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Eliazer looked up from the case file to verify their location before continuing his walk. Now that his illusionary disguise had been dropped the Geian was relying solely on a hooded cloak to keep him from the Security Sector's eye. Spells could only last so long and he didn't want to chance it when they didn't need it. Now that his true appearance was exposed the days of hardly sleeping and intense sleuthing were starting to wear on him. The skin under his eyes was bruised, his shoulders sagged and his facial hair, which was normally at least trimmed, was starting to go wild.

He stopped to give a half turn back toward Honi and signed, "It's not far. If this is still correct, then it should be the apartment building one street over." Looking toward someone without actually looking at them was a skill. A sense of unease had been built up between the two of them lately and Eliazer wasn't sure what to do with that. So, he'd done his best to keep his distance and work on finding something to fix it. If he could at least prove his innocence in her eyes then that was something, right?

Eli made sure to keep a hand close to his blunderbuss at all times. The rifle was carefully hidden beneath his cloak, but each time a noise alerted him to movement his hand would find its way back there, little bits of magic dancing across his fingertips. More often than not it was an averin, skittering around looking for bits of displaced food or the occasional lowlife skulking around. Just like us.

When the building came into view it checked out. An older edifice with several windows boarded up and the front door to the building hanging on by a thread. At least they wouldn't have to worry about breaking in...Instead of reaching for his usual weapon this time, Eliazer dipped down to pick a dagger out of his boot (just in case), and stepped through the doorway. "Third floor right?"

He couldn't help it; Eliazer's surprise at her mis-signed words turned into a little snerk of a laugh. As soon as it slipped out, though, he cleared his throat and turned away with the back of his neck a little warmer than earlier. They were in a weird place right now - figuratively and literally - so it wasn't best to poke at her achievements. Not if he didn't want to end up with his knife in his own back...

Third floor, fourth door on the right side...It wasn't hard to miss, especially since it looked to be cracked open. Why was it open at this time of night? Frowning, Eli carefully picked his way across creaking floorboards before stopping just shy of the door and raising a hand for Honi to stop as well. Instead of using his hand, he put the knife back into it's sheath, reached for his rifle and used it instead to gently push the door the rest of the way open.

Quiet. Just like it was outside...

There was a stench about the place that Eliazer knew all too well. Some of it was rotted food, others mildew and mold, while more still had an iron taste to it. As they slowly crept into the apartment Eliazer could make out the signs of a struggle and pointed toward them in turn. A table had been knocked over, a blade had damaged several of the chairs in the sitting area and leading toward the kitchen was a trail of thick, splattered blood.

Flicking a piece on his rifle, Eliazer infused the blunderbuss with his own magic and caused the weapon to gain a faint glow. He walked forward, doing his best to remain as quiet as possible as he made for the kitchen. Just because they couldn't hear anyone else didn't mean they weren't there, but still...The sight alone was harrowing.

There, sprawled out on a dirty wooden floor, was a Geian man. His markings may have looked like Eliazer's...if his throat hadn't been slashed.

Eliazer focused on the body for far too long before turning back to Honi and immediately feeling his stomach drop. He hadn't thought....And that was the problem. He didn't think of how this must look to someone else. Eli had been so focused on finding proof to clear their names, to clear his, that the thought of what such a sight might do to Honi hadn't once crossed his mind. Somewhere in his mind he'd assumed that everyone had seen at least one dead body in their lifetime, but really, how many had? And with this level of depravity?

Eli didn't have time to react before Honi fled the scene and left him in darkness. For a moment Eliazer stayed there, half crouched over the still warm corpse, just...looking into the darkness. After some time Eli summoned an orb of his own and carefully put the blunderbuss back over his shoulder. He picked his way across the apartment back into the hall where he saw a scene that broke his heart.

Instead of trying to get her attention he simply crouched beside her and took a deep breath before putting a hand on her back.

He shouldn't have touched her. The moment his hand made contact he knew it was a mistake. Eliazer's hand hung helplessly in the air, paralyzed by grief over what he'd done. Honi would have fought him, but he should have found a way to leave her behind and come on his own. Like a fool he'd thought that having her close would be better....You're so stupid. Why don't you ever think things through?!

Eli wanted to touch her so bad, to bring her into his arms and hold her so she couldn't see anything other than him, but how could he? How could he touch her now when one hand had that kind of reaction? With her eyes downcast she wouldn't be able to see him sign, so he dug around his pockets for notebook she'd gifted him so long ago and wrote out a message with a bit of charcoal.

"It's him." And then below that, he wrote, "I need to inspect the body. I'll be quick." With sigh, he slid the notebook across the floor toward her, trying his best not to make any sudden movements, before rising to go back into the room. Eli left one ball of light with her, but summoned another to go with him.

Eliazer picked his way back through the wreckage toward Kettel's body. He needed to be quick; not just to get back to Honi, but also to stay out of sight. If the fight had drawn any kind of attention it would be bad for them to be caught in the area and Eliazer had no desire to raise his bounty.

In a separate notebook, one he kept in his inner pocket for work related notes, Eliazer started marking details. He used the tip of a dagger to lift the edges of Kettel's neck wound, used a bit of magic to trace his blood for potential poisons, took notes on how the area had been ravaged-

Then a noise caught Eli's ear. Wha-?

BOOM!

The blast caught him off guard and if he weren't already on edge Eliazer might not have ducked in time. Shards of the cabinet behind him exploded into the air as a shadowed figure rushed out toward the hallway. With a soundless scream, Eliazer tossed his dagger at the retreating figure and only briefly delighted in the way they stumbled on impact. It lodged into the figure's calf, but they were quick to pull it out and keep running.

With sounds of a chase happening at the top of the stairs, a figure was almost too casually making her way up from the lower level. Her hand was on the pistol sitting ever so prettily on her hip and long, luxurious ginger curls bounced off the figure's shoulders as she climbed. When she came across Honi, Adhira smiled. "Well well, so nice to see you again, sweetling. Sounds like your friend's up to some mischief upstairs."

Sounds of a scuffle, both physical and magical, echoed up the stairwell around Adhira. The bounty hunter's footfalls were almost painfully slow as she ascended with only the clip of her heels breaking through the struggle above.

"Eliazer Aberswith is a wanted criminal and to that end-" Adhira reached for the pistol at her side and brought it up, pointing the barrel straight at Honi's head. ,"-so are you. The only way I can help either of you is to make this quick."

As soon as she said the word 'quick' Eli's torso was knocked through the railing on the floor above. He hung on, arms locked with his assailant and snarling. While Eli was too busy trying to keep himself from falling completely, Adhira caught sight of the little pops of lighting coming from Honi.

"Sweetheart, you're shaking. What were you going to do if you did find the one who framed him? Cry and beg them to show you mercy? I should have just shot you in the alley,."