Once back through the door of his loft, Lokariste immediately senses his contemporaries approaching, and reacts by disappearing with Elithe into a nearby coat closet. Shortly thereafter, Jessica convinces Nic that he must have heard the wind. Lokariste said that he would be returning soon, and he would. He wouldn't lie. Not to them.

Inside the closet, the contents of their breath mingling in the air, he begins to count the individual lies he has told throughout the evening thus far. And to whom.

Elithe, rather startled by the sudden action, is equally surprised and alarmed by her dangerously close proximity to one so previously feared. She opens her mouth to speak and he silences her with a single finger. The salt of his perspiration remains upon her lips, and she exhales markedly.

"Ssh," is all that he offers.

"I think they left," she replies after a time.

"I think you're right."

Elithe attempts to squirm, but it is of very little use. There is not an inch of space between them, and the intimacy is growing stifling. "I have to get out of here."

"Why?"

"I…" She maneuvers to look to where she suspects his eyes may be. They have a strange glow within the pitch-blackness. "I have to get out of here."

He pauses. "It's me, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't trust you."

"Fine."

Lokariste opens the door, politely extending a hand to her. Cautiously, she takes it.

"Well," Nic says, appearing from the kitchen. "This is cute. You call this ready, Lok?" Lokariste sighs while his peer continues. "Mmm, you certainly do look nice. A bit lacking on the protein though. Not a whole lot of meat on you, is there?"

Elithe reaches for the gun, but Nic's hand immediately halts her movement.

"I don't think so, honey." He turns to Lokariste. "Well, buddy, you had your chance. Sorry, I'm tired of waiting around."

Watching the dramas unfold, Elithe comes to realize that the best definition for her acquaintance might very well by silent but deadly.

Lokariste, without the slightest indication or sound, immediately takes firm hold of Elithe, tossing her toward the hall, and reels back for a terrifying swipe toward Nic. Startled, but quickly prepared for the onslaught, Nic returns with his own sort of retaliation, and the two gentlemen engage in battle.

"Elithe, go!" Is all he can offer. Jessica appears suddenly from around the corner, an unwelcoming glint to her eye. Elithe runs down the hall and quickly finds herself in the only available room - full of wires and technological gadgets. "And lock the door!" Just in time, too. Jessica angrily claws at the wood paneling, frustrated in her sudden defeat. She leaves Elithe with a memorable snarl.

Jessica returns to the main room and claws at Lokariste's back. He grimaces and turns to Jessica and Nic goes in for the kill. It becomes immediately evident now that they had been in some sort of intrigue all along; they were both too intimately familiar with one another in this way. They had clearly hunted together among other things.

Furious, Lokariste swipes Jessica's face with a blunt hand. She is sent clearly against the door behind them, and fires a look to Nic which he heeds instantly.

"You fucked up," is all he says, wiping his bloodied nose with the back of his hand.

"No, I'm just blind. Get the hell out of here."

"Baby, let's go," Jessica says, pulling at Nic's shirttail.

"After you." His eyes do not leave Lokariste's until they have both left the premises.

Elithe emerges from the hall to see Lokariste's hand against the door. She quietly opens her mouth to speak. "I'm… sorry."

"It's okay." He sighs. "I'm just stupid." He walks to the living room and collapses into a chair. "Friends. Fuck that."

She settles into one across from him. "Are you hurt?"

He looks down at a few gashes across his forearms and one slight scrape upon his cheek. "I'll live."

She nods. As moved as she is to helping him, she is not yet for certain that this entire scheme is not an elaborate ruse to result in her demise. Not that it matters much any longer.

"You know, you're really paranoid."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're so nervous, on-edge, freaked out. Just calm down. Maybe I can even help you so that you don't have a death-wish. Ever think of that?" He dabs one wound with a cocktail napkin. She winces. "Afterall, you've got that disc."

"How'd you know?"

"I saw it." He pauses. "May I see it? I have something to read it with."

"I saw."

He nods. "So?"

She sighs, placing her hands upon her legs and rising. "I guess it can't hurt." She approaches him with the disc, he examines it, and the two walk back to the technologically significant room.

"This is one hell of a mecca."

"Thanks," he says absent-mindedly inserting the disc into a drive. "I'm a Glasswalker. City garou. I make my living as… well, as a hacker."

"They have those here?"

"You bet." He rests his elbow against the desk chair arm and eyes the screen carefully. In this sort of position, he appears nearly harmless. Helpful. Not menacing and cruel.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"When?"

"About the… everything. About me, about… killing me?"

He pauses for a moment, unsure of how to answer. Finally, he swivels the chair to face her momentarily. "No. I'm not sadistic. Like you, I prefer it short and sweet. Painless."

"So… you have killed. You… do kill."

"It's in my nature."

"Humans?"

He shrugs. "You take what you can get."

"I… don't know how to take that."

"I know." He pauses. "Look, I said all that because I knew it would terrify you - or at least, I hoped it would."

"Why?"

"To avoid the temptation. Why else?"

She flexes her fingers nervously against the chair arms, rising. "Look… if all I am is… a means to an end to you… I'd rather you not try to help me."

"No, I know what you're going to ask, and no."

"What? What am I going to ask?"

"Am I consistently sitting here fantasizing about you in such a way that it would disturb both of us. No. I'm not."

"Oh." She relaxes a bit. Providing he speaks the truth. "Then… why do you seem so preoccupied?"

Silence. It's never a good sign.

Lokariste stretches his own long fingers and runs them roughly through his hair. He yawns, stretches, and sighs.

"Well?"

"Nobody ever said I don't fantasize about other things." She looks to the floor, straightens her thoroughly wrinkled skirt a bit, and scratches her chin. "So," he concludes, drumming the chair. "Yeah, okay, your file here…"

"Yes?"

"It's going to take a little time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" He looks at his watch. 3:16 am. "I mean I'll be more able to attack it with a clear head in the morning. Usually, this is my peak time, but… it's been a rough night."

She nods. "Okay. Well, ah, I'll see you tomorrow then?" She stands.

"Not exactly." He rises with her, and they stand directly opposite one another. The curious heat in the room is almost stifling. "Down the hall is another room. It's a guest room."

"I couldn't."

"You're not going back out there."

She pauses. It would be an awfully stupid decision to make. Going back out there was not exactly what she itches to do.

Elithe sighs, giving in after a short time. "Okay. Lead the way."

As they continue down the hall, Elithe takes careful note of his many features. He turns to her infrequently, sometimes giving a quiet grin as a result of acknowledging the scrutiny. She turns away.

"Okay, here's the room. There's a bathroom over there. You can lock this door and it encloses the bathroom as well. If you need anything, well, try to fend for yourself. There's a lot available to you." He scratches his head. "Oh yeah, and when I say lock the door, I mean it. I'm not kidding."

This came as a rather strange request. "I don't understand."

He sighs. "Elithe, look, I've said what I said, and I mean all of it. But. And here's where things get… complicated. You already heard what you've heard, and it's true. It's been a long time for me - a long time. I'm…" He pauses. "I'm a bit unstable, okay? There, I said it. Now, here and now, you're fine. You're safe. I have a good grip on things, but… the more tired I become, and the less of a hold I have on my more emotional side…"

She looks plainly into his conflicted eyes. "Lokariste, is there a possibility that you're still going to try and kill me?"

Again, he runs his fingers through his hair, closes his eyes, turns the other way, yawns… in other words, avoids all discussion of the issue.

"I really don't want to," is his reply. He sighs, and ends the early morning chat with, "I'm sorry, Elithe." He then heads quietly back down the hallway, disappearing around the corner. It is as if he is reviewing each word spoken within his mind.

Elithe stands silent and still at the doorway, her hand upon the knob. Finally, with a most curious emotion, she closes it and pulls the lock tightly into place. As it clicks, she closes her eyes, a bit forlorn that she should have to trust someone who may still take her life. And further still, that he is plagued with such internal affliction.

However, it wouldn't be until later that morning that she would know how much.