I had no idea what time it was, two? Two-thirty maybe? Kat and I had gone to bed some several hours earlier under Kat's pretence that instead of spending the vast majority of the night awake and collapsing into bed at about four and sleeping till well past noon that perhaps I should consider a regular sleeping and save her the effort of attempting to wake me up the next day. Maybe that's all well and good for her but I have spent ten years or so developing an essentially nocturnal sleeping pattern and that is hardly something that is going to change overnight. If anything I had suggested it would be far easier if I was tired and that really she should consider playing any number of the entertaining games I knew- none of which involved clothing and yet most of which did involve me falling asleep relatively soon after. Kat, however, didn't seem to feel this was the answer, the slender brunette having fallen asleep almost within the hour beside me, in fact, I feel asleep for about an hour at the same time before falling back into a wakefulness that left me staring at the ceiling and contemplating why I had chosen that particular shade of charcoal for my bedroom wall. At least it matched the sheets. I managed a sigh before rolling from the bed entirely, bare feet landing smoothly upon the plush carpet beneath, one hand running through the locks of my rather tousled bed hair before I managed to find my old jeans- ones hardly good enough to be worn out and yet my inevitable choice for any time spent at home if only due to the utter comfort they brought.

It took barely a moment to pull them up and over my boxer shoots, seeing no need to attempt to find a shirt before snatching my ipod from the desk and padding quietly out into the living room, shutting the bedroom door behind me to leave Kat asleep. My mind was busy, full, agitated- one of the unfortunate side effects of having a mind that simply....works a little differently to most and yet on nights like this I had generally come to discover there was a cure- regrettable as it was to my over-active imagination, one I had discovered on one of the many nights I was left up waiting for Kat to come home. Work. It was a shame, truly, that I was going to be reduced to actual work, something Kat may never have seen me do in our entire relationship save for the odd call here and there and yet this time I suppose I was hardly going to do mere paper work, my mind having formulated a new project several nights ago. After all, maybe I would never be a truly good Hunter, but that hardly means my talents simply do not exist elsewhere and in one area I have noticed far too many Hunters are utterly useless, it's about time they had someone who wasn't.

An hour or so later I had managed to successfully cover the entire dining room table in a mix of paper and wires, having seated myself cross-legged in the very centre, my work rather literally surrounding me as I managed the occasional word or hum to the song my ipod played, the little machine tucked into the waist band of my jeans as I lent sideways once more to drag one of three laptops closer to myself, scowling briefly at the image it showed before returning to the device within my hands- one of many mobile phone casualties that had given it's life for my experiments. For a moment the miniature screw driver within my hands was twisted contemplatively, blue gold eyes narrowed upon the intricate wiring within the device before one hand reached forward to hit another button on my second laptop, the screen flaring to life once more along with the image of the woman I desired to speak to. Skype really was useful- it also prevented my ever having to truly see the woman whom danced with far too much flourish onto my screen. Elieen De Mastre and I had shared a rather entertaining history and yet, considering she was at least fifty years of age my interest was purely...academic tonight. Darling! You never call, to what do I owe this pleasure? Her French accent was thick and heavily laden making all her words sound as if she tried to put the letter V before them. I offered her an easy grin all the same. Was it wrong to use her affection for me to achieve a goal? Then again I can hardly help being pretty now can I?

"Its good to see you too. You look stunning as always, France has done you well it would seem. I am in need of a chip Elieen, a card really, to replace a standard mobile SD card, something with more...substance."
What are you working on darling? Your projects always fascinate me. Let me fetch Etienne for you.

Etienee was whom I truly desired to talk to and yet any effort to bypass Elieen would have resulted in far to much fallout for my liking. It was merely easier to offer her a few moments of my attention in exchange for Etienne appearing a few minutes later. He was hardly older then myself, maybe a few years and yet why he had chosen to get married, let alone to someone almost twice his age I hardly knew. Why he even got married at all escapes me. The conversation continued in French from this point, Etienne far easier to deal with in his native tongue for anything overly complicated- his assurance that he could at least obtain the part I was looking for a positive result for a good forty minutes spent on Skype, my fingers moving busily all the same to begin to rewire the phone as I spoke- head lifting momentarily to make sure Kat still slept.

Who is she?
"Hmm?"
The girl Kohl, you have been turning the head always to look back at your bedroom. She is being good if she is staying the night, yes?
"She stays nearly every night, Tente"
No! Is you saying to me, that after all this years I am knowing you, you is finding girl and I is not even being introduced?! You must come, you and woman in your bed, to Paris for the weekend. Elieen and I is having spare suite for you. When is wedding?

I think I almost snapped the phone I was holding and attempting to reconfigure.

"There is no wedding Tente, for fucks sake!"
Many years I know you, many years and never you is finding woman you like. I say no more but you is still coming to Paris and I is finding part you need. I will send it. Though I think still this thing you are making cannot be made- not even by you.
"Do you doubt me?"
Of all I am doubting, Kohl- I do not doubt you, not when it is coming to this. I send you plane tickets

I think I managed an eye roll before disconnecting the call, returning to my task once more, features frowned in concentration at the task before me as I continued to sit atop the table- focus entirely on the work around me in a rarely seen dedication to anything other than avoiding work.






k o h l
so you want to play with magic?