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Gabrian was liking this trip less and less as time went on. Something about the islands felt... oddly strange, foreign and much more threatening than Christmas land had ever felt. Granted, he was glad there was no snow, and while it was true that his humid clothes were starting to make him feel slightly grumpy, it was without a doubt a clear step up from that trek across the Icy path.

Jack damn that Icy path.

The fact they had absolutely no goal other than... staying alive, actually, was also something Gabrian did not particularly enjoy. At least during the raid, they'd known they had to go to raid the warehouses. Here, they were guide-less and had no clue just what they were supposed to do about it. He'd spotted no faculty members since the crash, and while their deductions and subsequent decision to head towards the cornfields still felt like the right decision, the nix wasn't entirely sure if they were head the right way per say, "I keep wondering," he drawled out at both ghouls, "What it is we're expected to be doing on this island. Did the teachers that captained your boats give you any sort of actual information on what it was we were going to do upon arriving at our destination?" he kicked a rock as they walked, and his tail swished behind him, the bottom half curled around the sword he'd picked up back at the beach, "There's also the fact this fog reminds me of... that one time. You know," he turned towards LW, "When we fought that guy on campus. The one with the strange, nearly invisible weapon that er....pretty much fed it our FEAR attacks."

Which granted, if he was right, begged the question of why their attacks had worked against that other guy just a while ago. His tail lifted up in the air and he took a moment to look at his wooden sword which.... looked remarkably different than he had just a few moments ago, "Hey," he blinked and held the weapon up in the air for the ghouls to see, "It changed. I am quite sure it didn't have that just a few moments ago," apparently, 'that' was an intricate carving design of a snake curled up around the hilt of the sword, the wooden 'blade' now protruding out of it's mouth, "That's interesting."

"I am.. very much uncertain myself." Tsetsiliya's eyes scanned the cornfield around them for any sign of activity, but being so short, the stalks had the obvious advantage over her. "Perhaps a test of some kind, maybe?" The whole trip had unnerved her quite a bit, and she was thinking that the last school trip to Christmas Town was likely to blame for that. She had gone on that with wide-eyed optimism, ready to write home about her exploits and braced herself for challenges.. but she had not quite expected what Christmas Town had dished out to her. She was a little more seasoned now, not a pro by any stretch of the imagination but it was best to keep one's wits about them.

When Gabrian had noticed his weapon, Tsetsiliya leaned over to take a look, and indeed her eyebrows shot up at the sight. This was definitely not the standard-issue weapons that they had been given. "What is causing that.. ?" she asked to no one in particular. The snake motif was a reflection of the nix himself, it seemed to her, so perhaps that meant that their weapons were malleable. Her eyes started to fall towards her own mace when a voice called out to them. She stalled and turned around, squinting at the approaching figure.. it seemed to be the rabbit nagual, Alessa. This was certainly good news! However she had come alone, and it was looking as though it would be difficult to find the others just as easily. As Tsetsiliya watched the newcomer scan their faces, the ghoul settled on hers and tried to appear friendly enough, but her smile wavered a little as she clarified the poludnica's name.

"Y-yes," she stammered in reply, but the poor ghoul looked so little distracted with worry that she may not have heard her. Tsetsiliya chewed on her lower lip as her she rubbed the arm that held onto the mace in an effort to warm herself a little. Alessa was likely thinking about the others, and maybe the sight of Tsetsiliya instead of, say, the ghoul's boilfriend, was a little disappointing. Her anxieties began their manic dance in her brain, and immediately doubts started pouring in from all sides. This was likely a mistake, she would only be burdening them.. all of these thoughts whirled around and each felt like poison. She knew it was wrong to think this way, but it was how her train of thought always progressed.

However she was no fool; running about by herself on this strange island was not the smartest plan. Besides, the main goal in her mind (despite whatever unclear desires the faculty had) was finding Carthusia and making sure she was safe.

Even with the tension of her teammates and her own anxieties, the sight of the corn stalks comforted her. A lingering reaction in her blood, perhaps, seeing as she had never been in a proper field before; her family had somewhat of a field on their property, but it was a garden compared to this. Leaning the mace's handle against her leg for a moment, she peeled the glove from her hand and reached out to touch the stalk. The stalks were a rich shade of green, and one long nail peeled into the husk at the top to reveal the soft gold within. It was refreshing to know the food was ripe.

"I-If anyone is b-being hungry, the corn is ripe.. yes?" She gestured to the husk she had just opened a little more with a hopeful smile. The ghoul could not ease anxieties or tell them where their friends are, or even why they were on this Jack-forsaken island, but some food on their stomachs might let them think a little more clearly.

It was actually not Alessa's voice that first got the nix's attention, but the sound of her jogging. For a moment, his hands tightened their hold around both Tsetsiliya's and LW's own, a frown crossing his features as he turned in a clear attempt to figure out what it was that was approaching before it arrived. Thankfully, it was not an enemy or a stranger that had been following them, but Alessa, and Gabrian relaxed his hold on both ghoul's hands, "I'm afraid... not," he murmured softly as the nagual approached, inquiring if they'd seen Ren or not, "I'd figured he was with you..." he paused and began to rephrase his words, almost as if noticing this was not the best way to inspire confidence to any of them, "I'm quite sure he's with Jove then. I don't think he'd let go of that pup. He seemed quite fond of him and besides... so long he stays clear away from the water, he should be perfectly fine; Ren's strong and can take care of himself. He'll be fine."

He almost considered telling them not to worry, but then again, saying such a thing seemed stupid, seeing as how he was very obviously worried despite his own claim the gryphon could take care of himself, "I don't like this place at all. I believe I like it less than I liked Christmas town, and given the fact I was quite miserable during that trip, as Alessa here knows... that's quite a stretch," this place still felt far more threatening than christmas ever had.

His hands uncurled from around the ghouls as they each moved; LW to greet Alessa and Tse towards the corn that surrounded them. He had to stop himself from reaching out and grabbing hold of the poludnica's clothes, almost as if expecting the fog to suddenly grow thicker, swallowing her whole. Thankfully, none of that happened, and she instead, presented them with ripe corn, "I supposed a compromise is in order, yes," he smirked at LW as he followed suit and took one himself peeling it to reveal the food, "Though I'm not in any need. At least not yet. I had plenty of fish and just a touch of seaweed when we crashed," he looked down at the corn and frowned, "I don't like the idea of this being a test."

It didn't feel like a test, really. The boat had felt like a test. But this? This felt utterly unplanned and more than a little scary. He was about to redirect his attention back to his sword when the sound of someone crying filtered through the air. It was low at first; low enough that the nix almost shoved the notion aside as ridiculous, but as the seconds ticked, the wailing grew in intensy and emotion, making him squirm awkwardly in place, "Ahhh... do you hear that?" it was a dumb question which he'd asked the ghouls, but he felt the need to ask, as if to make sure he wasn't going crazy and that there was someone crying. His gaze scanned the tall stalks (which he was actually unable to look over, even despite his obvious advantage in height) until they settled somewhere to his right, "It's coming from somewhere... over there," and it was clear that by 'over there' he meant inside the stalks, "I..." his instincts were pretty much screaming at him to go and help whomever it was that needed it, but, well...

Not everything was what it seemed to be. Specially not around here, "Stay here," he turned and looked at LW specifically as he spoke, "Please. Don't move. I can find you again if you don't move. There's hardly any fog here and I'm just tall enough that I can almost see over the stalks," a pause, his gaze turning towards that spot towards his right, "Stay. I will be right back. I'm not sure if it's a trap or if there's someone hurt. Either way it's best if only one of us goes - if I yell, get the Jack out of here," that said, he tossed the corn he'd been holding at LW and then pushed his way through the stalks and into the corn.

((Very brief exit post guys - I'm going to go pick Carry up as per LuFor's request!))

A mysterious hooded figure has been watching the student's actions all this time. Out of nowhere the seemingly fade from the fog right in front of your student, grabbing them away from the others. Your student is being attacked!

HP: 17

Damage to LW: 0

Note to self: scared puppies know how to use a table leg. Interesting. It took the hit and well... continued. It attacked LW with no explanation for their actions, moving quickly and efficiently, swinging forward with their weapon.

HP: 9

Damage to LW: 0

Silence. Why did this happen? Under the hood of the figure, it seemed to be grinning. Perhaps it enjoyed the the fact the little puppy seemed so upset and miserable. Yes, that was probably it. Once again it moved forward with its weapon leading and attacked LW. What would she do? This was the number one observation to determine.

HP: 7

Damage to LW: 0

Did the figure enjoy this? Probably. Did they say they did? Most definitely not. They seemed to enjoy the infuriating nature their silence caused. Or at least, that's what everyone speculated. Note to self: puppies are not very threatening when they try to be. Could not use weapon. The figure easily dodged it and rebounded back to attack LW once again. It was time to stop playing with the puppy and hit her. The weapon stings upon contact, leaving your student feeling oddly even more tired.

HP: 7

Damage to LW: 1

It seemed that the puppy had a burst attack and now could not perform. The hooded figure would observe this for a moment before it once again moved to attack LW. It was silent, the only sound coming from the light shuffle of the contact the soles of their feet had when touching the ground. It was coming for you LW and it hit again. The weapon caused the same sensation as it did at the previous hit.

HP: 7

Damage to LW: 1