Over the next couple days, Veronica selected to forget about what happened with that teenage pick pocket's reap, all about mysterious man that she briefly spoke to, and focused all her attention on burying herself in paperwork. It wasn't until she got an unexpected visitor that she truly realised just how much she had screwed up...

"Seems I finally found you Miss Veronica... you are most certainly a very difficult woman to track down, especially considering most reapers know each other normally" mused a jovial voice that she hoped to never hear again... the mysterious stranger had found her...

Her head snapped up as the voice floated over to her from the door frame, just in time to see it's owner stepped into her office, revealing himself to be a tall, lean being with long, wild silver hair with covered a good deal of his face, dressed in black robes, top hat and a grey scarf tied horizontally across his torso.

"Now that you have found me, what is it that you want?" she asked pointedly, mentally kicking herself for giving him her real name... there is always ways to make yourself impossible to track even if someone has seen your face, she should know that by now.

"Just to learn more, really. You awakened my curiosity, with your odd mannerisms and words~"

"And what if I didn't feel like humouring your curiosity?"

"Then I shall wait, I am an extremely patient man after all, and I just keep coming back until you change your mind" he stated with a mischievous grin "I'm not giving in until you crack and indulge me in what I want to know"

"You'll be waiting a long time then, for what you saw was a mere slip up, something I have no intention on repeating."

"I have all the time in the world, Nikki" he stated sitting down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk from her, just to back up his statement "So how about we start with the reason, why you seem to be so scarcely know round here? Pretty woman like should be taking advantage of being surrounded by dashing young men~"

Veronica just ignored him, point blank before going back to her work

"Come, come now, answering a few questions is hardly going to kill you, is it now? I swear if you answer them I will go away for a while"

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to be buried alive" he reassured with a light chuckle as he placed his hand over his heart

"Fine" she muttered "I simply don't see why they need to know all that much about me, so I generally keep myself to myself."

"How long you been a reaper?"

"A hundred years, give or take a decade or two" she shrugged as she watch the strange man, even though she couldn't seeing his eyes she could feel them on her. "Now let me ask you something, is your retirement that boring you feel the need to come back?"

"Ah so you know who I am do you?"

"I have a hunch, since you have always had quite the distinctive look, very few other reapers have had silver hair, or such a lean frame... even if your currently distinguishing yourself as a sheepdog in a table cloth." she mused thoughtfully, watching as his grin disappeared

"That isn't very nice!" he whined, pouting lightly

"It's hardly my fault you assumed I was nice. Just because I sometimes do nice things on occasion doesn't mean I'm nice" she retorted with a light smirk "Plus it was merely an subjective observation on my part"

"Tell me why do you go to so much effort over the dead?"

"I don't really see it as effort, it is just something to be done at the end of a judgement, people deserve a little something that say that they did really existed" she explained as she shuffled through the papers in front of her "you still have to answer mine, so get on with it!"

"Wasn't it why I come back here even though I'm retired?" he inquired to make sure, waiting for her nod before continuing "Not bored per say, sometimes I find it nice to revisit the past, mull over interesting memories and curious events. Every now and then, I find something that catches my eye, sparking my interest like your good self, but otherwise I'm pretty content with my retirement."

"Considering your achievements that must occupy quite some time"

Theo's face lit up at a possible idea "So you know more then just my name do you?"

"I supposed, you can say I considered you quite interesting when I was younger, much like most trainees" she replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"Well since we seem to have a mild interest in each other, why don't we make this a regular thing, have a chat over tea and cake?" he suggested, hoping for something, anything he could use to his advantage in wedging himself into her existence.

"No thank you, I have no interest in socialising with anyone" she replied flatly, returning to her work.

"Why you so determined to remain alone?"

"I'm just not much of a socialite, I much rather be alone, I find it more comfortable, safe even in some respects..." she admitted sadly, taking a few extra moments dripping her quill in the ink pot... suppressing a sigh.

"Everyone needs someone to talk to every now and then, how are you different?"

"I used to not depending on people to be able to properly function" she replied trying to keep everything vague but substantial enough to prevent him from asking more questions.

"There speaks the mind of a woman who has been through more then she should have... someone's been burnt by the people she trusted"

"And there speaks a man who assumed too much..." Veronica replied sharply, a light growl underling her voice "I suggest you get your nose out of my business before I cut it of"

"Just because you've been burnt it doesn't mean you have to always be on the alert, suspicious of everyone you meet" he reasoned, her words seemingly just sailing over his head.

Veronica sighed exasperatedly, suppressing the urge to head butt her desk "Why do I feel I'm wasting my breath with half the things I say to you?"

"Well you are when you insist upon give me lame excuses of why you seem dead set on being alone... because that frankly ain't going to happen, everyone needs friends. And god damn it, you will have me as a friend whether you like it or not!"

"You really are annoyingly persistent..." she grumbled, frowning lightly as she observed the man that threatened to become a major pain in her ass.

His visible featured softened "Come on, m'dear just give me a chance..." he mused before pulling out a card with his undertaker's shop address written on it, sliding it over the desk to her "come visit sometime... even if you just need a break from this place"

Humouring him, she picked up the card, slimming it "Oh great, the house of death... just what I need, more solemn dead people"

"Well at least my guests don't regurgitate rules at you, so that has to be some kind of improvement~" he chuckled, shrugging widely in a 'well, tell me I'm wrong' kind of way.

As much as she would hate to admit it, he did have a point...

"Well either way, my doors are always open if you ever feel so inclined to take up my offer" he bid, tipping his hat to her, as he pulled himself back up to his feet, straightening himself up and turning to leave. "And if you don't I could always come back and bug you" he added with a chuckle, waving back at her as he reached the door.