Muzaka never made a visit to Lukedonia without dropping in to see Raizel. When he did, he always had something to share with the Noblesse, something to talk to him about. While Raizel did not often speak to the Werewolf Lord, he did listen intently. Muzaka could read his expressions, and sometimes, that was enough. But that didn't mean that he didn't try to get Raizel to speak up a bit more. The darn Noblesse was quieter then a mouse!

But the interest in Raizel's eyes, even the curious tilt of his head, told Muzaka that he did have a captive audience. The interest would only grow for Raizel when Muzaka would bring trinkets from some of his adventures. Raizel always seemed fascinated, or Muzaka assumed he was, when he was shown the different things that were alien to the land of Lukedonia.

Today was no different at all, and Muzaka was eager to see what Raizel thought about this.

"It's called brandy," Muzaka said, setting the bottle down.

Raizel raised a delicate eyebrow as he eyed the bottle. He shot Muzaka a questioning look.

Muzaka shrugged as he sat down on the couch. "It's a drink humans normally have to loosen up and relax." This time, he was pleased that he was able to bring something for Raizel to taste. The different foods that Muzaka experienced would not have survived the trip. But the brandy certainly would have.

"It is a drink?" Raizel asked softly.

Muzaka nodded, smirking as he reached for the bottle before pouring himself a small glass. He tipped his head back, drinking the burning liquid. "That's how it's normally done," he said as Raizel stared at him. He passed the glass bottle to Raizel, who took it with a curious frown. "Take a sip," Muzaka encouraged. "You might not like it, but-" He was cut off when Raizel tipped his head back and gulped the drink down. Muzaka stared in shock, scrambling up. "Woah! No, wait!" Okay, maybe he should have let Raizel take a drink first before displaying what the Noblesse should not have done.

The response was instant. Raizel's red eyes widened, the first sign of emotion that Muzaka had ever seen from the Noblesse. (Had this been a different time, Muzaka would have rejoiced.) Raizel dropped the bottle, hands gripping his chest as he coughed, hacking as the burning liquid assaulted his fragile throat. Muzaka was at his side in an instant, thumping his back none too gently.

"Good Lord Raizel!" he exclaimed. "How much did you drink?"

A hacking cough was his only response.

"You're not supposed to copy me!" he stated, still thumping Raizel's back. The Noblesse drew in a deep, shuddering breath before straightening up. His calm face was still in place, though his red eyes were wide and unfocused.

"Okay," Muzaka started slowly, bending over to pick up the bottle. To his dismay, the bottle was nearly empty. He briefly wondered how Raizel would hold up in a drinking game.

"Not how I wanted to introduce you to the Scots drink," Muzaka said, placing the bottle down on the small table. He'd be lucky if he ever got Raizel to try anything new. He glanced at Raizel, frowning as he noticed the Noblesse studying his hands.

"Muzaka," Raizel said slowly, his gaze still studying his hands.

The Werewolf Lord frowned. "Yeah?"

Raizel looked at him, holding his hands out. "I am feeling a tingling sensation. Was I poisoned?"

Muzaka blinked, startled. "What? No!" He laughed, the very idea of anything dangerous passing into Raizel's food without Frankenstein's consent observance. "It's probably a side-effect from the brandy." He shook a finger at him. "I told you to take a sip." He was surprised that Raizel was feeling the affects so quickly. But, he wasn't human, so maybe the Noblesse reacted differently to alcohol?

Raizel looked up at him with an expression that could only be described as innocent helplessness. "When will it stop?"

Muzaka shrugged as he flopped back down on the couch. "Eh. You should be fine. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If humans can handle it, so can you."

And Muzaka did not worry about it. Not truly. But he did glance at Raizel every once in a while. The Noblesse was still studying his hands with mild fascination, listening to Muzaka speak. It was odd to see the Noblesse moving around, even if the only part of his body that was moving was his hand.

A light, squeaking sound caught Muzaka's attention, and he stopped speaking for a brief moment. What was that sound?

There! He heard it again! It sounded oddly like a squeaking sound. Were there mice in the mansion? Man, Frankenstein would be thrilled about that.

The light, squeaking sound came again, though Muzaka then identified it as not just a squeaking sound, but soft...giggles? Who was giggling?

He glanced over, eyes wide as he saw Raizel smile, wiggling his fingers. Another giggle escaped his mouth as he continued to study his hand.

Muzaka could barely breath as he took in this monumental experience. "Did you...did you just giggle?"

Raizel finally glanced up at him, giggling as he displayed his hand for Muzaka to see. "Look. I have wrinkles on my hand."

Muzaka blinked. "So you do."

"You have wrinkles too!" Raizel exclaimed. With quick strides, Raizel was kneeling before him, grabbing Muzaka's hand and studying it. "More wrinkles."

Muzaka went still as Raizel studied his hand, light giggles emerging from him every once in a while. "Hey, Raizel," Muzaka said. He resisted the urge to whack the Noblesse upside the head. "You alright?"

"You hair is so long," Raizel said suddenly. He looked at the werewolf with interest. "Can I touch it?"

Before Muzaka could even respond, Raizel had already reached out and started fingering the silver hairs on Muzaka's head. Muzaka scowled, unsure what to do.

"Can I braid it?" the Noblesse asked.

"No."

Raizel let out a disappointed hum. There was a brief moment of silence before Raizel began fingering with the strands of Muzaka's hair.

The werewolf frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Braiding it."

"But I said no!"

More silence, but Raizel's fingering did not stop. Muzaka resisted the urge to pull away. He had to admit that the light scratches that he was receiving from the Noblesse did feel nice.

"I think you had too much to drink," Muzaka stated after a moment.

Raizel's humming was his only response. Muzaka frowned, more used to Raizel's silence than usual.

Muzaka yelped when he felt a slight tug on his hair. He scrambled up, glaring at Raizel who was staring at him innocently. A slight hiccup escaped the Noblesse, who giggled. With a tired sigh, Raizel fell down, resting his head on Muzaka's lap.

Muzaka stared at Raizel, who could not seem to figure out if he wanted to stay still, or move around. Finally, Raizel rolled over before falling onto the floor. Raizel blinked, staring upward and looking at Muzaka, who was staring down in mild surprise.

"I fell down," Raizel said, blinking as he lay down on the floor.

"Yes you did," Muzaka stated. He sighed, striding towards the door with the intent of finding something for Raizel to eat. If there was one thing he knew about humans, it was that alcohol did not have that much of an affect on them when they had food in their stomachs.

Hopefully the Noblesse was the same way.

Opening the door, he blinked as he came face to face with the last person he wanted to see.

Frankenstein raised an eyebrow as he stared at Muzaka. "I brought some tea," he said simply.

Muzaka grinned, still keeping the door closed and hopefully blocking the intoxicated Noblesse from Frankenstein's sight. "Ah, great. Bring up some crumpets while you're at it." He grabbed the tea cart that Frankenstein had, only for the human to maintain a tight grip on the silver cart.

"Master does not like crumpets," Frankenstein said, as if it were obvious. "And get those crumpets yourself; I am not your servant."

"But you're Raizel's," Muzaka pointed out, now getting into a full blown out tug of war with Frankenstein over the cart.

"What is wrong with the Master?" Frankenstein demanded, now glaring at Muzaka.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" Muzaka demanded.

"Master is being unusually active, even with you here," Frankenstein pointed out. "Even now, his pacing has increased to five steps. That's three more steps than usual."

Muzaka blinked, stopping in his tug of war for a moment. "Really? You time them?"

"Everything about the Master must be monitored to ensure the perfection that he deserves," Frankenstein declared. He shoved past Muzaka, striding into the room. "Master, I have your tea-" Frankenstein cut off abruptly, letting out a startled gasp. Muzaka grimaced, imagining the sight that Frankenstein must be witnessing right now.

Muzaka looked up just in time to see what had startled Frankenstein. But it was not what he was expecting. There stood Raizel on the edge of the window. The wind blew in his dark hair, his face that of perfection…

...as he jumped out the window.

"MASTER!" Frankenstein screamed, rushing forward.

"RAIZEL!" Muzaka hollered, leaping over the couch.

Both Frankenstein and Muzaka would have done just fine on their own jumping out the window after the Noblesse. However, as they were both surging forward at full speed, they merely collided into each other, smacking into the window before falling outside in an unceremonious heap.

"Master!" Frankenstein shouted, scrambling upward and out from under Muzaka who had landed on top of him. His eyes searched around him wildly, his hand twitching as if he wished to call on his Dark Spear. How that would help in the search for the missing Raizel, Muzaka had no idea.

Frankenstein turned to glare at Muzaka. "Sniff him out!"

Muzaka blinked. "Sniff him out? Are you kidding me? It's springtime! My allergies are already kicking in."

Frankenstein stared at him, disbelieving. Then, with one final cry for his Master, he bolted forward in search for the hopelessly lost Noblesse.


"...I didn't think he would drink the entire bottle!" Muzaka grumbled.

"I cannot believe that you gave my Master brandy!" Frankenstein grumbled. Both men were trudging through the thicket of Lukedonia, equally less than pleased to be traipsing around. Muzaka loved the wildlife, but traveling with Frankenstein was less than pleasant. And they still had yet to find Raizel. Man, could that Noblesse move quickly. "Do you know what it does to the Noblesse?"

Muzaka glared. "Do you?"

Frankenstein paused. "No, I do not. But that doesn't excuse this incident!"

"It's hardly my fault that he decided to fly away like a free bird," Muzaka exclaimed. "Raizel needs to get a better sense of direction if he is going to survive in the outside world." He swatted away at a tree branch, nearly smacking Frankenstein in the face.

"Oh, my poor Master," Frankenstein moaned. "He could have fallen down into a ditch in his drunken state, or tumbled into a batch of thorns. Or maybe he fell into a lake! He can't swim!" He paused. "At least, I don't think he can. Gah! What if he caught poison oak and his fragile skin has erupted into those horrendous rashes? He could be suffering, or possibly dying, or-"

"Rolling in a field of daisies," Muzaka commented thoughtfully.

"Or a bush of roses with those thorns!" Frankenstein continued.

"No, I mean he's rolling in a field of daisies," Muzaka said, grabbing Frankenstein and forcing the human to come to an abrupt stop. Both men stopped and stared at the sight of a sleeping Noblesse sprawled in a field of comfortable looking daisies. Raizel sighed in his sleep, his black hair blending with the white foliage. In that moment, he looked like the picture of innocent perfection.

"I guess he is sleeping off that brandy," Muzaka commented as he stared at the slumbering Noblesse.

"He could get a sunburn," Frankenstein fretted, hands reaching out before pulling back, as if unsure what to do. Finally, Frankenstein reached out gently tapped Raizel on the shoulder. "Master," he started. "It's time to wake up."

Raizel merely sighed, rolling over and burying his head in the daisies.

Frankenstein looked uncertain before gently grabbing Raizel by the shoulders and hoisting him up. Muzaka watched with amusement as Raizel slumped, as if he didn't even want to move. With a worried sigh, Frankenstein gently lifted Raizel up before carrying him over his shoulders.

"Please forgive me for this indecency, Master," Frankenstein muttered.

Muzaka chuckled. "Hey, I won't tell anyone."

Raizel stirred, blinking his eyes open. "Muzaka...is that...you?"

The Werewolf Lord nodded. "Yep, I'm here."

Raizel hummed before craning his neck upward. "Frankenstein...you have such long hair."

Frankenstein blinked. "Why, uh...thank you Master…"

"Can I braid it?" Raizel asked.

Muzaka huffed, rolling his eyes skyward. Apparently Raizel needed more time to sleep off that brandy. When Muzaka looked back, he saw Frankenstein glaring at him, his gaze intense.

"Muzaka," Frankenstein started in a low whisper as Raizel reached up to try and touch the long, gold locks on the human's head. "From now on, any food or drink you bring to the Master's place must be inspected by me first."


A/N: Because a giggling Raizel is a cute Raizel.