Darcy stood outside the door to Taryn's dorm room, shifting his weight from one sneaker-clad foot to the other. He raised a hand to knock, then lowered it - repeating this motion a few times before he actually decided to knock on the door. There was a determined sort of look in his yellow eyes (barely seen through his hair - they boy is in desperate need of a haircut). A little smile twitched at the corner of his lips as he tried to make himself appear a little more normal, and a little less tense. He didn't want to scare Taryn, after all,... but the subject he'd come to discuss with her wasn't going to help him towards that goal at all.

"C'min."

Taryn doesn't get a lot of visitors--usually people knocking on the door ask for her roommate--but when she does, they're usually people she knows well enough that she doesn't mind them coming in.

Thus, she never says 'Go away.'

She's on the computer, procrastinating on an assignment and playing games instead, in between talking to friends and trying not-very-successfully to write a new chapter for a fanfic.

"Allo, Taryn." Darcy slipped inside, closing the door quietly after.
He only acts this timid and quiet when it's a serious matter.

"I need to talk to you."
No waiting around? No dilly-dallying?
It must be important.

She turns and cocks her head.

"Go ahead."

... someday, she's going to figure out that lending an ear to every single person who needs one is not the best way to maintain her sanity.

"Bien... " he looked at the floor, gathering his words before he looked back at her. "..A.. friend of mine was killed. Recently. And I-"

don't want to think that Keye or Dr. Barclay had anything to do with it

"-I just..." he sighed and shook his head. "I found 'im. His.." he shuddered "body. Dead. And there's somesing about it bothering me - not just that someone killed him. Maybe I am putting it together wrong. You tell me."
He looked pleadingly at her, forgetting to mention that he happened to be in wolf form when he'd made the discovery
"There were other smells around, and they were from Dr. Barclay And Keye. Mais c'est tout. Personne d'autre."


((trans: but that's all. No one else.))

Taryn's first reaction is a perfectly predictable wide eyed and covered mouth expression, plus a soundless gasp.

"Sit."

And first she gives him a hug before she asks for any more details.

"So... this guy was killed and Dr. Barclay and Keye were either there or the ones who did it?"

Keye killing someone makes absolutely no sense to her. But Dr. Barclay scares her... but him a murderer?

He doesn't even hug back (which shows how truly disturbed he's been by this whole thing).

"I don't know for sure that they were there, but it smelled like it. Except, only on the .." shudder again "only on the, the person. Not anywhere around. I smelled them. And their blood, too. Maybe there was a fight or... I don't kow. Je ne sais pas. Je ne sais rien,..."
He doesn't even want to think what it would mean.

She really wants to suggest he take this to the police. But the police are rather unlikely to accept testimony from a young man who transforms into a wolf and found evidence through scent.

Bother.

"I don't know either, Darcy... I almost want to say you should ask Dr. Barclay." Pause. "Not Keye. He'd get hysterical."

This is spoken with a faint hint of exasperation with her boyfriend.

"I... guess I'll have to."
Do I really have to...

...yes.

"If I smelled right, they were both there, but... no, you're right. I do have to ask him," Darcy sighed. "Just,... why would he do that? If it was even him."
And Darcy isn't entirely convinced that it was, but there were no other person-smells strong enough, other than Keye's. Keye wouldn't do that, would he?... Darcy saw him kill a dog, once, though (a vicious dog, which he'd killed in Darcy's defence. But still). And he saw Alexander come quite close to killing the kid who'd attacked Keye.Suddenly, Darcy doesn't feel so safe anymore.

"I have no idea."

Pause.

"... want me to come with you?"

Another pause.

"Who was your friend?"

"You'd better not, but thank you for offering."
Not that he could stop her if he wanted to, but he didn't want her near those two until he figured this out.

"He only knew me as a wolf," he said timidly. "He worked at the university-- son nom, c'etait Professor Alley."

He seems to forget that she's dating one of them.

"I think I... Professor Alley?"

She knew he was dead, because she'd shown up for a voice lesson and his office had been empty and there'd been announcements and things, but she hadn't known details, and...

"My god..."

"Yes." He tilted his head to one side. "...You knew him, I guess."

"He was one of my professors. I knew something had happened, but I didn't know details." She didn't want to know details, frankly. Taryn has something of a weak stomach.

"... I'm definitely coming."

"...I really, really don't think you should, Taryn." Darcy shook his head. He cracked a smile that looked more like a grimace, and it certainly didn't suit him at all. "That way if I get killed for knowing the truth, you will know what happened."
The strange part about his last sentence is that he's not even sure that he's kidding.

Taryn gives him a glare.

"No fucking way."

Obviously, she's very serious. Taryn doesn't really use profanity unless it's important. (Well. She doesn't use profanity aloud.)

"No." He shook his head, more emphatically this time. "No. You're not coming. Don't be foolish."

He began slowly edging towards the door, as if to block her exit.
"No sense in putting both of us in trouble -- and maybe it wasn't even them, oui? Maybe I was completely mistaken! Then you'd have gone for nothing."

"Come on, don't you read or watch movies? You go alone, you're going to get slaughtered, and then it'll be my fault for not coming with you, and therefore, somebody's got to come."

She gave him a rather false grin.

"Besides, I have it on good authority that my screams are really, really loud."

He covered his eyes with his hand (and, incidentally, the thin scar across his nose, which he was glad that, as of yet, she hadn't asked about). "Fine. As you want. I can't stop you, ..well, I could... but I don't think I want to have to do it the hard way."

"No, you don't." Because stopping her the hard way would probably involve physically tying her down, which would involve him getting kicked in a few unpleasant places. "When are we going?"

"I,.. euh..." He blinked. The sooner the better... "What time is it now?"
He'd prefer to do this in the daylight hours - no surprise there.

"About twenty 'til six. Do you want to go now, or wait until tomorrow?"

Taryn doesn't particularly want to do this in nighttime, either.

"I think we should do it now, because by tomorrow I am not going to be able to make myself go," he smirked faintly, giving a sigh. He pulled the door open and slipped out into the hall. "You're sure you want to come, Taryn?"

She slipped on flipflops and followed him.

"What kind of a friend'd let you go alone, I'd like to know? C'mon. It's late enough that Dr. Barclay might be leaving already, so we'd better hurry."

And she really doesn't want to confront him in his home.

"One concerned for her own safety," he said innocently.

And,... off to Alexander's office.
Knock knock. Anyone there?

Yes, Alexander's here.

If Darcy were in wolf form, he might smell traces of blood on Alexander; the stab wound in his shoulder has been acting up somewhat, especially because he hasn't really been taking it easy.

"Come in."


Taryn hovers behind Darcy, more interested in giving the lad moral support and being there in case things get messy than she is in actually confronting Dr. Barclay herself.

He enters the office, frowning just a little.

"Hello."
Darcy looked around the office, looking suddenly awkward rather than determined. You can't just outright accuse someone of having committed murder.

"I,..euh,... you know that professor Alley is dead, of course," he began. Then stopped and waited.

"Yes, I'd heard."

One thing about keeping secrets for most of one's adult life, it becomes a habit to keep things secret. Like, well, murder, for instance.

"Terrible."

"Yes," Darcy nodded slowly. "I know. I was the one to find the body."
As quickly as it had come, the awkwardness was gone, and he was putting up the most penetrating gaze he could muster. Certainly nothing compared to one of Alexander's glares, but he's trying.
"I... found something else there as well."

Alexander is not stupid. He's used Darcy's scent-finding abilities himself, after all...

"Oh?"

He's way, way too casual.


Taryn's just hovering, ready to run or scream or whatever seems to be necessary. But she's letting Darcy take the lead.

"Mm. I found two smells. Well, four, sort of." He held up four fingers, and folded them as he named them off. He was trying terribly hard not to sound accusing. He still didn't want to believe Alexander had done anything, despite the 'evidence'. "Your smell. Keye's smell. The smell of your blood. And the smell of Keye's blood. Why would those be on him, eh?"

"He cut Keye's arms and stabbed me in the shoulder."

This is delivered in a tone that would be better described as a lack of tone. Alexander doesn't want to get into this.


Taryn looks ill.

Darcy narrowed his eyes. He had several new questions all of a sudden.
Why did he cut Keye? Why did he stab Alexander? Why would he do that at all?
So he just summed them up as:
"Why?"

"I wouldn't know, and didn't bother asking. I doubt he would have answered me anyway."

Pause.

"If you feel you must discuss this, come all the way inside and close the door, please."

The please is the only thing that makes it not an order.

"D'accord," Darcy answered calmly. He closed the door after both he and Taryn were inside. He leaned on the wall to the side of the door, folding his arms across his chest, his gaze never leaving Alexander's face.
"Now tell me. What happened?"

The version of the story that Alexander tells is detail-sparse and biased against Sombra, but a few things are clear. Sombra and Alexander did not like each other. Sombra apparently took advantage of an opportunity to hurt Alexander via Keye. Alexander has a terrible temper...

... but Darcy knew that last one already.

Facts as seen by Darcy:
Alexander had gotten hurt.
Keye had gotten hurt because of Alexander.
Sombra had been Darcy's friend.
Sombra was dead because of Alexander.

"You killed him," Darcy said quietly, his hands balling into fists. He looked as if he'd like nothing better than to kill Alexander himself. Fortunately he has this little thing called 'restraint'. (Because any attempt Darcy would make to kill Alexander would probably turn on him). That didn't stop him from hissing a string of swearwords at Alexander -- which I will definitely not repeat.

Taryn is wondering if perhaps she might better get out of here now, and take Darcy with her.

She starts to move towards the door... and stops, because Alexander murmurs something and makes a quick gesture, and now the door is blocked by a wall of power.

He doesn't have the power to waste, but he's skimming his students again.

"Yes."

He doesn't elaborate, and he doesn't make excuses.

Darcy relieved his feelings - somewhat- by the little blue streak he just swore, but has no intention of getting in a fight. He'd turned on his heel, heading for the door,... and,... damn. Blocked. He shied a halfhearted kick at it, then turned to glare at Alexander. He nodded to the door.

"Let us out," he snarled. "I don't want to look at you anymore."

"That depends on your plans, Michanine." You know, that's the first time he's called Darcy by his last name. Always before, it's been 'Darcy,' because that was how he was introduced to the lad.

He is not, by the by, going to hurt either of them. He may see what he can do with a forgetting spell, but hurting them would upset Keye, and he doesn't want to do that.