Welcome to Gaia! ::

He listened quietly to his Mistress's speech, a smile twisting on his stitched lips as he hefted his shovel from where he had leaned it against a tree. The hole had already been started, but there was the appearance of matters. Always leave a bit to do while people were still there to see, that's what made grave-digging the most fun.

Granted it wasn't a *proper* grave, but... he refrained from saying that to anyone.

We are Halloween, and we will never die.

The only lesson from Red he had ever retained. He wasn't so sure about it, but it must have been one of those metaphorical things he didn't quite understand.

Maybe Mistress would explain later.

As everyone made their final words, the hunchback in the red cloak limped his way over to the spot they had decided to dispose of the box of knickknacks and memorabilia, digging in deep into the earth with his shovel.

She was right. For both cloaked figures, it was enough to stir up a sort of fighting spirit. A determination to not lose. To grow stronger. For Red. For their loved ones. For all of them.

"WE ARE HALLOWEEN. AND WE. CAN. NOT. DIE."

And then the figure up by the council took in a deep breath.

"VOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" he cried out while breathing a plume of flame up towards the sky.

The other cried out as well, only without the flames.

Glowing eyes followed the progression of one figure as they made their way from the circle, lingering there a moment before returning forward again as Riley's voice filled their minds. There was nothing gentle about it, no prelude to her speech, and the strength behind her words was both unexpected and admired. That was what they needed now, strength and unity, something to believe in and work towards. Sorrow and grief was one thing, Seiji himself still felt the stab of Red's lose, but she wouldn't have wanted them to cry for her, she'd have wanted them to fight.

His shoulders straightened, and he stood a little straighter as he watched their student council president grab his friend's hand before moving onto the box that held the memory and mementos for Red. She was right, every last forceful word she sent into their brains, and the boil could feel his resolve hardening, pain easing, with every rallying point.

He'd murmured the words before, but he yelled them now along with the voice in his head. Closed, blackened fist raising into the air. He heard Bul Howl, more beast then anything else, and he felt that same building swell of pride within himself. He didn't even bother to hold it back, but instead rose his voice along with his best friend's, Howling into the night air to echo the voice already raising around him. He howled, and it his heart gave a single shuddering beat. He felt Alive

-------

Riley's words were sudden and clear in the ghoul's head and she stiffened, clutching at the boil beside her as glowing eyes widened. She stared, unable to even to breath for a moment as that strong, confident voice rang through her mind and made thin shoulders straighten. She swallowed, easing the lump that had formed in her throat, and lifted a hand to rub at the tears that clung to her cheeks.

Overwhelmed or not, she had been weak, and as she listened to Riley's speech she was reminded of something she'd forgotten. Yes, Red's death was a tragedy, and yes they would mourn, but that was not what the were wolf had wanted from them.

She hadn't been there in her their teacher's final moments, having opted to remain behind instead of walking into what she'd considered certain disaster. Who would have known she'd come to regret that decision, even known she'd been right? There was nothing she could have done, nothing she could have said that would have made any difference, she knew that, and yet still she thought she'd made the wrong choice. She had been weak in her decision to stay behind. Smart, certainly that, but cowardly and weak. It had been the logical choice to stay behind, but it gained her nothing, no strength, no skills, nothing.

She'd given up before she'd even tried, and that was not acceptable. Not to Red, and not to her self.

Releasing the arm beside her, Hadiyya stood straighter, and exotic features were determined as she pushed the crimson hood from her face to pool around her shoulders. She listened to her peers crying out around her, howling into the night, and she lifted her voice in turn. It wasn't a howl, not really, but it didn't lack an ounce of pride of determination the others had. She would not give up again, she would run away. She would stand with her friends, and she would grow strong and move forward.

Whether she had been one in the past or not, Hadiyya refused to be the weak link any longer. She had found a purpose in that tent upon the others return. Never again would she watch her friends dying and do nothing. She would continue with the bit of training she'd gotten with cricket, and she would walk down the path of a FEARhealer.

There was sudden passion, almost anger in the words the president spoke. She would never have allowed herself such a sudden display, were these any other circumstances. This, however, called for some wanton passion.

"WE ARE HALLOWEEN, AND WE CANNOT DIE!"

It felt good. It felt right.

Hoods everywhere were being shed, denting the sea of crimson capes - she would have loved nothing more than to recognize at least one. She didn't have their memories. She didn't have the passion of those who spoke, or the power of the voice that rose once again in her head. She didn't have the urges of vengeance or solidarity or fortitude or...whatever drew voice after voice into audible, steadfast tribute. She didn't! And yet...

"We are Halloween." She had that. She had it, and it sounded so familiar that she knew she had said it somewhere before. Repeating it made something in the back of her brain slide back into place. The ghoul had spent months wandering in fog - why was it here, in this solemn moment, that she felt most alive?

"We are Halloween, and we cannot die."

No, not now. Not now that there was something pulling at her, niggling the back of her head with all the irritation of something important forgotten. Several somethings important, at that. The tall werewolf stepped forward, staring at the box filled with the student body's memorial to Red, and tilted her muzzle back in sudden, sonorous howl that stormed up to join the others'. There was at least one wolf here tonight - it was only fitting that she make her voice heard.

Voices rose around him, and Seiji could feel a smile sliding along his face despite the event. This was what Red would have wanted. Not overwhelming grief and despair, but unity and pride. They would not hide, they would not run or cower, they would grow stronger, and they would face those Jack damned humans and make them pay for everything they had done to them. It was a purpose, and the ghost was going to cling to it, strive for it, and do everything in his power to make it happen.

He Watched as his Ghoulfriend joined in the cry, echoing her as she attempted to howl, and laughing as the sound died in his throat. They were Halloween, fear itself, how could they have ever forgotten that?

As politely was possible he made his way through the crowd towards the front to stand on the fringe, smiling at Junko, at all the council. This memorial had been about closure, and he dare say they had found it. At least he had, and those that had joined in the shouting. They had needed this, all of them.

He almost hadn't come. It had been hard enough to try to gather some semblance of understanding of the events of the field trip. He still wasn't sure that he could stomach it. Though the Cerberus could be cocky at times, he wasn't irreverent or disrespectful enough to believe that his attendance would have helped prevent what happened. But his absence still hurt. While the classmates that he cared about were going through some of the most unimaginable trials, he'd been holed up in his cozy dorm.

It wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

He'd kept his distance from the other students. He wasn't sure if he should be here. He hurt at the loss of his teacher, but surely it wasn't comparable to what the other students were feeling.

Ultimately, he was here for Red. When it came down to it, he'd decided, this wasn't about him. It wasn't even about his classmates, really. It was about honoring a teacher that had been more brave than he could ever imagine. A soft whimper emerged from the darkened hood of his cloak, and he tossed his head back to howl. It was a pitiful, weak puppy's howl at best, but he was determined to join them this time.