Regis University (Taliesen + driftingstar)

[driftingstar]

If someone were to travel to the place where they would meet, starting at the very edge of town, they would see the area unfold in layers. As one entered from the surrounding town, residential space and shopping areas gradually gave way to narrow streets lined with trees. Modern construction sometimes stood alongside the traditional lines of older buildings, but more often than not, the structures looked as they might have a century ago. More than one guidebook of the area had named the heart of the school a piece of living history, and this title was fairly accurate. Facilities that needed to be modern for the sake of useability were either further out or cleverly hidden within the iconic red brick buildings, tree-lined paths, and courtyards that made up the oldest part of the school. This allowed it to serve the needs of current students and staff without losing the charm of the original construction. After all, Regis University prided itself on being one of the premier places of higher learning in the region.

There were more things hidden in that part of campus than just wiring and technology, however. Local researchers had reported that there was once another organization - presumeably educational in nature - built on the grounds at some point in the past. This theory was partially supported by the occasional object unearthed during repairs or renovations, but solid proof had yet to be completely found. That, combined with the legends and rumors that seemed to gather in old places, had given the prestegious university an air of mystery for some. Not that such things seemed to hold much weight at all under the cool but bright light of early spring...not for most people, anyway.

Some, however, knew that the school was home to secrets and mysteries. They knew that sometimes, only a fragile curtain stood beyond the safe, familiar, sunlit world, and the realm of beings beyond the knowledge of mysticism or science. There was no guessing how many such places existed in the world; what these few did know, however, was that Regis University had been constructed directly on top of one. Even now, below manicured grassy plots and buried water mains, there were countless tunnels and passages that wound under the school, left over from days long past. Deeper still, protected by physical barriers and magical wards alike, one would find an ancient portal - a rip in the curtain between worlds, a wound through which strange forces strove to enter this world. If there was a way to permanently close this portal, it remained undiscovered. The result? What was once built to hide this portal and protect the normal world from its dangers, had slowly changed and grown, growing from a small group to a grand school - and the organization that worked in its shadow.

To say that the secret was known only to a chosen few was technically accurate, but not entirely so. The portal - and the creatures that threatened the area - were hidden from public view as much as possible. However, the reason it could be hidden at all was due to a large network of supporters that made it possible. From people in the mayor's office to policemen and journalists on the streets, there were people on every level of life aware and involved in keeping the situation under control and under wraps. Many, but not all, hailed from "legacy families" whom had carried the secret for generations. Their efforts were crucial, but in the end, the majority of people in the area lacked the means to safely deal with a threat that resisted detection by mundane tools or damage from mundane weaponry.

That, of course, was where they came in. The members of that organization, the people who actively fought against the threats and drove them back - or destroyed them when needed. While many people supported them from outside, the only actual members were individuals gifted in magical power of enough activity and potency for it to be weaponized against the monsters that lurked in the dark. It was sometimes difficult, often dangerous, and required some people to hide a part of their lives from friends and family alike. But the alternative was to let the monsters loose, to allow them to take what they wanted from the innocent, and that was something they couldn't allow. Fortunately, the portal could be blocked if not closed entirely. There was a seal which prevented the portal from growing; this stopped the most deadly beings from finding their way through. There had been more disruptions and sightings than usual for this point in the process, though...

Where he was seated at his desk, Nathaniel Felderin exhaled. Not a sigh, not quite, but the closest he would come to one. Then he took a second look at the information spread out in front of him. Unless they had another surprise addition or two, they were going to end up short-handed after graduation. The difference wouldn't be that significant during most years, but according to his information, the additional sightings weren't slowing down due to season or weather or moon phase. One potential reason came to mind immediately. Still, doing it again wasn't an option yet - the sealing ritual was only effective under specific circumstances, and he wasn't going to risk performing it if they couldn't be sure of the results. More importantly, what could be causing the increase in monster activity? It had barely been two decades since the last sealing. This was all happening far too soon.

Papers rustled as he set aside a stack and picked up another folder. When opened, it revealed pages of personal information - according to the cover letter, these were possible recruits for RHAS. The group was known across campus for uncovering forgotten elements of school and regional history, along with working closely with other organizations to maintain and protect the area's oldest locations. Despite being a legitimate school organization, on par with many of the other staff-managed teams or clubs, the "Regis Historical and Archeological Society" was older than the university itself. Their true purpose was guarding the region - or, as a few students had called it, kicking monster tail whenever it appeared. This double nature, plus a reputation for being difficult to get into, had left RHAS at the center of many rumors over the years. Secret initiations, tests held in shadowy rooms, vows of secrecy with dire consequences for those who broke them...but there was no proof for any of it. He had never bothered to quash these rumors; they were almost stranger than the truth, and if it kept people from snooping about, all the better.

Not that this was why he gave the papers before him such a dour look. No, his problem was the number of students in the current 'potentials' batch. This was nothing new; every year, the vast majority of members tended to be outside of the professors and staff. Simply put, the odds were with the younger and larger student body. That didn't change his feelings on the matter - that students took on greater risks when joining, that they had more to lose than those older and wiser. While he would never have voiced such things to more than a chosen few, he also had to admit to a personal hesitation. He didn't want the death of students to be on his hands, to send them out into a battlefield knowing the grief and pain their loss would bring to their parents and friends. He still had to do so, and would, but it wasn't his preference. Perhaps that sense of responsibility was part of the job of being vice-principal as well...

A soft chirp sounded from one of his suit pockets that prompted him to set the folder aside. Unless he was mistaken, the others should be arriving soon. The small building that housed the official RHAS office and gathering place - and one of the few accessible entrances to the underground tunnels - was located near the center of the campus, forgotten by most in the shadow of the sprawling university library. Even considering the distance that some would have to travel from their classes or lunch breaks, some of them would start filtering in slowly. Which meant he had a few more quiet moments to browse the notes of their previous meeting.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, and the ever-looming threat, their last meeting had been fairly...pedestrian, perhaps. Reports from the various patrols, the planning period for the following week's patrol routes and groups, updates in the schedule for the training facility beneath the meeting house, and other normal happenings. There had been a few monster sightings, but they were able to be dealt with without any bystanders becoming involved. If he hadn't known that the timing for such minor incidents were all wrong, he wouldn't have been worried about it at all.

"Perhaps I am worrying too much..." he spoke quietly into the empty space. Then he shook his head. "No, I doubt that." Somebody had to be concerned, if only to make up for those who wouldn't, he was sure of that much. Even if someone else opted to worry along with him, he probably would have kept doing it anyway. Some things - like impeccably pressed suits and inexplicable timeliness - had become comfortably familiar after so many years.

 

[Taliesin]

"You always worry too much, Nathaniel." Delilah spoke cheerfully as she glided into the room. The principal was surprisingly enough actually clad in one of her rare business suits, a pale greenish blue today. Her braid had been wound up around her hair and she pulled it down with a sigh of relief as she moved in closer and sat on the edge of his desk, looking down at the files he had been reviewing. "Thankfully, it's a job requirement." She smiled at him warmly before frowning and shifting her shoulders. "How do you get it so warm in here?" She muttered to herself before pulling her suit jacket off, leaving her salmon button up shirt in full view. It had been quite necessary as they were just starting to hit the height of winter, but it was another matter in the older building that had a functional but sometimes temperamental heating system.

She thought sometimes that half the issues they had with the thing were directly related to the reason they were here today. Magic didn't always interfere with electronic sorts of things but she had a feeling that prolonged exposure, especially to the dark energies that came from the sealed rift below them, could have some unusual effects. Shaking the musing thoughts from her mind she once again looked down at the files, of which she had her own copies but that was no fun, and sighed the sigh Nathaniel was too good for. "It's not looking too great this year is it?" It was rare to see her so serious outside of business meetings so perhaps it was a hold over from her just getting out of a meeting with some potential donators.

"Ahhi'msorryI'mla-" A harried voice came from the doorway as a woman with long red hair rushed through the door, carrying a stack of papers and looking a little disarrayed. She stopped just inside the door when she registered that she was far from late and just who she was acting so undignified in front of. She blushed ever so faintly and hastily ran a hand through her hair before offering the other two people in the room a goofy smile. "Nathaniel, Delilah." She moved farther into the room, joining the group around the desk though she did not take the liberties with it the principal had. "Sorry, I had fallen asleep in my office and ran the whole way here with I saw the time." She chuckled wryly and ran another nervous hand through her hair. On the bright side her bed hair was becoming less and less every time. There was no helping her slightly creased dress shirt though.

It was only once she was at the desk she realized that not just was Nathaniel quite serious but even their laid back Principle looked a bit concerned. "Do we have an extra item on the agenda then?" She raised an eyebrow, looking between them curiously. She hadn't been doing this for near as long as either of the other two, aside from the fact that she mostly worked with the students rather than looking at the reports. She was unaware of anything particularly unusual going on.

 

[driftingstar]

The approaching footsteps caused him to look up, but that reply plus the voice that accompanied it made it easy to guess who it was. He wasn't surprised to see the principal in the doorway. "That depends on where you view the situation from, Delilah." His serious aura didn't falter much, yet there was clear familiarity in the way he spoke, as if they had held similar exchanges countless times before. "I take it the meeting went well?" If the heat bothered him, it didn't show; whether he was merely accustomed to it after all the summers in similar wear or because he had been in the room longer was up for debate. "If I didn't know better I would think it has a mind of its own. I've turned it down twice this week, and it doesn't seem that reversing the settings will do the trick this time."

His brows raised slightly at the tone that his less-serious counterpart directed at the charts and lists on the desk. That was far stranger than the sight of another staff member rushing in at full tilt. "Come in, Terry, we haven't been here long." That statement was technically true; it hadn't become a 'we' situation until just recently. How long he had been there was beside the point for the moment. As if the principal perching on his desk was as normal as the sun rising in the east, he shifted the papers around so the ladies would both be able to view them from their respective positions. He was familiar enough with the contents to view them upside down with at least some accuracy.

"I don't want anyone to jump to conclusions," Nathaniel began, "but according to the data gathered, we may be facing an extended period of high activity. How much higher, and for how long, is difficult to estimate. Unfortunately the patterns to date are consistent." As he spoke, he pointed at a portion of a specific chart. "The dotted line is the average number of sightings and known encounters from the past three cycles. This area here matches our current time of year and number of years since the last ritual. And this line shows the recorded number of similar events for this year." The second line started off similar but slowly climbed until it was definitely higher than normal. "On top of that, we have a number of senior RHAS members who will be graduating this year, and few with the experience to take on similar responsibilities."

A moment of rifling through another folder later, he was able to present a list of the individuals in question. "We also have Matthews from History out on maternity leave and Erikson in Mathematics retiring from active patrols. We did have a higher acceptance rate this year than last, and efforts to find more possible members have gone well, but our numbers are still lacking." There was another of those pauses that could have easily fit a sigh. "Ordinarily, additional recruitment and training are added to the schedule as we progress into the more volatile portions of the cycle. The current amount of activity at this point in time is simply not something we've prepared for. The causes are inconclusive at best." He had yet to ask if Delilah shared any of his suspicions on what was going on...and the question was not one he wanted to ask in front of the entire group. Not when it might result in rash action.

 

[Taliesin]

Delilah couldn't help an amused grin despite the seriousness of the situation. Just the hint of surprise from her more serious colleague eased some of the concern that she was hiding away. It was probably a lot of why she did the sort of flippant things that by all rights should have him tying her down to her chair to work. It was just too much fun to tease him and he was so willing to take on those tasks she found annoying and boring anyway. He reminded her a bit of her brother sometimes.

With a faint grown Delilah pushed the thoughts away and instead reviewed the papers as Nathaniel spoke, not really listening to him as she was aware of the situation. She just couldn't help but looking it all over again as if it would change when she viewed it for a hundredth time.

Terry listened raptly to the explanation, following his hands over the papers and reminding herself to focus. She leaned over the desk, oblivious to the hint of cleavage shown from her slightly unbuttoned blouse. "Huh..." She murmured to herself, looking rather concerned but she had no idea what might be causing such an oddity. She felt like compared to the other two senior members in the room she was really quite ignorant and tried not to show how ashamed that made her feel. She was so new to her position but she still felt like she should do more, be better, etc. She wanted to ask more, but she was afraid that she would sound like a fool if she did.

"We will have an administrative meeting later." Delilah seemed to know what was going through Terry's mind and smiled at the other woman reassuringly. "For the moment, let's not concern the students."

 

[driftingstar]

Nathaniel gave a nod in response to that conclusion. For all the principal's skills at dodging work that needed doing, when it came to the students at Regis, Delilah always tried to act in their best interest. That was one trait he didn't mind. As he looked away from the pile of files and papers, a flash of skin made itself known - Terry's, but she seemed unaware of the minor display, so he decided it was an accident. As if he hadn't seen, his gaze continued upwards after a slight pause. This wouldn't have been the time to comment on it in any case...and considering that he was one of the few staff members who felt that formal dress went with the job, he would probably be seen as rather biased. "Once we have decided on a course of action, moving forward, then it can be announced. For the time being I would suggest we all remain vigilant and assist the student members in their training when possible."

At that moment, however, an uninvited guest was attempting to witness their conversation. "What in the world are those three talking about in there...?" The mutter was near-silent, blending with the rustle of leaves tumbling over the ground. It was probably the latest point in the year where such ambient noise would provide cover; already there were few trees or bushes with enough foliage to fully hide a body behind them. Robin frowned and crept cautiously towards the nearest window. Weeks of rumors, countless false leads, and inaccurate directions had finally brought him here. What he hadn't expected was to see a staff member running towards the place just as he approached from through the trees. His intention had been to look for places to return to at night, in search of the strange sightings his research had uncovered. And there, in the trees behind the library, had been the apparently abandoned building. He'd have to discard that idea now...but the suspicious location and the presence of three staff members made it interesting again. A gust of wind threatened to remove the hood of his tan jacket; he tucked loose platinum strands back in and tugged the top lower, hiding his eyes even as he crept up to the wall. The figures within were visible but he couldn't hear what they were saying or see what they were looking at. There had to be some way to find out...

Before he could come up with a plan, the sound of footsteps caught his attention. He immediately dropped to the grass, flattened himself beside a bush as best as he could, and held his breath. He couldn't see the person approaching from that angle, but the footsteps slowed. "That's strange..." a woman's voice spoke. The steps came slowly closer...closer...and then there was a clinking of metal, the creak of door hinges, and a slight bang as the building's door was closed. Robin let his breath out in a rush, tense muscles went limp in relief, and he cautiously peeked out. No sign of anybody else. He'd have to be more careful and stay hidden. Leaving wasn't an option - because who was more likely to be involved in explaining away the school's hauntings and mysterious activity than the two people in charge of the place? He had to find out for himself!

In the seconds before the door thumped shut behind her, Corina gave the chilly pre-winter landscape one last look. Something had looked odd, just for a moment, as if something was there that hadn't been on her last visit. Her first instinct was that it were something dangerous - maybe another monster on the loose - but if that had happened, she surely would have seen the others outside as well. There was no way she was the first person to get to the meeting, was there? She glanced down at herself then and sighed inwardly; going home to change would have made her even later, and she had chosen to not lose that time.

It was too late to change her mind now, but she still felt on edge as she walked towards the room where the meetings were held. As a newer member and one of the teachers who had joined most recently, she wanted to make a good impression. There just wasn't a perfect fix in a situation like this... "Good afternoon, everyone." Corina's voice was polite but friendly as she stepped into the room. Her expression turned apologetic shortly after, though. "I'm sorry I'm late, there was a bit of an accident in my last class that I had to deal with." That was an understatement, judging by her appearance. Assorted shades of paint and ink, along with smudges of what looked like dirt but was probably clay, marred her jeans. Below the knee, the material was almost completely red-tinted; her shirt had escaped most of it, but there were still flecks here and there, along with hints of other colors overlapping a faded pattern. Her hands were the only visible portion of skin that had entirely avoided whatever happened.

 

[Taliesin]

"Oh dear!" Delilah exclaimed as she looked up at the newest arrival. For a few moments she just took in the almost impressive disaster that was Corina's clothes. Once she snapped out of it though Delilah immediately started digging around in the bag she had set down unobtrusively next to Nathan's desk at her feet. "Now that won't do. Is all that dry yet? It'll add ten pounds to those clothes for sure. Now let's see here..." She set her bag down on the table, crinkling some papers without any concern. If Nathaniel commented on it she would probably just laugh and brush it off.

"Put these on, we're mostly of a size." She pulled out a pair of jeans and a purple 3/4ths sleeve shirt and strode across the room to hand them to the other woman, giving her another looking over as she went. She wasn't the bust judge of such things but she was pretty sure her jeans might be a tiny bit too big for the other woman but thanks to the magic of hips Corina shouldn't have too many problems while wearing them. "You've still got plenty of time. As you can see the student's haven't quite started trickling in yet." She paused and flashed an overdone lecherous grin at the other women in the room, spreading her arms wide and spinning a bit. "You two are so cute though! Always so concerned and trying so hard!~"

Terry dragged her gaze away from Nathaniel to give the president a shocked look. "Er...p-president?" She had not spent much time around Delilah before this and while she had heard all the stories about the presidents sometimes 'odd' behavior, she had not actually experienced one of these moments until now. "Y-you know I completely respect you but..." She couldn't quite abort the way her eyes flickered towards Nathaniel before giving the president a wide-eyed look.

As silent as any cat, Laine glided through the somewhat forested area behind the library. Luckily for Robin she was approaching from the opposite direction he was hiding. She had just gotten out of her 'applied material sciences' class, which strangely enough with a title like that was actually one of her electives. She was also carrying several cloth bags full of Tupperware containers. Laine didn't make the snacks for every meeting because she was usually too busy but she tried to carve out some time so that it was at least a semi-often occurrence.

As she approached the small building she could tell the president was up to her usual tricks and Laine purposely sidled into the door as silently as possible and set the cupcakes down on the table that was prepared for them in the back, trying to not interrupt the scene. She didn't necessarily approve of how flippant the president often seemed to be but she had watched long enough that she was pretty sure there was a reason behind the madness and there seemed to be a little more tenseness in the room than usual. She had a feeling that had she been a bit more prompt in getting here she would have heard something quite interesting.

 

[driftingstar]

If it had been anyone other than Nathaniel, the use of the desktop as a clothing landing pad would have been met with rolled eyes. That wasn't his style, however. "It was going to happen sooner or later, I suppose," the vice-principal commented under his breath. His features were neutral - all but a slight quirk at the corners of his mouth, hinting at hidden amusement. In all honesty, he was rather surprised that Delilah had managed to remain serious for this long.

While he was busy extracting the crumpled pages from beneath Delilah's bag, Corina found herself resisting the urge to scoot backwards a few steps. This was far from what she'd expected! "Ah, u-um," she stammered out, "Thaaaat's very nice of you, but I'm all right, really." A thought came to mind then, and her gaze flicked over the three of them. Even the slight wrinkles in Terry's outfit were hard to see now, and nothing in comparison to the mess that had slowly dried into Corina's jeans. Could it be that the principal found her appearance inappropriate, but was too nice to say so directly, and so the other woman was offering her a way to save face in front of the others? The thought was worrying...

Then the principal started twirling, and the art teacher's expression became a little like a surprised rabbit's. She had been at the school long enough to hear of the principal's more unusual quirks, but until she joined RHAS, she had rarely been the target of them. "Er, thank you...?" Corina took the clothes with no real plan on what to do next. "If I'm going to change before the students get here, I should do that now. Excuse me, everyone." Then her head swiveled side to side in search of another room, or a closet, or anything really. But the only door she saw was the one leading back outside and the one leading to a maintenance area. "Excuse me, Ms Mason, but did you mean for me to...?" The words trailed off. She couldn't say it. Certainly the other woman hadn't meant for her to change right here, in front of everyone. Right?

By that time, Nathaniel had reorganized his files and straightened the crushed papers to some degree. "In that case, I believe now would be a good time for me to repair the heating system." Apparently unconcerned with what was about to happen, he stood up from the desk and stepped toward the door. As he did so, he looked around the room out of habit, his eyes seeking any signs of hidden forces in motion. A flicker of movement outside the window caught his attention, but on looking closer, there were only passing leaves. The same glance took in the new arrival and the set of boxes, both of which got an acknowledging nod from him. "Good afternoon, Laine. If you'll excuse me..." Just before stepping out of the room, he spoke up again. "Don't tease them too much, Delilah, the students will be here soon." There was a note of warning in his voice, one that often came up when dealing with her antics, but that was all.

Outside, Robin let out a somewhat shaky breath and waited for his heart to stop racing. "That was close. Almost got spotted..." He leaned against the wall with a sigh. This was getting him nowhere fast! He'd normally try the window, but the chances of someone looking that direction were too high. Perhaps he could just sneak in after the next person entered...all it would take was propping the door just enough so it wouldn't lock. But first, one last peek inside. There were rumors about the staff too, after all.

 

[Taliesin]

"Well," Delilah said, apparently unconcerned about the warning from Nathaniel. "I was going to suggest you go where he was but I guess that works too." She chuckled and went back to her bag, dropping it back on the ground where she had had it before. "You'd better get moving though before Ethan shows up. He's always late but this would be the one time he wouldn't." A mischievous grin flickered over her face before she politely kept her back turned while ruffling through her bag for something.

"Uhm well in that case I'll..." Terry looked around quickly before hurrying over to the door. "I'll make sure no one else comes inside!" She pulled the door open, stepped out, and shut it again behind her, putting a hand over her face and looking quite flustered. "That was terrible..." She murmured to herself and rubbed her bright red face. How did Nathaniel deal with her on a regular basis? Had Delilah really been teasing? Her already high estimation of Nathaniel went up. She didn't think she could handle that daily, but she supposed one did get used to it after a while. She could only hope. How did someone like that end up as the president of the university?

Laine nodded in Nathaniel's direction but said nothing. Her gaze did flicker towards the window as well, wondering what had spurred that expression on the vice president's face. She completely ignored the other two women in the room as she strode over to the window and with a light tug pulled the beige curtain closed. "Just in case someone happens to be wandering by." She said out loud with no change in her serious expression. She did the same for the window on the other side of the building and then returned to the snack table. "It is safe to proceed."

With that, she pulled the bags open and started setting out the various containers, also keeping her back to Corina.

 

[driftingstar]

Corina blinked; the idea of hiding behind the desk hadn't occurred to her. Probably because the Vice-Principal had been sitting there, and there was no chance she would have asked him to move so she could remove her pants. Absolutely no way. Just the thought of it made her flush, adding to her flustered appearance. She glanced at the door, then back to the windows, only to find Terry moving to stand guard and Laine already closing the curtains. The woman's expression practically radiated 'thank you!' though she didn't say a word to either of them, merely hurried over to place the desk between herself and most of the room.

Her figure soon disappeared - except for her head - a moment later. No point in taking off her pants if her shoes were still on. What she hadn't considered was the location of the Principal; since most of the others had all turned away, it was easy to assume that everyone had. Her plan had been to change quickly but the drying fabric of her paint-splattered jeans wasn't cooperating with that. "Oh, come on now!" When they finally dropped, she was left standing there in nothing but a blouse, socks, and undergarments as she leaned over to pick up the borrowed pants. "Huh, they are a little big..." Without thinking she shifted her hips within the bottoms, then bounced in place, trying to make sure they wouldn't fall off the minute she had to walk anywhere. "...but I think it should work." With that done - and one more glance toward the door, just in case it sounded like somebody was coming - she started to unbutton her shirt. "Thank you," her voice came as she shrugged off her shirt and slipped on the other, "for letting me borrow this. I'll be certain to wash it all and return it right away."

Robin had just begun to poke his head back into the viewing range of the window when the sudden appearance of a figure made him jerk away again. Instinct threw him to the ground; it was several moments later when he finally straightened to see... "So that's how it is, huh?" Closing the curtains only made it look more suspicious! "You're not getting rid of me that easy." He slid away from the windows and eyed the surrounding area. There were trees close by; maybe he could climb onto the roof. Unfortunately, somebody had cut away most of the low-hanging branches, so his first attempts ended in rough landings on the ground. At some point his hood fell off, revealing distinctive silvery hair, but he was too busy scrambling for more handholds to fix it.

Unnoticed by him, a girl jogged up to the building at a brisk pace. She was too young to be a staff member, so it had to be a student. The brunette found herself torn between hope that the meeting had already started and worry that she had missed something important. Nobody seemed to be around when she swung open the outer door, but there were strange metal clankings coming from...not the meeting room, she realized. In fact, the place was way too quiet for the meeting to have started already. She couldn't hear anybody talking in the main room at all. "Aaaah, I rushed for nothing!" Rebecca's dismayed voice echoed in the foyer and she slumped against a wall to catch her breath. Apparently she hadn't noticed anybody standing just outside the door; her hand was fumbling around in her pocket for something. "What time is it...?"

 

[Taliesin]

Delilah was finding Carina entirely too cute through this whole situation, and of course being who she was she didn't correct her position for Corina's movement. To her credit she didn't seem to be watching too intently not did she make any lecherous comments, but she may have sneaked a few appreciative glances at the right moments. It was only polite right? "Oh don't worry about that dear." She waved one hand deprecatingly while she leaned the other on the table, giving her a very casual appearance despite the suit. "I've got more and for some reason all of the meetings seem to happen during this time of the year..." She gave an irritated sigh before shrugging it off and smiling brightly at the other woman. "I'm just glad it fits without too much problem."

Outside, Terry brightened at the sight of Rebecca. She thought it rather funny that most of the people that had arrived so far had been in a rush, and they had all been some of the first. Aside from Nathaniel and the president whom had been there for who knew how long. "Good evening Rebecca." She said cheerfully, probably scaring the other girl. "It's 6:07, early still. You're one of the first students here." She chuckled softly before patting the door. "I'm afraid I can't let you in until the president or Professor Corina gives the go ahead though, there was a little spill they're taking care of." Her brows drew together in consternation. "...I hope the president isn't being weird again." Her hand slid down and tightened on the doorknob, as if she were considering rushing in there to the rescue.

"Hmm...I'm sure she went this way." Anna mumbled to herself as she eased her way through the wooded area behind the library. She had been in the art class that had the disastrous spill, though she herself had not been involved. She was always careful with her paints, except for when she wasn't. Regardless, while she had been putting the last of her gear away she noticed a familiar bag that belonged to Prof Corina, who had rushed out of class. So naturally she snatched the bag up and then ran after the professor, who was quite far ahead of her at that point. Anna had just come out of the Art building to see Corina dashing behind the library. By the time she caught up, there was no sign of the professor so she picked a direction and followed it, hoping she'd stumble upon the professor or someone who had saw her.

She had then spotted the little building and made her way towards that when her eyes were drawn to a flash of light off some very pale hair. "Err..." She watched Robins attempts for a few seconds before slowly moving forward until she could speak without shouting. "Is...there a reason you are trying to get on top of that building?" She tilted her head at the other person curiously, trying to remember if she knew their name or not.

 

[driftingstar]

A head full of lightly tousled hair appeared seconds before the rest of Corina's face, wearing a look of surprise. She hadn't expected it to be a gift rather than a loan. "Well...if you're certain, I guess it's all right with me." Her hands tugged the shirt's fabric down a bit, then smoothed it carefully. She looked much better already, messy hair aside, and she had already started to try and pull it free of the collar. Something about Delilah's response had caught her attention, though, and she paused. "Is it normal for people to need to change after these meetings?" It wasn't something she had run into before, but she was new enough not to have, she supposed. "I guess I should start bringing my own spare outfits, then." A hint of a smile appeared in the moments before she bent down to put her shoes back on.

Rebecca was just regaining control of her breathing when a voice called to her by name. "Hu-wha!?" The teen jumped, eyes wide, and whirled toward the sound. Of course, as soon as she did, she realized that the woman must have been there the whole time. "Oh geez..." She inhaled deeply before managing a laugh. "Please don't tell anybody that just happened, Ms. Jones! I'd never hear the end of it!" Though her pulse still raced, her expression was both embarrassed and relieved; there were definitely worse people to have caught her off-balance. "It's that early, huh...? Guess I didn't have to run here from the bus stop!" She shrugged and rubbed at the fringe of hair on her forehead, some of the strands trying to stick after her jog. Inwardly, she sighed; if most people weren't here yet, there was no telling how long it would be before the meeting actually started. Then again, some people did seem to be late all the time... "Weird?" That comment pulled her focus back to the conversation. "Isn't the Principal always being weird?" That was what she had heard, anyway, though everyone she knew kept dancing around the details. "Maybe we should just look in and find out?" The brunette scooted closer to the door but didn't move to try and open it herself.

Robin had glanced down and outwards on hearing someone approach, but the girl he saw hadn't looked up and didn't seem to notice him. So far, so good; with any luck, he'd be on the roof well before anyone else could come along. Half his mind was planning the next step even as he reached out for another branch. Then somebody spoke from right below him - or so it seemed - and he froze in place. When he looked down a moment later, he saw a girl standing there...probably a different one, he guessed, since the one before had gone into the building. She didn't seem to be accusing or angry, so he might be able to avoid the defensive approach. "That all depends." As he spoke, he turned around, sat on a sturdy branch, and let his feet dangle casually. It was as if the situation were totally normal. "Who's asking, and why?" To remove any edge the questions might have held, he grinned and added, "Kinda hard to have a conversation if I don't know your name." Maybe she was involved, maybe not, but if there was any chance that she'd stay put instead of raising the alarm, he would take it! While waiting for an answer, he tried to get a closer look at her. Something about her features rang a bell, though it was hard to figure out what with the jumble of twigs and branches in the way. Did they have a class together or something?

 

[Taliesin]

Delilah blinked a few times and tilted her head at Corina. "I meant winter, which for me translates into meetings time. Since everyone is stuck inside someone decided that this was the time of year to have 3 times the amount that I do any other time of the year." She frowned down at her suit and smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from it. "I hate looking so formal all the time." She sighed dramatically and threw herself into a seat. "It's getting on in time, I wonder how many students Terry is holding back out there..." An decidedly mischievous grin once again grew on the principals face.

Terry put a hand over her mouth to try and muffle the giggles but it was a vain attempt. She hadn't meant to scare Rebecca but the sight of her jumping several inches into the air was quite worth the accident. "I'm sorry!" She wasn't doing a very good job of keeping the grin off her face either."Well I've heard the stories but I've not spent enough time around the principle to have seen much of it..." She trailed off, the cheeks turning pink at the memory of the principals words. Inevitably, her mind drifted to Nathaniel instead and she hastily redirected her thoughts. "Ah, yes that's a good idea Rebecca." She turned and knocked on the door. "Principal? Is Corina done yet?"

Laine opened the door, looking as stoic as ever. "She is just putting her shoes on now. I think it is safe for you to enter." She ignored the principals almost disappointed expression behind her. Laine had a feeling she had just stopped the principal from locking all of the students out or something equally ridiculous.

Anna was even more bemused by the Robin's behavior. He was acting so casual, and yet something was still a little off. "You are the one trying to get on top of some abandoned old building." She retorted, though she sounded more amused than anything. "I'm Anna Rees, an art major." She put a hand on her hip and grinned at him. "And I don't think your second question bears answering. I was just trying to return this purse to Professor Hamlin when I saw you climbing around up there." She paused at the reminder of her mission. "Speaking of...have you seen her run this way?"

 

[driftingstar]

"Oh, I see!" Corina hadn't realized that their principal was so busy at this time of year, so she had assumed the topic was related to the meeting they were currently at, rather than meetings in general. Though she didn't mention this mistake she felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment regardless. "I think I can understand..." she added in a more thoughtful tone, "I'm also more comfortable outside of formal wear." That was putting it lightly; while she did like to dress in pretty clothes, there were times where that just wasn't practical. Like today, for instance. As a result it was fairly common to see her dress one way for class and another way the rest of the time. She looked up as the door opened, then waved briefly when Terry became visible at the opening. "Right, everything's fine now." She straightened up and brushed off the borrowed clothes a bit, then picked up her own belongings to put them in her... Wait, where's my bag?

Rebecca swallowed a laugh on spotting the look on the principal's face. Whether the rumors were true or not, that kind of expression would make people think something could have happened. "Oh, thanks. Um...you're here on time again, huh?" As usual, she found herself wondering what to say to Laine after that. Ms. Hamlin's putting her shoes on? That's all she's gonna tell us? Geez, how do you chat with someone who's so... Then blinked; something about that comment sounded a bit off. Wait...why would you take your shoes off when you're cleaning a spill? She would have asked if the sound of footsteps hadn't caught her attention first. Her turn towards the sound brought her face-to-face with the vice-principal - or would have, if he wasn't so much taller than her. Whoa! Where'd he just come from?

In truth, Nathaniel had stopped a fair distance behind the two - both for politeness and in an attempt to view the situation in the meeting room for himself. Surprisingly, everything looked to be in order, and no one seemed out of sorts. What that meant...well, he had a few guesses, but no certainty as of yet. He reached over and took hold of the door, not pulling it out of Terry's grasp but keeping it open so she could enter. For just a second, his hand might have brushed against the back of hers, but it was fleeting at best. "After you, ladies." As he stood there, he looked from one person to the next. They were still missing a few people; fortunately for them it was still early, as he had been known to start meetings without latecomers. If anyone looked closely, they would be hard-pressed to find any signs of recent mechanical tinkering, but the heat in the meeting room would be more balanced anyway. At least temporarily.

Robin chuckled to himself. This girl was pretty interesting; maybe not on the same level as the mystery in that building, but that wouldn't have been a fair comparison anyway. "There's people inside, right? That means it's not really abandoned." He paused for a short time to climb back to a lower point. Her comments had given him an idea: why sneak in from the rooftops first when he could get an idea of the layout from the ground? It was worth a try, and if they didn't let him in, that would just affirm his suspicions about something strange going on. "But what would an art teacher, or anybody, be doing in a building that looks like it's abandoned, huh? If it's really abandoned, don't you think it could be dangerous?" When he was near enough to the bottom, he dropped to the ground, about an arm's length away from Anna. "Name's Robin. Nice to meet you, Anna." He gave her an easy and natural smile as he spoke. "So, why don't we go together? I want to go in, you want to go in, it works for everybody." His behavior probably would've been more convincing if he hadn't been caught up in the tree first, but acting like he had been doing something terrible certainly wouldn't help. "I did see a female teacher head in there, but I suspect you'll know her when you see her."

 

[Taliesin]

Laine gave Rebecca a blank look, somewhat nonplussed by the statement. "Yes I am." She sidestepped out of the doorway and turned to lean casually against the wall. She always felt a little on edge during meetings and standing up made her feel better. It probably had something to do with a subconscious feeling of being ready for action, which was needed when discussing the monsters that occasionally broke their way into her world.

Terry had seen Nathaniel coming up out of the corner of her eye and was quite glad for it or she might have revealed something in her surprise. As it was she needed all of that preparation to not unduly linger on what had to be a careless touch. She paused to flash him her usual smile. "Thank you, Vice Principal." She hurried inside then, bringing the hand that had been holding the door for just a second in towards her stomach. Even though she wasn't entirely sure the touch happened her hand felt like it was burning. Hopefully before anyone noticed anything odd, especially Nathaniel, she let it drift casually back to her side and went over to the seat where she had placed her purse and such earlier. It was then she noticed Corina seemed to be looking around for something. "Corina?" She glanced over at the principal, wondering if she had done something again.

Delilah seemed oblivious to the regard. Her sharp eyes had noticed something amiss with Corina but she was mostly distracted by the fact that she hadn't been able to pull another prank on everyone outside. Her expression was just shy of a full on pout as she took her own bag and grabbed a chair to pull up next to the desk Nathaniel had been sitting at. She then flipped it around and sat in it backwards, leaning her arms on the back of the chair and her chin upon her arms, just to complete the sulking picture. She looked quite odd like that as she was still in a suit but she couldn't care less.

"There's people inside?" Anna's brow drew together for a moment as she looked towards the window, finding her view blocked by a curtain. "Hmm..." She glanced between it, Robin and back to the building with a curious expression. She was starting to get a inkling of what Robin might be up to, and why, to a point. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about it, but she was a bit curious as well. The professor had been in such a hurry and possibly came to such an unusual place. She blinked her way out of her thoughts as Robin finally returned to the ground and gave him a weak smile. More and more, she was getting the feeling that there was something odd going on, if Robin wasn't lying to her and he didn't seem to be. She was a little nervous about going inside. "This is my best lead." She murmured reluctantly to herself. "Alright, I guess there's nothing wrong with checking it out." She said louder to respond to Robin She held the bag closer to her chest and made her way around the building to the outer door. So far, nothing looked too odd. Much farther down the path she could see several students approaching while chatting with Nurse Ethan. They had just come around the library but it was clear this was their destination. She frowned, even more confused now but decided to hastily open the door rather than wait for that group to arrive.

When she opened the door she was met with the sight of Nathaniel and froze in surprise. "V-vice principal!" What was he doing here? "Er..." She had a perfectly valid reason to be in here but was so thrown off by the sight of pretty much the last person she would have expect she completely forgot what she was going to say. She could make out several other staff members past him and her eyes fixed on Corina. "Professor!" She exclaimed, equally surprised by Corina actually being there.

 

[driftingstar]

Rebecca sighed inwardly as she walked into the room. She had yet to find a way to break the ice with Laine; for that matter, she sometimes felt that the other girl would've preferred not to talk if she could help it. 'Since we have to work together anyway, we should all try to get along!'...yeah, I can't say that. Even if that was what she would prefer - just among the students of course - she knew it wasn't going to happen so easily. I kinda wish some of my friends had gotten in. Then I'd have somebody to talk to when I'm here. Most of the chairs were still in the back against the wall, folded up, so she went to get one and sit down before the room became packed with people. "There's got to be a way to make these things more fun..." Focused on her thoughts, she didn't consider that she was walking right past the principal when she said it.

Robin was rather surprised that the door swung open when Anna turned the knob. He didn't bother to hide the expression; even someone who chose not to search for something strange had to be able to see it when they ran into it! And staff members and students having mysterious gatherings in abandoned buildings definitely counted as strange. They don't want anyone to know they're here. But they don't do anything to stop people like me from coming in. What are they trying to hide, and why? He intended to learn as much as he could about the layout of this place so he'd be able to-- Oh hell! Anna's reaction to the person they saw was a match for his own...though he had a different reason for it. I thought he was in the other room?! How am I supposed to do anything with him right there? From what he could see with a quick look around, there was only one way deeper into the building, and that way was blocked by the vice-principal.

Even as he returned Terry's smile with a slight one of his own, Nathaniel heard the click of an opening door. Without removing his hand from the one he held, he turned partially to view whomever had entered...and found an unexpected sight in front of him. Students, but not members... In reply to the girl's startled-sounding words, he faced them more fully. His expression was neutral with a hint of interest, no more or less than one might get for entering his office of a sudden. "Good evening to both of you. Might I help you with something?" Even as he spoke, he attempted to memorize their faces and appearances, just in case this incident was more than it appeared. This wouldn't be the first time that something dangerous chose to fool others by wearing a harmless face.

There was no sign of it. Corina swallowed her disappointment and stopped looking, well aware that if she couldn't see it, there weren't many places in the room it could have been. "Oh, it's nothing much," she replied to Terry with a slight sigh. "I just seem to have misplaced my purse. I must have forgotten it when I left the art department earlier." She glanced at the other woman with a small smile. "It means I'll have to backtrack before I go home, but that's a minor inconvenience, really." I can't believe I left it behind! Picking it up in the morning's not an option, not when my dorm key is inside...but I certainly can't say that in this company.

Then she heard a voice, familiar yet out of place, speak from somewhere nearby. She turned around to see who it could have been - and her face lit up immediately. Just the sight of one of her students was enough to improve her mood. "Oh, Anna! Hello!" Corina's smile was genuine and didn't falter even when she had to step past the vice-principal to reach the pair. "It's always nice to see you. What are you doing here?" Her expression was puzzled but happily surprised, despite the worry that came to mind. Anna hasn't been...recruited, has she? And who's this young lady with-- Her gaze shifted from cheery to sharp and attentive in the time it took to blink. No, young man. I know I've seen his face before...but not in my department. Perhaps journalism or technology? She looked back to Anna and something caught her eye. It didn't take much to put the pieces together, and the thought brought her smile back, even brighter and warmer than before. "That's my bag, isn't it?"

 

[Taliesin]

"Oh no!" Terry exclaimed, looking around quickly without thinking, just to see if maybe it was in an odd corner and she would spot it. Of course she didn't and then she heard a semi-familiar voice speak from the doorway and her brows drew together in confusion as she looked back the way she came. What were those students doing there? Then she spotted Corina's bag. Oh, that was nice of Anna... she thought to herself before something else occurred to her. What would the students think of what was going on here? And who was that behind Anna? She leaned in her chair to get a better viewpoint and suddenly felt herself falling, letting out a surprised squeak as she toppled towards the floor and hit with a loud clatter "Ow...opps." She pushed herself up and chuckled nervously at all the eyes on her in the room. "Er...I'm fine no worries..."

Laine frowned at the unfamiliar voices as eased towards the door, peeking past Corina and the vice principal, thinking much like he was that this might be some sort of attack in disguise. At the clatter from Terry falling she whirled around and a throwing knife sliced through the room before she had even thought about it. It landed with a solid thud in the desk Nathaniel had been sitting at. "...Sorry." She said quietly, though she did not sound particularly sorry and made her way slowly across the room to retrieve it.

Anna beamed at the sight of her favorite teacher, completely forgetting about Robin and his suspicions for the moment. "Of course! I saw it laying there when you rushed out of the room and there was no way I could just leave it." She glanced around curiously and shook her head with a rueful smile. "You are too fast though professor. I had lost you completely until Robin here said he saw someone running this way." She did at least have enough presence of mind to try and make it sound like Robin hadn't been trying to suspicious things before she had come along. "So he led me here. You should thank him too." Now that her initial excitement was dying down she found her confusion and curiosity returning in force. It was such an odd place to find a gathering of a professor and high ranking school officials. "Was this what you were in such a hurry for then?" She asked as she held out the bag for Corina to take before dropping it in surprise at the clatter. "Shoot! I'm sorry!" She shifted on her feet, torn between picking the bag up and going to help the somewhat goofy recruiter.

Delilah may or may not have had something to do with the tilting chair but she was quite fascinated by the knife in the desk next to her. "Oooh nice Laine!" She complimented and got out of her chair to examine it closer. Idly, she yanked it out of the wood and held the blade up in the light. She let out an impressed whistle. "This isn't even-" She cut herself off as she remembered there were non-members present, but she had been about to say magical. It seemed Laine was always prepared and carried some sort of weaponry at all times. "Good thing you checked yourself before you skewered Terry though." The mentioned woman went a little bit pale at the thought. Delilah beamed and handed the blade back to Laine and moved over to Terry to help her up.

 

[driftingstar]

On hearing Anna's explanation, Corina gave a nod of understanding and turned a grateful smile to both of the students. "Thank you both. I hope you didn't go too far out of your way to bring it here."

She noticed Robin's eyes flick over to her, and a brief shift of expression - surprise, maybe? - before he shook his head. "Nah," the boy answered, "it was no big deal."

The crash from the other room captured Corina's attention for a second, but since Terry said she was all right, she decided not to fret too much over it. "Well," she continued as she picked up the bag, "I appreciate it regardless. I wasn't particularly looking forward to finding someone to unlock my classroom for me later." She swung the strap into place over her shoulder with a practiced motion, then looked back to Anna with a bit of a surprised blink. Ah, then she doesn't know what's going on. She only came here to help me? That's so sweet of her! The professor had to admit that this news was a bit of a relief. For all that the tone so far had been light, they were dealing with serious matters here, and it wasn't something she wanted to expose students to if she could help it.

Some might think that Nathaniel's vigilant mindset would be put at ease when Anna's story was backed up; it was clear that Corina did know her, which made it far more likely that the girl was being honest. Those who knew him better would know that he wasn't so quick to lower his guard. Yet his demeanor didn't seem to have shifted at all; for that matter, his position remained just as it was, though he now supported the door with his back rather than holding the doorknob. A brow quirked at the muted thud that came from the other room but his attention remained on the scene in the entry way. As Anna paused, his gaze fell on the other student, the one who stood at ease with hands in pockets. "Fortunate, then, that you happened to be in the area at the time." There was a hint of a question in his tone but no signs of outward suspicion.

"I was just passing through," Robin replied with a shrug. Without his hood up, it was difficult to look around in secret; he had decided that the situation itself would be his excuse if anybody started asking questions. "Since I don't see people out here much, it stood out, so I pointed it out to Anna when she came by." For a moment he wished the space was a bit more confined, as it would have been a perfect time to lean against a wall. "I've gotta say, this is a pretty interesting place...never would've thought that so many people would gather in this little place." His gaze glided across the visible space, pausing here and there, before finally coming back around to the door and the man in front of it. "Looks pretty normal to me. But 'never judge a book by the cover', right?"

Behind the casual smile and pose, he was starting to feel a prickle of nervousness; he had planned to confront the administration, of course, but only after he knew what was going on, had evidence of it and backups in secure locations, and trusted allies who would see to it that the truth got out no matter what. Maybe I'm pushing a bit for this point in the plan, but hey, they don't know if I know anything or not, and if they decide to try and keep me out they're just admitting they've got something suspicious to hide! Still, he wasn't sure if it had been a trick of the light or if the vice-principal's eyes really had hardened a bit at the end there.

In the other room, Rebecca's attention had drifted to her phone, held in one hand while she drank a bit of water. So when Terry's chair crashed to the ground, taking the woman with it, she jumped and dropped the former. "Oh d--nngngh." Whatever she was going to say was bitten off short as she remembered who else was in the room. No one heard that! No one heard anything! I didn't almost swear in front of the principal and the HR lady and Miss Serious over there...well, I guess the principal probably wouldn't mind. She took another gulp from her bottle and was about to get up to help when a blur in the air resolved itself into a blade embedded in a desk. What the--?! This time she didn't have to swallow her words; she was too busy choking on the water she had sharply inhaled.

It took a few moments of hacking and throat-clearing before she managed to splutter out anything. "Are you...kiddin' me?! Why do you...have that?" She had only gotten a half-glimpse of the strangers outside, so she didn't know they were normal students, and it was a bit hard to eavesdrop in her current state. At least the coughing also forced her to keep her voice down, rather than the near-shout that her shock insisted she should use. I know a lot of crazy things happen here, but c'mon! What good is carrying normal weapons around going to do, besides taking out some random person's eye?! For a moment she wondered how non-legacy students ever put up with all of this.

 

[Taliesin]

Anna blinked and tilted her head, as confused as Corina was surprised. She wasn't quite sure what that look from her professor was. "Anytime, professor." She said with a bright smile, shaking off the confusion to eye the two men. The vice principal wasn't giving off as overt of signs as Robin but she couldn't miss a slight thread of tension in the room. It reminded her of her own curiosity as to what was going on here, though she did not imagine such suspicious things as Robin might. She just didn't think like that without a lot of pushing, thus Robins attitude was making her a bit uncomfortable. She chuckled a bit nervously. "So uh," What was she supposed to do here? "What are you doing here professor?" She was going for innocent and cute, though she was honestly curious. It was a battle between that and her desire to leave very quickly because the vice principal always sort of intimidated her and she really wished the principal, who she would see, had been at the door instead.

Looking at the principal, she then realized Delilah was holding a rather utilitarian looking knife which apparently someone had thrown in there. "Uhm...well you know I really should be getting home now." Just what on earth was going on here? She was sure Robin would like to stay a bit longer but she was quite ready to go at this point and easing towards the door. "See you in class tomorrow Professor."

"Oh, what have we here, new recruits?" Ethan had finally arrived with his group of about 5 RHAS members who had walked with him to the meeting. He stepped into the door and just barely avoided bumping into Anna, who let out a squeak of surprise and jumped a few inches away. "Ah?" His warm eyes scanned the situation quickly and he tilted his head. "I guess not then." He tried to meet eyes with the vice principal in the hopes the steady gaze would enlighten him.

Laine watched Rebecca's distress with a hint of scorn before shrugging at the principal. "Preparation is key." She flickered a glance towards the door and decided the vice principal had a handle on things so she moved farther into the room. As she passed Rebecca she murmured just so the other could hear. "When you are ready for anything, it ceases to be a problem. Demons aren't the only things out there and a knife is useful to have around in general." She felt much more confident carrying a knife or two around, even if they weren't magical. She then took the blade from the principle and slipped it back into it's arm sheathe. "Sorry about the desk."

"Oh it'll be fine!" Delilah spoke with a cheerful dismissiveness.

Terry was doing her best not to think about how quickly and pathetically her life had almost ended. "S-sorry about the desk?" She muttered in a tone that was too high to make it a whisper as she pulled herself to her feet with the help of Delilah, who purposely held onto the other woman's hand for just a few seconds too long, making Terry snatch her hand back and blush brightly.

Laine turned to her and did her best at a reassuring smile. "I would never have hit you, my reaction time is better than that."

"Right." Terry did not sound particularly convinced but she really just wanted to forget this whole ordeal. She couldn't even believe falling over in a chair had turned into an ordeal.

 

[driftingstar]

It was obvious - at least to Corina - that Anna was uneasy, even before she started to move toward the door. She tried to catch the girl's gaze while smiling in sympathy and understanding. 'Intimidating' was certainly a word that described some individuals in the group, so in truth, she really did understand some of what Anna might have felt. Hmm? She followed her student's glance into the other room, spotted the knife as it passed hands between Delilah and Laine, and tried very hard not to groan. Oh no...that isn't helping! She decided not to stop Anna from leaving, but stepped toward her anyway, her voice reassuring. "If you're going, let me walk you part of the way." Her motion stopped short as the door swung open and a cluster of people stepped in.

Nathaniel wasn't much surprised to see Ethan entering with a group in tow. He moved to give the others more space, which also caused the door to swing shut for the first time in a while. When he spoke, however, it was clear enough to allow those in the other room to hear. "No, these two were simply assisting Professor Hamlin." As he replied, he returned Ethan's look; there was nothing in his expression to hint at the pair being potential allies or a possible threat, merely a variable to be watchful for. Although he was somewhat more wary of the sharp-eyed one in the hooded jacket, he wasn't dismissing either of them as 'faces to be forgotten' either. "Well then, shall we move along? I believe this area is filled beyond capacity." The hallway was growing a bit crowded with the new additions - not enough for people to be unable to move around without colliding, but it was a near thing.

"New recruits, huh?" Robin echoed. As if unaware of the signs pointing toward 'time to go', he put both hands in his pockets and grinned at the newcomers. His focus drifted almost idly from one face to the next. "Could you let me know when you start interviewing for new members? I'd like to learn a bit more about what you all do here," he finally said with his eyes on Ethan. "It was nice meeting all of you." Without a word of complaint or argument he slipped through the crowd to where Anna stood. His casual friendliness had returned, apparently, and he directed a smile her way. "If you're heading out, mind if I come along?"

Without intending to, Rebecca bristled at the whispered comment. Not because of who was saying it - okay, maybe a little because of that - but because it was far too familiar. She stared at Laine as if she wanted to retort. After a second or two Rebecca just snorted and bit back her reply, her teeth clamped down on her lower lip in the process. Quickly she tried to find something else to think about, some way to keep from blurting out what was on her mind... "Hey, anybody know who just came in?" She hopped up and went to the recently-closed door. A twist of the knob, a small push, and she had enough of a crack to see out. "Huh, looks like Mr. Wyatt and a bunch of others..."

 

[Taliesin]

Ethan was quick to adapt to the apparent situation, taking in the slight tension in the air and the varying expressions on the others faces. "That is a great idea I think Vice-Principal." He eased to the side and encouraged the students who had come in with him to move to the side and forward so the two who were trying to get out could move more easily. He definitely felt getting the boy out of here as soon as possible was ideal. There was something about the way he had asked about recruiting and the sense Ethan got when their eyes met that there was probably an ulterior motive in that one. He waited until the ones leaving had squeezed their way out the door before nodding at Nathaniel to let everyone inside the main room again.

Anna was starting to feel decidedly uncomfortable in the crowd that had suddenly come in and was quite relieved to have Robin show up on her elbow. He wasn't much more familiar than the other people in here, but it was enough to make a difference. She also felt more comfortable with him because she was starting to agree that there was something weird going on here. "Sure." She smiled back at him weakly before turning a bit to catch Corina's eye. "Don't worry about it Professor, we can talk later. You just focus on your meeting." She took advantage of the crowd shifting to move them out to almost dart out the door, taking a deep refreshing breath once she was outside. She kept a steady pace back towards the main courtyard, having no interest in staying near the building at the moment.

Delilah decided to once again make herself comfortable on Nathaniel's desk as it was directly in front of the door. "By the sounds of it some curious student's came by, I'm sure Nathaniel took care of it." She had every confidence in Nathaniel's ability, as it was the main thing that let her be the slack and goof as she presented herself. She perked up at the mention of Ethan though. "Finally! Looks like this meeting is about ready to start." Ethan just tended to absorb a large amount of the students on his way to any meeting. He was a bit magnetic like that.

"This has been one exciting meeting already." Terry muttered to herself as she righted her chair and brushed herself off before sitting down. She then thought better of it and headed for the back of the room. "I think it's time for one of Laine's infamous cupcakes." She could use a bit of sugar to ease her nerves. She poured herself a cup of coffee and dumped several sugar packets in it before opening one of the plastic containers and grabbing herself a rainbow colored cupcake and heading back to her seat. A gulp of coffee resulted in a satisfied sigh a few moments later. "Oh that's better." She then daintily took a bite of the cupcake and make a surprised pleased sound. "Root-bear float?"

"It's a recipe I stole from a friend of my mothers." Laine said nonchalantly, for the first time since arriving she seemed to relax a bit and gave Terry a small pleased smile. She put her dagger away and settled in a chair near the back. She didn't seem to have quite as cold of an aura as she had been sporting earlier.