Several hours passed before the Reaper ghoul emerged again from the caves housing the hot springs. She did not feel less stressed than when she had left her dorm - if anything, quite the opposite - but she had mostly come to terms with what Alex had told her. Her walk was still slower than usual, without the normal bounce in her step, and her hair was messily held back by her headband. She simply didn't have the energy for the extra care that she normally took with her appearance, and really, she didn't expect to run into anyone on the way back to her room. She in fact planned to explicitly avoid running into anyone on the way back to her room.

She clearly was being far too optimistic. The jacking reporters were everywhere, and had no intention of letting any wandering students escape their harassment. The fact Mitzi was in no mood to talk to anyone, let alone strangers asking her difficult and intrusive questions, was not going to stop them.

The first one caught her as she was passing the undead dorms, which was, admittedly, the most exposed part of the walk back. She had already had one incredibly stressful conversation there today, though, and so when she saw someone who was clearly not a campus resident, she resolutely trained her gaze ahead and started walking faster. Maybe she could get lucky and the reporter wouldn't notice until she was past, or would take the hint and leave her alone.

Of course, neither happened, and it seemed like only moments before the woman had seen her and turned to intercept her path. With nothing else she could do - running would be inappropriate, as much as the thought appealed to her - Mitzi simply kept walking quickly, hoping that as soon as possible she could escape back into her dorm where the interviewers weren't allowed.

"Miss, miss! Could I ask you a few questions?" The Reaper ghoul hoped that would be the end of it, but no. The woman didn't even wait for her to answer before continuing. "You look familiar, you're on one of the teams, right?"

It would be too rude to ignore her completely, so Mitzi shot her a dark glance and then gave a peremptory nod.

"If your team wins, what is the first thing you'd request to the Four Clans?"

The question threw the ghoul for a loop, and she stopped suddenly. The reporter had to skid to a stop and turn back to face her, not expecting the reaction. Mitzi blinked at her for a few moments. She didn't remember any mention of the winning team being allowed to request something of the Four Clans, and given the completely thrown-together nature of their team, she also hadn't considered them winning. So that was probably the safest thing to go with, and she started walking again as she answered.

"We're not in this to win it. We're in it to -" What was it the Clans member had said at the assembly? "- grow from it. To rise to the challenge."

She had to push past the woman, who made no effort to move, clearly hoping that Mitzi was going to just stay put for the remainder of the enforced interview. No such luck. If anything the ghoul was now walking faster.

"I've heard that the winning groups unfairly cheated! What do you have to say about that?"

With a frustrated sound, the ghoul realized that the reporter was not going to give up. But she wasn't about to allow that kind of slander to her school. "As if. Cheated how? I was there, I can tell you that couldn't have happened." And with that, she had enough of the woman. She finally had reached the back of the Reaper dorms, and the gardens. Mitzi took a sudden turn off the path, disappearing into the foliage, and left the shocked woman behind.

She had just let out a sigh of relief and stepped back onto the path for the last bit of the way to the door, which she saw that she hadn't escaped just yet. Another group of reporters was standing ahead, between her and the dorm entrance. The same group, in fact, that she had managed to avoid earlier. They were still there?! But it was too late, and they had already spotted her, so she just kept walking. She wouldn't have to deal with them for long.

She flinched back as one pushed something into her face, probably to record what she said. "You were in the Trial of Famine yesterday; if you were on the winning team, what would you ask of the Clans?" "I've heard rumors that the Heirs of the Four Clans reside in Amityville? Is this true? What are they like?"

"I don't know what I would ask them. I haven't thought about it, and that's not why I'm in the Trials," she snapped. "And I haven't met any of the Heirs, so I can't tell you what they're like." Which was sort of an answer. She really just wanted to be left alone, though.

And thankfully there was the door. She managed to shove past them to get to it, and finally escape indoors. As the door closed behind her, she leaned back against it with a sigh.

Her relaxing soak in the hot springs had been one big jacking mess.