Not for my tastes

chapter 3

He arrived back at his own place without much trouble, aside from the heaviness in his gut when he stood up, out of the car. Isei tailed him, back to his home - with Vik staying nearby for a few more minutes, just to make sure no one snuck up on the two. Normally, he’d trust the boss right now, but even he noticed how Kjetil leaned forwards, thrown off balance by his overstuffed stomach. How he grasped the side of the car, to obtain that balance once more.

Once the boss entered his house, he left the area.

“Oo, nice place.” Isei commented. Kjetil kept his home clean - he stumbled up to the couch, where he wasted no time in sitting down, attempting to calm his stomach. The car ride didn’t help - the road was bumpy, the drink - which he had drank the entirety of - was fizzy, and it wasn’t a good mix overall.
“Can I trust you to not do anything?” Kjetil questioned. He wanted to lay down first. Then, he’d figure out what Isei was up to.
“Of course!” She smiled. Kjetil stared at her, then leaned back, switching positions to lay on his back, on the couch. He was sound asleep within minutes. And all that time, Isei hadn’t moved from her spot. She only did when she was sure he was asleep.

In truth, Isei wasn’t looking for him in specific. She didn’t know anything about him, no clue that he was a very dangerous man - when he wasn’t stuffed. All she wanted was a test subject for her products, and..she’d found him. But she didn’t lie about the protection thing, either. She still needed that.
Isei sidled up to him, looking at his features. He slept so peacefully - she lightly traced a finger down his neck, then lifted it, leaning closer to him. Hopefully, the combined effort of the food and the vial would keep him sleepy for a bit.
She carefully unbuttoned his jacket, raising an eyebrow when she realized he didn’t wear anything underneath it. Not even a shirt. His chest was exposed first, then the rest of him; he was fairly muscled, although his midsection stuck out, a visual side effect of his earlier feast.
She looked up as he sighed, shifting positions in his sleep. She brushed a hand lightly over the top of his belly, stopping to fondle what little skin she could. There wasn’t very much - most of what made him look fat right now was actually just from bloating. But as long as her vials worked as she theorized, that would hopefully change.
Her eyes moved to inspect the rest of his features. He had the slightest bit of facial hair - and then there was the clear detail of him lacking his right eye. He had some scars too. On his upper body - neck, maybe arms too - and his gut. Just faint scars, but of fair size.
There wasn’t much left to look at. She decided to button him back up again - this was a little more difficult, seeing as he had moved a bit. Luckily, his jacket was of fair size, so it wasn’t too tight to go over his midsection.

Isei turned away, and sat in a chair next to the couch, leaning back into it. She was going to sleep - not do anything, just as he’d asked of her. Not like there was anything for her to do, aside from sleep. She let herself lay back...

- - -

When Kjetil woke up, it wasn’t day outside anymore. He rubbed his eye, looking over to see Isei, who slept on the chair.
His eyes wandered over to that bag of hers, and he sat up, standing and making his way over. He moved in silence, taking cautions as to not wake her up. Especially when he began to search her bag. The vials had come from it - and indeed they had, as he found more of them. Some empty, some were full - and some were filled with liquids he hadn’t tried. He slid the vials back into the bag, attention moving to something else he’d found interesting...
It was scaly in feeling, but as he retrieved it, it looked almost like some sort of string. Albeit a thicker string, made from a material that wasn’t so soft. It was flexible, and he inspected it - it was a different design, almost like a small serpent. He didn’t know what it was.
And then it happened. Kjetil pressed it to his wrist, trying to get a better look at it - but pulled his hand away when it curled around his right wrist, moving on its own all of the sudden. He inhaled, his eye widening - what seemed to be a bracelet now rested on his wrist.
He reached forwards again, attempting to slid it off, but he stiffened as the bracelet seemed to curl more inwards, becoming tighter with every attempt to pry it off. Knowing better than to force it, Kjetil let it be for now..just as Isei woke up.

Isei wasn’t expecting to wake up to Kjetil, leaning over her form. But it wasn’t the proximity that surprised her, but rather, what she saw on his wrist.
“Uh-“ Kjetil looked to her as she mumbled.
“Do you know what this is?” He questioned, keeping his voice calm. Yet his eye betrayed his tone; she could see the tiny bit of nervousness in that dark eye of his.
She did. Sort of. It was a magical thing, quite literally - just, humans didn’t know much on magic. They didn’t know it existed, and to have to explain that..well, it was a case of, ‘I don’t really want to explain something that could quickly complicate things.’
“No. I don’t..I don’t know how that got in there,” she admitted, looking at it. It looked as though he had tried to take it off, and it was already tightly wrapped around his wrist. “Can you take it off?”
“Can’t.” He stated. He’d tried.

“Hmm...” Isei hummed, sitting up. Kjetil backed up, giving her space to get up. Whatever worries he had in Isei hadn’t completely vanished, although his mind was occupied elsewhere, on the issue at hand. Literally.
Kjetil tapped the scaly bracelet for a moment, before he began to feel hungry. Again. He hadn’t forgotten what happened earlier - but he supposed, it was usually around the time he’d normally eat. Still, he’d expected to not need anything for the rest of the day, which is why it came as a surprise to him when a quiet growl emerged from his stomach.
Isei fished around in her bag. She didn’t intend for the serpent bracelet to attach itself to him, that wasn’t apart of her plan. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him moving again, to the kitchen, that was visible from the sitting room. Isei too found it odd that he was seemingly getting food - he should have been good for a while...and then, it hit her. It was the bracelet.

Kjetil returned moments later, a bowl of noodles in hand, wrapping them around a fork in his other hand. He ate, his eye not quite focused anywhere. Just eating was his focus. Until he spoke, of course.
“What I want to know is,” he said, in between bites. “Who are you affiliated with?”
“..Myself..?” Isei shrugged. She saw his eye flick over to her.
“I don’t think that’s true. Why would.. ‘they’ want you? Why do you need protection?”
“I don’t know,” even though she did know why they wanted her. “I just need protection because..not many will help me.” She kept her words vague, but they seemed to be enough for the time being, because Kjetil didn’t poke any further. Instead, he ate the rest of his noodles.

He was still hungry.
He blinked, wondering for a moment, if he was sick. Or maybe the after effects of that vial. It had to be. Yet the hunger kept steady, and his eye peered at the clock. Six. It wasn’t that late, he saw. So he decided to order something. Pizza. He didn’t care much for it, but it was the first to show up in his mind, so he looked to order it.
“Want anything?” He decided to offer.
Isei looked up. “Huh?”
“Ordering pizza. Do you want anything?”
“Mm..pineapple pizza?”
Kjetil nodded, and moved on to order.