Lust smirked at her reflection. The glass surface before her was nearly glowing with approval.

She was perfect.

As always.

Beauty to her was nothing. Not that she'd trade it, no, but she hardly needed to be as beautiful as she was. It was unnecessary. She sometimes felt like a living exaggeration.

Her dark eyes slowly flicked over the surface of the mirror, taking it all in. Her flawless, porcelain skin, her perfect blood red lips, the curve of her body in the dim light. Now this, I can adjust to again, She thought, running a hand through her long dark curls. Becoming a homunculus was a grisly experience, but in Lust's case?

The mess was worth it.

Her eyes traveled even farther down, studying her new body with satisfaction. It's good to be back. Her perfect crimson lips twisted up into a smirk. She slipped into her dress, letting the soft black fabric fall neatly around her bare shoulders, resting halfway down her upper arm. Then, tying a deep black cloak around her neck and raising the hood, she gave her reflection one last glance before taking off into the night to find her comrades.

She slowed to a walking pace as she approached the inn. This was her station. A man in this inn held the secret to the location of the rest of the Homunculi. The catch was, she didn't know who he was. This man
supposedly carried a written code of the location with him tonight, and she needed to get it away from him and kill him. It shouldn't be too hard, since Lust's specialty and talent lay with the act of getting what she wanted. Especially with men.

Through the window, she could see that the inn was crowded, smoky, and dimly lit. Perfect for someone with a mission like her own. A sudden gust of wind rushed over her from the west, blowing open the cracked door, which slammed open
against the wall. The wind gusted into the room, making several people shudder. Lust gazed around, causing every soul in the room to cease their activity and stare at the mysteriously beautiful stranger. She quietly closed the door behind her and took a seat at the bar, next to a tall blond man who was sipping amber liquid out of a glass.

"What are you drinking?" She inquired, as the normal buzz and laughter of the inn slowly began to begin again.

He didn't answer her, but raised his glass to the bartender, who Lust eyed with disdain. He was boring looking. The blond man didn't look up, but spoke to the barkeep in a low voice. "One of these for her, please."

The bartender stared at Lust with a look in his eye that was all too familiar to her as he poured the drink and slid it in her direction. "Thank you," She murmured, raising the glass to her lips. He grunted in reply, his beady eyes still trained on her.

She turned to the man next to her. "What do you do?"

"I'm a slave to my superiors," he replied dully, sipping from his glass.

"Aren't we all?" Lust giggled softly, her voice dripping with honey.

He didn't respond. He was lighting a ciggarette. "Smoke?"

"No, thank you," she said. Her gaze fell onto his breast pocket. A little slip of paper was just barely sticking out. Could this be him? "Do you have a name?"

"Jean Havoc," He sighed, taking another sip of alcohol. This man hadn't so much as glanced at her, yet. "I'd like to stay and talk, but I've got to deliver something to central by midnight, and it's classified information,
so--"

Lust didn't give him the chance to finish. His mouth stopped moving as she lowered her hood.

She smirked at his stunned expression, though she would have been shocked to find any other emotion painted onto his face. "What's wrong? Have you never seen a female before?"

He seemed to snap out of his trance, but kept his gaze on her. "Are you from around here?"

"No," She said, her eyes still gazing at his pocket. She looked at him and gave a subtly seductive smile. "I live up north, but I got lost here, so I'll be staying the night."

He seemed to notice the hint of playfulness in her voice, and leaned in, interested. "You never told me your name."

"Jenna," She lied, not missing a beat.

"Jenna..." He echoed. "You look familiar. Are you sure that you're not from around here?"

"Yes," She said, laughing softly. "I've already told you, I live up north." She lifted the glass to her lips again, taking another sip of amber liquid. The alcohol was nothing compared to what she was used to, but she forced a loose smile to her face. He needed to think that she was becoming drunk. "Where's your girlfriend?"

Havoc leaned forward and groaned, setting his empty glass down onto the counter. "I don't have one," He muttered.

"Oh," She said, pretending to be surprised. "Why not?"

"'Cause I can't get one," He mumbled, taking another sip of alcohol from his glass that the bartender had just refilled. He glanced sideways at her.

She shrugged a little, untying her cloak and draping it over her chair, revealing her bare shoulders and neck. "It's hot in here. I think I'll go upstairs, and maybe relax for a while."

"Oh." Havoc's face fell. "Okay."

Lust rolled her eyes. Idiot. Does he need everything spelled out? "So come with me."

"What?" He raised his head to look at the flawless face of the woman beside him. "Are you kidding?"

"Of course not." She stood up and picked up her cloak. "If you want to talk for a while, that is. If you're tired, though, I don't want you to--"

"Don't be ridiculous," He said, standing quickly and paying the bartender.

She smirked. This was definitely him. Just as Envy had described him. Now, all she needed to do was get that paper. Of course, Lust was an exceptional actress. "Actually... I don't know," She sighed, obviously playing innocent. "I'm a little tired."

"What? No, please, let's go," He said hastily, his eyes wide. "You can't be that tired, you've only just got here."

She shrugged slightly, letting the black fabric of her dress settle a little further down her back. "Hm. I suppose it's just the alcohol. It always leaves me a little..." She flicked her eyes sideways at him. "Buzzed."

He picked up on the message and stood up, not wanting to waste this seemingly heaven-sent opportunity. "After you, then." She swiftly picked up a room key and started up the stairs, glancing over her shoulder every few moments or so to check and make sure that he still had the paper. He did.

Lust opened the door and slipped inside, turning the light on, but not all the way. She didn't think it mattered, though. This guy was obviously a little desperate for some female attention. She sat down on the bed and laid her cloak to the side. "So, tell me about yourself."

He began to speak, quickly falling under her spell. He talked about his job, his childhood, and his family, all of which bored Lust intensely. But she kept her eyes locked on his, putting him into a trance, rendering him completely helpless. There was no chance of his survival. She had him trapped.

She kept her gaze on him, and finally, when Lust had decided that the time was right, she leaned in and gently exhaled, releasing hot air onto his neck. He paused.

She moved closer to him and brushed her lips against his neck again, feeling goosebumps rise on his skin with much satisfaction. It was working. This man will be dead in the morning, Lust thought as she closed her eyes and kissed him, her perfect lips moving against his.

She pressed his shoulders down onto the bed to push him down in front of her, then slid off of him and stood up. He watched, his face slightly flushed, as she swiftly pulled down the zipper and let her dress fall in deep black folds around her ankles.

Havoc reddened, now, as his eyes fell onto the perfect figure before him, taking it all in.

Lust absolutely loved to see the men crumble and melt, to see the way that their lips parted ever so slightly when she smiled at them, to see how their eyes drank in every detail of her angelic body. It amused her to see them turn into bumbling imbeciles when they saw her, when she had then wrapped around her little finger.

She slowly walked forward and lay next to him, turning him to the side so that she could wrap her arms around him and unbutton his shirt from behind, before pulling it off over his shoulders. He's sexy, She thought, her lips twisting into a smirk. It's a shame he'll have to die, but he'll only get in my way after tonight.

Havoc turned to face her, his breathing shallow and strained. Gazing into her eyes felt intoxicating, as if he was slipping under the surface of a hot bath. Lust kissed him again, tasting a mix of cigarettes and peppermint as she tugged down the top of his pants. He kicked them to the side and turned over, repositioning himself so that she was underneath him.

Really a shame, Lust thought, pressing her lips to his neck one last time.

* * *

Lust waited until Havoc was out cold. She gazed at his sleeping form for a moment. Maybe it's unnecessary to kill him, she thought. I've got the code, so what else do I really need? It's not like he'll be wondering who stole it, and if he comes after me, I can always destroy him there.

She decided not to waste her time. Slipping quietly out of the bed, she silently padded across the room and rummaged through his clothes untill her fist closed around the paper. Her two perfect lips twisted up into a smirk as she read it. How convenient. The code instructed clearly that the seven homunculi would meet under Ivan Falls.

That's only two miles from here, Lust thought, holding back a smile.

She opened the window to listen to the distant sound of water churning up water.

The air had grown cold, and a round harvest moon had risen up into the sky.

She shrugged back into her clothes, and took one last glance at the sleeping man, before wrapping the black cloak around her and closing the window behind her. She jumped off of the roof and landed gracefully on the ground below, letting the breeze push back her hair and caress her face as she stood up. Then, silently, she took off into the darkness of the forest. It's been two years since I've seen them, she thought. I almost miss that band of cretins. Almost.

As she approached the falls, she hear loud raucous laughter and several familiar voices. Also, a pig-like grunt, most likely of Gluttony. Then, suddenly, she saw them, through the trees, sitting in the very center of the forest, with only the full yellow moon reflecting off of the water for light. Lust was surprised at how light it was, actually. She could see perfectly. Envy, Greed, Sloth, and Gluttony all sat in a circle, with Wrath on Sloth's lap. Pride was nowhere to be seen. Gluttony was eating something big. There's a shock, Lust thought sardonically.

"Tonight," Envy announced suddenly, "We reunite beneath the full moon for the first time in two autumns." Envy, Envy, Envy. Always the attention suck. "Lust will not be joining us, for reasons that the devil himself probably can't understand."

"Why Lust not coming?" Gluttony boomed sadly.

"Because, my half-witted friend, the Whore is too busy with her own pathetic life to waste her precious time with those with which she belongs."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

The group turned to look at Lust, who had chosen this moment to speak, emerging from the blackness. She leaned against a tree and checked her nails. "Miss me?"