself thinking that it’s even better than her grandmother’s. Not that she will ever admit to that.

After a moment, a creaking from staircase leading to the basement signals Linus’s arrival. “‘Lo there,” he greets, mopping at his forehead with a bandana. “Linus Morrow.” He gives his hand and Moses shakes it firmly, telling him her name and why she’s there, though she’s sure he already knows. “Bout time,” is all Linus says to that. He swallows down about half of his tea in one gulp before slapping at his thighs. “Well. Guess you’ll be wanting to see my poor girl, huh?”

Moses winces and nods. “I’m sorry. Yes, sir.”

Linus waves a hand over his shoulder and heads for the book door off of the kitchen -- Angelina doesn’t follow. As Moses and Linus move across the stretch of land, toward the towering barn, Linus speaks up again. “Glad to finally get you guys out to look at her. Been wanting to bury her, y’know? She was a good old girl. May seem silly, but I’d like to put her to rest.”

Moses shakes her head, smiling softly. “Doesn’t seem silly at all, sir. We have a family dog I grew up with. If it was her, I’d want the same thing.”

Linus seems to lighten a little at that, nodding his thanks. “Angelina and my other girls think I should get a new one. A puppy, I mean. Think it’ll be ‘good for me.’ But I said not until I can bury my sweet Maggie.”

Once more, Moses feels herself wince. “Well, I’m sorry it’s taken so long for that.”

The next moment, Linus is opening one door to the barn and leading Moses off to the side. It’s a well-kept space, neat and smelling of fresh grass. The reaping and sowing tools are all lined up and in place; Moses can tell Linus Morrow takes pride in his work. There’s a large, wood-paneled icebox standing in one corner and that must be where Maggie is being kept.

“If you don’t mind,” Linus speaks up, a few feet away from the chest, “I’ll stay over here while you open it.” He makes a vague sort of gesture with one hand and then shrugs. “Don’t like seeing her all like that.”

Moses puts a gentle hand to his shoulder as she passes and nods. “Of course, sir.” She steels herself too before throwing open the lid to the ice box. Maggie is in there but she doesn’t look much like a dog anymore. Her throat has been torn apart and there’s still blood, black with age, caked over her muzzle and paws. A few other slashes cut through her brindled sides. Moses feels her chest clench tight and she thinks of her own dog, her sweet Dollie. Closing the lid, she takes a minute to steady her breathing before turning back to Linus.

“Mr. Morrow… Can I ask: what do you think did this to Maggie?”

Again, the farmer can only shrug. “I’m not some, you know. Animal expert or nothing. Angie told me about...about werewolves and all but I remember clearly that it wasn’t no full moon that night. ‘Cause it was Christmas Eve and I know the almanac and all.” He takes his bandana out once more but only twists it through his hands. “I only barely saw a shadow,” he explains. “Just know that it was huge. And powerful. It… I mean… Well, you seen what it did to my Maggie. And it wasn’t… I mean, it wasn’t trying to eat her or something. It was dragging her off when I got a shot at it.”

Moses nods, biting her lip in thought. She was buying the werewolf angle less and less. “All the other attacks, they were on dogs too, right?”

Linus nods. “Except for what happened to the Compton boy. But I was talking to his cousin and he said that it was going for Tommy’s dog and Tommy tried to defend it. Fool thing to do, if you ask me. But then, if I was a boy, I’d likely’ve done the same...” He shakes his head and then crosses himself. It’s a gesture that makes Moses smile fondly, remember her grandparents.

“Mr. Morrow. I do have one last favor to ask of you.”

“You want to go and take my Maggie, don’t you?” he asks, resignation written across his face.

Moses nods, something like shame over her face. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’d really like our Magical Creatures examiner to get a look at her. I promise we’ll return her in even better condition and then you can finally lay her to rest. Let your daughter buy you that puppy.”

Linus snorts a little at that but nods. “Yeah, I figured as much. I just want your word that I’ll get my girl back.”

“My word as a Virginian,” Moses says with a sly smile.

Linus smirks right back. “I’ve known too many Virginians to put any stock in that,” he jokes. But he holds out his hand and they shake on it.

APRIL 18 - MORGUE, MACUSA HQ

Something about Moses is just generally incongruous to the morgue. She’s too bright and lively and full of smiles. She bounces up to Culpepper’s office just that way, knocking on the door jamb before stepping in. “Hey there,” she greets, “you got anything for me from that dog? The North Carolina case?”

The Magical Creatures examiner spares her a narrow smile before pulling a file from the clutter on their desk. “Yes, indeed, Miss Graves.” They hand over the documents, but Moses more or less ignores the paper in favor of Culpepper’s explanation. “I can’t tell you definitively what it was that killed Maggie,” they start off. “Definitely animal, canine in nature judging by the claw and teeth marks. Not really consistent with a werewolf, though.” They step closer to Moses, opening the file in her hands and flipping to a sheet. There’s a rough outline of a dog sketched out with Maggie’s injuries diagramed over it. “This here was the first injury,” they say, pointing at the gouge over her throat. “Which means that whatever you’re looking for was likely trying to kill right off the bat.”

“That unusual?” Moses asks, looking from the diagram to Culpepper.

The other wix shrugs a little. “Can’t say whether it’s unusual without knowing what did it. I can tell you a few canine-like creatures that might fit the bill.”

Moses grins at that. “Oh can you?”

Culpepper shakes their head at her smile but can’t fight off their own grin. “Yes, Miss Graves. There’s barghests, of course. Adlets, though, most consider them to be entirely mythological as no true evidence of their existence has ever been found. Chupacabra, but it would be more likely that one of those would attack the nearby livestock, and they go for the kill to eat their prey. Kishi, but those mostly attack humans.”

“I’m hearing a lot of ‘but’s from you, Dr. Culpepper,” Moses teases, wagging a finger.

“Yes, I was getting to that,” they reply, still smiling. “Your best bets, I think are either a Crocotta, which have been known to attack both humans and their dogs and are very aggressive, or the Shunka Warakin, whose name is derived from a Ioway term which means ‘carries off dogs.’”

Moses raises an eyebrow at that, cocking her head a little. “Ioway?” she repeats. “Iowa isn’t too far from Michigan.”

“No, it’s not. Very good geography, Miss Graves.”

Moses laughs a little and leans in to press a kiss to Culpepper’s cheek. “You’re a saint, you know that? I owe you a fruit basket!”

As she darts out of the office, she hears Culpepper call after her, “I’ll ensure that Maggie’s remains are returned to her owner!”

april 18. morning. bladenboro animal clinic. bladenboro, north carolina.

Roxanne Romero is clearly out of her depth when it comes to the Beast of Bladenboro -- as she explains that some of the locals have taken to calling it.

“Doesn’t look like any kind of animal attack I ever saw,” she says, rubbing at her forehead. “Cops called me in ‘cause I’m the senior veterinarian here but…” She shrugs a little. “What can I say? I help deliver stubborn calves and treat sprained ankles on horses. Every once in awhile a coyote will cause some excitement but…” She lets out a sigh and shakes her head. “What all this is? Ain’t no coyote.”

Moses nods, looking over the reports Roxanne gave her from the other attacks. There were twelve attacks on dogs that Romero documented -- making the total count fourteen, adding in Tom Compton and the nearby wixen farmer’s crups MACUSA was told about.

“You’ve never seen anything like this?” Moses confirms, looking up from the papers.

Romero bobs her head a little. “I mean, it looks like a wolf attack, or a coyote, right? But it’s way too big and way too vicious. Plus, you’d expect a wild animal to eat the dogs, right? And only five of the dogs were dragged off. Rest of ‘em were just left, dead, on the property. Doesn’t make sense. I’d say that’s human behavior, but there’s no way a human could make those marks. So none of it adds up to anything.” Her eyes trail to the open door and then back to Moses. Lowering her voice, she says, “Call me crazy, but I think there’s something going on here. You know, something...unexplainable. I ain’t never been one for conspiracy theories, but nothing else makes sense. Aliens, government testing, some kinda mythological creature… I don’t know, but it’s gotta be something that’s not rightly of this world.”

Moses does her best not to laugh -- if Roxanne only knew… Instead she just closes the folder and shakes her head. “I don’t know about all that, Dr. Romero. But thanks for all your help, though. I’ll let you know if there’s anything more we need from you.”

april 19. morning. compton residence. bladenboro, north carolina.

This is the visit that Moses has been dreading most of all. She delayed a little, visiting the Morrows again beforehand. Linus received Maggie back and gave her a proper burial. His other two daughters were there when Moses stopped in and they all shared memories of the dog who had been around since Angelina, the oldest, was a girl.

That heart-warming visit is over now, though, and Moses stands at the door to the Compton house. Before she can knock, she spots two pairs of eyes peering out at her through the side window. She waves and offers a tentative smile, but the eyes duck down.

A moment after she knocks, the door opens and reveals a sturdy looking man - Henry Compton, the father, no doubt. “Hello,” she greets, “I’m Moses Graves, with MACUSA.”

Henry sighs and nods, before letting her inside. “Figured you’d be by soon,” he says. He leads her into the living room where two boys, both early in their teens, dart from the window where she spotted them. “Hey there!” Henry calls, stopping them in their tracks. Pointing at them in turn, he introduces, “This is Barry, the oldest, and Jason.” Despite looking like he was nearing fifteen, Barry was huddling behind his father a little, and Jason, maybe twelve or thirteen, put himself between his brother and Moses.

“It’s nice to meet all of you, though I’m very sorry for the circumstances.” She meets each of the boys’ eyes in turn, and then their father’s. “I’m so sorry for your loss. But I promise we’re going to do everything we can to figure out what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Henry nods, thanks her, and directs the boys to wait in the kitchen and get to the washing up. He slumps into the armchair off to one side once they’re gone. “Their mother hasn’t been well, since...everything. And Barry, he found Tommy out there…” Henry shakes his head and covers his eyes with a large hand for a moment. “Something a boy should never have to see.”

“You’re right,” Moses soothes softly, leaning over to rest a hand against his shoulder. “I’m sure you’re doing everything you can to help your family. And that’s what I’m here for as well.”

Henry takes in a steadying breath before nodding. He drops his hand from his face and straightens up. “You gotta know about that night, dontcha?”

Moses presses her lips together apologetically before nodding. “I’m afraid I do, yes. Anything you remember. And I’d like to talk to the boys, as well.”

Henry nods before clearing his throat. “Well, the boys were all in bed by nine or ten that night. Me and Adara, that’s my wife, stayed up maybe another hour…” He shifts his weight, look a little embarrassed. “I’m not so good at reading, but Adara will read to me, after the boys are asleep. She finished up a novel we had been working through and then went up to bed. I did my usual check of the house and then headed up myself. When I looked in on the boys, they were all there, asleep.”

“So that was maybe eleven o’clock?” Moses interjected, “Midnight?”

Henry nodded. “Closer to midnight by then.”

“And the dog, was he inside or outside?”

“Sender was outside. We tried keeping him inside at nights, especially with all this, but…” Henry gave a lilting shrug. “He’s a sheepdog. He doesn’t like being away from the sheep.” A shudder runs through him, almost a sob. “Didn’t. He didn’t like being away from the sheep.”

Moses feels sympathy well up in her and it almost overtakes her a moment. “So, Sender was out with the sheep,” she prompts.

“Right. Yeah, out in the barn. I checked on the barn, too, before the boys, and he was right where he always was, just to the side of the door.”

“When did you realize that something was wrong?”

“Not until the next morning. Barry’s taken over the morning chores now that he’s old enough. He wakes up first and lets all the animals out and gets them their morning feed and all. He says that the barn door was open, all battered up, and when he went in… Well, when he went in, that’s when he saw Sender a-and Tommy.” Henry lifts a hand to his eyes again, scrubbing conspicuously. “Screamed his head off, damn near fainted. We all woke up and met him halfway, us running to him and him running to us.”

Moses nods, taking that all in. “So you… You didn’t hear anything at all that night?”

Another choked off sound comes from Henry and it takes him a minute before he can speak. “I wish I had. I wish… But no. Jason says he woke up in the middle of the night and heard the sheep all baying but that’s not really out of the ordinary. They were probably reacting to… to what happened, but he had no way of knowing that. Just went back to sleep.”

Moses nods, agreeing and looks off to the kitchen. “I would like to talk to the boys, if I could. One at a time?”

Henry looks over his shoulder before asking, “I can stay with you while you do, though, right?” Moses assures him that’s not a problem and he hollers for Barry to come in. Standing, he settles the boy in his own armchair and puts a solid hand to his shoulder. “Figured you’d want to get it over with first, son.”

“Hi, Barry,” Moses says softly, smiling at the shaking boy. “My name is Moses.”

“Hi,” he greets, barely audible. His eyes are big and wide and ringed with the shadow of someone who hasn’t slept well in days. “You’re… You’re with MACUSA?”

Moses nods, happy to let him direct the conversation for a little while. “I am. I’m an auror. Do you know what that means?”

Barry nods. “Of course. You catch bad guys. My friend, Vincent, his older brother is an auror.”

“Do you know Vincent from Ilvermorny?” Moses asks. When Barry nods, she asks, “What house are you in, Barry.”

The boy blushes a little and mutters, “Pukwudgie.”

“Hey!” Moses exclaims, “me too! Or, I was, when I was in school.”

Barry brightens at that, almost smiling. “Jason’s Thunderbird and he’s always teasing me for it. Even Tommy wants to be Thunderbird when--” He cuts off abruptly then, whipping to look at his father. “I-I… I mean…” He drops his head then and clams up. Henry just squeezes the hand on his shoulder.

“Barry?” Moses says gently. “Do you think you could tell me about what happened? With your brother?”

Barry doesn’t look up as he begins to talk, more or less addressing the floor. “I woke up at five, like I always do. It’s my job to let the sheep and the hens and the horses out, and feed them all. But when I got to the barn the door was already open. It’s never already open… And when I got closer I saw that it was all busted up. Like it wasn’t hanging right and the wood was messed up. I thought maybe it was a coyote. We had one of those a few years back.” Here, he looks up at his father, seeking approval. “Right, Papa?”

“That’s right, son.” When Barry looks at the floor and doesn’t continue, his father ruffles his hair a little. “Keep going, Barry.”

“Right. Well, I walked in and all the sheep were at one corner which is kinda weird. But I smelled it first. The blood and all. And that’s when I saw… Well. They were off to the side a little, but close to the door. Tommy was… he was… There was a lot of blood? And he was all scratched up and there was a real lot of blood…” Barry’s voice trails off a little and he’s shaking all over. His father joins him on the chair and wraps an arm over his shoulders. After a moment, the boy starts up again. “And I saw Sender next to him. He was all torn up too. He was… His top half was in one place and his bottom was in another. It was awful, real awful. And I… I d-don’t really know what happened next. All I can remember is Papa holding me and carrying me into the house. And then the aurors came, the ones from Raleigh, and I told them what happened and…” He shrugged, leaving the story there.

“Barry,” Moses says after a long moment, “you are so brave. I’m so sorry you had to see that, had to see your brother and Sender like that.”

“Thank you, miss,” Barry whispers hoarsely, eyes still on the floor.

“Barry, did you hear anything the night before? Maybe Tommy getting out of bed? Or the sheep, or Sender barking?”

Barry shakes his head and finally looks up. There are tears running down his pink cheeks, but he looks mostly calm. “No, miss. I’m…. I’m a heavy sleeper. Mama says a parade could march through my bed and I wouldn’t hear it. Jason heard the sheep, but I slept through till I woke up.”

“And Tommy wasn’t in his bed then?”

Barry looks caught out a moment, looking from his father to Moses. After a moment, he swallows and admits, “Well. No. But he’s snuck out of bed before.” Immediately he looks to his father and starts apologizing. “I promised I wouldn’t tell, Papa. I’m sorry! He was always so worried about Sender and so sometimes he would sleep out in the barn with him. Not often, and I told him it was dangerous. I swear, Papa! I swear I told him…” At that, Barry devolves into wracking sobs. He falls against his father’s broad chest and Henry just scoops him close, rubbing at his back and carding a hand through his hair. After a few minutes of soothing his son, Henry looks to Moses.

“We knew he was sneaking out, sometimes,” he explains. “We told him it wasn’t allowed and that it was dangerous but he loved that damn dog. It made Adara sick to worry but I… I didn’t really see the harm in it. I was stupid, I know. And I’ll hate myself every day for not tying him to his damn bed.”

Before Moses can offer any reassurance to the man, he’s pulling Barry from his chest and wiping at his son’s eyes. “Hey, now. You’re all right. What did I tell you yesterday?”

Barry swallows thickly and sniffles before reciting, “It wasn’t me or Jason’s or Tommy’s fault.”

Henry gives a firm nod. “That’s right. This wasn’t any of your’s fault.” Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he holds it while Barry blows.

“I think we’re done talking, Barry,” Moses says with a warm look. She doesn’t have any more questions for him and even if she did, the boy looks a little wobbly still.

“Why don’t you go send your brother on in to us and then make your Mama some tea?” Henry suggests. The boy nods before shuffling to the kitchen.

“I can’t imagine how hard this has been on all of you,” Moses expresses. “Especially Barry.”

Henry nods, rubbing at his forehead a little. “Me and Adara don’t know what to do, come time to send ‘em back to Ilvermorny. He’s having screaming nightmares every night still…”

Moses grimaces at that, her heart absolutely going out to the poor boy. “I could check with some colleagues at MACUSA,” she offers. “We have some counselors and things that might help.”

Henry gives her a look saturated with gratitude. Before he had can say anything, Jason comes slinking into the room. There’s a wary look on his face as he takes the seat his brother was just occupying. Moses introduces herself once more, but there’s no small talk with this Compton boy. Jason clearly heard Barry burst into tears from the other room and is on high alert.

“Barry, you heard the sheep that night, right?” Moses asks, jumping right in.

“Yeah. It was real dark when I woke up so it must’ve been the middle of the night. They were bawling and all but they do that sometimes. Just get ornery or whatever. So I just rolled over and went back to sleep.”

“Did you notice if Tommy was in his bed then?”

Jason gives a look to his father before admitting softly, “I didn’t, but I know he wasn’t.”

“Jason?” Moses asks gently, already with an idea of what happened.

“Well. I heard him when he got up. Before that. He’s snuck out before, y’know, and he always did the same thing. Waited till Daddy check in on us and then carried his shoes outta the house and went to sleep in the barn with Sender.” Henry gives one of his big, shuddery sighs and Jason’s shoulders hunch.

“You heard him leave that night?”

Jason nods, fingers working in his lap. “I dunno when it was, really. We all went to bed around the same time. Barry fell asleep first and I’m pretty sure Tommy was still awake when I fell asleep. And then I woke up and heard the sheep and… And I figured that was when Tommy had snuck out. ‘Cause sometimes they got all surprised when he went into the barn at first. I woke up later, too, when Barry got up for his chores. Tommy wasn’t in his bed then. And I was gonna go back to sleep but then Barry was screaming and all and… And then we all found out.” Jason’s eyes are welling and he reaches out instinctively for his father’s hand.

Moses is struck, then, by just how young he is. How young Barry is, how young Tommy...was. She feels herself starting to get overwhelmed and fakes a smile for Jason. “Thanks, honey. You did a good job.” Rising, she looks to Henry. “I think I have about all I need. Would you mind if I looked around the barn before I left, though?”

Henry nods, waving a hand. “Sure thing. And we’ll… I mean, we’ll be hearing from you?”

Moses gives him a firm nod of assurance. “Yes, absolutely. I’m working with the Magical Creature examiner at MACUSA and we have a few ideas. If I need anything else from you, I’ll definitely let you know. And either way, you’ll be hearing from me soon, with an update.”

“Thank you, Miss Graves. Thanks a lot.” They shake hands and Moses skids out of the Compton house before they can see her tear up. She wipes at her face after a few moments of release and moves for the barn off to one side. She can see, even from a distance, that the door still hangs crookedly.

As she gets closer, she sees that there isn’t much to see, really. The door does, indeed, look scratched up, the one handle appearing to be gnawed at. All the blood has since been cleaned away but Moses takes a few pictures of the scratch marks and teeth marks. Maybe it could help Culpepper. At the very least, it could confirm that the same thing had done this to both Linus Morrow’s dog and Tommy Compton.

april 21. evening. graves residence. richmond, virginia.

“Your mother,” Uncle Percy says with rancor, “has been hiding my cigars.”

“Good!” Moses retaliates. “Dr. Winnig said that you shouldn’t be smoking at all, let alone three cigars a day.”

Uncle Percy makes a dismissive gesture. “I don’t smoke three a day. She’s turned you all against me, that devil of a woman.”

“Watch your tongue talking about my momma,” Moses says but with a light tone. She settles back in the wicker chair, looking out over the expanse of land that stretches behind the Graves estate.

“Well. We could talk about why you’re here on a Thursday evening instead,” Uncle Percy suggests in a casual tone.

“I’m here to visit my favorite uncle,” Moses immediately replies.

Uncle Percy gives a snort. “Sure you are, Bo Peep. If it were the weekend, I would believe that. But you are never here in the middle of the week. So what gives, hmm? Everything all right at work? What about with that…that friend that you sleep with?” Clearly, the idea of sexual relationships between friends is more than a little confusing to Percival Graves.

Moses laughs and shakes her head. “Yes, Uncle Percy, everything is fine with Cal.” Licking her lips a little, she confesses, “But I do have a case that I’m a little stuck on.”

“Mm, thought that might be,” Percival says demurely. Peeking over his shoulder, into the house, he pulls a cigar from under the blanket that was spread over his knees. Moses passes him a disapproving look but he just grins, looking far younger than his age, and lights the end. “Well, don’t me beg for it, darling. What’s the case?”

Moses wrinkles her nose and launches into an explanation, starting at the very beginning. “And then yesterday, I took some research to Culpepper and they said they were pretty confident that it was a Shunka Warakin after all, and that there were only so many that had been steadied and there wasn’t all that much known about them. Meaning, of course, that they don’t really know how to capture one.”

Percival makes a chiding tone and puffs on his cigar. “Don’t make me disappointed in you, Bo Peep. I can tell that you know as good as I do how to catch this beast.”

Moses meets her uncle’s eyes for a long moment before letting out a quiet groan. “All right, yes, of course I do. I was just hoping that there might be some way that didn’t involve having to use a poor innocent dog as bait.”

Something soft and fond crosses her uncles face and he nods. “I have every confidence that you’ll be able to capture your beast and keep the bait dog safe.”

april 22. night. clifton barn. bladenboro, north carolina.

Moses sleeps soundly, curled up on a stack of hay. It had been scratchy at first, but, well, she isn’t really trying to sleep, is she? At her feet is a puppy -- a few hours ago she was a ball of energy. Her name was Layla and she had a ball with the aurors as they planned and rehearsed what they would need to do. Layla yipped and wagged her tail and darked from one officer to the next, attempting to get them all to play, or pet her. Many obliged.

Now, though, Layla’s little body is all tuckered out and her shanks rise and fall deeply with each breath.

It’s a few hours into the night, moon high, and Layla’s ear gives a twitch. She wakes slow, ears moving, as she gets her paws under her and cocks her head. And then, like flipping a switch, she starts to growl. Her small form goes rigid and a buzzing bark jumps through the night.

Moses jumps awake at that, eyes wide in the dark. She crouches next to the puppy who is now facing the door of the borrowed barn, paws wide apart and tail. When Moses runs a hand along her spine, she can feel the fur bristled and standing straight up. “What is it, girl?” she asks in a hushed voice, but she knows.

The doors burst in as if from an explosive and standing there is what Moses has to assume is the Shunka Warakin. It’s smaller than Moses might have imagined -- no larger than a man, really, with a sharp muzzle and a back that slopes back, almost making it appear to stand upright. On deft toes, it circles slowly. Its fur is patchy and Moses can see its ribs. Hunger has driven it from the less populated areas, Moses bets. Layla’s growling grows more frantic as the Shunka Warakin rocks back on its hind-paws.

Throwing a hand out, Moses shouts, “Immobulus!” The beast doesn’t quite freeze, not as the spells is supposed to make it. Instead, it stops almost in mid-air and drops. Its movements seem choppy as it dazedly shakes its head. There’s a high-pitched whine from it. Before it can regain its sense completely, several other aurors come dashing in, wands drawn.

A flurry of spells launch like a cloud around the Shunka Warakin. It has a brief moment of fight, before whining again. Slowly, as if gravity is gradually gaining power against the beast, it sinks to the ground and puts its head down.

There’s a moment of hesitation as everyone waits for another move. It never comes. Handshakes go around and several aurors go about transporting the Shunka Warakin to a specially reinforced cage.

“Straight to Culpepper!” Moses reminds them sharply. Before they load the cage up, Moses takes a moment to kneel by it. The creature inside is conscious, but docile and more or less unable to move. There’s a sadness in its eyes, she thinks. Something resigned and sorrowful. Up close, it doesn’t look terrifying, just pitiful. Too thin by half and marred with criss-crossing scars and newer cuts. “Don’t worry,” she whispers. “You’ll be well taken care of.”

april 22. afternoon. morrow residence. bladenboro, north carolina.

Moses is emotionally and physically drained. After a night of no sleep (the set-up, the aftermath, the transfer of the Shunka Warakin, the paperwork), she stayed in Bladenboro to speak with the Comptons. Henry all but broke down when she told him they successfully captured the beast. He asks if it will be put to death and she has to step around it gingerly. Tells him it’s going to be kept for research and study. If they can better understand it, they can prevent attacks from happening again. He nods, appeased. Then the boys roused and Adora made her first appearance and it was a round of sobs and grateful hugs and thanks all over.

Now, though, there’s only one last piece of business.

Linus Morrow answers the door and grins a little to see her. “Officer Graves,” he greets with a nod. And then, his eyes drift to her feet. Sitting at attention with her tail wagging is Layla. “And who’s this?” she asks.

Moses looks down at the puppy and smiles. “Layla here was the bait for our sting operation. We got the beast that killed Maggie, and Tommy Compton. All thanks to her.” As if aware of the conversation, Layla gives a cheerful bark.

“Well, isn’t that something,” Linus says, crouching to let the dog sniff him. Layla does and before launching herself at him, yipping happily and licking his face. He gives a huff of laughter but pets her enthusiastically.

“If you haven’t found a dog, already… Well, we got Layla from a shelter. She’s magically trained, too. Can smell Dark Magic, knows a few special commands…” Moses smiles at the look on Linus’s face. “She’s yours, if you want.”

Linus looks from the dog to Moses and then back again. Laughing softly, he pats Layla’s side. “Isn’t that something,” he repeats.

#[it's so long omg i'm so sorry]#beast of bladenboro #case #completed case #self para

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