Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sarah smiled sleepily and put her head on the table. "You always were an overachiever," she murmured. "Oh, Al, looks like your boy's getting up for a minute."

Echo raised her eyebrows."Have fun!" she said brightly, with a small, slightly sarcastic smile. Mark seemed sort of on edge, and she wasn't sure what she should do about it. It wasn't her job to fix the kid's life, at least not directly.

Sarah didn't lift up her head."You're an idiot," she mumbled, without any real heat.
Suddenly she opened her eyes and lifted up her head, frowning. She'd just had a very disturbing thought. "Why have we all been assigned to this school? You'd think someone almost wants to draw attention to us," she added bleakly.

Echo watched the exchange between Pride and Mark, feeling slightly sick. Oh, she'd kill him. She realized that had been a prideful thought, and immediately made herself look like a girl who'd just gotten a note from the cutest guy in school.

"You shouldn't steal his food," said Sarah vaguely reaching out and stealing a fry from Ben's tray, "It's like giving you a mirror, and then taking it away- Oh, wait!" She said, her smirk covering up her annoyance at having her concerns brushed aside. She was out. Right after lunch. The rest of them could stick it out if they wanted to, but she didn't like the feel of the situation, and she didn't like the idea of an invisible Angel of Death. Plus, everyone but Gluttony just made her job harder, and Sarah wasn't into hard jobs.

"Don't let him fool you with that crap," yawned Sarah, putting her head back on the table. "It's because he likes me more than you. Bit of a change, isn't it?"

(( No, I didn't. I haven't really got a feel for his character, though.))

"Soon to be four..." said Sarah softly, just before she drifted off. It reminded her of a song her mother had sung to her when she was a little girl, before everything went wrong. No, everything had always been wrong, she just had been to innocent to see it. Well, that didn't last, she thought, not for the first time.

Echo stared at the fries on the table, nervously wondering when Mark would get back. She was worried about what the sins were planning, and she was worried about how she was going to take Pride out with so many others around him. How many were there, now? At least four.

She was going to have to find her demonic contact; this was too much for her to handle. What had the name been? Something pretentiously short, two letters; she remembered having to suppress an eye roll when she first read it. Sighing, she got out the only thing in her pocket, a piece of paper. The piece of paper only had two letters on it: an x, and an o. As she read the letters she shivered in spite of herself.

The bird's were chirping so nicely while she carved up "Char" that she threw a shoe, and also technically a foot, at them.

Hidden in a tiny, green-lit enclosure in the park, she figured she had a few minutes to do what she had to.

She didn't particularly like what she had to do to talk to "Him", just because you're evil doesn't mean you like gross stuff. Such a silly common misconception.

13 pieces? Check.

Arranged in a circle? Check.

She eyed his black leather jacket. It was rather nice... but she'd never get all the blood out of it now. XO sighed a bit sadly.

She didn't bother to wipe the blood off her hands. It always came off eventually. Besides..she rather liked the effect when talking to the Higher Ups. Or maybe...Lower Downs.

Made them take you a little more seriously.

XO drew a sigil in the ground with her foot and waited, kneeling, silent.

A bush burst into flames.

"XO..." it intoned with a scratchy tremor. "What do you have to report?"

XO bowed low and glanced up at the burning bush. She hesitated a moment.

"Don't you think that's a little..."

"A little what?" The blaze jumped from orange to bright blue.

"... nevermind."

XO raised her head and detailed what she knew.

"As of now, four sins have been assigned to the school. Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust have been confirmed so far. Two angels are present, and also a demon. My inclination is to take out Pride without alerting the others. In the confusion, Lust may be easier. Sloth and Gluttony work together as well, so they will be hard to take down. My reservation is that I know I am not supposed to alert Heaven or Hell to our plans. What should I do about the angels and the demon?"

"One of the angels was sent by "Him". She is your contact. She is an angel. You will use her to further your schemes. This is too much for one demon to handle. Even for you."

XO's eyes narrowed slightly beneath her heavy bangs.

"I think you know too much about Pride yourself", the bush continued. "Use the angel as you wish. I suggest a cooperative attack. Gain their trust. Know their secrets. The sins know eachother and may give you useful information. Do not move unless there is a chance to exterminate more than half at once. Once you have killed one, we won't have long to complete our plans. And Wrath is still unaccounted for. Proceed with caution, and do NOT act without "Our" approval. Understand?"

XO felt her anger rising and dug her clenched fingers into the grass, trying to check her rage. An ANGEL?? A bloody ANGEL?? Help HER? And then to be scolded like some...like some....

She inhaled slowly and closed her eyes. XO bowed low.

"Yes, I understand."

"Good. She is one of the angels you felt in the school. Her name is Echo. Don't fail "Us"." The bush began to spark and burn into ash.

XO waited until the enclosure was silent and she was sure she was alone.

She punched the ground savagely once and then rocked back on her heels and stood up, composed.

Echo, huh? What a pretentious name.

(wow I can't think of anything to write, oh well I'll try)

Mark walked back into the cafeteria and did not see AL in sight, though he did spot his friends, 'Wow that guy makes friends fast.' As he approached his table, he noticed a worried look on Echo's face, of course he knew he could help, after all, that was what he was great at, no better then great, best.