IC Inbox

[noblerise]

If contacting his personal number or via Libra:

"You have reached Jusis Albarea. I'm busy. Leave a message."

If contacting his work number:

"You have reached the office of Jusis Albarea, Esquire. I'm not available at this time, so please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you."

Black Order Inbox and Class VII Group Chat for reference.

Comments

[themogget]

[A lot of his human traits translate very well into being a cat and he's not talking about it. Jusis has, unfortunately, known him more than long enough to be able to tell.]

Well, if you're going to insist.

[He does catch the idea that he's probably going to end up living here and he doesn't find that... entirely objectionable. It would probably start to get quite difficult to look after himself like this.]

Cooked chicken or fish is fine, but if you try to feed me anything out of a can with a cat on the label I am going to start leaving dead birds on your bed.

[noblerise]

[That gets a rare chuckle from Jusis.]

Honestly, I'd expect no less. I'll make sure you at least have chicken or fish.

[Maybe duck for special occasions. As a treat.]

[themogget]

... Thank you.

[It's embarrassing. Humiliating, actually. If someone he could actually trust wasn't here then who knows what he might have done. At least like this he can have some sense of security.]

If you hear anything about what can be done about... this, I assume you won't hesitate in letting me know.

[noblerise]

You assume correctly.

[He's awkward and troubled, not heartless, after all.]

[themogget]

I thought as much.

[Yrael sighs, and his ears pin back against the top of his head for a moment. This whole experience has been utterly exhausting and he's still unsure about whether or not he should tell HQ about it or not... but for now he would really much rather just keep it to himself.

But now that he has somewhere relatively safe to go to, it does feel like a large burden has been lifted.]

Would you mind if I got some sleep? I've barely had a wink of it since I got here.

[noblerise]

No, not at all. Make yourself at home.

[Jusis, not exactly thinking about it as anything more than a gesture of comfort, briefly pets Yrael's head. He then stands up and stretches for a moment.]

Feel free to use the couch or armchair. And you're free to stay as long as you wish.

[themogget]

[He sees the hand coming, and although his ears pin back and he does seem to retract his head into his shoulders in that typical, amusing way that cats do, he doesn't move away any further than that. After the pet he sits there in stunned stillness for a moment, then grunts and shakes himself off.]

Mmph. Thanks.

[And he chooses the armchair, sauntering over to it and jumping up onto the cushions. A few minutes later Jusis will be able to hear the sound of little cat snores.]

after smash or simp the second, text; un: dragnvindr

[burntilldawn]

[There was a time and place to size up a person. Smash or Simp was not it. While there were worse things Jusis could be, Lawyers weren’t on Diluc’s list of favorites to deal with. In business contexts they’re necessary, but they usually tended to be in the pockets of the corrupt if not the villains themselves.

And the fact that his family name was attached to Kreuzen Corp, something he knew was starting to spread across Europe and beyond like a virus, did him no favors in Diluc’s eyes. He was going in with preconceived notions, how they would be proven or not all depended on Jusis. But either way, once the Smash or Simp post had settled, there will be a message in Jusis’ Libra inbox.

God, he hated corporate emails but damn if he wasn’t an expert on them.]

To: Jusis Albarea

Its come to my attention that you’ve been investigating the causes of the transformations some Libra app users have experienced during the full moon. I’ve been conducting my own investigations. It would be more beneficial to compile what information you have with my other source to find a cause.

Contact me at your earliest convenience.

- Diluc Ragnvindr

[A potentially familiar name to Jusis if he’s a particularly aware wine connoisseur, but also the red guy who had The Bad Attitude on SOS2.]

[noblerise]

[Jusis doesn't always receive business-like emails from Libra users. Though, as he sees who it's signed by, he must admit that this is one of the very rare exceptions. He can recall that this name is associated with wine, though he's never looked too deeply into it. Jusis is a lot of things, but there's a line for his fanciness.

He's also a little suspicious, given the contents of the email, but it can't hurt to meet.]

To: Diluc Ragnvindr

It would be a pleasure to meet and share information. My evenings during the week are generally free. However, I am a responsible guardian to a minor, so I cannot stay out for too long. I'm sure you understand.

Please let me know when and where you wish to meet. I shall keep my schedule open.

With regards,
Jusis Albarea

voicemail | right after that BO convo

[switchaxe]

Fuck it--hey, Albarea. Get over to my place as soon as you can. Need to explain some shit.

[noblerise]

[Well. That's new. Jusis isn't going to question it, though.]

Very well. I'll be there as soon as possible.

[He clicks off his phone and grabs his keys. Not long after, there's a knock on Ash's RV door.]

It's Jusis.

[switchaxe]

Door's open.

[And Ash is sprawled over the little loveseat-sofa in the back of his RV, just sort of staring at the ceiling.]

You're gonna wanna sit down for this.

[noblerise]

[Jusis opens the door to let himself in. He looks at Ash for a moment before closing the door behind him, and taking a seat. The blond waits, expectant yet patient, for Ash to tell him what's going on. Or, at least, whatever he's willing to share at this time.]

[switchaxe]

[It takes him a good minute before he sighs.]

You ever hear of Krusnik?

[noblerise]

[...]

Well, that's a hell of an opener.

[He'll go with the short answer for now.]

Yes. I have.

[switchaxe]

Try having that be the opener to your fucking life.

[Ash. Ash please.]

You ever hear about some of the shit they tried on kids?

[noblerise]

[Oh. Well. That's one question that'll get his heart to sink down to somewhere in the earth's crust. He flashes back to when he was a teenager and saw a teen roughly his age being held in a cage. Jusis's expression doesn't betray anything, but he does keep very still.]

Not all of it. I've only ever heard rumors in my investigations, and victims are, understandably, tightlipped. If they're found at all.

[switchaxe]

Yeah, well, can you blame us?

[Ash needs a moment, and he gets up to just have something to do with his body. Only Jun knows about Krusnik, and that's because he was right there with Ash. He's never told anyone else before.

He feels sick. He makes his way over to the sink, just in case.]

They got me when I was three.

[noblerise]

No, not at all.

[It's just frustrating. Especially when it's apparently happened to Ash, and so young, and there's nothing Jusis can do to make them face justice for those crimes.]

What did they do?

[switchaxe]

The lab I was in was interested in getting a possession for some reason. They wanted a god, made us go through all sorts of shit to get one. We're talkin' kids as young as five gettin' shoved into stable gates and shit.

[noblerise]

[He swears fuck softly in German. Still, this is the truth, and he's not going to shy away from it. Jusis is going to face it head-on.]

That's... abhorrent.

[Not that Ash needs the reminder, but gods.]

But you were able to escape. Not without consequence, though?

[switchaxe]

Yeah.

[Deep breath, Ash.]

I was like...nine or ten when someone got a little crazy and caused a lockdown. [He's not mentioning a damn thing that could lead Jusis to finding out Jun was in there, and that it was his dad doing a raid that caused the lockdown.] They had me and some younger kids in one of the gates, and just sorta fuckin' left us there to go handle the bullshit. I'm the only one they got out.

[Another shaky breath.]

An' probably their only successful little "project", not that they ever knew it.

[noblerise]

[Jusis listens, and crosses his arms. Fortunately, he's wearing long sleeves, so his nails aren't biting into skin as he grips his arms tightly. There's a lot of emotion he's keeping bottled up so that he can let Ash have his time.]

You got possessed.

[That's the only logical conclusion he can come to.]

[switchaxe]

By a neikos, or maybe it's a few of 'em, I don't know. You wanna know why I'm gettin' in a new fight every week? Because if I don't, my little friend gets pissy. Can't get near Blackbird's because he's a demon, an' this guy really wants to fight him.

[noblerise]

Christ.

[That explains much. Not that Jusis is particularly happy about it.]

That's more than understandable.

[He knows Ash isn't one to ask for help, but he can't sit here and do nothing. So he tries the next best thing.]

Is there anything I can do to help?

[Other than by keeping Ash out of juvie.]