Interlude: I Know What You Are

 "You knew what he was."

Lanky fingers flipped a stylus, chin resting on a fist. "I didn't know until later. Just ran into the pup, that's all. Couldn't sense him at that stage. Definitely not enough for that."

A low growl vibrated the spartan room. "He would have been far enough gone for even a newbite to sense."

"Like I told you, it was early. Still winding up, I suppose."

"And you 'just happened' to run into him?"

"Was a weird day. We were on patrol, as previously stated, and this kip popped out of nowhere. Wasn't like I had any reason to suspect anything."

Another threatening rumble. "Interesting. Considering how competent you usually are."

"Even a great hunter has his limits." Jos caught the stylus easily, balanced perfectly on a finger, and smiled with a hint of teeth. "Like my renowned patience, if you keep growling like that."

Her shoulders reluctantly unwound a notch. "You didn't think such an odd occurrence was worth mentioning? All of this could have been avoided if we’d gotten to him sooner."

"Mm." His eyes wandered, studying the wall. "As I've said a dozen times already, I didn't know. Even if I had, maybe I would've taken the side of a free spirit."

"Letting 'free spirits' run loose is exactly why this happened."

"Because there weren't any other free spirits with him. Because he was alone." His hazel eyes snapped back to her cold blue, unblinking. "You know as well as I do what happened to him. Why he became that. Without kinmit, we're all just a step away from monsters, aren't we?"

"This is off the line of questioning."

"You took it there." He stood, dropping the stylus with a harsh clatter in front of her. "I've made my statement, I've answered your questions. There's my report. I'm leaving now, so if you have any follow-ups, you can schedule them in like a domesticated officer should. Ciao."

"Lead Hunter—"

Jos waved a hand over his shoulder as the door snicked closed, and left.