"Well, if that's all it's going to take to stop you, then I guess I'm staying right here," Aiden said pleasantly, leaning against the wall across from her. "You know, it was a pretty nice day out," he commented, unable to supress his grin. Annoying people was what he was good at, and he seriously needed to stall the girl until he could get reinforcements in here or... something. Actually, he was pretty sure Matron was going to leave him to do this on his own. He had to earn his stripes back after a few... incidents.

Idiot, the owl scoffed at him disgustedly, before taking off (and smacking him in the face with his wings. He scowled, cursing at the bird silently as it flew down the hall. "Look, it's chilly down here, so why don't we just go back topside and work out an agreement," he said, turning his attention back to her. He had no intention of talking- he'd break for the artifact as soon as they got back up the steps. That was, however, only if she actually took the bait. And something told him she wasn't stupid. He tried to put on the most innocent face he could manage.

There was no way Cassandra was falling for that. She may not have been the top of her class, but she wasn't stupid at all.

"I don't think so," she said. "I plan on taking these rune wards apart, and leaving would be counterproductive to that." She didn't mention that she didn't trust him at all, but it really went without saying. With that, she set Leo on the floor and turned back to the wall. Leo moved back several feet, away from the witch, seeming to know what she was about to do. Closing her eyes, Cassandra held her hands out in front of her, palms facing the floor. She automatically fell into a smooth, even breathing pattern as she concentrated and gathered her magic. All she needed was a mental picture and a push...

Her hands jumped a bit as the magic rolled away from her, towards the floor. When it hit the stone, it formed an exquisitely precise magic circle against the wall... Or rather, half-circle. Cassandra and the stretch of wall in question were within the circle, and everything else was blocked out. Leo flicked his tail slightly and went back to take his customary place at Cassandra's feet. Cats were naturally 'of two worlds,' and Leo was more unusual than most, so his crossing of the circle didn't disturb it in the least. If anyone else tried to cross it, though, they would get a nasty surprise.

Once her circle was established, Cassandra settled herself down right in front of the wall, less than an arms'-length away from it. Time to get to work picking through the runes. When she sat down with her back to the rest of the corridor, Leo moved so that he was behind her, acting as a protector. He glanced at Aiden for a moment, as if determining how much of a threat he was, and then closed his own eyes. His form grew and changed in a flurry of brilliant sparks, until a magnificent lion was in his place. Small sparks drifted up from his fur even as he made himself comfortable between Cassandra and the rest of the corridor.

Adrian jumped back as the circle formed, knowing full well that he would be an idiot to be inside it without welcome. Determined little... He exhaled, trying to examine his options. He didn't have many.

"Alright then, two can play this game," he murmured, and used his magick to push air against the circle. In theory, it should disturb the circle, and make it hard for her to concentrate. Of course, he'd never done this; Matron had told him it was a good way to distract a witch, but he'd never even seen it in action. So, he was pretty much going on a gamble here, but it was all he had.

He froze when the cat- it had been a cat- turned into a... a lion? "Jesus, is that really necessary," he asked, taking a step back so that he wasn't standing right on top of the lion/cat/thing. He sent the air over the lion and at the circle again; he could see the air ripple over it, but he wasn't sure it was doing much damage.

"You know, if you do manage to get those runes out, nothing is stopping me from taking the relic and bolting," he said, more to distract her then anything. "I'm pretty sure my bird friend doesn't mind playing chew toy to help me get away." The owl screeched at him from somewhere in the dark corridor behind him. "Oh, shut up, it's your job," he snapped over his shoulder at it.

Cassandra heard him, but ignored what he was trying to do. The air moving over her circle was annoying, but ultimately not so distracting that she couldn't focus on anything else. Her palms stayed flat against the stone wall even as the runes slowly came to life. The wards were amazingly complex, and Cassandra actually took a moment to admire them before she started to pick through them. They were tangled in such a way that it looked like it was a sloppy job, but as she tugged on them here and there, she realized that they were done in such a way that just undoing one or two of them wasn't enough to disrupt the whole thing.

While I am sure chasing down your feathery keeper would be an amusing diversion, Leo said even as his tail flicked back and forth lazily, sending up more sparks, I am here to look after Cassandra. His voice was deeper in this form, and unlike in his smaller form, he could be heard by anyone. He looked at Aiden. I did not wander from my place in the heavens to play with bad-tempered morsels.

Leo knew that the young man would know what he meant by 'place in the heavens.' It was common knowledge amongst the magic community that each of the twelve covens was watched over by a constellation in the sky; one coven for each member of the Western Zodiac. It seemed, then, that Cassandra's coven was honored by the attention of the Lion.

"Hmph," Aiden said, giving up for now and falling back to try and think of another plan. "So, you're from the Lion-coven then," he acknowledged, bobbing his head to the girl (although he was sure she wasn't going to respond to him. The runes looked amazingly complex, even from where he stood.) He kept his distance from the lion, his stance ready to defend himself as he needed.

Aiden's coven fell under the watch of Scorpio. Which probably explained why half the people in his coven seemed to have a stick up their ass or something. It wasn't even just the witches who rhymed with the b-word, it was some of the warlockes too. Matron and her bloodline were the worst. Which was why he really dreaded calling for backup. There was only one other person Matron would even begin to trust with this kind of job, and it was the one person Aiden hated.

Except, he didn't have much of a choice. He hesitated, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You might as well," he called out into the darkness. He heard the flutter of wings, and the owl screeched, almost smugly.

Looked like it was time for reinforcements.

[[Hope you don't mind if I bring in a second? I don't know what else to do with Aiden right now >.>]]

((Don't mind at all. It looks like we're having trouble getting Cassie and Aiden to get along.))

And you seem to be of Scorpio's get, Leo responded for Cassandra. The lion didn't move from where he was, even when he heard the flutter of wings from down the corridor. The owl was beneath his notice, for the time being. This does not surprise me. Scorpio always was rather obnoxious. He glanced at Cassandra to see if she made any progress, but made no move to actually help her. It was a rule amongst the constellations: protect and interact with your coven, but do not interfere with anything that deals in fate. Cassandra would have to fight her way to the artifact on her own.

Cassandra, on her end, was indeed fighting through the rune wards. It seemed like every time she unraveled one, another would take its place. It felt like she wasn't getting anywhere, but she was still hesitant to use her 'big guns.' She didn't want to use the purifying side of fire and risk it going out of control. She bit her lip when the wards seemed to tighten against her. This would take more than one witch to crack, she could see that already, but she didn't want to have to call anyone else in...

"Oh how clever," Aiden snickered, shaking hair out of his eyes. "Actually, I would have said bitchy, but obnoxious works for me." He glanced over at the witch, noticing that she hadn't gotten very far on the runes. Either she had very little skill, or the runes were serious business. He doubted she was unskilled.

"Looks like your gal pal is having trouble over there," Aiden said, bobbing his head in Cassandra's direction. He smirked, knowing perfectly well that the lion could do nothing to help her. He was just stalling now, waiting for his reinforcements to arrive. Or, reinforcement, as it were.

----

Holly looked up at the castle, one eyebrow raised in disinterest. Of course, the relic would be out here. In the middle of nowhere. With a sigh, she headed in, focusing for a second to pinpoint Aiden's location before heading off to find him.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to handle this, Aiden," she called out, as she got close to where he was (underneath the castle; why were these things always underground?) "What happened, you can't get around a simple little trick spell?" She rounded the corner and came to a stop, her eyes falling on Aiden and a Lion that took up most of the corridor.

"Well, I'll be damned," she said after a moment, as Aiden glanced over his shoulder.

"Hey Holly, took you long enough," Aiden said. "Welcome to the party."

Cassandra barely noticed when a second person arrived. She was focusing so completely on the runes that she didn't have much attention to spare for anything else. It was the main reason that she had Leo at her back: she needed the protection when she was focused on something so much.

Leo tensed when the second person showed up. More sparks jumped up from his fur, rather than drifting up lazily like before, betraying his tension. He got to his feet, displaying his impressive height. He was clearly more than a regular lion, if it hadn't been obvious before. He growled, a low, rolling rumble that vibrated through the corridor, warning the witch and warlock from the Scorpio coven away from Cassandra. He would defend her with everything he had, as was his promise to Cassandra's coven.

I have tolerated your presence long enough, he stated firmly. Leave. He glanced at the newcomer, so that she would know that he meant her, as well.

Holly scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest even as Aiden pushed off from the wall and took a step back to be next to her. "Aiden, I don't see why you didn't just hex these two," she sneered.

"Don't do it, Holly," he warned, casting a wary glance at the lion.

"Unlike you, I'm not afraid," she said quietly, power sparking at her fingertips. "But then again, I'm a daughter of Scorpio. You're nothing but a foundling. I had forgotten." Aiden flinched as if her words were arrows, but said nothing. It was true, Aiden had been adopted into the coven while Holly was one of Matron's own daughters. Still, it was a low blow. "Step aside, Lion, and I won't hurt your witch," Holly said, even as icy white tendrils of magic curled around her hands.

"Holly, you're going to start a fight," Aiden said, stepping forward. "Pull back."

"You don't give orders around here."

"Stop it," Aiden said, stepping in front of Holly and planting his feet. He fairly towered over the shorter woman, but that didn't intimidate her. "We are not going to attack them in cold blood. They've made no transgressions against us."

"Stupid boy, move," Holly hissed. "You don't know what the hell that thing is!"

"No," Aiden said firmly. He didn't even care that he had his back turned on the lion; he had a feeling that the lion had more honor then Holly did. She snarled at him; their Coven laws forbade her from using magic against him.

"You're an idiot," she yelled at him. "We're going to loose the relic and it's going to be all your fault!" She shoved him, hard, but he wouldn't budge. "Stand down!"

"No," Aiden repeated. "She's having trouble getting it open anyway. What makes you think you'll do any better?"

Leo watched the exchange between the two carefully. Aiden had surprised him when he stepped between the newcomer and Cassandra. Even as Leo watched, still throwing off sparks, he thought that perhaps he had misjudged the boy. Clearly, he had more honor in him than a typical issue from Scorpio, although it forced to mind the question of why the boy had called for the newcomer in the first place. The lion growled when the girl (Holly, was it?) tried to come closer. The sound rolled through the corridor, through both of the Scorpio-children. And to Leo, they were children. He'd seen many generations of witches go by, and he would likely see many more to come.

Cassandra sighed softly in frustration behind him. The entire time, she'd been trying to unravel the rune wards, and she was running out of both endurance and patience. Being a daughter of Leo, she didn't have a lot of patience to begin with-- something she shared with quite a few of her coven-mates. Leo himself had more patience than most of them did. Pulling her hands back from the wall, Cassandra massaged her temples with her fingertips. She was going to have one hell of a headache.

With one last look at the Scorpio pair, Leo turned back to Cassandra and nudged her to her feet. He didn't break her circle, however; it would make it harder for the Scorpios to break through later, and easier for Cassandra to come back to her work. Leo knew exactly what was behind the rune-wards, of course-- all the constellations did-- but he was forbidden to tell his coven what it was, where it was, or how to get it. That Cassandra had gotten so far on her own was a credit to her and her coven.

Leo looked back at the Scorpio pair one more time before nudging Cassandra back towards the stairs. A bit of rest would do her good.

The growl that rolled through Aiden like the sound of thunder was enough to make him shudder, but he held his ground. The scowl on Holly's face only deepened, her eyes fixed on the lion.

"You're going to leave your circle unprotected?" Holly sneered; Aiden glanced over his shoulder, seeing that the Lion-witch had gotten to her feet. "How foolish." Aiden only shook his head at her, knowing that Holly couldn't break it on her own. And he sure as hell wasn't going to help her. Looking back on it, calling her in had been a mistake, but there was no sending her back now unless they had the relic in hand.

"Aiden, help me with this," Holly snapped at him, moving towards the circle as the lion and the witch moved away. Aiden turned slowly, one eyebrow raised. "Aiden, now!"

"You can handle it, Holly," he said coolly, brushing past her. They both knew she couldn't, and the scowl on her face turned into a snarl. She closed her eyes, resisting the urge to hurl magick at him; she was in the Council and the next in line for Matron, and if she broke the laws she would loose her spot. That was not something she was willing to sacrafice over a puny, insignificant foundling like Aiden. She'd always disliked him, from the first day Matron had brought him in. It was beyond her why they kept him around, but she had bigger problems to deal with. She turned to face the lion-witch's circle, closing her eyes and holding her hands out to try and pick it apart.

Aiden, on the other hand, followed his trail back upstairs, rubbing at his forehead. Holly was going to be a nightmare to handle later. He was lucky that coven laws protected him, or he was pretty sure his head would have been on a pike by now. He spotted the lion and his witch, and called out to them on impulse.

"Hey, wait."

Leo and Cassandra paused when they heard the voice behind them, and they both turned around. Leo hadn't gone back to his smaller form yet, instead staying the way he was in order to protect Cassandra.

"What do you want?" Cassandra asked flatly. Her head was already starting to throb, and all she wanted to do was go and sleep for a while. Leo glanced at her and nudged her a little, chastising her without actually saying anything. She sighed. "What? Shouldn't you be trying to break the circle I left back there? Not that it'll be easy, the circle's been cut into the floor, so it's harder to disrupt."

Cassie... Leo warned, but the warning was half-hearted at best. Leo knew what people born under his stars were like; he'd been much like that for most of his existence.

"Leo, my head is pounding and I want to get some sleep," Cassandra replied to the lion. "That's all I care about right now."

Leo shook his head, throwing some sparks from his mane, and nudged Cassandra towards the stairs.

Go, then, he said. Once he was sure she was heading upstairs towards her temporary room, he looked back at Aiden. It seems I may have misjudged you, he commented.

Aiden didn't budge at her words, only blinked slowly. "I have better things to do then waste my time on a lost cause," he finally replied, with a half-hearted smile. Now that he knew it was cut into the floor, he knew that he and Holly had no chance of breaking it before the girl went back to her circle. He watched as the lion-witch left, trying to remember her name. Casey, Carly, Cathy...?

"What do you mean," he asked, caught off-guard when the lion spoke to him. He wasn't sure what surprised him more, the fact that the lion had not followed his witch or the fact that it wasn't trying to eat him at the moment.

You are more honorable than I was ready to give you credit for, Leo replied. He maneuvered in just such a way that he blocked the only path that followed Cassandra. Most others would have tried to attack Cassie... Indeed, your pridemate was ready to. But you refused. He looked Aiden up and down. Curious. He was also interested in the fact that the other witch had called Aiden a foundling. He knew many covens were reluctant to adopt from outside of the coven, believing that outsiders could be spies or other such things, so the fact that Aiden was adopted was indeed curious. Are you quite certain you are of Scorpio's line?

Aiden shrugged, a tad uncomfortably, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, well, your witch... Cassie? She didn't do anything to us. We would have been attacking her in cold blood." It went unsaid that that wasn't okay with him. He shrugged again. "And Holly's a hot-headed idiot." He realized the lion had moved to block the stairs, which was fine, he wasn't planning on following the witch (Cassie, he reminded himself).

The grin that crossed his lips at the lion's last question was bitter. "Ah, you heard that too?" He scuffed the stone floor with his shoe. "Who knows." He wasn't going to go into detail about it to a stranger- he didn't like talking about it anyways- but Matron had been the one to find him. He'd been young, young enough not to remember where he'd come from, but old enough to remember when he'd been found. "I guess it's not important though. We are who we are now and all that crap, right?" He bobbed his head towards the stairs. "I'm pretty sure it won't change who I am in her eyes even if it turns out we're from the same coven or something." Which he highly doubted, there were enough Zodiac covens for that to be unlikely.

You are, perhaps, harder on yourself than you should be, Leo mused as he watched the young man. He watched for a moment longer before turning to follow Cassandra up the stairs. I suppose it does not matter to whom you belong. I am here to help Cassie appease her elders, as they somehow believe that acquiring this artifact will please me. Leo snorted a bit at that. The elders of his chosen coven were not yet aware that he had come to earth again. They only knew that he had left his stars for the time being, and Cassandra had told him that the elders had hoped to draw him back to the coven with the artifact.

Leo knew better, of course. The artifact was a powerful one, said to be able to bring the world under the hand of a single witch or warlock. Nobody had tried to use it in so long that very few of the constellations even knew what the artifact did anymore. But he had agreed to help Cassandra, even though he had his own reasons for it, and he would do so. He looked back at Aiden.

I must check on Cassie. Let your pridemate know that if she attempts to do anything to harm Cassie, I will be within my rights to act. With that, he turned and went up the stairs, following Cassandra's magical signature to her chosen bedroom. Between the stairs and the room, he changed back to his small form, so that he would be able to settle on the bed with her without disturbing her.

Aiden nodded, watching the lion disappear up the stairs. He had wanted to ask about the artifact- the lion seemed to know about it- but it suddenly wasn't important to him anymore. The conversation had his mind on other things. The artifact was suddenly less important to him than ever as he went back down into the underground passages.

When he came around the corner, he found Holly concentrating just outside of the circle, a frown on her face as sweat beaded her porcelein face. He'd always thought Holly had been pretty, but when she opened her mouth her malice was enough to make that fact something easily forgotten.

She looked up when she heard his footsteps, a sneer on her face. "So, you finally came back," she hissed at him. "What, the little witch and her lion didn't want you?"

"I've come with a warning, Holly," he said, trying to keep his voice neutral. Her eyes narrowed as she got to her feet.

"Oh, I see. You've taken to playing messenger," she cooed mockingly. "What the hell do you think you're doing, huh? Betraying your coven over a little tramp?"

"There's nothing like that going on," Aiden said stiffly. "And you'd do well not to talk about others that way." Holly growled at him, but he spoke before she could say anything else. "I just thought I'd let you know not to mess with the girl. The lion will attack if you threaten her."

"Oh, boohoo," she said. "I'm so scared." She dropped the facade easily, a deathly glare on her face. "You're lucky I don't tell Matron," she spat. "You're cowardice would put her to shame. You should have killed the witch, then this wouldn't be a problem."

"Do you even know what that is," Aiden asked, loosing his temper as he gestured wildly at where the artifact was hidden. "Do you even know what the hell we're fighting over?! I sure as hell don't, and that's not worth killing someone for!"

"You always were too soft," she snapped at him, moving towards him and shoving him. "Why does it matter? Matron wants it, Scorpio demands it, is that not enough for you?! It just goes to show where your loyalties lie."

"Why should I show any loyalty to a coven that doesn't treat me like their own," he shouted at her, before he could stop the words. There was a moment of silence, and then Holly slapped him, the sound ringing out against the stone hallways.

"You were lucky we took you in," she hissed at him, his cheek stinging. "Matron should have drowned you." Aiden only glared at her, surprising her by shoving her out of the way.

"Get out of my face," he said coolly, walking away from her. "Good luck getting past her circle by yourself." He went back up, standing in the foyer for a moment. A soft coo caught his attention; he looked over to the banister, where he found the white owl perched. "What, do you hate me, too," he asked bitterly. The owl only cocked it's head at him, then flew over and landed lightly on his shoulder, the dig of his talons oddly comforting. Aiden only stared, then sighed and headed up the stairs. He found a window with a sill large enough to sit on; he took a seat, trying to sort through his muddled thoughts. He rubbed softly at where she had slapped him, knowing that there would be a lovely red mark there for the next few hours.

Cassandra wasn't sure how long she'd slept, but it seemed like a while. It was dark out, at any rate, and her pounding headache was gone. Now, however, another sensation was taking precedence: As she sat up on the bed, her stomach growled loudly at her.

Good evening, Cassie, Leo said as he padded up to her on the bed in his small form. Are you feeling better?

"A lot better," Cassandra replied as she got up. Her shoes were down by the side of the bed, and her cloak was somehow draped over the one chair in the room, although a few damp spots revealed to her exactly how it got there. She paused when her stomach growled again, and she looked at Leo sheepishly. "I don't suppose you know where I can get something to eat around here?" she asked. Leo somehow managed to look slightly incredulous.

I am not Pisces, I cannot make fish appear out of thin air, he huffed. His tone, though, told Cassandra that he was only teasing. We will have to find something for you. Perhaps that young man knows?

"Maybe..." Cassandra mused. Leo jumped down from the bed.

Let us find out, then, he said. After a moment, Cassandra nodded and put her shoes on again. Then she followed Leo out of the room.

Aiden had spent his time on the window sill trying to bring back memories of his childhood. Not because of what the lion had said, but because he sincerely hoped that he was from a better coven then the one he'd been stuck into. He'd figured there'd be nothing for him to do until Cassandra woke up or Holly gave up- whichever one it was, he'd more then likely find himself trying not to get killed.

"Why are women always so damn psycho," he asked the owl idly. The bird lifted it's head, having been in the process of preening under his wing, and fixed Aiden with a mysterious golden gaze. "Okay, so maybe I did kind of antagonize Cassie. But I sure as hell didn't do anytihng to the girls in my coven." The owl blinked once, then went back to preening. Aiden only sighed; the silence was starting to get to him. He paused when he heard movement from somewhere behind him, back where Cassie and her lion had gone. Even the owl had fallen still, watching the hallway across from them intently.

((I am SO sorry for taking so long to post lately. Brain = gone))

Leo bounced down the stairs first, energetic and playful in his small form as opposed to the quiet dignity his true form seemed to exude. Cassandra followed quickly, gliding down the stairs easily and smoothly. She paused when she saw Aiden, and her lips quirked into something almost resembling a small smile. Not that she would admit to such a thing, of course, but still. A quick check told her that yes, the magic she'd set up in the dungeon corridor was still holding strong. That made her feel a little smug, that nobody had broken her circle yet. She was distracted again, however, when her stomach reminded her that it was empty, and had been for a while. She glanced hesitantly at Aiden.

"You wouldn't... happen to know if there's anywhere to get food around here, would you?" she asked after a moment. "I know the castle can't possibly be stocked, but..."

[[Haha no worries, my brain is pretty shot too XD Happy New Years by the way!]]

Aiden watched Cassie with one eyebrow raised, but the look on his face was innocent, amused. "That's actually a great question," he said with a soft, rueful chuckle. "I was beginning to wonder the same thing myself." he stood up and rubbed his hands against his dark jeans almost nervously. "I didn't actually think this was going to take more then a day," he admitted with a sigh. "Last time I ever go anywhere without packing lunch."

He looked up at Cassie, tilting his head to the side as he examined her. "Well, since Holly probably isn't going to get very far anytime soon, you wanna explore? Who knows, maybe we'll luck out and the castle kitchen will be miraculously stocked with a feast." He glanced to his side as the owl got up and settled on his shoulder. "Or I could have the owl go and find us some mice," he added with a sly grin.

((You too~!))

"I asked Leo about finding something to eat, but all he said was something about fish, Pisces, and not being able to do the same thing, so he was no help there," Cassandra said, shooting Leo a teasing look. Leo just huffed and turned his nose up, but didn't act as though he was actually offended. For being represented as an astrological influence as being volatile and bold, Leo himself was a fairly laid-back creature. "I didn't think it would take this long, either... My elders thought it would be an in and out job. And I think they thought I would have help." Leaning down, she picked up the cat by her feet and started to cuddle him and scratch behind his ears. Leo put up a half-hearted struggle, and then settled in.

This undignified, He grumbled even as he started purring.

"Deal with it," Cassandra replied teasingly.

Aiden had to do a double-take when he realized the cat was the lion; of course, he'd kind of figured it out before, but seeing him as a cat again was disconcerting, to say the least. He couldn't help but smirk as Cassie picked Leo up, petting and scratching him. It was almost cute, if he could forget about how threatening he could be in full form.

"Help? Does that mean I'm in trouble," he asked jokingly, grinning in spite of himself. "You know what kind? It would be funny to see Holly get her rear end handed to her."

"They thought Leo would help me," Cassandra said even as she scratched behind the constellation's ears. Leo purred loudly at the attention even as he protested again that it was undignified for him to be treated as a house cat. "Oh hush, you," she said to him. She let him squirm away and jump down after a minute or two, though. She looked back at Aiden. "I know Leo can't help me here, though. Not the way the elders thought he would." She wrinkled her nose when Aiden mentioned Holly. "She's still here? I thought she would have given up when she couldn't get through my circle."

"Ooh," Aiden said, glancing at the cat again. "What the heck did they expect him to do? No offense, Leo." Then he grinned again. "Hey, if you're hungry too, I give you a free ticket to go eat Holly."

He glanced over his shoulder, snorting slightly. "Holly, give up? She's more stubborn then a mule." And that was putting it kindly. Holly was the Matron's youngest daughter, and as ambitious as she was cruel. She always acted like she had to prove something, even though she treated everyone as if they were beneath her. "Trust me, she'll probably stay down there for a good while. She can't undo the circle by herself but she won't give up." Aaaaand I'm certainly not helping her.