Welcome to Gaia! ::

After texting Deryk, Caelius had strode purposefully into the cafeteria, where, as far as Robert knew, he'd never stepped foot. He heard the whispers. He was trying to be cool about it. But when you found yourself in a situation where everybody feared your very presence, and you showed up in a room full of these people, it was a little hard not to get overwhelmed. So he did what he thought Caelius would do in this kind of a situation. He head over to the farthest corner of the room, where the least amount of people were sitting, and he flopped down and waited. He tried to look impatient, and most of all, he tried not to smile.

Had he ever seen Caelius smile?

Would he ever want to?

Robert was starting to realize, rather quickly, that he really didn't know Caelius at all. Other than the ~almighty fear of death~ he kept lording over everyone, he seemed really mysterious, and just downright unknown. And that was supposed to be someone Robert looked up to?

Not likely.

Did the man have any family? Any friends? Had he ever been in love? Now all Robert wanted to do was go BACK into that office and grill him until he caved and gave up something about himself - but Cael would probably knock him out before handing over any personal information. He was trapped in the body of a perfect enigma.

And that was kind of sad.

Robert had been mulling over Caelius' words while he waited for Deryk.

He wasn't stupid. He wasn't. He was just slow, but eventually, Robert came to the same conclusions any average person would come to. So, with time, he started to realize that yes, perhaps telling everyone that he was in Cael's body for a day might shorten his lifespan. He wanted to live to see the day Petra walked down the aisle in white, and the day she would be round with-

...He felt a sting in his heart at the cold realization that thought reminded him of, and suddenly, looked a lot more like Caelius than he had before.

Deryk approached him at just that moment, and 'Caelius looked up at the trainee, flat eyes sparkling for just a moment before they died off quickly once more.

"Thank you, Mr. Bond." 'Caelius' murmured, quietly gesturing to the table in front of him. "Put the beer down here and take a seat." Dos Equis and Bud.. he knew which one he wanted, but which one would Caelius drink? What kind of beer do tightwads drink..

Dos Equis it is. He snagged one and set the top against the table, slamming his hand down to pop the top off and bringing it to his lips. Who knew Caelius knew how to open a beer bottle so easily? He made it look like it was nothing. Maybe he really was The Most Interesting Man In The World.

'Caelius' nursed the bottle slowly, drowning out the sounds around him as the thick, dry liquid slid down his throat. It wasn't half bad, for a beer - he should really try more brands once in a while. Deryk was still talking, and he was asking if something was wrong. Robert opened his mouth, half-ready to blurt it all out and relieve himself of his burden, but his jaw snapped shut before he could utter a word. It opened and closed once more, before Robert finally gave up and decided to play it safe.

"Just a hard week. Good job with the beer, I trust you didn't grab any unnecessary attention." He took another swig from his drink, and nudged him away with the bottle. "You're dismissed."

He immediately relented, reconsidering his options. "On the other hand.. sit down and have a beer with me. I'm not going to be very talkative, but it's better than drinking alone."



'Caelius flipped his phone open with a natural movement, and read the text. He had to think about it for a minute, before realizing it meant Clarice knew what had happened. She knew, and she worried.

God, that woman made his heart squeeze painfully. He didn't even understand what it meant, but it hurt, and he liked it. She gave him warm fuzzies, and he was sure it was showing up in his expression. He looked up at Deryk and immediately sobered his gaze, looking slightly annoyed.

"Top secret." He murmured hastily as he clicked the button to reply. "Good news though." That covered enough general bases.. he hoped.



Autocorrect wasn't really so bad, he wagered as he looked at his response, before sending it, and closing the phone.

At least Deryk wasn't the type to ask nosy questions. He was a good kid, and Robert had never had a problem with him. It was weird, that he was in the Death Division. It didn't fit him. Robert eyed him critically for a moment, and then finished off his beer, immediately reaching for another.

"Do you like your division, Mr. Bond?" 'Caelius' asked casually, even as his phone beeped again. It wasn't a stretch to think Caelius was a busy man, always being texted, so he didn't feel bad about checking it even as he waited for Deryk's answer.



Auto-correct would not save him during this reply.



He snapped the phone shut and gave Deryk all his attention.

"Don't be so paranoid, kid." 'Caelius barked out, chugging his beer almost angrily as he laid back in his chair. "I was just asking a simple question. People are transferring back and forth every day, nobody seems happy around here. So I was just curious about whether you were thinking about it or not. Unless there's something you want to tell me about your performance that I should know about?"

Unbenownst to Robert, he wasn't helping. This really was sounding more and more like a trap.

Haha, being feared was actually kind of funny. Deryk looked like he was about to piss his pants.. and Robert was starting to understand why Caelius liked being the big man on campus so much. It was a strange, new feeling, and he'd initially been repulsed by it - but now, he was starting to see a little of the appeal.

"I see." He murmured in a clipped voice, nursing his drink as he stared Deryk down. When he pulled the bottle off his lips, he leaned in and spoke very quietly. "Then tell me something. If there was someone you thought didn't belong, whether it's in their division, or in the hunters altogether, who would it be?"

Be a stooge, Deryk. Go on.

Boooring. Deryk needed to lighten up a little. Maybe another beer would do the trick. All that meant was that it would be time to wait it out. So he pushed another beer towards Deryk, despite the fact he hadn't finished his first, and nudged it forward.

"Well, if you think of anybody, let me know. That's my job, you know. Making sure people are in the right place for them. So I sure could appreciate your help."

That wasn't Caelius' job at all. Robert was lying out his a**.

"Drink up. I'm already on two, you need to catch up."

"No." 'Caelius' clipped out, grabbing for his third beer. Robert remembered a time when he could sit in a bar and drink for hours, with only the slightest of buzzes. Caelius, however..

"This is a special occasion. See, the way I see it, I think this might be my last day at Deus." He hiccuped. "And I wanna make sure I enjoy myself." He clinked the top of his bottle with Deryk's. "So drink up, and let's see how we can manage to do just that."