[Sofia Robards]

A satisfied smirk was etched across the now well photographed and recognizable features of the head of the Aurors as sashayed down a street leading to only merlin (or a less desirable wizard but equally knowledgeable Wendell) knew. As it happened Sofia had managed to out wit one rather crafty report, three Apollo fan girls (petitioning for her to allow Apollo to plan her wedding), four and a half pick pockets, and yet she was still trailing her mark. All and all a rather successful venture and a rather justifiable reason to be smirking.

Little did she know her luck for the day was about to change.

Sofia rounded the corner her mark had disappeared behind and came across an empty dead end alley. A celebratory drink would be in order once she got the proper paperwork filled out and the proper permits to raid what she was now positive was the location of a doxie powder producing den. A den that had been selling to muggles if rumors were to be listened to.

She made a mental note of her location just as she heard a rather strangely familiar click.

Both her location and the sound processed at once. She was in a rather dark alley way in a rather shady part of muggle London and without a muggle firearm... which judging from the click the person behind her possessed. At least she had her heels.

She turned around slowly, hoping against hope that her situation was less predictably dire than it seemed.

She always choose the wrong days to be optimistic it seemed. Four muggles, two with firearms, two with blades blocked her only way out. Her closest weapon was in the heel of her stilettos, a twin pair of rather wicked looking knives (put there by all people Apollo Sinistra).

"May I help you?" She asked, positioning herself into a stance that would allow her to kick and pull out one of the sharp beauties she had been walking on all day.

(ooc: I had to scramble to a finish - work always picks up in the bloody last 10 min!)

[Shallah Kosa]

In the week that he’d been trailing one Sofia Robards, Head Auror in charge of the Ministry Department of Law Enforcement, Tuatha had made several observations. Among them were ones about this new Head Aurors looks (an improvement over Artsbury to be sure), the disconcerting amount of time she spent in the company of Jasper Christie (which had made tracking her adequately all the more difficult as Shallah had given clear instruction to leave the man be) and that she was dangerous.

When Shallah had made it clear that she had every intent of meeting with the new Head of Level 2, making an introduction as she’d said, Tuatha had known he’d be in for a task. Security had been stepped up on all major players in the Ministry in the wake of further disappearances, and everyone was more on guard. Robards seemed to be in a constant state of alert, he’d seen her jinx a man the other day for making a move that could have been only loosely constructed as aggression.

Tuatha would have waited, watched her more, waited for the Ministry to feel more secure but Shallah was not patient and so he did not have the luxury of time. So a muggle street, crowded just enough to prevent the loose slinging of curses left and right, exposed enough to prevent apparition (and he was assured the bug would get her if she tried) and two more men than they needed (by his approximation).

With nothing but the alley behind and them in front she dropped low, legs going apart, but no wand appeared. Tuatha leveled the pistol at her, looking past the barrel at Robards. She looked almost pleased.

May I help you?

“As a matter of fact you can, Miss Robards.” He watched her sizing them up. “Soon as you turn over your wand. It’ll be returned to you of course, just after we finish our business.”

[Sofia Robards]

“As a matter of fact you can, Miss Robards. Soon as you turn over your wand.”

Before she had time to control it her eyebrow rose, giving her a rather incredulous look. He knew her name. That meant he knew what she, his asking for her wand was proof enough of that, which meant regardless of his muggle standing she could now legally use magic on him… but his little friends she wasn’t sure about. Drat. Bloody muggle protection laws, she’d have to do something about them before she died, make it her legacy perhaps.

“It’ll be returned to you of course, just after we finish our business.”

“After we have finished our business?” She echoed, unsure of how to act. It would be terribly bad form to knife an informant no matter how aggressive they seemed. It tended to bring about resentment and betrayal at the worst times, all over one little scar and maybe a fallen comrade.

The three men framing their leader took a synchronized step closer as the other gun toting one made a show of removing the safety catch. It was all too threatening for Sofia’s taste quite frankly… and she really didn’t have much to live for these days so while most sane and rational people would have just did as was asked Sofia decided to take road less traveled. The odds were terrible but it wasn’t as though anyone would really mind if she died – and she’d be free from dating Jasper! It was all starting to look rather win win.

Without a second though she was suddenly clad in rather adorable looking flats had one knife (who’s handle matched her shoes perfectly) in hand and had sent another towards Mr. Trigger Finger Happy Thug’s knees, the leader of the gang being too far out of range for her to accurately throw anything at him without risking his life. Mr. Trigger Happy didn’t seem to appreciate the artful accessorizing Apollo had put into Sofia’s footwear as he dropped his own weapon and began wailing and pulling at the vine craved handle of the knife buried deep within his knee.

Now by this point any normal street gang or thug group would have scattered, a crazy armed women not being worth the time and effort, however as Sofia was learning rather fast these men weren’t a normal muggle street gang. Once the initial shock of her transformation wore off the other two men made quick work of over powering her. She gave as best she could but one magic reliant auror was no match against the two.

Which is how Sofia found herself with a big burly arm wrapped around her middle, a nasty looking knife at her throat, and a gun pointed at her head.The shorter of the two thugs picked up her weapon from the ground with some difficulty as he was now missing a few fingers and handed it over to the still standing leader.

“I suppose you’ll be wanting that wand about now.” She quipped, her squirming having been stilled by the knife being pressed harder against her throat.

[Shallah Kosa]

After we finish our business?

Tuatha nodded and for the briefest of moments he wondered if maybe she wasn’t going to put up a fight. She had drawn a wand yet but she was....oh bloody. He looked left in time to see the hilt of the knife now sticking out from Carter’s leg. Hadn’t he said she could be armed, hadn’t he asked to be given permission for wand usage. No, instead he’d been sent with blades and pistols and now look at them.

A hasty set of orders were given, if they didn’t manage to contain the auror now he was going to resort to magic. Orders were orders but he had a mind to be home for dinner that evening and if he couldn’t manage that he’d be there to read the girls a story before bed. Luckily the excitement was short lived. Stepping over a few severed fingers, he approached Robards.

“Ye might want to pick those up if you’d like to have them re-attached, Jacobs.”

Nodding as if the thought had only just occurred to him Jacobs handed off the knife for inspection. Didn’t look like it would bite, the same couldn’t be said for the auror.

I suppose you’ll be wanting that wand about now.

“Suppose that I will, Miss Robards.” Nodding he wiped the blood from the blade on the rag taking up perpetual residence in his pocket and then took out his own wand. A quick scan of the blade betrayed it as mostly harmless, if exceptionally sharp and another created a rudimentary sheath. “Interesting spell, integrated with your shoes.” The compliment didn’t seem to change the mood.

“Accio wand.” Robard’s clothes gave a tug and then the slender piece of wood wafted out from her jacket pocket over to his hand to be inspected as well. Jacobs looked disappointed, like he’d been denied the pleasure of searching for the wand in a more physical capacity.

“Evans.” All aliases of course, couldn’t afford her rooting around for information on them later. “Pull the car around.” Now that he was reasonably assured of safety he approached, watching to make sure the knife stayed at her throat. “Apologies for the force, but you have quiet a reputation and a few of us have families to get home too. If you’d come with me.” He heard the car coming up and motioned for her to be moved forward and then placed in the car, one more spacious on the inside than the out. Taking his seat across from her , wand still trained if she tried to move he motioned for the man to drive.

“We could have gotten you apprating, or on one of your trysts with Christie, lovely gown you wore to the opening of that restaurant by the by, but there was some insistence that this all be civil. My employer would like to have a meeting with you.” A wry smile. “Would you be amiable to such a meeting?”

[Sofia Robards]

The hostility emitting from Sofia was almost palpable as her wand glided over to the man. He could keep the knifes, Apollo would make her a new set for something shinny from Jaspers or a bit of feathery fluff, but her wand. No. That would be a hard one to replace. It had been her father’s… now was no time to be sentimental. She pulled her anger close, and let her features soften into a mask of blank indifference.

“Evans” Sofia made a mental note of the name. If they were smart enough to no use wands to get her at her weak point they were probably smart enough to not call each other by their birth names… however one might slip up. “Pull the car around.”

A car. Sofia repressed a shudder. She hated those things. Jasper insisted on using them but having managed the first 20 or so years of her life without having to enter one she still saw them as metal boxes of death, which statistically speaking she wasn’t far from the truth. Perhaps she should encourage Jasper to ride in them more often, she wouldn’t mind playing the spinster pining for her lost soul mate. Perhaps she wouldn’t need to worry about encouraging him if she was going to her death anyway.

“Apologies for the force, but you have quite a reputation and a few of us have families to get home too. If you’d come with me.”

Sofia didn’t bother with a response. It was always nice to know that the criminal world had taken note of her. Grant that’s what had probably led her to the situation in the first place. There was just no winning.

The knife moved away from her throat. Things were looking… Sofia was shoved head first into the car by the fingerless one called Evans. The leader entered after her, his wand trained on her. Hopefully he didn’t get any blood on her coat. She shouldn’t have worn green. Jasper was wrong, it was adding color not style that was going to cost her a fortune, blooding being a pain to remove from most fabric. Idol, mundane thoughts had a bad habit of popping into her head at the worst times.

“We could have gotten you apprating, or on one of your trysts with Christie, lovely gown you wore to the opening of that restaurant by the by, but there was some insistence that this all be civil.”

Ah yes the blue one that complemented the sapphire Jasper had given her out of ‘adoration’ that pinched a bit… that had been at least a week ago. And she called herself an auror. Some man had been following her and she hadn’t even noticed.

“How kind I’m sure.” Her mind back peddled. Some man that had been following her that could snatch her while Apprating. That explained a lot. Like where they were going to and who she was meeting. She should have saved the knives for later, and listened to Atlas’ a bit better. What had he said? A Veela that didn’t care one way or the other for blood purity that wanted the fourth (abet contained) unforgivable? Had he been able to arrange a meeting after protesting he couldn’t? The leader of the group drew her out of her reflection.

“My employer would like to have a meeting with you. Would you be amiable to such a meeting?”

“Well… Mr. what did you say your alias was? Or all you all Evan? At any rate I would love to meet your employer. I’ve heard so much about the work she’s been doing.” She gave a small smile. “Now when you were following me about please do tell me you ate at least one of the restaurants – except for that American one. Their food was quite terrible.”

After a name was supplied the car lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Unfortunately the drive wasn’t long enough for Sofia wrestle her wand back as the car came to a smooth stop and she was once again pulled out of the car and lead to meet the woman creature she had behalf heartedly trying to find for weeks.

[Shallah Kosa]

Muggle hotels. The appeal had never made itself apparent to her. Though the decor had improved significantly in the time since she did make her first visit to such establishments there was still an air about that them that she found to be unsettling. These were the most temporary and transient of places and yet their visitors left their marks. In the time since her meeting with Christie, she had found this particular hotel to be somewhat to her liking. He had been here recently though Calixtus had sadly made no accompaniment, she sensed ones trace but not the others. A pity.

Now she waited and as she did the delicate fingers of one hand turned over the latest report she’d received. Overful as it was of passages detailing the passing of Christie’s day, always behind his counter, or at the arm of the woman whose presence she awaited. Never did her researcher make himself known, though he was glimpsed from time to time. The sound of footsteps beyond the door drew Shallah’s attention, ticking her head to the side she could discern the step and weight of the travelers and made herself ready.

When the door opened it was the woman who entered first, fierce as the photos and reports had told her. A smile tinged her lips, the sort that was only put there as a place holder, a lie. Shallah knew the expression on another’s face as quickly as she knew it on her own.

“No trouble I trust?”

Tuatha shook his head as he made his way into the room, closing the door behind him and removing his own wand. The spell to seal the room from time was complicated and draining but he performed it admirably though his face showed the strain. Now she addressed her guest.

“This room now stands outside of time, it would be advisable to not attempt to leave its confines. Miss Robards, or is Sofia to your preference, or Head of Aurors Robards? I thank you for acquiescing to this meeting between us. Would you sit? Do you care for sustenance?

[Sofia Robards]

Their footsteps has an odd echo as she was marched up a set of stairs with the conglomerate group of Evans either in front of her or behind her. Well she assumed they were there, it would be rather irresponsible to have her climb stairs blindfolded if their boss wanted to talk to her. She stalled long enough for one of the Evans to give her a slight shove. No death by stairs today then.

The terrain leveled as a hand (3 Fingered Evan!) pulled her to a halt and her blind fold was removed. She needed her own set of Evans. Just a mass blob of people that would do things for her that all had the same name…

“Just through there.”

Sofia took the hint. With head held high and a pretty little social smile on her face she sauntered forward and took in the creature and blinked. The veela was ethereal and elegant with an exotic air. With some effort Sofia lowered her eyes and resolved to stare at the corner of the room above the veela’s head.

The ringleader Evans did some magic and Sofia’s stomach lurched unhappily. She couldn’t quite make out what was happening but it likely wouldn’t result in anything good. More like her escape plans were going to involve her faking her own death or overpowering a veela and her three men and then running the hell out of the room.

“This room now stands outside of time, it would be advisable to not attempt to leave its confines. Miss Robards, or is Sofia to your preference, or Head of Aurors Robards?”

Outside of time. The word echoed oddly in her head as a she was forced to nix the first ninety escape plans. That did present something of a challenge. She’d never had to escape time.

“Miss. Robards will suffice.” Head of Aurors Robards while her official title always left her looking over her shoulder for her father. She didn’t have a memory of him that didn’t involve his title. Her title. Their title? It just confused her and she didn’t feel as though her title impressed the veela anymore than it impressed her mother.

“I thank you for acquiescing to this meeting between us.”

“Your men were extremely persuasive.” She gave the Evan across from her an oddly innocent look which he acknowledge by shoving his hands in his pockets. At least one of them feared her.

” Would you sit? Do you care for sustenance?”

Sofia sat across from the Veela feeling as though she ought to be fearing for her life a bit more than she was. Rather an overwhelming curiosity filled her. Why was she here? What was the veela’s motive? Was she about to be bribed? Would be it be pertinent to mention interactions with her usually ended badly for the least violent member of the group? Well that one at least was apparent from the state of Evan Three finger.

“You’re too kind. Nothing for me thank you. I have to admit I’m much to…” Utterly baffled, and confused “intrigued by my current situation to even think of consuming anything. May I request one thing of you however? A name would be lovely. I can’t call you all Evan.”

[Shallah Kosa]

Taking her seat the girl took the time to appraise, and to study. It was a gaze Shallah had found to be uncomfortable in her first experiences with it. So open as it was, wide and gaping as the opening of a cave, consumptive, she had thought that it meant to swallow her. Now she merely went through the course of preparation of tea and returned a steady gaze of her own.

You’re too kind. Nothing for me thank you. I have to admit I’m much to... This first slipping of composure and loss of words, however small, drew Shallah’s gaze back from the recesses of her cup. She knew not where the hesitancy birthed itself from. Less her beauty than a sort of awe for her position, the things that she had done. Men she could collect and hold to her, make them feel as she wished when she wished but there was nothing in her power for women.

Intrigued by my current situation to even think of consuming anything. Apt choice of word, Miss Robard’s face made a match to what was spoken. May I request one thing of you however? Intrigue ran both ways and Shallah lifted her glass and made herself to appear open to such a proposition. One thing seemed little to have to give.

A name would be lovely. I can’t call you all Evan.

Evan? There had not been an Evan in her employ since the last had proven displeasing enough to warrant no more mention of the name. Tuatha shifted at the point behind Sofia and for the briefest of flashes a smile lit at the edges of his mouth. Humor.

“A name seems so small a request Miss Robards, you may have it. Though I think perhaps it is already known to you, given for pity by Calixtus Ferox. The name by which you might call be is Shallah Kosa. To clear matter over which you might have some curiosity, I here take upon myself and my organization credit for the attack upon your Alley at New Years and the thinning of your ranks within the Ministry of Magic. I thought it time for you and for myself to meet.”

“I confess I have been most curious about you.”

[Sofia Robards]

Under her perfectly glazed exterior Sofia’s mind reeled about. This entire meeting was taking on a more and more surreal quality with each sip of tea taken by Shallah. She was sitting in the presence of the self confessed terrorist organization’s head. At this moment she had enough for a warrant and an image for a wanted poster. Even if she and Jasper were to break up, even if the Dillan scandal got out, and hell even if Wendell’s prison break were to be exposed she would be in the clear as long as she brought in Shallah. No one would be able to argue a lack of devotion to her job and the ministry. Rather she could pull off the Wendell debacle as a part of her master scheme.

There were just a few small issues that made all this wonderful news lose its luster. Shallah wasn’t in her custody, rather it was the other way around. And there was the small matter of her actually leaving said custody. She was wandless and essentially weaponless. Her wandless magic a bit lack luster, limited to things like large explosions and fire, neither of which she had much control.

“The feeling was mutual I assure you.” She paused hoping the silence would be filled by some idol boast or another. Shallah just gazed levelly at her over the rim of her tea cup, leaving Sofia two options. Discuss the weather or the organization. The weather was always so droll.

“Now that we’ve met is there anything else you intend with me? Or was this more a meet and greet amongst criminal and law enforcement heads? While a novel concept I’m rather skeptical that you just wanted to exchange a few barbed remarks over tea before we each went about our way. ”

(ooc: sorry about the delay! Now that the holidays are over I'll be back to more regular posting!!)

[Shallah Kosa]

From the confines of her dress and her form and over the expanse of table and tea cup both, Shallah watched Sofia Robards. Her opinion of the other woman remained barely formed. To know by reputation at all was to know nothing, and so it was that she watched and she waited. She had offered to her words and there was an expectation that she would gain some in return. Meant as an equal exchange, that was this meeting and yet Robards remained silent in her seat. Silent, but not unsteady.

Though her hands laid in her lap, Shallah detected none of the flutters of human nervousness. There was some fear, that was assured and apparent, from the scent in the air and the faintest detectable flutters of a human heart, but then that was to be expected, that was what was right.

Too often she had seen a different way of looking at veela; not that it was at all likely that Sofia Robards had laid her eyes upon a true veela, one free of madness and disease.

Now that we’ve met is there anything else you intend with me? Or was this meet and greet amongst criminal and law enforcement heads?

Minding the shape and position of her fingers, Shallah plucked up one of the delicate cakes on the tray between them and watched.

While a novel concept I’m rather skeptical that you just wanted to exchange a few barbed remarks over tea before we each went our own way.

“Barbs?” And, bidden by her, a single talon stretched down and out from her human skin. It cut across the cake in her hand, which she tasted and then placed aside. Now her fingers, still human save for the extension of her drumming, half formed talons, laid on the table top. Unmoving.

“You misunderstand my motives. The finesse and skill of your language, to the extent which would allow me to have attacked you as you say, is lacking. So I must use other methods. And were it my intent to use those, we would not be in such a setting. My sincerest apologies for providing you such a impression.”

“Is it so odd that I should be interested in you, Miss Robards. Are we not to be rivals here? You do not eat. Is it poison you are concerned for?”


ooc - i figured that was the case, I hope it was lovely!