Analyzing the jaguar's blood was proving to be difficult for Abe, mostly because of the alcohol in her system. Every single day longer that it took for him to analyze it, he laid another curse on Baskerville's name. Why on Earth he'd thought getting her drunk was the answer, Abe had no idea. It was weeks before it got back to the Professor.
In those weeks, Jade slowly figured out how she was doing it: She asked to see the security camera footage from the past weeks. Every agent that was making passes or getting handsy had been around her for a decent length of time either in the library, or what have you, during the ovulation portion of her cycle. She was letting her pheromones go again. Onyx had warned her about that. She never truly mastered controlling it, but usually could keep a handle on it. With all the stress on her right now, thought, she couldn't blame herself.
She continued to avoid everyone. The professor was starting to worry, but Baskerville assured him she was fine; after all, he did have a complete seal around her room and could look in on her at any time, though she needn't know that last part. He also came to tuck her in at night. She wouldn't sleep otherwise.
Sometimes the shadows would shift around her room like they were alive. Jade would cringe under her blankets.
"Why do you do that?" he asked.
"They moved," she answered, covering her muzzle with her blankets. Baskerville leaned in close.
"They can tell what you're thinking," he whispered. It shifted again.
"Can you?" she whispered back.
"Of course not!" he smiled wide.
"Okay…," she snuggled into her blankets as he wrapped them around her.
"Well, not much," he licked her cheek as he melted away, leaving her squealing in frustration at him.
"You want me to do what?" Baskerville growled. Trevor tried to calm him down a little bit.
"We know nothing of her people. Subjecting her to an interrogation is probably a bad idea," Abraham said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not spying on her for you!" he said and stormed out.
Jade was peacefully meditating as he quietly came into her room. She was levitated about two feet off her bed. Enough for him to slip in behind her and sit up against the headboard covered in Christmas lights with his legs spread beneath her so that when she fell, she had no idea he was there. He saw the seal shift a few times before she huffed in frustration and fell. Baskerville reached out and pulled her into his arms. She squealed.
"Not fair!" she said, smacking him in the chest. "You can't bypass your own seal whenever you want!"
"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I can do, Kitten," he said, shoving his nose in her hair. "It's my seal after all."
"So take it down and I'll put up mine!" she tried to sit up.
"No-can-do," he answered. "Mine is stronger. Protects you better."
"You don't know that," she growled. He let her go.
"Take it down, then," he said. She went to the door where he set it into the walls, reached up high where he set his paw mark into the plaster. She pushed her own energy into the wall to try and force his out. Something grabbed her and lifted her off the floor by her arms, waist, tail, and legs. Baskerville began to laugh as she swung helplessly in midair. "That didn't take long at all! I think they like you!" When she wasn't struggling, the shadow tendrils held her quite gently. One got brave and stroked the side of her neck. She shuddered. "Alright, that's enough," he waved a paw and all but the one around her waist let go. "Now!" he growled, and it slithered back into the wall. He patted the wall. "You okay, Kitten?"
"I'm fine," she answered, going back to her bed
"They don't mean any harm," he said softly, sitting at the edge of her bed.
"I know. Sometimes when it thinks I'm asleep it comes down and strokes my hair."
"Like I said: they like you."
"Do you?" she asked him.
"Do I what?" he picked at a claw.
"Like me," she scrunched up. It was a few moments before he answered.
"Well enough," he set his paw down and Jade sat up.
"You-you do?" she whispered.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," he could see her fidget.
"Where would you be?" she asked.
"I do have a room, you know, he leaned back on her headboard, laying his feetpaws on top of her blankets. "It's in the lower levels."
"How come?"
"Inquisitive, aren't we?" he smirked.
"You have a nasty habit of not answering any of my questions!"
"What other questions have I not answered?"
"What are you?" his smirk dropped. "Come on, I'm a dark priestess myself! It's not like you can scare me off."
"You're still a little girl. You don't know what you can handle," he kicked himself up to leave.
"Hellboy says you've seen people riot against you. That they recognize you as more evil than him. Anoym, our Lady of Darkness, has blessed you very much," she added quietly, "and me for having met you." Baskerville sat back down.
"I'm going to kill that thing," he mumbled. His eyes widened as the pad of her paw caught on one of her claws. His glare shifted to her.
"Baskerville? She backed against the wall. "Baskerville, are you alright?"
"I haven't had a bite to drink all night, he growled, approaching her.
"Baskerville!" he could feel her tremble through the seal and smiled a wide, wicked grin. She scratched at him with her unscathed paw. He dodged it and shook his great head, muttered an apology and quietly melted away.