The Beast Within [Dark*Matter D20]

[Paxus Asclepius]

John pauses momentarily in discomfort and opens his mouth as if to comment, but Lisa has changed the subject and he follows her. He's been thinking for a while about this, and he's fairly certain he's gotten as far as he can with the data he has.

"Well, here's what we know: a bear, or something in the shape of a bear, killed two people near the full moon. It might have been an actual bear, but the facts are that they're non-native to the area, there were no bear escapes, and that it's difficult to just miss a bear if there is one. Also the timing.

"There are two lycanthropes in the area. One's the wrong species, so he's out as a suspect, although he might have some idea of what's going on. The other's the right species, but took the supressants." John frowns. "Something to check, whether we have more than her word on that." He then shrugs. "But she has no motive not to take them."

"So if it was most likely a lycanthrope and none of the local ones fit, then it must be an out-of-towner. We check for people who arrived before the full moon before the attacks and didn't leave until after. Or are still around." He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his folded hands. "What do you think? Does it all work?"

"And here I was hoping for some wild speculation to pass the time. You're right, in part; it's got to be someone from out of town, but they might not actually be in town publicly. If I were prone to turning into a bear and eating people, I'd probably not go to a hotel. Either a friend's, if I had one, or just camp out in the woods, given the mild climate."

 

[Verbatim]

Caleb had fallen silent as his eyes rested upon the children's toys in the room and once more his memories threatened to derail his thoughts and pull him into the abyss he constantly fought with.

Pulling his eyes upwards and to the others, Caleb listened as John put his theory on the table and waited a moment before speaking.

"There is another dark horse possibility to consider also. What if the lycanthrope we seek is a local, but has recently became afflicted? Anyone who goes of town opens themselves up for possible contamination if their luck turns sour. Granted it is a bit far fetched, but still something we shouldn't rule totally out just yet."

 

[Paxus Asclepius]

Caleb had fallen silent as his eyes rested upon the children's toys in the room and once more his memories threatened to derail his thoughts and pull him into the abyss he constantly fought with.

Pulling his eyes upwards and to the others, Caleb listened as John put his theory on the table and waited a moment before speaking.

"There is another dark horse possibility to consider also. What if the lycanthrope we seek is a local, but has recently became afflicted? Anyone who goes of town opens themselves up for possible contamination if their luck turns sour. Granted it is a bit far fetched, but still something we shouldn't rule totally out just yet."

Lisa's voice drops to a murmur as she adds "And, we must not forget, there is a contagious werebear in town. She wouldn't even necessarily know she transmitted it; if it's bloodborne, there are a couple ways besides an attack that could spread it."

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Or hereditary," says John, looking down at the carpet, then frowning. "Come to that, I can't recall if it's bite-only transfered, or blood and saliva, or what."

Just bites? Bites only in werebear form? What's the deal?

 

[loxmyth]

"Or hereditary," says John, looking down at the carpet, then frowning. "Come to that, I can't recall if it's bite-only transfered, or blood and saliva, or what."

Just bites? Bites only in werebear form? What's the deal?

"Davis mentioned that registered lycanthropes aren't allowed to give blood, so I'm guessing that's at least a factor," Daunte reminded the others, rubbing the back of his neck and pacing slowly as he mulled things over in his mind. "Which means if the theoretical child is hers, it could have been passed on through birth. Now obviously, I don't know how the transformation actually works, but assuming that you change into an animal of equivalent age, he'd still be a cub and not been able to inflict the damage. Could he have passed it on to someone else accidentally?"

 

[Paxus Asclepius]

"Davis mentioned that registered lycanthropes aren't allowed to give blood, so I'm guessing that's at least a factor," Daunte reminded the others, rubbing the back of his neck and pacing slowly as he mulled things over in his mind. "Which means if the theoretical child is hers, it could have been passed on through birth. Now obviously, I don't know how the transformation actually works, but assuming that you change into an animal of equivalent age, he'd still be a cub and not been able to inflict the damage. Could he have passed it on to someone else accidentally?"

"There are other ways of passing on bloodborne diseases besides blood-to-blood contact. Making the kid in the first place, for example."

 

[loxmyth]

"There are other ways of passing on bloodborne diseases besides blood-to-blood contact. Making the kid in the first place, for example."

"Point," Daunte concedes, raising a single eyebrow in realization. "Yikes. As if the dating scene wasn't rough enough these days, you gotta watch out for supernatural STDs."

 

[Jarval]

The conversation is interrupted by the sound of someone walking down the stairs, and a moment later the woman opens the sitting room's door. She's now dressed in a smart blue polo-neck sweater, and a pair of dark grey trousers. Her hair's tied back in a ponytail, and has been partially dried.

"Sorry for the hold up." She takes a seat in one of the leather chairs. "I wasn't really expecting visitors today. So, why are you here?"

Just bites? Bites only in werebear form? What's the deal?

(OoC: As far as you can tell from the files you've been given, lycanthropy can be transferred by bite or by blood. There's nothing in the files that rules in or out transmission by sexual contact.)

 

[Paxus Asclepius]

The conversation is interrupted by the sound of someone walking down the stairs, and a moment later the woman opens the sitting room's door. She's now dressed in a smart blue polo-neck sweater, and a pair of dark grey trousers. Her hair's tied back in a ponytail, and has been partially dried.

"Sorry for the hold up." She takes a seat in one of the leather chairs. "I wasn't really expecting visitors today. So, why are you here?"

"There have been a couple of bear attacks recently; the Institute thinks it's a werebear. They wanted us to see if you, being a local who'd recognize the signs, had any who it might be. There's also a possibility that you might have transmitted it accidentally; even something as small as dental work could theoretically have done it, if there was blood-blood contact."

 

[Jarval]

"Well, I've not really noticed anything out of the ordinary. Other than the killings, of course, but no-one seems to be acting odd or anything. Not that I'd really know, I don't get out much." Rachel smiles, seeming to relax slightly at Lisa's question.

"I'm pretty sure there's not been a chance for transmission, the Institute made sure I was careful about things like that. But I can give you the name of my doctor and dentist if that'll help? I didn't realize it was quite so contagious..."