It wasn't safe to wander Collieville at night, but we were detectives on a mission, and we had our badges. The moon shun brightly overhead painting the sidewalks a nice fluorescent white.

  "Boy am I hungry." Fluffels whined. The fluffy kitten licked its lips, and stared at a half eaten candy wrapper on the ground.

  "Do you want me to call you piglet?"

  To Fluffel's it was the toughest decision he made all week, but he managed to avoid eating the wrapper.

  "Maan I need to start packing a lunch."

  "Two lunches Fluffels."

  "I'M NOT PACKING YOU A LUNCH YOU DAMNED WOLF."

  "Hey, all that yelling is just gonna make you even hungrier.

  The cat licked its fur, and took a deep breath trying to calm down. Fluffels figured the best way to distract himself was to strike up a conversation.

  "So how come' you went and became a detective anyways?"

  The cat struggled to keep up with Ravenwoof his long legs meant his strides were longer, and so he slowed down, and met the kittens pace.

  "Same reason we all do piglet. Not a lot of career opportunities for us. There's a reason 90% of the best detectives in Animalsia are wearfolk."

  "Ugh, don't remind me." The cat said kicking a rock on the ground. "How am I supposed to ever be the best detective when the field is chalk full of you guys?"

  "I said the best detectives are wearfolk. I didn't say all of them are."

  "Pfft yeah whatever and you guys get the best school."

  "Listen Fluffles I get where you're comin' from, I do. But do you know what it means to be wearfolk in this country?"

  Fluffles didn't answer, but Ravenwoof could hear him purring beside him.

  "It means we don't get ever to pro create for one - so you can forget falling in love. And on top of that the government is always checking in on you. You can't run for office or anything either."

  Fluffels's purring seemed to grow louder as Ravenwoof spoke.

  "But about that school you're talkin about - that's the Lupus institute. I plan to go one day, especially since I've never attended school."

  "WHAT!? Fluffles yelled. "YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'RE A DETECTIVE WITH NO FORMAL EDUCATION?!"

  Ravenwoof nodded smugly.

  "DON'T NOD LIKE IT'S SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF!"

  Caught off guard about Ravenwoof, suddenly another question popped into Fluffels's mind.

  "Wait, wait just how old are you?" He asked shaking his head.

  "Oh me? I'm 18." Ravenwoof replied.

  "What?" Fluffles was flabbergasted. Absolutely speechless.

  "........."

  "Okay, n-no. W-What about the smoking, a-and the whole broody 'I'm wiser than everyone else' persona you have going on? I thought you were older than me for crying out loud!"

  "Oh, I do all of that for the aesthetic." Ravenwoof said pulling out a cigar, and lighting it. "People think you're super mature if they see you smoking."

  "Pretty sure cancer doesn't discriminate by maturity. Besides the reason people think you're mature is because you're a giant wolf, and no one can tell the difference between a young pup and an old one!"

  "Cancer, grey hair, weight changes, diapers."

  "I SAID AN OLD ONE NOT A DYING ONE."

  "Baby's wear diapers too kid."

  After shaking his head a few more times Fluffles took a deep breath.

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  "Okay, so you're 18, and you've never been to school. How exactly did you get this job again? And how are you ranked 20 in the country on The Lupus Institutes Greatest Running Detectives list? Please explain, I'm waiting."

  "The kids smart but he still has a lot to learn. I can feel myself starting to trust him as the days go by, but I can't let him get too close. Some secrets are best left alone, and buried in the dark."

  "I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE!"

  "Note to self. Get him some cat nip or something so he can mellow out."

  "What do you MEAN note to self? You just notated that in front of me. That's not what that means!"

  "We're here."

  ?

  The two stopped inside the alleyway

  Fluffles tensed up nervously. Ravenwoof could see the hairs on his back sticking up. "T-The file said the attack happened over there." Fluffles said pointing at the end of the alley.

  "Oh, I thought you said it wasn't an attack?"

  "N-No, I said it wasn't a murder."

  Ravenwoof smirked. "The witnesses is house is just over there. They know were coming so go talk to em for a bit while I check out the crime scene."

  "HEY DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO- Oh, well yeah I guess you can do that actually. Okay, Woof I'll be back."

  Fluffels scurried across the street leaving me alone with my thoughts. Last nights events were awful.

  'But at least I know something new about this ability.' Ravenwoof thought.

  The murder had occurred two nights ago meaning the victim was already dead when Ravenwoof had his vision.

  'How is that possible?'

  In any case Ravenwoof had a case to solve so he stepped through the alleyway, and made his way toward the end. The killer was good - no blood or signs of a struggle anywhere.

  'He's probably killed before'

  But no animal is perfect - at least that's what Ravenwoof thought. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Suddenly he could smell everything, and everyone around him. He knew exactly where Fluffels was, and the rabbit he was interviewing. He could smell the trash in the next street over rotting in a dumpster, and the sewage through the manhole beneath the city.

  Not only was Ravenwoof a 'wearfolk' he was also a 'werewolf' which were the most feared of all the creatures in Animalsia. The thing about 'werewolf's' though was that they had a very keen sense of smell.

  "That was your mistake pup." Ravenwoof said out loud.

  After another minute or two Fluffels came scurrying down the alley.

  "How'd it go piglet?"

  "Not bad at all. After my wonderful charismatic techniques, and skillful persuasion she told me everything she knew including new details that weren't in the case file."

  "Why does it smell like you cried, begged and pleaded until you got the information you wanted?"

  "HA! Cat's don't cry! We're known for being emotionally intelligent, durable, and-"

  "And crying when you've got an empty stomach. Like seriously you're the worst. Every time I'm in a restaurant it's one of you're feline friends that ends up flipping out at the poor otter behind the register."

  "We just have sensitive bellies that's all." Fluffels said embarrassed. "Hmph, but anyways I think I got a clue about our perpetrator. AND DANGIT DID YOU READ THE CASE FILE YET?"

  "Not needed." Ravenwoof replied.

  "Doctor Winnie had just graduated with his a PHD in medical science. 24 years old, single and lonely. He's known by his colleagues for being a bit of a jerk, and on social media he's always been the edgy type making dark jokes when no one ever asked for em. He had just gotten off work a couple blocks away when he probably caught on to someone following him. So what did he do? He ran."

  Ravenwoof looked down at the ground.

  "And this is where he ended up."

  'That was another perk of this ability. Not only did I see how the animal died, but I also got a sample of their memories.'

  "Woah." Fluffles said. "You said everything in the case file, a-and more. I didn't know he had that kind of twisted personality. He sounds messed up."

  "Oh that? I made that part up."

  "DON'T DISRESPECT THE DEAD!"

  "It was for dramatic flair Fluffles. Monologues like mine are a dime a dozen so enjoy em while you can."

  "I don't think you know what that expression means... But anyways more or less... You're right, and on top of that the eye witness said they saw something large, but they couldn't make out exactly what it was."

  Ravenwoof sighed.

  "Come with me Fluffles."

  The two made their way to a dumpster the next street over

  "Now is NOT the time to go dumpster diving Detective!"

  "It's a good thing we got here tonight, trash gets taken out in the morning."

  Ravenwoof reached into the dumpster and started pulling bags out. After a few minutes he seemed to find what he was looking for.

  "Ah, yep. Here we go." He said revealing a perfect set of fox teeth. Wearing gloves, Detective Ravenwoof placed them in an evidence bag.

  "B-But how did you even know those were there, a-and y-you don't even know who those belong to."

  "Teeth are nasty Fluffles. Go ahead, and taste your own teeth and tell me you want THAT coming out your other end."

  "Okay, but that still doesn't-"

  Ravenwoof simply raised a finger, and pointed at his nose.

  "I've been in this field long enough to know what most animals smell like, and this tricky fox was all nasty and sweaty before he died. Guess that's what happens when you're running for your life."

  "O-Okay but even still it shouldn't be that easy to track just ONE animal."

  "That's because I was tracking two piglet."

  "TWO?" Fluffles cried.

  "If it was any other animal I wouldn't have picked up on it. But I know what it's like to hide something, and what it's like to avoid the sun, and what it's like to fear, and hate society. That is a smell you don't forget."

  "What are you saying Woof?"

  "I'm saying that the murderer is a werewolf like me, and not only that but he's a detective too. He was smart enough to eat most of the body, and since Doctor Winnie wasn't exactly well known he probably figured this was a kill he could get away with so he was still sloppy in covering his tracks. After all, detectives like us usually only handle the high profile cases, you get me Fluffles?"

  "Yeah, well if everything you're saying is true then this detective isn't gonna go down easy. Something tells me we're gonna gulp have to fight."

  "Ain't no rest for the wicked Fluffles. Let's get a move on while the night is still young."