"Hardback, got it." Az responded.

"And I'll await the email when I get back home, myself." he told her.

"So how have things been?" he asked.

"Aside from the sleep issues." he clarified.

"Have things been otherwise okay in... well anything and everything else?" he asked her.

"If not, anything I can help with?" he asked further.

Az just smiled.

"All right." he said.

"Cerb has... well, he has the infernal equivalent to fleas, so... that's been stressful dealing with them." he told her. "Every day I gotta go down and start decimating them while I dodge their acid spit." he mumbled.

"But if I keep it up... and keep managing to get him to not shake off the damn spray... should be good in a couple of weeks." he commented.

"Other than that, things are pretty SSDD." he shrugged.

"And oh? Getting some traction, huh?" he asked, in regards to her fanfic.

"Good traction? Hate? What sort?"

"Hey, that's awesome!" Az replied with a thumbs-up.

They sat there and chatted for another 35 minutes or so, before Erica noticed that Az had been giving her... strange looks. Or were they glances? Regardless, he was looking at her oddly every so often.

And she wanted to know what was going on.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" she asked. "Is something wrong?" she asked further.

".......maybe?" Az muttered, sounding unsure.

"Erica, your... er... normally I'd say your scarf is slipping a bit, as that is usually the case when your markings start to become visible, but... this time, it looks like they're... actually moving up the side of your face." he then said quietly.

Az was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"Hey." he said.

"Want me to drive you home?" he asked.

"You know that doesn't affect me, and maybe driving while you're under this stress isn't a good idea." he reasoned. "So maybe let me?" he offered.

"You know I know how." he went on.

"I learned to blend in with this world."

Az just nodded.

"Let's go." he said.

The two of them then promptly left the cafe, and made their way to her car. They got in and she handed him the keys, before they buckled up and he started the vehicle, driving away from the place.

"...let me know if you need me to tell Sharp you won't be in." he told her.

"You know, if this starts to get worse." he continued.

"You gonna be okay?" he asked, concern in his tone.

"For sure." Az agreed, as they turned down a few streets, and got closer to her home.

"Just let me know if... well... I was going to say let me know if there's anything I can do to help, but... when this happens, there really IS nothing I can do." he lamented, shaking his head.

"But let me know if I can do anything to make things easier." he said.

"Any errands you want me to run, etc." he went on.

"It won't be much, but hopefully it'll be... something."

"..." Az was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"If I knew, I'd tell you." he said.

"But I don't. Not offhand." he admitted.

He was then silent again for another moment or two, thinking about it.

"I can see if I can find anything." he offered.

"Hell's library might have something on it." he suggested.

"Maybe. I honestly don't know, it's been a while since I visited."

Again, Az sighed.

"I'll see what I can dig up." he told her.

"There SHOULD be something. Even something tangentially related will help." he went on. "And I'll find it." he promised her. "I WILL find SOMETHING that can help." he vowed, as they took a few more turns, and Erica saw her house in the distance.

"....right." Az mumbled.

"Try and take care of yourself... despite what's happening." he told her, pulling into her driveway.

"And sorry this got interrupted." he apologised. "Let's try and do this again soonish." he told her.

"Again, on me. Just because circumstances cut this one short."

Az thought for a moment about his choice.

"That might be best." he said.

"I'll just come in, and if anything, people can assume I stayed really late and left when it got dark." he shrugged.

He then undid his own seatbelt, they got out of the vehicle, he locked the doors, and then lightly tossed the keyring over to Erica.

"Heads up." he said lightly, though she was looking right at him when he tossed them.

"But yeah, you got a preferred place for me to teleport?" he asked.

"Or just anywhere out of sight from a window?"

Az was IMMEDIATELY at attention when he heard that.

"...red velvet brownies...?" he asked. "With a cream cheese centre...?" he asked further.

"Cain and I will fight for them." he told her.

"I will take as many as you are willing to give." he said further.

"And then my son and I will do BATTLE of the rights to them!" he then declared in an overly dramatic almost-Shakespearian tone.

"Only the winner shall receive the divine gift of the baked goods of the heavens!"