Thane looked over at Rei when he saw the man come out, dressed in only one piece of clothing. Underwear. "Good morning," he returned the greeting, thinking it was only polite to do so. He watched the man meander his way to the kitchen, probably to make himself something to eat. At his apology, he shook his head. Direct teaching wasn't the only way for him to learn. Merely following the man around and observing him was good enough in turn.

To the suggestion of breakfast, he declined. "No thank you." Though he would indulge in Rei's need for company, and sample his food every once in a while, he wouldn't impose on him and do it often. It was, after all, Rei's food and since Thane didn't pay for it, he had no reason to take part in consuming it beyond small sampling.

Remaining where he was, comfortable in this spot, not to mention the companion sitting in his lap after a night of romping and playing and teasing, he gave a nod at the comment.

"I think he has come to like me." He had tried to send the cat off earlier so it could return home, but the cat refused. "It doesn't seem to like the idea of leaving me be."

"Hahaha... Petting a cat is like surrendering to it." chuckled Rei as he cracked some eggs and placed some bread in the toaster. "At least... That's what I read. But it could very well be a sign of friendship." shrugged Rei.

He flipped the egg once and plated the bread before returning his attention to Thane.

"Now... That cat is your pet. A pet is a non-human companion that humans get in order to keep them company. We humans take care of their needs and they reward us with their presence." explained Rei.

Rei switched off the stove and placed the fried eggs beside the bread before taking the dish to the table. He then sat down and began consuming the food.

"You have to name it though..." told Rei as he munched on the bread with the egg in the middle. "It is very important for any pet owner to name his or her pet." added Rei.

Friendship... with a cat? Thane thought friendship was simply between humans. It seemed he was wrong...? It was a little perplexing but he gave a small nod. He didn't know what to do with a pet, but he supposed if it kept him company, he wouldn't mind. In the very least, it would make up for the lulls in conversation and the times Rei might not be wanting or willing to teach at the moment. Or maybe when he was asleep.

But the idea of ownership was something new to Thane. Not to say he didn't understand the concept, he just never really "owned" anything. His home he knew was rightfully his. No one would ever dare take it from him. His job, the same thing there. But this cat was not rightfully his. It was not born for the purpose of serving him in the immortal world.

But... well, if this cat was willing to be considered "owned," then perhaps Thane wouldn't mind staking that claim. He just had to name it now. ...What would he name it? He knew many names, but they were all of the souls of the dead that he had delivered to their proper resting place.

Pausing in thought, he looked at the black feline with its white socks. After a long moment of thinking, for it was harder than he expected to pick a name that would suit the animal, he decided: "Noir."

Thane looked at Rei, seeking his opinion on his selection.

"Noir huh...?" said Rei as he finished the last of his meal. "I like it. Very original." smiled the man as he stood up and went towards the bathroom.

Soon the sound of a bath being taken emanated from the room. Rei was fully aware that he was going to return to work today and he had to get ready ASAP if he didn't want to be late. It was bad enough that he missed a total of four days of work. He didn't want his paycheck cut shorter than it already was.

After the bath, Rei wrapped a towel around his waist. He then hurriedly walked towards his bedroom to change into his work attire. A few more minutes and Rei re-emerged from the room, dressed in a formal suit. He was carrying a suitcase with him and was struggling to get his dark blue tie straight.

"Ready to go?" asked Rei to Thane who didn't seem to have moved from his seat.

Thane remained still while Rei left to get ready for work. As the man did what he had to, he coaxed the cat into wakefulness, earning himself a nip at the hand. Thane didn't know what that meant, so he just scratched the top of the cat's head instead. He would have to be aware of this cat from now on. He would have to be attuned to it in a manner unlike the one he was sharing with Rei.

Speaking of, he saw the man reemerge fully dressed and carry his suitcase with him. Thane nodded in response to the man's question and coaxed the cat onto his shoulders to wrap around like a shawl. He drew up the large hood over the both of them, hiding both feline and his face from sight. He didn't know if animals were allowed were Rei was, but hopefully it wouldn't become a problem either way.

Like this, as he was, he got up and approached Rei. Seeing him struggle with his tie, he pushed the man's hands aside and fixed it for him, then he turned his attention to the front door and opened it for the man. He followed after him and closed the door after them. Thankfully no one was around or else they might've questioned the sight of a door closing on its own.

As promised, he was invisible to the rest of the world. So long as Noir didn't suddenly speak or jump off of Thane's shoulders, no one would question Rei while he took this trip.

"Th-Thanks..." replied Rei, blushing a bit at the idea of having another person do his tie for him.

As they walked out of the apartment, Rei noticed that the cat that Thane had befriended was still with him, draping on his shoulder. He scratched his head a bit at the idea of death bringing a cat to his workplace. It could pose some trouble for him but he needed to trust Thane to keep an eye on it.

"Umm... Just keep Noir in your sights all the time, kay? I don't think that my boss will be too happy to see a cat roaming around the office." reminded Rei.

After they arrived at the sidewalk, Rei hailed a taxi cab that would take him to his workplace. He got in first before waiting for Thane to follow suit before he reached and closed the door for them.

"To Alcador Enterprise please..." told Rei before the taxi got a move on.

While the vehicle was making it's way through traffic, Rei was on his cellphone, checking for text messages from his boss. Already, his work queue was slowly filling up due to missed work. Paperworks needed to be filed and things needed to be picked up.

Thane only nodded in response to the suggestion. If he could, he'd send the cat off to play on its own, but for some reason or another, he wanted to keep it with him. Perhaps it could prove useful in its own way.

Quiet, he followed Rei out of the building and into the taxi. He didn't utter a word since he was now "invisible." Noir nudged him with its damp nose and nuzzled close under his chin. He reached up and scratched the side of its muzzle while he absently watched their surroundings pass them by.

Soon enough, Alcador Enterprise was upon them and the taxi stopped just at the curb of the sidewalk. Thane waited for money to be exchanged and Rei to get out first before following suit, standing off to the side and looking around them. "This is where you work?" he asked idly. The man didn't have to answer if he thought it too conspicuous to do so, a simple nod was more than enough.

Thane looked across the street from them, his gaze wandering up the side of a building. He saw himself in one of the windows of an apartment complex, leaning against the window railing. Sandra White had just died of "accidental" overdose of prescribed medication. Age, forty-two. Single. No children. Her soul would be challenging to decipher where to go.

Turning his gaze away, he followed after Rei as he began to move.

"Uh-huh..." replied Rei as he tried to balance giving attention to Thane whilst replying to the text messages of his boss.

Work was fast-paced and had no room for unscheduled breaks. As soon as they stepped inside the building, employees of all sorts were walking around in a quick phase, babbling about business matters and such. It was only Rei who took the time to greet his co-workers as he made his way towards the elevator. Luckily, the one that just emptied itself could fit him and Thane inside. Soon two more workers joined for the ride and the rising feeling started to fill the passengers.

An indicatory ring was made by the elevator when it reached the floor that the passengers had punched in. The portly woman went out when the elevator reached the second floor while the aged-looking man (presumably one who has higher up since his age was far from acceptable for an employee) stepped out when the elevator reached the 11th floor. The elevator continued it's ascent until it reached the 19th floor, Rei's destination. He gestured for Thane to follow him.

The 19th floor was rather spacious compared to the lower ones. A large reception hall was laid out with two reception table on each side of a frosted glass double door.

"Hey Melissa." waved Rei to his fellow secretary.

"Rei! Oh good... I was so worried when I-- Hold on. Hello, Alcador Enterprises." told Melissa but was cut off when she went to pick up a call on her station.

Rei took his seat on his table and began getting down on work.

Thane wandered behind Rei, shadowing his steps as they made their way through the building. He had the leisure of looking about them. He didn't have to worry too much about skirting around other humans since they all seemed to have this sixth sense of avoiding the space he occupied. Funny as it sounded, it was rather true.

Riding the elevator was a strange experience. He stood next to Rei, close---almost too close---and was mindful of having other people accidentally touch him. Though the people seemed to give each other just enough breathing space that it wasn't too crowded, Thane wasn't all that pleased with the idea of having someone bump or press against him because of the lack of space in the small contraption.

When they finally made it to the floor Rei was working on, he looked around them, glad for the space. Never would he have thought himself claustrophobic. Perhaps he was, to some degree.

Following Rei once more, he kept close to him until he sat down. Seeing the man busy himself, Thane thought it more suitable for the both of them if Thane just did something to preoccupy himself. He slowly wandered around, looking at everything and everyone he could lay his eyes on. He kept quiet since there wasn't much to talk about, and thankfully Noir had enough sense to be silent as well, merely nuzzling him and flicking its tail against his collarbone. It hardly made a sound, only purring once or twice when something caught its eye.

Thane found himself just as interested in the things this cat liked. Perhaps they were two of a kind. Or maybe the cat was just playing with him. For long, quiet hours, he continued to wander around, merely observing and watching and taking note of what went on. He even left Rei's side for a short while to brave the elevator and watch and listen to the people that got on and off.

Were he human and visible, one would find his behavior to be quite odd. Stalker? Creep? Weird? He was more childish than that. Innocent curiosity and armed with simply the pure want to learn, he survived the day at Rei's work like this, shadowing corners and playing the ghost amongst them. The work environment was certainly different from the home environment.

Rei couldn't quite balance keeping an eye on Thane when he finally sat down and got to work. Work demanded too much of his time and attention to the point where he couldn't even possibly care for anything else other than it. But then, all that changed after the beeper on his cell went on. It was time for his lunchbreak. It took him ten more minutes to stand up from his seat, preferring to finish the paperwork he was working on before taking his break.

"I'm gonna take my lunch break now, kay?" said Rei to Melissa.

"Sure... I'll have Franz take over..." replied Melissa before picking up another call from her station.

The first thing that Rei did once he was let out was search for Thane. Luckily, he wasn't that far from his current location. He saw him just going out of the elevator. He grabbed the other man's hand and led him back inside the elevator.

"We're going to the cafeteria." told Rei before pressing the 5th floor button. "I'm sure that Noir is hungry by now..." chuckled Rei.

Thane was just about to approach Rei about places to eat---Noir was nipping at his ear while they rode the elevator, and hitting him in the jaw with his tail; Thane could only assume the cat was hungry---when the man already made a beeline for him.

The snatch of hand surprised him, but he didn't protest as he was ushered back into the elevator. Looking down at their joined hands, he just let it be; friends did this, right? Rei said they were able to, just not anything more intimate than that.

"He is," he answered quietly. "I believe he would like something more pleasing than my ear to bite at."

Looking up as the numbers flashed, indicating what floor they were on and where they were going---Thane had gotten used to watching it; it fascinated him greatly---they slowly made their descent to the fifth floor.

"The people here work rather diligently," he noted absently. "Always rushing about, carrying things in their arms, speaking of various things. It almost reminds me of home."

"Really? Home's like this for you?!" asked Rei as he scratched his head. "I don't think home being like an office isn't too appealing for me." chuckled Rei.

They soon reached the 5th floor and the elevator opened up to a hallway. A few turns and they came upon the cafeteria. Only a handful of employees were left on the mess hall since Rei always took his lunch breaks at a later time. He walked up to the counter and got a tray.

"Hmm... I think I'll go for a bacon sandwich please." told Rei to the woman who handed the food. "Oh... And I'd love some tuna rolls too." added Rei.

After grabbing a drink and some napkins, Rei led Thane into one of the empty tables and sat down. The table was located on the less livelier part of the cafeteria so that no one will notice the floating foodstuff when Thane starts feeding Noir.

"Alright... Sandwich for me and tuna rolls for Noir." spoke Rei is a discreet manner.

Thane merely shrugged at Rei's reaction. Death never slept, never stopped working. It took a life every minute, every second of the day. It was always busy, sending the souls to their rightful places.

He didn't say anything as they got off the elevator and made their way to the cafeteria. After the food was gotten and a table located, Thane sat across from Rei and waited until he was certain of which food would be Noir's to eat before picking up one of the rolls and guiding it under the wide rim of his hood to allow Noir to nip at it.

The little smacking noises it made while eating were kind of loud in Thane's ear, but he wasn't bothered by it. He just held the food steady as the cat ate piece by piece, watching Rei do the same for his sandwich.

"Do you enjoy working here?" he asked the man, curious about his own opinion of his job. Thane didn't really have an opinion about his own "occupation." It was more of a life-long duty, something he couldn't get away from even if he wanted to---he didn't---and never really had an opinion about whether he liked it or not. It was just something he did. Humans must've been different though. They got to choose their job. They got to build their own careers and live them as they pleased. (For the most part, anyway.)

"Well... Yes and No..." replied Rei as he parted the sandwich and ate it piece by piece. "I have to admit that I kinda like this job, but to be honest I always wanted to have my own business instead of working in another's..." replied Rei.

But since that mostly happened to people who were lucky to be rich or was born rich, he didn't count on fulfilling that fantasy anytime soon. Perhaps if he had allocated enough resources. He could raise one by then and have a steady source of income.

"But... I guess I'm stuck as a secretary for now. It's not that bad anyways. Beats working on fastfood anyday." he snickered a bit.

And then a thought came into his mind. Why not bounce back the question to Thane? He always wanted to get death's opinion about death (well... at least when he's got nothing better to think about).

"Hey Thane, how about you? Do you enjoy your job?" asked Rei.

Thane shrugged and fed Noir another tuna roll. The cat, taking a liking to them, yapped it up faster than the last. "Wouldn't it be morbidly amusing to like the work of death?" he said, a rhetorical question.

"I cannot say whether I like my work or not. I suppose I have an indifferent attitude toward it. I am the deliverer of souls. I can easily cut off the life of someone if I wanted to an bring them a premature end. I can grant them home in Paradise, or Hell, or that peculiar place in between that no one ever seems to have the right label for or grasp of."

He glanced down at Noir as the cat nipped the tip of his finger, licking it as though he could get the tuna taste from his gloves.

"In truth, it's rather depressing work. I witness the death of someone all the time. Even now, as I sit with you, I continue to work. However, this is something I have been doing since the beginning of time. Forever. Both in the past and the future, I will always do it. ...I suppose in one sense, I am numb to the morbidity of it all. But I do not take in any specific or particular joy in what I do. I just do it because that is my duty. That is my purpose."

He looked across as Rei with an even gaze, then glanced down as he picked up another roll and fed it to the cat.

Rei's expression sank after hearing Thane's answers. Right now, he was regretting the fact that he had asked the question.

"You're right... That was a pretty stupid question to ask..." replied Rei with a sheepish snicker.

He popped open the can of soda he purchased before offering the small carton of milk for Noir.

"Here... I'm sure Noir will like this..." smiled Rei to Thane.

As he watched Thane feed the cat, it was hard to believe that this man was death. He cared for a living being now. It was truly an uncanny thing to see.

"Don't worry Thane. I'm sure you'll find a better purpose in life. One that you'll actually come to like." smiled Rei.

After finishing the last of his sandwich, Rei scrunched up the wrapper it was on and disposed of it in the trash can. He returned to wait for Noir to finish her meal before heading back to his office upstairs.

It wasn't Rei's fault. Though his question was a little misplaced, he could see where he was curious about Thane's own opinion about his job. Being both a murderer and savior in one body was rather unique. He ended lives only to transfer them to a new home where they may either be forever happy, or suffer miserably.

To take on such a task, one would wonder what sort of mentality he had. If he were human, that is. If he had feelings like a human, it certainly would be worth questioning. But Thane wasn't the least bit human, despite his recent efforts to understand them.

Taking the carton, he opened it up and held it under his hood near his shoulder. Noir wiggled a little to lean forward and lap up the milk, a little of the liquid splashing onto its whiskers and mouth. Even a little along Thane's chin. The cat's tail flicked happily against him, batting his collarbone almost lazily.

Thane waited until Noir finally lifted his head and purred in satisfaction, finished. There was still a little bit left, but enough was finished that it was okay to toss. He set the carton down and gave Noir the last of the tuna rolls before looking at Rei. "Perhaps I shall, perhaps I shan't. We'll see... I still have much to learn. I have yet to stop this absurd feeling from nagging in my chest."

When Noir was done, he stood up and assumed Rei would want to return to his desk, so he waited for him to lead the way.

"I'm sure you will. I just know it." assured Rei before standing up. "Well... Time to finish the rest of my shift..." said Rei before standing up. He then took out his wallet to pay for the meal but blinked twice when something caught his attention. "That's funny... I thought I had three hundred with me..." frowned Rei as he inspected his wallet. "Where'd my one hundred go?" he wondered.

Concluding that it was merely misplaced bills, Rei paid for the food he and Noir had consumed before leading the way back to the 19th floor. After thanking Franz for taking over his table, he sat back to the office chair and busied himself in work once more.

"It'll just be for five hours more. I'll be home free afterwards." smiled Rei to Thane and Noir before hammering on the keys of the personal computer in front of him.

After completing his shift later that day, Rei logged on the receptionist before heading off to the streets.

"I hope you weren't too bored in waiting for me." sighed Rei.

Noting that Rei was missing something, Thane absently thought back to last night when he saw that woman wander off with something in her pocket. He didn't know what it was, but maybe it was Rei's missing hundred. Maybe Rei just forgot he had given it to her.

With a soft inward shrug to himself, he just followed the man back to the elevator and saw him off at his desk before deciding to do more idle exploring and wandering around. They found the restroom, which pleased Noir greatly. There was a giant potted plant in the corner for detoxifying the air (or so it was said), and Noir slipped out to do business between the leaves.

Thane wasn't too keen on the idea of letting him back on without being clean, so thus stuck him in the sink and turned the faucet on. Noir wasn't too keen on the idea of being soaked, but then when Thane put him under the electronic air blower that was normally used to dry hands, the cat settled and purred at the sensation of being treated this way. Thane didn't really understand it, but he supposed being blasted with warm air felt really good to a cat.

...He'd keep that in mind.

Returning back to Rei by the end of his shift, Thane shook his head at the comment. Noir was back on his shoulders and under his hood. "I learned that cats like blow dryers," he said. "I don't know why, but Noir does." As if the cat knew Thane was talking about him, he flicked his tail, almost in a 'hello!' gesture.

"Hahaha! Is that so?!" laughed Rei, amused at what Thane had just said.

Rei hailed a taxi to take them home. Rei was tired from work but not so tired as to not being able to do anything afterwards. After arriving back at his apartment, Rei let down the suitcase he was carrying before removing his tie.

"I'll just change and I'll be out is a sec..." told Rei before entering his bedroom.

A few minutes later, Rei re-emerged in some casual clothes before heading to the kitchen.

"I dunno about you but I feel peckish." said Rei before taking a pan from the sink. "I'm sure the same could be said for Noir." he chuckled before placing the pan over the stove and lighting it up.

Soon, the sound and smell of dinner being cooked came from the kitchen. After Rei left the dish to simmer, he went over towards Thane and his cat. He petted the feline a few times, scratching the bottom of it's head.

"I could tell that you'll be a great owner for Noir. Look how happy she is..." smiled Rei.