Welcome to Gaia! ::

Peyton walked quickly towards the field, boots smacking against the concrete, as she headed out to meet America. She was worried, on edge, and her pace reflected that. There was no smile, no wave, no flying leap into the other girl's arms, her greeting to the red head was curt and clipped. "I've never been to her office, you'll have to lead the way."

Peyton crammed her hands into her pockets, fingers spinning her rings along her thumbs restlessly. "If that's what's going on, I'll hold him down for you." Pranks were one thing, but there was a line. Pey didn't think Horace would mess with America, he didn't like her, but he seemed to want to avoid her at all costs. "What do we do if she's not there?" Go find Allan maybe?

Pey kept up her brisk pace, nearly jogging beside the other girl to keep up with her much longer legs, but she didn't ask her to slow down(not that she would have normally). "What about Allan?" The Sun lead had not been on the list, though the ones included made sense.

The worry that had been lowly simmering at the pit of Peyton's stomach began to rise as they knocked on the door and there was no answer. THen again as the door was opened to reveal the room empty. "s**t." It came out with feeling, and Already the Sun was stepping back, glancing down the hall in both directions as if she'd see the Moon lead, or anyone else they were looking for.

"Where's Mark's office?" Another place she'd not had need to visit.

It felt as if they should have been doing more than this, and it was making the Sun twitchy. Her hands flexed in her pockets, and she was tempted to grab her phone, but there was no one to text, no one to call. Peyton had managed to avoid having to deal directly with the majority of the leads and assistants on the island, Allan and Simon excluded. The only one she had ever really interacted with aside from the Sun leads was Mark.

She really hoped he was there, that could help in some way.

Lawrence might not have been doing anything, but it was much more likely he was doing something awful. Horace had been a fool, and Peyton had let him go about it, staying on the side lines, not getting involved. She could have tried harder, could have told Horace what she knew, but the Death hadn't wanted to hear any of it. Now he might be paying the price for that willful ignorance.

"I hope Marks around..."

America's rising distress was making Peyton's worst, and an almost pained sound slipped out as hazel eyes turned down to her, They had nothing to go on but an assumption. No concrete proof, nothing to say anything amiss was going on but a weird text, a snippet of video that could be nothing, and one missed morning run.

But something was wrong, wasn't it? She could feel it, and America and Taym agreed. They didn't even like Horace, and they were worried about him. That had to mean something. right?


"We gotta find him." Thin fingers combed back through her hair, forcing it back from her face as she met that questioning gaze.

And like the mounting distress--the obvious relief she saw in America at the decision was enough to help settle her own nerves, if only a little. They could do this. Three full hunters against one intermediate? Those weren't bad odds.

Her only concern with their plan was not for their own safety. It was what might happen when, if they did find Horace and Lawrence, and the latter had already done something horrible. Maybe Peyton could have stopped one of her friends from trying to take matters into their own hands, but could she stop both? Taym had said he would kill him, America had wanted him dead for ages now. No one would mourn Lawrence, but what happened to the three of them if the man ended up dead by their collective hands?

Was it worth it to keep one naive trainee alive?

<Is it even a question?>

No, it wasn't.

Peyton pulled her phone out.



She truly meant that apology. Taym wanted to keep them as far away from Lawrence as he could, and here they were, charging right in. It was exactly what he didn't want.

Frowning, she stowed her phone and took off for the dorms at a sprint, she had a trap gun of her own, and bandages, and daggers. She had her own gear to gather up.