Alice tried to respond to the boy she had met, but found herself unable to as she sucked in air. She had only run a few feet, but she still gasped like a fish out of water. Turning back to her familiar, she managed to wheeze out "Hold your hands in front of you, like this," She demonstrated for the beast, linking her own hands by interlocking her fingers, "Then lower them down to my level." As the creature complied, it's hands formed a seat capable of holding her comfortably. Settling herself into that basket and slowly getting control of her breathin again, she followed up with "Stand up," tilting backwards against the hulk as it rose to it's full height once again. Now that she was comfortable and could move faster than a bug, Alice began to take notice of her surroundings again. Specifically, the girl who had now joined them, and the boy's loud questioning of said girl.

"Keep your voice down. There's something dangerous going on around here, and we need to get back to safety before we play twenty questions."

@Awesomoman64@chukklehed

Circe caught up to the others quick enough, immediately she was berated by the human student from earlier. She casually rolled her eyes at him as the girl with the golem reminded them to be quiet in case they were in trouble.

"Relax, whatever it was is gone now, besides with Vice Principal Reiko is not far behind me, and Head Mistress Aria in the woods nearby nothing will dare to attack us. And to top that off there were hoofprints leading away from the school." She turned to the boy who accused her of following him.

"I wouldn't follow you even if there was a pot of gold at the end of the trip. I just happened to come from the scene of the body and ended up coming across you. See this is why I don't do friends, everyone has an attitude." She flicked her long hair behind her and walked past the boy and to the girl with the golem, who had taken a seat in it's hands.

"This is fascinating, what way do you conjure them?? Is this the only form, or can they take any shape you can think?? What's their limitations??" Circe talked faster as the questions flooded her, she was overwhelmed with her curiosity.

Without warning, Alice found herself bombarded with questions. Taken aback by the girl's cavalier attitude, especially because she just said there had been a body, Alice tried to gather herself as she stumbled through them without thinking.

"Ah, I mean, I draw my Familiars and bring them to life with my breath. They can take any shape I draw them in, but they can only be so big, this is about as big as I can make them. Their limitations are..." She wracked her brain trying to put her knowledge into words, "They don't need to breath or eat, or get tired, but they only last five minutes. They have to obey reality, so if I drew a hummingbird this big it wouldn't be able to fly. They're about twice as capable as a normal person, but they can't act on their own without me giving them orders." Now having answered the girl's questions to the best of her ability, she decided to respond with one of her own. "Did you say 'body' just now?"

Duncan stopped when the girl who had apparently been trying to keep up with him had to stop, and turned round to wait, though was tense and his legs were itching to run back to the school at a moment's notice. That's when another girl joined them, and Duncan turned round and start to trot to the school at a much more manageable pace, though he had to put effort into forcing himself not to bolt. As he walked, he listened to the conversation happening behind him. One thing in particular alarmed him; something he hadn't known until now. He heard the scream, and he'd seen the large hoofprints, but he didn't know about a body. This was alarming. That meant that...that somebody had been killed. Duncan felt a knot tighten in his stomach and began to feel queasy. The life of a teenager like him had been lost. Gone. Dead. This time the distress in his voice was a lot stronger.

"Guys, we can talk all we want in the school! Let's get back there as quickly as possible, okay?"

@chukklehed@Awesomoman64@Cerces22

---

Using the Crystal Ball in her classroom, Ms. Mako was determining that all the students were either in the safe confines of the walls, heading back to the safe confines of the walls, or in the safe company of teachers, who were escorting them back to the safe confines of the walls. Mako had determined earlier that a tannoy would not have helped the issue any, so while Aster went around reassuring students, Mako was going to use her seeing abilities to determine who needed her attention and deal with them individually.

She spotted one student who was outside and didn't have intention of going inside. She was in the school courtyard, however, so she might be overlooked by other teachers. Mako, however, would feel much better if all students had a roof over their heads. The teachers can guard the entrances and exits. They can't guard the sky.

The Witch made her way over to the courtyard, and instantly saw the fear on the face of the elf student who was currently residing in the corner. Elves have good hearing. Maybe she was listening to something. The lack of focusing on any one object with her eyes was a giveaway that it was nothing that she could see. Akane approached closer and mimed a 'take your earplugs out' gesture.

"What are you doing out here, Miss? And what are you listening to that's gotten you so frieghtened?" she asked in a reassuring voice. Tiina, however, may have heard rumors about Ms. Mako, the teacher who is a Witch, and any attempts to reassure that came from her would be in vain.

@Gummy1295

---

Judging by the complete lack of teeth snapping shut around her offered hand, Tholl took this as a sign things were settling down. Of course that was the exact opposite of what she had wished for, as the beast lashing out would have lent weight to the attacking still being near enough to agitate it. All of her many eyes were turning up empty and even the wild animals were settling down with the predator absent from the scene. In short; The trail went cold.

"Tch. Looks like this is where I'm stopping after all." Tholl said with a sigh as Aria's message rang clear through her head, and she in turn set her spiders off of the pursuit and back to the campus to establish a firm perimeter around the tree line as others set about weaving a silken mat to drag the student's carcass out of sight. Perhaps she'd consider asking Aria to allow her to bring creatures larger then the average tarantula onto campus, but first there was the matter of the witness here.

"Alright, come here and let me ruffle that fur." The spider cooed and leaned forward, ruffling the wolf's mane and rubbing it's neck in a playful manner. It allowed her to slip the silken collar with ease, and from there she quickly spun to straps beneath the wolf's legs to make it into a harness. After all, this was a wild animal and she didn't want to choke it when it tried to stray. Leaving herself a length of silk for a leash she stood up and firmly led the hound beside her, determined to make it back without getting mauled in the process. "I know you aren't going to like this, but I'll get you some steaks from the cafeteria once Aria is done probing you."

Not that the wolf understood any of this, but that wouldn't stop Tholl from chatting.

"Was that... a wolf?"

Tiina, being a half-elf, caught a chilling snarl coming from outside the Academy's grounds. All the way from inside the courtyard, she was certain that the noise came specifically of a particular type of wolf, and she could easily back her claim up with the poster that she had originally examined from the first steps she took inside Academy grounds... You know, the one that said "Beware of Wolves!" printed on the bottom right corner.

Trembling, she fumbled around for her phone and pulled her earbuds out of her breast pocket. She inserts the "R" earbud into her left ear and flips her Spotify playlist in the "Shuffle All" mode before turning the volume up to its maximum and shoving the other ear bud into the wrong ear.

"I will survive, I will survive!"

"Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'm still alive!"

...The irony of the song that had just popped out of Tiina's playlist caused her lips to quiver, and pretty soon, a pair of tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I will survive..." she started mumbling to herself as she tried her hardest to keep up with the lyrics.

About a minute in, she noticed the shadow of someone getting closer to her. As an instinctual response, Tiina curled her body up a little tighter.. but she started dropping her guard when she realizes that this person resembled a staff member. She turns her head back and and stares into the eyes of the lady in front of her. Her mouth was moving, but Tiina couldn't make out a word she was saying. It wasn't until the staff member made a miming motion that Tiina noticed that her playlist was still going on at max volume, and the music blasting out of her earbuds was drowning out any and all noise from outside.

"What are you doing out here, Miss? And what are you listening to that's gotten you so frightened?" the lady asked.

"I'm sorry, miss... I become extremely uncomfortable when I'm surrounded by big crowds, so I came here to the courtyard in search of some breathing room." She didn't even stop to consider the lady's occupation or position in the educational hierarchy, but out of distress, Tiina decided to spill her fears to this stranger. "I understand if you need me to go back to the cafeteria..." As she said so, in a disappointed tone of voice, wiping her tear-stained glasses as she helped herself up.

@Silver Carrot

---

"This couldn't be much more of a mess, at least I have an idea of what we are dealing with. We can discuss that in detail later, among the staff only. I guess the best thing we can do now is organizing everyone and try to halt the spread of panic." Those were the words written in a paper message that Reiko sent to Aria as soon as she arrived back at the school grounds. This incident was escalating quickly and, judging by the jittery reactions of pretty much everyone, would only get worse if they didn't address it soon enough.

Reiko finished one last cigarette before walking to the PA room. As soon as she arrived, the redheaded mage took the microphone and said, "This is the Vice-Principal, Reiko Asamiya, speaking. Attention all students and members of the staff; thanks to unforeseen circumstances we will be holding a special meeting at the great hall. It'll begin in fifteen minutes, please be aware that attendance is compulsory. Thank you for your cooperation." After she was done with the message, Reiko left another talisman close to the microphone and set it to repeat the message (with adjusted time stamps) twice before leaving to meet with the Head Magister.

"Fifteen minutes, huh? I guess it's enough time for one or two more," Reiko said to herself as she lit another cigarette and calmly walked down the school halls, blatantly ignoring the no smoking signs.

---

---

Under any other circumstances Roland would have continued bickering with the newcomer, but upon her mention of a body, the paladin found himself at a complete loss of words. A student had died. Someone who had come here to fulfill their dreams only to be snuffed out on the first day. Roland’s hands clenched into fists as his anger rose. Had he had his sword, or any weapon for that matter, he might have gone back to the forest and hunted the culprit himself. Without them, however, he was able to realize he would more than likely just get himself killed as well.

Taking a deep breath, Roland turned to Duncan and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Once they reached the doors of the academy, the PA system speakers kicked on with a message from the Vice Principal. “Another assembly? This can’t be good.” Roland stated aloud. He couldn’t imagine the staff was going to be giving the students any new information. More than likely this was them announcing new rules or cracking down on existing ones to prevent this from happening again. Such actions might seem necessary, but Roland wasn’t jumping at the idea of more restrictions.

@Silver Carrot@Cerces22

[erased]

Trey nodded quietly before pausing to consider the hand that was held out to him. He almost wanted to disregard it, it would be childish to hold an adult's hand all the way back to school. But he was a child. A child who had seen a murder and was very scared if he was being honest. He took her hand without a word as they headed back to the school, the shadows calming down and returning to their usual unmoving state.

They got to the school soon, with Trey letting go before they actually entered the main building. "I'm sorry I couldn't be much help. I just wasted everyone's time huh?" A small piece of paper fluttered towards Aria, the same type that had delivered the message to Trey before Aria interviewed him. "I should get going I guess. I don't know if anything I can do would help, but if you need me then I'm ready." A look of determination passed over his face for a second before reverting into his usual bored expression. Trey then proceeded to head to the Great Hall as instructed, only to realise he had absolutely no idea where that was. He stood in the middle of the hallway and sighed. Today was going to be a very long day.

Circe was getting bored with everyone's idle chatter over what had actually transpired and worrying what was coming next. She wanted to find what was responsible for the attack and stop it before it struck again. She looked towards the other students as they whispered their fears to one an other.

We came here to train to be Dawn Slayers, and everyone of them are almost petrified. She thought to herself, sure a murder on campus was scary, but if one couldn't keep their cool you were just as likely to be the next victim.

Circe walked into the building and hung by one of the main corridors to hear the other students thoughts on the matter. Most were just as afraid, one or two even discussed calling their parents to drop out. Still a couple talked of hunting the monster themselves the first chance they got. She sighed as she listened, no good information. She eventually saw the other student that was at the body walk in with the head mistress, but they went their separate ways. Than the boy seemed to grow increasingly confused. Circe smirked and whistled to him.

"You seem lost, the Great Hall is this way." The smile she gave barely reached her eyes as she turned around without seeing if he actually followed walked away and into the great hall, she plopped herself in the seat was in just a short time ago.

@floodtalon

Duncan turned back to Roland as they entered the school. "It's probably something to do with the attack, and warning us to be careful of whatever made those prints. I don't think any of us are in trouble. At least I hope not." He replied, to answer the mage's question. The red-haired girl who joined them split off, but Duncan didn't ask questions. He wanted to get to the assembly hall without wasting any time, and this time she knew where the elevator was. When he and Roland were out of earshot, The Centaur looked back at the human slightly behind him. And ahead of him. Centaurs were long. "So, what do you think of her?" he asked. I thought she was cute but I think we'd get on each other's nerves too much."

@KoL@Awesomoman64@Cerces22

---

Ms. Mako was about to offer to take the elf to her own classroom and maybe even make her a hot drink, when the P.A. crackled to life and Reiko issues order for everyone to assemble in the Great Hall. Oh well, maybe she could check in on this elf later, when things had calmed down.

"Well, you heard that, didn't you? We'd better head to the Great Hall. If you don't want to be in the crowd of your fellow students, though, you could stand at the side with me. The offer's there if you want to take it."

Before they could head off, though, they were approached by a muddled faun. Given the natural aptitude of their race, this newcomer might sense the sheer dark, arcane power emanating from this woman. This wasn't the ethereal magic of a wizard, or the fiery soul magic of a Demon, or even the Earthen magic of a druid. This was...dark. It could only be Witchcraft. Nevertheless, the woman was acting friendly and comforting enough.

"Everything's okay in this courtyard. Elsewhere, well, the assembly will fill you in. I'm Ms. Mako, a teacher here. Let's all head to the Great Hall, and on the way, I'll see what I can do to un-muddle your head."

@KoL@Gummy1295@13org

Tholl was correct in the matter that no, the wolf really didn’t understand a lick of what she was saying. Not that it mattered when she could keep all her legs intact and without a bite mark. The wolf was still grumbling, low growls ever present but not to the point where it may have been a concern. Instead, it allowed the web to loop around its fur, treading slowly when Tholl motioned for them to be leaving. Whether it had some actual conscience or was just following along in the direction of more warm bodies would be difficult to tell, even by the teacher.

“I do hope that’s not your new pet, Tholl.” The voice of the Head Magister would resonate in the teacher’s mind. It would have been difficult to conceal such an animal from Aria, especially one that…smelled. “Please keep it away from the students. We don’t need more panic attacks and rumors of wild animals let loose in the school.”

The Head Magister projected this all as she walked along with Trey, eventually reaching the school once more. The spider teacher didn’t need to see her face to know the sigh in Aria’s voice. It would be just their luck Hikari would be getting a full PR review if this event got out. These thoughts were interrupted both by Trey’s declaration to her as well as the message she received from Reiko.

Aria smiled and shook her head at Trey. “I wouldn’t say you wasted our time. This just means you can live on another day and take this time as a learning experience. I know you can and will grow stronger from it.” Encouraging words to match his own, she watched him trot off in what looked like confusion. She was about to call out and inform him of directions before Circe did it instead, Aria wondering what surprises she would be bringing to the school year.

But now wasn’t the time to be thinking of the students’ futures. Unfortunately. They had a crisis to be averting and it didn’t take very long to find Reiko. Disasters seemed to follow that redhead casually and this time was no different. “Do you really have to do that indoors?” asked Aria with a heavy sigh. Nevermind that; with haste, she led the way to the Great Hall's stage, dreading the fact she had to announce herself twice to the students in the same day. And yet...what had dared to murder on her school grounds.

---

“What?” Roland unwittingly said in response to Duncan’s question. With all that had been going on, he hadn’t really thought to check out the red-haired girl. It took him a moment to actually think back on her appearance. After he did, though, he found he had to agree with his friend. “Oh. I mean, yeah she was really cute, but I think you’re right. She seems like trouble to me. Maybe if she’d stick around instead of saying something snarky and leaving we could actually get to know her, but until then we might want to steer clear.”

The doors quickly opened as the elevator only had to reach the second floor. Stepping off and heading towards the great hall for the second time today, Roland tried to think of another question to fill the silence but the current topic was not his expertise. Scratching the back of his neck he decided to just ask the first thing that came to mind. “So, uh, you have any experience with girls at all or just admiring them from afar? Not that it matters at all. I mean, I fall into the latter category so you know I can’t really judge one way or the other.”

@Silver Carrot

The old vampire was standing as firm as a rock as he continued to monitor the gate. A murder? Who would have dared? He had seen occasional pranks and so on, but this was too serious to be a prank. Those who dared to challenge the tranquility of this realm. Yurius slammed his two fists together, as his eyes glowed bright blood red, not in anger or fury, but in interests and slight excitement. The thought of vanquishing those individuals brought thrill to him. But before that...

Yurius brought his hands back into his pockets.

"An emergency meeting huh?"

Reasonable, but simply boring. Considering it may barely just be informing the student body about the situation, or maybe altering it to avoid chaos. In meetings, the thing that Yurius desired was the very end, when the orders would be delivered. When all the actions would ensue. Or at least put into it.

He had fifteen minutes to head there. Way enough time for him to casually pace down the courtyard, his hand still in his pocket. Let's see what our staff had in mind now....

The old vampire was standing as firm as a rock as he continued to monitor the gate. A murder? Who would have dared? He had seen occasional pranks and so on, but this was too serious to be a prank. Those who dared to challenge the tranquility of this realm. Yurius slammed his two fists together, as his eyes glowed bright blood red, not in anger or fury, but in interests and slight excitement. The thought of vanquishing those individuals brought thrill to him. But before that...

Yurius brought his hands back into his pockets.

"An emergency meeting huh?"

Reasonable, but simply boring. Considering it may barely just be informing the student body about the situation, or maybe altering it to avoid chaos. In meetings, the thing that Yurius desired was the very end, when the orders would be delivered. When all the actions would ensue. Or at least put into it.

He had fifteen minutes to head there. Way enough time for him to casually pace down the courtyard, his hand still in his pocket. Let's see what our staff had in mind now....

Trey heard a semi-familiar voice call out to him, letting him know where the Great Hall was. It was the other girl who was at the body, more accurately the other student besides himself. She hurried off quickly, with Trey following closely behind to make sure he didn't lose her and become even more lost. That would be quite annoying.

When they got to the Great Hall she took a seat, Trey sat down next to her quickly. She seemed fine at the site of the incident, but there was no telling how she was holding up now. After scrutinizing her for a moment, Trey decided to speak up. "So... I'm Trey. Trey Black." He held up a hand to shake and gave her his best smile, a little forced but he wasn't quite used to facial expressions other than tired or bored to be fair. Even now he looked exhausted despite it barely being noon, dark circles under his eyes showing his lack of sleep clearly.

"Well," Duncan answered, shrugging, "I've never had a serious relationship before, no. Just a couple of casual affairs that didn't get very far past the first kiss and a couple of dates. They've all been with non-humans like me, though. I naturally didn't circulate much in human circles. I'm not really the type of person you should get dating advice from. I'm fairly hopeless at keeping anything going."

When they reached the Great Hall, Duncan stood at the end of the back row, leaving room for Roland to get past and sit down. Naturally, none of the chairs here would fit Duncan's horse frame, so he'd wait until everybody was seated, and then sit on the floor himself. "I wonder if they have a mat for the floor..." he mused quietly to himself.

@Awesomoman64

@floodtalon

"I am Circe, nice to meet you They Black. What's your stitch??" She asked mild curiosity peeking across her eyes. "Unless of course, you don't want me to know right now, I wouldn't blame you, I keep my powers quiet. They tend to get me stereotyped."

Circe was bursting as usual with questions, her parents use to tell her that curiosity killed the cat, so she would shift into one and play.dead when ever she asked to many questions. She flinched inside at the good memory, her parents got caught on a con when she was twelve, and no one would take in a shifter child. By thirteen she was on the streets, struggling to survive. Watching the other homeless, taught her how to live in unbearable conditions. And their treatment of her all but made sure she keep everyone at arms length. She snapped out of her moment of reminiscing before Trey had noticed, the past was behind her for a reason.

[erased]