Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mandy sat on the floor, arms curled around her knees as she tried not to drift off again, watching distantly as a Bogeyman approached Medea. She had woken a few minutes ago, dizzy and feeling like she was going to hurl whenever she attempted to stand and so she had merely sat as she observed all the other students around her slowly stir.

She sighed stuffing her head into her arms to block everything out for a moment, she just wanted her ghoulfriend – to curl up in her arms and cry before pretending for a while that none of this had happened, that instead her exchange had happily and that the most exciting thing she had done was the trance with Medea.

Grimacing as that thought just brought forth images of them and of wreckage they had left behind she pulled her head up, looking at the Priestess as the Bogeyman began to talk. She was glad the Clans had been given permission to stay in Halloween, it wasn’t hard to find out that most people’s opinions of them was less than positive. What did truly surprise her though was the request for them to come with and the acknowledgement that they had saved the Clans.

Many times before Mandy had felt that what the students had done had been ignored, or outright repressed, but this one time… she at least did not feel like she deserved the praise. How had they helped? All they had done was distract the Hunter’s for a little while… they hadn’t managed to stop anything. She clenched her first.

Maybe if they had acted earlier, way earlier back when the Hunter’s whilst frightening had seemed fewer and less powerful they could have prevented this but…

It was never good enough, she was never good enough. (It felt like Red all over again, where had been the signs they had missed?)

This time when she stood to follow the congregation she managed not to falter, she may not feel deserving but they had been asked for and she would not on this deny the Clans wishes.

The place they were led to was… nice. Near to the school, the forest and the town it was prime location. She sighed, it was desolate though, empty. It had none of the majesty of her forest, and in comparison to where they had lived before… it was a tiny pale shadow.

She glanced at the speakers noting curiously that once again their secretary was in the heart of things, she wondered briefly why not Prof Shox but well… maybe it was for the best Arel took charge of diplomacy. She tuned back in to what was being said as what she was assumed a City Hall represented left, logistics or some such worked out.

As the leader spoke Mandy felt herself entranced, what he said brought all that had happened to bare – laid out plainly. Not only had their home been destroyed and their families slaughtered but their entire way of life was fundamentally wrecked and now but memories.

She took back what she had thought earlier, Mandy did not want to forget what had happened over the past weeks for even a single moment because every memory of the isles, even as they burned, was precious.

She thought of all the Clans people she had passed casually in the corridors that where now no more than Insanity and of the desert, the cliffs, the earthy smell of the rooms and the clanging of forges that all now laid at the bottom of the ocean.

She would carry them on in her heart.

All paths lead to the same end, she still wasn’t sure what that meant but it seemed less a threat and more a promise now. She hoped that end was peace.

For now, she had a ghoulfriend to find.

Roch was barely paying attention to the ceremony. He was glancing around as discreetly as he could, certain that the boogies were watching--and they were. He knew, logically, that they were probably more worried about the horsemen than they were about a half grown punk like him, but he kept hearing little whispers in the back of his mind, telling him something he couldn't quite understand, but his mind was more than willing to fill in for him.

They would grab him sooner or later--and if they didn't, the hunters would come back and blow everyone up--

The moment he could leave, he was gone, disappeared into the weeping forest in a way that only a grim reaper could. He wanted to see his dad. And he wanted to deal with the knowledge that he had hit both Xiu and Danny when he was going insane.

Reiko was surprised to feel warmth on her back when she awoke. She expected it was a random student who had simply happened to choose that spot to fall asleep, but she turned and saw Mitzi, and for the first time since the battle under Conquest, a smile that was not glazed with a hint of bloodlust/psychosis crossed her face. For a moment, just a moment, she felt genuinely wanted.

And then the voices came back and reminded her that no she wasn't, that this was not her home and that she had no home. Surely Mitzi had merely chosen a spot at random. It was by coincidence.

But they were being herded out and she didn't trust herself to speak, so she stood and watched the ceremony, feeling her heart plummet. The Four Clans had not been her home, but they had been beautiful, an experience she would never forget. She wished she had seen more of them-had seen the Isle of War, especially. She looked for Mitzi once the ceremony was over, because if the Reaper ghoul didn't want her around, she could at least give the news that she would be leaving soon.

By the time Mitzi groggily opened her eyes, the onryo was already floating away after the rest of the crowd. The whispers, which had wormed their way into her subconscious to give her uneasy dreams, immediately latched onto the opportunity; after she had forced herself to stay awake, to check on the other ghoul, Reiko had just up and abandoned her? She swallowed, her throat thick, but there wasn't time to feel sorry for herself or she would be left behind.

The Reaper ghoul didn't feel that the short ceremony gave any sort of closure. Yes, the Clans now had somewhere to live, a place to call their own, but it was no home. Not yet, and perhaps it never would be, not one to truly replace what they had lost.

As the speeches ended and the students were released, Mitzi looked over the crowd, wondering if she should try to find any of her friends - friends? Why would you think they're your friends? the voices seemed to taunt her - before she returned to her room. Then she saw a flash of long black hair and a bloody white kimono, again, and she paused for a moment. Reiko had left her before, she probably didn't want to see her again... but this would be her last chance before the onryo left Amityville. So she hesitantly raised her hand over her head, waving to the other ghoul.

After the way the onryo had ditched her upon waking up, a hug was the last thing Mitzi had been expecting. For just a moment, she stared at the younger ghoul in shock, before wrapping her arms around her as well. When Reiko first tried to pull back a little, she didn't let go, just holding her tightly.

"I'm glad to see you, too," she replied, not actually ready for the inevitable goodbyes. Finally, with a sigh, she let the other ghoul go, letting her step back and put a little space between them. "You'll be coming back someday, though, right?" she asked, managing a bit of a teasing grin. She didn't even know if Reiko wanted to attend Amityville, but maybe she could at least come for a visit.

Her grin turned into a genuine smile, her own tension easing just a bit to hear it. Maybe someday Reiko would be here as well, and she could see the other ghoul again. "I'll be looking forward to that, then. I'm glad we got to spend the week together, and, well... I'm sorry for everything that happened." It may not have been her fault, but she still felt a pang of guilt that the ghoul had gotten sucked into this whole mess. It wasn't her fight, not yet at least. Although with the Clans gone, it might well be all their fight soon enough...

Reiko nodded. "I as well." She glanced over at the few members of the Lost Clans who remained present. "I...am sorry too. But I would not trade this experience for anything. It was good to meet you, Mitzi. I...feel better about attending Amityville, already knowing someone." More than one someone. Mei, and Morrigan, and Alex as well. "You...have my skelephone number, yes?"