She-Wolf

Letharia Vulpina

A group of Yakuza are gathered at their boss Ikeda's home. He is angry because his pet white wolf is sick and he grows tired of waiting for the doctor.

Just as he yells about the doctor not being there the doors open. Deaton, Reed and Cheryl are revealed with two Yakuza by their sides. They bow and apologise for being late in Japanese.

"Apologize if you can't do anything. Have you worked with wolves before?" the boss asks as Reed kneels down in front of the white wolf to take a closer look.

"Not that much, that's why he's here" Deaton explains, motioning at Reed. "What's our patient's name?" 

"Yuki" the boss answers. Reed looks at the wolf's teeth, getting no movement while lifting the wolf's lip.

"Has Yuki been around some unusual plants? Something that looks like moss?" Reed asks." It would be bright green, almost neon? It's called lichen, and it's highly toxic. I need to know if Yuki has consumed any" 

"He has the poison, just treat him"

"I can't, threatening him without knowing the kind could kill him. We need a sample" Reed explains.

"It's in the Garden. Shigeki, take them" the boss orders. The Yakuza look down, not wanting to go there. The boss starts to yell in Japanese before taking the trio into the Garden himself.

~~~

The garden is the same one where young Chris Argent first encountered the Oni. The lichen grows on top of the fountain where the blood fell when the Nogitsune was killed. Deaton hands a glass container to the boss, then bends down to take a sample of the plant. 

"Are you not going to take it yourself?" the boss asks Reed.

"I'm afraid I can't. Just like Yuki couldn't have done. A wolf won't come near such plant" Reed explains with a grin. The boss pulls out a gun and points it at Reed.

"What have you done to my wolf?" he asks. Cheryl rolls her eyes and grabs the wrist holding the gun. She twists the wrist and it snaps audibly. That's when the Kanima venom on the jar begins to work and the Yakuza boss is left paralyzed.

"You got your wolf Lichen, now let's go" Cheryl states.

"Do you know how they used this lichen?" Deaton asks.

"They would put out meat stuffed with the lichen and broken glass that the animals would eat. The broken glass would perforate the internal organs and allow the vulpinic acid to reach them faster. Now come on" Cheryl says and walks out of the doors.

(Cheryl's explanation of how animals can be poisoned with Wolf Lichen is historically accurate according to the 1921 text Lichens by Annie Lorraine Smith.) 

"Your friend is very impatient" Deaton points out as he puts the lichen in the jar.

"That's Cheryl. Now let's go poison the fox hiding in a teenage boy" Reed admits.

~~~

A sparking power line from the roof of the hospital is flying at Kira's face. It whips past her but then, like it has a mind of its own, it seems to chase her, backing her up in the parking lot. An ambulance speeds around the corner and hits the electrified line. The driver loses control and rams a fire hydrant, water sprays everywhere and begins to pool and run across the parking lot. Dazed by the impact, the ambulance driver stumbles out of the vehicle. When his foot hits the wet ground he is instantly electrocuted. Isaac and Selene arrive just in time to witness this. Selene by instinct ties to run forward to help the driver. 

"Selene!" Isaac yells as he pushes her back just as the water reaches his feet. He is also felled by the electrified water. 

"Isaac!" Selene yells in response to seeing him on the ground. A woman steps from a car and is electrocuted. Derek and Scott arrive just as Kira somersaults over a car and grabs the live wire. She caps the sparking end with her free hand and the power subsides as her eyes begin to glow warm amber. Mrs Yuimura exits the hospital just in time to witness her daughter's power. The moment there Kira grabs the wire Selene runs towards Isaac, not caring if she gets electrocuted.