Matthew Grey moved through the hustle of Chinatown with little difficulty. He often frequented the area for both magical and human purposes. It was a great area for potion supplies, items of interest as well as had some savory food if you knew where to go and who to talk to.

Today he wore a dark gray suit, black silk shirt, red tie and black leather pointed toe dress shoes. He had just came from a meeting with a local crime boss who was interested in his services. It was just a first meeting, but the middle age man came highly recommended by one of Matthew's other clients. Whether they would do business was still to be seen.

It was just when he was nearing a place he stopped to eat from time to time that he noticed her. . . Meredith Lovelace. Honestly it seemed she was stalking him at times, but he knew better. Not only did he keep an ear open about her, but because of his habit of regularly changing his patterns he doubted she was tracking him. Grey quickly filed the thought into two mental filing cabinets. One labeled Paranoid Delusions and the other Reevaluate Later

In quick order Matthew strolled up to the table, a faint smile taking residence on his face. He was happy to see her to an extent, as happy as a demon could really be. Matthew always found her interesting and her naive belief that everyone was good to be adorable, if foolish.


"Well, I didn't know you were one to frequent Chinatown Miss Lovelace."


The faint smile grew a degree, showing just a glimpse of the white teeth normally hidden. Oh yes, he was always happy for a moment with the young lady. She was actually one of the few people who could get more than a fake smile from the demon.


"I see you have not ordered yet, care to join me? I promise you will not regret it."


Once again it was said with a smile, his eyes hidden as always by the round spectacles. Matthew was tired of Dorian being so close to Meredith, if the attack on the house proved anything to Matthew it was that Dorian brought trouble with him. Although, Matthew admitted he brought some trouble of his own. . .

"Yes I heard about your home and apologize that I have not come to visit. I just have had my mind on certain matters. Besides I do not know if I would be well received by some of your guests of late and would hate to bring issues to your home."


Matt took a moment after she agreed to come with him to wave over a waitress. She was fairly new here and he had heard her struggling with her previous patron's order, so to save time he spoke Mandarin.


"Tell Hu I will take my normal place. Bring the young lady and I some water and a little semi-sweet Huangjiu. Tell Wei I want him to cook for us personally, that other orders can be done by the other cooks."


The words flowed in rapid succession and the woman took it in stride, seemingly thankful for someone to speak to her in her native tongue. Within moments she disappeared inside to find Hu who owned the establishment. With that, Matthew turned back to Merry.


"Sorry, they will be with us in a moment. As for what you said about the sunrise I admit I do not stop to admire it, I admire the fact that I have the choice and possibility to view it. Some people could not if they wanted to and some people simply do not want anymore. . ."


He realized just how dark his thoughts had become towards the end of his words. Matthew gave a slightly apologetic look just as the owner came out from inside, giving a slight bow to Matthew before waving them to follow him.

Thankful for the distraction of following him from his previous words Matthew followed behind the man, glancing just to assure himself that Merry was following. In quick order they proceeded to the back and up two sets of stairs coming out on the roof which had been converted to a rooftop garden with a table near the edge looking out over the bustling streets. Soon enough Hu was waving his hands towards the seats and table, with water and the semi-sweet wine upon it.

"Oh they understand our gratitude, this is actually Hu thanking me for some assistance I provided awhile ago."


All the same though he turned to the elderly owner and rattled off a fast paced sentence in Mandarin, thanking Hu for setting everything so quickly. The older man bowed once more, Matthew inclining his head in acknowledgement and then the two were alone upon the roof.


For a moment Matthew looked out at the view, the people bustling in the streets and more of the city in the distance. Unable to delay any longer without being entirely rude Matthew turned his gaze upon Meredith.


"Ah where should I begin? There is so much you do not know about me. I'll say that I've been entirely honest with you since I've met you. I may have not given you a lot of details, but I have been honest. That said, your family would probably not enjoy my presence for a multitude of reasons. . . What I am being the most prominent of said reasons."


At that point Matthew moved his right arm, calmly lifting the small pitcher containing wine and poured himself a glass, filling it halfway. After just a moment though he poured again filling it to three fourths of the way. While Matthew was calm his nature made it hard for him to just give away information free of charge. . . for her though he would have to deal with it.


"Care for some?"


It was said immediately after pouring some for himself. Partly because he just wanted to be polite and make sure her thirst was quenched, but also partially to put off giving away such critical details of his life.

There it was, her question put out simple enough. Matthew almost regretting bringing up the whole subject, but gave himself a metaphorical slap for feeling such a thing. Not only did he say he'd tell her, but to feel remorse for something so small was unacceptable in itself. First he poured her a splash of wine, noting the quality Hu had given him.


"Oh I know a good deal about your family, as well as your friends. One of my jobs is information you see, although that is hardly the extent of what I do and the smallest reason for your family to dislike me. To sum what I am though. . . the best way to say it would be that I am a Demonic Mercenary of sorts."


Matthew let out a small sigh, stopping long enough to wet his mouth with the delicious wine. After a sip he set the glass down proceeded to speak once more.


"If you are worried about me being evil I can say that I am not, or at least I do not see myself as such. Neither am I good though. For quite awhile I've placed myself on the middle ground. I've worked for demons, warlocks, witches, whitelighters and other of the magical community. Still, I must say your. . . uncle or whoever he is would most likely try to kill me simply because I'm a demon. Although I might get a thanks for helping you out before if he even realized it was me. . ."


Matthew chuckled slightly at the thought of fighting the man. Oh he knew it would be impossible for Matthew to kill the man, hell he doubted he could even injure him gravely. Still, if it ever came to that Matthew liked to think he would put up a good fight at least.


"In all honesty Meredith you've only seen one small part of me. Originally you were merely a curiosity to me, a way to get more in touch with the human world outside of work. Yet you somehow grew on me. . . it is difficult to explain. I feel the desire to protect you, it is the entire reason I decided to let you ask any questions you want."