Amavia + Raoul First Meeting

It was a warmer day in Dalaran and for that the young woman was thankful. Often the breezes that blew in from Icecrown and the Stormpeaks kept it chillier than Amavia was used to and that coupled with the altitude at which the magical city floated led to her keeping her room warmer than others might prefer. Warm enough that she could sit in a light pair of pants and a tank top while she ate her strudel and read over the case files again and again.

Amavia almost felt like she knew some of the victims now and was pleased by it. Such knowledge would lead to her better understanding the case wouldn’t it? The constant yellowed folders kept her busy, her mind off where and what her husband was doing, and she almost forgot about her meeting. Were it not for her familiar exploding into arcane sparks and practically throwing the robe she’d picked out, the girl may have missed it. Thankfully it broke her free from her frantic note taking at the time she’d directed it to and quickly the girl dressed.

A blue and silver robe was slipped on, the edges embroidered with snowflakes and the whole thing looked rather icy - down to the snowflake charm that hung off the back of her hood. Matching gloves and slippers were put on and with her satchel over her shoulder as she fled her room. Steps were ignored and she simply cast a a slow fall spell to land at the bottom with a light brush of footsteps.

She’d intended to be early to meet her new partner but if she rushed she’d be on time barring a parade or a block in the road. Seeing neither Amavia breathed a sigh of relief and kept on towards the well. One quick mutter and she skipped forward, blinking through the empty space. This spell was repeated several times till she slowed and walked the rest of the way towards the nearby well, keen eyes looking for her new, hopefully, friend.

He was leaning against the well by the time she got there (probably long before). A manila folder was open in his hands, black and red block letter across the front. Maybe it was a case file, but from the distance each letter was too small to read. There didn't seem to be any kind of familiar around him, and he wasn't dressed like the brilliant mage that George had made him out to be. He had dark slacks, a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and a plain vest of brown.

Really he could have passed for a commoner or a servant boy. His expression only helped that image, eyes narrowed in focus at what he was reading. A touch of bangs shielded his eyes from the sun at least, or no doubt his face would have been twisted even more from whatever regal and 'noble' look someone might have expected him to have. Perhaps on a whim, he looked up from the folder and glanced at her. There was no welcoming smile, but rather a slight jerk of his chin to acknowledge she was on her way.

"You must be Hawkins," he called. The manila folder closed immediately and was tucked under his arm.

His reserved attitude didn’t shock the girl; George had said he was a bit hard to get along with. Her nicest smile stayed on her lips as she stopped in front of him and offered her hand to shake. “You can call me Amavia, Amy if you’re feeling rather friendly, as long as I may call you Raoul.” As she was closer she tried to read the cover of the folder, eyes darting to the lettering quickly.

“I look forward to working with you! Your dossier left a very good impression.” The hand not held outward in greeting rummaged in her satchel and she removed a slim, hardcover book entitled ‘Horatio Laine Always Gets His Man’ and offered it to him. “I thought since we’re going to be spending a lot of time together we could maybe get to be friends. And that’s a copy of my favorite book. Perhaps you’ll like it too.”

It was a little awkward and she gave a nervous giggle at the end. Was this how you made friends? A gust of wind blew her hood back and she glared up at the sky as if it did it just to spite her.

He stared at her for a second, maybe a minute even, until he finally accepted the book.

"Thank you. Maybe I will." As soon as he'd tucked the book under his arm, he raked a hand through his chestnut brown hair. "I, uhh, I didn't bring you anything in return. I was expecting this to be all business."

A very quick sigh escaped him. "But, ah, I could. If you like. I enjoy reading as well."

The giggle was not returned, but he did relax his eyes from their narrowed peering. The dossier comment was missed or ignored (probably the latter). He had to switch the book and folder to under his other arm, but he did finally return the handshake.

"Call me Raoul then if it suits you. I think I'll stick with Hawkins for now."

For now. Maybe there was still hope.

“I didn’t expect anything but the pleasure of having a partner who is as anxious as I to get to work. And if you desire it to be all business,” she gave a slight shrug and began to fumble with her satchel again, “we can do that.”

Another book was pulled from her bag and she flipped through the pages till she found the one she wanted. “George told me it was our assignment to identify these people. Do you have any thoughts on that?” The smile faded from her lips but her expression, though more serious, was still pleasant.

The shift in tone actually seemed to ease him a great deal. His shoulders didn't seem as tight anymore and he did in fact look anxious to get to work. He glanced at the page she flipped to, trying to read for notes or what evidence George might have given -her-. He lifted his right hand to knock away some of his own bangs, and the V ring glittered in the light.

"From what information was provided to me, I'd say at least two of the victims knew each other. Almost all of the victims were discovered here in Dalaran at the very spot where they were tortured and killed, so I imagine the perpetrator is local. That means many of the victims could be local too.

“Mutilating the face like that is a more intimate form of mutilation. Guilt maybe. Jealousy is likely too. He could be a disfigured person. That should narrow down an initial search for him."

He glanced her way, trying to meet her eyes. George had mentioned they were beautiful.

"As for the victims themselves, I think divination on the blood samples could easily tell us who they are, or at least show us their intact faces. I'm not sure why the lab hasn't already done that, or what George is having them look for."

The pages of her notebook were covered in notes penned in neat, girlish handwriting and simple hand drawn maps of Dalaran with the locations of the corpses marked upon them. For the most part they seemed to be quick reference for some of the clues and evidence, cause of death and the like. Several questions were written on the page with things she was extremely interested in underlined.

As he spoke her eyes gained quite the enchanted light and were bright with admiration already. Here was a man who was serious about his work and she could feel herself growing to admire him. Those eyes George mentioned met his and were a rather pretty shade in the sunlight.

“Raoul! Those are all outstanding ideas! I was thinking right along the same vein and also so curious as to why George hadn’t requested that sort of testing. Are you personally skilled whatsoever in divination?”

He smiled with just the corner of his mouth. It had taken the dual instances of her eyes being as pretty as they were with her approval to get even that much out of him.

"I dabbled during my studies. I was taught more how to effectively apply magic in even ordinary circumstances. Application rather than specialization. If I had the proper tome and reagents though, I could at least put forth an honest effort. We would have to request the samples first though."

He shrugged at that and gave her polite space, rather than craning over her to read her book as he had been.

“Another time I’d love to hear of your education! I have been wildly curious about Silvermoon since I first heard of it. I’ve heard such amazing things about their skills in enchanting and magical constructs! And Kael’thas was one of the most powerful mages in the school of abjuration which happens to be my favorite!”

The girl blushed slightly as she realized she was rambling and pressed her gloved fingertips to her lips.

“Apologies. It’s rare I have anyone to discuss this sort of thing with. But I’ve employed divination in the past when investigating for excellent results. Using blood as the focus would be something new to me as well. Perhaps we could put in the request at the lab and if it will take sometime to process visit the scenes - the ones we can that is - while we wait? I’ve always found it useful to put in time at the site even after the crime occurred. Sometimes simple evidence can be overlooked and it may bear useful to see the sites with our own eyes.”

"As far as I know the scenes are still intact and closed off, except for vic seven at the Sunreaver's Sanctuary. They're not going to help us, that much is certain. We're lucky they relented and handed over the body." He shrugged and exhaled in a sort of sigh.

"If you have your badge then we can go looking at them right now."

“I don’t have a badge. All George gave me were the files and your dossier. If you’d like we could split up or could you perhaps contact him and inquire how to acquire one? I’m afraid he didn’t give me a comm device.”

Amavia tucked a strand of auburn hair behind a tanned ear and gave him a shy little smile and shrug. “Or I can go to his apartment and you can head to the lab.”

"Oh-! Oh, wait-" He patted around his vest pocket, then opened the small flap and pulled out a shiny badge. It had an engraving which read:

"Amavia Hawkins

Appr. K.T.I."

There were also flourishes of glittering purple sparks around it and a hologram Kirin Tor eye flickering over the blank top.

"I forgot it was actually my job to give this to you when we met. I don't know about the communication device though. You'd have to ask George."

“I think were I meant to have one he’d have given it to me. Perhaps it was his aim to make us communicate with each other more.” She took the badge with a whispered thank you and stared at it. It was so official and she felt so...so special!

The smile on her lips was just as pleased as she had been on her wedding day and she gripped the trinket carefully. It was -important- and it made her feel so too. “Where to first? Do you know the location of the lab?”

"The lab? There are several locations. They're all run by sentries though. George would have to announce that we were on our way." He pulled out his own badge, identical to hers in everything but name. He kept his in his pocket rather than his vest.

How curious.

"As for the sites, the closest one to here would be the one in the Magus Commerce Exchange."

“We’ll need to request the from George than, as soon as possible. Do you know when he wishes to see us? He told me once a week and you would relay anything more to me.” She looked at the badge and then smiled up at him as she pinned her badge to her satchel. That taken care of she peered at her notes quickly before she snapped her book shut.

“Right then, to vic one’s scene.” With no other warning than that she turned on heel and headed towards the Exchange.

"You have the address?" He called after her, quickly picking up pace. "What exactly did he give you? George, I mean." Even after sprinting to catch up with her, he wasn't out of breath. Healthy, in good shape. A decent partner to have on what would no doubt be a demanding investigation.

Amavia looked him over once and smiled in an approving fashion. Though Jeffrey looked like her old love again she knew it would never be the same; he’d be back to scruffy beards and exhaustion soon enough. Light, he had slept till midday on sunday! Whatever he was doing to himself in that lab it had taxed his health and sapped his energy.

“He gave me files with the case notes and lists of evidence and locations. If you’d like we can compare the files after we visit the scenes. I’d like to see what George gave you as well.” Her eyes flickered back to the entrance to the Exchange and she shook her head. “I haven’t the address but if it’s still closed off...well, there are only so many alleys in the Exchange, Raoul.”

"That..." He paused and nodded, finally returning her smile, "...is a good idea. There might be a few arcane sentries around, but our badges should clear us for there at least. I should think that the holo-tape will give it away. Sticks out a bit like a sore thumb, but it's effective. Clever inventions, I think. But, yeah, that's around what he gave me, I believe."

He straightened his vest then and peered around as they were walking.

“If the badges don’t get us past the sentries well, they’re not very useful in investigating our assignment.” Slight shoulders shrugged beneath her robe as she turned onto the street and peered at the mouth of the first alley.
Amavia wet her lips quickly and turned to Raoul, the smile gone entirely. “I want to apologize now if I’m a little tense. The last alleyway I was in was the scene of a my beloved’s dead governess while on the job. She was murdered moments before we arrived and I will do my best to be professional but I would be lax in not mentioning it. In case I get a little nervous. So, ah, I apologize now.” Nervous was a good word for her hurried speech and the way she nibbled at her lower lip after speaking.

He didn't reply at all, but his expression was vaguely sympathetic. What did she expect telling him something like that? Not that it mattered.

True enough to their expectations, one of the alleys between Cartier & Co. and the alchemy shop was blocked off by holo-tape. Two very small arcane elementals were standing guard, rotating back and forth as they scanned the area. A third was pacing up and down the alley itself. One might have expected for there to be grim, dark shadows and an eerie mist, or even just grime and filth. But that wasn't the case.

Like most of Dalaran, the alley was a clean, purple and cream stone with little trash. The only thing out of place was the blood and the magical outline where the body had once been.

"Kirin Tor Investigators are passing through the border." Raoul announced flatly, flashing his badge at each sentry before crossing the tape. He didn't flinch or act nervous. Maybe he'd already done this before.

Amavia flashed her own badge at the sentries and returned her book to her bag. In its place she withdrew the same evidence collection kit she’d used at the scene of Ms. Gunwood’s murder. The small leather case was held in her hand as she looked to Raoul. “I wish had an image capturing device. Such handy things.”

Instead of wallowing in annoyance with herself she knelt by the blood stained pavement and withdrew a little tool to try and scrape up the tiniest of samples. “So we can perhaps get started earlier if the labs will take longer than we’d like to release the evidence.”

"We can requisition a device from George if we have good enough reason." He knelt beside her and watched her process like an ardent student.

"Oh, and if we ask nicely of course." Perhaps it was because of what she had said, but he was doing his best to be reassuring and friendly now. As often as she allowed, he looked her in the eye whenever he talked to her. She had his full attention when she spoke.

"So Vic one... he was wearing apprentice robes, but we don't have any of Our own missing." Our own. Mages. Kirin Tor specifically. Not people like Jeffrey. Not the outcasts- or maybe that was reading too much into his statement.

Raoul put careful, but sure, fingers to the outline of the body. There was a lot of confidence in how he brushed along the stones, trailing parallel to the lines. His eyes finally drew away from her, staring distantly as he rambled his thoughts.

"The material evidence states he had a gold wedding band on his hand, but I personally think it's too soon to assume that. Someone might want us to think it was a wedding ring. The perpetrator might have even placed it there. On the other hand, it does give us some indication of their age, where height alone fails us. Men's size ring, fit well I think. Mature, however young. This man had come into his own by the time he was killed."

His nice shoes made a soft scraping sound as he shifted, his fingertips finally caressing to the torso of the outline. The more he looked at it, the more he realized that it wasn't his shadow he was looking at, but an expansive bloodstain.

While they spoke she kept her eyes on his as well, nodding at his words and a considering light filling her eyes as he spoke. He was intelligent, well-spoken, polite.

Were all young men like this or was he an exception?

Or was Jeffrey?

His own eyes were rather pretty too and she found herself admiring them a moment while she listened. It startled her and she reminded herself to show him the same courtesy he was displaying towards her.

When he glanced away she dropped her eyes to the scene again and nodded along as he spoke. "Do they still have the bodies? They found a tooth at vic six's scene. These two seemed to share some connections in my mind and if he is missing any I'd like to see if it matches." The slivers of scraped blood were brushed into a glass vial and she promptly corked it shut before placing it in the case.

Other vials caught her eye and she frowned at them. Edi's blood and hair and threads from her dress. If she developed a strength in divination she'd return to them someday. Perhaps learn if Jeffrey's mad assumptions were right. Or learn if he were just as guilty, just as bad, as the man he killed to "avenge" her.

Amavia incanted quickly and called a small globe of arcane light into being. It floated a few feet above the pair and illuminated the alley brightly, dispelling any shadows from the buildings. Amber eyes glanced around and narrowed as she searched for anything out of place.

“The bodies are still at the lab yes..." The last word was drawn out as he crouched down even more to examine the bloodstain.

"The autopsy report said the hemorrhage was mostly internal based on the damage of the wounds, but clearly it left the body. They wouldn't know that of course, because they haven't actually seen the scene, but -we- know it. And while there -is- a fair bit of blood here, this doesn't look like nearly enough to describe extreme ex-sanguination, does it?"

He glanced up to the wall, bangs falling against his left eye. It was well-groomed and cared for, like all of his clothes and of course the shoes that shined under her arcane globe.

"The blood splatter didn't get very high, so I don't think there was wild slashing. Right...if there had been, the perp would've been covered in blood. That doesn't really prove they knew what they were doing, just that they were slow about it." Finally, he glanced back to Amavia, trying to meet her wandering eyes.

"Tell me this, if vic one was gutted like a fish, rending just the inside organs and arteries, not this much blood should have left the body, right? /Unless/ the perp opened the wound deliberately," He mimed with his hands, sticking fingers into an invisible body and "pulling" it open.

"But then, there should be a -lot- more blood, don't you think? It's in some weird twilight where it was here but it isn't now... what happened to it?"

“They may have kept it.” She withdrew her notebook and started to pen down these ideas with the quill George had gifted to her. “One of the cases I did the killer removed the heart. Always the heart. She kept it as a token or trophy. Each one of these victims is mutilated in some fashion, perhaps each way was a trophy - beyond the faces.”

One thin brow was quirked and her eyes stayed on his as they spoke. “I know of at least one way to remove large amounts of blood with minimal splash. Though I’m loathe to think that device is involved with this.”

"Oh?" He was clearly intrigued, looking at nothing but her now. "What device? This early in the game, it can't hurt to at least consider things." He glanced down at her notebook and the quill.

"I recognize that plumage. It's from the Worthington Aviary. Gift from George?" He smiled.

She tapped the feather to her lips and smiled. “The Worthingtons have given me great gifts but this was from George indeed. It’s my nickname while working. Quill.”

Why had she mentioned it?

Stupid girl! Jeffrey couldn’t be involved in this, could he? But the flesh and the organs and his experiment - it made her shudder.

“The device is called the Blood Transfluxicatifier-mechinator. The only one I’ve seen in use was in the possession of a Jeffrey-Ellis Sangrey.” Amber eyes kept glued to his face, to gauge his reaction.

George must have included Jeffrey in her dossier.

"George has a brother named Jeffrey Ellis. That's kind of creepy." Raoul laughed and pretended to shiver the uncomfortable similarity away. But then he waved his hand and kept his genuine smile up. "

Anyway, you should seek out this Sangrey and find out what he's up to with that machine. Find out if he sold it, or- actually, find out if he's -using- it. It might be too good to be true to find out if he's our guy so don't bother trying to arrest him now or anything. For all we know he has nothing to do with this. After all, this splash doesn't look very minimal to me. They spilled a lot of blood here, but they couldn't have gotten it on themselves. It's like they KNEW what they were doing, but they didn't."

He paused, rubbing his clean shaven chin.

"You don't suppose there could have been two of them, do you? A first-timer and a more experienced killer? That could explain the children," Though his voice didn't falter at the mention, his eyes clearly did. It hit him hard in ways he wasn't about to share. "Children are easier to subdue, especially if they were being taught how to kill. The way predators would teach their young with injured or small animals, you know?" He glanced back up, meeting her eyes again.

“Jeffrey-Ellis Sangrey is George’s brother. And was my fiance.” It was a white lie in way; he was her fiance because he was now her husband. “He is currently wanted for necromancy and immoral experiments and George will be trying to bring him in for charges soon. This week. I know for a fact though that he was, up until a few days ago, still using it. But it could be a shared piece of equipment.”

As she spoke of Jeffrey and the manipulator her eyes dropped to the stones and she looked around again for anything out of sorts. Raoul knew what it was like to be partnered to a madperson but she certainly didn’t want to draw similarities between Valerie and Lantern. “I am interested in your theory though. It is quite possible and even more worrisome if that’s so.”

Raoul cleared his throat and nodded. Whatever was with her and Sangrey? That was her business. And George hadn't brought it up, so it wasn't relevant to the case. Not yet anyway.

"Well, I'm sure George will do what needs to be done. That's what he's good at, above all else. If you want to pursue that theory, about the transfluxic-whatever you said, you should check in with George first. Tampering with the device or discussing it with Sangrey could inadvertently be tampering with evidence needed for the other case."

He swallowed in a barely noticeable way and looked back down at the outline.

"I think there has to be something along those lines going on. This is a lot of work for one person to do in the time span that some of the bodies have been found mutilated, between death and discovery as well as between each individual killing. A team effort sounds more likely, even if that doesn't describe a lot of the way. You mentioned trophies. That could be the face, but the killer takes other things as well. Sentimentality and practicality? Or maybe, going with the partners theory, they're each taking their own trophies..."

He trailed off, standing up to stretch his legs as he thought.

"Yes... that makes some sense. An experienced killer would already be set in his or her ways. They know what they like, what they want, out of the murders. So they would always take the face, whereas a novice or apprentice might still be trying to find his or her 'signature'. They could be doing various things in a kind of experimentation to find their style. What do you think?"

“I think that is very probable. I’d like to go through the records and see what students went missing or were expelled in ah, I’m not sure of a timeframe. Let’s say the last decade. This could be a case of revenge too. Organs and parts can be used in darker magics that would get a student removed from the Order.”

She shifted in place, lost in thought a moment before she spoke. “Regardless of that though, I agree with your earlier statement that the killer is someone residing in Dalaran. If we can I’d like to get records from the inns of people who have checked in as well as anyone who has recently purchased or rented any sort of living space here. Though, I think they’re a mage. And that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to stay here. It could just be more convenient.”

"That sounds like a good idea. Do you want me to get a hold of those records then, or is that something you'd like to do yourself? Or we could split the load. One of us get the student records, and the other obtain the inn records. Just, ah, make sure to bring your badge with you."

Raoul flashed her another smile.

She dismissed her globe of light and smiled back. “Let’s split it. I’ll take whichever you don’t want. and we could meet up while we look them over. That way if we have any thoughts on the findings we can share them instantly. Though, I think we need to focus on identifying the bodies. But for that we need to requisition the samples and locate the proper divination spells. I could attempt it with the ones I used before but as I said I’m not certain using blood as the focus will garner the results we desire.”

"I'll take the student records then, as I've requested to browse through them before. I suppose I could grab a divination tome from the library on the way, or..." He combed back his hair and then tucked his hands in his pockets.

"We could meet there and look together, while we discuss our findings. Whatever works for you." He shrugged, hands still in his pockets and a distant smile still on his face.

"I'm not worried, Hawkins. They're preparing someone to be a hunter, but we'll prepare them to be the hunted."

As he gave the one-liner, he turned on his heel back down the alley. "I think that's enough for today, for me. I've got to get down to the hold. I'll be in touch soon. Oh, and-" He paused and looked back at her, softened by everything she had confessed about Sangrey.

"-Fly straight, Hawkins."

One could almost swear he winked at her as he crossed the holo-tape and rounded the corner.

Gently she put her quill and book away and then dusted her hands off on her robe. “Take care, Raoul.” It was quiet and likely he didn’t hear her and he certainly didn’t see her little wave as he disappeared around the corner.

♥ for love, V for Valerie. That poor man. Going to see the one who abused him.

Dutiful. Intelligent. Kind.

How could someone hurt someone like that?

Would people say the same about her if they knew what Jeffrey had done? She shook her head and sighed as she left the scene too. There was no point in bothering George in person but she’d leave a note requesting the samples promptly at his apartment. Slide it under the door before she went about trying to acquire the records needed.

Quiet footfalls were her only sounds now and she glanced back at the stained ground.

They had to catch these killers.

Had to.