Peacemark

As he walked along the dimly lit street, passing several benches and street lamps, Cain bit down loudly on a large red apple, his fangs making short work of the delicate skin. He savored the sweet fruit's juices as he chewed and looked down the street. It was late at night, and the streets were mostly deserted, mostly thanks to their friendly neighborhood psychopath scaring the citizens into hiding in the late hours, and righty so. 

It began about a month ago, his father's informants had informed him of a body found in a nearby factory, mostly drained of blood and brutally dismembered. Originally, Cain's father had suspected one of the damphir, and they were placed in lockdown for a fortnight, but when another two bodies, ravaged in the same way, turned up in such a short time, his father had made a public announcement acknowledging the killings, and assuring the public that house Calloway were both innocent and actively pursuing the killer. Lord Calloway, busy with his duties, tasked Cain and his siblings with finding the killer and bringing him or her to justice, something Cain was glad to do, as it added a bit of excitement to his usual days. 

He had since found two more bodies, one floating under a dock, and another that had been rotting in a residence for a period of which he had estimated to be about a week. Cain, like his father, also suspected an damphir, as a full-fledged vampire would have neither the bloodlust, nor courage to kill in the home of Calloways. 

He sighed, sitting down on a grey bench, looking up at the night sky. He had been patrolling all night and hadn't found a thing, other than the occasional beggar, or drunk, and decided he would return to castle Calloway, to retire to his room for the night. 

He entered through the main gates, handing one of the servants his hat and coat, and making his way up the stairs toward his room. 

Rose stood outside her brother's room awaiting his return. She had missed his departure and was not allowed to leave the castle without one of her siblings at this time of night, ironically due to the very murders that they had been assigned to investigate. The thought behind this being that the killed would likely be able to easily overpower her, should she accidentally happen upon him. Thus, unable to find any of her siblings who were awake, present, and willing to accompany her, Rose was forced to remain idle and wait for Cain to get back.

In her idleness, Rose tried once more to formulate a profile for this "Ripper", as he had been dubbed. Unlike her brother and father, Rose did not believe this to be the work of any damphir, though she had no proof otherwise. In her mind, these were not acts of bloodlust, or at least not the literal thirst for blood. If nourishment were the only motive, any intelligent person, and to have eluded the Calloways this long, they would have to be intelligent, would have simply left the city for somewhere that they could carry out their acts in a less conspicuous manner. And besides, what purpose would dismembering the victims serve if thirst were the reason for the killer's actions? No, while she was not ruling out the possibility, she found it far more likely that there was another motive involved.

Just as Rose was about to give up and head back to her own room, she was starting to get rather tired, Cain arrived. Stepping between him and the door to his quarters, the supposedly incidental nature of this act being debatable, she greeted him. "Ah, good evening, brother. I've been anxiously awaiting your arrival, as there a few things about which I believe we should talk. Firstly, and this is only a request, in the future, would you please inform me before departing to investigate the case. As you know, I can't do the same without an escort, and I would greatly appreciate if you would allow me to accompany you."

Rose appeared as though she were about to say more, but was overcome by a yawn before she could. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she paused for a moment, seemingly having lost her train of thought. After a few seconds, she added "I can't help with the investigation if I can't investigate."

The quiet and dark forest had no signs of life among the trees and grass; of course, this also excluded the small rabbit, which took extra precaution of cleaning itself. This also excluded the two, yellow eyes that stared from afar. Her breathing as barely there, and while the rabbit was oblivious to its surroundings, she wasn’t. Each step meant life or death; each step meant whether or not she’d have a snack tonight- and quite frankly, she was in the mood for a plump yet tiny white hare. Chaz’s muscles tensed as the rabbit stopped to peer up, its pink eyes gleaming through the shrubs and forest; she anxious and slightly afraid that her subtle movements may have alerted the bunny.

To her luck, the rabbit heard nothing, giving Chaz the chance, just as the poor animal propped its head down from sniffing the air, to attack. Everything in her body bounced from her one spot towards the rabbit; her back legs lodging up into the air while her front propped themselves in front of her. The poor thing had no time for a reaction but to run; and run it did. It dodged the creeping trees and served underneath the uprooted roots. Chaz continued on the bunny’s trail, despite her losing the sight of the animal for seconds upon moments, she still kept hot on its tail. Within the few minutes both her and the rabbit had reached a small gully where a hidden hole was located by a tree stump, Chaz locked up every joint and muscle in her body before springing back and lodging herself at the animal; taking only seconds at time before she felt the body squish beneath her big paws.

Despite the sickening crackle sound it made when all of her two-hundred pounds landed on it, Chaz was still determined to get her snack that has been long awaited- she hadn’t eaten in thirty minutes, as you could imagine, she was absolutely starving. To erase the sound of breaking bones, she shook her head furiously, her brown speckled fur shedding while her jowls slapped against each other as she did so. Chaz whine a little bit as she sniffed her kill; the rabbit had deceived her. It was no way plump at all, but instead very fury and fluffy. A small growl slipped through her nose as she began to sit, panting while she doubtingly de-furred her snack. It didn’t take long after for Chaz to devour the thing, and once she was done, she cleaned herself properly and headed off down the trails she had taken. It took her a good solid hour to arrive to the mansion, giving herself a good shake to clean herself of any other forest debris she might’ve missed.

Chaz entered the house, and as usual, the house was silent and still. Her paws which hit the floor with a semi-loud clink and thud, was the only noise that dared to echo throughout the house. While she did love being in her wolf form, the house was not a very suitable place to be in one unless she was in her room- plus, she needed to shower, and the down side of being a were wolf was the horrid ‘wet-dog’ smell you get if your fur gets wet. Chaz went from a huge wolf to a human in the matter of minutes- perhaps even seconds. With the sudden appearance, Chaz clothed herself with a robed-jacket that hung on the coat hanger before making her way up the silent steps and into the dark hallways. She seriously wondered what her siblings did all day sometimes.
After what seemed like an hour, Chaz was bathed, cleaned and clothed; though, by this time, she was fairly hungry once more. Her internal debating of whether she should go downstairs and make a meal for herself or call a made up to her room to give them orders where easily outweighed.

Though, of course, Chaz decided to venture downstairs herself, a bit bored of the things that had happened today. While her father had passed away, and from a murder at that, Chaz dealt with it her own way- by pretending everything was alright. Her and her father where never close, and several times, he and her had out lashed each other, fighting practically for hours. While one may say that their relationship was bitter and even sour, Chaz still loved him, and it was still hard for her to see him go, yet it was so easy to turn the other cheek and pretend he never existed at all. Before she could drown in her thoughts, she decided that perhaps she could start a conversation with one of her family’s maids. She would often do this to ease her boredom; while she may have not been all that open with them, she’d always make sure she was kind to them.

While she had no idea on what conversation to start, she thought she might call in Amalie; one of the well respect and well liked servants her family had. She a very pretty girl, blonde hair that was always silky to the touch, and she had the looks of a doll- secretly, Chaz wished she looked more like Amalie, though, sometimes she was happy to be ole’ big and bulky. It gave her a firm standing, it made others slightly intimidated, which made her life a bit easier. Chaz’s eyes scanned the area around, to make sure she wasn’t yelling if Amalie was right there, but because she was no were to be seen, Chaz opened her mouth and called loud enough to cause an echo, “Amalie!” Perhaps while she’s here, maybe Amalie could make something for the both of them to snack on- well, when Chaz thinks the ‘both of them’ she more and likely will save Amalie the last bite.

Amalie seemed to materialize out of a wall from behind her young mistress, Chastity Tarrow. She had heard her name quite clearly, and recognizing whose voice it was she could guess the reason she was being called upon. Although it was incredibly late at night, it was actually early in the morning for Amalie. It is never unusual for her to be up before the dawn, cooking or cleaning around the house. It is one of the best times for her, as no one else is generally around to get in the way or re-dirty things just after she’s cleaned them.

In her hands rested a crystal platter with an arrangement of cured meats, cheese, bread, and a bottle of wine with a single goblet. “Yes, Miss Tarrow? May I offer you a late night snack, Miss Tarrow?” Her voice was as soft as her features. The definition of a wall-flower, Amalie gently strode across the room, carrying the tray over to her mistress. “Would you like to have this in the sitting room, Miss Tarrow?” she asked, tipping her head to the side questioningly.

The stray had to be at least thirty pounds, as it was real crystal. Plus the bottle of wine, and the food, all together it must have been about forty pounds, but Amalie’s arms remained quite still. Seemingly unbothered by the weight, the thin maid waited patiently for her orders. By the looks of her mistress, Chastity had been out hunting again. The smell of her bath salts suggested she had just bathed and cleaned herself. Amalie smiled on the inside, noticing that the mistress had found the new clean clothes she had left in her bed chamber.

It felt good to see Chastity wearing the clean clothes. Pride bloomed in Amalie’s chest at the sight of her mistress. She looked lovely, in the soft light of the mansion. Chastity was one of Amalie’s favorites in the Tarrow house. The miss always spoke her mind, and was not afraid to stand up for herself. Amalie admired that about her. All her life Amalie had been a quiet push-over that would take orders from almost anyone in the house, including other servants.

It wasn’t that she enjoyed being bossed around, it was just she enjoyed her job. She liked feeling useful and appreciated by her masters and mistresses. Even if the family never out rightly told her to her face that she was appreciated, seeing them enjoy her hard work was good enough for her.

Evangelina made her way through the castle doing her normal nightly chores and then some. She liked to keep busy and help even those she didn't have to. After being forced to stay in she was to scared to even think about leaving until the "ripper" was caught. Blaming the Damphirs seemed extreme at first. She was one of the youngest and felt targeted. After all why would the older ones go on a rampant killing spree. She sighed as she carried a bowl of hot water and a cloth. Every so often running the cloth over the banister. Maybe one of her masters or mistresses would like to feed? She hoped so. Something a bit more exciting than cleaning. Loving every last one of the Calloways and unable to pick which to go to first.

Hearing voices echo through the halls. Cain and little miss Rose. Rose asking to go out and investigate. She could barely ask the question without yawning, how would she stay awake to roam the city streets. Putting the bowl down and wiping her damp fingers on the front of her maids uniform. Making sure she looked clean before making herself known.

"Young master and mistress is there anything I can assist you with? Perhaps putting miss rose in bed" her eyes shifted to rose with a slight wink. Using little to no formality when she talked to them. Even if she wasn't a full vampire, and owned by them. It never felt right to act as there complete and utter slave. Sometimes even enjoying the punishment if she pushed their buttons to hard. Bowing slightly to the two. "Perhaps a snack after investigating the city. That "ripper" he's still out right? What if it was some human mad that he wasn't changed or something. People are crazy like that. Humans too. " looking at the two. Seeing if her comment would bait one into argueeing with her about it. There was a slim chance it could be a human. But really what human would go against the Calloways. To be able to evade the countless searches. A rough vampire no doubt. Or so she thought.

Rose's request to accompany Cain on his excursions didn't apply to tonight of course. Even if it had, he had just gotten back and didn't seem to be planning on going anywhere else.

"Young master and mistress is there anything I can assist you with? Perhaps putting Miss Rose in bed?"

Rose turned to see the source of the voice, which was apparently Evangelina. She had done so just in time to catch the wink. As a reaction to both this and the question, Rose blushed and adopted a sour expression. "I am not a child." she stated. "I am thus perfectly capable of putting myself to bed." As if in response to this, another yawn managed to escape her. Though she tried to hide it behind her hand, it was still fairly obvious. "That proves nothing."

She nodded at Evangelina's suggestion that the Ripper might be human. "I've actually considered that as a possibility as well. Even the little moths are prone to bloodlust, though usually of a different kind. The main flaw with that theory is that most of them simply lack the raw physical strength demonstrated in these cases. We also shouldn't discount the possibility of a Lycan, as this level of brutality is something they're already known for. In addition, they make up the majority of the police force, so it would be no wonder that they haven't already been caught. That said, I have never actually been to one of the crime scenes, so this is based solely upon case notes and simple deduction. I would be able to help far more if I were allowed to do something other than tell the courts that we are on the case." This last statement was directed mostly at Cain.