"... so you're the guy called to get her out?"

Quade, currently disguised as the locksmith, tips his red-brimmed cap as he addresses the one officer at the alleyway. Currently, the available police were stretched between pursuing Caspian and other calls that came into the station. "Yessir. You boys in blue get only the best. The owner's not available?"

The officer shakes his head. "No, he is busy at the moment. We did briefly call and inform him of the incident outside of his building, and that you were coming to get the girl out. Machine's all yours," he says, stepping aside for Quade to pass.

Quade contently nods to the officer, tipping his hat before walking down the alley with the toolbox of lockpicking supplies for vending machines.

"Oh, and- another thing, 'Harvey'." The officer points at the cap. "Did more than enough. Got here and switched with the guy staying here. Dunno why, but the commissioner's immediately calling off the chase and reports are being filed of the apparent misunderstanding. We good?"

"..." A nod from Quade. "Yup. Thanks, Matts. Lemme just get Verness out, and we're good."

The officer nods, and waits outside the alley. Actively watching the street, idly thinking while on guard. Verness. Is that... like, Duchess or Princess? Furnace? Vernon? ... hm.

Quade stands in front of the vending machine, putting the toolbox on the ground and starting to examine the tools available. "Hmm..."

"...!" Verness Cyan lets out a gasp, seeing the man with Quade's hat. "U-Uhm- Mister-"

Quade nods. "Harvey. Gonna getcha out, Verness. Stay brave for us, okay?"

"O-Okay..." Cyan contently nods. "U-Uhm- Harvey... the man they're chasing, Caspian-"

"Already being handled," Quade interrupts, starting to pick the vending machine lock. Taking a calm breath- before he turns the lock, and pulls the vending machine door open. "Alright. Come on out."

Verness Cyan lets out a deep gasp as she gets out of the vending machine, breathing in heavily. "A-Ah! Thank you, thank you-" Moving to hug the locksmith.

The officer just grins for a brief moment, and walks up to Quade. "So. Harvey."

"Yup, I know. Talkin' bout Quade and all? Dunno if I can show up, but-" Quade begins to speak, maintaining cover as the locksmith while addressing what they were previously talking about.

"No, no, you said it yourself. Later," the officer interrupts. "I was just gonna ask- who's the girl driving the taxi?"

Quade would look past the officer to glance at Nyx, who was seated comfortably in the taxi. "Drove me here. For the record, I was driven here by Ernest Parker. Off the record- I drove here, and she just happened to be in the taxi."

"Ah." The officer nods. "I see. Well, if that's all. I'll call in that the girl was freed from the vending machine. Get her home safe, okay?"

"... are- you sure?" Quade asks, tilting his head as he pats Verness Cyan's head. "Maybe the girl should stay with you, the police officer, until this case is officially over. It would be strange for a random locksmith with a taxi to escort her home?"

The officer chuckles. "It's all good. I vouched for you, in a way. Dispatch and the other officers are aware of her legal guardian being called to pick her up. Besides, we're a little bit swamped today. Especially since some guy was caught with a DUI while speeding, and his car got split cleanly in half." Pointing off at an intersection nearby. "Right over there, actually."

Quade blinks for a moment. "R... Really? D'yall have any pictures?"

"Oh, yeah. Got pictures taken of the scene, have a few digital copies on me." The officer takes out his phone, presenting to Quade the images shown. "Quite the strange incident. Speed camera's too blurry to really- tell what caused it, just that there was a figure there."

Quade would blink idly at this. "Huh. How peculiar. That's quite the predicament, Matts, I..."

He lays his eyes on the speed camera picture, blinking as it shows the exact image of the car passing the crosswalk. Cut cleanly in half, yes, with a figure behind it standing on the crosswalk. A figure that was, indeed, difficult to see due to lighting. Fog and blurriness surrounding it, with a bright sparkling light making it hard to identify what the car ran into. Though, Quade could swear it was human. A person, somehow. Their silhouette somewhat distinguishable, round parts sticking out of the head with something sticking out of-

Oh, god damn it. Giichi.

Quade narrows his eyes as he immediately recognizes the shape of the horn. He even knows how Giichi managed to do this. 80 miles an hour with her small volume, the side of her body pointed towards the car. Built up draconic endurance to physical impact and a small habit of defying the laws of physics... yep. Giichi.

The officer looks at Quade and raises an eyebrow. "Huh. You notice anything? Like, what that figure could be? The driver of the vehicle was too intoxicated to discern any features, but he said that he saw a girl and a guy, that he ran into the girl, and split the car in half. Kinda struggling to figure out the truth, though, since this footage doesn't really- support this..."

"..." Quade lets out a sigh. An exasperated sigh. "This... looks like a low quality picture, I reckon. Can't make out what happened. Maybe the car's in bad quality, Matts."

"Yeah... do you think it's maybe another demon? A possible invasion?" the officer asks, a worried look on his face.

"Prolly not, Matts... just another mystery of Starveil, I suppose," Quade comments, covering his face with one hand and patting Cyan on the head with the other. "Well- if it's alright for me to get this girl home, then- we'll be off."

"Oh!" Cyan noises, before separating from her hug and picking up the things that Caspian left behind. Cup holders full of drinks that had melted ice now, as well as a bag of tacos. "Uhm- so, we need to get these to Peritzal and Papaya, by the way...!"

Quade looks down at Cyan saying this, and nods. "Sounds good. After you, Verness." Returning to the taxi with the girl, opening the back door for the girl.

Cyan takes a moment to climb into the back, securing the taco restaurant food as she looks to the driver's seat. "Oh, hi, Nyx-!" Cyan says to Nyx upon entering the back of the taxi, waving to her. "How have you been?"

"... curiosity," Nyx begins to speak, moving back to the passenger's seat as she looks at Quade. Seeing him walk around the front of the car, a slightly forlorn look on her face. "It burns and spreads like fire. I struggle to douse."

Cyan interprets that haiku attempt and... nods. "I... I see. Hope you, uh, 'douse' that fire...?" Reaching a hand through the window and patting Nyx on the head.

Quade takes a seat in the driver's seat, taking off his hat and fanning his face before shifting immediately back into Mr. Parker. "Ugh... okay... still need to work for a few more hours..." he mumbles to himself, leaning back. "First driving to Sunshine Apartments to drop off the tacos and drinks, then heading down to the Kingston house in South Starveil, heading back up to return the lockpicking toolbox..." Glancing at Mr. Parker's smartphone, no missed calls. "Continuing to taxi, drop the taxi off, go to the bar with Matts-"

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Quade..." Nyx interrupts his thinking. "I request you take a break."

Quade looks at Nyx and- shakes his head. "... no, there's a lot I gotta do, Nyx, I can't just-"

Nyx shakes her head. "Thirty minutes. A thirty minute break. There are no pressing concerns at the current moment. You are far from any of your immediate responsibilities. A brief break should do wonders. Verness, are you fine with Quade taking a small break?"

Cyan would nod a couple of times. "Uhm- sure. It'd be bad if he was tired and, uh, accidentally crashes a car and everything... I say that he deserves a break."

"Verness agrees with me," Nyx tells Quade. "A child recognizes that you deserve a break, Quade."

"..." Quade... lets out a sigh, reluctantly agreeing as he rolls down the windows and turns the key to stop the car. "Sure, sure. Wake me up in exactly 30 minutes, okay...?" he asks.

Nyx nods contently. "Yes, of course. Verness, please commence with the lullaby so that Quade may go to sleep."

"Uh-" Quade noises, attempting to object. "Cyan, you don't need to-"

But it was too late, Cyan is now actively singing a song that she learned in music class. Quade, in his state of exhaustion and tiredness, grows drowsier with each passing second, his eyes fluttering a bit. It astonishes him briefly that Verness is good at singing lullabies... and then he sinks back into the driver's seat, fast asleep. Arms crossed, head tilted forward with the brim of his hat shading his eyes.

Nyx is contently seated, awaiting Quade's slumber. A brief check to see if he truly has fallen asleep, discreetly waving her hand in front of his closed eyes. He was, indeed, out like a light, to be awoken in a matter of 30 minutes.

"... Cyan, please try to keep him asleep," Nyx instructs the girl as she raises her hand, snatching Quade's cap.

"H-Huh?" Cyan asks, seeing Nyx take the hat. "W-Wait, what are you doing?"

"Making sure that Quade gets his well deserved break," Nyx responds, putting on Quade's hat. She takes a moment to pick up the toolbox, then holds her hand out to Cyan. "Now, hand me what I am to deliver."

"U-Uhm... o-okay..." Cyan just- nods and hands Nyx the entire bag of Mexican food and the four large drink cups.

Nyx then opens the passenger door with her foot, and leaps out of the car. Her body lunging out into the street, the girl running and sprinting across the street as fast as she could.

For the time that she was in the sunlight, Nyx felt the sun aggressively burning against her skin, sizzling her body and inflicting great mounts of pain. She held the courage to force herself past it for Quade's sake, dashing straight across the street and diving into the shadows of the city's telephone poles and wires.

Once she was in the shadows, she was safe. Nyx is able to hide herself and any belongings she possesses in dark areas - as long as it was deemed "shade", in any sort of way. Thus, the woman slips her entire body into the narrow shadows of the phone lines, now completely shielded from the morning light whilst in the ground. Poles, buildings, the underside of cars... so on and so forth.

Nyx finds it rather trivial to traverse the day in such a manner, and her very existence is a bane to those that fear the night. The sun's resting marks the moment she is permitted to roam free.

However, she simply had less than thirty minutes to carry out her intentions. Nyx's plan was as follows: pretend that she is Quade, albeit lacking in the abilities he possesses, and return to the taxi within the allotted time. Any further than thirty minutes, either Quade will awaken or his schedule will be interrupted. Time is of crucial essence.

So she swims along the line shadows, traveling at her swiftest of paces. Leaping across the gaps of daylight between her ground, cautiously swerving and moving about. Upon reaching an intersection, however, the abundance of Starveil's traffic on the busy road provides Nyx a blessing. Slipping underneath a car, planning her route.

The closest stop was the apartment, simply right down the street of Chestnut Street. Ascending up the stairs quickly, arriving on the second floor and swimming straight to Apartment 207, Nyx knocks on the D'Errico's door.

The person to answer was Papaya, who was covered in ash and soot from their current project. "About time, where have you- ... oh- Nyx-" Papaya speaks, blinking at the woman. "Didn't expect you today, what brings you-"

Nyx promptly holds out the tacos and drinks to Papaya. "Yours."

Papaya looks at the contents, astonished. Turning her back to Nyx as she puts the food on the kitchen counter. "O-Oh. Huh. Did Giichi send you to deliver this? I thought it a little strange she was grocery shopping for an hour, but-"

She immediately pauses upon seeing that there was a lack of a Nyx at her door, left in the dark about what was happening.

"... okay, uh, see ya later then, Nyx...?" she speaks, closing the door.

Nyx continues to swim through the ground, planning her next act to return the toolbox. Her usage of traffic has yet to fail, as she hops from car to car.

Once arriving at the street of the locksmith's building, Nyx hides herself in an alleyway and rises out of the ground. Idly looking around for any nearby persons, Nyx's eyes witness an umbrella that has been discarded. Utilizing an umbrella makes her ruse in the daylight a little more... believable, as she could actually stand as a person while shielding herself from the sun. Furthermore, the currently afternoon sun made it so the sun shines directly above her, making unnecessary the worries about which angle to hold the umbrella at all times.

Her ruse begins now. Toolbox in hand, umbrella in the other, strutting out of the alleyway and turning to the locksmith's front door. If anyone encounters her-

"Huh- oh, hey, Quade."

Nyx faces the person ahead, staring at the locksmith that Quade previously was. The name, Harvey... alludes Nyx at the current moment, but the man being here is rather convenient. She gives a content nod and holds out the toolbox to him. "Indeed. I have come to return the toolbox."

"Ah- neat. You got the girl out of the vending machine already? That's cool, cool. Sorry I wasn't available-" the man answers, accepting the toolbox from Nyx. "... hey, so, actually, since you're here already, I'm cashing in that favor you owe me right now. Cool?"

Nyx shakes her head. "Sorry, but- I am admittedly busy, and need to tend to other affairs posthaste. You may... call me later tonight, as I have said."

Harvey blinks for a bit, raising an eyebrow at Quade. "Well- I mean, should just take a minute at best, Quade. See, I just need to make Sheila jealous, the witch I was telling you about. It's really important, I just need to record a short little video of me on a date with this blonde bombshell at my place, and-"

Nonononono. Nyx cannot shapeshift. She absolutely cannot. She needs to stop this man... but the way he words it, this was a simple quick favor. Nyx cannot escape, either. Her approach must assist this man, while also refraining from shapeshifting. The approach should make use of her time, make it more convenient while maintaining Quade's credibility...

"Blonde?" Nyx interrupts. "That is very pitiful, going for a blonde woman. Why not a woman of this appearance?"

Harvey blinks at this suggestion, astonished. "... uh- I- don't know. A blonde's hotter, harder to identify, and would work a bit better than this chick. Plus, isn't she-"

"Locksmith," Nyx interrupts, resting a hand on the locksmith's shoulder. "Women with envy, they fall for the different. Go for abnormal." Making another haiku to emphasize her point, staring him down and nodding. "We shall go with me. This form is acceptable to invoke jealousy in this Sheila of yours."

"... o... okay, dude-" Harvey comments, blinking at 'Quade' and his weird... weird behavior, especially how Quade was referring to him as "Locksmith" rather than his name. Then again... it could be the character, the woman that Quade was disguised as. He's never been wrong before... best to trust him for now, then. "If you really- want, sure. So let's head on in and-"

Nyx immediately shakes her head, deciding to make use of this favor by... multitasking. Getting this locksmith to escort her to her next destination, while also satisfying his needs for romantic jealousy. "No. What envy is there to be obtained when you utilize the same location you work in?" she asks, pointing at the building in disgust. "That is not worth jealousy from Sheila. We will film ourselves in a different location. Thus, you will drive us to 95 Clockwork Avenue."

"Clockwork Ave-" the locksmith asks, blinking. "T-That's all the way on the other side of the city! Quade, I thought you were in a busy hurry, why-"

"There is no time to ask questions, Locksmith," Nyx answers, glossing past her erroneous judgment as she shakes her head. "We must be off. Where is your vehicle?"

... whoever this woman 'Quade' was pretending to be was wild. "Uhm- okay. My... 'vehicle'... is just over here." Gesturing to the red motorcycle with fire decals parked at the curb in front of the building. The commitment Quade has with this woman to pretend he doesn't even recognize Flameburner, with all the time he's spent with it... "Let's get on going, then."

"Very well." Nyx sits down on the back seat of the motorcycle, holding the umbrella. "Get your camera ready. We shall begin filming."

Harvey was briefly confused as to why Quade was sitting in the back seat, and then proceeds to feel further confused about Quade's suggestion. "D-Dude, are you nuts?! I can't drive and hold a phone at the same time, I don't think-" Harvey objects, before- shaking his head. Quade knows what he's doing, go with it... "Fine, fine, okay, you're the boss... geez..."

"Excellent," Nyx comments. Contently nodding a couple of times, thinking and pondering to herself. Approximately 19 minutes to go across town, to find where this "95 Clockwork Avenue" was.

She blankly stares at the back of the locksmith's head, briefly spacing out in her own fantasies again. Upon fulfilling half of his tasks and assisting this locksmith, Nyx will need a little bit of a... reward...~ for her services. Mmm...

"... uh- Quade-" Harvey asks, a little unsettled at how in character Quade was. "I'm not recording yet, you don't have to-"

"Shhhhhh..." Nyx noises, continuing to visualize the fantasy as she wraps her umbrella-holding hand around Harvey's waist. Pure passion and desire burning in her red eyes as she responds. "I am getting in character, locksmith. Do not interrupt my process."

"... oooookay," Harvey comments, as he begins to drive the motorcycle. Quade, who the hell is this woman and how do you know her???