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Normally Mort would have gotten flustered at such strong wording, but today he took it in stride with a little chuckle. "Wasn't assault, was love tap really," he replied with a wave of his hand.

And then he paused and thought about what he'd just said, which had been said without thought or pause.



Wat. Where did that - How was - Why -

"E-Er, so has met Yin n' Alex?" Mort asked shakily, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked more towards Taryn's feet. "Are friends, yes, g-good see making more." And yet strangely, passing a glance at the two boils, he had the strongest urge to say "now keeeees" because they looked strangely adorable, which what the Jackin' hell.

Honestly, he saw enough memes online without them invading his irl. Along with the weird flustered twistings of his supposedly dead insides.

"S-S-So, um . . . how go for you guys?" It was all but mumbled to the floor.

Malodore padded into the theater, ready to learn. It hadn't had much - okay, any - particular training in acting, despite having been in the school play the Christmastival before last. And it hadn't done too badly then, had it? Perhaps a formal education would bring out its latent talents, or something of the kind.

The plague doctor took a seat, folded its hands in its lap, and waited for class to begin.

“Welcome!” He took his cane and slammed it on the ground to gather their attention. “I am glad you could make it. You see students, today I have three VERY special guests that have come a long way to join us in our lesson. Grimwood, if you’d be so kind.” A fat gnome grumbled as he walked onto the stage and pulled the cages forward with ease. “Thank you now go make me my tea. As yes-“ the gnome stalked off, muttering about poison. Tapping his cane on the cages, there was a distinct yelp from one of them and a whimper from another.
Now, you see my dear students today I bring you live humans.” Grabbing the covers off the cages, it was easy to see the three inside. One was a young man, perhaps their own age, cowering in absolute fear, tied to a chair to keep him from moving. As he saw the students and teacher, he screamed began sobbing loudly, begging not to die. The next cage was a middle aged man, a priest’s garb a cross firmly gripped in one hand. While shaking he glared with bravado at Rengath. The final cage held a familiar sight to some of the students.

The white coat and a sea green scarf, he was bound, the hunter only had his hands in his lap eying the students with distain. “As you can tell, our guests are at various levels of fright, hence the advantage YOU have. This pathetic excuse for a man might jump at a mouse, while this man” he tapped at the priest’s cage, “will take more effort. And our final guest…” Rengath sighed. “Well, I imagine you’re all a bit upset with his like, but he won’t be easy to scare, trust me on that.” The hunter huffed, obviously not thinking they could do it.

“Now, the rules are simple, you will go to ONE of the cages and attempt to scare their inhabitants. Start of with-“ he rolled his eyes looking at the whimpering man, “The weakest and move your way up. If you can get a reaction from this one” he pointed to the hunter, “I will give you a special assignment. But as a warning.” Lifting his cane he slammed it on the stage. “If you even TRY to harm them or reach into the cages at all, you will get detention. Am I clear on this? I hope I am because you even TRY it, you will not enjoy the consequences.”

((OOC: Roll three d 100.
First die must be 25 or over to pass and have ‘scared’ the whimpering man
Second must be 50 or over to pass and have ‘scared’ the priest
Thirst must be 90 and over to have gotten a reaction from the hunter.
If any dice roll fails you do not move to scare the one after. Also note, if you reach into the cages, even using something such as fire, then you do risk detention.
THIS STAGE WILL LAST ONE WEEK))

Alex listened to the odd exchange between Mort and Taryn. Obviously something had happened between the two of them at some point, though they seemed to be joking around about it in a light hearted manner so Alex didn't see any reason to comment on it as Yin had done. He nodded at Mort's question about how he we was doing. "Good good, everything is good." He answered, though things were good, and also a little weird. His eyes flickering to the back of the auditorium as a student he hadn't met before, but had seen around a couple of times, made it's way into the theater.

While Mort called out to the newcomer, it suddenly appeared as though the class were beginning, and Alex turned around in his seat, ready to hear what this was all about. He watched with interest as the cages were brought forward. Guests? What kind of guests? He was puzzled, but incredibly curious and eager to find out.

He didn't have to wait long.

He knew something about that smell in the air was familiar, though the mixture scents had confused him until now. Humans, they were humans! And just like the last time he had encountered one of these beings, he realised one simple thing.

The smelt like food.

He wasn't really thinking, not clearly at least. He reached out and grabbed ahold of Yin's lower arm, squeezing it perhaps a little more tightly then necessary as his eyes locked first on one caged figure, then another, before he slowly drew his gaze away and stared at the teacher, trying to listen to what it was he was saying. The man in the first cage was pathetic, and Alex doubted he would have to do more then walk up to the cage and snap his teeth at him to get a favorable reaction of fear. The one in the second cage, however, just did not look like he was going to be as easy to crack. And then the third cage..the third cage held the most interesting human of all. A human that was not only unafraid, but was actually glaring at them all with purest disdain.

Alex's confidence took a sudden dive as he eyed that last cage. He hadn't yet recognized the human for what it was, since the two times he had encountered hunters, once was when they were in golem form and the other was out in a thick fog and he had been paying much more attention to how he might be able to tear them apart rather then what type of garb they dressed in. All he knew is that he wasn't sensing even an ounce of fear from that human.

Slowly, as he was able to get a little more control of himself, he released Yin's arm and stood. He wasn't sure quite yet what it was he should really do to scare the one in the middle cage, but the first cage should be easy. He'd watched enough skellyvision to know what it was about zombies that was considered so frightening. Nobody wanted to be eaten alive, or even bitten for that matter. His almost white eyes cold, he lurched over towards the first cage, perhaps playing up the whole slow and shambling zombie bit a little more then was necessary and pulling his lip back from his teeth as he got nice and close to the cage. The teacher had said not to reach inside or try to harm the humans, and that was fine. So he simply made an hollow growling moan type sound that was most often associated with his kind and snapped his teeth a couple of times. The result was a most satisfying sound of terrified screeches that left Alex grinning happily.

Perhaps it was the smile on his face that alerted the victim in the second cage that Alexander wasn't really all as scary as he was pretending to be, because when he turned and attempted a similar tactic on the priest, he was rewarded with not even a whimper.

That was disappointing.

Sighing unhappily, he shuffled back over to his seat and collapsed in it, crossing his arms over his chest. He would have at least liked to have gotten two out of three.

Rengath was alight with enthusiasm as the students seemed charged and ready to scare. It had taken more than a lot of paperwork and 'wrangling' to set this class up, but he was sure by the end it would be worth it. After all, it was not everyday a student would get this type of opportunity. Grinning, the demon, stood off to the side watching as they tried their best. Oh they had work cut out for them but all in all, it was lovely, they were ready and- Oh. Yes. questions. He figured one or two might arise from this little exercise.

Looking at the list of students- wait no, he didn't have one. Oh well, to Jack with it all, he was more than in a good mood. "Oh well I imagine it's a human-human. They don't exactly have 'types' though... if it's human culture you're interested in, I can try and set you up in one of Ms. Savage's lectures? But if you're referring to the fact it's a 'hunter' as some of you might call it. " He used claw quotations. "I frankly find your little student theories amusing. At the end of the day what is before you, and all you should think of it as, is a human, a source of FEAR. Caught and now it is in our lesson. The cage is not only for their benefit but our own as well. I trust that this isn't an issue....is it?"

Late. Xiu was so very, very late for class. The baku rushed down the halls, nearly skidding into the walls as she made sharp turns and navigated her way towards the theater. Within a few minutes, she finally arrived, and was relieved to find that she hadn't missed too much of the class. Though...what was that smell in the air? Though she was fortunately spared from the sensitive noses that some of her friends have, the air in the theater reeked of FEARfreshener.

As she stepped farther into the theater, she noted with some relief that the students present were familiar faces. Beaming, she lifted a hand to wave at them before turning her attention to Rengath. "I...I apologize for being late, sir," Her voice was soft, and it held a slightly meek edge to it. Xiu tended to be a little nervous around authority figures, especially when she has something to apologize for. "I'll get started right away."

What was this activity about anyways? She could make out cages from behind the forms of her friends...but what were they doing? The task became clear when she moved closer, eyes widening at the sight of the humans trapped within the cages. Like the other students, she looked at each of the caged humans in turn: first, the weakest, then the priest, and finally...

Xiu stiffened, the end of her tail puffing out at the sight of the man in the last cage. That scarf...that coat! Could he be...? She pressed her lips into a thin line but said nothing, moving towards the first cage. It was clear what their task was, so she would just have to work her way up until she reached the Hunter's cage.

The first human...well. Xiu didn't even get to try scaring him before he completely freaked out at her. It was as if her very basic appearance--pink eyes, flowers, and all--was enough to make the whimpering man quiver like a leaf. Feeling what may have been pity, the baku tried to offer him a reassuring smile...only to find that that somehow frightened him even more.

...Maybe she should...just move on to the next one. Walking towards the cage that contained the priest, she stooped down, eying him thoughtfully. Though he was shaking, the look that he was giving her was one of stubborn defiance. Clearly he wasn't going to be easy to scare...not as easy as the first, at least. Xiu cocked her head to the side and hummed thoughtfully. Now...what were those tips that Uncle gave me? Concentrate on my FEAR, and... Her pink eyes glowed faintly as concentrated on focusing her FEAR, trying to draw forth nightmarish shadows to curl around her feet for visual effect. Forcing herself to keep her face emotionless, she half-lidded her eyes in an attempt to make them appear more narrowed and--with the added glow--perhaps a little more malevolent.

Now I'm supposed to...ah, what is it again? It's not quite a smile, but... The baku leaned forward until she was a foot in front of the cage. Touching a finger to her lips, the corner of her mouth curled upwards in (what was supposed to be, and what hopefully looked like) a smirk. "What a dangerous place you've found yourself in," She murmured, keeping her voice low, "You won't be finding any protection from the darkness here. Not even while you're sleeping--not while I'm around. I can fill your mind with the worst nightmares that you've ever seen."

Inside, Xiu was giggling wildly, and was actually feeling pretty embarrassed by how cheesy her lines were. However, it seemed that they had had the desired effect--the priest paled, shaking more violently as the baku leaned in closer to the cage. She hovered in front of the cage for a moment longer before pulling away, getting back up onto her feet. She was smiling now, tail wagging happily at her success. She hadn't done too badly! And now the only cage that was left was the Hunter's.

Perhaps he had been watching her last stunt, but she did not see even a flicker of fear in his eyes as she approached him. He wasn't afraid of her? Well, she wasn't afraid of him either. She did not even make an effort to pull out all the tricks she had just used on the priest, but she stared back at the imprisoned Hunter, her gaze steady. After a few moments passed in silence, she moved away, walking back towards the seats. Flopping down into one near Astra and Alex, she turned to grin at them. "This is interesting, isn't it? I didn't think we'd be practicing with humans today."

poke mattix

LOL BIG POST IS BIG uhhh just the last paragraph, lmao ;;

Valeria

^

Amusing?

Twitch.

But the anger ebbed, somewhat; Malodore couldn't say that anything the Professor was saying was incorrect. The Hunters were sources of FEAR. That was all they should be... put in their places as what they were. Insignificant. Jumped-up with a power that wasn't theirs, trying to hide what they really were... food.

"Understood, sir. Grazie." Malodore bowed to Rengath, a little stiffly, then retreated to one side. If it couldn't attack the Hunter it could at least keep an eye on him.

The mention of a Hunter had a similar effect on Mort as it did on Malodore: making him feel like being more violent than usual. He still smarted from his previous fight with a Hunter and, seeing two more hapless targets, felt a vicious vengeance begin to coalesce within him.

Once it came his turn, the zomboil began with a routinely shuffle and moan towards the already cowering man, taking more pleasure than he probably should've from the human's whimpering. He used to be one of these? Living must've been so boring. Mort gnashed his teeth at the terrified specimen and hissed, "Braaainssssss," for good measure. Satisfied with the shriek in response, he moved onto the priest.

He proved a bit more stolid, bt one Mort was determined to crack all the same. Like before he moved forward and groaned, baring his teeth as he reached towards the human. This time, he with surprisingly quickness suddenly lunged forward (those Thunder Road classes definitely helped!) and rattled his bony hand against the bars, making a crashing metallic noise that startled the priest up out of his chair, quivering but stammering back prayers in his fear - quietly, to himself, like they were his shield against these creatures.

Good enough.

Mort stared down the Hunter for a moment, debating an attempt - but his speed boost had exhausted him more than he'd expected, so the most the third prisoner got was a glower before the zomboil shuffled next to the plague doctor.

"Mrr . . . Think would let take hand t'least?" he muttered to Malodore, still eyeing the Hunter. "Wouldn't kill, c-could say is for science . . ."