A quiet -timid, if there was such a thing- knock on her door had Viper looking away from her book.

Beneath her cowl, she raised an eyebrow.

Who could it be and what would they need from her at this time of the night?

Another -pleading?- knock finally made Viper set her book aside and approach the door, pulling it open.

The Cloud.

A few years older than her, he had tan skin, a shock of purple hair, piercings -one on his lips in particular that was connected to his ear by a thin chain-, gaudy make up befitting a showman, a single purple tear on his cheek, and he was wearing clothes that largely consisted of leather.

He was also looking very distressed and frantic.

She was puzzled. This was the sole person she'd pinpointed that she'd have the least interaction with and yet it seemed he was also the first person to seek her out.

"Yes?-"

"Ah! I- I'm not bothering you am I?" Not really, she was rather bored. "But um, I've been wanting to talk to you and canIpleasecomein?"

Viper debated with herself but then couldn't really find a valid reason to turn him away. Her role in the Team was clear, and that made her the person who should expect to be bothered the most anyways.

And he seemed like he really needed to talk to her.

Viper mentally cross-referenced what she knew about him.

She stepped aside and he practically dove past her, apparently afraid that she might change her mind.

"Right then. Do come in." She said dryly, receiving a red face and a sheepish smile, "That'll cost you five hundred euro by the way." because she was feeling nice.

"Five hundred euro?!" he squawked.

"Ten hundred then."

He opened his mouth. Then he closed it with a click.

She motioned to the seats by the flickering fireplace. Viper settled in hers and he awkwardly did the same.

The warmth lapped at them.

"You do not have injuries." She prompted not blindly.

Skull the Immortal jerked. "N-no, I don't. Um..."

A beat.

"Time is money. Wasting my time will cost you."

"Right! Right! Um, ah," he floundered for a second before finally coming to grips with himself, "You're the healer, right?"

"That is my part in this team we have here, yes. But I am also an informant." She promoted.

"No. I mean, you're the healer. The best."

Viper regarded the turmoil in his eyes. What did that matter to him of all people?

"Do get on with it."

He wet his lips, looking to the flickering flames as he seemingly grappled for courage.

"You know of me?"

"I am an informant." She repeated pointedly.

"Right. You know about my... situation, then."

Who didn't?

Viper felt her expression going flat even as she narrowed her eyes at him. A past conversation with an acquaintance came to mind and suddenly, she thought she might know where this was going.

"I do."

"I'm immortal." He blurted out in a rush. Then his lips pressed, clearly unwilling to let those words past his lips again.

...Yes. She knew where this was going.

Of course she knew he was immortal. The entire mafia and Otherworld knew he was immortal. His existence had caused quite the disturbance in the hornet's nest a few years ago.

Because, though born human, he was still the only person yet under the classification of True Immortal. Dragons from the East -with the celestial blood running through their veins- could live long but their life could end with a blade across them. The same goes for vampires, and Storm flames are quite effective against even Faustian demons. Even Gods die.

And yet, this human-borne boy...

He looked to her with such a hauntedly desperate gaze and Viper hated these kinds of looks directed at her.

"I broke my neck, my spine, my- my practically everything but I always wake up fine. I had a knife stuck in my head and after twelve days it was pulled out and I was still alive."

He leaned forward in his seat. Gone completely was the boy who introduced himself from earlier, with his flamboyant mannerisms that betrayed his occupation as an entertainer.

This was a jaded man, desperate, and waiting for the verdict. Her verdict.

This was not the first time Viper encountered a man like him. She only hated it more every time.

"Do you know a way to kill me?"

Learn a way to fix, and you learn a hundred more ways to destroy.

Viper released a controlled exhale.

"...Have you tried Storm Flames?"

"Yes." was his immediate answer. She expected that, with the desperation in every line, he must've finally reached the bottom of the barrel long ago.

Viper hesitated. Her job was to keep the others alive.

And here was one of them asking for death.

Well, there was no going around it. Viper was never one to dance around things without sound reason.

"I'm supposed to keep you alive."

Skull gulped, and he wilted, expression dimming.

Viper blinked at the guilt blooming in her chest.

"... so there's no way?"

...Viper sighed.

"Have you tried Eitur?"

Skull blinked, perking up with cautious hope. "What's that?"

Viper shrugged, "It's a poison, but if you want to read up on it, then go dig around Norse mythology. I might be able to get a vial for you."

She stood up and he scrambled to follow her to the door. She paused before she opened it, hand on the knob.

She knew quite a bit about Skull. Unlike the others, he didn't have the know how to keep nosy noses like her from acquiring information about him.

With his history, she knew that even Eitur had a low chance of succeeding.

"Tell me, what are you willing to give for this?"

"Everything."

She'd expected as much.

"Other than me, are you aware of the identities of the others?"

He hummed. The closer he was to her door, the tighter in place his affable and exuberant mask was, "I think so? I mean, I know Rodrigo. He's a hit man, right? He had a go with me too, around two years ago I think. Saanvi is the boss of that COM-something. Delta, I know -I mean who doesn't, right? His brand's in everything. Liu Wei... actually, can't say I do. Or Luce too. Why?"

"Delta. Under his public persona, is a remorseless scientist with seemingly no limits he wouldn't cross in the name of science. If I can't recommend a poison that can successfully kill you, then he is the most likely person who might be able to help you. And Liu Wei has the most intense Storm Flames in generations if not a century. You might want to try with him just to cover your bases if nothing else. That said," she turned to him, pressing on him her words, "The people in this building are not kind. Nice, perhaps, but this is a gathering of killers. You realize how out of place you are here?" He nodded haltingly.

"If you mean what you say, that you are willing to give up everything, then there might be a time you'll have to trust one of this depraved individuals with your life."

A pause. Then Skull beamed.

"All the better then."

Viper opened the door for him.

"I'll expect 100,000 euro by next month."

Then she closed it in his face.

(So it just happened to be a lot less than what she would've normally issued for such service.

It didn't make her soft.)