Rhaine sipped her coffee, and looked through reports from deathsquad leaders. Everything was ready and set to interfere in case of a civil disorders. In a few minutes she would leave towards her hideout, and look at the silent sleeping form of Artemus... The thought itself brought an almost human smile to her usually indifferent face, and she got to her work with double enthusiasm. Finish it off - and feel free to see him... But soon she sensed a new presence in the Arena. At first she refused to believe this. How could this happen? the girl disappeared a long time ago, and Artemus could not find her.... But looking up from her notes, she saw Shandren.

The only choice she had, was nodding to Shan in a greeting. Speechless, Rhaine watched the halftigress.

"Hello... quiet here isn't it?" Shandren said quietly.

"It definitely is. Appears that no one is dueling or hosting," Rhaine's voice was ideally even and emotionless. Those who knew her well enough, could have recognized this state of cold fury. "What held you out of RhyDin so long?"

"Head injury."

"Ah. I see now," vampiress' dark blue eyes narrowed slightly, in a shadow of irony, her voice dripped with poison. "You allowed yourself to get harmed? When your life was so valuable to two beings that you seemed to value?"

"I... fell. Cats don't fly well and don't always land on their feet."

Of course. Tanned skin on her hands turned white at the knuckles as Rhaine clenched the coffee cup absent-mindedly. "Really? That wasn't very careful," she spoke, her tone ideally even. A quiet crack, and remains of hot coffee splashed on the table while porcelain shards plunged into her skin. Vampiress looked at her hand in slight surprise, as if her hand, or the cup, betrayed her.

"Twilight Isle, Tower of Earth. I can lead you there if you like," Rhaine forced herself to say.

"Yes... i'd like that. I need to find Mari.. the man said that she was in danger."

That stank. Badly. Who would know of Amaris and danger to her? And be a male? Brigath? Hardly. Tass? He wouldn't bother. Artemus? He wasn't around. Why care about a shifter cub... but it was Art's child.
"What was he like? Can you describe him?"

"Tall... he stayed in the shadows a lot... I think he knew me, but he was not familiar to me."

"Did he have a name? Perhaps you heard others talking to him?"

"He did not tell me his name...and one man called him Art, but he said that that was not his name."

Of course that wasn't his name. There aren't many Art's in RhyDin. In fact only one. He looked like Art, but wasn't him. And used shadows.

"Art. No, girl. His name is Errtu. Actually it WAS Errtu. And you didn't recognize him..."

Rhaine's laughter had a crack, a sound of broken glass in it. A woman that could not recognize her beloved... that couldn't feel something was wrong... how could such a foolish heart be worthy of loyalty and love? And this creature would try to take Artemus?! There'd be no justice in the world in this case.

"Well, he has reasons to say Amaris was safe. If he took her, he'd have kept her safe, at least to have strings to pull to break Artemus," vampiress contemplated. "The portal is here, in the Inn. I shall not aid you with direct rift, for the reasons that are my own."

"I thank you for the direction at least," halftigress seemed to pick up some dignity. Dignity! In a thief! Rhaine smiled, fangs contrasting against her lips.

"Your gratitude doesn't matter to me. Guess I'm masochistic enough to aid my enemy"

"Am I your enemy?"

This was the last drop. Fuming with fury, Rhaine hissed. No, she was unworthy even to be an enemy, with this lack of dignity and showing off weakness as if it was a virtue. Asmodeans respect their enemies, Shandren wasn't worthy of any respect!

"Oh no, you are no one's enemy. You do not deserve the high rank of an enemy. You're an irresponsible and careless girl, whose carelessness almost cost her mate his life. He's searched for you through realms and planes, he was sure you were dead. And he's become inattentive in magic, allowing himself to be possessed by a wraith, wraith that almost killed him... You've spoken to the wraith that occupied his body - while he himself was in a cage."

"I did not know... how could I have?" amber tigress' eyes blinked.

"Of course..." slight smirk curves Rhaine's lips. All of them say the same. How could I have known. Standard excuse of careless dhoine. "Follow me, dhoine. I shall lead you to the Twilight Isle," she said coldly.