After roaming the wilds of Romania, Marietta had returned to the English countryside for her own birthday.  The Grimlishes often celebrated in style, particularly with a moonlit romp through the cemetery.  It had been a delightful week, but now things had to settle back down.  She said goodbye to her darling twins and began preparing for her trip to the Ministry.

Not two seconds in, she could already feel the stress and negativity clouding her aura.  It was as bad as ever, one of the main reasons she had been relieved to exit the Ministry.  She said hello to a few friendly faces, stared back at a child, and rejoined the mob in the lift.  Level 9--her former home.  The difference was palpable.  It was, in a sense, home.

Her leather shoes made only the slightest noise upon the black marble.  Marietta couldn't speak, in part for the overwhelming silence and partly in reverence for the institution.  She had made some amazing discoveries within its walls, and soon would do so again.  She made her way towards the Head's office, slowly noticing the subtle difference between her imagined construct of the place and its reality.  There was something subtle in the air.  After the nostalgia wore off, Marietta found her smile dimming. That was it, a hint of despair.  It was slightly comforting, but out of place.

The chamber moved, revealing the doorway and Marietta stepped inside.  "Hello, Ward," she said simply, greeting the new Head of the Department of Mysteries.  She removed her heavy woolen coat, laying the dark garment upon the chair.  Once smoothed out, Marietta slipped her hand into the right abnormally deep pocket and withdrew a large iron bird cage.  The wooden swing squeaked eerily as it swung freely, nothing perched within.  The iron bars left a shadow within the cage, lit by the desk lamp, but something wasn't quite right.  It had taken her ages to coax the thing into the cage that she could seal it properly.  Where the shadows leaned against the floor of the cage, the darkness lightened in the corner, vague stripes a little less gray than the ones beside them. 

"What do you think?"

It was a typical Tuesday and Dante was met with the usual stack of paperwork upon his arrival.  He had been early of course, arriving before his employees.  He was certain some of them wondered if he ever slept or if perhaps he simply lived in his office since his work hours were well beyond the standard work week.  He was well aware of the gossip, although he mostly chose to ignore it.

Hello, Ward.

His quill stilled on the parchment as he looked up at the sound of a familiar voice.  Setting down the quill, report momentarily set aside he watched her remove her coat and lay it across the back of a chair.  He raised an eyebrow curiously wondering what it was exactly that had brought her into what was now his office with such purpose.

"Welcome back to the anthill," he said, smirking slightly.

From the pocket of the coat came a cage that appeared to be completely empty.  Of course, years of experience had told him that was not going to be the case and he took a moment to study it more closely.  He had trained his eyes over the years to look for even the slightest detail that might suggest all was not as it seemed.  Looking at the shadows the bars left on the cage's floor it was then that he noticed what he had been looking for...the coloring of some of the lines was off ever so slightly.

"What do you think?"

"I think this is much more interesting then anything I'm going to find in these," he said, motioning to the stack of reports to one side of his desk with his eyes.  "What do you know about it so far?"

Having worked with Marietta long enough he was nearly certain he knew where she might have found it, but the other specifics she would need to fill in.  It did, however, seem that his morning was looking up for once and he wasn't even on his second cup of coffee.

It was interesting to see Ward with a quill in hand rather than a wand.  If her hunch was correct, that was the same pile of parchment Marietta had abandoned when she made her own exit from the Ministry.  She wished she could be around when he finally made it to the bottom.  She had used the last half-inch to clean up some of Duane's droppings off the desk. 

"I think this is much more interesting then anything I'm going to find in these.  What do you know about it so far?"

And there it was, the inquisitive gleam in Dante's eye that matched every other Unspeakable when faced with an unknown facet of magic.  It was why they joined the field, and why some could never leave.  It was often said around the Department that once an Unspeakable, one was always an Unspeakable.  The only reason they had a turnaround in HR was death.  Or personal reasons involving entrapment in a vortex, time discrepancies or the other usual hazards of their position.  She was sure even Analiza missed the department, although she was sure the woman was pursuing her own schemes even at the school. 

Marietta perched herself on the chair after settling the cage atop his desk.  "I found it hiding under a wayward pine in the Black Forest.  Whatever it is, it doesn't like rain."  Her eyes stayed upon the shadow, tracking the subtle movements of the shadow.  "At first I thought it was the remnants of a tracking spell, but...if it is, it's been heavily modified.  It's intelligent."  Her eyes lifted to meet his, curious how he would take the news.  That's why she needed to see him, aside from his position as Head.  He dealt more with plants and biological structures than she did, and if Marietta's suspicions were on target she would need his expertise.  But the most exciting part was yet to come.  "And it feeds on blood."  Certainly a wide variety of species exhibited vampiric traits, but to stumble upon an unknown magical construct with such tendencies was incredibly thrilling.  Marietta could hardly contain her excitement.  Vampires had been a pet project of hers for years, working primarily on magically modifying their genetics to allow for more amiable lifestyles.  She had been charged with the work by her own mate, although few knew that side of the story. 

Marietta let her hand linger atop of the cage.  "It generates heat, although I don't know how.  I think it originated from a much colder climate.  You can feel it even through the shields."

When she set the cage on top of his desk he took the opportunity to examine it more closely.  The little discrepancies in the light seemed to change rapidly, leading him to believe that whatever was trapped within the cage was incredibly fast.  Spells were not particularly known for having their own sort of intelligence, so somehow he thought that perhaps it was of a biological entity. 

"And it feeds on blood."

“I can see why it has peaked your interest then,” he commented.

It wasn’t often she showed excitement.  Working with Marietta had always been relatively easy in Dante’s mind.  Rarely had she gone on and on when it wasn’t necessary, something he appreciated.  Everything that needed to be said could be done so in a few words, the fluff that followed was needless.

At the mention that it also was able to produce heat, he moved his hand closer to the cage.  He trusted her analysis, but curiosity tended to get the better of him in times like these and occasionally one simply had to test something for themselves.  What he hadn’t been expecting was the little chirping sound that emanated from the cage.  It sounded a bit annoyed, and his hand retreated.  Obviously whatever it was didn’t appreciate him trying to poke around a bit.

“The fact that it can produce heat is fascinating given its feeding habits,” he said.  “I’m inclined to believe you’ve found some sort previously unknown creature, but of course without testing one can’t be sure.  Biologically it could give us a wealth of information.”

The loud chirp started Marietta as well, odd since her own hand was so close to the creature.  Then again, it had probably acclimated itself to her scent from being carried around in her pocket.  Marietta probably smelled more familiar than Dante, although it could also be from their own biological difference.  "I wonder if it's reactive to sex," she mused aloud, thinking of their own pheromones, "I can't tell whether its invisibility is a biological or defensive trait; I don't believe it's stopped moving since I caged it." 

She removed her hand, immediately missing the comforting warmth of the cage.  "It sounds familiar, though.  Just the sound.  Maybe someone has been cross-breeding species again?" she asked, hesitant to ressurect the memories associated with cross-breeders.  There had been a bout six years ago that created a nightmare in the department.  That, and her own mix-up with her daughter.  Cross-breeding had found a new definition within the Grimlish household that she wasn't fond of, either.