The ancient ruins were most certainly not a foreign place for her. She visited now and then, though there was really no reason for her to ever do so. Most often she simply found herself bored, and rather than do something productive with her time, she usually went exploring. This particular night was one of those nights she found herself with nothing else to do, and so, with a mind their own mind, her feet had led her to the ancient ruins.

Her footsteps were anything but quiet as she approached. When Cordelia made an entrance, she preferred to make an entrance. The leaves and the grass crunched beneath the pounding force of her feet, and her cloak flapped against her legs, since the wind was blowing in the same direction she was walking in. She had neglected to bring her hat with her, but in the darkness, she didn’t think it would be necessary, anyway. The only thing it might have helped to prevent was her hair whipping into her face, but that was a minor detail that she could deal with.

Finally, the old place came into her sight, causing the muscles of her mouth to twitch upward in a bit of a smirk. The place was destroyed completely beyond repair, and in a way, that feeling pleased the vampire to no end. Destruction and death often went hand in hand, and though she didn’t know the real story behind this place, she liked to think that something absolutely terrible had happened to make it this way. It was a twisted thought, but it filled her stomach with a fluffy, almost joyful, feeling.

As soon as she reached the center of the ruins, Cordelia stopped, taking in a large breath of the air. It was nice to just be there… even if there were places nearby she didn’t like very much. The cathedral put a sick feeling in her stomach, but the woman did her best to ignore this. As long as she didn’t get too close to it, she would be perfectly fine. She had taken enough damage the last few days, and she didn’t entirely plan on getting any more injuries. Avoiding the holy area would be a simple enough task. Then, of course, there was the cemetery. That was a lovely place… and it would have been a lot better if certain people she was related to weren’t buried there.

Exhaling, the vampire looked around the ruins. It was a desolate place, so hopefully, unlike everywhere else she went, no one would end up bothering her. After all, who actually visited a place like this on a moonless, cloudy night, when there were so many better things to do with time? Confident that she was going to be alone for at least a little while, Cordelia sat down on the broken stone path, plucking a piece of grass up from between the cracks and examining it for a moment before tossing it aside and closing her dark blue eyes.

Mara walked amongst the ruins. Her dark figure blending in with the darkness. The night was welcoming, beautiful. No distracting stars in the sky, and no moon. This night, was a better night then the dark sorcerer could ask for. As she went, her elegant black cloak fluttered after her, the wind against her. Her hood was down, so her pale face looked white in the windy night. Her hands were folded into her long sleeves of her dress she wore, that hit against her ankles. Her long black hair was pulled back in a tight bun on the back of her head, to keep it from blowing in her face.

Her eyes wandered among the broken buildings, considering what may have happened here that seemed to have happened so long ago, she wanted to find out what had happened to cause destruction to such a beautiful city, but so far, she has found nothing on how it got destroyed, she had even went to Taras once, in search of information on the city, but found nothing. That annoyed her a little, as she loves to have knowledge of all things, but she accepted the fact that there must be no way of finding out the truth of the city. Maybe the once people who lived here, and caused a terrible crime and the gods punished the people by destroying their city. There were so many possibilities.

Something caught her eyes, someone else walking through the ruins. She stopped in her tracks, and pulled the dark cloak about her shoulders to keep her warm, and wondered about seeking out this person she saw, for all she knew, it could be a ghost, there were rumors of ghosts in this place, but only rumors, no one could confirm such tales.

Mara walked on then, going towards where she had seen the figure last, but saw nothing, the darkness among the ruins made it so she could barely see. Sighing, she flicked her hand in a quick motion, and soon, her vision was like seeing in daylight. She glanced about, now being able to see almost anything, even in shadows. She had used the spell Ebon Eyes, it gave the caster the sight to see through any darkness, even magical darkness. This made everything much easier for her.

She headed towards the center, hoping to find something about this city, looking for some knowledge of what may have happened, but once she reached the center, she lingered in the shadows, seeing someone up ahead, who was sitting down. Mara knew right away it wasn't a normal human. Mara also noticed the person who sat there was a woman. She put on a friendly smile, even though, inside, kindness and friendliness was never to be found. She walked towards the person.

"Well... What is this we have here? The ruins isn't safe common people." She said, in a friendly voice. She stopped not too far from the woman, and she cocked her head at the person, wondering who this was, and what it was.

The moment she had heard footsteps, Cordelia knew the tranquility was bound to end. Her left eyelid twitched slightly and her fingers curled into her palms to form fists, trying to relieve her anger before it started. The evening had started off so well! For a moment, she almost hoped the footsteps would stop; maybe it was just an animal that was passing through. However, the noise grew louder and even approached her. All hopes for having a bit of loneliness for once were dashed and Cordelia’s eyes popped open, shooting a glare toward the girl that was speaking to her now.

"Well... What is this we have here? The ruins isn't safe common people."

“Precisely why I’m here,” Cordelia said, turning fully now to face the other female. She was hardly ‘common’, and in fact, she wanted to take that as an insult. Almost every word that someone said could be twisted into an insult by Cordelia’s ears. It wasn’t that she was sensitive, or even had bad hearing; arguments were exciting for her and she loved trying to make other people wrong. It gave her a sense of accomplishment and power that she didn’t really get anywhere else.

Though she wasn’t feeling very up to it, Cordelia pushed herself off of the ground, sighing as she straightened to her full height. She looked down at the other female, who was clearly younger and more feminine than she was. “I’m anything but a ‘common person’, my dear little girl,” she said with a hiss. She detested using such endearing terms, but words like that often got on the nerves of other people. Besides, the sarcasm was nearly dripping off of her voice; the younger girl would have to be blind not to detect it. “What would ever give you such a ridiculous idea?”

She walked toward Mara, reaching her within just a few simple strides. Height certainly had its advantages. “If someone’s common here, I think it’d be you.” Again, Cordelia looked at Mara from head to toe. A dress, her hair neatly pulled back – it almost disgusted the vampire. She was dressed in men’s clothes, and her own much shorter hair was a complete mess against the angles of her marble white face. People who were ordinary, as Cordelia was assuming this other girl was, rarely did anything important in their lives. “Because I most certainly am not the one who is in any sort of danger.”

Though it wasn’t meant to sound threatening, it had come out that way. Cordelia groaned inwardly; her words had a habit of taking on different meanings and soundings than she intended. It was a terrible thing, especially when she was doing her very best to avoid any sort of trouble.

Mara watched the odd woman, but did not slink away in fear, nor did she shudder, or show any signs of fear. She stood where she was in the wind, keeping a calm gaze unto the woman who was glaring at her. She smirked slightly when the woman spoke, how precisely she was here. This was confirming that this person was no one normal, and it made Mara very curious indeed. She watched the woman push herself off the ground, and noticed how this person was taller then herself, and seemed to be trying to be intimidating, but nothing of the sort worked on Mara, all she's been through in her little life she's spent, all the fear seemed drained out of her.

“I’m anything but a ‘common person’, my dear little girl, What would ever give you such a ridiculous idea?”

She didn't like being called a little girl, but she figured thats how she must seem to this older woman. The elf merely smiled. "Oh, I know your not a common person. I just needed a confirmation, to make sure I'm not wrong about you being... a unnatural being. And you just confirmed my thinking." She said, her eyes glinting erieely. She watched the woman walk towards her, but she continued to stand her ground and act all calm about it. The woman would be able to notice that Mara was not a afraid, well, usually anyone who tried to intimidate, or threaten her would notice this.

“If someone’s common here, I think it’d be you.”

She gave the woman a thin smiled. Yes, she would be considered 'normal', but she did not like to think herself normal, seeing as she is a dark sorcereress, and a powerful one at that. "If you wish to think me common, then very well, think that." She merely said, in a quieter voice.

“Because I most certainly am not the one who is in any sort of danger.”

Mara was now very amused. She noted all the sarcasm before, and now noted the threatening sound, and none of it bothered her. If this woman tried to hurt, or kill Mara, she would remember to use some of her most painful spells, but first, she thought it would be best to figure out what this woman was, and her weaknesses, if she ever had a chance to do so. She pulled her cloak about her more.

"You have no idea who I am. So, I wouldn't jump to conclusions on who's the one in danger and who's not." Mara said, smiling her thin smile again. She looked the woman over, thinking something familiar, but that had happened a week or so ago, so she wasn't sure. She thought this familiar feeling over a moment, then shook it away, she would think about it some other time, when she wasn't in the presence of this... thing. Now she needed to speak to her "friend" Fehade, he may help enlighten things for her, so she told herself over and over again to remember to have Malie send the tiefling a letter.

"I have a feeling you won't tell me what you are, even if I ask kindly."She said, mainly to herself.

"Oh, I know your not a common person. I just needed a confirmation, to make sure I'm not wrong about you being... a unnatural being. And you just confirmed my thinking."

Great, more people who were probably going to find out what she was and know her strengths and weaknesses. Cordelia grunted, obviously not very pleased with this news. “Glad to have been of service,” she spoke sarcastically, her eyes glinting with a bit of anger. She never seemed to know the right thing to say… and she didn’t entirely appreciate this little girl trying to figure out what kind of being she was. What did it matter to her if she was ‘natural’ or ‘unnatural’? Freak, much?

"If you wish to think me common, then very well, think that."

She certainly wasn’t very spirited. Cordelia had clearly been offended and insulted by being called common; she wondered why this girl wasn’t. Her voice was quiet, so maybe she actually was common. No matter what, Cordelia was taking Mara lightly. The younger female didn’t seem like very much of a threat, so what reason did she have to worry? She was a vampire, she was older, she was stronger… there was no point. “Indeed I will,” she responded in an even tone of voice. “Nice to see someone who finally won’t stop be from thinking what I’ll think.” She smirked just a little bit. She could at least give the other credit for such a small thing.

"You have no idea who I am. So, I wouldn't jump to conclusions on who's the one in danger and who's not."

Her dark blue eyes narrowed and looked at Mara, trying to figure out what she was up to. Before she had been telling her it was all right to think of her a certain way, but now she was bossing her around and telling her not to jump to conclusions. Cordelia didn’t enjoy dealing with hypocrites, even if she was one herself. “Is that a threat?” she growled, not having liked the wording of that particular sentence. It didn’t sound very kind; but then again, she should have expected it after her own statement had sounded vicious. Maybe the girl was just playing Cordelia’s game, which in any case, was highly boring. She probably wasn’t going to be worth any of the vampire’s time.

"I have a feeling you won't tell me what you are, even if I ask kindly."

“Smart girl,” Cordelia credited with a smirk. She wasn’t going to tell a hypocritical little brat who or what she was, especially when she had no business knowing. She didn’t have to tell anyone who she was, nor did she have to explain herself. Kindness meant nothing to her, either, and in her opinion was simply a weakness. No one ever got anywhere in their lives by showing kindness and compassion to anyone. “You catch on quickly.” The vampire smirked. Others would have thought the vampire would tell them, even if she was a complete grouch… at least this girl seemed to have a bit of potential.

“But I would like to know what you are. So, please, do tell.” Cordelia didn’t care if it was a double standard; if she wanted to know something, she would ask, and right now she was asking. If Mara chose not to tell, then it wasn’t an extremely big deal.

Mara kept her dark eyes on the other, her curiosity about this one was strong, but she kept that down, not wanting to seem all anxious about it. She stayed patient, and calm. She looked the woman up and down, wondering what type of being she may be. Now, Mara was considered just a normal elf, but she had her differences from her race, just no one knew about that. She kept it a secret, the only one who knew the most about her was either dead, or Fehade. He knew a lot about her, like she him, they kept no secrets. She stood still and silent, not even caring in the slightest that this woman was taller, and could even be a threat, but Mara already knew that, and was very ready if she needed to defend herself, as that is what the elf has been doing for several years.

“Glad to have been of service,”

Mara took notice of the glint of anger, and Mara merely smirked. Not many people out in the world seemed to have enough patience. She folded her hands under her cloak, her hand felt the cool handle of her bone hilted dagger. She just let her hand drift by it, and then rested her hand on her hips. Her calm gaze seemed to look through the other woman.

“Indeed I will, nice to see someone who finally won’t stop be from thinking what I’ll think.”

Mara started to think this woman talked a bit to much, but also this woman reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite figure out who, and that made her a bit more curious. Mara was just going to let the vampire think her common, after all, that is what she looked like, but a common person wouldn't be out here late at night. She glanced about the ruins, thinking she should try to find some fresh ingredients for potions and other things, but right now, her main attention was on the woman. She decided not to say anything to that, since there seemed nothing to say.

“Is that a threat?”

Mara considered this, then shrugged. "Only if you take it as a threat. If you do, then what you said to me earlier, will seem like a threat towards me." She answered in a smooth voice. She fingered the edge of her cloak, and smiled slightly. This person was another hot-headed one, and a quite sarcastic one at that.

“Smart girl, you catch on quickly.”

She rolled her eyes. Fool, she merely thought, slightly getting tired of the way this woman spoke to her, and all. She was getting bored also, she wasn't getting any good information, only on how this woman acted, and she was defiantly not interested in learning about behavior.

“But I would like to know what you are. So, please, do tell.”

Her smile was gone, but still there was a calm look about her. "I like everyone to think me just a common elf, it doesn't cause any complications." She merely said, and waved her hand a little. It didn't quite matter what she really was, even if she was basically just a elf, but she had her secrets.