From the strange to the surreal (Undertaker, Claude and Lenora)

Undertaker hummed happily to himself as he tidied up the coffins that were out in front of the shop, all ready to be inspected by someone should they decide that they wanted to purchase ahead of time as it were. As he was getting ready to begin his little "pop out of the coffin" entrance, he paused before nodding to himself,

"Lenora!" he called out with a happy little wiggle, "We have a customer coming to the store! Please go to the front desk to greet them traditionally while I greet them with my own unique flare!"

Opening the coffin, he paused when he realised that there was a body already in there, the unnamed whore who had been the last victim of Jack the Ripper. He blinked a few times before sliding into the coffin and pulling the casket lid shut hard until it was properly stuck shut. Deciding that Lenora needed to know the plan, he stuck his head out to look at her,

"Remember!" he called to her with child-like glee, "I was never here mkay? I was ill or something!"

Closing the lid, he turned to the murdered prostitute before grinning to her like a happy little loon, "I have a good feeling about this meeting!"

Lenora was a little bit surprised when the Undertaker ran off when he said that there was a guest approaching, shouldn't he then deal with the guest on his own instead of leaving a newbie like her to deal with the situation what if she said something wrong. Although she thought it might be one of the people that she had been looking for, one of the immortals like she was!

"Oh of course sir!" she stated with a happy smile "I would be more than happy to welcome the customer into the shop for you, are you...busy?" she asked with a little bit of a frown on her features, it wasn't often that the Undertaker didn't want to greet guests.

Nodding her head happily Lenora hopped to the front desk and she stood there a little nervously, she couldn't see any guests here or outside the shop so she didn't know what people the Undertaker had meant but she was here waiting for them anyway. Running her hands through her long silky blonde hair, she looked over the registers until she heard someone come in.

At least that was her plan.

Until she heard what the Undertaker said and she hummed a little bit, smiling softly, he really was a funny man, she had learnt that much from being this close to him.

"Alright then sir, I'll make sure that I keep your little joke a secret." Lenora laughed happily.

Claude Faustus hated his little "master" with a passion. The satanic little human was sicker and more twisted than most of the demons in hell, the boy really was the cream of the crop when it came to sick and twisted. Apparently that was good for the higher ups in hell but personally he hated every god-damned second of it but it was a job. And not many demons seemed to have those anymore, in a weird sort of twisted way. Perhaps people were just being nicer?

As he entered the establishment of Undertaker, which was a damned funeral parlor of all things, he glanced around the place with a little bit of curiosity. Though he had heard of Undertaker, he had never met the reaper in person.

Spotting the desk, he blinked a little bit when he noticed a beautiful woman manning the desk. That was definately not how he expected Undertaker to look... in fact he was damned sure that this woman, however breathtaking, was not Undertaker. But she was definately someone he would like to get to know better. Grinning a little bit, he walked closer to her while smirking a little bit to himself,

"Why hello there my dear..." he purred lightly as he looked into her eyes, his own piercing and strong to entice her curiosity, "Would you happen to know where Undertaker is?"

Lenora looked up when she heard the door open, mid sentence in the ledger, the pencil she had been using was tapping against her lips, it was one of the most horrible cases that she had the chance to read and sadly she was more than a little bit interested in it. She loved her gore and her mystery, she'd seen enough of it throughout the years after all.

The customer however seemed to be a thousand times more interesting than the boring old ledger could ever be, he was quite...gorgeous when she thought about it, such piercing eyes. Not wanting to forget her place she decided that she wasn't going to allow herself to be unprofessional, the Undertaker would be upset with her if she didn't treat their guest well.

"Welcome sir to the Undertakers Parlour!" she greeted with a happy smile on her lips, she had recently become a lot happier after being here with the Undertaker "We're happy to see you, most esteemed guest."

Pouting a little bit when he asked where the Undertaker was, Lenora didn't know what she should say she didn't want to give away the joke that she had sworn to protect, but as well as that she didn't want to let her guest be scared by him.

"Unfortunately I think that the Undertaker is a bit busy at the moment, he is with one of the guests I believe, if you'd like to wait here though, I will get you some tea for your business." Lenora smiled happily.

"BUHAHAHAHA!"

Lurching out of the coffin at the new arrival, Undertaker stopped short when he realised who it was he had been hurtling towards with the intent to annoy and take entertainment from. When he realised who it was, all the fun went out of the manouver and he just sighed a little bit,

"Hi Claude." He muttered, landing on his feet a few feet away from the new customer, annoyed that he had not gotten the chance to deploy his signature surprise, "You here because you want to be hear or because your brat master is pushing you to come here for something?"

Turning to Lenora, he gave his new assistant two thumbs up for her part of the little deception, it hadn't been her fault that the target had turned out to be Claude after all,

"Good job Lenora!" he told her with a grin, "We just have to do it like that when someone who isn't a demon shows up! Claude is the annoying type who would take offence to it for some silly reason... I mean would you take offence to that?"

Lenora couldn't help but smile happily once more when The Undertaker lurched out of the coffin that he was currently occupying, to be honest she had been a little afraid when she had seen that he was going to pull such an odd trick on someone like the man who had just walked in. He didn't seem like he would enjoy the trick at all! Although she had to admit, she had really enjoyed the trick herself.

Tilting her head to one side she wondered if she was going to be able to talk to this person or if she should just go back into the store room and work on polishing some of the coffins that the Undertaker had been working on before he had the new guest come into the store.

"Ah thank you sir!" she laughed softly "I tried my best although, I haven't worked in the front of a shop for a really very long time."

When she heard that the man who had just walked in was a demon, Lenora blinked and she felt her cheeks flush with a little blush, she wanted to be able to talk to him but now she was a little bit afraid, she didn't know if he would want to talk to someone like her, and obviously he had very important business now he was here with The Undertaker.

"I think I would find it more than a little bit funny sir." she admitted with a soft smile "Although, I am glad that our guest didn't take offense...do...do demons still drink tea?" she asked with a small pout on her lips.

Claude had to admit that he was captivated by the delicious looking human in front of him. She was a human, there was no doubt about that, but something about her seemed different... seemingly making her soul even tastier by the smell of it! He loved the smell so much that he had to lick his lips a little bit as he looked her up and down. Her body wasn't bad at all either! Mmm she did indeed seem to be the perfect blend of body and soul,

"I'm sure that he was very busy." he teased her lightly as Undertaker landed next to him, "Now how about we talk about you my little dear? You are a ravashing display of human beauty I really must say!"

He turned back to Claude with an annoyed expression on his face when the reaper spoke about Claude having a master who was a brat. It was true but that didn't make it any less annoying,

"Yes I'm here by his command." he said with a slight hint of distain, "Apparently he wants to know everything about the young lord Phantomhive and his butler, the demon Sebastian."

When she blushed and looked at him he smirked a little bit. She might be a different kind of human but she was still human and that meant that the word Demon invoked feelings of fear regardless of personal powers. He grinned slightly,

"I am a demon - I am not a barbarian. Tea would be lovely my dear." he told her honestly before licking his lips slightly, "With some sugar please, I have a craving for something... sweet."

Lenora didn't quite know what to say when she was given such a compliment, to be honest she had been complimented many times on her beauty but she thought that was probably only because she didn't have any imperfections, her ability prevented that of course. Even if she were to be burnt alive, a few minutes later she would be as she was now, of course, Claude wasn't to know that, it might be fun to keep her new acquaintance in the dark.

"Talk about me?" she asked with a soft smile on her lips "Now why would you want to do that you called to talk to my employer after all, I wouldn't want to distract you from your business, I would feel very guilty for doing so." Lenora admitted with a little smile.

Hearing about the fact there was another demon here, and in the company of her business partner Ciel Phantomhive, Lenora gasped softly she was more than a little surprised she had met the butler before and he had only seemed like a totally competent servant! It was a shock to her to find out that he was one of the demons she had been told about.

"Alright then, I shall go and get you both some tea." Lenora stated, and with a small bow she went off into the little kitchen and started to prepare, a few moments later she brought back some tea, and remembered to put plenty of sugar into the one for Claude, handing it to the Undertaker by holding it out so they could grasp the handle her palm wrapped around the other side of the cup "Here you go!"

Biting her lip a little she asked; "Do you think I should leave you two to it?"

Undertaker really wasn't liking the way that the demon was eyeing up his little human helper but he wouldn't say anything... for now. But the fact was that he really didn't want her to have her soul eaten up by some demon! The demons he knew were hardly respectful when they ate after all, her soul could end up a broken, mangled, mess by the time they finished with it!

That was why he took great pleasure in reminding Claude that he was bound to a young human just like the infamous Sebastian. He sniggered a little bit when Claude said that he had indeed been ordered to come here by the child,

"Oooo I bet it must burn to have to follow his instructions doesn't it?" he teased her with a little bit of a smirk before shaking his head slightly, "Well your little brat master should know that I don't give out information about my customers to other customers. Because I really do doubt that your little master's intentions are quite as pure as he would have us all believe right now."

He grinned at Lenora and clapped his hands excitedly, "Oh you did wonderfully my dear! Keep that up and we'll have your name on the business and not mine!"

When she went off to make the tea, Undertaker growled at Claude, a sound that only Claude could hear,

"You touch her and I will end you." he told the demon simply, "And you'll be free from your master by the blissed embrace of death. Do I make myself clear?"

As soon as Lenora came back the atmosphere brightened up considerably and he accepted the tea with a bright smile of thanks. When she suggested that she should leave he smirked faintly,

"Oh no no... stay and chat with some fellow immortals!" he told her happily before smirking at Claude, "Of course, if his master has given him a long enough leash to stay around us."

Lenora didn't quite know what she should do in this situation, she wanted to be able to stay and talk with the two men but it seemed as if there was a little bit of tension in the air and she wondered if it was because she was there, or because there was some history between these men that was less than savoury. She sure did hope that the Undertaker wasn't going to start a fight with Claude, she didn't know what would happen then a Demon versus...well whatever the Undertaker was.

"Uhm sir, surely he's not that bad a master right? We shouldn't call him a brat its mean." she stated with a happy yet nervous laugh, trying to calm the situation down "But I have to agree with my employer on this one, I don't think its proper to talk and gossip like this about customers, it shows a lack of professionalism. I am sorry we were unable to help."

Really she was very sorry, he was the first other immortal she had met and she really did want to make a good impression on him, Lenora wanted to make friends with Claude and perhaps even Sebastian now that she knew what he was as well, it was such a surprise to her learning about that she was still reeling from the shock even now!

"Oh now I wouldn't want that, I've owned businesses before it's such a bore, I much prefer working for someone else, then I don't get landed with all the hard work." she grinned.

Blinking a little, Lenora laughed nervously again, it seemed Undertaker really didn't like Claude...and she didn't know why he had been quite charming to her.

"Alright then, I shall stay. I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself, my name is Lenora Emmanuel, pleased to make your acquaintance." she smiled softly, holding out her hand to Claude, which was still rather hot from having gripped the tea cup like that.

Claude twitched a little bit at Undertaker, annoyed that the slim reaper had managed to make Lenora think that he was too harsh towards his master when it was obviously the other way round. He would so very much like to bash Undertaker's skull in but it seemed that the reaper was even harder to kill than a demon was, something he owed to experimenting with life he had no doubt,

"Oh you've not met him yet my dear but you will. And when you do you'll begin to wonder which of us, out of my master and I, is truly the demon." he told her honestly but with a little smirk. When he was told their answer he shrugged a little bit, "I told the boy as much but he ordered me to try it anyway, he seems to dislike listening to me."

He smirked a little bit, able to tell that her interest in demons was beginning to increase. It was nice to know that someone as beautiful as herself seemed to want to get to know him (as the only demon she knew) better. He smirked a little bit,

"Of course, hand it over to Undertaker when he begins to get a bit too crazy for your tastes." he joked with a little smirk, "He is kind of crazy so you might end up with a lot of free time... would you consider spending some of that free time we me perhaps?"

He blinked a few times. Wow, that was serious and rather harsh from Undertaker. He'd never seen the reaper that serious, even when he had been reaping as a reaper! He swallowed a little bit before grinning a little bit and taking her hand. Kissing the back of it lightly, he smiled up at her,

"My name is Claude Faustus." he told her happily, his eyes locked with hers, "The pleasure is all mine Miss Emmanuel, you are a singularly beautiful woman and rare human being, I look forward to see you more often my dear."

Lenora didn't think that someone so young could be taken to be a demon, she hadn't really seen the boy and she was sure that he could be a handful but was he really that bad when it came down to it? Biting her lip a little she stopped a sigh, she would have loved to have had a child but in all of these years she had never been able to, maybe she just picked really bad choices in men because it couldn't have been her fault.

"I guess I haven't no..." she stated with a small pout "Maybe I shall do one day, when or if I am ever invited to the Trancy Manor. But, I am glad that you understand our position, although, I never would have guessed Sebastian was a demon he seemed so...so pleasant and courteous never would I have suspected."

Throwing her hands in the air Lenora sighed softly, she didn't know who was who in this world, perhaps one of her past husbands had been a werewolf and she had never known. Were werewolves even real? She supposed they must do! If demons and all that sort existed then they must, and if demons existed, did that mean that angels had to exist too?

Startled out of her thoughts she smiled; "Of course I would love to, it seems to strange I've been looking for people like me all this time and I have met two of them in less than a whole year! London seems to be the place to be."

Unable to stop her cheeks heating with a large blush, Lenora looked down at her feet and she sort of felt like she was being eyed up for a meal, although oddly that was just fine by her, she hadn't been surrounded by men like this for a very long time and she was going to enjoy it to the fullest yes she was!

"Pleased to meet you Claude, it must be nice to have some time away from your duties, I was a servant once I truly detested it..." she stated with a small smile "I don't think you should pass such compliments to ladies when you have no intent of courting them, it's teasing you know." Lenora grinned.

Undertaker had to giggle a little bit to himself when Claude twitched a little bit in annoyance because he had sabotaged the demon's chances of eating Lenora's soul just a little bit. He didn't want her soul eaten after all, she would be totally uncool and unfun if she was minus a soul and Claude would just rub it in his face for many centuries to come. Of course there were other, more complicated, reasons why he didn't want her soul to be eaten but he wasn't going to go into those,

"Awww well perhaps if you were a little less harsh on the poor boy? He does lead a very stressful life after all you know." he continued to tease the demon, knowing full well that the child was just a bit of an asshole even though he was young, "Sebastian is a lot like Claude actually, except his young master is polite and not quite so eye-poking. And he has a sense of humour too, unlike Claude."

He pouted a little bit when they both seemed to agree that he was a little be crazy and that she would pass some work along to him. Wasn't that the point of being the boss? That you could shift the work downwards? Ah he didn't know, he was never good at this human business stuff. He pouted a little bit,

"Hey, being totally 'sane' is boring after awhile, besides, I like to laugh and charge some services based on laughter!" he told them before happily before he growled a little bit in anger at Claude, "I do hope you're not looking for your usual 'quick bite to eat' here Claude..."

Undertaker growled louder, so that they both heard it, and clenched his fists even tighter. There was a snapping sound as one of the bones in his hands broke due to the intense pressure he was putting on them at seeing the sight before him,

"Yes Claude... no one likes a tease." he agreed with narrowed eyes at the demon, "And we all know that you're not a one woman person."

Lenora didn't know what to say the tension in the air was growing more and more by the day, and so she decided that she wasn't going to take anyone's side for the time being and see how the conversation progressed, it really didn't seem like they were going to get along together and she was now sure that they must have met before hand!

Hearing the Undertaker almost threaten Claude, Lenora didn't know what to say, should she continue to be silent or stick up for Claude? She decided to remain silent although ensuring that the comfort of her guest was important she wasn't about to discard the loyalty to Undertaker because he was negating his manners a little bit. Besides, she wanted to know more about it....this little 'bite to eat' comment.

"Uhm, what do you mean by that sir?" she asked Undertaker "I'm sure that Mr. Faustus wouldn't be doing anything underhand we've just met and we're sure to meet again in the future...I'm quite certain he's just being friendly towards me."

Gasping softly when she heard one of the bones in Undertakers hand snap, Lenora stood up and she picked up some bandages off a nearby stall wanting to make sure that she helped heal the bone as much as possible, and she needed to be able to make sure the bones were adequately supported.

"Uh...uhm..." she whispered, her hands waving in the air "Please be more careful Undertaker that didn't sound good! Please, allow me to bandage your hand for you."

Kneeling on the floor in front of the chair the Undertaker was sat on, for the first time Lenora felt chills running up her arm as she touched his skin even to simply put the bandage on it. She hoped that she was going to be able to stop this awful tension.