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Thankfully, being an undead meant even the digging of nails into his skin didn't bother him too much. "Dunno," Mort answered lamely. "Maybe. Has on red c-cloak, is sign?"

Oddly, Mortimer remembered an old saying amongst those at sea. Red at night, sailor's delight. Red in the morning, sailors take warning. What time was it again? He had such trouble keeping up, always spending time in his room and not, well, really needing sleep.

"She might," he added as Riley came on the scene, her mental voice whispering in his mind. And then -

sldkfdlskfndsfgnldnfls

"Freya!" Mort yelped, jostling a bit as she snuck up behind him.

What a lady killing nerd. One ghoul clinging on one side, the other hugging his waist! And look, Dance Ghoul (Pepin) was joining up in the front!

. . . Actually, was Freya okay with Chuppi's spines? Gently as he could, he turned a bit so that there was less peril. "N-New guy, dunno who is, boil a-acts like new secret here. About P-Professor Red."

To Ms. Glitchy of Reclining Invisible Chairs herself, he managed a wave back. "Hai hai." Jack, he wished he could do that!

Tybalt had followed the crowd, curious to see what was going on. Why were they all gathering in the gymnasium? One would think after the whole Red incident they would stay away from it as much as possible, so why were they gathering there now..?

He flicked his tail, as he scanned the group of people for familiar faces. Anyone who who could fill him in on the situation.

So determined to focus on the stranger and figure out what was going on, Thackery was startled by Ash's touch. He jumped and let out the tiniest of yelps before he had time to realize it was nothing to be afraid of. Not like anything particularly threatening would be specifically seeking him out, after all.

"Ash!" he cried, just in time for Riley's "voice" to trickle through his mind. Ashamed, he lowered his own voice to a tiny, cautious whisper, leaning close against the taller boil. It was as close as he could get to whispering in his ear without standing on a chair. "Red, um, she was the gym teacher. She wore a cloak like this one." He paused to point straight ahead, to the figure that could just barely be seen past Riley. "And something really bad happened on the field trip and now she's gone. I think it has something to do with the..." he didn't want to say it, but he would hate thinking that his inability to suck it up could potentially put Ash in danger. He needed to know. "...the hunters. Humans that could do something bad enough to us to make sure we go away. And to use us against all of our friends and everyone we care about." He chewed his lip and looked up at the other boil. "They're lots smarter than the humans in the stories my brothers and I used to read. We have to be really careful and stay away from them. But it can be hard because they, I guess, figured out how to blend in with us and look like us and..." He trailed off, unsure of how to explain this general uncertainty on what to do when faced with such danger.

What he wanted was to hole up in Ash's room and hide until they knew the hunters could be warded away and defeated, but his guilt over the previous events was already overwhelming. He wasn't sure how he could live with himself if he'd hidden away and waited for everyone else to make sacrifices to their benefit.

According to what he had heard, the gymnasium was a place for dueling. If anything was going to get Yǐn Cáng out of his room and interacting with strangers it was the promise of a fight. But standing outside of the gym he began to realize it was a much busier place that he had first thought. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling himself. Ghouls are different here. They don't control you.

With that thought firmly planted in his mind he strode toward the door, but by the time he had opened it he was already hunching down and he simply slipped in, hanging back and attempting to hug the wall. Nothing to see here.

"Hey, Mitsu," She reached out to rest her hand gently on Mitsu's shoulder in greeting, but she was careful the angle herself in such a way that she could keep the figure in view at all times. Because of the hissing whisper that Riley had sent through their heads, Xiu took note not to speak too loudly, her gaze skimming over the other students. There were a ton of students here now, she noticed.

It really did not seem like a wise idea of all of them to be crowded together like this. Even if the cloaked figure was not anyone threatening or dangerous, it would certainly be suspicious if a professor came by to find them all gathered together.

That being said, there was definitely something up with that figure. His voice...had it been familiar?

Noting Vaith standing a short distance away, she raised her hand to wave at the reaper--wait why was he sitting down was he seriously napping in a place like this? That's what it looked like. "Vaith!" She hissed, not knowing if her voice was loud enough to reach him (or if he would even recognize her upon seeing her), "This isn't the time or place! Stay on your feet in case...in case something happens!" What if they needed to run or something?

Ash smiled indulgently within his helm. "My apologies for startling you, Thackery." He wrapped a large arm around the Cerberus teen, holding him close. "I see," he murmured, taking this in. "I do not like the sounds of this," he growled, the gravelly voice echoing within his metal helmet. "A threat to our safety is intolerable." He looked up a little, just enough to see the hem of the red cloak. "That does not explain who this is."

He was surrounded by strangers, all gathered here, for a reason he could not quite pin down. His haze was perpetual, impenetrable-- and yet, he felt uneasy.

That was mostly due to the sheer amount of people. He looked around for Amrita, perhaps, as that was his only real friend besides the ever present Thackery. There was...Riley, at least. He had met her once, which had led to some terrible detention (by no fault of her own). He had heard her, that strong voice echoing in his mind like a bell, clear as a summer sky.

"I will protect you," he murmured to Thackery, his voice uneasy. He wasn't sure if he could at all do such a thing. But he could try, or at least reassure the smaller boy that someone would.

Xiu sent Roch an incredulous look as he seemed to follow Vaith's lead.

Her expression probably would have been even more incredulous if she knew what Roch had been thinking. Nagging =/= dating, okay? Unfortunately, she couldn't read the punk reaper's mind, so the look she was giving him was for the fact that he was sitting down.

Sighing, the baku threw her arms up in the air.

Roch waved his guitar at Xiu, like a fan, almost. He might be sitting, but he was sitting holding a WEAPON. He was just in a d**k-ish enough mood that he blew her a kiss.

Besides, the guy in the cloak sort of reminded him of waiting in front of the haunted house, and that'd taken forever.