Cassandra looked up at the old castle with a sigh and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. She wasn't sure why she had to be the one to come and try to claim this place... Well, no, she knew why. She was young, especially for a witch who could expect to live for far longer than just a century, and she hadn't yet tied herself down to any particular town yet. If she wasn't the resident witch for any town, then she could be 'sent' anywhere, and her coven's elders had chosen to send her here. She gazed up at the castle for a moment longer before heading towards the gates. The sooner she got inside, the sooner she could look for whatever it was that her coven wanted. Her only instruction had been to find an 'item of an unusual or blatantly powerful disposition.' She had no idea what the item could be, or where it might be hidden, and she had to start looking.

A small furry head poked out of the bag over her shoulder.

Is that it? a soft voice asked in her mind. She looked down at the cat that was clearly no longer napping.

"It is," she replied. "Our home for however long it takes to find what the elders want."

It looks... old, the cat replied, turning orange eyes towards the castle. And hard.

"It's made of stone, Leo," Cassandra replied dryly.

Stone is uncomfortable and not at all suitable for sleeping on, Leo pointed out.

"We'll have a proper bed," Cassandra assured him. The cat considered for a moment, then nodded and wriggled out of the bag.

I will walk for the time being, he decided. Cassandra nodded and opened the gate so they could go inside and explore.

"Oww, dammit."

Adrian Levallin rubbed at his head as yet another tree snagged his dark hair. He was getting irritated; he wasn't particularily fond of his hair or anything, but he was definitely not fond of the headache he was getting. He paused in a clearing in the woods, still rubbing at his head as he tilted his head up to the sky. He waited patiently for a moment, dark grey eyes searching the skies until they spotted a white shape floating on the wind. Seconds later, it came close enough for him to identify it- an owl, large and snowy white.

"And what news do you have for me," he murmured to the bird, holding his arm up. It landed neatly, ducking its head to preen as soon as it was settled. After a moment it lifted his head and fixed him with an amber gaze, its head bobbing as if an indication to keep going. He'd sent it ahead to scout for him, to make sure he was going in the right direction; of course, he'd been told where to go, but he felt like he'd been running in circles for the past hour.

The matron of his coven had sent him out to recover some relic, rumored to have been hidden in a decrepit castle lost in the woods. He didn't particularily care, he didn't even know what the significance of it was, but the Matron did, and he wasn't going to refuse her.

"Of course, I don't even know what this damn thing looks like," he grumbled under his breath, letting the bird fly again. He continued on, feeling the magic in the earth seep through his bones. If he wasn't on a mission, he'd probably stay there and camp for a while, to recharge and relax.

He heaved a sigh as the castle came into view. Well, maybe another time. He slowed to a stop when he realized the gate was open- the gate of a supposedly deserted castle being open set off warning bells in his head. He snuck up carefully, sensing magic lurking on the other side of the wall.

Cassandra looked up sharply from her inspection of one of the hall doors when she sensed magic just on the other side of the stone walls. What's more, it wasn't familiar magic, not someone she knew. That set her on edge even as Leo arched his back and fluffed up in challenge.

Carefully, Cassandra set her bag down on the floor and crept back towards the doorway that led back outside. If it was someone trying to stake a claim on her castle... Well, she would end up being a nasty surprise for them. Slowly, quietly, she snuck over to the door and peeked around the time-worn stone. From where she was, she could see the dark-haired young man, and subconsciously tucked her own dark brown hair back behind her ears so that it wouldn't get in her eyes even as she discretely tapped into her magic. She wanted to have her magic ready, just in case she needed it in a hurry. Actual combat magic was beyond her skills, but she was damn good at elemental spells when she needed to be. She didn't dare work any earth magic, though, not until she knew how strong the castle was on its foundation, but air magic and fire magic were both just as effective against a single opponent.

She didn't say anything or bring attention to herself just yet as she watched the other person. She sensed Leo padding up silently to stay by her feet, but she didn't move to look at him or anything of the sort. Her familiar could take care of himself, she knew. More than just a normal cat, he could slip through the shadows at a whim, and could keep himself out of harm's way so Cassandra didn't have to worry about him.

[[I'm so sorry Mage! I wrote out a reply but I guess it didn't send *sob*]]

Adrian froze, the peculiar sense of someone watching him suddenly hitting him. If there was anything the Matron had taught him, it was to trust his senses. He didn't look up just yet, but instead held up his arm, as the owl glided down to him, nestling itself on his arm.

Someone else.

"Well, no shit," he snorted. If owl's could have looked offended, this one surely would have, as it watched him with large amber eyes. "Wanna tell me something I don't know?" It primly lifted one wing and began to preen itself, pretending to ignore him. He had to resist the impulse to toss it off his arm; he had always hated this particular owl, but it was the one the Matron had sent with him. He had no familiar in the conventional sense; animals just talked to him, none of them ever really stuck around.

"Look, I don't like you either. Now tell me what's in there so we can deal with it, get the thing, and get the heck out of here," he hissed. After a moment, the owl looked up at him. "Well, go on then," Adrian prompted impatiently.

Girl, it finally told him. Witch, not ours. It took him a moment to decipher the owl's strange talk; part of him suspected it only talked like that to him to make life frustrating, but the link between them wasn't strong, either, so speech was limited.

"So, a witch from another coven, huh," he mused. "Wonder what she's here for." The owl watched him before spreading it's wing and lifting off.

Relic, it thought pointedly, before swooping off towards the castle. Adrian scowled at it, at first thinking that it was reminding him to get the relic- and then he rethought the word. Was it possible.... she was here for it too?

"The Matron said no one else would be here," he grumbled, then sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He had no choice but to go in there and confront the girl. Maybe if he was lucky, she'd just be camping out to recharge or something, and had no idea what was in the castle. Of course, his luck was never that good, he thought wryly, as he stepped through the gate. He began for the front door, then froze, realizing that she was right there.

Cassandra watched the young man interact with the owl, briefly wondering what they were talking it about. And it was obvious that they were both talking; even though she couldn't hear the owl's responses, the young man's irritated remarks were clear enough. She backed away from the door while he was distracted with the owl, but clearly she wasn't fast enough: he came through the doorway and almost ran straight into her. She froze, just barely managing to hold in a surprised gasp when he was suddenly right in front of her. She took a few steps back, watching him warily. Leo growled from his place by her feet, fluffing himself up to look bigger and more menacing.

"Who are you?" Cassandra asked, sounding more brave than she really felt at the moment. "What're you doing here?"

Cassie, just hex him and be done with it, Leo grumbled, although he didn't relax any. He hated having any unfamiliar witch or warlock hear his own witch. It set him on edge.

"Hush, Leo," Cassandra murmured.

Adrian raised an eyebrow as the girl began firing questions off at him, even as she took a few steps back. He crossed his arms over his chest, debating on whether he should reply or just throw a spell at her.

"Chill out. There's no need to get your broom all bent up," he finally said in his deep voice. He knew as well as anyone that they didn't really use brooms- it was just a saying he had picked up from... somewhere. He couldn't really remember where at the moment. He glanced down at the ground as the girl muttered something under her breath. A cat stood next to her, watching him with a damning look. How cute.

"I'm Adrian. My coven has laid claim on this castle." He glanced over her, his eyebrow arching higher. "And you are...?" He uncrossed his arms and held his hands loosely at his side- relaxed, but ready to cast or deflect spells if he needed to.

Cassandra watched him warily, even as he talked down at her. That was something she didn't particularly like, and it irritated her. She kept her hold on her magic tight, however. When one was talented in elemental magic, it was important to keep everything under tight control.

"My name is Cassandra," she replied carefully, watching how he held himself. Clearly, he was ready to defend himself. "Unfortunately for you, my coven has already claimed this castle. And, as I got here first..." She trailed off, although the implication was clear. He could take his 'claim' and shove it for all she cared. "So I'll thank you to leave again and let me get on with my business here."

She kept a close eye on him, although she didn't immediately hex him like her familiar wanted her to. He hadn't done anything to deserve being hexed, although there was still more than enough time for that to change.

Adrian would have rolled his eyes at her if she didn't look like she was ready to hex him at any second. "Laid claim on this castle? This one," he asked, partially to make sure he'd heard her right and partially to irritate her. If it was one thing Adrian was good at, it was irritatin people. He watched her for a second, an unamused expression on his face- and then he grinned at her, shaking dark hair out of his eyes.

"I'd say I'd like to see you try and kick me out of here, but I think you'd do it," he said easily. "You got the necessary paperwork? Cuz, if you don't have it, I'm not leaving." He tucked his hands into his pockets, even as the owl came in through the door he had conveniently left open and landed on his shoulder.

Her. Get out, the owl told him, clicking it's beak unhappily. Filthy, it added, turning an amber glare on the cat.

"Chill out there, buddy," he murmured to the bird. "She's going."

"I'm not going anywhere," Cassandra replied indignantly. "My coven sent me here and I'm not leaving." She was careful not to say exactly WHY she had been sent. She didn't want to clue this guy in to the artifact she was looking for, on the off chance that he was looking for the same thing. She didn't want him to know for sure that it was there, even though SHE didn't know for sure.

Vile creature, Leo growled at the owl. You stay away from my Cassie. He never did like owls... Most were too big for him to hunt, and they scared off all of the smaller edibles. That didn't mean he couldn't take a few swipes at it, though.

"Behave, Leo," Cassandra murmured softly. She knew how he felt about owls, but she didn't want the two to start fighting for whatever reason. At least, not before she could set up her potion table and make sure she had all of her healing supplies. Leo had a tendency to get into fights with things he didn't like, and he wasn't one to back down.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Looks like we're both staying here then," he said, his words almost a challenge. "I'll be out of your hair in a little bit, anyways," he added. "Just stay on your side and I'll stay on mine and all that hooplah." He certainly didn't plan on staying any longer then it took for him to find the relic- which was proving to be more of a pain in the ass then it was worth- and then she could have the damned castle for whatever she wanted.

But wait, what if she was here for the relic, too? He pondered this, then dismissed the thought- the Matron had assured him there would be no one else here. Her presence was merely a coincedence, and he would treat it as such.

Just keep your mouth shut about it, he thought. Juuuuuust in case his luck was really that bad, he wasn't going to let her know why he was here. It was just one less reason for her to hex him, although he'd probably given her reason enough to do it already.

Cassandra watched him suspiciously as she stepped aside slightly and let him walk past her. She had a pretty good idea why he was there... It wasn't as if the artifact she was looking for was only limited to her own coven. If it was, there wouldn't have been any reason to hide it. Leo growled at the man as he went by, and Cassandra didn't stop him. There was no point in telling her familiar to behave-- he didn't like strangers, and he liked strangers near his witch even less.

"Well, just stay out of my way, then," she said to the warlock. "I have business here, and I won't have you interfering." She knew she sounded prissy, but she didn't care. Better to come off as prissy and be underestimated than to have him get in her way while she searched for the artifact. Leaning down, she picked up her familiar and put him up on her shoulders, and then went to get her bag from where she left it on the floor. No better time than now to scope out a room and establish a space for herself. If she was lucky, she might even be able to find one of the ballrooms and set it up as a magical workshop, of sorts. A ballroom would be big enough and empty enough that she could work whatever spells she wanted without anything getting in the way, and that's exactly what she wanted.

He chuckled softly, and the owl on his shoulder cooed as if to echo the sound. "Alright, miss in-charge," he said, a mocking edge to his tone as he pretended to examine the foyer, breezing past her. "I'll just stay out of that pretty hair of yours." He glanced over his free shoulder, squinting as if to study her. "Although, if you'll do something- I'll tell my friend here to behave if you tell yours the same. Wouldn't do to have any fights starting." Adrian may not have given a damn about Cassidy or Cassandra or whatever her name was, but he had a soft spot for animals (even though the cat looked like it would eat him at any moment.)

Turning back around, he held out his arm, letting the owl hop back down onto it. He needed to concentrate, and having the feathers of the bird rustling in his ear wasn't hesitating. He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly- then began moving right, towards a large door.

"Fine," Cassandra sniffed. She could keep Leo out of trouble. Besides, she would need Leo's help to track down the artifact. Turning, she went further down the hall towards the staircase. She wanted to explore and find a good room to claim as her own.

It took her a few hours, but she managed to find a suitable room and set herself up in it. It was a large room, although it only contained a single bed and a chair, but she didn't need much by way of furniture. She would drag in a table later to set up her more intricate spells on, and maybe a wardrobe from one of the unused rooms, but otherwise, she was all set. Once she had all of her things set up for the moment, she picked up Leo and went to start looking around the castle. She needed to start looking for the artifact right away, and she already had a plan-- start from the bottom level of the castle and work upwards.

Are you really going to let him wander about? the cat asked her as they went. The castle was quiet and it felt empty. It was a little unnerving.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Cassandra replied. "I can't very well hex the hell out of him, and I can't make him leave."

Cassie...

"Leo, honestly, we'll find this thing and be gone before he even realizes it."

We'll see.

As Adrian moved, he tried to keep a tab on where the witch above was moving- or, rather, where her power was moving. She's settled somewhere some time ago, but now she was on the move again.

I've got to find this thing and get the hell out of here, was his only thought. He could feel the gently pulsating power of the relic, somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint it directly. He was left to wander the labyrinthine hallways of the lower levels, always traveling down and to the left.

"Do you see anything," he hissed, as the owl swooped forward, his wings nearly clipping the back of Adrian's head. The bird circled came to a stop on an empty wall sconce ahead, watching him with huge amber eyes.

Coming, was all it said, then took off again. Adrian wasn't sure whether to take it as the girl was coming, or a question of whether he was coming or not. He cursed under his breath and hurried off into the darkness after the owl, wishing the Matron had sent him a better companion.

"Cursed thing," he hissed. "Wait, wait! At least let me turn a light on." He held out his hands, gathering a small orb of fire- that was all he had by the way of elemental magic, but it was enough for him. He could see the owl ahead, waiting on another wall sconce for him.

Can't see, it said with a click of it's beak, fidgeting on its post.

"Well, we can't both win," Adrian said pointedly. "Go scout ahead if it bothers you that much." With that, the owl spread its wings and took off, leaving Adrian to blunder along at a slower pace behind it.

Cassandra was surprised to sense old magic when she got down to the bottom level of the castle. And it really was old magic. It hummed and rippled against her own magic, slow and patient as opposed to struggling to be free as new magic did. She walked softly through the stone corridor, a small flame flickering gently in her cupped hands. Leo walked next to her, his eyes reflecting the firelight.

Do you sense it, Cassie? he asked.

"I think so," Cassandra replied softly. She could also sense the magic of the warlock not too far away, but she ignored it.

Where?

"I'm looking." Cassandra's steps slowed as she came across an unusually bare stretch of wall. The rest of the walls she'd passed had empty torch holders every ten feet or so, and a few fixtures for tapestries or paintings, besides, but this stretch of wall was completely bare for what had to be twenty or thirty feet. The humming of the old magic was stronger here, but there seemed to be no way to get to it. "Well... This is inconvenient." She would have immediately used earth magic to get through the stone wall, but she was reluctant to do so. She had no idea how thick the wall was, or what was on the other side. For all she knew, whatever was on the other side was right against the wall and would be damaged if she did anything. So she had to figure something else out.

Reaching out, she gently touched the wall with her fingertips. Immediately, protective runes flared to life across the bare wall, and she pulled her hand back quickly.

That made things more complicated. But at least, it seemed, she found what she was looking for.

Adrian came to a stop when he felt the witch's power cease to move, somewhere on the same floor as him. Seconds later, he felt a ripple of magic- old, powerful magic- lick delicately along his skin.

"What in Hecate's name," he grumbled. He didn't have time to ponder it; the rustling of wings reached his ears, and seconds later the owl came barreling out of the darkness. He barely had time to lift his arm for it to land before it came down haphazardly on his bracer, looking frantic.

Wrong, it said, clicking it's beak irritably. Wrong wrong wrong!

"Slow down there," he hissed. "What's wrong? I need you to elaborate here."

Way! Not that way it said, its speech obviously affected by its panicked state. Turn turn turn!

"You're not making sense," Adrian growled, even as he turned and headed back the way he came. Back, towards the ripple of magic he'd been feeling. "What's going on?!"

Wrong wrong wrong! it screeched, fluttering back up. She'll get it!

It struck Adrian what was happening like a semi-truck. He cursed and bolted, heading for where he could feel the witch's power.

"Hold it right there," he said, out of breath as he skid around the corner, the witch coming into sight.

Cassandra was just gathering her magic to try to break the runes when the warlock came barreling around the corner. It startled her enough that she lost her grip on the counter spell she'd been putting together and it dissipated. She turned, flame still cradled in one hand, and Leo darted in front of her, hissing and spitting and intent on defending his witch. A few bright sparks danced up from his fur, the only hint that he might be more than a simple cat.

"What are you doing here?" Cassandra asked as she held the flame up so she could see. "I thought you were off minding your own business elsewhere." She didn't mention that she very clearly remembered telling him to stay out of HER business. "If you don't mind, I have something I need to take care of, and I would appreciate it if you left so I could concentrate."

Of course, she didn't say what she needed to concentrate ON, but that seemed to be all to the better at the moment. She got the sneaking suspicion that she knew what he was there for, and it was the same thing that SHE was there for. That wasn't good.

He used one hand to push his hair out of his eyes, leaning against the wall with the other. "Sorry, princess," he said, shaking his head. "No can do. You're messing with my business there." He indicated the wall she was standing in front of with his free hand.

"There's no sense beating around the bush," he said, as the owl came back and landed on his shoulder, talons scraping against his skin as it adjusted itself agitatedly. "You know why I'm here, and you're here for the same reason."

"Seems so," Cassandra agreed evenly, even as she nudged Leo with her toes. "Easy, Leo... Stop sparking."

Not yet, Leo disagreed. It was rare he disobeyed her outright. Not until I can be sure you are safe.

"Leo..."

No.

After that, Cassandra just ignored him. It was sometimes easier to do that. She looked back at the warlock. She couldn't remember his name, right offhand, but it didn't matter.

"Since we're here for the same reason," she said, "then we've hit a bit of an impasse. I want the artifact, and you want the artifact, and I doubt you're going to go back home without it." And she definitely wasn't going to go back home without it. The elders would never forgive her for failing on this.

"Clever girl," he said, with a mocking salute. He dropped his gaze down to the cat, quirking an eyebrow- he'd never seen anything quite like that before. "Chill out there, Puss in boots," he said drably. "I'm not going to hurt your little gal-pal here." He then lifted his eyes back to the girl- what was her name, Cassidy, Chloe, Clarrissa? Hell, he couldn't remember.

"I'm not," he said after a moment. "Going to hurt you, I mean. But I can't leave without that relic, or owl boy over here gets to eat my eyes for breakfast." Okay, maybe that was putting it a little harshly- the owl gave him a disapproving look- but messing up was no joke. The Matron would have his ass and then some if he showed up without the relic, no matter what the case was.

He had no intentions of fighting with her over some stupid little thing that he didn't really understand. He was left with talking it out, and obviously diplomacy was not his strong point.

Cassandra smothered a snort.

"If you can't even handle that feather duster, then I may as well break these runes now and take the artifact home with me," she said, gesturing to the wall. "Because you wouldn't be able to stop me."

I could handle the feather duster, Leo suggested. Cassandra's lip quirked slightly as she fought back a grin. That would be something to see: a full-sized lion chasing after the owl, trailing brilliant sparks as he went.

"I'm sure you could, Leo," she replied. She wanted to turn back to the wall and try to break through the runes, but she didn't want to take her attention away from the warlock just yet. She wasn't sure if he was going to try anything, even though he said he wouldn't. After a moment of tense silence, though, Leo seemed to decide that if anything was going to happen to his witch, it would have already, so he deftly jumped back up to make himself comfortable across Cassandra's shoulders. He'd stopped sparking between the floor and her shoulder, which she was grateful for, but she knew he could be back in front of her and putting out clouds of sparks at a moment's notice.

Adrian snorted, his pride flaring ever so slightly. "If I was allowed to, I'd have wrung this thing's neck by now," he told her. "You see, little lady, the feather duster isn't the one who wants the relic," he said, ignoring the owl as it clicked it's beak irately at him.

Stop that, it snapped at him. No names.

He continued to ignore the bird, leaning against the wall. "You can go right ahead and try that," he said with a shrug. "But you won't get very far because- trust me- I can and will stop you." His powers began to stir, although he tried to quell them for the time being. He really didn't want things to resort to a fight, and he had a feeling that if the cat got even a slightly suspsicious vibe off of him, he'd figure out what was up with the sparking. He was sure he didn't want to know.

"Look, princess, this game is cute and all, but I'd appreciate it if you stepped back," he added, a touch of seriousness coloring his voice. "I've got a lot more on the line here then pride, yadda yadda yadda." He wasn't going to disclose the workings of his coven to her- Matron would murder him where he stood- but it wasn't pretty.

Cassandra didn't move. She wasn't afraid of him, she knew she could hold her own if she had to.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," she said. "I need this thing, and I found it first." Okay, so that reasoning was a little childish, but valid all the same. She found it first, so it was hers by rights. At least, if one ignored the fact that technically, the artifact hadn't been 'found' yet. But she had located it first, at least. She glanced at the wall. She talked big about breaking the runes, but delicate magic like that wasn't her strong suit. Normally, she would pull out the 'big guns' in her element magic, but runes were different than standard wards, and couldn't be broken through with sheer force. They had to be unraveled, untwisted from one another, and that was work that required a finer touch than she had the skill for.

But she still had to try, at least. She knew it was strange logic, that a woman had problems with details that required a delicate touch, but she had always been good at magic that required sheer power and imagination. It explained how she had Leo as a familiar, at least.

[HOLY CRAP, Mage I'm so sorry! I fell asleep writing my post to this and forgot to come back and post it >.<]

"Right, I'm totally just going to give up and go home now," he replied flatly, his sarcasm evident. "Do you even know how to undo the magic that binds this door?" Admittedly, he probably couldn't do it- finer magic was something he only had a small grasp on- but he figured that, if anything, his talking would distract her enough to figure out how to get her the hell out of here.

Hex girl, the owl clicked in his ear. He scowled, never taking his eyes off the girl and the door.

"I don't think so," he hissed at it. He'd never been the particularily volatile type, and didn't quite like using hexes- he didn't think they were fair. Besides, the only hexes he knew would be a bit of an overkill here.

Leo growled from his place on Cassandra's shoulder, throwing off a few glowing sparks.

I'll eat you, feathers, he threatened the owl. Don't think I won't. Cassandra didn't scold him for that one. To be honest, she didn't like the owl staring at her, and while she couldn't understand it herself, Leo could and it clearly wasn't saying things that Leo appreciated, so if the threats made it stop, she was all for it.

"It's only a matter of picking apart the runes," she replied instead to the warlock. Of course, that was easier said than done. All she had to do was pick the runes apart, but that would take her quite a while, and she would need to concentrate hard on it. "Now, if you'd kindly go away so I can work..." Okay, so that was a bit of a stretch, but it was worth a shot.