The full moon was bright over the Scottish highlands.  It cast a silvery sheen over the landscape, a wave of light that made everything seem far more brilliant than it would have on a normal night.  The temperature had dropped considerably since the sun went down, and despite the luminescence shining down from above, the shadows in the forest seemed to stretch out their tendrils into the frigid night, as if the trees were uncurling their branches in anticipation of what was about to come.

They had been tracking this particular werewolf for more than a month now.  The mauling deaths of a few Muggle farmers, timed particularly to the lunar cycle, had caught the attention of the WCU back in October.  Since then, they had played the careful game of looking for patterns, trying to determine who the likely unregistered lycanthrope could be.  There was a small magical settlement not far from here, but even now, two full moons and far too many L.R.E.s later, they had yet to make a definite identification.  The mysterious werewolf of the Scottish Moors remained an enduring mystery.

That meant doing this the old fashioned way.

The team had come in early and split up.  Until the werewolf decided to show itself, there was nothing to do but wait.  Kurby had given the other two capture teams their assignments, and then taken command of the Gamma Squad -- a handful of mostly new recruits, who were still getting the feel of the dangerous life that they led in the field.  Once the werewolf was spotted, they'd all converge again.

He stood there silently, watching the unmoving clearing before him, with only the billows of heated breath to break the stillness of the frigid air.  If a branch hadn't cracked, he never would have realized that anyone was approaching from behind him.  The werewolf hunter looked up sharply, his eyes settling on the shadowy form of Kia Ferris.  Ferris had been a member of the Capture Unit for nine months now, which was enough to make her a veteran; she had also more than proven her capabilities even when things got heated, which was enough to earn her respect.  When the time had come to make the night's assignments, he'd appointed her as the leader of Beta Team.

It was unlikely that a werewolf would ever attempt to sneak up on them -- lycanthropes were not particularly known for discretion -- but the Unit still kept a cautionary silence in the field nonetheless.  One could never be too careful, after all.  Kurby waited silently for her to get closer, and then cocked an inquiring eyebrow in the witch's direction, giving her a coolly appraising look.

"Report, Ferris?"

((Sorry it took so long to reply! But finals are over, so LET'S DO THIS!))

The delicate touch of Jack Frost radiated off of the frozen boughs of the tree and through the thin knit of Kia's gloves as she grasped a nearby branch and steadied herself near the top. Hanging there, she used her free hand to release the catch on her mask and pull it free. Icy wind, pleased to no longer be detained by the thin metal, blasted into her face and she let out a sharp breath that briefly hung in the midwinter air like a thin, white veil, before dissipating into the night. After the initial shock died down, Kia took a moment to admire the way the highlands looked bathed in the moonlight. It was a little depressing knowing that the moonlight had not brought just beauty upon the cozy Scottish towns dotting the landscape, but painful and agonizing mutilation or death.

The moon and Kia had always had a close relationship ever since she was a child laying awake at night bathed in its light. When her mother had died, her father had told them that their mother was on the moon. All the souls gathered there, and that is why it glowed so beautifully without being on fire like the sun. It was a lie, she knew even then, but it was rather sweet to think about and whenever she looked at the moon, to this day, she would thank it for looking after her mother. Now, however, the moon brought something a little different. There was still a great deal of affection, but it was tainted by something else. Fear... trepidation... anxiety. Something dark and dreadful pulling at the corners.

It started when Kale was found near death on the street, covered in scratches no mundane animal could make, and it continued to this day. To this night in fact. Tonight the anxiety was worse than usual, not just because of her job hunting the very beasts that nearly took another loved from her, but because she was awarded the status of Beta team leader. The position was one she had been vying for for some time, and she was incredibly pleased and honored that Kurby thought she had earned it after only nine months, but after leading the team into the woods in search of a monster they had little to no information about left her feeling more nervous than usual. This wasn't just her life on the line, this was her teams. If one of them died that night, Kia didn't think she could forgive herself.

This nagging thought reminded her that she couldn't go around abandoning her team to hang in trees. With a sigh, she took one last look at the beauty laid out before her and snapped her mask back in place before beginning her descent. After she dropped to the ground gracefully, she motioned wordlessly to her team to wait while she reported in. Then, feeling the ground through the thin soles of her boots like her father taught her, she crept as silently as a cat towards her leaders station.

When she saw him silhouetted against the moonlight, she felt a childish urge to run to him and report before anyone else, like it would earn her a gold star or some other meaningless award. Normally she would scoff at such feelings, but for a second she let them overrun her sense and quicken her step. When she was rewarded with a snapping stick and a sharp look from Kurby, she instantly sobered and straightened up. His coldly appraising look didn't help the flush burning under her mask.

"Report, Ferris?"

His voice was soft, almost a whisper, but it cut through the night like a razor. She tightened up, almost saluting out of habit, and shook her head "Nothing." She matched his tone evenly "... The path looks pretty clear ahead but I didn't see any other signs." Then she recalled the puff of smoke and lights in the distance "... There is a small hamlet up ahead though. If it came this way, that may be the next target."

Ferris slipped out of the shadows to join him, and Kurby watched her dispassionately, silently taking in her words.  Werewolves were predators, but very few of them put much thought into the hunt -- they were mindless, brutal killing machines, and the idea of sneaking up on potential prey was more than most of them could grasp.  Tempting hamlet or not, chances were that they'd get some hint of the wolf's approach.

As if on cue, a lone howl split the silence of the night.  The hairs on the back of his neck rose instinctively, and Kurby's entire body tensed as he went still.  The sound didn't have the urgency of a hunt in progress, but it meant that the lycanthrope was out there.  No natural wolves still lived in these Scottish hills.

"Well, good on your hamlet," he said grimly, looking back through the woods where the Gamma team was hidden.  Unless some poor idiot Muggle farmer was stupid enough to be wandering around so late at night, the town that Ferris had spotted had to be the werewolf's likely target.  One of the drawbacks of the Werewolf Capture Unit was its considerably high turnover; the combination of stress, injury, and fatality meant that many new recruits did not last very long.  That meant far too many nights like these, when training and fieldwork were combined into one.  Ferris's team was far more equipped to handle the brunt of this; that meant that Beta could play the target, and Kurby and his green recruits could sweep in to secure the beast.

"Take your team and bring 'em around towards the road, then," he instructed Ferris in a low, even voice.  "We'll see if we can't drive it towards you.  Do what you have to do to keep it from gettin' through."  He smirked, but there was nothing humorous in his expression; his eyes were already fixed somewhere else on the upcoming hunt.  "We don't need another dead Muggle to muck this all up."

A werewolves howl had a strange effect on Kia. As it pealed through the night, a shiver ran down her spine and she became very still. This wasn't the odd part though. After the initial chill subsided and the hairs on her neck relaxed, she was greeted by a different sensation. Warmth flooded her and her heartbeat, briefly rendered still at the hair raising howl, quickened considerably, throbbing so violently she could feel her pulse rippling over her body. Her fingers twitched at the crossbow at her belt, itching for the feel of the silver tipped bolts between them. It wasn't fear she was feeling, though there was plenty of that thrown in, but rather a fair bit of excitement. Some called it the 'Thrill of the Hunt", but Kia knew it as the killing intent. Every full moon since her brothers attack filled her with it.

"Well, good on your hamlet,"

Her fingers wrapped around the crossbow's ivory handle and she gripped it until the throbbing stopped, her expression unreadable thanks to the mask and grim underneath. As pleased as she was that she had located the target so quickly, the pleasure was substantially subdued by the fact that there were human beings slumbering peacefully in said target -- men, woman and children with no idea of what was coming nor how to protect themselves. She slid a silver tipped bolt from the sheath on her arm and loaded it into the bow as silently as possible, her eyes locked on Kurby, awaiting his orders.

"Take your team and bring 'em around towards the road, then, We'll see if we can't drive it towards you.  Do what you have to do to keep it from gettin' through. We don't need another dead Muggle to muck this all up."

"Yes, sir." was all she said, though she failed to indicate to which she was agreeing. The last bit was too horrible to comprehend. If  the thought of losing her team was bad, the idea of innocent muggles being killed was worse. At least her team could put up a fight. This anxiety was well hidden though, mostly thanks to the mask, and she returned to her teams hiding space with an air of unnatural calm.

"Hamlet ahead is the target. We're bait." She said simply, keeping things as succinct as possible. "Caltrops and wands at the ready, but don't attack until you see the white of its fangs." As she said it, another howl echoed through the woods. It was closer this time. Changing her crossbow to her offhand, she twisted her wrist sharply and felt the comforting feel of her wand slide into her hand with a faint Shhnnk. The killing intent was rising again and she grit her teeth, hissing to the night "Come on... Come and get me... "

In the dead of the night, with the full moon shining brightly, they were the hunters.  Ferris understood.  The young witch had not been in the Capture Unit for very long, but she was quick to act by instinct; they did not need to waste time on justification or discussion.  Kurby turned as soon as she had given her acknowledgement.  Limited experience or not, he trusted her to play her part well.

The four young hunters who made up the rest of Gamma Squad had heard the howl, too.  They were waiting nervously for him outside the clearing, their eyes intent, silver weapons clenched anxiously in hand.  Kurby ignored their expressions; he wasn't here to soothe nerves or calm anxieties.  A bunch of young recruits who froze up whenever they heard a werewolf howl wasn't going to be of any use to him.  Either they'd learn to put their fear aside and act or he'd drum them out.

"We move," he informed them curtly.  "You three, you take the east flank.  Rashid, you're with me.  Beta Team will be in the middle of the road.  Let the thing engage them, then we swoop in."

A quartet of nods answered him: some nervous, others more steady.  One of the kids that he'd sent east wasn't meeting his eyes.  Kurby gave the young wizard a hard look, and then let it go.  There would be time to deal with it once the hunt was over.  Now, with Ferris already in the process of moving her team into position, he didn't have time to hold hands or listen to the kid talk about his feelings.

Another howl split the night.  Kurby listened, his senses prickling, trying to judge the distance and direction.  It was still moving in the direction of the hamlet.  Good.  With any luck, it would be in position for Ferris to engage it soon.

He gave the rest of Gamma a brusque, commanding nod and started west, trusting that his appointed teammate would follow.  He unclipped the silver chain from his belt as he broke into a jog.  There would be no apparition, not now; nothing to get the beast's attention, to distract it from its target.  There was only the full moon and the hunt.

Another howl peeled through the night and Kia felt every muscle in her body tighten until they vibrated with a potent mix of fear and desire. She pinpointed it to be about a half a mile away, a quarter if the wind was at its back, and renewed her grip on the wand with a hand that was shaking under its spike studded, leather sheath. Behind her mask, she licked her lips and glanced about nervously with rising trepidation, but outwardly, she maintained a ramrod straight stance with such an air of inflexibility that she put stone walls to shame. Let them come, her body language practically screamed, I will die before they pass me.

She was readily aware that she probably would, too.

There was a snap of a twig ahead... and then another... and another... they grew louder and closer until they became an avalanche of sound baring down on the small group. A pair of frostkissed bushes exploded into snow and twigs as a large blur of fur burst through it. It barely paused in its rampage to get a whiff of her and a pair of hideous yellow eyes found her black clad figure easily against the white snow. She willed herself not to run as it loped towards her, all frothing gums and glittering teeth. Her lips traced a spell, waiting for the right moment.

When she had started at the WCU, Kia had, like many misinformed youths, thought that capturing a werewolf would be easy. All of the gear and training seemed... silly. She had fought Dragons for Merlin's sake! But after her first moon, she quickly sobered up. There was one fundamental difference between a werewolf and any other XXXXX rated creature: The werewolf was human. You didn't know what they were outside of the terrifying creature trying their damnedest to separate you from your throat, but you knew that they were someone.

Maybe that someone was truly evil, sure, but maybe they were a good, law abiding, man or woman. A sister or a brother... a son or a daughter... a husband or a wife. Perhaps even a dad or a mum. Anyone could be a werewolf and be driven to the point of blind rage by the excrutiating pain of the transformation. You couldn't chance killing or even badly hurting them, so you used non lethal spells, caltrops and ropes. Considering the werewolf was at least a couple hundred pounds of wrath fueled muscle and teeth, it was hardly what you could call 'silly'.

Suddenly, the wolf was upon her and Kia's mind went into auto-pilot. Her wand flashed in her hand and the spell eagerly lept from her lips "STUPIFY!" Her voice rang clear in the night and a flash momentarily lit the brilliant snow a vibrant red. The spell had little effect aside from slowing the creature down, but that was to be expected and that was all she needed. Her teammates appeared from the trees and flanked the creature, wielding silver chains and caltrops. The wolf tore at its chains and shook off the barbs in its feet, now even more intent on Kia. She turned and started to run just as it broke through.

Roots jumped up in an attempt to trip her and branches tore at her clothes as she tore through the woods, looking back only long enough to make sure it was still following her. Her wand swung erratically behind her, hexes bouncing off of rocks and gouging chunks into trees, only a few actually landing on the target, eliciting renewed howls of fury. Didn't matter though. It was slowing down and in a moment she would break into the clearing where Alpha and Gamma waited.

They were making good time through the woods, but now another explosion of sound had burst through the forest -- the werewolf's howls and rage, mixed with the cacophony of desperate spell fire.  Kurby barely had breath left to swear.  The battle had already been joined, and Gamma Team was nowhere near position.  If they didn't get there quickly, Ferris and her minions would be left to battle the creature on their own.

He weighed the odds, calculated -- and then made the decision.  "Rashid!" he snarled.  The young witch, her legs pumping to keep up with him, started as she looked in his direction.  Kurby grabbed the girl's arm, gave her a second to realize what he was doing, and then vanished them both in a crack of apparition.

Apparating in the middle of a forest was no easy feat.  But the team had spent careful hours scouting this wood long before they'd planned their hunt, and he knew the clearings here as well as anyone could.  The loud crack from the spell would also signal their position to any werewolves in the area, but tonight's battle had already been joined.  If spells were being fired, it meant that the werewolf had been engaged.  Staying hidden and remaining the hunters were no longer the priority.

They reappeared near the edge of a clearing with another loud crack.  Rashid flailed for a moment, but seemed to catch herself quickly enough -- she was one of the newest members of the Capture Unit, but Kurby had found himself already giving her grudging approval for her quick response time.  He stepped away from her, his eyes scanning the clearing as he adjusted his grip on his wand in his right hand, freeing the silver chain that normally hung on his belt so that he could loop it loosely over his left shoulder.

And sure enough, Ferris was already bolting out of the woods into the clearing, the wolf racing close behind her.  There was little time to react.  Kurby pointed his wand at the ground below her feet, waited an instant, and then wrenched his arm upward.  The wordless spell rocketed from his wand, silently tearing the sleeping tree roots from where they lay nestled under the soil.  The enormous roots launched to the surface, pitching the wolf momentarily off-balance as they lifted it momentarily toward the sky amid a startled roar.

As she ran, Kia silently thanked her lucky stars that she had spent her youth in the swamps of the bayou and the woods of the Scottish countryside. It made dodging clawing branches and skipping over the ice laden roots less of a struggle to survive and more of an interpretive dance. That is, if the dance was interpreting fear for ones life.

It also made her more aware of her surroundings, especially sharp drops into shallow ditches that wouldn't cause much harm normally, but would prove deadly when chased by a much larger, much more bloodthirsty creature. Hooking her crossbow to her belt and sheathing her wand, Kia took a flying leap, her leather clad fingers curling around a low hanging branch and swung. Barely clearing the small, shrub filled ditch, she landed hard, stumbled forward and, thanks to the hooked cleats on the bottoms of her boots, managed to right herself without breaking pace. The wolf was not so lucky. His (her?) senses were focused entirely on the tasty woman-shaped treat a few feet ahead of it, so it didn't seem to sense the sudden drop and ended up barreling into the thorn covered hedge with a pained roar. It didn't slow it down very much, but it allowed Kia to get a few more feet between them and those long, sharp, cruel looking claws.

She flew into the clearing, the tails of her leather coat flapping as her legs and arms pumped frantically, and when she saw the dark figure of Kurby in the distance, her muscles tensed for what was to come. Good thing too because a split second later the ground under her feet exploded with enough force to throw her forward into a somersault. Rolling to her feet, she whirled around, wand snapping to hand, and watched at the roots came alive and threw the werewolf into the air. A flick of her wrist had the topmost branches writing like snakes as they wrapped around the roaring wolf and constricted before becoming wooden once more. It struggled fiercely against its new bindings but they proved unrelenting and the howl became even more furious.

Stumbling over to Kurby and one of the new recruits, Kia tried to hide her ragged breathing and pounding heart. "Should..." She gasped involuntarily before catching her breath and continuing "Should I tranq him before he wakes the whole town up?"

And just like that, it had ended.

The adrenaline was still coursing through him.  The wolf was still howling, thrashing wildly as it tried to escape its woody prison, but the twisted tree roots and transfigured branches seemed to be holding strong.  Kurby stared at it, his eyes dark and his own teeth bared slightly.  Every month, they all came face to face with their own childhood monster.

He shook his head suddenly, as much to hide his own reaction as to answer Ferris's question, and gruffly turned away.  Over the noise of the werewolf, it was impossible to hear any trace of the other team members who were surely making their way through the woods, but they were certain to arrive soon.  This would have to be a lesson learned for them.  You didn't hesitate.  You never let your guard down.

"Yeah," he said gruffly.  "Let's get this cleaned up.  Rashid, give Ferris a hand."  He gestured to the other young woman, who still looked wide-eyed.  It never sat right when the hunt ended so quickly, but it often did.  Rashid was still very new; she'd get used to the rhythm soon enough.  "We'll assign a detail to sit with it until morning, and then we'll haul the beast back in to the Ministry."

This thread is going to probably get pretty gory from here on out, so I am being safe and rating it an M.

---

Kia was rather fond of Rashid, though she had never openly admitted it. The petite brunette was smart, polite and didn't delve too deeply where she wasn't invited, unlike some people on the team, Brogie. However, as fond as she was, Kia had to hold back a sigh of resignation when Kurby commanded her to assist in the tranquilizing of the still raging were. Sure, Rashid was a great kid with many great attributes, but what she wasn't, Kia would point out emphatically, was a great hunter. She was a desk jockey who had only gotten put into the field unit thanks to the abnormally high number of wounded this month. It was like asking someone to paint a hungry bears nails while wearing a dress made of honey.

Besides this, there was also the fact that, for whatever reason, she was terrified of Kia, though Kia couldn't recall a time where she had ever said more than two words to the girl, let alone be mean to her. She suspected Brogie had something to do with it, but had little proof besides his smug face, which was proof enough for her but apparently didn't hold water with anyone with the power to do something about it.

For a moment that stretched on for miles, Rashid stood there frozen in place, her dark eyes widening even more. It was clear that she was trying to decide which of the two beasts before her, Kia or the werewolf, were scarier. Kia's irritated hiss of "Well come on then!", which came out a low, muffled puff of steam thanks to her mask, probably did little to help matters. It did, however, force the girl into action. By the time she finally crunched through the snow and joined Kia, the mask appeared to be steaming.

Biting back her irritation, Kia motioned to the werewolves paws, which were struggling against the wooden restraints. Such was the strength of his rage that the wood creaked and whined, threatening to splinter. "Reinforce his bindings while I tranquilize him." She instructed as kindly as she could, which naturally meant it came out an abrupt and icy demand instead. Rashid rushed to comply, her hands shaking in obvious terror. Kia wondered if she was really that scared of her or if the surroundings were exacerbating things.

Pushing the thought from her mind, Kia focused on her task with the intensity of a professional. Tranqing werewolf was like giving a surprise ice water enema to the aforementioned bear. You did it very, very care--

CRACK

The sound of the wooden restraints snapping echoed through the clearing and sent a shiver down Kia's spine. What happened next seemed to be in slow motion, but took only seconds.

She had barely managed to pull the syringe of sleeping potion from her pouch when the twitching body of their quarry sprung to life. Her wand shot from her sleeve and managed to nestle into the hollow of her palm, but she didn't have a chance to raise her arm, let alone form the curse on her lips, before he struck.

The claws caught her in the calf with a blow that shattered her fibula and tore through the muscles like hot butter, turning the snow a vibrant crimson and leaving Kia reeling. For a second, the pain was so intense that she didn't even feel it. She simply knew it was there, like when you touch something so incredibly hot that it actually feels cold. And just like that moment, once it was over, the pain came flooding back in with the intensity of a thousands suns. With an agonized scream, Kia dropped her wand and grasped her thigh.

"God dammit Rashid, I told you --" Kia roared, only to be cut short when she saw the look on the girls face. It was the same deer in the headlights look she had before, but this time there was something different. It looked more like the deer after the car had hit it. Her eyes were cold, coal-black voids and that was when Kia saw the gaping hole where her neck was supposed to be.