[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ovQDg3F.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/ItU46sA.png[/img]         	[img]https://i.imgur.com/AhVmyFc.png[/img]
[h2][color=8877BD]Nessa Mendoza[/color] & [color=0D6793]Elay Motta[/color]  [/h2][/center]
[right][code]Nightmare > Elay’s Apartment[/code][/right]
Screams. There were always screams. And it [i]hurt[/i]. Her nerves shooting off pain signals for injuries that didn’t exist. A punishment for disobeying that had her curled up on the floor as her brain hurt itself. [i]Just like she deserved.[/i] 

[color=dedfff]”Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy it, Vanessa. Disobeying me won’t save you.”[/color]

Her father’s voice echoed in her ears, distorted. But he wasn’t actually there. As she uncurled she was in that dreaded room. The sterile chamber where she was forced to use spells that she hated, and she was locked in when she refused to. Only she wasn’t alone. No, worse. People stood, staring at her lifelessly. Judgingly. 

Victims. People she’d killed or changed beyond recognition. Faces that she recognised without them actually being [i]faces[/i]. They were shadowed, but she could feel their burning hatred. She deserved it. She deserved all of it. But she didn’t want to be down here… not again, not forced to do all those things again. 

[color=8877BD]”I’m sorry,”[/color] she whispered. But it wasn’t enough. It never would be. 

The bodies moved towards her, and everything began to shift. The sterile white walls became patched with colour, like the walls of her bedroom. The environments merged. A gentle meowing came through harsh accusations. 

A calico cat, white paws stretching out towards Nessa. She was so soft… Nessa hugged the only thing that had truly loved her close, burying her face in her fur. She was alive, she was alive, she was- [i]No, no, no.[/i]

Her hands were sticky with blood, the cat cold in her arms as she floated in nowhere. Her victims were still there, watching. Amber eyes narrowing. Like cats. They were merging into each other. Cat-humans yowled and blamed her, human and animal screams crashing into her mind. But it was weird, it wasn’t the normal nightmare, it was-

A dream.
[hr]
Nessa woke up with a gasp. Hazy eyes squinted, trying to figure out where she was as her heart stopped thudding in her chest. For once, it wasn’t solely panic gripping her when she woke up. Everything felt… odd. The dream had turned odd. 

Everything hurt, and there was a heavy weight on her chest. She knew why everything hurt… The sex had been more like a fight until she’d finally, [i]eventually[/i], given in. And it had been [i]good[/i]. Amazing, even, for how fucking rough he’d been. She’d only goaded it on… it had been part of what made it so enjoyable… but she’d fallen asleep able to breathe. So why was there-

Finally, Nessa’s eyes adjusted to reality. It was light enough now that she could see the massive cat lying on her chest. Her whole torso, really. Her eyes narrowed. Why was it… the dreams…
[color=8877BD]”What the fuck did I say about getting in my head?”[/color] She hissed, voice rough. She didn’t care enough to use telepathy. If it woke Elay up, it woke him up.

[color=FF8604]”Oh the things we leak out in our sleep…”[/color]
The deep orange tabby was perched loaf-style atop Nessa’s body with his face staring directly into her own. His eyes were the eyes that had filled her dream, and there was a wide cheshire grin escaping from under his half inflated jowls.

[color=FF8604]”You give up a lot more after a passionate night. His nightmares, I’m rather dull on. But yours? What a [i]wealth[/i]! And you want to stay? Be my guest, kid; I’m on your side until I’m not.”[/color]
But he didn’t move. And from the other side of the bed, Elay erupted into an elongated snore that should’ve woken him up twice over. But, it didn’t… He just started breathing normally again. Garf didn’t flinch.

[color=FF8604]”So, Daddy, huh? Elay’s got issues of his own. You wouldn’t believe it.”[/color] he chided smugly.

As Nessa properly woke up, the mental shield she cast to protect her secrets quickly reformed. Not that it [i]mattered[/i]. If he could get in while she slept there was nothing she could do about it… Which only pissed her off. But maybe this was retribution, somehow. 

[color=8877BD]”No one’s on my side.”[/color] Her head turned to the side to stare at Elay for a moment, distracting herself by being impressed that he was [i]still asleep.[/i] At least she didn’t need to worry about him hearing anything… Her glare turned back to Garf. How nice for him that her nightmares were enjoyable. Almost worth having them! Nothing quite like waking up from reliving shitty moments to a smug cat staring at her. And this would keep happening? Was it really worth staying?

It was. It was better than being alone. 

[color=8877BD]”Oh, he got a psychopath parent too? That’s nice, something we can bond over.”[/color] Nessa didn’t ask more than that. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know- of course she did. But she didn’t trust it. No one- nothing- gave out information for free. So she answered with practiced nonchalance. She’d pretended to be unbothered by her nightmares many times before, when they’d been so violent she woke up whatever partner she had at the time. The asshole cat adding to it was just an extra challenge.

[color=8877BD]”Yeah, I’ve got Daddy issues, surprising no one. Just because you snuck into my dreams doesn’t mean I want to sit here and talk about shit with you.”[/color] Her body was tense the longer she lay there, scowling at Garf. It hadn’t been the worst dream she’d had… But she couldn’t stay in bed and dwell on it. That would just drag her further and further down, until the guilt was unbearable. 
[color=8877BD]”Can you get off me? I want to shower.”[/color]

[color=FF8604]”You are mighty presumptuous, Vanessa. Your life? Very sad. Sad enough that I wouldn’t want to waste brewing time on [i]talking[/i] about it.”[/color]
Garf’s lower end stretched high into the sky, belly dragging against Nessa’s chest as he did his yoga. Just enough to stay limber. Enough to remind Nessa that it was a [i]massive cat.[/i]

[color=FF8604]”Were you sober enough to remember where the bathroom is? It’s not a big apartment, I’m sure someone as bright as you can find it.”[/color]
Garf skipped off Nessa, passing over and onto Elay’s shoulder. There was a gentle light shining through a nearby window that cast a shadow across that cat whose eyes became amber. The shifting dark of it gave only a vague hint to the horror of what was a true form. Many-Legged Beast, the Thing from Saturn whose nature was beyond human understanding.

It simply sat, mouth agape and drooling with burning eyes staring into Elay’s skull… Burning a [i]literal[/i] hole through it the same color as the cat’s eyes. But it wasn’t doing it to Nessa…

Nessa pushed herself up to sit with a suppressed wince, head turning to look at the cat. The monstrosity. It was horrifying. Viscerally terrifying. Just the glimpses she could see beneath the ginger facade… But she didn’t actually feel herself feeling any more scared than she had before. 

She was always a bit scared, underneath it all. Of so many things. What was a creepy ancient cat burning a hole into someone’s skull when she’d frequently seen the worst of humanity? At least it was in its nature, awful as it was. She was pissed it had gotten in her head, pissed it had enjoyed her nightmares- but at the same time, she had them anyway. It hadn’t made them any worse. And it probably wasn’t killing him… hopefully… that would be a shame… 

And it was right about her life being very sad. Sad enough it almost wasn’t worth living.

[color=8877BD]”I didn’t down a bottle of ethanol like him, I [i]know[/i] where the bathroom is.”[/color] She rolled her eyes as if she wasn’t witnessing some eldritch horror, swinging her legs round to get up from the bed. The moment her feet hit the ground her legs gave way underneath her, and she shot out a hand to keep herself standing. Fuck. A moment's wait, and her legs seemed alright to support her again. 

Obviously her body wasn’t happy after last night. It wasn’t the strongest, but if there was one thing Nessa was good at it was enduring. Years and years of pain inflicted on her meant she could just push through it. Ignore it. Enjoy it, even. So she made her way to the bathroom after another moment, even if her whole body was a bit shaky. 

She’d slept without clothes, and didn’t care to put any on for the short trip there. It made it easy to just turn on the shower and get right in. Cold water quickly turned warm, hitting bruised and marked skin. It felt so [i]luxurious[/i]. It was her first hot shower since the fling with Billy… and the Hemlock Inn had shitty showers. She was tempted to stay in there [i]forever[/i]. But she couldn’t. Even a long one could result in a certain someone demanding money for a heating bill she couldn’t afford…

So she cleaned herself thoroughly, making the most of being able to properly wash her hair. She reluctantly dragged herself out. Hair dried enough to not be dripping anywhere, towel wrapped around her… She made her way back into the bedroom. 
[color=8877BD]”You haven’t sucked him dry, have you?”[/color] She intoned, heading straight towards one of the closets and pulling it open. She was just looking for a t-shirt… something to pull on that wasn’t her own minimal, not particularly comfortable clothes.

[color=FF8604][b]”I could never.”[/b][/color]
The voice beyond had long abandoned its sustenance meal for something more worldly. There were loud clacks and clangs echoing from the kitchen. Moans of pleasure followed soft, wet slapping noises and a final loud belch.

[color=FF8604][b]”It’s simply [i]my[/i] turn for a little extra control. We’ve got a schedule you see… He sleeps nicely once or twice a week, and I get to shed my little coil…”[/b][/color] 
It was [i]Garf[/i], but it wasn’t… There were clear signs of red spatter across the walls that could be seen from the kitchen.

[color=FF8604][b]”Though, respectfully, I’ll cut it short for your sake. Ohhh… More… We need [i]more of this pasta![/i] That woman, that… Chef! Her hands are angelic in the organization and composition of ingredients!”[/b][/color]

Thankfully, the closet Nessa had opened was full of things like sweaters and coats. Something easy to slip on and big enough to hide in if she had to. With the gurgling and bubbling voice in the kitchen, it was probably good to have a place to hide.

[color=8877BD]”Lucky him,”[/color] Nessa muttered with a grimace. She grabbed a sweater, pulling it over her head as she considered just climbing in and staying there until Elay woke up. Just like when she was younger, crawling into her closet in hope that her nightmares would go away… 
They never did. Maybe this would, but she wasn’t [i]that[/i] scared. What was the problem, really, if she went through and it decided she was its next meal. Maybe not the nicest way to go… but imagining Elay’s reaction when he had to clean up the mess offered a sliver of joy at the thought. 

[color=8877BD]”Oh [i]thank you[/i], you’re [i]too[/i] kind, doing that for me,”[/color] Nessa called back sarcastically. She pushed up the sleeves of the sweater she wore- large enough to swamp her, going just below her knees- so her hands were through. A careful casting of her Alarm Bell spell… just in case. It probably wouldn’t do any good, but better to do what she could to survive. 

She did her best to fake calmness, even as her mind swung between two places. Hypervigilance, body tense for an immediate flight, but also a lack of care for whatever might happen to her. Contradictory, but both feelings somehow existing at the same time. 

[color=8877BD]”So you eat what, pasta and bad dreams?”[/color] Nessa walked out into the kitchen to [i]absolute carnage[/i]. The red splatters that on closer look weren’t blood, but some kind of sauce. Trays scattered that had presumably carried the godly pasta. So much red… She felt a bit sick. She covered her nose, eyes moving to Garf. Or what she presumed was Garf. A much scarier version of him. 
[color=8877BD]”Is there [i]anything[/i] else edible in here?”[/color]

That scarier Garf had exploded in proportions from a house cat to something one would see at an exotic zoo. Massive, fluffy orange and black fur shimmered with every color of the rainbow as it contorted the light of the open refrigerator behind it. It had to be something like fourteen feet of massive cat with paws the size of pizza peels. The tail thumped heavily against the floor as its attention was solely held on the prospect of eating from multiple pans at once. 

Not to miss the second body. The underbelly, the two extra limbs like hooked arms scraping at a pan and raking food into the face of some [i]other thing[/i] growing from inside the cat. It had the face of a man… One she knew? No. Only for a moment did that wretched parasitic [i]thing[/i] look like her Father. It couldn’t. But it greedily shoveled the violently red sauce into its gullet, using its thick and padded pseudo-fingers to greedily push that nightmarish mixture into its face. 

The cat head cricked downward to look at Nessa fully, grinning from ear to ear and revealing a nightmarish set of teeth.

[color=FF8604][b]”You had zero qualms about swallowing what he had to offer last night. Surely that’s enough.”[/b][/color] the monstrous Garf intoned with a greedy shake of his tail.

Nessa couldn’t suppress her shudder at the sight of that [i]head[/i], and the shadow of a face she hated- but desperately wanted to see again. Even her braveness- or more accurately, lack of care for her own life- had limits. [color=8877BD][i]Just don’t look at the creepy face and hands. Look at the slightly less creepy massive cat.[/i][/color]

Though the smile- with the red sauce staining it like blood- wasn’t much easier to face down. But she did, eyes narrowing slightly as she stared up at him. He was big enough that one paw could easily take her out… It would be a shame that her blood would blend in with the pasta sauce.

[color=8877BD]”[i]That’s[/i] not exactly filling. It’s not like I bit off his dick and ate it,”[/color] Nessa retorted, managing to push through the [i]horror[/i] and weirdness of the whole situation. 
[color=8877BD]”So you’re a voyeur cat too. Did you enjoy it? No wonder you had so many comments about what he’s into… I’m just surprised you’re into watching like that. You gonna do that every night?”[/color]

[color=FF8604][b]”I only enjoy it as much as it fills my gut afterward. Your pain, your pleasure; it is the excess I crave. And you are a buffet, my dear. But, amazingly, you manage to be important to more than my nagging hunger. Thus-”[/b][/color]

Garf’s entire mass shifted, those strange human hands sliding against the floor and buckling up to grip the checkered tile floor of this North-end apartment’s kitchen. One released itself as a great, many-toed paw slapped into the cold red sauce spattered against the corner of the floor near Nessa’s feet.
[color=FF8604][b]”-I offer you an accord… Someone to [color=8877BD]’[i]Be on your side.[/i]’[/color] as it were.”[/b][/color]

As Nessa’s own voice echoed back into her head, there was a moment where Garf’s neck craned back to allow that face half buried in fur to witness and observe her face. Her reaction.
[color=FF8604][b]”Your dreams and nightmares: Gone. Dark sleep. Like you’ve never dreamed of… Feed me, and I will guarantee that this [i]moron[/i] is more attached to you than any silly Pink Lux spell could make him.”[/b][/color]


Nessa folded her arms, staring at Garf. It was difficult to know where to look - the cat face or the much more disturbing one. Her body tilted back naturally as he got closer, but her feet stayed rooted on the spot. 
It was such a tempting offer. Dark, dreamless sleep… something she hadn’t had in a long time. Not since she started helping her Father. Before that, her sleep was more of a mixture. And someone who wouldn’t leave her like the res…

But what was the catch? Nothing was given for free, and ‘feed me’ was too vague. She didn’t trust it. 
[color=8877BD]”I don’t want someone attached to me magically. I want something genuine- someone who actually [i]wants[/i] me.”[/color] Rare honesty, but only said to a creature that had already pulled so much from her head. She used her magic on men when she was desperate, needing them to survive… but it wasn’t what she really wanted. It’s why she tried flirting first, or using the simplest spell that only influenced them enough for her to slip into her bed. She wanted to live, but she also wanted someone who liked [i]her[/i]. They never did, leaving her in this painful cycle of [color=8877BD][b]deserved[/b][/color] abandonment.

[color=8877BD]”And feed you [i]what[/i]? My pain, pleasure, other emotions? You’re already eating them. Or… is it my magic you want?”[/color] Nessa’s eyes narrowed, lips pulled into a thin line. Her whole expression screamed scepticism. 

[color=FF8604][b]”I did have a taste. But if you open the restaurant to me at night, I can guarantee your stay. Not only that, but I can guarantee that he [i]comes around to you.[/i] And it won’t be a trick… Just the right nudges from me, and the whole house of cards folds into a nice and even deck. You get to pull every card in an organized fashion, life flows-”[/b][/color]

Garf’s massive hands bumped into a tray on the floor, sliding into a streak of sauce. It greedily brought the saucy appendage up to the cat’s face, letting it lick and bite and snap until the hand was gushing… Ragu. It smelled like oregano and parsley, and then the hand was there again as if it wasn’t still being crunched in between Garf’s many teeth. The beast belched again, shaking his head.

[color=FF8604][b]”Fucking… Just let me do that every night, and you won’t have nightmares. G-o-d… The cryptic bullshit, am I right?”[/b][/color]

The second face hissed out laughter between eating gobs of its own gloppy gore from the spot that it splashed out onto… Mostly out into an empty pan thankfully.

[color=FF8604][b]”Also, no… There’s spoiled eggs. Worcestershire sauce. Several bottles of isopropyl alcohol. A severed human head. Nothing edible to your rudimentary human stomach.”[/b][/color] Garf’s voice was so full of slop that it was hard to tell what he was saying. 

Nessa couldn’t hide her disgust, whole face scrunching up as she watched Garf devour Ragu like it was a carcass, his own hand and all. It was awful, and nearly destroyed any appetite she had. Nearly. She had to eat after last night. She didn’t quite get the end of what he said, beyond it being clear there was nothing for her to eat here.

[color=8877BD]”Fine… just my nightmares? Not my magic, nothing else?”[/color] She still didn’t trust it. But could she really say no? Would her life be any worse if it turned out to all be a lie? What was the downside? Perhaps, that she’d lose the reminder of what she’d done… No. She deserved the nightmares, but she’d never forget. Couldn’t. 
[color=8877BD]”I’ll take it. The accord, or whatever- as long as my magic isn’t touched.”[/color]

She frowned, head tilting back so she didn’t have to see the red sauce mixed with spattering of gore. 
[color=8877BD]”And I’ll go out to buy something edible.”[/color]

[color=FF8604][b]”You intend to leave?!”[/b][/color]
Garf made the classic cat stretch look nightmarish as sections of his body split apart to reveal breathing organs and other arms desperately trying to escape their prison. 

[color=FF8604][b]”Go to the Club! Go to that green marble floor, and those black chairs with the dark leather! To that establishment where the woman makes the sauce! Get more for me, and you will be rewarded handsomely!”[/b][/color] the creature demanded, giant paw stomping and bapping at an empty tray.

[color=8877BD]”I [i]intend[/i] to go to the nearest store, buy some eggs, and come back,”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes, mostly to avoid seeing Garf’s internal organs for more than a couple of seconds. What Club? How was she supposed to know? And she wasn’t going to go buy him some more fucking Ragu sauce to slurp off the floor. 
[color=8877BD]”I’m not running errands for you. Fuck, you think I’ll risk trekking across the city to carry back more pasta? If you want shit from a [i]nearby[/i] grocery store, I can do it.”[/color]

[color=FF8604][b]”Fine, whatever. Like I care…”[/b][/color]
Whatever the emotional shift was, it wasn’t right. There was a sense that the creature had instantly drummed up plans for revenge and was carrying them out as they spoke. Like his entire nature had shifted to vendetta despite the words being so [i]innocuous.[/i] 

[color=FF8604][b]”The coffee shop downstairs. I demand two dozen bagels, and two pints of that delectable hot-pepper cream cheese. Three pounds of bacon, two dozen eggs inside each bagel top, the dried salmon, sausages-”[/b][/color]
Then he looked at Nessa again, head cocked to the side.

[color=FF8604][b]”-I do hope you’re taking my order. They won’t be shocked.”[/b][/color] 

Nessa’s jaw went slack as Garf [i]just kept going.[/i] It was enough food to feed her for a week. Longer, probably. Could she even afford that? Technically, she shouldn’t even spend her money on it… If she used Elay’s, would he get the cat to eat her whole self? Surely not. Maybe he would… It was worth the risk. She’d put a tiny amount of trust in the cat to stop it, if only for the more frequent meal she’d be giving it in the future.
[color=8877BD]”Yeah, yeah, I’ve got Pink Lux. I remember it all. Shit ton of food that I’ll barely be able to carry, but I’ll get it to [i]appease[/i] you.”[/color] 

The curse of mental magic… inability to forget unless she erased it permanently from her own mind. She frowned, looking around the kitchen.
[color=8877BD]”Where’s Elay’s coat? I need his keys and shit… wasn’t exactly paying attention to where things went last night.”[/color]

[color=FF8604][b]”Oh… Y’know, you really hid your thieving inclination well from me. I honestly thought-”[/b][/color]
Garf started to chastise her about stealing, but quickly started to laugh.
[color=FF8604][b]”-Baaaah, I’m kidding. Now, think about where you came in. If you can remember the bathroom, you can remember where the jacket is.”[/b][/color]

And then the blasted beast continued to make its order as he watched Nessa from his fat haunches. The jacket was easily found on a chair near the door, coincidentally near the bathroom. There was a wad of cash in it, as well as the keys to the apartment as was expected. It was only as Nessa was getting ready to open the door that Garf spoke up again.

[color=FF8604][b]”Actually… Forget it. I don’t want it anymore. Get whatever you want… Elay will be mad if you don’t get him a hot cocoa though. And don’t go into the agency. Just pass it going down the stairs, and head outside to the right.”[/b][/color]
Garf’s voice sounded strained, as if he’d become bloated further and was having a hard time breathing.

[color=8877BD]”Seriously? I gotta remember you’re whole fucking order cause I [i]can’t[/i] forget it and you don’t want it? You are so annoying,”[/color] Nessa turned around, foot out to hold the door partially open. But just hearing him was uncomfortable. Had he eaten too much? Was that even possible? She didn’t really care. She had to care about herself firstmost, after all.
[color=8877BD]”I don’t have energy to snoop around, anyway. I’ll get his drink.”[/color]

She properly pushed the door open, lips pulling up into a slight, not particularly genuine smile.
[color=8877BD]”Don’t miss me too much. I hope you’re normal size when I’m back.”[/color]
[hr]
One quick trip to the coffee shop downstairs, and Nessa was back up with a satisfactory breakfast in her arms. She’d planned to go for the cheapest thing on the menu- but everything was so fucking expensive it was about the same. She ended up with one bagel with an egg, another with bacon- in case Elay wanted something too. And if he didn’t? She’d save the second one for dinner. 

The bagels were in one hand, takeaway cup of hot cocoa in the other. It made it a little difficult to unlock the door… but she managed eventually, pushing it open with a soft grunt from the effort. 
[color=8877BD]”[i]Honey[/i], I’m hommeee!”[/color] She put on the most aggravatingly cutesy voice she could as she let the door slam shut behind her.

[color=0D6793]”Oh, good. Mop with legs.”[/color] 
Elay’s voice wasn’t a snarl so much as it was a huff. One loud, annoyed huff.
[color=0D6793]”I can’t imagine you-”[/color]

As Nessa made way into the kitchen, she’d find Elay completely naked and working down with a mop and bucket. Garf hadn’t gotten any smaller, but he did have a rather strained look on his face. His stomach growled loudly, causing the second entity to writhe and scream in pain. Elay’s face was plastered rage, and he held up the mop at the cat.

[color=0D6793]”-Do not! Do [i]not[/i] throw up! If I didn’t know any better, I’d be so much more pissed off! But clearly it's my fault, I didn’t have Beth come over to re-ward the fridge, so you win! But [i]do not[/i] vomit or I will actually seal you and become a fucking wimp.”[/color] Elay snapped. Then his face turned back to Nessa.

[color=0D6793]”And what’s with you jackin’ my shit, huh? You don’t steal my ass, what; you think you earned the extra because you lasted a few more rounds than I figured you would?”[/color]
His arms shot up, crossing over one another in a big X pattern.
[color=0D6793]”Wroooooong. Cough it up, c’mon; how much money did you waste?”[/color] 

It was really hard to take a naked man holding a mop seriously. Nessa didn’t bother stopping the quiet laugh that escaped her lips, before she rolled her eyes at him. 
[color=8877BD]”Can you get back in bed and maybe wake up on the right side of it?”[/color]

Of course she shouldn’t have expected him to wake up any less of a dick than the night before. Hadn’t really been hoping for it, either. But she wasn’t just going to cower because he was difficult. Of course she was going to push and push, until eventually he gave in. Even if it meant dealing with this shit because she decided not to take her own money.

[color=8877BD]”Yeah, actually, I think I earned [i]breakfast[/i] after the shit I put up with. I should’ve reported you for fucking domestic violence.”[/color] Nessa sneered, holding up the bags with the bagels and the hot cocoa. Then she put them down on a counter.
[color=8877BD]”Two bagels, one hot cocoa, calculate it yourself. I don’t remember.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Domestic violence? Show a cop around here your I.D., Sweetheart: You’re getting dunked on your way back down South. If you care to remember, there was a border guard giving me a hard time over a certain someone not coughing up a pass?”[/color]
Elay didn’t laugh, but he did smirk. His eyebrows rose, and his lips pursed as he tilted his head to look at Nessa. 

[color=0D6793]”Now… You got my drink at least. So, I [i]guess[/i] I’ll write it off as a business expense. Get my bagel out… Feed me while I clean this fucking mess.”[/color]
He looked like he was cleaning a murder scene, the bucket full of deep red liquid. It was never going to be easy taking a naked man mopping seriously, but he held himself with a strong and demanding confidence that wasn’t common among men Nessa was typically around.

He started mopping again, like there was nothing else to do on the planet. Elay kept staring at the stains on the walls and mumbling to himself quietly while he waited. 

Nessa stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Was he being serious? Of course he was being serious… it was obvious he was being serious. There [i]was[/i] a certain sexiness to the way he ordered her around after last night… but that didn’t mean she was going to start doing whatever the fucked he said! Especially not after his smug comments. Did he really think she was going to roll over after yielding a couple of times in bed? 

She picked up one of the bags, wriggling half of the bagel out of it. 
[color=8877BD]”Feed yourself. You think I’m your fucking servant or something?”[/color] She took a bite out of the bagel she’d picked up- the one with the egg- and chewed it slowly. [i]Loudly.[/i] 
[color=8877BD]”Did I even say the other one was for you? I’m [i]really[/i] hungry… I got you ‘your drink’, the cat didn’t put any other orders in for you.”[/color]

Elay smacked the mop back into the red water, causing it to splash out slightly.
[color=0D6793]”Oh marone, you’re already giving me conniptions! Hand over the money in the pocket and lemmie count it: If there’s a [i]cent[/i] missing, then all this is [i]mine[/i]. I told you, I’m not in the business of taking in strays!”[/color]

His hand was outstretched waiting for the money that had been in his jacket pocket. Had he really remembered how much was there? After dinner last night, and buying more booze? And bribing that bastard at the Checkpoint?

[color=8877BD]”You’re just gonna count it and claim shit’s missing anyway,”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes again, not even flinching at the aggressive mop action. She was trying to figure out how far to push. It was in part testing boundaries. How much she could get away with. How much she could get from him. At what point would he snap and hit her. Making sure not to go so far she got kicked out on day two. 

[color=8877BD]”Here, take the fucking bagel.”[/color] Instead of the money, she slapped the other bagel bag into his outstretched hand. It wasn’t that she was planning to hold onto his money. She didn’t even plan to hold onto his jacket for much longer. She just didn’t want it to play out the way he wanted it to. 
[color=8877BD]”If you want this one, you’re gonna have to take it from me. You seemed pretty good at going into my mouth last night.”[/color] She smirked, before taking a large bite.

Elay rolled his eyes and shook his head in a disappointed fashion.
[color=0D6793]”No, no… See, I’ve gotta teach your dumb ass everything.”[/color]
He held the bacon bagel up, quick anger flaring across his face.

[color=0D6793]”No cream cheese? No cheese at all? Were you raised by animals? Christ! And when I tell you to feed me, it’s because I need my hands to do something else! What kind of assistant are you supposed to be?”[/color] he snapped, ripping off a piece of the bagel and putting it up to his mouth.

[color=0D6793]”Like this: [i]’Oh, Elay, thank you! You’re the best, Daddy! Thank you for cleaning and mopping so that I don’t have to get my hands dirty’[/i][/color] he mocked her, then popped the little ripped off piece of bagel into his mouth. 

Still, his head shook with disappointment and frustration. Then Garf’s stomach flared up again, and he groaned in the background. Elay’s expression changed in a split second, eyes looking at Nessa with something else. It was only for a moment, but it was enough to see that there was something other than [i]this[/i]. A cry for help, maybe.

Nessa’s head tilted to the side slightly, immediate sassy comment dying on her lips. A slight peak below the incredibly rough surface… not that the tiny hint looked any less rough. Of course not. Happy people tended not to be massive fucking assholes. 

[color=8877BD]”Ugh.”[/color] She backed out of the kitchen for a moment, before coming back carrying her worn jacket. She pulled out her money and keys, before dumping the jacket in front of Garf. She pointed at it. 
[color=8877BD]”If you’re gonna throw up, throw up on that. I need a new one anyway, and I don’t want to be made to clean it up.”[/color]

A shitty solution, but what else could she do? Start feeding Elay the bagel? No way, she wasn’t feeling that much sympathy after one tiny little look. She turned back to look at him, eyes narrowing. Right back to normal. 
[color=8877BD]”Also, I thought you didn’t do roleplaying? What was it… you called it cringey! Have you changed your mind? Want me to start calling you [i]Daddy[/i] now?”[/color] She raised an eyebrow.
[color=8877BD]”Won’t make me clean up [i]your[/i] cat's mess.”[/color]

Elay frowned, then groped at the bridge of his nose.
[color=0D6793]”God… Fuck… This is it! I’m [i]actually[/i] going to die of a brain haemorrhage, and all that money I had stashed away would be useless!”[/color]
Melodramatic as always, Elay tossed his free hand up with the bagel still gripped between his fingers. His faux exasperation was palpable.

[color=0D6793]”You have [i]zero[/i] concept of something like sharing, do you? What’d I say? You don’t mop up my cat’s mess, and in return, you show a little fucking hospitality! I ain’t tryn’a make you a slave. But you oughta be thankful!”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”Ohhh, thank you [i]so[/i] much for taking me home and fucking me and letting me buy a bagel the morning after! I’m so grateful, what would I do without your generosity? I’d be starving on the street corner I used to call home!”[/color] Nessa threw back mockingly. It was like his annoyance fueled her. In a way, it did. Reactions meant he was listening. And the way he talked… it just made her want to push and push. 

But she did hold out her hand. 
[color=8877BD]”I’m [i]so[/i] sorry, I just assumed the feeding was a kink thing! But if it’s what an assistant does, [i]of course I’ll feed you[/i], because that mess might run away if you take a break to eat!”[/color]

Elay just stared at her and ripped into his cream cheese-less bagel. 
[color=0D6793]”Seems like you heart’s not really into it. Like you just want me for my body. I feel so used.”[/color] his voice remained emotionless, monotone.

[color=0D6793]”Go… Be a bitch somewhere or something, I don’t care. Just do it being naked, so I know you’re not taking anything else from me.”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”Alright.”[/color] Nessa inclined her head, seeming to acquiesce. She took off his jacket first, throwing it over a chair, then the sweater underneath. It was given the same treatment. Then she turned around, going over to the counter she’d put his hot cocoa on. She moved it to the side and lifted herself up onto the counter, spinning around to face him. Her legs crossed over each other as she looked at him from a slightly more even level. 

[color=8877BD]”This [i]is[/i] somewhere. And look, I didn’t take anything.”[/color] She held up her hands, though there was still most of a bagel in one. She managed to, impressively, hold back any comments on how she was here for his [i]shining[/i] personality. Instead she tilted her head, voice losing a bit of the mocking edge.
[color=8877BD]”You’re less violent than I expected.”[/color]

Elay shook his head, eyes narrow and nose slightly scrunched.
[color=0D6793]”And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”[/color]

He approached her, stepping forward until he was brushed against her leg.
[color=0D6793]”Just because you kept asking for me to go harder, doesn’t automatically make me some woman beater. Mentally, maybe… But I try my hardest to mentally beat the shit out of everyone I meet. Better to be taxing than be forgotten.”[/color] 

And then he leaned in to kiss her again, like his tongue was trying to steal the bagel from her throat, not that it could. 
[hr]
Deciduous Apartments. The location of Nessa's shitty, shitty ‘home’. Located on the outskirts of Westwood in an area not so fondly known to the locals as Junglelands. Nessa didn't even have a place in the 'nice' (slightly less awful) Evergreen Commons apartment complex... Which this much worse building had been named to match, or perhaps mock. No, she couldn't afford to lock into an actual rent contract. Didn't even have the identification to do it! Instead she lived in the one place that accepted weekly rent and where absolutely no contracts needed to be signed, filled with all of the South's undesirables. 

She was able to direct Elay to park right outside. Calling it a parking spot would be a stretch - someone had half assed drawn lines on the wider bit of road right in front of it. It wasn't like anyone but the owner, and a few exceptions, owned cars here anyway. 

The building itself was four stories high, square and squat. The outer walls were a patchy grey- whether by design or years of fumes from the factories staining it, it was difficult to tell. The disrepair of the place was obvious from just a look. Cracks, broken pipes, some windows completely boarded up. It was run down. Hardy vines valiantly fought against the horrendous environment, winding up parts of the wall and pushing into the offered cracks.

There was one door at the front, one at the back, leading into dirty corridors and the internal staircases. It made the most of its space, with apartments at the front and the back- small square windows pointed out onto the street they were now on. At this time it was quiet. Depressing, almost. It felt like there was a dark aura hanging over the entire place.

[color=8877BD]”It won't take long. It's not like I have much shit.”[/color] Saying that, Nessa didn't immediately get out of the car. Instead she twisted her body around to face Elay. She leaned over the centre console, one hand reaching out to rest on his thigh. Her head tilted upwards, lips pulling up into the little playful smile she seemed to use when she wanted something.
[color=8877BD]”Y'know, if I move outta here you won't even have to pay me much. A little for food- cause you're clearly stingy there- and other essentials... it's not like your rent would go up. I'm going to be sleeping over anyway...”[/color]

It didn't actually matter what he said. It wasn't like he knew how much shit she had. She could turn back up with a suitcase full of all her things and he'd be none the wiser. If she was going to spend every night in his bed anyway, she might as well save herself the cash… 

Elay’s hand swept hers away with the care one would offer a fly. He could practically [i]smell[/i] the disingenuous nature in her voice, and it gave him a nagging feeling. Another woman in another age. But it was enough that he didn’t think he wanted much more of it. Not like that at least…

[color=0D6793]”Oh yeah, real convenient for you. You wanna wake up every morning with a chance that shit like this morning will happen again? I bet not… So we’re gonna go in there, pay a month down, and then grab whatever shit you think you’ll want.”[/color] he ordered with a cold and dispassionate tone.

It wasn’t that he didn’t [i]want[/i] her there… He kind of didn’t. Mostly not. It was taxing having her there in that regard. Like he knew he wasn’t going to want to be that close to her forever. Or, maybe they could use the place. Having a second apartment in such a shitty and unassuming place [i]was[/i] something he could write off for the business. A second office didn’t have to be listed, and maybe it was win-win enough that everyone could find some kind of satisfaction.

Besides, if she had a place she could go back to with relative safety, at least he’d know where to start looking for her if she ran off. The box for the stray in the rain. 

[color=0D6793]”Then if you’re serious about earning a little money, we’re gonna need to rustle up a case. Something bigger than mugging a fuckin’ John. I’m not above hitting dealers and shit though, if… You know a good route?”[/color] his grin was clear as he spoke thinking about the violence.

[color=8877BD]”Oh, right! I forgot to tell you about all the drug routes I know!”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes, withdrawing back into her own seat. She gestured out the car window.
[color=8877BD]”If you just stand on that corner for a couple of hours you’re bound to find someone tryna sell you something. But y’know people who stick their nose into that shit tend to get killed. No, I don’t know a good route. Do I look like I do that shit?”[/color] 

She did technically know a dealer or two, if she scanned back through her memories of the men she’d been with. There’d been the one guy that was doing pretty well for himself… parts of her memory with him were too fuzzy for even her to access. She’d blocked his number, but could find him if needed. It would be nice to see him beaten to a pulp- but no, she didn’t want to see his face again. Only if it was absolutely necessary. 
[color=8877BD]”The only person in that building with any money is the owner, so unless you wanna get paid for Garf catching rats for her… We’ll need to look in another area. I can get something, if you’re [i]really[/i] that incapable of finding your own cases.”[/color] 


[color=0D6793]”Christ, Nessa, you always make it so fuckin’ personal. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, and you’ve already given me the fuckin’ breach load like nine times. I ought’a just drop you here and leave like I originally planned, but our orange friend seems to have some fucking plan for you.”[/color]
Elay’s hands shot up, gripping at nothing with a very meticulous and slow motion. So slow they didn’t fully close before being brought back down to his steering wheel.

[color=0D6793]”And that was my shock at you [i]not[/i] being a powder queen. Had you pegged for ice or something honestly. You seem like a real upper girl, y’know naturally down and wants to cut loose?”[/color]

Elay pushed the driver’s seat door open, slipping out of the car and into the cold of the early afternoon here in the South… 
[color=0D6793][i]The fucking toll! I’m going to need to smuggle her back up! God damn it all, why?[/i][/color]

Garf didn’t speak. Just placed the image of a magic eight ball in his head. The result?
[code]Future Unclear.[/code]
There was a devious laugh out loud as Elay shuddered the mental prod out of his head and slammed the door shut.

[color=0D6793]”Yeah, whatever… Stay warm fuckface.”[/color] Elay grumbled under his breath.
[color=0D6793]”C’mon, Chessa. I mean Stressa. Fuck, sorry, Bessa?”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”Haha, I know you know my fucking name,”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes at him, not entirely rising to the bait. He’d said it only moments before… She was more pissed off that he was surprised she wasn’t on drugs. Sure, maybe she’d considered it when everything first went to shit… but the idea had very quickly gone. It was expensive and would leave her vulnerable. There were better ways to ‘cut loose.’

She got out of the passenger side, making sure to slam the door behind her. Her hands immediately shoved into her jacket pockets and she shivered slightly. Too fucking cold. First thing she was doing when she got into her shit place was changing into pants that actually covered more than her ass. 
Instead of moving towards the building, she turned towards Elay, eyes narrowing. 
[color=8877BD]”You don’t need to come. I don’t have much… and you can just give me the cash to pay for the next month, or whatever.”[/color] 

Elay scoffed again, this time waving his hand.
[color=0D6793]”Give you the cash? Trust you to pay a bill like this? Absolutely not, you’ll pocket the money and spend it faster than I can say ‘don’t pocket the money’. So, nah. I’ll go with you, and [i]I’ll pay[/i].”[/color]

He had a stuck up way of saying that he was willing to pay her rent. Granted, a shitty place in a specially shitty part of town, but Sugar Daddy behavior was what it was. In his demented brain, this place was a safehouse now. Somewhere they’d be okay to crash if worst came to worst.

[i]They. Us.[/i] The inexplicable draw to pull her just a little closer despite all the growling and barking and snarling… The beaten dog wanted to be loved, but the hand that pet was the one closest to the mouth. Not to mention the deeper things. The real feelings that were buried miles below the surface. He couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong with him, which was obvious to anyone else. But maybe he was too far gone, or maybe the ego was too strong to let go of all the bad. 

But he was still waiting for her to cross the parking lot at his side. He wasn’t waiting for her for no reason.

Nessa wasn’t quite able to hide her genuinely irritated expression at Elay insisting on coming along. Contrary to what he probably believed, it wasn’t because of the money. She wasn’t stupid enough to pocket and run with his money when it would be way more beneficial to stick with him. Things paid for, and company. Really the latter was more important, as much of a dick as he was. She’d had all the money in the world once, and only felt a little more alive than this. 

But what if he saw the state she’d been living in, and it disgusted him enough to leave there and then. Sure, [i]he[/i] wasn’t exactly in a great state. But the hovel she reluctantly called home was on another level. At least he was paying… small blessings, a month's rent paid before he saw the shithole it was.
[color=8877BD]”Fine, but don’t blame me if a rat bites you.”[/color]

It wasn’t exactly a long walk across the ‘parking lot’, across the scrawled in lines and around the potholes. Nessa stuck close to Elay, anyway, pretending that she wasn’t keeping a fragment of Pink active to detect anyone nearby. It was an awful part of town, after all. Unsurprisingly nothing befell them on the short walk. 

She wasn’t particularly happy to be back here, twisting the handle of the front door in just the right way that the broken lock meant it just swung open. Instead of going up the stairs immediately in front of them like she normally would, she veered left onto the first floor corridor. Little paws could be heard scurrying along the floors and scratching in the walls. There was a musty smell that hung over the place. 
[color=8877BD]”The owner uses the first apartment as an office.”[/color] Nessa explained, just in case he somehow thought she was pulling something. She rapped on the door, hoping the landlady wouldn’t be in a talkative mood. 

A few moments later the door opened, revealing a dark haired middle aged woman. She was a fair bit taller than Nessa, a fair bit above average even, but nothing close to Elay. Behind her a sliver for the inside apartment turned office was visible. It looked neat and tidy, with undamaged walls and a bookshelf just past the woman. 
“Oh, Nessa, I didn’t expect you t’grace my door.” Irene, Nessa once again belatedly remembered, raised an eyebrow. Her gaze moved up to Elay immediately, lips pulling into a mocking smile. 
“Another man, huh… Leaving again? You gotta pay yesterday ‘n today.”

[color=8877BD]”No,”[/color] Nessa responded sullenly, hands clenching into fists inside her coat pockets. It was hard to try not to rise to it. Often she did, and it just landed her in a shittier situation where her electricity ‘mysteriously’ cut out for a day or two. 
[color=8877BD]”I’m paying for the month. Like [i]you[/i] suggested yesterday?”[/color] She then looked at Elay expectantly. 
[color=8877BD]”It’s two hundred.”[/color]

Irene whistled, before letting out a short laugh. She didn’t seem intimidated by Elay’s size at all as she looked at him with an expectant, almost mocking and definitely fake, smile. 
“Bringin’ someone round to pay your rent’s a first.”


Elay didn’t mince words, sliding out something other than cash for once.
[color=0D6793]”You take checks? If we’re renting it for the purpose of the business, I’ll also need a statement from your end.”[/color] Elay spoke plainly to the woman inside, explaining the circumstance as was necessary.

[color=0D6793]”And you’ll be dealing with me directly from now on. The rent will be paid on the same day every month, so have the statement written up because I don’t like to wait. Understood?”[/color]

In his hand was a small ledger, with a checkbook tucked into one side which he was writing two-hundred dollars out. It was a steal for a month, and whatever rats were inside were practically free beef jerky. He didn’t need the pomp and the lights shining into his window from the river where the bridge and the checkpoints were. He’d seen some of the most disgusting hovels, slept in environments so dank he thought he’d grow mold.

[color=0D6793]”And how much do I need to pay to modify it? We’re using it as an office-living space for the Columbo and Waiting Detective Agency.”[/color]
He turned over his business card to the old woman, along with the check.

Irene’s eyebrow was raising higher and higher, at risk of pushing into her hairline. She took both the business card and check without immediate comment. 
“North Sider, huh? Ain’t anyone else who uses checks round here- aside from Gideon Cross himself!” 

Nessa wasn’t sure how she felt about all of this, but she managed to stay silent for once. It [i]could[/i] be positive. It suggested Elay planned to keep her around for a while. But it also meant if- when- he got rid of her she’d have nowhere to go. While she’d been in a constant cycle of leaving and dragging herself back like a cat from the rain, it was always to the same shitty apartment. Irene didn’t bother renting it out to anyone else. A small gesture of kindness, or some shit like that. But then she’d be really fucking stuck. 
Maybe it wouldn’t matter by then. Maybe she’d be too far gone to want to continue after being dropped again. 

“I can get a statement done in no time- soon as you finish whatever other business you two had here.” Irene was sharp as ever as she looked down at Nessa, but there was none of the normal subtly snide comments. Money talked, after all. She held up the business card Elay had handed her. 
“We can talk ‘bout somethin’ that’s been botherin’ me a while, too. Fix that and you don’t need to pay anythin’ to modify it.”


[color=0D6793]”You’ve got a case that needs handling? You gotta quote the price high first, y’know? So that when you say ‘or you can take care of something for me’ I’m more inclined to accept. For next time…”[/color]

Sharp as a whipcrack, Elay didn’t miss a thing.

[color=0D6793]”And if you must know, yes. Northsider. That doesn’t mean you’ve got carte blanche to start raising the rent on me either; I’ll figure out what every single other person in this borough pays for rent and bury you in logistics.”[/color]

His hand swept up under Nessa’s arm, moving her less by force and more by suggestion.
[color=0D6793]”We’ll discuss it when I come back for the statement. Lets go, Nessa.”[/color] Elay grunted in a directive fashion.

“Check the borough and you’ll find this is the cheapest you can get,” Irene laughed. She didn’t acknowledge the rest, holding up a hand in a half wave before stepping back and letting her door close. 

Nessa let out a light huff even as she let Elay move her. [i]Only[/i] because she would rather get going than stand in this corridor any longer, or deal with Irene’s [i]looks[/i]. It just made it more annoying how she basically treated Elay with respect because he handed over a check. Fucking money! 
[color=8877BD]”Oh, so you remember my name now?”[/color]

Contrary to her sharp words and glare, she turned around and did exactly as he directed- leading him back to the stairwell. Then it was up two flights of stairs, and along another almost identical corridor. Nessa stopped in front of a door about halfway down. With a frown, she reluctantly pulled her keys out of her pocket. The two locks were undone and she, even more reluctantly, pushed the door open and let him in. 

What was revealed was a small, messy room. Damp was evident on the outside wall, with mould spreading from the corners and across into the room. In the back right corner was a small double mattress. No bed frame, just the mattress pushed against the wall, with a ratty duvet and pillows strewn across it. Various clothes were thrown on top of that. At the back left was a ‘kitchen’ consisting of a small refrigerator, gas stove and one countertop. A pan had been left on the stove. To the left of the kitchen, a sliding door was half open to reveal a tiny bathroom. 

There was one small square table with two chairs just in front of the door. The final piece of furniture was a wonky, very broken looking wardrobe. Empty glass bottles on top of a pile of shattered glass haphazardly shoved into the corner nearest the door. The whole place was barely warmer than outside.

Nessa went for the suitcase beside the mattress immediately, crouching down to pull out some clean underwear and a dark tank top. Without much care she stripped down until she was in just a bra, throwing what she’d been wearing on the top of the suitcase. She pulled on the replacement underwear and tank top, moving to the mattress to pick up a pair of cargo pants. They looked dirty thanks to the various stains- darker ones from the constant dirt of the place, and a variety of reddish-brown ones that Elay would recognise as blood. 

As she changed, she turned her head to look up at him.
[color=8877BD]”So, what am I doing? You said to grab the shit I’ll want, but then you’re turning this into an office-living space? So I can’t exactly leave anything behind, can I? I’m basically homeless now. Where do you want me to sleep, the streets? Cause you sure didn’t sound like you wanted me in your place.”[/color] She wasn’t stupid, she could read between the lines that that wasn’t the case. But she needed verbal confirmation that she wasn’t just getting tossed out. Then she could trust it a little bit.


Elay’s face turned up in a sneer. He’d absolutely seen worse, they just needed a little luck in scoring some furniture to spruce it up. Hire a magical cleaner, have them give the walls a good once-over for sound proofing and insulation, then you can work on other things. Like, for instance, the door… Already having two locks on it was great, but it was cheap just like everything else, and looked like it was made of balsa. 

He’d happily replace the door with something better, or at least get barring on the back of it with a magical access. Surely if she knew they were cracking the apartment, she’d request keys for any new locks. But fuck trying to get into the magic barricade. Call the cops, they’re not going to come down here to bash the door open for the property owner. 

“Do it yourself.” they’ll say.

[color=0D6793]”Th’fuck do you think? It’s a [i]safe house[/i]. Office, whatever you want to call it, we’re gonna keep it in our back pocket. Capice?”[/color] 

Nessa narrowed her eyes slightly, crouching down in front of her suitcase as she half assedly folded the clothes she’d thrown in there. 
[color=8877BD]”So you’re graciously letting me stay with you? Really?”[/color] She spoke more monotonously than she did hopefully. Really pushing to confirm it without seeming [i]desperate[/i]. The she probably already looked pretty fucking desperate. 

[color=0D6793]”Oh, whaaaaaat? Am I speaking Italian? I know I said ‘capice’ but that’s a pretty well known slang term regardless of its origin!”[/color]

Elay gripped at the bridge of his nose.

[color=0D6793]”I’m saying don’t be afraid to leave shit here! Take it all if you must, but you’re gonna hate transporting it back and forth… And remind me next time we’re coming south to bundle up that spare dresser I have… This place needs a piece of furniture that isn’t schifoso…”[/color]

Nessa stared at him for another moment, before nodding. She’d just wanted to hear him say it. Just in case. She turned back around to her suitcase, considering what to leave behind. She didn’t exactly have much clothes now… so she pulled out just a few outfits, the nicer more revealing clothes she’d wear out, along with some tops so she’d be able to cycle through for her more practical outfit. 

[color=8877BD]”You’ll want to replace the mattress if you’re ever gonna sleep here. It’s way too short. And lumpy.”[/color] Though she wasn’t sure how much he cared about comfort. She turned around towards the mattress in question, lifting it up slightly with a soft grunt. Her other arm went under, and into a tear on the bottom. It came back out with a small stack of cash. All the money she had to her name… slightly increased after she sold the valuable thing she owned. Frowning, she stuffed it underneath her clothes. 

[color=8877BD]”Oh, and also…”[/color] She stood up, having to go past Elay to get over to the tiny table. She squatted again, pulling a thick leather bound book out from underneath one of the legs. It immediately tipped towards her, stopping when the broken end of the leg hit the floor. 
[color=8877BD]”You need to provide your own book to keep it up. Or buy a new table.”[/color] She stared up at him, holding the book against her chest as if it was some kind of treasure, rather than something she used to keep a table from tilting over. 


[color=0D6793]”Oh, wow… Tome worth keeping, right? Crazy, I mean I guess you’re already part way through that one?”[/color] Elay asked sarcastically.

It was fairly curious, that she’d have to keep the book under the table. Usually those sorts of things were meant to stick around: Someone’s forgotten distraction left to serve a more divine purpose at the end of days. Yet, this book gets raptured? He had to see for himself at some point. The burning curiosity fell from the sky into the pit of his stomach to give birth to another tree in the Grove.

[color=0D6793]”Is that everything? I assume you’ve got [i]zero[/i] food that’ll spoil in the fridge?”[/color]
Elay’s long legs took him back to the door, looking around one last time.

[color=8877BD]”The fridge isn’t even on.”[/color] Nessa shrugged. She didn’t have any eggs left, and she’d finished the last of the pasta yesterday… Maybe there was some dried food in the back of the cupboard, but that wouldn’t go off. It’d probably just be eaten by the rats. 
[color=8877BD]”I don’t keep a lifetime's supply of Ragu around.”[/color]

She shuffled back over to her suitcase, dumping the book on top. She quickly slammed the suitcase shut over it. Maybe she should’ve just left it where it was. Hope that the building burnt down and destroyed it too. But it would probably survive a fire. It was so fucking enchanted that it would probably survive anything. So it was safest with her… even though the sight of it made her feel a bit sick. 
[color=8877BD]”This is it. I leave my large collection of clothes bought with stolen money somewhere safer.”[/color] Tone heavy with sarcasm, she lugged the suitcase towards the door. 

Elay was quick to take the bag from her. It wasn’t clear if he was just impatient watching her lug it around, or if he was subconsciously being gentlemanly, but it left Nessa free of weight to do things like lock the door back up. With his long strides, he was down the hall and back down to where the people walked the Earth. That long corridor, in Elay’s mind, felt like a tunnel to another world with its long, monotonous series of alternating doors without windows. Every apartment building or complex felt like that.

It was like the tunnels… Safe.

[color=0D6793]”I’m gonna pull the car up! Gotta talk to the old lady about whatever this job is.”[/color] he called backward, foot hitting the first step to go down into the parking lot.

A minute or so later, he was pulling around with Nessa’s suitcase already in the trunk. It paid to keep cars in neighborhoods like these close as possible to where you were going to be. Even if it was just a little nicer, someone probably had a reason to break in. Hell, even if it was a shitbox, there was reason enough. So, pull up to the office, take out the key, lock the doors again and beckon Nessa toward him.

[color=0D6793]”Alright, you know this lady vaguely more than me. Any reason I should be suspicious of whatever line she’s about to try and cast for us?”[/color] he asked with a serious tone. 

Nessa shrugged, hands shoved into her jacket pocket. Was there anything suspicious? Maybe that from what Nessa knew the landlady was stingy. Hiring a private investigator was more than Nessa would expect for someone who’d rather deal with criminals to supply the building’s electricity than pay decent money for it. But more than that… 
[color=8877BD]”She has some kind of magic. I’m not sure what, but a strong emotional field. Not mental, because I didn’t feel anything against mine.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”No shit…”[/color]
Surprise was registered on Elay’s face. He hadn’t even bothered checking, so to hear that was completely unexpected.
[color=0D6793]”So, what? You think it’s gonna be some kind of bullshit? Does she know [i]you’re[/i] magic?”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”I don’t know. Maybe. She’s never fucking said anything, but that doesn’t mean shit.”[/color] Nessa frowned. She could know. Probably did, if she’d felt Nessa’s tap against her emotional field. It was difficult to tell, because Nessa had worked hard to perfect a more subtle initial intrusion. But if someone was strong enough, they’d always be able to tell. 
[color=8877BD]”She didn’t even react when I first checked, but us South Siders aren’t exactly flaunting our magic to the world. But it might not have anything to do with magic. Just important to know, isn’t it?”[/color]

Elay shook his head.
[color=0D6793]”Could mean everything. Could mean the difference between a smile and a worm crawling into your brain to rewire you like a puppet. Predators don’t always love sharing territory, never mind parley.”[/color] 

Still, Elay’s head nodded into the office, directing Nessa forward.
[color=0D6793][i]Did you read all that?[/i][/color]
No response from the cat. Nothing except a gentle little snore.


[color=0D6793][i]Garf… Wake up.[/i][/color]
[color=FF8604][i]Mrmmmhgnm[/i][/color]
[color=0D6793][i]Useless fuck…[/i][/color]

Elay moved to the door and held it open for Nessa without even thinking about it.
[color=0D6793]”Alright, Granny… So this job you mentioned. What’s going on with it?”[/color]

Irene looked up from the desk she was sitting behind, smiling slightly. 
“It’s polite to knock. Have a seat.” She gestured to the two rather uncomfortable looking chairs in front of her desk. The one she was sitting on looked much nicer. 

Nessa was quick to sit down, looking around with a frown. It always irritated her how nice this place was when all the apartments for rent were absolute shitholes. Cheap shitholes, but still shitholes. 

“Here’s your statement.” Irene pushed it over the table towards Elay. Her gaze stayed on him, practically ignoring Nessa, which just made her more annoyed. 
“As for the job… Recently, I’ve been having an issue with tenants not paying. Of course, there are plenty like Nessa- worthless people without a coin to their name and no drive to actually earn it. I frequently have to chase them for rent.”

[color=8877BD]”You fucking old-”[/color]
“But,” Irene forcefully cut off Nessa before she could respond, leaving her to stew in silence. She [i]wanted[/i] to snap back with more, but she didn’t want to lose out on possible money. A rare moment of self control for the greater good. 
“I have many who have jobs. Low paying jobs that leave them living here completely hopeless and near destitute… but jobs that pay the bills. Recently, people from both groups have stopped paying. More than that… some barely respond to my threats to evict them. Like they’ve been changed somehow.”

Irene pulled open a desk drawer, pulling something out. 
“Someone in the area is luring away these [i]poor[/i] people and scamming them out of their [i]hard earned[/i] money. It’s awful for my business. Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about this person. Which is why I need someone like you to look into it.”

She held out the thing she’d pulled out- it looked like a card from some game. It was green, with a picture of someone transforming into a bear on it. 
“I found this on one of the victims.”

Elay’s hand instinctively reached for the card, examining it in his hand rather thoroughly. After a moment of this, there was a faint giggle in his head. The faintest giggle. Whatever it was, [i]someone[/i] knew something.

[color=0D6793]”You’re telling me… This card? That’s all you’ve got? And you’re convinced that whoever this individual is, they’re… What? Pied Pipering your tenants away? Sounds like some drug dealer shit.”[/color] Elay remarked, shaking his head and looking back up at the old woman.

[color=0D6793]”Also, uh… Did you… Hear yourself? Just, like, y’know checking to make sure. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out. But, what do you actually want done about it? You just want us to, y’know, identify the culprit? Or is this something [i]else[/i]?”[/color]

Nessa leaned over a bit to look at the card, narrowing her eyes. It just looked like a card to her. If she had White Lux she’d be able to glean something from it… but her unique combination was useless here. It looked and sounded stupid. Like, one of those card games people got into at school… but people were spending all of their money on it? Disappearing? That was insane.

“Well, what are you willing to do? Can you ensure they leave the area permanently?” Irene raised her eyebrows.

[color=8877BD]”You want us to kill him?”[/color] Nessa frowned.

“Intimidate him,” Irene smiled.
“And you’re correct, it’s surprisingly similar to a drug dealer. Addictive, somehow. The way people are hooked is almost… magical.”


[color=0D6793]”Yeah, well… I hear you’re a little magical yourself.-”[/color]
Elay’s cold, dead eyes looked down at the old woman with knowing intent.
[color=0D6793]”-So, say we [i]intimidate him[/i] into leaving… You offering extra? After all, we agreed upon permission to modify the apartment. We never negotiated any [i]actual price[/i].”[/color]

“Well…” Irene pulled out a small bundle of notes, pushing it across the table. 
“How about two hundred up front, which covers a month of rent… which you can write off as a business expense while freely using the cash. Then… Three or four times the amount when it’s finished, [i]and[/i] permission to modify the apartment. Assuming you do the job well.”

She clasped her hands together, chin resting on them as she watched him without much true emotion.
“Or do you think your services are worth more?”

Elay’s face went from vaguely intimidating to entirely deflated in a matter of a moment. He could only clear his throat and reach into his pocket for another of his business cards.
[color=0D6793]”I’m having a hard time here. Y’know, I could’ve sworn I gave you one of these earlier. Handy little business card. Says the name of the detective agency on it? Also, y’know… The address. In the North. Which I pay rent in.”[/color]

He looked down at the miserly two hundred, then thought about it turning into eight hundred, or even a thousand.
[color=0D6793]”So, what do you think? You think that a thousand bucks is [i]all[/i] you can spare?”[/color] he asked expectantly.

“Do [i]you[/i] think I should pay you more just because you're from the North?” Irene responded.  

Elay’s eyes narrowed.
[color=0D6793]”No… I think you should pay more because we’re going to be dealing with one another long term. Potentially [i]very[/i] long term. And that’s probably going to be good for you, because having someone like me around means you’re [i]safer[/i]. Because, well… If I wasn’t around, who knows [i]what[/i] could happen to this place. Scary to think about, isn’t it?”[/color] he asked, jaw half-clicking into place as he thought about a beautiful burning motel.

[color=0D6793]”But if you scratch my back, then I’ll be sure to keep yours scratched. Keep all the roaches and rats out of your [i]larder[/i] so to speak.”[/color] Elay finally offered, nodding slowly.

Irene took his barely hidden threats with a straight face. After all, you couldn’t show weakness in this part of town. But after a moment, she started laughing. 
“You’re sharper than I expected, for a young Northerner.” There was a hint of surprise in her expression, and she went back into her drawers to pull out another stack of cash. 
“A thousand upfront. Up to eight times that after, if it's a job well done. Because you’re correct. Strength is everything here. Perhaps you can even hold off Gideon Cross and his gang before they take over the whole area.” Another thing that would be, of course, bad for business. 

“Plus, you’re taking in my [i]favourite[/i] street rat.”
[color=8877BD]”I’m none of those things,”[/color] Nessa huffed. She’d been watching the negotiations with a silent glower, knees drawn up to her chest and scowl permanent on her face. 

[color=0D6793]”Five g’s cash, up front. No rent; rather, from now on, I expect two and a half percent out of [i]your[/i] end every month. You’re paying me, or Gideon Cross is gonna be the least of your concerns. Consider it insurance. Then you’ll know that if this problem of yours is real, I’ll be here to do something about it.”[/color]

Elay wasn’t about to let this lady get off scot free. If her whole problem was trying to soak up whatever income the poor people around could give her, it was only right that some of it be relinquished all the same. This was, of course, the law of the bigger fish. The small yielded, and the evil would always be wiped to the side. It was a historic imperative. Constant.

In that moment, he let out a burst of Garf’s senses from his head, passing across her Emotional Field and sinking subtle teeth into the surface to get a sense of the strength. If it got through, a jolt of horror… Barely visible, a piece of cloth seemed to appear and hang down from Elay’s head. It didn’t obscure him, except for the single instant in which it was necessary to use his power. Like a single frame lost in the reel of a movie.

Irene flinched slightly. Elay would be able to feel she had an Emotional Field of moderate strength. Not so easy to get into… but the Apparition within recognised Garf’s magic and cowered from it even while its host held relatively strong. It wasn’t weak by any means, but it wasn’t at the level of the Wampus Cat. 

“Fine.” Irene responded after a moment's thought. A quick internal conversation. More cash was pulled out and added to the stacks already on the table. 
“I accept the cost of your [i]insurance[/i] services.”

Nessa looked between them with a frown. She could feel the magic in the air, though she couldn’t tell anything about it. Just the heaviness… she was attuned to it. Well trained. For a brief moment a strand of pink floated out, before withdrawing back into herself. What was she hoping to get from that? She didn’t have an in to either of them. [color=8877BD][i]Yet[/i].[/color] No, she never would.

Irene stood up to lean across the table, holding out a hand to Elay.
“Let’s hope you do solve my [i]very real[/i] problem, or you won’t be seeing much from your cut.”

[color=0D6793]”Lets hope your problem is real enough that I come back and apologize to you. Now, other than the card… Do you have [i]any[/i] leads? Where they’re getting from, what’s the drop, who are the biggest players in the apartments? Anything?”[/color]

“Floor two, number seven. Floor three, number nine. They ‘play’ and haven’t left. I don’t know where they get it from. I don’t make a habit of spying on my tenants,” Irene replied, to the point.

[color=0D6793]”Well, we’ll consider changing that policy in the near future, right?”[/color] Elay laughed smugly in return, having just barely heard the shriek of fear from within. It was always better when the Apparition was the one scared.

Turning, Elay nodded and waved his hand.
[color=0D6793]”Columbo on the case, Ma’am.”[/color]

Nodding his head at Nessa to direct her toward the door, he opened it again and held it for her to leave. Once they were all alone again, he smirked.
[color=0D6793]”Well? What’ya think? Ever hear anything about this crap?”[/color] he asked, holding up the card one last time as he let himself examine it for any magical properties.

[color=8877BD]”No. I haven’t seen shit like this since highschool. This one’s new too.”[/color] Nessa leaned over to look at the card too. She wasn’t exactly social with people in her block. If she was here, she was in her apartment struggling to do anything. 
[color=8877BD]”There was something a few months back about new competition on the streets… but I think that was drugs. Not card games. It seems like bullshit, but she wouldn’t waste money on that.”[/color]


Not picking anything up, Elay shook his head in return.
[color=0D6793]”Well… Either the cards are enchanted so well that Garf and I can’t tell they’re rigged, or they’re not rigged. They’re just normal cards.”[/color]

Looking at Nessa, he narrowed his eyes.
[color=0D6793]”So… You been working on any spell having to do with addiction lately?”[/color] he asked in a sarcastic tone… Despite that, however, he didn’t seem to be budging or moving on from it.

[color=8877BD]”You’re [i]hilarious[/i].”[/color] Nessa sneered, glaring up at him. Of course this asshole was turning it on her. As if she’d use easily trackable Lux like that. If she had the inclination, she’d just overload Blinds with cursed commands that had them coming to her with money for nothing. But she didn’t. Refused to. 

[color=8877BD]”The only thing I get people addicted to is my body, and there’s no magic to that.”[/color] Half true, half false, since she [i]did[/i] have a curse that made people magically want, need or love her. That was, in a way, a spell to do with addiction. 
[color=8877BD]”Do you think this is some kind of [i]big[/i] play to keep my addictive card game empire running, or some shit?”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Could you stop asking asshole questions like that? I don’t fucking know, Nessa. Could be! Literally could be [i]anything[/i]. Do I have to remind you that magic is involved? Or can you extrapolate what the fuck that means in terms of our ‘realm of possibility’?”[/color] Elay snapped.

Stepping away, he started to make for the stairs again.
[color=0D6793]”Now, there’s no chance you’ve spoken to these neighbors, is there? Two-seven, or three-nine?”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”In case I’ve Pink Luxed their brains and have them under my control?”[/color] Nessa scowled, still very much pissed about him practically accusing [i]her[/i] of being behind it. Then he just moved on like that. Oh it could be her! Sure, could be, but it fucking wasn’t!

[color=8877BD]”No, I haven’t. People in this building aren’t exactly talkative. I try spend more time out of this shithole anyway.”[/color] Nessa followed behind him towards the stairs with a light huff. 
[color=8877BD]”Ooo, careful, if I get behind you I might nail you with a card addiction spell.”[/color]


Elay shook his head, laughing and starting his way up the stairs to the second floor.
[color=0D6793]”Would you get over yourself? God, you can’t let it be, can you?”[/color] 
[hr]
It was about fifteen minutes later, after having waited at the door of two-seven for far longer than was necessary, they’d made their way to the end of the third floor. Three-nine was before them, closed with a small layer of dust built up on the knob. Elay had knocked a few moments ago, but the two were left without an answer.

[color=0D6793]”Right… With Garf asleep, I’m kind of useless. I can get some pretty basic senses out, but… Well, usually I’d just smell them through the door. I can’t. You got anything to pick up people through walls?”[/color] he asked Nessa with a sheepish tone.

Nessa reactively smirked. 
[color=8877BD]”What was it you called me yesterday? Most useless witch or something like that? Not so useless now, am I?”[/color] She was so smug about it. Of course she was, after how he’d treated her. 

It wasn’t difficult to send a Pink tendril through the door. Solid matter didn’t block mind magic. She couldn’t actively control people she couldn’t see, but she could get to their minds. It was easy to hear their thoughts… or hit the blocking emptiness of an Emotional Field. She felt out a wall of negativity inside. Unsurprising. 
[color=8877BD]”There’s someone in the back corner. Pretty unhappy right now about ‘not getting what he needs.’”[/color]


[color=0D6793]”Is that all you can tell? Magic around him, any curses or anything?”[/color] Elay asked, body moving to take position in front of the door to open it.
[color=0D6793]”What about physical capabilities?”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”All you asked was for me to sense something through the walls.”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes at him. 
[color=8877BD]”Can you normally [i]smell[/i] how fucking buff someone is?”[/color]

After some unnecessary cattiness, she shifted herself to lean against the wall beside the door. It wasn’t that sensing that stuff was difficult. It just required going [i]in[/i], unless it was incredibly potent or poorly cast. She closed her eyes, face going blank. 

Gross. This guy’s mind was horrible. Cluttered like a hoarder's den. He probably didn’t even need addiction magic to get deep into a game like this. But… there was a tingling feeling that Nessa would get when she delved into a mind her Father, or his assistant, had touched. External changes. Well hidden… threads of a subtle spell intertwining the space she floated in. She could sense that it had been a few hours since it was cast by the way the threads, now that she pulled them out, glowed brightly. In a few days it would dim and disappear. 

So it wasn’t magic like hers. Not a permanent change. Something that needed frequently recast, but dragged the victim back to the caster. Moderate strength…

[color=8877BD][i]Pink Lux. Pretty smart spell.[/i][/color] Nessa didn’t actually talk, instead the words were whispered across Elay’s magical field. Another thread of Pink from her to him.


But he himself was not magic. There was a chance this guy could lead them back to the source if they waited long enough. But, that would be incredibly long. So, Elay’s new dilemma was whether or not it was worth waking up Garf, or asking Nessa to get any further. He had to test her capabilities sooner or later, so…

[color=0D6793]”Alright, so you got that… Can you get memories? Track our source without us even touching this guy?”[/color] he asked in a matter of fact tone.

Nessa had to withdraw from the guy a little bit to properly hear Elay. She [i]could[/i], but it was muffled. Like she was underwater. 
Could she get memories? What was she, recently kindled? She’d dug her own hole by pretending to be so weak for self protection. 

[color=8877BD][i]What happens if I say no?[/i][/color] As Nessa replied with her magic, outside body expressionless, the her inside the guy’s mind scoffed. It wasn’t difficult to go through his recent memories. She knew where she was looking, following the thread of Pink magic. 

Oh, smart. Whoever it was had blurred out the location. The memory was still there, but it was like it was corrupted. She could undo it with enough time… but that was a hassle. Irritating, when they could just follow him there. It was simple for her to implant a command on a blind. 
[color=8877BD][i]Feel the need to buy more, go do it immediately.[/i][/color] 
Then she grasped the Pink thread inside, supercharging it. 

[color=8877BD]”Why would we track them when we can follow him?”[/color] Nessa asked as she pulled out of his mind, eyes opening again. 

[color=0D6793]”Well, obviously because sitting here waiting for him to do it would take ho-”[/color]

The door opened before Elay could finish his sentence. A short, scrawny man dragged himself out. In his hands were a couple of cards, similar to the one they’d seen earlier. He was muttering under his breath about [i]bullshit pull rates[/i] and how the [i]next one would be the one[/i] as he shuffled into Elay.

He didn’t even seem to notice. His eyes were glazed over and he turned to go around Elay. It was both the subtle curse Nessa had cast on him, and the addictive Pink magic already there. Nessa stepped back to let him.

[color=8877BD]”Oh look, I bet that’s where he’s going [i]right now[/i].”[/color]

Elay’s eyes swapped between Nessa and the man’s back several times before he finally shook his head and moved to follow. 
[color=0D6793]”Yep, alright. Fine. This kind of thing? Makes me way more inclined to treat you with a modicum of respect. Not that I’m afraid, but… Clearly you’ve got more tricks up your sleeve than you wanted me to know.”[/color]

He walked with a purposefully slow stride as they trailed the man, one arm wrapping around Nessa’s shoulders and pulling her close.
[color=0D6793]”You’re telling me this ain’t satisfying? Doing work, instead of just doing whatever? We’ll actually get to see something. Do something [i]about it[/i], and there’s a good chance that there’s profit at the end of this rainbow. D’ju hear what the deal was? She’s paying me two and a half percent of her turnover [i]monthly.[/i] Sucker should’ve never tipped her hand.”[/color] he grinned.

[color=8877BD]”Well she’s normally the top of the food chain. Those kinds of people always think they’re gonna win. Easy for someone bigger and stronger to knock ‘em over.”[/color] Nessa shrugged, leaning in towards Elay. She held back the more snide, immediate comment on the tip of her tongue for once. She should enjoy him being a bit less of a dick for a moment rather than poking the hornet’s nest. 

[color=8877BD]”Sure, I find [i]so[/i] much satisfaction out of dragging shit out of someone’s mind and manipulating them. Now that you’ve shown me how fun it is, maybe I should set up my own rival detective agency. I was always just getting with guys cause I didn’t realise how satisfying magical detective work was.”[/color]

Elay couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. She was [i]utterly unstoppable[/i] when it came to this kind of shit. Her terribly crass and biting sarcasm, the disregard for the humanity of the subject, the blatant disrespect toward whatever was in her crosshair… It wasn’t exactly a desirable trait, but it was certainly more fun than some girl like his sister Rina. Quiet, almost beaten down; what good was life without a struggle?

[color=FF8604][i]Are you romanticizing her trauma-filled aggression right now? You are a disgusting little man, Lazarus Motta.[/i][/color]
[color=0D6793][i]Oh now you wake up, you cheeseball looking fart… What’d God kick you out of Heaven again?[/i][/color]
[color=FF8604][i]It was the one where the refrigerator comes alive and consumes me.[/i][/color]
[color=0D6793][i]Ah, yes. The Ouroboros.[/i][/color]

Along the path near the stairs, Garf was standing and watching the man come down until he hit the stairs. Then he hopped up on the railing, giving the puppetted man a once-over.
[color=FF8604]”So the Wicked Witch turns her hand! This feels intricately woven. Skillfully… Would you say it took you long? Or is this sort of thing natural to you?”[/color]

Garf’s question came with an unblinking yellow stare. He was looking at Elay’s hand comfortably wrapped around Nessa’s shoulder at a lower point. It was like they were watching their toddler walk to the park by itself.

Nessa stared back at Garf unflinchingly. Of course it was natural. She’d used it day after day for at least ten years. Basic mind control had been mastered before she was eleven. Then this, a non active curse, after she’d cracked emotional fields. Using it in this way… didn’t make her feel quite so sick. Not this spell. It was almost innocent. A trigger, and then a command was followed. 

She tried not to think about how it would keep happening as long as this man had the addictive spell on him. She’d made sure he’d never be able to resist it.
[color=8877BD]”It didn’t take long, but it’s not that intricate. I mostly piggy backed off the spell already on him.”[/color] She shrugged the shoulder that didn’t have Elay’s hand on it, smiling at Garf. 
[color=8877BD]”I’m best at delicate application of Pink Lux. That’s probably why it looks so intricate. Skillful, but not so dangerous.”[/color] It was a lie of course, and he’d know it, but she was walking the fine line of being useful to Elay while not revealing her full horrific capabilities.

[color=FF8604]”Wow, real compliment taker. Great.”[/color]
Garf shrugged off her response with a turn and a couple of steps forward into the middle of open air. He was trotting forward just as he would on solid ground, turning around and sitting down in mid air to watch Nessa and Elay walk down the stairs. 

It wasn’t until Elay was far below him on the ground floor that he broke eye contact with a position on the horizon, and like a cartoon, gravity came out from under him. This caused the massive cat to fall three stories onto Elay’s shoulders, with every single claw on his massive double paws sinking into Elay’s greatcoat.
The searing pain didn’t matter too much… But instinctively, Elay’s hand gripped Nessa’s shoulder a bit harder. Enough that he could see it hurting someone frail. So rather than keep the hand there, he pulled away fully and stuffed his hand back into his pocket.

[color=0D6793]”Oh, thanks Big Guy. That was great, I loved that greeting. Really.”[/color] he grunted, shaking his head before turning it to Nessa.
[color=0D6793]”I’d say sorry for squeezing, but we both know you can take it.”[/color]


[color=8877BD]”That’s not the [i]enjoyable[/i] type of pain,”[/color] Nessa shot back, with an exaggerated pout as she reached up to rub her arm. The reaction was noticeably delayed, waiting for Elay to let go and talk before it happened. She’d barely registered the pain. It hurt, with her body weak as it was, but… it wasn’t so bad she even really thought about it. 

And contrary to what she said, all pain was enjoyable in some way. Even if it was a reminder she was alive. Or a delayed minor punishment for using her Father’s spell. 
[color=8877BD]”But you don’t need to use Garf as an excuse if you’re horny like that! I understand.”[/color]

Elay wasn’t so bashful as to pass the opportunity up. His right hand came back out of the jacket and flicked through the air to wrap against one of her cheeks.
[color=0D6793]”Don’t get fuckin’ fresh with me… Jesus Christ!”[/color] he shouted, shaking his head.

Was this the kind of thing he was looking for? Fun? For five seconds he could forget that she was anything but there to make him feel better. She wanted what she wanted, but maybe that wasn’t all she was? Or maybe they were just two animals drinking from the same fetid pool. He didn’t know why Garf had any feelings toward her, but he thought he could imagine why just for that short moment. Joking around as they followed a mark to a possible target…

This was probably a [i]better[/i] first date.

[color=8877BD]”You like it when I do,”[/color] Nessa retorted with a smirk, voice slightly more breathless. Her hand came around to capture his before he could withdraw it. It wasn’t anything romantic like holding it, rather her nails scratching against the back of his hand. She wasn’t worried about playing around too much and losing the person they were following… she had a Pink tether on him now. 
[color=8877BD]”I’m hot [i]and[/i] interesting. You’d already be bored if I kept my mouth shut like you originally wanted. You can’t deny it.”[/color]

Elay didn’t answer her, just leaving his hand where she apparently wanted it to be. He grinned, then shook his shoulder to let Garf drop down onto her. The tubby cat was a heavy weight on her shoulders, and his nose gently brushed against the hair on the back of Nessa’s neck.
[color=FF8604][i]As easy as pulling from a brand new deck of cards. Not… Not the ones you’re following. Real cards, the fifty-two-in-four.[/i][/color]

Being so close to Garf, one could feel his voice just slip into the littlest places in one’s Emotional Field. So tight, so cramped, so sure that the old wound was closed up and not bothering… But once was enough, and he could worm his way in whenever.

[color=FF8604][i]Just continue to placate his ego. He’s a simple thing at this point.[/i][/color] the cat intoned, letting his voice echo around Nessa’s head.

Nessa had grimaced slightly as the heavy weight dropped onto her shoulder, using it to cover up her annoyance at him [i]getting into her head[/i] again. She leaned slightly more towards Elay to help with the weight, managing to hide the irritation back down under a playful smirk.

[color=8877BD][i]Not sure you can call what I did ‘placating his ego’, but sure. I’ll keep flirting with him. It’s the same with every guy.[/i][/color] She responded even as she was annoyed he was in there. How? His own magic? Or was it…
No, it couldn’t be. She’d gotten rid of all of his magic. No more curses on her. It was all gone. It didn’t matter that it felt similar. It wasn’t that. 

[color=8877BD][i]But how many times do I need to tell you to stay out? It’s not fucking hard. Pass the message without getting in my head.[/i][/color]

[color=FF8604][i]You don’t even know how this works. Telepathy, mind reading… All tricks my people developed. But I don’t need it, because no matter how much you feel me inside you? You can’t stop the future from happening. I have been inside, I will be again. Thus, I simply am.[/i][/color]

Like he had never been on her shoulders, he was back on Elay with his face looking down at Nessa. Garf’s tail swung side to side, and he smiled a wry smile that looked terribly fiendish on the face of a cat. Abnormal.
But they had to cross a street away from the apartment building, so Elay was sure to take a few swinging strides to cross behind Nessa from side to side. To effectively cover her from both angles as they crossed, and prevent her from being the first to be injured in the event of a reckless driver.

[color=0D6793]”Christ, where’s this guy headed? Too bad it wasn’t isolated to the complex, this would’ve been much quicker…”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”The Pink Adept’s too strong to keep it to one building. Maybe at first… but this has obviously been going on a while.”[/color] Nessa responded, tilting her head around to glance at Elay. She was surprised by how he was acting as they went across the road, as if he’d actually try and stop her from being run over. Huh. 

[color=8877BD]”He’s not [i]that[/i] strong. But strong to do this across an area of town.”[/color] As she spoke, Nessa tried to figure out where they were going through the thread she had attached to the man they were following. But with him following a magical command, his head was practically empty. On autopilot. 
[color=8877BD]”It can’t be far. Most people in this part don’t drive, so… it should still be local.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Fair… Garf, who is this guy anyway? Anyone we should be worried about?”[/color]

He was talking about the man they were following, to which Garf gave a vague grunt of address.

[color=FF8604]”Not a lot to know. Born and raised pretty much within this three square mile area. Didn’t have much of a chance before whatever this was came along, so I doubt he’ll have much of one after we get rid of it.”[/color] Garf explained in a nonchalant manner.

[color=0D6793]”Right. I should’ve guessed. Just-”[/color]
[color=FF8604]”-Curious. I know.”[/color]

The cat was gone then, like he’d never even been there to begin with. He was up ahead, walking alongside the dazed man.

[color=0D6793]”Oh, great… He’s hungry again.”[/color] Elay gave a slight frown, looking down at Nessa.
[color=0D6793]”What’d you think about this morning anyway? Seriously not put off?”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”He was [i]really[/i] annoying. Tried to demand I go pick up more of that pasta, and then gave me a mile long list of food he wanted from downstairs… then told me to forget it.”[/color] Nessa shrugged one shoulder, taking issue with something relatively mundane rather than the whole horrible cat-human creature Garf had become. There’d been some fear at the time, but… she’d seen a lot of monsters. Created them. It was nothing more than extra fuel for already constant nightmares. 

[color=8877BD]”The second face was disgusting. And I figured if he decided to kill me, I’d get to come back as a ghost and watch you suffer over cleaning up all the guts across your kitchen.”[/color] Her lips pulled up into a sarcastic smile. Definitely a dark joke rather than a genuine thought she’d had at the time.


[color=0D6793]”No doubt that would’ve happened. You haunting me and everything.”[/color] he joked.

Then the mark hooked a right. A few more twists and turns through the maze of buildings on this particular block, and he was headed into a nondescript bar room with a couple of toughs outside chatting and smoking. Elay grinned.
[color=0D6793]”Oh, man… [i]A drink![/i][/color] he said brightly, following not far behind into the bar.

[color=8877BD]”You’d be better off buying paint stripper than anything here,”[/color] Nessa commented as she followed behind him. 

Inside was about as run down as could be expected. Dirty, it smelled like spilled booze and smoke. The furniture was an odd, half broken assortment. It was about half full. Regulars, probably, tough looking guys from the area. Even the bartender looked like the rest. It made it extra easy to see where the scrawny guy they’d been following went. 

She followed Elay over to the bar, sensing what the man was doing rather than actively watching. The neurons firing as they controlled his movement… then he was further away. Downstairs. She could still sense him, but it was a bit more difficult to follow.

[color=8877BD][i]He showed one of his cards and was let through the back… Into a basement.[/i][/color] She thought to Elay, while wrapping her arms around one of his and pressing her body against him. While she assumed he was going to the bar because he was a fucking alcoholic… it wasn’t like the person they were following could get out without them knowing. But everyone in this place could be in on it.
[color=8877BD]”What’re you getting, Babe? Can I have the same?”[/color]


[color=0D6793]”Don’t call me Babe, that’s gay.”[/color] Elay snidely replied backward, leaning into the bar and waving a massive arm for attention.
[color=0D6793]”Two seven and sevens!”[/color] was his request, spinning and waiting to look back out at the bar. He wasn’t trying to look like he was actively scanning, but the place really just revealed itself to him.

At least it was mostly a cube. He tried to get a read on where Garf was, but he wasn’t locating back. It was either interference, or Garf’s subtle suggestion that he should come and look for himself. But he wasn’t going anywhere without some new alcohol in his gut.


[color=8877BD]”It sure is gay, since you’re acting like a massive pussy over it. We might as well be two fucking lesbians,”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes at Elay. 
[color=8877BD]”I can practically see you growing tits in front of my eyes.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”My pussy is [i]massive[/i].”[/color] was the only reply Elay could muster, just smiling and shaking his head.
[color=0D6793]”Who taught you how to joke, anyway? Where’d you get your humor from, really?”[/color] he asked, nothing better to do with this moment of waiting for the good stuff.

Nessa shrugged one shoulder with a short laugh.
[color=8877BD]”Dunno, picked it up from people around me. Guys I hooked up with. Always kinda leaned that way naturally.”[/color] It was a genuine answer. That, and hours spent as a child allowed on the internet with absolutely no parental supervision. But she’d always had the inclination to be a bit crude… it’d just been suppressed for a long time.
[color=8877BD]”Certainly wasn’t my parents. Both were fucking tight asses.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Oh, Daddy issues? Or was Mommy the one who hit you more?”[/color] Elay grinned, totally insensitive to the nature of the question. 
It’s not like he [i]didn’t know[/i] what he was saying was bad… He just couldn’t muster enough of a fuck. Either she would stick around, or she wouldn’t. Either way, he didn’t feel like it was any sort of problem he had to solve. No change necessary. No doing anything differently.

[color=8877BD]”Is it not allowed to be both?”[/color] Nessa raised her eyebrows, as she clamped down on the sickness the question made her feel in her gut. The hint of buzzing in her mind, a phantom pain left from years of magical brain zapping. 

It was Daddy issues, of course. Total abandonment didn’t quite beat out constant abuse. 
[color=8877BD]”What’s it matter? Tryna figure out if I’ll drop you for a hotter woman that’ll treat me the same?”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Nah. If I was worried about that I’d introduce you to my Matriarch.”[/color]
The comment was given, and passed away, without any real context. The drinks showed up, and Elay threw a crisp five down on the counter before tucking the entire thing back ice and all. The glass hit the counter, and he admired a couple of half-shocked faces nearby.

Then Elay started to stretch his shoulders and arms slightly.
[color=0D6793]”Alright. You coming down? Or you just gonna let me handle it?”[/color] he asked.

[color=8877BD]”Coming down. I want to make sure you don’t fuck it up.”[/color] Nessa grabbed the other drink. She didn’t have the ability to just chug ice like that… but she did finish off the drink as quickly as she could with a grimace. It burnt as it went down her throat, but that was part of what she drank for. 
[color=8877BD]”How will you even know which guy it is?”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Well, Garf’s awake at least. I can tell who's magical and who's not. Then, determining Lux from other stuff is fairly simple. I can see it all, if you can imagine. People’s eyes, their teeth; I can see all their veins if I try enough, outlined in whatever color they practice. If there’s more than one, it shimmers between the colors. Sometimes it gets hard to tell then.”[/color] Elay explained, starting to saunter over toward the door that led downstairs.

[color=0D6793]”We’ll figure it out. Now… Will they let us both in with only one card, I wonder. Can you check anyone’s mind to see if they’ve seen people throwing packs away in the trash cans up here?”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”You want to rifle around in the trash for some cards?”[/color] Nessa stared at Elay incredulously. Seriously? One minute he was bragging about seeing Adeptal colours in people's veins like a weird kind of vampire, next he wanted to act like a raccoon in a trash can? 
[color=8877BD]”Fine. Don’t let me stop you having a trash shower.”[/color]

It was a bit annoying to check minds like that. She chose a few people near the door. Her feet walked on autopilot as she gleaned the information, leaning slightly towards Elay. Then her head very slowly nodded.
[color=8877BD]”[i]Yuuuppp[/i], your trash can awaits.”[/color] She subtly gestured towards the one nearest the door.

Elay nodded, looking around, the floor to see if there was any kind of magic user who would notice his illusion when it came. There weren’t, and then suddenly there was Garf. He was high above, his favorite place to be, and swinging his tail.
[color=FF8604][i]Lord… You’re going to pay me extra for all this running, right?[/i][/color]

[color=0D6793][i]You’re paid handsomely. Now come lounge.[/i][/color]
[color=FF8604][i]With pleasure.[/i][/color]

Garf leapt down onto Elay’s shoulders, letting his gut hit the back of Elay’s neck. In that motion, the impact of it forced Garfield’s skin to stretch in a cartoonish fashion, snapping back as a fully formed scarf that hung down the open sides of his greatcoat. There were a few moments where Nessa would be able to see Garf’s eyes peering back at her as they slowly faded somewhere into the depths of the scarf.

Then Elay raised his hands, holding one side of the scarf to twirl around his face. There was a wave of magic that Nessa would be able to feel wash across the room, and suddenly everyone was laughing at Elay. But all their eyes were at once on his scarf, which meant every single observer was now caught. It was a sticky trap for Blinds, as there was little chance for them to distinguish reality from his design now.

He could play with their heads in funny ways. Like, making them think they were all naked. And always had been. Or into simultaneously weeping at once, which he did just to make sure the few people who weren’t looking actually turned around and saw. Then, all of it washed away. The bar room returned to normal, and the whole operation carried on. 
Without skipping a beat, Elay moved forward to the trashcan and opened it up, then rummaged around for another card until he found a whole stack. 

Taking one, he dusted it off and stuck it into his pocket, then put the lid back on the can and snapped his fingers. Garf was gone, the scarf was gone, there was no sign that anything happened besides Elay moving back to Nessa’s side.
[color=0D6793]”And nobody’s the wiser. Now, here.”[/color]

He pulled out the old card that the landlady had given them and handed it to Nessa, then nodded toward the basement. 


[color=8877BD]”The scarf flick was so [i]lame[/i],”[/color] Nessa couldn’t hold back the dig, after having to witness it. Sure, the magic was impressive enough. But the delivery? Hilariously lame. 

Taking the card, she headed towards where she’d seen their target go. Back corner, a more shaded area with an opening for the stairs down. There was a muscular man sitting right beside it. 
Nessa didn’t even wait for him to say anything, holding her card up in front of her, and out of sight from most of the bar, with a smile. He narrowed his eyes at it, then Elay’s, and nodded. 

[color=8877BD]”Strange security system,”[/color] Nessa said under her breath. The stairs were dimly lit, and the smell of smoke only got stronger as they got into the basement below. It didn’t even have the ‘homely’ dirt of the upstairs bar. Just concrete walls. 

There was a narrow corridor that then opened up into the main underground room. More oblong than the bar above it, it clearly spread out under the house below too. Artificial, bright white lights hung above table upon table laid out in long rows. The place was [i]packed[/i]. Men and women sitting opposite each other, slapping down cards in a furious game. There was shouting, cheering and crying. Aside from the people playing, there were people ripping open packs and trading with each other. Everyone had a slightly glazed look in their eyes, along with almost feverishly high emotions. 

Right at the back was a slightly separated table, where the man they’d followed was. Across it were what looked like boxes filled with sealed card packets. Two men sat behind it. One was clearly serving, while the other’s chair was pushed further back as he scrolled on his phone. A woman leaned against the nearby wall and stared at him. 


Nessa was incredibly careful as she opened her mind, sliver of Pink Lux moving into the air. Not looking for magic like Elay could see. Looking for a specific signature. 
But it was everywhere. Everyone but the three at the back had it, now that she knew what she was looking for. It was overwhelming enough that she stumbled slightly, tilting her body towards Elay to hide it. Unnecessarily when everyone was so focused on the cards. 

Elay could almost crack up with laughter at the scene before him. There was no way these dudes were actually hooked like this, but the more he opened his senses to what was going on, the more he realized just how serious this was. Worse was the triple-Adept combo at the back of the room. Yellow was never great; they were simply ready for a magical invasion of their mind better than others. But then there was an Orange-Pink… Their mark? The Red was most concerning, as they were generally combat oriented… Of course, she wasn’t sat at a table either. Clear security behavior.

Elay quickly bridged their minds using Garf’s connection.
[color=0D6793][i]You got it too, right? The three in the back? Got anything to bring the crowd under our favor?[/i][/color]

Nessa’s eyes narrowed slightly, glancing past all the Blinds to the three in the back. Trying to zone out the background noise was just a moment. Focusing in… None of them were the one. She knew what his magic felt like now, and he wasn’t there. 

Thankfully. Because yes, she could mind control every single Blind in this room if she had to. That many were difficult to give intricate commands to, but just to help them? To be bodies in between? She could. 
But she really didn’t want to. Just the thought of it made her chest feel tight, another panic attack pushed down swiftly by her own magic. She could do so much more than that too. What if she used too much, and killed them like she had many before? She couldn’t. 

[color=8877BD][i]They’re not who we’re looking for. Not the[/i] one. [i]None of them have the same magical signature.[/i][/color] Nessa did her best to not change her expression, staring at the card she had intently for a moment. 
[color=8877BD][i]I can’t. This size of crowd is too much.[/i][/color]

[color=0D6793][i]What about dispelling the effect? I just don’t need all these potentially hostile bodies in here if we’re gonna have a fight over this…[/i][/color]
Elay’s voice was adamant coming through Nessa’s mind, and gave a sense of confidence that could only be presented in that theatre of the mind.

Nessa didn’t feel confident if there was a fight when there were [i]three[/i] Adepts. But… she could run. If it all went to shit, she’d just turn and run.
[color=8877BD][i]I can do that. It’ll take a bit. I’ll have to release them all at once, I think.[/i][/color] As Nessa replied she moved away from him, spinning herself round to sit in a free chair. There was no one opposite her, and thankfully everyone seemed caught up in their current games to not immediately fill the spot to try to play with her. 

[color=8877BD][i]Maybe talk to them? Be less suspicious?[/i][/color]
Where she sat her eyes glazed over slightly, still staring down at the green card. Her body slumped a bit as she carefully, subtly, sent out tendrils into every Blind in the room, while keeping a light thread attached to Elay so she could still speak to him.

Elay wasn’t exactly dressed like he was some card game junkie from the south side… Kind of stuck out like a sore thumb in that regard. Never the less, he did what he could do and took a deep breath before making his way to where the vendors were. It took a moment for the small line that had built up to clear out. Enough time that Elay got to see some pretty crucial behaviors to mimic. 

Chief among them was the sheer bulk at which people were buying these cards, and the voracity with which they shredded them open. It was actually comical, but also necessary to play the part as best he could. He could see them shaking harder and harder as they got closer to the front, until they said those magic words.

[color=0D6793]”B-boxes… Eight.”[/color] his deep voice timidly spoke, still remembering the days of utilizing voice manipulation in his Pink Lux. It was amazing how much less intimidating a meek and quiet voice was than an absolute bullhorn. 

He pulled cash from his pocket. They always only had [i]just enough[/i] for what they were buying, so he’d ripped off a few hundred from the wad without taking it out.

The Yellow Adept nodded, having to pull up some more boxes from underneath the table after the small line Elay had stood in. Eight boxes, neatly put in two stacks. But he kept his hand on them rather than immediately pushing them forward. A hint of suspicion is his eyes he didn't bother hiding. He knew how to get customers talking too- hold back the goods and they'd get desperate. 

“Just eight? You ain't buying for your girl too?” He nodded over to where Nessa was sitting. 
“I ain't seen you two round before… you new? Or just tryin' a new location?”

Elay could’ve given any excuse.
[color=0D6793]”Nah! F-fuck her. She can do w-what she wants! She’s the whole reason we gotta go this far down t’get anything!”[/color]
He hoped the “clerk” would bite, and let Elay spin a yarn about her freaking out over a match.

Mr. Yellow glanced over at Nessa again, then at Elay. Of course he bit- getting information about their ‘customers’ life was an important part of the ‘job’.
“Oh? She kick up a fuss in another location? Lemme guess… didn’t get the card she wanted?”

Mindlessly, Elay’s hands ripped into the first box like an animal, ripping the top and snagging the first pack out and splitting the perforation with dextrous ease. His head tilted downward, then shot to attention as he robotically flipped through cards.

[color=0D6793]“Lost… Bad match.”[/color]
He had no clue what to look for, but he knew how people who played these kinds of games were. Kiki had been into this, and there was a time where a group of the kids from Raven’s Rest had been into a similar card game.

He knew what ripping a pack of cards open was supposed to look like. Looking through them, he started to get a feeling for it. Then, in classic fashion, Garf’s knowledge came into play. This was a “Discovery Moment”: Enough knowledge had passed through his brain based on reading mechanics of the game that Garf’s understanding was able to diffuse into his own mind.
None of it was organized, of course. Garf was never going to let it get like that. But, for what he could gather within a few moments, this pack was dogshit.

[color=0D6793]”[b]FfffffUCK![/b]”[/color] he snarled, going for another pack. Purposefully fumbling around, he was trying to take as much time as possible out of these people’s days.

[color=0D6793]”Listen, Man… You had anyone pull any [i]Trombone of Earth and Darkness[/i] cards? Not the whole set, just the core monster. I can’t fucking [i]get it![/i]”[/color]

“Hmm, not sure,” the man said, a glint in his eyes as he saw Elay’s distress. He tilted his head back towards the other man sitting behind him, playing on his phone. 
“Anyone got the core E n’ D Trombone?”

“With one per ten boxes? Not here.” The Pink-Orange Adept looked up, going from bored to grinning in a moment.
“But that just means it’s still out there, don’t it? Maybe the next one’s the one, my friend. Buy two more boxes and you’re practically guaranteed it. Going for E ‘n D, though… you gunning to win in the big leagues?” 

[color=0D6793]”Why the fuck else would I be doing this? E ‘n D, Googly-Verse, the Ramen King. I want the big three themes: Pure collecting. [i]She[/i] plays them. And when she’s got money, she rips her own. She was already bad off a bad set of rips and then-”[/color]
This pack was shit too. He became even more distressed.

[color=0D6793]”Ohhhhh my fucking God! I swear, I swear I’m gonna kill someone over this man, I fuckin’ can’t stand this shit…”[/color]

“You’re just a collector-”
“Oy, no violence in here,” Yellow Adept interrupted his suddenly overly enthusiastic friend, though there wasn’t really any bite to his words. No [i]fear[/i], just some gruffness.

“Sh, we’re talking cards here…” Pink-Orange shook his head. 
“You got good taste. Which is your favourite theme… since there’s no point askin’ what your favourite strat is then, since you ain’t the player. She signed up for [i]the Tournament[/i]?”

As the guy started talking excitedly about the card game as if [i]he[/i] was also magically drugged, Nessa’s mental voice spoke up again.
[color=8877BD][i]Ready?[/i][/color] 


Elay spun, grabbing the box in his hand.
[color=0D6793]”No! No, no no! You said one in every ten boxes!? I’ve bought twenty-five so far, so you’re [b]lying to me![/b] And I know it!”[/color]

The escalation of involvement was turning into something more. He could feel everything on edge.
[color=0D6793][i]Hit it.[/i][/color]

“Calm down, man, it ain’t guaranteed-”

All at once, Nessa pulled the remaining thread of addiction out of all the Blinds in the room. As the glazed look in their eyes disappeared, it was replaced by violent emotions. Nessa subtly pushed emotions in various ways. Some bolted, running towards the small corridor that led back upstairs. Others turned to violence. She didn’t need to control them to direct them towards their scammers now that their minds were freed. Just boosting their anger a little bit had a couple flipping tables. 

“- you can’t- What the fuck?! Gus, control ‘em.” Yellow looked back at Pink-Orange, Gus, as a light glow flickered into life around all three Adepts. The woman who’d been on standby pushed forwards. 

Nessa quickly moved herself off the chair, crouching down and shuffling under a table. As Gus’ Pink Lux moved out to try calm down the suddenly riotous ex-card addicts, she swiftly moved to negate it. It was easy. Pink obviously wasn’t his stronger type.
“C-can’t, magic-!”


There was immediate panic. Overwhelmed by the stronger presence of Pink control, the weight of Nessa’s magic was too heavy for the Orange-Pink, and suddenly his presence was totally lost among the sea of newly raging people. There was a long moment where everything was too wild for anyone to pick up the dropped ball, and Elay tried his hardest to bring the distance between himself and the Red Adept down to nothing.

Only to hit a brick wall. A literal brick wall, not even face height. It was strong enough to stop his charge dead and nearly knock the wind out of his chest. The thing was rapidly expanding around the little tables that had been the vendor’s desk,
[color=0D6793]”Oh, no! Not a wall! Who taught you how to do that?”[/color]

Garf was already perched atop the ever-expanding brick wall, and his eyes were staring directly into the eyes of the Red Adept. It wasn’t a meow. It was a roar. A scream from beyond the belt of meteors protecting the inside of the Solar System. All at once, every dropped phone screen and set of glasses on a face was broadcasting the same orange and black static. 
In a flash, Garf became a new piece of clothing. A thief’s hood, complete with shawl, wrapped around Elay’s face, and as his face was half-covered, his eyes disappeared into blackness behind it all. Two dark yellow cat eyes opened with thin pupil slits in place of his own.

He shot a glance back at Nessa, then held a hand up to wait for a bite.

“Where?” Yellow Adept hissed, more concerned with the Pink competition than Cat Man. Guy pointed a finger towards Nessa under the table, trembling slightly as he backed away towards a back entrance. His eyes moved towards Elay. 

Which was his mistake.

All at once, the Orange-Pink could see a star falling through the streaks in the fuzz of a phone screen. The trail it left spun itself together slowly, inch by sacred inch, into a loop thirteen passes long. A winged, halo sporting individual formed within the noose, and jerked to the side as the apple crate was kicked out on front of him. More and more detail formed, until Guy could see his own face in the eyes of that winged figure. 

Vines slowly crept from his mouth, then a melon-like fruit depositing itself upon the ground before the hanged man. All of this in the minds eye, not but a few layers deep into the Emotional Field of this low-class Adept. They weren’t ready to defend themselves.

The Yellow Adept peeled off from his friend, oblivious to what was happening to him. There was one goal in mind. Glowing, secondary shields surrounded his fists, allowing him to knock out the Blinds on his way with relative ease. 

[color=8877BD][i]Fuck, fuck.[/i][/color] Nessa cast her reactive shield just in time, but the shields flaring into life across her hands were useless as he grabbed her leg and dragged her out from under the table. Her other foot came up to try and nail him in the face, pathetically hitting his chest. She struggled, rearing up to try and grab his hair. 

But she was too weak to do anything. One hand grabbed her wrist as he flipped her onto her back, pinning her to the ground. Her mind raced. What did she do- cover him in boils, cripple his confidence so he backed away? Boils- [color=8877BD][i]It’s weak! It’s so weak- he’s weak![/i][/color]

With his hands on her wrists, Nessa could sense his emotional field. It wasn’t as strong as she’d expected. He… he wasn’t a strong adept. 
Immediately, she changed tactics. It was almost scary how quickly she turned to that magic when threatened. The subtlest thread of blue started prying at his Emotional Field. It was like a second nature, something she could do as easily as breathing. [color=8877BD][i]Ten minutes, just survive ten minutes.[/i][/color]

His hand moved towards her throat, and Nessa shoved her head forward to bite it as hard as she could. He reeled back. 
“You bitch!” He went to slap her across the face.

Elay’s trap worked perfectly. The Orange-Pink had observed the static, and a Seed of Knowledge was implanted. This gave Elay an incredible range and ease of movement in the small area, utilizing the power of Doorstepping. Wampus cats, their strange ways and all, require unique skills to operate as they have for so long.

To that end, the way of Doorwalking: Folding space between two distances at the behest of the Cat, and using that path to step between short distances. In Elay’s case, it was mostly in a short radius around a particular target, as he had to have a stable connection point to base his walk around. Like a beacon, a lighthouse in the fog by which he could navigate during his short period in the dark.

Surprisingly, the Yellow seemed to be the aggressor, while the Red was seemingly occupied with keeping their supplies safe. So, one was trapped. The other was hitting his new sidekick… Elay’s body spun, and in the motion of transferring himself in reality, he spun himself through the Dark and back out next to the Yellow Adept within the blink of an eye.

Then his fist was careening toward the guy’s head at full tilt, Elay’s back leg pulling up off the ground to deliver as much downward force as possible.

The Yellow Adept hadn’t expected teleportation, too busy acting out whatever sick abuse dreams he had on the ‘helpless’ woman he had pinned. Elay’s fist slammed into the light shield around him first. It flickered under the impact and immediately shattered, the fist continuing right into the guy’s head. It knocked him back, allowing Nessa to roll out from underneath him. 

[color=8877BD]”[i]Fuck[/i],”[/color] she hissed under her breath, scrambling backwards. Blood sluggishly dripped from the corner of her lip, her cheek throbbed, but she barely noticed it. Her chest heaved up and down, eyes wild with panic- but not from being pinned down, as much as it would seem that way. No… she’d started using it. The spell. Fuck, fuck- why couldn’t she stop herself?!

Surprisingly, the Yellow Adept recovered enough from Elay’s punch to turn around and throw a shield enhanced one of his own. It was a wild attack, footing unsteady.

Elay felt every little bit of the impact from that shield against his hand and wrist. It felt like punching through half a dozen layers of glass without gaps. Elay’s hand throbbed, and he tossed his head back to howl like an animal before stabilising himself. He was getting a look around when he got bumped around by a few of the roiling people in that basement. Just enough that he could see the hand closing in on him from the crowd with intent. He slipped underneath a bystander, flicking his head down and letting the blow crash into the Blind’s face.

His body rolled up under the newly unconscious man, pushing up and forcing himself forward harder than before. In a single fluid movement, the shawl around Elay’s head split in twain, crawling down his arms and wrapping around his fists. The orange and black wraps shimmered, and he let the glimmer flash upward to distract. The chance to throw off where his hands would be in a strange afterimage shimmer. 
[color=0D6793]”Eat this!”[/color] he screamed, letting the fist catch air like a bullet from space.

The Yellow Adept was caught in the distraction of the afterimage, shielded hands moving to block a blow he expected to go to his face again. Instead it slammed into his gut, knocking him back with a pained yell. He stumbled, before falling onto his knees. In a desperate attempt to not get kicked in the face, he launched himself at Elay’s legs. 

[color=8877BD]”Can you fight with a bit less yelling?!”[/color] Nessa hissed, attention snapping to the back of the room, where the Pink-Orange had snapped out of his trance enough to start fleeing out the back door.

Elay wasn’t a slouch with Garf’s feline reaction speed and perception coursing through him. The speed of light traveling in and being processed near instantly to send a reaction back through the muscles. He pushed up on one leg, forcing his whole body upward like a spring and crashing back down onto the Yellow Adept’s back. There was a very clean reactive instance, and Elay felt the resistance of a new shield. Thankfully, his emotional field wasn’t doing so hot. There was a small resistance, then a pop as his fist crashed downward like a rocket into the back of his neck.

A small plume of steam curled up from his hand, and he stared down for a moment. Just one, before his boot rose up again, stuffing the Adept’s head into the floor like a smashed pumpkin. The Red Adept had missed the show, but heard the shriek of pain that came from the first blow and knew her companion had fallen. It was on her now. Brick walls fell away, and in their place rose ferrous towers strung with lights and peaked with razor sharp tips. 

[color=0D6793]”What kind of element is this… Architecture!?”[/color]

The two miniature Eiffel Towers rattled slightly, then sent themselves soaring through the air. One toward Elay, and the other toward Nessa.

[color=8877BD]Shit.[/color] Nessa scrambled backwards on her ass, getting under the table just in time to avoid meeting an untimely (or deserved) death on the peak of the Eiffel Tower. 

[color=8877BD]”Maybe she’s just French- Fuck!”[/color] The metal strips that made up the tower peeled away, lancing out towards Nessa. She let out a pained moan when one embedded itself in her leg, before wrapping tightly around her calf. Weak shields fizzled in and out of existence on her hands. With a grunt, she managed to maintain them and leaned forward, trying to rip the metal off her leg.

[color=8877BD]”Can you smash her head in like you clearly love to do?!”[/color]

Elay was fully grappling the other tower, their various iron crossings turning into an army of tendrils looking to hook and stab anything they could. They weren’t [i]just[/i] towers… Architect Elementals. Golems made of pure control of the structure they’re made out of. Quite the thing for a Red Luxer to mimic…

There was only one real option here. He’d have to leave her alone and hope that she didn’t get stuck to death because he decided to let the second one go. But the seeded individual was escaping. He only had so much time and room left. Trying to drop the tower’s attention for just a second to swap forms, Elay kicked its base out and dumped it on its sharp tip to embed in the ground. For just one moment, it let him loose enough that he could stop gripping. 

No longer in need of Garf’s strength, the hand wraps quickly receded back onto Elay’s head, encompassing his face again. In that same instant, he was gone. The elementals both pulled back at that moment, responding to a threat to their source. But before they could get close enough, the wall crumbled. The two elementals sadly wandered about before flaking into rust and eroding into nothingness.
Behind the falling wall, Elay had the Red Adept by the face and was squeezing. Nessa would be able to catch the last moments of struggle before the hands stopped trying to pry him away and the legs stopped kicking.

Dropping her, Garf pulled himself off Elay’s head and hit the floor with a thud before perching on top of the victim.
[color=FF8604]”Still alive… What’s in the fridge?”[/color]

Eyes became massive and saucer like, just like that morning when Nessa woke to Garf. His mouth peeled open, and there was a slurping noise as drool poured from the creature’s mouth. Meanwhile, Elay was moving back to Nessa. He didn’t say much, but he was already checking her wound and rummaging around in his coat for something.

[color=0D6793]”I can’t be everywhere at once… You’re really gonna need to hold your own in those situations.”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”Oh right, I should’ve fucking developed some combat spells right before we got here! The card game den I knew was gonna become a battlefield!”[/color] Nessa snapped, grimacing. Her hands moved to press the material of her cargo pants into the deep wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t [i]good[/i], but it wasn’t so bad that it’d kill her… unless she just let it bleed and bleed until she had none left in her body. She’d been cut plenty of times before. Normally not so deep… but it wasn’t the end of the world.

There were still some conscious blinds around, looking around with fear and confusion. Before they could properly react she was in their minds. Making what had just happened fuzzy in their minds, erasing the three of them, then nudging them towards the door. So it was just them. 

[color=8877BD]”Maybe you could stop being an asshole and rouse up some sympathy for just [i]one[/i] moment. Or do you just think this is a little scrape I should shrug off?”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”It is.”[/color]

It wasn’t. It was a serious wound, it’d be expected that you pull whatever soldier sustained that off the field for medical attention. It was the kind of wound that would get infected easily. They didn’t have to worry about that here, however… So, it was unfortunately something she was going to have to deal with. Elay’s sympathy didn’t come from voiced concern anyway: It came from action. 

He was pulling her hands away now, leather gloves gripping her hands tight and pulling them away. 
[color=0D6793]”I get what you’re trying to do with the pants, but you’re just begging to get an infection like that. Stop.”[/color]

He had a package, and ripping it open smelled like sterile alcohol. A bandage roll, that he deftly began to pack the wound with until it was tight enough that he could wrap. He’d long since placed her hand above the wound to apply pressure.
[color=0D6793]”We’ll get you to a doctor. Just hold it for now, and don’t move around too much…”[/color]

The last of the trio of clowns was gone, but whenever Elay closed his eyes he could see this sapling far in the distance. The Seedbearer, trying his hardest to escape. It was the best lead Elay could ask for, and now they had five days to follow up. So, there were two bodies in a basement under a seedy bar in a shitty part of a shittier part of a shit city.
But there was still a spell protecting something. Elay could see the Red Lux clear as day, as Garf was feasting upon its channelling host. It was an enchantment of some kind, or… A ritual?

He smiled.
[color=0D6793]”Garf… Turn her off.”[/color]

There was a wail of pain that left the Red Adept’s lips, then nothing. The little protective circle around the strongbox faded away, and Elay patted Nessa on the shoulder. 
[color=0D6793]”Lemmie see what they had, then we’ll go. We got what we needed for now.”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”Sure, take your time, it’s not like I’ll bleed to death.”[/color] Nessa rolled her eyes. Of course she had enough energy to be sarcastic, so she wasn’t dying. It hurt like hell, hot pain spiking down her entire leg, but she was used to pain. Had become numb to the lower level of pain from shallower cuts, so something like this… was bearable. 

Though the sterile alcohol going in it had been way worse than just pressing pants fabric into it. Which had [i]never[/i] given her an infection before. 
[color=8877BD]”You not gonna take all the cards? Rip open a bunch of packs and join the addicts? It could make you [i]so[/i] rich.”[/color] She sneered, head tilting up to narrow her eyes at Elay slightly.
[color=8877BD]”Maybe rich enough to find a doctor that’ll take me and not make shit worse.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Would you stop worrying about a fuckin’ doc? It’s covered. Consider it a medical plan from the company.”[/color]
There was a moment where Elay wasn’t sure if there was something else going on with the box… Security. The Seedbearer had it rigged to get a picture of who it was that opened it as an absolute failsafe. Funny, but Elay could see right through a cheap enchantment like that. 

So he did what any good thief did, and pulled his jacket up before opening the box. Some distance away, the fleeing Adept got an image of Elay with his jacket flipped over his face, and his middle finger sticking up, embedded into his brain. It wouldn’t have been so bad if that guy hadn’t just implanted the worst nightmares he’d ever have into his brain too… Now he had to remember that.

Elay wasn’t aware of the extent of psychological damage done, but he was satisfied with the pay for it. Like most criminal enterprises, this was a cash business. Which meant there was at least ten grand in the hold for operations. He quickly stuffed handfuls into his empty inner pockets, then spun and made way for Nessa.

[color=0D6793]”You probably gotta get carried, don’t you… Little Baby.”[/color] Elay mocked her with a pouting face, but didn’t wait for an answer to scoop her up.

If she hadn’t been injured, Nessa would’ve tried to kick him in the face. She had to settle for a heated glare. The effect of it was dampened by her pained moan as her leg was jostled a bit. 
[color=8877BD]”Fuck off, I bet you’re enjoying this! Getting to be the big strong man carrying the damsel in distress… And you’ve got all of the control! I can’t even run- oh I bet you love that, fucking sadist.”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”Oh yeah. I love babysitting, you know me. Christ, you think this is [i]preferable[/i] to us walking out of here on four legs total? Are you beamed out of your mind?”[/color]

Still, they could get out at all. That was the most important part. Pockets were more full than before, granted there were a [i]lot[/i] of ones. Garf would stay behind and take care of the bodies. Check wallets too, or at the least bring them back to him intact.

[color=0D6793]”It’s gonna take all day for Garf to feel like doing any more work. So let’s get you fixed up. You’re goin’ in the trunk, by the way; I’m not paying that fuckin’ toll anymore. And once we’re done, we’re gonna see about getting you a work pass so we can avoid this from now on.”[/color]

[color=8877BD]”With my fucking leg like this?”[/color] Nessa’s upper body tilted back slightly so that she could properly glare at him. The hands that had gone to his shoulders for stability gripped tightly. 
[color=8877BD]”You want me to suffocate [i]and[/i] bleed out? Might as well just slit my throat and throw me in there like some shit murderer.”[/color]

She gnawed on her lip, brow furrowing as she tried to think of another solution. Because as much as he was an asshole, the ‘toll’ - bribe - was a rip off. She wouldn’t want to pay it either. Her face scrunched up in annoyance. For just a moment, she disappeared. Not physically- Elay could still feel her weight- just visibly. But after just a couple of seconds she blinked right back.

Fuck! Because of course she didn’t just miraculously perfect that spell. Trying while injured definitely didn’t help. 
[color=8877BD]”Do [i]any[/i] of the border guards have magic?”[/color]

[color=0D6793]”No, I really don’t think you get it. I’m not, morally, letting you blast some poor borderguard because he’s trying to get extra cash to feed his kids. And frankly, I [i]want[/i] to put you in the trunk. Because I’ll get to drive without you bitching in my ear. And you can’t really do much to stop me either, which is just better for me.”[/color] Elay explained as a big smile crossed over his face.

[color=8877BD]”Are you fucking with me?”[/color] Nessa hissed. She wasn't planning to blast anyone. Just erase herself from their view, or nudge their brain to not notice her. Subtle Pink magic without any long lasting effects… she wasn't some crazy brain changer. Not… not anymore. Not by choice. 

Her fingers dug into his shoulders, but her tight grip was much more likely to hurt her than it was him. 
[color=8877BD]”Nothing’s gonna stop me from bitching in your head, you fucking sadist. What, so fucking excited to shove a woman in your trunk just cause she talks a bit? Fucking put me down, I'll limp to a fucking ditch to die in, I'd rather do that than give you the satisfaction of shoving me in there.”[/color]

She pulled back her good leg, trying her best to kick him in the chest.

[color=0D6793]”Talk a [i]little bit?![/i]”[/color] Elay blurted out with laughter as he ascended the steps and back out into the cool Cloverfield evening.

[color=0D6793]”Maybe if you shut the fuck up? Like, now? I’ll forget that I’m carrying you between here and the car, so when I get in I’ll still be carrying you!”[/color] he continued to taunt her, truly unconcerned by her physical assault. She simply didn’t have the leverage to get any kind of upper hand, even if her physical performance was higher than average thanks to her Adeptal bloodline. 

Nessa shot him the most vicious glare she could, lips pulled into a nasty scowl. They got a few looks as they went outside, but most people minded their business on this side of the river- or just didn't give a fuck. They could try kill each other out here and nobody would bat an eye. 

She really didn't want to be thrown in the trunk… but she also hated being told to shut up more than anything. There was a moment- just a moment- where she considered trying to breach his emotional field. The cat was distracted, sleepy- No, no, she couldn't fucking do that. She wasn't going to do that anymore, not even to this asshole. 

Her disgust with herself manifested as choosing to continue bitching. 
[color=8877BD]”And let you have some peace and quiet before you decide to throw me in there anyway?! I know your fucking type- [I]'Oh just do that and maybe I won’t do this'[/I]- where maybe’s always the most important word. Like you'll just [I]forget[/I] instead of mentally bitching about how much of a hassle this is for poor you.”[/color] She really didn't let up in mocking him in return, even with the cramped, dark threat looking over her head.

As she mentioned him throwing her in the trunk anyway, Elay had to stop walking to start cracking up. His laugh was so loud, it scared a passerby into tripping over a rogue cable strewn across the sidewalk. 
[color=0D6793]”Oh! Oh, fuck! You-You’re good! You’re good, Nessa… Excellent call.”[/color] he finally finished. It almost made him want to keep her in the front seat out of respect… [i]Almost.[/i]