wish me a simple death, you're locking elizabeth.

A cool breeze ran through the trees on the edge of the forest, stirring Taebryn from her thoughts as she emerged. She could feel the streak of blood on her cheek chill in the wind and sighed in distaste, heading for the lake where she could get cleaned up out of sight at this late hour. She couldn't risk going into the school with any amount of blood on her - she was the good professor, the proper, helpful professor. She didn't hunt down creatures in the forest and strong arm them into anything or kill them when they stubbornly refused to do as told. No, no, that just wasn't her.

The icy sheen of the lake caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she headed toward it. Upon reaching the edge she dropped down to her knees and scooped up a handful of water, splashing it on her face and scrubbing gently at her stained skin. She rinsed her hands and checked her reflection in the water; all that was left were her robes, but those were quickly taken care of as she pulled out her wand and passed it over them, cleaning them as she went, and her hair.

Taebryn hastily pulled her fiery hair back into a ponytail to tame it some from her recent excursion and then, satisfied with her appearance, she made her way back to the castle. She only needed to walk a few yards, however, before she realized she hadn't been as alone as she would have liked. Not too far from where she currently stood she spotted a man sitting beneath a tree. Upon further inspection of his face she recognized him as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She had seen him only briefly, but as she taught the higher level of the same course she was well aware of who he was, she had to be.

She was unsure of what he had seen, if anything, but rather than risk finding out about it later, she sauntered over to him, prepared to take care of any dangerous matters now while she had him alone - before he could spread rumors. She put on a casual facade in case he hadn't seen anything. No sense in acting suspicious until she knew what the situation was. She plopped down beside him without invitation and crossed her ankles as she stretched her legs out before her. "A lovely evening, isn't it? I should think, however, that a young professor such as yourself would want to get their rest so they'd be able to cope better with their rambunctious and troublesome students."

She wasn't one to talk about young professors. It said right on her records that she was 23. However, she felt some light teasing could open the conversation and tell her just what he might have seen based on his reaction. Not that he'd be a problem for her at all. She could easily charm him to forget anything she wanted him to or bend his memories if she was feeling particularly ambitious. Or so she hoped. With any luck she wouldn't even need to test the theory, maybe he saw nothing at all or maybe he wouldn't care.

He seemed to be relaxed so either he didn't see anything of consequence or he was confident she was no threat to his safety. If it was the latter then the boy was dearly mistaken. He teased he back casually, effortlessly. The more he spoke the more she hoped he hadn't seen anything to deem suspicious. He intrigued her.

Taebryn chuckled, "It speaks highly of your skills for you to be a professor at a young age. Plus, is it not seemingly the goal of all mankind to remain young forever? The look of youth is desirable and thus my assumption that you're young is indeed a compliment." He further mentioned that she didn't look any too old herself and she smirked openly as she met his chilling gaze. Something about it was mildly unsettling, but damn were his eyes gorgeous. Despite the small unsettling part she held his gaze firmly as she whispered almost conspiratorially, "Ah, but how looks can be deceiving!"

All things considered she really wasn't that old, but a lady never went around blurting out her age after she was out of her teenage years and Taebryn was well out now.

She watched her fellow professor lean back against the tree and rested back herself, on her palms. Unlike him she turned her eyes fully toward the sky, not sparing him a glance for a full few minutes. It was protocol to introduce herself at this point, but she wasn't much of one for protocol except where absolutely necessary. Besides, his furtive glances from the corner of her eyes alerted her that he may be curious and she did love to make curious people wait.

A breeze blew by and once it subsided she took in a deep breath of fragrant night air. Taebryn then turned to the man at her side and brushed one hand off on her robes before proffering it to him, "Silly me, I seem to have... misplaced my manners for a moment there. I'm Taebryn Malick, professor of Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts." One side of her lips was quirked upward and a mischievous glint lit up her hazel eyes. "And you are?"

That smirk, that charm. The boy had player written all over him, but who could blame him? He was handsome enough to get away with it. Taebryn wasn't blind, but she also wasn't stupid. Far from it. She had experienced enough in her years, met enough players. She knew the game well and played a fair hand herself. Flattery, charm, winning people over - let's just say Taebryn was accomplished enough with those things to have been a politician. Apparently this new professor was too.

She grinned coyly as he complimented her, saying she looked young. Her gaze came from beneath her long lashes and her lips curved into a perfect bow. She held her mask in place as he introduced himself, as he challenged her subtly. With a soft chuckle she winked, "I look forward to seeing just how... advanced you are. We'll really have to test our skills, won't we?"

She had a feeling one day they really would have need of matching skills against each other - for one reason or another. A part of her was excited at such a prospect - she was always open for a challenge - but another part of her was sad that she might have to one day rid the world of such a pretty man. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Taebryn was a shallow person, she'd admit it openly. She liked pretty people and pretty things. Damien's looks were some of the most aesthetically pleasing she had ever seen. It would be just awful to lose them, but if it came down to one pretty man or everything she had worked for? The pretty man would have to go.

At least for a while his looks were safe. He didn't seem to know anything about what she'd been doing or he was very, very good at hiding it. If he were taking such measures to hide it though, surely he had no intention of telling anyone else what he saw, at least not yet, which meant he still wasn't a threat at the moment. Taebryn smiled to herself, content.

"It is a shame it isn't night all the time. I do love the sun, but the night is so much more soothing, don't you think? It helps that at night the world is quiet, no students milling about. Don't get me wrong, I love my students, but we all need a break sometime, right?" Love her students? Hmm. Well she didn't hate them, but she was really more indifferent toward them. Perhaps it was the age gap... or perhaps it was something else entirely. Taebryn would never say.

"I bet all the girls are just smitten with you, Professor Wilde. What a fitting name, I must say..." There was something quite wild about the man. She couldn't place her finger on it. Maybe it was the calculating icy blue eyes or the casual nonchalance with which he lounged. Maybe it was the general air that surrounded him. Maybe it was his young age. no matter what it was it was rather intoxicating. It was a much needed switch in tempo from the steadfast beat of the school and the other much more... disciplined professors. Perhaps with Damien around acting more Devil may care she too could unwind a bit, but no... she would still be the model professor. Things just worked better for her that way.

Forget about Devil may care, this boy was straight up the Devil. He was smooth, charming, flirtatious, handsome... he was the worst mix and yet it was perfect. "I do believe they are all smitten. How could they not be? You're much closer to their ages than other professors and I am not ashamed to admit that even I find you quite attractive. So imagine, young teenage girls who are highly impressionable - oh, they're all in love with you already."

He asked if she thought he was wild and she smirked, leaning in to his ear and whispering, "Oh, yes, quite wild. So tell me, am I right or am I wrong?" For an extra notch in the flirt meter she gently breathed out a puff of air and let it feather across his ear before pulling away. It had been a long time since she had flirted with anyone, she'd been far too busy with other matters, but that didn't mean she had forgotten how. It was like riding a broom - once you learn you never forget.

"You know, I really must say I think you're a lot of things, Professor. Some of which are quite obvious, some of which are not. We've established that I think you're wild and of course attractive. Flirtatious. Mysterious. Intelligent." Taebryn had turned back toward the lake, but she glanced at him from the corner of her eye with each new adjective for him. "And a few more things I don't particularly want to tell you just yet. I think I'll let you guess the rest or try to pry it out of me if you can."

"It's no fun if I just hand information over, right?" She had never found it fun to simply receive information. She'd always liked a bit of a challenge, a bit of a game. Every victory is sweeter when earned, that was her motto.

His suggestive words, the slight raise of his eyebrows, they made Taebryn smirk in a predatory sort of way. There was something about him that had her skin crawling in anticipation, tugging at her desire. He was a sexy beast and she was just seconds away from pouncing him and making him hers. No, no... she couldn't do that. She had to ignore her sexual desires and focus on more important matters than this young professor, no matter how beautiful he was. No matter how handsome a play toy he'd make.

"I'm certain they'll all be far too distracted. They are teenagers after all and teenagers are constantly like animals in heat, wouldn't you agree?" She chuckled and shrugged. To herself, she had to admit that there was a danger of her acting just the same if she wasn't careful. Perhaps she should have seen to her desires a little more frequently instead of always worrying about her plans. It would make the likelihood of that behavior considerably less.

Especially when he mentioned showing her how wild he was someday. The guttural growl that wanted to escape her lips was proof that she wanted someday to be right then, but the fact she held it off meant she was still in control. She needed to maintain control at all costs. "Do restrain yourself, Professor Wilde. Otherwise we might have quite the situation on our hands, don't you think?" She kept up her flirtatious tone, not willing to drop it just yet though that would probably be best.

He played her game, leaning close and whispering in her ear. He said all the right things and caused Taebryn to bite her lip ever so gently to try and keep a hold on herself. "Flattery will get you nowhere, that I can assure you. Well, nowhere except my bed of course." She turned back to him with a wicked smirk, "It will not get me to tell you anything. If you don't want to guess what else I think of you, perhaps... you could test different ways to make me talk? I certainly won't tell you those weaknesses. That would be as good as simply telling you what I think then, wouldn't it?"

She filed away this information about how he hated to not know things. Precious tidbits for a rainy day. Or simply a nice way to for her to pass time - teasing him a bit, getting him a little hot under the collar - in more ways than one. Sometimes having plans was such a pain. What she wouldn't give to be able to have some flat out fun with this boy, to act on her lust and get it out of her system. She knew herself too well though. After so long depriving herself of exactly what she wanted now, she would over indulge and it could have disastrous consequences for her schedule.

Such a charmer. Taebryn smirked and shook her head as Damien complimented her eyes. Oh, he was definitely aiming for her bed. She didn't mind one bit, but alas, pretenses to keep up. She'd have to at least drag it out a 'suitable' amount of time for 'normal' people. She couldn't just drag him off to her office and have her way with him when she was supposedly a good professor.

Inwardly she sighed and cursed this persona she chose to hold. Unfortunately, it was the only option if she wanted to work at Hogwarts and she did want to work there. She always had since she was a child actually, though over time her reasons changed slightly.

"What makes you weak? I will try anything to make you talk..."

Something in Taebryn felt both excited and threatened by his statement. If it wasn't for the fact that she was certain she could take him, she'd have definitely been worried, but as she was confident in her skill and she was aware it wasn't a serious threat - at least at the moment - she mere gave him a minx-like grin.

"Come now, really, you're so lazy! Why must I tell you? Besides, isn't experimentation fun? I always thought it was. You try different things until you find something that works and then you take full advantage of your unwilling, or occasionally willing, victim and their vice. That's the proper way to play the game." She chuckled and glanced up to the castle briefly, then toward the sky.

The night was progressing quickly and Taebryn was feeling the beginnings of exhaustion creeping up on her. She had an early class in the morning, but Damien's company was intriguing and a lovely change of pace from her usual crowd at the castle. She'd stay a little longer before making her apologies and skipping of to bed. Sadly, she was well aware she'd most likely be heading there alone. The minute she could cast of her professor persona she would be the happiest woman in the world. And Damien, should he still be around, would be the first thing she jumped on and 'attacked'.