*Ciel's POV*

A mere day without Sebastian Michaelis as his shadow had felt like a century to the young Earl. He'd been stolen from, then walked miles, cast out of the nearest motel, and mocked by a cat. All to find himself leaning against one of the buildings nearby, miserably cold; soon, though, exhaustion took over and he managed to sleep…

Ciel woke next to the vague sensation of something crawling on him. At first, he thought it was that stupid cat (though it was on his face, so this seemed unlikely in retrospect); instinctively, he swatted at it without even opening his eyes, only to hear a low curse, wind ruffling his hair as whatever it had been shifted and darted away from him. Finally, curiosity got the best of the young man and he opened his eyes—

There stood a man, dressed eerily similar to Sebastian's usual butler-outfit. He adjusted the square-framed glasses on his face, inhumanly gold eyes flashing in the dark light of early morning. "Ciel Phantomhive," he spoke curtly, but currently without harshness, "It appears your demon has abandoned you. I must say, you look.. rather lost without him by your side."

"And just who the Hell are you?" Ciel snapped, azure eyes narrowing at this.. creature. He couldn't quite tell what he was, only that it wasn't an angel; angels had a tendency for white, he'd noticed, and this man looked quite the opposite.

The stranger cracked just the slightest of smiles as he introduced himself, "Why, my name is Claude, unless you prefer to change that." His golden eyes danced in the darkness around them as he suggested, "As I was saying, it does appear that Sebastian has left you all alone.. unprotected, it's almost pathetic."

"Watch just who you call pathetic—"

"—Not you, him," Claude amended easily, "It's an embarrassment that he's caused, really. Nearly a broken contract, if you want my opinion on the matter." He paused, leaning against the nearby wall as he looked over the boy, "You're cold, you're exhausted, and you're alone. I can fix all of that."

Ciel pushed himself up from the ground to stand in the alley, brushing the dust from his clothes. "You're a demon, then?" he muttered. It was just the Earl's luck to run into another of Sebastian's kind so soon after his butler had vanished.

Claude nodded once, eyes softening from behind his glasses, "Yes, that's right." He took a few steps forward, until the child was cornered, then gracefully pulled the eye-patch Ciel wore away. He frowned at the fading mark that lay there, but nodded again, "Just as I'd thought. Let me help you… I could take away all this confusion, all this pain he's left you with. You need only say the word."

Usually, the Phantomhive boy wouldn't have been swayed this easily, but this new demon was right about everything he'd said. Ciel was cold, tired, fed-up, and he wasn't just alone, he was lonely. He couldn't do this on his own, he'd realized; he needed Sebastian—no, he needed a demon—on his side. "Your first order, then," he began, pausing to survey the demon's expressions.

The spider reached out, touching the boy's forehead just briefly, making Ciel's contract-eye burn fitfully. He shut it for a moment and when he opened his eyes again, though he couldn't see it, Claude Faustus' mark was in place. "Yes, my lord?" Claude asked, a small smirk appearing on his lips.

"Find me a warm place to sleep, Claude. I've no desire to stay out on the streets tonight," Ciel spoke softly now. He was, at last, in his own territory again. It may have been a different demon, but it was still familiar ground; deals were the one thing that both humans and demons could agree on flawlessly. He had no doubt that he could rely on Claude just as much as he had Sebastian all this time.

Claude bowed for a second, then reached out to gently take Ciel by the arm as he murmured, "I transform day into night, sugar into salt, creature into corpse… and for the moment, cold into warm, if I may." It was then that he wrapped his arm around the boy, pulling him close to his chest for a moment before scooping him up into his arms, just like Sebastian had used to when he was exhausted or injured. "Rest now, master, you'll be safe with me," he reassured the child as he started to walk down the alley, footsteps sure as the night is black. Within moments, Ciel was fast asleep in the man's arms.