[Doctor Gabriel]

Mr. Kite’s smile never faltered before the nightmarish hag that materialized upside down before him, though his eyes did widen and bulge significantly. He probably would have been faster and more dramatic in his reaction, but there were far too many chemicals snaking their way through his system to allow such things. A fact made all the more obvious considering his pupils had dilated enough to make his yellow irises nearly invisible.

“Peace is a lie told to children to help them sleep better at night,” Mr. Kite grinned politely back, slipping one of his doctored cigarettes between his lips to ensure he wouldn’t begin sobering up in time to be nearly as disgusted and horrified by what he was seeing as he should be, “Conflict is the natural state of our world and, unless we can find a more successful method, violence it’s most reliable rectifier. Besides last I checked,”

Mr. Kite rolled up his sleeve to look at the back of his wrist.

“The abattoir isn’t open until we all go to our little tea party. I imagine I’d already be suffering unimaginable horrors and terrible, zappy agony otherwise.”

The Servant, or whatever it was, was obviously trying to intimidate him with her grotesque dramatics, so he shifted his eyes to the man he’d been speaking to in the first place.

“Still, I’m just happy to learn I’m not the only one who got the short end of the summoning stick,” he nonchalantly aimed his exhaled smoke in the monstrosity’s direction as he spoke, “You got stiffed on looks and I got stiffed on personality. Wanna trade?”