"He'll help pay rent for this month, and maybe more if his credit card is still good. I'll need to do that tomorrow though- effectively leave the trail cold," Paxton sighed, tossing the disemboweled wallet onto the coffee table. There hadn't been much in there: a little bit of cash, debit card, credit card, and a bunch of receipts that had been stuffed in with the cash. Tomorrow would be busy, but necessary to keep law enforcement in the dark regarding where these 'missing people' went. It was a clever tactic as Paxton often saw it; take a day to pose as the victim through a glamour, buy some things with their money, visit their home one last time and then vanish. It'd leave people confused and hurt, but murder wasn't the obvious go to for the police this way and that was what mattered. It took a lot of effort to pull off as well, Paxton often stalking potential targets for a week or even two to learn their habits and routines, as well as where they lived.
Paxton was brought out of his scheming thoughts by the sound of bones cracking. Pushing himself forward so he could look around Akira and towards the door, Paxton watched as Madi briefly shifted in and out of her glamour as she began attacking the corpses fingers. It was quite the entrancing sight, watching as puffs of ash and wisps of smoke rushed up and down the small creature to reveal or conceal needle like teeth and jagged claws. What was a bird's wing one moment quickly became a slashing palm the next, then faded back again as soon as the arm was no longer needed. The imp had already gnawed off two fingers and was going to work on the middle digit, smearing blood on itself and the corpses clothing.
"Alright, alright, I do need some of him!" Paxton snickered, commanding the imp's attention momentarily. As Paxton forced himself off the couch, the imp shifted back under it's glamour and let out a screech of protest once it's owner began to near. "No, he'll start to stink. Look, take his hand, I don't need that, but leave me so I can work," Paxton replied, seemingly carrying on a one way conversation with a cranky bird. The parrot screeched again, this time less frustrated as it hopped off the corpse as Paxton turned to head for the kitchen. He was there for only a moment, digging through a drawer to retrieve the cleaver he used for things like this. He brought a cutting board as well, the once white plastic tinted pink after it's many uses, and Paxton promptly knelt down on the ground beside the corpse. In a practiced routine, he grabbed hold of the corpse's arm, placed it on the cutting board, and brought the cleaver down on the already bloody wrist. The moment the hand was off, Madi had it in her beak and was already waddling off happily like she'd just found $20 on the ground. Not that the imp cared for money; it just knew it normally meant good things.
Paxton watched the bird make it's way over to the wooden stand he'd set up for. The perch was basically a coat rack held in place at the bottom by a brick, but it was functional like many of the things in Paxton's life. "Finally," he then muttered, looking down at the bloody cutting board and cleaver. Ready to do what he'd originally needed the corpse for, Paxton left it and the kitchen tools on the ground so he could go to his room. He always kept chalk and salt with him in his coat, but those were for summonings that weren't at home. Here in the apartment it was easier since everything wasn't packed away to be kept safe, and after a short search Paxton returned to the living room with a box of course salt, and a few sticks of chalk in hand. "You can like, turn on the TV or something if you want, Akira. I might be a little while trying to get a few symbols right- I'm doing this one from memory," Paxton mentioned as he opened the salt box to begin outlining the summoning circle. "And remember not to answer the cell phone if it rings. That guy's boss is probably pissed he didn't show up for work on time again," Paxton added, taking baby steps as the salt poured onto the floor in a steady stream.
