"I'm turning in early, need something the boys'll help ya," Tac shrugged off her jacket and tossed it on what looked like a kitchen island, or maybe it was a table. Too make shift to decide.

"It's a rat hole."

"And it leaks when it rains but its home."

One of said rats decided to scurry across the floor. Alystar gave an annoyed look before giving a hiss at it, it ran off. He hoped for good; no rat bite fever for him.

"I sense a solution to our rat problem…" Tac grabbed a water glass before heading toward the door on the right side of the apartment.

"I don't go chasing rats for fun… Neither do I eat them," he called after her before the door shut.

"She meant me getting hungry enough to cook the damn things…" Claud rolled his eyes. "Tac's got the full bath. There's another toilet next to out room and faucets all work but… I'd only drink from Tac's, the other two have a corrosion problem. Rust, bleck."

"And Tac's door's locked, so if you need something, like she said, we're your best bet."

"I'm hittin' the bed early too. I'm tired," Erin rubbed his shoulders before heading to the opposite side of the room.

"Night," Claud called before walking over to flop down into an overstuffed, and beaten up, old chair. Alystar took a seat on the old couch sitting close by. "Do you ever have trouble sleeping?"

"Yes, though I'm fairly certain my reasons are different from yours. You'll have to be more specific," Alystar laced his fingers and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Does it ever feel… like your skin's crawling? Like there's something moving under it?"

Alystar gave a sigh. He could feel his teeth itching, the gums seemed to pulse as his blood hummed, threatening to activate. "Not my skin, but yeah…"

"Is that because I'm one of those parasite types?"

"Yeah. It gets easier to anticipate when it'll happen, and most learn to ignore it. Or they've had it so long they forget the sensation's there. But, in truth, it never goes away…"

"You speak from experience?"

"I have been like this for over a hundred years, if that counts," Alystar smiled awkwardly at the gaping boy. "And I still can't get over the feeling I get after I feed off an Akuma."

"I can't sleep after," he rested a hand on his shoulder, as if unable to think of the words.

"Activating your Innocence. Innocence is what you wings are made of."

"You've said Innocence before… What is that?"

"I guess you could say, it's a gift from God. A power given to humans to help fight Akuma/demons with." Alystar chuckled, "I guess that was perfect wording considering your Invocation reminds of a white angel…"

"Angel, bah! It gets worse than just the wings… I, I've gone up against one of those demon monsters, Akuma? It gets worse… It looked human, but they knew, they knew it wasn't," Claud's hands rested on his head where his antenna had been.

"The first sight of an Akuma is always frightening."

"I killed it… It attacked me and I couldn't stop it from attacking back," his arms crossed over his chest as he held his shoulders.

Claud flinched when Alystar laid a hand on his arm. "It's alright, I understand."

"How could anyone understand," the boy curled away.

"When I first became an accommodator for my Innocence, I was afraid of myself. I began attacking the people of my village, killing them by drinking their blood. I would awaken out of these bloodlust fuelled spells to see the corpse of someone I had drained. I condemned myself for being a monster, a vampire, and locked myself in my castle.

"The villagers wanted me dead, tried many times to kill me, but they would all become afraid and run away. It wasn't until two boys, about your age, Exorcists came through that we discovered that I too was an Exorcist. It wasn't humans I was killing, but Akuma. They just appeared to be villagers when I attacked them."

"Did the villagers forgive you for it then?"

Alystar's lip twitched, trying to smile and failing, "No, I was and always would be a monster to them. Their view on me and my family had already been set in stone long before I became an Exorcist."

"Suddenly my life doesn't seem so bad," Claud gave a forced smile.

"How bad does it get? Is it just fear of yourself, your power, or do you lose control when you fight?"

"It protects me… It attacks… But I don't know how to make it do what I want. It's like it has a mind of its own and I'm just drug along for the ride."

"We'll have to work on that. A little practice and you'll be in full control, no worries," Alystar gave him the biggest smile he could muster, forgetting that it would give most people nightmares.

"Heh, Jaws, I'm calling it a night. Random thought, you don't drink from humans at all, do you?"

Alystar chuckled, "Extreme insinuating circumstance if I do. But I don't with only the one exception, so no worries. I won't try to eat any of you in your sleep." He laid back to get comfortable on the old couch, crossing his arms behind his head, "Goodnight, pleasant dreams."

"Thanks," he heard a door shut and closed his eyes.