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[pinkroses]

A flash of lightning flashed from the dark clouds with a crackle and then an immediate rumble of thunder echoed around the outer walls of the Block. Alena appeared as if from nowhere in her demon form, petite and bright white in the darkness. There was a paper clutched in her claw and a look of thunder on her face.

She was let in through the gates and the main entrance without hesitation and once inside she transformed into her human shape, flicking her dark red hair as she strode up to the front desk.

“I need to see Zeus,” she said, her annoyance clear in her blue eyes. She had been back a few times since her first meeting with Zeus to give reports on demons she’d met in the city, information she’d found out about Jake,  so she wasn’t a rare sight, but usually her demeanour was somewhat different.

“Please,” she added after meeting the gaze of the demon behind the desk for a few seconds as she realised politeness might get her moving a bit faster.

[The Cedar Witch]

The demon at the front desk gave Alena a warm smile, recognizing her immediately.  When she noticed the expression on Alena's face, the warmth faded slightly.

"He's just finishing up in a meeting in the conference room.  Should be out any minute."  Not soon after the sentence was spoken did the door to the room open.  Three elder fire demons exited, followed by Chahzus'aak, finishing up farewells.  When the fire demons turned toward the exit, he relaxed his business expression, showing a touch of tiredness in his features.  He was about to turn toward the elevator to return to his office when his eyes fell on Alena--a familiar sight.  Zeus' expression brightened, and he strode toward her instead.

"Alena!"  He didn't notice the annoyance in her demeanor until he was closer and fell into a more serious tone when he stood in front of her.  "Let's talk in the conference room?"  He made a move to lead her there.

[pinkroses]

“Thanks,” Alena said, stepping back from the desk and folding her arms across her chest. Her hands dropped and she stepped back out of the way respectfully as she recognised the age of the demons coming out of the room. She tried to smooth the annoyance from her face as they passed, but as soon as Zeus turned to her it returned.

“Yes, thanks,” Alena said briskly, following Zeus into the large room. As the door shut behind them Alena spread the (slightly crumpled) paper over the polished table and tapped the announcements page. There was a notice which should have made her happy and would have done had it come a couple of months earlier.

“What happened? I thought we were going to destroy him?” she asked in a frustrated tone. She wanted blood and she was sure a lot of other demons would to. Yes, it was great that Zeus had control again, but peacefully? They should be spreading his blood across the West.

[The Cedar Witch]

Chtahzus'aak's eyes flickered to the announcement on the page, then back to her face.  Well, he did anticipate this sort of reaction would come--and from others as well.  He sensed that there was more than just frustration lingering within the younger demon.

"I paid him a visit.  Gave him a proper scare.  He caved rather predictably."  The corner of his lips twitched into a smirk.  It was thrilling to let McCloud believe he had the upper hand for a moment.  The look on the Brat's face when that changed had been so worth his time.

"This is only the first step toward his destruction."  He spoke reassuringly, pressing a finger to the page.  The game he was playing now would be a long one, and he wasn't sure if that would console her to know.  She would want to know more, surely.  But it was never wise to divulge all of the plans, not even to your most trusted general.  But he would have to assure her trust somehow.  He hoped that she would prove more patient than she seemed.

[pinkroses]

A small smile appeared on the electricity demon’s face as Zeus told her about Jake being scared and caving. It wasn’t as satisfying as seeing his head paraded through the streets, but it was a start.

“So you’re not just going to stop now you’ve got the West back?” she asked, wanting that reassurance that Chtahzus’aak was offering, that he would truly avenge them. “How did you scare him?” she added eagerly, wanting to hear more about that. She had been annoyed moments before, when she thought Zeus had what he wanted and was now just going to sit back. But she did trust their Leader to do his best of them now he was acting again, so her mood had improved considerably in just a few moments.

[The Cedar Witch]

"No, it isn't over."  He was waiting for some dust to settle before reassessing the next steps.  Securing the West was important--it had been an urgent task for the sake of the safety and well being of the demons in the district.  Revenge--well justice, at any rate, would be secondary and a more complex thing to attain.

Chtahzus'aak smiled at the second question.

"Well, after I breezed past his security measures at the White Rabbit, he was too scared to face me in the dark."  He rolled his eyes. 

"So under some less than hospitable fluorescents he made his demands, I countered with mine, he was a bit too easily riled up and decided he didn't want to play nice anymore."  Zeus listed the events as if recounting the plot of a comedy film. 

"And after he threw a little tantrum, I put out the lights--" he accentuated this with a snap, then dropped his human facade for dramatic effect and continued with a grave and commanding voice, "I told him that he had tested my patience for the last time."

Shifting easily back into his human appearance, he relaxed his shoulders and placed a hand on the back of one of the chairs.  Retelling the story didn't truly do it justice. 

"His face was priceless."  Zeus said with a laugh.  "He sent me an email before sunrise with his surrender.  Honestly, I was expecting a bit more of a fight from him."  He paused, thoughtful.  Perhaps McCloud would come to regret conceding and try to take back the West?  Zeus would like to see him try.  Truly, he hoped McCloud would.

"Tell me how things go with the fledge, Sam."  Alena had proven herself to be one of the most useful demons he had in the operation, far exceeding his initial expectations.

[pinkroses]

Alena gave a laugh as Zeus described how easy it was to get inside. She’d found that too, it was like the vampire really had no idea what demons were capable of. She slid up onto the large table, her feet dangling over the edge, swinging gently as she eagerly listened to his tale.

“He’s so emotional, it’s easy to get him angry,” she said with a small nod. “I mean, I know I can be, but I’m not a fucking District Leader,” she added, shaking her head so her red hair swayed.

Her grin widened as the shadow demon explained how he’d put out the lights to scare Jake and she let herself admire his demon form before he shifted back. “I wish I’d been there,” she breathed. She wanted to see that coward who hid behind his army and his sword, liking to show it off but rarely putting it to good use, other than to try to scare people. Then he could so easily be scared by others.

“She likes me, and she’s so trusting. She told me so much about herself with hardly any prompting. I’ve signed up for her class at the Academy; she might take a bit of convincing to get much closer if I’m her student, but I think I can work on her. Oh, I’m going to need a credit card to pay for the course. I can get cash or those contactless payment things, but I think this’ll be a bigger amount, I didn’t check the exact amount,” she added with a small shrug. She’d assumed Zeus would have more than enough funds to cover it without any issue – just look at where he’d been hiding out for the past two years and she’d seen where he’d been living before that.

“She doesn’t know what I am yet, she seems so sweet and innocent. I don’t know if she has any idea what he did to take the West. But we talked about their bond and hurting her would definitely affect him.” There was no remorse showing as she discussed it. Jake had murdered her family so if hurting his got to him and gave him a fraction of that pain, she was willing to go ahead with it.

[The Cedar Witch]

Chtahzus'aak smiled with approval as she reported on her progress.

"Good, keep at it then."  Getting close to the fledge seemed much easier than he initially anticipated.  As far as how they would be using that connection, well that had yet to be seen.  It depended on a few other outstanding factors.  One of which was Laurent and Zeus hadn't heard from him since he brought that unknown vampire directly to their doorstep.  Surely he was hunting for something to make up for the misstep.

"I can arrange for a credit card, but I'll need a bit of time."  Had to make sure it couldn't be traced back to his operations or it could arouse suspicion depending on who got ahold of the information.  It would be in her name and everything, but payment would be handled by a detached account somewhere--he had financial people to figure out that sort of thing, it wouldn't be an issue.

Although, how much suspicion would that cause?  Funding the education of one of the demons in his district would hardly turn heads.  Unless something went wrong during the operations.  If Alena was too eager to cause harm to the fledge that had the potential to blow the whole thing wide open.  No, best to not have anything leading back to him.  Just in case.

"You should take another class or two as well, if you weren't already planning on doing so."  It would make her even less suspicious, though it would take more of her time. 

[pinkroses]

“Well they haven’t asked for any money yet, and Sam likes me so I’m sure she’ll put in a good word if there’s a delay,” Alena said, not really too worried about how quickly the Academy got the money. She wrinkled up her nose slightly at the suggestion of taking more classes. She’d never done any sort of schooling and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

“Ok,” she said, understanding why it would be sensible to do some more. “There’s not many courses aimed at demons, especially ones who aren’t immortal, but neither’s Sam’s one, so I guess it doesn’t really matter,” she said rubbing her hands against her knees. It was a bit of a sore point for her type, that whilst so many demons aged slow enough to appear immortal, hers aged in the same way as humans. 

“So what are you going to do now you’re the big guy back in charge?” she asked, the smile returning to her face.

[The Cedar Witch]

Zeus nodded sympathetically.  It was a shame that there were no courses geared toward their kind, though it wasn't too much of a surprise to him.  If he cared an ounce more he might've tried to put someone in there to teach, but it wasn't a priority. 

Her question made him chuckle.  Besides painting the streets with McCloud's blood?

"Well, for starters I've been looking for community representatives willing to take time to meet with one another somewhat regularly in order to work out any issues before they become bigger conflicts.  As well as determine what things need to be addressed in the district in general."  Anything major, of course, would have to go through him in the end.  He had been meeting with elder demons and group leaders on and off between strategizing his approach to the McCloud situation.  They were open to the idea and willing to get behind some kind of cohesive leadership--one of their own.  They seemed to want organization.  It made them stronger as a whole, at any rate.  "Which you are, of course, welcome to participate in."  He added.

[pinkroses]

Alena blinked in surprise at his offer that she participate in discussions with the community representatives. She was pleased he was getting opinions and that groups could work out issues before they turned into more – they needed to show a strong front in the face of other distracts who may have issues with them. But she had no experience in anything like that and she didn’t even have a community anymore. Who was she supposed to represent? Why should the older demons listen to anything she had to say?

“I’d like to, but I don’t know how useful I’d be,” she said, chewing gently on her lower lip.

[The Cedar Witch]

"You'd be surprised."  Zeus shrugged.  "You live here, your opinions and viewpoints are just as important as the next person."  It wasn't his intention to press the issue.  It was a doors-open sort of offer.  Making sure everyone felt they had their voices heard was important to morale. 

Chtahzus’aak’s personal philosophy was that there was wealth to be had in knowing the thoughts and opinions of others, no matter how seemingly insignificant.  It increased your own knowledge base and added different vantage points to open up other angles from which to strategize.  That didn’t mean he doubted his own abilities, but rather each individual was a potential resource.

After a short pause, he returned to a previous topic.

"In regards to the fledge, get as close to her as possible.  I would like it to seem like you are friends if you have the stomach for it."  He smirked.  "Perhaps she could seem like a mentor even if being her student is too much an obstacle."

[pinkroses]

“Ok, yeah, I’d like to join in then,” Alena said with a grin. She wanted to be a part of this, it was important for the future of their species in the city. Even if people didn’t listen to her, she could try to assist.

She wrinkled up her nose with a chuckle at the suggestion that she become friends with Sam. It was the best way to get close to her, to gain her trust, but it would be a painful period. Getting so close to someone whose family she wanted dead. “I will, I’ll get on her good side. She already likes me and seems so… open. So trusting, she was telling me all sorts within half an hour of meeting her, it’ll be easy to carry on, even if it won’t be pleasant for me.”

Alena slid from her perch on the table, her boots making a quiet ‘clunk’ as her feet hit the floor. Her hips swayed a little as she stepped closer to Zeus, her blue eyes glinting. “What do you have in mind for him? I can get close to her, hurt him through her, but you said you have plans. And you have a lot more experience than me, you’ve seen things, done things, I can hardly start to imagine. “

[The Cedar Witch]

Chtahzus'aak smiled.  How much should he tell her?

"For now, it is vital that you establish this relationship.  And it needs to be convincing."  He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.  The scope of what he was orchestrating would go beyond simply hurting McCloud through hurting the fledge.  Physical pain was one thing--that could be weathered regardless of suffering.  With the playing field shifting like sands, however, there was no way of knowing if each part would be carried out as planned.  The demon liked to keep his options open and varied.

"A great deal of this rests on proper timing.  McCloud's campaign will be a very trying period as it is, I'm sure."  He chuckled as if at a private joke.

[pinkroses]

Alena’s smile faltered for a moment as Zeus emphasised how important her task was. She knew each job he gave out was important, but for half a second she doubted if she could make it as convincing as it needed to be.

But as soon as it had come, the doubt disappeared. Of course she could do it. She had to. Jake deserved everything that was coming to him and she’d spent lots of her life preparing skills like this. Sam was an easy target.

It was frustrating not knowing the answers to her questions, but she could understand why Zeus was playing things close to his chest. For some plans the fewer people who knew the better.

“Ok, well…” she glanced behind her, then turned to scoop the newspaper up, folding it up. “Sorry I got so pissed. I just thought… it looked like you had changed your mind and I need this.”