[center][b][h1]Dr. Sena Yüksel[/h1][/b][/center]


The tires crept over crackling gravel as she eased through the front gate while the iron bars slowly opened. A darkly tinted window covered a view from the side, but her profile was faintly visible behind the glare of the windshield and the shape of exquisitely expensive sunglasses. Her fingers drummed slowly on the steering wheel as she followed the car path towards the center courtyard and Ashford’s cottage. She would have liked something more exotic, however the little [url=https://assets.autobuzz.my/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/19132025/2020-992-Porsche-911-Targa-4-4S-20.jpg]Porsche[/url] didn’t draw too much attention and was exceptionally comfortable, not that she knew a lot about cars. The Terran fascination with transportation was slightly bemusing at first, but their role as status symbols was undeniable. She loved the feel of the leather under her [url=https://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/olivia-munn-prestige-magazine-hong-kong-may-2015-cover-and-photos_5.jpg]dress[/url] and the controls felt firm and well made. Craftsmanship was something she could appreciate in any reality and the simplistic elegance of the shape ticked the boxes. 

The [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLR4f7h1bdQ]stereo[/url] beat a low and steady rhythm as she made her way watching the movements of students and faculty about the school. Her lips moved occasionally with the words of songs she heard before though the lyrics could sometimes be puzzling. She discovered early on that in Terran language, particularly American English, words could mean [i]literally anything[/i]. Still, the decade of the 1990s seemed to represent the epoch of recent music for the culture. Rap and R&B from the period were her favorites, often those from Los Angeles. She detested rock and roll, grunge and even worse [i]country[/i] music. Her strapped heel clicked down softly and she reached back inside for an equally posh matching bag that seemed to be as barely used as the rest of her ensemble before starting down the pathway towards Ashford’s cottage.

Knowing that the Dean would be out of the city for a few days, she hadn’t been back on the campus since early Sunday morning...

[hider=Sunday Morning, early]

The chain collapsed roughly in front of Ashford dishevelling the few papers neatly arranged in front him. A dried red flake broke and scattered with it covering the white pages in tiny fragments- a substance that he knew, the second it landed on the desk, was blood. He glanced up at Sena standing in the dim light of the office before him. Her features were dark, only shaped by the gentle light of a single lamp on his desk. 

“The collar of your dog.” She said grimly. 

Ashford picked the chain up carefully with a pen, examining the small metallic links in the light tarnished with the DNA of Adam Pierce. “So it is.” He said with a sigh and looking back up at her. “So have you come to finish me off as well?” He waited for an answer. The office was silent for a moment, but her glare roared back at him. “Of course, you wouldn’t do that.” He said finally.

Sena breathed in slowly. Her fingers rippled into a fist at her left hand and loosened again repeatedly. “You sent him there to spy on me.”

“I did.” 

“And you didn’t believe he would get caught?” She scoffed. 

“From what I saw, he nearly didn’t...” Ashford replied. He tossed the chain into a small waste bin unceremoniously and set about cleaning his desk and hands with a small handkerchief. “But he still completed his task.”

Sena shook her head as she watched him nonchalantly toss away the chain. Her lips curled at the sound of it hitting the metal basin. 

“What were you looking for here, Sena?” Ashford said. He tossed the cloth aside as well and folded his hands together. “Were you expecting me to mourn? Give you some sort of capitulation from intimidation?” He said sharply. “No, you already know the answer.” His glance narrowed towards her. “I sent Mr. Pierce to follow you and I considered the information he might recover to be worth the cost of his life. He understood this as well. [i]You underestimated us[/i].”

She shook her head in disgust.

“So now that we are on more equal footing, perhaps you’d like to sit and we can also become more honest with each other.” He motioned with his hand to the very place where Finvarra sat on the small sofa in front of the desk. 

Looking down at the empty space for a brief second, she looked back up towards Ashford. “He would tell me to just kill you.”

“Then that’s a choice you have to make isn’t it?”
[/hider]

Her rage had boiled over at the realization of being outplayed and her head shook lightly at the thought of it as she walked in a powerful stride down the pathway. There was still another play she could make and her thoughts wandered for a moment, fingertips tapping lightly on the side of her bag reaffirming the presence of a solid metal object inside. Among the numerous glances she got, the fortuitous glimpse of a young redhead was the only one to return the attention of her eyes from behind her sunglasses. Nearly to Ashford’s doorstep, a rare smile spread over her lips and she gave the girl a small wave with her fingers as she passed.  

[@Almalthia]