Zara

[ ivana baquero, female, she/her ] whatever you think you know about ZARA MCKENNA, the 25 year old, BISEXUAL, LOCAL, it is likely time for you to start reconsidering. the rumored HUMAN (HUNTER) is often described as STRATEGIC + PROTECTIVE, but don’t let them fool you; they can also be JUDGEMENTAL + QUICK-TEMPERED, which often has them regarded as the LIONHEARTED. they are a DEPUTY at CPSD, but it’s also said they are a MEMBER within the MCKENNA FAMILY. whatever you hear, you can’t deny there’s more to them that meets the eye, and it’s time we start uncovering the truth.

After being given his order by Zeldris Dimitri accepted it with a bow of his head, he had made the general of war a deal, she had kept up her end of it. He’d had the proper help to defeat Sebastian, even if it had cost him in the end. He knew that Sebastian would try and take everything from him and wouldn’t go down easy. But he’d come out of it victorious, the coven was his now and he’d protect it and Clara from anything. 

For the next few hours he’d gone out into the storm secretly and lured what people he could out into the worst of it, leaving them to be devoured/killed by the creatures wandering the woods and perimeter of the hospital. 

To keep appearances he also lead a few to safety, making sure he’d have an alibi just in case.

After a while though people stopped leaving the safety of houses or buildings and everyone in the hospital was hunkered down for the long haul. So he did what he had to, what Zeldris had told him to do. If he couldn’t lure them to the beasts, he would hunt them like one. 

He had realized quickly that the bracelet he wore was powerful, it allowed him to conjure illusions stronger than anything he’d ever seen before. So using it and to try and prevent using too much of his own power he conjured an image of the beast and used it to send the occupant of the house fleeing. 

Dimitri had watched the man run towards the safety of the hospital and before he could make it he used his magic to turn his fingers into long claws, something reminiscent of the beast. After immobilizing the human with his magic he killed them with the claws, blood spattering across the snow as the body fell. 

The claws melted away as he backed away from the body, off in the distance a twig snapped and he heard muffled voices mention something about a scream, he was grateful he’d cast a spell that would let him know if anyone was coming. He hid himself just before they came across the body, he counted silently to himself and when he deemed it appropriate he pushed his way out of the tree lines and took in the sight before him. 

“I heard screaming, what happened?”

@risingpeaksreblogs​

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Zara knew her girlfriend was going to kill her, but hearing how a number of people due to reach the hospital had failed to, she sent her a text, promising she knew what she was doing and would be back as soon as possible. After about 10 minutes, she was already catching signs of a struggle. Pulling out a knife, one that had the symbols from Samara on, she called out, but was met with silence. As she moved further between the trees she saw the body and cursed. Pulling out her radio, she knelt by the body, after making sure the area was still and silent.

“Deputy McKenna here, I’ve got a 7 at my 20.... Caucasian male, looks to be in his late 30s with deep claw marks to the throat and chest... No telling how long he’s been out here. He has ID, I’ll bag what I can.” She wasn’t even sure if anyone could get out, not in this blizzard, and the body was already being rapidly covered in snow. Still, she’d get what she could. She sent a voice message to her other hunters as well, sure that if she Sheriff didn’t take it seriously, the hunters would.

Arynn smirked some. “Ah, yeah, see I thought you looked familiar. You’d think I’d have a working knowledge of all you deputies’ by last name at the very least, the amount of times I’ve been lectured at the station.” He admitted and chuckled slightly. He listened as Zara spoke about the lifestyle of being a hunter. There was a sense of relief that there were hunters that didn’t immediately try to kill a supernatural creature without having other options available.

 “Oh, that’s good. Makes me feel a bit better about all of this. I don’t want to kill anyone.” He stated. “But, I do want to learn. I mean, I want to know - about the supernatural; about dealing with them if I have to or to protect someone else.” He stated after a small pause of thought.

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“Then if you have a willingness to learn, I can try my best to teach you.” She said, actually smiling slightly because... okay, maybe she was getting a slight soft spot for the guy. She nodded her head in the direction of the entrance, letting them take a slow walk back towards it. While people in the know wasn’t a great thing, when it was people that took it seriously instead of people who wanted to play the hero or shout about it from the rooftops, it didn’t hurt. “Just so you know... we try to keep all of this away from... regular people as much as possible. Saves unnecessary casualties on either side.” She explained, looking around and making sure there was noone around them at the moment.

“If you’ve got any questions though, I’m more than happy to answer them.”

Samara arched a brow at the other’s groan. “This pettish attitude is truly attractive.” Her gaze focused on Zara, the hint of a smirk visible on her lips. The witch guessed the huntress deserved a break on this occasion, even if her impatience was quite annoying. It had only been a few weeks since Zara discovered the existence of angels and demons, such revelation bound to leave any human overwhelmed and disoriented. And to her credit, the truth was the small brunette was taking the news far better than most in her position would.

Sam kissed Zara back, shrugging slightly. “A little gratitude more often would be appreciated though,” she teased, turning her attention to the items on the bathroom counter. She listened to the other’s answer to her question, brow furrowing at the mention of a hunter encountering one of the creatures roaming around in the storm. “There is something out there, my father saw it.” Her gaze settled on the huntress, shaking her head. “It’s nothing any of you want to mess with. Trust me.” She decided not to share the fact her colleague was most likely dead already, not wanting Zara to worry further. “Plenty in here to keep us busy,” she agreed, glad to hear the huntress had no intention of leaving the medical center. Sam hoped she kept that attitude.

When Zara asked about the symbols, Samara turned to face her. “Each one has a different purpose,” she explained, then pointed at the one closest to Zara’s left wrist. “This one is called the Enochian Guard; it prevents demonic and angelic possession, which you’ll know was attempted because the area where the symbol is will get warm. It’s rumored to only work seven times, so you need to pay attention to how dark the ink is. The lighter it gets, the less effective it’ll be.” Sam pointed at the symbol in the middle of her left forearm. “The Enochian Emissary stops demons and angels from locating you. As long as the drawing remains intact, neither will be able to find you. So make sure it doesn’t fade.”

Samara grabbed the hunting knife, offering it to Zara. “That one is called Enochian Shield. It protects you from demonic and angelic attacks, and can push them back several miles if they charge at you.” She sighed. “However, it also only works seven times. So if it fades, it means it’s time to redraw.” She remained silent then, shrugging after a moment. “The one on your right arm is witchcraft,” she admitted. “So we can find each other at all times.”

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“I figured the attitude was why you fell for me.” Zara said, raising her eyebrows at her girlfriend, fighting back the urge to smirk. Hearing that Sam’s father saw the creature, she tilted her head. “Can you at least give me a description of it? So that I can pass it on? Me and my aunt have people out there, and I need to make sure they have everything they need.” She resisted the urge of asking if she knew what this something was, if it was somewhat connected to the demons, but her head was still trying to get around the idea that witches were connected to demons at all.

She nodded along as Samara explained the symbols to her, trying her best to remember them all, knowing that she wouldn’t be let out of her sight if she forgot anything. And while that wasn’t a bad thing normally, she didn’t want her getting hurt, as much as she knew she could protect herself. Maybe one day she’d be better about it, but right now with so much uncertainty? She wasn’t taking any chances.

“You could’ve just asked to track me via GPS, it’s a lot more modern.” She teased, linking fingers with her and trying to smile. It didn’t reach her eyes though, there was an exhaustion there. She’d hunted a lot over the past few years, and killed where she had to, but this was... way too much for her to comprehend, especially with Mike’s warnings that she couldn’t fight it. “... It’s not going to keep us safe for long though, is it?” She said, softly. “Hate to be that person, but... I don’t know how we’re gonna be able to fight this crap.”

Mando had just moved all of his stuff into the empty closet and even set up the three cots some deputies dropped by. As the scent of Deputy McKenna reached him, Mando began to wonder if, perhaps, they weren’t still sniffing around him. Closing the door after prepping the small room for four people, Mando took a seat on the floor against a wall, looking up to see the deputy coming over to him. 

“I’m fine,” he assured dryly. “Thank you though, deputy.” What sucked was that she was part of the hunting family, and Mando refused to believe she’d been kept in the dark about what her family did in the shadows. No matter how they met or what happened between them, Mando doubted she’d ever trust him or he’d ever trust her. 

“They might need you guys a few floors up… I could’ve sworn I heard screaming,” Mando added after a moment, relaxing because he’d been worried since he also thought he’d heard growling— and Zara was a deputy, whom he was meant to go to for help. Last he knew, a few Blood Moon Pack werewolves were in there with them… 

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Zara hugged herself, looking down as Mando spoke, nodding and not making eye contact with him. He wasn’t like most criminals that got released. There was no gloating about getting away, no mocking her, he just... was there. There was nothing to suggest this crime was committed by demons, either - she wondered about getting Belle to help her look into it on the quiet once she was out of hospital herself.

Hearing about the screams, she frowned at him. “Can you show me where you heard it?” She asked, taking a step backwards to give him some room.

“Wait, me? Has he ever met me? I wonder what ever gave him the idea that I’d be good at hunting anything.” Arynn stated bluntly and shook his head in confusion. “Don’t hunters like, you know, hunt these things? I don’t know that I’d want to do that. Not every creature is bad and deserves to be hunted down. I’ve met some nice ones.” He added. Looking at the crossbow as she gathered the misfired bolt, he sighed some.

“Yeah, that sounds like a better place to start.” He commented, but blinked some as she pulled out her personal bestiary and gave it to him. “Oh… wow, yeah, okay. I won’t let anything happen to it. Promise.” He remarked and carefully tucked it into his jacket pocket so it wasn’t exposed to the flurry around them. “So… uh, what’s you name?” He asked awkwardly as he shivered from the icy air.

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“Normally Deputy McKenna when I’m dragging your ass away from doing something stupid.” She snorted, closing the trunk for now and locking it up. Her weapons were with Samara still, she wouldn’t need anything that was in there. “But if we’re gonna be on a first name basis, you can call me Zara.” She nodded. 

“Not all hunters are like that, and if that’s what you’ve heard, you’ve either heard it from someone whose ran into a crappy hunting group, or someone whose a hypocritical and judges hunters as quickly as they claim to be judged themselves.” She shrugged. “My family hunt, sure. And we kill where necessary. But only if we’ve exhausted every other option, and the risk to life is too high.” While Zara still erred on the side of caution, she wasn’t the type to shoot first and ask questions later. 

“If you don’t want to learn, then that’s fine too. Truth be told, I haven’t personally trained anyone before.” She admitted, looking him up and down.

The biting chill of the wind only seemed to be getting worse as the day wore into evening. Arynn wrapped himself with his jacket as tightly as he could and followed the woman through the parking lot, shivering and fidgeting in place for warmth as she brushed off her car and swung open its trunk. “God…damn.” He uttered at the sheer amount of weaponry that was hiding within. “Oh! You’re a hunter!” He exclaimed as it finally clicked what they were needing to talk about.

Clearing his throat some, he looked over the different weapons. “Uh… well, I mean, I’m not too shabby with a baseball bat.. but an actual weapon?” He remarked before reaching and picking up a small hand-crossbow. “This seems simple–” He hadn’t even finished his statement when the trigger pressed just hard enough to send the prepped bolt whizzing into the pavement nearby. “Oops.” Was all he could utter as he gingerly sat the weapon back down.

“Uh, no. Mm-mm.” He shook his head as he turned and looked at the woman. “Oh - I know I’m supposed to use mountain ash! Marshall at least told me about that – I’m assuming he told you to do this?” He gestured between them.

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She closed her eyes as she watched him fumble with the crossbow, going and retrieving the bolt once his hands were off of it. This was going to take way more work than she had the energy for tonight.

“Yeah... He thinks you’ll make a good hunter, wanted me to take you under my wing. Though clearly it’s going to take a lot longer than I expected.” She explained, looking him up and down. Whatever was going on out in the storm, she wasn’t about to send him out in it alone. Not with everything her and Marshall had talked about, that Mike had shown her.

“... Maybe starting with weapons is a little advanced. You’ve got about mountain ash, maybe we should just start with different supernaturals and how to handle them.” She muttered to herself, opening up her satchel and rooting through it. Pulling out her own beaten up bestiary, she let out a sigh, and held it out to him. “Read that, make notes, memorise anything you want, then give it back. That’s everything my parents knew about, and everything I’ve learnt for as long as I can remember. I’ve been working on this journal since I was 7, so if you lose it, I will use any number of weapons on you to make you pay. Got it?”

Arynn jumped in his seat at the sudden stating of his last name - a reflexive instinct from years of having it yelled at him for getting into trouble for one reason or another. “Ah!! Yeah-what-yeah, that’s me…. huh? We do?” He questioned with a furrowed brow, but the woman didn’t seem to be in the best of moods and she was already zipping her jacket up - so he rose to his feet and did the same. “Uh… what exactly are we needing to talk about? If it’s about that vending machine, I didn’t do that… Honest.”

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Zara sighed, planning on reminding Marshall that he owed her big time for asking her to do this, though it made the most sense. Once they were outside, she looked around to make sure there was no one in hearing distance, but thankfully, everyone else had the common sense to be huddled inside. Going around to the parking lot, her car was already covered in snow, and she brushed it off, opening the trunk and standing him in front of it. An array of weapons sat there, and she watched him carefully.

“Do you know how to use any of these? I don’t have time to go over them all with you tonight, but if you’re going to be in the know, then you’re going to do it right.”

status: closed, for Zara McKenna ( @thewaywardprotector​​​​ ) location: new hope health center

The strokes of the brush were meticulous, every line carefully painted on and traced over twice, brown eyes shifting from paper to skin as the witch made sure the symbols matched perfectly. “Stop moving,” she ordered, grabbing Zara’s arm by the wrist to hold it in place, wanting to prevent any of the ink she had spent hours crafting spilling onto the floor. She hoped they wouldn’t have to reuse it at all, that the huntress wouldn’t encounter anything that could possibly burn through the Enochian symbols. But just in case, it was better to avoid carelessly wasting it.

Once Samara decided she was finished, she closed the ink box and placed the brush on the bathroom counter. “You gotta let it dry.” She leaned against the wall, looking over the items Zara had brought with her. “Then you should cover them up. Don’t attract attention to yourself.” Her gaze settled on a hunting knife, which she had been instructed to paint a different symbol on, her arms crossing along her chest. “–For how long do you have to stay on patrol?”

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“I’m not moving.” Zara huffed like a petulant child, sitting on a counter in the bathroom, throwing her head back in frustration. It felt like they’d been working on this for hours, and all she could think about was all the things that needed to be done, both hunter-wise and deputy-wise. But there was no chance of Samara leaving her before she was done, so like a good girlfriend she sat there and took it.

She got up, about to throw her shirt back on when she was told to let them dry and she groaned again, but nodded. “I know, you’re doing it for my own good, I’m thankful, okay?” She sighed, cupping her cheek and kissing her softly. She was being a brat, and she knew it. It just felt like one thing after another, and honestly it was... overwhelming.

“... I don’t know.” She answered honestly, leaning against the sink as she waited for the ink to dry, watching Samara put her things away. “Deputy patrol’ll be a few hours, after that... hunter patrol. One of our guys said something on radio about a large creature in the snow, and... we haven’t heard anything from him since.” She bit her lip, shaking her head. “Don’t worry I’m not going out there... this place is a powder keg all by itself, so many people all stuck in one place.”

“So how do these things work, anyway?” She asked, motioning to the symbols. “How are they going to help?”

Zara stood in the hallway, staring at the Blackwood boy for a few minutes. She’d just got off of her shift, but was still on call if she was needed, which meant now her other work started. Her aunt and some of the other hunters were stuck on the other side of the blizzard, with no way in, so with their numbers down... She let out a sigh, looking up. “If there is someone up there, don’t let me regret this...” She muttered.

“Blackwood.” She said, walking over him, and zipping her jacket up. “Come out to my car with me. Hear we have some things to discuss.”

Zara wandered the halls, answering questions where she could, and directing people to the different areas for food, rooming, or blankets. She really felt for the staff of the hospital, having to practically stumble over the entire population of the town to just do their jobs. And not only that, but having so many different creatures in one place left Zara tense, especially after her revelations with Marshall. But so far, she hadn’t seen the Morningstar family at the hospital, and she was at least thankful for that.

Turning a corner as she lead an old woman to where she could check in with her granddaughter, she saw someone sitting on the floor, and she tensed up, her eyes landing on Mando. Nothing about his case made sense, the evidence that was stacked against him, how it would be enough to send most away for decades... and yet he was walking around as a free man.

“... Did you need assistance?” She asked stiffly, keeping her distance, and not looking at him. Her senses tingled, telling her to not completely trust him. Not with so many unanswered questions.

open  to  :  @risingpeaksreblogs​

location  :  the  hospital

the  french woman  had  managed to  get  dressed, putting  a  pair  of  her  working  pants  on  even  if  she  was  still  wearing  that  hospital  gawn  as  a  top.  she  couldn’t  stay  in  her  room  knowing everyone  was  out  there,  knowing she  should  be  working  if  razor  hadn’t wanted  to  attack her  that  night. feeling  that  had  been  haunting her  ever  since  that  second. the  brunette  walked down  the  halls, carrying  the  monitor with  her.  the  sound  of  someone  walking behind  her  in  the  hallway made  the  french woman  turn  around, scared  to  face  the  werewolf again.  she  took  a  deep  breath  before she  turned  to  look  at  them.  “  you  scared  the  shit  out  of  me  ”  she  mused,  taking her  hand  to  her  chest.

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When Samara finally let Zara out of her sight, the deputy needing to work, she knew it was with regret, but Zara did have to help the evacuation situation, it was literally her job. Wandering the halls, she saw someone in a hospital gown walking around, and as she got closer, she sighed, calling out her name.

“Good! I’m glad I did because you shouldn’t be up and about right now!” Zara frowned, taking Belle gently by the arm. “We have everything covered, you need to take care of yourself, okay?”

Zara read the information, but Marshall couldn’t tell if it bothered her much. In fact, she seemed icy cool about it… Which worried him slightly. Last thing he wanted was to start a witch hunt—a literal one. “Sure, just wanted to let you know,” the Light Faye shrugged, finishing his coffee and ignoring the itch another cup. She wasn’t all wrong, and her skepticism was well-deserved…

“Fuck me sideways… You know how crazy that sounds knowing your lives are so—” He stopped himself abruptly, shaking his head. “Just… that’s dedication for sure.” Marshall sighed deeply. It was, however, very intelligent. Too bad the Faye would rather isolate and gatekeep than infiltrate. “…You’re probably but the chaos it’ll bring—even if only at the beginning—sounds fucking horrifying.” She couldn’t blame the Light Faye for completely standing against such plans.

Furrowing his brow when the young Blackwood was brought up, Marshall rolled his eyes at her poor reception of what, in turn, the Light Faye saw as potential. “Don’t be so hard on him… Why don’t you take him under your wing? I personally think he’d make a great hunter…. And I hate you for making me say those words,” Marshall added as he realized he was encouraging the recruiting of more hunters.   

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Zara smiled, sadly. “Only life I’ve ever known. My parents never forced me into it, but I learnt that dedication from them. They died for their work, to keep other people safe, to hunt. There’s probably plenty of people alive today because they did what they had to do. I can miss them, but know they didn’t die in vain.” She shrugged, looking down. She didn’t often think of her parents, so focused on moving forwards, but she couldn’t help it at times.

She frowned as she was chastised for being too hard on the Blackwood boy, but she tilted her head at his suggestion. It couldn’t be a terrible thing to train him up if he was already in the know. Best he be prepared than fumbling around and getting himself into all kinds of danger. “I’ll... Talk to him. See if he has potential. But I’m not making any promises.” She said, shrugging. She stared back at the photos on the board, still distracted thinking about Samara. “Is there anything else we need to figure out? I have some stuff I should... probably be doing.”

The Light Faye simply sighed, unable to argue with his fellow deputy. After all, as much as he loved his fellow supernatural and felt kinship towards them: Zara was a friend. Hearing about witches, Marshall became oddly interested in his cup of coffee and unable to meet the huntress’ gaze. “About that…” He turned and took another copy from a messy pile after shuffling through it for a few seconds. Handing it to her, Marshall sighed and sipped his coffee to let her read where it said witches had been created by demonic royalty. “Just… watch your back.” 

“I’m happy to know I’m not the only one… Not in 250 of my years on this planet did I ever meet anyone as terrifying,” he admitted. “Maybe we can push the demons to her, she’d make them law-abiding citizens in a few minutes,” the Light Faye mused with a chuckle. 

Marshall sighed deeply at their current sad state. “More and more, I am realizing perhaps having more moles in human politics would make it all a lot easier in so many ways… I’m becoming my father,” he jested to try to uplift their mood. 

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She frowned as she was passed over the pages, a cold shiver running down her back as she read them, before she handed them back, a little more stony faced. “We don’t know if everything he says is true. And regardless, I know what I’m doing.” She said firmly, turning away to look at the board again. Samara wouldn’t have anything to do with this, wouldn’t even want to. And if she’d known anything about these things, she would’ve told her. Still, there was a knot in her stomach, an uncertainty about what to do with the information.

The idea of outside hunters was irritating, but Zara was just pointing out the obvious. It was only a matter of time till they got more eyes on them than they could handle… “Do you think he knows? He couldn’t be ready to go to war with a whole country,” Marshall pointed out. “I mean, what the hell? How out of touch you gotta be to not know human law enforcement has evolved?” To not know a bunch of government officials—and the older supernaturals, hunters, etc—that a killing spree would bring? “The local nest is still recovering from their loss, but… I doubt they’d denied us help,” he pointed out with a sigh.

He sighed as Zara agreed somewhat, listening to her input as he rearranged his thoughts with it. “We can ask Zeldris for a search warrant,” he mused, although he wasn’t eager to go visit the frightening woman. 

“Yea…” he stared at a set of pictures of Mara and Nyx, sighing as the huntress promised she wanted to be wrong as much as he was. If he told Zara about his conversation with Mara, she’d kill him… So, against better judgement, the Light Faye kept that detail to himself. “No pressure, right?” he sighed with exhaustion. “Want to brainstorm a human way to present this to Anna the Huntress?” he asked, sipping his coffee.

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“No pressure at all... Just tells me there’s a few businesses in this town that I won’t be visiting unless we get a call out there. And even then, I’ll be taking more than my gun.” She said, sighing and slumping into an armchair in the room, staring at the board. She had no idea how she was going to tell Samara any of this. No idea where to even start, but she’d probably be hexed if she kept anything from her. “I have... contacts in witches. I’ll see if there’s anything they can do to help us, as well. If they want to. You know how evasive they can be.” She sighed.

At the brainstorming, she only managed to groan and rub her face. “Zeldris is terrifying, I hate speaking to her. I’m pretty sure me and the other deputies drew straws about who was gonna speak to her when it came to the Mando Rivera case.” She’d thankfully not drawn the short straw. “I mean... He was at the scene of the murders, right? No reason we shouldn’t search his things for a weapon. Or ask around people that know him first, see if any of them have seen him with one. The rest? I have no idea how to even begin to explain that in a human way.”

“No fucking idea,” the taller deputy admitted with an exhausted sigh. “I’m cool with it so long as they’re locals.” Hunters or not, Marshall trusted locals. “I rather keep the Light Faye blue bloods from this…” At least, until he understood things better. Last thing he needed was a Crown order to evacuate all Light Faye from Creation Peaks—or worst: have Light Faye royalty crawling all over his precious town. “He had swords, but I’m not sure if any were angelic.. I’m looking into it.” He thought of Destiny and Forrest, making a mental note to speak to both again.

“… Hmm…” He mumbled thoughtfully as Zara spoke on Lilith. “Yea… I don’t remember her where I was and she hasn’t come up when I’ve spoken about that night,” Marshall shared. 

Marshall sighed at his coworker’s words. “Vampires do this… this kind of thing—this boasting? Confident? I don’t what you’d call it… um, when they’re old, same with witches—the older, the more powerful, right? Are we dealing with three powerful demons?” he questions, proposing a hypothesis he hoped Zara would dismiss. 

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“We’ll keep the information to hunters we can trust, but if things get worse around here, I don’t know how much we’ll be able to keep it to only locals. You know trouble and unexplained deaths is like a beacon to some hunters, especially with Spear spouting their conspiracy theories.” She warned - though she agreed that keeping the Light Faye out of this as much as possible was important, not wanting more supernatural here, if it would cause even more hunters. “Again - once we can get to his stuff, we can go through it all with a fine toothcomb.”

“I suppose older would mean more powerful, yeah. Or at least, harder to kill or track down. Somethings kept them alive all this time, after all.” She sighed, not looking at him as he put forward his hypothesis. She stared at the board, at Lilith’s photo, trying to figure it out herself. The names couldn’t be a coincidence. Not when it was such an uncommon name. She pulled out her phone, doing a quick search, before she shoved her phone back in her pocket.

“... At least two of them holding positions of somewhat power. Owners of businesses in a small town.” She added, finally looking up at him. “I want to be wrong as much as you do.”

Mando bit his tongue at the deputy’s remark. He didn’t need weapons either, nor would they find much… If him and his family weren’t scavengers, if they weren’t pretending human, they wouldn’t find anything…. Even when trying to be good, there was no way a wendigo could escape the crime of their nature.

As she left the room, Mando decided there was no time for self-pity. He had a few hours before his hunger became an issue and God only knew how much time before they busted in the Rivera home… Although hidden, any bored deputy could still come across the secret room where the Rivera kept their real food. By the time she returned, Mando was looking at the table before him, sighing to himself. 

He needed to call Kayla, Betsa or even Nyx—-most importantly Nyx. “I have no idea,” he simply replied, looking back into her eyes with a look of defeat on his features. Nothing mattered anymore. He had to shut up, calm down and wait for a lawyer—keep his energy for trying to hold back his abysmal hunger. “Did you call me a lawyer?” he asked instead, politely, stoic.

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Staring at him, Zara desperately tried to piece together what could have happened, what the motive was, why this man who everyone liked and respected could have done something like this. Either he was a really good actor, or something was going on. But Zara’s job was to follow the evidence, and right now? It was leading straight to his door.

“I’ve put in a call for one, they’re on their way here now.” She said softly, looking down at her papers. He’d lawyered up, she wasn’t going to push any further, wasn’t interested in jeopardising the case. “I’ll leave you to think things over until they get here.” She sighed, reaching for the door.