Welcome to Gaia! ::

“ You’re right, yelling isn’t getting us anywhere and you have a point in that we could saying anything to get ourselves free,but I can prove things are better outside with just this group here. We know wars have been started over silly things like incorrect soul stone shipments… and yes there are those that have hid away like you have…. but just look at our group. If you are so sure you know about the outside world then you know how the different races treat each other. If we were still war hungry and out to get everyone my Friend Callixtus who is an elf wouldn’t be in a tour group made up of Nightmares and especially demons. No, he wouldn’t be associating with any of us Nightmares. My friend Bebe’s people have been isolated from the world for hundreds of years. We didn’t attack them, we welcomed them with open arms and she’s happily going to the academy. Even more so if we still hated each other I wouldn’t exist, nor would many of the hybrids here. I’m a… I’m a mutant…” he spat the word out here but the other name for his kind was somewhat new. “And yet I have tons of friends, and I’ve met tons of good people and I’m even able to fit in and go to school. Going back to those other races you said hid away. Well we’ve welcomed plenty of other races that have hid away like you have, you can see many of their hybrids here today because everyone is getting along, and we like each other. We’re rebuilding and learning to love each other and get along with each other. We aren't the same people that blow up due to incorrect soul stone shipments".

Still sitting down with her injured ankle, Rei tried to drink in all that was going on. Everything was swiftly going downhill, and sooner or later whatever was holding back these people was going to dissipate.

Taking a deep breath, gripping her walking stick tightly, she hoisted herself into a standing position. Her lavender eyes burned brightly, even as her expression betrayed the pain she was feeling. Hobbling over closer to the group was a task in and of itself, nevermind the energy it took for her just to be able to speak without wavering more than usual.

"We are...peaceful here...Above as Below...We are...rebuilding...There are children who...have never seen war and...with help and...aid and...faith...they will never see...such a thing...in their lifetimes...or beyond."

The monotone voice didn't help with convincing, she was sure, but she didn't have it in her to feign anything more.

"We did not know...the rules of this...test. We were asked by...a very well-meaning...stranger...to help find these..." She held her tongue here. "...Children that...he did not wish to...see injured or...worse. And despite...being in a place that we...do not know...and some of us are...scared of...we wanted nothing more...than to be sure that...these children were...recovered...safe and sound..."

Talking drained her, and combined with the pain from her ankle, caused her to stop, lean on her walking stick and simply stare at the strange group.

Zahneel would have been perfectly happy to explain her misadventures to Neptune and Tomoe and to not bother to worry about much of anything. However, the sudden appearance of more odd not-grimms, one of them being MEimu electrified her as nothing else could.

Forgetting the frog, which in any case, seemed to have been tended by Tomoe, she shot to her feet and placed herself directly between the Elders and their victim. Glaring daggers of ice at the silver-y freshling that promised a sound spanking if she was ever lucky enough to get her claws on him, she turned her attention to the elders and listened to their words and accusations and dismissals with mounting rage.

Tail puffing up and hackles rising, she was practically spitting venom as Elena's skewed view of the outside word seemed to be rearing it's ugly head once more and threatening the people she'd come to see as friends.

"I have never heard such idiotic rot in all my life," she spat, voice loud enough to encompass the elders and Meimi in one lump. "By the Nine, what is so wrong with you backwoods, lost tribes that makes you ready to jump to the worst possible conclusions out there? I thought it was bad enough when that Grimm tribe invaded the school and was talking about taking us all away! I thought it was bad enough when that nixie woman accused the Headmistress of wanting to kidnap children! But no! Now you lot are talking about executions and keeping us prisoners!"

Panting, she glared at the adults, teeth bared and posture clearly stating that she was more than happy to fight all night and day if need be.

"We," she continued, emphasizing each word contemptuously, "are students. On a field trip. Try using your eyes and thinking instead of reacting. Do we look like troops? Below and Above have signed a damned treaty! We're co-mingling now. And while you're at it, maybe consider the idea of teaching your precious little monster there," she pointed a claw at Meimu and her voice dripped even more with disgust, "the actual value of life. Because, gosh, silly me! I may be a Grimm and part of a race that should be extinct by now, but I still know better than to do things that can hurt or kill innocent animals!"

Audibly growling now, the idea that these people thought they could just take everyone prisoner was disgusting. For the first time in her life, Zahneel was facing the idea that she might actually have to fight for it.

T'kani could only watch the events unfold before the group and hope that someone would be able to be a voice of reason when she could not be. Feeling the pressure of the forest behind them return made her tense up, clenching her fists and silently growling as she debated how to deal with their new captors.

Naosu's panicked voice brought her to her senses though. She had been alone for so long that her first reaction was self-preservation, but now she had others to look after as well. Moving over to the terrified Fey, she knelt next to her and tugged gently on her clothing before trying to comfort her.
It's okay, we'll be okay, I won't let anyone hurt you. We'll get out of here eventually, you'll see your son again. You still haven't introduced me to him, remember?

Once she was done she held her arms out, silently offering a hug for her best friend.

The ruby-eyed Elder whipped around to Bridgette, ears pinning back aggressively to match her own fury.

"Rash?" He hissed, head cocking to the side as if to question her while his tone clearly suggested he didn't wish for a response. "He opened the barrier to outsiders. He could have asked someone in the village to help. Instead, he allowed those we've hidden from into our home. He broke the most sacred law we've had." His voice had dropped into a growl, yet he stayed still. "Think? We are thinking, and those thoughts to led to sparing your lives. We can take that decision back, if you like?"

He paused, allowing the woman to continue before he returned his own biting rage. "Grimms? When we hid they were not in hiding. What did you do to the grimms?" He paused, teeth baring. "I haven't heard you mention Naiad's. Or the Kirin. What happened of those? They fled when we did." In fact, the Elder had also noticed those two particular races weren't in the group. Had they been wiped out?

Probably.

"We have no proof you won't leave and tell the others. Nor that the world is at peace. There are too many of you, surely someone would speak." With that, he turned from Bridgette, eying Nadina next. An eyebrow raised, mouth turning into a frown.

"Do you have any idea how long your people have tried to enter our forest? How our magic turns them back? How not one of you, until this one took it down, ever knew the exact location of this place?" He paused, giving a brief grateful nod of his head. "While we thank you for your help retrieving the kids, and that is one of the reasons you spare your lives, it does not ensure your people as a whole won't come after our territory." His eyes now flicked to Niamh.

"Curses can be broken. Magic can be nulled. I do not trust to release a group your size from our home." This was all he offered, ignoring her last comment. His attention had now focused on Aurora, who caused a sneer to spread across his features.

"Can you not hear?" He hissed, tails lashing in frustration. "Outside help does not mean those beyond the barrier. Perhaps you weren't listening, lowering the barrier results in execution." For a second an ear flicked, eyebrows raising as he snorted. "Academy? I do not know what you speak of. Naga's? Neko's? What language are you speaking? During our time there were no such things, how should we believe in these made up races?" Yet, it was the comment about the Kirin and Naiad's that seemed to raise interest, ears flicking upwards slightly.

"What about the Kirin and Naiad's?" He demanded, temper lashing as he gave the girl a glower. What did she know about the other two races that went into hiding? What had they done to them?

Samhain spoke and the Elder, who by this time had begun to slowly seethe into a ticking time bomb, turned their attention fully on them. His eyes flicked to Callixtus, eyes narrowing dramatically. It was true, they were an Elf, and they remembered the stories of Elves. For a second their expression faltered, a thoughtful narrowing of the eyes following before anger returned.

Mutant. That was why the man looked so different then the Grimm's he remembered. For another brief moment the Elder looked slightly moved by Samhain. Their features had softened considerably and they merely stood there, contemplating.

Mahuyah spoke next and the slightly calmed Elder turned to view her. This one wasn't screaming. Not only that, but he had noticed Naoki near her when this began. Perhaps that was what let him listen to her quietly, especially when the Naiad and Kirin were mentioned. Yet again, Naga and Bakeneko's were spoken of and he frowned briefly, as if he didn't believe what she said, yet there he stayed, silent. What the hell were Naga's and Neko's? Bakeneko? Neko? Which was it?

He didn't get a chance to respond, caught off-guard by another quiet figure. Rei spoke, and the man listened, eyes drawn to Tomoe when the man was mentioned. His tails lashed in anger at the sight of the smaller man, but quickly he diverted his gaze back to Rei.

"We have no proof." He stated, malice gone from his voice and instead a quiet calm settling. He didn't seem to really notice Naosu, mostly due to the fact he didn't have much to say to her. That was... until Zahneel spoke.

Not only did she speak, but she had stood near the mutated one in protecting Tomoe, causing a scowl to follow. Her words, laced with venom, struck the Elder, his body tensing as he practically snarled at her. "Monster?" He made a move to step closer to the group, moving an arm to shield their view of Meimu.

"Hey, Nagoro, how about we take back that offer about them being prisoners?" The Elder hissed towards his fellow friend, teeth baring.

Welp. That wasn't looking so good. Callixtus spoke and for a second it looked like the Elder was this close to snapping once more, instead going tense when the Elf began to fall into what seemed to become a panic attack. Lost on what to say (because honestly the only thing running in his mind was to kill the group right then and there), the man seemed to wilt slightly, eyes flicking to view some of the younger people in the group.

There were children there.

For a second, he seemed to calm, but it was clear that wasn't something he was particularly good at. Especially when one of those teenagers began to come up with one of the worst ideas he had ever heard of.

"You want us to release some of you," He paused for emphasis. "And hope that we can work out a hostage situation, as well as let everyone know exactly where we are."

And there was the anger raising.

The priestess, who was still working on the barrier, was watching the ongoings, a worried frown placed on her features.

Bebe tilted her head at the elder's words, completely shocked by their responses. "What is a neko, you ask? I'm a bakeneko! Neko for short," she said with emphasis, but not loudly, noticing they weren't responding well to raised voices. She stood and looked at the group in front of her, finally calm and thinking straight. "Who are you? How long have your people been isolated?" she asked with genuine curiosity, her ears prickling as she was eager to hear more words; her natural curiosity had overcome any fear or panic she had in regards to the situation, "why are you so convinced we're war-mongering? Have we... have outsiders... have they caused you harm in the past? What happened to you?" Her voice held empathy now, despite everything. They seemed so deeply afraid of war and of outsiders, what had happened to these people to cause such fear? Nothing good, that much was clear. "Of course you're acting defensively, all you can see are invaders in your home, shouting at you and telling you you're wrong..." she mumbled, only just now employing her empathy to understand how she'd feel in their position, "I'm... I'm so sorry. We didn't mean to invade your home and make you feel unsafe, we were too rash."

Bridgette forced herself to clam down and speak softly and evenly. Angie ronly bred more anger and right now anger was not helpful. She nodded her head. Calm and soft words seemed to work better so she softened her voice and forced her flaming temper down and away as she looked around. "Yes sir, rash." She sighed and nodded her head. "Yes he did but he did it to try to help the little ones. Maybe he was afraid of asking for help form those inside your village. Maybe he was scared you would fail him with whatever this test is and he would be punished." She shook her head. "No he hasn't. He hasn't shown anyone where your people live. We don't know where it is you make your homes. He refused to say where it was. He hasn't betrayed your people. Please spare him! Please." She made her voice as pleading and empathetic as she could.

She shook her head. "Please don't kill him. Please." It wasn't thinking. Ending another life was just wrong. "He doesn't deserve death for trying to help." She frowned more. "They are just fine. Both Naiads and Kirins exist peacefully in our areas. They aren't no harmed and have come out of hiding. I guess none of them wanted to come on this trip but that doesn't mean they are hurt. They are perfectly fine. The grimms are also perfectly fine. There are no more wars. Peace treaties have been signed and people are trying to live and love peacefully. There are hybrid children of all different species and they are perfectly fine."

She huffed and sighed when he started to yell at others. She tensed and then stepped forward again. "Sir bakenekos or nekos for short are a species now. Do you see my ears? How they don't look like a grimm's ears should? That's because I'm part bakeneko. I'm a neko, Grimm, Geist mix. So if you insist on thinking they don't exist then I can't exist since I'm part neko. I'm not made up. I'm standing here in front of you. If you don't believe me touch my ears. They won't feel like a grimm's either. Please just let us go. Some are so scared and they won't do well here. And may I ask what your people are called? Why are your people so sure bad things will happen? The world has changed and become a better place while you were cut off. Please believe me. We aren't here to hurt you or your people. We just wanted to explore and I came here to try to make friends since people usually look at me and get scared. And I've made friends. These people here are amazing and they don't deserve to be kept prisoner. They deserve to be free. They are such good kind people some are just scared. We have younger ones with us and many of us are still in school so please let us go if you won't consider trying to get to know the outside world."