Taking the elevator to the third floor, Eris stepped out and found an open, yet empty classroom. As Thorn stepped in behind her, she shut the door and locked it.

"I'm glad we understand each other, it makes it easier to converse that way." She walked further into the classroom after flipping on the lights, and then found a comfortable desk to lean up against. One hand she rested on the desk, with the other at her side.

"Firstly, I've seen your habits... they won't do in the field. Whenever you're under my watch, I don't want any drinking or smoking, or whatever other unhealthy thing you can do. I need someone who is fully alert to cover me. My mutation is dangerous without such cover, so your drunkeness could kill me potentially." She let the words seep in and then repeated, "So no drinking on the job. After that, I don't care what the heck you do. What you do after hours is your business..." She stared off, "... Just as what I do after hours is mine."

Snapping her eyes back into a position where she could eye Thorn, she continued, "Next, my mutation. It's quite simple really, but perhaps the most complex mutation here. I can bend any natural scientific law... etcetera. That may be a little confusing. Suffice it to say, that I can change gravity, light, time, and various other things. This makes me extremely powerful." She smiled selfishly, then frowned a bit, changing moods instantly, "It also makes me extremely undefended. Every minute I use my power for, I will lose nine minutes of conciousness." She gravely spoke now.

"Please listen to me carefully and make mental notes. This is vital to our success." She cleared her throat. "For every minute I use my power, I lose nine minutes of consciousness. After exactly thirty-six minutes following my first use of the powers, I will literally fall unconscious. This is vital, and confidential. Do not tell anybody this."

She stared at Thorn, "Don't tell a soul. Now, the reason I tell you is this: during those minutes where I am unconscious, I am completely helpless. That's why I need you... to guard me in a sense. Get me out of sight... whatever. Either that or we have to finish the entire mission before thirty-six minutes ends. I also will use my powers sparingly so that I don't get overly tired. I cannot emphasize how important this is. Without me, you will struggle to hold your own, but with me, you'll do well. As long as I'm alive I can help you beyond what you can dream... that's why it's your job to keep me alive. Got it?"

Thorn entered the room and stood to the side as Eris closed and locked the door. I do wonder what kind of speech of mutations must be kept so secret... yet she knew she would learn in due time and thus did not open her mouth. The name Pru sounded distasteful and foreign to the woman of thorns, and thus she was glad that Eris chose to call her Thorn. Then two horrendous words that should never be used together, unless in a joke, flowed from Eris's lips 'No drinking.'

No drinking!? And no smoking!? That's ridiculous. However, knowing how sensitive and vital the mission was, she did not speak out of anger. "Without alcohol and without nicotine, I am the nastiest sober. I suppose that may be used to our advantage, but know that my cravings will make me snappy and unattentive, prepare to face that." It was the only way she could basically tell the woman to watch out because Thorn without alcohol and without nicotine is not good.

Eris had moved on, however, so she did as well as she now intentively listened to the woman tell of her great powers, sort of bragging, but then tell of their faults. "So basically, when you go unconscious, I have to face everyone and not only protect myself, but protect you as well? This task is not too easy so I would prefer if we could get the job done before 30 some-odd minutes."

Even though Thorn had not heard Eris ask her about her own powers, she figured, since they were on that topic. "Well, my powers are not as numerous as your own and are not as limited time-wise. Mine are simply that I can make thorns protrude from my skin and shoot them out of my skin without causing any damage to myself. However, my thorns are only as strong as rose thorns and all though they can pierce skin, they cannot pierce metals or anything that thorns cannot pierce."

She thought for a moment, reviewing all that Eris had just said, primarily disappointed about the fact that she would have to stop drinking and smoking while 'on the job'. Which reminded her, what were they to do to prepare for this distraction. "Is there to be any training session or can we simply jump into action?"

The instant Eris had mentioned the drinking and smoking, Eris thought that she saw Thorn's face turn a shade or two redder... but she ignored it. When the girl replied that she was much better off with the substances, Eris shook her head. "I'm sorry... I can't allow it. Nicotine and Alcahol will not help you focus... they are distractions. They are noise. I do not tolerate noise. I hope you can learn a little from this."

She walked around the desk and stood. "The noise. Always be wary of what the noise will do to you. You have to be a complete person, but you can't be if you allow distractions. My childhood mentor taught me this, and it had become my hallmark. Do not be distracted by the interference... don't allow the noise to get to you."

A deep breath, "I'm sorry... but yes... you'll pretty much have to protect both of us. It's simple really though. I will know exactly how much time I have before the unconsciousness gets me... and so I will know about what time I should start looking for a hiding spot. Once I'm in it, your job will be easier. But rather than worrying about it, I agree that doing the job in under thirty-six minutes would be best."

Eris smiled as she heard the girl's abilities. Dorian had been right. This girl was very talented and very fit to do the job. As long as she held her end of the bargain to protect her, they would work well together. A thought came to Eris' mind, "Thorn, have you ever thought of what you could do if the strength of your thorns were increased? Could it be possible to create a group of your thorns, modify them with equipment, and then re-insert them into your system. Perhaps you could change your entire mutation if it were tried. I would recommend titanium tipped thorns, but it's just a thought."

As Thorn mentioned the training session, Eris shifted uncomfortably in her standing position. She turned and leaned up against the desk again, then glanced around the room as she spoke, "A training session would be an odd use of my skills, but I don't see what we have to lose. The operations of the mission will not be for a few days I am guessing, so that will give me time to recover from my exhaustion. We could begin soon..."

As Eris shared her 'hallmark' about noises, Thorn's eyebrow raised a little. Noise? Alcohol and nicotine were noises? This woman was actually a little humerous in her own overwhelming cofidence. "I understand how they are noises, but sometimes, when one is sidetracked too often by such noises, the noises become a part of that person and without them they are not complete.

My incompleteness lies in giving up what I focus best under. Even if I am to have merely one shot, or even a half a shot a day, the cravings would be settled and my mind would be focused on the task at hand and not on what I am craving." She huffed. No alcohol, no nicotine, it was like telling a child that they could never play tag, color, or sing along to Barney while their mother is around. Like ripping the fun right out of being 21. "However, let us not dwell on noises any longer as it seems we view them differently and will get no where by arguing over it."

When Eris spoke of strengthening Thorn's powers by possibly adding titanium tips, her ears perked up and she listened attentively. "If there were such means by which I could have titanium tips, I would gladly follow through. That would make them more lethal and easier to slice through objects such as metals. Do you know of where I can accomplish this?"

Eris just nodded as her partner in evil continued to go on and on about her addiction. Addiction was noise though, and Katran wasn't about to change her mind about that. The girl would just have to live with it. After hearing her comments, Eris said no further. In fact, she ignored the subject now altogether. She had said what needed to be said, and laid down the rule she meant to lay down. In her mind, this discussion was over.

So she moved on. She listened to the girl wonder about the titanium, and thought about it for a moment. It would be possible. Very possible. In fact, Eris was extremely talented in this kind of thing. She was a surgeon after all. "It can be done. I can do it. I used to be a surgeon, a very successful one. It will be difficult though. First, you have to give me as many thorns as you can feasibly. Then, we will go tip them with the titanium. Finally, I would have to sugically re-insert them into your mutation. In order to do this, I would have to bend mutation a little. But if done right, I can make the change permanant.... I'm almost positive." She smiled at the thought of going back to work. "Your call though..."

Thorn was glad that the conversation about her drinking and smoking addiction had finished and they no longer spoke of Eris's "noises". As Eris spoke of how she could surgically implant the titanium tipped thorns back into her mutation so she could have stronger thorns and thus be more deadly, Thorn smirked.

"As many as possible?" She asked in order to clear up that statement. However, before she recieved and answer, she had extended all of her fingers over a desk and began to extend thorns on her whole hand, not a full inch of skin showed as the thorns covered her whole hand and stopped at her wrist. She did not feel like making as many as possible and figured that a hand full should be suffecient and if Eris needed more, she would provide them. Finally, she shed off her thorns and they gently showered down from her hands. Where thorns had once been, skin immediately filled and her hand looked normal again over a pile of her thorns. "When is the soonest you can accomplish this?" She asked after she placed her hand next to her side again.

Eris took a step backward and looked seriously at Thorn, "Wipe the smirk off your face... it's extremely possible that I can help you here." She watched as the girl flooded her hands with thorns and then listened as she asked her next question.

"When? As soon as you want. We could begin right away. I'll take these," she walked over to the teacher's desk and found a small plastic bag, then walked back to Thorn and slipped the thorns into the bag, "and get them tipped. Then we can begin the operation. It will be simple, quick, and painless. There is really nothing complicated about it. I'll just have to ensure that I replace the thorns in the right spot. Do you know where exactly they originate? Or is it anywhere on your body? If so, this will be much easier."

Thorn did not wipe the smirk off of her face when Eris snapped, instead, she raised an eyebrow while still smirking. "I do not doubt it." She watched as Eris took her thorns and placed them in a bag before posing her next question.

"They don't originate from one spot, they come from where ever I want to shoot them. So it seems as that will make the operation slightly easier. Are we finished here, or am I needed to produce more thorns or possibly my DNA? If we are finished, then I would like to be 'off work' so that I might..." She paused, thinking of the best way to word that she was going to smoke. "...re-energize myself."

"Good." There definitely continued to be some tension between these two women, but that would likely remain for a while. After all, they didn't like each other too much, but they were going to be working together. It was probably better that they didn't like each other actually. That would make them better off in the field. In a twisted sort of way.

Eris stepped toward the door and opened it. "This is all I need. In fact, I'm going to extract some of your DNA from these thorns. I think I can perhaps change the way they produce. But I'm not positive yet. I still need to go test my theory." She took a deep breath and used her hand to flick her hair out of her eyes. "Yes, we're done here. Just don't get too high... I may need you later on, and you never know when Dorian will need us."

Without another word, Eris stepped past Thorn and walked out the door, headed for the lab, if there was one...

Thorn nodded as she too left the room, completely silent, waiting for Eris to walk away. Once she had walked away, the young addict pulled out her cigarette and lighter and lit up the flame. She placed the butt in her mouth and brought the flame close before she inhaled the smoke, allowing the cigarette to burn on it's own. She smirked before she sent the smoke fleeing from her lips.

Gently and with a slight bit of imbalance, Thorn turned and walked in the opposite direction. The first puff had always made her loose her balance, but the rest only made her feel better. Should she quit? She she stop smoking, stop drinking? Ha! No, she was not one to give up the two most valuable things in her life, even if they were going to kill her. Then again, she had always secretly hoped that her mutation made the nicotine and alcohol have less dangerous effects. Yes, cancer was a possibility, but she had not been diagnosed yet and she figured, if she hadn't been diagnosed yet, then why not continue? She was still alive, what are the chances?