The Arrival

"Oh, well, good afternoon," Sab sits up, and lets out a dainty yawn.

--

When it spreads it wings Gabe can't help but let out a terrified scream. She runs over to Eduj, to check on him, though she spends more time looking around the woods than seeing if he is okay. "What was that!? Are you alright?!" She asked, not looking down, and instead looking around the woods again, ready to bolt at the lightest sound.

--

"So what you're telling me is that this is regular cake, and not sex-cake," Mortal said, taking another bite.

"Yes, that is what I'm saying," Noct said, "In my defense, she just went through some dramatic shit."

"That should make it easier," Mortal said.

"I went through some dramatic shit too..."

"Oh please, you're still using that Aroma thing as an excuse?"

"My mother died!"

"You didn't even like her!"

Noct lets out an annoyed grumbled, and goes back into the bathroom to finish up her routine.

Mimiru: "Well, one of you people called me last night to tell me."

"Roatha was not among them, and there was no incident. We spoke, had some tea, and then they left," Grimm said, casting a glance at the crazy person in the other room. "And I am simply interested in the events surrounding my home and my country. I didn't expect any kind of problems, so I went ahead and did it. And uh, by the way, I suspect that man is looking at me. His look shifted from where I was before to this seat."

Hector ran over to Eduj and scooped him up and over his shoulder, also taking his keys, "We have to go right now, and to a doctor."

Astarte woke up and got some breakfast, checking her messages and replying to Cameron with a 'hey'.

Gabe didn't have to be told twice. She ran this path often, and started running down the path in the direction that would lead out of the forest quickest, "This way!" Gabe sprinted, looking back only once to see if Hector was following.

*This is where shit starts to get weird. It gets darker as they run. When they presumably back out, they find themselves overlooking the campus from a mountain. While it is possible to get to the Black Forest from the woods around the campus, you would have to go almost the whole way around from where they were. It seems unlikely that they did so.*
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*Jane looks to the man, who is now staring in fascination at his own toes moving.*

Jane<That is impossible, as I have already explained. Besides, he's not even looking in your direction. Now let's go over this again: Which one among the group was stalked? What did you speak about? What is the connection to you?>
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"So, uh, what do you want to do today?"
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E"We'll just order whatever. Make it a buffet. They'll eat it & like it."

*Euryale orders some sausages, pancakes, scrambled eggs, & a couple of Pop-Tarts.*

E"Oh gee...what else?"

R"You know, someone should probably go over & help them pay for that."

N"Way to volunteer!"

*She glares at Nero, her voice edged in annoyance.*

T"I'll go with you."

"W-w-what the fuck is going?" Gabe asked, running a hand through her hair. She looked around to get her bearings.

--

"I'm up for anything, just... nothing too loud," Sab said.

--

Noct emerged from the bathroom, and headed to her room to check her phone. She had a text from Gabe from last night, "Hey, Pocahontas is a good movie, right?" Noct didn't bother to send a reply. She thought about sending a text to Astarte but didn't want to be a bother.

Before she could go to bed for a nap she heard Mortal call out, "Hey, give Gabe a call for me. I want to know if she still needs my notes." There was a pause before she added, "And don't tell me to call her myself. You were probably just gonna take a nap anyway."

Noct grumbled a bit more, and dialed Gabe's number.

Taiyo not being a fan of sausage chimes in about ham.

The other two stand in line, not sure what to think about the breakfast for eight being ordered ahead of them.

"This is... uh, just, try not to panic, we have to stay together," Hector said, looking around similarly to get his bearings and also looking for signs of an abomination about to strike.

"I don't know which one of their friends was stalked, I don't even remember if the boy told me when he came around to the church to accuse me," Grimm said. "And we talked about their experience. I asked about the forest, their delusions and how they survived. It was as I suspected, a rather interesting story. And I assume they suspected me as they were stalked following my contacting them."

*The crazy man suddenly starts throwing himself repeatedly against the mirror.*

Jane<Apologies. He is in a very bad condition, as you can tell. Someone will be in there to escort him out quickly.>

*Grimm notices a few flecks of blood starting to appear on the mirror.*

Jane<Would you like me to tell you Roatha's statement, or is there anything about your story that you would like to change?>

*She opens a drawer, pulling a piece of paper out of it.*
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E"Right, so is that it?"

R"How about some toast & bacon?"


T"Drinks, obviously. How about you 2 just get what you want & get milk for everyone else?"

E"Okay. Taiyo will probably get orange juice, but I'll let her order for herself. I don't want to assume. So, anything else?"

*Thiera & Roatha look at each other.*

R"We've got nothin'."
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*Apparently, Gabe's phone starts ringing. As they are looking around, they see the Shadow Man poking out from around a tree behind them. Gabe's ring tone crackles slightly.*
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"You ARE hung over, aren't you?"

*Aroma puts her hands on her hips & frowns at Sab disapprovingly.*

Gabe looks down at her phone and sees that Noct is calling. She quickly answers and practically screams, "Noctis, please, help! I was jogging and there was a monster, and now I'm in the forest! You have to help me!"

Noct pulled the phone from her ear when some chick started yelling, "What? Gabe, calm down. What are you talking about?"

Gabe at this point sees the Shadow Man, and takes a step back, "Oh god, Noctis please, it's here. I'm scared."

Noctis was rushing around her room putting on clothes, "Where are you? Gabe, are you listening, where are you? What is going on?"

--

"I just have a little headache... It is nothing, I swear," Sab said, leaning forward and hugging Aroma, resting her head on her belly.

Taiyo: "It's not really an assumption if it's true."

Azuma: "Who are you all ordering for?"

Grimm tensed up, hardly able to look at Jane rather than the man trying to break in, "No no, go ahead."

"Oh shit, oh fuck," Hector said, starting to flee in whatever direction was viable. "Come on!"

*Aroma strokes her hair, thoroughly disarmed.*

"Well...if you say so. Do you want some aspirin, or something?"
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*Probably sound advice to follow as the thing fucking Frankenstein Stomps towards her on its invisible legs. As it gets closer the phone gets more & more static-y. Gabe also gets a sensation of hot & cold flashes.*
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*An officer eventually opens the door, at which point the man hurls himself at him & bites him in the shoulder. He is pushed back & tased, but howls for several seconds & keeps trying to push on the attack before falling. The officer then jumps on him, trying to restrain him. Jane ignores this.*

Jane<I quote, "He said he's going to go hunting for demons in the forest. Because that's what they were, apparently. So that same night, someone sends us a video of Taiyo & Euryale"--he makes a slight pause here, but does not elaborate. To continue, "...of Taiyo & Euryale in their room. So I figure, crazy priest is probably following them, hoping to kill them because they're possessed, or something." Any comment?>

*She stops reading & looks him dead in the eye. Like she knows all of his secrets.*
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*They come to the table with several trays of food.*

E"Everyone. Enjoy."

Azuma joins, a cup of coffee in hand.

Azuma: "Uh...thanks. Anywho, I guess we have a big predicament to discuss."

Since running and talking on the phone is not the easiest thing, Gabe puts the phone in her pocket, and sprints after Hector. She runs full speed, not even looking behind at the monster as she dashes away.

--

"Gabe? Gabe?!" Noct said when all she could head was garbled noises. "Dammit!"

Mortal came into the room, "What is going on?"

"Something is wrong with Gabriel," Noct said, "I think she might be in danger, but I don't know where she is. She just said the forest..." Noct put Gabe on speaker phone, and the sound of someone running through a forest played out. "She was talking about something being there, then I think she started running, I-- I don't know, it happened really fast, and I wasn't able to catch everything she was saying."

Mortal went to go get dressed, then came back into the room, "Should we call the police?"

"And tell them what?"

"I don't know, you're the law student."

--

"No, I'm fine," Sab said, closing her eyes as she felt Aroma's fingers run through her hair.

Hector kept moving as quickly as he could with Eduj over his shoulder.

There would be no secrets to find in Grimm's eyes, as he was largely trying to look at the tussle next door, "Nonsense, that's all."

Jane<All of it? You are sure? Because lying to police is a crime.>
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*This was not very quickly. Fortunately, Eduj's dead weight causes them to tumble painfully down the mountain. But hey, beats being eaten by a living shadow. During their tumbling, they can see the Shadow Man stopped where they began to fall. It tilts its head as it is presumably watching Gabe run.*
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R"Well, I don't know what your deal is--"

*Roatha opens a Pop-Tart & takes a bite. Nero makes a sandwich out of scrambled eggs, bacon, & toast with a bit of ketchup, & starts eating it. Thiera starts pouring syrup on a pancake.*

R"--But I was telling Eve about that asshole priest pressing charges against me. Says I fucked up his church."

E"His church was vandalized?"

R"I hope so. I think he's one of the guys who are after us. And even if he's not, he's still a total asshole. So I threw it back in his face. Told the officer all about how he was real interested in you, & wanted to hunt demons."

N"If anything, she thinks he's a bigger creeper than we do. This oughta be good."
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*Lilith had since gotten a text from Thiera that she was okay, but couldn't talk right now. Senthose suggested they go get a bite to eat downtown, so that is where they are now headed.*

S"I'm Senthose. In case you were wondering."

L"Oh shit, I'd nearly forgotten...sorry, my name is Lilith."

Gabe heard them take a fall and, against her better judgement, looked to see if they were okay. "Fuck... fuckfuckfuck..." She mapped the quickest path to where they were, and began to make her way over to them, "Hey, are you alright?!"

--

Noct and Mortal are still sitting around, listening Gabe's still connected phone.

Taiyo plates herself a modest amount of pancakes and ham.

Taiyo: "What?"

Azuma: "What kind of nutjob are you people meeting? And how can I get in on this?"

The other two plate up a similar breakfast of eggs, ham, and toast. No one touches the sausage.

"I never said I was going demon hunting in the woods, I didn't stalk Euryale or anybody else, and I have no intention of murder or any other criminal offences," Grimm said, now looking her in the eye. "If you bring me a bible I'll swear on it."

Hector was already picking Eduj back up and biting back his own aches and pains, "Yeah, let's just keep going!"

Jane<Actually, I was hoping to search your personal property. Would that be okay?>
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*They can't seem to see the Shadow Man anywhere. Assuming they keep going, they eventually find themselves running up a back alley towards Senthose & a flat-chested redhead who are in conversation about what sounds like fish as they walk down the road.*
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*That's fine, as Euryale picks one up & starts eating it. She has a bit of mustard & ketchup on a plate to dip them into. She also has some toast with strawberry jelly & scrambled eggs.*

R"Ask Euryale."

E"Don't look at me, it was Euryale & all of them's idea."

T"I don't think that's grammatically correct."

E"Whatever. Point is, I was just along for the ride."

Azuma: "Either way, any plans on seeing the whacko priest again?"

Gabe stopped running finally, once she got out of the alley, "Jesus Christ, what was that?" She asked, looking back at Hector. Gabe made another scan of the area to make sure she was safe, and finally realized Senthose was there, "Oh, Senthose!" She looked like she wanted to hug him, but refrained.

--

"Senthose?" Noct said, "What the hell, I thought she was in a forest..."

"Is... Gabe on drugs?" Mortal asked, looking at Noctis very seriously.

"I'm not sure. Wait, no, she can't. She was on the track team," Noct said, "They drug test."

"Of course," Grimm nodded.

Hector stumbled out of the alley after her.

*They turn around.*

L"Do you know these people?"

S"Well...."

L"Oh my God, are you okay?!"

*Lilith runs towards Hector & Eduj. Senthose breathes a sigh of relief at having avoided something awkward. He then pulls Gabe aside.*

S"(What's going on? Were you in a nature hike or something? Why do you look all freaked out? Was that one bitten by a snake, or something?)"

*Meanwhile, Lilith checks Eduj's pulse & breathing.*
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R"Unless we're identifying him in a prison line-up, or something, I certainly hope not."
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*And so they drive to his home. Jane starts opening drawers & looking through papers. She also looks under cushions.*