[ sometimes she hates being right. her expression goes hard, eyes flat. ]

... I don't suppose you have any suspects.

[ "husband," he'd said.

her mother hadn't lived to pass down any knowledge to her, and her attempts to track down relatives who might do so in her place had... well. made it clear that she'd managed to inherit more of her human father's temperament than she'd thought. her gentler cousins, on the other hand... they'd welcomed her once she'd made it clear that she was more sociable than most of her blood.

and they had had stories. ]