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Jada snuggled herself deeper into his coat as he prodded carefully at her ankle, hissing only a little at the soreness. He was being the model of decorum, and though it was a dangerous thing to do, she found herself relaxing, tension slowly draining out of her stiff shoulders, even as the cold forced them to stay hunched. "I've been known to ask," she answered his question after a moment. "I look at career soldiers, and wonder what keeps them there."

She pursed her lips. "They usually say money, but I can't imagine you make as much money as you might if you joined the special ops." she gave him a lopsided smile. Why does anyone join a service? "To survive," she said at last, and rested her chin on a hand, watching him with open curiosity now. "They join to survive."

It was an aspect she'd not truly considered, but she might have to. She asked no more questions on the matter though, having found a first answer in his response.

"You don't have to call me Miss," she said at last. "Please, call me Jada." chewing on her lip, she shuffled, tugging her keys out of her purse. "The jag with the popped trunk? Can you get the last of the boxes and take it all to the drop for me, please?" On queue, the jaguar's trunk popped open, a single, solitary box exploding out. Welp.

She'd consider letting him drive her home, if he didn't brain her and steal her keys. She might even have him stop by a drive-thru coffee shop, her treat; as a thank you for his rescue. Without his coat... he almost looked like a normal guy.

It took the man a moment to look up, something stark in his eyes that was achingly familiar. His answer was quiet, but clear enough. It's not just people who put on military uniforms who go to war, she wanted to say, but it wasn't fitting. Jada didn't know him, and as a civilian, she had no reason to call it a war.

Captain Aluminite, hmm? He'd done something right then, at some point. But it wasn't something she wanted to ask. Manners only went so far, and as she lost feeling in her little tow, she wasn't certain she wanted to risk asking. "They call you Captain Aluminite, but if you don't give me something you want me to call you, I'm going to nickname you Mini and that will be the end of it."

Her voice was light, and only partly teasing. There was just something in his green eyes that looked almost sad, and she was tired of sad in her life. She couldn't escape it, no matter where she looked, but she could try and help people avoid it with at least a little smile.

Maybe.

If she was lucky.

And he didn't kill her.

"Don't worry about me," she said simply, and pulled out a small hot pink cylinder of mace. "I won't go walking, and if I am attacked by any rabid raccoons, I'll spray them in the eyes until you come pick me back up."

It was a few moments of semi-awkward, heavy silence, before he rose, Even Jada knew when silence was more than it should be, and sometimes... it didn't hurt to listen to it. Maybe. Instead she took the time to watch him, not bothering to play coy and hide it. She watched the distance in his gaze, the muscles in his jaw, the twitches of his mouth, the flare of his nose or furrows of his brow; she tried to make note of the rise and fall of his chest, and wondered if he needed his own coat back against the cold.

"Consider me held, Mini," she told him, and watched him unfold, moving across the pavement towards her car. Jada buried herself in her borrowed jacket, sucking in a cold breath and rubbing the tip of her nose with a sleeve to warm it. The inside of her vehicle was probably starting to get cold, with the trunk open this long. But there were worse things in-

That was all of the boxes in one go. Impressive- then again, he also had a lot more reach. Jada left one leg outstretched, pulling up the other so she could rest her dark head against it, using the ends of the dress-like coat to protect her modesty. One minute, she was watching him carrying the donation, and the next--

Where had he gone? It took her a second to stupidly connect that he'd teleported (because he was a Captain, of course he could teleport, Jada, you absolute moron-), one of the things she hated most as Scylla. She couldn't hide the way it stiffened her spine when he vanished,; her car was in front of her, and the donation drop behind. He may have gone there, he may have gone-

The sound of boxes, and footsteps; slow, and almost as hesitant as his words. "You're a stranger, very late at night, and I'm not exactly in a position to fight you off if you wanted to hurt me. You could have chosen to pull that little disappearing act and snap my neck" Honesty, a painful policy, but the best one. "There's a part of you that terrifies me. But you've been nothing but a gentleman." she wriggled around, using her good ankle to turn so she could face him. "You didn't have to stop to help me; you've been kind enough to carry my boxes for me, and bring me over here to let me rest for a bit. You've loaned me a coat, even though now you're probably freezing."

He was still a bit aways, and she patted the stone beside her. "You can either sit next to me here, or we can cram in my tiny little car with the heater on, if you want to talk. At the very least, you're going to let me buy you a cup of coffee or tea to say thank you, right?"

If she pulled his coat any tighter around herself, her arms were going to pop through it as she tried to breathe. Not that a coat would keep her safe, but she believed him- it was foolish of her, but there was such open sincerity on his face that it almost gave her a toothache. His coat wouldn't keep her safe, but he'd try, and that would be enough, for tonight at least. And what were the chances she would ever meet Aluminite after this? Slim. It was a big city, after all, and she'd never run into him as Scylla.

Not that she'd ran into many people as Scylla, this winter.

"That's a shame," she told him honestly, tucking away the bright pink mace and holding out her hands to the Negaverse agent, waggling her fingers in a sign she was ready to be either helped up or lifted. "I stole your coat, I feel the need to pay you back for it. Some coffee shops around here do drive through's, and you're going to have to drive me part way home anyways."

It wasn't that he wouldn't be able to find where she lived from the 'closest' place she could have him drop her. The plot of land the mansion was on was a mile of fenced-in property, and they didn't have that terribly many neighbors, living outside the city proper. She could have him drive her home, but she wasn't going to risk it. The mansion was still a haven, though every new staff member was a risk.

But--

No. "I think it's about time to warm up a little, don't you? My fingers and toes are freezing, and I have your coat to save me. You must be dying."

"Mini is actually a terrible nickname for you," Jada said conversationally as she wrapped one arm around his shoulders, peering at the ground from her secure perch. At this height it was easy to just plop her head on his shoulder and pretend that Aluminite was just a normal gentleman being gentlemanly.

She didn't know very many gentlemen anymore.

Feeling her red lips curve in a wry smile, Jada shifted to let herself be more comfortable, willing herself to be more relaxed. "If you find me good enough company tonight, you must be very lonely. I'm sorry." Aluminite's long legs devoured the ground under her feet, and she shifted her weight cooperatively to help him get her into the passenger seat, casting him a beatific smile.

It was a risk, and she knew it, but no more a risk than getting in a stranger's car, or inviting one home for a cheap, easy fling. A smiling face could hide a lie as much as a sad one, but his eyes... For an agent of chaos, his eyes just screamed brooding hero. It was really impressive.

"Well, once you are in the car it won't matter," she said and leaned over to turn the jaguar on, turning the heat back on. It had only been dead a few minutes, but with the trunk having been open... She turned on the seat heater as well, letting her head fall back on the rest and her arms relax, unwrapping the coat.

"I do insist," she told him, "but I suppose we can do it another time if your schedule is booked." with murder, she tried not to imagine. "As for lateness, I was more concerned about your... uniform." Jada Chamberlyn, Negaverse sympathizer and cost thief. "As for a different kind of ride home-" her eyes narrowed with wicked humor. "I'm a little bit injured. I'm not sure I could handle something different." she paused, trying to imagine herself going home on a unicycle or something, dragging it out, waiting (probably for the inevitable protest), until-

"Besides, I don't have a bicycle. Unless you were thinking horseback. Different kind of rides are great, but I was thinking a taxi could do, if you didn't want to drive me."

Though she would probably drive herself. Her ankle would heal back up soon enough.

"If you;re sure its fine, at least let me buy you something to keep warm, or give you a fiver to get one on your own time, or something. Maybe it was luck or timing, but I probably could have been up- and pardon my language- s**t creek with a very, very tiny paddle." Jada meant it, too. She would have lay there a few more moments, gotten up, hobbled back to her car, stubbornly hobbled all the boxes to the door, probably twisted something worse, and then driven home. Stubbornly.

Lips curving visibly upwards, she added, "Besides. I've allowed you to be enjoyable enough company." now she was teasing him, and it felt.... weird. But as far as agents of Chaos went... yeah, she was going to keep thinking that. He was an exception, it seemed. Wolframite had been pleasant too, but that was only to Scylla. She hadn't met him as Jada before he became Gevaudan.

The tall man jerked backwards, suddenly stammering, and Jada took a second to realize why. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and burst into peals of bright laughter. She hadn't been thinking- that. Honestly, though, Jada should have been. It was a foolish mistake, and luckily one that seemed to have embarrassed him almost as much as it amused her. In fact, she missed his sigh of relief too, eyes closed and giggling into the cold. Resting her cheek against the door jamb, she shook her head at him, eyes dancing.

"I'll do a taxi, not an Uber. Never can trust who is going to pick you up, but at least a taxi will be held accountable for your safe delivery. You can take me home if you'd like, but I'm not going to push. You've done more than enough."

Aluminite shut the door on Jada's victorious, toothy grin. She would repay him with tea, and hopefully she'd never have to be saved by an agent of Chaos (no matter how pleasant) ever again. Frankly, it was kind of embarrassing. Luckily, no one who knew her would be around to give her disappointed looks and scowl.

She leaned over, trying to push the driver's side seat back, but either tall people could walk a lot faster than she was used to or he'd teleported to the other side of the car. It was probably long legs eating up the ground, she didn't know how teleportation worked, but didn't imagine it was easy. "It wouldn't be the first time," she told him with a wry smile, "my little brother has big long legs, and this is his favorite of the cars." she watched him adjust himself into the smaller space with a wry smile, remembering the way Lucas would shove himself into the car, fumbling around to adjust it.

Leaning against the door, she gave Aluminite an amused smile that he probably couldn't see. Oh well. "Well," she drawled, "I'm very little. I can't see myself driving a big old honky-tonk truck or something. I'd need a ladder to get into the cab." Reaching over, she shifted another setting on the wheel, allowing the wheel to pop out, not just up, closer to his chest so he could adjust his legs. "Coffee it is. And then I'll go home with no complaints. I can get you a taxi, if you need it, or... I live kind of out there. I don't know how often you can do your little magic trick."

Wait. s**t. What if letting him drive her home gave him the ability to- like, Ares could pop in and out of mirrors, or- s**t. But she smiled, because- ugh.