"Sure, I'll take a room. May not be in it often, but I'll be close enough. How close would you like me to be?"

She rolled her eyes. He was so complacent that it was getting to the point of obnoxiousness. Not that she needed another thorn in her side, but this amount of built in fealty seemed like a big fat dupe. No. It was a big fat dupe. All the while punctuated with Dean Adwin, Dean Adwin, Dean Adwin. Didn't it ever shut off?

Lori tugged at her hair. It was down now from its professional pins and swinging around her shoulders and pulling on it didn't shut off the flow of name. "You don't need us." As evidenced by the efficiency in which he handled the task. He could be a lone shark in one of the biggest ponds out there. The big apple could have been his oyster... or something like that.

But they needed him. The needed spine and fear and the understanding of how to wield those tools. She couldn't spoon feed every one of them and she was tired of trying. Lori sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, the only other seat in the room.

Dean Adwin, Dean Adwin, Dean Adwin.

"Why are you here, Dean?"

She ran her fingers through her hair and looked up at him from across the meager space. It should be him in her position, but it wasn't. She didn't discount that this was all a ruse and he was here for her head (or someone else's head) and a bounty that might accompany it. And still... she wanted to know it from his own lips or his own mind.

Sweet Miss Lori was getting frazzled. the proof was in the pudding and it was all over her face. Her hair was coming out of the pins and she was pulling at it, her eyes rolling. Going was the professional boss lady and in her place was the frustrated teenager, finding a man rather than a boy to toy with. "You don't need us." A genuine smile crawled over the face looking at her. It had been some time since the skin had contorted in such a fashion. Probably when he was watching the fear crawl into the Irish Lass like a new plague." True enough. I'm glad to see you want to actually talk. I was wondering when we might be social and friendly. You're right and you are wrong. I have worked for many organizations over the years, all for different reasons. Used to be money. Money is no longer an issue." He stood long enough to twirl the chair on its leg, taking a seat in it properly, tipping back in it slightly.

" I am here because I know how violent your group is. Finally, without the bondage of a payout, I can really get into my work. Few rules and fewer taps on my shoulder if I kill targets rather than scare the hell out of them." Time to switch roles on the pretty young thing. "You definitely need me, though. Your enthusiasm couldn't be more obvious. Am I an egocentric sociopath? Of course I am. You need that though. Especially since you seem to be the new girl in charge." Roland let his tongue play in his mouth after letting that little lovely do its damage. True enough, he was no fresh apple off the tree. He'd been watching.

The room was getting smaller for them both. No longer was it bright eyed applicant looking for structured superior's approval. Now it was a man and a woman, talking. Door could be closed and blinds pulled or windows could be wide open. He'd seen this look of distress before. Some people, regardless of gender, were fairly used to making their own rules and all others abiding. When they encountered someone of their own caliber or beyond, they became frazzled, as rules no longer applied. It had to be a living nightmare. Roland needed to answer the question properly. "I'm here to get my hands dirty. Dirtier than they have ever been, if such a thing is possible. I'm here to explore my medium as a proper artist, to really grow as a professional and individual. If I happen to shake your foundations in the process, so be it." He put his killer eyes on her for a moment."Why are you here?"

The problem with a meeting like this was that when a snake met a snake, they had to find out how not to get their scales in a bunch. Or rather, since this snake wanted to keep that snake... and that snake knew it... At least he'd stopped repeating the name. Lori went from tugging at her hair to deftly plucking the pins out.

It was a matter of respect, really. Like always she would have to prove herself in some way. She would have to find the meat of the matter and make it work for both involved. Playing vulnerable usually went over better with the menfolk. This one was obviously not a eunuch, but he had his initial priorities straight. He had his goals.

She just wasn't used to dealing with another snake. She typically avoided them unless she wanted a challenge and wrangling the Order was challenge enough. She had no intention to steer Dean as she might have once tried. Lori flicked a pin toward her bathroom and listened to the tinkle of metal on tile as she digested his articulations.

He wanted to get his hands dirty. But he could find enemies on his own. Did he want to serve their purpose? He didn't strike her as a zealot. Did that mean he needed or wanted sanctuary with his own kind? He didn't strike her as needy. Or perhaps he was looking to tap the Order's own "artisans" and sharpen his skills on mutants as iron sharpened iron. She looked at him long enough that he seemed to feel the need to keep talking.

Egocentric sociopath? They had plenty of that around here already. What was one more? He could claim to be the flipping Easer Bunny so long as he decimated anything along the path she set him along.

Maybe that was it after all. The intelligence masked behind the eager beaver. He just wanted a direction. Not for purpose or pride, but simply because he wanted to enjoy the ride instead of the preparations.

She did smile at the "If I happen to shake your foundations in the process" part. Egocentric maniac, indeed. He gave good scary eyes. She believed them down to her bones, but she was already smiling. It just wasn't enough to wipe away her amusement.

"...Why are you here?"

"Because no one else was, because I wanted something a little bit bigger than long term scams, because I suck at everything else, but mostly it's just for funzies." Not that knocking around on the streets wasn't just dandy, but she'd gotten a little too attached and it was time to get her head back in the game. "There also just happened to be a serious power vacuum which happened to be just my size."

Lori was now imagining another hole in the Order's power structure. Something a bit Dean-shaped, as long as he turned out to be the right kind of sociopath.

An opportunist. Nothing wrong with that. Roland thrived on opportunity, so working for someone who did as well could only mean success. He appreciated the idea of not only thinking, but working outside the box. The box was for nine to fivers, desperate for some fleeting idea of a vacation at the end of the year. The box was for the little tyrant, whose schemes wrapped him up tight in it. Lori was something fresh and new. He hadn't seen much in the way of action or power from her, but suspected that a show could be arranged if needed.

" So what happened to your former superior? The crazy eight bonkers lass with the candy striped hair? She seemed rather formidable when I saw her in action. Did you just put a pillow over her head? Maybe snuffed out her electrons?" Roland chuckled a bit, a pack of Dunhill Internationals coming from his pocket. He opened the pack and put one of the fresh cigarettes in his mouth, standing and stepping to the door. He saw no ashtrays, so he would drop his ashes on the hallway floor rather than muck up her room. A Zippo appeared in hand, open, his finger snapping the wheel and lighting the smoke. A long draw and he exhaled into the room.

"So, running an organization and manipulating mutants is funzies. That it? I surely doubt you are a one trick pony." She had many tricks, no doubt. He watched as pins went sailing into the bathroom. The last one she removed left her hand and entered his mid flight. It was palmed and entered a back pocket." I'll take a room to exercise in. I am sure you have other places to do that as well here, judging from the size of the place. What other luxuries await in this place? What would keep me here longer?"

"So what happened to your former superior?"

Funny. She'd never considered the woman her superior in any way excepting height. She was a leggy b*tch. "She died or ran away wither her tail tucked between her luscious legs. Doesn't matter. Hardly anyone respected her here. If she decides to come back it won't ever be the same for her.

A pink tongue flashed over her lips at the sight of a crisp cigarette. He was partly courteous in making it to the hallway to flick his ash away. Partly evil for blowing his smoke into her room. Second hand lies, second hand smoke. She was a pale comparison of what she wanted. It was just so hard when her wants conflicted. She'd had to suss out priorities. She just couldn't have it all.

Lori worked on cracking her knuckles for something to do besides drool towards Dean's cigarette. Cracking her knuckles was a harder feat than it used to be since the bones in her hands were secured by stiff wire. It was good to keep the metal malleable. She was glad to be able to make a fist again.

She also had no real read on what he meant by assuming she wasn't a one trick pony. It sounded a bit like a backwards compliment so she'd rather just take it. She would have liked to know the context behind the thought, though.

And a room to exercise in... what a weird-o. "There is a fully functional exercise room set up for simulations. It's sort of a replica of the gig they've got running at the Xavier's School, cafeteria with a 24/7 on call staff, library, rec room, traditional gym, vehicle bay, and cathedral... if you're in to that kind of thing." Truth be told the Sanctuary was built pretty much on top of the cathedral's cemetery. No one here seemed to mind in the least.

She watched him for a moment, the last pin from her hair had never tinkled out it's place on her bathroom floor. It probably just settled on the carpet in front of the bathroom, but it left her with a lack of feeling of resolution.

Her thumb did finally pop, though and that was enough for her to stand. "There is room left on this hall if that is what you wish." She opened the door wide enough for her to slip past him. She reached slowly and deliberately for his cigarette. Temptation was just so delicious. She watched him to see if he would let her have it. If he would let her take it deliberately from his lips and put it between her own.