A Nameless Shadow

 Wendy was no longer worried about this stranger being the shifter she was avoiding.  She would have been attacked or immobilized with a spell by now and certainly wouldn’t be asked so questions regarding who she was.  One last thing needed to be known before she could trust this stranger. Well, as much as you could trust a stranger that is.

Maleficent raised her eyebrows.  "A wielder of magic," she said quietly, "but one who lives longer than any human."  She nodded.  "Intriguing.  Easy to...disguise."  Maleficent had spent decades disguising the peculiar shade of her skin, the bizarre angles of her face, the point of her ears...

Gerri watched the other woman as she took a few steps towards her. She moved with a certain elegance that intrigued the vampire. “Huh. Well, I suppose if you address me by my name— I think that would be the easiest way. And if you knew where to find me, I am certain you already know that as well, do you not?” she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"Interesting."  Maleficent continued to advance upon the stranger, intrigued.  "Professor Dandridge, then?" she indicated the piece of paper taped to the outside door of the classroom.  "It isn't a pseudonym?"  Maleficent had never met another person with her name, and she found all similar names (Millicent, Mallory, Melanie) distasteful at best.  She'd also never had a last name.  She was from a time when people were "of" their families or their kingdoms.  She had taken many pseudonyms over time, but when possible, she avoided giving any name at all.

Exactly that?  Maleficent straightened her posture.  Now she was getting somewhere.  "I make it a point never to reveal more than I know," she replied.  "Supposing you were to tell me who you are..." she quirked one eyebrow "...or perhaps, more pressing, what you are, then I might be inclined to share such information about myself."

Her gaze finally lifted up as she was addressed by her title, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she took sight on who had come before her. “You are never one to disturb me, Maleficent,” she assured, speaking nothing but the truth. “You wouldn’t have come to talk to me if you hadn’t deem it important.”

"Ah, but importance varies greatly with perspective," Maleficent replied.  She traveled far and wide in pursuit of knowledge, and surely the woman known as the Witch-Queen must possess a great deal of that, but Maleficent had little to offer in return but for her magical skill. 

She was looking down as the other person spoke, lost in her thoughts. The voice had caught her by surprise, even if she didn’t lift her gaze. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty," said Maleficent with a small bow of her head.  "I did not mean to disturb you.  Nothing of any importance, I assure you."  She was only passing through, really.  Avoiding her home that was no more.

Gerri’s smirk grew a little bit wider. “Please. You don’t have to be that formal around me.” she informed her with a nod of her head, slowly starting to pack her things so she would be able to call it a day.

"Don't I?" Maleficent wondered, taking a step into the room.  "Aside from Professor, I know nothing by which to address you."  It was a bit forward of her, certainly, but she was a highly reactionary person by nature.  She found the stranger's words rather forward, and responded in kind.

"I do beg your pardon, Professor," Maleficent replied with a small bow of her head.  She was only faintly aware of the significance of the title--enough to gather that her error had been one of misinterpreting rank or prestige.  A far less grievous error now than it had been in the past.

Into The Shadows || Maleficent & Vanessa

Maleficent halted at the sound of footsteps.  The sound of blundering--of someone whose footfalls were uncertain in the dark woods--piqued her interest, and she followed them to their source.