[HH] Stalking Medea [ Mei/Amrita/Gale/Candace/Otto/Medea ]

[Zoobey]

Footsteps. Someone else was approaching. And yet for once, the fog worked to everyone else's advantage. The whispers of the fog, the scattered remnants, fragments of lost creatures that formed the occasional arm, limb, hand that trickled back again to nothingness was more than enough of a sensory distraction. In a place where everything watched and chattered, what was another few pairs of eyes watching?

A solid mass of dark grey pulled away from the fog surrounding the vicinity, fog that was growing thicker in anticipation of both Medea and the new presence-

- It wasn't until they took a few more steps forward and pulled out a very familiar weapon that it became pretty obvious who they were dealing with-

- And then a flash later and the ground in front of the arrival erupted, a giant golden serpent uncoiling, jaw open, fangs spitting poison, twenty feet in height -

- Only to be severed cleanly in half, its head flopping lifelessly, almost comically to one side before lying still, dissipating into black mist.

Medea hissed, reaching for her other bracelet, only to be intercepted by the glowing arc of a very familiar weapon.

"I thought," said the arrival, calmly, or deceptively so, "You were here for negotiations."

"I have my pride." She didn't falter, despite her neck being at blade edge. Medea raised her head, even as the movement nicked her neck, just slightly. "I walk of my own volition, I have considered your path, your negotiations, but they are laughable, fallable, and so human. You have nothing to truly contest with, just borrowing the power of others, feeble-"

"Then what is your decision." The tension of the conversation was thicker than any of the Insanity fog around them, even thicker than the voices whispering and muttering Home. Here were two figures that got along together as well as oil and water attempting to have as they called it, 'negotiations', with each other. Something was truly awry. The cloaked figure stepped back. "It is as you said then. We are fallible and ultimately human. But don't ******** forget your clans were destroyed because-"

-"because I allowed it!" Medea inhaled sharply, eyes wild. "I let him tell me what to do and it caused their destruction, because I thought I could claim what was rightfully mine, only to have it taken from me so easily. I seek only for a path that will suppress him. The ancient of Death should have been obsolete centuries ago, noone should be given so much power."

"You are threatened by him." At the way Medea stiffened they continued. "I have reason to be too. Then, unfortunately, our sentiments are still mutual."

Silence. And then the Head Priestess curled her face into an expression of disdain. "How simple it is to lose power," It was unclear if she was talking about herself, the figure, or someone else. "If these negotiations are what you insist, your actions will be governed by my guidance. I do not work with you, our paths have simply converged." She pushed the curved weapon away with one hand, forcefully, curling her free arm in her dress to talk a few steps away. "This will not be the first, nor the last time, until the end." She didn't wait for a reply before tapping the floorboard where she had placed the bracelet - a portal immediately formed and surrounded her - and she disappeared entirely leaving only the cloaked figure behind.

Instead of leaving as well, they very slowly, began to trace Medea's footsteps until they got to the staircase. A few seconds later, they were pulling out a gold bracelet, examining it.

Eight

Bittiface

kurotomato

Enoh Love

lividpeas

 

[kuropeco]

"Oh, for Pete's sake," Gale snapped (as quietly as he could, anyway), turning towards Amrita. "Both of you just calm down and remember that we're all here for the same reason, which is very definitely not getting into mental slap fights with one another. And," he added. "For the record, I have never once lied to Mei about my intentions, so she can vouch entirely for my character, if necessary, and she's one of you guys."

He gave Candace a warning look, as though to say #Bigsisterpls, before turning back to look back at Medea, squinting through the dusty window. One of his hands reached back and found Candace's, squeezing lightly; a simple reassurance in spite of everything, before he let go again. Otto received a thoughtful look, Gale's brow furrowing in mild bemusement.

"I think..." He started to say, but the flash of a familiar - an all-too-familiar glint of blue stopped him dead because he knew that weapon.

<< Ohhh boy. >>

The hell? Gale thought, because none of this made any sense whatsoever, none of this was what he had thought it would be. What the hell was Caelius doing talking to Medea (if "talking" could even be the right word for it, really), and what was the bracelet and -

- too many questions. Too many questions. Gale rubbed his head, feeling a headache beginning to form between his eyes. There had been something about Death, Caelius' scythe -

- and the figure was still there, examining what appeared to be a gold bracelet of sorts. Gale tilted his head sideways towards Mei, a heavy frown on his face, lips pressed together in a thin line.

"I'm certain we probably will," he said grimly. "However, there isn't much to be done about that."

Lividpeas

eight

bittiface

Zoobey

enoh love

 

[Enoh Love]

"It's not you I'm worried about. If Mei trusts you, I'm okay. Those two, however...I don't know them and she obviously doesn't either." She explained to Gale, her gaze shooting briefly to Otto and Candace; she had heard the two of them being introduced. However despite Gale's attempts, Amrita did not relax simply because she couldn't. Too many warning bells were going off in her head to allow for it.

She did make a very obvious point to stay between Mei and Candace, though. Her attention quickly moved to the Priestess, watching with surprise as a figure appeared, soon to be attacked by a giant magicked snake. Wait...that weapon...!

"...Caelius?" Medea had been waiting for...Caelius? What? Suddenly her little argument with Candace meant nothing, and the scene before her had her full attention. The Head of the Hunters and the current Leader of the Horsemen were in negotiations? For what?

"...And both are threatened by the same being?" Amrita continued Mei's train of thought, sounding as perplexed as her companion. Medea had left, leaving the group in a very confused state. If both powerhouses were afraid of the same thing, what did that mean for the rest of them? That was incredibly worrysome, and it gnawed on her. The patchwork was pulled from her thoughts as they quietly discussed getting in trouble for spying on their superior, and all she could do was shrug at their worries.

"What do we have to worry about? He's not our boss." Her eyes narrowed as she grinned quite obviously at Candace, before relaxing to give a sweet smile to Mei. "Actually, this is a very opportune moment for us! I have some questions that I think we both want answers to." Amrita, unwilling to leave a friend alone with a trio of Hunters, took Mei's hand and urged her to stand. "-And he can help." With that she turned, walking straight through the fog that had once hid them to make their presence known. She wasn't stupid enough to get too close, and kept a decent distance from the Division Lead for now.

"Caelius." Amrita called out, if only to try and get the Death Lead's attention. "Candace saw you come this way." She explained, hoping for two things; one, that she hadn't misheard and Candace was the name she was looking at, and two; that putting her on the spot would get her in trouble. Any Hunter she managed to talk to seemed afraid of Caelius and the Death Lead certainly didn't seem like the patient and understanding sort.

"I want to talk to you about the tags."

Zoobey

Kurotomato

Eight

Bittiface

LividPeas

 

[Eight]

Candace was no longer curious when she saw Circe. No, curiosity time was over. She was furious. Negotiations? With them? Did the other leaders know? That son of a b***h. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the man. Why couldn't that ******** serpent have killed him. What the ******** was he doing negotiating with them like such a thing was possible?

She snorted quietly and rolled her eyes when Medea claimed to have allowed the islands to be destroyed. How cute that she thought that. Right. She totally had that kind of power. She herself seemed to have borrowed power from others on a few occasions, or just completely used them as pawns for her own agenda. Threatened by..him? Candace's fists clenched tightly. What the <********> was he doing?

What was that bracelet? Could they get it? When Mei and Gale spoke up Candace looked up. "I couldn't give two shits what Caelius thinks anymore," she hissed. "I want to know what's so special about that bra--"

"Candace saw you come this way."

Candace felt her heart stop, it even felt as if her blood had turned icy cold. This all lasted for only a second before she was boiling with rage, Atropos' rings pulsing and glowing with a bright purple light that threatened to summon her weapon; it was taking every ounce of willpower the weapon had to not let that happen.

That. Little. b***h.

She was not Gale's ally. She was not his friend. Candace had been good. She promised him.

Candace wanted to destroy Amrita in the most painful way possible.

She did not move from where she was, pendant in hand and gaze trained on Caelius. One wrong move and she was gone. It wasn't that she wanted to abandon Gale and Otto, it was that Amrita only named her. Gale and Otto could get out of this easier than she could, they would be fine.

It was her who Caelius was alerted to ******** thank you.  

[Bittiface]

Otto's heart raced with fear as the person whom Medea came to meet arrived, in a flourish of power from both of them. Otto had sort of hoped one of them would wind up dead, but no such luck today. And of course, they began to talk, once the first attacks were done and over with. When people of these magnitude spoke, it was like nails on a chalkboard to Otto's senses. The priestess with her high and mighty attitude, talking as if nothing was ever out of her reach. And of course His Majesty, Caelius. He was already high on the pedestal of hatred Otto had, but to coerce with a Horsemen? Why? These things were their ultimate enemy! He hoped, with all hope he had left, that the Death Lead planned to take back his words. Nothing was ever as it seemed. But the lead's motives were always so shrouded in mystery it was hard not to jump to the worst conclusions.

Eventually, Medea left, and Otto wasn't any less angry and afraid than he'd already been. Siding with Horsemen. Just how terrible would things have to be for such a gross turn of events to take place? The Horsemen were not to be trusted with a truce. Then again, neither was Caelius. And ultimately, it would be the pawns who suffered from the backlash.

Otto gave a soft nod at Mei's words. Being caught by Caelius simply taking a stroll could result in a hospital visit, let alone spying on him.

However, things seemed to get gravely worse. Amrita showed a side he's been waiting for. Her goody two shoes act was always reserved for other Halloween students. Hunters? She was ready to throw them under the bus at any given moment. And that moment came for Candace.

Candace was given a fearful glance from Otto. He liked Candace. He trusted her. He didn't want to see harm come to her from the Death Lead. Of all people, why him?

s**t.

Otto bowed his head closer to Gale, and spoke in a whisper "What do we do?" Run? Running sounded really good...

Eight

Enoh Love

kurotomato

LividPeas

Zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

The Death lead was still examining the bracelet. He didn't even seem to notice his name being called multiple times until Amrita literally made her way across as if the student was approaching a beloved ally. It was sad when even the Hunters themselves, those who worked closest to him (in theory), knew better than to attract attention onto themselves.

Caelius looked from Amrita, to Candace first, and then the other two Hunters and Mei. He didn't exactly look very happy. "Explain yourselves. If you cannot correctly explain exactly what the ********> your intentions were I will have to take some well-deserved ******** precautions."

Enoh Love

Bittiface

lividpeas

kurotomato

 

[Enoh Love]

For a single moment, that stare broke through her very angry, very focused resolve. She had seen Caelius in action time and time again, and it was something she would never get used to seeing, and it would certainly never be easier to cope with it. But as it were her options were few and far between, and she knew she would be unlikely to get another chance at this, especially face to face with the very person who was responsible for all the hell in her life nowadays.

"I don't know about her~" She indicated Candace with a jerk of a backwards thumb, still playing that only Candace was with them, and that Gale and Otto weren't here at all. "~ But I've been coming into this damn place nearly every day for months, looking for someone who could either give me answers or take me to you." Nearly every day seemed the best phrase to use, since she wasn't quite keen on saying she may have skipped a week or three due to nearly dying by possessing some unfortunate souls. "She came with me to watch my back." This time, she indicated Mei, though she was still holding onto the Doll's arm.

"I want the tags off of us." She went on to say without giving much chance for him to cut in, clinging to whatever scraps of bravery she could muster. "All of us." There was nothing in this world she wanted more than this. The Hunters could continue bringing the world down around them so long as the tag was off; then she wouldn't have to worry about being forced to turn on her friends, or having her friends turn on her. The Patchwork drew an unnecessary breath and took a slow and deliberate step forward, sliding her hand off of Mei's arm as she did. With one more shift she was standing in front of the Doll and on her own in front of Caelius.

"What do I have to do to make this happen?"  

[Bittiface]

******** looked to gale, mouthing 'you do something'. It was Gale's mission, not his. The other midget could take the fall for this blunder. Or that dumbass Halloween chic confronting Caelius. Maybe she'd provide enough of a distraction to get the rest of them off of His Majesty's radar.

kurotomato

 

[Eight]

When Caelius made it clear he had seen her she frowned and stood tall, coming out from behind where she was hiding. She didn't move from where she was standing, she didn't take a single step toward Caelius, she simply stood where she was, completely rigid with fury. She would kill Amrita. She would. She would destroy her.

"I was told of stranger than usual horseman activity in the area, and as the Haunted House is an area we are told to regularly patrol anyway I thought nothing of coming to investigate. I was unaware of the presence of..them," Candace nearly spat the word out and simply gestured to Amrita. Mei had not done anything to bother her, and she had had no intention of harming her despite Amrita's feelings on the matter, so her focus was on the coat-stealing snitch. "I was unaware of your presence, sir. Had I known you were here or would be making an appearance I would not have felt the need to come here when you clearly have things taken care of." There. She had done what she had been order and she damn well hoped Caelius accepted it as an answer.

"I will add that I had no intention of being foolishly hostile and engaging anyone in combat who I did not feel I could destroy." She again shot Amrita a very pointed look. Yes, Amrita, she will destroy you. Finally she turned to Caelius again, showing no fear. God did she hate him.

Amrita explained what she wanted and Candace snorted. She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you've displayed that you deserve to have your tag removed," she muttered quietly.

Zoobey

Bittiface

Enoh Love

LividPeas

kurotomato

 

[Zoobey]

"I was looking for an explanation not <******** excuses, but at least everybody is equally ignorant. It must be a ******** achievement for every single encounter to be significantly more useless than the last." This was directed at the Hunter trio. "Hopefully before I ******** die of age," this in itself was a terrifying thought, "you will have accomplished something even remotely useful."

He seemed like he was going to just continue ignoring Amrita and Mei, and then paused. "I will consider negotiating your conditions if you can provide anything of equal value in return and that includes information." The tone was challenging. "In that respect, is there anything you can possibly inform me of regarding Halloween that is of value and I do not already ******** know."

Enoh Love

Bittiface

kurotomato

lividpeas

Eight

 

[Eight]

It was then that Candace decided to get Caelius a dictionary for Christmas and to highlight the definition of explanation since he seemed to have it and the definition for excuse confused.

a**.  

[kuropeco]

Why was everyone looking at him to do something.

Gale rubbed a hand over his face, trying to best discern the correct procedures for getting out of this alive and hopefully unscathed. Dealing with Caelius was like dealing with a two year old who threw things when they were angry - except in Caelius' case, it was usually thinks like serious maiming and death, neither of which were really on Gale's list of things he wanted at the current moment.

He stood next to Mei and gave Otto a pointed look that clearly said shut up and let the Halloween ones talk for now.

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Zoobey

LividPeas

Bittiface

Eight

Enoh Love

 

[Bittiface]

Otto 'mimic'd' Gale's mouthed answer with a talking hand that probably said 'blah blah blah' in response.

Best of friends.

kurotomato