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Caden watched Nero disarm themselves with mild amusement. You would think something that little wouldn’t be able to carry so much hardware. He picks up some of their discarded knives and examines them before placing a few back into the secret pockets on Nero’s person.

”I do. You can use them. Avery and I won’t need them. But keep some of these anyways. They can still do damage with you wielding them I’m sure.” Caden tips Nero’s chin and kisses them deeply. ”I’m sure you understand, but stay out of Avery’s way when it comes to Terrance. I’m certain Avery wants to finish them off.”

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After Cass finished she turned around and looked at Nic. ”Not really. We have to wait until the others get here and then form a plan.” She walked over to Nic and placed her hands on his cheeks. ”I’ll stay in contact with you as much as I can.”

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Nero tilts their head as Caden replaces some of the discarded knives, but quickly forgets any questions as Caden kisses them. They stand on their toes to wrap their arms around Caden’s neck and kiss him back before he pulls away.

“You’ll have to let me know which one that is - limp dicked men all look the same to me.” They tell them with terrifying grin. “Can I maim them at least?” They ask as the two of them make their way downstairs, a black SUV already waiting for them in the driveway.

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Nic bends down almost immediately when Cass’ hands go on his cheeks and he mirrors her hold, caressing her cheeks as well. “I would appreciate that very much.” He tells her before kissing her swiftly on the lips, making a silent vow that he’ll kiss her before she leaves too.

“What’s your favorite fruit today?” He asks with a small comforting smile.

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”I’d leave Terrance completely for Avery. As for the others, maiming is fine, but as Bran wants some left alive, I wouldn’t kill anyone. Leave that to me or Avery. We have our own grievances to work out,” Caden tells Nero.

They walk outside where Avery already waits in the SUV. Caden opens the back door and helps Nero inside. ”Avery, do you want me to drive?”

”No,” Avery spits out. Caden doesn’t push it and gets into the back with Nero. The door isn’t closed and Avery is already speeding down the road to Cassi’s.

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The kiss is brief, but Cass enjoys it all the same. She looks at the food Nic has prepared for them all, and smiles at his question. ”We could finish the strawberries today.”

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As horrible as it all is and the fact that Nero can feel the anger radiating off of Avery, they’re delighted that Caden is in the backseat with them. They plop themselves in his lap as they barrel to Cassi’s place, knowing the two of them will need to probably tone the PDA down around Cassi. “Wahrscheinlich ist es das Beste für mich, still zu bleiben?” They ask Caden in a whisper as they grab hold of his hand with both of theirs. They’d never felt nervous before a fight before, but their hands are shaking right now.

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Nic’s lips turn up in a smile as soon as he sees Cass do the same. He kisses her forehead and gives her a head pat. “And when those are gone?” He asks as he leaves her to grab the orange juice and strawberries from her fridge. Everything else is just staying warm at this point so Nic is able to take some time slicing the fruit up and adding them to the juice.

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Caden smiled, amused how Nero automatically shuffled to sit on their lap. Such a paradox this little imp was. ”I think if you're okay with it, I'll have you sit in the front with Avery when we pick Cass up. You can talk as little or as much as you want Nero, especially if you have anything you want to contribute to the fight, okay? Until we have Kiki back, what happened yesterday will be set aside. After, well, we'll see what happens after,” Caden said and kissed Nero's cheek.

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”Nicholas, are you trying to buy groceries for my house?” she asked, accusing him mildly, but also finding it endearing.

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Nero bobs their head in a nod, pulling their gloves off and taking the moment to trace his hand tattoos with their fingers. They don’t want to say what’s really on their mind - that Nero in battle today would look too similar to the memory they had just unlocked with Cassi. Granted, their goal isn’t to kill, but the fighting style will be much the same.

The three of them pull up to Cassi’s house, where another SUV is parked as well. Nero pulls their hands away to put their gloves back on. They can’t help thinking of how they weren’t allowed to leave the SUV last time they had been here. Emotions are so annoying, they think to themselves as they try t smother the feelings.

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Nic nods and laughs. “Yes, but I’m also trying to figure out what I can make for food when you’ve all come back.” He tells her, smiling. He hears a car pull up to the house and kisses Cass’ cheek.

“Today I’m your loyal househusband, okay? So whatever you need, you let me know.” He tells her, looking in Cass’ eyes before he turns her around and pushes her towards her front door with a light smack on her butt.

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Caden watched Nero while they traced the tattoos on his hands. The act was so gentle and soothing, but Caden could see there was more going on under that tentative stare.

They pulled up outside Cassi's and Avery was out of the car within seconds. Caden watched Avery climb the stairs before looking at Nero.

”I love you,” he reminded them before he opened up the car door and got out with Nero.

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Cassi wants to tell Nic not to worry, but she can't do that. It would keep Nic busy and keep him from worrying about all of them.

”Whatever you think of will be good, Nic.”

She looks towards the door and sighs, but the tightening feeling in her chest is replaced by Nic saying househusband. She looks at him, her eyes flickering with amusement before he pushes her to the door and smacks her ass. Cassi turns her head to look at him and shakes her head. Nic was becoming more and more attractive and endearing to her every minute.

She opened up the door and saw Avery taking her stairs two at a time. He grabbed her shoulders, desperation in his face. ”Tell me you've found something.” Cassi grabs his hands.

”I found something but they've warded against me. I can't find her exact location,” she said. Avery's face falls and he looks like he wants to leave but when he turns Caden and Nero are already climbing the steps. He walks past Cassi and heads inside.

Cassiopeia watches him go, feeling awful. She turns her head and looks at Caden and Nero, both of whom pause on her steps.

”Nic made breakfast.” Cassiopeia turns and waves her hands along the frame of her door. Invisible wardings appear along the door frame, and Cassi pulls a knife from her vest and scratches out one. She puts the knife away and looks at Nero. ”Don't touch anything.” She walks back inside.

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Avery walks into Cassi's house and into the kitchen. He finds Nic there with food but Avery can't stomach anything. He starts pacing, growing more and more irritated with just waiting.

”Avery, sit down.” Caden orders, walking into the kitchen behind Cassi with Nero.

Avery reluctantly sits and his leg starts bouncing instead.

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“I love you too.” Nero tells Caden genuinely before they get out of the vehicle. They pause at Cassi’s doorway and Nero grabs Caden’s hand, all the nerves coming to a boil as they watch Cassi scratch out a warding. When she tells them not to touch anything, Nero squeezes Caden’s hand.

“Thank you.” They mumble instead of the other comment they wanted to say. Wasn’t planning to. Nero tilts their head at the sight of Avery’s agitation before stretching to kiss Caden’s cheek before going and taking a seat next to Avery.

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“There’s eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast, take as much as you need.” Nic tells everyone but frowns when Avery doesn’t make a move. He grabs a plate and puts a little bit of everyone on it before putting it down in front of Avery. “I don’t know all the biology with being… a wolf and all, but I reckon you’ll need your strength. If you need it, I have some anti-nausea meds.” He doesn’t say it out loud since it’s already been said, but he doesn’t know if the meds would work for him. Nic just wants to do as much as he can. He leaves the table and grabs the orange juice with strawberries, filling glasses.

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Avery stares at the food Nic sets down but Avery doesn't move to eat it.

”Avery, eat. You'll be useless if you don't,” Caden ordered. Avery shoots Caden a look but doesn't look at his alpha for long before he starts eating.

Avery doesn't even taste his food, he just eats to keep busy.

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Caden sighed and refocused his attention. ”Thank you, Nic. Cass… Did you find anything?” He looks over at her and notes her outfit for the day.

Some of the knives Cassi wears are ones she purchased or had made herself, but a few are gifts from Caden as well.

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Cassiopeia shifts uncomfortably under Caden's scrutiny. She grabs her phone and shows him the pictures she took of the map.

”They warded against me. This is as close as I could get without blood magic,” Cassi said. Caden gave her a look and Cassi rolled her eyes.

”No, I'm not using blood magic. But we would find her quicker if I did,” she muttered. She accepts a glass of orange juice from Nic and eats a piece of toast.

”This is close enough. Avery and I will be able to pick up on her scent if we are at least close enough. Bran wants Levi and some of the others left alive so Charles can question them when he arrives,” Caden announced.

At the table the sound of metal breaking filled the space. Avery snapped Cassi's fork in half. Cassi stared at him. ”So the wolves did take her? How?”

”We got into an argument and she took off. I didn't know until this morning.”

”The pack were interested in her at the club. I should have known they were planning something. This isn't your fault, Avery.”

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Nero fidgets, tempted to raise their hand to speak so they don’t interrupt. “Kiki’s half human right? I can see if I can use Localization to find her, but I can’t guarantee it will work… and I don’t know if the way they’ve warded against Cassi will affect me…” Nero trails off as they realize the input doesn’t really help anything. They steal a piece of sausage off of Avery’s plate as an excuse not to keep talking.

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Nic is shocked for a moment when Avery breaks the fork before they shake off the initial reaction. He pick up another one and place it down with the glass of juice for Avery. He watches as Nero snatches up the sausage. “Would you like a plate, Nero?” Nic tries to say in the most ‘Switzerland’ of tones.

The demon makes a couple of hand signs that Nic picks up to mean a little bit. They grab a tiny plate and put some sausage on it before handing it to Nero. “What are they even planning to do with her?” Nic asks. It seems stupid to him that anyone would knowingly try and piss these three off.

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Caden smiled a little and looked at Nero. ”Affect you how?” Caden asked Nero while he dished himself up a plate of breakfast. He leaned against the counter and Calypso came out of hiding to greet him. Caden scratched the little feline under the chin before she went to investigate Nero and then Avery. After sniffing Avery's shoe she bolted out of the room and could be heard running up the stairs.

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Nero happily introduces themselves to the cat before it moves along. When it runs off, Nero has half a mind to follow it before reminding themselves where they are. They tilt their head before answering Caden finally. “Well… hexbags can make it so I can’t localize a human and I think Crowley once mentioned that his favorite humans had an angel etch something into their rib bones to stop angels from finding them? All of that combined with my luck of actually getting the spell to even work…”

“Why wouldn’t it work?” The poor human could barely get any questions in let alone answers. Nero looks at Caden for a moment before answering.

“It’s a fifty-fifty shot for any of my powers to work. Just a fun little quirk for me.” Nero makes a ‘jazz hands’ motion with a fake smile when they say the last part.

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Caden finished eating before answering Nic's question. ”They could have her for ransom, or they could have her for themselves, or to sell. Kitsune are rare and are valuable.” He takes a glass of orange juice and drinks it, finding the strawberries a nice little touch.

”What might happen if the spell backfires, Nero?”

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The human frowns at both answers he receives, going back to the stove to start turning it off. Nero looks at Caden and shrugs. “I honestly don’t know… best case would be it just doesn’t work… Worst case could be me sending out my own location, maybe?” The thought makes them pale, the blood in their cheeks disappearing. They shoot a wide-eyed look at Caden.

“Wir wissen nicht, wo er ist - ich will nicht, dass er mich findet.” There’s no way to know that this could lead to Mundus finding Nero since they don’t know how to power will work, but Nero starts shaking anyway. “Ich werde es aber tun, wenn es nötig ist.”

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Caden shakes his head at Nero. ”Wenn Sie das tun und er hinter Ihnen her ist, ist er hinter uns allen her, und mit einem solchen Kampf können wir im Moment nicht umgehen.”

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Cassiopeia fidgets, seriously wishing this wasn't happening right now for multiple reasons. She looks over at Nic, using him as her strength.

”Have you ever used your power with another to make it stronger? Have you ever channelled someone before?” She looked at Nero, waiting for their answer.

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Nero smiles weakly at Caden and nods with understanding on what he’s saying. When Cassi speaks up, Nero stares at her in surprise at what she’s suggesting. “If I have, I don’t remember.” Nero answers truthfully, glancing at Caden to help with the bundle of nerves inside them right now before looking back at Cassi.

“I wouldn’t want to put you through another repeat of last night… For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” They lower their gaze to stare a hole into the table. They don’t expect any response to that, in fact they wish that the conversation will just move on.

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Nic watches as Nero visibly shakes and is somehow paler than usual. He’s still Switzerland as far as everything goes - Switzerland with a mighty big lean towards Cass - but Nic wonders what exactly could make a demon that scared. When Cass looks at Nic, he doesn’t hesitate to join her side and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. He gently squeezes Cass’ shoulder when Nero mentions the night before.

“How would channeling work, Cass?” He asks quickly before what Nero said can hang in the air.

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When Nero apologies, Cassi wants to tell them to shut up, but Nic quickly moves the conversation along. She looks up at him, staring at him for a moment.

”Nero and I would combine our powers. I'm stronger than they are, which stands to reason I would be able to help focus their ability to track Kiki. As for visions, if I don't want to open a channel to you, I don't have to. We don't have time for a trip down memory lane anyways,” Cassi said, a bit of anger and tension creeping into her voice.

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Caden meets Nero's eyes and gives them an encouraging smile. He stays away from them for two reasons. One, so Cassi doesn't burn her house down, but mainly so Nero knows they are strong enough to handle this.

”I think we would have a better chance tracking Kiki down if you two did that. Sie wird dir keine Visionen mehr entlocken. Nicht heute. Wir können ihr später von Mundus erzählen.”

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Nic lets out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding when Cass speaks. That went about as well as it could have. He thinks to himself, stealing a glance at Caden before wrapping his arm around her shoulder and kissing her head.

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Nero resists the urge to roll their eyes at Cassi only because of the immense guilt they’re already feeling. Nero almost tells Caden that they don’t need to tell Cassi about Mundus since it won’t change anything, but shoves that thought deep down instead. “For Kiki.” Nero says, finally meeting Cassi’s eyes.

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Cassiopeia shut her eyes when Nic kissed her head. She wanted to just stay in his arms, but they needed to save Kiki. Cass pats Nic's chest before walking over to Nero.

”I won't see anymore memories. I can block that. I can help you channel and focus more power, so nothing should go wrong. Two of us should be able to break through their wardings. Do you need any supplies? Candles, herbs, bones?”

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Nero tilts their head as they stand up. “Would that help?” They ask. “I haven’t tried this ability before… at least that I can remember. Do we hold hands?” They ask, offering theirs to Cassi.

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