The Stray

2-28: Lost and Found

"Must be pretty convenient to have a cop for a sister." Timothy chuckled. Mat had called during breakfast on Sunday morning, and asked for V to come help with something. As for Timothy, he was currently V's partner, so... Mat was getting a witch too, free with purchase. "What did Mat say was missing?"

"He said it was some rare medicine, or fancy ingredients or something. Didn't give a name. Probably no big deal." She shrugged cheerfully. "Probably we're just gonna have to help look. It's pretty common around here."

"...Is it really? Seems a little..." He didn't really want to say 'petty,' but...seriously. Ella did say the watch wasn't really a fighting force, but imagine having the likes of V on staff, and using her to look for lost herbs. Sheesh. He is her brother, though, I guess.

"Well, y'know, shit happens, right? It's a country town with a dungeon, magic weather, and a lot of livestock. Stuff gets lost, and it ain't like everyone's that good at finding spells." To be fair, finding spells were a pain, he had to concede that. Scrying— or farsight? The magorons argued about the name a lot— had a ton of little rules and inconveniences. More general spells of seeking were easier to actually use, but they were hazy, fuzzy, and needed a lot of legwork to supplement them. At that point, you might as well use your nose, ain't it? "We're here to serve the community... so we serve the community." She said it kinda glumly, though. "Can't say it's interesting, but it's nice to help out, I guess."

V stopped to let a pod of slimes hop past, smiling as they bobbed and chirped out greetings. "So the only weird thing here is that it's weird to lose raw ingredients. I mean, Mat can't sleep if all his socks aren't clipped and folded."

"Smart man." The wolf nodded sagely. "Those things are a pain to make."

"Riiiight." She rolled her eyes with a smile. He wasn't joking, socks were a pain! "Anyway, Mat said it wasn't an actual potion, but the stuff needs to be found 'fore something dumb happens."

Timothy wasn't sure what to think yet. The way they're talkin, it's supposed to be an honest mistake, not theft. Mat an' V knew the people here better than he did. Still... Even his usual paran—uh, caution, could only give him so much of an edge. So he couldn't really afford to make any assumptions at all.

At least it'd be nice to help Mat, considering the dragon'd glued him back together. And hey, more good deeds. Maybe the hospital folks'd put in a good word for him.

V went on as he mulled that over. "This town's so sleepy, we ain't even got a daily paper. I don't know how we got our own radio station. But like, we help out when there ain't a crisis going on. Even with little stuff like lost items."

He just sorta shrugged. "Huh, alright." He didn't think he'd ever get used to how townies work. "So— tell me the lay of the land. What're we walking into? Who's who and all." His notebook floated out from his pocket and unshrunk. More convenience. Maybe he just wasn't a very good Vol, he chuckled inside.

"So serious..." She chuckled at his dry look. "Alright, alright, sheesh. None of them are obvious thieves, in case that's your angle."

"A good thief ain't obvious, are they?" He shrugged. "I just hate feeling blind, okay?"

"Well, I'd hate to leave ya uncomfortable. Lemme see... The head doc's Dr. Mirel, when she's around." At his questioning look, she elaborated. "She's a traveling healer. She does a circuit startin' here and looping around Bunch County's Wrightvilles."

Timothy nodded. "Right, Ella mentioned those. So she's elsewhere in the county, an' probably not involved, then."

"Yep. And anyway, she's pretty strict: if she were here, she'd chew out anyone who lost important ingredients, and a thief? We'd find'em in pieces." He wasn't sure if she was joking, is the scary thing. "Most of the time, Dr. Ranell and Dr. Frost split night and day shifts. Ranell's an old owl lady, super sweet, super experienced. She's been a healer longer'n I've been alive." Timothy jotted down some notes. "Doc Frost's a slime, she's been there only a little less time than Ranell. She's a cold fish. Good doc, though. Honestly, from what Mat says the chain of command doesn't come up much— if neither of those two are on duty, the others handle stuff together."