Black and Red | Kuroshitsuji | Sebastian Michaelis x OC

Pluto

A/N: For the sake of my sanity we are going to leave Pluto as an actual dog. I cannot STAND the bizarre "I Can't Believe It's Not Bestiality" vibes from the anime. That's not a werewolf, that's just a dog with a human flesh suit.

If Thalia had believed that Sebastian's threat was a warning to stay away, she was sorely mistaken. The following morning found her seated in the dining room opposite Ciel and being served a plate of a fruit-studded dessert alongside a bowl of fresh cream. Pale brows furrowed in confusion as she stared down at the custard cake, purple veins of jam running through the interior.

"Today's snack is Cabinet Pudding," Sebastian informed, and Thalia very carefully held herself still so that she wouldn't flinch when he filled up her teacup. "Prepared with blackberries from the surrounding regions. Is it not to your liking, Miss Thalia?"

It was one thing to remain stoic in the face of danger or unwanted attention, the young woman had spent her whole life doing that. "...it's not poisoned, is it?" She blurted.

Both Ciel and Sebastian stared at her, one with surprise and the other with amusement. "What a thing to accuse us of," the butler drawled, a hand rising to his chest as if the mere insinuation had struck him to his very core. "Do you dare doubt the Phantomhive hospitality that much, young lady?" 

Thalia remained unmoved with her fingers clenched in her lap to stop them from trembling. "Considering I was made aware of an impossible secret just last night, I think I have every right to be wary of both of you. I am fully aware that you could have killed me at any point, but then you would have to explain my disappearance to everyone, in addition to hiding my corpse. With the right poison, my demise could have any number of explanations. A previously unknown allergy, or a sudden illness."

About halfway through her speech, Ciel had pinched the bridge of his nose but he didn't interrupt and only spoke once she was done. "I see you've thought this through."

"I had plenty of time," Thalia replied dryly, "considering I could scarcely sleep a wink."

"Hm," Ciel pointedly took a bite of his own cake, adding a dollop of fluffy white cream on the next mouthful just to prove a point. He then glanced at Sebastian, who had been watching the two converse with the air of a theater audience member enjoying a play. "As for you, you must be feeling quite laid back to go revealing yourself to a complete stranger."

"Hardly. If anything, I've been perfectly restrained this whole time," Sebastien replied. "Miss Thalia figured it out on her own. I merely confirmed what she had already concluded."

The boy huffed before returning his attention to Thalia. "Well you are hardly the first person to have picked up on my servant's oddities, you are the first to correctly and categorically identify what he is. How?"

Thalia paused her dogged perusal of the pudding, which included sniffing it in case whatever poison used had a distinctive scent. Before she could sort out her thoughts into a cognizant response, the door to the dining room flew open and Mey-Rin and Finny came flying in. 

"Sebastian!"

A muscle ticked in his forehead and he glared at them. "What's is wrong? You're making a ruckus."

"Miss Angela went into the swamp hours ago and we're worried for her!" Finny wailed, appearing genuinely worried. "Bard said she went to pick some herbs at dawn, but no one's seen hide or hair of her since then!"

"Into the swamp?" Thalia echoed, completely baffled by the woman's inane decision. "Why would she choose now of all times to go in there when there's a killer on the loose?!"