Arinne raised an eyebrow.

One of her servants seemed to think he had the right to behave arrogantly when simply parroting the most basic facts about the killings without applying any critical thinking. That he had the permission to abuse his capabilities as a mage, to use a spell to force his voice into every one of their ears as if he was the one in charge. How bold of him.

Indeed, how bold of him to directly question her motivation like that.

The small blonde leaned back.

"Why indeed?" was her only comment, with a shrug. It wasn't as if she had any particular interest in concealing her motives, and anyone who could put two and two together could likely guess at it, but the way the boy had spoken had immediately rubbed her the wrong way. And so she had every intention of rubbing him the wrong way right back. "I could question your motivation for repeating the most basic facts about the killings like they were profound new information, couldn't I?"

With a smirk, she leaned forward.

"Or perhaps I could question how someone could possess such a lack of confidence in themselves that they need to cover it with abuse of their magical capabilities? My my, making quite a first impression, aren't you, Mister Arden Grey? But is it really the one you wanted?"

Arinne cocked her head to one side.

"If I wanted the most basic summary of events, I could read a newspaper. I certainly hope a human being could provide me with more then [i]that[/i]," she concluded, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip as she did. Ah, perfect... though she noticed one of her other servants, Lady Dalraan, had chosen to begin eating the biscuits she'd ordered with some irritation.

"... Now, where ever does it say that these are for everyone?" she commented. To be truthful, she didn't necessarily believe that they were wrong in thinking anyone could have some of the biscuits and tea to themselves, but it would be more entertaining if she lead them to believe they did not. Besides, she had ordered them for Saturday and herself in the first place, hadn't she? "Isn't that rather rude?"

But now...

Her bodyguard had at least been able to supply information that seemed significant, and put some thought into his words. Yes, indeed, this was the precise conclusions she had come to herself. However...

"[i]Satanists[/i]?" Arinne asked, unable to hold back her giggles. She leaned back in her seat, small feet kicking back and fourth as she placed one hand to her mouth, her giggles growing into full-blown laughter, "Really? Ah, that's too much! Yes, yes, surely, the perpetrator is actually a cult of insidious cloaked figures worshipping the devil!"

Could the mundane law enforcement be blamed for jumping to an outlandish conclusion for an outlandish ca-oh yes they absolutely [i]could[/i]. Satanists was a completely absurd stab in the dark!

Arinne wiped a tear from her eye.

"Aaah... but you're right, Mister St. James," she said, recovering from her mirth, "The killer must have been extremely precise in order to claim the organs and only the organs. Displacement sorcery and medical knowledge? Hmmm..."

A look of deep thought crossed her face. But it was the knight Dame Blackmore who had provided the most interesting response.

"Ah, yes! That's what I was looking for," she declared, clapping her hands together with a smile, "Indeed, internal organs are quite useful for a variety of spells. Alchemy, haruspicy, and theurgy just to name a few. The internal organs of both humans and animals can be used as potent magical ingredients. Each organ can be utilized as a representation of a celestial body positioned in our solar system. The heart is the sun, the brain is the moon, the lungs are Mercury, and so on and so forth."

She waved her hand. Any well-educated mage would understand the association between parts of the body and the heavens, however. No, what was far more interesting to her was Grain's reaction to bringing up the possibility of the victims' virginity... now that was quite [i]amusing.[/i]

Arinne's smirk returned.

Ah, but this was the critical thinking she had hoped to see from all her servants... though some had yet to respond. Perhaps they could show they were capable of coming to their own conclusions?

"So, if they killer is, possibly, murdering these girls for magical ingredients..." Arinne continued, "Why would they pursue such violent options? Certainly there are easier ways to obtain a corpse, are there not? Even if they [i]do[/i] require virgins. It may take some time, but to commit murders on the street in such a disruptive fashion..."

[@Rin][@Aviaire][@TheFake][@KoL][@Dark Light][@Ginnungagap]