theravenlistens-blog

[theravenlistens-blog]

Was his lack of reaction getting to her? What was it she wanted him to say? He blinked back at her. It wasn’t a confused blink,he wasn’t confused. No, it was a slow calculated movement. Simply mimicking the one she’d given him without any of the emotion. 

Diablo contemplated his answer for a second. What did he want for a game? Games with the triplets were never advised. “For one hour of a game, I would like a vile of truth potion.” He wasn’t good at potions, most magic things were not his strong suit. “In the shiniest bottle you can find.” The shiny bottle wasn’t important. He just liked shiny things.

Shelly blinked, but quickly masked her confusion.  Was he being stubbornly vague, or did he honestly think she was stupid?  The older girl wasn’t sure which she would prefer at this point.  The constant blockade to her dance was making her antsy.  It was starting to make her appreciate her relationship with her brothers oddly: Lock may be reckless, and Barrel stupid, but they weren’t wooden.  The boy in front of her was Maleficent’s BFF–  where was his fire?

“Everyone wants something, little bird– you know that better than anyone,” she insisted.  “So how can I decide what I’m willing to ask of you unless I know what it is you’re trying to get from me?  Maybe if she gave up a little ground, she could get him to budge… “What if I wanted a playmate for a game?  What’s the price tag on that sort of merchandise?”

#c #c; shelly #it takes a lot to get emotion from diablo #i imagine he's super sweet and openly emotional when he's drunk #but he doesn't drink #emotions are for people #and he just likes shin things

[theravenlistens-blog]

“I am under the impression that Shere doesn’t care for Kaa, but I could be reading the situation wrong.” Personally, Diablo felt nothing towards Shere in Kaa. They were tools who willing walked to Mal to be used. Very convenient. “I’ll let Kaa know then. But I was thinking, they came to us or the alignment, which means we could easily say something like ‘Alright, but I want you to screw over someone to make sure you’re serious.” Like he was thinking earlier, tools to be used. Besides, it was a power play. “Next time you’ll get pictures I’m sure. Perhaps Shere will let you borrow him for regular torture sessions.”

“Even after I tortured his right hand man, Shere is still persistent… I have no idea if I should admire or pity him.” Maleficent thought about it a little bit and a small smirk appeared on her face. “Perhaps I will accept it. I still cannot believe that I had forgotten to take pictures or at least a video of it. Torturing him was most definitely one of my top favourites.” But, the girl did not let Diablo know that she was actually tempted to succumb to Kaa, to actually have sex with him. He does not need to know that.

#c #c; mal

[theravenlistens-blog]

Shelly talked a lot. He wouldn’t have minded, except she was talking to him. Conversation had never been one of his stronger points. He much preferred listening to other people’s conversations than participating in his own. Plus, he was stepping around everything she said, trying to stay out of any trap she might be laying down for him.

“It was a simile, Shelly. I am obviously not a demon.” Or a one winged angel for that matter. 

What did he want? From her? Had she been attending this conversation, where he was asking what she wanted and waiting for the straight forward answer she never gave. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossing over his chest. What did he want from her? He scanned her, slowly, recalling everything he knew about the middle Porter triplet. Pranks, not nice pranks, but he wouldn’t call her evil or a force to be recokned with. She was pretty, he’d give her that. But how did her being attractive beneifit him or Mal. “Nothing.” The word was bland, his eyes shooting up to look her in the eye. “But if you have something you want from me, I could probably think of something for equal favor. Even if it’s a service to be returned later.”

This crow seemed determined to stay unflappable.  But Shelly was equally undeterred.  “Absolutely Diablo; you tell those wannabe lancers.  After all, who needs the princess or castle that usually comes with those rescues when you could be breeding independence?”  She flashed a grin as he pointedly avoided her remark about Mal– no one was breaking those two up, she knew.  But if she stuck around that didn’t mean she could sneak a peak.

“A demon?  You?  Your one-winged angel look is pretty sexy, but I’m not sure I’d give you that much individual credit.”  Mal may have  a healthy respect for Diablo, but if the two were separated Shelly strongly doubted this “devil” could pay his due.  

“I see,” she remarked,amused expression never wavering.  “What kind of tangibility are you currently in want of?  Maybe I can find a need to suit such a want.”  The senior waited curiously– what sort of thing could a crow want?  And what was he willing to negotiate to get it.  The idea of him as an actual bird made her think of her bugs, and Shelly desperately wanted a chance to leash up the junior, if only for a few hours.

#c #c; shelly #oh diablo #this is probably why you only have one friend #you're not very nice

[theravenlistens-blog]

“Not to be a broken record, but I do think the alliance could be beneficial. Shere has money, and pull with some people. Not that you need help with anything. It could be interested.” Diablo let out a bark of laughter when she brought up Kaa’s chest. “Bitter, I think. He wasn’t too keen on talking about it when I asked.” 

“Perfect.” The mentioning of Kaa and Shere caused her to groan slightly. “l’m still thinking about it. How is Kaa, by the way? Last thing I heard about the ‘poor thing’ was that his chest was hurting.”

#c #c; mal

[theravenlistens-blog]

“A white knight is still a devil in the details.” Diablo retorted blandly. He didn’t take his eyes off the Porter triplet as he spoke. “Are they really helping anyone by rescuing people? Or does that rescued just learn how to depend on them?” He’d decided to ignore the question about Mal. Of course Mal didn’t have to use words to ask Diablo to help. It was different. Diablo knew Mal for years. He knew by now what Mal would need, what would help her.

“Alas, I am no white knight.” Understatement of the year. Diablo wasn’t interesting and racing in and risking himself for a stranger. “I’m more of a demon. You tell me what you want, and I take your soul in a nicely worded contract and we make it happen.” He gave her a smile, it didn’t reach his eyes. It was hollow like his voice. Lacking in enthusiasm, or enjoyment in what he was saying. Business was business. “Of course the soul is only used in the metaphor. In real life I’d ask for something more… tangible.”

Diablo leaned back in his chair, just a bit, his hand twirling his pen in it. “So, Shelly.” He paused after saying her name, examining her. “I’ll ask again, can I help you with anything?”

theravenlistens

None other than a Porter triplet. What a treat. They really were everywhere around this school, weren’t they? “Shelly.” Diablo greeted, his tone neutral. The Porters had done nothing to gain or take away from themselves in his eyes. They were just there, causing mayhem to the unsuspecting. How anyone could still be unsuspecting to their mischief was the real question.

“Help only comes to those who ask,” Diablo replied blandly, scrunching up his nose. “So I wouldn’t know until I hear those words.” No need to needlessly walk into a Porter trap. If she wanted him to answer, it was probably safer not to.

Oooh, she liked the way he said her name.  Shelly wondered fleetingly what it would be like if he used her other alias– while moaning or screaming preferably– although the girl did recognize the oddity of such a consideration– few but her family referenced her as Shock, and almost no one called her that to her face.  But still: a pretty boy; a trouble-maker; potential sex-toy of Mal– could anyone blame her for such an errant thought?

The older girl bit back a frown as he deftly deflected her retort– she’d have to work harder to get Diablo to play games, apparently: which made sense.  Mal knew Shelly’s angle from day 1– the two had been fairly straight with each other almost upon meeting; so it would make sense that all masks and deceptions would be relayed to her Dragon.  However, it was rare that Shelly ever minded putting in effort with her games.  “I see,” she replied, lips twitching slightly as her fingers trailed thoughtfully to her temple.  “And is Mal so apt to use exact phrasing when you give her a hand?”  She leaned forward slightly, eyes instinctively flickering down to his paper before arching back at his gaze, “Are you secretly the White Knight type Diablo?”  

#c #c; shelly #at work can't cut sorry

[theravenlistens-blog]

Now that everything important had been said in the conversation, Diablo was only half paying attention to Kaa. The guy seemed so worked up. He needed a vacation. Perhaps he was right about all of his school wonderings. Maybe his continual education here was costing him much more than it was worth. Diablo never felt that way. As long as Mal decided this was where they needed to be, it was where he would be. As far as he was concerned, it was as good as a place as any. They fed him, and provided shelter. Those were basics he’d had to work for in his younger days. Here they were just given to him. Why not stay and learn.

“If you continue skipping class perhaps the school will decide you cost more than you’re worth.” Diablo mumbled, suppressing another yawn. “I think this school is worth it.” He was careful not to say more about that. At this school he could become stronger, and with that strength he could better protect Mal, his family, his home. If this school asked a high price, asked him to be callous and cold towards others, to forsake humanity and plot to destroy them? Then the school didn’t know him. He’d already made those choices before entering the school.  

“Are you tired of being here?” His eyes turned back on Kaa, staring blankly at him. Facial expressions weren’t a forte of Diablo’s. He examined the senior, senior being key word. Why skip out when he had a final year left? What a waste of effort. What would he do? Go to a hero school? Prance around and pretend to be good? Diablo’d heard about some of the master hypnotists adventures. Maybe he thought he could hypnotize them into thinking he was a good guy. “You could always just leave. No one’s keeping you.”

theravenlistens

Diablo nodded, Mal always delivered her message clearly. He was lucky that he got to live to remember that message. Either way, this would probably be a conversation of the past. If Mal agreed to this little alliance. Diablo started going through variables in mind. Why wouldn’t Mal want to agree? Perhaps she had a problem with Shere.. Perhaps she really didn’t like Kaa. Diablo had heard about Kaa’s pervy tendencies.

“It’ll be discussed. You’ll have your answer soon enough.” He couldn’t make any promises to Kaa about the alliance. That wasn’t his place. When you had a team you had to think of your team member. As far as Diablo was concerned this would be beneficial. Hopefully, Mal agreed.

Diablo gave Kaa a smile, it was hollow and didn’t reach his eyes. As if Shere could hurt Mal. Or him. As long as they had each other’s backs, they’d be fine. But, he was going to have to do some more research on the two of their powers. He knew Kaa was a master of hypnotism, but what about Shere? That was the question. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

Now that the hard part was out of the way, it seemed Kaa felt free to relax. Diablo watched as the boy slouched in his seat. He’d better be careful, that was bad for his back. “I don’t mind.” Diablo murmured. A raven fluttered by the window, catching Diablo’s attention. He stared at it for a second, the raven staring back. It was a silent exchange. Part of the power he didn’t want anyone to know about. The raven flew off, with new orders, and Diablo turned his attention back to Kaa. “How many classes you got today?” He asked, deciding to make some idle chit chat.

Oh goody, the senior’s inner voice grumbled sarcastically.  Not that Kaa would say any such thing out loud, or even allow a crack in his perfect mask of amicability during negotiations.  It would completely defeat his purpose within Shere’s company, and if the senior lost his use…  the black-haired boy suppressed a shudder.  “Excellent; we appreciate your expediency,” the older boy replied instead.

Kaa had a way with eyes– it was kind of his thing.  When he was paying attention (and sober), he could read people like a book, and their eyes were basically SparkNotes.  So despite Gonzalez’s smile, Kaa was fairly certain the warning he’d given the junior was falling on deaf ears.  He supposed that made sense: Shere was a charmer with money to burn.  He was the guy that hosted insane parties and bought lavish gifts and had the best of everything– what could a Devil and her minion be afraid of?  If only magic-types understood there were so many other ways to destroy a person.  But the counter had been uttered, and the other boy claimed to understand, so it was no longer Kaa’s concern.  

Gonzalez didn’t seem to mind the other boy’s presence, so Kaa relaxed slightly– ironic considering his company was the reason for what had happened last time he’d relaxed.  But the raven wasn’t like his boss, and Kaa was dead sober– he’d made sure this time– so he let himself just take in his surroundings.  A few of his coworkers being fools– no surprise there– and a few peers that he’d recently acquired information from that seemed completely oblivious to the loss of their secret.  It all sounded normal.

The senior turned his attention back to the younger boy quizzically.  “You mean that I’m planning on attending?” he replied.  He had two potions classes, among others, and was fairly positive he’d do better in them not showing up than coming in and breaking things.  Kaa couldn’t help but shake his head.  “You ever feel like you were admitted to this place for a good reason, but staying here has got to be costing them more than its worth?”  Not that he’d ever give up being here– because that would mean Shere was done with him.

#c #c; kaa #at work can't cut sorry #remember when you didn't need to download extentions to cut???? #wasn't that nice #sigh

[theravenlistens-blog]

Carnival Chaos || Diablo & Mal

The air smelled like ocean, salty and fresh. Seagulls bobbed around, fighting over scraps that’d fallen off of paper plates, or thrown into trashcans. A sea side carnival. How jovial. Behind Diablo, and unkindness of ravens spread out, taking perches all around the carnival. He didn’t want to bring too much of his unkindness out here, just enough to be sure there were no real dangers around. Besides, his ravens could tell him where all the easy targets were at. People seemed to notice the growth of birds in the air, some looked nervously at the flock, probably expecting a real-life experience of that Hitchcock movie. But the people who noticed were far outnumbered by the oblivious crowd. It was the same way at school. People were noticeable. Birds weren’t.

“Carnivals seemed larger when we were kids.” Diablo noted, suppressing a yawn, his eyes quickly moving from tent to tent. In front of them a group of children ran by. He eyed them lazily. Clothes without holes, up to date with the regularly changing fashion trends, he’d place the maker of gap or old navy. Family children. Upper middle class, probably. He’d be sure to pick pocket their parents at his earliest convince. A place like this was a treasure trove of mischief that he couldn’t wait to get his fingers into. He’d worn pants with extra pockets, and a jacket that was practically made of pockets in anticipation of how many things he could make mysteriously disappear. He’d already spotted his first object. At this distance he had no clue what it was, but he liked the way it caught the sun. It would be his.

He sulked over to the counter where his prize sat, and started talking to the merchant. At one point he started pointing to something on the wall asking about it, as his other hand snuck up and grabbed it. Breaking the conversation off, he sulked back to Mal, pulling out his prize and flipping it between his fingers. It was a necklace, the pendant was designed with a reflective surface and encrusted with jewels, fake by the look of its 30$ price tag. He held it at the angle, making it sparkle. “Not too bad.” Diablo murmured. “Where should we go first?”

#p #p; mal #carnival chaos

[theravenlistens-blog]

“I’ll make sure arrangements are made that’ll get us off of school grounds without notice then,” Diablo answered, a smile tugging at his lips. “Right, now that we have the fun part down, time for some business. Kaa approached me. Shere sent him to make an alliance with us. I think it could be beneficial."

Maleficent smiled at the idea. It has been so long, pretending to be a semi-normal girl. Causing minor chaos with her best friend, her brother, her home; It sounds like perfection. “I would absolutely love that.”

#c #c; mal

[theravenlistens-blog]

None other than a Porter triplet. What a treat. They really were everywhere around this school, weren’t they? “Shelly.” Diablo greeted, his tone neutral. The Porters had done nothing to gain or take away from themselves in his eyes. They were just there, causing mayhem to the unsuspecting. How anyone could still be unsuspecting to their mischief was the real question.

“Help only comes to those who ask,” Diablo replied blandly, scrunching up his nose. “So I wouldn’t know until I hear those words.” No need to needlessly walk into a Porter trap. If she wanted him to answer, it was probably safer not to. 

SShelly was taking a break– it’d been a very productive day after all.  She’d manipulated two students into fighting, mixed up some vials in the potions lab (while sneaking a few ounces of some toxic liquids while she was at it), and had aced her test.  She deserved some sort of reward, certainly.

The middle Porter triplet wandered into the cafeteria, glancing around in search of something worth having.  She scouted the food line, biting her lip thoughtfully as she considered her options.  What she really wanted was something sweet– that wasn’t just Barrel’s preference, after all.

Speaking of sweet…Shelly caught sight of an almost empty table, only occupied by a very dark, very devious boy hovering over his own notes.  Notes she was positive did not contain bits about charms class.  Hunger suddenly forgotten, the raven-haired girl strode over to the table where Diablo was sitting.

“Heya trouble,” she greeted, sitting down across from him, Her grin grew as his question reached her ears.  “I don’t know,” she replied, tossing her hair behind her shoulder, expression never wavering.  “Do I look like a girl that needs help?” 

#c #c; shelly

[theravenlistens-blog]

It was good to see Mal laugh. Even an evil queen needed some downtime, after all. “They might have been close to it, but they never would have caught us.” Even before their training she’d been powerful. Now she was unstoppable. At least in Diablo’s eyes. “I think a day at the carnival would do us some good.”

Laughter left her lips as she remembered, a true grin that only Diablo was able to see appearing on her face. “God, they were close to strangling us. I wish that we had taken pictures and videos to look back. Maybe I can learn a spell that can help conjure up our memories so that we can witness them. Or gain some new memories at this carnival. Whichever you’d prefer.”

#c #c; mal #i'm dumb #this has been sitting in my drafts forever

[theravenlistens-blog]

Diablo nodded, Mal always delivered her message clearly. He was lucky that he got to live to remember that message. Either way, this would probably be a conversation of the past. If Mal agreed to this little alliance. Diablo started going through variables in mind. Why wouldn’t Mal want to agree? Perhaps she had a problem with Shere.. Perhaps she really didn’t like Kaa. Diablo had heard about Kaa’s pervy tendencies. 

“It’ll be discussed. You’ll have your answer soon enough.” He couldn’t make any promises to Kaa about the alliance. That wasn’t his place. When you had a team you had to think of your team member. As far as Diablo was concerned this would be beneficial. Hopefully, Mal agreed. 

Diablo gave Kaa a smile, it was hollow and didn’t reach his eyes. As if Shere could hurt Mal. Or him. As long as they had each other’s backs, they’d be fine. But, he was going to have to do some more research on the two of their powers. He knew Kaa was a master of hypnotism, but what about Shere? That was the question. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything else.” 

Now that the hard part was out of the way, it seemed Kaa felt free to relax. Diablo watched as the boy slouched in his seat. He’d better be careful, that was bad for his back. “I don’t mind.” Diablo murmured. A raven fluttered by the window, catching Diablo’s attention. He stared at it for a second, the raven staring back. It was a silent exchange. Part of the power he didn’t want anyone to know about. The raven flew off, with new orders, and Diablo turned his attention back to Kaa. “How many classes you got today?” He asked, deciding to make some idle chit chat.

The junior remained neutral, but his smug words stung as much as Verde’s claws.  Kaa had to work hard not to narrow his eyes in resentment at Gonzalez’s words: the senior knew, after all, that the vulture would likely know all about his dragon’s crazy act.  “Right,” he agreed complacently, maintaining a cool exterior and a fake smile.  “And despite my accident-prone physiology, I will grant her that Verde sent her message very clearly." 

The dark-haired boy held back a scoff– what he wanted?  Since when had that ever mattered?  "Yes; Shere is very interested in forging an alliance.  Creating a united front, as it were.  Surely you can think of some benefits to such a bond."  Kaa knew the boy in front of him wasn’t stupid– it was just a matter of whether he felt being on Shere’s good side outweighed being on his bad one.  Arguably, if he could convince his demon-friend that playing nice with the arrogant cat was the smart move, there could be a powerful shift in status around school. 

Apparently Gonzalez agreed, as he shut his binder and fixed his unwavering gaze on the senior.  Kaa understood a true threat– the one that didn’t need details.  However, whatever Shere’s plan, the senior was not going to be the one to screw up the temporary safety net he’d created for himself.  He leaned in toward the crow.  "Of course.  But trust me– such responses to betrayal works both ways."  Not that Maleficent would be turned into road kill by the likes of Shere– but with his and his family’s connections, by the time he was done with her, she might wish she was.  Shere had a way of finding weaknesses and exploiting them– Kaa knew from experience.

Kaa glanced down at his watch– he’d actually appropriated quite a bit more haggling into this conversation.  He wasn’t due for his next appointment for a while.  "Do you mind?” he asked the other boy, slouching slightly into the seat he was still utilizing.  He didn’t get a lot of opportunities outside of his dorm to simply relax.

#c #c; kaa

[theravenlistens-blog]

“A negotiation?” The words were slow coming out of Diablo’s mouth, as if he was tasting each letter before releasing it. He leaned back in his chair, eyes studying the older student that sat in front of him. There was no doubt in his mind that the negotiation had little to do with him. He was probably being used as a messenger to get to Mal. Out of the two of them, he was the easier to approach option. Something he never understood before. Mal was perfectly reasonable to deal with.

Now the question was, what would Shere gain from a negotiation? Perhaps Diablo hadn’t been paying enough attention to him. Maybe he was working on something big and wanted Mal and him to stay out of it. Or maybe he wanted to lure Mal into a trap, by way of Diablo. Well, that was a dumb idea. Oh well, speculation was useless without details.

Diablo flipped his pen in his fingers for a minute, allowing silence to fall between the two of them. Glints of light caught his eye, wow, his pen just sparkled so magnificently, didn’t it? He had to force himself to stop flipping his pen and draw his attention back to Kaa. “Alright. I’ll listen. Proceed.” He opened his notepad to a blank page, and uncapped his pen with unnecessary flourish. The tip hovered over the page, ready to write as soon as Kaa started speaking.

The crowded room was full of chatter, chatter that Diablo was determined to listen to. He sat at a center table by himself, notepad spread out in front of him. In his left hand he clutched a glittery silver pen that sparkled as he wrote furiously in the notebook. He was so engrossed in his notes that he made the person who sat down across from him wait as he finished writing. Once done, he flipped the note book up, his eyes shooting to the person. “May I help you?” He asked, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

#c #c; kaa #hi! #I am mobile and can't cut #sorry

[theravenlistens-blog]

#friends

[theravenlistens-blog]

The Sparkly Pen Collection

The only pens Diablo seems to use are those that glitter. He has three pens that he prefers over his others, but his collection is vast. Over seventy-five percent of his collection was stolen, the others were gifts. He has never bought a pen for the collection. 

#hc #hc1 #pen collection

[theravenlistens-blog]

Diablo didn’t trust this Porter triplet. If the books had been his, then he would have never handed them over. Instead, they belonged to the library. If this buffoon wanted to destroy school property he was welcome to go at it. “Considering this is a school for aspiring villains, I think we’re supposed to be awful to each other.” He didn’t take his eyes off Lock as he spoke. “Not that I’m not grateful that you would deign to help a lower classmen, such as myself.” His jaw clenched as Lock brought up his ‘leash.’ Moron. There was no leash keeping Diablo tied to Mal. If Diablo wanted to make a name for himself he would, but this arrangement between the two of them was mutually beneficial. He got to remain in the shadows, where he liked it, while Mal got the spot light. Diablo quickly turned his tense muscles into a relaxed smile. “It’s my day off.” He answered, good naturedly. “As you can see I’m using it for a bit of light reading. Where are the rest of the Porter triplets?”

Diablo wasn’t sure how he managed to end up with all these books, but he did. He staggered through the hallway, his sacred invisibility disrupted by the sheer ridiculousness of him carrying too many books. He scowled, teeth pulling at his bottom lip as he tried to get a handle on too many books. Just when he reached the peak of problematic book carrying someone stepped forward to help him. He turned his blank gaze on the stranger. He’d seen this kid around before. Listened into a few of his prank conversations too. “Yeah, thanks.” Diablo didn’t wait, he eagerly tipped some of his books into Lock’s hands.

#c #c; lock #otp: the eagle flies backwards at midnight #at work #can't cut #sory

[theravenlistens-blog]

If home is where the heart is, then Diablo’s home was with Mal. Life before Mal wasn’t something he enjoyed. It was a parade of foster homes, all of which he’d found a way to fuck up, by his own choice of course. There was always something wrong with them, and he refused to be part of them. Mal, well, being with Mal ensured he wouldn’t have to go back to the foster homes, and then he followed her to Salem. He knew he’d follow her anywhere. “I’d like that.” Diablo murmured. “I heard talk of a carnival a few hours way. I know we’re a bit older and more powerful now, but remember when we went to a carnival and terrorized the adults into giving us free stuff? That was fun.”

“Good,” Maleficent said. She looked out the window, watching the outside world for a few seconds before she looked back at Diablo. She remembers the first time they met, two kindred spirits who needed someone. If someone were to have tell her that in a few years she would grow to actually love him as a brother, for him to be the only person she’d ever love, Mal would have laughed in their face before ripping their tongue out for spreading false sayings. But now… It is the truth. “Sometime soon, we should sneak out and do something. Like old time’s sake. As much as I… tolerate this blasted place, I do miss going anywhere and doing whatever we liked. Wreaking havoc wherever we go. The freedom was exhilarating.”

#c #c; mal #i can change this if you want me to #just let me know!

[theravenlistens-blog]

“Very well.” Diablo flicked the folder back into his backpack. If Mal wanted Helena on their side, then he’d be nice to her. Not that he wasn’t always the most polite of people. It was easier to listen when glares weren’t be directed at you constantly. “It’ll probably help that you two are roommates.” He zipped up his bag. He’d put this in his hidden filing cabinet in his room. Not that his doofus or a roommate had enough brain cells to figure out there was anything to hide. “Of course. I’ll have to sneak out of school and get to her home town, but I’m sure your end of the year antics will be enough of a diversion. I’ll be back and gone before anyone notices.” Not that anyone would notice. No one noticed him. No one but Mal.

“Because you know me better than anyone else,” she replied, taking the file into her hands and looking through it. A smile of her own appeared as she scanned the words and looked at the pictures. “Beautiful,” Maleficent said before she closed the file and gave it back to him. “She fits perfectly here, my pet. And she seems to trust me, which is useful. Perhaps you’ll like to take the honour and do the tampering? There’s a lot more uses to you than just listening to people, Diablo.”

#c #c; mal