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Illyana and Amanda test the waters in their respective suspicious ways. Backdated to the Saturday night after Belasco's attack. Set before this log for Amanda.

(Note: The first part of this log was lost, so it picks up a few posts in -- to boot, Amanda visits Illyana in the medlab that night, because demons, magic, and freshly grownup little girls don't make for good things.)

The tension wasn't lost on Amanda, but rather than mollycoddle the girl, she knew the best way to deal with her was to be honest. Brutally so, if need be. Piotr might be fool enough to think his darling sister had returned pure and unscathed, but Amanda knew someone who had been hardened when she saw them.

"Eight an' a half years is a long time t' spend in a demon dimension," she said. "Lots could happen. Most of it not nice. I've met the odd demon, in a summoning circle most of the time, t' be truthful, but they're nasty bastards. Got all sorts of tricks."

Illyana's gaze cooled from icy to glacial. "Yes," she said, understanding the context of Amanda's words if not the precise text. "It is a very long time. And I have been aquainted with their -- tricks. As you say. You're observant." It was vaguely sarcastic -- part-question, part-statement, and part-challenge.

Amanda gave her usual mocking grin, but her blue eyes were sharp. "Yep, I am. People don't tend t' realise that, usually. Not short of the observation skills yerself, are you?" She didn't wait for an answer, but went on in an almost chatty tone of voice. "Thing is, most of the people here wouldn't know their arse from their elbow in terms of magic. So it wouldn't even occur t' 'em t' wonder what kind of acquaintance you have with demons an' their tricks."

"I should think that would be their problem and not mine," Illyana said, raising her chin a fraction of an inch and resisting the urge to -- do something, rather than sit here with somebody who could actually know something, who looked as though she knew a lot more than anyone Illyana had encountered in the medlab lately. "And, after all," she added, raising an eyebrow, "how many kinds of acquaintances with demons are there?"

"Not that many, t' be fair," Amanda replied. "Usually breaks down t' whether yer usin' them, they're using you, or a combination of the two." She left unspoken the question 'So which one are you?', but it hung in the air between them. This new Illyana - and it was Illyana, that much she could tell from the faint flicker of colours around the girl that was all that remained of her aura-sight - was hiding something, but as far as Amanda could tell, it wasn't anything overtly magical.

Illyana paused for a long moment, collecting her thoughts and her wits, staying her tongue until she could control it completely. "I think," she said, "that the question of who is using whom is quite definite in the case of human sacrifice."

"Yer pretty spry, for a sacrifice." Her fingers itched for a cigarette, but Amanda knew far better than to light up in medlab. "That bastard change his mind on the whole sacrifice thing once that portal closed?"

"It was more of a -- long-term arrangement, you might say." Illyana's face and expression were closed, resolute; she wasn't going to make this easy. "And he had some trouble along the way."

'Dammit. She's playin' with me.', Amanda thought to herself. She was hamstrung without access to her books, and not for the first time she cursed the circumstances that had lead to her giving them up. 'That fucking potion's caused more trouble than anyone would ever know...'

"I'll bet he had trouble. You don't strike me as a soft touch, not any more," Amanda said, letting her voice take on a slightly admiring tone - not enough to sound fake, but enough to put Illyana off-balance. "Gave him a right run for his money, I expect."

Illyana stared at Amanda for a moment, confused at the shift in tone (and by the slightly opaque slang) and immediately mistrusting. She was off-balance -- Amanda's goal achieved -- and she couldn't place the tone someplace she could categorize it. It had been too long. She kept her voice neutral, controlled, completely mild. "I did what I could," she said, finally, flatly.

"I bet you did. Still, big bad demon lord, you just a kid... Must've taken some effort, gettin' free."

She couldn't let that pass, everything else be damned. "I'm sure it would have," she agreed, leaning heavily on the words, "but you don't honestly think I did it myself?" She let the question stand, working at overtime to come up with a
plausible story to back it up -- she felt the part of her not in control protest with every nerve at the thought of telling the truth.

"Well, yer tough, but yeah, that's a fuck load of demons t' overcome, not t' mention their boss. He had some major power in him - felt that first hand. But who would have helped you, in that place? Not exactly on the maps, is it?" Amanda noted the girl's reaction, the caginess in her eyes, and couldn't help a very sixteen-year-old sense of smugness.

"There was -- " Illyana sighed, eyes dropping slightly in a well-practised display of submission. "I wasn't the first person he'd taken, you know. There were others -- ones who knew magic, ones who could fight -- a small group of them. Six in all." She was inventing rapidly and speaking slowly, as though the information was something she was reluctant to part with. "They couldn't get out while he was still alive -- he was too strong. You saw, didn't you? But he couldn't control everything there. He wasn't a god." Not really, anyway. "They got me out before he could do anything. And they're dead, so if your curiosity is quite satisfied?"

Amanda wasn't fooled by Illyana's act - mainly because she'd done it herself more times than she could count'I wouldn't go near your books, Rack, I'm too stupid t' read them...' But calling Illyana a flat-out liar wasn't going to help matters either, certainly not with her current standing in the mansion. Cain's accusation still rankled, and then there was that business with Manny and Monet and that fucking party... She shoved the distraction away. "Sorry for yer loss," she said, in a tone that was anything but. "'M not too good with people sometimes, tend t' stomp on their feelin's. Didn't get taught any better
- me teacher was more concerned with teachin' me magic than lettin' me be social."

For a moment, Illyana wished, briefly, that she had been able to foresee this encounter -- and been able to avoid it. Common sense took over from there. "I'm sure," she said coolly, regaining her composure after a few seconds. She took
another tack, hoping to deflect the attention, to get a foothold in a conversation for which she was very much at a loss. "Your teacher -- would this be the one who taught you about acquaintances with demons?"

"That'd be him. Had a tendency towards the darker side of things. Taught me what he knew." Another tack, another way to throw the girl off balance. She was almost enjoying this... and it was good to talk shop with someone who understood that demons existed outside of nerdy role-playing games. Even if she was a suspicious bitch.

'Takes one t' know one, luv,' she thought to herself.

"Really." Illyana pitched her voice to 'vaguely amused', but she was running through lists of possibilities internally, letting her mouth run on auto-pilot for the moment. There was the matter of the brand she'd felt earlier; if she could feel it when she felt like this -- "That must have been -- fascinating for you. Though not of much use around here, I suppose." Her tone was so carefully polite that the implication was obvious.

Amanda shrugged. "'Cept when marauderin' demon lords run off with the art teacher's little sister, it's pretty useless, yeah." Amanda was careful to keep any bitterness out of her voice - Illyana would pounce on any weakness in an instant, and the last thing she needed was another person fucking with her head. She'd have to get in line behind the rest
of them. "Got a friend on staff, he makes 'em keep me on." Which wasn't exactly a lie...

"Mustn't be a difficult task," Illyana said, raising her eyebrows as though this surprised her terribly. "You are the hero of the day, aren't you?"

Oh, you bitch... Amanda's composure cracked, just a little. "Not really. Most of 'em don't really get the whole magic thing." She waited half a beat. "Not like us."

Through great effort, Illyana did not smile, but something like satisfaction flashed for a moment in her eyes. "Yes, I've noticed that," she said sympathetically. "They can be quite mundane."

"Yeah, they can. Still, that's somethin' we both have in common now. We could swap notes, that kind of thing. Magic, spells..." Amanda gave the other girl a hopeful look that was as genuine as any other expression that either had shown. "I ain't that good, an' it would be helpful, havin' someone t' study with. Since you know about it an' all."

Illyana wasn't sure whether the idea of studying magic with this girl was appalling or amusing. She paused for a moment, frowning as though she didn't quite understand Amanda's meaning. "I'm sure it would be helpful," Illyana said apologetically, "but I'm afraid that my knowledge is strictly peripheral. I wouldn't be at all useful."

"Peripheral's better than none, ain't it?" There was something there, Amanda knew there was, but she couldn't nail it down. And the effort of trying was making her head swim.

Illyana's voice was level and clear. "I don't really have much interest in studying magic, really. I've seen -- " she paused, choosing her words carefully -- "what people will do for it. It's not something I wish to pursue."

"Some of us don't get a bloody choice," Amanda muttered under her breath. Something like amusement flickered in Illyana's eyes, and she cursed as she realised the other girl had heard. "Look, I'd better be goin'. Got someone else t' visit, yeah?"

Relief fairly coloured the blonde's bruised face. "Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you from them," Illyana said, true sincerity surfacing for perhaps the first time.

'I bet you don't,' Amanda thought as she stood. "I'll be seein' you 'round, when yer back on yer feet, no doubt," she said, making her tone friendly even if her eyes were anything but. The implication was clear - I'll be watching you.

Illyana smiled slightly. "I'm sure." She locked gazes with Amanda for a brief moment, arrogance and fatigue making her incautious; her look said that she understood, and was not at all worried. "Until then."