P A R T Y ! [event]

[ωΘĿƒ]

Caroline was looking for that girl. Shirayuki? She was dazed, and confused, and a little numb and wet from the ice.

She'd been chipping away at the strange ice casing, and had been frantically trying to figure out how to clean this mess up, when a brawl had started up.

That was the deciding factor. Caroline was good with a few words, and better in a sorting game of fencing, but she was no fighter. She'd abandon ship, if only to save her own skin from the teachers that'd be sure to swarm over this mess.

Shirayuki had helped with that. After this weird guy had said something to her, she looked like she got bored with what was happening, and just like that she helped Caroline out of the encasing ice and led her through the front doors to sweet freedom.

Then, she vanished. Where the heck did she go? Damn it! Caroline slammed her foot on the ground, pouting. Her party was ruined! And she had a feeling it was that one guy's fault!

She took a moment to sniffle, clearing the feeling of disappointment from her system wit ha few tears. Then, she regained her composure. Fine. They could have her stupid party. Shirayuki could leave her here alone. She didn't care. Stupid weird school... She'd find out what was happening here. Even if she had to go through another party like that.

It was on only way she'd stop feeling like an outcast and start feeling like a part of the group.

Caroline stumbled away, off to go check into a hotel or something. They had those in Colleger, right? She wasn't staying in a wet, nasty dorm room.

* * *

"I like this plan!"

Z was still giddy from the adrenaline and the fighting, so his answer was more than enthused. To accent this behavior, he held his index finger up in the air like he was making an important statement. Then, with the same index finger he pointed over to the bushes.

"That'll be our way out. Better not take chances with the roads. It'll be crawling with teachers."

And yes, just as the famous Z-ometer had predicted, he could already hear the sound of hurried footsteps. Sounded like the entire battalion of 'em had woken up, and they were all charging forth now. That sound sent shivers up Z's spine. Teachers approaching. They had to leave. Now.

"Right then. Tally ho!" Z smiled, mimicking a British accent. Without waiting for the others, he darted into the woods, cheerful as could be. One would think he was enjoying this all.

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[Elle]

The sound of footsteps brought Elle back to reality. This was bad. They would be in so much trouble! What would happen if they get caught? Detention? Expulsion? Her brow furrowed in worry as she considered the possibilities. Didn't she hear stories about an old torture chamber?

As she contemplated this, she noticed Z speed off into the woods. Without a second thought, she ran after him. She was still able to hear the footsteps as she ran, which unnerved her. Deperately, the dragon tried to quiet her breathing and soften her footsteps by avoiding the leaves. Biting her lip, she decided to focus only on running.

[Iƪƪia]

Illia watched the two of them speed off into the woods with a smile. They ran like they were escaped fugitives. Well, that was a fitting comparison for Z at least. She heard the teachers approaching now and gladly followed the others into the thicket. The chimera caught up to them in a matter of moments.

Elle didn't look so good, she noticed as she passed her. The dragon looked so terribly nervous. She was certain that she would be trembling if she wasn't running. Offering her a confident smile, Illia hastened her pace and was quickly able to overtake Z. He seemed rather enthusiastic about this.

"Having fun?" She whispered.

She had fallen into a light jog now as she wondered what would happen to everyone at the party. Or, more importantly, what would happen to them? Even if they aren't found at the scene of the crime, these teachers had a habit of appearing omniscient. Or perhaps it would be one of the party goers who would finger them. Ah, well... It was better to try to escape rather than simply wait to be caught.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Z smiled his usual, carefree smile as he trotted next to Illia, keeping it at a nice jog but not going too fast. He wasn't an athlete really. Just someone that needed to run a lot and was naturally strong and powerful. He could fight well too, but that had already been proven, hadn't it?

"You don't know the half of it." He snickered, dashing away.

The woods were thick and dark at night, and Z couldn't see that well. But, he had his hearing, and his sense of smell to guide him. He did his best not to trip on anything as he ran, and fleetingly, wondered how that other girl was doing. Elle, was it?

"Hey, you okay back there?" Z asked, genuinely concerned. She'd been a big help with the prank, and although she seemed like a goody two shoes, she had proven herself worthy of at least being called friend.
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[Elle]

Elle had been focusing on the path in front of her very intently. She didn't have great night vision, so she had to rely on her other senses to ensure that she didn't trip and blow their cover. So far, so good, but that did little to lessen the anticipation she felt.

"Yes I... I'm fine," She gasped in response to Z's question.

Elle was in pretty good shape. No, she didn't play any sports or the like, but she did swim often which kept her relatively healthy. However, Swimming wasn't nearly as demanding as running, and she felt just about ready to collapse right now. Trying not to think about how much further they had to run, she once again focused on the path.

Don't trip... Just don't trip...

[Iƪƪia]

Illia smiled as she proceeded to skip over a fallen branch. Her feline eyes were easily able to find their way in the darkness. Everything was now presented to her in a grayish monotone, trees distinguishable from the grass only by a slight variance in the color's lightness. Luckily, that was all the chimera needed.

Elle spoke up just then, fatigue clear in her voice.

"Don't worry, it's not much further."

She sped up her pace just a bit, careful not to go to fast as to leave the others far behind. Her footfalls barely made a sound as they quietly landed on the soft grass. Illia's jade eyes glowed like emeralds as they continued to search for the perfect paths through the forest.

[ωΘĿƒ]

AS Z stumbled along the path, he found out a few things.

First, he found out that Illia was better at this running in the dark stuff than he was, so to keep up, he quickly fell in step with her and followed where she put her feet. That way, he didn't need to see anything.

Second, he saw that they weren't far from the other dorms. The ones not made for humans. He could already see lying down in his nice comfy cave and sleeping off the wounds from the fight and all that junk food he' forked down.

And third but defiantly not least, he heard the chaotic sound of a bunch of kids being broken up by teachers back at the sorority houses. Oooh, that didn't sound fun. He knew what it was like to have his fun broken up by the establishment. How infuriating! Screams and angry cries were going up, but strangely enough, just as they were rising they were also being extinguished.

That was.... odd....

Z wondered why, feeling that little tingling in the back of his spine that he always did when something was wrong. Instinct. It was never wrong, and now, it was telling him that something more was happening than a simple party crash.

[amber989]

When she's in her dorm, she looked out of the window. She can't sleep. She then saw an orb flying about just right outside. Curious, she sneaked out of the window and gave the orb a chase. It was flying away. She figured that it must be a nymph or a fairy. Whatever it is, she wants to catch it. Maybe this little thing is related to what happen in the observatory? She ran and ran and saw Illia and the others.

But her main point is the little thing. She ran as fast as she could and eventually caught it. That was hard, but she managed to. The nymph or fairy is struggling as she just stared at it, wandering what in the world this thing would appear near the dorms.

[Elle]

Elle was grateful to hear that they didn't have much further to go. Her legs were about ready to give out right now. She tried not to think about the pain spreading through her chest as she noticed that the dorms really weren't that far off. Then she noticed something else. Another pair of footsteps running through the forest like they were. Nervously, she looked around for the source of the noise, but found only darkness.

That single lapse in concentration was all it took. She felt her foot strike the tree root, then the rush of the wind as she fell forward, landing with a thud amodst a small patch of scattered leaves. She quickly pushed herself up, frowning as she brushed the dirt off of her shirt. She looked around for a second, but her poor night vision turned up nothing once again. Getting up off of the ground, she cringed at the new pain in her leg.

Just my luck...

[ωΘĿƒ]

Z trotted to a halt after hearing Elle trip. Well, he really stopped because ice princess had whizzed by, causing him to lose focus on the untraveled terrain ahead. He stopped mostly because he didn't want to do what Elle had just done - pitch forward flat on his face. His plan had worked well he thought. Elle should have tried it.

"Whoa! You okay?"

Z knelt down next to Elle, helping her up just as a lifetime of "gentleman's training" had taught him to do.

"Is that your leg?"

He smelled the thick, metallic scent of blood, and it was getting stronger. She must have scraped it, he thought. Taking a quick look up, Z wondered where ice princess was going in such a hurry, and if Illia would stop or not. She did seem to be a bit independent...
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[Iƪƪia]

Illia had fallen into a pace somewhere between a jog and a sprint when she noticed the extra footsteps. Looking up she noticed Mizore dash by. She looked like she was chasing something. As she watched the ice-girl disappear amongst the trees, Illia was prepared to follow her when she heard the fall behind her.

The chimera slowed to a stop, looking behind her. Z had already stopped and was helping Elle up. How chivalrous. She looked from them to the area where Mizore had ran off into. It would probably be a nice gesture to go back and stay with them, but every second she spent back here, mean that Mizore gets that much further away.

"I'll be... Right back," She muttered absentmindedly, already starting to walk away.

Illia was able to pick up Mizore's trail immediately. Luckily, she had left numerous scattered leaves and broken branches in her wake. She sprinted through the maze of trees and soon came to a small clearing - Well, it was more like a gap in between the trees. There she found the ice-girl and another being. The little creature glowed like a fairy or nymph which, upon closer inspection, even seemed... Familiar? Could this be the creature that attacked the observatory. She edged closer, curiosity winning out over her hatred of the ice-girl.

"What is it... Doing here..." It wasn't really a question, but a verbalization of her confusion.

[Elle]

Elle smiled weakly as Z helped her up. She hadn't expected him to turn back and help her like that. It was awfully nice but... A bit embarassing. Begining to fix her clothes self-conciously, she accidentally let her hand trail over knee. Wincing, she clenched her fists in pain.

"Yes, but I... I'm okay."

The dragon ground her teeth together, deciding not to touch her leg again. Looking up, she noticed Illia slip through the trees and out of sight. She must be going after the fourth person. Actually, Elle was strangely curious as well. However, she figured that she wasn't going to be doing much running for awhile.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Once he saw that Elle was alright, his gentleman's instincts took a back seat and he looked out into the forest, past the trees to where Illia had run off. Being naturally curious, he felt the burning need to know what was happening. What were they doing? He'd seen a flare of light fly by, but he hadn't gotten a good look at it. He looked back to Elle, wringing his hands together as he did. She wasn't going anywhere fast.

He looked back to the direction where all the action was. Should he leave Elle? She was alright, wasn't she? He didn't have to be gone long. He could just pop out to take a peek, then pop back in without much harm.

Z was right in the middle of deciding what to do when something dig, black, and deadly came crashing through the trees behind him.

"Oh ****..." He gulped, grabbing Elle and dragging her out of the way. The big black thing seemed to have horns or something, because as it raced by it scored a long, jagged line into the tree Z had hidden behind. Ohhhhh. Not good. It stopped a few feet from where he and Elle were hiding, then, slowly, it turned around.

The only thing Z could make out through the black, amorphous shape were two glittering red eyes.

So THAT was the noise he'd heard before....
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[amber989]

Mizore noticed Illia coming for her. But that doesn't matter. What matter most is that the little fairy or nymph is struggling real hard, kicking Mizore's head if she could.

"Who knows." She said, got enough trapping it. Her hand then got surrounded by a box of ice. She quickly release the little being and close the box of ice. Leaving few holes too small for the fairy to escape. The little being tried kicking it, but it won't work.

The ice box floats to Illia. Mizore's hand is hurt, that's why she doesn't want to take it with her bare hands. Her hand is red-ish colour now. The little being's body seems to be very hurtful.

[Iƪƪia]

Illia tipped her head as the small box floated toward her. She delicately grabbed the sides as she examined the creature within. It was struggling as hard as it could, pounding and kicking at the sides of the box. Well, the creature looked like the one that had attacked them just a few days ago, but then all nymphs looked the same to her. Suddenly weary, she scanned the skies for anything that looked like a meteor. If this was the same being then in really was dangerous.

Then, something else caught her attention. It sounded like a stampede or something, not too far from where she had just been. Strange... But so were most things at this school. It was probably nothing to worry about. Shrugging, she turned her attention back to the captive nymph, shaking the box slightly and wondering if the creature would ever get tired.