I bet the intruder's here...

Rendaz marched outside, a fishing rod clutched firmly in one claw and a dawdling student held in the other. "A plan, of course I have a plan!" he snapped, smirking slightly. He raised his fishing rod to point at the lighthouse up ahead. "The intruder is obviously in there. It's quiet, sheltered, and an excellent lookout."

Looking over his shoulder at Aethera, he grinned. "After we bait him out with this here money, he'll realise he's been tricked. When that happens, he'll go for the weaker target, AKA, you." Looking proudly at the fifty dollar note again, he continued. "When he's distracted, I'll grab him and pin him down. If I fail, you're my backup." Winking, he walked right up towards the lighthouse to try the door. Locked, as usual. But he wouldn't be surprised if the intruder had other means of entering. "You ready?"

Aethera trailed along behind Rendaz, trying not to stumble when the pace of his forced march changed--his stride was different than hers. "I meant no disrespect, Professor, I beg your pardon. I know your plan will be..." She trailed off. His plan was horrible. Too many assumptions in it. But she could hardly say that to a professor, it was downright rude.

She considered the lighthouse as they approached, then the fifty dollar bill. "How do you plan to get him to see the money? Stick it under the door?" That was the only way she could think of. "If I may, Professor, you should probably be out of sight... just a few steps around the tower should do it, just so whoever it is isn't scared of being outnumbered. We want him to come out, not hide." While still uneasy, she was finding her words easier than before. The creature that was a professor was odd, but he still walked and talked like a human... once she realized that, he was easier to process.

Finally all of this 'intruder' stuff clicked. "Professor, there was a man back on the mainland who wanted information about this island. He asked me to, well... spy. And then return to shore and give him the information later on." And, somewhat horrified at the realization, she added, "He could have just followed the boat I came here in."

Rendaz snorted, predicting what Aethera was going to say anyway. "Nonsense! This plan is foolproof, you hear me?" He rolled his eyes at her flawed suggestion, it would never work. "If we did that, the fool would only grab it and he'd never come out," he snapped, resting the note on the floor directly in front of the door. "Anyways, he wouldn't need to see it. Humans have a sixth sense for money, you know. They'll sniff it out from miles away and they won't stop 'till they get their hands on it."

"I was just about to do that, girl," he lied, as he ushered Aethera out of sight from the door. Taking his position just in front of her, he readied his fishing rod to reel in the money as soon as he saw the door open. He soon paused in disbelief at the girl's words. "Follow the boat? How could he do that? It was a pretty long ride, I tell you." Pausing, he raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "You aren't planning on helpin' him, are you?"

She shook her head vigorously. "No, no! I just heard him out and then left. I rather expect he talked to anyone who was waiting for Hendry, so I wanted to tell you." Her cheeks flush with just a hint of pink, feeling stupid for even listening politely to a man with less-than-noble intentions. "I don't know how precisely he might have followed... just that it would make some kind of logical sense..." Yeah, she's done offering ideas.

Except one. "Should I be somewhere less defensible, so he takes the bait?" Standing behind Rendaz was better than being an easy target, but that would ruin his plan. She knew she was the bait. I just hope I don't light him on fire or something like that...

((Sorry, short. Couldn't think of anything else.))

"Hendry?" He recalled the rugged man who'd almost dismissed him from entering the boat. "...Oh... That guy..." He shrugged slightly. "Wherever he came from, I'm pretty sure he's in the lighthouse here."

Raising a brow at her reddening face, he tugged on her sleeve slightly as encouragement to move. "What're you standing there for? Stop chameleoning and move!"

Chuckling to himself, he tightened his grip on the rod. "I'll get that darn'd intruder whatever it takes..."

((Short shorts.))

Aethera took a moment to calm her nerves, then took a step away from Rendaz. Looking about, she decided that hovering on the other side of the door but more in the line-of-sight of someone exiting the structure was about the best place she could be to serve as bait. She quickly moved there, leaning against the lighthouse's outer wall as she waited. How long will we just stand here and wait? she wondered. And what if the guy isn't even here? He could be anywhere.

((Shorty short short. /shot))

"Oi!" Rendaz called as Aethera assumed her position. "Move back a little! You're here as a bait, not some sort of sloppy Valentine!" Grumbling to himself, he stayed at his post, keenly watching the note. After a little over a minute later, he stepped forward again, grabbing the dollar note off the floor and shoving it in Aethera's face. "Hey, human. Is this note a defect or not?" he asked, finding that to be his only fault to his plan. Certain that humans would know these things, he attempted to build another plan in his mind if it did turn out to be defected.

Aethera leapt backwards, flushing a truer pink shade at his rather blunt suggestion. And then stumbled back another pace when he came at her. "How... how should I know? I've never seen that much money before." She didn't look at him while admitting this, rather she looked anywhere but him or the fifty dollar note.

"Maybe we should try food, instead? He'll be able to smell it, then..." She looked more like the timid girl from a little while ago, staring at the fish tank. Rendaz might not be scaring her anymore, but he certainly doesn't make her any less uneasy.

((Owies. Can't type... tendonitis. Sorry for shorter post.))

Eyeing her suspiciously, he let her claim to not knowing slide. He couldn't be completely sure that she wasn't somehow allied with the intruder, but he knew she would only continue to lie if he pressed on.

"Food? An effective backup plan there, girly..." He smiled a little, although it was a rather snide smile. He was well aware of humans desire to eat, he'd seen his fair share of bowling balls during his time at the scrapyard. Not to mention most of the rubbish he found in bins was half-decomposed food. "What do humans prefer anyway? Fish? Steak?" He made a face. "...Chocolate?"

She's not all dumb... Aethera didn't really notice the twist of Rendaz's smile, as far as she's concerned, a mouth full of pointy teeth can only smile one way, and it's never comforting. "Um..." Her eyes widened at the mention of chocolate (her own personal favorite treat, from those rare occasions Jerri had spent money on luxuries) and then her forehead wrinkled as she considered this. "Well, if I saw a steak on the ground, I think I'd be suspicious, not hungry," she reasoned out. "What kind of natural foods are there nearby? Berries, or herbs? I could go get a basket and start collecting edibles..." If she knew where to find a basket, that is. (His hat is looking her in the face, but she'd never suggest such a thing.)

"Maybe I'd be more interesting bait if I had food on me," she suggested next, knowing that to be true from personal experience. When she ran away, people with food were always very interesting to the hungry girl. Several restaurants had an unknown guest enjoying their food while she was on her way here.

"Collecting?" he snorted in disbelief, then looked around him. "Berries? Herbs? ...You mad?" With a shiny black claw, he pointed into the distance. "The forest is on the other side of the island, genius. And berries don't smell of anything nice."

Raising his fishing rod, he looked towards the coast slightly. "Y'know what? I've got the rod. I'm getting some fish," he sneered, then stormed off towards the edge of the cliff.

Peering over the edge, he realised that it was a little higher than he expected. Still he wasn't about to place any doubt in his mind about his plan, as he readily threw the end of the line straight down towards the water... As well as the pole itself. He stared dumbfounded for a moment after realising what he'd done. After a moment of silence, he heard a soft 'splash' at the bottom. Rendaz peered over his shoulder at Aethera. "Don't. Say. A word."

Berries smell of... berries, Aethera was thinking, but she chose to not say anything. And then... wow.

When Rendaz glanced at her, she was staring open-mouthed at him. This... guy... was a professor? At his command she blinked, and then closed her mouth and shook her head. She hadn't been planning to say anything. Except, well... she took a slightly different path to the edge of the cliff so that she was a short distance from the professor, out of claw's reach, specifically.

She glanced over the edge and smiled. "Shall I go get it, sir? I can meet you at the beach back there." She dropped her blanket wrap and took a step back, and another, backing into a position she could get a running start from.

Raising his eyebrow in suspicion, his narrowed red eyes scanned Aethera up and down. For a moment, he assumed she had been kidding, but he realised different when she took off her blanket. If this girl was fully prepared to take the plunge, then why not let her? "Eh, go ahead," he muttered, trying not to look as if his dignity had been bruised by his mistake. Picking up the cloth from under her, he began to make his way down towards the beach, keeping an eye out over the cliff. "...Try not to kill yourself," he grumbled quietly.

Rather than respond, Aethera takes a deep breath and runs straight at the cliff, leaping gracefully outward and disappearing from view. A quiet yell of 'Yeah!' follows Rendaz as he leaves, the young woman straightening into a dive and neatly slicing into the water below. A little wet, she surfaces and looks around, then takes another deep breath and submerges, looking around the wonderfully silent waters until she spots the pole, slowly sinking away from her.

A kick sends her thin, underfed body spearing downwards with little effort required. Just as she reached out she saw a glint and jerked her hand back from the hook. If the hook is empty, where's the money it was baited with? She grabbed the hook in one hand, the pole in the other, and resurfaced.

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