Aeria was far less likely to believe he 'knew' anything to support his claim that Elise and her had 'sweated up' the sheets. It was true, that she wouldn't deny to herself, it had been a very enlightening and pleasant experience for her. But she wasn't about to admit it to him. As his words continued on her expression went from slight amusement at his first comment, to worry at his second to once again irritated with his third. Her fist clenched and she took in a breath to restrain herself.

"First of all, don't go making accusations that you can't back up. Secondly, I don't care how or why she came to owe you anything and frankly I probably wouldn't believe you even if you told me, and lastly..." She took in another breath, wanting very badly to release a blast of her power at him, see if that would wipe that arrogant attitude from his face "You will tell me why she is currently 'screwed', and what you want from me. Now. Or I will go find out and leave you here in a broken pile" This time she seemed more likely to act on her threat.

"Accusations?" He snorts, looking at Aeria rather glibly. "This terrible accusation would be truly a horrible weight, true..." His sarcasm fades as he holds up a finger towards her, staying back a reaction. She was aggressive now, bordering on violent, if he had to guess. That was interesting. She didn't, however, seem physically engaged... an act, then?

"You don't have to believe me... you shouldn't trust me at all. But what can I say, when you say up front what I speak does not matter?" Smirking a bit, he holds up his open palm now... he had better get to the point, really.

"But it's simple... I gave her a chance to take something from me, in return for risking something of her own. But she failed... squandered her chances. Elise was capable... but not enough. And her failure, to her, was inexcusable."

A brief chuckle to himself. "She had screwed up, in the worst way. But she had her warning, and still she failed... even knowing how deeply the damage was done. So, your little bedmate 'died'... she literally put 'herself' on the table, and lost."

"I'm telling you this, so you don't make the same mistake yourself...

...because you now face the same puzzle as she did. And so I wonder... what will you do about it?"

Aeria was intelligent, but English was a second language for her and she had been raised in a setting that hadn't had much use for flowery speech. So his words delayed her actions, she trying to figure out just what the hell he was talking about before she came to a conclusion. Perhaps an incorrect conclusion, but again... English was her second language. "You're saying Elise bet herself in a game you played and she lost? And you're challenging me to the same game?" her hand clenched till her knuckles turned white. "And what may I ask stops me from beating you till I figure out what you did with her and go get her as I hardly believe you actually killed her" She felt the tingly sense of electrical impulses sent through her arm, a sign that her ability was manifesting and preparing to be fired. She had become more conscious of that fact as her training progressed, though whether it was a side effect or a requirement to use her abilities she did not know. What she needed was a hospital's worth of lab equipment, though she didn't trust the people at this place to run any tests on her. And for good reason to.

The young man snickers at her reaction... it was about what he expected. Oop. Careful, she was getting ready to attack. Something felt odd about it too... finding out could be valuable, but perhaps he should not push too much.

"What stops you is that she had I had played it out a month ago..." Tilting his head, he smiles at her, watching her closely. She was taking a minute to absorb it... a slow thinker? Or maybe a language barrier issue...

That could be an interesting problem.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves..." A finger was held up, warding off an immediate reaction. "By died... I speak of metaphor. She 'might as well' be a dead woman walking. For now..."

"...but I'm sure you would guess that this is incentive... it can be, but isn't. What it is, is a warning. Tread carefully." A steady look, eyes focused on her as he leans back against the door.

Aeria grit her teeth at his warding gesture, the action only serving to anger her more greatly. In terse, short, and clipped syllables she replied with menace "Speak... plainly. What the fuck do you want with me. And what did she lose to result in her being not truly alive?" Her arm trembled, knuckles white and a drop of blood falling from them. She had clenched her hands so tightly her nails had broken her skin. It would be so simple to just lift her hand and slam his torso with her ability. Leaning against the wall as he was the resulting impact would be... satisfying. For her at least. And what small part of her that was holding back such an action was growing weak as he continued speaking with his air of superiority. Not only that, but having to translate his words in her head was leaving her with a headache. Or maybe it was due to her temper sparking her ability to life. She really didn't know for sure.

Hm. She was boiling over... interesting.

So she definitely had strong feelings for Elise. Otherwise, he would only be annoying. Or perhaps she was very afraid of him herself...

Nah, not really likely. His eyes flickered down at her white knuckles and the slow drip of blood.

"What I want from you is simple. You know her... and seem to be fairly clever. So I've been waiting... to let you try your hand at a similar challenge."

"I gave her a similar chance. She bet herself. No limits and no reservations. Not even a time limit. I just haven't collected yet..."

Slowly, he shrugs a little. "...and it's up to her to change that." He smirks briefly, but it vanishes again. He watches Aeria with half-lidded eyes and a carefully neutral expression. "Up to her. This isn't an offer to help her by risking yourself."

"I'm just informing you... because I doubt she's shared such a tale, and it's a cautionary story for you right now. If you aren't careful, you'll be as bad off as she."

Aeria breathed deeply, seemingly calming herself and she relaxed, body rising up to her full height as she gazed skyward for a moment. Gray eyes then fell onto his form and she stated simply "We have a saying where I come from" her hand rising as she spoke. "The dead collect no debts" releasing all of the energy she had built it in one go. Iso would be hit with the telekinetic version of a sledgehammer unless he managed to dodge and pressed against the wall as he was he was bound to be hurting. The recoil of the ill advised shot hit her a second later, nausea and dizziness hitting her with similar force and driving her to a knee as pain shot through her system. But in her mind it was an easy price to pay to deliver such a shot at him. She really couldn't add anything more besides that, her mind sluggish till the side effect of her ability wore off which usually took about 30 seconds, just to regain her motor and verbal functions and another few minutes to be headache free.

The sudden shift was his warning; he was expecting it. Someone's body couldn't effectively fight with all the tension she had been feeling.

Relaxing and calming was necessary to attack.

But he was expecting something different. Her words readied him, but he didn't see a change in posture, a shift necessary to attack. Was she managing a more careful approach...?

BAM!

He was BLASTED by a force he could not see and did not expect. Slamming back into the door, he managed a groan before collapsing to his hands and knees. He was leaking pale green and red fluids, his body showing dozens of cracks. Not wounds, but splits, where the enwrapped tentacles no longer touched...

...but he wasn't stunned. That wasn't what was going on, despite his lack of movement as Aeria reeled with recoil. A second passed as he sorted out the damage, the rest of his body acting quickly to reconnect and regather itself. Once that was done... there was damage to deal with, numerous cells regaining equilibrium to be brought back in, and re-evaluating the situation.

Slowly, the rest of his body unraveled. Splits widened, body unraveling into long white tentacles. Their forms shifted, the outsides becoming smooth and white, and he resembled a pile of thick noodles for a long few moments.

Then they regathered, reformed. Dead matter was pulled into the center, into his stomach as he retakes shape. He was a few inches shorter now, his clothes reweaving and reforming from long tendrils.

They recovered about the same time. He reforms completely, his body digesting and consuming the crushed and dead material, feeding it back into itself to aid his recovery. But the damage had been done, and he still ached all over from the impact.

"That... that was interesting..." Reaching up, he put a hand on the side of his head, fending off the temporary headache as the reformed body processed all the leftover pain he was feeling.

"...very interesting. Any other surprises?" Eyes narrow as he watches her with a glower, his voice a little rough with pain. "...but really... you seem to be rather attached to that girl. You went into a rage... and it's really quite ironic. Do you know how she got into that situation to begin with?"

Aeria's eyes widened as her attack didn't seem to hit him so much as crack him. Like an eggshell, pieces of him were just no longer connected, as if he was made out of porcelain. Her mouth fell open as he seemed to dissolve into... white worms, a small heap of them now where he once stood. To say she was repulsed by the sight was an understatement. She was absolutely disgusted. The worms began to climb up onto themselves, recreating the appearance of the young male, though slightly shorter than before, maybe she had hurt him... it. To call it a him now was a bit ridiculous.

By the time he... it... was able to speak to her she had risen unsteadily to her feet. Not strong enough to launch another attack, but able to think clearly enough to bluff. Her hand rose again in the same gesture she had used to attack him before and uttered darkly, voice tinged with slight pain "No, but I think I can keep on hitting you faster than you can rebuild yourself" While in her head she lamented "Why do these things never DIE!?" Seriously. What did it take to kill something on this damnable island!?

Tentacles became man once again... he squinted in pain right back at her, straightening slowly. Obviously, appearances could kill in this situation. She got that, apparently, already ready to attack even if she didn't look like she was capable of it...

"You probably can do that." Slowly, he looks from the hand to her, blue eyes looking into her dark gray ones. "But then I'd just retreat. It might help you... but certainly not your Elise, would it?" It was strange... she had a fiercely protective streak for that woman.

"Well, you'd best be careful of that too, you know. A second irony would be another too many... trying to be protective of her by eliminating me, heedless of the risk to yourself, will just force me to focus back on her and not on you. Instead of reforming, I'd merely run and avoid you. After all, you are too dangerous to be around, eh?"

"You know she's a smart girl... but you never asked me how she got into a situation like I described..." Slowly, he shrugs, though his body still relaxed and ready.

"It's pretty simple... she got distracted. Seeking to protect someone else she shared a bed with, she demanded attention on herself instead of them... heedless of the risk to her. Yeah, it sounds romantic... demanding I leave another alone and focus on her instead."

"But you know... that distracted her from the very terms she set down, and doomed her by her own decisions. I had to do little more but accept what she demanded." His eyes were narrowed, watching her with a wary but calm expression, like he was waiting for the perfect chance.

"And so I ask you... we don't need another irony like that, do we?"

Aeria's hand did not drop from it's raised position, palm facing him in what normally would be seen as a 'stop' gesture, but Iso now knew it could be something quite more dangerous coming from Aeria. She was still a bit unsteady on her feet, but the longer they spent talking the easier it was for her to think, move and lessened her headache. So she wasn't going to be as curt or dismissive as she had been... at least until she was back up to about 80 or 90% and could escape herself with a feasible chance of success. Having seen exactly what Iso was made off made her glad of her initial decision to maintain her distance from him.

"First of all she is not 'my' Elise. She is just Elise. She is one of the very few I know in this school who has to deal with the likes of you creatures and thus is an ally. I don't take kindly to you things at all. Attacking and threatening to own or end her life just makes me hate you a little more."

Her palm shifted upwards slightly to aim at his head "Sadly I doubt I can kill you and seeing that you seem to be made of... several things... I doubt you have built in weak points like human's do. So while every part of me wants to kill you right now, I know you'll be able to get away. So... we are back to where we started. What do you want from me? Why did you search me out?"

"You think too literally... not that I care if I'm hated or not." He slowly smirks again as her palm raises up. Everything she said...

Not bad at all, really. "I told you. To give you the same challenge. I told you that tale as a warning. I guess you could take it as a threat... but it isn't a threat, nor an offer. She has to solve your problems... and now you know, you have one of your own."

Slowly, he starts to step to the side. He's... getting out of the way of the door??

"I'm patient. Even if you run, I'll find you again, on my own time... and if you attack, I'll just flee and resume the games with your friend... it's no big deal to me."

"...but it is to you... you can choose the stakes. That's the same agreement I had with Elise... I think it's a fair change, after all, from how things usually go." He was watching her warily, a hand slowly raising up, held in a mirror of her own. If he was going to risk getting hit, he might as well learn something from it...

...although it only looked like he was mocking her. He might get hit for that. But then again, if she attacked that easily, after what he said... "'Air', what are you going to do, then?"

An irritated tick showed in Aeria's expression as he mimed her position, wanting to punch him or blast him with another blast of her telekinetic ability, but she was just shy o being able to do that again. She figured she was at about 70%. She wouldn't dare use it before she was at 80 and she would most definitely prefer 90-100. She took in a small breath to keep herself from doing anything rash. He was right, if she left now he'd just find her again. If she attacked she would just be hurting Elise. Might as well figure out what his game was. "You said that I couldn't offer myself as a stake to win her freedom. So instead I would like, supposing I even choose to do this challenge of yours at all, is for me to never... ever... have yourself or any part of yourself within 100 yards of me. If we can agree on that then maybe I'd play this game of yours. And I would like to know my personal stake is in it. What happens to me if I lose?" Her hand lowered and she crossed her arms under her chest, eying him warily.

"The stakes are your choice... I didn't demand Elise's, nor will I demand yours..."

"...there is but two things to know, then. If you are deciding the stakes, you have to offer up something important in return. By default... well, with this place, I'm sure you can picture what. As for what you gain... that's up to you, and it should be equal to what you lose..."

"...but." His expression changed to a bit of a smirk again, before it faded into a neutral gaze. "There is no alpha, no omega. You can't ask for the beginning or the end... so no... you cannot ask for me to never... ever... be within a hundred yards. Not any more than I could demand the same from you..."

Ico was watching her patiently, starting to slowly circle around her. No... he was not going to try to block the door at all. Not even going to bother. His hand was still raised, strangely... still pointing at her, even though hers had lowered. It wasn't until he circled almost completely around that it lowered, and he stopped to face her directly again.

Hm... she looked... quite appealing. The woman was Romanian, from her records... and quite appealing in her own way. If it wasn't for the school uniform, she could be mistaken for a guy, quite unusual. But there was enough there, hidden in softness here and there and firmness elsewhere...

Although he might still be a bastard and tease her on her very unwomanlike appearance. Or maybe... she'd like that?

"But yes... you decide the stakes. Not just mine, but yours as well... they should be equal, at least to those that receive them."

Aeria's brows furrowed as she faded into deep thought, finally after about a minute she responded "What I want if I win this game is this game is two fold. I want to be able to ask you a single question and have you respond with perfect honesty and detail. That and a knish. If I lose I'll play nice and not use my ability against you again for 12 hours. And you can ask me any one question and I will respond honestly." Her arms remained crossed under her chest. "But I am not playing a game that I don't know the rules to. And if those stakes aren't to your liking then name your own."

Gray eyes tracked his movement around her, keeping him in front of her at all times. The latter part of her demand might seem odd, very very odd. But there was a reason for its randomness. It was possible he might be able to hijack the school cafeteria to make one, but more than likely it would have to be imported. If there were imports, there were transports. Transports meant a small possibility to escape.