Niké knew Taurus was right about sticking together but he needed to get away from them, hopefully he'd be able to sneak away tonight then since there wouldn't be any night guards to stop him from leaving. He needed to be alone and be able to call his supervisor and talk to him. Normally they would meet up in person but that was before he became an official member of the gang, now it was too risky with everyone being so on edge.

“Do I need to remind you of the fact that I beat your ass just yesterday during that test? I think I can take care of myself for a few minutes,” he muttered quietly while starting to walk after Taurus, kicking a rock on the ground and sending it rolling away.

He was both hungry and tired at this point. So not in the mood for listening to Taurus acting as if he was hot shit just because Theo had put him in charge.

He heard Alleya whisper something and he turned his head slightly to hear her better. She wanted to know the sex of the cat. It wasn't really a weird question in his opinion, although Alleya seemed to think so. Cats, kittens especially, weren't the easiest to check and determine the sex of, not as easy as some other animals, like dogs for example.

“Let me check,” he said and held his hand out for Alleya to give him the kitten. It was hard to explain and if she thought that it was awkward to just ask, then surely she would find it even more awkward to check, not that Niké wouldn't feel a bit awkward to check either but probably not nearly as awkward as Alleya would.

He was secretly wishing that he'd found the kitten instead of Alleya but since he wouldn't stay forever, it was probably for the best that it was the redhead’s kitten now and not his. Hopefully that kitten would be a good distraction for her too, something for her to focus on and care about rather than talking the ears of others.

Just as he was handed the kitten Taurus stopped and pointed out a dumpster, which Alleya agreed to get into so that meant that the kitten was his for the time she was in the dumpster.

“Hey there little one,” he mumbled in a soft tone, petting the cat gently, “I’m sorry about this but I’ve got to check,” he added as he turned the kitten around and lifted its tail. Once he'd determined the sex of the cat he turned her back around and petted her again.

“Good, I promise I won't do that again now,” he mumbled as he held the tiny kitten against his chest to keep it warm, stroking its head gently while mumbling to it about how cute it was.

When Alleya came back out of the dumpster he looked up from the kitten and over at her, it seemed like she had found enough to not have them go to sleep while starving tonight.

She held her arms out to have the kitten back and he gave a soft sigh before gently peeling the cat off himself as she’d dug her claws into his shirt. He then gave it a quick kiss on the head before finally giving her back to Alleya.

“Female, and I don't think she's much older than maybe 4-6 months but since she's probably been on the streets her whole life and not had enough to eat she's a bit tinier than what she should be,” he told her.

In another life, Niké would probably have been working with animals in some way but that wasn't the path that his current life wanted to go down, so instead he'd become a cop. Now of course he has his reasons for that and not one of those basic ‘I want to make the world a better place,’ reasons. The grey-haired man wanted to find his brother and becoming a cop had seemed like the best way to get access to information about his disappearance. If his brother was still alive then he was all family that Niké had left and he needed to know, either that Dion was alive and well or find evidence of his brother's death because not knowing at all, it was horrible.

He stayed quiet the entire walk to the hotel and as they looked through it to make sure they would be safe to stay the night. Once inside he was even more convinced that it was a good location. If anything they could move the gang there for a bit while looking for a new place. Other gangs wouldn't find them immediately after all and people would be able to relax for a few days at the very least.

Niké stood up and was looking around the lobby a bit, it did look as if people had just gotten up and left one day. The thing that confused him the most though was why no one else had claimed it, did everyone think it was too obvious like Taurus did?

The man turned his blue gaze and looked over at the kitten eating while leaving Taurus to grump near the fireplace alone, he would try his best to leave the cranky man alone. The kitten did lighten the mood slightly, between him and Alleya at least, Taurus seemed to have gotten even crankier and honestly, just seeing the man was getting on his nerves currently.

"What should I name her?"

Niké walked closer and sat down across from Alleya with his legs crossed as he watched the kitten and thought for a while. He refused to let her give the cat some basic name like Snowball. People who named their animals those types of names were annoying as hell. Alleya was annoying too but not in that way.

“Iris maybe?” He said after a few seconds of thinking. “It’s of Greek origin, means rainbow,” he paused and glared up at Alleya, his eyes warning her to think before she said anything before he looked back at the kitten and his eyes softened again, “Iris was also said to be a messenger for Zeus and Hera in Greek mythology,” he mumbled.

When he was younger he'd never understood why his mother enjoyed studying Greek mythology so much and why she'd tell him stories from it constantly but with age he understood that it was probably a way to escape reality for a bit. They had never lived a luxurious life and those stories seemed as if they'd brought her at least a bit of joy when she was still alive. Even if Niké never had listened too carefully, he did remember who Iris was and in his opinion, it was a nice name.

Niké saw the look of confusion on Alleya’s face when he glared at her but he didn't explain why he'd been glaring. Just happy that something like what had happened yesterday in Theo’s room didn't repeat itself, not now when he wasn't completely annoyed with the woman.

When she said that it sounded pretty he smiled softly and very briefly before grabbing the pizza slice from her and taking a bite. Life on the street sure wasn't luxurious, or even good but right now he was starting to get that feeling that he'd missed for so long back. The feeling of just being free.

It wouldn't last, he knew that, he would have to get serious again soon and do some work but it was hard, he didn't know where to start. He couldn't ask people too much because then he'd end up being seen as suspicious. And he didn't even like talking to people, he’d rather just watch and, from now on, keep more of a low profile, or at least try.

As Alleya said that she liked the name Iris, Niké had finished his slice and after looking at the pizza for a bit he leaned over and grabbed another slice, not wanting to take too much so the other two wouldn't get anything, not that Alleya seemed that hungry since she had handed him her slice.

With a very slight smile on his lips he looked down at the kitten while eating, it looked so peaceful, completely unbothered by everything. Oh how he wished to be an animal sometimes, they never had to deal with difficult situations and deciding what was right or wrong, they just lived their lives completely unaware. Free.

Once he'd finished the slice he leaned forward and stretched the cat behind its ears before getting up and looking over at Taurus with crossed arms, his tone immediately getting a bit hostile, “Can I go and sleep in one of the rooms or is that too much splitting up for you?”

The plan was to get away from the group and sneak out a window or something once a few hours had passed and they were both asleep. It could work even if he had to stay in the lobby but it was much more risky for him.

Thankfully Taurus let him go and he did listen to him about choosing a room near the lobby, but first he did reply to Alleya and say goodnight before leaving the lobby to find a good room. The first room he opened had a broken window so he shut the door again and went to the next one. He refused to go back into the lobby during the night because he was cold. With the next room he got lucky and the windows and furniture all seemed intact.

He walked over to the window and made sure he could open it without much sound already, leaning out the window and pulling out a cigarette before lighting it and smoking a few puffs. The good thing about the room being near the lobby meant it was still on the first floor so he wouldn't have to climb in and out, just simply jump through the window.

There wasn't much of a view out of the window, just half rundown buildings and overgrown nature but still, he stood looking out the window. The guilt was slowly starting to creep back onto him and he did his best to ignore it while thinking about what he needed to bring up with his supervisor.

Rachael and Flynn he wanted more information on, Flynn especially. Maybe Theo’s father too? The problem was that he only had first names, no last names, well no name at all for the leader's father. He also wanted to know what had happened to the guy that Alleya had thrown the knife at.

But as for reporting back… Niké had no idea what to say, there hadn't happened anything that was usable. They had been attacked and then defended themselves.

Niké sighed out and took a last puff of the cigarette before throwing it out the window and walking over to the bed. He leaned down and inspected it before sitting down with his back against the wall, maybe he should get a little sleep before going. It would be a while until Alleya and Taurus fell asleep most likely.

—

After managing to get a bit of sleep, Niké opened his eyes again and sat up while stretching his arms out, everything was dead quiet in the hotel now, the buzzing in his ear was all that he could hear now. He got up and walked closer to the door, putting his healthy ear against it and listening for sounds but he was just met by silence.

Niké walked over to the window again and opened it as quietly as he could before climbing through it and landing with a soft thud on the ground below. As long as no one followed him he would be fine. He especially didn't want Alleya following him, for some reason he felt that if Taurus followed him, it would be easier for him to deal with him instead. And he definitely didn't want to run into any members of The Rebels…

With quiet and quick steps he left the hotel behind and headed towards the more active parts of the city, he felt safer being around more people, it was easier to blend in.