[ THE CO-ED WASHROOM ] HERE BE HORSEMEN TERRITORY pg 10!

[x_Nata_x]

"Of course that was it -- we're the god-blessed Horsemen," Eris spat an acidic reply to Invicitus where she stood in the middle of the room, looking over the rather deep gashes which had begun to stain her gold armbands a violent crimson. Of course, it was clear her ire wasn't aimed at all towards the heir of Conquest -- in fact, he was probably feeling some of it himself, although War notoriously had a far more volatile temper. Planting a hand firmly over the bloodied flesh, Eris hissed not in pain, but in irritation as she pulled it back to look over the blood that was now all over her palm and fingers like some sort of sadistic handprint, rubbing her fingers together and pursing her lips. It hadn't been all that long since the horsemen had bled, truthfully, but it had been a long time since they had bled this much from one individual.

"Who was that, anyway? 'Salvation Society'... doesn't sound like our type of crowd, now does it?"

A light sneer curled her lips as she looked up towards them again, glancing between Invictus and Aisa, heated brown eyes lingering on the latter a little longer. It seemed Death had taken up post on the throne, something that irked Eris on a fundamental level, the implication of being bested not sitting well with any of them, really. But she let it slide, for once actually quelling that little agitation, flicking her hair over her shoulder and instead focusing on the task at hand. It was Aisa. So that was that. "I don't remembering promising anything to a suit of armor," she continued, reaching up to hold her elbows in a loose, nonchalant stance, unbothered by how her hands were now coated in blood, "Oh well. He's dead now." Lifting her hands palm up, she shrugged, a pleased smirk replacing the frown which had been etched into her expression, a slightly sinister look in her eyes as she grinned.

"Or as dead as you can get in Halloweentown, anyway."

Really, this place had its drawbacks sometimes... Vaguely, Eris wondered if that annoyed Aisa, that she couldn't really kill here.  

[demon_pachabel]

"God Blessed...how very ironic." Conquest replied, seeming to laugh a bit. He wondered if the students of the school knew who God was. Even he wasn't sure of that individual's identity.

His attention gathered over to Eris when she questioned about the Salvation Committee, his lips tightening ever so slightly. "It sounds like someone we will have to deal with." Invictus answered, studying the area where the figure had stood. There was absolutely no trace of it, and that alone was suspicious to him. However, he was sure the being had fled and not truly died. It would have been more satisfying if he had died. Sort of like when one smashed a cockroach underneath their shoe. Yes it was messy, but there was something pleasing about it.

"Salvation, hmm? Just whose salvation are they gunning for?" he asked, mostly to himself. Did it mean the Salvation of those who resided within the school? Or perhaps salvation from those who were in the school. His eyes narrowed as his mind played over all the possibilities of what could happen with it.

He wouldn't be leaving the thought alone for a while.

There was a momentary pause before he added, as a note to War; "That shade of red doesn't suit you. It always looks much better when it came from somebody else."


If Invictus had been capable of flirting, that would have been it.

As for Aisa, Invictus didn't seem to mind that which bothered her so. However... "We can always...repurpose it, if nothing else." he suggested. "The space is quite nice. Perhaps later we will have to see if it's name is just a name, or if it measures up as a bathroom as well."  

[Zoobey]

This was the last place the secretary wanted to be. He had considered knocking, but after standing five minutes at the door fidgeting, Arel had finally decided that he was a faculty member and he should start acting like one, especially considering the recent circumstances circulating the latest newspaper report. None of this wishy-washy stuff, all business. Now or never.

And it had worked well until he actually walked into the co-ed washroom which... looked fancier than the staff lounge. Were those actual carpets on the ground, and where the in Jack's name had the Horsemen found non-extinguishable torches? - those things were extremely expensive. The secretary oogled for a few seconds, feeling excessively outclassed before he had remembered why he even bothered to step foot in this sanctuary. He cleared his throat, just slightly. Silence.

"Horsemen, I have a... request." Though Arel was by no means a loud person, the sound reverberated throughout the entire expanse. He took a step back. Maybe he should just try back later.  

[demon_pachabel]

In the drawing of the daily lot *, it had been Invictus's turn to sprawl out on the throne that was in their ever-so-lovely 'bathroom', if it could even be called that, when the Ice Demon had made his appearance. So it was to no surprise that Conquest was the first one to respond when it seemed that their domain was entered. Not with violence**, albeit, but there was certainly a degree of....

well, Arel wouldn't get a chance to just flee the scene before his presence inside of their domain was noticed. Even as the quiet words reverberated about the room, Conquest merely lingered in his seat of choice, watching. It was only with time that the youngest heir would stand and approach.

He wanted to make a quip about how the secretary was at least more respectful in his inquiry than the last inquiry the four had been given had been but....that was simply speaking ill of those who were not due to be spoken ill of. A sad truth, but he was able to censor himself. He would see if Eris would do the same herself. Not that the four hadn't had some...raving madness over the local newspaper and what it had to say about the recent dealings and what had been going on.

Even their own clans were...questioning about their heirs.

Conquest seemed to look upon their visitor as he approached with a sort of all-encompassing stare that took in everything. Every little detail. It studied, it questioned, and it cataloged it away for some future purpose that would probably not even mean a thing for years to come. Ha, if only he'd been able to forsee that Godforsaken island. Or even Jackforsaken.

Allforsaken. It was a horrible thing and the years upon it had been miserable and pointless and only resulted in little progress. Ironic, really.

"A request, is it?" he said finally, once it seemed he had properly 'documented' the Secretary into his own little document in the filing cabinet of his head.

*Lies, they totally battled for it (or Invi was just awake first)
** Not that he wouldn't have liked it, but paperwork and all that jazz.  

[revenant aria]

Aisa stared at the newest intruder. Not glance, it was a stare. Because students recieved passing glances .. however, this was a faculty member. Even faculty members hadn't been exempt from the heir of death's range of idle interest previously.. But during this present time, they had certainly entered her realm of interest due to their way of handling Red's incident. Arel. Not that he was a bad staff member for doing so. He was actually one of the better ones. But he lied.

Lying. Through the skin of their teeth.

Politics.

They couldn't be helped. Heirs dealt with them most irately before the time on the island .. and not so much after the island. Possibly because such politics were thought to be out of their current range of abilities .. Although the horsemen had always been quite adept at handling the small-time clan politics. They were probably still just as adept (or not) but with a less fine-tuned hand. It just so happened that the political club had decided to exclude them, with their fussy caution and stifling rules that no longer existed coherently within the heirs and their minds.

From the moment that Arel looked at the horsemen, Aisa wasn't in one of her better moods. Probably because of Connie. No, most definitely because of Connie. She wanted that throne. She really wanted that throne. But evidently, she had lost .. or sacrificed it for some mysterious greater purpose. She had taken up space on one of the larger sofas in the room, almost sinking into it's gigantic frame. It was a couch that had been made for it's previous inhabitant, the mysterious suit of armor. But that didn't make it any less comfortable.

"Request?"

The fact she was ripping up Amytiville's newspaper as she spoke wasn't helping the situation. She meticulously selected several pieces, organizing the little strips of grey in a shape that resembled .. Well, one wasn't quite sure what it resembled. There was only so much you could do with little bits of paper~ Besides asking Eri to burn them with her flames to make delightful little snapping bugs. Like fireflies that couldn't fly. Paper, paper, paperrrrr.  

[x_Nata_x]

From where she was draped, Eris couldn't actually see the tiny secretary, although she could certainly hear his footsteps and see the effect he had on the other horsemen. Having lost the throne, (again,) she had taken to the rather unusual perch of the arm of the plush couch Aisa was perched on, her expression decidedly pouty as she fiddled idly with the paper that Death's air played with, her free arm tucked under her chin in the other horseman's lap. However, instead of sitting on the arm, like she was so wont to do anyway, War had lain across it on her stomach, her broken wing splinted close to her body, one stiletto'd foot barely brushing the carpeted floor. The other, she alternated between bending just a little and bending completely, giving her the decided look of an agitated filly who might kick out at anyone who stepped behind her. Overall, it suited her mood -- although stable only by the grace of Aisa's distraction via paper shreds, she, like the others, was furious. And not because Invictus had taken up the prized position in their lair. That might have been the final feather to tip the scale, had Death not provided the lovely means of comradary between them (in this case against Conquest,) but that was certainly not the cause.

Little could be said about the newspaper which Aisa shredded. The center of the miasma of ill-will and festering anger, it was a surprise there was nothing more happening to it than the shredding and occasional mild smoldering occurring on that luscious red couch. If any attention was to be brought to it at all though, there could only be this piece of advice: one could not mention the newspaper without the horsemen likely, probably simultaneously, flying into fits of rage. For any student, they would have been wise to tread softly.

She had been in the process of setting one of the other girl's 'flightless fireflies' (she had particularly enjoyed the pun... it had certainly helped to sooth her ire,) when Arel had stepped into the room, his presence causing the fire to remain on one delicate fingertip. Position what it was, though, it took her quite a bit more time for her to turn her attention towards him, her eyebrows furrowed a little as if annoyed at the interruption. Tossing her hair from where it had been messily framing her face, she had to crane her head over her shoulder to focus on him, honey-brown eyes narrowed slightly as they focused on him. But whether the grace of Jack or Arel's adorable uncertainty, her expression smoothed within a few moments, sliding easily into mild interest. It helped that she not only remembered Arel from Hellma's office, but remembered him as 'the cute one.'

"How polite... is he not sweet?" she crooned a little, her tone not as terribly sugary as usual but certainly laced with interest. Sliding her arms further under herself, War's heir lifted her upper body a little off the arm of the chair to straighten a bit, resting her weight on her now-folded arms.  

[Zoobey]

If Arel had been in one of his better, more usual moods, he would have puffed himself up like an indignant firefox, given them the grumpiest frown he could, and then elaborated on how there was not enough respect going on this campus and that intimidating stares were really not that impressive, neither was calling him cute.

He hadn't been so since the beginning of Red's departure, and then the chaos that followed. Every night it was more follow up, answering distressed parents' phone calls, public release reassurances from the academy that everything was not what it seemed, and then the interrogation of the Bogeymen. The nightmare bled on and on, and the second that newspaper article - which Aisa was ironically ripping to shreds - came out, it was another new ball game entirely. Suddenly parents were practically ripping apart the office door asking for questions, even students came in and demanded compensation. It was chaos, and he was worn out. Worn out, but not gone entirely.

"Yes," Arel cleared his throat, " A request. An exchange of common interests. Your position in the academy is rather interesting, because Hellma has enrolled you as .... students. That means, even though you have a faculty member's level of training and understanding, you are, by all written means students." He pressed on. "Because you are students, it would be a very simple matter to talk to other students. Especially your experiences about Hunters."

The secretary let that sink it for a second as the Horsemen pondered what exactly he meant. "They wouldn't be official classes, of course, but wouldn't it be exciting if you could teach others to also learn how to fight against the Hunters instead of waiting for Jack knows what? You are horsemen after all, you are strong, powerful, descendants of one of Halloween's most ancient clans. You deserve to rule your kingdoms, and you deserve, most of all, to train those who could possibly serve you in the future. Teach the students about the Hunters, let them learn how to fight, in hopes that one day, your clans and Halloween town will be allied."

Arel sighed slightly. "I know your elders disagree, they have their own way of approaching the Human World, but I think now is a good time to change things while you can. Don't underestimate the Hunters, and of course, don't underestimate yourselves."

The speech had taken a lot out of him, and the secretary looked around nervously, as if expecting another presence to pop up: he was entirely paranoid for good reasons. There were no other Fear presences other than the Horsemen, for now. "Now, I need to go, but please consider my request. And please don't call it my request, I am sure it is something that is strictly confidential to students only."

He nodded once again before slowly fumbling out. The Bogeymen would be on his Fear trail soon, he needed to make it look as inconspicuous as possible.
 

[demon_pachabel]

It seemed to be a rather.. straight forward 'request', even if calling them students was slightly irksome. Yes, the secretary did make an excellent point that it put them in the unique perspective of being a group who could.... mingle amongst the students while not seeming suspicious in doing do. However, the word 'hunter' seemed to earn a certain level of scorn from Invictus - not towards Arel, but it was becoming common knowledge in certain circles that the 'H' word was a trigger for certain angers.

Perhaps it was fortunate that War was setting other things on fire already or else she'd probably set a lot more on fire in response to it. At least, that seemed to be her pattern in things. But none the less, there was a small part of Invictus that seemed to be..slightly suspicious at the level of..flattery that the Ice Demon was pulling out for them. Deserve to rule their kingdoms, and make their armies, hmm? Well, even if it was insincere (he wasn't entirely sure on that, actually), Invictus filed the statement away. It was an excellent point.

"We will see about the request." he said as the secretary made his way out, making point to change the ownership of the request to an ambiguous state before his attention turned to Aisa and Eris, walking over to the couch the other two were seated on, rather than taking up the throne, extending one hand to each of them.

"What do you two think?" he asked, though the tone in his voice implied that he was already interested in such an unusual task.  

[revenant aria]

"We .. No, I think .." Aisa glanced at Eris's eyes with jasmine ones, a brief light flashed in her eyes, eyelids lowering to conceal but translate a mutual idea to Eris's similarly narrowed eyes. Her speech faltered the tiniest bit, as if distracted with other thoughts. Who could blame the heir for thinking that? Perhaps, she was thinking if the boogeymen had planted a tracking device in the ice demon's boxers. That would explain his hurry to go home and check his drawers, wasn't it? Or perhaps, Aisa was thinking amongst more sensible terms.

Arel's request had certainly been a fairly .. acceptable one. Unlike one the other two might have thought, Aisa had no large overpowering problem with it. And if she didn't have a problem .. Well, then that was a very likely conclusion of acceptance.

"It's certainly within our range of abilities .. The students are rather .. lacking in such areas."

The task would be time-consuming, if not a little bothersome. But with a delectably tray of benefits. If hunters could utilize their varying styles efficiently, the Amytiville students would undetectably be more so. If they could work together as a larger team. That included the clan's heirs. Even if it was against their clan's orders.

But this clearly wasn't the time to decide such matters. Nobody needed such a somber campfire of discussion. Aisa took one hand that Connie offered, her legs folding gently to the side to allow the heir to War to prop herself upwards. Ready, Eris? She mouthed, her fingers interlaced with Connie's small hands.  

[Grey Dragon]

With a creak and then a slam, the last of the four heirs entered the plush washroom right behind Arel. "IT IS EVERYWHERE!" She shrieked, storming over to another corner of the room to kick about some pillows that had been displaced from Aisa's couch. "LIES, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!"

She whirled around, and then seemed to see Arel for he first time despite passing him once already in her rage. Immediately her expression turned speculative, and then downright curious, and she followed the departing frost demon much the way one would approach a two-headed llama at a petting zoo. And then she touched one of his antlers. Cold... Cold like ice and snow and mist soaked into one's bones in the morning. Interesting.

And then she promptly whirled around to face the throne. "PESTY. DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE LIES. THROW A TABLE AT THEM ALL!"

If Arel's soft voice had echoed, Cymbeline's screech filled the room like a swarm of bats with daggers for feet. There were two things that would need explaining to the ghoul, first, the content of Arel's request. And the second, how to use an indoor voice. Again.  

[x_Nata_x]

War offered little input as Arel spoke, her expression unchanged for the duration of his speech. There didn't seem to be any consideration in her eyes, although that could have been either a good thing or a bad thing -- the only thing it meant distinctly was that Eris had already made up her mind. She did, however, quirk an eyebrow when the ice demon referred to their position as 'students,' not necessarily annoyed by it as questioning whether or not he personally thought of them as such. Neither answer would have invoked an angry response, as both had their advantages, but the thought was a curious enough one that she entertained it briefly. What was really surprising, however, was that she did not react hardly at all to the word hunter. By this point, it was well-known to be a trigger-word for all four of them, but as Arel continued, it seemed not one of the three in the room reacted with much more harshness than a scowl and a dark look, War included. The silence the secretary had let span breached into almost eerie as none of them moved, all sets of eyes on the small faculty member.

They were all waiting for him to continue, with different levels of interest and amiability. And Arel did not disappoint. A small smile curled the corners of Eris' lips at the obvious flattery, rolling her fingers a little to pass the tiny flame between her fingers as if it were a coin, a preening gesture that the words of praise were working their purpose. There was no doubt that all three of them had seen through his words for what they were -- she could practically feel Invictus' skepticism from across the room -- but if there was one thing all the horsemen most certainly were, it was proud. They each had their own Vice they centered most often around, but pride was something they all possessed in varying degrees. But it was one of Arel's last statements that really caught her attention, War's eyes snapping to him again, fire tickling her fingers extinguishing instantly.

'Don't underestimate the hunters, and of course, don't underestimate yourselves.'

He left, then, with a few last words of wisdom to keep them from the clutches of the boogeymen coverup conspiracy, but Eris had ceased paying attention at that point. (She didn't even take the time to ogle his a** on the way out -- most unusual for the flirty horseman.) War's heir sat up a little further as Aisa shifted to fold her legs off to one side, moving herself to sit on the arm she had been resting her stomach on before, delicate black heels resting on the plush cushion. Her expression was decidedly thoughtful, brown eyes glazed over with a pale mist not unlike that from the Island, clearly lost to the world. Arel had hit home in that statement -- while they certainly had the tendency to underestimate the hunters, (she had a broken wing and a bandage around her left forarm from Caelius' scythe,) after the death of Red it was their own inadequacies that had been circling around her mind, plaguing her more than any sickness. It was only when Aisa's half-lidded eyes met her own that her own gaze cleared, meeting the heir of Death's with a little smile as if they shared a private thought before she reluctantly looked away, attention on Invictus.

"It'll be fun~" she replied with a renewed sweetness, her own fingers following Aisa's to lace then with Conquest's, "Having an army to match the Master-Hunter's... I want to see his face as his little human army falls. Force him to be a captive in Halloweentown, as we were on his god-forsaken island."

There was a flash of a dangerous smile, devious as she flicked her eyes to Death's again, seeing her mouth the words that would be their trigger. There was only a moment for Invictus to possibly realize what was happening, but by that time it was too late, both Aisa and Eris had him where they wanted him. Tightening their grip, the two girls gave the smaller horseman a sharp tug, pulling him onto the large plush couch and into their combined grasp, a tangle of arms suddenly coiling around his neck and waist. With Cym's entrance, there was merely a mildly exasperated sigh from War, her head lolling in the other's direction with only a moderately patient stare.

"While throwing a table seems like a lovely plan, Cymi, we are no longer in the era of our rule. The boogeymen, I am sure, would pay it back in full." Pausing for a moment, she looked around at the other two before returning to Cymbeline.

"I think it is time we rebuild our influence."  

[demon_pachabel]

"There will always be lies, Cymbeline, you know that. However, we have an opportunity to throw something bigger than a table at it." Invictus answered to their tardy fourth party member, though he himself was not able to extent a third hand to her, as he did not possess one. Instead, it seemed it was gang up on Invi time. Not that he really paid too much mind to it, simply being pulled into a mess of limbs and hugs and cuddles and..requests to throw tables apparently? Conquest didn't fuss from his position on the couch with War and Death, though, instead beckoning their fourth member to come and join them. If they were going to have a couch-cuddlefest, it might as well have included everybody.

He pondered for a moment if the Lady Mindflayer would be upset the Horsemen were taking 'her' student body to create their army with, however even such a fascinating specimen could be forgotten in a tangle of something resembling affection between Death and War. Yes.

"Doing this.. 'army'... will serve a multi-purpose, really." Invictus added, though the words were implied, rather than spoken - create an army, create influence, and remind their dear elders that they really did have quite..capable heirs, even if they were a little on the strange side. Strange and cuddling on the couch side. If nothing more, their elders would learn that the next generation of heads would be..well suited to work together.

Paper work or not. Not that Invictus was ready to give up the fun of all the things to gain the head of the family quite yet. No, not when such fun things were happening out here in the land of Halloween with their silly boogiemen.

Plus it was a chance to rebel against some authority, really. With some more likely than not willing participants in their little..games.  

[x_Nata_x]

(( AS A NOTE, ALTHOUGH YOUR STUDENT MAY HAVE HEARD THE RUMOR, DO NOT POST HERE YET -- there will be a prompt later to do so <3))  

[revenant aria]

Aisa had generously allowed another heir the use of the throne, grudgingly, as she sunk into the deep red velvet of the soft layers of the couch. The couch had been moved from the side of the area to near the middle (as if there wasn't so many couches around the room already) that the other three horsemen could simply sink into, awaiting the arrival of the students. The preparations had been made and simply needed the students of Amytiville Academy to activate.

Their rumor windmill had been quite the success, as the heirs had been able to witness students messaging other students with extraordinary speed. Or at least it seemed so, since this certain heir thought that technology was normally a piece of junk .. but it proved her wrong. Still tedious however. That would never change.

All those little numbers and buttons .. It was evident from the smashed skellyphone on the ground. It's ringing and incessant beeping had been past the levels of tolerable, meeting Aisa's sharply daggered heel with a vengeance. The clan would have to contact the heir of Death some other way .. Yet it seemed that the heirs would be in limited contact for quite some time for the future. They had plans. Plans that would not go past the student body, if all went according to plan.

Couldn't have the boogeymen and others finding out about this, could they?

The only question was .. What exactly was .. this?

demon_pachabel

x_nata_x

grey dragonl

Horsemen's Lair

Students have been invited to the horsemen's lair, known as the 'co-ed washroom,' 'the bathroom with the broken door' or a variety of other names! (Some termed it as 'bloody hell.' Contrary, there doesnt seem to be blood stains .. too much.) However, whatever you call it, the large metal doors that show signs of a battle, is opened to let students in. The opening is a narrow split in the large metal entrance, allowing for one or two students to enter at a time discreetly (dont let the boogeymen find out!) and stealthily.

Upon entering, the students will meet in the main room. The main room consists of a giant space, with a red carpet leading to the throne in back and couches on the side with matching pillows. You're free to explore the vanity mirror and the walk-in closet on the side but they probably lack anything of interest!

The most interesting thing is the line-up of all four horsemen heirs in front, a rare sight for individual students to see! They're waiting, with varying degrees of patience, in a mostly approachable mood.

Feel free to make an introduction post, even if you arent in the gossip rp (which was to icly distribute the information!) and await further discussion from the horsemen and horsewomen.

As of yet, the meeting for what this is about is unknown (although y'all already suspect what this is about) and horsemen will be standing authoritatively in the front (or not,) awaiting all the students. ICly, the door will be closed and barred shut after all participants have entered but if you're late due to timezone differences/other issues, feel free to pretend your student made it in before the deadline~

• You have 48 hours to make an introduction post from the time the heirs have all entered!
  
  
• Feel free to mingle and gossip before the heirs make their announcements!
  
  
  
• Please wait until all four horsemen have made their posts, once that's done, feel free to go forth and enter!

 

[x_Nata_x]

The plan was in motion. Now, they merely had to wait for the next step to fall into place.

This time, it was Eris who took the position on the throne, curled languidly like a cat on the plush cushion she had effectively stolen from the other horsemen. While the others may have soothed their ego by pretending they had let her take it, the smoldering carpet by the door said otherwise, tendrils of smoke curling up towards the ceiling. The smell of burning carpet didn't quite fill the entire space of the large lair, but it was certainly detectable if one took too deep a breath. She seemed particularly smug about this, warm brown eyes dancing as she lazily looked around the room, chin rested on her folded arms. Tucking her legs closer to her, she sighed a little, content and almost dreamy, her eyes distant as if considering the possibilities of what they were setting into motion.

For now, they waited for the students. And then the fun would begin.