Drago glanced at the sphinx, which seemed to be drooling at him, and edged his way towards the coffee. "I'm going to assume that is not a usual occurrence either," he muttered back towards Allison. "And I get this strange feeling of being prey..."

The sphinx stood and took a few slow, stalking steps toward the tall, coffee-scented man. Delicious, what a pick me up this one would be. It crouched low in what could become a relaxed pose... or a pounce. Its predatory eyes never left Caraccio.

Drago held his spot and looked at the sphinx. Great. This was just perfect. Maybe it'd take a muffin? He held his arm tense so that his wand would snap into his hand at a moment's notice. He had warded off death far too many times now to be taken down and eaten in the break room at work. "May I help you?" He suddenly wished he remembered anything from Care of Magical Creatures. But he was really lousy at the subject. He could barely care for a kneazle!

“Not really.” Allison muttered back. What was it with level four and odd things lately, anyway? One hand slipped casually (almost) into her pocket as she waited tensely. The worst part was that she couldn’t remember a thing about sphinxes. Her eyes flicked briefly to Drago as he spoke but quickly returned to the sphinx.

The sphinx crouched down further, then suddenly raised back up onto its feet. It stalked over to Caraccio slowly, its eyes trained on him.

"Your minister tries my patience
And my energy reserves are low...
Give me a reason of logic
Why I should not eat you, but let you go?"

That was the worst rhyme he'd ever heard, and it had nothing to do with the wording or structure. 'I am necessary for the capture of a pack of werewolves' probably would not do. What else would there be? Wait, how would his potion affect other species? Maybe he could convince the thing that he was poisonous. Oh yes, that would be an interesting conversation to have with his co-worker afterward. And in the meanwhile the sphinx was still hungry... Wait, minister? What the--? "The Minister? You are waiting for him then? Well, perhaps we could dine together in our wait. A dish of coffee and..." what did he bring for lunch? "whatever I seem to have on me?"

"What interests me is not what you have on you..." The sphinx inhaled deeply of Carracio's hair, drooling... "But rather what you have in you." The coffee smell, mingled with the smell of human, was intoxicating. "Your reasoning is unimpressive." It took a step toward Carracio. "Impress, or be consumed."

Great. Reasoning. Logic. That was Slade's area. Regardless of his plans, he was usually the impulsive one, and he took a long time to think things through. Slade was the one who did things quickly. Wait... Little Kin! Yes, Mentor? Don't you 'yes mentor' me, you're a part of my head so don't pretend you don't know what's going on! I am, as you say, a part of your head. How am I supposed to help? Damn it, think of something!

Oh dear Merlin, he was begging the voice in his head, his own self, to find a solution to his dilemma. And really, the last thing he wanted to do was fight, and possibly kill, a sphinx. Hmm... You do have some knowledge on sphinxes in here. What, is my brain a library for you? You should be so grateful. You know you have a photographic memory? Sphinx! Here! He edged away from the sphinx a little more. Hmm... your textbook said that they are only dangerous when they are guarding something. I beg to differ. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be guarding something?"

"I am."

Lovely. Well, that explains some of it. I got that, thank you. "What is it that you are supposed to be guarding? Surely it isn't in the break room."

"Can you be so sure? " The sphinx smirked.

"What I guard is truest treasure
Revered since days of old;
The thing treasured by both man and beast--
More valuable than the finest gold."

The sphinx was losing patience. And getting hungrier. And waiting for one good reason why it shouldn't eat Professor Carracio now.

He mouthed the words, and considered summoning his sight. Dang it, he never used it on a beast before. Did it work for beasts? What had he treasured the most? There was Natasha and Slade... But there wasn't another sphinx around. Or was there?

<And the guarantees that I will see the birth of my child?> <You aren't going to die Armand. You aren't the focus of this Game, I am and Xana. That was intentional.> <And if I get in the way?> The memory of that conversation was disheartening.

He'd found out, hadn't he? He could feel the pain in his chest as he remembered holding Damian in his arms. Even Slade could not comfort him then. He relaxed his arm so that the holster wouldn't be activated and held his hands up, showing that they were clear. The fresh pain of memories still lingered in his eyes as he met with the gaze of the beast. "Would you chance ingesting hemlock and belladonna? Or any of the numerous potions I keep on my body? A good deal of them could be poisonous to you... and your child. So may the potion which continuously runs through my veins to manage my condition." He took a moment, with the memories of losses running their course through his mind. "However, if you still wish to try, I will not resist." And he felt just empty enough not to care.

This gave the sphinx pause.

"Your reasoning ...is sound.
Bring me something that I may nourish my child.
You may live."

Again, he was going to live another day. For some reason he couldn't be relieved. Instead, he rather numbly went to retrieve something, knowing that there would need to be something more than just whatever he'd brought with him for lunch.

--------------------------

Not too long after, though far too long for the sphinx, he was sure, he came back with a set of boxes. He opened them up to reveal a much hardier meal than he had come to the Ministry with. Being that he was nearly eaten, he opted to get pork stuffs and a few steaks. He set it down within easy reach of the sphinx so that she may eat it, then stood back. "Do they know? How long have you been here without being given food?"

The sphinx eagerly dug into the food. "None but you have been truly responsive to my demands. Your minister does nothing. My kind are endangered. My child must live in freedom; instead they hold me in a cell in an office. I have been without food for many days. The day draws close when my child will be born. Still they do nothing." She dug deeper into the containers, and in a few moments the meat was gone. She laid down lazily.

"For your efforts, my kind will watch over you and yours from this day. It is my regret that we encountered one another too late in your path to protect yours as you protected mine this day." The sphinx licked its jowls and closed its eyes, contented. "Nevertheless... from this day forward, you may call on the sphinx as your ally."

He nodded. "Thank you." But what for? Letting him live? No, for something else. "I've still an adopted daughter. We shall see if she doesn't get into some trouble later on. Let me get some coffee and I will see what I can do. If nothing else, I can ensure that you and yours are well fed until something is done."

The sphinx smiled enigmatically and nodded. Its spell of protection was already cast on this Drago Carracio and any whom he loved from this point forward.

"Thank you."

Allison watched the whole scene, a little shocked. That was certainly not a daily situation around here. She found she had leaned back against the counter as she observed. “Um, okay….” She whispered to herself.

Drago poured himself a cup of coffee, then made his way back over to Allison. "Well, as I do not seem to be food, perhaps we should see about the sphinx in here. I know it's not exactly our job, but it sounds like no one else has done anything about it. Particularly since she hadn't eaten in quite some time. Unhealthy for the unborn. Any suggestions in getting the Minister in here or something?"

Allison nodded. “To be honest, I’m glad. I wasn’t really looking forward to see what your insides look like.” She listened to the rest of what he had to say, seeming thoughtful. “I’m not exactly sure. What about Teal?” That was really the best she had at the moment, and she was feeling a bit jittery without her tea and unable to really straighten things out.

He tilted his head and raised a brow. "What about Teal?"

"Should we get Teal to talk to the minister? I mean-” Allison shrugged, drumming her fingers on the edge of the counter. “I can’t see this going well if we go down ourselves.” She shook her head slightly.

"I suppose we should give it a try at the very least, but if he hasn't by now, what makes us think that he'll be able to get the Minister down? After all, does he have enough interest in the sphinx to advocate for her well-being?" He shrugged and headed out of the break room, sipping his coffee. "Well, you should get your tea. I'll go on ahead to Teal's office."

Allison nodded. “Alright.” She turned to the microwave, fishing a tea bag out of the cupboard above before dropping it in her mug and filling it with water. She set the mug down in the middle of the microwave and turned it on, idly watching the timer count down.

(I just realized I hadn't left! Whoops)

Drago raised his mug to her, nodding, and headed out for the office of their superior. Hopefully they could get this resolved.

-------------------------

Drago made his way back in sometime later with his usual meal for his newest friend. He set the large cooler down in front of the sphinx, revealing the latest request to her. "How have you and the youngling been?" he asked quietly. He glanced back over his shoulder to his daughter, wondering what she thought of it.