Thus it was that though Rook's appearance surprised her, she was definitely not going to show her relief that he'd come back. Using her exhaustion over the events of the past few days to fuel her response, she casually rejoined, "Aren't you more than a little late?"

That troublesome smirk returned. "Sorry, luv. I got held up by Aegis Security. Such a troublesome lot. What they lack in strategy, they more than make up for in sheer firepower and tenacity. I almost didn't make it to Serenity Towers."

Again the thought that Rook might be completely full of shite came to Asha's mind. But weighing it, if he were trying to feed her a line, she supposed he'd choose a less blatantly outrageous one. That only left one option...

...he was telling the truth.

Rook took the time to light another nic-stick off his nearly depleted one. He let his words sink into Asha, grinning like a fox. If what he'd said was true, a day or so delay would have been the least of her worries. Serenity Towers was beyond the Wall in Cannibal Sector 2. Either he was lying through his too-white teeth, or he'd literally walked to Hell and back. Even if the Aegis Security hadn't killed him, the MOSS System should have. Then there were the Gorehounds and Geeks to consider; a thought that would make even Astaroth shudder. She'd begun to change her thoughts from "who" he was to "what" he was.

"So," Rook said, filling his lungs with sweet-smell smoke. "You've been a busy girl, I take it?"

A heartbeat passed before Asha recovered her wits and rejoined, "Well, with your absence, I decided that a little tidying up needed to be done in case I needed a... Second alternative." She looked askance at Rook, her face set in practiced nonchalance. "So... Will I need my back door? Or are we ready to move? Your Ephemerides have not been idle in your absence," she said, referring to the rumours that the deadly scavengers had scoured yet another area of the Tatters clean of human life.

Rook shook his head, curling his lip into a half snarl. `They aren't /my/ Ephemerides. Get that straight. I want them gone as much as you do, trust me. And yeah, they're on the move. The Mark-13 project stops for no one; literally."

Asha couldn't suppress a small smile at the uncharacteristic display of emotion. 'There's something personal going on here,' she thought. 'Something that is a weak point for him.'

Rook sat down on her bed, leaning back. "Keep your alternative plan in play. I like it. It'll keep the assholes busy while we mess up their god. Or rather you do. I need you to train with me over the next few days; hone your anti-deity skills so to speak. But we need to do it in private. I can't be seen around here, and they can't suspect what we're about. Do you have someone you trust enough to take charge for a couple of days?"

"Yes," she says slowly. "If necessary. But what I don't understand, is if you can get to Serenity towers and back without so much as a scratch, then why do you need me? Why can't you just go take this monstrosity out yourself?" Her eyes lowered, as she said in a low voice meant to elicit his protective instincts, "I'm having enough problems here. It would seem that now that I've found family, you'd help me keep them- and keep myself in once piece. Instead you're going to toss me to the wolves." She let the power flow through her, feeling her morphic powers going to work shaping her to Rook's own mindset.

Rook smiled appreciatively at her changing hair and hands, but remained focused on the question at hand. A wolfish lick of his lips said that there' d be time for cuddling later.

"Good question," he chuckled. "No flies on you, angel. Why indeed? Well, let me trying to paint you a mind picture.

"I'm not too popular around here. Let's just say I'm slumming. If people notice me, bad people, things will turn very ugly. They'll know that the Mark-13 project is in jeopardy and will send in the big guns. So, I'm here in an advisory capacity only. Besides, /you/ need to get ready for the big showdown. Fighting He-Who-Walks-In-Darkness will help you understand the Ephemerides; learn their weaknesses, their vulnerabilities. That knowledge will serve you well. And it's you who wants to rule the Lords, isn't it? Not me. Why would I want to steal the credit?"

He smirked, "That and I've got other projects to finish up in the meantime. You're not my only apprentice, grasshopper."

"As for throwing you to the wolves, that's bullshit" Rook said, "You are the wolf, or at least I hope so. So start acting like one. These people are sheep; no matter what honorifics you put on them. You'll never be one of them, angel."

He reached back, stroking the top of her wing. "Need I say more?"

"I still don't know what you're talking about most of the time," she admitted. "And now I don't think I want to."

Rook snorted faintly, nodding. "No, you probably don't. Sometimes ignorance is bliss."

Gathering herself, she came to her feet, regaining her composure slowly. "Yes," she finally said. "I do have someone that can keep things together here."

With that, she walked out to find Grey, leaving him with instructions, and returning to Rook over his objections.

"So," she said softly, never quite managing to look at Rook. "What now?"

When she returned, Rook was standing at the window and turned to smile at her. His lip had stopped bleeding, but he had a wicked bruise where she struck him. It made his grin rather awkward. "Now? Now we see just how deep that blood of yours runs. Follow me, angel."

And with that, he climbed out the window and onto the ledge. The height was dizzying and even with her wings, going out there would be dangerous. The makeshift constructions of the Gutters had left behind a spiderweb of cables and wires. A fall here would prevent her from flying, unless she wanted her wing snapped off in the process. The concrete below would be even less forgiving.

Rook called to her, "Coming?" Somehow he'd managed to cross out onto one of the cables, bouncing toward the other side. He moved with a lemur's grace, leaping from cord to cord without a hint of difficulty. Even when a cable ripped from its moorings, sending ferroconcrete falling into the chasm, he would jump to safety at the last second with nimble speed. He paused midway to wait for her, defying gravity and the strong winds.

"Tag, you're it!" he called.

It was difficult, fighting the strong winds, but she was no more a stranger to their howl than a bird would be. So with the adroitness of an avian, she took to the winds, reading their updrafts and downdrafts, riding them with the grace of the angel she appeared as she bore down on Rook's position.

Rook, the nimble weasel, leapt and scaled his way upwards. He used ledges and cables with a refined grace and speed impossible for humanity; perhaps, even for augmentations. He didn't make the chase easy and repeatedly changed his path just to make Asha's flight a suicidal endeavor. Every time she thought she had him, he'd slip away or let himself fall, only to catch another cable and start the chase again.

Finally, Asha's lightning quick mind analyzed his path, as well covert as it might have been. She tucked her wings close, plummeted through the spiderweb risking decapitation, then caught an updraft that propelled her upwards like a rocket. They simultaneously reached a metal platform strung between the buildings over sixty stories up. Rook blinked with surprise and admiration when she landed and poked his chest in victory.

Out of breath, Rook chuckled, "Well played, angel. Well played, indeed."

Flushed with her victory, Asha merely smiled, but it was a smile that was backed with genuine emotions that she had not allowed herself to feel in a long time...

He collapsed to the ground, making the platform shift and sway in a queasy arc. "Have a seat, Asha. Rest time. Hungry?"

She realized with some surprise that she was. She had forgotten how much flight actually took out of her.

From his satchel, Rook removed two Obentos, offering one to Asha. "You'll love this, trust me. You wouldn't believe that a place in the Edge could make something this tasty, but they do. Just this tiny hole in the wall; literally. Haven't wanted to eat anywhere else for years."

He opens the box, gets his chopsticks prepared, and pops a sizable piece of sushi into his mouth. Chewing, he said, "So. Why'd you think I made you chase me like that?"

Asha peered into the box, and took the sticks, poking at the food within. Though she had been forced to eat some things she'd rather forget in her time, this was a different issue. She looked up at Rook uncertainly, then attempting to emulate his use of the chopsticks, set off to eat. Eventually the sticks, being more of a hindrance than a help, began to frustrate her, so she used her fingers to satisfy her hunger.

The food was as good as Rook promised, filling and tasty. He gestured to her with a nod of his head, making sure not to point his chopsticks at her in any fashion; a grave insult. "The green stuff is extremely spicy; I'd avoid it unless you like that sort of thing." He grinned, rather enjoying the lunch they were sharing together.

She nodded mutely, surprised at how tasty this was.

"I suppose to become accustomed to exercising my abilities again... to stretch myself," she said between bites.

"Indeed. Mentally as well as physically," he said, spearing a piece of shrimp that got away from him. "You'll be required to work on both levels to deal with the Dark God. He was designed with paramorphic DNA, allowing him to parasitically drain the abilities of his victims. So, you won't be fighting just him, but a legion of creatures all rolled into one. Your tactics must be able to change without pause. Otherwise, you'll become another addition to his protean stew.

She looked up at his description of the Dark God. She opened her mouth, preparing to ask a question... then shrugged, going back to her lunch.

"That's why I brought you up here. We'll spar after lunch; the uneven ground will help hone your stance. You've got the raw skill in your blood, so this should be familiar to you."

He played with some avocado, "Before we do, tell me something. Have you got control of your shapeshifting ability, or is it instinctual. You keep changing into a Selk. Why?"

Asha started to reply...

Rook grinned softly, "You're beautiful, by the way."

...then blushed at the compliment. Though he was only stating the obvious, and she had heard it many a time, there was something in the way that he said it that triggered some part of her that she had though buried long ago.

Looking down at her food, she said, "Thank you." Then, clearing her throat, she changed back to the subject of his question. "It's a little of both- the shapeshifting that is."

"I can control whether or not I shift, but the result of the shifting is determined by the viewer." She looked back up at Rook. "So, I suppose that I keep shifting into a Selk because you are somehow fascinated by them. Why is that? And what is a Selk?"

He brushed some stray hair from his rugged face. "Your power is intriguing. And useful, I'd bet. You've probably never been without a suitor."

He sighed, standing up. "You are so like him. I'm always amazed just how much carries over. Listen. I meant no offense, Asha. You're a fascinating woman, a strong woman. I just thought wrong. My assumptions getting me into trouble again."

He offered her a hand up, his grin genuine and warm.

"Can you imagine what it's like? One day, noone likes you, or pays you the least bit of attention. In fact, they go out of their way to avoid you, and pretend that you don't exist- all because of prophecies and omens, and all sorts of things that don't make sense to a child. Then suddenly, every man that sees you tries to do everything to get your attention, and every woman that sees the men's reaction hates you for it." Her voice was taut as the wires that crisscrossed the space they had just come through, though no emotion was evident in her words... just a resigned bitterness as cold as the wind that whipped around them.

"Even as you struggle to deal with the changes- to deal with the fact that noone really sees the *you* beyond this damnable power- everything is ripped from you, making you little more than a slave."

"In the end, I clawed and scratched for every bit that I ever got- every little scrap of knowledge or power that I could obtain, playing games with people's lives that disgusted me... games that I play even now. And I was- am- good at it, to my soul's eternal regret. I survived, but something's broken inside of me. Something that I don't know how to fix." Falling silent, she sagged down onto the swaying precipice, unwilling and unable to look at Rook...

Even as her head lifted her eyes dropped, unwilling to meet his, still caught in the memories of what had been...

"Although I can never fully understand what you've been through, angel,' he began, "I can sympathize with what it must have been like. My mother killed herself because of me. I was her reminder of a lost love. My father saw me as a symbol of guilt, my grandmother thought me a tool to further her power. And as for humans, well…

Her eyes furtively looked up, the sound of his remembered anguish piercing the melancholy she had descended into; she found herself interested despite herself.

"How can one trust a love that may be an illusion; one created by your unconscious will? As others shape you, some of us shape them. Everything and everyone become brittle and hollow caricatures; without true emotion, true substance. That's why you drew me to you. You're real; you're truth and significant. It's why I've wanted to hold you, to kiss you since I first saw you. You are a woman I could strive to be a better man for."

She started to realize that the revelations that he brought forth were beyond what they seemed. He was baring a part of himself to her that transcended what he usually showed others; and in doing so was close to showing her something that promised to be so much more than she ever could have dreamed. She looked up at him in fascination, her tears drying...

His cheeks flushed brightly and his hand darted away like a startled fish. He'd obviously not meant to speak so frankly. However, he continued nonetheless; the damage had been done.

She had half expected him to kiss her then. But that contact would have reduced their relationship to something familiar, something that she had no respect for anymore. And in that reduction, it would have killed something else that was just blossoming...

Rook gave her a sad smile and nodded as if reading her thoughts. He retained their distance reluctantly, knowing his role in this: mentor. To change that connection might result in Asha's failure and probably her demise.

"We all play our little games, Asha. It's in our very essence, our blood. Take no shame in it. The sun rises, the night falls, and we of the Blood will forver have our games."

She rose from where she had slumped, dusting herself off. "That may well be... But it does not mean I have to revel in it, or even like it. Blood will never be an excuse for me," she said, defying him to gainsay her words.

"I wish you well then," Rook said, stretching his legs out. "You've got a great deal of blood-letting to overcome. You come from a very long line of death-dealers, stemming from one of the greatest. Or worst, given your point of view. So, while we try to connect with that part of you, let's try to keep your soul as clean as possible, shall we? I don't think your heart could handle the strain."

He cracked his knuckles and rolled his head back and forth. "Time to earn your keep. Attack me. And don't hold back."

Before she could even respond, Rook was upon her. His blows came from too many directions at once; striking her side and collarbone with numbing power. Then he danced away, face incredibly cold and focused.

Then just as quickly, he was gone. She flushed with anger at herself for letting her guard down- if he had been an enemy, she'd be dead now. She forced herself to let go of that which he had touched, and breathed as Grey had taught her. In. Out. In. Out. Nose. Mouth. Nose. Mouth.

Her breathing and heart rate slowed. Even as she settled into a combat stance. It was one she was sure that he would recognize at least a variant of. Grey had told her that anyone worth their salt would. But it was a ruse- stances benefitted you only in a static environment, and this swaying piece of metal above a deadly drop was anything but.

"I'm an old man, Asha. Humor me," he chuckled. "Besides, I think you dislocated my shoulder."

Asha smiled as she rejoined, "Old is as old does. And I'll definitely never think of you as an old man."

Rook rubbed his shoulder, smirking. "If you only knew, Asha. If you only knew. Still, even an old an can appreciate a beautiful woman's attempt to make him feel young again. So, who am I to complain?"

He tested his arm, then clenched his teeth in pain and concentration. There was a sharp pop as the bone slipped back into place. With a wiggle of the fingers and twist of the elbow, he nodded with satisfaction. "Damn thing is forever slipping out. Ironic though. Benedict gave me this old wound, much like you just did. Though I may see another thousand years more, I'll never get used to walking with ghosts."

Rook grinned lopsidedly, and squeezed her shoulder. "I suggest you add that technique to your sparring over the next couple of days. The more dangerous the circumstance, the better. If you can learn to enter that state more freely even when your life is on the line, it'll hone your edge. The Cairath can wait another day or so."

He pulled out a stick of nic-gum, and popped it in his mouth. A comical grimace twisted his face. "That should be all for today, I think. Unless, you'd like to spend some more time with me. I know I'm not the best company."

"Please," Asha replied, rolling her eyes. "Though there have been some rough spots, you're the best company I've had in a while. And I don't even want to consider the alternative," she said wincing at the thought of what was going on with the Lords.

"Besides, I have some questions for you- and I'm not going to let you get away so easily this time."