"What a boring day," complained Élodie Duval, sitting at her desk in the Blume police station.
"You say that after you crushed that monster's skull last night," retorted a policeman walking past her. The blonde shook her head.
"You don't understand! That was last night, not today. Nothing interesting. I guess it's because it's still early," commented Élodie, looking out the nearest window.
"It's always good for things to stay that way, you know? It's tedious having to deal with cases all the time," said a female police officer whose desk was near hers.
"You raised a flag already!" shouted a middle-aged policeman in the distance. This made Élodie smile since she wanted a more interesting day.
For her, it had been a normal day so far, much to her chagrin. Élodie Duval could adapt quickly to any situation, but she was still surprised by how a police station operated.
As a police officer transferred directly from the military to the city of Blume, the pace at which her colleagues worked was very different from what she was used to.
There were new codes to learn, different tactics, and different ways of dealing with certain situations. She could no longer simply empty a magazine into an enemy or smash them with her warhammer; she had to comply with more restrictive regulations.
Except for certain entities and at special times, like last night. The incident was still fresh news in the local paper. Élodie had fought and killed a Goat sucker that attacked a group of lumberjacks on the outskirts of town.
She preferred taking on these types of cases, where she could unleash the savagery hidden beneath her skin rather than follow the tedious rules of the police.
It bothered her that she could only take the initiative unless it was necessary, like having to read a criminal their rights and ask them to calm down and put down their weapons.
She always thought this sort of thing only slowed her down when solving common cases, such as robberies. She believed that she could prevent a crime if the criminal died from a hammer blow instead of having to ask them to put the gun down.
What was the worst thing for a woman as active as she was? Without a doubt, it was the paperwork. The blonde was used to continuous action in the military, with hardly anything like duty reports to complete.
"Duval, the boss wants to see you," a young policeman said, approaching her.
Police Captain Holland was generally described as stingy. Despite being well into middle age with a prominent receding hairline, he still managed to convey a comforting feeling to his people.
Élodie quickly went to his office, not wanting to waste any more of his time. As a newbie, she knew she enjoyed some privileges other cops didn't because of her status as a warrior and former military member.
She wanted to be in Holland's good graces, so she put on a serious countenance when she entered his office. No matter what the captain asked her to do, she kept a calm mindset so as not to appear careless or snooty.
Imagine her surprise when her boss sent for her and gave her an assignment involving not only the Tower but also a witch who was a mystical consultant to the police in Blume.
She was happy with this development! Although she didn't know all the nuances of the case, she had wanted the right to shoot at the slightest threat ever since she moved to Blume. At that moment, a big smile blossomed on the cop's face.
"So, boss, can you tell me more about this Séraphine Rohan? I've only heard a few things about her through rumors and the newspaper," she said, hinting at her curiosity.
The blonde had heard many things about Séraphine Rohan in the room where she was working. Besides knowing some basic things, like that the brunette was in the newspaper a lot and that she was a witch, she hardly knew anything about this woman.
"She's a complicated person, you know? My best advice to you is to refrain from making a bad comment about her appearance when you meet her," replied Captain Holland, who was smoking a cigarette at the moment.
"What kind of advice is that? Is it taboo to tell her she's ugly?" Élodie raised an eyebrow and asked, causing Holland to shake his head before taking a puff on his cigarette.
"No. It's just so you understand that she cares a lot about her looks. I wouldn't know how to describe her in depth. We all have our nuances. But if you want a quick rundown... Séraphine Rohan is a spiteful witch." Holland's words made a strange smile form on Élodie's face because she felt there was some gossip behind them.
"How did someone like that become the police's supernatural consultant?" Élodie asked the question that intrigued her the most, and Holland flicked the ashes off his cigarette before answering.
"Effort and connections. The girl may sound shallow at times, but she has real knowledge. She's not a witch for the sake of it. We also can't ignore her connections in the city and the capital. Don't forget her last name." When Holland said the last sentence, he lowered his voice as if he didn't want to be overheard.
"She's from the Rohans!" asked Élodie loudly, causing the captain to hiss at her to be quiet.
"Don't mention her background so lightly. No one talks about that at the station, understand?" The man warned, causing Élodie to nod.
"Well, I guess that's it. Go do your duty. Take some special bullets before you leave, okay? I don't know if you'll need any for interesting effects," Captain Holland said, gesturing to shoo away the blonde policewoman. She walked off, leaving a chuckle behind.
Once alone, Holland crushed his cigarette in the ashtray and rubbed his eyes. The Tower calling him for support on a supernatural case caused him some stress. However, even though Élodie was new to the police force, he was confident she would get it right this time.
"Whatever's hiding in that place, I hope you can bring her some of the terror our army generates," Holland muttered before lighting another cigarette. He felt like he would have to smoke the whole pack to calm down.
From the moment she left her boss's office, Élodie started laughing and doing a crude dance, which soon earned her ridicule and whistles from her colleagues.
"I've seen better dances from my dead grandmother!" shouted the woman whose desk was close to Élodie's.
"Samantha, leave your grandmother alone! She was a good person," said a policeman with a smile.
"I don't know what's worse: Élodie's dancing or Samantha using her dead grandmother as a crutch all the time," complained an elderly policeman with gray hair.
"Don't worry. When you die, Samantha will use you as a crutch," said a young policeman who had brought the message to Élodie. He patted the old man named Herbert on the shoulder.
"Ronald, it's not nice to wish death on others," said Élodie, reprimanding her partner. He simply stuck out his tongue before passing a cup of hot coffee to the woman.
"What were you celebrating?" asked Samantha, who was very curious, especially on a quiet morning like this, when boredom reigned.
"I'll be working on a case where I can use lethal force," said Élodie, patting the regulation weapon attached to her waistband.
"Violence has eaten away at your mind! It must be those radio programs. Since those machines became popular, people have gathered around a carcass to listen to insipid programs full of bad messages," Herbert growled. The others simply remained silent and shook their heads.
Who was going to argue with a veteran cop like him? Although what he was saying sounded reasonable, the young people present dismissed it as an exaggeration. Listening to the radio couldn't be that bad, could it?
"Whatever. I'll work with that witch from the newspaper, Séraphine Rohan," said Élodie, choosing to return to the topic and not letting Herbert continue with his constant complaints about modernity.
"Uh, be careful. The woman is a bit complicated. She likes to take the initiative and doesn't listen to us," said Samantha, wrinkling her nose slightly at the mention of Séraphine's name.
"The sexy witch with the big cleavage?" Great! She's nice to hang out with, except that she's a bit haughty and looks down on the police every chance she gets," commented Ronald, offering his take on the witch and earning some strange looks from his coworkers.
"Brother, witches are not things you should touch. They'll suck you dry, and you won't be able to walk for a long time. I know." Herbert confidently patted the shoulder of the young policeman next to him and gave him a meaningful look.
"Too bad Séraphine doesn't throw shingles on that roof," Samantha said, causing Élodie to nearly spit out her coffee.
"What, is she...?" Setting her cup down on her desk, Élodie made an obscene scissors gesture with both hands. Samantha nodded before waving the pen in her hand.
"Rohan? She's a diva and a show-off. She's greedy for money, and she seems to have it in for the cops. But the girl's a good kisser." Samantha licked her lips as she said those last words, as if she was remembering something.
Élodie's blue eyes narrowed as she processed all the information she had received from her future mission partner. They were going to have to work together soon. How could she not try to get to know Séraphine better?
Although information about her was scarce, Séraphine had certainly attracted her attention. So, while preparing her weapons, taking her hammer, and traveling to Blume's suburbs, anticipation grew inside of her.
Now, they were about to fight together, and in the process, she would learn more about Séraphine Rohan.
𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝
"We can't just approach this in a leisurely manner," Séraphine complained as she looked at her squirming shadow.
"It doesn't bother me! I've wanted this," replied Élodie, smiling broadly as she saw the same phenomenon occur in her shadow.
The atmosphere soon grew dim as black clouds covered the sun. Séraphine channeled aether from the depths of her soul as she raised her left hand, ready to cast a spell.
Her improvement encouraged her to turn to magic, though she was clear that she needed to use her energy more sparingly because she didn't want to feel bad again after having spent the day that way.
Élodie's method of using aether differed from the witch's. A blue glow ran down her right arm and covered her warhammer, producing a constant buzzing sound.
Their shadows finally stopped changing and turned into a sticky substance. In both cases, they twisted and began to mold into entities resembling dogs. These were quite large, with orange eyes resembling fire and dense muscles beneath their lush black fur.
"Shadow hounds, Grim," declared Séraphine, recognizing these supernatural entities.
"They're just bigger dogs!" exclaimed Élodie. She tried to take a step forward, but the detective's hand touched her shoulder, stopping her.
"Look, officer. I don't care how you do things, but you were sent to provide support. I mean, you listen to me. Understand? Calm down and think with your real head, not your hammer head." Séraphine's voice was still soft with a touch of sensuality, but her pleasant temperament seemed to vanish.
Séraphine, a blonde, stood before them. Her eyes gave her a critical look, and her lips wore a faint, disdainful smile. The witch raised her head slightly and pointed her chin at Élodie in an arrogant gesture.
"I just wanted to resolve..." The cop was a bit shy, having been caught like this. The brunette's approach was different from what she had shown before, leaving the blonde unsure of how to respond.
"Do you plan to just pounce like that? Can you see them attacking?" the detective interrupted, pointing at the pair of dogs. The animals simply adopted a flexed posture as if they wanted to attack but didn't for some reason.
"Isn't it better to take the initiative and kill them?" asked Élodie, who had to take a breath before speaking, trying to compose herself.
The police never expected Séraphine to be so rude when they heard it would be complicated to deal with her. What was wrong with what she wanted to do? The witch didn't have to give him such an annoying smile!
"If an enemy doesn't attack you, why should you provoke him? Didn't you learn anything in the police academy? It seems my taxes are being misused," Séraphine growled, clearly contemptuous, as she crossed her arms under her chest and raised them a little.
"Well, you're the 'consultant' here. Let's see how you work it out." The energy in Élodie's body disappeared. The policewoman simply raised an eyebrow before resting her hammer on her shoulder. She wanted to see what the witch would do next.
As she watched the blonde calm down, the detective also put away the anger boiling under her skin. She glanced at the pair of dogs, who were less alert now but still watching the women warily.
'They don't seem to be on the same side as the people barricaded here. The Grim are creatures associated with bad omens, but they never cause them; they only appear in places where bad things happen,' Séraphine said, reviewing her knowledge of these creatures. She looked around carefully and noticed something strange.
She knew then that the Grim were simply passing by, waiting for something to happen. The witch brought her right hand to the handle of her rapier and turned to face the police.
"We are surrounded," Séraphine declared. When these words finally fell, the real threat, the source of the weirdness in the atmosphere, appeared.
The greatest threat in this world did not come from supernatural creatures, spiritual entities, or the mysteries lurking in the cracks of reality; it came from humans.
Under the distant howl of a wolf, a group of men and women emerged from the trees and bushes. Each held a blunt object, such as a pipe, crowbar, or wrench.
Only a few held proper weapons, like a woman with a fireman's axe or a man with a dagger that gleamed oddly.
"The Mistress sensed your intrusion, you beasts!" said the man with the dagger, making Séraphine pay attention to him. But when she noticed who he was, her eyes narrowed:
Gerard Schwan, Elizabeth Schwan's husband. She hadn't seen him when she approached the house, nor had she imagined that he would threaten her. She had just thought he might be normal, or perhaps manipulated.
Not a fanatic. The witch could tell that Gerard's eyes were full of blind fanaticism, but then she noticed the incongruity, so she opened her Vision.
Reality lost its sane side before her eyes and became a tangle of unparalleled madness and strangeness. Ignoring all that, she looked at each person around her.
Everyone present was covered in red smoke, a symbol of spiritual energy in the physical realm. This energy was building up in their heads. With the simple act of seeing this, she heard things out of nowhere.
"Hmm~ A Visionary~ And it's about to ripen! What a delight! I want to taste you. You must have suffered a lot, and your soul surely wants to feel pleasure. I can help you with that. You just have to... Surrender your body!" The whisper sounded like the tender voice of a willing lover, but gradually distorted into unintelligible squeaks.
"Shit, now this involves spiritual entities," muttered Séraphine as she turned off her Vision.
"If we can kill these guys, right?" asked Élodie wryly. But the policewoman knew better than to resort to lethal force. So, when she adopted a more comfortable fighting stance, she barely enhanced her body with energy.
"Just don't bash their heads in. I doubt they'll stand your hammer," the witch responded to the blonde's odd quip, all while unsheathing her rapier, ready to fight.
"By Mother Light! You're so bossy. Did they tell you?" Without waiting for an answer from Séraphine, Élodie moved swiftly toward an enemy holding a metal pipe.
Although there was no visible energy, the seething power surging from her soul empowered her physique beyond human capabilities. With a few steps, she reached her enemy.
"Die, bitch!" the man shouted, frightened by her speed. But his attack was too slow for her, and she simply evaded the blow before swinging her hammer with one hand and striking his chest.
An ugly crack was heard as bones broke. The man flew backward, dropped his weapon, crashed into a tree, and fell unconscious.
Despite this brutal image, those around him did not flinch, even though they were afraid. For Séraphine, watching these people rush toward her and the police like mindless zombies was an unpleasant sight.
If there was one thing she detested about spiritual entities, it was the loss of agency they caused when deeply corrupting someone. The worst thing was that she knew this corruption didn't just appear; it had conduits and ways to manifest. It didn't just spring out of nowhere.
When a woman with an empty wine bottle approached Séraphine in an attempt to strike her, the witch hesitated only a moment, considering the implications of her actions, before moving forward.
With a step forward, her rapier slid easily into her attacker's shoulder, clearing the way for her to hit her with the bottle. Then, the detective closed the distance to the woman and struck her enemy's abdomen hard.
Séraphine was not a superhumanly enhanced witch, yet her blow went straight to the liver, incapacitating the woman. She took several steps backward just in time to avoid being surrounded by a trio of enemies who tried to take advantage of her pause.
"Flies," declared Séraphine before making the same hand gesture one would use to scare away flying insects.
Aether surged through her body again, raising her body temperature. A wave of blue energy emerged from her hand, abruptly pushing the attackers several meters away.
At that moment, Élodie appeared and kicked one of the fallen enemies in the head. She looked sideways at Séraphine with mockery in her eyes as if apologizing for hitting one of the enemies.
The police took care of another enemy before supporting the witch. Seeing how well she was doing, however, made the policewoman feel a bit sad because she wanted to see the witch embarrassed after having annoyed her earlier.
Without finding what she wanted, she attacked one of the enemies the brunette had knocked down. Then, she used her hammer to hit the legs of the other two. After all, if the police had broken bones, they couldn't cause any trouble, right?
Séraphine ignored this for now because Gérard had gotten too close, wildly and carelessly slashing his dagger at her. She didn't want to hurt this man, especially since she was paid to keep him safe. She didn't know how to react, so she resorted to words.
"Gerard Schwan! Your wife is worried about you and sent me to find you," said the detective. She hoped this would awaken something inside her enemy, but what followed next extinguished that hope.
"That bitch! She's just a sacrifice my Mistress chose. She couldn't give me what she wanted. No! It was my Mistress who made me feel alive again!" Gerard's white skin turned red, and veins marked it like writhing worms.
His fat body trembled, but he never stopped trying to slash at the witch with his weapon, all while maintaining a strange smile. His body slowly became more limber as the fat seemed to be consumed, which Séraphine assessed negatively.
"You took a combat stimulant?" Élodie interrupted the detective because she was looking at the woman holding a fire axe and giggling like crazy, even though her skin was so red it didn't seem natural.
After Séraphine fought Gerard, she took care of the rest of the enemies with her speed and skill. However, she ran into the last of them: an unhinged girl who wouldn't stop laughing despite her state.
"It's only our Mistress' gift! She has empowered me with her power!" the woman exclaimed in a hoarse voice. She carelessly waved her weapon, ignoring the fact that her clothes were stained with blood.
But this blood did not come from wounds on her body; she was sweating it out as the flesh on her body was consumed. Her skin stuck to her bones and cracked. The strength she achieved was comparable to that of an underperforming Élodie, which surprised the police.
'Who gave these people banned drugs?' thought the blonde. Her blue eyes turned serious as she made a drastic decision.
With the speed she had trained with in the army, she brought her free hand to her standard firearm and fired several shots into the attacking woman's chest. But the projectiles merely penetrated her meager flesh, striking her bones and remaining there.
"Your bullets cannot overcome the power our Mistress has given us. Why don't you join us? I see the desire in your eyes, the longing for strong emotions, for something vibrant in your life.
Are you bored with your day-to-day life? I have all the pleasure you need right here! All you have to do is open your legs now and then and let yourself go." The woman's husky voice gradually changed into a much more feminine voice, full of sensuality.
Hearing those words, the policewoman's movements became sluggish. Her eyes seemed covered with tears, and her mind became chaotic. For a moment, her will faltered, something her enemy took advantage of.
The fire axe came dangerously close to her neck, seeking to decapitate her completely. Suddenly, however, she reacted, her body covered with aether, and the enemy's weapon only pierced an illusory image.
The police appeared behind the woman, whose body was now just a skeleton covered in blood. With her hands on the handle of her blue, light-coated warhammer, she needed only one attack to crush her enemy's skull.
Bits of bone and brain matter flew toward her, but she evaded them with a simple movement. Although she was accustomed to such scenes, she frowned with annoyance; she didn't like what she had to do.
However, she knew she couldn't be melodramatic at that moment. The blonde turned her attention to the battlefield and quickly noticed the changes that had occurred.
The man Séraphine called Gerard was now on the ground in a similar state to the woman with the axe. What was special, though, was that a gigantic hand made of blue light was pressing him to the ground while the witch stood in front of him, aiming her rapier at him.
The brunette's left hand was covered in hot aether and made a grabbing gesture. Each of her finger movements was mirrored in the large hand as if they were connected.
Séraphine resorted to a basic gesture that created an energy replica of her hand. Usually, it was not very large, but she had to put a lot of aether into it to increase its power and stop Gerard, who seemed to have become a berserker.
Beads of sweat fell from the witch's forehead. Instead of taking more drastic measures, she simply took the dagger from her enemy. From the moment she saw it, she knew it was poisoned.
"I was paid to take you to safety, and just for that, I won't squash you like a bug," Séraphine said grumpily. Her head had started to hurt slightly due to the use of magic, and she didn't want to listen to a fan's chatter.
The brunette did the next best thing and looked at Élodie with a questioning look. At first, the cop didn't understand why Séraphine was looking at her until the latter subtly pointed to the man's head.
"Ah! You want me to knock him out. Why don't you hit him? Wait... is this so you'll be in a better position when you complain about me hitting him?" asked Élodie, disbelieving. The witch simply looked at her with a satisfied smirk.
"Maybe the police have a little hope," Séraphine joked, making Élodie roll her eyes. She hit Gérard on the head several times as if blowing off steam.
"You're an annoying bitch," Élodie said to Séraphine. Séraphine simply adjusted her hat and sheathed her rapier.
"Huh? Thanks for the compliment. We witches are all annoying, you know?" Séraphine replied with a face that resembled a fox's.
'Now I want to smash her head in,' thought grumpy Élodie, before turning her gaze to the cottage, the target of both her and the witch. Séraphine also turned her attention to the building, her green eyes glowing.
She wanted to use her Vision to take a look at it and see what she could find, even if she knew it might be unpleasant. Behind the two women, the Grim simply lay back in the sunlight, but their presence was a warning.
A bad omen.
𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝𑄝
"Garbage will always be garbage," muttered a female voice. The speaker stood in a dimly lit room.
She was a tall woman, easily two meters tall. Her gray hair looked matted despite its length. Tufts of the same color dotted her arms and legs, which were exposed because she was wearing only a pair of blue shorts and a white flannel shirt.
One distinctive feature was her gray tail that sprouted from her back. For some reason, it didn't wag gently; it was stiff with all her hair standing on end, as if she were on guard against something.
Her somewhat sun-tanned skin was covered in unnatural purple lines, and she growled as she watched a crystal ball showing what was happening outside the cottage.
"Don't worry, Marian~ We just throw out the waste and tasteless leftovers to receive new dishes. Aren't those women a finer delicacy?" Another voice emerged from the same body.
This time, it was more sensual and deliberate, as if it wanted to charm the listener with its words alone.
The witch and the policewoman would be surprised if they heard that voice, as it was the same one each had heard on her own. A strange cry arose from the woman's body, and her eyes took on a subtle purple glow, covering the amber of her pupils.
"Stop those nonsensical remarks! You know I'm doing all this for a reason other than what you think," the woman said in an annoyed voice. Her body was tense, as if she were facing an invisible but very real threat.
"Come on~ It was just a joke. But since we've come this far, why not go deeper?" The same voice kept coming out of Marian, who began to spasm uncontrollably, guided by an unknown force.
Unable to control her body, she brought her hands to her neck. Her fingers creaked from her constant struggle, but they inevitably wrapped around her throat. It wasn't what she wanted; something else had taken over her being.
'I... I don't want this! Stop! Stop!' she screamed in her mind. But it was impossible to control her body. A sensual laughter echoed in her head, overwhelming her thoughts of denial.
Her breathing became labored, and her body wobbled from lack of air. The power acting upon Marian, the presence using her as a channel to manifest itself, was trying to kill her. Worse yet, it was using her own hands to do so.
There was always a hint of resistance in her eyes, but she couldn't speak for help. Even if she did, would the witch and the police help her? The situation increased her desperation more and more.
No matter how much she tensed her body, gritted her teeth, or shook her head in protest, she ended up falling to her knees, her face turning purple, and cold sweat pouring down her skin.
Her vision blurred because she was about to faint from asphyxiation. Only in her mind did she have full control, which she used to express her helplessness and curse the entity that had taken over her.
'Them... help... not again! I hate this! Stop, damn you, Inferos! I don't want this!' But no matter how much she screamed in her mind, only the mocking laughter of Inferos remained.
This supernatural force constantly tugged at her hands, deflecting them from her neck, and always returned to assert itself, filling her with despair. No matter how much she tore at the skin on her neck, staining her fingers with blood, pain was no use.
"Come on~ Despite everything we've done, are you still resisting me? Sweetie~ you called me. You asked me for power. But now, you treat me like a used rag~.
Weren't you the one who arranged that ritual? Even if you were tricked! Still, I gave you the solution you wanted~" The presence inside her body continued to taunt Marian. But his words finally allowed her to express her thoughts aloud.
"I wanted to save my husband! You and those bastards lied to me! This is not what I wanted! I am not your plaything!" The lycanthrope shouted with all her pent-up anger, fear, and pain from years of losing control.
"What a bore. You people are always worried about mundane things. Why resist? Isn't it better to enjoy the comforts I provide? It's better than thinking about what you've lost. Enjoy what you can have now.
I know you want it, Marian. I'll give it to you. I'll save your husband, but just imagine telling him everything you've done. Imagine telling him how you had to defile your body and betray his trust to save him.
Do you think he'd like watching you do it to others to collect the power you need? HAHAHAHAHA! I can just imagine his face when he finds out!" Right at the end of those words, Marian's hands stopped trying to choke them.
Tears fell from her eyes, tears of joy at being free again, or perhaps tears of grief for what she had lost. She had memories of her life, of the one she had given everything for, and of why she had ended up like this. She regretted it so much because, in the end, she knew she could not save him.
She was sunk deep into the depths of this affair. The worst part was that she was trapped helplessly in her body. The purple lines furrowing her skin glowed brightly, suppressing all traces of her original personality and replacing them with something else.
Then, as if pulled by invisible threads, her body sat up abruptly. More bright light emerged from the lines, and her body began to change.
Soon, her breathing became agitated, her muscles trembled beneath her skin, and creaks came from every bone in her body. Her stature increased, her hands transformed into claws, and her muzzle lengthened to resemble a wolf's.
A wolf's howl arose from her as her alternate form was revealed. Soon, she was covered in gray fur, weighed more than an average human, and the wooden floor beneath her feet cracked.
An aura of savagery enveloped her, and her slender figure became that of a gigantic, four-meter-tall lycanthrope. Torn pieces of cloth showed that her clothes could not withstand the transformation. However, with so much hair on her body, nothing indecent was exposed.
At this point, the lines on her skin faded, and the purple glow covering her eyes disappeared. Her new personality finally felt free and comfortable.
"Let's surprise the new girls. I hope they feel the same pleasure as me~" This time, Marian's voice was quite deep and thick, and she occasionally grunted.
Although she no longer showed visible resistance, deep down, a desperate cry still sought to escape. Something still sought to be noticed and rescued. However, this was in vain.
The hope of recovery was distant, a mere illusion. She had finally lost her body, but perhaps... it was for the best. That peace, however, was bitter, and the silence was even more painful than her cry.
Marian was no more; only a puppet walked now in her stronger guise, a she-wolf waiting for the pair of Red Hoods to enter her home and explore.