A hermit sheep is one that strikes out on its own, separate from the herd, and here especially refers to a sheep that refuses to BE herded.

Greetings, Phantomhive butler~

Perhaps I should blame your lack of response to my previous letter as an error on behalf of the postal service. I shall pray that this letter finds you — or else I should have to address future mail to the Little Lord himself in hopes that someone receives the message on your behalf ~

Visit me when you're able, and we may speak more on our little secret. Perhaps night is best for creatures such as yourself? I'll be waiting ~

Undertaker

Sebastian glared down at the paper in the same way he would look at something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. After tossing the letter into the fireplace of the servant's office, to join the cinders of his own lord's mail, he sighed in annoyance. The message was clear. He could not ignore Undertaker's summons again, not without getting the young master involved. And Sebastian couldn't afford for that to happen.

Ciel was an observant boy. Even if they had not spoken much on it, Sebastian knew that the young master was at least partially aware that his demon was behaving in new ways. For instance, when Sebastian prodded his charge to talk about his fears during the last mission, Ciel had told Sebastian to return to "normal" and not provoke such delicate conversations. At other times, Ciel almost seemed to be seeking comfort, albeit with reluctance. This was probably why Sebastian's new kinder behavior had never been addressed forthright: Ciel himself didn't know what to do about it, purposefully leaving it alone so it was never verbally acknowledged nor totally ignored.

Initially, Sebastian had not wanted Ciel to find out about what he once referred to as the "sympathy beast," because he had been sure Ciel would use it to his advantage. Sebastian knew much of how to exploit weaknesses: he had been doing it for as far back as his memory reached. That was why he kept his own vulnerabilities so well-guarded. He could not let his contracted see the chinks in his near-impenetrable armor. He could not let Ciel know precisely where to strike.

But… Sebastian's newfound gentleness had not been turned against him, even once Ciel became aware that something was different with his demon. That was likely in part due to suspicion. Ciel was hesitant to let anyone see his true feelings. Emotions, once out in the open, were swords that could be sharpened and driven right back into his heart. And who would be more willing to take a stab than his future killer? Sebastian's growing kindness was, therefore, probably causing Ciel more doubt than ease. The boy merely sought out that dubious kindness because he saw Sebastian as the only one who could never leave his side, no matter what came to pass.

Thus, the current reason Sebastian did not want Ciel to find out he was meeting with Undertaker was… more tender. Undertaker had offered to assist Sebastian in returning to his old demonic self: defeating the so-called "sympathy beast." Even if Sebastian was no longer so keen on that goal, it didn't change the original reason Sebastian had gone to Undertaker, nor the reason he was forced to keep going. Undertaker could tell Ciel at any time what Sebastian had been up to behind his back. And would it not hurt for Ciel to find out that not only did someone care about him in an almost parental way, but that that same individual had been actively trying to stop caring so much?

No. Under no circumstances could Sebastian allow the young master to get involved.

Night would be the time to leave. During the daylight hours, he risked Ciel noticing his absence; it had only worked out the last time he visited Undertaker because Ciel had blatantly wanted Sebastian to keep away from him. It was always possible the boy would wake up from a bad dream in the middle of the night, yes, but even that could be minimized. Ciel was less likely to have nightmares when he was exhausted. And what exhausted him more than an entire day outside of the house, surrounded by strangers, being led around London by his energetic fiancée, making uncomfortable conversation and wearing uncomfortable clothing for hours in a row?

Needless to say, by the time Ciel made it home after the Trooping the Color and spending all afternoon with the Midfords, he was worn to the bone and starving for rest. He drowsily went about the nighttime ritual of drinking milk tea and having a bath. Once he was dressed in his pajamas, he trudged over to his bed and flopped upon it. Sebastian's bidding of "Will that be all then, young master?" was met with no more than a muffled grunt of dismissal.

Task one was completed. Now… who was to act in Sebastian's stead while he was away: Bard, Finny, Tanaka, or Mey-Rin?

Bard and Finny definitely wouldn't suffice. While they were immediately attentive when told of real danger, they weren't so very useful when it came to an ambiguous danger. Finny wouldn't know about an intruder if they managed to get inside the house; Bard wouldn't know an intruder was outside it. The two could work passably as a team, but Sebastian only wanted one person left in charge. He didn't need anyone gossiping about his mysterious disappearance in the middle of the night. If two of them spoke on it, the third would find out before long. And all three of the idiots combined, while a nearly impenetrable force against human enemies, were decidedly useless when it came to keeping secrets from the young master.

Tanaka could keep a secret… but he wouldn't let Sebastian leave him on night watch out of nowhere without an explanation either. The senior steward was the only other intelligent member of the staff. Lying was off the table for Sebastian, as always. If Tanaka thought Sebastian were hiding something, he would be sure to broach the matter with Ciel, and then Ciel would find out about Sebastian's meetings with Undertaker all the same. No, unfortunately the most trusted servant would not do here either.

Not the most trusted servant. Not three idiots, and not two. Alas, Sebastian's hopes lay in a single idiot all by herself.

"M-M-Mister Sebastian?!" Mey-Rin stammered, peering out the door of her bedroom. She was half-awake and flustered by this one a.m. call, clutching a shawl tightly over her nightdress. She knew that this visit didn't require an immediate jump into action: Sebastian had a specific knock he employed for the occasions when the manor received 'special guests.' "Wh-What is it you need me for at this hour? Ah, someone hasn't gotten sick, have they? Is something amiss?"

"No, and it should stay that way," Sebastian said. "I have a night excursion to embark on regarding the young master. You are going to look after the manor while I'm away."

"Oh! C-Certainly." She knew better than to ask questions of where Sebastian was going. Even if she did ask, denying her an answer wouldn't raise suspicion. Sebastian had purposefully phrased it to sound like he was doing something for the young master anyway — not behind the young master's back. "Um… how long do you need me on watch?"

"Only an hour or so, I hope. You shall be allowed to sleep in until seven a.m. tomorrow to make up for the lost rest." Sebastian checked his pocket watch and closed it again with a neat snap. "You'll go to the rooftop with your rifles and keep a three-hundred-and-sixty degree lookout until I return. I suspect no intruders will come, but consistent and constant vigilance should never be squandered. Am I clear?"

"O-Of course!" Mey-Rin piped up. "But, um! Wait! Mr. Sebastian?"

"What is it?" Sebastian sighed. He had already started back up the stairs, eager to keep the conversation short so he could be on his way and get the meeting over with.

Mey-Rin held one hand in the other. "The young master… he doesn't have another mission already, does he, sir?"

Sebastian smiled pointedly at her. "A rather forward question, hm? By now, you should know such things are not your business to ask, nor discuss further beyond this conversation."

"I-I don't mean to pry, really I don't!" Mey-Rin stuttered. "I only meant… it would be rather soon for the young master to have more work from the Queen, and that I think I'd be a bit worried about the young master's well-bein', if that were the case. So, since you can't tell me what is happening, p-please look after Lord Phantomhive a bit extra, if he does have another important mission, that is. I think… I think he would need it, after workin' so hard, he would."

Sebastian looked at her only a second more. Presently, he turned away. "I see… Then, I must implore you not to worry. To your station now."

"Ah! Y-Yes, Mr. Sebastian, sir! Right away!"

He waited at the top of a tall sessile oak for her to emerge on the rooftop and stand by her weapons before he departed into the night air. The sky shone with a majesty of stars. It was a clear, warm evening at the height of the Season; he'd have to travel carefully once he came to the perimeter of the city proper. Though his eventual destination would be one of the dark corners of London that no one would tread tonight.

"Oohhh," Undertaker simpered, stepping towards his guest with keen interest shining in his crescent moon smile. He circled a bristling Sebastian to observe him from all angles, as someone would judge a prize animal for sale. "Oh, you have been changing…! Yes, even more! How very, very interesting!"

Sebastian felt his upper lip curl slightly. "It's so obvious, is it?"

Undertaker nodded, wringing his hands together with glee. "Oh, yes. You might say it couldn't be more apparent." He cackled to himself while staring at Sebastian, as if to gauge the demon's response. When there was none, Undertaker continued, "This is very strange indeed. I have never seen anything like this before… No, never." More laughter. "I'm positive!"

Sebastian wasn't sure what was so funny, but he'd already had enough of it. "Tread lightly, Undertaker," he warned curtly. "You do not want to make an enemy of me."

Undertaker only clasped his hands together by his cheek, as if he were marveling over something very precious, and ignored his guest. "Ahh, dear butler," he said cheerfully, "you have changed so much that I think you should be quite worried."

Sebastian sniffed. "I can scarcely believe that. I don't feel any different."

"What makes you think you should?" Undertaker sat back down on that favored coffin at the other end of the room. "Let me ask you a question," he drawled. "What animal is found inside a cocoon: a caterpillar or a butterfly?"

Sebastian lowered his chin. Undertaker seemed to like starting his lectures with an odd little query. He'd humor it, for now. "Both."

"Is it?" Undertaker grinned. "A caterpillar goes in and a butterfly comes out. But somewhere in between, there is a mystery beast forming out of liquid. A thing that is both caterpillar and butterfly, and thus is neither." He pointed at Sebastian. "That is what you are right now, butler. A thing half-formed. Between your original form and… What, I do not know."

It was, momentarily, a frightening thought. But Sebastian shook it aside when Undertaker asked, "Can you think of anyone who might wish ill will on you? Anyone who could be using such curious magic to change you into a, heh heh… a demure little butterfly?"

"Yes," Sebastian said hotly. "You are the only guilty party I can think of."

"Ooh!" Undertaker was delighted. "That's hilarious! I guess you really don't think before you speak sometimes, do you? Please, explain to me why I would be so kind as to warn you of your metamorphosis when I would be the one orchestrating it. I'm dying to know."

This carefree attitude was becoming extremely irksome. "To throw me off your trail."

"I'm not sure you would have even suspected me if I hadn't spoken up!" Undertaker laughed. "You would probably still be busy pretending nothing was wrong at all! It's as you said yourself, butler: physically, you don't feel any different. How I would love to take credit for such persistent magic, but unfortunately, it is not something I am in a position to execute."

"Oh, really?" Sebastian still didn't believe him. "It is a magic more powerful than your own?"

Undertaker thought for a moment, that awful smirk finally leaving his face for the first time since Sebastian came in. "No… it's not powerful," he said at last. "It's an odd magic. It isn't one that hits all at once, but builds up over time. That's clear in the way you can scarcely notice its effects." Undertaker frowned, thinking more. "You have heard of Scheele's green, I imagine. The arsenic wallpaper that slowly poisoned all who spent too much time around it in their own homes, their future coffins, heh heh... It took some time for it to be understood that arsenic could kill, for it did so slowly and silently… until even one's vision could be turned green." The unfortunate grin returned. "That is what this magic is like. It is a magic I personally wouldn't know how to begin concocting, and likely wouldn't have the time for even if I did… Heehee, tell me, butler, you aren't seeing green, are you?"

Scheele's green. Sebastian remembered Fairclough mentioning it just the other day. There was a time when humans had looked at the vibrant pigment and saw only beauty. But now, they knew what such a bright green could signify: Pain. Illness. Death. Was Undertaker giving an honest hypothesis? Should Sebastian consider that his sympathy was the cause of a sort of poisonous magic?

That had been close to Sebastian's initial theory. The sympathy beast. A creature separate from himself, yet embedded deep inside, deeper than he knew how to reach. Poisoning him with its existence.

"Your comparison to Scheele's green," Sebastian said, not betraying any anxiety he might have. "Are you saying that this change in myself may result from exposure to some thing, rather than the meddling of some one?"

Undertaker tapped his own cheek with his long nails, rhythmic. "It's as much a possibility as anything." His grin took on a greedy quality. "Perhaps I could find out for certain if you let me dissect you…"

"How interesting that you think I would allow such a thing." Sebastian's words sparked with demon energy. "Why is it that you insist on toying with my patience? You are lucky that I have not yet toyed with your life."

Undertaker laughed harder than ever — a mistake on his part. "Lucky!" he belted out. "Yes, you are right, I'm very lucky! To have you under my thumb the way I do, the opportunity to learn more about the way immortals tick… and, if I fail to cure you of your new ailment, do you know what will happen? You'll simply be an even better knight to the Earl… the best knight a boy could hope to imagine. You'll care for him more than you care for yourself." He grinned wickedly, sensing his words could be Sebastian's greatest fear realized. "And you may not believe this, but that would be just as much a prize to me as putting a scalpel to your abdomen and seeing all the treasures inside..."

That was enough.

The demon was a shadow with eyes and claws, firing arrow-straight at Undertaker's throat. This action was a heavy threat — meant to scare, but badly, so badly that most humans would unleash a chilled scream from the very depths of their own mortality. And how delicious Undertaker's scream would sound, a sound so the opposite of that horrible merry laughter—

A sound Undertaker did not make.

Beneath Sebastian's hand, there was no neck. But there was a fingertip on the very back of Sebastian's own.

"Heh, heh, heh…" That creaky snicker lit the air like the slow striking of a match. "Tread lightly, butler… You do not want to make an enemy of me."

Sebastian did not move. He was unnerved. He had long considered the idea that Undertaker's true form may not be human. He had never considered that Undertaker's true form may be stronger than his own.

Undertaker was already back to his lanky, languorous parading. He circled the stricken demon to plop back down on his coffin throne. "I suppose it's not worth pretending that I don't have a stake in this game. The truth is, I don't want to be rid of you. Our goal is just the same: we want Ciel Phantomhive to live, and you are quite a dedicated servant — at least, you are in this moment. And should that ever change, know you will have me to contend with… But. For now, I fear we are fighting an enemy neither of us can detect, and that is troublesome indeed. So we must work in tandem. Yes? For you cannot discover the wielder of this strange, deliberate magic that slowly warps you into a creature with a heart, and I cannot fathom who would use such a long and indirect approach to change your very nature."

"You said the magic isn't strong. I can fight it on my own," Sebastian snarled.

"Then by all means, fight it," said Undertaker. Then he splayed his fingers across his chest and put on a voice of faux-sympathy. "Oh? You can't? That's why you've come to ask for my help? My goodness, don't forget why you're here, you poor pathetic thing. You've run out of options. Now." He extended his hand. "Are you going to work with me or are you going to let the boy be taken away by the unknown?"

Sebastian's eyes slammed shut. He was furious. At Undertaker, yes, but especially at anyone — this mystery someone — who might want to harm Ciel. Undertaker had chosen his words well. He knew what it would mean for Sebastian to lose this boy. It would mean everything.

Molten pink eyes opened again. "Why is it that you want to protect Lord Phantomhive so badly?" their owner asked.

Undertaker hummed happily in his throat. "Let that be my business… and simply be glad that our goals overlap. For without the other, I daresay neither of us would find peace now."

Sebastian took off a glove. With the hand not bearing the mark of the contract, he reached back into his mouth and tore free a molar tooth, then placed it atop the lid of a huge salt container. The empty spot in his gums grew a new tooth immediately. The removed tooth stayed corporeal as well.

"You can dissect that," Sebastian spat. "That's all you'll get from me for now. Run your strange little tests on it and see what you find. I don't know what it is you intend to do or what secrets you think my chemistry might unveil, but you had better discover something of note."

"You are very cute to threaten me now!" Undertaker kicked his feet out as he cackled. "What a delightful meeting this has been, dear butler. Yes, I will happily take that tooth of yours. And I will be sure to send you another message when the time comes… You have my word."

"I don't want your word," Sebastian growled. "I want nothing to do with you whatsoever. I only do this for the sake of my master and my master's contract."

"Of course, of course~" Undertaker sing-songed with a lazy wave. "I have what I need from you, for now. So run along, little doggie, back to that master of yours!"

His back prickled with rage, but Sebastian left the mortuary without another sound. No, not just the mortuary, but London entirely. He did not let himself think until he was far from Undertaker's lair, and when he did think, his dread caught him, too.

How many centuries had it been since he'd met a creature who could kill him? And even then it had been when Sebastian was young, not yet fully fledged in his demonhood. He did not remember what it was to fear the end of himself. He did not fear it now either — but perhaps he should. The mere existence of a stronger foe was enough to leave him pensive about his own safety.

But… no. He still wasn't interested in being afraid. He felt far more fear when he considered losing Ciel's soul. The idea that Undertaker could kill him simply made Sebastian want to stay away from Undertaker.

"Our goal is just the same: we want Ciel Phantomhive to live, and you are quite a dedicated servant — at least, you are in this moment. And should that ever change, know you will have me to contend with…"

Then, there was that.

Sebastian stared long into the void of night, until his perfect eyes could make out the stars millions of lifetimes away and the entire sky seemed to be made of light. He cleared his vision, and the sky returned to a darker scape. How many of those stars would he outlive? It felt all too possible to outlive a star. It was the shorter task, the immediate task, of outliving Ciel Phantomhive that currently seemed the real challenge.