[b][u]~{Collab with Zverda}~[/u][/b]

Folded ears perked up and fluttered in response to the hug, though his hands remained at his side. Luciel wasn't sure what it was about the woman, but just being around her had a way of letting in a warmth that melted the numbness of normalcy that he had grown accustomed to. In a way, it was a cruelty which he fought to ignore; the haunting chill of existence crept back in where it was driven from when she wasn't around. The cold always had a way of being harsher on its return, as if jealously resentful of his affinity towards her acceptance.
Luciel's dark patron may have possessed his soul, but his heart still beat mortal blood. Wild and bent as it was, his mind could not be so simply swayed by spiritual torment, alone.
 
[color=8882be]"Thhhheais..."[/color] Luciel replied, slow and softly as if testing out the word's lone use, looking up at her in the hug as to avoid tactless smooshing. This wasn't the first time Theais had brought it up and it likely wouldn't be the last. Rather than simply forgetting, it was just another habit beaten into him.
[color=8882be]"An who iz Aeron?"[/color] the jack asked, running his fingers through his hair to straighten it before going back to assembling his own equipment as well as setting some clean clothes aside on the mangled bed. While he intended to remove his armor, a shred of paranoia argued against it and won out. Having looked over to ask, he noticed Theais opening the crate which contained their experiment, working up a bit of alarm which came out in Luciel scrambling over to see the beast. [color=8882be]"Oh! Good, iz okay"[/color] he sighed, laying down on the bed to reach into the box and play around with the abomination which stood up on its hind legs to place its paws on his hands.
Luciel made soft sing-song [color=8882be]"boop boop boo-boop~"[/color] sounds while lifting and lowering its arms, a small smile teasing his expression as he relaxed. [color=8882be]"Certainly, ma'am! Ehrm...[i]Theais[/i]"[/color] he replied, though was preoccupied.

Theais chuckled at Luciel as he played with Axel, the creature making cooing noises at him as the Jack messed with it's arms. [color=a0410d]"Aeron is a long time friend of mine,"[/color] she told him, [color=a0410d]"I am... more or less an informate for her."[/color] As she spoke, she finished packing up some of her things before letting out a small yawn. Leaning back a bit, she surveyed the room and let out a slow breath, nodding her head a bit. Their ride would be there any time now, they needed to make sure everything was taken care of and lastly... [color=a0410d]"We need to burn this place to the ground, the dead bodies are useless to me and frankly? I don't think we really need to leave any evidence as to what happened here. The complex is usually abandoned around this time and anyone who is home will be able to get out in time."[/color]

[color=8882be]"Hrmh...iz a sound idea"[/color] Luciel softly agreed, partially distracted by their creature though the gears turned in unsound ways at the mention of Theais being an informant for someone. Paranoia was quickly quelled by his unquestioning trust in the woman as well as an uncertainty what to be so overly cautious of. It wasn't like he was a puppet master worth having tabs kept on him, and, if anything, had an active agenda to snip strings where he saw them.
Mostly, his concern revolved around this 'Aeron' character's association with Theais...and how many strings she pulled. Regardless, an associate of the fair lady was worth being given a chance.
 
Burning the place down was a bit more than Luci had been looking forward to doing. It was still his home, so he understandably took his time in getting dressed and screwing in a fake antler to match his real one. Mid-thigh socks, a long-sleeved turtleneck and skirt did well enough to cover his armor as well as a coat and the redundancy of a scarf; 'Kaite' quickly dusted herself up with a bit of makeup to add slight gray spots, and it was like Luciel never existed.
[color=8882be]"Are...we..leaving the stove on? Did you have a plan for z-[i]this[/i] sort ouf thing?"[/color] 'Kaite' asked, placing everything too bulky to get away with wearing around in their pack while stuffing their shirt. Luciel did his best to suppress his accent, his voice thankfully light enough to pass as the opposite gender, especially after years of practice.

Theais had long since gotten used to Luciel doing this sort of thing, in fact, she never even questioned it as she saw no reason to. If the Jackalope wanted to tell her she knew he would, but for now she understood his want to keep some things a secret from the Dragoness. [color=a0410d]"I may be at the Mercy of Draskeleth, but I still have a bit of fire magic at my disposal... can easily make it look like a gas leak... or that these goons are the ones who did it and just so happened to get caught."[/color] Theais looked around the apartment, a frown crossing her features. She didn't want to burn the place down, but she didn't need anyone knowing about Luciel's little... habit of taking chunks out of people. As if it was an afterthought, she grabbed something off of a shelf and held it out to her companion, it was a necklace with what looked like a Dragon tooth on it. 
[color=a0410d]"I meant to give this to you the other day," she told Lu-Kaite, he was Kaite right now, "A small gift, this is actually one of my own teeth, thankfully they continue to grow back even after they are lost."[/color] She flashed 'Kaite' a toothy grin before putting the chain around [i]her[/i] neck and gently pushing them out the door. [color=a0410d]"I'll have to look for another home after this... good-bye security deposite."[/color] 

With that said, she lifted their bags with relative ease and ignited one of the most flamable things in her home before rushing them to the sidewalk. Thankfully one of Aaron's cars was already waiting for them by the time all this was done, her people were nothing if not timely.

'Kaite' was just another mask for the Jack. Putting the finishing touches on their eyelashes while checking their reflection in a hand-mirror, the pleasant face of a young woman glared coldly back at him even as he tested out an adorable smile. It was always the eyes. Muscles can contract and flex to give the impression of joy, a pout or a scowl, but the numbness of his eyes always made him feel cold. He needed his reflection for reference, but was never a fan of it.
Looking up from his finished work, Luciel thoughtlessly tossed the polished metal mirror over his shoulder upon being met with a gift from Theais. At first he was speechless, unsure what to do with the necklace and simply held it as she explained the harmlessness behind it being one of his fair lady's. Still, hearing it belonged to her brought a spark of alarm to his expression, almost dropping the necklace. [color=8882be]"Th-thank you, Theais!"[/color] he replied, compelled to thank her though he was unsure what to say other than offer obligatory formalities.
He wished he had something to offer her in return besides making a chore of burning down an apartment building containing their lives and those of others all for the sake of disposing of a few bodies.
 
Being wheeled out onto the sidewalk, Luciel couldn't help but look back as smoke billowed from the windows as the fire spread. They had joked about the tedious yet importance of the discipline that was 'chores' and how it would be easier to just burn it all down, but actually seeing it all go up stole the punchline sarcasm of leaving the action to imagination.
Luciel seemed to be in a daze, unaware of the car. It wasn't the first building he'd been responsible for the immolation of, and it was hard to see there being an end. Work needed to be done, all the while adding onto the list of charges, should the law ever catch him.