Micki Benini whistled as she opened up the back of her white panel van. Since the police didn't deal with random wild animals unless they were proven to be rabid, the pest control business was good. Mostly they were stray dogs, foxes and badgers and the like, although the reports often referred to "hairy monsters". Urban residents were just not used to live animals and would often panic at the sight of a chicken or small lizard. Her heavy leather work gloves and thick sleeves of her jacket were sufficient to handle most encounters, but she pulled the steel shafted noose stick out of the van and clipped on an illegal pepper spray dispenser onto her belt. Better safe than sorry. The occupants of the house that had engaged her had pointed out where they had last seen the animal, so she stopped whistling and headed in that direction. The day was overcast and a little chilly, with threat of a drizzle later, basically par for the course. She shook her head as her experienced eyes searched the grass for spoor or droppings. You would think that people living this distance from the main city areas would be used to a few wandering animals. Then she slowed and frowned. She had spotted a paw print in the ground, although the grass made it indistinct, unlike the nice clear shapes you always saw on TV. But it was large. Impossibly large. Her frown deepened as she began to suspect a hoax or someone trying to make a "found video" film with her as an unwitting actor. She shrugged. The company charged both by time and number of animals captured, so if they wanted to play silly buggers they would have to pay for it, and a long walk was better than struggling with an angry ferret.

The spoor continued to lead off in a nearly straight line towards a stand of trees and a mixture of brambles and nettles. Once again her heavy work clothes would protect her from these minor hazards and she continued walking, using the noose pole as a walking stick. A deep rumbling growl made her pause and then grin. It had been too loud and deep chested for anything short of a lion or some other major predator, and both she and the company kept careful watch on all reports of escaped zoo animals and specially licensed pets. To her ear it had sounded more like a dog than a large cat, but from the footprints the dog would have to be bigger than her. Of course there were some people who kept stupidly big breeds of dogs, so she approached the trees cautiously. "Here Rover, nice doggie," she muttered, still following the prints. If it turned out to be some kid with an MP3 player and speakers she swore she would pepper spray the little bastard, male or female.

The growls grew louder and changed in rhythm, sounding almost anticipatory, eager, and there was a crackling and crunching of something large moving through the undergrowth.

Micki stopped just short of the trees, hand on her hip. "Oh come on now! This is too fucking much. No wild animal would make that kind of noise, not even a stray dog. Come out of there right now. I'm warning you, I'll be really pissed if you make me play hide and seek." She smiled when she saw an upright figure moving towards her through the trees. "I'm glad you've decided to be sensible. I might not even report you to the police if you..." She trailed off when the figure stepped out into the open, and then started to laugh. "Really? A werewolf suit? What is this, some kind of TV?"