Darker Than BLACK: The Ultimate Price (BlisteredBlood & CirindeFae)

[BlisteredBlood]

Soon after hanging up, Raphael looked over to Xenobia with a shake of his head. "That won't be necessary. I'm certain I'll figure out what I need to figure out on my own. But as of right now, I think I'm okay." He added with a wave of his hand. There was, of course, some other things about that Messier Code that bothered him a good deal. For some apparent reason, there would always be an identifying trait of some sort or another, something that would set them apart from other Contractors and made them entirely unique. There was just one problem, doubly since his employer was so highly cryptic about it. Just what was that identifying trait?

But none of that seemed to matter now. At least, until he was now by himself again and he was able to start researching what he needed in order to further understand who this CT-509 was and discover her true identity.

"In any case, I'm not going to get started just yet. There's a few minor details I need to look up first before I go ahead and get to the job. You know how it is these days. They usually just leave you to your own devices and expect you to find everything out on your own." Raphael said with a bit of a sarcastic frown.

[CirindeFae]

Finally finishing the last of her sandwich, she listened to him and felt an urge to smile at his words. It was good that he didn't think he'd need her help. Although, after a bit of thought, it made her worried. Had he received a request to hunt her? If he had, did he know it was her? She could only hope and pray to whatever god or gods were out there for safety. "Alrighty, well if you need help I'm willing to offer any assistance I can." She said as she looked down at her hands and the mess she'd created. Finding herself chewing on her lip, she moved over to the sink and started to wash off her hands. It still impressed her how long it had been since she'd actually felt the comfort of running water. Sighing lightly and even smiling a bit, she shifted to rest her forehead against the counter while keeping her hands under the water. "It would be too much to ask for a little bit of cash, wouldn't it?" She asked suddenly with a light blush to her cheeks. She'd need more than just his shirt for clothes and surely he was aware of that...Maybe that knowledge would be enough to convince him to give her some money to go shopping for some real clothes.

[BlisteredBlood]

"If it's for clothes, then I think I got enough to maybe get you a spare set." Raphael answered as he gestured towards the bedroom with a glance of his eyes before looking back to her once more. "But... I don't think I should let you outside. Not like that. Aside from the shirt I gave you, you're completely naked under there." He then noted with a shake of his head. "Frankly, I'd feel guilty if something were to happen to you out there." He concluded with a bit of a low look to the floor then back up to her once more.

[CirindeFae]

Xenobia smiled at his words and lifted her head from the counter as she finally turned off the water then turned to face him. "Well then why don't you protect me?" She suggested. She would do what she could to make him continue to believe she couldn't defend herself. "Besides, I don't want to take all your clothes." She gave him a charming smile despite her being tired and lightly skipped over to his side. "Please take me shopping for some actual clothes." How long had it been since she'd actually gone shopping? It was such an appealing idea to go out among the general population and pretend to be normal. She only hoped that he would agree to take her outside, even though she wasn't exactly dressed for it, and get her some actual clothes.

[[Sorry it took so long. I wasn't exactly up to roleplaying for a bit there but I'm back!]]

[BlisteredBlood]

At first, when he heard her ask him if he could protect her, Raphael was hesitant about the notion since someone out there could've gotten the wrong idea about the two, but what choice did he have in the matter? Eventually, a sigh and a shake of his head would be seen from Raphael before he shrugged his shoulders and answered. "Alright. I don't see why not." He eventually spoke before he looked over to his side to see her standing there. "We'll head out to get you some clothes later on." He added.

(It's alright. I haven't been in much of a mood, myself. Plus, with me being busy and whatnot at school amongst some other unpleasantness... Yeah... Let's leave it at that.)

[CirindeFae]

Xeno noticed the male's hesitation to her idea, but when he finally agreed she couldn't help but smile. Without warning, she moved closer to him and gave him a surprisingly tight hug then quickly released him from her grasp and spun back towards the bedroom. "Thanks!" Her cheeks were lightly painted with a blush as her feet carried her backwards closer to the bedroom. "I'm going to try and get some more sleep. When you're ready to go shopping come get me, k?"

[BlisteredBlood]

After that rather tight hug, Raphael looked at her with a bit of a confused look on his face, having been dumbstruck by what had just happened. Did she just...? He thought for a moment as he stood there, watching as she headed back towards the bedroom with that same look on his face before he eventually spoke.

"Um... Sure. You go ahead and relax. I'm probably gonna be up for a little bit anyway." He finally answered before shaking his head a few times silently. Granted, it was highly awkward of her to just randomly hug him like that, but there wasn't a part of him that didn't appreciate it. Eventually, Rapahel began to get over the inital shock of her actions after another shake of his head before he wandered over to the parlor and sat down in his chair, pondering over the recent call he received.

So CT-509 was on the move. That much was understandable. The problem, however, was who carried that Messier code. Maybe after a little research into it, Raphael would eventually find his answer.

[CirindeFae]

Smiling pleasantly as she once more crawled into the bed she gave a soft sigh and ran her fingers over the fabric. It wasn't the greatest of textures, but she supposed it was better than sleeping on gravel. Her smile growing slightly she took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she spread her fingers over the fabric. It took a lot more focus than she had to alter the fabric to something much more pleasing but she managed. Thankfully it wasn't too big a shift to change the plain cotton sheets to Egyptian cotton.

Feeling the softer fabric under her, she pulled the pillow close to her chest and closed her eyes to relax as she didn't actually expect herself to get any sleep. Especially now that she'd used her power. Rapidly though her eyes started to close before she actually slipped off into sleep.

[BlisteredBlood]

Now that he was all by himself, Raphael's mind began to ponder over the Messier Code name he had recieved from his employers. Judging from the urgency of the call due to how short it was, it seemed as though that this was possibly going to be one of those kinds of jobs where whoever it was that had this code needed to be removed from existence with all due speed. Possibly yesterday, from the sound of it.

But of course, he had nothing to go on from just the Messier Code. That meant he had to put the pieces together on his own unless if his employers had more information. But knowing them, Raphael knew he wouldn't get a straight answer unless if someone came to the door and displayed a picture for him to see. Again, the chances of that happening were slim to none. With this in mind, Raphael would soon stand up from his seat before walking over to his cell phone where he had received the call from, pondering over the small bit of information.

With this in mind, he would soon walk over to a rather basic looking home computer that was on the far end of the room and powered it on and after logging into the administrative account. Once on, Raphael would soon begin to thumb through the internet, albeit slowly at first. Hard to believe that this place still had 56k Dial-up for a connection around here, but it was the least he could do for the time being.

Over the course of time, he would finally land on the sit he needed to look for, one that had the details in regards to the various Contractors that were either active or inactive, be they past or present regardless if they were alive or not. One of the names that came up quite a bit was in regards to someone that was named BK-201, one that belonged to someone by the name of "The Grim Reaper" or something along those taglines. But after some time, Raphael began to see the activity charts in regards to the codename he heard his employer mention. CT-509. Apparently, whoever had this name was quite the piece of work. Whoever it was, this person had the ability to change anything he or she touched into another material at the cost of a peaceful night's sleep.

Unfortunately, the picture in regards to this person wasn't able to display properly. It was heavily pixelated, but from the looks of things, the figure looked to be relatively female at first. Unfortunately, Raphael couldn't process the image any quicker than what the connection could allow, but from the looks of things, she did have black hair.

Soon afterwards, Raphael would then get up from the computer desk before stretching himself out widely for a bit and then heading away from it. Maybe after finding a more suitable connection around here, then perhaps he would have another go at it soon.

[CirindeFae]

Xenobia, with the new sheets, fell asleep relatively quickly. Unfortunately, her dreams were not quite pleasant. She was haunted by images of men chasing her down a long never ending road and firing pistols at her making her overexert herself to save her hide.

It was dark, the rain clouds overhead having turned the noon sky a dismal color. Her breath echoed off the tall buildings of a major city and floating in the space before her for a brief moment before vanishing. Her back was pressed firmly against the stone of a wall as she panted. She couldn't remember why she was running, at least not right then, but upon hearing heavy footsteps echoing down the street. He had found her! Again. Fear shot through her causing her to push off the wall she'd been using as a support and run.

Then suddenly the ground gave way beneath her causing her breath to catch in her throat until she found herself colliding with the ground that had gone missing. She cried out as pain invaded her legs and up her spine. Tears forming in the corner of her blue eyes, she forced herself to look around and figure out where she was. She recognized the street name posted on the tilted sign but that was all. The sunken and broken road didn't look at all familiar. Neither did the toppled buildings that lined the road. As she tried to stand, her tears spilled over her cheeks. She had to move! She had to get away from him! The more she reminded herself of that the easier it became to stand but it did nothing to dull the pain. Soon enough she was standing once more just in time to hear him shout to her, telling her to stop and return to him. Slowly she turned to look up at him as he hadn't fallen like she had. Her eyes went wide as she looked upon him. Violently she shook her head causing her hair to fall from the neat bun it had once been in. She opened her mouth to reply to the male who'd been chasing her, but no words could come out. Fear filled her again and immediately she made herself turn around and scramble down the unrecognizable street.

She ran until she had no breath left at which point she'd gone a lot further than she had imagined and now she was finding herself extremely lost amid unfamiliar surroundings. It was like this sunken section of the city had mutated into some other location. Panting, she sank to the ground and laid on her back and stared up the late evening sky, although it seemed to be missing something important. Slowly she closed her eyes in an attempt to rest only to hear gunshots reverberating off the buildings. Sitting up quick enough to make herself dizzy, she looked around for the source of the shots. Down the road she saw a line of men all aiming guns at her like she was some kind of terrorist. This whole ordeal seemed intent on embedding fear in her permanently. Scrambling to her feet, she took off running once more. Again the men shot at her only this time several bullets grazed her body. She cried out in pain, her voice loud enough to bounce back and hurt her ears.

Quickly she came to realize the futility of running from a line of men with guns and stopped her running. Taking a deep breath she turned around and faced them. Closing her eyes she spread her arms wide and waited for them to fire upon her once more. Gunshots echoed again through the street for the final time.

She awoke with a start the inability to scream having been what woke her. She was coated in thin layer of sweat from her nightmarish memory. Taking a moment to restore air to her lungs, she brushed her dark hair out of her face and off her forehead and then she sighed. What a terrible thing to wake up to. Gradually she pulled herself together and crawled out of the bed to stumble to the doorway of the bedroom. Her body was remembering the pain it had experienced so many years ago, when she'd acquired her curse, and making her suffer once again. Leaning against the bedroom door frame, she sent her gaze about the space before her in search of the male that had allowed her into his home. Was he still around? Had he heard her in her nightmare? She could only hope he hadn't and that she could take another bath.

[BlisteredBlood]

No sooner had he stood up onto his feet did Raphael hear the sounds of what sounded like Xenobia shuffling around in the bedroom after waking up rather frightfully. His first instinct told him to investigate the matter, but he also knew he had something he should've been doing by now. Ah, hell... That can wait. He soon thought to himself as he shook his head and began to walk towards the bedroom with an even cadence in his steps. Once he had come upon the bedroom, he saw Xenobia, leaning on the door frame of the bedroom looking as though she had woken up from a rather harsh nightmare of sorts. A small sigh and a shake of his head was all that he offered her before Raphael walked a little closer to her and gently curled an arm around her middle to help her stand up a little straighter away from the door frame.

In truth however, the very second he touched her felt like there was small, razor sharp spikes trying to pierce his brain and a multitude of sharply hewn daggers dragging over his skin. Apparently, whatever it was that had triggered those nightmares of hers were indeed pretty severe. At that point in time, Raphael began to question himself. If he were to reveal to her that he was a Contractor and was capable of assisting her with her mental anguish, would she run off and tell someone about this? If she did, then he would have no choice but to go back into hiding once again, but not before he would have to kill her.

But the chances of that happening seemed pretty unlikely that it would have to go that far. But even then... What were the chances?

"Look..." Raphael soon began to speak, his voice slightly uneasy at first. "I don't normally do this, but if I were to somehow soothe your mind somewhat so that you can gain at least a restful night's sleep, would you accept the offer with only one request tied to it?" He asked.

[CirindeFae]

Xenobia appreciated his assistance in helping her stand and soon found herself leaning against him instead of the door frame. She smiled lightly up at him and struggled to put her feet under her properly so she wouldn't need the help. It was weird to her, using another person for support. In the past when her dreams had made her revisit that terrible day she had always been out on the streets with only walls or lamp posts for support. It made her feel a bit awkward making her push away from him some when she felt more capable of standing on her own.

And then he started talking causing her to look up at him. "Wh-what are you saying? A-are you a shrink?" She asked. She wasn't entirely sure if Raphael was hinting at him being some kind of miracle shrink or something more...absurd like him being a contractor. Pushing away from him some more she stumbled back into the door frame. It really helped that she was good at pretending. "A-are some kind of killer?" She asked shaking her head and clinging to the door frame. "Are you going to k-kill me?"

[BlisteredBlood]

"No, I'm not some shrink nor am I a killer. What I am is..." Raphael answered before he paused in mid sentence, almost as if he was wanting to reword it so that he didn't necessarily reveal as to who or what he was. "...It's... complicated for me to explain, but what I can do is at least heal that part of your mind that has been giving you some trouble. It will have to require me to at least put my hands on you for only a moment." He explained.

Yeah, of course I'm a Contractor. Sure, you shouldn't have any reasons to be afraid of me, right? His mind responded to his words in a sarcastic manner before he shook his head once more, dispelling the thought. "Like I said. Can I trust you enough to not speak of this in front of certain company?" He then asked as a slight frown could be seen threatening to form on his face, almost out of guilt.

[CirindeFae]

Xenobia's brow furrowed as she listened to him talk. She was doing a wonderful job at acting. She could only assume it had to do with actually getting some sleep, even if it was full of nightmares. It was becoming rapidly obvious to her that he was hiding something and since he was denying being a killer or shrink she was left with one other option. Although, if that last option was accurate then shouldn't he have lied? Contractors were liars after all. It confused her a bit. She had been lying to him this whole time...So then why wasn't he?

She shook her head. "N-no. I'm fine." Again she was lying, but she didn't need anyone doing anything to her brain. Not that he'd be able to do much. As long as she carried her curse there would be no peace. "I...I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine."

[BlisteredBlood]

"Xenobia... I know you're lying to me. Something's been plaguing you to where you can hardly get any decent amount of sleep." Raphael answered, having seen right through that part of her acting. But then again, he wasn't putting up much effort in his lying either, despite he was also trying his hardest not to completely reveal to her what his abilities were. But with that added stipulation, that meant he would be forced to carry her burden... At least until the pain went away. However long it took, anyway. He had dealt with worse, for the one time he tried this before damn near killed him. But with that lucky roll of a seven brought him back from the brink and reversed it all like nothing ever happened. It still hurt like hell.

"The least you can do is at least be a little honest with me and I will be completely honest with you." He said after a momentary sigh and a shake of his head.

[CirindeFae]

Xenobia, continuing with her act, wrapped her arms around herself and produced a distressed expression. "Lying?! Are you some sort of fail mind-reader?!" She refused to let him dig into her brain. He didn't need to see what was going on in there, if that was even possible. She'd killed all kinds of contractors with curses as varied as hers but she'd yet to meet one that could peer far enough into her head to actually see the finer details of who she was and what she could.

Shaking her head rather violently at his suggestion, she shifted to hide behind the bedroom door frame some. "I can't believe you'd accuse someone you barely know of lying." She mumbled. "But it doesn't matter I'm fine."

[BlisteredBlood]

"Very well..." Raphael answered with a bit of a rough sigh and a shake of his head before lifting his hands up into the air slightly then waved them at her with a defeated look on his face as if he didn't even care about wanting to help her anymore. "Hopefully your nightmares will subside over the course of time. If not, then find someone else who can." He added, sounding genuinely aggravated that she refused his offer then turned to walk away from her.

But before he took two steps further away from her, he stopped for a moment and looked back at her. "To answer your question, I am a Contractor. But you can relax. I'm not going to hurt you or do anything within your mind aside from wanting to help calm those horrid dreams." He added bitterly all while scowling at her.

[CirindeFae]

Xeno was relieved when he finally decided to leave that topic alone but tensed when he finally admitted what he was to her. Her mismatched eyes went wide and she clung to door frame. "A....c-contractor?!" That was bad news. Beyond bad news! Her brow furrowed as it processed that he wasn't going to hurt her. He wasn't aware of who she was? Breathing out heavily she shifted away from door frame some. "I...appreciate your offer, Raphael, to help but there's nothing you can do. Even as a contractor." That was the truth from her perspective. Even if he could solve her nightmares and insomnia for a short period, it would always come back. It was her price and there was no way around that. Except death. She closed her eyes for a moment then sank to the floor, her long hair hiding her face from him. "Really, I don't think you can help me."

[BlisteredBlood]

A sigh was all Raphael would be able to sound out in response as he stood there, his hands slightly clenched with a degree of desperation and all around anger. Anger he directed at himself, for the most part for knowing there wouldn't be a possibility of him at least granting her that semblance of peace. But even then, there still could be a chance... if the odds were in his favor. Chances are, they weren't, but that was just it though. There was that small chance. It was better than no chance at all. What further confirmed his aspirations was when she said those two words, "don't" and "think". This implied towards that chance.

"I suppose we'll never know unless we try, will we?" He asked with a heavy sigh.

[CirindeFae]

When he responded, she was tempted to tell him that his efforts would be wasted because she too was a contractor but the instant the idea popped into her head she reminded herself that he was a contractor with a job and that usually meant he was employed by someone out there that was after other contractors. She couldn't afford to reveal herself to him. Giving a sigh, she let her arms fall to her side and started to get her brain to function. "I don't see a point to trying." She muttered as she attempted to move around him as if his being a contractor was contagious. "I...I think I should be going." She said a little louder and continuing to make for the door.