The Wolf and the Sheep

Cascading in on crimson wings, the red and blue parrot landed just a few feet away from the sorcerer, perching himself on a stone statue head. He stretched his wings a bit before gazing down at her. She really did remind him so much of Jafar. Staff and all. She even had her own bird companion but Diaval was nowhere to be seen at that moment. Which was why the chubby parrot had taken the time out of his not so busy day to swoop down upon the queen of darkness herself.

Where Jafar had been more of a friend Maleficent was a way to get ahead. Though she did seem as though she was fond of birds which was helpful and flattering.

Lifting up again he flew to Maleficent's side, careful not to land on the staff but arrogant enough to land on her shoulder. He peered over not without a sneer of disgust at the common folk. What was she doing? Caring for them? He wasn't stupid, however, and didn't question her out loud. He didn't want to go from an expensive exotic pet to fried chicken in one step flat.

"Need some help your majesty?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low.

Faces of distrust, bitterness, and fear slowly morphed to that of grateful regard. Maleficent kept a level note of this, however the lack of fear did seem to fill her with a tingle of displeasure. These mortals, these... Humans we're slimy and disdainful creatures who would snuff out anything, they'll take anything they could wrap their grubby fingers around. They all were accountable for their actions, and even with this display of her mercy she likely assumed a revolt would happen. Maleficent was different than them, she was aware therefore they would lash out. She hid her disgust beneath a pale mask, sharpened gaze sweeping over the gathered almost with a primal glint. The people weren't paying her any look, their gaze lit with hope at the offerings, the fact she had taken this city perhaps forgotten. Simple, or so she hoped. 

Through her wandering thoughts, she soft breath of a wing-beat caused her to shift her attention towards that of the small avian who dared to plummet atop her shoulder. It was not of her bonded familiar, Diaval, his night pigmented wings unmistakable, but the crimson hue of another bird. Iago, the parrot who she initially took in out of a whim, or an itch to spite that insufferable man. Claw-like fingers gripped her scepter and she raised a brow for a moment as she regarded him. Usually such a throne was reserved for Diaval, the raven who she fate was threaded along with her own soul now. 

She made no attempt to brush the bird off, she could note his pure attempt at appeasing her so she would humor him, if at least for her own amusement. "Iago," her words uttered forth, clear and faintly laced in her usual cold tone. It was her greeting, acknowledging his presence.

"Help? No, my subordinates have it controlled but you may oversee it at your leisure," a polite way of letting him know he was of no use as of now but he had permission to remain seated atop her or venture a better look at the crowd. At the sound of adjacent voice, the dragon-queen angled to stare upon Helga with piqued interest. She asserted herself well among those and commanded a organization to this scene, it was satisfactory. As her bishop made herself towards them the empress offered a nod towards her arrival.

"Excellent work, Bishop Helga," she praised if not a bit dryly. There still was a hint to her words that indicated she was truly happy. Maleficent wasn't used to such communication but as she progressed she realized to have 'loyal' subjects she needed a certain tone. Each individual was different, however, so she would have to be forceful depending on the person. 

"Surely not, they seem quite satisfied," and subdued, she thought the last part. Seeing that the job was being executed perfectly she turned her back towards the crowd and began her stroll, gesturing that Helga could follow as well as any of her soldiers. She was already bored of watching the people greedily grab for things. 

"The city is quite... Lively," she commented absently, skimming the buildings and sparse wandering of commoners. So easy it could be to burn them all to ash and clad it in thorns. So easy to curse their entire existence. It's not too late, that's always an option. 

Plop. Iago certainly had made a point to swap shoulders, and Helga didn't look at all amused by it. The action reminded her of Mole pestering her during past missions. 'When do we get to dig? When are we going to dig?' The thought brought back an unconscious action of Helga flicking her hand in Iago's direction. She didn't aim to knock him away. He'd probably move before she could. Still, she did it anyway. Lucky for Iago, Helga managed to bite back the urge to tell him to go away. Whether she liked him or not, the bird was an ally. She had to at least maintain the attempt of getting along with him for the moment. So, instead of speaking with Iago straight away, Helga addressed what Maleficent had said.

"It is," Helga agreed. She couldn't deny her own inner happiness of being addressed as her title. Being professional, though, overtook the desire to revel in it. The most that gave way to her feelings was a sort of sly smile. Although she could have thought longer on Maelficent's tone, she suspected that the queen of darkness merely wasn't accustomed to these sorts of interactions. It was just a guess, though. Helga would let it slide and instead resume her train of thought. Iago had his own thoughts on the city, which he made known, and Helga just shrugged her shoulders. He'd moved just before she did.

"It's human nature," Helga said. "Selfish, hive-minded... hardly questioning acts such as this. As long as they can get something to benefit them, financially or otherwise, they will always be ruled by greed." Helga was no stranger to such thoughts. She had her own share of such traits and wouldn't deny it. After all, she'd been willing to sell the Heart of Atlantis for a pretty price and wouldn't have batted an eye at the race dying. Her feelings had changed ever so slightly when that one man had saved her life, but only slightly. At her core? Helga still hung on to those traits. She just chose not to let them surface as often.

"In any case, they're happy. For now," Helga said. "We still need to keep watch on them. Wouldn't want anyone getting any ideas." Those statements were kept quiet. Helga still wanted to maintain the pretense of kindness as long as civilians were around. Her tone was serious despite that. As it should have been, she thought.

"Maybe you could help with that," she said, directing her gaze specifically to Iago. "An eye in the sky could be beneficial. Wouldn't you agree, your highness?"

Iago listened carefully to each of the women as they spoke, eyes narrowed darkly as if to punctuate their evil plans. Listening and waiting and watching was how he'd befriended Jafar. Being smart as well. Perhaps he could get ahead doing the same thing with these two.

He turned over his shoulder, shocked by Helga offering him a job. He would have answered if Maleficent hadn't agreed. She extended her slender green hand towards him. He looked back at Helga briefly before grinning sheepishly. It was a rare occasion when he was speechless but staring into those sharp eyes made him want to parrot absolutely nothing.

Deciding it would be in his best interest to land on her arm, Iago picked up his plump body and landed cautiously on the dark fairy. He fluffed his feathers up slightly. Was that a chill?

"Oh yeah!" He said, waving his feather at her, "No problem! I'd love to help keep an eye out on the riff raff. They ain't worth your time your highness not a bit of it." Helga's words did cause him to roll his eyes a bit however and he couldn't help but chirp out a bit of a sarcastic retort.

"Aren't you the queen of the Bazaar parade, huh? You got a meal to go with that salt, princess?"

Arm remained outstretched for the macaw, only did it folded inwards was when the plump bird landed atop his mark. She drew him closer; pale golden gaze regarded him with no indication of expression for a moment. Feathers were a bloody contrast to Diaval’s which bore a dark, abyssal hue. It was clear from Iago’s tone that he was more than willing to cooperate, she did wonder, however if that cooperation was self-preservation rather than loyalty. A truly wide smile danced atop her lips in amusement, her gaze light with sharp, primal glimmer. It was as though she were a predator who just coaxed her prey atop her arm.

Adjusting her arms, she gripped her staff with the arm in which Iago was perched and raised her free hand towards the avian. She listened to Helga and him banter whilst staring curiously towards the parrot. A single long-nailed finger parted the feathers along his throat as she tenderly scratched the area before altering her reptile like eyes towards her Bishop. Her talk of greed was interesting, did she truly mean the people or was this experience from her own heart? Who’s to say if Helga was greedy but the sentence was an intriguing one.

“It goes without saying I will reward those who are loyal to me,” she decided to say whilst she busied herself with stroking through the crimson feathers. She let linger her words, hauntingly so without shedding light on those who aren’t loyal. “Greed, hate, those are merely sins that many living things contain. I care not as long as they obey.

“As for the pure of heart? There’s no such thing,” she a minute her tone was one of displeasure but it quickly changed as she dropped her finger from Iago. The roar of the crowd dispersed from her ears as she started walking further down the city, basking in the ‘aged’ beauty many of the buildings had. “What about you two?” she casually prompted, “What motivates you?” maybe she actually wondered, but she didn’t seem angry.