Welcome to Gaia! ::

Once noticed, she moved closer and dropped the facade of investigation. Riley canted her head slightly at Edel, before her eyes crinkled in mirth and crescented at Muka's greeting. Oh, don't be so formal. You'll make me too old for my time. It's just Riley. Her eyes flickered back to Edel. And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, as well. I take it you're enjoying yourselves here? Might I ask, were you here earlier, when this room was occupied? Or, have you found anything interesting? She looked back behind her, her eyes searching the room. I feel as though there is a great deal to learn for us here, while we are guests of the horsemen.

Turning back to the two, her eyes crinkled again. And not just from their classes and training fields.

"I like it here quite a bit!" His wings stretched as if indicating that the treetops were a perfect place for the owl boil.

"I'm afraid when I arrived it was just Edel here. It seems as if some sort of fight happened but all I found were these." He pulled the silver trinkets from his pocket. "I think they may be the horsemen version of pumpkin seeds?"

He looked back out at the armed horsemen flying through the portals. "Do you happen to know where they are going, Miss Riley? Not Halloween, armed like that?"

Edel caught the token tossed back at her and pocketed it, feeling slightly more rebellious now that it was certain that it was some form of currency.

“You seem to be on to something,” she smiled, “it's not much, but perhaps I could offer a bit of what I know.” Edel hesitated and looked around her to see only the three of them present, but she couldn't be too sure. Riley had been speaking to them through their thoughts so far ... perhaps it would not be too far-fetched to assume that the thoughts could travel two ways.

Raising her eyebrows to signal the start of her attempt at ... mind-communicating, the ghoul stared squarely at the mindflayer, directing her thoughts at the illithid. “Do acknowledge if this reaches you. I think you might have heard of a certain Professor QB? I quote: Horsemen and Hunters are connected with Halloween, it is as simple as that ... They are all fighting for resources. What is something that Halloween, the Four Clans, and the Hunters all require in order to sustain themselves?" A pause "He... it... had very few reservations in answering our questions, when we met him, our guesses were FEAR ... or even us. But he claims the answer is simpler than Fear.” The ghoul looked back at Muka, giving him a slight gesture that she was referring to that encounter to keep him in the loop. “What I'm curious is though, is why the Horsemen are interested in us.” From what she had seen, the Horsemen have always acted superior towards them, so what was it they had that could entice them into a treaty?

A single brow quirked upward as Edel thought, very hard, about her next few comments, and they reached her. She nodded imperceptibly, but she was deeply curious as to what could be so secret that she needed to speak through thoughts. When she shared them, however, it became clear.

Resources. Riley murmured sharply, as her eyes fogged just slightly. She looked lost in thought, but truly she was accessing the database her hive afforded her, searching for any insight into what all three factions could be warring over. When she was done, her eyes sharpened and she shook her head. She felt as though she'd failed, despite one answer cropping up over and over.

The hunters do not need FEAR. As far as I know, the only thing the hunters are fighting for, is freedom. They want to be rid of us completely, but we are the ones who need them. And I can't be certain, but I assume the Horsemen need them, as well. So tentatively, the only true resource involved is humans themselves - but to say a Hunter needs humans is tricky wording indeed. As far as I know, the only thing all three factions want is freedom.

She left out the word that came hand in hand with freedom, each time she'd heard it in her mind. Control. She could easily see the Horsemen desiring to be in control, and Hunters certainly thrived on their power. But could it really be that simple?

It was for her. Perhaps it could be for others, as well.

We shall continue to keep our eyes open, yes? This riddle is far from being solved.

Muka watched Edel take her leave, simply smiling after her. The strix resettled his wings once more and turned to Riley. His eyes blinked unevenly and his smile was once more bright. He clacked his teeth together while he thought for a moment of what to say.

"I am glad to meet you Miss Riley." He held his hand to his chest and half-bowed again. It was ingrained into him to behave a certain way. It was the mark of the old generation of upper class bourgeois demon society in which his father raised him.

"I have been told that I am not the best when it comes to ah..hmm.. social matters. I don't always know the proper comments to make." He giggled. "I am not very deep thinking or tactical. I find myself a bit more bestial in nature than some others." It was clear that the strix was trying to relate something to Riley in the best way he could without seeming detached or innappropriate.

"I have met the hunters and I was in the trials. I may not understand all of this. I do not even have any informed opinions besides the obvious." The strix chuckled again, a hissing screech that he tried to keep in slightly. It was clearly sometimes uncontrollable for him. "But I think you are a fitting leader for us.. for Student Council that is." His head bobbled on his shoulders.

"I am very good at flying and quite intimidating in my true form. If you ever need me for anything, I am always willing to help. Oh and hmm my sibling went missing recently. My father is very particular about what gets into the news about him but perhaps I figure I could pass the message along to people who are caring."

Ulmuka's more serious tone then dissolved away, that was as serious as he got unless under duress, and the playful owl boil stepped forward to snatch her hand up like a gentlemonster. The strix never kissed hands but merely snapped his teeth lightly above the flesh with a clack. He was so used to a beak that the concept of lips was sometimes lost on him. He straightened his expensively tailored waistcoat and stepped away. "A pleasure to meet you finally!!" His tone was happy, a slight screech, before he simply dove off the platform, his large wings catching him easily as he headed in the direction of the dorms.

[Exit]

The canopy as a whole was pretty nice from what he could see. Moving on towards the edge, he leaned against one of the posts while looking out at the trees around. It didn't take long before Shun could see some minipets staring at him. They were some sort of bird type.

In a way, they also looked kind of hungry. Though, he couldn't be certain what kind of food they ate.

Watching them for a little longer, he backed away and headed back to the stadium. Maybe.. Just maybe he could reclaim some of his dignity.

((Exit))

Amphi continued her exploration of the small canopy, resting here and moving there when her eyes fell to a deep groove in the wood. At first she thought it part of the design but upon closer inspection, it looked like a scuffle of sorts happened.

Another fact she could constitute with that hypothesis with the scattered black feathers around the deep scratches. She wondered if either of the two...if not more made it out alive?

((Entering))

Mitzi in her wandering had somehow found her way to the open canopy. She hadn't realized until she was partway up exactly how exposed and open it was, but after the earlier trouble on the observation tower she was determined to make it up. This really wasn't nearly so bad, and if she couldn't do this, then she'd never make it up to the top of the observation tower.

When she reached the top, she looked around, finding no one else around. Her gaze passed over the trees, originally planned to only be briefly, as the edges were still bothering her, but she spotted some clan members flying past. Something about it caught her attention; they seemed to be well-armed and in a hurry to wherever they were going. Maybe some event that the Amityville students hadn't been told of? Curious, she watched them, but she'd gotten turned around and had no clue where they were flying towards. She'd have to check it out later, and she did her best to fix landmarks in her mind so that she could find the location where they had been heading.