Raven didn't feel like leaving his apartment at all. His business could run itself for a day. He called a few of his employees, to tell them that he was having a day out of the office. He also told his head of security that no one was to see him today. Except Ceciro.

He curled up on the sofa and turned on his large screen tv. He flicked through a few channels, until he came to one that he didn't mind watching. TV was a dying thing, with channels constantly changing and closing down, and shows becoming increasingly scandalous to try and hold the disappearing viewers. With the invention of the Internet in the 21st century, as well as movies becoming much easier to watch, it was amazing that TV was still around.

He watched some show about fishing, but wasn't really paying attention to it. He had never really been out on a boat, nor had he tried to fish. The ocean was shrinking, and only few parts could be fished in. Toxic chemicals and other harmful things had been introduced into the atmosphere during the last world war. But that was years before he was born, years before demons freely inhabited the Earth.

He got his nail file and decided to clean his nails while he waited for Ceciro to decide to join him. Maybe then he'd feel like doing something.

He just grew increasingly annoyed as he was turned away at Raven's place of business and given a home address. Really, now? Going right home, was he? Ceciro shook his head as he stepped back outside, vanishing from the eyes of any onlookers and sliding through the streets, hopping drains and crossing streets in a flat sheet. His eyes caught street signs and buildings, until his body slid into an alley and emerged again on two solid feet. Ceciro was barely in the building before he was confronted by men that were obviously there for Raven's protection, if not that of the rest of the building's residents as well. He thought it was best applied to Raven, though, as he presented the man's card and informed him that he was to see Raven today, but had been given instead his home address. The nearest guard nodded, and led him to the nearby elevator.

So many guards. It drew so much attention if one knew what to look for. Ceciro preferred to keep things quiet despite his nearly overwhelming paranoia. Even as he walked down the hall with the guard, he was ready to come apart if they decided he was a threat of some sort.

Raven got the call that Ceciro had appeared at his building, and was being escorted to his apartment. He got up and quickly made himself look presentable, flicking the TV off and sitting at the table with a hot coffee he just boiled. When the guard knocked and opened the door, he stood and smiled at his new friend. His arms spread out wide as he welcomed Ceciro.

"Did you get here ok?" he asked the man, as the guard left the room to stand outside the apartment. "I hope my guards didn't want to frisk you too much." He knew that the man would have been patted down, even though Ceciro didn't need weapons to kill. He sat back at the table and took a sip of the bitter coffee. "Would you like something to drink?" he asked his companion.

Ceciro rolled his eyes. He didn't know why they'd wanted to feel him up---beyond obvious personal reasons they'd pass off as 'just doing their duty'. His clothes didn't leave a terrible amount to the imagination, so anything beyond some paper thin blade or poison would be able to be hidden away somehow. Certainly if they'd done something he didn't like, they would have known immediately, so the speedbump wasn't much of a bother.

He shook his head at the offer, entering the room a bit more. The dream was still fresh in his mind and it made him feel a little sick. "I'd actually like to hear a more detailed proposition." He said, taking a seat across from Raven and brushing back his hair to no avail, as it returned to its original position. "I'm sure you had a while to think since I've been away. Maybe this time it'll be easier to hold a face-to-face conversation." And it could go on all day for all he cared. His phone was off, so no one could call and request his services to interrupt them. And he wanted to really know what Raven was on about. There was something about talking to another face to face that enthralled Ceciro. Something that hooked him immediately. Such tiny, involuntary ticks in the face could open up so much about them. The way their eyes grew wide or their pupils shrank or grew that communicated state of mind, how their body was reacting.

Raven sipped his drink, scanning the other's mind out of habit. Of course his walls were as high and strong as ever. "Why do you have such good defenses? Have met another like me before?" he asked simply, picking up the nearby newspaper and scanning the headlines. The Governor Piaz was dead... Scandalous photos were found of his niece... Raven smirked and put it back down on the table, looking up at the one known as Sandman.

What did the man mean by this? Did he need more convincing? He did seem quite hesitant about his proposition last night, after all. "What do you need to know about it?" He took to staring intently at his nails, which he had manicured to fine points just seconds before. All the better to leave stinging scratches on the flesh. "I am offering you, not only a secure job, but safety as well. To be a part of my gang... But not only that, you will be answering only to me, allowed to live your life as it was before we met... I will not interfere with your other contracts. All I need to know is who is making them and who is being taken out."

"Being my man, the one closest to me... Has lots of benefits..." He gave Ceciro a smirk, sending him images telepathically, of what he wanted to do to him.

Ceciro breathed in carefully, wide-eyed as if watching a series of clips in front of his face rather than in front of his mind's eye. He would have acted immediately had the images of his own dream not overridden everything else, including his will to actually move at that point. "I, eh... I understand your proposition as it stands. While I need no one to look after me in any way, or grant safety under their name, what I specifically worry about is what you said before---your... lust for power." He shifted a little, and brought up his arms to rest his hands on the table. "Your words the other day... worried me. Not for myself, of course. But mostly because it... I've heard it before." He didn't want to admit it all. Not yet. "I've heard it all. They wanted to rule the world, one city at a time. Wanted fear to be instilled in the population at the very thought of his name. Wanted everything, and wanted to share it..." With me... He sighed.

"My point is, I won't be a part of that again." Ceciro's voice was stony and devoid of emotion. "I won't do it. I'll stick by you every day but the moment you start to set your sights further than you can possibly spread---even as a half-blooded demon---I won't be able to support that." He wouldn't watch it again. Wouldn't feel that helplessness.

Raven grew fascinated by his words, but didn't want to press further. It seemed that Ceciro had battle scars himself. He tilted his head though, to show that he was interested in what the Sandman had to say. "I understand... I guess... I was being a bit... egotistical last night..." What had he been thinking? To take over the world... He may long for it, to be in complete control and to have all the power in the world... But that was cartoonish.

"I'm setting my sights to rule Big Vegas. I am so close. So very close..." He closed his eyes, thinking about what would happen once he owned every building and every person in the city. "I know that my thirst for control and power might lead to my demise... But that's why I need someone like you, to be by my side and to stop me when I do too much..." Just like Shadow had been...

Ceciro nodded lightly, softening his gaze. Maybe... But there was something odd about what Raven said. How he said it. The way his tone just... changed. Only just, few people would have caught it. "I appreciate your feeling toward my abilities... But the more I listen to you, the more I'm beginning to think I'm some kind of... cheap replacement." What had been in his place last time? Was it Shadow, the one he'd seen in Raven's dream? Just how close were the two? The way he'd reacted, in the dream, after he heard of Shadow's death. Who was Shadow, really? Or how close had he been with Raven? Ceciro felt he could relate in some way.

"I hope you don't think you can fill some kind of hole with something that's not the same, but as close as you can get." He went on. "You'll just be disappointed." And how the disappointment stung...

Raven went quiet, thinking about Ceciro's words. A replacement...? Was he trying to replace Shadow? No, he could never do that. Ceciro was a new friend, not someone to replace Shadow. He simply sighed and finished his coffee, staring out the window. It was nearly midday by the look of how high the orange sun was in the sky. He set his mug down heavily, and looked at Ceciro again. "I'm not replacing anything. It has been a long time since I last had someone I could call a friend. If you don't want the offer, don't take it. It's that simple."

"What's your plans for the day?" he asked, wanting something to do. It seemed that, even though he had just had some fun with William last night, he was longing for more... More souls... More pain and suffering. He always wanted more.

Ceciro stood, and then leaned slightly across the table. His hair went forward like a blanket over one of his eyes. "I'll accept the offer. But the moment you don't heed one of my warnings, you'll be on your own. I'll not be a part of another foolish attempt to take over the state---country, or world---and force myself to stand by and watch their self destruction when they decide I'm not worth listening to, or have no idea what I'm talking about." Then he stood back, absently touching the bolt through his tongue and slightly twisting it.

Plans...? He hadn't thought of that. "Initially I play on the corner to cover my true intentions." He said, referring to his music. "When someone approaches with a contract I take it indoors. But today... I hadn't had anything else in mind. Unless you had something in mind..." He wouldn't go home if he was simply let go. No, he had to do something... go somewhere, find someone to take the demonic urge away. It was cutting into his mind already, trying to distract him.

It seemed that Ceciro was feeling just as restless as he was. Maybe they could go find something to do together? He didn't know how to suggest this, as they both had very different ways of killing, and he wasn't even sure if killing someone would be something entertaining to the man. He bit his lip, watching Ceciro's pierced tongue flicker in and out, like some sort of snake.

"Well, Big Vegas is a huge city... There is bound to be something we could do to pass the time... Or someone..." he muttered, leaning forward, longing to bite that tongue.

Ceciro smiled lightly. "Someone, hm?" He laughed. "That inspires, Raven. Why not show me how you kill? I find it only fitting since I did the same for you." And it had obviously been more than worth it for the man. "And on our way you could describe to me in greater detail what you expect me to do. I understand the ground rules, but there have to be catches I'm not getting. Bits and pieces here and there you might be keeping from me." And whether it was intentional or not, Raven would remember something or other. They always did, in his experience. There was that something that was a catch, a second thought, a new rule they just made up on the spot.

But whatever Raven had in mind, Ceciro felt obligated to go with it. More out of curiosity than anything, because as time wore on, the more he burned to know.