To say they would be crying would be a lie. Whether it was out of fear or excitement on the other hand is a different story.

What happened basically, was after the ordeal in Sakura Alley, Étaoin returned to that one weapons store, and decided to finally buy the blade that they had their feline purple eyes on. Only now, they were in a situation and had no alibi for this ordeal. Usually, they could be like; Oh this? I was threatened to do this, it is not my fault good sir! That was mostly because, ninety percent of the time when Étaoin had physically hurt someone, they were in fact on a mission to claim the reward given for said quest. This one was different, because there was no mission, and yet Étaoin just wanted to try out the newly looted blade, that had a deafening effect to it, the young mage wanted to test that quirk out to it’s best potential, and agreeably so did not think about the aftermath and the consequences said actions could possibly bring upon them.

“Well… shit.” Standing there in their slightly splattered outfit, cat ears and black beret askew. They still were not sure on why they were wearing this outfit, but that’s a topic for another time. Étaoin let out a deep sufferable sigh. “I am so so, so screwed!”

Even though they were in the quartet, sometimes things do indeed get out of control, what with the gang and mafias, but other times, like this one, it is very different, and that is due to the fact that Étaoin was not apart of any said gang or mafia, and well even though they enjoyed hurting people, and now with this brand spanking new weapon they could have the time of their life, Étaoin still had to think about the effect it would have on the Syndicate, and it was only now they took this into thought, somehow they had to get out of this and not get caught in the process by the law.

“Crap crap…” Glancing around the shipment yard, hiding their dagger in the sheath around their thigh, then back to the two bodies leaning against one of the containers visibly panicking for once in their life, at doing something bad which was surprisingly strange, yet understandable. “Man, Kisei or Azu would know what to do… Why did I do this alone?”

To put it simply, yes Étaoin was crying. Not from the fear but instead it was from the adrenaline of being able to test their blade out finally, but also because they were in big trouble and needed to find a way out of this grave they’ve finally dug for themselves.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Amongst their panicking internally and externally they seemed to have forgotten to keep an check on their surroundings as soon they were approached by someone, or something to say the least. Flinching, Étaoin stumbled a little away from the skeleton? Fingers twitching for their weapon, only to pause at the questions asked, though albeit confused, it seemed the skeleton did not want to harm them in any way, but instead just wanted to know what was going on. Glancing between the bodies and the skeleton, Étaoin felt their brows crease in worry. They did not know this person, and in a way did not feel safe talking to them, due to not knowing if they would be turned in for the murders or if the stranger would berate them about the situation. Étaoin in general had their guard up, but sadly it was wavering and that meant soon enough the mage would be vulnerable, which they can't allow.

“I… Who?” The feline eyes seemed to almost glow, the amethyst shade of purple made Étaoin’s eyes seem like jewels depending on the lighting around them. “Uhmm…” Stunned for a moment, Étaoin was more confused than worried now. There were two dead bodies and the first question they were asked by this stranger was about their outfit? Come to think of it, Étaoin still didn't remember why they were in this outfit, they didn’t even know what they were meant to be doing before all this happened, except buying the blade that caused the situation. “I don't... remember?”

The young mage looked at themselves and frowned. This wasn’t unusual, they were used to seeing blood and things like that, death in general, but for some reason this was bugging them and they weren’t sure on why? Was Étaoin actually having an identity crisis? There were two sides of a coin, so could it be a possibility, they never had explored the facts about identity in general, and that was mainly because they had always been the persona that others wanted Étaoin to be.

Flinching again at the name used, Étaoin frowned and lowered their gaze from the stranger. “I am not crying!” Bristling again at the accusation of crying, did they seem to be crying, Étaoin couldn’t know, they haven’t cried since they were taken by that mage all those years ago. What was it like to cry again? “Of course I killed them, there is no one else here to kill these two.” Snorting, Étaoin folded their arms across their torso, the pale skin glowing against the red splattered shirt. “It was fun… For a while.” Lifting their head back to the stranger, “Then after, I realised I didn't think of the consequences this would bring.” Étaoin frowned. “Who are you anyway?”

Tilting their head, if they got a reply, then Étaoin would give out one of their two names that they used, but that is all, confidentiality and all. Étaoin couldn’t let the word get out. They can't burden their friends with this mess up. ‘How embarrassing, to be caught in the act, Étaoin.’ Berating themself in their thoughts, Étaoin continued to keep their guard up, but the androgyn also tried to relax their racing mind. Calming themselves down, whilst not telling too much, and keeping their attitude in check.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Now that they were put on the spot, the teen wasn’t quite sure on what to do anymore. They knew that there were a few people here who knew them, some good and some bad, and then there was that person who confronted Azure. Kurisa had distracted them from the situation, so Étaoin wasn’t completely sure what was going on with those two, but generally speaking, the young mage didn’t want to get involved with those people, it would be bad for the guild, if they got taken in by the law. Plus there was the fact of their little brother, Masami would be upset if he found out that Étaoin had killed for no reason, Étaoin didn’t want to upset their brother in any way, he was working hard enough as it was, Masami didn’t need anymore stress. Étaoin knew why they killed these men, and making up more lies obviously was not going to work against this mage of good.

Taking a deep breath, they glanced at the bodies and frowned a little, before turning back to the other. “I… have a friend…” Étaoin muttered quietly, “But… I made a promise not to tell who.” Lowering their arms to their side, soon shoving their hands into their short pockets. Éta shrugged and wrinkled their nose. “They give me jobs, so I just do them, they owe me after all.”

The other reason was mainly just because, soon enough Étaoin would be leaving Hosenka, to return to the north with Azure, after all it was why their partner came to the city in the first place, and what a better way to leave, than making sure that the city shouldn’t mess with the people that Étaoin is acquainted with or would call a friend. Hopefully Kurisa didn’t find out, after all she was Masami’s mother, and the last thing Éta wanted was to trouble those two, although thinking about it, Étaoin was doing it anyway by killing these two men.

“I am…”

Étaoin paused. They didn’t know which name to hand out, after all they were known as Étaoin usually, but in Hosenka when it came to jobs, they used the name Rynn, so if they said Rynn, would this mage figure out that they had murdered more than these two men? That they helped the crime syndicate that dwelled within the underground acts of Hosenka? They could use Miji, but that would taint the precious name that Masami had given them, and it was not on their list of objectives. An alias was in need, but they had none, for Étaoin had used up all their aliases. Were they taking too long to answer? Would this become suspicious? Étaoin couldn’t have this person become suspicious, but with how Éta’s past had been, they have been called multiple names, and out of all the names Étaoin and Rynn stuck the most, so gaining one more name couldn’t really hurt could it? Just another alias to the list.

“I’m Nithe.”

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

Stretching, just to set their hands behind their head as the good mage continued to talk, Éta all but hummed, a small smile playing along their lips. So the pile of bones had caught on, and realised that most of it was a lie, honestly ever since being taken in by that mage, they guessed they deserved the possible berating on their actions. It was a bit sloppy of them, maybe they could ask Masami for some acting tips, so it wouldn’t happen, then again their little brother may ask questions on why, so Étaoin might just have to figure it out for themselves and learn as they go. Nodding to the probable not intended advice that Jolyne had easily handed out, Étaoin went on their way to dispose of implied corpses. “Ha~i. I shall clean now~” Dropping their hands, Étaoin soon grabbed the ankles of the bodies and hummed, looking around the area, before dragging the corpse towards another area.

Sniffing the air a little, they could smell salt, which meant water was close by, but how close was unknown. It was an option to just dump the men into a body of water and watch them sink. Blinking, Étaoin dropped the legs of the corpse and thought for a second, only to pause because their spells weren’t strong enough to do that idea, so now they were in a situation. They may be strong, but it got tiring dragging dead corpses around, but Jolyne is keeping a lookout so they had to get rid of them. Maybe they could just dump them in one of the containers and be done with it. Hauling the body over their shoulder, Étaoin got to work, on finding that water, and once they were done with that little odd job, the young mage just returned and received a jab from the elder mage. Humming, they also seemed to sense a little bit of could that possibly be snark? A chuckle left Étaoin at the amusing thought that this Jolyne was using Étaoin’s number one trait against themselves.

“Alas, you may have caught up on my half lie… but the name was not a lie.” A grin laced their lips, showing the small canines, as their eyes seemed to gleam even more in the dim lighting of the alleyway. “For Nithe is just another name of my actual name~ Sweet Jolyne of Fairy Tail.” Snickering, Étaoin just twirled a strand of their long pine coloured strands, around their finger as they nodded once more to the elder. “And I may pass the message on, but a name shall not be given, after all...” Frowning, Éta tilted their head, raising their shoulders in a slight shrug. “It’s not fun telling information, just to end up dead right?” The underworld of crime was a dangerous game to play, but a thrill on it’s own and well, Étaoin has always played the game, so why would they stop now, because this good mage of the law suggested to do so?

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."

It wasn’t as if Étaoin didn’t find the skeleton an amusement to be around, though still accompanying the undead person, they continued with caution. Humming at the suggestion, it wasn’t in Étaoin’s liking to kill on first approach, the person either had to have done something extremely stupid or piqued Étaoin’s hate and resentfulness to require a death sentence. “Nope. I’m just cautious when it comes to Hosenka, who knows what lies around the corner… Especially in this area of the city.” Setting their hands behind their head, Étaoin smiled a small smile at their new skeletor friend. “And anyway, who cares if you help me cover up my pass time? As long as you don't tell, I won't…” Leaning to one side slightly, Étaoin let out a mindful hum, before speaking up. “Going by that route, it means it never happened in the end, because who else would know for it to get around?” They weren’t smart but they knew how to keep rumours at bay, and things a secret, after all they had been hiding their biggest secret yet for almost ten years.

“Hmmm… What now indeed?” Glancing at their slightly stained clothing, Étaoin pouted, gesturing at the blood. “First… I need to do something about this. I shoulda brought my jacket with me.” Since they are technically male, they could go shirtless till they found a store, but then Étaoin wasn’t too fond of showing skin, well, mostly their chest area, legs were fine on the best of days, but then even then, sometimes showing off their legs was too much to bare. Scratching their head, Étaoin shrugged, turning their purple gaze towards Jolyne, “Then who knows, whatever you wanna do, I guess I’ll follow along, unless you have other plans of course, Jolyne?” Then back down at the shirt, picking at the buttons that held it together. “You intrigue me, not just because you helped me out, but in general. You don’t seem like the usually goody-two-shoes type that I come across sometimes who are on the side of the law.” They didn’t want to harm or attack Jolyne, in fact it was probably the complete opposite, Étaoin would prefer to befriend the helping hand of a stranger, rather than attack. Why attack someone who helped cover up your crime, unless they planned to use it for blackmail, but then Étaoin would just deal with that when the time arrived.

"There is no LOVE...
When there is no JEALOUSY."