White and gray, to anyone else, that’s all they would have seen in the blizzard that Alikur found himself in. But Alikur was not “anyone”, the blowing wind and distinct pattern that the snow fell through the trees, the lingering scent of animals, humans, and Norse werewolf. He smelled it all, which also meant the wolf smelled him. He knew the wolf's name of course, but the wolf had killed a human, which wouldn’t have been bad if he had done it as a human or taken the proper precautions. No, he had done it in the open, in plain sight. Which meant he had lost whatever had kept him human, and needed to be put down, personal attachment such as names were meaningless. He stalked on, bow in hand, his hooves and fur perfect for moving silently through the cold snow.
Alikur paused, a slight wind shift brought snow into his ears for a half-second, but also brought the distinct scent of werewolf. He knocked an arrow, it was dark, the blizzard blocking out most light, but just as the wolf could see him, so could he see the wolf. He was in a small clearing, and moved to the edge opposite of the scent, dropping a remote-activated flashbang as he went. He had to hand it to humans, as he twisted his hand around the trigger and fletching of the arrow, they came up with some useful devices. Norse werewolves were notorious for their immunities to nearly everything magical, but like all werewolves, silver burned, or in the case of arrows, punctured beautifully.
Stillness. Among hunters there is always that stillness right before the kill, Alikur felt it, and so did the wolf. A blur of motion, a push of a button, and the wolf rolling in the snow, clawing at his face. Alikur pulled back and let loose. The wolf stopped moving, an arrow through its skull. Alikur slung his bow over his back, moving towards the wolf as it went through its final, and only painless, shift. Before, it was a grey wolf standing six feet at the shoulders, now a tall, naked man with blond hair, a look of surprise on his face. “Ruby, would you mind getting rid of the blood splotches? I’ll take care of the body,” the snow shifted as a ruby haired spirit emerged from the earth, shaking the snow out as she appraised the scene with mischievous eyes.
“You took care of him pretty quick, aren’t werewolf packs known for taking care of bad seeds on their own terms? Why are we involved?” her voice was soft and filled with amusement despite the scene before her.
Alikur sighed, “You were asleep when the department got the call weren’t you?” He took his knife and carving transmutation script into the body, “The main body of the pack is at a moot with the other packs of America, they only left the whelps and lower rank members behind. This guy was one of the stronger ones among the lower ranks, so they couldn’t do shit without receiving casualties and causing even more of a ruckus. So Ghalbjorn deemed it less expensive to hire us to take care of it.”
He finished the script-work and it glowed softly on the body before turning it into a sapling. Ruby in the meantime had overturned the snow and earth around the body, now sapling, so there was no trace of blood.
“There, now it looks like someone planted a new tree here,” she smiled, Alikur patted her.
“Good job, now to get out of this weather,” he whispered.
Ruby nodded, pleased. “So, why did we do this? Couldn’t that vampire bitch that they usually rely on handle it? Normally they’re openly hostile towards you at best, just because you’re a minos.”
Alikur began walking to the town preparing his alter-perception script in advance, as Ruby leaped onto his shoulders, an impressive feat for a creature less than two feet tall, and Alikur being eight feet and nothing. That’s not counting the horns of course. Ruby began laughing. “ You’ll see when we get back. Now let’s get out of this snow, even I have my limit.”
…………..
Small, tranquil yet bustling with its own energy, that’s how Alikur would describe Orono, Maine. The Northeast Investigation Department (NEID for short) was in the middle of the downtown area, a simple single-story brick building, publicly advertising private investigation services. Behind closed doors, the NEID worked with all supernatural activity in the Northeast region.
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As Alikur was walking back, a few of the local hunters shoveling the sidewalk shouted a hello from across the street. To them, Alikur looked like a six foot three-inch-tall, bulky man of Irish descent with thick dark black hair and beard. His bow took the form of a rifle, and Ruby of course being an earth elemental, simply followed unnoticed through the earth. He’s gained a reputation as a good hunter over the fifteen years that he’s worked with the NEID, so Alikur often keeps an ear to the ground with both the human and supernatural hunters, their gossip has led to leads before after all. Alikur’s real appearance was that of a minotaur, or minos for short. Over eight feet tall, hooves, tail, horns, and fur covering his entire body. A normal human would scream and run away, hell, most monsters and other supernatural creatures would too.
“So how was the hunt?” Boss, real name Artemis Ferren began as Alikur reclined back at his desk; Ruby formed a body from the earthen circle next to it.
Sighing, “There’s a new sapling in the woods, a body returned to the earth,” he groaned as he cracked his neck.
Boss raised an eyebrow, “You watch too much Game of Thrones,” She said, leaning against his desk.
Alikur chuckled, “‘All men must die’ applies to all of us, can’t deny that.”
Boss shook her head, ‘Not today.’”
Ruby laughed as she sat cross legged, “Both of you watch too many shows, so how’s the vampire slut doing? Please tell me the piles of paperwork fell on her and she died from paper cuts.”
Al coughed, his eyes glancing at the paper wall, “Boss found out that she was the one responsible for so many divorces over the last year. So, she’s stuck with paperwork and fixing the messes.”
A loud hiss was heard from behind the wall of paperwork, “Little earth brat, I will destroy you!” Ruby yawned loudly at the desk covered in papers and files, obscuring Lauren from view.
“Oh please, do go on about destroying the earth, I’ll put you a couple hundred miles under,” Alikur smelled the anger and embarrassment rising from Lauren, “Ruby, why don’t you go help Jack in the basement? You know how it is after an event like this,” Ruby nodded, sticking her tongue out at the paper wall before disappearing into the earth. Ruby was a rare mix of surface and deep earth, meaning her actual body was hidden away. Technically, she was in two places at once, the little girl hanging on his shoulders was an earthen doll, a puppet of her own creation so she could be seen and heard. Jack was a troll, and despite the nasty reputation that comes with being one, he was kind hearted and devoted to his work of organizing and completing files for cases. He would appreciate Ruby’s help.
“Lauren, you are not allowed out of the building until all the paperwork is done and only after I’ve confirmed that all those men you’ve enslaved are free,” Boss admonished as Lauren scoffed as she continued her seemingly endless wall.
“Do I even want to ask how many?” Alikur inquired.
Boss glared at the papers in disapproval, “This dumb shit let another vampire provoke her into seeing which one of them could control the most slaves. That was a year and a month ago, it seems, and I’ve already tracked and put down the other vampire after he attempted to resist,” Alikur looked at Boss with concern, Boss was a human with Sight, an ability to see through and use magic. However, tampering with it at a young age led Boss to become neither male nor female. The accident made him/her even stronger as a mage as a result; but gender became a sore spot, so everyone calls him/her Boss.
“Going up against a vampire’s speed isn’t a smart idea.”
Boss smirked at Alikurs concern, “I’ve perfected a new spell, that I'll call ‘wall of stakes’, killed by his own momentum. I still wish the druids would let me in on how they can instantly destroy vampires though. Sorry Lauren, but not everyone can be reasoned with.” Boss’s gaze turned woeful.
“I don’t blame you,” she said, her voice had a tinge of sadness and regret. “It’s our job after all. But concerning druids, their magic comes from the earth mother Gaia, which I admit, I do not want to deal with.” Lauren had carried over a fear of being buried alive from when she was still human, as such she feared earth magic, elementals, and golems, which is why she did not like Ruby.
Boss clapped, “That’s enough chit chat, we all have paperwork to do, and I want to drink, hop to it folks!”