Time Crisis [Arlette, Bauher]

What a nightmare. Bauher did his best to keep things under control. It had been....a month. Things still didn't feel quite real. It wasn't....what he'd expected. He'd thought the loss would be what hit him the hardest. But no.... it was that nothing really changed about his daily routine. Had this been her plan? To separate before te separation? So that he wouldn't feel it? Even though nothing changed, things still felt.... empty.

Maybe that's why he responded so quickly when it all went down. Tat empty feeling in his chest pushed all of the worry and the fear and the doubt all away, and when those sirens had started blaring, he barely felt anything. So many people, afraid, screaming, panicking around him. But he didn't feel a thing. And when it was all over, well... he felt like he was just on auto pilot. He focused on his work, and when he wasn't working, he volunteered. He wished it could have been for a good reason. That he cared about making a difference. And of course, he did. But that wasn't the driving force. It was staying out of his own empty, apartment. He did everything he could to tire himself out so that when he went home, he'd just pass out. And escape those quiet, silent thoughts.

So the text message annoyed him just a little that night, at least in pure kneejerk instinct. He'd been so close to just passing out. But when he saw who it was from, and WHAT it said, he was a bit confused. Well... seemed he wouldn't be going to sleep just yet.

She did not strike him as a woman to call things Urgent for no reason, and it wasn't long before Bauher was at the Airport, casting a wayward glance up at the dark sky. Hm, it'd probably start to rain later. But he didn't worry about that for now, for the time being he simply peeled out his phone and sent a return text.

I'm here. West Entrance.

There was no hiding the sudden expression that crossed Bauher's features when he saw Arlette. At first it was recognition, calm and simple. But almost immediately he picked up those small details, noticing the limp, the tone of her voice, and he straightened slightly as his eyes locked onto hers, but his Reikaku swept the area. The hell.

"Pleasure's all mine. Let's get out of here before it starts raining." His voice was crisp and a bit clipped. The ....tension of the situation eliminating any dead emotionlessness he might have otherwise had because of the situation. He reached in to take the suitcases from her, promptly slipping both of them into his right hand so that he could offer the other to her. Knowing better than to try and do anything more obvious. He could tell she was trying very hard to hide her discomfort, and well, better safe than sorry. He could worry once they weren't in public.

"Hope you don't mind sharing the backseat. I didn't expect a passenger today." He murmured as he guided her to his car. A large amount of computer equipment was in the passenger seat, thus indeed, she'd have to sit in the back, which frankly, might be better, she'd be able to lay low. But still, if she hadn't told him it was urgent he might have taken the time to empty it all out. But by the looks of her, maybe hurrying had been better.

He raised a brow as he slipped into the driver's seat and heard her instructions. He thought something shaky had happened and that she was hiding from something. Well..that was good at least, if she felt confident enough to go back to her own home, he wasn't gonna argue with her. "Oh? So then you know what's going on. Good, that means you can fill me in on the way. Put your seatbelt on." He noted with a lopsided smile, and then promptly starting to drive to her place. Probably for the best to be frank, his own place was a mess at the moment. And well, clearly she had some sort of plan worked out.

He didn't care. He wasn't really thinking much of anything other than just focusing at the task at hand.

Bauher couldn't help but raise a brow slightly and glanced briefly into the rear-view mirror before keeping his eyes on the road, listening as she gave her explanation and promptly ..went a couple miles over the speed limit as she mentioned Claudia. He hated when his suspicions were validated. Well, he'd chosen not to humor a lot of those rumors when he first thought to meet her. But things were starting to make sense now. Her.m....particulars with how he'd been hired. Why he answered to HER and not the parent company. Did she really plan this far ahead?

"Well it's a good thing you sign my checks yourself eh?" He noted with a soft, dry smile. He considered going slower for her sake, but frankly, the sooner they were at the house the better. He glanced at his phone's GPS. They were almost there. He kept his wits about him, just.... in case.

"So. You're missing most of your soul. That sounds pretty bad. Don't suppose you have anything to fix that at your place?" He ventured. Sadly, he could only fix machines. Maybe if he were a wizard fullbringer he could just patch in her soulw ith the souls of objects. Make her 75% dishwasher. Heh, he kept that little joke to himself for now.

"There should be a fanny pack down on the floor back there. If you open it up, you'll find some band aids and some narcotics. I'm not saying take them now, but once we're safe you can probably pop a couple. Just no drinking if you do." He murmured over his shoulder.

He sighed softly. "Of course you have." He murmured quietly, shaking his head a little as they finally pulled up to the home. He paused, peering around for a moment to make sure nothing seemed out of place, lightly thumbing the charm on his necklace before tisking. "Alright. We're here." He murmured, slipping out of the car and opening the door for her to help her out. He didn't bother carrying her suitcases this time, he just scooped her up, ignoring any protest as he'd just carry her to the door. She could focus on getting in. He on the other hand was keeping his awareness of their surroundings. Her being worried enough about security was plenty for him to be keeping an eye out while she got them inside.

He wasn't sure what to do with this. She was hurt... badly. The only person he knew who might be able to figure out ...was.... well. Ehefra. He winced, he'd only just gotten to patch things up with his daughter, and he would already be asking for help. What a shit father he was. All the same, once they were inside, he'd let her guide him to somewhere he could set her down, after making sure everything was locked behind them. His mind should have been racing. But he felt surprisingly calm. Huh... he would have thought he'd be more ..... amped up in a situation like this.

"Alright, where's the kitchen? Since neither of us knows anything about soul care. We treat this like any old injury. Food. Water. Rest. Best we can do, right?"