forum Washed-up//open//OxO

Started May 11, 2021 by @StarkSpangledMayflower_Mad_Elder

tune

Name:
Nicknames:
Age:
Gender:
Sexuality:
Appearance:

Personality:
Habits:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Allergies:
Fears:
Illnesses:

Background:
Family: (opt)
Birthday: (opt)
Pets: (opt)
Job:

Name: Percy "Pierce" Ellis (Hates being called Percy but most people know him as Panther anyway)
Nicknames: Panther
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight but curious
Appearance: Pierce is just under 6'2, has a thin but muscular build, and has short-ish medium hair with longer bangs. He has grey eyes and hair. His hair used to be black but due to an illness a few years prior, his hair slowly began to lose its original hue. Pierce has a birthmark on the right side of his face. It looks like a large rash or a red stain, depends on who you ask. He has pierced ears and chooses to wear silver jewelry. He also has a couple of scars. (Visual Aid: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ep04me17z47ZxToHeDcLatFVFmlGCSmUMJVTD1OC7xg/edit?usp=sharing)

Personality: Pierce has a morbid curiosity. He enjoys reading true crime and has a way of incorporating it into his work. As someone who does bounty hunting for a living, Pierce knows how to do the hard things with ease. While others may feel empathy for their victims, he can separate feelings from his work. He knows what happens when you mix your emotions in this line of work. The scar on his left shoulder has a way of reminding him of this fact every once in a while. However villainous he may seem, Pierce has a hidden soft side, if you think a bed of brambles is soft, I mean, he has a cockatiel named Gray.
Habits: He has a necklace that he tends to fiddle with when he's thinking, Pierce says it helps to ground him. Whether that's true or not, no one truly knows. Pierce has an 'Enemy' of sorts. One of his favourite things to do is "check up" on this person once in a while just to keep them on their toes. Pierce also likes to think of things as a game, doing this gives the hunt a bit more 'oomph'.
Likes: his job
Dislikes: his job
Allergies: Surprisingly he is allergic to rabbits and hares.
Fears: [REDACTED]
Illnesses: A strange illness that caused his hair to lose its natural hue.

Background:
Family: [REDACTED]
Birthday: June 15
Pets: Gray the Cockatiel
Job: Bounty Hunting

(No worries, looks great so far!)
Name: Auraleous "Rae" Fontaine
Nicknames: Phantom
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Pan, hasn't really had a chance to explore what he's into but doesn't want to close himself off to any options just in case
Appearance: Auraleous stands around 5'10 with a strong upperbody built and a bit of leaner lower body, mostly brought on by his extensive hero training. He has tanned skin, and curly black hair, usually neatly trimmed save for the section he likes to keep long enough to pull into a short ponytail. He wore glasses as a kid but they became an inconvenience when he became a hero for his agency. He's gotten used to the contact but prefers to wear glasses on his days off.
As a hero, he usually sticks to a simple hero suit, traditional and practical instead of the flashy outfits his colleagues have grown attached to. Yes, they were recognizable and looked nice but Auraleous could care less about being recognized, in fact, that usually was the last thing he wanted. He stuck to blacks and greys, things that kept him inconspicuous. As a regular person, Auraleous loved his comfort, preferring sweaters and worn-out graphic tees to wear a tailored suit every day.

Personality: Auralous likes to keep to himself, seeing as he lived a double life. The less people knew about him the better for their own safety. Perhaps due to his training or maybe's he's always been this way, Auralous likes to observe from the sidelines before speaking his own opinion. He prefers the quiet and enjoys solitary time rather than being in large groups for long. He does come off a cold and anti-social even for an introvert but deep down there is some part of him that wishes he were more open with people.
Habits: Auraleous tends to toy with a necklace he rarely takes off. There's not really a rhyme or reason as to why he keeps it so close, it's just a comfort to him
Likes: Auraleous adores sweets, specifically anything involving chocolate. He also loves his cats, his only constant company for now
Dislikes: The smell of lilies, he likes how they look but the smell is off-putting to him. He also doesn't really like spicy food
Allergies: He suspects lilies but he's unsure
Fears: Auraleous tries to avoid small spaces as much as possible. He gets panic attacks and feels like he can't breathe in a few short seconds
Illnesses: none

Background: Auralous grew up in Spain but soon moved to the States when he was 18. He wanted to go to college and experience more of the world than just his home country. He studied biology and chemistry in college, having a passion for the sciences, and soon was picked up by his agency for his intelligence. He became an official hero a few years later and has been a hero since.
Family: His parents and brother still live in Spain but visit often to make sure the youngest son is alright.
Birthday: August 23, 1995
Pets: Winnie - A small male siamese, and Joon - a larger main-coon with black and white patterns
Job: As a cover and to make a bit of extra money, Auraleous partially works for a publishing company as an editor when he's not a hero.

(Here's my boy! hope he's alright)

(thank you! And I love Pierce, can't wait to him push Rae out of his comfort zone.
Ooh it would! Would you like to start? If not I can put up a starter tomorrow morning.)

(Trigger Warning in Advance)

"ACK– No! Oof– AARGH!" the sound of glass breaking accompanied the sounds of the victim as Pierce prowled towards them. Another glass jar broke as the victim attempted to stand up and run. Pierce lazily threw a small knife at them and closed his eyes as a wet splatter made its way onto his face. The birthmark on his face along with the new liquid dripping off his face didn't help calm the victim, rather Pierced looked like a psychopath and the victim was alone with him in the room. As he backed against a wall, Pierce flicked open a long baton he had found upstairs and dragged it alongside him. He crouched to the level of his victim and looked at them sideways before licking his thumb and grinning at them.

"Matteo sends his regards." He whispered in their ear, pulling out his favourite weapon. The person's eyes widened as they shook their head,

"No, no plea– AAGH!" Pierce stood up and twirled his knife again. He took a step back as liquid began pooling around his feet. "Ugh, Matteo better pay for new shoes." He muttered and dipped a gloved hand into the liquid. On the wall ahead of him, he scrawled his signature, the word Panther followed by a pawprint. He normally would have left a screeching panther face but he forgot his stencil and there was no time to run back and grab it. He took a step back as soon as he finished with his trademark and smiled, satisfied.

The sound of a dog barking brought him back to his senses as he realized that his return time was growing closer. Pierce quickly placed bags on his shoes and began to ransack the place, making sure to grab his knives from the many places they attached themselves as he threw them. Once he went upstairs, he grabbed the files that Matteo asked for and took a few trinkets to add to his growing collections. Trophies you could say. He quickly grabbed the last knife and threw it into his bag before slinging it over his shoulder and sitting in the attic window. He took a deep breath and sighed and satisfaction as the metallic scent hit him. Some days his job was fantastic.

Pierce climbed onto the roof and tapped his staff against the shingles opening his portable hang glider. As he clipped himself into it, he heard the dog barking again and grinned, barking back at it. He jumped off the roof and glided to the nearby park where he had parked his bike. Once he placed his things in the bag on his bike, he heard a siren. Pierce grinned and quickly hopped on, turning the key. Just as he pulled away, he heard the siren again, it seemed to be getting closer. Racing to headquarters took no time at all, he went in, submitted the files to Matteo, received his pay, plus extra for the shoe replacements, and then sped off to his next appointment. He quickly made his way up the small building and onto the roof, looking down at the home across the road. His Arch-nemesis' home. This was about to make the end of his work day fantastic.

(No worries and thank you!)
Auraleous pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced his kitchen, resisting the urge to throw said phone across the room. "He's an assassin. There's not going to be any accomplices." He explained as calmly as his temper allowed. You'd think it'd be obvious for a hero agency to be at all competent when it came to knowing their regular opponents but apparently not, much to Auraleous' annoyance. He tried to reason that the agency did recruit new people a few weeks ago, wanting to rotate a few veterans and allow for more opportunities. He took a deep breath and set his phone on the counter so he could begin his research while talking the newbie through the system.
"Just look up "Panther." You should get his profile, his legal name is Percy Ellis but he usually goes by Pierce." Auraleous heard silent tapping and muttering before the newbie announced: "Got it! Looks like he's working for a Matteo?"
Auralous got to typing and scanning through his files looking for anything relating to Pierce and this new person. "Any last name, alias, agency?" He asked, pausing to wait for an answer.
"no nothing, just Matteo. I sent you an image but we've cross-referenced it with our files and haven't found anything."
Auraleous cursed softly, finding news articles and reports popping up on his feed now of the emergency news, at least two were officially dead, but they were expecting to find more. The whereabouts of the criminal were unknown. Auraleous couldn't help but breathe a small laugh. Regardless of whose side you were on, it was always the tiniest bit satisfying when either side got past the police. Auraleous would almost be proud if it weren't for the situation and of course, Pierce being his enemy. "Call me back if you find anything." He hung up before a response could go through and kept looking through files, saving and sending anything that could pertain to this new case as well as anything that could connect back to this Matteo person.
He sighed softly when Winnie walked over his keyboard, bringing him out of his research frenzy at least for now. He scooped the cat up and set him on his shoulder, deciding to walk around his apartment a bit, if only to clear his head and try to think more clearly. That calm lasted all but two seconds. Call it his hero intuition or maybe Auraleous was always this paranoid but he couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched, and he didn't mean just by his cats. He tugged aside the curtains he usually kept tightly drawn over his windows and scanned the empty streets of his neighborhood. Save for a few lights on from fellow night owls, there wasn't much going on. Until he raised his gaze to the rooftops of the building towering above and barely caught a dark silhouette against the night sky.

(On break so sneaking a post)
Taking notes was an almost soothing job. Whether it was because he was mimicking his rival or because he had just bought this custom made leather bound journal, he could not tell you. There was a certain glee in mimicry, Pierce would say it was flattering, after all, try as anyone might, they weren't getting better than the original. Pierce poked his head over the edge again and peeked through the binoculars just in time to see the curtains move and a tired face looking at him. It almost caught him by surprise. Almost.

As any good assassin knew, trying to hide when someone sees you was often the worst possible thing to do. Especially if that someone was a person you'd been tracking for a while. Rather than duck down, Pierce put both his elbows on the edge and waved with one hand. He wished he was a magician right now, playing a disappearing act or vanishing in a puff of smoke would be so worth it. Instead he kept watching.

A sharp beep broke his focus and he looked down at his computer. It seemed as though the agency was making to many connections to him. He grinned, this was his favourite part. Or was so easy to hack the equipment of newbies, their ego's prevented them from suspecting that whatever preventative measures they had in place, had failed. Pierce grabbed the computer and danced his fingers along the keyboard. He pressed enter and watched as the face on his screen paled. Not having an audio connection was a severe sacrifice for not being able to hear the commotion, but there were other more important things he needed that energy for.

Seeing the panic made him laugh, which surprised him. It had been a while since he heard himself laughing authentically. But as quick as it came, it disappeared just as fast. His fingers danced along the keyboard again as he removed any traces of his hack. Going as far as to load the screen from the newbies perspective and clearing traces from there. He was right, this was turning out to be a great end to his day.

Auraleous eyes narrowed as he kept his gaze on the figure. He wasn't sure what he had expected, possibly a little red light pointing at his head indicating a sniper, maybe even an unknowable conversation over the phone he had no idea would bring criminals to his doorstep, but definitely not a wave—nothing as bold as a cutesy little wave and remaining locked in tracking each other's movements. Auraleous nearly had the heart to wave back, if he hadn't had the sneaking suspicion Panther would get some twisted glee out of it. He probably was already giving that seeing that Auraleous was rightfully pissed.
His attention snapped to his ringing phone at the same time Pierce ducked down so when Auraleous looked up he was gone. No, not gone, waiting. "Tell me something good, newbie." He demanded, letting his cat down from his shoulders and stalking back to his computer, hoping to see more reports or any progress on the murders.
"He got in, sir. We can't do anything! One minute we were sending you info, reports, anything we could get our hands on, the next his face shows up, and then screens blackout!" Auraleous could hear a commotion in the back, yelling from superiors to back up files, put up firewalls, and track any stray outliers that were not part of the system. Auraleous cursed again and scrubbed his face, feeling slightly bad for the newbie. It was rare when they got hacked, their security was top of the line. Even for pros in the industry, this was scary. He took a deep breath and started typing away on his computer, pulling up every firewall and security measure his computer could handle before he logged into their agency's portal. "Alright newbie, Conan was it? I'm going to walk you through the system. It's not your fault the system was hacked. Things happen and we have to deal with them. For now, follow exactly what I tell you okay?" Araleous heard a soft and wavering confirmation before they began backtracking out of the system, making sure to avoid any precious files in order to keep as much information safe. At this point, Auraleous couldn't care what Panther found out about the current mission but he couldn't let any other missions be put into jeopardy. He only hoped the team had gotten the idea to do the same.
After nearly two hours of meticulously leading the hackers around in a circle of ghost files and fake reports, letting them dig around the wrong reports and whatever their greedy little fingers could access, Auraleous guided Conan through a series of codes, putting up the agencies fiercest firewalls and security, blocking any access to all files to anyone who wasn't a high ranking official of the agency but not without Auraelous sending a final code to his little pursuer.
"A valiant effort, kitty cat, but hiding behind a screen is cowardly."
]"That should do it." Auraleous leaned back in his chair, huffing a small laugh when he heard Conan unceremoniously slam his laptop shut. "Thank you, sir, and I'm sorry again." Auraleous barely had the energy to dispute and merely congratulated the newbie on his success. "I'll be sending you files to access until the higher-ups deem it official to open the system again. Until then, do some digging at your own discretion. Send me anything you find through personal contacts." And with that departure, Auraleous shut his phone off, determined to get a few hours of sleep before he had to do this all over again later. He tidied his small apartment a bit and peeked out the window again if only to put his mind at ease. Pierce could have been out there, but for whatever reason, Auraleous couldn't muster any energy to care. If a fight was what he had wanted, he assumed his enemy would have been at his doorstep by now so Auraleous fell into bed without another thought to his target, at least for today.

(When did you want to bring in the child aspect?)

As he watched the screen of his laptop, he couldn't help but laugh at the hackers Matteo brought in. he had paved the road for them, cutting down any firewalls that stood in their way and battling any other defenses with no help from them. Still, he found it extremely funny that they were losing a winning battle. Had they done what he advised Matteo to do in the first place, all the files and notes would be theirs. That's not to say that they didn't have any files. No, they had the files Pierce managed to grab before he was found. But as the saying goes, liars make the best actors, and he was one of the best.

Not only did he manage to get everything the agency had on him, but he also grabbed the fake reports and a few corrupted ones. Keeping the true information to himself, he would send the rest to Matteo, along with a little virus of his own. That'll teach him to trust anyone outside of the organization. Pierce was just looking forward to the money Matteo would owe him once he removed the virus from his equipment. Just the thought of that was delicious.

As the hackers finally lost the battles, he smirked and sent Matteo a message about their failure. Though the hackers would lose their lives, Pierce didn't care one bit. It was their fault for getting mixed up with a psychotic idiot like Matteo. Just as he sent the information over to him, Pierce saw a little message from Auraleous. "Kitty cat he says, huh? Well, let's show him just how sharp this kitty's claws are." He yawned and stretched, 2 hours was a long time to be sitting in one place on his derriere. He stood and did a couple of laps around the roof, doing a quick warm-up, then sitting back down. He fluffed his bag just a little and closed his eyes, aiming to get some sleep before the sun rose in 2 hours.

(Was thinking maybe Conan asks Auraleous to take care of one, or possibly something happens to him and the child is left orphaned?)

Auraleous sighed awake a few hours later desperately wishing he could take the day off and remain asleep. He glanced over to the other side of the bed, finding his cats curled up with each other, sleeping peacefully and without a care in the world. "What I would give to trade places with you." he laughed softly and pulled himself out of bed, barely just awake enough to make a haphazard breakfast, find food for his cats, and get himself ready for the day. Just once before he readied himself to leave, Auraleous peeked out his window again to double-check that Panther had left. Even without seeing anyone up on the rooftops, Auraleous couldn't help but feel he was still being watched. If he was, he didn't have much of a choice considering he had to get to work.
grabbing his bag and a pair of black gloves, Auraleous tugged them on, said goodbye to his cats and made his way to his car, occasionally glaring up at the rooftop but not giving Pierce another thought. He couldn't, now they had bigger problems like the system being down, and this Matteo person.
From everything Auraleous knew about Pierce, he didn't really seem like the 'group project' sort of guy. Every file they had on the renowned Panther described him as a lone wolf. Partnerships were rare if anything an inconvenience for the agency when it happened. It made it harder to predict what Panther was going to do next if he was planning with a stranger. Maybe that was the entire point, and maybe if Auraleous were a worse person he might have been impressed by Panther's tactics.
But Auraleous couldn't afford to be impressed, he had a job to do and people to keep safe.

"G-good morning sir," Conan gave a shy wave as Auraleous stepped into the office. Auraleous breathed a small sigh and swung a chair over to Conan's side. "I've told you before, just call me Auraleous, and if that's too long, I also go by Rae. Now please stop giving me sad puppy dog eyes for messing up yesterday and show me what you've found." He urged, opening his own laptop and starting his own research, taking a sip of his coffee. "We're in for a long day, new- Conan. Everyone, and I mean everyone has messed up more than once here. And it wasn't just you either. So stop worrying and put that energy into helping take down the people who hurt the innocent."

(I like Conan, but maybe he needs to go :E)

Pierce had woken up just in time to hear Auraleous' car drive away. He yawned and was just about to head down to get some food when his phone went off. Glancing down at it, he saw instructions for another hit. Immediately he groaned and threw a little fit. He had just done something amazing, hacking into the Agency of all places, and only one person realized what had happened. He looked at the edge of the building, debating leaping over it. He walked over to it to collect the things he had left around it and noticed a cat sitting in the window of Auraleous' house. "Hmm, I should go check on Graye, he needs some new stuff too so maybe I should stop by the pet store. Let's just get this over with." Pierce sighed and packed his stuff back into his bag. He went back down to his bike and went over to the new location.

~-~-~-~-

He finished this assignment in less time than it took yesterday, this time it was a robbery. It made him chuckle a little, he was literally being a cat burglar. It was later in the afternoon but not completely evening time either. Once he cleaned up and left the materials at the drop-off point, he went to his house. taking a quick shower and changing into a new outfit. The shirt was half-black and half-white with a chain detail that he paired with a pair of black pants. He put on a baseball cap and a black face mask. He got on his bike and drove to the pet store. He went in and made a beeline for the bird stuff but got distracted by the cats up for adoption. One of them looked exactly like the one he saw in the window this morning. "Maybe I should adopt you and train you to break into houses. I could call you Ahallucination. That way I can tell people 'It's just Ahallucination'." Pierce snickered.

(sorry it's so short, I'm having a rough night.)

(No worries at all, sorry for the late responses)
"Rae?"Conan glanced up from his laptop, closing it slightly and facing the hero. Auraleous arched an eyebrow to show he was paying attention but kept typing away at his computer. "Do you ever worry?"
"Course, all the time," Auraleous muttered, finally looking up to find Conan staring intently at his desk. "Do I need to worry about something?"
Conan snapped his head up and shook his head quickly, "No! No, I was just wondering aloud. You live alone and you don't have a life outside being a hero, at least from what I read on your file."
Auraleous shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, silently defensive. He knew everyone a part of the association had a file as was protocol but he didn't like the idea of just anyone reading it. "I have two cats. I social enough for my own comfort. I try not to get close to anyone because of my job. Fewer people to get hurt if it's just me." He reasoned cynically, nodding to Conan "And you?" Auraleous tried to relax a bit, reminding himself Conan was new and was trying to make a friend.
At that, Cona gave a faint smile "Just my little brother and me."
Auraleous nodded grimly, "I hope you both stay safe then. In this line of work, one never knows what day will be their last." For the rest of the day they typed away on their laptops, an alert of a robbery two hours into their search, seemingly unrelated to yesterday's assassination but Auraleous didn't want to write anything off just yet. Anything could be connected to the case and knowing Panther, unfortunately, Auraleous wouldn't put it above him to commit every crime in the book to show off after something as big as his latest gig. "If anything does happen to me, I know since I'm new, would you be willing to help Kaz?" Conan asked softly, afraid to speak the situation into existence in case his terrible luck caught up with him and he did somehow end up dead.
Auraleous looked up, immediately read to say no or to argue nothing would happen to the young newbie but he saw something in Conan's eyes, fear perhaps. Of what he didn't know but Auraleous recognized that same fear within himself and gave nod. "Of course. You have my word."

Deciding against adopting the cat, Pierce went around and picked up the stuff for Gray. He paid quickly and walked out, putting everything in his bag and buckling it to the bike then put on his helmet with the intention of getting on. "What now? I have no assignments. Hmmm…" Pierce turned the key and revved his engine. "Well, might as well grab something to eat. Maybe check out the park? Hm." he flipped his visor and leaned forward, pushing off and riding to his favourite lunch spot. It just so happened that it was close enough to the hero headquarters that he could see, but far enough that not many of its employees came to eat there. He truly enjoyed its rooftop dining experience for that reason alone.

Upon reaching the restaurant, he parked and locked his bike, taking his bag and helmet with him. "Bonjour mademoiselle, as-tu une table*?" He locked eyes with the young lady standing at the host stand. A pink flush appeared on her cheeks as she grabbed a menu and stepped out from behind it. "Oui, suivez-moi, s'il vous plaît**!" she said in a cheery voice. She led him to an outdoor table near the edge of the rooftop and gave the menu to him. "I will be back with some water and to take your order, please take your time." She said with an accent and walked off to where she came from. Pierce smiled and leaned comfortably in the chair, lazily browsing the menu. It was just a courtesy, he had been here, and ordered from here enough times, to know exactly what he liked and didn't.

The girl returned with his water and Pierce gave her his order. She left and Pierce took out his book and his pen, looking at the information he had collected. He was lost in his thoughts and only snapped out when he heard footsteps coming closer. "Here you are, sir. You seem to be preoccupied so just call me when you need me. For anything." The girl looked at him with her face flushing. "I'll be back to check on you in just a few." He smiled until he could no longer see her and dropped it. "The only thing nice about this place is the food." He muttered and took a bite of his pasta. Chewing slowly, he reopened his book and continued to read what was written.

*(Hello madam, do you have a table?)
**(Yes, follow me please!)

The conversation had left Auraleous rattled. While death was an inevitable constant in all their lives, he didn't like how Conan seemed so sure about his own end. Almost as if he was expecting to die. They spent the rest of their day in tense silence, only breaking it occasionally when something came up in the reports but other than petty robbery this morning, all was quiet. Auraleous stretched as his phone alarm went off, signaling his lunch break time. He closed his laptop and stood, gently nudging Conan, who seemed lost in contemplation. "Want to join me for lunch? I'm heading down to the restaurant. or I could pick something up for you?" He offered, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
Conan glanced up and gave a small smile, "Thanks but I think I'll keep working here for a bit. I'll grab a bite to eat soon." He reassured, jerking his thumb to the mini fridge in the corner of the office. Auraleous nodded and gave a small wave as he departed, "I'll see you later then, don't overwork yourself."

"Hello, bar please?" Auraleous' French had dwindled significantly since coming to the States back when he was a teenager. His French had never been good to begin with but at least he knew some phrases. It was bad enough now that he didn't even want to try out of fear of embarrassing himself or offending anyone, so he stuck to English. Once seated, he ordered a glass of wine and his regular lunch sandwich and side salad of the day. Auraleous was enough of a regular to know most of the staff and customers half if not most being a part of the agency on their lunch break or staking out new leads for whatever mission they were on. His gaze roved over the familiar faces, his mind going through the files he had memorized. On the off occasion, he'd catch a new face but typically dismissed that as a civilian, that was until his gaze landed on a very familiar face, one he had been dreading to meet since last night. He caught his waitress passing by and requested his food be brought to the table, informing her he had found a friend to sit with. Friend might have been a stretch but he didn't want to raise alarm.

"You have some nerve coming here with every hero at the agency trailing your every move." Auraleous didn't bother with formalities as he took up the chair across from Pierce, his gaze flicking to the book the other was reading before it focused on his face. "Care to explain why you're stalking my house?" He leaned back casually and tipped his head to the side. "or better yet, working for Matteo? Thought you were a lone wolf sorta cat."

The restaurant began to get noisier which could only mean that the agency was on lunch break. Pierce leaned back in his chair with a sly smile and wrote down more information in his book. As he finished his appetizers and waited for his main course, he took a sip of his drink and realized he would also need a refill. Pierce asked his waitress to top it off just as he heard a familiar voice asking for a place to sit.

He glanced over at the man who had seated himself near the bar and watched as he scanned the surroundings. Pierce looked down and heard footsteps near his table before someone slid in across from him. Without looking up, he smiled and flipped a page in his book, writing a few short words. "What? No hello?" he locked eyes with the man and ran a hand through his hair. "You must know me well enough to know what I'm like, agent. How could I not toss myself in the midst of a warzone?"

Pierce watched Auraleous' eyes notice his book and he slowly closed it, placing it to the side. "I'm not staking out your house love, it's good to stay up-to-date with everything your loyal nemisis does, especially when his underlings cannot do anything to keep him secure. How is our little Conan doing after he failed at his job earlier?" Pierce laced his fingers together and placed them under his chin and he leaned forward. He chose to ingore the comment about Matteo, the less he knew, the better. He was planning on disposing of him soon, why should he reveal all his plans to his nemisis? Even if it would be a big help to him.

Auraleous spared another glance at the notebook, a frown setting on his features as he mildly wondered what could be written there but his pissed-off mood took over most rational thought to investigate that any further at the moment. "For the likes of you, not even a friendly salute." He retorted, narrowing his eyes as Pierce closed the notebook. Okay, perhaps it was more important than he gave it credit for if he was putting it away. Important enough to hidden from an agent.
"Forgive the question before. I do know what you're like. The question is I can't tell if it's stupid or impressively cocky for you to be in enemy territory so exposed when a single word could get you surrounded by 20 agents looking for any chance to put your ass in prison, or better yet in a grave for all the trouble you've put us through." Auraleous ignored, or at least tried to ignore, the little pet name Pierce used but it made Auraleous tense ever so slightly in his already defensive position.
He fell deathly quiet as he watched the man across from him, his gaze never leaving his target even as coiling doubt leached into his mind.
"Leave the newbie out of this." He hissed, not wanting Conan anywhere near Pierce, even in conversation. But the doubt had already latched itself onto Auraleous's memories. "If anything does happen to me…" echoed in Auraleous's mind again and again. At first, he had thought it was newbie jitters, just the fear that came along with having never actually been out in the field of fighting crime but then again, it could be something more…
Conan had seemed unnaturally nervous the previous night and even in the morning when Auraelous had reassured him it was alright, he could feel the waves of guilt rolling off the kid. And then the promise out of nowhere after only just one day on the job. How could Conan have failed, they had resolved the virus together and brought the agency back to perfect functioning just an hour ago…unless that was never meant to happen in the first place.
"He has a brother…" Auraleous whispered in horror before he shot out of the chair and bolted down the street back toward the Agency building, praying he wasn't too late
(Possible death/suicide mention in next few responses, can skip if you're not comfortable with that. Also hi!! sorry for not responding in a while, sort of lost motivation for a bit and then dealing with moving back to college has taken a lot of energy out of me.)

(sounds good, it won't be for long.
Thank you, hopefully I won't be gone for so long again😅)
Conan also works for Mateo, no one knew tho and if he failed he'd lose his life or put his brother at risk.
No worries take your time )