Secret Meeting

Pai paced around the library, a parchment in his hand. It was the list of students in the school, his own name included for the time being, after Rendaz's absurd punishment. He had plans...more specifically, pranks. It was more complicated to enact now that he was a student, but it could be done. He planned to pull off great pranks, mostly on Rendaz. Not as acts of revenge, but more so arrogance than anything. He wanted to prove his capabilities, or perhaps, express his privileges. After all, there wasn't anything in the rules that prohibited him from playing pranks on people.

He needed someone on the inside though. He could not simply stride into Rendaz's office and take a look around to plan his pranks. He probably could at night, but knowing Rendaz, there was probably some metallic lizard-monster wandering around his office at night. Of course, he couldn't simply send someone in the daytime; Rendaz would be suspicious, or not let them anyways. Sneaking in was the only option.

He decided on finding someone who was adept in the darkness. Someone worthy of an accomplice. He unrolled the parchment on a nearby desk, scanned the list, and found a name, that was, in all senses, perfect for his plan.

He jabbed the name with his finger.

"Chayne." he said, with a hint of malice in his voice. He grinned.

He wrote on a separate piece of paper instructing his target to meet him up at the library immediately. He did not specify who he was, or why he was requesting their presence, only that they needed to see him.

He walked through the castle to Chayne's room, delivered the note, and knocked on the door. Not waiting for a response, he quickly walked off in the direction of the library; when he finally entered, he picked a random book off the shelf and sat down on the chair closest to him. He leaned back on his chair so that two legs lifted off the ground; his legs were perched on top of a nearby table.

Chayne had gone nocturnal tonight, staying up to finish some homework assignments which he couldn't motivate himself to do by the darkness given off by his witchlight alone. This would be the first time anyone had literally come knocking on his door, and especially at this time of night. He stood to answer the door and poked his head, looking in either direction when he found that there was no one on the other side.

He noticed the note as he was turning back to reenter his room. The contents of the note were rather suspicious to say the least, and since Chayne couldn't think of anyone in particular who would spontaneously leave a note for him like this, his first thought was that it was intended for someone else.

Chayne had a brief debate with himself regarding whether he should do what the note said or simply disregard. After too many seconds of indecision, however he ended up convincing himself to go anyway. Just to be sure, he'd told himself. Chayne had learned from experience that several lights remained on in the castle through the night, and he was fairly certain that the library was included in this. So he brought several witchlights with him.

The light of the library prevented him from seeing too far in the distance, so he wasn't able to immediately make out the figure of the man sitting at the table. He really hoped the note hadn't been left by somebody with a thing against monstrous-looking people. He'd read a book like that before. Haunted by his imagination, Chayne remained by the entrance and said nothing.

Pai glanced hopefully at the doorway until the figure appeared. He smiled.

"Hello. Chayne, is it?"

He sat up, all four legs of his chair hitting the ground with a loud 'bang'.

"You probably don't know why I've called you here, do you? Well, let's not start off on the wrong foot. I'm Pai; I used to be the Maths professor, but I've been demoted due to...unfortunate events. I have great plans in mind...and I am asking you for...assistance."

He grinned.

"I assume you know your way around the dark?"

Chayne looked in the direction the voice had come when the man spoke up, though he could still only see a general silhouette, and he squinted it that direction. The sound of the chair hitting the ground was unexpected and Chayne visibly flinched at it.

He approached Pai until he was able to see him clearly. This brought him to the other side of the table that he was sitting at. Assuming the ex-professor had demoted for a reason, and a reason he didn't particularly want to know, Chayne still wasn't sure of the.. benevolence? in whatever it was Pai was planning.

Still, the fact that he had been a professor left Chayne with the sense that Pai still had authority over him, so he'd at least listen to the man, though the hesitation in his voice was obvious.

"Yeah. I don't see well in the light, but I see perfectly in the dark." That was to say, in pitch-dark conditions. However up on the surface there was always some light somewhere keeping these conditions from ever being met.

Pai grinned again. "Excellent."

Pai pulled out another parchment, this time, a map of sorts, of the castle. He laid it atop the table, pointing casually at a certain Mechanics professor's room.

"I plan to...play a small 'prank' on Rendaz. Rest assured, it will be nothing big or serious, but something to show him that...I care, that's all." Pai smiled at the other student.

He focused back onto the map. "I need you to go to Rendaz's office, and take something of his that is of some importance to him. You could observe him and see something he 'tends to' often, and nab that for me later. See, he's taken away something from me and I want it back...So in turn, I wish to take something of his...Are you up to this task?" He said, looking up at Chayne, his eyes expressing how 'serious' the situation was, but his mouth in a twisted grin.

Chayne was surprised by Pai's... preparedness? Or maybe that was his determination. He wasn't sure the map was entirely called for. He was in that mechanics class, after all.

Though his eyes widened at Pai's plan, his eyebrows seem to droop. "You mean, Rendaz the mechanics professor?" The question was entirely redundant. As though there were more than one Rendaz at Lillegard, and as though it were possible for them both to work in the same mechanics room. Somehow the question needed to be asked though. Did this person even know who he was talking about? Dean Rendaz wasn't necessarily famous his jolly and forgiving nature.

That man had locked him in a dungeon. In fact. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like Pai had probably gotten what was coming to him. He was reminded of some idiom about bulls and their horns..

"Won't I get in trouble if I do that?" Yet again, another redundant question. He didn't want to think that professor, former or no, would try to convince him to do something that would get him in trouble.

Pai chuckled. "Poor Chayne. Quite innocent...Surely you haven't realized that Rendaz deserves great punishment? I wouldn't expect you to know...Well, I'll tell you, since I trust you." Pai said, winking.

"See, Rendaz has always hated everyone. He's here to plan our demise, our destruction. He wants to destroy the school from the inside, and he's already got a head start. I'm saving the world here, kiddo. I'm foiling his plans...and I'm asking for you to help me." He said, adding the last part reluctantly, as he always hated asking others for help.

"Yes, you'll get in trouble if you do that. Although, it'll be more trouble if you don't...and it'll all be..." Pai pointed a finger accusingly at Chayne, "Your fault."

Pai stood up straight again.

"Now, let me ask you again...are you willing to help?"

It seemed Pai had a flair for the dramatic. Sure Rendaz wasn't a very nice person, but Chayne highly doubted that those were his true intentions. That, and he failed to understand how a "small prank", as Pai had described, would succeed at foiling any plots.

Pai's reluctant addition of the request for help did have an effect though. He didn't want to disappoint the ex-math professor by telling him no. Actually, Pai must have gone through a bit of trouble to even arrange this meeting, now that he thought about it. If it really was just a small prank, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad... But taking something from the ruckarl.. wasn't that theft? Did Pai intend to return it? He supposed he could trust Pai.

Chayne thought about it for a second longer, arguing the same points over again with himself, before finally shrugging. "Uh, I guess?" He could always change his mind later. Right?