Lyddia makes a discovering that sheds light on the mystery of the weres.
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Lyddia pressed the leaf, and nervously slipped through the door, closing it behind her. From the study side, it just looked like a big oaken door. Along one wall of the study, past the big desk and little stools, was a row of cabinets. Each cabinet was labeled neatly in old-fashioned script with the year. It was no chore at all to find the one marked, “1850″; but inside the cabinet was another story. Perhaps it had been neatly filed once, but now it was a jumble of papers–some were in folders, other were smashed into corners, some were fairly robust, some looked as if they would crumble at a touch.
Lyddia swallowed hard, and carefully began lifting out the stacks of papers. She set them on the big desk, and gingerly began the task of sorting through them. Some of them appeared to be children’s school lessons. These she set aside for later study. It would give her in-site into the thoughts and motivations of their teacher. Under other circumstances, a stack of history like this would have filled her with joy. Now, with the pressure of time upon her, she feared missing something important or causing precious information to crumble unread.
There were two or three fat diaries that she set aside. She used the cardboard back of a Big Chief notebook that had somehow gotten into this cabinet to support the more fragile documents. None of them appeared to be what she was looking for, so she stacked them with the school papers.
Just as she was beginning to despair of locating anything about the hypothetical meeting, she found a rolled skin squashed between a fat ledger and a smudgy charcoal drawing. She untied the leather thong that held it closed and unrolled it.
She let out a soft breath of relief. The first line she view said, “On this Hallows eén, when the moon was high, Tom did meet del Perro in the wood. They both being in animal form at the initial meeting, del Perro did chase Tom up a tree. When the moon rose, the change came upon them. Tom climbed down from the tree, and the two men did talk for a time. Each accused the other of being responsible for cattle and sheep which had been taken from local farms. But then, the accusations got ridiculous, and they realized that the manner of the slayings were none such as they would have done. Cats and dogs have long lived with Men, and know well the value of domesticated meat stock. It would not be in their own best interests to mutilate and toy with prize breeding animals.”
LYddia’s eyes grew large at the next part. She carefully rolled the skin back up, and stepped back into the living room. It was well she did, for Tom and del Perro were snarling at each other, and their henchmen were forming a protective shell around each.
“Enough!” she said. Her voice, trained to cut across the shouting of a hostile audience instantly drew the attention of the two weres. Dan looked more than a little terrified, and yet at the same time very proud. “What did you find, Lyddia?” he asked, following her dramatic lead.
“A document that clearly states that Toms and del Perro’s are not enemies. Rather, that you have a common enemy, and may soon need to defend the entire town as well as your own hearth.
“Come, gather around me, and hear the encounter of your forefathers!”
The were-men looked at each other, startled, but ranged themselves around, allowing Lyddia to settle herself with the large roll of leather in the bowl chair. Dulce hopped up, and settled herself in Lyddia’s lap. She patted the roll with one small gray paw.
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