Rebounding

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa walked into the dorm room of Roxana Strix as though it belonged to her. She paused for a moment to look at the other adjoining room, raising her brows. "Dorming with Ellen Banks? You must have pulled some favors for that, as I don't recall arranging it," she said, speaking loud enough for Roxana to hear her. She knew the other girl was in here: she'd done a mental sweep before entering.

Elsa looked wholly different than she did the last time Roxana saw her. Her hair had been pulled back, but it now curled around her shoulders, as if she didn't mind the kink and the wave of it. Her eyes were as sharp as ever: despite the closer physical appearance, no one would mistake this twin for her counterpart. No such mistakes would be made at all, especially not with how assertively she strolled to where Roxana was.

"Gather your things," Elsa ordered, looking around. "You still have work to do." She paused, looking around for a moment. "We still have work to do." Then she turned to exit out of Roxana's room into the common room, where she waited, hardly pausing for a moment before calling over her shoulder: "and to answer the unasked question: I got laid. Now get your gear together."

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana had been sitting in her room, working on putting together her report so she could send it out to SIGUARD. She had just finished up compiling the photos she had along with reports eh had that were not written by her. All that remained was for her to write up her report and send it out via her hawk, but all of that was quickly put to a halt. The sound of her main door to her door room being opened had her quickly putting away everything in a hidden location on her desk. It was a different spot then where she actually hid them but she only knew really one person who thought it was a good idea to just barge into Roxana's dorm room. Elsa Bellefonte.

"I did. It was a necessary and beneficial arrangement." Roxana stated back, since she did easily hear Elsa words. She could already tell that Elsa was different then the last time she had saw the girl just from her voice. It seemed like Elsa was back, but with a whole new force and focus behind why she was here. Roxana's mind almost drifted to asking herself a few questions but she was dealing with a mind reading who seemed to be back on top of her game so she filled her mind with unimportant thoughts about what she felt like drawing later and if she was going to end up taking a rest at all today.

Roxana just stood up as Elsa strolled into her room, dishing out orders and stating that Roxana; no the two of them, had work to do. What work could that have been? Was Elsa planning on bringing back her council or was this new work that Roxana was not completely aware of? She did look over Elsa, noticing the slight and subtle changes but it was still Elsa. Just...a little different but of course still dishing out orders. Roxana half obeyed and by half that meant she did gather up her things but she was taking her time with it. Roxana double checked to make sure she had everything before heading out of her room and locking it behind her just as Elsa had decided to over share.

"Did you use protection?" Roxana asked, but even the question itself came out in a slightly questioned tone. She didn't know why Elsa had decided that bit with her, but now that meant that Roxana was going to have to put it in her report. She didn't even need to be told who it might have been with because there were only a small handful of people Elsa even seemed to have interest in and it was not hard to narrow it down with knowing where Elsa had been. "What is it that you have planned for today?" Roxana then asked, getting back to the business.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"Morning after pill: he's clean," Elsa replied, nodding. Though she was actually on a fairly regular birth control pill anyway. She definitely didn't want any little surprises: especially not now that she was fairly certain she had things back into something of an order that she could manage. She let her mind drift over Roxana's thoughts, though she had to be somewhat careful: the two of them were close enough that Elsa's newest development could end up with Roxana picking something up.

Elsa nodded as Roxana went back to business. "Well, for one thing, we're going to be making sure that our council is still together and mostly in position. I still want most of the same people, and that's going to require our doing some doublechecking on things. We may even try doing a group meeting sometime in the near future.

"For now," Elsa pulled a thumb over her shoulder, "there are some records that we need to check in the basement files. I want to pull up some data, figure a few things out. Ms. Kaur pulled out too quickly for someone who's interested in how things are going, and it's odd that the senior Petrowski is sticking around and sending his daughter home. Plus, there's a secret set of files that you definitely need to see: they're in the research area."

Elsa smirked. "We've got a lot to do, so you'd best bring your A game."

[Roxana Strix]

"Noted." Roxana said simply, not having anything else to say on the matter. She didn't even know why Elsa had thought it was something to tell Roxana. Sure, they were friends and Elsa had apparently wanted to know when Roxana slept with someone but did that apply for every situation? Plus, Roxana really didn't want to know about that sort of thing from Elsa. Especially because she was assuming it was with the person that she had advised Elsa to avoid because of the complications with it. Still, Elsa didn't seem to think of it as a big deal by the way she was acting.

Yet, she still brought it up and when someone brought something up that was not asked about that tended to mean they wanted to talk about it. Elsa moved on with the topic going back to the business so perhaps she didn't really want to talk about it. Then why... Roxana thought to herself for a moment before having her thoughts go back to art and then on what Elsa was talking about. Elsa wanted to make sure that their council was still going to be together, so that meant that she did completely intended for it to still be a thing even with her current lack of headmistress status. Not that she needed it for her own little council to put together for various reasons.

"When are you planning on this group meeting take place? I might not be able to attend." Roxana asked and then followed up with why she might not have been able to go. If it was within the next month, she probably would not be able to go to the first one. If it was earlier or later on after that then there would not have been anything to worry about in terms of her being able to show up or not. Elsa went on to talk about basically where they were going and what they were going to be doing there, one part in particular caught Roxana's attention as should have been expected.

"Understood. I will give it my full effort then." Roxana said with a small nod. Granted she had been feeling really distracted lately but this should easily be enough to get her mind back on track to what was actually important.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"As soon as I can arrange everything," said Elsa, nodding. "We're more official now: Student Council. Only our priorities are going to extend beyond prom and other such activities." Elsa flashed another confident smile, a slight twinkle going into her eye. she could move officially now, and she didn't have to worry about being the Headmistress. Oh yes, things were most definitely going to be different from here on out.

Though it did seem as though one thing would remain more or less the same; Roxana's loyalty. Elsa nodded. "Excellent, I expected nothing less," she said, her voice confident. She paused for a moment, looking at the other girl. "Ellen vouched for you, you know," She said, her voice fairly level, more amused. She nodded, then gestured.

"We've got a ways to go to get to the basement files. I'm hoping that I still have some credentials, since they're notoriously bad about lifting such things. Besides," she flashed another quick smile, "they still fear me, or feel sorry for me. We can use either way." she started moving, counting again on Roxana to be right behind her.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana gave a small nod at Elsa words of how it would happen as soon as everything was done being arranged. There were words about how they were official now and not just for the student council type of things like prom and events. "Apologizes if I'm unable to attend the first meeting, but I'll be there if I can." Roxana said, glancing away for a moment. It was nice to see Elsa smiling but it also felt odd a little. A confident smile, a twinkle in her eyes, and a general air about her that was different the last time they talked. Not that any of it was a bad thing, it just felt odd. Or perhaps Roxana was simply over thinking things.

Rox did smile a little bit for a moment when Elsa said she expected nothing less. Yes, Roxana was loyal to Elsa so long as she could be. Even when she felt there would be a time that she would not be able to back Elsa up, there was the possibility she would go against orders again. Not fun, but that seemed to be the price she had to pay for becoming friends with Elsa. Was that why she was being offered time away? So they could correct Roxana's current mind set? It was possible, but Rox made sure to quickly stop thinking about it and instead let her thoughts focus on what information Elsa thought she should see.

"To be a part of the council, or for something else?" Roxana asked with a hint of confusion. She figured that Ellen and she were also close friends so it made sense that Ellen would support her. Roxana would do the same for Ellen. They had a ways to go until they would reach the basement, which was fine. Rox didn't mind having to walk for a while in order to get to her objective and perhaps she and Elsa could talk for a little. "If neither work, it would be easy enough for me to make them sleep for a little while." Roxana said. She figured she didn't have to spell out what she meant by that and Elsa would understand.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa paused for a moment, looking to Roxana as the other spoke about not being able to attend. "If you can't, you'll let me know," she said, speaking slowly. It wasn't a pressure, wasn't a demand for Roxana to explain, but more an acceptance. That was how things needed to work now, especially if they intended to move forward at all, and Elsa most certainly intended to do precisely that.

The other girl seemed to be smiling, and Elsa could pick up a few stray thoughts too. They kept moving. "She vouched in general," Elsa said, looking away for a moment, her expression more serious. Maybe she'd explain the details someday, or maybe she'd just wait and let Roxana find things out for herself. Roxana was a big girl, after all: she could certainly dig it up on her own.

"I don't think you'll need to put any of your particular skills to use," Elsa said as she continued, "at least," she looked over her shoulder, "not for that. We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves. Just enough."

They were already into the stairs, heading down to the basement, Elsa keeping a good clip. "If you need to ask any questions or get more details, now would be the time," she said, keeping her eyes ahead. "It's going to be slightly more than need to know, but only just."

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana nodded back as her response to Elsa words on how Rox would let her know if she could not make it. Rox was pleased that Elsa was not pushing to know why and she didn’t feel that odd feeling in her head, so she assumed that Elsa was not in her head. It seemed that Elsa was more so focused on moving things alone then trying to figure out what Roxana was up to. That would make things easier and would please SIGUARD but it also still made Rox a little cautious. Only because she didn’t fully know Elsa’s end game and just the natural habit to remain on her guard at least a little bit around everyone.

It was a general vouch; alright, that brought up a few questions but Roxana tucked those away to think about later. She lived with Ellen Banks after all so it would be easy enough to either ask or think on the matter and figure out if there were any details in there that she needed to know. If she even needed to know anything about it. The two of them were still moving forward, Roxana following behind and not saying much like usual. Elsa was assuring her that she didn’t need to use any of her skills, at least not for what they were doing now.

As they headed down the steps Elsa brought up that if she had any questions on the matter, now was the time to ask. Rox had questions, a few questions but she didn't really know if she should ask them since she figured they would be answered when they arrived. “Is there any reason you are showing this too me? Is it something you think I need to know or would want to know?” Roxana spoke up. By me she meant SIGUARD but she figured that was pretty much unspoken knowledge with Elsa and her by now. There was another question Roxana wanted to ask but she didn’t think it was particularly relevant to the situation so she kept it tucked behind other relevant thoughts.

A hand ideally going up into her hair and playing with it a little as they walked. There was a flash of an image of a similar situation that had been a trap for her, but this was Elsa. She doubted Elsa had some kind of trap set for her but that didn't completely settle her thoughts.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa kept moving, going briskly, but not quite rushing. She figured that Roxana could certainly keep up with her, though it wasn't as if they had a pressing engagement or anything of the sort. What lay for them would likely still be there in a few hours... longer though, longer would be worse.

And of course Roxana had questions. That didn't surprise Elsa in the slightest. It didn't cause her to slow or stop her movement either. "Because I'm extending more trust," she replied, looking over her shoulder for a moment, "and because I'm drawing some on your knowledge. Something drove Miss Kaur away, right when she was about to strike. I intend to know that that is, and it's probably best if your... organization knows of it too. Though I'm still suspicious of them."

In fact, Elsa wholly intended to get someone to look into that. She hadn't liked it from the start, and that only deepened now. She felt almost obligated to arrange things so that Roxana's relationship with that group was at least more level, if not in the blonde's best interests.

"As for the other information: again, I'm opening up and making sure that a few more people know. I'm putting as many pieces into play as I can."

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana was not having any problem keeping up with Elsa, but she didn't see why they were walking at such a pace. Perhaps Elsa just wanted to get there as soon as possible so they could get done whatever it was that Elsa wanted to do. Roxana was still having a hard time getting over the fact how Elsa was different now. Of course she was happy or a word close to happy for the fact that Elsa was doing better but a small part of her felt odd. Sex had really helped Elsa out that much? Normally Roxana didn't care about such a thing but it just seemed really odd.

Then again she was well aware of how people behaved after having a night of intimate relationships with a person. Perhaps she was just used to Elsa not having really indulged in such a thing so now that it had happened it was something she was trying to understand. Elsa said that she was extending more trust to Roxana, which did make her happy but also a little on the worried side. Why was Elsa doing such a thing? Better yet, why did Roxana feel like she was over thinking everything a bit too much? She did need that break. Kaur's name being brought up did cause Roxana to stop walking for a moment, but only a short amount of time that it just looked more like she had just miss-stepped.

"Since you are extending more trust to me, I can assure you that they likely already know why she left. They were well aware of her choice in already coming to the school and warned me on a few things, but...well you know what happened." Roxana informed Elsa. In all honesty, she was not concerned about the details of what Miss Kaur had done or why she had left. She had not been told to look into it and because of how things happened she figured it was best to actually not going digging around to find out. Of course Elsa wanted to know and Roxana was going to do her part to help Elsa with her current objective.

Roxana didn't say anything to Elsa being suspicious of them. That was good; Roxana wanted Elsa to always be on her guard when it came to SIGUARD. She could not share any more information on them but she figured that Elsa was already smart enough to keep them as a group to not completely trust. Roxana didn't even want Elsa looking into them because if she started to create waves then Roxana was going to have to deal with it. "Is that a wise decision to make?" Roxana asked at Elsa's latter words. Elsa had opened up before to a few people and while Rox was not telling her not to, she was more so just wanting to make Elsa think about what it was she planned on doing and who she got involved.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa smirked. "Well, we'll just have to confirm it for them," she wasn't quite certain that Roxana spoke the truth. Her organization may be tightly run, and they might have their information channels, but Elsa wasn't quite willing to believe they were all-seeing or all-knowing. Everyone had flaws: her own recent failings had taught her as much.

It also taught her the proper response to Roxana's next question: "More pieces do make for a more complicated game. But the difference is that I'm dealing with pieces that just so happen to be thinking people," she looked back at Roxana, meeting the other's gaze for a moment, "and those people can make decisions of their own. It's all about setting things up and running chances, isn't it?"

Elsa nodded and moved. They were already at the bottom of the stairs. Thankfully anyone could just walk into the basement. Elsa was already pulling out her credentials. "They left me some power as the president of the student council, but I can't guarantee that I can just waltz in somewhere. You may need to glower. Oh," Elsa actually paused to look at Roxana, "do you have your own ID? that might help too," because Roxana had fairly high clearance as well. Elsa had made certain of it.

[Roxana Strix]

"They will be pleased to hear that you are willing to put something of an effort to working with them." Roxana said. SIGUARD would be very pleased that Elsa was looking into things and giving the information to Roxana. Before they had been uncertain about it but all along they planned to have use to Elsa Bellefonte in the first place. She was just making things easier for them in the long run and Roxana could already imagine just how pleased they would be if Elsa did give her trust to SIGUARD a bit more and was willing to do things for her.

It was not like SIGUARD took an interest in people for no reason. There was always a reason, something that Rox tried to explain to Elsa the last time they talked but she was not going to bring it up now. No, now was the time to focus on what they were doing. "You remind me of them." Roxana replied simply back to Elsa's words. They thought in a similar manner in terms of having people on their board for their game. Except for them it was not a game and they made sure that even if a piece did not use its brain or acted differently then what was predicted, they would get what they wanted in the end.

Roxana still followed Elsa, not particularly liking when Elsa was making eye contact with her. Normally it didn't bother her but today it was, but she was not going to say anything about it because it was not important. Elsa was then talking about the level of power she still had and then brought up that Rox still had some power to. Rox pulled out her ID, always having it on her among other identification to help her out in a verity of situations. "I noticed I was given more clearance, so take it that we are in fact on good terms again?" Roxana asked. She figured they were but she still could not help but feel like she should be on her guard or at least there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that cause her to be on her guard.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Pleased? That nearly had Elsa stopping and quirking a brow. She still wasn't entirely certain that she wanted to be aligned with this mystery group. None of her sources had come up with anything, after all. But if they were somehow aligned with her own interests... did that say more about her or about them?

Ugh, Roxana was even comparing Elsa to them now. "Well," Elsa said, her voice somewhat flippant, "I promise not to beat you if you fail any of my missions." Yes, she did remember what had happened there. And, while she was thinking about it: "I'm actually surprised that you weren't punished for your actions during the fire. I'd think that would lead to rather severe consequences."

It certainly had for Elsa. Then again, maybe the situation wasn't something that SIGUARD was all that worried about. Elsa puzzled over that as she strode through, nearly missing Roxana's question/comment. "Your clearance was always in position," she said, almost distracted, looking over at Roxana. "I wasn't going to take anyone else with me in my spiral," they didn't have much further to go now. Elsa was already preparing her own identification, though Roxana's might hold more wait at this point.

[Roxana Strix]

SIGUARD would not have been doing their job right if Elsa had found out much about them, they had been exciting for hundreds of years. If someone found something out it was because it was something that was desired for them to find out. Or there was a slip up and it was quickly fixed by not just one person ending up six feet under. Elsa brought up that whole being beaten thing. Roxana let out a small sigh at that, half surprised that Elsa still remembered such a thing. She figured Elsa would have forgotten about it or figured that it was not that big of a deal.

When you did something wrong, you have to have some kind of punishment for it. That was how the way the world work, punishments just for Roxana had to be on a higher level because her failures had a higher level of effect. "How would you punish me then?" Roxana asked, curious. Did Elsa actually have a punishment in mind that she would do or was she just saying that to make a point that she was different then the people Roxana actually worked for. Elsa then spoke up of how she was surprised that Roxana had not been punished. She was not wrong to be surprised that Rox had not been punished, but she was wrong in the fact that Roxana was going to in fact be punished.

"I likely will. It would be along with what I have already asked for." Roxana said simply. She figured that she didn't need to go into detail for it. She doubted that Elsa really cared what Roxana was going to be getting into. She did let the thought of how she had requested to be punished and that it was part of why she was going home, fleet across her mind in case Elsa was reading her thoughts. It was easier that way then just coming out to say that Roxana had basically asked to be severally punished for certain reasons. Perhaps SIGUARD would go easier on her for the punishment of the fire because she was already requesting punishment.

Roxana half smiled when Elsa brought up that Roxana pretty much was always going to have her level of clearance. How Elsa stated that she was not going to drag someone else down with her back when she and her sister were basically made to step down. "Part of me wondered if you would have cut me off when you found out about...you know." Roxana said, as she looked down at her ID. Elsa had not seemed pleased about it back when Rox last talked to her.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"I believe forty lashes is standard," Elsa replied immediately and casually as Roxana asked about punishment. She gave Roxana another quick look, almost as if to ask what made the other girl think that Elsa was the type to deal out punishment. That struck her as fairly draconian, and the worst she'd actually do was, well, essentially what she'd already done to Devyn: ignore her or declare her to be some sort of traitor. If Roxana couldn't already figure that out, well, Elsa wasn't going to make the picture clearer for her.

It seemed as though Roxana was going to be punished anyway. That certainly didn't sit well with Elsa, especially the last bit. "Strange: I didn't think you had that much of a masochistic streak. You know my offer still stands. I'm fairly certain that we can buy out your contract with this organization. And don't give me more crap about how they don't do that: everyone has a price. It's just a matter of upping the numbers until they move."

Though Elsa wasn't sure she fully believed that. Priya hadn't struck her as having a price: true fanatics never did. Perhaps she'd find out if SIGUARD happened to be such people if Roxana reacted. Elsa would see.

"It was tempting," Elsa admitted, "considering that you'd slept with the enemy and then had the audacity to lie about it. But apparently if I kicked out everyone who did so, I'd no longer have a Council, and then who would form mysterious pacts with me?" Elsa paused. They'd reached the security points, where they had to scan IDs. She sighed, pulled her own, and passed it through. To her relief, they managed to get into the first door.

"Either they haven't changed it or I'm still allowed," she said, gesturing for Roxana to follow as she entered the labyrinth of hallways which existed under the school. This was where they kept some of the trouble students, and also where all the side-effects research and what have you went on. It also happened to be where the security tapes were stored: the two were headed that way now.