First day of this? (Jacoby)

[Jacoby Michaels]

Jacoby nodded. Though one could have never guessed by the straight expression on his face, he was glad to hear that she would never force her way into one's mind. It was a concern he had from time to time. A deep rooted fear, if he were honest. Of course, there was some irony to Jacoby having such a fear. For the most part, he lacked a filter. He spoke whatever came out and didn't care what others thought. However, even a man like Jacoby had his dirty little secrets. "I can't say I do," he admitted, without giving a reason why. If he wanted to give a reason why, he'd let her figure it out.

"And metamorphmagi who are abusing their ability to look like others," he blurted out randomly, then added, "Of course, that's not very common. Though, it has happened once while I've been an Auror. In our world, you never entirely know what to expect," he said. He nodded at her words. The fact of the matter was, the truth hurt. If people couldn't accept that, that wasn't his problem. Jacoby was a man of truth. He'd never pretended to like someone, he'd never pretended to share an opinion... hell, he never even lied to his wife when he thought a dress made her look bigger than she was. All based on the philosophy that the truth hurt and people would have to deal with it.

"The truth can be painful," Jacoby said with a shrug, "If people are too sensitive to handle it, that's not my problem. More people should realize that not everyone is out to wound them emotionally," he said, "I feel like people are getting more and more sensitive. It's not always a good thing," He nodded when she explained that she'd been through Auror training in some ways. Good. Maybe that meant that she wouldn't have to train under him for too long. Maybe that would knock off at least one of the three years. Maybe even two of them. "It's standard procedure I at least make sure you know what you're doing," he explained, "I think we'll start with concealment if that's okay with you. Was always my favorite class," he added.

Her question baffled him. He tilted his head, eyes on Eclipse as he thought about it. He briefly allowed his mouth to twitch into something resembling a smile, but it was gone just as fast as it had shown up. Stress. Yes, he had been stressed recently. But he didn't think he was at that moment. In fact, he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling at that moment. So terrible at understanding emotions, he often couldn't even understand his own. "If I'm to be honest," he began, "I don't like to take breaks. It builds character if you work though everything," he said, aware that some would argue with the logic, "I've been through a lot lately, but I try not to let it interfere with work. Two separate lives," he added with a nod, holding up two fingers as if to put emphasis on the two.

[Deleted]

"Guess that's up to you then. Won't force anything if need be but only if I am forced to do just that then I am." she said shrugging.

"Well, do you think that those who are are either being forced to do that or are just as well, evil like the other darker wizards we fight today? The ability isn't very common though so that's a little difficult to find out if they are metamorphmagi. I only know of two and I know them personally. Of course, that's the whole point, never know what to expect that's why you have to expect the unexpected in order to live. Really? Hmm....guess it can happen." she said thinking and hoped that Sirius would never turn out to be a dark wizard and knew Nera wouldn't either.

"The truth can be painful but finding out the truth after several lies is even worse that's why it's better to tell the truth then to lie about it and fear that they will eventually find the truth out even if it's from you it's still hard. Some are but others are strong and prefer to deal with the hardness of it then not at all. A lot of people are more sensitive though but sometimes hardness and the truth are what's best for them. Of course, That's fine by me, I have no problem with that at all and it is fine by me." she said shrugging.

"Breaks are healthy too Jacoby, yes it can build character but you can't keep going and going and going without a form of a break to relax and recharge. Living two separate lives sucks, you don't have to live like that it's very hard to live like that and try to be someone your not in front of one set of people and being another in front of another set of people. You do deserve a break though Jacoby." she said.

[Jacoby Michaels]

He nodded. He supposed it was up to him. He certainly hoped it would never come down to her being forced to do so. All things considered, he was vaguely aware that it might. Such thoughts often plagued him at night, keeping him awake, making him hate his half brothers more than he'd ever hated anyone. But he was too far in to back out now. And it wasn't like they were the only ones. "In some situations, it probably can't be avoided, huh?" he asked, only vaguely aware that the question sounded unprofessional the way it had been spoken.

"What do you mean?" he asked at her question, not entirely sure how to answer. Evil was such a general term. Subjective, if one really thought about it. Everyone had their own definition of evil and he found that, often, no two were alike. "Not very common at all," he said, "I only know of one myself," he added thoughtfully, "Of course, animagi are more common. But we keep records of those right down to the markings they have. So, usually don't need such methods for them," he rambled. The more he spoke, the clearer it became how interested in such simple things that he was. "It definitely can, though. Doesn't happen often. Probably on account of metamorphmagi being rare. I suppose, if they were more common, a lot more people would abuse it."

Jacoby nodded, her words taking him back for a brief second. He didn't think of them too long, though, before his mind jumped to the next thought, "Yeah, I suppose that is worse. Being blissfully unaware of something, and then discovering the truth is never fun," he said, "Okay, then, concealment it is. Which is very important when you're an Auror. Unfortunately, unless you're a metamorphmagi, it can be tricky. How much have you learned already? Care to go somewhere for demonstrations? Might be a bit tricky in an office,"

He remembered when all training was done at Hogwarts. Some things had changed slightly in the past twelve years, though. Jacoby chuckled at her comment about going and going and going, not even aware that the chuckle was socially inappropriate. After a second he said, "That reminds me of something I saw on this Muggle thing in America. A bunny that just keeps going and going and going," with a snicker. Only a short second later, his face resumed to its normal straight expression and he said, "I'm not too fussed about a break right now. Between you and me, I'd rather be here than at home. No worries. I don't try to be two separate people. I just like keeping work and life separate."

[Deleted]

“In some situations it can’t be avoided, no. It is nice to have people who can read minds and tell others, who are questioning the witch or wizard, if they are lying or telling the truth.” She said in thought and knew that her brother, Tony used his power for just that purpose and the witch or wizard never knew that he knew they were lying and it came in very handy.

“I mean, do you think those who have the ability to change their form without potion or wand are actually doing it on their own free will or are doing it because they are being forced to do it and are under a curse. No not at all actually. Of course we animagi are more common then the others, it’s easy to have a record on them and be able to tell if they are animagi or not but to muggles it would be hard. A lot of people probably would abuse being a metamorphmagi.” She said nodding.

“It is hard that way that’s why I prefer the truth rather then lies because it hurts more to realize that the people you trusted lied to you and all. I guess so and it is important because you need to be able to change for your own protection. Well first off if you just make me go through things you will have to see like with concealment I can do that pretty well, potions was easy, just tell me what you want me to do and I can do it, or most of it. Of course I don’t mind moving, it’s to crowded in here anyway.” She said nodding.

“The energizer bunny? I have seen that commercial when I was kidnapped when I was really young and had to live there for a while, well I went to school there when I was there but was sent back here in my fourth year. Ah, I understand, it keeps you busy and keeps you away from arguing. That’s understandable.” She said nodding understanding.

***Memory***

She had been taken from her back yard with Selene. They had been playing with some salamanders they had found and they were letting them go. Selene was going in to get a snack for the both of them and Eclipse was continuing to watch as the salamanders leave when she felt a bandana go over her eyes and she was forced in what felt like a van and was tied up. She squirmed trying to get out but her capturers had hit her every time she tried to get out or moved a muscle except for her breath.

It felt like hours when the van had finally stopped and the capturers finally took her out and dragged her into what seemed like a house and shoved her to her knees. She didn’t know how many there were of the men but she could hear them talking about taking her to some foreign country and keeping her there and transfiguring something to look like her so they though her dead.

He felt strong hands pick her up and dragged her to the fireplace and took her to what was known as America, the others were going to come after they did what they had to do.

During the years she was beaten, trained and had gone to school under a false name and she had developed her weaving powers and after the training from the gypsy Witches and wizards she was sent back. She had gotten abused during that time but she had grown stronger and had come here to learn and found out her twin sister was here and was getting beaten but she didn’t dare talk to her but learned to change her appearance too.

***End of Memory***

She shivered as she remembered those times and she didn’t like it and she remembered that the gypsies had taught her a lot and some where aurors in this country as well and were friends with Tony and had trained under him.

[Jacoby Michaels]

"That's definitely a good thing to have around," Jacoby admitted, unable to deny the logic. Bad people were prone to lying, it was just what they did. They'd built their lives around lies attempting to cover up the wrongs they'd done, lying to an Auror was no problem at all. "Do you ever, like, accidentally tap into the wrong mind?" he asked curiously, no explanation of why he was wondering given, "I mean. Like, say you're trying to figure out if a Wizard in our custody is, in fact, lying, would it be possible to accidentally hear what another Auror is thinking?" he wondered. He'd heard about occlumency and legilimency, but this sounded quite different. And Jacoby was the type of person who didn't just want knowledge, but craved it.

Jacoby sighed as she explained what she'd meant. The fact of the matter was, often times it was true. Being part of the magical world had it's benefits, but it had its faults, too. The fact that it was just as easy for dark wizards to conceal themselves as it was for Aurors to do so was among them. Polyjuice potions, using other Wizards to do their dirty work through an imperius... Jacoby had seen it all. Wizards taking advantage of metamorphmagi would be no different. "In some cases," he began, "Yes. That's the hardest part about being an Auror. Trying to determine whether or not that is the case. Many Dark Wizards will lie about it. Swear they were under an imperius even when they weren't. I suppose, with you around, that won't be a problem," he added thoughtfully.

"I guess that does hurt more," Jacoby said, voice a bit dazed as he spoke. Jonathan was on the front of his mind suddenly. He could almost see what Jonathan's reaction would be to his own lies. Hurt wasn't a strong enough word for what Jonathan would feel. He tried to push the image down, not wanting it to remain at the front of his mind. But no matter how hard he tried, it loomed there. "You sound awfully confident," he said, trying hard not to let the thought get in the way of training, "Not that that's a bad thing. I just often tell new Auror's net to let it get to their head. Easy to do in this job," he added.

"I'm inclined to agree," he said looking around at the other Aurors. It could easily get crowded at the Ministry of Magic. "Do you have a place in mind?" he asked. "Yes," he replied, narrowing his eyes slightly at the mention of being kidnapped, "Kidnapped?" he asked. It would be something that would make most people uncomfortable. People who weren't Jacoby, anyway. He merely felt curious. He watched her, noting that she'd shivered slightly. "You sure you're up for training right now?" he asked.

[Deleted]

“I guess it is though in many ways. Sometimes I accidentally do, it’s a pain cause it’s hard to concentrate when everyone is shouting things with their minds that it is hard to pick up one thought from another when people are shouting mentally. It’s all possible actually that you can pick up someone else’s thoughts then the other person that’s why it’s a good thing where there are only a limited amount of people in the room like three total or the person in questioning and the person questioning sometimes. That’s why both my sister and I had to learn how to focus on one person’s thoughts and block all others.” She said understanding and it was hard sometimes. She remembered answering everyone’s thoughts in the States and that was pretty bad.

“I can see where that would be hard to do because you never know who is telling the truth or who is lying to you. It’s easy for people, like them, to lie because that’s what they have always known, to be able to lie to anyone. It makes it harder for you. It shouldn’t be a problem actually, it will make your life easier.” She said nodding and smiling.

“I guess in situations though. Oh, I may sound it but I am normally hiding the fact that I am not confident but I will do my best to prove how much I can do and will try my hardest in order to do what I have to in order to say I can do this. It’s not a bad thing but it can get in the way sometimes.” She said nodding again at it.

“I have one place in mind but we will have to apperate there though. Hope you don’t mind about that though, it’s beautiful there and it was a place where I could escape when I came back here.” She said remembering the one place she loved that was hidden and she hadn’t even shown Selene, yet.

“I was kidnapped when I was around nine to ten years old. I was taken from my own yard and was beaten both physically and mentally along with emotionally. I was thrown in a van, a muggle car, and taken to an old house and then brought to the United States. The people I lived with up until I was fourteen were gypsies and they had taught me how to hone my skills and my telepathy. When I was living with them, I grew cold and heartless. The released me and I came back here and continued my education at Hogwarts where I graduated.” She said remembering.

***Memory***

She was training in the forest by the home she was living at with the gypsies and she learned so many dark spells and dark magic that it ended up consuming her to become heartless. She had fought tooth an nail with the other witches and wizards who were also under training with the gypsies. The gypsies were training them, to become dark witches and wizards, training to see which one will out last the others, to become the next dark witch as powerful and strong as Voldemort himself was.

Eclipse had been training hard and soon she was in the ranking of the top five, the last out of the group of a thousand. They had fought and soon killed each other through various spells. The head of the gypsies had kept an eye on her, she always felt her eyes and Eclipse knew that she was the head of the dark Gypsies and that she was a powerful Dark Witch herself and had been born under the name of Gaunts and was the last of them.

Eclipse was now in the last two to survive under the training, it was her and a boy. They were now going in for the kill and she soon had killed the boy without hesitation and she stood there triumphant and powerful and she looked up at the Gypsy and was taken under her wing. She was taught how to kill, to make things and use her powers to darker use. She had become the best and she became just as powerful as the lead Gypsy was in the short period of time which scared the witch easily. Eclipse had surpassed her and she had powers that no one understood and people would be scared if they knew. She rivaled Voldemort and now she was ready to take over.

***End of Memory***

She shook her head and then looked at Jacoby with a smile. She hated going back in her past remembering what it was like. She had powers that she knew could destroy a person but she didn’t want Jacoby to know that she had become a dark witch like that and she feared she would be put under arrest.

“I am sure I am up for it. It shouldn’t take that much effort. I have had a long life of training and training and training without stop, this should be no different then what I am used to.” She said nodding.

"I just have so many memories of what happened in the past and I never revisited them up to today and it seems that some of what your saying is bringing up the past that had lived in and none of it was good. When I was kidnapped mainly I had to fight to survive and in order to do that I had to play the games of which many don't know about. It's a dangerous game to play, the game of life and death and that was never the easiest because the game was that everyone was your enemy and one misguided step, one false or misjudged move would have you dead in a minute." she said shaking her head.

Everything was a game then, a game to see who was willing to fight the others to survive, to become what the gypsies wanted and to make into what they wanted them to become. She didn't want to die, she wanted to live, to see her family again, to see Selene and to make sure she was alright, there was no chance she was going to die by the hands of those who wanted to also live. It was a game of survival and she was going to fight it.

"Training to be an auror is just like the game of survival I was forced to play. This is something that should become easy for me if you just tell me what you want me to do and I can show you that I can make sure I survive and prove to you that I am the best you can get." she said in the voice she had when she became dark and she had taken while with the gypsies.

[Jacoby Michaels]

"Well, on the bright side, if you accidentally hear mine, most of my thoughts don't stay there long before I blurt them out," Jacoby joked lightly. Though the words had been spoken in jest, his expression remained oddly straight. Not that that was anything new for the man. Still, despite his joking around, he couldn't help but wonder just how often someone such as herself accidentally tapped into the wrong mind. "It's good that you learned how to focus," he added, joking aside, "I couldn't imagine what it would be like to, like, walk around Diagon Alley and hear several thoughts all at once,"

Jacoby nodded. It was far too easy for them to lie. Secrecy. Wizards like that built their life around it. They were honest only to those of whom they trusted. Only to those they could blackmail. Such as the way Marcus was honest with Jacoby. But that wasn't a thought he wanted crossing his mind. Nevertheless, Marcus always loomed somewhere in the back of his mind. Maybe, in some sick and confused way, he worried about the man. "Lying, for them, is second nature," he said, "An instinct. To protect themselves. A lot of people assume they're not aware of the consequences that could come from their actions. That couldn't be further from the truth. Even those who don't feel remorse fear the consequences,"

Jacoby chuckled. The fact that she tried to hide her lack of confidence reminded him of Jonathan in a way. He, too, was always trying as hard as he could to be confident. Even when he was everything but. "You don't have to pretend," he said, "Many Aurors, when they start, are scared to death," He himself hadn't been. He'd been overly confident. So much that he'd annoyed many of the Aurors he'd trained under. He'd been anxious, yes, and even a bit nervous. But as far as learning the ropes went, he'd been what one of the older Aurors described as cocky.

"Apparition doesn't bother me so much," Jacoby replied, "Once you get past the feeling it leaves in your stomach, it's actually a very convenient way to get around. Just lead the way when you're ready," he said. Her words made him slightly curious, but the only response he gave was, "I see," It was a bit apathetic, but anyone who knew him well wouldn't expect anything less. Jacoby watched her then, still wondering what was going through her mind. Sometimes he himself wished he could see and hear what others were thinking. As overwhelming as he imagined it was, it was an ability that he envied.

"Good," he replied, "I wouldn't want to force you to train if you weren't up to it," he added, "It's not always good to hold back memories, anyway," Jacoby said thoughtfully, "Of course, I don't know exactly what it is that you're holding back, so I cannot say whether it is in your case or not. Still, those memories are a large part of what makes us who we've become. To hold them back, would in essence, be to deny who we are," he rambled, still clearly not getting the empathy thing. "It all sounds dangerous. I'm not sure whether being an Auror is more so, or less so. But it definitely is, in a way, a game of survival. When you're out there, really battling dark witches and wizards, you're putting yourself at a huge risk. You're literally gambling on your life. I've no doubt that you can do it, however. After all, if you're here, that means something. Ready to aparate yet?"

[Deleted]

"Well I think that if I ever did I would know what you were about to say before you said it and I would know it was you. It's often enough that I slip into people's minds without intending to, and it becomes hard because you have to try to fix that and go into the right person's mind. It is nice but sometimes it's hard to focus it when there are so many emotions going on. Oh, it was pretty bad." she said with a smile.

"It is always second nature. For...them actually. It's more a part of them then many really realize and it is to protect them and others that are with them and they don't think about it. Not all the time." she said.

"Well, when you live or have lived a life I have, it's easy and becomes a part of your life. I am not really scared, just scared of what others would see me become and those who would see who I really am. Fighting for your life is the only thing a person has in this world and I have fought for mine and almost died for it." she said.

"Good. When I was in america, we had to learn it right away when we were in our second year of school. It was manditory even though this school doesn't teach it till the student turns seventeen which is not bad. I would have to agree. Do you?" she asked looking at him with the stare that she learned a long time ago.

"Actually...I would force myself o do it regardless. It's something that is taught and forced when I was with the people who captured me. My memories...my memories are meant to be held back, I don't want to remember them I try to forget what they made me become, what they trained me to become. I remember it and I know that what they have trained me for is what I will go back to, it's not something I like to do lightly, especially in my memories. You don't want to know what I am thinking. So your saying that I shouldn't keep it back for it is who I am? I am used to the survival game, not much left to learn I have already been through risks sounds like something I have played before." she said smiling slightly at the last.

"Grab my arm." she said holding it out for him to grab so that he could be taken to where she was headed. She knew the place was deserted and was not used since she was the only known survivor of that group left.

[Jacoby Michaels]

Jacoby snickered before jokingly saying, "There would only be a half a second before I said it out loud," Face once again barely indicating that he actually was joking. "With more practice, maybe, one day, that won't be a problem at all," he suggested, though he wasn't sure if it was true or not. He couldn't know as he'd never really known someone with such an ability. "I imagine emotions do get in the way. They're pretty strong for most people, I guess," he said with a one shouldered shrug, "I imagine that said strength probably has a lot to do with... accidentally hearing said thoughts, no?" he asked.

"I often wonder," he began, eyes trailing to the area behind her as he thought, "If they start lying after they begin their trail of crimes and therefore, get better at it. Or if it's just an innate trait for... people like that," he finished, "Because, well, while we know for a fact that certain types of people," he continued, avoiding use of any labels as he supposed they weren't all sociopaths or crazy, "are good liars. It goes back to nature versus nurture," he finished, "Regardless, you're right. It's a big part of who they are,"

Jacoby nodded, listening to her words but not really understanding them. Such things went right past him, almost like apathy, but not quite. "Why are you scared of that?" he dared to ask. He wondered briefly if she'd even answer the question. "But you lived," he responded, "And that means something. That means that when it comes down to fighting for your life all over again as an Auror, your chances of living are that much greater," he added with confidence. He thought about what she'd said, words slipping past his lips before he could stop them, "I've had to fight for mine, too. And another one in the process. Not in the same way, but, well, shit happens,"

He nodded, unable to imagine having to learn apparition so young. He himself had trouble grasping it at seventeen. Had lost a fingernail once. He wondered if losing such things was even more common where she had learnt it. "No, it's not bad to learn it at seventeen. Don't even really need it before then," he said, voice sounding a tad bored as he spoke, "Do I what?" he asked, slightly confused by the question.

"I don't know if I believe that," Jacoby said boldly, sure that she'd disagree but not quite caring whether she did or not. "Suppressed memories are a big cause of a lot of problems," he said, tapping on his head to indicate exactly what he meant, "It can, eventually, lead to memory loss in various other ways. Even short term. If you don't like what you became, you can change it," Jacoby said, "You're not there now, right? You're here, in an Auror office, that means something," He himself wasn't quite sure what it meant. After all, he wasn't exactly a candidate for Auror of the year. He shrugged, "That's exactly what I'm saying. We are who we are," At her command, he didn't hesitate. He grabbed her arm and waited for the feeling of apparition to pull him off his feet.

[Deleted]

"Well half a second is better then not knowing at all so I would rather know right away then having to wait that extra half a second of which you thought it and it traveling to your mouth in saying it anyway. It's my own way to know who I am listening to once I recognize people's minds. Everything is in practice though my sister is helping me with it. The emotions do and yes depending on the person, thats why I try to numb myself most of the time so they don't get in the way. I guess." she said and then shrugged a little her face now impassive and emotionless.

"Depends really. Sometimes they learned to lie at a young age and they end up learning to perfect it. Probably just before and they get better over time. Sometimes it is a trait that people get and they learn from the best and in order to become the best a person must learn to be the best. It does go to nature verses nurture it depends though." she said.

"I am scared of it because I am not the person you may think I am. That's the thing, I lived but there is a reason why I had to and it wasn't pretty. If you look at it that way, it means I know how to survive and fight for my life and I don't want to do that anymore in some cases but forced to live I will. I would have to agree. Shit does happen and none of them are the best especially there." she said.

"Do you truly understand?" she asked looking at him and her eyes glinted in the light as she fought for her life in normally.

"You have to believe whatever you want to believe, I won't make you change your mind, though I could but I am not that mean to do that to you. I do it because I will relapse and I doubt that you want that and I know that it could force me to do that anyway but I would rather not do that here. I know it can in the mind but then again I am more used to it then you realize. I know...I know...but I do it cause those memories may not be the best to visit for me. I know it does." she said and then apperated on the spot and took him to the training field where she had to learn to fight and where she had killed so many people.

The place was completely abandoned, though the place was in ruins and the buildings in which she had walked were now crumbling around and large granite stone lay everywhere she could see the training area. The forest grew around the place and the trees still had the marks from those days and trees along with vines were crawling on the building.

[Jacoby Michaels]

Jacoby stared at her for a moment before he asked, "So, you recognize people by... like, the voice in their mind rather than the voice you hear out loud?", eyebrows pressed nearly together in curiosity. In a way, it was kind of creepy. He still didn't quite fancy the idea of someone hearing what he was thinking. Whether he said it aloud or not, he wanted to believe his thoughts were entirely private. Of course, he knew such a belief would be foolish. He was certain that Eclipse wasn't the only person who possessed such abilities. Jacoby shrugged, too, his own face quite emotionless. "You'll likely find you won't have that problem with me," he said indifferently. Well, unless he was thinking about one of three people. That was one thought he managed to bite back. Even though their names had almost slipped past his tongue. (Careful there, Jacoby)

"I guess it does depend," he said, thinking about the words for a moment. For some people, lying came so easily that he had begun to wonder if it was a human instinct. An instinct that could either be strengthened or weakened depending on genetics and upbringing. "The best ones are the worst ones," Jacoby said more to himself than to her, though just loud enough for her to hear, too, "They're the ones that get away with it," A cynical thought, but wasn't it true?

"Can I be perfectly honest?" Jacoby asked. But whether she said yes or no, he was going to, anyway. So, arms folded across his chest, brown eyes staring at the Auror in training, he continued to speak regardless of whether she wanted him to or not, "I don't know what kind of person I think you are. Nor do I particularly care. You will quickly find I don't make such assumptions. I choose not to see people as either good or bad, allies or enemies. The instant one does that is the instant he lets his guard down. I do not know who you are, the same as you don't know who I am. You do have an unfair advantage," he admitted with a shrug, "being able to read my mind if you desire, but I guess if I keep all the secrets buried deep that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I can think about a catchy tune," he added onto the end, eccentricity showing again, "Give you an ear worm,"

He'd tell her he wasn't the person she probably thought he was, either. Except, he didn't know what she thought. Nor did he know just how deep into his mind she may have probed. Or may in the future, for that matter. "If it wasn't pretty, use that," he said, suddenly wondering how many lives the person before him may have ended. That was what he was to assume, wasn't it? It made sense. As far as he had gathered, she had played a long game of survival of the fittest. "A good friend of mine used to send me an owl every morning before work with a Muggle quote. To motivate me when I was chasing down a very dangerous dark wizard. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger,"

Jacoby glanced at her as he said, "I'm not sure I do," without hesitation. "Oh," he began, single eyebrow cocked in curiosity. It was a habit he'd picked up from Marcus and hadn't dropped since. "What, exactly, does that mean?" Jacoby's mind was hard to change. He was about as stubborn as they came where that was concerned. "Whether you ever revisit them or not, it is still important to realize the dangers of withholding them," he said before she apparated. His eyes scanned the place as he let go of Eclipse. He took just one step forward before saying, "It isn't much. At least, any more," brutal honesty slipping past his tongue the way it always had, "Anyway. Ready when you are, I guess."

[Deleted]

"Yes. Their voices are just like how they speak. For instance let me explain. It's like each voice is like a music note every voice has a pitch every voice has a low or high tone in which a person speaks and how they say something. Thus each voice is recognizable to the fact that they have their own pitch, their own melody in which is only recognized and used by them because no two people have the same voice. A person can recognize another's voice because they are the only ones that have that voice, and in such it's like a fingerprint no one has the same fingerprint or DNA. How this is like the mind? The mind is like the voice, it's identical to the voice because, though a person may not realize this, the mind holds the exact voice of the person thus the mind and their vocals are exactly the same." she explained.

"I am not the only person that holds this ability at all, there are three others that have this ability. Two are Aurors and one is a full time teacher and nurse and one auror is of course a teacher there as well. I hope not but don't get to comfortable, I may have to know your mind in order to truly identify you but now is not the time. Careful with your thoughts there Jacoby, I may have control but I can read everything even those thoughts that are deep and dark but I won't pry." she said.

"It is easy for all to lie but it is up to us if we want to. I would have to agree the best are the worst too. Not all the time, try me sometimes in trying to find them and get away. They never always got away." She said and almost let slip that she knew and belonged to people who almost always got away but not every time.

"That depends Jacoby. I prefer honesty over anything else but that depends in how you say what you want to say." she said and narrowed her eyes at him when he folded his arms across his chest and her emerald eyes flashing dangerously.

"Everyone is an enemy of some sort Jacoby. You may want to care who you are dealing with, though I am not making any threats to you or your families life, for I neither want nor care what happens. Neither do I, I see who they are not that they know that. I always have had that unfair andvantage and I can see every dark little thing in your head if I wanted to and in order for you to stop me would be severe practicing of closing your mind. Oh, music or song can be easily broken as well with weavers music. One day you may want to try it or test that out." she said and anger flashed across her emerald eyes.

"Oh you won't know what I think unless you ask and I don't like probing unless I have to and I feel threatened. I only journeyed or touched the surface of your mind so nothing to hard or to deep. It wasn't and it's not something I like to remember cause of the past I've ended to many lives during my time to protect myself and I regret each one but then again it could have been me that died. That is a good quote and keep it near you." she said.

"I will show you for you to fully or at least partially understand. The relapse or the fact I can make a person change their mind? The relapse I will not talk about and the fact I can change a person's mind is by erasing things. I am faced, then, with two dangers one being the fact I may have short term memory loss or memory loss in general two I relapse and you would need more help.

"It isn't much now. You should have seen it years ago it was beautiful once but much more dangerous then it is now actually. Be lucky there are not many dangers here or at least there wasn't." she said walking over to the large circular area where there was blood stains and she knelt down and touched the old soaked up blood on the ground before her.

Her mind was now switching for her it was no longer the cool calculated more calm nature of that of a civil person. It was that of the animal, the darkness she tried to hide to repress, the side that thirsted for vengeance of the people she lived with. He wanted to see what she could do? Then he was going to receive just that and more. This was now the game she fought for years, the game of survival and living, the game of instincts. This was the side that she knew well, the darkness, the fighting, the style in which she was used to everything was flooding back to her and ever single thing she was taught was growing stronger by the minute. She was ready, once more, to fight for survival.

[Jacoby Michaels]

Jacoby nodded, eyes curious as she offered her explanation. He could recall Sheldon mentioning something about vocal cords and recognizing someone by their voice, but he hadn't paid enough attention to remember what it was. He was paying attention to Eclipse. Likely because what she was saying had to do with one's mind, too. "Right," he mused to himself thoughtfully. He couldn't argue with what she was saying, nor would he try to. It made sense. Perfect sense. He gnawed his lower lip absent mindedly for a moment as she went on to explain how it was like the mind. "So, no matter what I sound like in my mind to me, I will always sound exactly as I do when I speak out loud to you?" he asked.

"Three others that you know of," he pointed out with a smirk. There could have been more. The world was big, after all. Who knew what other people out there were capable of? "Which Aurors?" he asked curiously, surprised that he didn't know. Then again, when he was at work he focused solely on work. He seldom noticed what the other Aurors were doing. He didn't even know all of their names. He knew the names of the ones in which he'd worked along side of, and knew the name of the head auror, beyond that he didn't keep tabs on any of them. Though, he supposed that he should have. They may have been his co-workers, but that didn't mean he should let his guard down around them. He heard the mention of one being a professor at Hogwarts. He vaguely recalled a name, but didn't speak it aloud. "I won't," he said when she told him not to get too comfortable. He rarely ever did.

Her words made him stiffen visibly. Know your mind. For a moment, they had been all he'd heard. One word flashed across the front of his mind as he stared at her. One, single, solitary name. Marcus. He attempted as hard as he could to push it aside, focusing on the other two names instead. Thoughts about them were less dangerous. "It's hard to be careful with your thoughts," he said, "You can't always control them. Sometimes, things just slip to the surface even if you don't want them to," he frowned slightly when she said she could read even those that were dark and deep. "Unless you had reason to, prying would be rude, wouldn't it?" he said.

"Not all of us," he said, thinking, "Well, everyone has a tell. Some people look down, some fidget, some cross one leg over a certain leg... For those who lie for a living, though, their tells aren't as easy to catch," he said, eyes drifting to the floor as he thought about his own words. "It starts to seem like they do," he said indifferently. As he spoke, he caught the flash in her eyes, but it didn't intimidate him. Unsure of whether it was supposed to or not, he didn't really care either way. He grinned when she said everyone was an enemy. Marcus had once spoken similar words to him. Do not get too comfortable with me, Jacoby, he had said, We are all enemies to one another, The words passed across the front of his mind before he could stop them.

"I cannot say that I care what happens, either," he said honestly, "But I certainly hope that wasn't a threat," he added, his own eyes meeting hers again. "It must be interesting seeing who they are," he said idly, more to himself than to Eclipse, "Who they truly are. I bet you would be impossible to fool. Impossible to manipulate," he added. Both good things, for wasn't that what made a good Auror? He blinked at her reply toward the earworm, half smirk suddenly creeping its way onto his face. It had been a joke, of course, but he could not tell if she'd caught that it had been or not. He wasn't that great at reading people. After all, emotions tended to go right past him. "Okay. Maybe I will," he said, flabbergasted.

Her next words caught him slightly off guard. Had she scratched the surface again to hear the thoughts he'd had? He frowned, not liking the thought before saying, "Well, hopefully I don't make you feel threatened," And hopefully he wouldn't. That was far from his intention. Yes, Jacoby could come across as brash and even dangerously bold, but he didn't intend to threaten anyone. Except, of course, the witches and wizards he had to battle while doing his job. "Exactly. It could have bene you, but it wasn't," he said, "I always have," he replied, still eyeing her curiously. "Show me?" he asked. "The changing of minds," he replied between her words, listening as she went on to describe what she had meant. "Erase?" he asked, a bit sickened by the thought. "How do you mean?" he asked about needing more help.

Jacoby nodded silently, eyes glancing around his surroundings. The place was in ruins, there was no denying that. It had an ominous feel to it that he couldn't explain. He wondered, for a moment, if they were safe there but before he could ask the question, she spoke again. "It's hard to imagine it ever was beautiful," he admitted, watching as she moved to a circular area. He glanced at the blood on the ground, letting out a deep breath. Despite it all, he wanted to know what she could do. He wanted to see if she had held onto those skills that she'd spoken about. And more than that, he wanted to know exactly what they were. She had had to fight for her life. Had to fight to survive. He found that Aurors with such pasts were often the most powerful, the ones who would last the longest in battle, the best ones to have around. He pulled his wand out then, eyes watching her as she was knelt to the ground. Wand at his side, he spoke, "Show me what it is that you do best," he instructed, "Remember that the dark ones will always aim to kill. They will show no mercy, so you shouldn't, either. But you know that already, don't you?" he asked, obviously referring to her game of survival, "Don't hold back."

[Deleted]

Eclipse watched him and didn't take her eyes off of him wondering if he would eventually become an enemy that she didn't really want but something that she would eventually have to worry about him being the one to hunt her down. It wouldn't surprise her if he would, she knew the darkness inside her was far more dangerous then he would understand, she was something, a force, not to mess with and she was a danger to those in the Gypsy camp back then.

"Exactly. You may sound like....someone else to you but because it's a blueprint you will always be you by sound in your mind thats identical to your voice. It can never change unless your voice changes gradually or someone is you in disguise which then I would know its not you. To answer your question yes, you would." She said with a small smile on her face knowing that she was telling the exact truth.

"Well, put like that yes. You most likely heard of the Defense against the Dark arts teacher and Auror, Tony Magnox, then his Fiance Nerefon Ternavin. Another is my sister who is just as strong in the same abilities as I am. Tony is the adopted son of Hecate, I am also adopted by Hecate and so is my sister." she said though not saying the range of how great their ability was to read minds but they were all in the same group but just as powerful. Tony and Nera were on a different scale.

"Good cause I don't want you too. No one ever should feel to comfortable, it is hard to live either life and that is why we should be careful in who to be comfortable with." she said folding her arms across her chest.

"Who is....this person named...Marcus? You seem to struggle by pushing him out of your mind. Sorry didn't mean to read your mind I just read little bits and pieces of the mind. I know it is, trying to focus it is even harder sometimes and I forget that I have to make sure that my mind doesn't slip into others minds cause it's easy to do so. That is very true and the very thoughts we want to hide are the very things we can't control. It would be rude yes that's why I don't like intruding into peoples minds though the surface is harder to not slip into but the surface is as far as I go then I consider it by far even ruder." she said nodding.

"That depends if you can find it though some of us don't though I find it that it's always in a person's eyes, you have to watch them cause the eyes betray emotions just like the body betrays everything else too. That is very true, I have known several like that growing up. I am not trying to intimidate you Jacoby, I just have, sometimes, a bad temper." she said and smirked when she saw the words flash but didn't say anything.

"Careful Jacoby, just be careful. I may seem innocent and seem like someone that is an easy pushover and cares a lot about everyone, but not everything is what it seems. Oh why would I threaten you? You have done nothing, as of yet, for me to ever threaten you or your family and I hope it remains that way. It is but sometimes it's the scariest thing in the world seeing who a person truly is. In many cases yes I am thats why my aunt, hecate, wants four mind readers on her team to help her I am hard to manipulate cause I see things what they are think as they are speaking different words." she said and snickered a little.

"You don't, at least not yet. You haven't ever made me feel threatened. If the day comes and you must hunt me down, then I will feel threatened but now, I don't feel it at all. That is true, it wasn't but it could have been. Out of the thousands of children my age fighting to the death and trying to rank upward, we soon were crowded in to a small group of five, five left out of the thousand who survived thus far in the countless battle of survival, I was the last one out of the thousand battered and bruised and on my last bit of reserved energy. Alright....I will show you something, what this place was like." she said and showed him what it was like.

She showed him the beautiful castle hidden in trees made of the black stone that now lay around them. She made his mind become identical to hers making him feel what she felt when she came here in awe and her feelings of sorrow and how she was terrified. She showed him the people, dressed in black with gold, silver and red trim and others dressed in forest green clothing. She sent the smells of the forest and the smells of the castle filled with White sage, lilac, lily, roses, lavender, plums cherry blossoms and also the smells of different oils used in water. She let him experience everything that she had to go through, bits of the fighting that she had to do, but kept hidden why they were doing this, the food, what torture they had to go through day by day in the hands of the Gypsies and especially the beatings. She let the screams of the children her age and younger go through his mind, even her screams as she was beaten in the black dark dungeon of the world and how there was darkness that hung on each and every stone. Then she slowly eased out of his mind.

"That is what I can do and more. I can erase those memories by taking what I showed you and removing them like a thorn." she explained.

"It's hard but at night it was beautiful when you were in the trees looking down at it but now it's all gone to ruin. I grew up here and suffered year after year dealing with the people but each year I understood what they were trying to teach us though it took the course of the years for us to kill each other but it went quickly. Most of us hunted each other at night." she said sadly.

As she looked at the blood spilled from not only the deaths of the people she had killed and others killed as well but the place where they had whipped them to almost death and where they were shown to deal with the pain. She hated it but it made her stronger and the thing that made her stronger was what was the darkness she had kept hidden. She let the darkness course through her body like black waves of night with no stars in sight and it enveloped her as if she was some angel of the night and heavens. That's when she heard him take his wand out and, out of instinct heard him speak but whipped around sending so much deadly energy of weavers magic at him that it would knock him several football fields away and she took her wand out watching the magic hit him and she had the smirk she had carried for years here.

"You wanted to see, well come at me. Oh I will not show you an ounce of mercy, we weren't taught that here Jacoby, We were taught how to fight and kill and become dark ones ourselves. That was the whole point of this place, to train us to become that and to see who has the strength to survive and who had the will power and loved their life to live." she said.

[Jacoby Michaels]

"Well, at least you'd know it isn't me," he replied, as though ignoring everything else she had said. Jacoby leaned to his right slightly, putting all his weight on the leg. His eyes were still on her as she continued to speak. He twisted his face in confusion when she said that yes, he would. He wasn't exactly sure what she was referring to, but he didn't bother asking. He had no doubt about her honesty. He didn't see why she should lie about something so insignificant. He caught the smile, but didn't return it. Confused about why she had smiled in the first place.

The name was instantly familiar to his ears. Yes, he had heard of him. "I recall his name," he replied. Maybe he did know his fellow Aurors, after all. Even if he didn't pay them much mind outside of work. "So, the head Auror knows him on a personal level then?" he asked curiously, unable to hide the hint of jealousy in his voice. He wondered what that would be like. Glorified it in his mind for a moment as she continued to speak. "And you do, too, then?" he asked.

He noted her fold her arms across his chest and allowed a sly smile to spread his face for a moment. Not even he was sure what the smile meant, and if she scanned his mind, she'd likely find no reason. "You're right," he said, though he knew he was being hypocritical. He felt too comfortable around two people, after all. He tried to stop either name from passing his mind, but Jonathan passed through and the other almost followed until he spoke again, "You cannot really trust anyone. The reason I say that I have no allies nor enemies is because, even enemies may surprise you," he said, folding his own arms across his chest.

Her question about Marcus gave him pause. His heart jumped in his chest as he dropped his arms to his side again. Hearing the name aloud brought a brief memory of their last meeting to his mind. He could hear Marcus' words as though he'd spoken them only yesterday. Do not screw me over, Michaels, he had said. To which Jacoby had replied, Now, Doom, when have I ever turned on any of my brothers? And they'd both shared a laugh. The purpose of the meeting didn't cross his mind. He did his best to keep that below the surface. "No," he said, though his voice cracked slightly, "It's fine. He's just someone I know," he said, finality in his voice. As though telling her the subject was dropped. "I bet it is," he said, referring to it being easy to do. He nodded in agreement, "If you can't help touching the surface, that's fine,"

"Eyes don't always betray emotion," Jacoby argued, thinking specifically of not only Marcus, but himself. "I mean, I can't argue that usually, they do. But occasionally - even if it's rare - you cannot find the truth just by glancing into someone's eyes. Maybe it's because they don't have emotion toward whatever or whomever it is that they're dealing with. I don't know," he admitted, "The body, however, is our biggest betrayal," he said. He caught her smirk and wondered about it, but replied with, "You and me both," instead of questioning it.

Jacoby smirked, not understanding what she was saying entirely. He shook his head as he said, "I never said I thought you were innocent. Or are, rather. Just remember, I may not be innocent myself. How can one ever be certain whether someone is, or isn't? I used to be naive enough to think I was innocent. I'm not convinced any Auror is, really," he admitted, "Even if they never turn to their darker side. When it comes down to life, or death, no one is innocent," he said, frowning as he recalled the day he'd realized that. Fairly new to the job, it had been him and his partner, or the boy. Either way, someone was going to die. "I hope it remains that way, too," he said, eyeing her carefully. "I bet it would be. At least you can never be taken off guard. Your aunt is a smart witch," he added, words genuine.

"Why would that day come, Ipswitch?" he asked, suddenly using her surname as a force of habit rather than an act of respect. He had grown so used to addressing other Aurors by their last name that sometimes he found himself calling Jonathan 'Doom'. "You were the one," he repeated. He knew that if she could survive that, she'd be useful. Maybe they wouldn't be completely tolerable of each other, but at least he knew without a doubt in his mind that she would be useful. Then she showed him what the place was like. He saw it with perfect clarity, as if it was his own memory. He saw the castle, and he saw the trees. He felt emotions hit him suddenly. Many of which he himself had genuinely never experienced (You have the emotional range of a dead frog Jon had told him once). He could hear the screams, he could feel the fear, the sorrow, her screams. And then, it was gone. He was tense. He was sure she could see that.

"That will definitely prove useful for our team," he replied, voice remaining steady as he spoke despite his slight unease at what he'd just seen. "At least you grew stronger from it," he replied, "Of that, I'm sure," he suddenly found himself intrigued by her. He was certain that he didn't hide it well, either. His lack of a filter, also, meant that he lacked the incentive to hide what little emotions he did experience. She whipped around so fast, he hardly had time to react. But it wasn't the first time something as such had happened. Even being stealthy, wizards and witches would occasionally sense his presence and attack without warning. He threw up a shield, but wasn't quick enough. He was knocked back, apparating to a space behind her before he would land, surely painfully if he had. He heard her words and got some sick gratification out of them. So, she wanted to play hardball? Isn't that what he wanted? He couldn't get a feel of what she truly knew unless she did. This is what he encouraged all his trainees to do. Maybe other Aurors would have found it unorthodox, but they couldn't deny that it worked. He sent a spell her way before he spoke again, "Good, because as an Auror, mercy is a dangerous game."

OOC: Monster paragraphs because I typed it up in word. lol