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Dai Xie adjusted his tie, unwilling to meet the fire Demon's vivid, lagoon blue gaze. How could he? There was a time where the two had been at each others' throats, and that time was still fresh in their minds, fresh in their memories. This was the first time they'd met on even remotely hospitable terms. Red Son crossed his arms, watching the shadow Demon across from him intently. The dark magics that the Bone Demon had used still lingered in Dai Xie's body, something that he'd have to ask him about later, but not now. Now, it was time for business.
"So what brings you here." Red's steely stare didn't let up for one solitary second, and the 'Mayor' or so he was called could sense it acutely. He swore there was disapproval there, suspicion, unrest, even hostility. It wasn't like it wasn't deserved. He couldn't blame him for his distrust. All of the chaos he'd wrought in the name of the Bone Demon, it had left a deep scar in the collective psyches of those who had to deal with her.
Him included.
"I... er... I thought I could lend you my services, is all! You're quite a respectable man if I do say so myself, and such a massive company must be hard to run. You need all the help you can get, don't you?" The cheerful facade was thin, barely veiling his underlying intentions. Red Son narrowed his eyes, smelling a rat. Was this Demon going to use him the same way the Bone Demon had used that tiny girl? No, no. He shook his head, sighing. Dai Xie knew better than that, especially with a power that even the Gods feared under Hai'Er's command. He raised his head, staring directly into the other man's eyes. It drove a shiver down the former henchman's spine, although his facade hardly cracked despite it. Did Red Son see through him already? Could he tell he was just trying to find a new master, anything to shut the voices out? If he could, he was playing along, which was what Dai Xie needed.
"...alright." Red Son conceded, at least, for now. "...but you have to tell me what you're planning. Don't think I'm not seeing through you, you're up to something. Tell me what."
Those words drove icy claws directly into the shadow Demon's heart. He didn't have anywhere to run here. Sure, he could use the shadow powers he'd learned in the past few years of learning how to make clean getaways, but that might not serve him well against someone who helped fight the Six-Eared-Macaque, who had similar powers of escape. The Mayor rose a hand to the back of his neck, sweat rolling down his face with every tick of the clock on the wall above him. The sound would have been deafening in a deathly silent room with the way his heart was beating so fast... it was a wonder it didn't stop.
Xie's smile evaporated as a switch flipped in his head, one that the Bone Demon had toyed with far too many times for it to work properly.
"A puppet needs a master. If you give me a purpose, if you give me a play to perform in, so to speak, I'll be your loyal little toy until further notice. Everything I know, at your disposal... for whatever you need, whenever you need. Just give me a purpose."
The wisps of darkness that followed the shadow Demon became painfully evident as he finished speaking, and for a brief moment, at last, just as he'd expected, he slumped over, his entire body unresponsive, eyes even more blank than usual as his body went limp. He'd been expecting this, but Red Son hadn't, and the sight caused the fire Demon to pause. He rose to his feet after fighting off the stress, then rested his hand on Dai Xie's neck. Nothing short of pure horror coursed through the fire Demon's veins as he realized that his visitor's heart had stopped all of a sudden, but before he could call anyone, the shadow Demon sat back upright, a blank expression on his face... until he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.
He'd just been dead for several seconds. What...
"I do sincerely apologize, that's been happening more often now that the Bone Demon is no longer here to reinforce the magics that animate me."
...that explained a lot. Red Son forced a cough, settling down as he, too, had to wipe sweat off of his cheeks.
"...making accommodations for you with such a frightening and unique condition may not be easy, I'm afraid, but I'm willing to take you under my wing if just to keep my eyes on you. I'll be watching you." He narrowed his eyes, the tension in the air too thick to be cut with anything less than an ungainly greatsword. Dai Xie only beamed, that eerie, insincere smile unsettling and unpleasant to behold... but was it really insincere, or was he really just masking something more underneath it? Red Son figured he'd find out eventually, given enough time.
"Please, m'lord, all I request is a dark room set aside from the rest of the hustle and bustle of this place, where I may work in relative peace..." His smile evaporated as fast as it had returned.
"...but I do request that you open the door every once in a while. You never know what I might be up to, after all."
...he was deliberately feeding into Red Son's fears, likely because they were unfounded. He'd heard of how this man loved to see others spooked and on edge, but this was a new low... there was certainly more to it. What, however, could wait for now.
"Alright... I'll make arrangements for you as soon as possible, and just in case, I'm putting the paramedics on speed-dial." Red Son pinched the bridge of his nose.
Gods, this man was going to be a lot of stress and maybe even more trouble.
"That's not going to do you any good; it's spontaneous. There's no warning. Just keep a defibrillator on hand."
Red Son sighed. This was going to be a long first few months.