[center][h2] [u]Late Night Ramblings[/u][/h2]
[h3][color=PaleVioletRed]♪♫ Lily Quarin ♫♪[/color] & [b]Rex Volt[/b][/h3][hr][sub][h3][u][b]Time[/b][/u][/h3][h3]Day 2 ~ Night [/h3][h3][u][b]Location[/b][/u][/h3][h3]Business District of Ominar [/h3][/sub][/center]
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“Finally…” Rex mumbled to himself as he walked out of the front doors of the Armax Investments & Innovations International building. With the end of his shift, he could now head home and sleep… probably.

He began his walk towards his apartment complex, which was luckily pretty close to his place of work, just a mere block away. It was pretty quiet during this time of night, as most people would have already retreated to their homes. The only ones out were Armax Security patrols. As a large, heavily armed mech stomped past Rex, it’s voxcomm chirped as the pilot spoke. “Have a good evening, Mr. Volt.”

Rex gave the mech a lazy salute, aimed at the cockpit of the warmachine. “Lily should be asleep by now.” Rex mumbled to himself again, somewhat relieved by the thought. As much as Lily didn’t really like living in this district, he felt a warm comfort from the fact that she was safe here. No OCPD to hunt them down and cull them both like animals.

Distracted by the thought, he was already at the doors of the complex, a large skyscraper that almost matched the Armax building in height. He stepped in, passing through the extravagant white and black lobby, and called the elevator. He watch the numbered display above the doors with an empty mind, with the numbers counting down from floor 33 to 1.

The elevator dinged, and the doors almost silently slid open. He stepped in, and hit the button for floor 100, where his penthouse suite was located, and where Lily was, possibly, peacefully dreaming. 

---

A single light, pale and centered, illuminated the pages of Lily’s book as her eyes darted from to word, her mind working to piece together the scene within her imagination. Her right arm folded underneath her elbow while she curled her legs underneath her in Rex’s oversized recliner. The seat sank just a bit to give support and comfort, her attention fixed into the world beyond her own. 

She had noticed Rex’s absence in the middle of the night. Over the years, she had become accustomed to feeling him beside her and indenting the bed at her side. Now it was hard to sleep without him. 

At the sound of the door opening, her thumb rested into the book’s spine and folded it up. She pulled her figure upright, her head turned to the large canine like bear entering the room. A small smirk crossed her lips at seeing him showing him she had been worried. She causally snatched a silver etched leather bookmark and wedged into place before she snapped the hard cover novel called ‘The Succubus’ Heart’ shut. Lily placed it gently down as she edged a leg over the edge of the recliner, touching her sole down on the wooden floor for balance and followed with her other one. 

The siren was wearing a silky, transparent cover over a lacy blouse shirt and mini low cut briefs with blacken design of a lotus flower across the front. It was among her favorite lingerie outfits for whenever Rex got home. It showed her shape, curves and more flesh with some her delicate places left to the imagination, waiting for him to unwrap later. 

With no surprising grace, she reached her arms up to wrap about his neck. Gently she pulled him down and kissed his elongated nose, her voice a soft whisper,[color=PaleVioletRed] “I missed you. Did you [i]have[/i] to work over?”[/color] 

Her tone was accusing, but rather disappointed and wishful he had been here sooner.

“Mmm, sadly.” Rex said to her softly as he wrapped an arm around her. “It was your tip off, actually. They decided to strike tonight, as Masha had found herself a lady-friend to spend the night with. The bartender talked a little too much, and the bouncers let Cortez know about it.” He sighed. “It got a little messy.”

Lily paused thoughtfully then replied a few moments later,[color=PaleVioletRed] “I knew Ms. Patel was considered reckless and a bit of a gossip, but I was hoping Ms. Vorobyova was wiser to wait. Darius would’ve had to find a replacement for the club and he’s got too few individuals he can trust as it is.”[/color] 

She let her words sink in before she released Rex, her arms doing it begrudgingly, then gestured toward the recliner,[color=PaleVioletRed] “Sit down, I’ll get you something to drink. You look like you could use a few shots of your whiskey since it ended badly. Besides, I need to talk with you over something I’ve been considering all day.”[/color]

Rex smirks as he watches Lily walk away towards the drinks cabinet, clearly admiring her form. “Alright.” He took a seat on his recliner, where Lily sat earlier. It was warm, obviously she was there for quite a while.

Gracefully, Lily glided into the kitchen as she thoughtfully began to form her next conversation in her mind. She had to tread cautiously since it was a very touchy subject since the incident and through she would still likely find a way to make it possible, she didn’t want a fight tonight. A house in conflict was difficult to find peace in. 

Her hand opened a cabinet, reached for a large glass (about the size of a 16 oz mug) and the whisky bottle. Due to Rex’s ten foot tall size, nearly everything in their apartment had been pretty much supersized requiring her to use both hands to keep from dropping the glass from higher places. The Siren finally retrieved a metal bowl which she filled with ice enjoying the hum of the ice maker built into the fridge. Collecting them all, she then placed them on a tray she got from a nearly rack and placed them in the center. 

She then carried them back into the room before she set it in on the coffee table next to Rex, allowing him to drink. Lilly then moved around the coffee table and took a seat upon the sofa. Adjusting until she was comfortable, she waited until her boyfriend had drank his fill before she began. 

[color=PaleVioletRed] “I’ve been considering getting back into singing again. More carefully than I did and I decided to start from the bottom, meaning I need to contact Darius to enlist his help. Thoughts over that?” [i] or issues?[/i][/color] Lily didn’t say the last bit out loud, not wanting to jump to conclusions that he’d have issues with her getting into a career that nearly killed her once already.

Rex’s face immediately lit up. “You… wanna get back into it?” He asked rhetorically, seemingly as if to reinstate the fact. He chuckled for a moment and shook his head. “Lily, honey. You have no idea… no idea how much I missed your singing…” His black eyes had a little moisture in them as he said. She hasn’t sung since she was kidnapped, as the whole ordeal left her mentally scared. To Rex, this was progress. She was healing.

He leaned forward with a grin on his face. “You have always loved to entertain… What kind of a moronic ass would I have to be to say no…?”

Lily’s eyes blinked thrice, her mind absorbing his statement, then looking at him with a soften expression. Any tension that had built up in her figure melted away to his acceptance of her choice to want to sing. Honestly, she had expected some resistance or worry to taint the news, but found it a pleasant surprise she was completely wrong. Rex never failed to surprise her sometimes causing her lips to curl in an affectionate and modest smile. 

[color=PaleVioletRed] “I was partly worried you might be concerned truthfully,”[/color] Lily rose from her seat to walk toward her guy, her hips swaying with each movement, before she lowered down to one side of his lap. She shifted until she comfortable then kissed him again on the cheek, her head moved to lay on his shoulders now that she was able to without forcing him down.

“Considering what happened, I don’t blame you.” He wrapped his arm around her, and kissed the top of her head. “You feel like you’re ready?”  

[color=PaleVioletRed] “As humans elegantly put it: Hell if I know for sure. We’ll have to wait and see what comes of my attempt, praying I don’t break down. I can’t avoid it forever as I miss it too damn much and I will not let fear make me its bitch,”[/color] Lily’s tone took a sharpness when it came to the last part. She wouldn’t live in fear of something she loved forever causing her to inhale, calming her budding rage and resentment building up inside.

“How long have you been thinking about this?”   

[color=PaleVioletRed] “A few months. It really hit hard when I spotted Ms. Vorobyova and Patel walking from the club, and through the club was in a sorry state... “[/color] She took a breath to let the emotions escape her before they exploded within her,[color=PaleVioletRed] “I had a really bad case of nostalgia wash over me. It hasn’t left unlike other times and I think it might just crush me if I didn’t take the chance.”[/color]

“Well, I’m glad that you are finally taking that chance.” Rex replied. “If you want, I can try to be there… If work allows.”

[color=PaleVioletRed] “It would help soothe the nerves and considering I’ve gotten intel that an old [i]‘client’[/i] is in town, I wouldn’t object in the least. I expect him to eventually pay a visit, but trying to accurately predict when is like trying to predict the future itself. You can only make so many guesses to the outcome and even then, it still manages to surprise you,”[/color] Lily didn’t fully believe her description of Szayeis’ unpredictability was accurate, but it was close to enough to how it felt when she originally met him,[color=PaleVioletRed] “I’m curious how Darius has changed without the nightwalker around to continually influence him. I might have a hunch of something about to happen that will toss any future plans into shambles.”[/color]

“I don’t think Darius ever changed…” Said the wolf. “He was born Kitsune. I remember you telling me that being born on one side or the other influences their personality.”

[color=PaleVioletRed] “Yes, but they are capable of dual natures. The Kitsune and the Nogitsune will always be apart of him. It’s rare, but possible, that a Kitsune can flip back and forth between its natures,”[/color] Lily paused long enough to let out a small yawn, her hand back curled upward to cover her mouth and let it pass. When finished, her closed her eyes as she continued with her thoughts,[color=PaleVioletRed] “If he’s able to do it, he’s going to need help to control it or his Nogitsune will leave Ominar in ruins. I need more information however before I jump ahead of myself. It might’ve been his ties to Szayeis that actually influenced the reaction rather than a hint of something sinister to come.”[/color]

Rex yawned widely himself as he leaned back in the recliner, making it’s back fold backwards, putting them both in a lying position. He gently stroked her back as he thought about it. “Heh, look at us. Trying to play heroes…”

Lily chuckled lightly, the effects of staying up washing over her, as she adjusted to get closer to the center of his body, [color=PaleVioletRed] “I wouldn’t say that or we would be saving everyone.”[/color]

She loved the sensation of him around her as it brought the memories of safety, warmth and love, things she knew were the basics of life to her. A few moments of silence passed before she spoke again, her voice a touch softer now,[color=PaleVioletRed] “The whole ‘saving Darius’, it’s not for him but to keep what we have. To protect our home. A Nogitsune, even a small tailed one, is very… destructive. Not chaotic, but strives on pain, suffering and worse.”[/color] 

The Siren buried her cheek deeper into the black fur, flattening it out as she began to fall asleep. However, she managed to say one last thing before slumber took her completely,[color=PaleVioletRed] “I don’t want to see it here.”[/color]