Kage looked long and hard at the lobster in the glass tank next to the boiling pot of water. "Oh Ye who is tasty and nutritious, I salute you."

He snapped it a quick salute, and watched bemusedly as it snapped it's claws at him. "Methinks someone doesn't quite realize who he's dealing with, but since he's in a bad mood, I think I'll dispense with the pleasantries." He cocked his head at the lobster, and glanced at the boiling stockpot, closed his eyes, and pulled. The water from the pot exchanged places with the water from the tank.

Kage ducked his head, plugging his ears against the thin scream that his crustaceous nemesis made as the moisture inside it's shell flashed to steam. The steaks were searing nicely, and it was nearly time for Illyona to show up. "I hope she finds the place okay," he said to the other Lobster in a different tank a few feet away. "At least your claws came banded."

The screaming stopped, and Kage reached in and pulled him out. He set it on the plate with a piece of steak, making sure the plate would stay warm with a quick thought. He reached for the other one, and quickly dropped it into the stockpot.

While the second on wailed away, he leaned back to relax. Illyona would arrive soon, and dinner could begin.

Sometime later, she arrived, stepping out of a small shadow in the corner. Kage smiled, and waved to a pile of cushions on the tower's slate roof. "Have any problems finding the place?"

"No, not at all," she replied, sitting down on them gently. "I'm a little late, I know, but I had family business to attend to."

"I won't pry too deeply," he said. "Are you allergic to shellfish, by chance?"

Kage damped down the great fire with a wave of his hand, and brought out the plates, setting one in front of Illyona. A bottle of high-end Zinfandel, another of Merlot, a pitcher of ice-cold water, and enough real silverware to outfit an army appeared, as he removed the cover from the plate.

"I thought you might enjoy steak and lobster this evening, all prepared the hard way. We have the use of the rooftop for the evening, compliments of the tower's owner, on the condition I have all my 'junk' cleared away before dawn, and I don't bring the place down on his head. He promised to be quite offended if I didn't."

He sat back on another group of pillows nearby, and lowered the fire to near-candlelight conditions. The lobster on the plate called to him, requesting consumption with butter sauce. He would oblige it momentarily. He examined his guest, radiantly beautiful with her long, blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. Her poise spoke of good breeding, and a noble upbringing, but the set of her eyes, examining everything, gave the hints of a life of knowing things one should never have to. This is a woman that could be open and loving if she chose, or cunning and deadly when aroused

For Kage, this was an irresistable combination, and a good start of a potential relationship he would have to cultivate very carefully.

He waved to the face in front of them. "Don't be shy, I promise the food isn't about to bite back."