Altonio

The kid, Jonathan, as he hesitantly had told us, was a lot more observant than I expected him to be- considering the situation he’d woken up in. 

He had fallen asleep on the lounge, and even asleep he looked absolutely exhausted- probably from more than just the events of the crazy day.  My mind flashed back to that park, waiting for him to tire out, bottle clenched in hand- but shook myself from the memory. What's done is done.

Octavius on the other hand, had been as quiet as a church mouse since I had inadvertently scolded him for defending me, choosing to sit silently on a barstool in the kitchen with a book from my tiny library of sorts.

I had hoped that Octavius would be more willing to humour the kid, but for now at least, those two weren’t completely at odds with each other. Or maybe the delusions were setting in. My head did hurt a bit...

I rubbed at my forehead, trying to abate the incoming headache when I looked up at my hand and scowled: it was still stained black in patches from the monster ichor- the other hand too. I'd already tried washing and scrubbing them, until my hands turned red and raw from the effort. After that, I seriously gave a thought to bleaching them. I'd do almost anything to get rid of the stains. They were so ugly, and a symbol of how the world remained changed for good. 

Tossing that idea aside though, in the meantime I'd have to think of a temporary solution. I went to my room and searched my drawers for a pair of gloves I vaguely recalled purchasing many years ago.

Although it was completely unprofessional to wear gloves in my line of work, the black mottling on my skin was absolutely hideous. Gloves were normally seen as an indicator that you didn’t like to get your hands dirty, which meant that you weren’t completely dedicated to the job. 

I rummaged deeper in the drawers and finally felt something familiar, pulling out a singular black glove made of a light but sturdy leather. When I came across the glove’s partner, I matched up the gloves to the correct hands and slipped them on.

They were a little stiff from lack of use, and I'd have to take them off if the Boss appeared, but they would have to be enough for now. 

Closing the drawers, I stepped back out into the living room and spotted the sleeping figure of Jonathan on the lounge. Octavius was standing by the open door of the fridge now, book abandoned on the kitchen bench. He seemed to be looking for something on one of the fridge shelves.  

I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him start.

'I'm going to bed now,' I whispered, trying to be mindful of the sleeping figure on the lounge. 'See you tomorrow.'

Without turning around Tavi nodded, his hair swishing from the abrupt motion. 

I thought better of trying to have a conversation with him so I left him with his thoughts.