Perhaps the Better Offer

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Much had transpired since Zee had last stood outside this door. Much had changed: Knowledge, circumstances, Zee's perspective, and most obviously Zee's appearance. He felt slightly uncomfortable that he'd made no headway in securing D'rorah's research into the Shadow War, had not even made any attempt at headway. He had never had much intention of doing so but now that he would stand before Caira and have nothing to show her he almost wished he had obtained the work, disastrous as it may be for Caira to get her hands on it. Zee had always been a people pleaser really, though not out of any true desire to please people. Keeping people happy though kept them complacent and more easily duped. Keeping them angry worked well for that as well but often had undesirable side effects.

Perhaps this would prove a golden opportunity however. Zee had learned much since his last meeting with the headmistress, and as the last had proven, this could be a very informative meeting. He would of course have to take everything that escaped those full lips with a grain of salt. Unsure of his goals, Zee decided he'd merely play it by ear. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door, her comment about leaving it open for him seeming permission enough to enter.

"Good Evening Caira. If you'll permit me I'd like to again extend my most ardent apologies for the disturbance downstairs. I happened upon Mr. Bellefluer as he happened upon Ms. Collins. Evidently he mistook her for an unruly student and aimed his wand her way. Being the paragon of chivalry that I am, I obviously could not allow that. The ensuing clamor unfortunately seemed to reach your delicate ears, which I dreadfully regret. Except of course that it allowed me to see you once more."

Zee's trademark grin predictably made an appearance as he leaned against the back of one of the large comfortable chairs that sat in Caira's office. Though she knew what he was he did not expect an attack. Still, he kept defensive spells in the back of his mind just in case, and of course his occlumency was on full alert. In what was fast becoming habit, Zee ran one hand through his cropped hair.

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira waited by the fireplace for Zane. She had a feeling he wouldn't delay too long in coming to meet her in her office. She watched the flames dance for a long time, contemplating all that had transpired at Hogwarts of late... things that both pleased and displeased her mistress. Dark Phoenix wasn't an easy person to please to begin with.

As she heard the door opened, she remained for a moment staring into the dancing flames. She waived off his explanation of the commotion in the hallway noncommitally. That wasn't the reason she had asked to see him. It had merely been a convenient excuse to call him into her office. At his last statement, she turned to face him, a smirk on her features. "A paragon of chivalry? I'm sure you're mis-defining the word, Zee."

She remained standing, one of her arms resting on the mantle of the fireplace. "So then, any news? Find anything interesting in D'rorah's notes? Or... find anything else interesting in general? You certainly look different. Maybe you thought I wouldn't recognize you and would forget that I had extended a certain offer?"

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

An affornted look came across Zee's face at the headmistress' coment concerning his chivalrous nature. Raising one hand to his chest and dropping his jaw in amazement, he presented the quintessential image of an offended gentleman.

"Why Madame LaPoint, surely I've never showed you anything but the utmost respect and honor due a lady of your station."

A moment later, with a wink and a grin, Zee abandoned his act. Similarly abandoning his spot near the door he moved further into the room, passing very closely by Caira as he headed toward the same chair he'd occupied on his last visit. Sinking onto the cushioned seat he planted one elbow on the arm, running that hand through his hair before using it to support his chin as he gazed at her. Her questions were ignored until he was comfortably seated, at which point he simply shrugged.

"If it was such a simple matter to obtain D'rorah's notes then you would have done so yourself. Devious, dashing, and debonair as I may be, I must say I feel quite embarrassed if you believed I could simply smile and have the sought after information handed to me. I think perhaps you give me too much credit Caira."

Zee paused in his speech to stretch and yawn. It was rather late. He wondered briefly how Caity was doing. He was still unsure of Sebastien's allegiance, but given that he was likely sitting with Dark Phoenix's most powerful minion, politically if not from a purely martial standpoint, and she was not pouncing upon him to rip the life from his throat, it was unlikely Sebastien would do so to Caity.

"I've not dreadfully disappointed you have I? You wouldn't sacrifice a cute little Elemental Master like me to your big scary mistress would you?"

Zee was smiling in a nearly sickeningly innocent way. He wasn't really sure how she would react. He wasn't by any means telling her he had made up his mind concerning his allegiance, but he was confirming that he was indeed a lightfighter, if not necessarily voluntarily.

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira's eyebrow took on an amused arch as Zee feigned offense at her rebuttal of his chivalry. "Of course," she replied with laughter in her voice. "Of course." As he passed very near to her, she couldn't help but wonder the strategy of his movements. It seemed a moot consideration for the moment, however, as he sank into one of her sitting chairs and propped his elbow on the arm of the chair.

"Of course I thought you could simply have her hand you the information. She's not a very friendly girl... I'm sure the proper sort of attention could earn you access to anything you wished from her." She gave a mischievous smile and a shrug. "I don't think I've given you too much credit at all."

She crossed the room, coming to stand behind his chair. She rested her elbows on the back of the chair as she stood over it, allowing them to somewhat drape down, though not actually touching Zane at all. She was well aware of the effect her presence had on men and had learned to cultivate that while in the Mage's service. "Oh no, I wouldn't sacrifice you to her at all, Zee. She prefers the sacrifice of innocents..."

Caira trailed off, looking down at him over the back of the chair. "You're far from innocent, aren't you? I've heard some things... well, you know." She trailed off, thinking it would be far more fun to leave him wondering exactly what she was talking about than to have it right out. "But you've found out about your Elemental Master abilities... you must have joined with them somehow." And here, she did lower her arms so that they draped over Zee's shoulders very lightly. "And tell me, what is it you plan to do? They don't like you very much, do they Zee? They're not all that nice to people like you and me... but with my mistress. Oh, you've no idea just how much you could be..." she trailed off, her voice having dissipated to a husky whisper over the last two sentences.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

((Sorry it's been so long. Life/work/out of town/[insert compelling excuse here]))

A cold smile found Zee's face, though from her position behind him Caira could not likely see it. Innocence was a subject of some fascination to Zee. Something so foreign typically was. Given what he knew of the other lightfighters, he doubted many of them could justifiably wear that mantle. A few could, at least as far as he knew. He himself was far from innocent, but how did she know? Was she referring to Dylan? It seemed so. He wasn't sure of any other great moral infractions he'd committed on school grounds.

How does she find out these things?

As her arms lowered, fingertips grazing his shoulder lightly, Zee could not help but glance to the side at her apparently delicate hands. So inviting. So much warmer than that offered him by any of his "allies."

Wysteria.

Her face flashed across his mind, causing his jaw to tighten. If she had been killed by followers of the mage, perhaps due to Caira's own information, then Zee would be damned before he threw in his lot with them. Well, more damned than he already felt he was. With a graceful stand and pivot, Zee caught hold of one of Caira's hands in his own gentle grasp, ending up facing her from across the chair, his arm extended so that hers needn't be. He slowly circled the seat as he spoke, coming to stand closer to her, his expression typically amused, though his eyes a little more intense.

"You are, as always, impeccably correct my dear lady. They do not much like me. I must however once more beg your pardon if I ask you to indulge me in a small hypothetical scenario. Imagine if you will that out of nowhere for no apparent reason whatsoever, I caught hold of the most important person in your life, which unless I miss my mark, would be you yourself. Let us say that I then proceeded to set them alight, burning away all their silky hair."

Raising his other hand, Zee ran a few fingers through the long dark strands of Caira's hair.

"And of course, more than one unforgivable curse would be used to keep up the pain for as long as possible while still ensuring I remained in control. And of course some legilimency would be needed to add a bit of mental anguish to the mix. In the end their body would be fine after some healing magic, though ample scaring would crisscross their lovely frame for the rest of their days. Their mind however . . . They would have clearly been violated, and it would drive them further away from any they wished to be close to as feelings of guilt and a lack of self worth threatened to overwhelm."

Suddenly releasing her hand and removing his from her soft tresses, Zee leaned on one arm, his elbow planted on the back of the chair, a nonchalant shrug seeming a rather anticlimactic ending to his little tale.

"I do not believe you would much like me at that point Caira, especially if you were 'not a very friendly girl.'"

Zee yawned once more, looking about the room briefly to let his words sink in. With a crooked grin he turned his gaze back to his companion.

"As for what I plan to do, I'm afraid the jury's still out on that one. Of course since the last time we spoke you tried to get me to allow a Shadow into my being, something I've since learned would certainly not be to my ultimate advantage, I'm sure you'll understand if I take every offer you make with a rather sizable grain of salt."

Subtly winking, Zee grinned broadly before his face became uncommonly serious.

"Something I'm curious about, and do be frank with me if you please. Why do you serve her?"

[Caira LaPointe]

Caira listened intently as Zane began to speak of a hypothetical scenario that seemingly involved her very own torture courtesy of his own hands. Caira indulged him in her silence to allow him to continue on with the drawn out details of his twisted fantasy, which involved her being set alight and permanently disfigured. She drew back from the chair and walked over to the frame of her darkened window and looked out on the grounds, watching the shadows churn as he continued to speak. A small smile graced itself upon her visage as she turned from the window as he finally finished his tale.

"My my, don't you have an active imagination for a young boy." She said airily with a hint of condescension. "It almost sounds as if you were threatening me, Zane." She said as she moved from the window and back towards the fireplace. Her figure illuminated ominously in the firelight as it flickered and danced across her gentle features. She bent down in front of Zee, gracefully reaching forth with her left hand, only to delicately take hold of Zee's chin, in a similar fashion like a mother would to her unruly son.

"Silly boy, what makes you think I would let you get as far as raising your wand, before your lifeless, crumpled body lay at my feet? Hmm?" Her tone slowly diminished from her gentle speaking voice, to a dangerous, and threatening whisper. She let her eyes linger on him, locking with his own after she had finished speaking.

She let go of Zane's face and straightened herself out as she moved toward the fireplace, grabbing a long, metal rod with a spike at the end, and began to poke at the fire.

"Something I'm curious about, and do be frank with me if you please. Why do you serve her?"

"Do you know what this is, Zane?" She asked him as she continued to prod the burning pieces of wood without glancing up. Before he could answer, she continued. "This is a 'fire-poker', a device in which muggles use to antagonize their fires into staying steady and strong. If I were to plunge this searing hot metal through your flesh, it would be nothing compared to the fiery reckoning that Dark Phoenix would bring your body and soul." She said calmly as she replaced the fire-poker to its respective resting place and then turned around.

"The question is, Why do you not serve her?" She folded her arms across her chest, the firelight blazing behind her, giving her a fiery aura as she stood there. She was beginning to grow impatient with Zane. Time was being wasted, their little games were growing tiresome, and Dark Phoenix would soon need an answer.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

At first Zee's mouth curved up on one side in an amused, crooked grin. She did not seem to understand that he had been describing his torture of Dylan Cooper, explaining that if he had done to her what he had done to the lightfighters, she wouldn't like him either. She seemed to be inferring that he was actually planning to inflict such upon her, which had not at all been his intent. He was merely justifying the poor treatment he had thus received at the hands of his allies. Before he could say as much however, she had gently gripped his chin and returned the perceived threat.

Zee's smile vanished as he looked back into her eyes, somewhat defiant in his emotionless mask. He would not be intimidated by her, would not cower away. There was no doubt she was more powerful than he, but he didn't believe she would attack him there on school grounds, when other students knew that he had gone to her office. As she continued her threats, evidently attempting to scare him into submission, Zee stood passively, maintaining his expressionless exterior. When she had played out her unusually brutal hand, he gave a great sigh and shook his head.

"I was not in point of fact threatening you Caira. I was merely continuing our friendly conversation, explaining why exactly they don't like me. You've just played your hand quite poorly, and I see clearly why they don't like you either. Did you really expect to win me over with fear tactics? I'm disappointed Headmistress, and I'm afraid I am no longer enjoying our little meeting. It seems to have degenerated into a simple fracas and I believe I'll take my leave before the situation exacerbates itself."

Without waiting for a dismissal Zee headed for the door. Pulling open the heavy wooden portal he glanced back and added over his shoulder:

"And if you ever do make good on those threats, please refrain from attacking me with your fire poker or any other metal device. That just wouldn't be sporting."

And Zee was gone. He made haste to return to his dorm, feeling a bit less than safe in the open hallways of the castle. That last comment likely wasn't wise. In fact ever getting involved with Caira likely wasn't wise. She just may be the death of him someday.

((Yeah, sorry Caira. I kinda forgot about this thread. Figured I should resolve it to some degree before we run into each other in Held))