The Frozen Melody

02.Mission.

"Does it really taste so good?" Joker asked off handedly from where he sat on the sofa. With the soup satisfying his hunger, he had lost interest in eating any more food. Instead, he took a moment and studied the boy sitting cross-legged on the ground beside the food trolley.

"Yes," Tiger grinned up at Joker with a mouth full of food; his happiness radiating off him in waves. "This is the best!"

Joker got himself more comfortable and patted the sofa he was sitting on, "Come here."

The mutt raised both eyebrows but complied without a word. He scooted over until he was leaning with his back against the sofa. Of course he stayed seated on the carpeted ground, beside his master's feet. Still holding an unfinished plate of shrimps in his hands, Tiger looked intensely ahead, not daring to turn his head to see what the other was going to do.

With a soft sigh, the Commander placed a hand on the mutt's head and entwined his fingers with the boy's soft hair. Occasionally when he had too many thoughts in his head, Joker liked to have something to pet. It helped to soothe and clear his mind.

Tiger sat there unmovingly for a minute of silence not knowing what to do. In the past, the wolf almost always had his hands chained up and was allowed no freedom, so he doesn't know what his boundaries are now that he could move unobstructed. When Joker continued to pet him without doing or saying anything else, the boy hesitantly took another bite of his food.

The Commander simply sat there deep in his thoughts and quietly played with the boy's hair. His golden eyes had a faraway look in them as he thought about the current state of affairs in Hell. Even with Joker's abilities, it was becoming a fairly complicated situation. If only he had more adequate subordinates at his disposal...

Thinking of subordinates, Joker's hand traveled down to the boy's neck and traced the deep crisscrossed scars there; it was the slave brand he had burned into the mutt long ago for disobedience. The feeling of ownership implied by the brand was quite satisfying.

The blonde's absentminded touching made Tiger swallow nervously. His Adam's apple bubbled up and down from the action, making Joker chuckle lightly and returned his hand to petting the boy's hair.

After awhile, the fingers in Tiger's hair suddenly clenched tightly together, making the boy cringe slightly and freeze in position.

"Have you eaten your fill yet?" Joker's voice floated down calmly, as if he hadn't just roughly grabbed a fistful of the boy's hair.

Tiger wasn't sure whether if it was an actual question or a strong hint for him to stop pigging out. Looking at the messy piles of empty plates surrounding him, Tiger decided that he was actually really full. The hand in his hair was removed, giving him a chance to reach for a napkin to wipe his mouth and hands. "I think I'm done."

"It truly baffles me how you can stomach so much food without feeling sick." Joker smoothed out his white sleeves, then proceeded to fold his hands together. "Now. Shall we address the more serious task at hand?"

Tyson nodded, "Does it have something to do with the package I delivered?" He rubbed his full stomach with a satisfied grin and debated whether he should take off his pants. Joker never actually explained anything to him yet, so he had no idea what the Commander of Hell was trying to accomplish in this world.

"Yes. I have discovered that there is a strong energy stone here in the city. Its powers are such that it alone provides for more than half the magic for this entire world. I am here to retrieve it for Neine," Joker said with a smirk, his eyes sparkled with excitement. All these months of planning and preparations, he was at the final stage. So close..