Once Peter made his way back down the mountain, Rapunzel sighed and looked at the chair lift. She hadn't seen anyone go down it... In fact, she didn't really know if it was allowed. That didn't stop her from walking over to the lift and preparing herself. She stared at the lift as it swung around on the track heading back down the mountain and ignored the people who were staring at her strangely. She took a deep breath and grabbed the arm rest of the chair and hoisted herself on before she pulled down the safety bar. She sat there for a moment as the lift made its way back down the mountain, ensuring that she had just broken something before she celebrated. After a quick little happy dance, she pulled out her sketch book again. She began to draw what she remembered of Peter's face. She liked drawing the faces of new people she met. She had a lot of loose sheets of paper with faces, young and old, male and female, stuffed into her sketch book from before she got it or when she forgot it in her room. The lift reached the bottom when she had the basic drawing of Peter done. No shading or detailing, just his face. Rapunzel hopped off of the chair and trudged through the snow toward the lodge. Her coat was covered in snow and her long hair was looking as though it were white or that she had a serious dandruff problem. Sticking her sketch book under her arm, she took of her hat and began the long task of taking her hair out of her braid to allow herself to shake the shoe out. She was almost done when she walked straight into a solid mass that caused her to jump a little, allowing her book to fall to the ground and papers to fly. She looked up at the girl she just ran into and turned red, "I'm so sorry," She said as she started to bend down to grab her things when her bag slipped from her shoulder, causing paint bottles, brushes, pencils, and pens to roll out of her purse and to where ever it was that they pleased, "Ack," she said in her shock as she bent over and started to gather whatever it was that she could, piling her papers back into her sketch book. Annelise looked towards Daria and Ilya for a moment when another guest walked over towards her one of the regulars who usually visited during this time of year. "Could you grab us a seat please?" The woman asked, Annelise looked towards Daria sighing slightly knowing that she had to get to work sooner then later. "Hey Dari, i'll see you later tonight we can go into town then alright?" Annelise said giving her friend a gentle pat on her shoulder, her eyes going toward s the big russian man giving him a quick nod. Annelise headed towards the front of the lodge's resturant with the other guest behind her and handed her one of the menus, hearing all the guests talking loudly Annelise led her towards one of the empty tables. "I'll be back to take your order." Annelise turned to walk towards the kitchen, as the young woman was on her way Annelise stumbled forward feeling another person knocking her slightly to the side. She turned to see various papers falling out and onto the floor, Annelise quickly got down on her knees. "Don't be sorry, it was my fault I wasnt paying attention." Annelise said, her eyes meeting the other girl's. As Annelise helped stack up the papers up into a small neat pile she noticed various drawings, as well as portaits of people she quickly assumed that this girl was some sort of artist. "I really like your drawings." Annelise complimented, seeing all of the various art supplies falling from her purse which convinced her even more that she was an artist. "I'm Annelise Brie by the way." She said extending her hand towards Rapunzel and smiled at her. Rapunzel was stuffing a handful of pencil crayons into a box when the girl who she had bumped into mentioned her drawings. She smiled softly before turning her attention back to carefully putting her things away, "Thanks..." She wanted to say more but she really didn't know what to. What did people say in this kind of situation. Most times when people saw her art, she knew them... She could normally figure it out... What did someone say to a complete stranger complimenting their art? She didn't get a chance to figure it out before the girl was introducing herself as Annelise and holding out her hand. She took it and smiled, "Rapunzel," She said before quickly adding, "Just Rapunzel..." She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, she was curious if the name would go over as simply as it had with Peter... She reached passed Annelise a little and retrieved the last piece of paper, a drawing of Aggie and placed it at the top of the pile before closing her sketchbook. She looked up at Annelise and smiled, "Thanks..." Annelise smiled softly at Rapunzel feeling the other girl's hand shaking hers and watched as she set the last drawing it was a picture of a woman who she didnt think much of it. "No problem at all." Annelise said as she handed back Rapunzel's purse, she helped her back onto her feet. "Are you hungry, do you need a warm drink or something? From the looks of your clothes you just got out from the snow." Annelise asked dusting herself off, she looked towards the guest she was going to serve. "The meal would be on me if you do want anything, since I work here." Rapunzel allowed Annelise to help her back to her feet after she took her bag back from her and offered her another, although quieter, thank you. She pulled her strap of her bag up and over her head to ensure that it wouldn't fall off and spill her things yet again. She opened her bag as Annelise spoke about getting her something to eat or warm to drink and placed her sketchbook back into her bag. She rested her hand on the strap and looked at the girl, "I... I couldn't ask you to do that. I mean... A lot of people come in from the snow here... It is a ski resort," She offered a small little laugh before she dug through her bag and pulled out her wallet and a few bills from it, "Besides, I do have money..." Agatha never got why but money was a weird concept to Rapunzel... She didn't understand it. Not to mention, it was all the same colour and so boring... She'd nearly given a man a hundred dollar bill instead of ten dollars once at a coffee shop. Luckily, Agatha had caught her. Slipping the money away, she looked at Annelise, "I'm fine.... Really.... I'd hate to make you feel like you had to get me something after I ran into you..." Annelise found Rapunzel rather cute though she didnt want her to feel nervous or anything. "My dad always said to never turn down a free meal if someone is offering. And besides you might need that money for something else that you might want to buy." Annelise said motioning for her to follow her and offered Rapunzel a seat in one of the booths in the resturant. "And I should have been paying attention anyway, at least i wasnt holding any food or it would have been really bad. I'll be back with a menu." Annelise said smiling to Rapunzel as she turned around to head towards the front of the room to grab a menu Annelise came back to the woman previously for a second and wrote down her order real quick and headed back to Rapunzel. "What would you like to drink?" Annelise asked holding out a pen with a small notebook she always carried handing a menu to her. Rapunzel didn't get much of a chance to fight Annelise on the subject. Not to mention, Rapunzel wasn't much of a fighter to begin with. She sighed a little with a smile on her face and followed Annelise to a booth before the girl went off to find her a menu. Rapunzel shook her head slightly but took off her wet coat and hung it on a hook between the booths before she took a seat. She looked around the place a little as she ran her fingers through the first few inches of her hair, playing with her part. Her hair took up a good portion of the bench but Rapunzel was just glad that she wasn't in a chair as her hair always touched the ground when she sat... It was already wet and she didn't need whatever dirt there was on the ground in her hair. She looked up at Annelise when she returned and asked her what she wanted. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized she hadn't even thought about it and probably should have been using her time more wisely before she took the menu and looked at the drink. She bit her lip a little as her eyes glanced over the options before they made their way to look at Annelise again, "A hot chocolate sounds nice....?" Annelise smiled at Rapunzel as she wrote it down on the notepad. "One hot choclate coming right up." She said giving her a friendly nod as she turned to head over towards the kitchen she went and started to brew up a cup of hot chocolate and grabbed a mug. The kitchen was loud and full of activity hearing the cooks barking out orders and giving them to the wait staff so that they could give the guests their food. A few seconds later the hot choclate was done and Annelise started walking back towards Rapunzel's booth. "Here you go, do you want something to eat as well?" Annelise asked smiling at the other girl as she set the mug of hot chocolate down on the table. Rapunzel was looking through the menu with awe... There was a lot on it that she hadn't had the chance to try before. Agatha and her didn't go out often in the last year and well, Agatha had her routines and Rapunzel picked them up. She didn't go out of Aggie's comfort zone too much. She pulled her attention away from the menu when Annelise returned with her hot chocolate. She looked to the drink then back up to Annelise, "I... don't know," She laughed a little, "There's just... so much... I can't decide," She nibbled at her lip a little, something she did when she was deep in thought, "What do you think I should have?" She asked, a big smile of her face as she found away not to decide. Annelise gently took the menu to look at it herself, after working at the lodge for most of her teenage years the menu was always changing a lot. Then she looked towards Rapunzel seeing her laugh. "Well I always get the buffalo chicken soup, its a little bit spicy but I always end up getting it, if you dont want that you can always get the lobster or steak if you wish as well." Annelise suggested. "Those are what I always get anyway." Rapunzel leaned forward on the table a little looking up at Annelise with interest as she spoke. When she finished, Rapunzel smiled, "Buffalo chicken soup it is." When the girl left, Rapunzel revisited her sketchbook and opened it to a new page. She stared at it for sometime before she started to make the outlines of a face. Drawing Annelise was easier than Peter, she was better at drawing the soft edges that men sometimes seemed to lack in their strong jaws. Of course, Peter's face would be a face that she'd use to challenge herself, to teach herself. Annelise's was a face that she could make a work of art out of. She was in the midst of drawing Annelise's second eye when she returned with her soup. Rapunzel left her book open and pushed it away from her a little to allow Annelise to place the soup in front of her, "Thank you." Annelise smiled and nodded. "Good choice, i'll be back with your soup in a few minutes." Annelise turned around to head back to the kitchen as she handed one of the chefs the food order for Rapunzel. She made her way back towards her other customer's table writing down her order as well and repeated the process once more like she had done with Rapunzel's. When the order was done Annelise went to grab her plate as she walked back to set down the hot plate of soup before Rapunzel and smiled at her. "Here you go." Annelise said as she went to sit down breifly across from her, her eyes slowly going down towards the new drawing and blushed slightly seeing what looked like her almost. Brushing the few strands of blonde hair out of her face tucking it behind her ear. "So where are you from?" Annelise asked wanting to get to know her better. Rapunzel looked down at her bowl before she picked up her soup that sat on the plate they had placed the bowl on. She dunked it into the orangey red looking soup. She stirred it around as Annelise asked where it was that she was from. There were two answers to that question, the easy one and the slightly complicated one. She scooped a small amount of soup onto her spoon before blowing it a little, "San Fransico since a year ago... Before that... I don't.... really know." She supposed that was the easiest way she could answer it without withholding information. She didn't have to say anything more than San Fransico... She could have left it at that... But she didn't want to. Annelise seemed nice and Rapunzel wanted to be her friend... Why not share a little more than needed in her head? Annelise leaned back in her seat watching as Rapunzel took a spoonful of the soup watching her new found friend starting to eat it, when she told her where she was from Annelise felt a small connection to her, when she was five years old with her sister down on the slopes where they were found by their adoptive father. "I was raised here for pretty much my whole like with my sister Eliza. Though we were adopted pretty much our father took us in when he found us together outside in the snow. Just as Annelise finished telling Rapunzel about her she looked up to see one of the wait staff. "Hey Anne we need your help." The waiter said letting out an annoyed sigh Annelise stood up taking her small note pad and started to write down her number. "I'll give you my number if you want to hangout while you are here." She said with a smile sliding it over to her before heading off towards the kitchen again.

Esmeralda woke to a searing pain in her back as hands grabbeb her arms as tore her from the bed. She was groggy and still half asleep as they dragged her from the room, her feet trailing behind them. It wasn't until they were half way down the hall when she managed to get her feet under herself and walk. She didn't fight as the pain in her back was worse when she did. She looked around herself as they walked, she remembered none of this but she supposed that she was out cold the last time she had walked down these halls. She looked down at herself to see her torso covered in white wrapping to cover her back. The bra like top from before had yet to be returned though she did not mind, finding the wrappings managed to cover more of her than anything else.

"Where are you taking me?" She managed to finally ask the guards quietly. They didn't answer, merely laughing at her attempt to get answers from them. A sigh escaped her lips as she slumped slightly into their hands, allowing them to drag her more again as she grew tired.

However, the moment they reached the main hall that she had been in before, she stood tall as her hairs stood on end. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the pole that she had been trapped against when she recieved her first lashing. It had seen been cleaned, looking as though nothing had happened. Taking her eyes off the pole they drifted to Scar, who sat on his throne with a smug smile. Her eyebrows knitted together as she continued to look at him confused until her eyes fell upon the mother and child that were in chains in front of him.

It was clear from here, without even seeing their faces, that they were gypsies. She wasn't sure how Scar had managed to catch the mother and very young son. He couldn't be more than four years old, and most of all she didn't understand why she was here... She struggled a little against the guards, ignoring the pain as she walked her forward. She didn't get any good feelings from this. They walked her around them and stood her in front of the two of them and allowed her to see their face for the first time. The mother was clearly frightened but was trying to keep a brave face for her son. Her son though was in tears, not understanding what was happening. Esmeralda didn't understand either she looked between the two of them before her eyes turned back to Scar. As she looked at him, worry began to fill her eyes, what was he going to do to them?

--

Pulling his attention from the two Gypsies in the room to the third Gypsy that had just entered, Scar sat up a bit straighter on his throne and flashed the Gypsy a welcoming smile.

"Ah, wonderful, you're awake again. Good thing, can't have my favorite dancer sleeping the day away." He stood up from his throne, taking a few long, powerful strides over to the woman and child, making sure to keep an eye on the other Gypsy girl as he did so. "You Gypsy's are hard to come by. Took down twelve of my men before we managed to get these two..." He said softly, using the back of his hand to caress down the side of the mother Gypsy's face. "Such a shame; a dying breed Gypsies are in this land, and even more so in others. But oh, so graceful, beautiful, elegant..."

Keeping the back of his hand against the mother Gypsy's face, Scar finally turned his thick neck to look over at the dancer Gypsy, his once brown eyes darkening to a near black as his mood seemed to alter slightly.

"Have you decided? Will you teach my other dancers, Gypsy?" He asked, keeping his tone light and plesant, a stark contrast to the cold glare he was issuing her.

---

Esmeralda's eyes followed Scar as he walked from his throne to the Gypsies infront of her. Their eye contact seemed to hold, both of them keeping a close eye on the other until Scar's attention turned to the Gypsy mother as he carassed her cheek. The mother flinched away from his hand but couldn't get far enough away from him to do much about it. A flash of anger reared up in both the mother and Esmeralda as the two women's eyes meet. Both of them seeming to silently bond on much more than their upbringing.

Esmeralda shook her shoulders a little attepmting to get out of the hold that Scar's men had on her. She wanted to add more men to the count that Scar lost in trying to capture these two Gypsies... She looked at the little boy and slowed her fighting... She was scaring him, even though she wasn't even close to the scariest thing in the room. She didn't understand it but she could see in his big wet eyes the fear in them when she fought. Maybe even that young, he knew why she was wrapped up in bandages. Maybe that young... he knew that his life and that of his mother's may very well rest in her hands.

She turned her attention back to Scar as his eyes fell back on her. A chill ran down her spine as her eyes met his. When he asked if she had decided, she hesitated as she opened her mouth to answer the usual. There had to be a reason he went to the trouble of catching these people... She looked at him, "What are you going to do to them?"

---

Scar parted his lips slightly and pushed them out a bit, exhaling out a slight 'oohhh' hidden underneath a light chuckle; a clear indication that the Gypsy had given the wrong answer. Choosing to not answer her, Scar removed his hand from the mother Gypsy's face and began to walk around her slowly, his black eyes never leaving her, watching her shudder as she was forced to stay put and hear the makings of her child's hushed whimpers. Circling the Gypsy mother once more, Scar stopped behind her, standing nearly a head over the woman and looking over her shoulder, meeting the eyes of the dancer Gypsy. An eerie silence followed as their eyes met, time seemed to slow around everything except the two of them. Then, moving his hands up to the mother Gypsy's neck, with the blink of an eye his one arm wrapped around her neck from the front and jerked his arm in the opposite direction. There was a sickening snap that filled the otherwise silent air around them and the Gypsy collapsed into a heap at Scar's feet.

Stepping over the still warm corpse of the Gypsy mother, Scar began to head over to the little boy who had just began to wrap his head around what had just happened. The boy opened his mouth and began to scream out in fear, tears streaming down his face for his mother and pulling at the chains so that he could run to her side, but Scar put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place. Without even so much as blinking, showing no remorse for the act he just committed, Scar squatted down onto his haunches to be on the same level as the boy running his fingers through the child's hair and putting a finger to his lips.

"None of that. We wouldn't want to end up as your dear mother did now do we?" Scar asked after the boy had quieted down some. Turning his neck a bit so that he was facing the dancer Gypsy once more, Scar met her gaze, a wide smile spreading across his face as if he were actually enjoying this. "Now I'll ask you again Gypsy, will you teach my dancers?" Without waiting for a reply he turned his attention back to the boy. "What do you think? Hmm? Tell her you do not wish to die. Beg. Her. For. Your. Life!"

------

Esmeralda's heart stopped beating in her chest as she meet his darkened gaze. She barely even saw the blow happen as she watched his eyes, unchanging, as he snapped the woman's neck. She flinched as the sound filled the room and looked away not wanting to see the body that she heard slump to the floor. She closed her eyes as she heard the little boy crying for his mother... She could have prevented this... There was so many things she could have done to stop this. She could have left the city, she could have not gotten captured, she could have done what Scar wanted in the first place.

She felt a hand in her hair pulling her head, forcing her turn and look at the boy, who Scar was now crouched down next to telling him to quiet down. She looked at the little boy, his eyes filled with tears and fear and felt her resolve melt away from her. Any fight or resistance or fire disipated as she looked at him and saw what she had done. She shook a little in the men's arms as Scar told the boy to beg her not to let Scar kill him. Her eyes started to fill with tears as the boy's pleas began. The words might have been lost on the people in the room who didn't speak their language but the terror was there in every syllable and the meaning was not lost to Esmeralda. She looked up at Scar with a pained expression as if she was silently asking to go to the crying boy who was yelling to her in her native tongue. With a small nod from the King, she felt the hands melt away from her arms and she quickly went to the boy, falling to her knees in front of him. She pulled him into her arms, placing his head onto her shoulder as she shushed him quietly her words rolling of her tongue in a quiet calming tone as she desperately tried not to cry. When the boy seemed to calm slightly and relaxed against her, she closed her eyes and spoke to Scar "I'll teach them," She managed to get out in more of a croak than she would have liked, "I'll do anything you want... No hesitation... No resistance," She opened her eyes again and looked up at him from her kneeling position, "Please..... just... don't hurt him."

---

Looking down at the Gypsy girl at his feet as he stood tall once more, he watched her hold the small child to her like that of a mother, though his face remained unchanged, his heart and consciousness unaffected that it was because of him that all of this was happening, because of him that the small boy had just witnessed his own mother's murder. Meeting the Gypsy girl's gaze at long last as she agreed to his terms, looking back up at him in a pleading manner, Scar began to move his hand, running his fingers through the thick blonde mess of curls on top of the small child's head.

"Your word Gypsy. Swear to me that no matter what, you will do as I say, when I say it." He demanded, lowering his voice so that only the three of them could hear, his voice gravelly despite the whisper causing goosebumps to crawl over the child's body as he hugged onto Esmeralda even tighter, trying to shake away The King's hand from his head of hair.

---

Esmeralda held Scar's gaze as he looked down at her with his dark eyes. She felt Scar's fingers brush passed her own in the boy's hair and flinched slightly before she moved her hand to the child's back. Fear radiated off the boy as he pulled himself in closer to her as though it would make Scar move away. She licked her dry lips as Scar spoke in a gravelly voice and nodded her head. She sniffled, tears threatening to spill over and down her cheek as she spoke, "You have my word... I'll do anything... No... no matter what."

Slowly, she moved her hand back to the boy's hair but did not flinch away from Scar's hand. Instead, she allowed for her hand to rest on top of the King's, her fingers resting in between his, "But please.... your majesty... have mercy... he's just a boy.... Please, spare him..."

---

Looking up for a moment to nod to the scribe standing off to the side, ensuring that he had written down the Gypsy girl's words so that if there were ever a problem, he could ammend it easily. His attention was immediately snapped back to her, however, when he felt the soft skin of her hand ontop of his.Scar's dark eyes narrowed on her threateningly, and without even so much as thinking, he took hold of the boy's hair in his hand and bracing his other hand on the boys shoulder, twisted the child's neck with a quick jerk, filling the air around them with a second sound of bone snapping. Releasing his hold on the boy then as he started to turn his back to the Gypsy, the child's lifeless body fell into the Gypsy girl's, still warm with a single tear continuing to roll down his cheek.

"YOU!" Scar shouted to one of the soldiers standing by. "Get this place cleaned up, and escort the Gypsy girl back with the others."

Nodding, the guard motioned to two of the servants in the room and directed them towards the Gypsy mother's corpse. Turning his attention back to the Gypsy girl after taking a few steps, his dark eyes bore into her with a scowl.

"You will teach them, and tonight, you and the others will perform for me."

---

Muscles tightened under Esmeralda's hands and before she had a chance to breathe a word, the sound of snapping filled the space around her. When Scar released the child's head, he slumped fully against her, "No..." she whispered as she squeezed him tightly against her, "No, no, no..."

The tears that had been threatening to escape through the whole ordeal finally fell down her cheeks as she sobbed, holding the boy in her arms. She did not listen as Scar spoke to his guards nor did she notice the guards clearing away the mother of the dead boy in her arms. She was completely absorbed in her own world until a soldier tore the lifeless body from her arms and left her crying and kneeling at the feet of the King. She looked up at him as he informed her what was going to happen. She slowly nodded her head, "Y-yes... your highness."

She wiped away her tears with one hand as she was pulled to her feet. She looked over her shoulder at the soldiers who were carrying away the bodies. They would not get a funeral, their loved ones would only know of their death through their absence and it was all her fault. She had gotten them killed. Her only saving grace was that she might have made the boy's last moments not as scary as she held them in her arms.

If she had to obey a madman to avoid getting people killed... She was going to do whatever it was that he asked her, even if it was against everything she stood for. She would not be the reason that another person faced an early death.

Collaboration between Guardian Angel Haruki and Tanderbolt Alan wasn't in the restauraunt by the time Ilya checked, and just as he was about to look around the rest of the building he heard a ping on his radio, signifying that someone rang the doorbell at the security office. He made his way over there, wondering what it was about. When the door was opened, the first sound that would be heard would be the man's swearing and badmouthing of the woman that stood in front of Ilya. She looked to the man in front of her, and she said to him, calm and collected, "Hello, I need this man placed into temporary custody until the rest of police arrive to properly arrest him," This wasn't what Ilya wanted to be dealing with right now. He glanced at the man for a second before turning his attention to the woman. "You don't look like an officer, can I see your badge?" Morgan answered with a nod, "Detective Morgan Reginald," as she handed him her badge, just like she had shown Miss Eliza Brie. She said to him "I was sent after Mr. Raymond Wren, on suspicion of credit card theft and fraud," Ilya grew more irate. "Alright, alright, I'll hold him here. I tell you, there's so many rules here, everything must be done in the proper way. Things are much less formal where I come from." The detective nodded and thanked him before she listened to him gripe about the rules. She answered him somewhat sympathetically, "Paperwork especially can be quite troublesome," Ilya nodded "Well, as long as your doing most of it, I don't mind. Before you leave, there was a man that I have seen around here that I wanted to speak with you about." Morgan nodded lightly, knowing that she was doing most of the paperwork. But when he mentioned that he wanted to talk to her about a man he saw around lately, she raised an eyebrow and she asked "Oh? Is this man causing a problem?" "His name is Alan, and he is a bit of a shady character. I haven't seen him do anything illegal personally, but I have heard rumors. I may have to bar him from the hotel, he is not the kind of person I want hanging around here. I'm just letting you know of courtesy, so you that can be aware of him. I'll send what other information I have over to the department." She listened carefully as Ilya told her about Alan, and once he was done, she nodded and said "I see. Thank you for letting me know," She then asked "Do you have a picture of him? Just in case I happen to see him?" Ilya took a moment to pull up a blurry image from the security cameras and print it out. The video he was flipping through show Alan doing card tricks while surrounded by several teenaged girls, Ilya frowned when he watched it. He gave the picture to Morgan without a word. Morgan took the picture with a "Thank you," to Ilya, and she studied the picture of Alan. She honestly could see why Ilya would be worried. She made sure to commit every single detail that she could see in this picture to her memory. She said to Ilya "Thank you again. I hope you have a good day," She then turned and left the office.

/"I do not understand your hesitation... He is like a father to me- I know that he will do me no harm Dominic."/ Her long neck extended slightly as she turned her head the light blue orbs of the swan watching his figure as he paced back and forth in front of her his reservations about what she was asking him to do clear on his face and in his posture, lifting her wings from her body just a bit she shook herself off of the dust that had accumulated causing her normally pure white feathers tinged a gentle red from the dirt that lay all around them. Turning her body around she allowed her feet to move her further away from him her gaze lifting up to stare at the large doors towering down over her casting a shadow where she stood waiting for him to come around and make his choice, whether he helped her or not she would still try her best to find a way inside and find a way to once more be with her father even if that meant putting herself in danger.

/"Please, listen to me... I will not be able to get in to see him any other way... I have come all this way to see my father, I can not go back to Swan Lake without having at least been in his company. If I went back now, I would endure Rothbart's punishments for nothing."/ Tilting her head to the side slightly she watched two soldiers that were standing guard as they stared in confusion watching on as the two of them conversed though what was so confusing to them she was unsure, slowly waddling her way over to where they stood she began to speak out to them loud honks filling their ears with each word that she spoke, /"Hello, do you mind terribly if you opened the doors? I wish to see my father..."/ Pausing a moment she turned her head back her voice showing him that she wasn't sure why they were staring at her with slight worry their weapons in hand, /"Dominic, why do they not answer me?"/

Dominic, now in human form (thanks to the full moon the night previous), rubbed his temple, stress quite plain on his face. "I understand he's like a father to you, Odette. But if he doesn't know what you are, there's nothing stopping him from killing you and having swan for dinner! We need a new plan."

His stressed expression turned to one of slight amusement as the swan chose to go 'ask' the two guardsmen at the door, knowing they would only hear jumbled honks. "They're only human, as such they can't hear animals the way you and I can." The Guardian explained, planting his hands in his coat pockets. "I'm afraid you'll need me to translate." He added calmly.

/"What are you talking about he does not know what I am? He has seen me as a swan, he knows of the curse that I bare upon my shoulders."/ Shaking her head back and forth as she once more made her way over to where he stood she closed her eyes her her wings folding tightly against her body as she let her mind wander back over the time in which Scar had visited Swan Lake and the two of them had gotten to know each other quite well, /"He knows all that I know about my curse, and has given me his word that he will help me to break it one way or another. However if you are so insistent on changing the plan, then please... Tell me what you have in mind and I shall listen..."/

Pulling her head into her chest she furrowed down into the ground at his feet giving off the impression that she was pouting about the fact that he was shooting her idea of asking the guards for help down without so much as a second thought, /"Why must your world be so complicated. I thought it was in the norm that men and women could indeed converse with the animals around them. I did not realize that such a thing was a gift given to the very few..."/

Dominic sighed once again before speaking, "I was there when you met him, he saw you turn into a girl....there's nothing to say he'll recognize you as a swan if all you can do is honk in his presence. It's a matter of safety and survival. Now, a plan...tell you what, how about I take you inside and offer you as...a gift of sorts, for the king. Once we're inside, I can tell him who you really are, no cooking necessary!" Dominic suggested, practically beaming.

Stopping for a moment she lifted her head back up her surprise at his words evident in her sudden change of position her eyes showing a slight hint of pain behind them as she felt hurt by the new piece of information he had given her, /"One moment... You were watching me, even back then, yet you did not find it within yourself to converse with me until I made the choice to leave my prison and venture out into a world in which I know nothing about..."/

Forcing the thought from her mind she turned her gaze back over to stare at the two guards who were standing side by side watching them both with strange looks plastered over their faces until one of them moved away slipping into the castle and out of sight, /"Do you truly think that they will believe that reasoning as that of why you are here with a swan in your possession?"/ Relaxing back down her gaze turned back to where he was standing her eyes searching his as she tried to find the answers to the questions she was asking.

Dominic stammered slightly, genuinely unsure how to answer her first query. The time wasn't right? No, that was a foolish answer...before he could think further, he was thankfully spared the subject onto the one at hand.

"I'm a very convincing man. Besides, if there's one thing I know about this king, it's that he's as prideful as can be. No way he'd turn down a gift." Dominic added with an almost dark smile.

/"Watch your tongue, and do not speak of my father in such a tarnished light... He is a kind and gentle man with love in his heart, yes he may be a little coarse around the edges, but you do not see him in the ways that I do."/ Pushing away from the ground as she spoke she shot her neck out her beak snapping at his ankles for the quip towards the man she considered herself to be close to.

Turning her back to him she lifted her chest up her wings spreading as she flapped them in the direction of the single guard who was now standing alone the other long gone from his side, /"Besides, I do not speak of your ability to convince, but rather of the simple fact that the men standing by the doors have been listening to our conversation from the moment we had arrived. Do you truly thing that you shall be able to pull this off without consequence?"/

"Yes, I think so." Dominic replied, deliberately ignoring her comments on Scar, knowing anything he said would most likely be used against him.

"Oh, they heard us....um....good question!" Dominic replied, somewhat unsurely.

Closing her eyes she settled herself back down onto the ground her tail feathers twitching from side to side softly against the ground creating a small dust cloud to form before it settled once more around her, /"Even I could see that they were listening to what we have been speaking of. How could you not?"/

Turning her head around to look back at his figure towering over her small and fragile one she paused her speech for a moment her mind trying to think through how they were going to get inside the castle and in turn into an audience with her father, /"Is there any possible thought as to what we must do now to gain entrance?"/

As if on cue, the large, thick stone doors pushed open, allowing the light of the afternoon sun to filter into the otherwise dark castle entry. Squinting a bit and returning his muscled arms to his sides from pushing the doors open, Scar took in the scene before him, looking first at the gangly, tangled-haired man to the soldier who had suddenly straightened his posture, to the swan literally sitting on his doorstep. Knitting his brows together in a slight look of confusion, Scar kept his attention away from the other two and walked to the swan, squatting down on his haunches so as to get on a better level with the bird and tilted his head to the side a bit, trying to catch it's eye.

"Malaika?"

Remaining silent for the time being, Dominic simply kept his gaze fixed on Scar, a slight bit of apprehension in his eyes.

Her head snapped around as she heard the rumbling sound of the large stone doors opening her eyes staring intently as she watched the large and familiar figure that was Scar moving out into the fresh air his eyes flicking from one to the other before coming to a rest upon her, lifting her head up she extended her neck staying silent as he came closer to her crouching down until the two of them were practically eye to eye with one another.

At the mention of her name she leant her neck forward her eyes closing as she pressed her small head into his cheek her beak brushing over his skin while she tried to show him that it was her and that no he wasn't just seeing things.

Feeling the soft feathers of the elegant creature brushing up against his cheek, his brows furrowed together even further as he pulled back from her a bit, not sure what to make of the physical contact. Keeping himself squatting, however, he lifted up his right arm, the golden swan necklace wrapped around his wrist a few times and clasped together tightly to keep from falling off. The pendant was the only part that dangled down which he moved by swinging his wrist back and forth a bit, unsure what the eyesight of a swan really entailed.

"No, you're not Malaika. I specifically told her to stay put where she would be safe." He said after a long while, drawing his arm back to rest on his bended knees, his tone cold and reprimanding despite the obscurity of conversing with a swan.

Pulling back as he did she let her eyes flick back and forth searching his for some way in which he would believe that it was truly her and that she was really there even with having disobeyed him to get there, /"Father... Why do you not believe me..."?/ Her voice was exasperated as she let her mind wander her gaze slipping down to his wrist where he had her necklace wrapped securely around his wrist, shooting her neck out she began to peck at the golden pendant forcing it to swing back and forth as she spread her wings flapping in protest, /"I am right here, right in front of your eyes. Please see me..."/

"It's the same girl...Your Majesty." Dominic interjected casually, taking longer than normal to use the formal title regarding Scar's position; even then sounding slightly forced.

"She wished to see you here, so I decided to take her. I am Dominic Greyjoy." He added, introducing himself whilst explaining that the swan was indeed, Odette.

Scar shot a look over at Dominic, his eyes narrowing on the man in a look that was nothing short of detestation. Extending his arm out, palm flat, he motioned for Dominic to be silent.

"You have not been given permission to speak." Scar snapped harshly. He let his dark eyes look back to the soldier still stationed by the doorway and nodded to him once. "Take him to the cell block..." He started, letting his gaze look back over to Dominic as he stood up tall once again. "...for trespassing."

/"No, father you can not do that..!"/ Flapping her wings harder she lifted her small frame from the ground her neck extending out as her beak closed around the small gold pendant that hung from his wrist shining in the light of the hot sun, tugging on it as forcefully as she could she let her body swing side to side trying to get the message through to him before he could do something that he would regret. Catching sight of the soldier moving in on her friend she released her grip on the necklace her webbed feet pressing against the guards chest as she began to snap at him warning him to keep back her frustrated honks filling the air around them all, /"Leave him alone! Dominic, say something please, prove to him that this is not the course of action he wishes to take..."/

At once, Dominic's eyes narrowed, itching to brandish his wand from its hiding place. "I wouldn't do that if I were you...the results would be...most painful." Dominic spoke up, his voice calm but rife with suppressed anger boiling inside.

"Call off your dog and let us in - please." Dominic added coldly, looking at Scar once again with a sharp glare.

With the swan upon his guard, Dominic was left open. Snarling with his lip curled over his teeth, Scar closed the distance between the two of them, his hulking figure dwarfing the other males as he approached with purpose.

"YOU DARE THREATEN YOUR KING?" He roared, similar to that of a lion's. Swinging his arm, the back of his hand connected with Dominic's cheek in a powerful blow.

Stumbling back a few feet but not falling down (due to his martial training and balanced stance), Dominic's hand instantly went up to his broken and bleeding cheek, ignoring the sharp stinging pain that became more and more noticeable as the grueling seconds passed.

Seeing red and too angry to focus on his injury for the time being, a single flick of his wrist allowed the wand that had been initially hidden in Dominic's sleeve to enter his awaiting palm. Aiming it at Scar's chest, Dominic snarled in return, "Last chance...try and touch me again and I'll flay the skin from your bones, king or not."

Mouth twitching, and not in a pleasant way, Dominic kept his gaze locked, a steady trickle of blood trailing down his cheek and sporadically dripping onto the ground below, staining the right side of his face.

Managing to push the guard back far enough that there was plenty of space between him and Dominic she turned her head back watching as the scene began to escalate further than it ever should have done in the first place, twisting her body around as she turned her wings shot out behind her body falling slightly as she tried to close the gap as quickly as she could the swan determined to end the conflict once and for all by any means necessary.

Pulling her body up as she passed by Scar's feet she spread her wings out as wide as they could go the gentle beating of them keeping her hovering in the one spot her frame separating the two of them from each other as she covered his chest ready to take whatever hit Dominic had in store for the King of the Pride Lands, /"What ever it is you wish to do, you can do it to me instead. Spare his life, and take mine in his place."/

Tearing her gaze away from Dominic's she turned her head around letting her light blue orbs connect with Scar's for only a moment before she turned away again, /"Go. Do it. I will take the pain if it spares my father's life..."/

Anger began to pulse through Scar's blood at the blatant reply he got from the other male, a familiar tingling sensation reaching through to his fingertips, feeling his skin growing incredibly hot. With a single blink, his eyes went from a dark brown to a solid black, but when he blinked again, his eyes connecting with those of the swan, the anger dissipated from his body and his eyes returned to normal. Letting his face fall from his infuriated snarl to his stern neutral look, his eyes looked from Dominic back to the swan and turned his back, heading back inside his castle.

His twisted expression faltering, Dominic let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders sagging slightly as he lowered his arm, both hands at his sides. "No...no...you are brave, Odette. I can respect that." He stated in a slightly hoarse tone, his wand returning to his sleeve once again, hidden from view.

"Inside. Now, Malaika. Do not make me ask again." Scar said with his back still to the swan.

"S-sir?" The guard called out, eyes darting between the swan, the stranger and his king and then back to the stranger.

"Leave him." Scar told the soldier dismissively with a wave of his hand.

Remaining silent now, Dominic crossed his arms over his chest, watching as Scar forcefully commanded Odette to go inside. "I'll await you out here." He spoke finally, his owl-like stare never faltering.

Her wings kept the steady beat allowing her to stay airborne between them as she fell silent watching first the reaction of her father behind her before she turned back listening carefully to the words Dominic was offering her his hand lowering back down to his side showing her that he was no longer going to be a threat... At least not on this day.

Her beak opened slightly as she went to reply but her words never made it from her as her fathers instructions hit her commanding her to follow him back into the castle and out of the hot stale air that she was not used to, giving one last glance back at Dominic she closed her eyes nodding her head to show him that she understood what he was saying to her about waiting outside should she need him for any reason.

Turning her back to him she let her body mimic Scar's path her feet touching down on the ground once she had made it into the safety of the castle her head lowering and her light blue eyes closing as she continued to follow along behind him though slower due to her no longer finding it polite to fly and spread the dirt on her wings over the floor, tilting her head slightly she chanced a glance up at him before once more lowering it knowing full well that she was in trouble for disobeying his orders in the first place and for causing such a scene out front of his castle in her haste to see him again.

Taking the half dozen playing cards in his hand, Alan shuffled them as he would a regular deck of cards. Cutting it, he then picked up the one on top. Looking over the Ace of Diamonds, he eyed the loopy penmanship of a name and phone number. Furrowing his eyebrows in concentration, he tried to decipher the name into something he could understand, or at least try to put a face to the girl who had given him this card. It took a few moments, but he was finally able to make out a 'D' at the beginning of the name and an 'r' towards the middle. "D... who's name started with a D?" Raising his free hand, he scratched the back of his neck; unable to remember the name, but a flash from his learned photographic memory gave him the image of a dark-haired girl with a pair of beautiful hazel-brown eyes. Closing his eyes, Alan forced his mind back to the very point he remembered seeing her. There was a blonde and a red-head with her, the blonde left... Eliza. That's right, he had called them over for a trick; she had said something to him... what was it again? Opening his eyes back up, he smiled. Using his free hand he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his old Nokia flip phone. Glancing at the card every now and then, he punched the numbers into the phone and let it dial, waiting for the other end to pick up. "Daria? It's Magic Man, Alan. What'cha up to?" --- Daria looked over at Eliza and Alan as Annelise pointed them out and smirked. "Even worse, I think she's caught his attention," She said with a little laugh before they were interrupted by a guest who recognized Annelise to be staff and asked to be seated. She nodded her head as the girl excused herself, "I'll see you then." Her eyes then drifted up to the large Russian man who had come into the restaurant behind them before she looked back to the table to see Alan had disappeared. She laughed a little and shrugged before she removed herself from the giant and left in search of more interesting things to do. She didn't get very far before she felt her phone buzzing away in her pocket. She pulled it out to look at the number to see that it wasn't one that she recognized. She pursed her lips a little before she answered it and raised it to her ear. "Hello?" "Daria? It's Magic Man, Alan. What'cha up to?" Daria smiled at the familiar voice and crossed her arms a little. "To be honest? Both my friends are workaholics and left me all by my lonesome." She looked around the lobby. "Although, I did meet one of your friends. Big, Russian guy... He really seemed to want to know where you ran off to after your little show... Are you just calling for a hiding place?" She teased. "Russian gu-" Alan stopped himself, wincing a bit as he realized who she was talking about. God dammit Illya, just give up already! Alan thought to himself, using the toe of his shoe to kick at the wall lamely. "Naw, don't worry about him baby girl, I'm good with hiding places." He answered her. "I was just calling to ask when you wanted to go and get a drink with me, since I already know your answer would be yes if I asked, so I'm just saving us some time here." He finished confidently. Daria smirked a little when he reassured her that he'd be able to find a hiding place before he asked her when she wanted to get a drink with him. She laughed a little. "Someone's confident," She said as she leaned against a nearby wall. She checked the clock that hung behind the front desk before she continued. "How about now?" She smirked, "I feel like you aren't the kind of guy who is above day drinking." Alan had to laugh at that, his smile reaching the corners of his eyes. Okay, so maybe he wasn't the only one good at reading people. "Damn, I've been caught. But hey, if that gets me a date with you then I ain't complaining." Chuckling a bit again, he stuffed the rest of the playing cards back into his pocket. "Now huh? Well aren't we an eager beaver? Yeah I can do now so long as you aren't against going off site to a bar or something. I... uh, kinda need to be scarce around here for a bit..." Daria played with her fingernails as Alan spoke before she placed her head back against the wall. "Well, there is a little hitch in your plan... Considering I can't legally go into bars-" "Ah, yeah, didn't think about that." Alan cut in, running his hand down his face, slightly frustrated with himself for having forgotten something as important as her age. Not that age had ever stopped him before; rules were meant to be broken. "Tell you what, you tell me what you like to drink and I can meet up with you somewhere; you're staying here at the lodge right? Just you to the room?" "That it is," Daria said with a smile as she pushed off the wall and headed towards the elevators, "Get me whatever you're drinking... But make it something strong." She pushed the up button before she looked up as she waited, "I'm on the fifth floor. Room 514," The elevator doors opened, "I'll meet you up there... You got all that?" "Something strong, room 514. Got it. Gimme about thirty minutes alright?" Smiling, Alan hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. Not having the greatest cell phone plan, that conversation probably cost him a few bucks, but he had more than made up for it with the small trinkets he had plucked off of the unsuspecting watchers in the lobby that morning. Now he just needed to find a liquor store... --- Almost thirty minutes on the dot, Alan reached the fifth floor and found room 514. Clutching a large brown paper bag under one arm, he used his opposite hand to knock on the door before leaning his arm against the door jamb waiting for her to answer. Daria heard the knock on the door and headed over to it. She had long since discarded her winter gear, letting it dry in the closet, and turned on the fire. She opened the door to find Alan on the other side and smiled at him before she looked over her shoulder at the clock on the wall. "As punctual as you are confident," She said before opening the door a little further to let him into her large room that looked more like incredibly nice apartment than a hotel room. She closed the door behind him and put on the dead bolt before she walked to the couch and sat on the arm. "What did you get us?" "Naturally." Alan replied coyly, ducking into the room and getting a good look at the place she was staying in. He let out a loud, high whistle, unable to help comparing his own apartment back in Manhattan to the hotel room. "Man, baby girl's got dough!" Laughing a bit, shaking his head, he made his way over to the couch where she sat down, placing the brown paper bag on the coffee table in front of her and pulled out two different bottles. "Ninety-nine strawberries tequila, and root beer float vodka." He announced proudly, though unable to help to shake the feeling now that he knew her financial status if he would have been better off with a hundred-dollar bottle of scotch or something... but he had yet to find a girl worth that much money to him for just a one night stand. Daria spun around on the arm of the chair so that she was facing him when he pulled out the two bottles of alcohol before she stood and hopped over the back of the couch and grabbed a couple shot glasses. "Shots it is," she said with a grin as she returned to the couch and sat down next to him, "I see you don't care of the raw taste of alcohol." She teased a little about his flavored choices before she put the glasses down on the coffee table. She opened the vodka bottle and poured it into two of the shot glasses, trying to fill them as much as possible. She took them both and handed one to Alan. "To day drinking," She toasted jokingly before she threw the drink back. She sat there a moment taking in the interesting taste of the vodka before laughing a little. "Not too bad." Sitting down on the couch, watching her join him and pour their drinks, he took the one handed to him and nodded in approval. Waiting until she took her drink, he reciprocated the motion and downed his own without even so much as flinching. "The idea of just straight up booze crossed my mind." He said after exhaling out a refreshing breath from the drink. "But with the added flavors, it adds a bit of flavor to the make-out session that’s about to follow." Without even so much as blinking, he reached forward, taking her glass from her and filled them both up again, handing hers back to her. "Hey, it's five-o-clock somewhere." He replied with a grin and then tilted his head, slamming back his second shot of vodka. Daria laughed at his reasoning to his choices and nodded her head a little before she took back the glass he had so swiftly taken and returned. She brought it to her lips. "I never thought the Root Beer Float would be considered a titillating flavor." She opened her mouth and leant her head back, allowing the liquid to slip out of her throat. The moment the drink was down, she took Alan's cup and refilled them both again and smirked at him before finishing off her third shot. She moved a little closer to him and leaned against the back of the couch, her hand resting in her hair. She could already feel the alcohol starting to affect her, as a buzzed feeling took over. She smiled at him. "So... Why magic?" "Magic is easy." He replied with a shrug, not wanting to get into the real reason he picked it up; how it made him feel closer to home. "Pays well when I apply myself and allows me vacation time whenever I want. So long as there are people around, I've got a job, I don't have to be tied down anywhere, worry about answering to a boss, have to worry about other people working under me... it's just me, I only need myself." Staring down his third drink, he eventually brought it to his lips and drained it of its contents, setting his now empty shot glass back down on the table next to hers. "That and it's kind of easy to impress the girls." He added, changing his tone back to his arrogant, snarky self. Her fingers reached out and brushed a small strand of his hair out of his face before she dropped it back into her lap. "You seem like someone who likes to be by himself... When he isn't putting on a show that is." She pointed at him. "Like that. The suave act. Making every girl feel like the only girl." She laughed a little and filled her own glass again before filling his, although she left it on the table to let him choose if he was going to drink it or not. "When we both know what kind of guy you are." She tilted her head back again then returned her glass to the table. "Wanting to be alone unless there's a girl in your bed." "Doesn't have to be my bed." Alan cut in with a wink, reaching for the newly filled shot glass and quickly drained it down. "This is getting far too personal for a one night... day?... stand." She moved on the couch so that she was on her knees and looked at him before she pressed her lips against him for the second time that day. Although, this time it wasn't as innocent as the first. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline, his eyes remaining open just long enough for him to maneuver his hand to set the empty shot glass back down on the coffee table. He had been able to pick up that she was forward, but not this forward. Had he known that, he could have probably saved himself a few bucks on booze. Moving his hands to her lower thighs, just above her knees, he pulled her onto his lap until she was straddling his waist as she faced him. Returning her kiss once she was positioned on him more comfortably, he wrapped an arm around her, holding onto her small waist while the second one began to finger at the hem of the neck of her shirt. Daria let him move her as he wanted as she kept contact with his lips. She leaned into him as his arm found its way around her waist and felt him returning her kiss. Her hand covered his that sat at her hem of her neckline before she pulled away from the kiss and rested back on his thighs. She smiled at him. "Root Beer Float.... Who'd have thunk..." She twisted and grabbed the tequila bottle. "Shall we add some strawberry?" She joked before she opened it. All etiquette aside, she took a swig straight from the bottle and flinched from the burning sensation before handing it to him. Once her hands were free of the bottle they found the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it to the side. She smiled at him before taking the bottle. "Thank you," She said quietly before she rose the bottle to her lips again. "I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth." Alan replied with a light chuckle as she turned to retrieve the tequila bottle. Watching with a small sense of awe as she drank from the bottle he then took it quietly as she handed it over to him. Leaving it from his lips, he instead watched her strip herself from her shirt, his eyes looking over the beautiful dark skin on her figure but was brought back to looking at her eyes as she took the bottle back from him. "By all means, as much as you want baby girl." A smirk played on Daria's lips as he seemed to tease her about her drinking. She reached forward and placed the bottle on the table that sat directly behind the couch with some kind of tacky lamp sitting on it, pressing her chest into his face for half a moment. She placed her hands on either side of his head and looked down at him. "Oh shut up," she gave him a small smile before she kissed him again. --- Daria opened her eyes to find herself lying on her side and looked down to find Alan's arm around her waist. They had curled up in the bed, under the sheets, after they discarded the quilt due to it being.... a little messy. She pulled some of her sheets into her hand and smiled, of course the bed wasn't the only thing that was messy. She sat up onto her arms and leaned across the bed to pick up the phone. She spoke in a low voice to avoid waking up Alan. "Hi..." She said quietly to the person at the front desk, "I was wondering if you could send a maid up to room 514... It needs a bit of a wipe down. Thanks." She hung up the phone and climbed out from Alan's arms and out of the bed before she tiptoed around the room. She found her wallet and placed a hundred dollar bill into the tip box for the maid to get, after all, Daria would hate to have to go and clean up after Alan and herself. With that dealt with, she walked into the bathroom and cleaned herself up a bit. She fixed her hair and washed her face before she fixed up her simple makeup. Finally, she headed back over to the bed and climbed back in. She got close to Alan and draped one of her legs over his. She looked at his sleeping face for a moment before she whispered, "Daddy, better wake up before I go get the ice cubes and whip cream." Flitting an eye open lazily, Alan's blue eye met with Daria's hazel browns and smirked a bit, rolling his head face-down into the pillow and moved his arms to hold tight to the pillow as if it were about to disappear out from underneath him. "I don't think we left any in the can..." He mumbled into the pillow before giving up on getting in any more sleep and rolled himself over onto his back, lifting his arm to run his fingers through his mess of brown hair. With a bit of a groan, he forced himself up into a sitting position and ran his fingers through his hair again, trying to blink away the sleep still in his eyes. Opening his mouth and letting out a rather loud yawn, stretching out his arms up and over his head in a few directions, he took inventory of the state they had left the bedroom in, catching sight of his pants at the doorway but his boxer shorts still unaccounted for, let alone his shirt and shoes. "Any idea where-" "Your boxers are in your jeans, your shirt is in the living room, and your shoes are by the door," She smiled at him as she sat up. Her head was still buzzing from the alcohol but she felt like she had a pretty good hold on herself and surroundings. Drunk but not sloppy. She stole a kiss before she climbed over him and started to gather her own clothing, putting it back on in reverse order. When her panties and jeans were on, she headed to the door and grabbed his pants and boxers before she walked out of the room. She draped them over her arm as she picked up her bra and put it on. Then she walked over to the chair by the window and grabbed one of her lace underpants that she had used on him earlier and stuck it in his pocket before she tossed his jeans over the back of the couch and gather the other undergarment and put it in her own back pocket. Finally, her own shirt came into mind and she looked around. "Have you seen my shirt?" She called to him as she looked around. Grateful that at least one of them had their wits about them (despite him actually being the sober one) Alan remained sitting on the bed for a while, shaking off his sleep-induced state before forcing himself out of the comforts of the warm bed. Following her out and finding his clothes gathered up for him on the couch he began to dress himself, head on a swivel as he looked around for any sign of the shirt she was looking for. Catching a glimpse of the familiar color of fabric between the couch cushions, he simply pointed it out to her as he hopped around on his feet a bit to pull his pants back up. "Hey, keep the booze. On me, yeah?" He said with a quirky grin. The flavors were fun, but he had no interest in drinking it on his own; preferring either beer or straight up when he drank alone. Daria climbed onto the couch when he pointed her shirt out for her and pulled it out from between the cushions. She looked at it as she held it, slightly confused as to how it got there before she pulled it on over her head. She looked at him when he told her to keep the alcohol for herself and nodded her head as she moved to kneel against the arm rest. "Alright but," She caught one of his belt loops as he hopped around. "I'll pay the next time you call me." "You did pay me... six times you paid me." Alan replied, keeping his grin on his face looking rather pleased with himself. Her fingers made quick work of his button, zipper and belt for him before she stood and headed over to the door. She picked up his shoes and leaned against the wall by the entrance. "I suppose that means we are both leaving each other with something to remember tonight by." She joked, smirking as he had yet to notice the present in his back pocket. Quirking an eyebrow as he watched her fingers work quickly with helping him, he couldn't help but to notice the added bit of weight in his back pocket at her words. His smile, twisting into a rather dirty smirk, reached his hand back, patting his back pocket, feeling the lump of her underwear there. "Booze for underwear. I can't help but to feel like I got the better end of the deal here." Pulling back from her a bit, he moved to slip his shoes on, not having to bother with the laces as they were already tied up. "Tonight doesn't have to be the end of it baby girl, you got my number and I got yours. Keep your phone on ya, I might be givin ya a ring later." "We're at four - six... I think I got the better end of everything," Daria said, letting her arm drop back to his side as he took his shoes back and slipped them on. She pushed herself off the wall and ran a hand through her hair. She closed the distance that he had just created between them and moved her hand from her hair to his chest and patted it a couple times, "I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest." She rose to her toes and gave him one last kiss as her hand moved to the door handle. When she pulled her lips away from his, she opened the door and leaned against the edge. "See you around... Daddy." "Count on it." Alan replied with a wink before heading out of the room and back into the hallway of the lodge hotel. Reaching into his pocket he fished out his old Nokia phone and checked the time, having to laugh at the amount of time he had spent in one place.

Lifting her hand up she let her long slender fingers slip back through her hair pushing it back and off her face as she let her perfectly manicured nails glide over her scalp her head lifting high as she let her dark brown orbs flick from title to title that were decorating on the spines of the books that lined the floor to ceiling bookcases in her library, reaching out her free hand she let fingers glide slowly over the leather bound covers her head tilting slightly as she looked for one that was going to pop out taking her interest.

Turning her hand she gripped hold of one in particular the brown leather causing the bright golden letters to stand out her back facing the book case as she turned away her feet carrying her over to the settee that stood before the large stone fireplace, dropping back into it she leant her body into the single arm of the chair settling herself down into the cushions as she opened it up allowing her eyes to lower and flick back and forth slowly over the words lain out before her.

Aurora's bare feet padded against the ground as she walked through the halls of Maleficent's palace. Her hands clutched tightly to a small envelope with a wax seal. Aurora dared not touch the seal in fear of what might happen if she angered the Queen who held her very life in the balance. She made her way to the throne room with no clue where it was that the woman had tucked herself away but found that the throne room, even when Maleficent wasn't there, had someone who could tell her where the Queen was.

When she reached the large doors, she carefully pushed one open and stuck her head in to ensure that she wasn't interrupting something. Finding very few people in the room, she entered and looked around until she found an older manservant and quickly made her way to him, "Henry," She asked in a quiet voice, not wanting upset the near silent room, "Do you know where her majesty is?"

The man straightened and pressed his lips together in thought, "I believe... She might be in the library, Miss."

Aurora nodded her head and made her way hastily out of the room and toward the library. Over the years, she had come to know much of this place. Though some of it was forbidden for her to enter or even think about, she took her time exploring every where that she was allowed. Just as she had when she reached the throne room doors, she opened the door as quietly as possible. When she poked in her head to see Maleficent alone in the room. She slipped inside and made her way over before grabbing her dirt covered skirts and curtsying to the Queen, "I have the letter from Gaston, your majesty."

She held out the envelope before she lowered to her knees, giving her tired feet a rest. The walk from the Moors to the Province was not a quick one but Aurora feared resting too long when she knew that she could rest easily when she returned. She glanced down at the book in the woman's lap and a small smile twitched at the edge of her lips, "I... remember when you used to read to me," It had been when Aurora was still young and struggled to sleep at nights due to her fear of the woman. She looked at her lap quickly, "My apologies, your highness, that did not need to be said."

Lifting her head up her eyes flicked over to the young girl who wandered into the room quickly making her way over to where she sat before she held out the envelope she hadn't really been looking forward to getting, the self-obsessed French King had always gotten on her nerves with his large ego and tendancy to take any woman he pleased causing her anger to flair whenever he made a pass at her or any of the women in her service. Pursing her lips slightly she reached out taking a hold of the envelope before pulling it towards her her free hand working to break the seal and release the paper from the envelope, "What in the name gods does that womanizer want from me now..."

She paused her eyes flicking from the sentence she was halfway through reading to meet with those of her ward, "I do hope he did not make a pass at you, nor that you have led him on in some way... It would not do well for either of you in such a situation."

"I have done my best to let him know that I have no interest in him without... upsetting him in anyway," She bit her lip, "But he does try to change my mind most times I go there. I feel as though that is why he continues to write you letters."

Lowering her gaze down to the letter once more she skimmed over the rest making a mental note to read it through properly at a later time before she dropped her attention back down to the book on her lap her hand working to throw the letter and envelope to the other side of the couch, "Do not apologize, you have no need to do so at this stage. Besides, what you speak of was so very long ago, I barely remember doing such things..." Her voice trailed off slightly as her mind flicked back to the times in when the only way to calm the crying and frightened child was to read to her until she fell asleep, shoving the thoughts from her mind her jaw clenched her finger lifting to her lips to allow her tongue to flick over it before she flipped the page.

Aurora's eyes rose slowly when the woman told her not to apologize. She nodded her head a little as she played with her hands watching as the woman continued to speak, explaining how she had forgotten most things the two had done when she was young. She gave her a sad smile as she thought back to her parents who she had been taken from all those years ago. She wondered if they would remember those things... She remembered every new thing she did with them to be a celebration but it was not the same with Maleficent. How could she expect it to be though? She may spend most days with the woman but... she was not her mother. She noticed the tightness in the woman's jaw and moved forward before she placed a hand on her knee, "Oh, I have not upset you, my Queen, have I?"

Little things gave away people's feelings when you knew what you were looking for. Aurora learnt to pick up on Maleficent's very quickly to avoid the woman's wrath that she had seen her unleash on more than a few people. She removed her hand from the woman's knee and returned to sitting back on her heels, "My apol-" She cut herself off and bit her tongue to stop herself from apologizing to the queen again, "Is there anything you need me to do for you, your majesty?"

Pausing her rereading for a moment she let her eyes wander over to where the young girl had placed her hand on her knee in a reassuring and calming manner something she had managed to get used to over the years of having her within the walls of her castle, "No child. You are perfectly fine. Guests barging in and out of my home without invitation has been what has me sitting on edge."

Lifting her head up she let her gaze bare down into the young girl before her as she felt her hand slip from her knee causing the Queen to huff out a sigh, "You have done enough for the day, you are free to spend the rest of the afternoon as you wish... I will warn you however, the sea witch is wandering about the castle halls. Do not engage her in any way, not strike any deals with her, do I make myself clear?" Narrowing her eyes she kept her eyes locked on those of the child showing her that there was in no way she was playing around.

Aurora's eyes widened when Maleficent stared her down, insisting that the girl make no deals with the sea witch, who was walking about the halls. She nodded her head vigorously, "Yes, your majesty... Crystal."

She stood to dismiss herself, her eyes still on the Queen, before she started to move away. She hesitated on the other side of the couch, her fingers playing with the chain of her cloak. She glanced over her shoulder at Maleficent, daring to ask her to stay before deciding against it. She was most likely too busy and she was covered in dirt still from her trip. She walked over to the door and opened it, "Farewell, your majesty," She said quietly before slipping out the door.

She gathered her skirts in her hands again and headed to her room, hoping to run herself a warm bath to clean up before dinner. As she walked away from the library, she stole another glance at the doors. She is not my mother, she reminded herself before turning to face front again and run up the stairs of the east tower to her bedroom. Sometimes she got lonely, she was not exactly royalty anymore and allowed to be with the Queen as she might have when she was younger but she was not exactly wait staff, which made them just as uncomfortable to speak to her as it was sometimes for her to speak to Maleficent.

Closing her eyes she closed the book her lips pursing into a thin line as she listened to the girl farewell her before leaving the room and in turn leaving her on her own once more in the silence of the library the only thing breaking it being the crackling of the flames in the fireplace, placing the book beside her she stood back up her feet carrying her over to the bookcases once again her eyes searching through the titles before her until she reached up grabbing a book down from its place the fingers of her free hand gliding over the cover.

Turning on her heels her arm came up her fingers clicking causing a thick plume of purple smoke to spread out searching through the castle until it had found the girl quickly wrapping around her causing her to disappear from sight only to reappear in the library that she had just left, "Sit..."

Nodding over at the settee she hurried her step letting her body fall back into it her back pressing against the arm and her eyes flicking up to the girl as she waited for her to join her on the couch her arm resting along the back in an invitation for her to lay in on her, "Come now child, I don't have all night."

Aurora just made it up the flight of stairs to her bedroom rather proud of herself. There had been a time when she had to stop along the way to breath or when she would reach the top gasping for breath. She supposed walking up and down them along with the long walking journeys that Maleficent sent her one had done more for her that she had actually been aware of. She went to reach for the door handle when she noticed the purple smoke around her feet. She gasped, worried. Aurora had developed a fear of most magic when the curse had been laid upon her. That fear intensified when Maleficent changed that very curse. She feared that any magic that came her way was going to be the magic that put her to sleep for the rest of her life.

This was not that magic though. So, she ended up in library once more with her arms up, protecting her face. She looked around herself when she found that she was still awake and looked to Maleficent when she told her to sit. Her eyebrows knitted together slightly confused as to why the woman had brought her back after sending her away. However, when she held her arm over the top of the couch, Aurora was quick to move to her. Tentatively, she leaned against the woman and looked up at her as she let her dirty feet hang of the settee, "Y-your majesty?..." She said quietly, still rather confused about what was going on.

Watching the girl settle back into her arms she brought the book around in front of the both of them so that they could both gaze upon the pages she opened the book her body shifting so that it was turned into Aurora's, "The roles however shall be reversed. You are old enough to read and therefore you can now make up for the time in which I wasted reading to you when you were no more than a little beastie who insisted on crying all the time."

Her words were harsh though her expression didn't show a hint of anger or frustration as she waited patiently for her to begin reading.

Aurora didn't protest when the woman informed her that she wouldn't be reading but Aurora would be. Maleficent seemed to always be like, she did something unexpectedly sweet then twisted it. The woman reading to her was one of her few fond memories of her time as her... well... prisoner and to hear that she saw it as wasted time... It hurt a little more than she expected it to. She rested her head against Maleficent's shoulder and took a deep breath, "Jenny didn’t have to run away to join the circus—it came to her. But not with midgets, bearded ladies or elephant men in tow. No sir, the circus had gone out and bought itself some style. Cirque de Magie rolled into town polished but sterile, with a poster that was slick and silver..."

Aurora's voice was quiet as she spoke. Her voice was always quiet, she couldn't remember a time, even as a child, that she rose her voice. Of course, she could just barely remember a time when she wasn't scared to raise her voice. She reached out when she needed to to flip the page and continue reading, ""I’ll wait for the movie,” I said disdainfully.

“It’s not at all what you think,” she said. “The circus is not a carnival. There’s been a renaissance. The circus has class.”

“You’re just saying that because its name is in French.”

“Don’t be absurd, François, Not everything French has class.” She gazed up at the advertisement. “You’ll take me,” she said. A week later, she was gone.""

Her eyes flickered away from the page now and again as she read. She was curious if Maleficent liked it or if she just wanted to be done with this. Did the woman regret dragging her back down here? Did the woman even like her? Some part of her, deep down, under all the darkness, had to like her. Surely...

She returned to the book and kept reading before she read the last line of the story, "“You must be Celeste,” Jenny said. “François and I are getting married,” Celeste replied... By Joel Fishbane," She added quieter than the rest.

Taking a deep breath in she closed her eyes her head dropping back against the arm of the chair her eyes closing as she enjoyed the sound of her voice reading out the words on the page that she was on, the story filling her mind as she relaxed in the settee with the young girl she had taken in under not so conventional means her arm dropping down from the back of the couch to fall over Aurora's shoulder keeping her close against her as she continued to read the thoughts that she had been dwelling on about her relationship with Jafar as well as the other calling on her constantly for meaningless drivel leaving her mind for the time being.

Opening her eyes slowly as the young girls voice slowed to a stop she turned her head looking down at her seeming to notice the way she was dressed and the amount of dirt that had accumilated on her skin, frowning she reached out taking some of the material of her skirt up in her hand, "You will not be at dinner in such a state. I will not have my ward wandering around the castle in such clothes and with grime all over her." Pulling herself away from her she stood up her hand taking hers as she lifted her from the settee to stand up her arms folding over her chest as she looked her over, flicking her hand out towards her she caused another thick plume of purple smoke to surround the young girl dissapearing only once she was clean and dressed to the Queens standard, her hair pulled back into a soft bun with a white flower resting to the right of it, "Hm... That will do I guess..."

Aurora's eyes drifted to the hand that rested on her shoulder and smiled softly at the tenderness of the moment. However, in true Maleficent fashion, she derailed the moment entirely as she gathered her dirt skirts and frowned. Aurora looked at her as she took her hand and attempted to explain, "My apologies, your majesty, I came straight to you once I arrived and I was heading to my rooms to prepare for dinner whe-"

The girl's words were cut off when she tensed as the purple plume enveloped her again. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the plume move around her, removing the dirt and putting her into a new dress as well as cleaning up her hair. She released the air she held in her lungs for a long portion of the time she was enveloped but tried to appear as unaffected as possible not wishing to upset the Queen. She looked down at the dress and ran her hand over the skirts a little before her eyes drifted back up to Maleficent, "Th-Thank you, your majesty... The dress is lovely," She glanced at the door for a moment, "Would you like to go to dinner now, your highness?"

Letting her gaze turn to look over at the large doors that led out to the hallway she pursed her lips shaking her head from side to side slowly before she motioned over to the settee where the book she had been reading before and the letter that she needed to look over once more with more interest than she had done earlier, "Not at this moment child. Go ahead. I shall be there once I have finished everything that I need to get done."

Moving past her she leant forward gathering up both books and the letter in her arms before she stood up tall her head nodding towards the exit, "I shall be in my chambers if I am needed. Remember my warning, do not approach the sea witch under any circumstances. At dinner you are to be seated on my left, do I make myself clear?" Not bothering to wait for a reply she turned her back on the girl her bare feet carrying her out the room and into the hallway following the path as she headed towards her chambers a small smile playing on her lips, the woman reveling in the small moment that had made her forget about the larger things that were weighing upon her shoulders.

"Left..." Was all Aurora really had the chance to get out before the woman left her standing alone in the library. She crossed her arms across her body, holding her elbows as she stood in front of the fire. Her eyes looked at the settee for a moment taking in the moment that had happened between the two of them before Maleficent went back to her ways. A sad smile appeared on the young girl's lips, she almost wished Maleficent had left the book behind... She would have liked to have it in her room. She dropped her arms to her skirts and gather the white fabric in her hands before she headed out of the room, leaving the library behind her.

Hearing the sound of the stone doors closing behind them, Scar said nothing as he walked through the Entrance Hall of the castle, ignoring the dumbfounded looks he was getting from those in the room at the sight of a swan (of all animals) following their King like an obedient puppy. Taking a right down a corridor, one of the guards took sight of the situation and took a step forward to approach his King, bowing slightly in respect.

"Sire, there's a-"

Passing the guard by as he went, Scar extended a muscled arm, hand taking hold of the soldier's face and slammed it back into the wall. The soldier, disoriented and slumping to the ground in an unconscious heap, didn't even so much as make a sound aside from the light thump when he hit the floor.

"I know." Scar said simply, continuing on walking with his shoulders now hunched over a bit. "Believe me, I know."

The King of The Pride Lands continued down the corridor, turning one more corner before opening up a small wooden door and stepped inside, standing in the threshold and for the first time since entering the castle looked to make sure Odette had followed him, keeping the door open for her until she passed through.

Lifting her head up to look about at the people that were surrounding them giving strange looks at the sight that even she knew wasn't an every day thing she hesitated for a moment the sight of him turning a corner causing her to run after him her wings flapping gently behind her as she closed the gap leaving the bystanders staring after her in confusion, tilting her head to the side she let her gaze flick up and down the guard who stepped forward bowing to Scar before he was slammed back against the wall causing the swan to stumble back slightly her feathers ruffling in surprise.

Stepping forward slowly she extended out her neck her beak pressing against the cheek of the unconscious man who was now slumped on the ground in front of her before she pulled away her gaze following Scar's path until she began to once more run after him slowing down as she watched him open up the door his gaze staring down at her, lowering her head she moved herself as fast as she could over the threshold slowing down once again as she entered the room keeping close to the walls and avoiding his gaze as much as he could.

Watching the end of her tail feathers cross over the threshold, he stepped after her, closing the door and letting the weight of it do most of the work, causing it to slam back shut. Scar walked forward, past Odette and went to sit on the settee in the room; the very same room he had just killed two gypsies not moments ago. The others in the room, both guards and servants alike startled to attention, each bowing to their King from what looked like respect, but the tension of absolute fear in the air said otherwise. One of the female servants, tasked with holding onto the wine jug, gasped in surprise at his presence and dropped the jug, causing the sound of glass and liquid crashing to the floor to fill the straining silence but Scar didn't even so much as flinch.

"Get out." He said quietly, resting his forehead on the palm of his hand. So quietly, in fact, hardly anyone in the room budged. Lifting his gaze to those around him, Scar's eyes narrowed and he stood up abruptly, swinging his arm outwards like he was trying to clear the room with his own hand. "GET OUT!"

The sudden outburst jumped the onlookers to attention, each taking the liberty of clearing out of the room as soon as possible. The servant who had dropped the wine bottle had knelt down to pick up the pieces, catching Scar's eye as he stalked over towards her with his fists clenched. The woman startled a gasp and gathered up the ends of her dress, abandoning the broken wine bottle and joined in with the others in leaving the room. Only when the last person had left did Scar take his eyes away from the door, returning to the settee and sat back down with an exasperated sigh, rubbing his left temple with his hand.

"Odette..." He called, not at all angry, but stern, going with her given name he had only used just the once before.

Pressing her body down into the ground she turned her head further away from everyone in the room nuzzling it down and into her wing the loud sound of glass shattering upon the stone floor causing her to jump her feathers ruffling as she stumbled further down the wall away from where the sound had come from in the first place, her eyes darted back and forth watching on as Scar lifted from his seat his voice ringing through the air and bouncing off the walls causing everyone this time to scramble about their sudden movements causing the young swan to turn away her feet moving her away from the wall and underneath the closest table so that she wouldn't be trampled in their hurry to leave the room.

Curling up she hid in the shade of that the tabletop provided her neck lowering so that she was completely hidden from view of those around her, this was not what she had been expecting when she had thought to come and visit, the yelling and violence catching her off-guard even after knowing that it was just a part of who he was and how he ran his kingdom.

Lifting her head up slightly as she heard her name being spoken she let her gaze come to a rest on his figure sitting on the couch rubbing his temple as the stress seemed to get to him her heart sinking as the feeling that she was the one who had caused it weighed down upon her, hesitating for only a moment she slowly made her way out from under the table her feet carrying her over to where he sat before she came to a stop in front of him her gaze locked on the ground at his feet.

Looking down at the swan at his feet by still holding his head, Scar stared down the beady little eyes of the bird, saying nothing for the longest time, more-so trying to wrap his head around the fact that Odette was somewhere inside the animal. How did she get here? Why was she here? Did she just plan on remaining a swan here at his castle as a constant reminder of his own curse and the promise he had made her to end the both of them by killing Rothbart?

Rothbart... even thinking the name caused knots to start twisting in his stomach. It took Scar a weeks journey of endless walking to reach Swan Lake, but if Odette had flown that time would have been cut down significantly, though how much he was uncertain; only knowing that the evil sorcerer would find out eventually... and come looking for her.

"I had been led to believe that you are an obedient child; that your trust in me was unwavering and that you would use that patience learned over the years to do as I say and not put yourself in any danger." Scar started in a low, almost threatening tone, continuing to hold the side of his head with his hand, his elbow in turn resting on the arm of the settee. "It seems I was wrong... about everything." Sitting up a bit on the settee, Scar removed his hand from his head and let it dangle between his legs off of his knee, bending slightly at the waist with both feet planted firmly on the ground. "Unless of course you are simply here to tell me that The Great Animal is already dead, or that he has had a change of heart and given you your freedom; this is news I would be most grateful to hear because surely no child of mine, adopted or not, would be so careless to simply run away without any thought to the consequences it could bring... say... if Rothbart were to follow and kill me in my sleep..." Scar paused for a moment, his eyes never leaving the swans before he sat back against the settee in a somewhat relaxed position. "But no, my Odette would never do something so careless, so out with it; what good news do you bring me?"

Her stomach churned nervously as she waited for him to start talking the silence weighing on her more than the yelling had done moments before hand, a sharp pain shooting through her chest as she listened silently and patiently to everything that he had to say to her. Lowering her head she pulled her neck in trying to make herself as small as she possibly could, she had disappointed him and angered him with her actions and then above all she had put him in danger from being there in the first place, she never should have left.

A small stinging sensation hit her eyes as tears began to form though she couldn't let him see her cry anymore than he had already done in the time they had spent together almost two months ago now, she had just wanted to see him again, to get away from what she was being put through back at the lake, but instead she had screwed everything up by thinking for herself instead of listening to him like she should have. She flinched slightly avoiding eye contact with him causing her to step back slightly as he began to speak about the consequences she had not even thought about, as he fell silent waiting for her answer she hesitated for a few moments before she closed her eyes tightly quickly shaking her head telling him that she had none as she waited, whatever punishment he was going to give her she would take, just as she would take whatever punishment Rothbart had awaiting her back at Swan Lake.

Watching the swan shake her head (or what looked like shaking her head) Scar exhaled a deep breath out of his nose and shook his head slightly.

"No? Nothing?" Shutting his eyes for a moment, he rested his head back into his hand, saying nothing for a while before pushing himself up from the settee and made his way over to the table she had been hiding underneath earlier. "Then I was wrong about you." Keeping his back to the swan and letting his words sink in, he ran his fingers over the silver tray that had been laid down on the table, plucking a few red grapes from it and popped them into his mouth merely to give himself something to do. Placing both of his hands on the edge of the table, his shoulders hunched over, he stared down the tray of fruit before snatching the edge of the tray and slid it off of the table, letting it clatter to the floor next to the swan. Most of it stayed on the platter, but a few grapes and orange slices bounced off and onto the floor. "Eat up. I have to think."

Her heart sunk in her chest as his words about being wrong about her hit her like a ton of bricks crashing to the ground below, she had really screwed up by leaving the lake she knew that and now it was up to her to make things right, even if that meant she would have to fly non-stop to get back there as quickly as possible. Scrambling away as the tray clattered down on the ground beside her she shot her gaze up to him watching him while her small figure shook in surprise and fear her feathers ruffling causing dust to fly off them before falling to the ground around her, spreading them out she flapped them gently lifting herself into the air before she turned carrying herself over to the open window. This had been a bad idea, the first thing she was going to do once she got out was go see Dominic before making the journey back home.

Hearing her webbed feet slapping against the stone floor away from him, Scar turned his thick neck to look over at her, catching her figure just as she hopped up onto the window that had been opened to rid the room of 'that dead gypsy smell' which he had described before getting the message that there was a swan and a man standing outside his castle. Turning the rest of his body around to face her, Scar turned lifted up his arm and hand in question.

"What are you doing? You won't last five minutes out there. It's a miracle you got here in one piece to begin with, what with vultures twice your size flying around out there; red-tail hawks, eagles... all of which who would find a nice, white swan a tasty little treat. Now, come back inside and sit on the couch or something, you're not an anima-" Stopping himself, Scar shook his head a bit, taking a moment to run his fingers through his short cropped hair. "Just sit back down. At least here you are safe."

She stopped pausing on the window ledge as he began to speak to her again her eyes on the open sky before her though her heart was telling her she wanted to go back inside and stay with him at his side, lowering her head slightly as she took his words to heart she looked around below her wondering if he was only trying to scare her or if she really wouldn't be able to get back home without being hurt or even killed. Turning her head back to look over at him first before looking over to the settee she thought about her options though coming to the conclusion that she no longer wanted to make him any angrier at her than he already was she flapped her wings her body gliding back through the room until she perched on the couch curling up with her head hidden under her folded wing.

Nodding his approval as Odette settled herself down on the couch, Scar once more gestured towards the tray of fruit on the ground.

"Now get something to eat. I have some business to attend to for the time being, but so long as you stay in here, you will be safe." Taking a moment to just look at the swan settled down on his usual sitting area, feeling that same protective feeling in his chest as he had before when they had met at Swan Lake, he crossed the distance to her and squatted back down on his haunches so that when her neck was extended, she was a might bit taller than he was. Raising up his right hand again, he dangled the necklace she had given him in front of her beady little eyes, the pendant catching the light of the afternoon sun and cast a warm, golden glow on the objects closest to it. "I haven't forgotten Malaika. Did you think I had forgotten about you? Is that why you came?" He asked, his voice, for the first time she had been there, returning to that of the gentle father.

Turning her gaze over to the fruit that he had put on the ground for her she nodded though gave him no signs that she was going to move from where she was now sitting on the settee her body still tightly curled up with her wings pressed in against her, tilting her head she watched him as he moved closer towards her closing the gap before he crouched back down on his haunches her eyes connecting with his for the first time since they had both entered the room together.The gentle glint of the golden pendant hanging from his wrist caught her attention her head turning so that she was looking over at it listening to what he was asking her trying to get to the truth of why it was that she had come to see him in the first place, shaking her head she let her gaze drop to the ground between them before she lifted it back up once more rubbing the side of her face against his cheek just wanting to be close to him like she had been back at Swan Lake.

His expression softened a hair feeling her down feathers rubbing up against his cheek again, but this time, as they were alone, he didn't pull away. He hardly moved, but there was a time when she could barely feel him nuzzling her back, for a fraction of a moment before he took his right hand and ran it over the top of her head all the way down her long neck, finding the place between her wings on her back and smoothed out the feathers there.

"I know, I missed you too." He told her quietly, somehow being able to understand what it was that she was trying to tell him. "I'm nearly recovered, the knee still hurts a bit when I move it in certain ways, but I'm doing just fine. Another months time and I would have returned to you."

Moving herself closer to the edge of the settee she leant into his touch her eyes closing as she tried to get herself as close to him as she could her body relaxing for the first time since she had entered the castle in the first place, turning her head into his cheek she nuzzled him back her beak brushing over his skin as she spoke softly realizing that he would only be able to hear the sound of a swan honking at him, /"I missed you too much father... I did not want to wait any longer to be by your side again..."/

Hearing Odette reply with a series of soft honking sounds, he sighed, pulling away from her touch and stood back up, reminding him of the meeting he had yet to set up. Scratching the back of his head, still looking down at Odette, the tightening feeling in his stomach only got stronger. He never called on her, his association with Maleficent had been very minimal ever since she gave him the in so that he could kill his brother and take over the Kingdom. She ignored him, and he did his best to ignore her, but she had magic and magic may be the only thing to help him right now.

"Stay put kid. I have to take care of something." He told her sternly, but not without love. Giving her a single nod, he turned his back to her and headed for the door in which he had entered with her, pausing for a moment to look back at the swan on his couch before pushing open the door and exited, closing it tight behind him.

How long had it been since he had climbed these particular set of stairs? The North Wing was almost never used by him or his servants, and yet here he was, climbing the tallest, steepest stairs inside his castle, watching the walls spiral past him with each step he took on the winding stair case. Finally, after what seemed like hours (more to repetition rather than fatigue) Scar reached the top floor and pushed himself inside the small room where he kept a small assortment of old artifacts, but he was only interested in just the one. Pulling a dusty brown blanket off of an object that stood taller than he was, he raised a hand to his mouth as he coughed out the dust that entered into his lungs, dropping the blanket and waving his free hand to clear the air around him. Once the dust settled, his eyes opened back up and looked to the handsome stand--alone mirror he had kept hidden for a number of years; a gift from Maleficent once he had secured the Kingdom as a way to keep in touch. His black eyes narrowed on his own reflection staring back at him, the urge to just take his fist to the glass and be done with it forever being forced out of his mind. He hated magic, but it was his only option right now. Taking in a breath, he reached forward and touched his palm to the smooth, cold glass. "Maleficent, I summon thee." The soft jingling of her anklets filled the hallway as she made her way down it her palm pressing flat against the oak door as she pushed it open her body slipping through into her chambers her other arm still holding both books and the letter she had received not moments earlier when she had been in the library with her young ward, crossing over the room she made her way around to her side of bed her arm relaxing around the books letting them drop to the mattress her body falling down to join them her eyes focusing on the letter in front of her. Furrowing her brows she groaned internally her eyes flicking from the words on the page in front of her to the large ornate mirror standing tall on the wall her free hand waving to show her who was disturbing her otherwise peaceful night, catching Scar's figure standing tall in front of her she raised an eyebrow out of pure curiosity wondering what was possibly so important that he would put his pride aside to call upon her like he vowed that he would never do. "Scar, darling... To what do I owe the pleasure of you ruining my night? I mean, you aren't the first one to disturb me today; so tell me, did you, the sea witch, and those damn morons plan to destroy my perfect day today?" Lowering her gaze once more she tried to concentrate on the letter though the sudden thought of having to read the constant and strange courting that Gaston was driveling on about no longer held her interest, standing up she threw the letter over her shoulder letting it fall to the ground behind her as she wandered over to the mirror her arms crossing over her chest as she waited to hear why he was calling on her so late not to mention at all. "I have no interest in making plans with a decrepit fish, nor any of your other play things. Their lack of intellect rather bores me it astounds me you haven't done away with them all as of yet." Scar remarked dryly, crossing his arms over his chest making himself look bigger than he already was. "Though even for you I suppose that's a bit too much effort, eh?" Shrugging his broad shoulders, rolling his neck around a bit until a few cracks in his neck came relieving some tension in his shoulders, he gave his attention back to Maleficent. "For thirteen years now I have been supplying The Moors with advanced weaponry that has been keeping your... adequate soldiers well stocked. We can both agree that it is high time to advance your army with a handful of my own men. A handful is all you will need, as I will hand over those capable of training your men into something extraordinary without the prospect of an entire army of mine eating The Moor's clean into a famine. Of course, I'll give you my two top generals as well to oversee the project..." The corner of Scar's lip twitched up into something that almost looked like a smirk. He knew he had to of had Maleficent's attention by now. Magic could do much, but nothing could compare to the elite warriors that came out of The Pride Lands. Lifting her hand up she ran her fingers back through her long dark brown locks her auburn horns keeping it in place as she listened to what he was saying to her offering to send her some of those soldiers of his that seemed to be above all others not to mention two of his generals which she knew would take down several of her men on their own, the notion of it had indeed piqued her interest and she knew for a fact that he knew she had had her eyes on some of his men for quite some time now wanting to bring her own army up to a standard in which she wouldn't send them off on wild goose chases just for her own entertainment. "So you finally give me an answer, however I know you too well Scar. You are not one who will give without receiving something in return..." Dropping her arms from her chest she pressed them against her hips leaning to one side the sequins on her saree sparkling slightly under the light of the evening sun flowing in through the balcony door, "So what is it that you wish from me." The flicker of a smirk turned into a sideways smile as he closed his eyes and nodded his head once, keeping his thick arms crossing over his chest. "You are correct, as always Maleficent." He stated boredly, but pressed on with his point. "I thought it would be best to ask of something that doesn't put your hand in danger of breaking one of those pretty little nails you spend hours manicuring, so in return all I ask for a bit of magic to be done. Nothing too complex, just a curse to alter. Not my own, mind you, we've already gone over that, but this one's a bit similar however I've already reached a conclusion on how it can be changed. I need the waters of my grotto altered to exactly match the waters at Swan Lake. Can you do that?" "Ah, you wish to connect your grotto to Swan Lake... I can only think that the reasoning behind this would be because you have met the young Princess. Little miss Odette." Her lips turned up in a smirk as she spoke already coming to a conclusion in her mind that she would indeed help him and perform the magic he was asking of her, "If what I am thinking is correct you have either stolen her away from our dear friend Rothbart, or you have somehow convinced the naive creature into following you around and believing you are somehow her friend..." His smirk turned into a scowl in the blink of an eye, the knowledge Maleficent seemed to already have on the girl putting his hairs on end just a bit. Perhaps he had said too much. "My reasoning's are my own, witch. Now can you do it or not?" Chuckling softly she lifted her hand up her eyes turning to gaze at her nails as she made a point to confirm his thoughts about her not wishing to put them in danger of being chipped or broken in any way, "I can indeed do as you say. Though if this is about the girl, you will not only need the water from the lake to appear in the grotto, but I would assume you need the certain special ingredient that is the moonlight upon it's surface. I can have that reflected from Swan Lake as well. This is something I will do if it will get me what I want." Raising a hand from it's tucked position into his arm, he waved his hand off, his eyes leaving the mirrored reflection of Maleficent for a brief moment. "I don't care about these 'ingredients', all I want is for it to be done, no questions asked." Lowering her hand back down to her chest she turned her full attention back to him her smile never leaving her lips, "We have a deal. Pleasure doing business with you Scar." Tucking his hand back into his opposite arm beneath his armpit, Scar returned his gaze to the witch and nodded his head once, though it lacked any respect. "Good. You can collect your men as soon as you've done it. I will inform them now that you are on your way for inspection-" Mimicking his motions from moments ago she held up her hand calling for his silence as she spoke out correcting him before he had the chance to go any further with his train of thought about her leaving right at that moment to appease his needs, "I think not Scar... I shall not be traveling to the Pride Lands tonight. I have better things to do with my time, and frankly they hold far more importance to me than your needs of connecting two bodies of water." Lowering her hand so that she was matching his stance with her own arms crossed over her chest causing her breasts to look bigger than they truly were under the saree that had been gifted to her like most of her wardrobe, "I have other commitments, and I shall keep them." Scar, furrowing his brows as she cut him off so blatantly, further held her gaze with a menacing glare, his eyes remaining on hers despite her accentuating her breasts as what he knew to be an alluring advantage she held over most men she dealt with; but not him. Raising his hand back up, his finger pointing at the glass mirror that was Maleficent's figure, he jabbed it her way. "It's tonight, or no deal. You want your men? Then you do as I ask, you will not get them any other way, Maleficent, and we both know how much you want them." He threatened. Rolling her eyes she let out a gentle sigh her gaze turning back to look at him as he threatened her his finger pointed at her as though he thought throwing a temper tantrum was going to get her to change her mind, "Well... Then it's no deal and your little Princess can stay as a swan for the rest of her days at your castle." Lifting her hand she waved it dismissively showing him that she honestly didn't care, yes she had been wanting to get her hands on some of his soldiers though she wasn't in any rush to do so, "I will not be changing my stance on this matter. I belong here tonight and this is where I will stay. Unfortunately for you, I have a better offer of spending time with a person who does not hate me, nor do I hate them. Quite the opposite actually, unlike your company, I enjoy him by my side." Bringing her hand back down she folded it over her chest once again as she continued her explanation as to why she would not be joining him, "Call upon me and I shall come to your lands tomorrow to complete my end of the bargain. It is this, or live with trying to understand the loud honks of a swan for the rest of your life." Understanding washed over Scar's face then, not of relief, but of detestation. "Jafar." He said, spitting out the name as though it burnt his tongue. Shaking his head, Scar took a few steps away from the mirror, pacing about in a small circle as he thought over the counter offer before turning, giving his profile to Maleficent but turned slightly at the hips to face the mirror at an angle as he pointed his finger back at her. "You waste my time, and for that you will owe me a small penance for making me wait. But tomorrow I will call." He promised. "Enjoy your night with your forced relationship. No man would truly enjoy your company. You've simply scared him into staying at your side, your desperate mind only seeing what it is you want to see. Keep that in mind... witch." With the last word barely off his lips, he waved a hand over the width of the mirror, the image of Maleficent wavering with the glass until all was solid again and he was left to look at his own reflection once more. Her jaw clenched her dark eyes hardening causing the flames in the fireplace to flare up as she listened to what he had to say about her relationship being forced upon the man that she had fallen in love with over the last thirteen years of her life, as his image blurred before disappearing completely she let out a frustrated and angered yell her hands balling into fists before coming down on the vanity that stood under the mirror the force of her anger causing a little bit of her magic to bleed through into her actions forcing the wood to shatter under her touch. "We have plenty of kindling for the fire, no need to make more... Freya..." Standing up straight she turned around as the sound of Jafar's voice hit her ears surprise written all over her face as understanding dawned over her features her hands dropping to her side and her gaze turning away from his gaze, "How much did you hear...?"

It had been several hours working in the resturant, Annelise finally had a moment to relax as the dinner rush stopped. She was about to clock out for the night when one of her co-workers named Sarah approached her. "Hey Anne, I know that your shift is about done but could you check on power box twelve?" The young woman looked at Sarah letting out an annoyed sigh, one of the bad things of working you had to go outside in the cold and make sure that the power boxes were all working. "Yeah sure I'll get to it.." Annelise said before getting up from where she was sitting and headed towards one of the back rooms where she had her jacket she wore earlier putt it on along with her beanie and walked out of one of the back doors. Outside the sun had already set, most of the vacationers had already turned in for the day, and of course the power box was one of the furthest ones from the lodge. Feeling that the temperature had dropped a lot since this morning, Annelise wanted to be in her room as soon as possible and hangout with Daria and her sister. ***Resting his back against the brick wall in between buildings, Alan ran his fingers through his long brown hair, ruffling it out a bit as he felt the soft touch of a few snowflakes coming to rest on top of his head. Looking up, eyes squinting a bit as another few snowflakes dropped down onto his face and eyes, he realized that it had started to snow again, and that these little snowflakes weren't just blown off of a nearby roof or tree. He was grateful that at least he had been able to return to the lobby earlier that day and retrieve his pull-over green sweater, he had been outside for the better part of an hour now coming down from his slight buzz with Daria and keeping out of Illya's reach. Returning his head back down to look straight, he caught a blur of red out of the corner of his eye, passing by the alleyway. Turning his head and taking a few steps towards the entrance of the alley, he spotted one of the girls he was sure he had the phone number to in his pants pocket. Racking his brain, he eventually came to the realization that she had been the girl who had been with Daria earlier, the cute little red-head that turned him down for a kiss but the exchange of a possible 'private' show later. Rolling his shoulders and neck a bit, he exited the alley and jogged up behind her, eventually closing the distance between the two of them, ignoring that the falling snow seemed to be picking up a bit. "You know, you're making this a bit too easy on me. And here I was about ready to spend twenty-two cents by giving you a call." He paused for a moment, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. "I don't have unlimited calling." He then added, feeling the need to explain. Annelise could feel a few snow flakes landing on her face, she looked up as she noticed that the snow was picking up slightly, she started to dig into her pockets to pull out her set of keys to the whole entire lodge searching for the right one she eventually found the right key, then she heard a familiar voice. The young woman turned around to see Alan as he started to walk alongside her. "I guess it's a small world." Annelise said with a smile as they started to walk into the nearby woods the power box was quiet a walk away. "So what brings you here?" Annelise asked. Alan shrugged his shoulders, burrying his hands further into his pockets as he could feel the bitter sting of the cold air penetrating through the fabric a bit. A small gust of wind picked up, covering his entire body in goosebumps despite his slightly warmer attire than normal; though he supposed that with the sun no longer being up had something to do with the change. "You know, beautiful night, beautiful landscape, beautiful girl." He replied noncholantly. "What about you doe-eyes? What brings you out into the cold tonight?" Annelise blushed a deep red over her cheeks at Alan's compliment as she stuck her hands into her pocket to pull out her pair of black wool gloves feeling the gust of cold mountain air feeling it moving her long hair in her face. "Just checking out to see whats wrong with one of the power boxes for the lodge." She answered brushing the blonde streak of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. "Not showing off any of your magic tricks to the other girls?" Annelise asked turning around to face him as she walked backwards. "So I take it you work here then?" Alan asked at the given information of what she was doing out here in the first place. "And I don't just show off my magic to girls, I show off to everyone. Gotta get paid somehow." Another gust of wind picked up, stinging the skin on Alan's face and forcing his carefully kempt hair to start blowing in tangles with the wind. Frowning, Alan looked up to the sky, unable to even see the stars or the moon anymore. "I'm no weather man, but I think somethings getting blown in. If you're gonna fix that box you'd better hurry. I may be incredible, but even my talents of magic are restricted to controlling the weather." "Yes I do actually work here, my father owns this place so you can kind of think of me as one of the managers." Annelise answered feeling another gust of cold air, she started to rub her arms trying to warm herself up despite wearing a winter coat. Annelise looked up at the sky as well seeing that the moon wasnt out and covered by the clouds. "I guess its a good thing that I have help then." She said as she walked until there was a very small clearing, there was a small building there was a small lamp post. "Oho! So I'm being drafted into helping now am I? Sorry doe-eyes, my services aren't free... it's gonna cost you." Alan retorted with an amused tone, clearly just messing around with her. Annelise approached the door as she stuck the key into the door trying to open it up but the door was frozen shut. "Damnit the door is frozen." She muttered to herself trying to open it again. Furrowing his eyebrows as they came to a stop, Alan tried to focus on the door that the red-head was trying to get into. Gods why couldn't he remember her name? Folding his arms over his chest, he looked from the door to the girl and smiled. Frozen doors were easy, it was all about leverage and a slight bit of strength. And if that didn't work, he wasn't exactly above breaking a window. "Payment now, or payment later with a bit of interest?" He asked with a coy smirk. The Snow had started to come down harder, the flakes thicker and with the added wind it was almost more blowing horizontal than just falling straight down. Taking note of this for a moment, Alan shook his head and answered for her. "Later with interest, works for me. We stand here too much longer we're ice sculptures." Unfolding his arms, Alan braced his hand against the wooden door, feeling the hinges and slight gap between the threshold and the door. Bracing himself, he slammed his shoulder into the door. The door, in turn, creaked a bit, but otherwise remained solid. He tried again, and once more until finally the ice around the bolts chipped away and the door opened to them. "Well if we get out of here sooner then i'll give you whatever payment you want, also my name is Annelise I guess you forgot it already." Annelise said teasingly as Alan had his go with the door hearing him slamming his shoulder into the door and eventually the ice that formed on the hindges finally gave way. And the door opened, by now the snow was starting to fall even harder and the wind started to pick up. She quickly entered the small shed, inside of the room conatined the power box, a few shelves of other equipment and other tools. The young woman approached the power box and opened it with her key getting a good look at it some of the wires had been disconnected. "And I guess you can have whatever payment that you would like for helping me." She said with a smile as she plugged the wires back in and the power came back on in the room. "I know your name." Alan lied, though grateful that she had given it to him again. Now he remembered, Daria had given him both of their names earlier that day. He closed the door behind them to keep the chill of the evening air and snow out, leaning his back against the wall and folding his arms over his chest again as he watched her examine the power box. The shack was small, and a bit cozy if you got past the dust that had collected over the tarps that covered... whatever they were covering. Blinking a bit as the power came back on to the building, as his eyes hadn't been used to the light for a little over an hour now, he moved his hand to rub his right eye and nodded at her success. "Well I guess your payment depends on what you're willing to offer me. We street magicians don't always just settle for money." Annelise turned around hearing Alan closing the door behind them, she leaned herself up against the wall she was pretty sure that he didnt remember her name but she let it slide she crossed her arms over her chest blushing slightly. Annelise didnt have any money on hand, she didnt even have anything valuable. "Well I lack money, what do you want a free meal or free room for the rest of your visit?" Annelise asked eyeing Alan up and down for several minutes. Tilting his head to the side a bit, looking her figure up and down for a few moments, he pushed himself off the wall and approached her, never taking his blue eyes off of hers even until their bodies were a hairs width apart from one another. "You know, I'm remembering you turning me down for a magic trick earlier... in favor of a more... private show." He said, lowering his voice to a near whisper and deeper tone. He lifted a hand slowly, taking a strand of her red hair and tucked it behind her ear for her gently. "You gonna cash that in now? Or are you gonna make me beg, Annelise?" Annelise watched as Alan eyed her for awhile just as she was and blushed deeply as he took a few steps forward until they were face to face near inches from each other feeling his hand gently touching her red hair and tucking it behind her left ear."Yes I do remember saying that." She said gently running a hand through her red hair. "What did you have in mind?" She asked softly. At their close proximity to one another, Alan gave her a white smile, brushing his hand past through her hair and holding the back of her head delicately. "Magic. The best kind of magic. The kind that makes you unsure whether or not you are experiencing real life or reality; the kind you can get drunk off of with nothing but each other's emotions, playing off one another until you just wanna burst." He paused, letting his fingers play with the strands of hair on the back of her head. "Close your eyes, and I'll show you." Annelise continued to blush slightly seeing Alan smiling at her, she didnt move letting him touch her hair, feeling his hands gently running through her red hair quietly listening to him explain she nodded towards Alan as she closed her eyes. "You better not hit me or anything." She said with a laugh she stood there quietly hearing the buzzing of the machinery in the room as well as hearing the wind starting to pick up as the snow storm started to get worse. He smirked quietly to himself at her small jest, but before she had any time to change her mind, or think twice about the offer, he bent his neck forward and brushed his lips against hers in a feather-light kiss while simotaneously taking his other hand to wrap around her waist, pulling her body flush against his. She stood there quietly, Annelise could feel Alan's lips pressing against her's gently she didnt move, feeling Alan's arm wrapping around her waist she started to return the kiss before breaking it blushing slightly looking into Alan's eyes. He kept his face close to hers, keeping her body against his with the gentle hold of his arm around her. His eyes flicked down to the rosy-red hue of her cheeks before looking back into her eyes again, a confident smile playing across his lips. "Now, was that so bad?" He teased, keeping his voice soft. "It wasnt bad at all." Annelise answered smiling shyly at him as she gently started to run her hands affectionatly up and down Alan's arms, she looked out towards the window seeing the snowstorm has already started to get worse now. "I guess we are stuck here until the storm passes." Lifting his gaze from her face, he turned his head to follow her eyes out the window, seeing nothing but a blur of white that went with the howling of the wind. "Man, it's really coming down." He observed, his eyebrows knitting together slightly, though lifting back up when he realized that the circumstances could have been far more worse... Turning his attention back to Annelise, he moved his hand from the back of her head down to hold the other side of her waist. "Good thing you've got just the thing to keep you warm while we wait." Annelise felt Alan's other hand going down to the other side of her waist, she never got so close to anyone before until tonight. And from watching the weather on the news the storm wouldnt pass until early the next morning. "You said you had some other magic tricks mind showing me?" His once, gentle smile turned into something a bit more... perverse. He could tell by her gentle tones, the blush on her cheeks, and slightly elevated breathing that this was all entirely new to her; explaining why she didn't want to kiss him earlier. There was an audience, she was the more private type, one on one just as she had told him earlier that day. "It's a bit much for someone who hasn't been... exposed to that kind of magic before..." He said, sounding more like a warning than anything though the undertone laying down the line of exactly what it was that he was talking about. This might have been new for her, but he knew she wasn't stupid. Especially if she was close friends with Daria; he could still feel the slight sting of her nails on his back from a few hours ago even now. "But I can be patient and teach you a few tricks... if you're open." He nearly had to choke back a laugh at the double implications, though settled for a mental high-five to himself instead. She thought for a moment what Alan was saying, she was open minded to trying new things, her eyes meeting his. "I'm still open minded to trying new things once." Annelise said leaning forward pulling Alan into another kiss and wrapped her arms around his waist, before breaking it brushing some hair out of her face looking slightly nervous. "What do you need me to do?" Annelise asked completely new to the whole thing she took off her jacket laying it on the floor standing in her wool sweater she had under it. He kept his smile on her, eyes looking back into hers. She was cute. Shy, timid, reserved, a little daring with her words and actions... a stark contrast to Daria; a refreshing change of pace, he wasn't sure if he could handle another Daria right now. Returning her kiss, keeping it soft and passionate, he pulled back and watched her take her coat off and put it onto the floor, unwanted. "You don't gotta do anything sweetheart." He told her figuring his best chance in this situation was to be delicate, compasionate and loving. He helped her to brush back her red hair behind her ears, bending his neck forward to place a kiss on her forehead before pulling away from her. He needed to find out what was under these tarps, and if they could use anything. Making quick work, Alan began to throw the tarps off of what they were covering, finding only just a bunch of useless junk at first but then finally stumbled upon a mattress that looked like had once been used for one of the hotel beds. Using the strength in his arms, he pulled it out and pushed it onto the small space on the floor, finding it to be a perfect fit. Squatting down, he lifted up the mattress again and grabbed her coat and handed it to her before going back to one of the tarps, shook it out a bit, and then laid it over the top of the mattress before taking her coat again and laid it down on top of the tarp. In return, Alan pulled off his own sweater, fanning it out and laid it down onto the tarp underneath her jacket before he moved onto the mattress, sitting down on the tarp next to the makeshit 'sheets' big enough for one person and extended his hand out to her, helping her down and eased her onto his lap, moving his arms to wrap around her middle in a protective hold. Annelise laid on her back her naked body pressed up against Alan's breathing heavily from the whole ordeal, she looked up at Alan blushing deeply she looked out towards the window seeing storm had passed. She looked back up at Alan and smiled at him, she enjoyed her first time with him and gently gave him a loving kiss on the cheek. She reached over towards her phone seeing that it was 12:15AM, she realized that they had been gone for awhile now. She slowly got up reaching for her clothes looking back down at Alan and smiled at him. "Thank you for that." Annelise said softly as she started putting on her bra along with her shirt once she fastened the clasps together and then started putting on her shirt. Alan had been awake for an hour or so already, but as the storm was still coming down a bit hard when he had awoke, he merely laid there, naked with the cute little red-head snuggled up so close to him for warmth. When she finally woke, his attention was brought back to the window, realizing then that the storm had let up, giving him the perfect opportunity to slip away before she started talking about 'dates' or 'love' or anything else of that matter that usually followed the intimate type of affection he had given her a few hours ago. Propping himself up on his elbows, he watched her get dressed with a small amount of interest, and nodded at her thanks. "You've got my number. I'll be in town for a few days more yet I think, so you just give me a call anytime and I'll show you that any time after your first is far more pleasurable." her eyes loooked down meeting Alans and smiled at him softly as she started sliding her panties back on along with her snowpants. "I might call you later then." Annelise said with a wink as she handed Alan back his clothes and blushed slightly. "If you want you can call me anytime while you are here." She said as she stood up to grab her sweater and jacket. Annelise walked over towards the window seeing the fresh layer of snow on the ground and trees. "You should go first i'll clean up and lock things up here." Grabbing his clothes as they were handed to him, he nodded and got up, beginning to dress himself feeling a bit sluggish from the amount of effort he had exhorted that day on just two women. Pulling on his shirt over the scratches and love-bites from the first girl that day, with a few new ones added from the cute little red-head, he looked to her and nodded. She was willingn to clean up and stay back? Even better! Throwing on his sweatshirt last after tying up his shoes, he headed towards the door, opening it up and feeling the immediate relief of fresh, cold air on his skin as the room had gone quite humid during their time in there. "I'll see ya around Annelise." He said giving her a mock salute. "Don't worry, I'll keep your number in mind." He added on with a quick wink. Before giving her a chance to reply, he stepped out of the threshold and shut the door behind him before she had a chance to change her mind and make the entire thing incredibly awkward. Gods knew he had more than enough experience with women like that. Before she could say anything Annelise turned to watch Alan leaving the small shed, with a sigh she gently rubbed between her legs sliightly sore from the experience. Annelise turned to grab the matress putting it back where Alan had found it as well as pulling the tarps back over the equipment. Annelise started to head out towards the door, feeling the cold mountain air on her face. Annelise closed the door behind her putting the key inside making sure that the door was locked. She looked down seeing fresh shoe prints knowing that they were Alan's as she started to follow them back towards the ski lodge. A few minutes later Annelise finally got back to the lodge, but turned off towards her house near the lodge. The moment she got back in the young red head walked over and sat down on the couch and turned on the tv.

Standing up straight she turned around as the sound of Jafar's voice hit her ears surprise written all over her face as understanding dawned over her features her hands dropping to her side and her gaze turning away from his gaze, "How much did you hear...?" Glancing up to Freya from the letter he was holding in his hand, his narrow shoulders shrugged half-heartedly. "Enough." He replied quietly, letting his brown eyes settle back down on the loopy penmanship that Jafar had become all too familair with over the years. With his free hand, he tapped the parchment with the backs of his fingertips looking back to Freya. "You still putting up with this guy?" He asked, the makings of jealousy interlaced into his delivery. "I put up for him for reasons in which you already know of Jafar... He is the one who supplies us with not only the technology that helps to run the Kingdoms, but he also supplies the castle with meats and pelts from his hunts." Bringing her arms up like she had done earlier on while talking to Scar she folded her arms over her chest again, "As much as I hate to admit it, he is the best hunter in the lands, so until I am proven wrong, I will continue to keep him in my service..." "I'd like to turn him into a pelt..." Jafar grumbled, letting his hand heat up until the letter caught fire. His dark eyes watched the parchment go up in flames, only to crumble into ash in his hand, his own skin remaining cool despite the fire that lapped at it, as his own magic, fire included, had no affect on him. Once the letter was no more, he wiped his hands together to dispell of the remaining ash on his hand before he let his eyes look back to Freya. "Can we just put him in the fish tank with The Sea Witch?" Jafar asked, returning back to their almost similar conversation with why she put up with Ursula for as long as she had. Her expression relaxed her smile returning to her lips as she nodded in answer to his question the notion of placing Gaston into a giant fish tank with Ursula was quite entertaining however if they went with the plan of having it in their bed chambers the idea of being watched by those she hated was not something she could get used to. "We can do that, however thinking about that particular plan, I would rather not have the tank located in the bed chambers with us." Her smile faltered at her words her gaze once more turning down and away from him as she spoke her mind wandering back to linger on Scar's last words about her forcing her love upon him without any feelings being reciprocated. "You do not need to stay by my side if it is something you do not wish to do... I do not wish to force myself nor my love upon you if it is unwelcome and unwanted." His smile at Freya playing along with his theoretical idea dropped the moment he noticed her eyes lowering. He could practically see the thoughts that were coming across her mind even before she spoke them. Halfway through her talking, Jafar took a single step in her direction, closing the distance of twenty or so feet between them by disappearing in a wall of flame only to reappear behind her in flames once again, finishing his step as the flames disappated and his arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her into him and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Don't give the pussy cat the satisfaction of detouring your thoughts." He told her gently, moving his nose to the side of her hair that fell down her shoulders so that he could speak into her pointed ear. "He is prideful as he is over-muscled, his manipulation and persuasion skills a more potent weapon than his strength. You can't give in... you already know this, Mal..." Bringing his lips away from her ear, but only a few inches, Jafar stiffled a light chuckle but was unsuccessful. "You know, he would make a very handsome throw rug... and when he gets dirty you can take him out and beat him over the side of the balcony, maybe drop him a time or two by accident..." Her heart fluttered slightly feeling light in her chest as she felt his arms slip around her waist pulling her back into his body causing her to lift her head up looking back over her shoulder at him her eyes flicking up to meet his unable to help as her lips once more took on the smile that was saved only for him. "I know... But it is hard to think in any other way when what he says has truth to it. Thirteen years ago this relationship began the way that he says it did. I forced it upon you when you did not wish for it to happen." Turning her gaze back around she looked out the door at the balcony a gentle laugh sounding through her lips as she thought about beating the pelt of the lion out on the stone railing. "If we punish any more of my pawns, we won't have enough left to play the game..." Ignoring her latter comment, more focused on her first, Jafar side-stepped around her, moving his arms up to her bare shoulders and holding her there until he was facing her, chest to chest. "I don't care about the past Mal... Freya..." He said, his eyes softening with his brows coming together in a sincere look across his face. "We both have pasts yes, you have yours, and I have mine, and we have ours together, but I don't care about any of that..." He paused for a moment, letting his hands move up and down her arms in a comforting gesture and letting that sink in with her. He didn't care about her past, he was over it and willing to accept it after just a couple hours to himself in the gardens. "What we have now... that is real to me, and I won't ever let it, or you go no matter what kitty muscles has to say about it. You love me, and that is good enough for me to live out the rest of my days in happiness." Hesitating for a moment she lifted her head up her eyes once more looking deeply into his searching him for answers to questions that she wasn't sure whether she wanted to ask him or not though the answers she sought came to her as he began speaking his touch keeping her calm and relaxed. "I do love you. As I told you before, everything I said to you earlier is completely true. Having you by my side is something I would like to have as an option for my future, but I will not force it upon you just as I forced this relationship on you the moment that we met." Despite to what he was feeling on the inside at her stubborness continuing to beat herself down because of Scar's words, he smiled. "You helped me to understand my power, Freya." He said, trying to use her true name as much as he could to get his tongue used to it for when they were alone. "I don't think anything after that was forced contrary to what may have been said or done afterwards." Keeping his soft smile, he moved one hand up her arm to brush away her lock of hair curtaining the side of her face, pushing it up and over one of her horns so that it would stay there. "I love you too, and I have for a very, very long time. It took me to allow myself to finally put my past behind me to realize it, but it's always been there... and it always will be." Her lips parted slightly her eyes closing as she watched him lift her lock of hair up before draping it over one of her horns keeping it in it's place upon her head her cheeks turning a soft shade of red at the three words he spoke that couldn't help but cause her heart to race in her chest. "You make my heart race whenever you call me by my name and whenever you say that you love me..." Moving his hand from her hair, he trailed it down her arm and found her hand. Lifting it up, he placed it onto his chest over his heart where she could feel it beating frantically against his chest. "Just being near you does the same to me. You can only imagine what you do to me when you say the same things..." Her heart skipped a beat as she continued to feel his beating in his chest under her hand her smile growing slightly before she paused for a moment her eyes dropping to his chest her as she brough her hands up resting them softly on his shoulders as she thought back to that morning when they had been speaking until it turned into an argument between them. "I am sorry about our earlier conversation... I never meant to upset you in the way that I did... I know that I did wrong, please, can you ever find it in my heart to forgive me..?" "You didn't upset me." Jafar began to explain, his smile faultering, his face returning to the look of concern and sincerity he had held for her just a few moments ago. Taking both his hands down her arms, he found each of her hands once again and linked them together, pressing them between their bodies level with their hearts. "I was simply caught off guard, but upset with you is something I could never be. But if my forgiveness that will help ease your mind, then you shall have it." He bent his neck forward a bit, stooping down to press her lips to her forehead in a tender kiss, keeping their hands together between them. Smiling softly she let her gaze lingering on their hands now pressed between the two of them her long dark locks falling over her shoulder though her horns keeping them from falling over her face as she closed her eyes once more enjoying the feeling of his lips against her forehead. "Your forgiveness is the only one in which I seek. Your word the only one that matters to me. Your love the only one that I crave." Slipping her hand from his she brought it up pressing her palm against his cheek as she moved her body closer against his, "And if keeping you means that I need to face my past, then ask away, I will answer anything you wish to know my dear." Turning his head, using his now free hand to remove the dark red turban from his head and tossing it to the side, he pressed his lips to her palm, letting his hand rest on the small of her back to bring her even closer to him. "Questions for another time, my love. But tonight, I want to push away those thoughts Scar has seeded into your mind regarding my love for you, uproot them and toss them away... forever..." He turned his head a bit, the tips of their noses connecting as he brushed it side to side in a soft Eskimo Kiss. "...If my Queen allows it..." He finished, his smile showing that he only used the title to lighten the mood. Turning her head she watched him toss aside his turban before her back arched bringing her closer against him her hands slipping further over his shoulders to wrap around his neck pulling him closer to her down to her level. "When you wish to ask them, I am willing to answer." Her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red as she leant her head up to brush back and forth against his nose her smile growing wider with every moment that she was in his embrace his love and afffection something that she had found herself craving over the years passed by them, "I am not just your Queen... Never again will I just be your Queen..." Pausing for a moment she let her eyes flick to his lips before letting them lift back up to catch his eyes curious to see his reaction, "..My King..." A quiet shudder rolled over his spine, causing his muscles to tense slightly all the way up to his shoulders where she would be able to feel it, all the while exhaling out a breath he hadn't realized that had been caught in his throat at the term she used to describe him. Unable to help his own eyes flickering down to her lips as she had looked to his, his smile widened a fraction, trying to laugh out but his breath got caught again so he settled for running his hand up and down her back gently. "No, you are much more than that." He agreed. "You are my life." "As you are now mine." Her arms released her tight grip around his neck as she pulled away her hands sliding down his arms until she slipped them into his own leading him across the room and over to the bed gesturing for him to sit down and relax, climbing up onto the bed she crawled behind him her breasts pressing against his back as she reached up her hands sliding up his sides before her fingers pushed into his shoulders working to help remove the tense knots that had worked his way through his body. Tilting her head to the side she waited for all her hair to fall over one shoulder before she leant in pressing her lips softly against his neck her warm breath flowing over his skin. "But how about I help you to relax first my dear." A soft groan escaped his otherwise tight lips, his eyes flitting closed feeling her hands starting to work out the tension that the day's events had brought down on him. Exhaling a short breath, he tried to turn his head to look at her, to protest that it was he who was to take care of her but she had somehow read his mind and stopped him short by planting a kiss on his neck; an area where she fully knew how sensitive he was, and his eyes closed tighter. "Freya..." He tried, a pitiful attempt to have her stop, but it was all he had in him. Smiling softly against the nape of his neck she pressed her fingers harder into his shoulders as she tried her best to rid him of the stress that she had helped to inflict onto him in the first place, leaning in closer to him she pressed herself harder into his back her knees working to move her closer as she curved her body to the shape of him a gentle chuckle escaping through her lips until she pulled back slightly her eyes flicking up to meet his though she kept the intimacy close between them. "Yes Jafar..? Is something the matter with me wishing to take care of the man that I love..? To rid him of the stress I caused?" "I..." Jafar paused, feeling a particular knot being worked out from his shoulder that had been bugging him for a few days now. "...take care..." A low groan came from deep within his chest as the knot continued to loosen, bringing a wave of pleasure and relief over his shoulder and all the way down his back. "...y-you..." His head dropped down away from her touch, hanging uselessly with his chin touching his chest pulling the muscles that Freya was working on tight so that she could get the smaller areas. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument; and he was just fine with that. Her hands slowly worked their way lower her fingers sliding down his back causing her nails to brush over him her lips once more pressing against the nape of his neck as she let them part slightly gently biting down for a few moments before she pulled away again. "You have taken care of me for the last thirteen years of our lives Jafar... It is high time that I begin to return the love and kindness that you have shown me..." Closing her eyes she pressed her lips against him leaving a slow trail of kisses leading down from his neck and over his shoulder her fingers pressing hard into his back working her way over his body in hopes that she could relax him as much as she could, "Do you not want me to do so..?" "Okay..." Unable to help it even if he wanted to, Jafar melted back into Freya's figure, reveling in the way her body felt pressed up so close to his, his tight muscles loosening by her body heat alone. "But... but just the once..." Leaning her body to the side she slipped herself away from him causing his body to softly fall back onto the mattress below them shifting her own body until she was laying over him her hands holding up the bottom of her saree as she straddled his lap, lifting her hand up she clicked her fingers the sound of a lock sliding shut echoing around the room ensuring them privacy as she leant down her breasts pressing hard against his chest and her lips pressing gently against his own. "Aurora and the sea witch can dine alone with the rest of my men. I think we should call for dinner later... Do you not agree my love..?" With his breath catching in his throat as Freya was behind him one moment and back on top of him the next, his dark eyes looked up at her looking to be a mixure of fear, desire, and absolute helplessness. Running the tip of his tongue over his lower (very dry) lip, the sorcerer was reduced to a simple nod, unable to find enough blood in his brain to formulate any words before hungrily pulling her back down on him for their lips to meet once more.

Annelise sat quietly on the couch, with her three month old kitten Sylvester sleeping in her lap while watching some tv, she found the small cat inside of the dumpster just outside of the lodge and quickly took him in since then she loved the little cat. She looked over at the clock for a moment wondering where Eliza was, Annelise took out her phone to text Daria. 'Hey i'm back at the house if you still want to sleepover tonight.' She hit send, as she gently laid Sylvester on the couch to grab some food out of the kitchen to get ready for their slumber party

Annelise grabbed a bag of popcorn and pulled out a pack of soda from the fridge, and popped the bag into the microwave. She headed back into the living room, Sylvester was already starting to wake up letting out a cute little meow, she looked around and found the fishing rod toy he loved to play with. She dangled it over his head as she entertained the cat.

Daria had just gotten out of the shower when she heard her phone go off. She quickly walked over her to it, looking to see what it was. She smiled when she saw the text from Anna and he quickly replied to the girl, 'Of course! Be there soon!' with that she quickly got dressed and threw a few things into a bag, along with the alcohol that Alan had left with her and a bottle of wine from the bar that her parents always filled with different forms of alcohol for their stay. Of course, they never remembered all what it was that they sent ahead of them and never noticed when she took a few bottles of whatever it was she chose to drink over the week.

With her things all gather up, she grabbed her coat and quickly made her way to the Brie's. She knocked on the door loudly and waited till Anna opened it. She grinned at the girl and handed her the bottle of wine, "Thought we might be wanting this. I also have some vodka and tequila... Although, there isn't much tequila left..." She pressed her lips together as she smiled at her friend, "And I may already be an insy bit drunk already... So, you have some catching up to do."

Frowning slightly she crossed her legs under her desk her eyes gliding over the paperwork that she had laying on the tabletop her free hand flicking through the magazines searching for ideas as she tried her best to get all of her work done before the night was out, after leaving the restaurant and getting into an argument with some woman who thought she knew everything she had just collected her things before going home and locking herself into her room so she could get her work done in peace and quiet.

Lifting her head up she turned looking over at the door as she heard a loud pounding coming from the front door alerting her to the fact that someone had come over and with it being the time of year in which Daria chose to make the mountains her own she could only guess that that was who their guest was, standing up she ran over to her door unlocking it before slipping out into the hallway following the familiar path that led to the front door her eyes flicking from her sister to her friend and back again, "With you two around I'll never get any of my work done." Shaking her head she smiled softly her arms crossing over her chest as she leant against the wall, "I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear you admit to drinking without us..."

Annelise couldn't help but smile as she opened the door to let Daria into the house and quickly hugged her. She took the bottle of wine from Daria, as she walked over towards the small coffee table that laid in front of the couch. "We can all drink together then." She heard Eliza walking down from her room and smirked at her. "You work way to much sis, you need to live a little and have some fun." She said sticking her tongue out at Eliza. "When did you get home anyway?"

Daria laughed at Eliza before she wiggled her finger, "Oh, no, no, no, no," She moved closer to the older girl, "I'm not stopping you from working. You're stopping yourself because I'm a blast and you want alcohol," She smirked before handing her the bottle of Root Beer Vodka, "Don't blame me for the alcohol choices he chose them," She said in a very coy manner before walking over to the couch and dropping her bag before pulling out the tequila bottle and placing it on the table. She turned and looked at them, "Can you two hurry up and get drunk? I want to dance or something!"

She giggled before flopping back onto the couch, awaiting them to come and join her.

Lowering her gaze to the bottle she opened it her feet slowly moving her into the room as she lifted it up to get a whiff of the contents her face scrunching up slightly before she read over the label her eyebrow raising curiously, "Excuse me... He? Do I even want to know what poor guy you had hanging off your every word and waiting on your every need this time..."

Replacing the lid without even so much as a sip she leant forward placing it down on the coffee table, "I really don't feel like drinking tonight-..." Catching the looks on their faces she sighed her hand coming up to rub her face, "But you two really don't care and are going to make me drink anyway aren't you..."

Annelise smirked looking at Eliza and shook her head. "Nope we are going to get you nice and drunk, you work way to much and you need to have some fun!" She said grabbing her sister by the shoulders and gently pushed her down onto the couch. Sylvester jumped off of the couch, running off into the kitchen when Daria dropped her bag onto the couch. "I'll be right back i'm going to grab the shot glasses." Annelise smiled walking back into the kitchen

She came back holding three shot glasses in her hands setting them down onto the coffee table grabbing the tequila pouring each a shot.

Daria shot up from her spot on the couch to kneel on it backwards, looking over the top at Eliza, "Oh, I think you do. He was... ugh... He was great," She smirked, "You know me, you guys don't get names.... can't have you judging me if you know the lucky gentleman," She fell back again onto the couch but fell on it length wise, "But god, did he have me saying it a lot."

She laughed and rolled over onto her stomach as Annelise poured them their shots, "Yes, Eliza! You are getting shitfaced! I'm only here for two weeks and my parents are only here for one... I only have seven days to get down, dirty and drunk and there are no people I wish to get drunk with and not have sex than you two! So you are drinking, no arguments," She shot the girl a playful glare, "Now get over here and take the damn shot," With that she turned and plucked her own off the table and threw it back.

Dropping her head back as her sister began to lead her through the room she groaned her body falling back into the couch as she turned her head looking over at Daria as she threw back the shot she had picked up, "I don't want to know the details. I'm not like you and my sister Daria, I don't really care about those things."

Frowning she leant forward picking up the shot before she glanced from one to the other giving them a warning look as she laid down the rules for her giving in and drinking, "One. Okay, that's it, I'll have one. I'm not in any way going to get shitfaced. I can't afford to do things like that."

"Tell us the details I want to know who let themselves into your pants." Annelise said grabbing her own shot glass and quickly downed it before setting it back down onto the coffee table. She looked back at her sister and frowned slightly. "C'mon sis Dari went be here for long, and its not like you have anything planned tomorrow right?" She asked grabbing the bottle of tequila once more drinking the shot leaning back into the couch.

Daria shook her head when Annelise told her sister that she didn't have anything planned for the next night, "No, wait, I know this one! Snowfest thingambob starts tomorrow. Which is why your sister has been in massive party planning mode but it isn't a matter of not getting drunk tonight, it is a matter of not having a hang over tomorrow. Start the day off with a Caesar, bacon and eggs, coffee, water, and pain killers. Trust me. I've gone to plenty galas for my parents after a long night to drinking. If I can be a prim and proper lady while hung over, you can run a party."

Sighing she pursed her lips together shaking her head as she listened to the two of them speaking about what was going on the next night and how Anna had managed to forget about the biggest event of the year was far beyond her, lifting the shot up to her lips she threw it back letting the alcohol burn her throat as it went down the blonde leaning forward to place the shot glass upside down on the coffee table beside the other two which were upright, "There. There's my one. I'm having no more."

Dropping back into the couch her face scrunching up slightly as she sniffed around in the air trying to pick the smell that was wafting towards them, "Uh... Anna, are you trying to cook again? Please tell me that I'm not the only one who smells something burning..."

Annelise smelled the air noticing that something was starting to burn. "Crap forgot the popcorn!" She shot up from her spot on the couch, making a run for the kitchen, puffs of smoke were coming out of the microwave. Quickly turning off the microwave Annelise pulled the bag of popcorn out of there, outside the bag had started to burn but luckily there wasn't a fire. She sighed as she walked back into the living room looking back at Eliza pouting slightly giving her sister an annoyed look.

"I've cooked before, and they always turned out really well." Annelise sighed as she sat down on the couch. "Besides the last time I cooked, you were stealing the whole plate to yourself."

Daria laughed as the two sisters bickered a little before she retrieved the burnt popcorn bag and sat back down on the couch, "It's all good. Burnt popcorn is good! The chefs back home never burn it a little for me. Нет мисс, он не должен быть идеальным . Нет горение," She stopped and looked up at them as she put some popcorn into her mouth, "Our chefs are Russian..."

She laughed a little, "But they insist that it all be perfect even if I think perfect is a little burnt."

Rolling her eyes she pulled herself up from the couch brushing herself off as she wandered around the table and past her sister into the kitchen her body lifting up onto the balls of her feet so that she could reach into the cupboard pulling out a fresh bag of popcorn for a second try, "You know that I would rather have a chicken salad wrap than the pasta that you and dad eat. We both know that he was the one who ate it all, I'm in training remember, means a strict diet and a low number of carbs." Chuckling softly she crossed over to the microwave opening it up before she slipped in the new packet her fingers hitting in the pad before starting it up, "Okay, take two and this time not for five minutes but the recommended time on the packet."

Turning around to look back at them she leant back against one of the kitchen cabinets her head tilting to the side, "Alright, all talk about guys aside. Because I don't wanna know... What do you guys have planned for us tonight?"

"But it's good to just spoil yourself every once in awhile Eliza, besides your next boarding contest isn't for another few weeks." She leaned back in her seat on the couch watching her sister walking into the kitchen, Sylvester came back into the room and jumped onto Daria's lap and looked up at her. "Looks like he likes you already." Annelise smiled, she looked back over at her sister as she waited for the second bag of popcorn to finish. "I don't know, maybe dance around and play some games?"

Daria looked down at the cat when he hopped into her lap and squealed putting down the burnt popcorn before she picked him up, "Oh my god! You didn't have this little guy when I was here last time!"

She sat back in her lap, leaving him be to curl up as she looked up at Eliza, "We also planned drinking," She informed her, "Have a glass, just one, of wine with us. It is a like hundred dollar bottle of wine from France, so it has to be good!"

She leaned back against the couch, "A movie too! We should watch a movie."

Putting on a show by pouting in their general direction she crossed her arms over her chest her shoulders hunching over as she thought about their discussion not moments earlier in regards to her drinking, "But mummy, I thought I already had my one drink for the night..."

Lifting her hand up she pushed her fingers back through her long blonde waves pulling them over to one side before she turned back to the microwave as it began to beep at her alerting her to the fact that the popcorn was done and ready to eat, pulling it out she closed the door again her hands working to pull it open before dropping back onto the couch, "Alright. One more drink and maybe I'll stay through the whole movie. But I still have work to do, and I won't be sleeping much tonight because of it, so don't get snappy when I need to go back to my room okay?"

"I found this little guy out in a dumpster by the lodge, no one claimed him so I took him in he is so cute." Annelise smiled seeing Daria's reaction as she watched Sylvester curling up in her friend's lap. Her eyes turned to look back at Eliza and smiled giggling at how her sister was pouting. "I understand planning the whole thing is hard, just ask for help." Annelise got up from her spot on the couch as she searched through their movie collection.

"What do you guys want to watch, a comedy, chick flick, horror, or sci-fi?" She asked turning to look at the two of them. "Where do you parents get all the expensive drinks from Dari?"

Daria smiled widely when Eliza gave into having wine with them. She stood, collecting the kitten in her arms and managed to find a couple wine glasses and a wine bottle opener. She walked back them and placed everything down before she grabbed the wine bottle and sat back down, putting the cat back on her lap. She opened the bottle with a satisfying pop, "This one is from France... As in we bought it when we were in France last month," She laughed a little and pour the wine into the three glasses, "My parents prefer to actually go to vineyards and so that they can taste what it is they are buying. Then they buy them by the box and send them back home for the servants to unload into the wine cellar. We get beers from breweries... My father's current obsession is German beer while my mother is raving over this Japanese whiskey...."

She took her glass into her hand and sipped it a little, "Of course we only buy vodka when we are in Russia. We bought three whole cases when we were there during the summer," She laughed a little, "So... I can't exactly say. We buy them from the source all over the world. I have a very refined taste for alcohol," She looked at the two other bottles she had brought with her and laughed a little, "So long as I'm buying."

She leaned back and took another sip of her wine, "Comedy."

Raising her eyebrow her lips parted in slight surprise as she felt something vibrating against her hip her attention turning down to her phone as she pulled it from her pocket her thumb sliding over the screen to unlock it her eyes flicking over the message causing everything around her to turn into nothing more than background noise and distractions, lifting her gaze back up though staring at nothing in particular she locked her phone again her free hand pushing down against the arm of the couch as she pulled herself back up to her feet not really bothering to look at them as she started to leave the room, "Ah... Uhm, something just came up... I gotta go."

Not bothering to wait for a reply she hurried her step up the stairs her arms swinging at her side and her phone clasped tightly in her grip as she left their company giving them no more details than a vague goodbye, slipping into her room she pushed on the door distractedly not bothering to check to see whether it had closed properly or not as she threw her phone down onto her mattress her hands wrapping around her body as she began to rid herself of the clothes she had been wearing throughout the day. Crossing over her room to her wardrobe she bit her lower lip chewing on it nervously as she pulled item after item out her eyes flicking over each before throwing the ones she didn't like over her shoulders letting them fall to the ground below before finally she found what it was that she had been searching for.

Switching out her bra and underwear for her bikini she pulled on a white top with the face of a wolf on over the top slipping her body into the dark blue skirt being sure that it was all tucked in before she placed the thin white belt around her keeping it all together on her body, reaching forward she pulled on her boots her free hand reaching out to snatch up her cardigan and scarf slipping them into place on her body before she grabbed hold of her mobile her eyes flicking over her outfit once before turning around the room quickly before she made her way over to the window. Slipping her phone into the side of her bikini top she leant over her face scrunching up as she pulled it open her upper body ducking to look out as she sized up what needed to be done, the blonde not having any real reason to sneak out of the house since she was still in high school.

Annelise looked over at Daria as she picked out the various comedy movies that she had with her, listening to her as she talked about how she got all of the expensive drinks and smiled. "Well you have to take me on your trips sometime." She said grabbing herself a wine glass and started to pour herself a glass of wine, her eyes went to look up at her sister for a moment wondering who texted her and then heard her saying she had to go.

Following her sister up to her sister's room Annelise stood outside of her door watching Eliza changing into her bikini. Before she could walk in Eliza had already gotten her cardigan and scarf on, and watched her open the window.

Daria watched as Eliza quickly left the room after a suspicious text and pouted a little. She whined when Annelise got up and followed, "Nooo!" She cried after them, "That is not watching a movie!"

She hopped up and put her glass on the coffee table before chasing after the sisters. She got to the door to see Eliza pulling on her cardigan and scarf and laughed a little, "Oh, so you are too busy with work for us but not for some hot date with a mystery man.... Or woman... If there's been some kind of development there..."

She sighed and wrapped her arms around Annelise's waist and picked her up off the ground, "Come on, we've lost her to who knows what. She doesn't love us anymore." She placed Annelise back down in the hallway and laughed, "Well, too bad for her because you and I are going to plan a trip... You need sometime off and your sister ran off before I could make the offer."

She looked around herself, "Do you guys have a globe anywhere?"

Bringing herself back into the warmth of her room she turned slightly her body perching on the sill before she brought her legs up one by one climbing out and onto the roof, standing up wearily she let her fingers glide over the side of the house while she looked over the ledge her eyes settling on a large patch of snow that was soft enough before she closed her eyes jumping down the familiarity of the cold surrounding her as she landed. Pulling herself out of the pile and back to her feet she brushed herself off not bothering to wait a moment as she ran away from the house a smile playing on her lips with the adrenaline of sneaking out of the house for the first time in years.

She frowned slightly and turned to look back at Daria for a moment and yelped slightly as her friend lifted her up to turn her back into the hallway. "I guess she is grew tired of us already, at least I got you." Annelise smiled as she thought for a moment if they did have a globe or not. "I think in my dad's study he has one." She answered as she turned to head back down stairs past the kitchen, there was a small office.

Annelise opened the door and on his desk there was a modern globe sitting on his desk and walked over to it giving it a quick spin. "So where do you want to go?"

Daria followed Annelise into the study and walked over to the desk and watched as she gave it a spin. The dark haired girl leaned on the desk and looked at her friend, her hair falling into her face a little, "That is what the globe is for, my dear."

She gave the globe a hard spin, making it so that you couldn't see exactly what continent was whizzing by. She then took Annelise's hand and put out her index finger before she placed it against the globe, causing it to come to a sudden halt. She leaned in and looked at the country, "Indonesia... I know the exact place were are going to too."

She pulled out her phone and rapidly typed into it before she handed it to Annelise, showing her a picture. She smiled at her friend, "Does the Lombok Lodge suit your fancy?"

Feeling Daria taking her hand and felt the globe coming to an immediate stop on Indonesia, her eyes staring down at it for a moment before turning her attention back to Daria as she pulled out her phone and stared down at the picture she was showing. "It sounds like a plan, never really had the chance to leave the country before anyway." Annelise giggled, she leaned her back up against her father's desk.

"So where do you think Eliza went off to? I bet it was some random guy."

Daria hopped up on the desk and smiled at her friend, "Then we'll buy a one way ticket and we'll figure out where we fly to next when we get there. Anywhere you want, my parents are paying."

She laughed a little before Annelise asked about Eliza. She shrugged, "Couldn't tell ya... But your sister doesn't seem like the type who does the random hook up stuff. She's too... Not me," She laughed again, "Maybe that guy that she was working with... Behind the desk this morning when she refused to come over and do the trick with... Magic man."

She moved off the desk and smiled at her friend, "Come on, I think we have a movie to watch and some wine to drink."

Text Message Received: 1:03 am. Hay prinses Store hours still 24/7 I intend 2 get some l8 night shopin in intrestid? 1:03 am. Princess? Since when did I earn that nickname? Either way, the store is open 24/7 and I assume you want the specials, so tell me, what did you have in mind? 1:10 am. So long the special wares a swimsoot meat down in lobby & bring a oranje ;) 1:11 am. Alright, well the specials have just climbed out the second story window and jumped down into the snow. Sister has friends over, I'll grab an orange from the staff room when I get there, okay? 1:12 am. k ------------------------------------------ Lowering her phone slightly she glanced back at her family home a smirk playing on her lips as she slipped it back into place inside her bikini top her feet working to carry her further away from her sister and her friend and closer to where she was supposed to be meeting Alan, turning back to look at where she was going she picked up the pace her walk turning into a run as she quickly headed towards the lobby slowing to a stop in front of the lobby doors her hands coming together in front of her as she looked around for where he was her stomach twisting nervously as she bit down on her lower lip. Shifting slightly on her feet she broke her fingers apart lifting her hand up to run her fingers through her long wavy blonde locks ruffling them out softly in hopes of giving them some more volume as she waited. Why she was so on edge and nervous she wasn't sure, it wasn't like she hadn't gone out on dates before, she'd been on a few of them... This one just felt different... Oddly enough, the lobby doors were left unlocked for her as though it were the middle of the day. Even more strange, the blinking from the security cameras were completely absent, even on the hidden ones where people like Eliza or her father only knew where they were. The low lighting of the moon filtering in through the closed blinds settled down on a lone figure in the center of the lobby, lounging back in one of the plush chairs looking flashing Eliza a smile though the darkness. Alan looked just the same as he had when they had their afternoon rendezvous, save the wool sweatshirt he had managed to get back earlier that afternoon before he met up with Annelise, but after Daria. His eyes looked over her new outfit, at least the parts he could see from the dim lighting before he looked back up at her, keeping his smile. "Good, you made it. Follow me." Pushing himself up from the lounge chair, Alan motioned for her to follow down a series of hallways before coming to the pool area, where (surprisingly enough) the door was also unlocked. Opening up the door for them, Alan slipped inside after letting her in first and closed it back up behind him. Almost always packed to the brim with tourists, the entire pool area was empty. The overhead lights were all off but both the pool and hot tub were lit with the underwater lights, making the water look more green and tranquil than usual. "Hey, sorry it took me a bit to get around to texting you, I lost the card with your number on it sometime during the day. Had to remember the number from memory." He explained tapping his forefinger to his temple. "Not exactly easy, but I figured one of the combinations had to work eventually..." Catching sight of movement in the corner of her eye she turned herself around her eyes coming to rest on him for a moment before they glanced around the room an impressed look on her face as she moved inside her arms folding over her chest and her smirk playing over her lips, "Impressive... You know, if you wanted to get into the lodge, all you had to do was ask me to bring the keys and I would have." Shaking her head she turned away from him wandering past the front desk before disappearing into the back room for a moment returning only once she had an orange firmly in her grasp, holding it up for him to see she moved closer to him tilting her head curiously her mind still trying to figure out why he wanted her to bring one in the first place, "Alright, I'm curious... How many times did you look at that card for you to be able to memorize my number..." Chuckling softly she waited for him to move a head of her before she began to follow allowing him to lead her down the familiar hallways until the two of them passed through the doors into the pool room that she rarely ever used due to the large amount of guests that always seemed to staying at the lodge, moving past him she let her eyes flick from the sparkling clear waters of the large pool lit only by the light of the built in lights rather than the normal down lights above them over to the hot tub that seemed to bubbling away just inviting her to jump in and relax, "Alright... So I get why you wanted me to wear my bathers... I just don't understand why you wanted me to bring the orange..." Pulling forward and away from her, Alan headed towards the hot tub, stripping himself free of the wool sweater and dumped it down onto a vinyl chair that already had two, fluffy white towels waiting for their use at a later time. Lifting one of his feet for his hands to start pulling off his shoe, he looked over at Eliza, then at the orange she held in her hand and smirked. "I was hungry. Thought I could do with a bit of a snack. Tear into that one for me, yeah?" He asked and then returned to the task of pulling off his other shoe, followed by his blue shirt she had seen him wearing earlier that day in the restaurant. "I didn't have to look at the card all that often. I've developed what you would call a sort of photographic memory over the last few years. Comes with the job." He explained as he kicked his shoes underneath the chair and added his shirt to the small pile of clothes before working on his belt and jeans button and zipper. Scrunching up her face in a playful manner she reached out pushing lightly against his shoulder before she pulled her hand back peeling open the orange before she paused for a moment her head shaking from side to side as she lifted the card they had been talking about up from inside of the orange so that he could see, "Lost it, huh? Smooth, real smooth..." Handing him the freshly peeled orange and the card she kicked off her boots her arms crossing over her body as she pulled them up and off dropping them to the ground by her now bare feet, reaching into her bikini she pulled her phone out placing it on the small pile she had made before she lifted her arms up gathering up her long locks only to pull them into a messy blonde bun on top of her head. "Oh, hey! You found it!" Alan replied in mock surprise. He took both the card and the orange from her, running his tongue over the card to clean up the orange juices before slipping it into his pants pocket before he let his undone pants fall to a useless pile at his ankles. "Good thing, that will come in handy for when I call you for a third date." He replied confidently, stepping out of his pants leaving him in nothing but his boxers and a necklace laid delicately on his chest. Most of the scratches along his shoulders, upper arms and back had healed up, the skin surrounding the small lines no longer red and irritated. The handful of love bites, as well as the scratches on his body, still mostly hidden by the darkness of the pool room as he hung back, watching Eliza strip down and popped a section of the orange into his mouth. "Oh, cute... So you think you'll be getting a third date do you?" Stepping back a couple of steps she lifted her hand up motioning with her finger for him to follow her as she turned her body stepping down and into the water her hands brushing over the surface as she let the warmth spread through her causing her smile to grow, lowering herself into the water completely up to her shoulders she waded through the water enjoying the small pleasure that it gave her without the stress or worry of what she still had to do or that she was doing something wrong weighing down upon her. Turning her body around so that she was glancing at him she paused for a moment her eyes flicking up and down his body taking in everything from the bite marks to the scratches, all dimmed in the darkness of the room though she was still able to see faint outlines of them, "..What are they..." Following close behind, Alan couldn't help to let his eyes look over her body once more, but now with much less clothing than before, there wasn't much left to his very wild and vivid imagination. He thought he caught a glimpse of something a little dark on the back of her right thigh but his eyes were too fastened onto her shapely ass to give it much of a second look before she slipped down into the bubbling hot water, bringing his eyes and mind back to what was going on around them again. "What?" Confused by her question, he followed her gaze to his right shoulder where one of the scratches trails led down his chest a bit. By habit, Alan simply shrugged as he sat himself down on the edge of the hot tub, dipping his feet into the water and feeling it's warmth envelop him all the way up to his mid calf. "You know, cats." He stated lamely, not exactly trying to hide the truth from her, but also not wanting to get into it with her either. "Don't worry about it, Princess. Here, hungry?" Peeling another wedge away from the orange, he handed it out to her for her to take. "Really? Hm, didn't take you to be a pet kind of guy." Tilting her head to the side with obvious surprise written over her features she shook her head shoving the thoughts from her mind so that she could continue to enjoy the night he was trying to offer her, wading forward she crossed over the hot tub slowing only when she was standing in front of him a small smile playing over her lips, "Alright, I trust you... And..." Lifting her hands out of the water she placed them gently on knees letting her thumbs gently slide back and forth over his skin before she pressed down on them lifting herself up and out of the water. "I am a little bit hungry, I skipped out on popcorn..." Opening her mouth she waited for him to give her some her eyes flicking up to catch his gaze holding it as she shifted her hands moving them up from his knees to his thighs so that she could get a better balance her body pressing against the side of the tub. "What can I say, I'm a guy full of surprises." Alan replied with a gentle shrug of his shoulders and a bit of an arrant smirk. Looking down at her hands as she placed them first on his knees, and then his thighs, he couldn't help his imagination taking off with him again as he forced his eyes back up, though slowly making sure to admire the way her stomach flattened against the side of the tub, the way her chest was being pushed out as she leaned forward, how very kissable her lips looked waiting for the orange slice he had promised her... Dragging the orange slice across her bottom lip, both in a bit of teasing and to get the orange juices to start running down her chin, he finally gave in and pressed the wedge into her mouth, using his thumb to catch the juices on her lower lip and slipped the tip of his thumb inside. "Popcorn huh? Well now, I feel a bit better about myself that you gave up something so incredible to spend time with a cheeky bastard like me." Keeping her eyes connected with his she sunk her teeth into the slice of orange pulling it further into her mouth her lips closing around his thumb and her tongue brushing up against it as she began to clean it of any juice from the wedge he had given her, pulling back slowly the corners of her lips turned up in a small smirk as she chewed for a moment before swallowing what was in her mouth, "Oh you should... Unlike the cute little tricks you pull for me, microwave popcorn is some real magic, it's able to transport me to heaven with just a single piece." Lifting one of her hand up she gently let it rest on his shoulder using it to pull her further out of the water and closer to his level until she was almost completely eye to eye with him her cheeks a light shade of red from her own actions, leaning in she let her eyes close as she pressed her soft pink lips against his own something she had been thinking of since the two of them had met in the restaurant earlier that day. He was already about to deliver a witty comeback as he watched her raise out of the water a bit more to look him better in the eye, but he was cut off immediately as she quickly pressed her lips to his. Eyes widening with his eyebrows shooting to his hairline, he had to think back to something he might have said or did that would constitute this kind of reaction from her, but was unable to think on anything that wouldn't constitute him as an arrogant asshole in her eyes. Still... he wasn't about to start complaining. It just made his job that much more easy. Keeping his lips were she had them molded into hers, he reached his arm back to set the remainder of the orange back behind him and away from the hot tub's ledge before bringing it back around her to hold the back of her head, just underneath the messy bun she had pulled her hair up into. Pressing his lips in closer to hers and a bit more firmly, he used his free arm to wrap around her other side and placed his hand on her waist, using the muscles in his arm and her light figure to his advantage and pulled her up just a bit more so that she could rest herself down on his leg; straddling him front-ways and forcing her legs to bend a bit; now completely out of the water. Pulling his lips away from hers for a breath of a moment, he adjusted his head a bit and went back in, the tip of his tongue tracing the seam of her lips in a silent inquiry. Lifting her other hand up as she felt him lifting her up into the air she wrapped it around his neck her body shifting and her legs pressing tight into the side of his legs as she sat back on his lap her breathing picking up as she let him take control of the situation already having come to the realization that he knew a lot more about these things than she did, sliding her other hand up his neck from his shoulder she let it rest softly against his cheek her thumb sliding back and forth over his skin as she caressed it softly her back arching slightly so her body was pressing into his. Relaxing her body as she felt him pull away her lips parted slightly to catch up on the breath lost though the moment was quick as he once more pulled her back into him his tongue slowly tracing the line of her lip causing her to gasp softly against him her lips parting further away from one another answering the silent question he had just asked of her, wrapping her arm tighter around the back of his neck she pressed herself closer against his body her heart racing in her chest beating so hard that she was afraid that he might hear. After a few more moments of enjoying the feeling of his lips against hers she pulled away slightly her forehead pressing gently against his own as she tried to catch her breath her voice softer than it had been minutes before when they had been talking with one another, "And to think I was going to finally give in to Jason... I'm so glad you messaged me, you're the only one I can see myself with right now..." Alan kept a gentle, but firm hold on her lips for as long as he possibly could, getting drunk off of whatever it was that she was giving him until she ultimately pulled away. Feeling his head bowing forward slightly as she pressed their foreheads together, her words to him made his heart do something... strange. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it wasn't at all unpleasant. Still though, that alien feeling in his chest slowly dissipated into slight confusion as he thought on her words more clearly. She could see herself with him? He wasn't stupid, he knew what that meant, but he had to wonder for a brief moment if she even knew what she meant, or maybe she had just phrased it wrong. He had thought he had been pretty damn clear with his intentions thus far, though hers seemed to be slightly different if what she said was true. Truly, Alan couldn't remember the last actual relationship he had been in that didn't stem from trying to get a girl into bed with him, agreeing only to the relationship in hopes to get into her pants sooner and then breaking it off after he got bored with the sex. He drew in his lower lip into his mouth, running his tongue over it as he tried to think, tasting more than orange juice and her own flavor there, but something that had his eyebrow raising up a bit. Strawberry... tequila? Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to think on why that tasted so familiar, and yet so strange until finally he remembered the alcohol he had bought for Daria. Oh... right... they were friends... Well he supposed he should have seen that one coming, though by the way Eliza was acting with him then and now, he could only assume that Daria hadn't said a word to her friend. He wasn't sure how this would work out if she had... He pulled his forehead away from hers a bit, tilting his head back just a bit so that he was looking down at her from the bottom of his eyes, chewing on his cheek as he tried to remember what it was that he had said in the first place before his mind began to wander. "It's the magic, huh? Chicks always dig the magic... wanting to know if I can... work a little magic of my own." He replied with a confident wink. Letting her gaze wander for a moment she relaxed her arm around his neck letting the hand on his cheek drop until both of them were resting on his shoulders again her body sitting up straighter as she pushed on him lightly putting more space in between their bodies, turning her gaze back to meet his her smile dropped instantly from her face her lips still parted as she spoke clearly taken back by his reaction to her words and then again by his own response, "It has nothing to do with the magic... And it certainly doesn't have anything to do with wanting to find out if you can work it in other ways. I can't believe it... You really think that I'm that type of girl..?" She knew exactly what he was talking about and though she had never done it before herself, sex was certainly one of the furthest things on her mind if not the last thing all together. Feeling more than a little disappointed in both him and herself she shook her head her body turning away from him as she stood up brushing past him as she headed back to where their clothes were laying in a heap on the ground. Feeling her slip away from him before her words had a chance to sink into his mind, he immediately realized that he had fucked up somewhere. With his mind moving on auto-pilot, putting his years of a womanizer to use, Alan got up from his sitting position on the edge of the hot tub and quickly caught up to Eliza, reaching out and wrapping an arm around her waist and pulled her back into him bringing her back flush with his chest. "Hey, hey, hey... Princess... I was only joking; a jest. C'mon, you know I don't think you're that kind of girl..." He reassured her, keeping his voice low. Well... now he knew she wasn't that kind of girl... dammit. But that only made her a challenge for him to work on, a puzzle to solve where the reward would be much sweeter than any 'spur-of-the-already-physically-exhausted-moment' he could come up with right now. There just wasn't any way he would be able to move on to the next girl without exploring this one, so he would take this challenge with his head held up high, knowing that he wouldn't find a girl quite like her no matter where or how hard he looked. There was just something about her; rocking body aside, that just... clicked. Slowly moving his other arm to wrap around her from the other direction, he kept his hands on her lower abdomen, feeling the soft muscles beneath her flesh as he rested his chin on her shoulder and planted a small kiss there. "Alright, I'm sorry. Here, let me re-introduce myself..." Pulling himself away from her, he walked around her side to face her straight on and held out a hand for her to shake. "You know Alan the Street Performer. Why don't you just try out plain, simple, poor-boy Alan?" Freezing her body tensed up as she felt his arm slip around her waist pulling her back into his body his chest pressing flat against her causing her to hunch her shoulder her head turning and her lips parting in slight surprise as she looked back at him listening to him try and talk her into staying, furrowing her brows she closed her mouth her jaw clenching as she tried to figure out whether or not she could believe what he was saying to her or if he was just spouting lies to try and help get her into bed with him. Feeling his other arm snake around her body she dropped her hands down to where his were resting against her abdomen her shoulders still hunched over in a defensive manner as she tore her gaze from him, stopping as she felt him lean down his chin resting against her she paused her body relaxing only slightly as she felt his lips pressing lightly against her shoulder and his warm breath flowing over her skin as he continued to try and get her not to leave. Shaking her head with a look of disbelief on her features she stepped back watching as he walked around her only to stop and extend his hand for her to shake as though it was going to make it all better, "..Unbelievable... And why on earth should I believe a single word you say to me..?" He paused before answering, keeping his hand extended out to her while the fingers on his other hand twitched a bit awkwardly at his side, suddenly very aware of the water running down his legs from his drenched boxer shorts. He pressed his lips together, keeping his blue eyes on hers and gave a sideways smile with an innocent shrug, looking similar to that of a child who had just got caught with their hand in the cookie-jar. "Because you think I'm cute?" He tried, remembering her words back at the restaurant earlier that day, but figuring that his answer wouldn't go over very well with how serious she was being (serious was just one of those emotions he just didn't understand too well) he tried a different approach. "And because you know in your heart I'm really a good guy and wouldn't ever hurt you, and, as you said... you trust me." His lips pressed back into a firm line with his latter comment, his mind thinking on the words that he hadn't quite expected to come out of his own mouth. It was strange, because he almost had himself believing his lie. There was just a whole lot of explainable strangeness when Eliza was around. Good. He liked interesting. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just kind of a dick most of the time; comes with the profession I guess; a sense of humor that no one really gets but me..." Choosing to ignore his earlier attempt at an answer she sighed almost silently as she let her body relax completely her shoulders straightening out and her arms coming up to wrap around her body her gaze drifting away from his, "I understand humor... I'm not stupid or anything like that. I just-..." Shifting slightly where she stood she thought about how to phrase what she wanted to say to him finally giving up before just speaking what was on her mind as best as she could, "I just don't want you thinking that I'm the type of girl who's just going to give you everything that you want, when you want it... I already gave you my first kiss tonight Alan..." Shaking her head softly from side to side she let her arms drop from around her body her eyes lifting back up to meet with his once more, "I'm sorry, I'm not ready to give you my first time too..." "Your first time huh?" Alan asked, pulling back his un-shaken hand a bit to raise it up to cup the side of her face, letting his thumb trace the outline of her lower lip. "Coulda fooled me. I thought you did rather well. Excellent in fact." He grinned, feeling the mood lighten up, at least a little bit. Well, if she wasn't ready now, he had to make sure that there would be plenty of opportunities later to get what he wanted. That was something he could live with for the time being. Moving both hands now, he placed them, one on each of her shoulders. "Princess, I'm a street magician, not a mind reader- well, I actually have a couple tricks-" Alan had to force his mouth shut to keep it from going rogue with his thoughts. This definitely wasn't the time to start rambling. Couldn't he just be serious for one god damn minute? It was turning out to be a lot harder than he initially thought. "I didn't know this was your first... really, I'm actually seriously surprised a whole slew of guys haven't thrown themselves at your feet, begging for your attention by now. I guess it makes sense though, even I was intimidated by your radiant beauty at first... but then I realized I was pretty damn good looking too, so I figured it had to work out somehow..." Okay he tried, he really did, but that last statement couldn't be helped, nor the grin on his face at knowing he was being cute. Lifting her shoulders up slightly she dropped them back down slowly her hands coming together in front of her body her gaze wandering down to them as she watched her fingers playing with one another nervously as she began to confess, "It's not that they haven't tried... I mean-... Guys have hit on me before, many times; when I was in school, some of the guys I teach, even a couple of the ones I compete against..." Pausing for a moment she chewed on her lower lip taking a slow breath before she let her eyes lift back up to meet his showing him the truth behind her words the tone of her voice telling him that she honestly believed him to be different from the others that she had met before, "..You're the only guy who's been able to catch my eye... I've been waiting all this time just to find the right guy; someone who was different... Who I thought wasn't a typical guy who just wanted to use me and then move on..." Hesitating for a moment she let her light blue orbs search his for the answers she wasn't sure she was ever going to be able to find on her own without asking, "If your not that guy... Then please, tell me now, before I waste any more of your time by being here..." He could feel the words coming up his throat before he even had a chance to think on them, 'trust your instincts' nearly fell from his lips before he realized what was happening and swallowed them back down. She believed he was different, that he wasn't into her for just her body. How the hell he had managed that one was certainly the most phenomenal magic trick he had yet to pull off, but she was taking the bait, and he was more than willing to set the hook. With years of lying under his belt, Alan slipped one hand down from her shoulder to cup her under the chin, lifting her head up just a bit more as he looked down at her. His other hand slid down from her other shoulder and rested it gently on the curve of her hip as he took a single step forward, closing the distance of their bodies to a hair's breadth. Meeting her eyes, matching the same emotion that she was giving him he nodded. "You won't waste my time, and I won't waste any of yours. You can count on that, Princess." Turning her head to watch his hand slip from her shoulder her lips parting slightly as she felt his fingers cup her chin guiding her gaze back around and up to meet his own her arms raising as she let her hands slide up his chest before coming to a rest on his shoulders, blushing a darker shade of red as she caught the look in his eyes and the gentle tone of his voice she couldn't help the sweet smile that crossed over her lips the same one that they had held earlier when she had been wrapped up in his touch, "Then-... Then can we try this again? Please..?" Leaning in slowly her lips parted in a silent invitation a small gap keeping them separated while she hesitated small slivers of doubt still flickering about her mind though she wanted to believe the best in him... The truth that she believed was behind his every word... Deciding that he didn't want to answer her question with words, he closed the remaining distance between them by pulling her flush against his chest as he pressed his lips back down onto hers almost desperately. However, the moment she began to ease into him, he broke their kiss apart and bent down at the waist a bit, scooping her up in his arms bridal style and carried her back to the ledge of the hot tub. If he wasn't going to be getting any tonight- well, with her, then he was sure as hell going to get his use out of breaking into the lodge, disabling the cameras and relax back into the hot tub while making out with her. Carefully, still holding onto her, he stepped down onto the built-in steps of the hot tub and moved himself over to sit down on the stone seat, feeling the warmth of the water rise up all the way over his navel and almost to his chest. He set her down then back on his lap, allowing her to move into whatever position she felt most comfortable before returning his lips to hers once more. His eyes drifted closed, the hand that had once been supporting her legs moving up to cup her cheek softly, holding her head there as he pressed his lips to hers more firmly, exhaling a hot breath of hair through his nose onto the soft skin of her cheek. A soft gasp escaped through her lips as she felt him pull her hard against his body her breasts pressing against his chest making them appear bigger than they actually were as she arched her back reveling in the feeling that his touch gave her the nervous emotions that she had been feeling earlier overshadowed by the want for his touch and embrace that was now spreading through her, yelping slightly as she felt her legs get scooped out from under her she slid her arms from his shoulders wrapping them around his neck holding on tightly in fear that she was going to fall from his arms to the floor below them the warmth of the water rising up around them helping her to relax once more in his arms. Noticing his grip relax around her she shifted her body twisting it around as she once more bent her legs pressing them in tightly on either side of his as she carefully sat back on his lap her arms tightening pulling herself as close as she could against him as her lips molded again into his her head tilting into the warmth of his palm, her back arching to accommodate for his arm around her while she tried her best not to melt into him right there and then. His lack of words though not expected were exactly what she needed giving her all the answers to the questions she had asked of him, it was a second chance for them to be together, to try again and see where this relationship would go... If that's what this even was... Either way it was something she was curious to find out. Keeping his lips on hers for a good few moments, just enjoying the slow pace they were going, he eventually broke them apart only to plant a firm kiss on the corner of her mouth, and then another on the strong line of her jaw and then a third just under her jaw where he could feel her pulse beating harshly against her skin. Keeping his lips there, he bared his teeth just a bit to graze the tips of them across her skin, though keeping it light and then returning his lips there to finish the elevated action with a gentle kiss. All the while, his hand on her hip had trailed down over the outside of her thigh straddling his right leg, his fingers tracing the strong muscles there down to her knee and then back up again, returning his hand to her thigh like the good little boy she wanted him to be. It was hard, God it was hard, but he refrained from touching her anywhere else; one wrong slip and this entire thing was blown, and he'd be blue-balled more than just one night. He dragged his lips back up the slight trail he had made earlier with his kisses, finding her lips with his once again and returned them there with a hard kiss, prying her lips back open with his tongue and slid it inside, meeting with hers at long last. Her breath feathered as she dropped her head back slightly biting down on her lower lip as she felt his lips slowly trail away from her own leaving soft kissing over her skin causing her to bite down lower the pressure threatening to split her lip open; first the corner of her lips... Then her jaw... And then just a little lower causing her heart to beat frantically within her chest the teenage girl unused to being touched in such a manner. Her breath caught in her throat her body tensing as she felt his hands slide down her legs only to have it relax again as he slid them back up brushing back and forth over her skin in a soothing touch his lips slowly making their way back to hers again forcing her to let it slip from her teeth her tongue brushing up against his as it entered into her mouth, the feeling was new to her and even though she wasn't sure whether she was enjoying it or not she made no move to stop wanting to show him that she was willing to try new things for him if that's what he wanted her to do as she continued to let him explore her mouth. He took it slow, feeling her body shaking slightly against his close hold despite the extreme temperature of the hot tub. For a moment, he simply let her lead, allowing her to set the soft, slow pace of their tongues intertwining as she got used to what he knew was something very new to her before he eventually took over. He continued to explore her mouth, leaving her tongue behind for a moment to run over the roof of her mouth, exploring more and more of her and finding areas that she especially liked going by the way her body reacted and committing them to memory. This wouldn't be the last time he would kiss her, after all. After what felt like a blissful eternity, he eased his tongue back into his own mouth and slowly parted their lips, lifting the hand opposite her waist to caress the side of her face gently. "So... I'm good for a third date, yeah?" Opening her eyes slowly as she savored the feeling that she could still feel from his lips being against hers, from his tongue moving about her mouth exploring every tiny little inch of her mouth... The thought alone causing her cheeks to turn a brilliant shade of red as she tried to turn her mind and attention back to him as he began to speak to her his touch causing her to automatically lean her cheek into the palm of his hand, taking a deep breath in she held it for a moment or two before finally letting it out slowly through her nose now feeling more confident that she would be able to answer him, "Of course, I can't wait." Relaxing her grip around his neck she slid her arms back just enough to have her hands come together behind him her fingers gently playing with the bottom of his hair as she just admired him for a few peaceful moments just happy to be in his company, "I know that we haven't exactly seen eye to eye on this up until this point... And I'm sorry if bringing it up is going to be a waste considering we just spoke about it, but... I need to hear it from you." Her gaze dropped to his chest for a couple of seconds before she lifted it back up to meet with his eyes once again, "I just need to hear you say it... What is this to you..?" Alan nearly groaned out in annoyance at her question, but he knew immediately that would be the wrong move here, and then he would have to say goodbye to ever getting into her pants. But of course she wanted to go and put a label on things! Why not? Let things get more complicated, sure. Keeping his hand on her cheek, letting the pad of his thumb gently stroke the skin under it, he met her eyes and used the same answer he always defaulted to with these types of situations; obviously this wasn't the first time he was asked something so serious. "That a stunningly beautiful creature such as yourself found it in her heart to give a poor sonofabitch like myself a whispering chance... and for that I could die tomorrow a happy man. But beyond that..." He paused to then trail his hand down from her cheek to hold the back of her neck, bending his own head forward to graze his teeth playfully on the shell of her ear before whispering, "What do you want it to be?" Furrowing her brows she frowned as she listened to the words that he was whispering into her ear her hands sliding from around his neck to rest on his chest pushing lightly against it to put more space in between them her expression showing him that his answer clearly wasn't the one that she had been looking for. Was he honestly trying to pull that on her, trying to push her own question back onto her... "Alan... I already know what I want this to be... What I would like, what I do want now, is to find out whether or not you want the same thing that I do." Shaking her head softly she kept her gaze fixed on his as she let her words sink in hopefully stirring up some sort of truthful answer that he was willing to give her in return for her asking him the question in the first place, "I want your honest answer. Is that too much to ask for... So please; what is this to you?" She asked the question again her back curving as she leant back into the water keeping the space between them her arms dropping down and pressing against her as she waited for him to answer her eyes burning with the curiosity that she had and the hope that she wasn't wrong about him. Feeling her pushing back on him slightly, he knew that there wasn't any way he was going to be getting back to what they were doing without answering her, but at the same time he didn't want to screw himself over by an answer either. He removed his arms from her body to rest back on top of the lip of the hot tub that was behind him. "Well, I guess that depends, Princess. What do you want this to be? You haven't really said anything that would give me any clear idea. Like I said before, I'm not a real mind reader..." He reminded her. "So, how would I know if it's the same thing if I don't know what it is you want from me?" Huffing out a sigh she stared at him with a look of disbelief on her face her head shaking back and forth slowly as she began to realize that he was never going to give her an answer to her question, "You can't even answer a simple question about what it is that you want. I thought by the conversation we had earlier that you would have figured out what I want this to be. But I don't care about that, I want to know what you want... I want to know what the hell I am to you." Staring at him for a moment longer she gave up not even bothering to pull herself away in the water as she simply stood up stepping over him and up the steps lifting herself out of the hot tub droplets of water rolling over her skin and down to the floor as she walked quickly over to where her things were laying on the ground waiting for her, crouching down she began to snatch up her clothes standing up only to throw them onto the bench instead taking up the towel so that she could dry herself off before she even thought about pulling them back on, "It isn't a hard question Alan... So I don't understand why you won't just answer it already, why your avoiding it like the damn plague..." Actually letting out a small groan this time, watching her step over him and out of the hot tub, he turned himself around and crossed his arms out in front of him on the surface of the concrete, resting his chin on the tops of his hands. For a brief moment, as he watched her walk away, he managed a glimpse of that same dark spot on the back of her thigh, though his eyes had adjusted to the darkness considerably since they first arrived, and realized it was actually the cutest little birthmark he had ever seen, and upon looking a bit harder, he was able to eventually make out the shape of what ironically looked like a snowflake. Huh... fitting... His mind was immediately brought back to her at the sound of her agitated voice and with the strength of his arms he pulled himself out of the tub and onto the solid concrete ground. Not even stopping to bother with a towel, he walked to her for the second time and put both arms around her again though held her loosely, the gears in his head working double time trying to remember every sappy chick flick he had ever been subjected into watching. "You want me to say it? Fine. I'll say it. I want you. Bad. I want you to be mine so that no other guy can lay their eyes on you without thinking of me and what I'd do to them if I caught them even so much as lookin. I want to be the guy that points out the hottie in the room and is able to say with pride 'that's my girlfriend.' I wanna be the first thing you think of when you wake up and the last thing you think about when you fall asleep." Hey... it could work... Hearing the water dripping to the ground behind her she turned her head looking back over her shoulder at him her arm reaching out to drop the towel onto the ground (not wanting it to become drenched) just in time as his arms wrapped around her body again her eyes lifting up to meet his gaze as she tried to figure out what trick he was going to try and pull on her next though her thoughts were blown completely from her mind as he began to speak, her lips parted slightly her heart light in her chest skipping a beat completely before it began to race pounding against her rib cage with each word that he spoke causing her stomach to churn though this time she couldn't pick the emotions that were beginning to spread through every fiber of her being her voice slightly breathy as she tried to answer, "..Oh Alan..." Not being able to form any other words she turned on her heel her arms shooting up and around his neck as she pressed herself up onto the balls of her feet pulling him down the rest of the way to close the gap as she pressed her lips as hard as she could against his own trying to show him what she couldn't get across with her words at this time in her moment of excitement and happiness, pulling back after what felt like a lifetime she let her lips brush over his skin leaving a warm trail of breath over his skin as she pulled him closer letting herself come to a stop once she had them pressed against his ear her voice soft no more than a whisper as she finally came up with the words she had been searching for, "I want to be all those things... And more... But only for you..." Gauging by her girlish reaction, he had to figure that he had managed to finally find the right thing to say. Instinctively returning his kiss, as his mind wasn't even in the picture the moment she was touching him again- and even if it was just for a brief moment, he continued to hold her close as she parted their lips once more. Running his hand up her back slightly, feeling the hardened muscles there and then running his hand back down, he rested his palm on her lower back just above her bikini bottom's line and started to rub his fingers in small, firm circles where he knew most women carried a lot of stress, hoping that he was at least getting across that he was somewhat happy about this. "Well then, it's settled. That one cute guy doing cheap card tricks in the Tahoe Ski Lodge Lobby, probably illegally, is now and completely yours." He informed her with a jerky sort of single nod followed by a quirky smile. Smiling she tightened her arms around him her eyes closed for a moment as she leaned in gently nuzzling her nose against the nape of his neck her warm breath flowing over his skin as she enjoyed the moment happy to just stand there forever in his strong embrace, freezing a moment as she thought back to earlier on that day in the lobby when she had seen him pulling tricks with the women staying there her heart froze causing her to pull back her eyes staring into his as she tried to look serious through the happiness she was feeling was unable to be masked no matter how hard she tried, "Just promise me one thing... Promise me you won't do any card tricks that involve kissing other girls... Please... Unless it's me on the receiving end of your lips, I don't even want to think about it..." She gave him a gentle but weary smile knowing from the crowd that had been gathered around that it was one of the more popular tricks that he was able to pull off with ease though just the thought of it caused her chest to tighten with slight jealousy, biting her lower lip softly she slid one of her hands around from his neck letting it rest softly on his cheek for a few moments before she slid it up letting her fingers run through his hair pushing it back off his face so that she could see him properly, "If you can do this... If you can promise me this one thing, then that cute blonde princess you stalked at lunch? Well she'll completely belong to you as well." He visibly flinched at the thought of having to remove such an important part from his act. The distraction of kissing a bunch of hormonal teenage girls had proven to be the best way to nick various items from them in their distraction. Aside from the magic 'card swapping' by holding onto their wrists and taking their wrist-watch, it was the best way he got 'paid.' But just as quickly as these thoughts came to him, another few replaced them. Nevada was a big place. Hell, Tahoe was a big place. He didn't have to keep his magic act to the confines of the lobby, so as long as he steered clear from her a few miles at a time, then there was no harm in just doing whatever the hell he wanted; and that most definitely included kissing (among other things) other girls. At her second statement, his expression lightened and even his smile returned to his lips. "Oh, you mean that girl Ashley I followed into the restaurant? I dunno, she kind of shook me off pretty quick, I had to settle on the next cute blonde I spotted..." He chuckled but before she could go off in another one of her fits he quickly amended with, "I'm joking! I'm joking!" Hopefully, that would throw her enough to forget he had to actually say the words that he promised... because really, he didn't... nor would he promise something like that. Rolling her eyes she scrunched her face up trying to be cute as she dropped one of her hands playfully shoving his shoulder before she leaned back up her nose gently brushing back and forth against his own, "You're so damn lucky that you're as cute as you are..." Closing her eyes she let her body relax into his her head turning as she leaned in resting it against his chest her arms relaxing around his neck as they slid down over his shoulders and around his chest her palms flat against his bare back, opening her eyes slowly a small movement caught her attention causing her to flick her gaze up to the clock that was hanging on the wall the groan escaping her lips before she could stop herself. "Oh crap... I really don't want to go back there... They're going to kill me for ditching them and sneaking out the house..." Pursing her lips for a moment she thought about ways that she could possibly get out of seeing her sister and Daria both tonight and the following day, all she needed was enough time to pass for them to forget about her leaving the house in the middle of their annual sleepover or at least give her enough time to work out the best time to tell them why she had done it. Dropping her head back her arms relaxed a little so that she was able to look up at him her chin resting gently on his chest and a small smile playing on her lips, "Hey, since we're here and I have access to the cards, did you wanna just spend the night? I don't remember seeing your name on the guest list, but I can fix you up with a room or cabin if you want... Maybe even a suite. I just really don't want to go home and face my sister right now... I mean, she's been drinking, but she isn't that oblivious to the actions of those around her..." The notion that Eliza didn't want to return home... and abuse her rights as a lodge employee [i][b]and[/i][/b] get them both a room for the night was all too tempting; there wasn't any way in hell he would be able to pass something like that up. Though, the very moment that she had brought up drinking, the gears in his head began to work again. Sure sober Eliza wasn't ready for anything more... but drunk Eliza might... and with the two of them alone for the night, he very well may get what he wanted all along and be single again by morning. Taking her hands in his and bringing them together, he raised them up to his lips and placed a kiss in each of her palms before pulling away slightly. "Of course, I couldn't think of a better way to end my evening..." He stated with a genuine smile. "But, you'll have to text me the room number or something. Actually, just call me, I'm a bit bad with numbers sometimes. But I'm a bit hungry, and I'm sure you are too, so I'll go and grab us something to eat, maybe a couple drinks... a movie? Anyway, yeah, just let me know where you end up and I'll come and find ya." He finished, reaffirming his statement with a firm nod before reaching over to the vinyl chair and picked up his towel for the first time, patting himself dry to the best of his ability before starting to get dressed again. Her smile brightened as she listened to his answer her eyes dropping to her hands watching on as he lifted them up giving each of them a soft kiss upon her palm before her head nodding as she agreed to what he was saying just glad that he was willing to spend the night with her rather than subjecting her to hour long interrogations if she had of needed to go home, "Alright..! I'll get us the suite and I promise I'll call you with the room number, when you get there all you have to do is knock and I'll let you in okay?" Lifting her hand up she brushed some of the stray strands of hair sticking to her face back with the rest of her hair before she turned and began to gather up her things one by one hurrying to pull them onto her body so that she could go and do what she needed to do, "You're right by the way, I'm starving. After I left you in the restaurant I kinda skipped lunch... And dinner to get that paperwork done... So..." Pulling on her last boot she stood up straight turning to face him as she reached out her hands resting softly on his chest, "Food and a movie sound amazing right now, and as long as you can cure me of any hangover I get in the morning, then I can definitely go for a few drinks too." Gripping hold of the front of his top softly but firmly she pushed up on the balls of her feet she pressed her lips against his once again in a slow kiss wanting to savor it as much as she could before he left to go get what they needed from town. Jesus Christ this was too easy. All he had to do was guarantee he could cure her hangover? He had a million different remedies, not that he would really stick around long enough afterwards to care too much, but that was neither here nor there. Kissing her back with a bit more desire than he had intended, he let his arms wrap back around her briefly, pulling her into him before letting her go again. "Alright, alright." He said both to her and to himself to help clear his head. "Alright. Food, a movie, some drinks... shouldn't take me too long..." Breaking apart from her, he took a few steps and bent down at the hip, plucking the half-eaten orange from the ground and then gently tossed it over to her. "Here, something to tie you over until I get back for the main course." He winked, straightening himself back up. He patted his jean pockets, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be, mainly his wallet and his favorite deck of trick cards that now held most of the girls' phone numbers from earlier. "And by all means, in my absence, feel free to text, call, send as many nude pics as you want... it will keep me going on this perilous journey." He added on, if a bit dramatically with a mock of a bow before heading towards the pool room exit. Rolling her eyes she leaned down grabbing her phone up from the ground before she held it up waving it a little so that he could see it in her hand as he gave her an extremely over-dramatic bow making a show of mucking around with her, "I can text... I can call... But my dear sir, the closest to a nude you shall get is a bikini or underwear shot, and that's only if you're lucky and manage to talk me into it." Bringing her hands together in front of her she smiled chuckling to herself as she watched him leave the room pausing to look back around at the hot tub for a few moments before she followed behind making a beeline straight to the front desk so that she could check them into the lodge's suite for the night.

Esmeralda was covered in a thin layer of sweat as she stood at the front of the dancing women. They had been working for what felt like several hours, she wouldn't be surprised if they had been. The guards who had brought her back to the room had all but thrown her into the practice space and informed all the girls that Esmeralda was to teach them before telling her to get to work. Although the women had seemed intriguied in what she was going to teach them, they seemed to be a little uneasy around her. Unease was not something that was foreign to Esmeralda when she was around people. The Romani were outcasts in France and most anywhere else in the world. Few people wished to spend long lengths of time around them unless they were providing some kind of entertainment. However, Esmeralda was quite sure that it wasn't just her upbringings that was putting the women on edge. Since Esmeralda had arrived here she had been whipped twice and returned from being dragging out of the room with stains from tears on her cheeks and an empty look in her eye. That was enough to put anyone on the edge. They had not been taught any dances, as Esmeralda always felt that it was easier for people learning to have their own fun putting dances together. That way if they felt like they were getting lost in the new movements, they were free to add in their own. As she worked with them, her biggest fear was Scar's expectations... She could only teach the girls so much and no matter how much she taught them, some people just didn't pick certain things up... She didn't even know if these women would be able to dance for the King in a way that he would deem worth not killing more of her people. However, with that in the back of her mind as she work with the women, she made certain to catch any mistakes that were being made and tried to teach them moves that were more simple. She assumed that her work as their teacher would not end after tonight. She would teach them moves that were more difficult when they had more time and were getting grips on what she had already given them. She was in the midst of singing a French song for the girls to dance to when guards walked in again. She immediately stopped and looked at them. They looked over the thirteen women that stood before them, "You're dancing. Now." The other women seemed excited, happy to show off what they had learnt to Scar and quickly followed the men. Esmeralda was less enthusiastic to returned to stand in front of the man, who had been cruel to her each time he stood before her, and decided to take up the rear of the line. When the reached the room the women spread out but kept mainly to the order of their line, those who were at the front were closest to Scar and... A swan..... Which left Esmeralda to be, comfortably, the farthest away from the man. After being blown off by Maleficent, Scar spent a good majority of time in the mirror room trying to quell his anger before he did (or turned into something) that he would regret. What on Mother Earth was Scar supposed to do with a swan for the next sun cycle? His guards already thought him insane, and though he didn't much care for what others thought about him on the normal occurance, when it came to his reputation of a hardened brute of a man reduced to snuggles from a docile, pure creature that was a swan... that was when he decided to care. Pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingertips, one arm still crossed over his chest, he tried to think. What else did he have going on today that would keep him from just keeping Odette in the sitting room until he could ensure the grotto was ready for her to stay in? Racking his brain, he could only think of the one thing he had already set up; the Gypsy girl was to dance for him at dinner that evening. This wouldn't be a... terrible opportunity. If Odette was to stay here (how long she was planning on staying would be something he would think about at a later time), she might as well get to know the castle and those within it. Making up his mind before he could change it, Scar descended back down the spiral stone stair case and joined up with Odette in the sitting room once more. Reaching her neck out she let her beak brush against the grapes that were laying on the platter that had been placed onto the floor for her to get to easier than if it were on a table looking them over for a few moments before she began to peck at them the juice rolling down her beak and into her feathers staining them a purple red in colour, closing her eyes she shook her head trying to get as much juice off of herself as she could before she completely gave up turning away from the food her wings flapping lifting her back up onto the settee so that she could continue to wait passing the time by burying her body in amonst comfort of the cushions. Lifting her head up out of the pile of cushions as the door opened she turned her gaze over to see who had joined her in the room her light blue orbs catching on Scar's figure causing her to tilt her head as he motioned for her to follow along behind him, lifting herself from her comfortable perch she jumped down from the settee her feet working quickly to follow him out of the room and back into the hall wandering along behind him as he led the way through the castle to the great hall her body tensing and lowering against the ground bringing her wings in tightly to her body as he reached down picking her up in his arms. Briefly, he had the swan follow him to The Great Hall where a feast was already laid out for him. Picking the swan up and ensuring that she was able to fold in her wings gently, he carried her up the stone steps to the main table that oversaw the entire room and set her on a cushioned chair to the right of his throne before he himself sat down. No sooner than Scar had situated himself in his seat did the doors open once again, a line of thirteen different dancing girls entering in a single file and the Gypsy girl, as Scar had been able to pick out almost immediately from the bandages that she still wore underneath her blue top, brought up the rear. Something of a grimace came over Scar's features then, the bandages from her earlier beatings were throwing the whole thing off. His dancers were to be perfect; flawless in every way... he hadn't exactly thought about that when he had hailed the whip down into her flesh. He felt his leg muscles twitching, getting ready for him to stand and call the entire thing off but just as soon as he did, a thought crossed his mind. Maleficent owed him a favor for putting him off for a day... it wouldn't be at all beyond the witch's power to heal the wounds with a wave of a hand, leaving her unscarred and just as perfect as she was when she was first brought before him. Relaxing his leg muscles back down, Scar remained seated, snapping his fingers to have the nearby female servants start to fill up his plate. "Something vegetarian for the swan." Scar muttered to one of them, keeping his voice low as to not be overheard by the others on the ground floor in which he could feel their odd stares baring into him. It's just for one day... Scar kept telling himself. Just for one, bloody day... Relaxing her body once she realized what he was doing she once more extened her neck looking around curiously at everything that was going on in the room around them, men and women moving about quickly bringing out food and drink that she had never seen before let alone tasted before causing her interest and curiosity to increase bubbling away within her as she craned her neck trying to get a better look as he carried her past them all and up the stairs until they came to a large table her gaze turning to follow him as he laid her down on the chair before dropping down into his own his attention called to the center of the room as more people began to file in lining up and presenting themselves to them though why they were doing such things was beyond her knowledge. Following his gaze she let her eyes wander slowly over the thirteen women standing before them all with smiles on their faces and looking excited except for the singular woman standing on the far end looking at them with confusion and what looked like the hope that she wouldn't be noticed at all. Her head turned back to gaze upon his figure once more as she heard him snap his fingers the loud sound startling her back to attention the thought of the many women disappearing from her mind as she watched him lower his gaze muttering to one of the woman who had started to fill his plate with the strange foods that graced the long tables around the room, letting her gaze drop from his as the same woman began to fill her own plate with everything that wasn't meat she curled up on the cushion her neck lowering until she was able to let her head rest softly against the place she was seated. Turning his attention back to Odette, having to lower his gaze more than he had initially thought as he found her curled up onto the cushion (from fright or fatigue he wasn't sure), Scar moved his hand to run his fingers down the fine feathers of her back in a single gentle stroke, having taking note that she wasn't eating. "Your... uh, friend... the gangly one..." Scar paused to clear his throat for a moment, unsure of what he was saying until it had already passed through his lips. "Would you at least try to eat something if... I let him inside?" He asked, the last four words being forced out of his mouth between clenched teeth as if it pained him to do so. Turning her head on the cushion so that her cheek was resting against it she opened her light blue eyes slowly letting them flick back up his figure to catch on his own as he began to speak to her asking her if she would consider eating if Dominic was allowed into the castle, lowering her eyes from his she thought back to him waiting outside the castle for her to return back to him... That's if he was still outside the castle waiting for her to return to him in the fist place. Turning her head back away from him she let her eyes wander back over to the thirteen women in front of them her light blue orbs watching them from under the table her wings shifting slightly as she tried to get her body comfortable, the woman moving away once she had filled the swans plate completely with salads and fruits. Esmeralda watched as the other women in front of her took some sort of sultry pose for their King as he seemed distracted. He was talking... To the swan... She watched on a little as he pet the creature with a tenderness that she hadn't even been sure he was capable of. She supposed it was good to know that he only abused humans... Music began and pulled her attention away from the strange scene to look at the musicians she hadn't noticed before. Music was something of her past... She hadn't danced to someone playing music since she was a child and still lived with the Lovel's... Her family. Noticing that the other girls were dancing, Esmeralda joined in. It was strange dancing again with this many bodies and moving to music that she didn't know. She smiled as she moved around the room, taking advantage of her revealing costume to bring her stomach into her movements in ways she had been unable to before due to her own clothing. She still refused to look at anyone else in the room though. Anyone who was enjoying the movements of the thirteen captive women. She only caught glances of the women and could see them doing their best to involve her teachings into their dancing. She grabbed hold of her skirts and start to spin moving them this way and that. Despite her resolve to not look at anyone, she found her eyes falling upon the swan every now and again. Why was it that this swan was getting fed better than most other people that lived within Scar's kingdom? Although she had not lived in the Pride Lands before she was captured the names of those who ruled other lands travelled quickly as well as their, often, less than kind treatment of their people. She pulled her eyes away as the music changed and changed her steps seemlessly to match it. What was so special about the swan? Scar hadn't even so much as glanced up at the dancers since their entrance, instead his attention was solely on the swan sitting at his side, his hand running down her back again in a soothing gesture. Not sure how to take her silence, or even lack of some sort of confirmation as to what she wanted, Scar exhaled sharply through his nose and stood up from the table. Resting one palm on the edge of the table, leaning his body forward he caught the attention of the doorman guard with a snap of his fingers followed by waving his hand for the man to approach. Abandoning his post, the leather-clad soldier approached the table, stopping at the ledge to look up at Scar having not been given permission to climb the stairs and awaited orders, standing stock still with perfect posture. "There was a man outside the castle earlier, an outsider. Find him, bring him inside, and get him something to eat but do not speak to him, or allow him to speak to you. Understood?" The soldier quickly bowed to his king at the waist and hurried back through The Great Hall and through the doors, only when they shut behind him did Scar sit back down, returning his attention to Odette once more. "Now will you eat something?" He asked, sounding a bit more perplexed than he had intended. *~*~* Evening had just started to fall as the guard left the imposing walls of the castle, out into the dry grasslands of the Pride Lands. Despite it turning to dusk, the air was still hot and uncomfortably sticky, various mosquitos and other irritating insects flying about, searching for a meal. Lounging atop a large rock only a few hundred yards away from the castle itself was Dominic, who was reading from a small, slightly tattered book in his hand, entitled 'The Great Gatsby' (A souvenier he brought back from Earth during his last visit) The guard, a tall, well-built man with light brown skin ignored the urge to place a hand on his sword hilt as he approached Dominic, the latter raising his eyebrow as the guard approached but otherwise not looking up from his book. "Come to try and shackle me again?" Dominic asked dryly, though there was an edge of bitterness to his tone. The guard, true to his orders, remained silent, simply motioning towards the castle and nodding his head sharply. Dominic closed the book, returning it to his slightly tattered frock coat as he stood up from the rock, dusting himself off. "Muzzled, eh? I won't taunt you for it...know you have my sympathy." Dominic commented in a sincere tone before following behind the guard, remaining silent, if only out of respect for the guard's practically enslaved condition. Entering the Great Hall, Dominic, despite being rather shoddy in dress and marred by a rather ugly bruise on his cheek, nevertheless stood tall and proud; giving off an air of elegance that could only be a sign of prior wealth and nobility. His eyes quickly danced across the room, taking account of almost everyone there: guards, dancers, various servants, the king himself, and Odette. Fixing his steely gaze on Scar for longer than a moment, Dominic let himself be led to a seat, where he was promptly served on Scar's wishes. He upheld every courtesy taught to him, thanking his servers politely and smiling quite friendly. If one didn't know any better, they'd have thought he was some sort of political ally, cordially invited. Closing her eyes she relaxed her body over the cushion the gentle repetitive motion of Scar's hand brushing back over the length of her body smoothing out her feathers calming her down though in her mind she knew that he was still mad at her, it had been made clear by both his words and his actions so far that even though he had admitted that he missed her he was also angry that she had come and put them all in danger... And that he was ashamed to be seen with her. That much was obvious. Lifting her head up slightly as she felt his hand slip from her she turned her head watching him curiously as he stood up motioning for one of the many guards he had stationed around to approach where they stood their conversation brief but he had not bothered to hide it in any way allowing her to listen to everything that he was saying as he gave his permission for Dominic to come and join them for the banquet that was being hosted, bringing her head up a little more so that she was now able to see over the top of the table she watched the soldier leave her attention turning over to Scar as he asked of her the same question he had a few minutes before. Turning her gaze away from him and back to the plate in front of her the large piles of fruit and vegetables almost double if not triple what she would normally eat and consisting of most foods that she hadn't even seen before, pushing herself back onto her feet she took a couple of steps forward so that she could sit up and still reach what was in front of her with ease as she extended her neck her beak brushing against the food offered to her hoping that it would make him happy enough that he would stop worrying about her every second minute. Lifting her head up as she heard a familiar voice entering the hall she searched around her eyes finally coming to a rest on Dominic's figure as he sat down thanking those around him who were giving him food and drink, shifting in her place she forced herself to turn back to her food very slowly making her way through the meal in front of her as she made sure to resist the urge to fly over or call out to him in any way. When Scar stood suddenly, it caught Esmeralda's attention causing her eyes to land on the man he had called to the front before she allowed them to follow the man out of the room. She supposed that that was a downfall to being so far away from the King... She had no clue on what he had said to the man. He had not been paying any attention to the dancers yet for what she saw he was too entranced by his bird friend. She rose her hands above her head and started to move her hips in large motions to fit the slower tempo of the music. That man had nothing to do with Scar's discontent with her.... But what on Earth had Scar sent him to do? A few minutes later the doors opened again. Esmeralda turned around and danced with her back to the group to see who it was. A scruffy man with a cold look in his eyes entered. She followed his gaze to see it land upon Scar. She pursed her lips a little, it was nice to see that he hadn't scared everyone into submission. She winced a little, she was one of those people though... She was just as scared as everyone else. She turned back around to see Scar speaking to the swan and was slightly curious as to how he rose to power if he was this crazy to be talking to a bird as though it were a person. No, he was not as kind to people. Black eyes flicking back over to the door as it opened, they settled on Dominic as he was seated. One word from the guard to the servants and they were showing him every bit of courtesy as though he were a renowed guest... some even seemed to enjoy his company as they served him his meal and refilled his drink. Staying his breathing, Scar turned his attention back to Odette, trying to convey that he wasn't at all put off by the man but the firm grip on his goblet said otherwise, his ears only faintly picking up on the sound of music playing across the room by his own request. Buying himself time to sate his slight uprise in anger, Scar took a drink of the wine and set it back down, half-empty. "There, you see? He's fine." Scar said using his hand to gesture towards Dominic's direction, keeping his eye on her as she poked at the food in front of her with her beak, unsatesfied with her effort until he actually saw her swallow something. Visibly relaxing in his throne, Scar lifted his eyes up to the scene before him, taking an interest for the first time in the dancing girls. His eyes connected with the Gypsy girl for half a moment, nodding slightly to her and motioned with his arm for her and the others to continue. "After you've eaten, I've a place for you to rest up for the night. Clean up those feathers. A secluded area where no one but me can bother you." He stated to Odette, though keeping his eyes out in front. "I'll... see about doing something for your friend... I suppose..." Enjoying his meal, Dominic nonetheless kept himself on alert, marking any exits or guards in the room just in case something were to happen. His eyes scanned across the room once more, getting a closer look at Odette now that he had the chance. Were her feathers....red? Fearing the worst, Dominic's eyes narrowed sharply, but softened as he tried mouthing, "Are you okay?" the next chance she looked at him. Closing her light blue eyes she continued to try and eat as much as the food that had been provided to her she listened to his words in regards to Dominic and how he was fine even during the time that he had kept the two of them apart from one another, opening her eyes just in time to catch his body relaxing out of the corner of them she slowed her pace taking her meal at a much slower pace now that he had realized she was indeed eating what he had given her. Lifting her head up from the plate all together she turned her head to look over him letting his instructions about where she was going to be staying the idea of being able to clean her feathers of the dust and grape juice she had managed to get over her something she enjoyed thinking about, she hadn't realized that her journey was going to cause her to become so unclean and with the amount of lakes and ponds growing lower in numbers the further they traveled cleaning herself wasn't something that was able to be done as much. Turning her head around so that her gaze was resting on Dominic she ignored Scar's words altogether letting them fall on deaf ears as she instead focused on what Dom was trying to get through to her, catching on to what she was being asked she nodded her head the action probably being taken as a response to Scar's statement though she was answering the question letting Dominic know that she was indeed okay. Esmeralda's eyes passed over Scar for a moment when she saw him, for the first time since they began, look away from the bird and to the dancers before him. His eyes met her's and for a moment, she was terrified as she looked back at him. However, that fear dissipated when he nodded his head and motioned for them to continue. She looked away from him after that, not wishing to look on him for longer than she felt necessary. It was nice though. To know that she had at least pleased him enough that he would not hunt and kill anymore Romani in front of her... for now. She felt a small sting in her eyes as her mind travelled back to the little boy, looking up at her, lifeless. Her movements faltered just for a moment before she caught herself and kept going. She could cry again tonight when it was safe... It was not safe in front of the beast that sat at the head table. She took a deep breath and search for the relief and happiness she had felt just a moment ago and brought back into her dancing. As the music picked up, she allowed herself to jump and spin and at times, weave through the other dancers. Dominic hardly spoke to anyone during the dancer's performance, choosing instead to simply enjoy the provided meal and keep his eyes alert. Though his head was turned in the direction of the dancers, he merely looked through them. Base entertainment for arousal, yes, but Dominic knew most, if not all these women were practically imprisoned in the castle. In fact, he could have sworn he saw bloodied bandages on the back of one of the girls. Shaking his head in disgust, Dominic resisted the urge to speak up, knowing such a motion would end up with his head on a silver platter for the king to decorate his table with. Letting out a heavy sigh, Dominic was about to get back to his own food when he felt a displeasurable tingling sensation in his head. He couldn't place where it came from, or what it was...but it grew stronger, louder. His mouth twitching slightly, Dominic winced as the feeling became nearly unbearable...then his perception changed. Instead of sitting in the Throne Room of Scar's castle, Dominic was standing on a long beach, the entire world around him seeming hazy...surreal. Though the beach stretched as far as the eyes could see, a thick cloud of mist and fog surrounded him entirely, entrapping him on the shoreline. The sky was a cloudy gray, as though a thunderstorm were about to occur, though there were no other signs such as thunder, lightning, or even the tiniest bit of rain. The only sounds around him were the waves rolling and crashing, nothing more...emptiness. Looking around curiously, Dominic felt himself slowly but surely becoming more agitated and nervous when a second voice spoke up, almost echoing in tone. "I apologize for the intrusion, Dominic." Stepping out of the thick cloud of fog was the Sorcerer, looking like some sort of phantom in his long black coat, his veiled hood giving the impression that there was naught underneath it. Dominic instantly bowed low, apparently out of a sign of respect. "Master Yen Sid...I didn't expect you so soon." He excused himself slightly nervously. "Very few do." The Sorcerer replied, amusement prevalent in his voice as he spoke. "I'm afraid our plans are accelerating faster than I had predicted. It is time for you to return to Earth." He added in a more serious manner. Before Dominic had time to object, the Sorcerer continued, "Make your goodbyes, but quickly. I would like to speak more to you in-person." With that statement now made, the beach and the Sorcerer faded from view, leaving Dominic back in the Dining Hall, looking to others as though he had just undergone some sort of epiphany. Looking to Odette once again, Dominic abruptly rose from his seat. "I'm so sorry, Odette, but...I must leave. I am being summoned." He said vaguely with the slightest hint of a smile. "I'll be back soon, don't worry!" With that, Dominic quickly disappeared in an almost blinding flash of light, as though a mini sun had burst within the Dining Hall; with no sign of the man left behind as the light dissipated. Turning her attention back to Scar she extended her neck as far as she could pressing it against the table in a motion that pointed her beak towards the water jug her wings parting from her body slightly as she ruffled her feathers trying to get his attention so he knew what she needed, the sudden sound of her name being called out causing her to sit up quickly her gaze turning back to Dominic as he turned to her explaining that he had to leave and apologizing for having to do so, /"W-What? But-... But Dominic..."/ Stumbling on the cushion slightly as she tried to move enough to jump off to go see him but before she had the chance a blinding flash of light forced her to shut them tightly her head turning away so that she didn't have to see it, quickly turning her head back around her eyes flicked about searching for Dominic's figure in the crowd, /"..Dominic..?"/ Esmeralda moved through the women, although staying closer to the back, as she danced when she suddenly heard the commotion of someone standing up very quickly. She stopped her dancing and turned slightly, her arms floating down from above her head, to look at the scruffy man from before standing and talking very quickly. He apologized for something... Although, not to the King... but to an Odette. Her eyes drifted over to the swan, was he also talking to the bird? Had everyone in this palace gone mad? He told the bird not to worry and then Esmeralda was being blinded. She rose her arms again to shield her eyes and turned her head away from the beam and by the time the spots had disappeared from her eyes, the man was gone. She resisted every urge in her body to run over to the table and look around. She had always been intrigued by the other world of magic. Gypsy magic was not the same as this was. Her magic often dealt within the body and knowing how it worked. It used oils and crystals to heal. When things effected other people it would often come back and effect you. Revenge spells were often met with Karma and love spells rarely went the right way. This magic was different though... People could make things out of nothing... They could disappear without a trance in a way that Gypsy magic did not allow. It took her a moment to realize that she was standing still among the dancers who had quickly gone back to dancing after the mayhem. However, it was clear to see their eyes going back to the spot where the man once stood. Esmeralda did not start dancing again... Scar had seemed angry since the moment they walked into the room, similar tenseness that he had been before her earlier that day... When he had her first whipped. A sudden curiosity about the state of his chakras washed over her before she pushed it aside and looked at the King. She felt as though Scar may be done for the day... She didn't wish to risk it though, making small movements as she kept her eyes, for the first time as she danced, on the King not wanting to be surprised if he became outraged.... Distracted for a fraction of a moment by Odette's movements towards the water jugs, he had to hold his tongue to keep from lashing out at the servants for forgetting something so obvious as to water. Throwing down the roll he had just picked up with every intention of eating, letting his servants know that he was annoyed with them, Scar stood to retrieve one of the water jugs. The very moment his fingers touched the cool metal of the pitcher, something happened... someone spoke... His black eyes darted over to Dominic, finding him standing and addressing the court as though he owned the place and though Scar completely missed everything that the man had said, it hardly mattered. A rule had been broken, and knowledged with how things worked in The Pride Lands or not, the loathsome little parasite was going to be punished accordingly... Lifting his fingers to snap them together so that his guards were alerted, the fingers barely so much as touched together before there was a sudden flash of white light. Immediately Scar retreated back and stooped himself down, putting a protective arm in front of the swan while he forced his eyes (though wide in shock) to remain open and search out the visitor who he was sure had caused this. Magic was not allowed in The Pride Lands, Scar had made sure that was clear when he had his brother's Shaman, Rafiki, tied to a stake for the birds and predators to have their way with the old man's husk of a corpse and left to die a slow, painful death. Furrowing his brows, Scar chanced a look back at Odette to ensure that she was okay as soon as the bright flash subsided. Turning back to look where Dominic had been, Scar slowly stood to find the area completely empty of the man and with his surprise, issued out a frustrated shout that had the entire room practically vibrating with it. He practically flew off of the handle then, jumping down to the main floor and grabbing the nearest guard by the collar of his leather half-tunic and throwing him halfway across the room, shouting so loudly it was hard to understand what he was saying, though the basic point of 'find him' had been addressed both loudly and somewhat clearly. He didn't have to say it, but it was also clear, the feast had come to an end.

There was something about the ambiance of the middle of the night that always put Alan in considerably high spirits, though this particular night might have had something to do with his thought process taking him to the third exceptionally hot chick that he was going to get to bang that day if he played his cards right; and Alan always played his cards right. The area was dark, quiet save for an occasional squirrel chatter or gust of wind tossing around a plastic bag along the streets and causing the dead tree branches to rattle together. The air had that fresh smell to it as the snowfall had let up considerably and was dry once more save for the occasional snow dump from the grand Douglas fir branches that littered the area, simply holding too much weight on their feeble twigs. Though, the more Alan walked, the more the trees thinned out and the buildings took precedence, sheltering him somewhat from the bitter bite of cold making his middle-of-the-night stroll all the more pleasant. The city-scape was something he was familiar with. Trees and open terrain? Not so much. Rounding the corner of the ski lodge and heading towards the main road that would take him back to town, the street lamps illuminating the parking lot became significantly dimmer with each step he took away from the lodge, counting on the light of the moon and it's reflection off of the fresh layer of snow to keep him from running into things (like more snow or his own two feet). Hailing a cab to take him into the city wasn't exactly a practical option as of yet; the lodge was far enough 'out of the way' that cabs didn't frequent the area (especially during the middle of the night) and calling one to pick him up would no doubt take a couple of hours. More than once Alan had learned the cabbie ways from his life spent in Manhattan. He didn't mind the physical activity of walking long distances either. His current pair of shoes, bought new just a few weeks ago probably already had a hundred or so miles to them making them look in dire need of replacing, which he didn't have any problems with. He may have been a bit of a stickler when it came to spending his 'hard earned cash' when he could just lift whatever it was that he wanted, but a good pair of brand new shoes wasn't something he liked to mess around with, and would gladly spend his money on a couple times a month; he had quite the collection of semi-new shoes back at home filling up the majority of his closet. Alan always enjoyed his late night strolls. With his job practically forcing his personality into being a people-person, driven by large crowds at all hours of the day, that didn't go without saying that the playboy magician enjoyed a moment or two of peace and quiet to himself. More often than not, Alan could be seen walking the streets of Manhattan in the middle of the night, hands stuffed into his worn jean pockets and whistling to himself a merry tune that often-times put off those very few he did pass along on the streets. Occasionally, his good mood didn't set well with those that came out in the night and on more than one occasion Alan found himself waking up with a busted lip in a trashcan miles away from where he had remembered being last, but nothing too serious. He was smart, resourceful, charismatic... he didn't have too many problems with others... A distinctive clicking sound cut through the air like a hot knife and Alan froze mid-step as he felt the cold steel of a .45 Long Cult being pressed into the back of his neck. "The boss don't like it when you don't pay on time." A cold voice sounded behind Alan. Without even a chance to swallow the breath that had got caught in his throat, Alan's small frame was thrown a good five feet to the right until his chest was pressed up flat against a cold, brick wall. The sudden impact had Alan seeing little spots of white, but as he was trying to blink them away, the barrel of the gun was pressed back into him, this time between his shoulder blades as a second pair of hands wrenched his arms out from in front of him and pulled them with unnecessary force back behind his back just below the gun. "Two days now, the boss has been waitin for payment but you know what? I don't see none..." A second voice said, sounding a lot deeper in pitch than the first. A waft of cigar smoke was blown into the side of Alan's face, causing him to cough and sputter a bit when he wasn't too busy grimacing in pain from getting his shoulders twisted back into an uncomfortable angle. "So, which pretty lady are we gonna have to take for collateral? You've had quite the day today, Alan, quite the pick of women." Alan closed his eyes, feeling another hand (what he assumed was the free hand of the man with the gun) hold onto the back of his head tightly and pressed his cheek even more flat against the brick wall. His teeth grit, a quiet exhale of pain coming through his lips, but he was more worried about the gun pressed into his back than a few scrapes on his cheek... though the latter would tarnish his otherwise flawless complexion considerably... "Noneofem. Look. I got your money. My pockets are full of crap I can pawn off. That's where I was headed, actually. Right now. To get you guys your money. There's no need to bring anyone else into this-" Alan tried. The pistol was pressed into his back even more, so hard, in fact, Alan was sure he would get quite the bruise there when all was said and done. "The boss don't like gettin jerked around, kid. Get your shit together, or we'll be back on less hospitable terms..." There was a slight push and Alan's body was finally released, the gun barrel withdrawn and his arms and head his own again. Turning to look the two mobsters in the eye, Alan was immediately greeted with a fist of bronze knuckles to the face, splitting open the skin underneath his cheek wide open and forcing his eye shut as the swelling had already set in. The impact had Alan thrown back into the wall again, but the structure of the brick had him from falling over completely. His hand shot to the side of his face, hissing out in pain as his legs slumped down until his rear met with the asphalt. By the time he had gathered his wits again, the two men were gone with nothing but the stench of their cigar smoke and the nice shiner on his face to remember them by. "Fuckin' pricks..." Alan grimaced as he forced himself back up to his feet. He wiped the cut on his cheek with the back of his sleeve, now only having one eye to his use he wasn't sure by the amount of blood on his sweater if the cut had gone very deep, but there was no way he was getting laid looking like this. Okay, so maybe getting involved with a loan shark when he first arrived to Tahoe City was a bit of a bad idea; but the two hookers and amount of blow he had managed to buy with it was certainly worth it at the time. Feeling his pockets suddenly growing very heavy with the weight of random trinkets he had nicked throughout the day, Alan altered his course and began to seek out the closest pawnshop he could find. The alcohol and food could wait for later. After about an hour, his search came up fruitful in finding a pawnshop hidden in the deep recesses of the downtown area. Upon entering the convenient twenty-four-hour shop, his senses were immediately infiltrated by the smell of stale vomit and something sickeningly sweet, making his stomach lurch with some sort of familiarity. He had been in a drug home long enough to know exactly what that smell was. Despite being with his foster family for less than a year, the smell of heroin wasn't one he could easily forget. Truly Alan would have left the entire drug world behind in that shithole of a place when he ran away from them, but it had been a literal 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' once he took on the life of a street magician. It seemed that coke, heroin, meth... all that sort of stuff just came with the trade, and to save himself from being yet another disappointment to someone he looked up to, he followed in his mentor's footsteps and got involved. So stepping into that shop had Alan immediately thinking that he just might leave the shop with just a bit more than a thick wad of cash tonight. Approaching the bald man at the counter with a cheery smile despite the stinging pain of his face, Alan began to fork over the various little trinkets of his days work at the lodge. Since each and every item seemed to be of a 'unique' style, the shop owner had to look up the items and ring them up individually, giving Alan plenty of time to look around and what it was the man had to sell. There wasn't anything awe-inspiring or any 'secret treasures' that immediately caught his eye; though in Alan's experience that was the case ninety percent of the time with any pawnshop. He looked over the items with lack of interest, only giving him something to do while he waited and eventually came to the glass casings which more often than not held the more valuable items. His gaze lingered on a particular necklace that caught his attention, though he wasn't sure why. Squatting down on his haunches to get a better look at it, he realized that the small, wooden, dark shape inside of the expertly crafted lighter wooden cirle was a snowflake. His mind immediately brought him back to the pool when he had been checking out Eliza's ass on more than one occasion, and the tiny little birthmark on the back of her right thigh that looked... nearly identical to the shape he was now looking at. The thought alone had something stirring in his pants, but he ignored it as the gruff voice of the pawnbroker caught his attention, alerting him that he had finished and had come up with a price. Alan stood and walked back to the main counter, spending a good five minutes bartering prices. He had been in the business long enough to know when he was being cheated, and this guy no doubt thought that Alan would be an easy one to rip off, but much to the older man's surprise, Alan had quite the vocabulary and know-how to finally agree on something appeasable after Alan had dropped a subtle hint for exchanging a bit of the money owed to him for some heroin. Agreeing, the man ventured into the back room, giving Alan the perfect opportunity to return back to the necklace. This was just something he couldn't pass up. Hopping over the counter like he owned the place but with the silence and dexterity of a pronounced thief, Alan pulled out a bobby pin from one of his pockets and popped open the lock of the glass casing at the back. Reaching his hand inside, he took the necklace by the gold chain and locked the glass cabinet back up tight, stuffing the new item into his pants pocket as he hopped back over the counter. He rested his elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his hand, looking just as bored as ever for when the pawnbroker returned with his prize. When the pawnbroker came back with a small box about the size of a glasses case, Alan took that and the remaining money owed to him and hurried back outside. Not that he was worried about being caught with stealing the necklace, he just had a hankering for some hard alcohol that he knew would help ease the tight knot now forming in the pit of his stomach with the knowledge that he had to figure out something for the loan shark and his band of 'merry men'. Now back on the streets where the street lamps kept the sidewalk fairly lit, Alan eased up a bit, enough to wrap his mind around the next task at hand. Alcohol. He found an open liquor store not too soon after, and five minutes later Alan was walking back outside with a cheap bottle of straight up Vodka, no longer giving two shits if it was what Eliza would want or not. Daria seemed to like her drinks strong, why would her friend be any different? He was lost in his thoughts again. The weight of the case of heroin in his back pocket coming down harder on him than the stolen trinkets had, but not for the reason he would have initially thought. The drug world reminded him back to when he was exceptionally hesitant about the whole thing but his hesitation got that look in his mentor's eye that he wasn't at all unfamiliar with; the look of disappointment; the look his own father had for him when he was still made out of wood. Stopping to rest on a park bench, Alan tore into the brown paper bag and popped open the lid to the vodka bottle and took a long, hard drink. It had been quite some time since he had thought about his father last, but each time reminded him as to why. He could hardly stand it. "If only you could see me now Papa..." Alan said out loud to himself, holding the bottle between his legs on the bench as he stared down the winding path of the central park area until it got swallowed up in the darkness. "Betcha you'd be right proud of me, wouldn't ya, Old Timer?" Shaking his head, feeling the sting of hot tears coming to the corners of his eyes, Alan remedied himself by taking another good, long drink. Alan wasn't stupid. He knew for a fact that he had fucked up his life considerably. His path had been corrupted so much, twisted into something unsalvageable that there was no way he could return home now, never to be able to look upon his father's face and get to hear the words he had longed to hear from him ever since he had been created with the magic of The Blue Fairy. 'I'm so proud of you son.' No. Even if Alan suddenly had a change of heart and started to follow the rules of being 'selfless, brave and true' The Blue Fairy had given him before he had been sent to this world, nothing he could ever do now could amend what he had done in the past, nothing could ever make his father proud of him. Pressing his lips back to the bottle, he took a third, exceptionally long drink, chugging the contents until the bottle was nearly empty and into his stomach as though it were water. "I aint goin home." Alan then said out loud to himself after parting with the bottle for need of air, gasping for breath as his good eye closed down tightly with a tear squeezing out of the corner. His eyes shot open, his legs pushing him back up to standing as his head dropped back and he was looking up at the starry-night sky, finding the North Star he oftentimes associated with The Blue Fairy. "YOU HEAR THAT? I AIN'T EVER GOING BACK!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Anger fueled his blood as Alan threw the near-empty Vodka bottle across the park until it collided with a tree, the force shaking it's branches and dumping a fair amount of snow down by it's trunk. His legs gave out and Alan sunk back down onto the bench, holding his head in both of his hands and looking down at his feet, though his eyes were closed, and let the silent tears fall.

The dancers left quickly as Scar began to yell about wanting the scruffy man found. Esmeralda left with them, bringing up the rear once more, glancing over her shoulder at the furious King. She was curious about what it was that had infuriated him in such a way... The man or the magic? The girls walked in silence back into their room, through the quiet halls that carried only the echoes of Scar's rage. When they reached the room, Esmeralda watched as the other women went about their lavish living space, eating, drinking, talking, dancing, all as though nothing had happened. The woman took a deep breath and made her way to the bed that she had been pulled from earlier that day. Once she was out of sight from the other women, she allowed for more tears to escape her eyes as she remembered the young boy whose life she had taken. There had to have been another way that she could have saved him... Saved his mother. Had she not refused the King what he wanted, he wouldn't have hunted them down.... They would be happy and living with no worries of dying at the hands of a cruel beast.

Her head snapped up at the sound of someone trying and failing to be quiet. She caught the gaze of an older looking woman with dark hair. She quickly looked away as she wiped her tears from her cheeks. The woman spoke, "I'm sorry... I was told to change your bandages."

Esmeralda sniffled, "It's fine... I just... Thought I was alone."

The woman moved to her and sat on the bed next to her as she began to prepare to change the bloodied cloth, "What's your name?" The woman asked in a soft voice.

"Esmeralda..." She replied in just as soft a tone as she watched her. She saw a small smile at the edge of the woman's lips, "That's a beautiful name... I'm Sarabi, once Queen of this castle."

"Oh... Well, you are the first one to ask me that," Esmeralda said, her eyes moving from the woman's hands to her face, "My name..."

A small sigh seemed to escape Sarabi's lips as she nodded, "People... don't really get names here... You're less of a person that way. Turn around."

Esmeralda did as she was told, leaning her head forward as she pulled her hair over her shoulder, "He's cruel..." She said quietly, "Scar..."

A humourless laugh escaped from Sarabi's lips causing Esmeralda to look over her shoulder at the older woman, "His name is not Scar... And he's more than cruel, child," She pulled away the bandages and sighed once more, "But I see you have seen that."

She slowly began to rub an ointment into Esmeralda's torn flesh to prevent infection. The girl bit her lip as she did before she spoke through the pain, "What do you mean.... His name isn't.... Scar?"

"He was born with the name Taka," Sarabi said, ""In our ancient language, its meaning is loosely translated to this language as 'garbage'... And the man is nothing but... He killed my husband, his own brother, in cold blood before he took this kingdom... And my son, Simba... his own nephew... they never found his body but Taka wouldn't allow him to live, if he had his way. I fear I have lost him too..." The woman bit her lip as she looked to the roof, as though she were trying not to cry, "He was only a boy. Had just turned seven... He had the... brightest future ahead of him... Out of all of us."

Esmeralda rested her chin on her knees, "They called him Garbage?"

"That is beside the point, dear..." Sarabi grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her to face her, "The man left my husband's shaman, Rafiki, on a stake to be ripped apart slowly by nature because he doesn't like magic.... He is a monster."

"Why doesn't he like magic?"

Sarabi reached out and rapped Esmeralda on the forehead lightly, causing the girl to jump slightly, "That isn't the point. Stay away from that man as much as you can. No one wishes to be in his presence and no one should. Even his wife, Zira. She nor their child returned with him when Taka took over. Either she finally got her wits about her, grabbed Vitani and left him after he was exiled, or they are both now dead by his own hand."

Esmeralda nodded her head and Sarabi turned her back around before she started to cover her wounds once more. The girl bit her lip and started to think that without Scar's anger... He wasn't much different from the Romani... He was an outcast since the day his parents named him. He had been treated no better by the royals than the Gypsys... And he was their family... For that, she pitied him.




Aurora had sat the table that night in silence. Maleficent had told the girl to sit to her left and she had made certain to sit in the chair to the left of Maleficent's throne but the Queen never showed. Which left Aurora alone with the Witch and Maleficent's men. The Sea Witch tried to make conversation with the shy Princess and although Aurora spoke to avoid being rude, she did not reply in way that the conversation furthered.

"Do you wish to leave her, my dear?" The witch had asked her at some point of the night.

"No," Aurora said without hesitation, still looking at her plate, not daring to look at the Witch. She held her fork tightly as she rose a lettuce leaf to her mouth. The truth was Aurora wanted little more than to free of her curse. She'd give almost anything to be free of it but she knew the Witch could do little for her. No one, except one man could... A man Aurora had yet to even meet. Her one true love. She rested her fork back onto her plate and let out a small sigh. Maleficent was intent on never letting her find that man though. She was not allowed to have such feelings for people, as the Queen had said earlier about Gaston: It would not do well for either of them in the situation.

She looked at the Sea Witch and stood, "I must retire to my rooms for my journey has made me awfully tired," She curtsied to the woman, "Good night, Miss Ursula."

Straightening, she turned and walked around the seat before she left the room without another word. Once the door had closed behind her, Aurora ran. She sprinted as quickly as her dress would let her from the dining hall to her room in the East tower. When she made it, she threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. Maleficent knew every which way to hurt the girl without laying a single finger on her. The years of being built up and torn down had truly damaged the girl. As much as she wanted to be free of her curse, as much as she wanted to find the man who would break it, she wanted Maleficent to love her...

She rolled over and looked out her only window. The one good thing about her room being so high was that she could see for miles over the lush and green Moors. She pulled her pillow into her and sniffed as her eyes found the North Star, "I wish..." She said quietly. She wasn't sure what she was wishing for... Freedom, the love of a mother, the love of a man... Maybe all of it. She closed her eyes, causing more tears to fall and stain her cheeks, "I wish..." She said once more before sleep washed over her and took her away.

Dominic wasn't sure when he had fallen out of consciousness; when the veil of light first enveloped him, or during his journey from the Pride Lands to God knows where. The last thing he remembered since leaving the Pride Lands was waking up face-down on a beach, the cool, smooth sand and gentle ocean breeze awakening him from his slumber. Standing up slowly, Dominic dusted any remaining sand off of his clothing and started walking off in a random direction, feeling a strange...compulsion to do so; as though there was a force beckoning to him. Dominic finally understood this compulsion when he finally came across the Sorcerer who sat atop a large rock a few yards from the shoreline, his hands neatly folded in his lap. The Sorcerer remained completely still aside from the way the breeze swayed his long coat this way and that, though he seemed to come alive as Dominic came closer; turning his hooded head to look at the scruffy man directly, the blank void under the hood giving absolutely no indication as to the Sorcerer's expression or features. "Hello, Dominic. Please, have a seat." The Sorcerer bid kindly, motioning towards the ground beside him with a single gloved hand. Dominic nodded briskly before doing as he was bid, still somewhat rattled from his experience being teleported. "I always enjoy coming out here..." The Sorcerer began in a collected tone, his gaze once again fixed on the seemingly eternal ocean, the orange glow of the setting sun being cast on the distant waters. "The ocean brings me serenity, clarity, and peace of mind that I can nary find elsewhere." Dominic, who, too was looking out at the ocean, turned his gaze once again to the Sorcerer. "Why did you bring me out here, Sorcerer? You mentioned that our plans were accelerating?" Dominic finally spoke, his voice equal parts confused and unnerved. "Hm? Yes...my observations on Earth have become far more interesting as of late. Our wayward Guardian has finally appeared." Yen Sid replied, his voice never wavering as he discussed these matters as though discussing the weather. "Pinnochio? Did he think thirteen years shirking his duty was enough time spent before now coming to do his job?" Dominic demanded, his tone growing hot with anger already. "I'm afraid you are only half-correct, Dominic. The boy has appeared, yes, but he has done anything but his duty. I'm afraid he has become something of an agent of chaos. Of all the children sent to Earth, he has already manipulated and seduced two of them and is attempting to do the same to a third." Yen Sid replied, his voice, though remaining calm now held suppressed frustration, akin to one putting stress on an object. "What?" Was Dominic's simple reply, his lips pursed and his brows furrowed as his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. "Our friends, Ilya and Funes have hardly been able to control him thus far...I require you out in the field. In a matter of minutes, he will be caught and arrested for public inebriation and attempted grand theft auto, where he will be held in police custody. You will speak to him on mine and yours behalf tomorrow morning." The Sorcerer directed, turning his head to look down at Dominic whilst he spoke. "I predict that our time will be coming shortly. We cannot allow over thirteen years of planning to be undone by Pinnochio. I trust you to see to it the children are kept safe until the time comes." The Sorcerer finished on a somewhat more serious note. "Yes...I understand, Sorcerer." Dominic replied in a reverent tone as he stood up to his full height, preparing to activate his amulet that would send him to Earth. "Master Yen Sid...if I may ask a question..." Dominic then began, somewhat uncertainly. "Of course. What is it you wish to know?" The Sorcerer asked in return, his tone patient and casual. "When you retrieved me from the Pride Lands...why did you leave Odette behind? You left her with--with a monster of a man, to fend for herself!" Dominic's tone became slightly more hostile, though more at the situation than the Sorcerer himself. Before he could continue ranting, however, the Sorcerer raised a single hand up, and Dominic felt his voice grow silent...as though a superior force had quieted him. "You are a good man, Dominic...I admire your chivalry. But I do not think you need to worry much for our Swan Princess. Underneath her gentle and curious nature is a strength of will and character that few possess. The King of the Pride Lands possesses cruelty beyond human reckoning, yes...but he can still love in his heart. I assure you, your friend will not be harmed." The Sorcerer finished in a calm, reassuring tone. Dominic heaved out a heavy sigh. "Yes...yes, of course. I apologize." He replied, somewhat guiltily. The Sorcerer let out a soft chuckle, one of nostalgia and remembrance. "You care for her, Dominic; you care for her safety and well-being. There is no need to apologize for that. You remind me so much of myself in my younger days...young love. It is a beautiful thing, no matter how many times you see it. For two hearts to become one...there is nothing more wondrous than that, Dominic. No amount of gold, or riches, or magic, or power can truly compensate for True Love. Remember that." The Sorcerer said wistfully. "Now...you best be on your way. I will be observing your progress. Goodbye, Dominic, and safe travels." The Sorcerer bid before looking out over the sea. Dominic nodded respectfully before reaching into the top of his shirt to procure the amulet he kept hidden beneath, clenching it in the palm of his hand as he faded in a flash of light...

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and I as Alan Woodard and Morgan Reginald*~*~* It took Alan nearly a half an hour to regain himself. With the help of the alcohol, once his tears had dried he had pushed himself back onto his feet and simply began walking again. He couldn't quite remember what it was that he was supposed to be doing, other than it was slightly important, but the nagging feeling at the tip of his mind quickly dissipated as he passed by a 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo. Stopping himself mid-step, his blue eyes looked over the car again. And again. And again. Turning his head on a swivel, noting that he was particularly alone and the owner to the car was more likely than not asleep in their circular bed with a couple of hoes and a bottle of French wine, he knew that the opportunity was just too good to pass up. His fingers began to twitch, a pulse of adrenaline shooting through his veins as he decided then and there he needed this car. Impaired judgement or not, even sober Alan would have had a hard time walking away from such an easy opportunity. But sober Alan would have at least had the smarts to have the intentions of bringing it back. His thief fingers made quick work of the lock with the bobby pin he had used earlier as well as a couple of other tools he kept on his person that most of the time had something to do with one or more of his magic acts. The alarm was exceptionally simple to disable, he had seen quite a number of cars with this particular system, so all he had to do now was to pop open the plastic cover on the steering column to get to the wires. Humming to himself a bit as he reached into the car and popped open the glove compartment, he found a screwdriver inside and returned to the plastic column and began to pry it open. "I got no strings to hmm hmm hmm. Ta da da da, ta make me frown..." Setting aside the steering column panel, Alan squinted his eyes to see into the inner workings of the car, eventually finding the wiring harness connector that held a large bundle of different wires. The sight would have been intimidating so someone who didn't know what they were doing, but Alan was more than experienced. He started to examine the wires a bit more carefully, isolating the primary power supply for the ignition switch, ignition wires and the starter. Reaching a free hand to his back pocket, he procured a small pocket knife and flipped the blade open, getting ready to start stripping the battery wires. "I had strings, but now I'm free! There aren't no fuckin strings on me!" Morgan sighed as she walked back towards the inn. She had just gotten out of the police station, finished filling out paperwork for the arrest and arraignment of Mr. Raymond Wren. Paperwork usually took hours to complete, much to Morgan's slight frustration. But...it was still part of her job. Of course, she had been planning to go and get herself something to eat before going back to the inn. However, something, or rather someone, else caught her attention. She squinted her eyes to see a man, sitting in the driver's seat...hotwiring while singing. She walked towards him, and as she got closer, she recognized his face, and heard his lyrics clearly. Well, what the hell kind of a detective would she be if she just let him steal a car right in front of her?! She called out to him as she approached, not quite recognizing him as Alan yet, "Hey, Pinocchio! Step out of the car!" As soon as she had his attention she flashed her badge to show that she was part of the police, ready to chase after him if he tried to run. At hearing his true name, Alan rolled his head upwards a little bit to see the faint outline of what he was sure was a woman, silhouetted against the lone street lamp on the corner that otherwise cascaded her entire figure in complete blackness. Squinting his eyes a bit as the light from the street lamp seemed considerably brighter to him for no reason at all, he held up his hand to shield his face, still holding the pocket knife in his grasp and completely missing that she was trying to show him something. "Hey! Hey, you... you don't know me. Don't act like ya know me. Only m'friendsss can... can call me tha'... if I had any friends..." Alan slurred his words together, followed by an unnaturally high-pitched sort of giggle finding himself rather amusing. "Just, just gimme a secon' lady an... and I'll give ya a ride when it's your'turn, mkay? But we have ta be good little children an' wait in line, or... or The Blue Fairy won't be happy and frown. And she's kinda scary when she frowns..." The detective gave him an incredulous look, and she muttered to herself "Okay...someone's had way too much to drink," She glared at him and she said to him sternly and seriously, "Sir. Put down the pocket knife, and put your hands on your head! This is your warning!" She wasn't sure if he would comprehend and follow her directions, but she was prepared for the worst case scenario. Something similar to that of a giggle and a scoff came from Alan. Either his brain wasn't able to process that he was in some serious trouble, or he just didn't care. Either way, he lowered his hand back down, blinking a bit at the light shining into his face and picked the wire back up and started to strip it with the edge of his knife, going on as if she wasn't even there. "Hi-ho the me-ri-o! Tha's the only way ta go. I wan' the world ta know, nothin ever worries me!" Morgan sighed and shook her head and she commented "You really should be worried," She then grabbed the back of his shirt collar, and she pulled him out of the car, to the side of the car, in front of the hood, and slammed his head onto the hood. She pulled out her handcuffs, and she said to him seriously as she placed them on his wrists "You're under arrest for the attempt of car theft," She read him his Miranda Rights as she dragged him back to the police station (which actually wasn't too far away) "Hey hey hey hey!" Alan felt his body moving without his permission, being dragged out of the car and dropping the knife in the process. He let out a hiss of pain as his already cut and bruised face hit the cool metal of the car hood and again his arms were being jerked back behind him at a very unpleasant angle. Hearing, rather than feeling the cold steel of the handcuffs slapping down on his wrist, Alan couldn't help the soft chuckle that came from him as she began to push him down the street. "You know, if ya just wanted ta get kinky you coulda just asked, mamma." He said, trying to look over his shoulder and back at the woman who had taken a sudden interest in bondage. Soon Morgan had reached the police station with Alan. She emptied his pockets and to find that he had a necklace along with a few decks of cards, a cell phone, a pair of ladies' underwear, some trick quarters, a lighter, various other objects and a drug that she was able to identify immediately as heroin. Another reason for her to put him in a cell. Before she did, she got the photos and his fingerprints. She took out the picture of Alan that the security guard had given her and she nodded to herself as if to say that the man she had arrested was indeed Alan. She sighed as she started to get to work on the paperwork. Upon being shoved into the cell where his handcuffs were removed, Alan stumbled forward, tripping on his own two feet and went tumbling down onto the floor. Raising up by his chest, Alan blinked a couple times at his surroundings and rolled over onto his back, watching Morgan leave to return back to the front room where all the desks were and frowned. "Hey, if this is gonna work you gotta be in the cell with me, mamma!" Alan called out, but his words seemed to fall on deaf ears. Pulling himself back up and onto his feet, Alan pushed himself into the bars, putting his head through as far as he could go to try to look down the hall and spot the woman, but wasn't able to. "Hey! I'm talking to you! Thats all I want, I just wanna talk. How come you don't wanna talk huh? You too good for me, is that it? HEY!" Getting nothing in response, Alan blew a stream of air from his mouth upwards to the strand of hair that had fallen over his eyes, attempting to get it out of the way only to have it fall right back in place. Taking a moment to think (or trying to) Alan realized that the woman wouldn't return to him by any normal means. Fine. He could do not normal. He could do it very well. "When you wish upon a star! Makes no difference who you are! I don't remember this part right here, your dreams... come true..." As he was singing, another man in a different cell threw a quarter at Alan's head and shouted "Shut up! I'm tryin' ta sleep here!" "Ow!" Bending over to pick up the quarter, Alan smirked and placed the cent into his pocket before returning to the bars and stuck out his hand between them, waving at the man who had thrown the quarter at him. "You are too kind, m'good sir! And fer m'next trick! Procuring a shiny metal shiv to shove up your ass!" The man waved his middle finger at Alan in response, before he lowered it and tried to get to sleep again on his cot. Morgan sighed as she rubbed her temples as the man she just arrested kept making a ruckus. She had considered going and asking him questions about where he got the heroin, but decided not to, considering that he's drunk off his ass. She'll try asking him tomorrow when he's sober. Sighing, Alan pressed his face agains the cool metal bars again and continued on with his song, though a bit quieter this time as he was quickly running out of energy. He kept at it for a good twenty minutes before exhaustion (and inebriation) came over him and he slumped down onto the cold, cement floor and finally fell asleep.

After Dominic's disappearance, The King of The Pride Lands was forced to step outside for a bit. He knew it was near impossible for his men to locate the sorcerer as he had asked; magic users had ways about them in order to not be found, and it was that thought alone that had his already hot blood boiling. If he were to change, and he was damn near certain that he would, he would not succumb Odette into such a danger as he. He had killed his own wife and child in cold blood while under the visage of The Beast, he had no doubts that the situation couldn't be re-created with his newly adopted daughter. The fresh, cooler air (though still very warm) of the night sky in The Pride Lands did him some good, but it took nearly an hour before Scar had managed to collect his head and be in complete control of himself once more. Only then did he feel it would be safe to return to Odette, and place her in the safest part of the castle until Maleficent decided to 'grace' them with her 'ever-so-mighty presence'. Gods he hated magic. Returning to The Great Hall where he had left everyone rather abruptly, he was pleased to see that a good majority of the room had emptied itself of unwanted occupants from the evening banquet. He just hoped that Odette was still around here somewhere. "Malaika!" He called, heading towards the front table where he had seen her last. Bringing her neck in she curled up in the dark shadow that the large front table provided her the sudden excitement from earlier causing her to drop from her perch on the cushions to the floor below the young swan determined to hide from the large crowd that was rushing back and forth around her each and everyone of them panicked by the sudden dissapearence of her friend and the angered outburst from the King before he had stormed out leaving them behind to clear out of the room; even now after most of the people had left the room and the panic died down around her she still couldn't help her mind from getting lost in the thought that Dominic was now being hunted down by Scar's men, the thought that it was her fault for asking him to take her all this way in the first place causing her stomach churn making her feel sick for the first time in months. Her eyes were glued to the spot in which he had last been standing the flash of white light taking him away from her before she had even gotten the chance to thank him for all his help and say goodbye until it was time that the two of them met again which she was sure was going to be quite some time considering that now a Kingdom wide man hunt was in progress to find and drag him back to the castle whether he liked it or not, 'Why did they have to leave me on my own... Both of them... Gone...' Just as the thought crossed her mind the sound of her name being called from across the room caused her to jump her feathers ruffling in surprise as she searched out the source of the noise her light blue eyes catching on Scar's figure coming closer to the table his own eyes searching for where she could have gotten to, pushing herself back up to her feet she slowly moved herself out from under the table stopping at the top of the stairs her neck extending out to him her beak brushing against his hand as he got close enough to show him that she was sorry even if he didn't believe it to be her fault. Finding Odette peeking around the corner of the table from the floor at him, his heart softened half a fraction. How could he go on with giving her a stern scolding for bringing that man into his home when her innocence and purity, itensified by the persona of the swan in a more physical sense, radiated around her being like a beacon on the darkest of nights? Sighing as he approached, keeping to the lower floor level so that their height difference wasn't too great, he allowed his hand out to pat the top of her head where she nuzzled him with her beak in return. "Quite the friend you've got." He repremanded her, though not unkindly. That was all he would say on the matter... for tonight. He could tell from the way her entire body seemed to droop that she felt bad enough about everything as it was. "C'mon kid, we've had enough excitement for one day." Reaching his other hand out, he scooped Odette up by the underside of her belly, using his opposite arm as support while he held her against his chest. Folding her wings in tighter against her body as she let his one and only statement about Dominic and his earlier actions sink in her head dropping as she lowered herself against the ground showing him just how sorry she was, even though she had known that Dominic like herself and Scar had been placed under a curse by the same person that had been holding her captive she never knew that he himself had possessed magic the thought coming to her as just as much of a shock as it had come to the others who were around her. Tensing her body out of the pure instinct of being a bird she hesitated her body pressing hard against the ground at her feet until she felt him lift her up her feet leaving the ground and folding up underneath her as she let her body lean into his his warm and gentle embrace supporting her small and fragile figure, reaching her head back up she closed her eyes her beak softly brushing over his cheek as she tried to speak to him knowing full well that until she was able to either break her curse or go back to swan lake where she would be able to see him again as a human all he would be able to hear were the loud honks of a swan, /"I-I'm sorry father... I did not know that he was magic..."/ "It's not usually like this here at Pride Rock- the uh, castle. It's not always this... active." He told her while heading back out of the Great Hall with her, the doors opening to them by the two doormen on each side as their King approached them. They didn't even bother with giving their King a strange look while he continued to converse with the swan, as they too had seen quite enough 'weird' for one day. "On a normal day, I think you'd quite like it here, actually. The Pride Lands is vastly different than Swan Lake, you could spend the rest of your life learning new things here..." Keeping her close, Scar walked the both of them down a maze of different hallways until one hallway, more narrow than the others, seemed to drop down a couple degrees; a welcome change in the otherwise dry heat of both the land and the castle. "I've the perfect place for you while you are here." He explained, taking a stone spiral staircase down once they reached the end of the hall where the only option was to go down the steps. With each step down he took, the area around them got darker and darker until finally the only way she was able to tell that they were still climbing downwards was the sound of his sandals hitting the stone steps in a rhythmic pattern. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a small stream of pale, blue light lit up his feet as he continued to descend. The small light traveled up his legs to his chest where Odette lay resting against him and finally illuminating his face as they finally reached the bottom of the stairwell and their tight confinement of the stone walls opened up to reveal a dimly lit cavern, rivaling the very size of The Great Hall. Turning her gaze up so that she could look up at him she tilted her head slightly her curiosity peaking as he began to explain that he knew of the perfect place for her to stay while she was living in the Pride Lands the dark stairwell causing her throat to seem as though it was closing up the enclosed space something she knew she would eventually get used to if where he was leading her to was to become her new chambers, closing her eyes she lowered her head once more her feathers lightly brushing over his skin as she gently nuzzled into his chest her body relaxing into his as she tried her best to ignore the claustraphobic feeling and instead enjoy that of his loving embrace as he held her close carrying her down to where ever it was that they were going. After what seemed like a lifetime she lifted her head back up shaking out her feathers her gaze turning to look over at him before her attention was caught by the sound of gentle flowing water her beak parting as she snapped her head around her eyes widening as she looked over the room that he had brought her to the indoor grotto looking just as beautiful as her lake did under the light of the moon, /"T-This is all for me..? I will be living here?"/ The word 'room' wasn't exactly the right word to describe it. Although massive, the ceilings were low and in place of the usual stone surface that made up a good majority of the castle's structure, the entire place was uncut, unshaped and untouched by human hands in any way. The rock walls jutted out in various depths and directions. Stalagmites and stalagtites reached their spikes towards one another, some even connecting to form thick, jagged rock columns. Against the wall in which the pair had just come out of was perhaps the only man-made surface out of the entire room. A thick, widely spaced flat path circled halfway around the construct before molding back into the untouched rock, sloping down at an angle on both sides until it dipped into the turquoise waters that made the area, not a room, but a grotto. The pool of water made up a majority of the center, it's waters reflecting the pale light of the moon thayt trickled down through the ceiling in various opened places, some holes big enough to gaze out of and look upon the twinkling stars and lumonosity of the moon. Stepping towards the unbanistered ledge of the path, Scar squatted down and set Odette back on her webbed feet onto the stone. With a hand, he motioned to the area just under his feet. "The pool runs under the path, there's a small grass area past the width of the path that opens up a bit more. There's plants and other little things you can nibble on if you get hungry, but if you need anything else, just let me know. I'm not going anywhere." Spreading her wings out she flapped them gently her legs swinging back and forth in her excitement to explore the grotto as he lowered her back down to the stone path letting her waddle away until she was able to stick her head under the bar her eyes examining the waters below them the gentle sparkle of it calling to her inviting her to just jump in though she chose not to knowing that she should pay attention to what was being said to her, turning her head she looked back over at him before she quickly moved to stand once more in front of his body her head nodding to show him that she was indeed listening to what he had to say to her about where she could stay, /"Will you be staying here in the grotto with me as well father? Or will I need to search you out in the castle if I need you?"/ Standing back up straight and moving a hand to the back of his head, he scratched the back of his neck for lack of knowing what else to do. She was honking at him again, but that could mean anything, though it didn't sound (nor did she look) particularly angry with him. Well that was a first, not having someone angry at him. His inner thoughts had him second-guessing himself as though he had done something wrong, that she should be angry with him for something, but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "Though I suppose you can't really tell me if you need anything..." Scar went on, having no idea that the swan had attempted to ask him a question. "But we'll make do kid, and tomorrow... well we'll just see what tomorrow brings." He refrained from telling her anything about Maleficent's visit. For one, he wasn't quite sure what Odette's knowledge of the woman was, if any at all, and for another, he wasn't about to get her hopes up if the horned witch had anything up her sleeve that might end up screwing him over, and in turn, screwing Odette over. So for now, he remained silent on the matter. "Now go. Explore. Get comfortable. This is your room now, for as long as you are here." Waiting patiently she tilted her head listening to what he had to say before she took his words of encouragement her body quickly turning away from his as she ran back over to the railing that she had been looking through before her body lowered against the stone as she slipped herself under the bar her body falling forward and off the edge until she had disappeared from view altogether, pushing her wings back and against her body she let herself glide effortlessly through the water until she pulled herself up her eyes closing as she broke the surface her head shaking sending droplets flying from her feathers and back to the waters she now floated upon her feet pushing her slowly forward as she looked around happy that he had thought about her needs for while she was staying with him, /"It is so beautiful..! Oh thank you father, thank you so much..!"/ Turning herself around in the water she looked up at him pulling her front up as she spread her wings flapping them in his direction the tips of her feathers kicking up some of the water though if any of it hit him she hadn't of meant it as she tried to show him that she was happy with what he had offered her, lowering herself back down onto the water properly she pushed herself forward moving under the path and out of his sight before she eventually came out the other side coming across the grassy bank that he had mentioned was available to her earlier on before she had run off. Slowly making her way onto the bank she slowed to a stop her eyes once more closing as she shook the water from her feathers letting it fly everywhere before she nestled down her head turning back at the mouth of the tunnel, wondering whether he was going to join her and stay or whether he was going to leave her be to allow him to go off and do what ever it was that Kings did. Watching the swan but for just a moment, realizing that she was going to go check out the small little alcove of the only thing green in the grotto where he could no longer keep an eye on her from here, Scar stripped himself from his sword, sheath, belts that went around his torso connecting at his hip and shoulder pads, sandals and finally the leather shoulder guards. Putting them all into a neat little pile against the wall to keep them from getting wet, Scar returned to the lip of the pathway and with one arm, braced himself down on the stone as he squatted back down and hopped into the pool. The water was cool, kept that way by the natural rock walls and by how deep down they were; a refreshing reprive from the stale air of The Pride Lands. Standing tall, feet on the sandy bottom, the water reached only to his naval but it was of little consequence. He headed in the direction of the small tunnel-like opening underneath the main portion of the path and hunching himself down so that only his head was showing above water, waded through until he reached the other side. He walked up the slight incline and out of the water, coming up to the small grassy area where Odette was and laid himself down on his side, keeping himself propped up with an elbow. Looking to the swan, he tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering a great many things about Odette and her presence here at The Pride Lands, but most importantly, "Need anything, kid? Maybe you could... spell it out in the sand with your beak, or... draw a picture..." He suggested, ignoring just how strange this was all sounding. Watching him as he moved closer to her she turned her body over the ground following him as he made his way up the slope before he laid his body down their eyes connecting as he once more began to talk her stomach churning nervously at his request when she realized that even something as simple as writing what she wanted was out of the question, lowering her head slightly she shook it letting him know that she didn't need anything before she closed the gep between them her body pressing up against his her feathers brushing lightly against his skin as she settled herself down trying not to think of how he would react if she found that she could not even preform such actions as reading and writing. Extending her neck out she lowered her head letting it rest over his forearm that was pressed into the ground keeping his upper body lifted her eyes closing as the days excitement finally began to weigh down upon her causing her to grow weary and her eyelids to grow heavy with sleep. Watching her coming into him, Scar waited for her to get situated before running his hand over her back in a few short, gentle strokes, feeling the softness of the white feathers under his calloused fingertips. "I'll take care of ya, Malaika. Let The Great Animal come, he won't get anywhere near you. So long as you are here, so long as you are with me, you are safe." He promised, keeping his voice at a low whisper as he looked down on her, watching her struggling to keep her beady little eyes open. "Get some sleep kid. I'm not goin anywhere." Unable to keep them open any longer the swan let her light blue orbs close her breathing gentle and steady as she listened to his voice his words assuring her that no matter what happened he would keep her safe from danger even if that meant facing the man who had ruined their lives in the first place, her head tilted to the side leaning up against his upper arm as she let the calming motion of his hand gently stroking over her feathers relax her his words getting drowned out as eventually the motions sent her driting off into a peaceful slumber in his arms.

The gentle sounds of rustling leaves and snapping branches flitted through the air startling the creatures below causing them to scatter about in all directions in their rush to get out of the way of the young woman who seemed to be focusing on something not too far a head of her ignoring the other creatures as they were of no concern to her, she pushed herself through the tops of the trees using the branches and the power of her own body to propel herself further and further before she came to an abrupt halt above the small clearing in which her prey felt safe from her touch. The warthog she had been stalking now feeling as though it had finally lost her as it relaxed lowering its snout so that it could graze on the grass below, crouching low against the branch she kept her bright blue orbs locked on the creature that was to be her next kill, her prize in which she would return home with.

Her soft pink lips parted only slightly as she calmed her breathing keeping it almost completely silent as she lead herself further out onto the branch careful not to make even a sound in fear that she would scare away the strange beast below her, slowly removing one hand from the branch she reached back her fingers grazing over the bare skin that was her leg tracing her thigh until she gripped tightly to the dagger that she had pressed against her skin by the thick bit of blue material tied around it. Her long white locks fell down over her shoulder as she leant forward her toes splaid over the branch as she kept her balance the gentle breeze brushing over her skin while the sound of flowing water nearby caused her to think back to her home, she had to get this over with soon so that she could return and get back to the responsibilities awaiting her.

Hesitating she waited for the right moment before she pushed herself forward her body flinging down from her perch until she came into contact with the creature its surprised and terror filled grunts and squeals filling the air as she used her weight to keep it pressed firmly against the ground, straightening her back once she had gotten the dominance over it she lifted up her arm holding the dagger high as she began to mumble thanking it for its sacrifice so that she and any others who feasted upon its meat could live.

Basking out in the long, dead grass of the plains, Simba uncrossed and crossed his legs back together, adjusting himself into a more comfortable position. Lying out on his back, arms extended out with his elbows level with his head and hands laced together holding the back of his head he could feel the heat of the afternoon sun beating down on his tanned skin that would have forced anyone unfamiliar with the land to scrounge for shade on the open plains, but Simba reveled in the heat. It was days like today that the young youth didn't feel like doing anything but soaking up what the sun had to offer, maintaining a comfortable body temperature and storing the energy given by it for a later use; should something come up. A slight breeze picked up, flitting through the long grass that kept him otherwise hidden from lying down in it and caused the ends of his shaggy blonde hair to tussle about, forcing Simba to untangle his hands and brush away at the tickling hairs that brought his moment of serenity to an abrupt halt.

Huffing out a bit of air in annoyance, Simba sat up and pulled back his hair against his scalp, pulling off a bit of elastic twine from his wrist and fastened his bangs back into a ponytail, leaving the rest of his hair to hang down to his broad shoulders and upper back. Running a hand over his face, dispelling of the tickle that still seemed to linger, Simba forced himself up to his feet, his head on a swivel as he looked about for his oldest friend. His mind reached out to the animal, calling it by name but the swine was not answering, he could no longer feel it.

/You dirty old pig, where did you wander off to this time?/ Simba scratched the back of his head, feeling somewhat perplexed by the absence of his friend so his bare feet began to carry him, his mind reaching out as far as his limits would allow for any sign of the Warthog. After a few moments, a chilling scream reached Simba's ears that went straight down into his heart, halting his movements almost immediately.

/No! No stop! Please! You are hurting me! Help!/

Simba's pulse quickened as he reached out to the animal calling for help, feeling the aura of the very friend he had been looking for. His upper lip curled up into a snarl as his legs began to carry him swiftly through the dead grass with the speed of the gazelle he had bonded with earlier that morning until finally he happened upon the scene of another human being with her hand raised, dagger in hand ready to put an end to his friends life. Forgetting the spoken words of his language for a moment, Simba instead let out an anguished yell as he sped towards them. In the blink of an eye he had his arms around the human, the momentum of his speed throwing the both of them away from the squealing warthog into a confused tumble in the grass until finally Simba used his weight to his advantage and dug his knees into the soft earth below them, pinning down the other human underneath him. His hands immediately shot to the humans wrists, holding onto them tightly against the ground as he got his first good look at the would-be murderer.

"What is wrong with you? What did Pumba ever do to you?" He asked in anger, his blue eyes sizing up what he realized was a woman that was underneath him.

Struggling against the sudden weight that had forced itself against her body causing her to go tumbling over the ground she fought back an angered yell slipping through her lips to add to his own both voices now filling the air around them, barring her teeth at him she growled her hands balling into fists as she pulled her muscles showing behind her skin as she tried to rip her wrists from his grip her dagger long gone from her her own grip. Breathing heavily her chest heaved up and down her expression showing her anger and aggression towards the man that was holding her against her will for doing nothing at all wrong, clenching her jaw she stared at him looking over his facial features as she tried to determine how much of a threat to her he truly was the bright blue tribal markings just under her left eye matching their color and standing out against her pale skin showing him that she was not from where he was, "مجھے اپنا پیٹ کھول جانا یا میری بلیڈ کاٹنے سرد سٹیل محسوس ہونے ..! یہ میرا آپ سے آخری انتباہ ہے ..! اب مجھے جانے دو ..!"

Not even bothering to give him a chance to respond to what she had said to him she twisted her upper body her bright blue orbs shutting tightly as she wrapped her mouth around his forearm sinking her teeth into his skin deeply trying to inflict as much pain as she could so that his grip would at least lax on that wrist, once she felt the hesitation in his grip she pulled her arm from his hold the fist she had made moments earlier coming up to connect with his jaw stunning him just enough so that she could push him to the side her body turning as she scrambled back to her feet. Bending as she ran she scooped up her dagger slipping it back into place against her thigh as she pushed herself faster over the ground her hair flying back behind her while she tried to put a large enough gap between them so that she could lose him, stumbling sightly she turned her head looking back over her shoulder to chance a look at where he was before she disappeared her body slipping through a well hidden cave entrance and out of the light that the sun had to offer them.

Looking down at the woman below him, Simba blinked a few times as sounds and utterances came from her mouth, but he was unable to understand what any of it meant save for the tone she used, in which he was able to gather that she was angry. He could care less if he was putting her under any distress, however. She had caused himself distress by putting his friends life in danger, as well as being in an area where he had made sure he wouldn't ever have to come into contact with another human again. Feeling her teeth unexpectedly sinking down into his arm, his left grip flinched on her wrist giving her all the time she needed to wrench her hand away and clip him across the jaw. Stumbling back into the grass, not quite sure what had just happened he watched as a blur of blue and white rushed out of his view. Rolling himself into an upright position, Simba looked to the Warthog, extending out his right palm to touch the snout of the pig. A soft, blue glow came from his hand upon contact, feeling a sense of calm coming over them both as the animal came to the understanding that the threat had passed, and a similar calm washed over Simba in feeling no injuries from his friend. After ensuring that the other was okay, Simba jumped up to his feet, the scar on his hand losing it's blue luminosity and caught a glimpse of the blue and white blur before she ducked into the safety of the trees.

/Stay here, I will return./ Simba relayed to the pig, which in turn grunted out a huff of air, it's front hooves kicking at the dirt underneath him in which Simba was able to understand clear as day as,

/Be safe, my friend./

Nodding, Simba turned his attention back to the area of trees in which he had seen the woman disappear in and let his legs carry him the fair distance. He hated trees, it was far too easy to be ambushed where as the openness of the plains brought him more calm as he could have nearly a perfect view of all things around him. Once in the trees, however, by a stroke of luck he caught a glimpse of her strikingly light hair as she disappeared once again in what Simba was sure was just a rock wall. Maneuvering through the trees with the agility he had forgotten he had, he reached the area to find it to be not a wall, but the mouth of a cave. Throwing all caution to the wind, he ducked inside, intent to get in a word to the woman.

With no intention of stopping she pushed herself forward her feet causing small stones and pebbles to dislodge from the earth to roll over the ground that she forced her body to leave behind as she ran towards her destination trying her best to leave him as far behind as she could so that he would give up the chase leaving her alone, her lips parted as her breathing became heavier her arms swinging back and forth at her side catching some of the stray droplets on her skin as her feet hit the water her body weaving back and forth the pillars of stone that had naturally formed that came into her path.

Reaching out she used her hands to pull herself up a small rock wall formation her body not stopping as she reached the flat her stomach muscles tensing as she thrust herself into the deeper water taking the shortest path she knew, her pace slowed down slightly as she pushed her body through the water her hand reaching out to press against the stone wall as she once more glanced back her gaze catching on his before she ran straight towards a huge stone wall on the opposite side of the large cave, her body turning to the side as she slipped herself through the gap leaving him behind as she came out into the bright light and fresh air of her homeland.

Pausing for a moment she looked out over the tall ledge her eyes falling down on the overgrown jungle-like terrain that when one looked properly they would see that it hid the ruins of an ancient city, backtracking slightly she turned her back to the city her body slipping to the side as she hid herself behind a couple of large rocks her eyes locked on the entrance as she stopped moving waiting to see if he had given up or if he was insistent on following her to the ends of the earth in his anger.

Even though the woman had speed and agility of a lithe frame on her side, Simba had the strength and experience in tracking things that didn't wish to be found on his. She managed to keep a gap between them as he continued to follow her, as Simba was unable to get closer than about thirty feet from her. Digging his bare feet into the rocky ground, ignoring the varying sensations of first loose pebbles and then suddenly puddles of water from the cascading waterfall that kept a majority of the mouth of the cave hidden, he continued his pursuit. He watched as he tried to close the distance as she grabbed hold of a ledge and hoisted herself up with the ease of a wild cat. Digging into his reserves of a leopard cub he had bonded with not two weeks ago, he followed her lead by bounding up the side wall before catching the lip of the ledge and pulled himself up and onto his feet.

Following the path she set out before him, he continued running, jumping with the strength of his legs a good few feet out into the open air before plummeting down into the deep waters of the cave. Just as he resurfaced, he caught her figure on the opposite side, slipping in-between a gap of rocks in the wall. Pulling from the strength of his arms, he swam to the rock ledge and pulled himself back up, heading towards the gap in the rock wall. The space was a bit of a problem, his broad muscles making it a bit cramped and causing a brief moment of claustrophobia, but Simba managed to ease himself through and broke free into the openness of the large stone floor beneath him. He came to a sudden stop, however, when he realized that he had entirely lost sight of the girl. Forcing himself into a walk, chest heaving as he looked around for a sign, he found nothing. Passing by a small formation of rocks, he scratched the back of his head, trying to dispel of the water that dripped from the ends on his shaggy blonde hair his eyes darted in every which way, trying to catch /something/ that would give her away as he was sure she hadn't gone far.

Clenching her jaw as she watched him pull himself through the gap and into the air she had to stop herself from making any sound that would alert him to where she was hidden her bright blue orbs narrowing as she watched his every move his careful not to be seen by his ever watchful gaze, slowly removing her hand from the rock in front of her she reached back once more letting her fingers brush over her thigh as she silently pulled the dagger from its place her body moving with the shape of the boulder as she crept out from behind it. Being sure to stay out of his line of sight she kept low to the ground her feet slowly creeping her around and closer until she was able to stand up tall behind him her free arm coming up and around as she pressed the heel of her palm against his forehead her fingers gripping tightly to his hair as her other arm came around pressing the blade hard against his neck showing him that she was not going to be messing around anymore, he had crossed the line when he had followed her and now he was going to pay the price for his actions.

"تم کون ہو ..! اور تم کیوں میرا پیچھا کر رہے تھے ..! مجھے جواب یا میں نے تمہاری گردن کاٹ اور سانس لینے سے روکنے گی ..!" Her voice was clear and demanding as she jerked his head backwards her chest pressing against his back as she kept a tight grip upon him her blade pressing further against his neck giving him a warning as she waited for him to answer her questions, "مجھے جاننا چاہتے ہیں مجھے کیا بتا ..! اب ..!"

Simba's breath caught in his throat feeling first her cold, wet fingers against his forehead and second the cold sensation of something sharp against the nape of his neck, more than likely a weapon.

/Oh. That's where she went./

Carefully, as she began to rant in a tongue he did not understand, he opened up both hands for her to see clearly and raised them up in a non-threatening stance. The way he saw it, he didn't have very many choices here. His toes were only a foot or so away from the edge that would send him plummeting down hundreds of feet into the jungles below, more than likely being impaled by a branch or sharp stone to slow his fall, and at his back a woman hell-bent on making his peaceful, lazy afternoon soak in the sun as troublesome as she possibly could... with a dagger.

"You want to tell me why you're after Pumba? Did he foul up your watering hole? Because he does that a lot, I wouldn't take it personally." Furrowing his brows as she asked him something else that he did not understand, he gently shook his head, droplets of water falling from his hair and onto his already soaked brown shirt. "I... I don't know what you are saying!" He answered in a tone of frustration. The corner of his eye caught the slight glimmer of the scar on his hand. Turning his right palm towards him a bit more, looking over the lion cub scar he had since he was seven, an idea came to him. She wouldn't like it, and he probably wouldn't either, but really what choice did he have? He hadn't ever tried to bond with another human before... he just hoped it held the same regulations that the animals had.

Exhaling a breath he didn't know he had been holding, He twisted his head to the side and ducked down in a swift motion, ridding her hand from his forehead. The motion caused the blade of her dagger to cut into his neck a bit, but it was a small price to pay for what he needed to do. As he was ducked down, his leg spun his body around so that he was facing the woman, his left hand shooting to grab her wrist that held the dagger while his right hand, palm out, pressed to her forehead. The same light blue glow that had been on his palm when he had made contact with the warthog appeared, casting a blue light over her pale skin as he flooded her mind with the knowledge of himself, the pig she had tried to slaughter, and his reasoning for being angry. In return, as he reached out with his mind, he received very little information as her mental blocks were up, but he managed to gather that she was fearful about something; a treasure she didn't wish to be found... a secret...

Barring her teeth as she felt her hand slip from his head she let out a frustrated yell her body taking a couple of steps back as he shot his hand out taking hold of her wrist tightly taking her dagger completely out of play, her eyes widened slightly as she felt his palm press against her forehead the simple touch seeming to open up some kind of door her mind flooding with information that was not even her own but that were his. Bringing her hand up she gripped tightly around his wrist her nails digging into his skin as she tried to pull his hand from her head to no avail her eyes shutting tightly and her brows furrowing as she tried to figure out what exactly he was doing to her, after a few moments her grip on his wrist relaxed slipping from his arm altogether as he finally let her go allowing her to stumble backwards until her back pressed flat against the trunk of a nearby tree.

Opening her eyes slowly she turned her gaze to meet his her chest heaving up and down with each and every breath she took as she tried to process through the information that he had just forced on her, "He-... He is your friend." Her words though still holding the same tone that she had been using when demanding information from him earlier were slower, the young woman trying her best to think back to the lessons she had received from her father before fate had torn her family apart, "T-That creature out there..."

Relief washed over Simba as he could now recognize the words she spoke, and with the relief also came the confidence that she wouldn't try to harm him any longer; confirmed when she stumbled back a few steps away from him. Straightening his posture he slowly lowered his hands to his sides, the blue glow on his palm fading back to its original fleshy color of a scar and gave her a slight nod of confirmation.

"Pumba." He said again, his eyebrow quirking a bit as if he were wondering why the name of his friend wasn't obvious to her by now. "I heard him calling for help, he was trying to make you stop. Why? Why didn't you stop? Is taking anothers life so easy a thing for you?" With each word he spoke, his tone became more and more angry, though as he finished his last sentence he stopped himself and sighed. He was trying /not/ to come across as a threat, and he wasn't doing a very good job. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Poom-bah..." She repeated the name slowly and mostly to herself as she lifted her hands up the dagger dropping to the ground at her feet while she pressed them both against her temple her brows still furrowed in confusion as she searched through the new information, her mind basically replaying his memories of him and how the two of them were connected with one another. Groaning in frustration she curled her shoulders over her upper body hunching as she tried to do more than one thing at a time her mind screaming at her to both listen and converse with the man standing in front of her as well as process everything she had been given by him, shutting her eyes tightly once more she shook her head from side to side her expression clearly showing the battle that was raging on inside of her head.

Hearing his questions directed at her she shoved all other thoughts from her mind her head lifting as she opened her eyes letting them quickly flick behind him towards the city before she stared him down praying that he hadn't noticed her slip up, her body straightened away from the tree as she once more took up a defensive stance her right foot pressing down on the hilt of her dagger her toes curling over it ready to flick it up to her hands at a moments notice, "I ask you the same. Why have you come? You do not belong here outsider. Leave now before I drain the life from your body."

"Outsider?" Simba had to hold back a laugh. "I've lived here, in this /unclaimed/ part of land, for over half of my life; just me and the animals, no one to bother us until you decided to make a snack out of Pumba!" His blue eyes glanced down at the dagger she was attempting to grip with her feet. Realizing that arguing was getting them nowhere, he sighed out again and shook his head, holding both his hands up, palms facing out towards her to once again show her that he was no threat. "Look, you don't have to threaten me alright? I just don't want to see you around my home /or/ my friends again, we do well enough without human interaction... so-" He made a gesture with his hands as though he were shooing her away. "-go back to where you came from, find some place else to get something to eat; this land is protected by me."

Flicking her foot up behind her she reached back gripping hold of the dagger once more as she held it tightly at her side taking a couple of steps closer and closing some of the gap that was in between them as her anger began to boil under her skin at his words of warning for her to leave, "I have roamed this land for three hundred and seventy years. Who are you to try and rid me of my home!" Lifting her arm up slightly higher she once again let her anger and frustration show over her face her body slowly moving closer to his with each step that she took, her mind working in over time as she tried to decide whether she would allow him to continue speaking with her or whether she should just slaughter him where he stood on the edge of the ledge, "These lands and its people are under my protection. I do not take kindly to outsiders trespassing. You have no say or business here. Now leave!"

The more she seemed to talk to him, the less he understood; the complete opposite of what was supposed to happen when he bonded with someone. But now that the bond had been created, he simply had to get her to agree to lower her mental walls so he could at least try to figure out what was going on. Reaching out with his mind, he sent her a feeling of calm and sincerity, whether or not she accepted it was entirely up to her. He had never tried to bond with another human being before, so the territory was all unknown to him; though it couldn't be much different than bonding with a wolf or a lion... right?

Something then caught his attention. As he continued to try to calm her mind, he noticed her eyes continually flicking past his shoulder and looking at something. Furrowing his brows in confusion, unable to get a read from her own mind he simply turned his head to look behind him. At first all he saw was more thick brush and jungles suspended hundreds of feet below them, but as his instincts told him to take a better look, he focused on what was laid out before him. His mouth hung open, taking a few steps back towards the woman without realizing it, accidentally bumping back into her though even then he still didn't seem to notice. It wasn't /just/ a jungle laid out there below them, but an entire city!

"How... how is this possible? I thought... I was the only one here..." Blinking, he forced his head to turn back to look at the woman before him, confusion clear on his face as he continued to try to reach her mind with his own."Three- three hundred and seventy years? You... you have a very strange way of counting the seasons..."

Lifting her free hand up she pressed her fingers against her temples her eyebrows furrowing as she felt a strange sensation beginning to spread through her body the calming and sincerity of the emotions filling her causing her to falter in her choices her arm lowering only slightly, what ever it was that was going on with her right now she didn't understand. How was he able to inflict these feelings upon her causing her emotions and thoughts to conflict with one another, what ever it was that he had managed to do when he had touched her forehead had somehow managed to open her mind up to him allowing him entrance into her thoughts and emotions, the walls in her mind that were keeping him out slowly beginning to lower inch by inch as she let the calm wash over her, "W-What have you done to me-..."

Her head snapped up what little of the walls in her mind that had lowered once more building themselves up as she heard the words slip from his lips causing her to follow his gaze out to the city which he had only just noticed for the first time, dropping her hand and bringing the other one up to meet it as she moved herself so that she was now between him and the city she pressed her palms into his chest shoving him roughly back the way they had come trying to force him to leave, "I do not understand why you say such things. There are but four seasons in a single year."

Practically teetering on the edge of the cliff that would send him falling to the city below with one wrong step, Simba didn't even hear the woman's inquiry on what he had done to her; too engrossed in the knowledge that he had been living above an entire civilization all these years and never saw a single sign of human life until now.

"Incredible..." He sighed out softly to himself before suddenly he felt a pressure on his chest. Looking down, he saw the woman pushing him back, putting distance between him and the city he had become so interested in; he hadn't even noticed that she had broken the small bond he had managed to create with her as she seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Hey! Watch it!" He stumbled back a few steps, having been caught off guard but he quickly regained his footing and stood his ground. "What is your deal? You... this... " Simba made a vague gesture with one hand to the city behind her. "None of this is making any sense! Who are you?"

"This is my home! Others can not know you are here, outsiders are not welcome by the people. I am the only one to protect them; it is my duty, my responsibility as Queen." Her stomach muscles clenched as she forced all her weight into him her feet pressing hard into the ground as she tried to force him back the way she came, "You cannot stay here. Leave now, or I shall not hesitate to end your life."

Standing up straight she groaned out in frustration her eyes baring into his as her chest continued to heave adrenaline coursing through her body as she stared him down her expression making it clear that she was not playing around with him her crystal shining on her chest, "Argh..! Kidagakash Nedakh!"

Taking her last outburst as some sort of curse in the language she spoke that he didn't understand, Simba just shook his head, holding up both his hands trying to have everything come to a stop around him. His head was spinning with questions, information, feelings... not at all something he was used to thinking about all at once from living the last thirteen years in a carefree lifestyle.

"Wait... you're a Queen?" He asked, staring back into her eyes with a look of confusion. How far exactly had he ventured away from The Pride Lands? The impulse to try and make himself seem superior in this argument came to his throat by telling her that he was a King; well... technically, but he swallowed the thought before it reached his lips. "Whats a Queen doing going out hunting? Don't you have servants or hunters to do that for you?" He asked, perhaps letting on a bit more than he intended to about his knowledge of royalty.

Dropping her arms back to her side she stood her ground staring him down as she continued to listen to him her head nodding in response to his question in regards to whether or not she was really the Queen of the city lain out below them, "Yes. Is this hard to understand? Are there not Queens in your world?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly as he began to interrogate her with question after question she pulled her head back slightly trying to figure out why he was so insistent on learning about her and about the city, clenching her jaw she huffed out a sigh before turning her gaze away from him completely her feet moving her away from him so that there was now a fair bit of space in between them her body relaxing slightly as she looked out over the city below the both of them, "We are not thriving... True, my people live, but our culture is dying... My people scavenge for food at the edge of the crumbling city. I cannot expect them to continue living in such a way. I will do what I can to ensure their survival..."

Ignoring the question about Queen being where he came from (as that was far more difficult for him to explain than he would like), Simba tilted his head to the side in curiosity, folding his arms over his chest in a non-threatening manner.

"Why don't you just ask the animals to move their herds closer? There is plenty of wildlife out there. Too much in fact, I'd offer up my friend Timone right now but something tells me he wouldn't go down without a fight, and that's one argument you can save yourself from by just leaving him be." He laughed a bit to himself, finding some sort of inside-joke with himself but quickly recovered and continued. "You just happened to pick the one warthog who I've a close connection with. Just ask the buffalo herd I saw the other day to move closer, they could feed you and your people for a while; pretty big herd."

Scrunching up her face in confusion she turned her head looking back over her shoulder at him wondering why he was suggesting such a strange thing for her to do her body turning slightly so that she could look at him properly, "Why do you suggest such strange things? People cannot converse with animals, such things are impossible."

Frowning she crossed her arms tightly over her chest letting her eyes up and down his figure as she tried to figure him out her mind flicking back to what he had done to her earlier her mind still full of things she needed to think about, "What did you do to me before... Why is my head drowning with things I do not understand."

If it was at all possible, Simba looked even more confused than before.

"You... can not converse with... the animals?" He asked, unfolding his arms from his chest and turned his palm up towards him, his blue eyes looking at the scar there, examining it closely as though it were the first time he had seen it. Forgetting completely that this was the same woman who had tried to eat his friend and then shove him off a cliff not soon afterwards, Simba once more approached her, taking hold of her wrist with one hand and turning her palm upward with the other, finding no scar there. Shaking his head a bit, continuing to look down at her palm with little droplets of water splashing down onto her skin from his wet, unkempt hair, Simba sighed.

"I don't understand... I thought everyone could bond..."

Furrowing her brows she watched as his expression seemed to get more confused then ever his body quickly moving over the ground closing the gap between them her feet moving her back a few steps as he reached out grabbing hold of her wrist tightly his other hand shooting out to turn hers over as though he was looking for something, "What are you doing..!" Balling her free hand into a fist she brought it back her jaw tensing until she heard his voice softened his expression clearly showing her just how confused he really was about whatever was going inside his head, relaxing her hand she lowered it back down by her side she narrowed her eyes out of pure curiosity her feet moving her back to where she had been standing moments before he had frightened her into moving backwards.

"I do not know about those in your world. But in Atlantis the people cannot bond with creatures of the earth." Letting her head drift away to glance over at the city below them she hesitated for a few moments before she brought her attention back to him her hand flipping to take a hold of his own wrist as she turned on her heel her feet carrying her away from the cave entrance gently pulling him along behind her, "Come. If you are to stay we should not waste time by the entrance to your world. I shall have the people prepare a feast to welcome you to the city."

Feeling his arm being pulled, and in turn his feet moving without his consent to keep himself from toppling over, Simba watched as the woman started to drag him towards the city, his blue eyes widening in realization.

"Wait, I'm staying?" He asked, re-running her words over in his head. His heart rate began to quicken, the very idea of being around more human beings causing his airway to restrict and his already wet palms to get sweaty. "Wait... WAIT!" Planting his bare feet firmly into the rocky ground, Simba managed to wrench his wrist away from her, taking it back in and massaging the slightly irritated skin there from her firm grip. His chest was heaving, breathing becoming more and more difficult to do as his eyes continued to jump between the woman and the city in which she ruled over. "I... I'm not really a people person..." He explained a bit awkwardly. He knew what being 'the new guy' would consist of; it happened every time an exiled lion tried to join a new pride... lots of examination; questions, tests... no. Simba was not cut out for that.

"I'm fine, really..." He reiterated, resting both his hands back down to his sides again and turned to leave. "Just, don't pick on Pumba anymore, alright? He's had a hard enough life."

Her body whipped around her hair lifting up off her back before flying over her left shoulder her head following the circle her body started as she lifted her gaze to look up into his bright blue eyes as he ripped his wrist from her grip her brows furrowing in slight confusion, "You will not stay..." Her chest tightened slightly as she felt a strange sense of emotions unknown running through her body causing her brows to furrow as her eyes shut tightly trying to sort through what was happening to her, she still had no idea what it was he had done to her and clearly it wasn't settling so well with her at all. Lifting her hand up she pressed her fingers to her temple rubbing them in small circles his words drowning out into nothing more than background noise as she tried to keep herself standing up right, unable to keep up the effort of keeping her walls up against him while trying to cope with the new emotions that were now seeping into her body she let her walls come crashing down her mind opening itself wide for him to search through as she fell back against the closest tree her other hand coming up to join the first as her knees shook eventually giving way under her body.

Turning his gaze back to the woman, he noticed the color of her tanned skin starting to pale in her face, her fingers shooting to her temple; he could feel her body weakening just as if it were his own.

"Hey, you oka-" His own legs began to shake, unable to understand for the brief moment that her mind had lowered to him completely, and like a broken dam, everything she had been holding back from him plunged into his own mind. Gritting his teeth, Simba's hands shot to either side of his head, attempting to stabilize the amount of information that continued to flow into him. It was all a jumble, flashes of images, a word here and there, blurred colors; nothing stood still long enough for him to concentrate on.

A hot stinging sensation came to his knees as his legs gave out on him, forcing him down onto the rock surface but he continued holding onto his head, afraid that if he let go it would explode. Every sound escaped his ears, replaced only by a high-pitched buzzing that he was sure had something to do with the black spots he was seeing in his vision. He closed his eyes tightly, clamping his jaw down even tighter as his back hunched over himself, his face just a few inches from the stone with his elbows resting on the surface as some extra support. It was too much, way too much. Perhaps bonding with another human being had rules, rules in which he did not follow... if this was to be his end...

Forcing his head upwards, his back following suit vertebrae by vertebrae, his let loose his head with his hands, pulling them into fists at his side as his head looked up to the sky as he let out a pained shout, putting everything he had into his own mind to sever the connection. And then... it was gone, and Simba collapsed down onto the ground in an unconscious heap.

Her eyes shot open staring down at her lap as suddenly the emotions that had been drowning her moments before came to an end leaving her body as though they had never been there at all her chest heaving up and down heavily as she tried to regain her composure enough so that she could move again, lowering her hands slowly she glanced around her person her bright blue orbs coming to rest on his unconscious figure laying on the ground in front of her causing her to narrow her eyes trying to think back to what had happened that would have made him collapse upon the ground. Glancing around she pulled herself back up to her feet waiting a few moments as she tried to maintain her balance before she moved forward her body crouching down her arms reaching out to pull him up into a sitting position her body lowering as she pushed her shoulder into his stomach her free hand reaching out to grab her dagger sliding it back into place before she heaved him over her shoulder shakily getting to her feet, gritting her teeth together she turned slowly began to trek through the jungle like terrain eventually coming to the outer city and the wall of rubble that separated both sides.

Shifting him on her shoulder slightly so that he would be protected by her body from the sharp edges of the rubble that made up the path blockade in front of them she reached out with her free hand moving a lot slower than she normally would have done as she climbed up the wall awkwardly pulling herself and him up over the ledge and onto the flat surface causing some of the Atlanteans who were wandering around doing their day to day tasks to stop and look over at her with concern, surprise and curiosity. Taking a moment to catch her breath she held her free hand up to them in a motion to wait before she breathlessly got out the words she had been thinking about, "جاؤ. ہم اپنے نئے دوست کے اعزاز میں ایک استقبال دعوت کا انعقاد کیا جائے گا کہ لوگوں کے درمیان میں لفظ پھیلانے . میں اس شہر میں جانے کے لئے کافی ان پر اعتماد اور جیسا کہ میں نے اس سے لوگوں میں سے ایک کے طور پر علاج کیا جا کرنے کی توقع . آپ کے خاندان یا دوستوں کا علاج کرے گا کے طور پر اس کا علاج ، مہربان اور رحم کر . اب میرے دوست کیا جائے زیادہ ہے ، جاؤ ."

Smiling as she watched the woman nod her head in understanding of her words before her gaze turned down to the steep drop to the ground below her her body swaying from side to side nervously before she closed her eyes stepping off the edge an angered yell escaping through her lips as she landed pain shooting through her ankle, stumbling as she stood back up she made sure that he was okay before she began to move again her body limping down the many streets until she finally came to her destination the large doors of the palace being opened for her as she got close enough her free hand coming up as several people began to rush to her side to help, "نہیں ... میری فکر نہ کریں ، آپ کرنے کی ضرورت ہے کے ساتھ جاری رکھنے کے لئے براہ مہربانی ، میں ٹھیک ہو جائے گا . آپ کی تشویش اپنے دوستوں کے لئے آپ کا شکریہ ." Continuing inside she turned moving through one of the curtains into a large room filled with cushions her body leaning over as she gently lowered him onto the pile her own body dropping down beside his causing her face to relax once the weight had been taken off of her ankle, reaching up she tilted her head pulling her crystal up and off from around her neck her body leaning forward as she pressed the end against her ankle a gentle blue glow surrounding it as the pain began to subside.