Cat and Mouse ~ Opal

[[ OH GOD THIS IS LATE LOL SORRY ]]

The sound of somebody playing the violin was indeed interesting enough for Zachary to follow. Who would have the guts to sit in the woods and just play, so exposed?

Ah...perhaps another human. Or maybe the assassin herself. But Zachary wouldn't know unless he fiund her attitude suspicious, and the lilikelihood she was a good liar was high...well it takes one to know one, right?

Eventually he found the source of the playing and called up to the girl.

"Isn't it a bit risky to play with that assassin on the loose? If I could find you then she will for sure." There was a tiny bit of emphasis on the 'I' that might have hinted his hearing was not as good as others, though it was subtle...she'd have to pay close attention to hear it.

And so the game begun.

So she was the assassin. And therefore human. She seemed to think he was wrapped around her finger, as if pulling out that little piece of information would send Zack away shaking and scared. In reality it only meant that he knew more about her than she did him.

While most might have run away, or at least frozen at the sight of the mask, Zachary only started smirking at the pure irony of it all. He pushed his glasses back up onto his nose and spoke, tone light and carefree.

"Ah, looks like she found me too," he commented, slipping his hands into his pockets as though he was having a casual conversation. "It's a shame I won't be very useful to her, I wouldn't know the first thing about half-bloods." He let out a bit of a laugh himself because of the situation. "The name is Zachary Elliwood, and I'm assuming you want information about the animals at this Academy? You're out of luck, I have nothing useful for you, since I can't say I'm one of them."

Zachary didn't mind being looked at. He'd gotten used to it, he'd been examined before, anyway.

Murderer? Her father- oh that did explain a little more. Somehow Zachary had missed that detail in his little roundabout of information he had gathered about Shadow from the others, but it made so much more sense.

"I wasn't aware about your father," Zachary admitted. "The likelihood that the case was half-blood-to-half-blood is significantly lower than the alternative. And even then, little spews between them like that wouldn't lead you to hate your own kind with such vigor, would it? I was simply basing my conclusion on the fact that you have displayed a...disliking, shall we say, towards the students here...and not towards me."

The peace could be fragile. Zachary technically had no proof that he was human, save for the fact he had normal senses and couldn't transform, but that could always be taken as him refusing to transform. He hoped that wouldn't be the case, but he couldn't control the situation now that he was too close to run away. If a halfblood couldn't outrun this girl, what chance did he have?

"Is that your story then? Father killed by a halfblood, and this sparked a thirst for revenge for years to come?"

Zachary let the girl have her moment of fun, stepping with her movements as she danced around him. As long as they weren't dancing with knives, great.

"Depends on the love we're talking about," he replied, subtly wiping the hand she had held on his pants. While he could act like he was fine with her decisions, causing others pain was never the answer, and whatever blood was on her hands, metaphorically or physically, he didn't want on his. Zack did know some love, however. For years he'd lied to police about his father...who had been an alcoholic. He'd always known, even as a kid, but had lied through his teeth because Dad had been a good man. He'd never hurt Zack, or anyone else, even on his..."off" days.

He'd lost his wife when Zachary was just a baby, could anyone blame him?

But then he went and crashed himself while he was driving.

"I've never felt the need to avenge anyone out of love, anyway," Zachary amended his statement. "My parents died of relatively natural causes. Please, explain it to me."

Zachary did know the feeling- well to an extent. When Dad had died, his world had fallen apart all around him, in a physical and mental sense. He'd become an orphan, and from then on had been placed under the care of his grandparents on his mother's side- and they were not pleased with him. He was his father's child, after all. What was stopping him from turning out the same way? So they shipped him off to school the first chance they got.

After Dad died he hadn't quite remembered what it felt like to be loved back.

"And if love is taken from you by the world, what then?" his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Do you take it out on others, do you pin the blame on them because you can't handle believing that maybe it wasn't their fault?"

"Your father brought his death on himself the moment he decided to kill a half-blood. Don't you see? You're doing the exact same thing that half-blood did to your father. Half-bloods are animals, but they still have hearts- hearts that feel pain when you take their loved ones away, and you can be sure that some will make mistakes and lash out because, like you, they don't know how to deal with that pain."

"Does more death on your father's name make anything right? Does it really fix that lost love? Does it bring that love back or does it just add more pain to his legacy? If you know so much, tell me that."

The atmosphere was quickly darkening as Zachary caught sight of a knife being twirled in Shadow's fingers. It was then for the first time while being there Zachary considered running, but he didn't. It would ruin any chance of getting out of this unscratched, because it would reveal that he did not like or approve of her ways more than he'd already revealed. And those who had opposed her had not ended up in a good condition.

He didn't move as Shadow placed the knife on him so much as give a tiny hiss of pain (it was just a tiny prick, at least for now) and he tried to grab her hand and gently push the knife away. And despite that, he couldn't help but keep speaking.

Luckily Zack could fake a smirk. Very well, in fact, though, it takes a liar to know one, and at the moment everybody here was a liar. He put a sick grin on his face, only to try and prevent her from thinking he meant what he said as a bad thing.

"So, you admit to being a cold-blooded killer?"

It took all Zachary's willpower not to shudder at the kiss- though perhaps...

If her weakness was love, this situation could work in his favor after all. Despite being younger, he could still confuse her. If she thought she knew what love was in the first place he could play her little game. And he would. His grin became somewhat sincere as the plot formed in his mind.

Catch her off-guard. While her head was still spinning he could get close to her. Or get a knife thrown at him. Zachary was never a fighter, but a player? Definitely.

"Well..." Zachary started, walking closer to her slowly, hands up to show he wasn't armed- not with any physical weapons, anyway. "...perhaps we can bring that love back?" It was then he got close enough to her and tried to pull her into a kiss. And he made it as passionate as he could because if this didn't work he was a dead man.

Zachary stepped back, understanding the warning and once again kept his hands where Shadow could see them.

"I never said I have anything against cold-blooded killers," Zack replied without missing a beat. He mocked hurt at her next comment. "Oh, you really think I would do that? I'm hurt, truly, hurt." He clutched his chest and sighed dramatically.

"Here, it's kill or be killed. Have you heard what they do to humans found here?" he pushed his glasses higher up on his nose again. "They kill them. Now I hate being treated like an animal and I don't particularly like living in fear either, so imagine my reaction when some girl pops up and then who's running? You have things I like. Power, the ability to spark fear- I admire that. Would I really lie about that?"

"Aw, stop it, you're going to make me blush," he joked, easing into the flirtatious act. "I admire your skill. Shows those half-bloods just who they're messing with."

Of course Zachary flirting with an assassin alone in the middle of the woods was suspicious. "Suspicious?" he echoed in a joking manner. "Nah, hanging out with an assassin in the middle of the woods who for some reason is not attacking me like everyone else? Pssh, that's not suspicious."

"Unless there's somewhere more hidden you'd like to be, that is? Or we can part ways now and meet up later, though I might get lost in the forest again. For obvious reasons my sense of direction is not exactly the best. But I'm flexible."

Of course, he'd would like to peek under her mask, though he'd save that flirty comment for a little bit later...

"If a half-blood does come around they might be too afraid of you to question why I'm here," Zachary replied. "I suppose you are right though, oh well, boo-hoo. I suppose I'm the damsel in distress here."

"I was wondering why you picked love, of all things, to pin your obsession on," he admitted. "And I was wondering just how strong your resolve was. You have a set goal in mind, and you've made it very clear that nothing and no one will stop you. But I still wanted to test you. Make sure you're committed. All that."

Besides, if he had actually cared he wouldn't get in a relationship with somebody who would leave at the drop of a hat and wasn't devoted. The reasoning made sense in his head, hopefully it would in hers.

Zachary's hands came up to try and pry hers off his neck- goodness was she even listening.

"You asked me why I questioned your resolve before, I was trying to explain why," he insisted. "I gave you a test, you passed. If I'm going to be close to anyone I like to know if they're committed or not. I'm sorry I didn't make this clear."

"Kindly stop trying to end my life, I swear this little misunderstanding was just a small miswording on my part, and I apologize," he was trying his best to remain calm in this situation, but perhaps he was biting off a little more than he could chew. How long would it be until Shadow saw through his act?

And just how long could he keep it up?

...but maybe he could help people with whatever he found out. Maybe he could help protect somebody that needed it. So he'd keep going.

"Hands off my neck, please?"

"Death and pain, not so much what I'm looking for," Zachary sighed. "I can't offer you much as a ally, but perhaps just a...companion, if you know what I mean. But if not we can just go on our merry way, I have nothing against you and I hope you have nothing against me."

"If you need somebody on the inside that has gained the half-blood's trust, however, call me up, I might be able to help."

[[ hello muse where are you going no stop come back ]]