* SING YOUR WEARY HEAD TO REST, [morgan]

Jane placed the cigarette between her lips, walking down one of the paths in the garden. No faculty around, she was quite confident she would not be caught. It made her feel like a schoolgirl again, giddy with the anticipation of doing something forbidden, not allowed. She had built her entire existence in the name of the forbidden. She stopped for a moment, cigarette between her fingers as she blew out a puff of smoke so it could mingle with the chilly air. Breathing it back in, the gray cloud held the scent of flowers blooming around her, maintained by the Earths. She remembered her allies well, how gentle and friendly they were. The woman had a different view on them now that her niece had turned out to be one of them. She was far from a saint. Thoughts of Nell were unpleasant, but other thoughts revolving around her were gratifying. She said that she'd think about Jane's offer, but the woman knew she was just biding her time. Her niece thought she could be clever, but Jane was always one step ahead in the game they were permanently caught in. Jane's mind entertained several ideas at once, each one waiting to be put into action.

One of them jumped to the forefront when she saw said niece speaking to a girl nearby. Her blue eyes caught their forms through the jacarandas that should have been out of bloom. Would Nell expect her to be here? Jane was well-respected in the Elemental community, and now that she was living in the Hollow now, she chose to visit the Academy quite a bit. It didn't hold much nostalgia for her, she had never liked Maple Hollow. She was used to New York City, where you only got the mountains up north. Even though she'd spent almost a year in a different kind of concrete jungle, she missed New York. It would always be home. Her niece probably didn't feel the same, but Jane did not yearn for a peak into her mind, only if it was for her benefit. She knew one thing about the girl, at least--if she couldn't control Nell, she'd control everything around her. Naturally manipulative, it was her answer for everything.

Stepping closer, heels crunching against stone, she tried to catch a few clips of conversation. Nell was talking about food, of course, how someone she knew could make an amazing Jumbalaya. Jane made note of how she constantly tried to steer the conversation toward Morgan's interests and her daily life. She knew her niece all too well. Her niece asked how the leader position was doing, and Jane lifted a dark eyebrow. A leader, hmm? "Ah jeez, I have to head off to work," Nell said, and Jane wondered if she worked anywhere else because she knew the girl's schedule at the concert hall. She made a note to keep eyes on her, find out her ruts. Nell constantly changed her situation, but she hoped that she could get a good enough grip from keeping an eye on her. She wondered where she lived now, other areas of her life, and she wasn't content with wondering. The woman needed answers. Nothing would be successful if she didn't have answers.

Jane dropped her cigarette, snuffing it out underneath her heel before slowly strolling toward the brunette. She couldn't put a finger on her age, but she was certainly younger than herself. When she got close to the girl, her face was crestfallen. "Looks like I just missed her," she noted, turning on her heel to look at the young girl. "Do you know where she went off to?" she asked, her eyes bright and wondering. "I beg your pardon, but I'm her aunt, Jane Sinclair. I suppose you're a friend of Nell's?" Her aura may have been intimidating, dressed in all black with heels boosting her height, but she was terribly friendly and outgoing. Her Water elemental genes would never leave her.