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It did not take him long to get to the shop. The entire time he glanced around to see if he could figure anything out. He was taking no chances and though he walked into the shop, he was not walking out. Let them think he had gone to remain there. Whoever she was, she covered her tracks well. That could mean she had help of some sort. Either way he knew he was taking a chance, but from what Mischa had said, if this woman knew he was connected to her, she'd know he had been sent there to warn them.

Pushing the door open, Theros glanced around for any of the three. As he closed the door, he studied the buildings around it. Still nothing and his eyes narrowed slightly. Spotting Tae-yul sitting with a book at the desk, he half smirked. Somehow that figured. The man seemed the bookworm type.

A faint grin on his face as he was tempted to comment such, but that was not the reason he was there. His expression turned entirely serious as he stopped beside Tae "I came to see you, Tae-yul, as well as Hae-min and Edward. It's very important. The shop and everyone else is at risk and she wanted me to warn you three about the danger. It's serious and connected to what has been going on. Mischa and Kyrie were both nearly killed when she returned to the casino. She said I should give you the information and exactly what was said."

For a moment, the fallen angel looked surprised, then irritated. Ugh, newborn humans, demons, they were all the same. Understanding wasn't required, obedience was what he was demanding and obedience was what he should get. "She didn't do it, according to my Book." Sofiel turned the page towards Bassett, one nail--holy s**t, his hands looked almost normal!--indicating a line, with a sketch of what was clearly the necklace Odessa had given him. "Lilith gave it to you--while she was dead. Odessa intended to give you this one." And there, another sketch of a similar necklace, but the pendant was darker, less translucent.

Goddamn, Sofiel could draw.

"As for what you are to her, that I cannot say." His tone turned respectful--it sounded weird, coming from him. "It isn't my place to say."

Bassett's reminder that he was a demon went unheeded, except for--weirdly--a sympathetic smile.

"Hae-min and Edward are busy," snapped Tae-yul, glancing up from his book, but he slammed his mouth shut (his teeth gave an audible click) at the rest of the message. "Miss Cross is all right, is she not? ******** it." This got him up and out of his chair, book set aside. "What was said? Tell me. Do it now."

Theros nodded and realized that he had the man's full attention now. Starting at the beginning was the only way to do this. "When Mischa arrived back at the casino, she had just gotten out of the limosine when this woman approached her. She put a gun to Mischa's forehead, saying that it was an appointment with fate. And apologized twice but said that Mischa was the first one out, and that there had to be a message sent somehow."

A faint grin appeared for a second before sliding away as he continued relating the incident. "Mischa got angry and demanded to know what the girl was talking about. She said that Mischa was the first one out of the demon's shop and called everyone soul suckers. Said she couldn't get you yet, so Mischa was targetted. Said her Father's records showed that Edward Fauste... and she did name him, would not stand for his clients being threatened. Then she made some comments about how he values them for his research only and named Mi's connection to Asmodeus. She also called you that 'asian'. Mischa said that it was the tone that makes her think that she has a grudge against you in some way or even knows you personally, Tae."

"Kyrie walked out the front door at that point looking for Mischa and the woman shot her in the shoulder instead then vanished as in teleported out. Kyrie is fine. Sleeping. Mi would not let her remain in the hospital alone. We've tripled the protection at the casino and Kyrie is there in her own room. Lord Asmodeus has gone to look for Seere and Sam to warn them of this also. Mischa was sure this woman would try again. She said she was too well trained and sure of what she was doing and Mi seemed to think she must have files on everyone or she would not have known of Asmodeus."

This was going to be a tough situation and in order to keep the summoners and those at the shop safe, it was probably going to take all of them working together to solve the problem. A challenge if nothing else.

"Teleported," said Tae-yul. It seemed odd that out of everything, all the details Theros had just handed him, he would focus on modes of transportation. One of the sheets of paper on Edward's desk was covered in cramped Korean now--presumably notes on everything he'd just heard.

Not like he cared. Edward just would be very put out if Tae-yul lost some tiny detail.

He frowned, reading over what he had written. "Damn it," he said, finally, and then again, louder: "Damn it." Tae-yul had always been temperamental, and Theros got a first-hand display of it when the man threw his arm across the desk, upsetting the containers on the desk. But then he stopped, hands clenched, and through gritted teeth he said, "It's a hunter. Damn it, how did she know--" He shifted his gaze towards the stairs. Towards upstairs.

"If she teleported in before, what's to stop her from doing it again," he snapped finally. He had opened up the large black book on a side table and was flipping through it quickly, quicker than most people could read. "What color were her eyes?"

The glow receded from Bassett's back as the demonic angel before him spoke, and with the glow ebbed his anger. His shoulders, which had pinched up near his neck, finally relaxed and the features on his face softened. Irritation, frustration, still bubbled in his stomach, pits of sticky pitch that scaled the inside of his chest, but Bassett did his best to quell it. Suddenly things started to make sense. Lilith...Lilith the queen of all demons, she was the one who had done this to him. She was the one who set in motion a wheel of fate that would spin wildly out of control for the soldier. The anger that was supporting his back gave out, and he slumped considerably.

He was wrong to place all his blame on Odessa.

It was Lilith, her mother who had done this to him. That still left him to wonder though, what was he to Odessa now? Was he...? Human, demon, friend or...?

Bassett pinched his brows tight and reached up to press his hands against the heat of his forehead. This was all too much. Glancing up at Sofiel, giving a face of one defeated, he sighed. He didn't know what to think of the odd and very unnatural smile coming from the demon, but he tried to return one nonetheless. After all, the soldier was still, somewhere beneath it all, just a humble youth passing by. He would not forget his manners so easily.

"...I get it," he said at length, his voice heavy, "I ******** get it. I won't speak of her to anyone. You have my word as a soldier. Is there anything else you'd like for me to know before I leave?"

Theros watched the man's actions. He was really upset by the details of what Mischa has said to tell him. This was as serious as he had thought.

At the word 'hunter' he blinked, almost flinching. Mischa was lucky Kyrie came through that door when she did. There's no way the girl would have been able to hold off a hunter. No way many of them would.

Theros glanced upstairs following Tae-yul's gaze. "Her eyes?" He blinked trying to remember what Mischa had said. "Mischa said the girl did not look much older than she was and that her eyes were black. She didn't get much of a description. Do black eyes mean something? And is teleporting so rare?"

"If it's any consolation," said Sofiel, rising and fluffing his wings out, "she's looking out for you. Things could be going much worse, like they have for Miss Kyrie Cross. She was shot, just an hour or two ago."

He paused, then said, "Please stop to talk to my summoner on your way out... He will have information for you."

The fallen angel stepped forward after setting the book aside on the counter. "And come back soon, especially if other... strange things happen. I will do my best to ensure Edward is here to speak to you."

Tae-yul sighed, frustrated. "Rare enough, for humans! Summoners can't teleport unless they've made a bond with a demon capable of it and a hunter shouldn't be able to do it at all, they can't summon at all, they're just people--damn it. Black eyes. Here."

He fell silent for a minute, impatiently throwing his hair out of his eyes. And again--he was reading that page of the book. "Black eyes aren't common outside of Hell," he said after a long moment; "Really they're dark brown. But if Mischa is certain they're black, that means that the hunter we're looking for is a summoner as well."

Cynically, he laughed. "Gabriel van Helsing would let her help, damn it, if she was his. So whoever we're dealing with, she's the daughter of the Butcher of Belfast and a summoner."

Tae-yul was quiet again, expression for once without ire or rancor.

"Tell Miss Renaue that if anything happens to Kyrie Cross, I will hold her responsible," he said, finally. "And that if she wants to avoid the mortuary table, she should avoid places with heavy shadows."

She's looking out for you.

If words could comfort, those ones certainly could. He watched with wide eyes as the demon rose and, ever so slightly, expand his wings. Bassett was suddenly struck with feelings of awe. If he were on the battlefield, dying, desperately trying to hold his guts in, he could imagine seeing this demonic angel coming before him, wingspan full, to take him out of the world of mortal hurt. Bassett swallowed, his throat going dry.

Then there was that last statement.

"Shot?" Bassett echoed with surprise, his body instantly remembering the way bullets felt, drilling into his flesh. He winced obviously and unconsciously brought his hand up to his shoulder where he was shot long ago on the field. He just had to wonder if this thing was happening to all summoners...If things were worse for others, and if things were going to get worse for him. He nodded to Sofiel and gave him another tired smile, "Thank you for everything, Sofiel. I will talk with Tae-yul. I will, at the first sign of something strange, I'll make sure to make my way back as soon as possible."

With a salute, soldier's style, Bassett turned on his heels and started down the stairs. As he came down, he made sure that his hat was pulled over the horns of his head and he moved back into the shop. To his surprise, Tae-Yul was making passionate gestures of anger with his arms, and, standing rather awkwardly before him, was another man. He stepped into the line of their sight, purposefully letting his shoes fall hard on the wooden floor boards tolet them know that he had just joined their midst.

Bassett glanced towards Pey, who had taken up to the ceiling as soon as the other man entered the shop. Bassett furrowed his brows at Pey, communicating with him then and there that he should stay up there until the other man left. He got a nod from his demon, who slunk deeper into the shadows behind the bookcases.

"Pardon," the soldier said, raising his brows at the two.

Even though Theros heard the shoes he continued, nodding as he raised an eyebrow. He did note the names given as Tae continued his tirade. "I'll see that Mischa knows. I imagine the casino will be well lit up from this point onwards and make sure that Asmodeus knows this information on this particular hunter as well. If we get more, then I'll see to it that you get such. I have the impression that this is going to get worse before all is said and done."

He glanced over at the fellow now entering the room. "It's alright. I was just leaving. I've done what needed here and I've responsibilities to return to. Just make sure everyone knows because if Mischa was targeted then others will be also."

With a grin, he watched Bassett a moment then teleported out after bowing to both. Being half demon had its perks and he had planned on leaving so to throw off anyone who might be watching the door outside. Now he needed to find Asmodeus and turn up the light. Drive those shadows away. Literally.

Bassett made his way to the casino, riding his bike there as fast as he possibly could. He didn't want to be there any longer than he needed to, especially if he were going to dodge nightfall. He could fly, yes, but...Well, in all honesty, Bassett wasn't as good as flying as he would like to be. not only that, but he was sure he didn't want to make himself look too suspicious. Pey, crouched on the back of the bike, complaining in his ear the entire way down. Bassett just ignored him, focused on the job ahead. Hooking his bike up to one of the poles outside the flamboyant building, Bassett blinked at the light. It was bright, very bright. Almost too bright for a casino.

Good.

Bassett entered in the large building and looked around, pulling his jacket straight and making sure his hat was affixed firmly over his white horns. There were a lot of people inside, and quite frankly, the instructions he received from Sofiel when he visited the Daemonologie shop just a few hours earlier, were already jumbled up in his head. After visiting Tae-yul and Sofiel for a brief five minutes to give an update on his situation, he was instructed to visit Kyrie, and to do that, he would need to go here, and speak with Mischa. Already feeling like he was a lost boy inside the casino, Bassett glanced around helplessly, trying to find the woman Sofiel described.

Pey sauntered up behind Bassett, digging his hands into his pockets. He wasn't really paying attention to anything going on. all the demon was concerned with was protecting the source of his food. And that meant going along on this stupid adventure. Pey sighed loud and long, expressing his obvious distaste about the whole deal, "This isn't inconspicuous at all. Are you even allowed in here?"

"Shut up," Bassett replied curtly, "No, I'm not. Not really. But that's okay. I'm not going to gamble or anything."

"How old are you?" the demon asked pointedly.

"I'm twenty now. My birthday was last year," he said, glancing helplessly at the people around. He didn't see anyone yet who matched Mischa's description. "I don't see anyone who looks like Mischa. Sofiel said that it would be easy to spot her."

"So close. Just one year off!" The demon chortled. "That's okay. I don't want your blood poisoned with alcohol anyway. It makes my head bleary."

"Pey, just be quiet and help me find Mischa."

She had been slow to dress, wearing a white silk with green trim. Her hair was tied back loosely with a green ribbon, some red curls slipping free. A pair of gold and emerald earrings dangled, but she wore a gold and emerald ring instead of the usual bracelets.

Theros and Asmodeus were both with her as she stepped from the private elevator, the demon prince in his own form for a change. She blinked as she glanced around. The lights were really high, but that had been explained. If it was a deterent then, they could add even more.

"I'll check on Kyrie after I check the floor, Theros." she said softly. Mi was rather subdued after nearly having been killed, but it was not entirely fear that caused it. It was as much anger at having been targeted as she had.

Theros nodded as a pack of hounds moved behind her as she moved. He frowned as he watched her.

"I won't be far from her, Theros, but keep an eye on everything and make sure the other guards know too. I don't want either she or Kyrie in danger again." Asmodeus stated as he continued to scan the casino around her. He and Theros moved as she did, staying several steps behind.

Mischa stopped to greet a few of the patrons, forcing a smile on her face. Picking up a couple glasses from a tray as the waiter went by, she put them down beside the couple she had been speaking to before moving on. Hopefully all of them were safe. In the beginning she had thought about closing it for the night, but she was not letting anyone do that to her. She would choose her own fate and fight for it.

Theros caught sight of Bassett and Pey. "Asmo, they were there in Tae's shop. They might have information and look like they are looking for someone." Mischa was walking towards them as she made her way through the area.

Bassett stood around awkwardly for quite some time, eying the sad people around the casino. He never liked casinos, he decided. Too many sad people, too many hurt people with nothing better to do than squander their savings on these games. He tried to keep his gaze away from the faces of the people staring into the slot games and instead continued looking for the lady with the ginger hair. Ginger, ginger...Bassett spun around in a circle, lifting up onto the tips of his toes.

"Hey" Pey said, snatching his summoner's chin and turning his head towards a group who just entered the ground floor. There was a lady there in a beautiful gown that rippled like drapes when she moved. She looked very important, especially with those people following her...And those hounds...Demons? Pey furrowed his brows and pulled his grin into a wide smile, a bunch of his teeth showing themselves threateningly, "What about that nice dame over there? She has the hair you're looking for, right? And it seems like she has quite the party along with her. And that man standing behind her, he was in the Daemonologie shop."

Bassett pushed Pey's cold hand from his face, nodding wildly, "Yes! She's the one." The soldier raised his arm to wave her down, and he trotted over to her side, forgetting his own warnings to stay low. "Mischa? Is that you?" When he finally came to a stop before her, he gave her a brief salute (stupid habit), and a bow of his head with the ever so slight tip of his hat, "Hello. I'm Bassett Ellery, from Edward's shop. I need to talk with you."

She had just smiled at the fellow beside her. He was one of the many regulars who came to the casino. More money than brains in his head though he was a decent dancer when not drunk. When she heard her name and the fellow coming towards her, she nearly jumped but instead shoved out a smile.

"Yes. I'm Mischa. Edward's? He is.. they are still well there?" That reassured her a little but more than anything there was the demon with him. Definitely a summoner. But then she frowned. So was that girl that had attacked her. "What can I do for you, Mr. Ellery?"

Theros walked to stand beside her. "I remember seeing you, Bassett, but I apologize for not remaining to talk to you. And the one with you. No bookcases for you to hide behind here." He grinned slightly as he teased the other demon a bit.

Asmodeus walked forwards to stand behind Mischa. For a moment he watched Pey and Bassett closely. His lips twitched slightly as he signaled the hounds to the side for the moment. He simply watched to see what would be said as he let himself be seen by them.

Bassett smiled. This lady seemed nice enough. She was strong, he could see that, and it made him feel like a knock-kneed novice to confront her. he had half the mind to pull off his hat and hold it with both hands in front of his chest like he were a poor street urchin, if it weren't for his need to hide his horns. Instead, he settled for keeping his back straight and trying to keep his own in front of these other two men as well as the nice lady.

"Yes, they're all still fine at the shop, miss," he said, confirming her question. Then he nodded again, tempted once more to hold his hat in his hands, "I remember seeing you too, though I never did catch your name sir. You made quite the exit." But then his attention was grabbed again by Mischa.

Pey was not really a sociable demon. He enjoyed getting drunk and having smokes, telling nasty undermining jokes that would make even the highest war general blush, and making a mess out of his meal. So when the other teased him humbly, Pey did nothing short of biting his neck. The demon restrained himself and sneered his toothy smile at Theros, folding his arms across his jacket, "Means that there's just that less standing between me and your jugular." he growled.

Bassett reached towards his demon, snatching the Nameless by the collar and giving him a gentle shake, "Pey, remember your manners, we're not on the battlefield anymore. These are fellow patrons of Edward's shop. Treat them kindly." He released his demona nd looked apologetically towards the others.

Sniffing, Pey shook himself violently from Bassett's grip and stared at the other two men, challenging them with an inverted and black steely gaze.

"Sorry, we're a bit tense. Strange things have been happening," Bassett said helplessly, "It's actually why I'm here, miss. I was told by Tae-Yul and Sofiel to seek Kyrie. I heard about what happened and I'm terribly sorry about it all."

Mischa smiled warmly as she listened to Bassett. She sent a glare at Theros for antagonizing the demon with Bassett, but before she could say anything, Asmodeus did.

"Theros, enough teasing." the demon prince stated, eyes flashing. Peys were bloodthirsty demons and Theros looked more human than demon and that would be to his disadvantage here.

"As you say, my Lord Prince." Theros tilted his head in aquiescence. He realized the mistake he made was that Asmodeus was not up to foolery with a hunter around.

"I should introduce myself, Bassett. I'm Asmodeus. That is Theros, our head of security, and Mischa is my contract, and owner of the Tempest. And Pey will behave himself or get fed to the hounds. Just as Theros will. There is a proper time and place for teasing one another. When a hunter is around is not one of them."

"We are all tense," Mischa replied. "The hunter approached me much like you just did. Seemingly innocent. Kyrie is here. If you would like to speak to her, I can show you where she is."

Asmodeus nodded. "Mischa can take you there while Theros and I remain here. We have things to do. Lights to order."

Bassett elbowed his demon when Asmodeus mentioned the punishment for misbehaving in the casino. After a short exchange of meaningful glares at one another, Pey and Bassett finally calmed and nodded their heads at Mischa and the demon prince, one of them more sulky than the other. Bassett made a touch to his hat when they were all introduced and he made it obvious to give them each a polite bow of his head after their names were given out.

"Pleasure to meet you all, I'm sure," Bassett said in his humble servant manner, "Though, I wish it were underneath better circumstances."

He listened to what Mischa said, his heart dropping lower and lower into his gut when he received word on how the hunter approached her. So it was Mischa that the Hunter was after...A Summoner. More evidence to back up his new position of danger, he decided with a weak stomach, more reason to stay inside and on his master's grounds.

"Yes, I would very much like to speak with her. Sofiel told me to do so," he reiterated, and he made the motion to follow after her, keeping his demon close behind him.

Kyrie had been awake for at least an hour, in fact, when Mischa knocked. The sound made her head spin. From outside the door, they'd hear someone shifting around under fabric; she was pushing herself up with the uninjured arm. When she was situated--covered pulled up over her chest, arms tucked tightly over her chest--she called, "Yeah," and was proud of herself when her voice didn't tremble at all. "Come in?"

Her room was... large, at least to her; the color scheme was calm blues, greens, and dark wood. Kyrie's peach-colored pajamas were her own; the sleeve was ripped (or rather, cut) off her right side. The thing no one had thought to warn her about was that her painkillers would give her nightmares. Sitting there alone, in the too-large bed, Kyrie looked as if she'd been awake for a week. Her blue eyes seemed even wider than usual in her pale face, and she certainly looked younger than seventeen. She looked more like fourteen. Twelve. Incredibly, incredibly young.

"H-hi Mischa," said Kyrie. She was trying very hard not to cry.

"Thank you, miss," he said. Bassett stayed a good distance behind the lady, watching the bounce of her hair with ever widening eyes as the dame he was expecting to be elegant, well-mannered, and polite suddenly revealed her true colors in a string of harsh words and foul language.

Pey, on the other hand, grinned. He was liking this lady a little better each minute.

Doing nothing but mumbling an agreement to everything the woman was saying, Bassett watched the scenery around them change. Through the finely decorated halls, they finally came to a door, which Mischa knocked on and providing a vocal greeting. There was a voice inside, and Bassett laid eyes on the girl in question when they finally, and very slowly pushed through the door. Bassett, letting Mischa slide past him and make her way to the bed, stood aside and close to the door with Pey mirroring his motions. He folded his hands across his front and gave his best smile, which was a humble and sad one.

"Hello," he mumbled, giving a short and small salute, "I'm Bassett Ellery."

It was her eyes that were strangest; they were always weird, black sclera with vividly blue irises, but now they weren't focused, and that was weirder. She stared towards Bassett, smile fading. Then she looked back at her hands, then to Mischa. "I'm Kyrie," she said, her good hand reaching for Mischa's. To Bassett--still staring at Mischa--she continued, "You're a demon, aren't you."

She closed her eyes, shook her head minimally. The motion made her dizzy.

"Lights are okay," she said, "but the mirrors... cover those?" Looking down at her hand again, she mumbled, "please?"

Blinking slowly, she looked back up to Bassett. "I remember," she said, circling back to the third question; "I wanted to ask you about my clothes... and Sibyl van Helsing was trying to hurt you." It was an infantile explanation, discombobulated, her voice weirdly modulated.

Suddenly, she sat straight up--cried out, weakly, and slumped back against her headboard. "Is my shirt okay?" It wasn't. They had cut it off her at the hospital.

"You're a demon, aren't you."

That wasn't a question. It was a statement. Bassett was struck stiff by the phrase, as if an arrow was just shot into his head, connecting the fontanel of his skull to the wall he stood against. He felt his fingers begin to tremble and he gulped, listening to what words came out of her mouth. His jaw began to quiver. The soldier, finally, as the girl requested for the mirrors to be covered, peeled himself on the wall, and without even asking, moved to pull sheets over the mirrors. It was a habit, to do things as he was told. He was, after all, a servant. When the mirrors had been covered, he stood before her bed, still a few feet away, keeping his distance. He couldn't explain it, but there was something about this girl, something tugging at the edge of his conscious knowing.

Pey, though, knew exactly what it was that was bothering Bassett. It was bothering him too, and he refused to move once he figured it out. REFUSED. That girl on the bed...She was strange. He knew it deep in himself what she was. And he refused to step any closer to her than he had to. Instead, he kept his head lowered, and himself by the door.

"Miss," Bassett said, standing before her bed, his gaze sad as he watched her gentle suffering, the way her words pulled in and out of themselves like knots, "...I didn't always used to be this way." Finally, giving into the temptation of holding his hand in his grip, the soldier took it off his skull, revealing his sharp white horns beneath and his pointed ears. He held the fabric newspaper boy's hat in his grip, rubbing the edges between his forefinger and thumb, and, unable to bring himself to look at anyone, he said, "Miss Kyrie. I was told to come see you by Tae-yul's contract, Sofiel. I'm not sure what I'm here for, I'm not sure why this is happening. But I do know that I was supposed to meet you. And I wanted to also let you know how dreadfully sorry I am about this happening to you, miss." Bassett kept his gaze at his feet, his shoulders hunched close on his neck.

She laced her fingers through Mischa's, eyes half-lidded as she looked at Bassett. "S'okay," Kyrie said, lips working into a smile; "s'okay... I didn't always be like this, neither. You're okay."

At the mention of Sofiel, she lifted her eyebrows and giggled so hard it hurt. "Sofi told you? Sofi?" She did seem... less apprehensive of the soldier boy then, her smile more natural though still pained. If Sofi approved of him, Kyrie would too, seemed to be the general consensus; she was by and large ignoring Pey, though.

"You've seen me before," she elucidated. "I dreamed it... but my head was bloody, not my arm." Her grip on Mischa's hand tightened a little bit, paying attention to her now; she dragged her gaze back to Mischa's red hair. It took a moment for her to answer the question; she looked puzzled, then her expression brightened, and then she thought for another moment. "Sibyl isn't only a hunter."

Then she was quiet again, closing her eyes, but she said: "'ll answer." After a long moment, she looked back at the covered mirrors, and then to Bassett, then back to the mirrors. "Thank you."

Pause.

"Blue," said Kyrie, for no apparent reason.

Bassett, although his stomach twisted like the coils of a great snake, felt a little bit of the darkness that weighed on his head and shoulders lift with the laughter of the little girl. Mentioning the name of Sofiel had done him some good. At least he was slowly gaining a bit of her trust. He hated it when others felt uncomfortable around him, it made him feel like a monster. And it didn't help that he was, by definition, a monster by all accounts, now. Besides...It seemed like she shared some kind of similarity with him. They both weren't what they used to be.

"Yeah, Sofiel. He's been helping me and others, I think, during all this weird stuff," he shut up as she began to speak again. Talking about something she's dreamed.

Shifting his weight on his legs, and glancing towards Pey to make sure he wasn't doing something all too stupid or suspicious (the demon was actually being quite behaved, standing stiffly by the door with his head turned away from the bed), Bassett cleared his throat. It took him a moment to put together what she was saying, but when he did, his eyes lit up with recognition.

"Yes, yes, I have seen you before. You were in my master's bathtub, just last night! Or...I think it was you. Yeah, that's right, your head was...Blown out from the backside..." He paused, listening in as she spoke once more, speaking again the name of the hunter, Sybil. Isn't only a hunter...Huh. Whatever did that mean? Bassett staired dumbly as the girl continued on a string of words that completely and entirely escaped him. He glanced to Mischa, shrugging helplessly, as the woman would probably have a hard time deciphering what she was saying. He guessed the pain-killers must be killing a lot more of her sense that they originally thought along with her pain.

((Sorry, guys. My net just went plop last night. I didn't get it back up until about an hour ago. ))

Mischa held her hand, just listening to all that Kyrie and Bassett were saying. Obviously the girl had been having some sort of nightmares about them. When she said that Sibyl wasnot just a hunter, Mi nodded.

"I know, Kyrie, Sibyl is not just a hunter. Tae-yul said that she is also a summoner and the daughter of Gabriel van Helsing. Her eyes were black. Do you know who she summons? What demon is helping her?" Mischa asked softly. If they had a clue to that, perhaps it would prepare them more.

At the word 'blue' though Mischa glanced over at Bassett confused. "What is blue, Kyrie?" Did she mean that was the color of a new shirt she wanted or was she referring to something else?

Bassett seemed to be having dreams about Kyrie also. Were they warnings of some sort? And she had yet to meet this Sofiel they were talking about. She wondered briefly if the piece of bloody gray fabric in her pocket had to do with this in some way. Taking it out with her free hand, she said, "Do you know who left this? It was in my room. I felt like it was a warning of some sort. Like someone was trying to protect me."

She smiled and tucked her blankets up a little higher. The pajama top was one of her old ones, very loose, and while that had worked before (when you have no chest, there's nothing to hide) it didn't work too great now. Luckily, any appeal she might have had was pretty negated by the sickly pallor of her skin. Her eyelashes looked like ink smudges on rice paper.

"It didn't happen," she said to Mischa, "she's just trying to warn us. She doesn't know how else to do it. He knows; he's like me, they buy and sell both of us. He's safer, though... He has a secret name." She stared at Bassett through half-lidded, somewhat addled eyes. "He's safe, until Sibyl asks. And she will, if she finds out... about..."

Suddenly, she changed subject: "Gabriel van Helsing killed Tae-yul's sister. And Sibyl van Helsing killed his parents. He hates her... she makes him mad."

Kyrie took the fabric, held it for a moment. "He has one, too." She gestured to Bassett. "They're hers. Until Sibyl says otherwise, she'll keep you safe. Safe as she can..."

Bassett glanced at Mischa, examining the emotions playing over her face. She was speaking about the Hunter, Sibyl, about how she wasn't only a hunter...A summoner!? Bassett blanched and his grip on his hat tightened. It was a good thing that he wasn't gifted with claws along with his demon rebirth otherwise his poor hat would be in the poorest of states at that moment. He glanced over at Pey, his brows furrowing in silence question. He had to know if Pey had known, and somehow forgotten to tell him.

Pey shrugged and nodded. He understood completely what his food source was trying to ask him. He affirmed it with another nod and slunk tighter to the door frame and the wall. In all honesty, Pey was rather inclined to think mostly on impulse. So forward planning of the future and taking into account statistics and advantages, disadvantages, was out of his field of expertise. At the time, the information was a bit bothersome, but the gravity of the facts didn't hit him as much as it was that someone might be out to kill his source of blood. Pey focused more on becoming a bodyguard than piecing the information together where he might realize that the information was directly related with the safety of his summoner.

Bassett gave the coldest glare he could manage to his demon and turned his attention back to Mischa and Kyrie, walking slowly closer to the bedside. He kept his hands on his hat though. He just wanted to be closer so that he might better hear what the pale girl was saying.

...It was something concerning him.

Bassett furrowed his brows, trying his very hardest to understand what she was talking about. He? Who was he? Kyrie was looking at him, as if trying to directly infer to him something important. Stupid soldier, he was though. Bassett was on the front lines not because of his intelligence, but because, at the time, he had been quite worthless in the ways of the world. No skill at all, no drive, no smarts. And it looked like he hadn't learned much since then, or even expanded his cranium. Bassett gulped anxiously and wondered what she meant by the name. Why, his name was Bassett Ellery. There was nothing secret about that. He was spouting it at every introduction he made. So perhaps she wasn't speaking about him? Bassett wasn't sure. He was terrible at solving puzzles. He was good at shooting things dead, though.

Which was apparently the talent of the Hunter in question. From the sounds of it, there was a lot of killing between this Gabriel and Sibyl...They were the ones to avoid, he decided.

Then the fabric.

Bassett reached into his pocket, drawing out the cloth. He held it for Mischa to see, "Yes, I have one. I brought it to Sofiel just yesterday. I...I don't know who it belongs to...But whoever it is...It looks like she may be on our side." The soldier slumped after he said that. He sounded so stupid, he thought, speaking like that. Speaking like he never knew she existed...But he promised. He promised Sofiel.

"This is all very confusing," he said weakly, as an afterthought.

"She loves you," said Kyrie, sing-song, apparently to no one. "She loves you so she's helping you. She'll come find you soon. Be careful~"

Then she settled down in her bed, head finally down on the pillows, blue-black eyes closed obediently. "Sibyl knows where they are," she was saying, "Sibyl is just waiting for one of them to be alone..."

She looked at Mischa again, smiling uncertainly. "...you'll tell me when you find milord?"

Bassett smiled sadly at the girl, with the tiredness that only a soldier could hide. Her cheese must've slid off her cracker for her to be talking like this. Singing no less, it seemed. She was saying something, something that struck Bassett in such a way that his breath caught in his throat.

She loves you.

Whatever thoughts bloomed into his mind, whatever ideas or feelings that threatened to swell up in his chest, he immediately pushed away. Whatever she was saying couldn't possibly...No. She was just suffering the effects of the medicine. Besides, he couldn't speak of her. Perhaps it meant, he couldn't think of her either. Shaking his head and ridding the bangs from his face, he moved forward, and, every so gently, touched her hand, with only two of his fingers. "Thank you for all your help, miss. Get better soon. The sun probably misses your happy face." the soldier smiled and nodded at her, before he affixed his hat onto his head and moved away towards the door. They had spent enough time there, Mischa was right. The girl needed her rest.

The last of the girl's words strayed into his ears, though, echoing uncomfortably in their curls and folds. "Waiting for one of them to be alone..."

Bassett adjusted his hat, making sure all of his demonic traits were hidden. "Thank you, Mischa," he said, bowing his head to her, "You are a fine lady to have done all this for me. Thank you very kindly. I think I'll be going now...If what Kyrie says is true, then...Well, quite frankly, miss, I don't want to be caught in the shadows on the way back home. Night's sure to fall any minute now and I best be back to my master's home before it's too late." The soldier gestured to Pey, who eagerly opened the door and stepped outside. Bassett made his way to the door, made farewell gestures again, and gave them each another small salute (stupid habit).

"Thank you. I'll be sure to keep in contact in case anything else happens. Stay safe, now." And with that, the soldier was gone, hastily traversing the casino hallways back to the entrance with his demon Pey just alongside him. He found out some things he needed to know...Found out other things he didn't WANT to know, and things he didn't understand. It seemed like a good day's worth of work to him.

Outside, the night fell faster than anyone might have anticipated.