On a normal day, Ermolai would cook something up for Hanna, maybe the two would walk around, then Hanna would get some sleep. He only ever left after he was assured by Hanna's soft snoring, but as soon as he had the go-ahead, Pero would quietly exit the apartments and go on his own walks. Of course he enjoyed Hanna's company - to the highest extent one can - but he very much enjoyed his own personal strolls through the darkest corners of the city. His friend showed him very much of the city, things you would not find even if you looked for them (such as Worth's office, but then again, why would you look for Worth), and Raghu certainly enjoyed exploring those things more thoroughly on his own at night. With so much time on his hands, time that he didn't waste on dreaming, he had found his own favorite corners of the city, from gloomy graveyard paths and old-fashioned confectionery shops (although he couldn't have any, it was a delight to see the candy being made).

But in more ways than one, it was by no means a normal day, even for Felix and Hanna. Early in the morning, Hanna had discovered several colored sharpies and decided to find out what would happen if he used them to make runes. The result was a dazzling light show - Hanna doodled light runes all the way to the crook of his left elbow, and manipulated the colored lights with his right hand. Wherever he pointed or waved, color would follow, creating an accordion-like lazer show. But then Hanna said he felt like he was hogging all the fun, and insisted that Roy at least gave it a try, although Hanna seemed afraid of writing a rune of his friend's hand, he did allow Hector to pull his wrist about. It was very much fun for the both of them, sending little fireworks of purples and oranges through the room, until Hanna fainted. Ford then carried his friend to Worth, who laughed and told Hanna no more colored markers. Afterwards, on a walk around town, the two found an abandoned kitten. Hanna refused to get anywhere near it, so Ritz picked it up.

Unfortunately, as soon as he turned the cat over, the awful stench of rot wafted down the sidewalk. The cat seemed gravely injured, yet it twitched with life. Although he wasn't quite sure why, Zac became very attached to the cat and asked Hanna if there was anything to be done. Hanna wanted to try and revive it with a rune, but Valdas was very reluctant to allow his friend to use runes for the rest of the day after the fireworks spectacle, so they carried the cat to Worth. After much protesting, some swearing, two bottles of booze and a pack of Marlboro's later, Worth agreed to stitch up the cat and make sure it lived. Four hours later, the two friends came back to check up on their new pet road kill.

"Helluvah fighter, that bitch. She nearly bit meh fuckin' finger off - Ohuh? Yeah, she's fine yeh twerp. She's only got one uv'er front teeth, looks like she was hit by a bike're somethin', 'm not sure..."

"Wait, you said she has one tooth?"

"Yuh. Whut're yeh drivin' at, punk?"

Worth had been talking through a cigarette as he was trying to light it, but it nearly fell out as a malicious grin grew on his face. Everyone in the room spoke all at once -

"Conrad."

"Dude! We have to give Conrad that cat!" Hanna was over-excited about something small - again. Lars stepped forward, concern on his face.

"Hanna, I don't think Conrad would even take the cat...And is it even in a good enough condition to live with him?"

"'Ey! 'Er name is Lucy, so quit callin' 'er 'it'." Hanna jumped and turned his head, Worth having abandoned the conversation as soon as he'd started suggesting giving the cat, Lucy, to Conrad. Kirk raised a brow, and the two stared at the scruffy doctor who was across the room at his desk messing with some ancient radio. "Supposed'ta rain tonight."

"...So?"

"So - " Worth mocked under his breath, exhaling smoke through his nose, "Yah think a wimpy artfag like Connie'll dump a poor pussycat in the rain?"

"Oh." The grin on Hanna's face took after Worth's; mischievous and crazed.

The two ended up going back to the apartment, since Worth didn't have the proper supplies to make Lucy presentable (ie. a comb). Hanna spent hours trying to make the sutures on Lucy's legs and stomach look less...Hideous, but with little success, since the cat utterly refused to go anywhere near Hanna. So eventually, the task was presented to Lanzo, who did a fair job, and Lucy took quite a liking to him after nearly tearing his thumb off once or twice. He would carefully brush her fur around the stitches, and sometimes she would growl or bite him a little, in which case he would stop and wait until she continued to pur before resuming. When he finally showed her to Hanna, the redhead was very satisfied with the change. Worth had already given her a bath, so her fur wasn't very coarse, but she didn't exactly look fresh out of PetSmart, either, but Hanna said it suited her, the scruffy look. Worth, after all, had been her namesake, so she might as well look the part.

Unfortunately, it began to rain before Hanna and Armen could make the trek back to the office. Hanna considered calling the whole thing off, but Göstav just stood up and took off his coat.

"You go ahead, Hanna, give Conrad his birthday present."

Hanna was about to protest, but when his friend held out his coat for him, the zombie was astounded by the animation that lit up Hanna's face. All of the sudden, Hanna had wrapped himself around the zombie's waist, and it went very quiet for a moment. "I'll tell him you said happy birthday...Thanks, Sergei!"

Sergei nodded and gave Hanna a rare smile before he watched his redhead friend head out the door. Hours went by as Sergei sat unattended at the apartment, not quite so used to being left to his own devices, unable to leave the apartment. It was a bit frustrating at first, as he'd long since finished the few books he'd possessed, but he wiled away time wondering about the hug. It was a slightly embarrassing to think about at first, because Sergei wasn't sure how to feel, but then a sort of pride washed over him. It made him...Happy that Hanna smiled like that. Sure, Hanna smiled a lot, but that...That was what his real smile looked like.

After a while, the rain had seized its attack on the window, and Sergei thought it was finally safe to leave the apartment. He opened the window, with a bit of a struggle, and peeked outside. He stuck his hand out to test how much rain he collected, and thankfully, he felt nothing. So after pulling the heavy window shut and securely latching it, Sergei dug through the clutter for some paper and a pen. To his amusement, Hanna kept no pens or pencils - the little wizard only ever used thick, black magic markers. Sergei wrote out a note and tacked it in its usual place on the door and headed out.

His mind was blank for a while, and he kept his eyes to the sidewalk as he wandered through alleys. He didn't like that he had to stick to back roads, because of his exposed skin and the soft glow of his eyes, but he was happy with it, knowing that Hanna was having fun at Worth's. For a moment, Sergei considered walking to the office, but something held him back. It wasn't that he didn't want to go - he just couldn't seem to get there. He didn't really mind, he just wandered on. Although after a few hours, it occurred to him that maybe Hanna wouldn't see the letter, and maybe he didn't know where Sergei had gone. So the zombie stopped where he was, and turned on his heel to find his way back to the apartment.

"Oh,"

The alley behind him seemed to turn into a twisting labyrinth of turns and dead-ends, and it did surprise him, but it didn't deter him. Sergei just kept walking, but as the black sky took on lighter shades, he broke into a fast-walk. Then dawn started to break the gray of the night, and then he just broke out into a run, checking every turn, feeling very foolish for his mistake. Birds and crows started to gather in the back roads, some of the crows giving Sergei trouble, but he just kept running. He didn't even stop when he'd waved his hand and hit one, looking back to see if he'd killed it or not, and that was when he collided with something much smaller than he was.

Sergei stumbled back, shocked. He looked down for whatever it was he'd run into, and was even more surprised to find Hanna at his feet, looking dazed.

"Pasha...? Holy crap, I though I got hit by a car - no offense," the redhead muttered and pulled his legs to his chest end resting his chin on his knee. Pasha noticed he'd worn his coat out to find him. The zombie sat down on the ground next to his friend and the two were quiet for a moment, and Hanna looked up with a sleepy smile on his face.

"You got lost, huh?"

"Just a little."

"Heh, I almost thought you'd ran away," Pasha noticed the relief in Hanna's voice and realized he wasn't supposed to have heard that.

"I'm not going anywhere, Hanna, I just made a mistake,"

As he looked over his friend's face, he could see the unusual worry etched in, and what must have been a sleepless night. It sent hideous waves of guilt rippling through Pasha.

"C'mon, Hanna, I'll carry you back and make you a pancake tower,"

Hanna's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"All right!" He paused as he was scooped up by Pasha, "Yanno, we should do this more often!"

Long chapter for you guys today! See you next week, probably on Monday again!

Tell me what you think!

Oh, and I'm giving you a choice, if you want it - do you want to see Conrad with Lucy next chapter or Gallahad, Hanna, and Toni shopping?

Majority Rule!