Donut Look Now

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Nero’s Home, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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A smile slips onto my face as soon as I hear the perfect German before I smack myself to get ahold of my sanity. ”Ah, mein Prinz, so schön, deine Stimme zu hören. Ich bin jederzeit für dich bereit.” I practically purr to the phone as I shamelessly flirt despite trying to control myself. I find myself clearing my throat, flustered, like I’m the one being flirted with. ”Lassen Sie es mich wissen, wenn Sie etwas benötigen. Ich habe einen guten Vorrat an Zutaten und dergleichen.”

‘Decent’ is an understatement. Since I can remember, I’ve been stockpiling supplies I’ve found while adventuring. I’m a bit of a hoarder. I pick up Luci as she hops onto the table the phone sits on. ”Who’s a good girl?” I coo to the cat, fitting the phone between my ear and shoulder.

Translations

”Ah, my prince, so nice to hear your voice. I’m ready for you anytime” “ Let me know if there's anything you need though, I have a decent supply of ingredients and such.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Nero’s Home, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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After Caden’s, I had sent some of my more capable demons back down to hell to investigate what they could of the beastie. I had told them to specifically look into Asmodeus as discreetly as possible to see what they could find. It doesn’t surprise me that one of them ends up dead from being caught - the demon has a temper after all. They were able to get a nice report of their findings though and it confirms my suspicions. Asmodeus has been experimenting on both natural and supernatural creatures and creating chimeras. Most of them have end up dead, but he had obviously been successful when creating this one.

I’m just finishing up reading the report when the antique phone in my office rings. I set my papers down and prance over to answer it. I’ve changed into what I like to call a ‘German School Boy’ look; a pair of puffy, black shorts and white blouse with a short black tie. I’m hoping if Cassiopeia gets under my skin again, wearing less layers will prevent me from totally losing it.

”Na?” I say into the phone.

Translation

”What’s up?”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Once out of the house, I tug my gloves off my hands, stuffing them in my pocket. My left hand feels oddly numb and I anxiously rub the scar tissue as my mind buzzes with questions. I have never encountered something like this before. Sure there have been moments where the veil was a little thin, especially anytime I was in Germany, but this is different. This is scaring me.

I unbutton a few of the top buttons on my blouse so that I can feel more of the cool air on my skin. Taking off my suit coat, I drape that over my arm as well. I’ll want to finish this little monster issue quickly if I want to avoid the Cat and her curiosity. That will mean less time being shameless with Caden... I scowl to myself at this thought. I really do want to have a little fun while I’m topside.

”Stupid cat.” I say before kicking a large pebble.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Uh, ah, I think I’ll wait at my place.” I feel a little suffocated and as much as I would enjoy shamelessly flirting the afternoon away with Caden, I need some reprieve. Glancing around, I find some paper and a pen. ”This is where I’ll be,” I say as I write down my address. ”And this is the number to the house phone. Archaic, I know, but I don’t use cell phones too often.” I lie easily about the cellphone as I hand the slip of paper to Caden.

”You two try not to have too much fun without me.” I say with a wide grin. ”It was.., entertaining.” I add before I leave the room, wanting to take this chance to walk in the fresh air and maybe not think about whatever the fuck had happened to me just now.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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My eye twitches, but I keep the smile on my face. I have no idea what she’s playing at or why she cut her finger but I didn’t like any of it. I tug under the collar of my blouse and swallow hard. ”What-” I start to ask before Caden walks in. Averting my gaze away from Cassiopeia and to Caden, I almost sigh in relief. Letting her ask all those questions was clearly a mistake.

”What’s the status on the body? Are we able to get to it?” I ask, taking this moment to put much needed space between me and the curious cat.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I freeze in place, keeping my back facing her. ”Verdammte Katze.” I mutter under my breath before I spin to face them, planting a wide smile on my face. ”We don’t all destroy families.” I tell her, trying not to see past her into the cabinet. Every little hair on my body stands at attention. I truly don’t know why I’m afraid of peeking behind the curtain, but I absolutely don’t want to to experience it around my new ‘friends’.

”I haven’t destroyed any family at least.” Maybe if I show a little vulnerability she’ll drop whatever this is and go back to asking the fun questions to answer.

Translations

”Fucking cat.”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I roll my eyes at her dismissal of my pats. ”I can say this much for the King of Hell, he knows talent when he sees it.” I twisted my head to look behind me and throw a wink at her. I don’t want to divulge my true rank to her anyway… or really anyone outside of hell for that matter. Getting cocky is how Lilith and Alistair died. ”Like I said, he knows I won’t try and steal his throne, but that I’m also more capable than your average demon.” For instance, I have never encountered his favorite two humans despite the fact that almost every other demon has. I plan to keep it that way. ”Why’d you say no to his family anyway? Sounds like it could have been a cushy gig.” This part I say to her while waggling my eyebrows before I go to another corner of the room. I’m doing my best to avoid going back near the swords.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Can you blame me? There’s so much to look at.” I tell her impishly, glad she thought it was an attention deficit that had me looking at the swords. ”But to answer your question, no, not really… High ranking demons can create creatures, though I do believe it’s more of Frankenstein-ing already existing creatures. Little ol’ me couldn’t possibly make a beastie.” I stand up and pat her head twice. ”Also, good on you for saying no to Crowley. Does he know your magic doesn’t come from demons?” I ask before walking away to look at something else, ignoring her last question.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I let out a laugh, straightening to turn and face her more. ”See, this is why I call you a kitten - you’re so curious and so honest about it too. Just like a cat.” I tell her, smiling before I continue on to answer her questions. ”So with Crowley, I don’t necessarily hate him… he just… Jemandem auf den Keks gehen. My hands gesture vaguely as I try to think of the phrasing for English. ”Okay, don’t laugh, but the literal translation is ‘to go on someone’s cookie’, but it doesn’t actually have to do with cookies… it means they annoy you.” Which Crowley does annoy me. ”Don’t repeat this to him if you value your life, but us demons call him ‘Lucky the Leprechaun’, so he’s not as well-loved as you might think.” I smirk at the thought of anyone calling him it to his face.

”As for other creatures…” I hop off the table to look around the room more as I talk. ”I mean, there is a ton of things down there and not every demon is exactly… upfront with their abominations.” I take this time to tumble onto the floor and do a handstand. ”But we do try not to let the more particularly nasty beasties out since we can’t really control them, as you can probably tell.” Using my hands as feet, I pace around a little. “I mean, even Lucifer wouldn’t let Asmodeus unleash the Shidem, so it’s no surprise Crowley wants to run an even tighter ship.”

Tumbling backward, I sit on the floor and look at her again. ”As for my age…” I tap my chin in thought. “Hard to say, really. I don’t often go about trying to remember my human life - can’t really be a good one if I ended up in hell, could it?” I shrug, but my eyes dart briefly to the swords I had been looking at earlier.

Translations

The literal translation is: “To go on someone’s cookie” It is used to express that someone is getting on their nerves.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Caden’s Mansion, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I tilt my head back to look at her. ”There might be someone I could ask if you’d like.” Unlike her son, Rowena MacLeod was a delight to deal with. ”But I’m sure you want to ask me more questions before Caden comes back, little cat.” I say the pet name in English for her benefit, but I do mean it. It was fun to see what questions she had rolling about in her head.