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[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

Time: January 19th, 2001
Status: Private - Sphix and Ellie
Setting: The cellar
Summary: The sphinx and Ellie meet



As the months passed and both Hera and the police remained absent, Sphix allowed herself to let her guard down and settle into living in the Manor. Somewhere in the course of early winter she started to regard the basement as her territory, and before the winter holidays had passed she had made it a habit to take a walk through the basement at dawn and at dusk. After all, what good was a territory if you weren’t going to defend it?

She was on one of her now routine morning walks when she heard a faint sound - a clock clicking open, most probably - and the barely audible squeaking of a seldom used door swinging open. The sphinx stopped mid-step, trying to recall what exactly was behind the corner. She had, after long weeks of trying, managed to pry open most of the doors in the cellar, but there were a few that stubbornly remained shut. And this way… this way was the water room, wasn’t it? She had heard wet, splashing sounds on the occasions she had stood behind the door, trying to force it to cooperate.

For a moment, the sphinx considered turning into her human form. She abandoned the idea quickly; she had no clothing with her, and walking around without anything on her did not, in most occasions, go over too well. She would just have to catch the intruder as she was, even if it meant losing the cover that looking like a human provided. She pressed her wings closer to her body and, tail twitching in annoyance, went to see who had trespassed her territory.

Comments

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

As usual, one of Ellie's first stops after settling in at the Manor was Sugarplum's tank. The poor thing was so happy to see her, she wondered with a pang of guilt just how often Ligur was making it down here to see his pet nowadays, and whether young Hugo had been wanting to visit but unable. (Uriel, of course, would have been otherwise occupied.) Tentacle monsters could go for long stretches without food if they had to, but this particular one suffered more for lack of company than anything else.

After making much of the little creature and plying her with extra marshmallows, Ellie said goodbye with a solemn promise to return soon, and perhaps bring a new toy or something else Sugarplum would enjoy.

No sooner had she slipped outside and locked the door behind her than her senses prickled, warning her of another powerful presence, and she turned to find a mystical beast of another sort regarding her with a peevish expression and an ominously lashing tail.

Taking in the Sphinx's impressive, predatorial physique with her eyebrows slightly raised, she remarked after a moment, "I should tell you right now I've never been particularly good at solving riddles. Don't suppose I could talk you into a game of backgammon instead?"

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

“Backgammon?” the sphinx sat down, a look of dismay passing through her face and making way for an expression that was positively peeved.

“I do not play backgammon. Do these paws look like they could play backgammon?” Of course, as she had to admit to herself, she could easily turn into a shape better suited for the game, but that was entirely beside the point.

“No, I will not play backgammon”, Sphix continued, refusing to stop to consider her words. “And I will ask you riddles if I want to, and only if I want to, whether you are the world’s greatest guesser, or the worst guesser history has ever seen. And it is your lucky day, because I do not feel like asking you a riddle now. Even though you have trespassed my territory.”

“Instead, I’ll ask you a simple question.” The sphinx nodded towards the locked door behind the woman. “What is in that room?”

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Hmm, consider me suitably thankful then." Ellie hesitated. Sugarplum wasn't exactly common knowledge, but she wasn't exactly a secret either, as far as she knew. And Sphinxes, from what she remembered, weren't known for their gentle manner.

"That room contains a rare and dangerous beast, belonging to a powerful Duke of Hell," she exaggerated (to put it mildly.) "I wouldn't mess with it if I were you. It's safely contained as long as the door is kept locked." No need to clarify that Sugarplum's safety was probably more in question that the Sphinx's.

She crossed her arms, frowning. "So what'd you do, eat Adam? Last I remember, the Manor was his baby, basement included."

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

A rare and powerful beast? The sphinx wasn’t impressed. Her family had consisted entirely of rare and powerful beasts. Most of them had had a temper, though, so Sphix decided that it might be best the heed the woman’s advice. After all, the beast of a Duke of Hell might not consider her family.

Then again, the supposedly rare and powerful beast had not harmed the woman who was frowning - frowning! - at her. “The Thebans considered their hills theirs, too, until I arrived”, she pointed out. “So, who are you? A close friend of this Duke of Hell, to attain the respect of his beast?” She really hoped the woman wasn’t a mystical hero. The last thing she needed - well, after Hera and the police, actually - was some female version of Herakles.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

Ellie's lips reversed themselves in a wicked arch of a smile. "I have my ways of persuasion. With the Duke, and with his pet. My name is Chantinelle. But my friends, such as they are, call me Ellie. And how do you prefer to be addressed?"

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

The sphinx narrowed her eyes. The woman was dodging her questions, wasn’t she? But she was doing so in such a clever way that the sphinx could never accuse her of not answering. She was smart, this Chantinelle.

“You may call me whatever you wish, Chantinelle”, Sphix said. “And names have power, so I‘m not telling you mine.” She shifted a bit, allowed her muscles to relax. Her expression changed, too, showing a flicker of amusement. “Of course, you have seen me and know what I am, so, with the right clues, figuring out my name shouldn‘t be all that difficult. Unless you really are as poor at riddles as you claim to be.”

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

So, she wanted to play after all. Ellie tilted her head slightly, speculative. "Very well then, for the moment, I suppose I'll address you as Sphinx and watch for whatever clues you see fit to drop." She shifted, leaning her hip against one of the storage boxes scattered around the basement. "So you've made the basement your lair. I would think someone would have mentioned such an important detail." She glanced around the poorly-lit cellar. "Seems a bit confining to me..."

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

“Sphinx. Oh, yes, you can call me that.” Sphix eyed the woman for a moment. “It so happens to be near my name, too. You are only one letter off.” Then she got up and stretched her legs. “And it can’t be my fault, now can it, if people fail to warn you about me. Some friends you have, not caring about your safety.” Of course, she had not met all that many people in the cellar, and, not wishing to cross Apollo, she had never harmed another Manor resident, but Chantinelle did not need to know.

“Confining, you think?” Sphix risked a glance around her. “Perhaps it is. And perhaps it is not. It reminds me of home, in any case. And, until I can leave safely, it is my home. You have something against that?”

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Did I say friends?" Ellie smiled sourly. There were still a few here she might choose to name as such, but they weren't likely to spend much time skulking around the cellar. "But I meant to offense. I can relate, in fact. Not too many places apart from the Manor are safe for me, either." That hadn't stopped her going out, of late, but she never rested easy outside its walls and Adam's cloak of protection.

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

Sphix tilted her head the way a puzzled bird would, looking at Chantinelle from the corner of her eye. “Not safe for you? Who’s after you, then? Not Hera, I guess… the police?”

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"I wish," Ellie sighed. Hera, huh? Not quite Himself, but it sounds bad enough. "I've managed to land myself a prime spot on Lucifer's shit list." She probably shouldn't share that information so freely, but it was somehow comforting to know she and Belial weren't the only fugitives around this place, and fair was fair--the Sphinx had given the name of her pursuer. "Although the police would probably take issue with my profession, if they caught me at it."

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

Lucifer? First a Duke of Hell and now Lucifer. The sphinx narrowed her eyes. She was really starting to suspects that Chantinelle was not a mere mortal.

“I wonder what you did to anger him”, Sphix said aloud. “And the police is a real nuisance. They are always snooping into things that are none of their business. What I do or don’t do with those who fail to answer my riddles is my concern, not theirs.” She huffed. “But they just can’t keep to themselves, can they?”

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"It's not difficult to do," Ellie said delicately. "Morningstar loves to keep his secrets, but he doesn't appreciate it when his minions keep theirs. As for the police, though, they're easily dealt with." Although perhaps more so in her case than the Sphinx's.

She remembered her mythology--or, well, history--well enough to recall what became of the Sphinx's unsuccessful riddling opponents, and was somewhat surprised that Adam had allowed the creature here. Humans tended to be squeamish about the consumption of human flesh. Ellie couldn't honestly say she was all that taken with the idea, either, but to each their own.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

A short time later found Ellie, resplendent in a black miniskirt and emerald green off-the-shoulder top and heels, waiting by the Manor's front doors for the cab and her strange new companion. She wasn't a hundred percent sure this was a good idea, but it would be nice to occupy herself with something mundane and relatively safe for a while, and they should be okay as long as the Sphinx (whose name she still needed to guess...how many possible variations on the word minus one letter were there? Spinx? Sphin? Phinx?) didn't go openly attacking people and trying to dismember them in public. Ellie wondered how she had come to the attention of the police in the first place--she couldn't be all that careless or she would have been on the extinction list long ago. Well, they'd see how it went.

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

Sphix was second thought as well. She looked over her nest, hardly seeing the bones or the piles of crates. Her mind was going through all the possibilities one more time. What if she did get caught, regardless of all her cautions? She had no doubt she would survive it, but spending some time in jail did not sound very appealing. Neither did the other options. In their way, they were even worse.

In the end, though, she couldn’t keep hiding forever. And introspection had never been her favourite pass time, anyway, so she picked up her purse and made her way upstairs.

She caught sight of Chantinelle, and summoned up a smile, not entirely friendly. “Ready to go?”

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Mm-hmm. Just waiting on the cab. And here it comes now," Ellie said, peering out the glass of the doors. "Oh good, it's Bob." He was a sweetheart, easily swayed and none too inclined to ask awkward questions. She pushed the door open and held it for her companion, waving to the driver.

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

“So, you are in the habit of knowing all the taxi drivers around here?” the sphinx commended, raising her eyebrows. She gave Bob a calculated smile when she entered the car, thinking of what he would taste like if she was ever going to get him to fail in a riddle contest. Of course, strangling the driver would be rather counterproductive, so she left the notion go after a while. There were better things to think about.

“Do you have any specific destination in mind?” she asked Chantinelle. It had been a while since the last time she had been to London.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Most of those who are willing to come out this far," Ellie confirmed, flashing Bob a brilliant smile as she slid into her place to counteract the rather predatory one the Sphinx had given him. "I thought we might start with Selfridges and then work our way around to some of the smaller places. Maybe have lunch while we're out?" She offered that suggestion cautiously, unsure whether the Sphinx even considered cooked food edible. They could always go for sushi...

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

"Lunch", the sphinx repeated. The word made her think of some rather bloody scenes, but Chantinelle was probably not meaning that kind of lunch. "We could do that. The Manor does have very tasty steaks, but other places offer... variety." She glanced back when they left the Manor behind. It was good to get away from the place for a while. Then she realised something, and gave a short laugh.

"I had almost forgotten what it is like... elsewhere. What it's like without that annoying itch." She had ways to ease it, but she couldn't make it go away. Not entirely.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Something in the Manor bothers you?" Ellie said, interested. There was a time when being close to a lot of powerful angels would have been uncomfortable for her, to say the least; but Tali's presence had helped her acclimatize somewhat, and John's spell further dampened her almost allergic reaction to all things holy to the point that it rarely bothered her anymore (though she always noticed.)

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

"You could say so", the sphinx answered. She didn't look at Ellie, opting to stare out of the window instead. "It used to be similar whenever I went near Olympos. Must be all the people." It was nothing more than a minor annoyance, really. She doubted the demoness would find a way to use it against her.

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"Hmm, I used to get that whenever the halos were around. You might try talking to a good sorcerer. There are ways around it." She smiled prettily at the driver's odd glance, effectively distracting him from the peculiar conversation, but then had to remind him to keep his eyes on the road with a discrete nod. Sometimes the tricks of the trade worked a little too well.

"The Manor does get a bit stuffy after a while, though. We could stop by St. James'
Park if we have time, take in some fresh air before we head home." And see how Aziraphale's ducks are doing, she added privately, smiling a little sadly to herself. There was a slim chance the angel himself might even be there, but she tried not to get her hopes up.

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

"Who says I want to get rid of it?" the sphinx snapped, irritated by the exchange, thankfully brief, between Bob and Chantinelle. She enjoyed being the centre of attention. "It is a good warning sign."

"The park? The season is a bit cold for that, don't you think?" She drummed the window with her fingers. Winter had never been her favourite time of the year. "Not that I'm saying we couldn't go..."

[chantinellie.livejournal.com]

"True," Ellie said neutrally. "It's always better to know what's coming."

The seasons were much the same to her, but come to think of it, the ducks might not be around right now. She felt oddly disappointed. "Let's just play it by ear, then."

((OOC, shall we move this thread to Outside Omens when they get to the store? Also, would you object if Crowley reprises her NPC role as the Selfridge's saleslady who helped John and Crowley when they went there?)

[theban-sphinx.livejournal.com]

"Not always", Sphix said. "But most of the time, I think." Some things about the future were better left unknown.

She was silent for a while after that, staring ahead sullenly and trying to think up a new riddle instead of, say, inventing interesting ways to kill Bob.

((I have nothing against moving the thread over. They can arrive to the store whenever you wish. And I would love that saleslady. It is a wonderful idea. ))