{ Propagation } The Weeping Forest (The END p 3)

[Zoobey]

The choice had been theirs and all the students had witnessed the actions and consequences. The Defenders who had fought had simply been foolishly overwhelmed, not even for a second acknowledging power beyond their own. Those of DETH, who chose to do nothing, neither growing nor declining but simply stagnating.

And then there was SCREAM-

- Well, it was all about taking initiative wasn't it now? Seizing the opportunity. If there was a chance, if there was something else beyond the confines of mere society reaching towards them-

Why would they not take it?

The very thought itself was exhilarating: the ability to be something, be someone else. Not the average Joe Zombie, working the average life, expected to have average pumpkins and grow up to raise average kids. Not the struggling Sue Swamp Monster, forever ostracized for not having the right Fear, for not being of noble lineage.

No, they could be something else. They could be someone else. They were offered an adventure, an open hand-

The Reaper's words rang out in their mind. "I will wait for those who wish to return what is mine at the gate of the Weeping Forest exactly an hour from now. The choice is always yours to make. You may ask for nothing, you may indeed in return, ask for something greater." .

- He was offering them a gift.

OOC

- Anyone interested, even DETH or Defenders former members can meet up here. This is a strange chance, an opportunity even. A risk, but everything was worth a gamble was it not to escape from the confines already predetermined for them?
- Any DETH members who have FINISHED talking to Professor Quibble can also meet up here, though the professor may be their first priority...

 

[Bittiface]

Taking initiative was never innate to Matthew. Perhaps it still was foreign for the passive sloth. However, the thought of becoming more than he was, to gain a power or knowledge that would curve his path in life. Now that was worth a small amount of effort.

That small effort? Simply making is way to the Weeping Woods. To any of his friends who knew him it would be a little out of character. To them he'd chalk it up to avoiding another day behind the booth. It was half true. But he simply could not ignore what that reaper said and proposed.

If nothing else, it was worth a listen.  

[Baneful]

[ENTER]

The treasure was safe. He'd spent a long time making sure of just that. No one would find it easily, and he hadn't even left it in his dorm. He'd be graduating soon, it'd be cleaned out.

So single earring in hand, he headed to the weeping forest.

He'd see what this power entailed.

 

[lizbot]

entering


In a grey cloak with a leering white mask, Murdoch quietly entered the forest, a looted gold coin clenched between his fingers. It was probably a scam. The reaper had toyed with the Defenders so easily. He tried not to get his hopes up, after all, when were those in power eager to share it?

When it represented some sort of gain for them.

Still...he couldn't keep the small flame of hope, guttered so entirely by the hiring booths, from brightening as he approached.  

[Nio Love]

((enter))

Bella was, perhaps, a little more excited than she should be about their meeting at the forest.

She was wearing her hooded cloak, and her kitsune mask was pushed up, covering only the top half of her face and hiding her eyes in it's shadow. Underneath it, her fiery grin held all the excitement she'd ever had in her life, and more. s**t was finally going to go down, and for once, FOR ONCE, they weren't going to stand by and just watch everyone else make wrong choices.

For once, they were going to make some wrong choices too!

Her cloak pockets were filled with spray cans, and she looked like she was hopping a little bit. She stopped right next to the masked boil, and bobbed up and down on her toes.

".. Are we there yet?" She teased childishly.

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Murdoch quenched the need to shush the ghoul, mainly because he had a sinking feeling it would just make her get louder out of playful spite. Instead he just sighed softly under his mask, "Next you'll ask for a potty break. I don't see him yet, but that doesn't mean anything." The reaper has at least one powerful movement ability at his disposal.

nio love

 

[Syusaki]

[ entering ]


The rings jangled in Dabir’s hand as he headed for the forest. As much as he had wanted to bring only one thing, that seemed a bit suspicious. Who would steal one thing from a lake of treasures?

But the crown was still safely tucked away somewhere in his dorm.

Once he arrived, Dabir fiddled with the rings in his hand while he waited. No matter what happened, this was going to be interesting.  

[Nio Love]

Bella snickered and glanced at him a few times, before finally letting a moment of silence fall between them.

And then.

".. do I have time for a potty break?"

lizbot

 

[Chobi_Chocobo]

Nio Love

lizbot

(Enter)

Rowly was ever faithfully following Bella's lead. He also wore a dark cloak. He wore a penguin mask that covered his entire face and had nothing to hide under his cloak. The boil just quietly followed after both Bella and Murdoch. Then talk of a potty break.

"Probably a good idea to let her go potty now then later," Rowly nodded to Murdoch. "Other wise she might just pee on you out of spite when you least expect it," There was a teasing grin to both. "Actually I kind of need to go potty too.."  

[Molten Tigrex]

Una, true to her Defenders nature, walked confidently and without any cloak and mask concealment. It was deceptive, wasn't it, not showing your face? It was part of why she had never considered SCREAM before. Children still, even now, SCREAMing for attention, positive or negative, it didn't matter. Pretending like their self-serving behavior could ever get them anywhere. They were an embodiment of anarchy, their own enemy more than anyone else.

And yet, here she was beside them.

For once they had a common goal, the demoness acknowledged with a shifty glance between the others gathered there. Power. Change. Opportunity. She had long tagged after the larger, stronger Defenders but she was not a fighter by nature and it never ended well for her. Farther and farther into the shadows she was relegated. Powerless to do the one thing she had devoted herself to, that noble purpose - defending her friends. Words alone could not protect anything, or DETH would have had far more luck in every nonsensical endeavor. No, she couldn't follow the Defenders any longer if she could find new power and new purpose to work toward. Much as she admired Red's courage, her ideas were so... small. And this Reaper was more powerful than all of their class combined, and yet none of them had been dissipated in the struggle even as the other Defenders attacked first.

If that Una had to make a little deal, well, she wasn't opposed to it in principle. She was a demon, after all. The other defenders could hold their own, she was sure.

Without her.

Because really, they always had.  

[prolixity]

[Enter]

Ren had no particular reason for being here. Except, perhaps curiosity. Or ambition.

He'd arrived early, scaled a tree, and settled himself invisibly on a branch to watch and listen to the confrontation. His choice of vantage point gave him a clear view. And it just might keep him from a repeat of the unpleasant dissipation of the first encounter with the stranger.  

[ramenli]

[Entering]

To be quite honest...none of her options really seemed to fit. Octavia would be the sort to go smile at the world and sit at her booth. She just wanted to just live her life and help raise scarelings. Maybe some day have a brood of her own. She really had no desire to change the status quo or to get any sort of gift. But she had classmates here, and she was a Screamer, so here she was.  

[lizbot]

Glancing up into the sky, possibly seeking wisdom or a least a modicum of patience, Murdoch answered, "You should walk your minipets while you're at it. Maybe go grab a snack."

Nio Love

Chobi_Chocobo

 

[LP]

[Enter]

Snowman had always wondered what there could be out there for him. He wanted to be a boogey man in some ways. Maybe change things. Though so far, he hadn't received one thing from them, maybe it wasn't his calling.

He stopped where the reaper said to meet, hoping it wouldn't be disappointed with his lack of anything to return. However, he wanted something greater. He did want to be someone. It was why he'd joined Scream in the first place. So this was an ideal situation maybe.  

[x_Nata_x]

Enter~

Power was a funny thing. A strong person might possess physical power, able to exercise the ability of moving people or objects which otherwise did not want to be moved. A bully would most certainly possess this type of power, demonstrating it by slamming smaller students into lockers or tossing them in dumpsters. This might evolve into political power, stemmed from the very fear of the exercising of that ability -- the students might listen to the bully's demands, to save themselves the harassment which most certainly would result. A charismatic person might also have political power, able to manipulate individuals by coercion, friendly or otherwise. The mayor of Halloweentown, or perhaps the leader of a crime syndicate. You could be born with power, physical or political, inherited from your parents genetics or legacy, as was the case with Cain and his father's company. Or you could take it, snatch up any opportunity to push your way to the top.

Power was also addictive -- it was never enough. Just as being the heir of a distinguished company wasn't enough for the baphomet. Luck had placed a silver spoon in his mouth at birth, his entire life laid out for him before he had even been born, but he didn't want to be lucky. Cain wanted to be respected and feared, not because a chance event had put him in a well-off family, but because he was better than everyone else.

This was why the demon was here, in the Weeping forest, exactly one hour after the mysterious figure had vanished. Dried grass crunched beneath his feet as he approached the group which had already begun to gather, clearly all waiting on the same 'reaper', alerting anyone who was paying close enough attention to his approach. His grey shirt was still stained black in places and riddled with tears, most between the size of a pingpong ball and a baseball, but underneath mostly-white bandages showed through, instead of the torn flesh. He hadn't really had time to do anything about the unintentially-self-inflected stab wounds, Inot the way they really needed to be taken care of, anyway,) the pierced flesh still gory and bleeding a little through the bandages he had wrapped around his chest and left shoulder, but it would do. He certainly wasn't about to run away crying to the nurse's office.

Leaning against a nearby barren tree, Cain twisted the gold ring he'd stolen from Bella with an idle tension, brooding worse than he had been earlier that day.