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Nicholas glanced across the other table where the artificer boy spoke to his brother and him. Nicholas could not recall ever carrying a conversation with HIM that invited the familiarity with which he spoke, but things were strange at these tables already. “I do not know of who you speak so I doubt we offered an invitation.” Nicholas replied plainly, ignoring Cal's plaything and his brother enjoying this back and forth they'd found themselves in. Certainly leave it to Barty to enjoy playing with the prickliest thing in the room. His attention however, was certainly torn away to the door.

Three magpies flew in on a violent breeze and a cascade of fallen leaves trailed in their wake. Even Nicholas couldn't help but chuckle at their chosen resting place, the boy with the spirit of a tree coursing through his veins an appropriate choice. The working of omens were old magic, far less often these days as the world buckled beneath steel and concrete and apathy, but his memory had not faded enough to forget it was one of ill tidings, related to death, and Nicholas sent an I told you so stare across the table to his brother. However, Rohan seemed familiar enough with it himself and he turned his attention back to his dining companion.

“Barty prefers roughhousing to pleasantries. It is simply how he is; she will adjust or she will leave.” Nicholas shrugged, not offering any further explanation into his twin's nature. “Disney is an entity that offers children's fantasies for coin. Their Princesses are royalty that are frequently found favored from nature spirits and animals as an indication of purity of heart and wellspring of kindness.”

Nicholas glanced across the table at Cal, a questioning look sent his way as the room chattered about heads and birds.

---

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Willow was very much getting tired of everything that was going on with her that day, and then the meat just set her over the edge. She made the meat vanish off her plate and suddenly more of that delicious risotto and asparagus appear and then went to eat more of that. She frowned a bit as she looked over at the others around her, and sighed as she realized that she was probably looking crazy once again.

"The... meat and I do not agree. It is not like anything I've tried before, but it uh... does not agree with me." Willow frowned as she answer Cassie, but noticed that her friend also was avoiding the main course as well. As Dysphoria spoke, Willow chuckled a bit. "Oh, I've hunted before. I'm from the forest, and food does not simply land on one's plate there. My Tia did most of the cooking, but I did help her gather ingredients from time to time. Also... I helped get rid of unwanted pests sometimes." She picked up her glass and took a long sip of the delicious liquid.

"Breathing exercises... how would one do one of those?" She looked over at Nicky and tilted her head at that point as she set down her glass, and then took another bite of the delicious risotto.

There was talk of something about Disney and Princesses when the Magpies came to Rohan, but Willow had no knowledge of either and decided to stay out of that conversation and hoped that no one would ask her if she knew anything about them. She much rather return to her meal, and listen to the conversation, and hear about the head, if anyone had more to add anything about it.

---

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Annika picked away at her food while conversation into the head in the basement continued. Both her coven mates gave her a list of supplies to consider bringing. She would likely bring a flashlight, but she could create her own light source in a pinch, even though the darkness and shadows never bothered Annika. Food. That was a rather good idea.

”Does the kitchen provide extra food rations?” As for weapons, that was another thing Annika had covered, and Noch was never far away either. She’d also try bringing a book and crafting supplies.

Annika took another bite of food when the doors crashed open. She looked around, alarmed when three magpies came swooping in. They moved in a pattern, clearly looking for something. Odd. Annika watched them, her eyebrows pinched together as she tried to figure out their purpose. Eventually, they came towards her table. Annika watched them land on Rohan and finally noticed his intense stance. Annika let her mind wander, ready to pull on her power if Rohan made the first move, but he seemed to relax. Annika smirked when Rohan greeted them.

”Friends of yours?” she asked teasingly.

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Cal shook his head, smiling to himself while Barty and Cassie continued to trade verbal blows. He found it a little exciting and liked the passion Cassie seemed to exhibit when it came to standing up for herself. She was strong. Cal liked that. But his focus shifted at the same time Cassie’s did, and he looked over at Willow after the girl had become eerily still.

”Professor Mikkail gave me something to help give you a reprieve of the Sight, should you want it Willow. It might help your recovery. I’ve left it in my room, but Cassie and I can retrieve it later and make you some tea if you like,” Cal offered. ”As for the book, he and I both like the idea of Cassie looking at her. Your chaos magic might respond in kind to the manic retellings of Kramer,”

The door opened in a flurry of wind that had Cal shifting his attention. He moved forward in his seat, glancing around at the flying new guests. As they came to settle on Rohan, Cal relaxed with his cup in hand. He whispered a word, and the red colour shifted to amber. He sipped and sighed.

”Rohan, surely you’ve made friends this semester. You don’t need to bring in the woodland creatures to keep you company. I could,” Cal said with a grin. He sipped his whiskey, meeting Nicky’s gaze and raising an eyebrow in response. A non-verbal what is it? to his question.

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It seemed the Serena girl had no care to have any dealings with him. Not that Barty particularly cared. The invitation for magical aid was towards Connie and no other. Betty at least had a good head on her shoulders. She knew good food when she saw it, unlike the others who seemed so appalled at what could only be considered farm to table food. Meat so freshly hunted it must have been butchered and cooked the same day. ”Being an ass, eating ass, fucking ass, and fingering ass, I am very well versed in all things dealing with an ass. Enough to know you’d be one to not even try and take a bite of this meal. It’s well made and cooked to perfection, something that may not happen again later on in the year. The first days meals are usually the best.” Barty took his fork and knife to the food and cut off another small bite, tenderly putting it in his mouth as he chewed it and looked towards Cassie. Though his attention didn’t stay there long as the doors flew open to allow a slew of Magpies into the dining area. All three of which had landed onto Rohan. His brothers stare didn’t go unnoticed as Barty simply rolled his eyes at his twin. Fine, he was right, perhaps there was more to all of this than a simple spell-mishap.

He reached for his stout, taking a long drink of it before wiping his mouth. Was Rohan merely a messenger or was he about to play victim soon? Barty figured it was the former given the news of the head that was found, yet he didn’t want to discredit the notion that Rohan may very well be in danger. Given the reaction he initially had as the birds flew in, Barty would guess he was afraid of something, or running from a danger he expected to be around the corner. Either way, he would need to keep a close eye on their wayward tree. ”Rohan is many things, and a Princess surely is one of them.” He let out a reminiscent sigh. Recalling the days in which Walt was just starting out and animation was fresh and new. It was almost like magic the way they made still images move and dance upon paper and screen, the camera techniques created simply to allow and capture a sense of reality within the fiction. It was…enchanting. ”Now Willow, you didn’t have to go and make it vanish like that. I certainly would’ve taken it from you to finish it off. It really is a shame that the meat doesn't agree with you.”

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The three magpies offered no response to Rohan, remaining silent and content in their newfound nest. Two of them were awake and alert, their heads moving as the conversation flowed between the two tables, attracted to the source of sound. The third, however, had its eyes closed and its head tucked in, falling asleep on top of Rohan's head. His stillness had clearly endeared himself to the magpies, and the sense would overcome him that if he were to move, the spell would shatter, and the birds would fly, crying out as they fled. One of the awake birds pecked at his ear, and tilted its head in curiosity, as if surprised by the taste.

In that way, the magpie was not too dissimilar to the students in the hall confused by the wellington.

Dinner was beginning to come to a close, the first students trickling out having eaten their fill. More hushed conversations could be heard, discussion of the head and its meaning - whether it was a nasty new punishment Croan had devised for his students or simply a misplaced project from the necromancy lab. At any rate, the students in the Coven system were not the only ones interested in it, and should any of them be interested in investigation, now would be the ideal chance to do so - before the entire school swarmed the dungeons, inadvertently trampling over any evidence with shoddy spells and ambitions.

“Unfortunate,” Finley said in response to Nicholas informing them that hunting did not seem to be something that the staff here did. Maybe if Finley did some hunting for some animals, the kitchens would still use it? It could be a good diversion.

Finley enjoyed the kiss that Dysphoria gave them in return. They reveled in it for a moment. Part of them wished they were back in their room. The food was tasty, but was it worth leaving their alone time? They were not fully convinced. Their attention was drawn to the conversation Dysphoria was having with Callaghan and one of the new people. What was a mani-pedi? If it was something that their Dewdrop would enjoy, they would learn it for them.

Two underclassmen sitting near them left, and as they did, some birds appeared. These birds landed on Rohan. Interesting. Were they familiars of his?

“Ohhh, fantastic. We look forward to this mani-pedi. We will get very good at them,” Finley declared.

---

“Oh, Barty, if only you had it in heart to help your covenmate who is missing without requiring someone else to ask you to do so,” Connie said. Her voice started with a sarcastic tone, but slowly shifted into annoyance.

“In the sense that Pancho is also my roommate and our room got an invite, he was invited. As I said, I left for Haven and did not see him again.”

Connie frowned as Serena and Betty left. She shot Barty a glare, blaming him for their departure. Great, her one lead. She supposed she’d just have to go down into the dungeons to try to find out more. This was not something she wanted to do alone. She also had no desire to ask Barty to help her. Maybe Rohan and his new bird friends would join her. Or... Finley did owe her a favor. Having Dysphoria and Finley would make her feel safer. She wasn’t sure if Finely and Dysphoria could help, but at least their presence would secure her against anything that might try to harm her in the dungeons. She finished her food, avoiding the ‘beef’, and slid her untouched beef onto Barty’s plate.

“Finley, Dysphoria, would the two of you do me the favor of joining me in the dungeon to investigate this mysterious head? I only care enough to identify if it is my wayward roommate.”

Finley looked up at Constance. Constance was owed a favor, and they knew that the emphasis was intentional. They smiled and rose. “I would be delighted to.”

---

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Rohan sighed.

The funny thing about being the nature guy was that nature had a way of being fucking terrifying. People often claimed to love nature and the outdoors, until they were kneeling over a bundle of sticks and leaves in pitch black darkness, desperately smacking rocks together while animals howled. Bears, wolves, wildcats and snakes were always cute and interesting, until they were in someone's house where they didn't belong. And birds? They were no different. These magpies were content to ignore him and roost on him, but his instincts told him they'd get up to no good if left alone for long enough. They had to have gotten into the pocket dimension magic school somehow. Maybe they'd leave the same way they came in, or maybe somebody had just summoned them. He was nothing if not paranoid.

Well, dinner was a bit scuffed today.

The talk of the damn severed head kept going. It seemed some people were going to investigate, and Rohan was considering doing that himself just to make himself scarce for any other birds that wanted to pay him a visit. The consideration became something else when both Connie and Finley were going together to figure something out. Yeah, no, he was going with them. Being in the company of a fae without a metal sword was preferable right now, especially with Connie around.

"I'll come too," He decided, nudging his chair towards the table. Root flew down, grasped the chalice with his wings, and fluttered back up to place it on the table. "Maybe I'll grab the mask before we get there, and see if anything's lurking out of view."

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Cassie decided to ignore Barty from that point forward. If he wanted to be crass and boorish, that was his prerogative. Instead, her attention was kept on Cal and Willow. Whatever Willow had felt from eating the meat, it led to her ill feelings. Which meant she was justified in her not wanting to partake in it. She was content.

Cal offered to gather some tea to help Willow and invited her to join. Cassie had to admit it made her heart flutter for a moment until she remembered the annoyed glance and the blatant lack of involvement back in the library. She had spoken to Willow about her feelings, but not to Cal. He was being especially nice, but did that lend to him actively wanting to enjoy her company more or was there more underhanded things at play? Especially as she did not trust Nicky or Barty, and their closeness to Cal made her wary.

But she wanted to help Willow, and perhaps using her magic with this book will be useful. "I can take a look at the book if you think it will help." Her attention wavered a bit, though. Admittedly, when she wanted to join this school, she never expected to be near someone's beheaded corpse. And she had to admit her curiosity was piqued. "Could I come as well?" she asked Connie, and by extension, everyone else who was going to go investigate.

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As the evening meal concluded, Annika came to the realization that she didn’t have plans. Last night, she had gone to Haven to get to know everyone a little more, and that had ended abruptly. Tonight, though, she could either hide in her room and prepare for the next day, or go down to the dungeons with the others and see if the head was a member of the group who arrived yesterday.

”Count me in. I’ve always liked mystery novels,” Annika said. She rose to her feet after finishing her drink. Even though Rohan had completely ignored her, she was still curious about his attraction of birds. Did they think he was a tree? Well, technically, he was Annika supposed.

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Cal grinned when Rohan ignored him. He loved the constant would they won’t they of their relationship. Cal glanced at Cassie when she agreed to look at the book, but then she wanted to go investigate the head. Cal twitched, finishing his drink. A strong part of him wanted to go down into the dungeons to see what was down there. Or rather, who, but another part wanted to learn more about the mystery Mikkail had tasked his coven with.

Cal twitched again, conflicted with the need to discover secrets and gain greater knowledge. In the end, his mind gave over to his first love. Books.

”You’ll have to excuse me. I really want to dive into the books we collected at the library. Bring me news of what you find after?” Cal asked Cassie, his eyes searching hers, hoping she would indulge his love of knowledge.

Once he got his answer, he kissed Cassie’s hand and stood. ”Enjoy your task. I’ll be in our dorm when you’re done,” he said to Cassie and Rohan.

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As Cal told her that the Professor had given him something and he might make her tea later that would help. She also relaxed a bit as they informed her that it was probably for the best for Cassie to investigate the journal. She wouldn't have to read that cursed tome again and possibly trigger another weird vision. She was getting very tired of the constant visions, and was really hoping that the charms and this new tea would help her keep them to a minimum, and to what she was looking into herself.

"Oh, a tea that helps me with my visions would be lovely, thank you Cal. I will pass on my thanks to our mentor later." Willow finished her risotto, and let out happy sound at that point. It really was so good, and she really hoped something like that would be on the menu every night for dinner.

The birds were scaring Luna a bit, and Luna cuddling in close to Willow, and almost trying to hide in her head coverings. Willow reached up to rub her back softly and nuzzled her lovingly.

As people started talking about going to see the head, Willow frowned a bit. She had already had enough visions, and she had a bad feeling if she went to see the face it might trigger another. "I'm going to decline on going to see the head. I've had rather enough unwanted intrusions upon my vision today. Cal, maybe you can come by my room later with that tea after you're done with your tomes? I would love that. Connie, can you please let me know if it is Pancho? I do also have a favor I need to ask of you later. I think I'm going to head to my room. Good night."

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Nicholas finished his meal in relative peace, ignoring the chattering of the table. He was certainly uninterested in the mysterious head beneath the school; they'd survived this long by avoiding trouble, not searching for it, and he found no reason to change his ways now. Cal mentioned a tea that would be beneficial to Willow in some way and his attention was caught at his explanation of the Professor's direction. Offering chaos magic to a thing of madness? What a strange plan.

“Unless you wish for solitude, I would join you, Cal. The sooner we complete this distasteful mystery, the better and I would not care to idle about if we could set ourselves to the task.” Nicholas stated as he finished his drink. It had been some time since a stout had been on their menu. Perhaps their next trip out they'd find an interesting brew. “Plus, I may be able to offer some insight into what our covenmate found that younger memories may have left out.”

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Barty gave Connie a flat look of annoyance, paired with a playful smile at her sarcastic commentary. ”I did say that I could aid you in both information gathering and locating the head itself. Not my fault those two decided they had better things to do than to give you succor. But it appears to me you’ve already asked one of the better people to help you once we find the head.” He looked over towards Finley, blowing them a kiss before taking a sip of his stout and placing it down. ” Fin my dear, I would like it if we could get a bit more information than simply is this pacochito or not. I want to know what happened, how, and if possible…why. While you’re aiding my dear Connie ofcourse.” Barty played around with his food a little as he spoke, half distracted as he thought about all the reasons as to why this may have happened. Between the three magpies and this disembodied head, he’d hate to find out that there was a hunter amongst them that was taking down witches without others notice. He took a bite from the food, contemplating as he chewed before he finally looked up at Connie.

”Fine. I can help to locate the head, finding its trail should be easy work, and hopefully we can get some information before others tamper or ruin the scene.” Barty finished off his meal, hating that he needed to rush the end of it instead of indulging for a little while longer. It was fine, even if he didn’t gain a favour from Connie, this aid would at least give him and NIcky some answers that they desperately needed right now. ”Besides, if I help you clear your mind of this question, perhaps then you’ll be more inclined to actually work on our Mystery that we are supposed to be solving.” Barty stood from his seat, stretching lazily as if bored with the nights activities before looking at the merry band of adventurers that wanted to go questing for the head. ”Shall we?”

Frankie nodded, standing up as well as he looked towards Connie. He wasn’t sure why Cal wasn’t joining them, after all he had started to ask about the head himself. But one didn’t question the mannerisms and was of witches and warlocks, especially those that were constantly in pursuit of knowledge the way Cal was. He’d get the information one way or another.

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The magpies made no move to leave their newfound nest.

For students who had attended Strange Academy before, the dungeons were not too hard to find. Simply access the nearest staircase and continue down until you run out of stone steps. It was a dark and dreary place, where the whistling wind moving through its many tunnels and corridors and forgotten rooms sounded almost like the gentle wail of the dead, the spirits of students long since passed cursed to roam these grounds. Students often frequented the space for unauthorized experimentation, crafting together spells that would horrify even Marino, weaving together enchantments that defied both morality and nature. Wilder rumors claimed that the empty labs were used for ambitious students to synthesize Fell, with the wildest among them laying the blame at the teachers, claiming Ravoux was the one brewing the illicit draughts.

Of course, all of these rumors were allowed to take place due to the labyrinthine nature of the dungeons, a liminal space that seemed to exist without end. Walking around and simply looking for a missing head could take hours, even days to accomplish without spellwork. It was only with Barty’s assistance that this would be made possible.

Or perhaps, the sensitive nose of a symbiotic fae.

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Jake paused for a moment, considering Nicky’s answers to his questions. Barty liked to play rough, then. He understood that! Maybe. It had never occurred to him that you could play rough - but if Barty would like to be punched a little and thrown around some, he would just need to remember that for whenever he got a chance to play with him. Frankie liked to play messy, he’d learned, and that was fun, so this would be fun, too! Barty then listed off a few categories that he liked - Jake wasn’t sure how you ate ass, he didn’t really like food so he’d avoided consuming any, but he could try to figure it out if it meant Barty would have fun! “Will you show me some time how you like to play?” he asked Nicky curiously. “Do you like to play dirty? I know you liked the plants. Do you play with them often? Maybe we can play together when you’re done reading with Cal?”

The explanation about Disney had confused him, of course. He didn’t know what sort of entity spawned princesses - and apparently this entity was Rohan’s parent? But if they were trading children’s dreams for money, it didn’t sound good. It sounded a little frightening, those same pinpricks of cold spreading through his body. “I can help with the head, too!” he offered, seeing a group assembling to go look. “Frankie showed me how to handle dead body parts earlier, so I’m really good at it now!!”

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With such a large group headed down to the dungeons, Annika was looking forward to what sort of secrets they might discover with this missing head. As she descended the stairs, following a couple of her classmates, the chill, damp air of the dungeons brushed her face and neck. Annika shivered with delight as her world plunged into darkness.

Shadows danced along the hall, creating the image that something lurked just out of view. Annika felt quite at home in the darkness, among the things that were and were not. She scanned the area, searching for something, anything that might also call this place home. However, to Annika's disappointment, she and her group were very much alone.

Annika swung her arms back and forth while she walked, looking this way and that for any other sign of their quarry. She was completely at ease in this dreaded and doomed space.

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Cal smiled and nodded at Willow. ”Of course, Willow. That won’t be a problem at all.” With Cal’s meal left untouched and his drinking cup finished, the dragon-shifter stood. ”Two sets of eyes are better than one,” Cal replied to Nicky. ”I would be happy for the company.”

Cal was always happy with Nicky’s company, and at least this year, they were covenmates. Which aided him well in spending extra time with his favourite witch.

”Well, happy adventuring. And please find something exciting to share with me later,” Cal said, grinning at the others but looking at Cassie last. ”Have fun,” he winked at her before leaving the table.

Once Nicky joined him, Cal smiled. ”One of our rooms or the library for our study date?”

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"Root, grab the mask and bring it to us in the dungeons. You know where it is," Rohan instructed his familiar, who with a ruffle of his wooden feathers, acknowledged the command and fluttered out the doors. He followed Annika out, leaving the magpies roosting on him to either hitch a ride or just fly off on their own way. The dungeons weren't a pleasant place, but most places where dead people congregated weren't. He descended down the stairs behind Annika and ahead of the others, keeping quiet the closer they got. The cold air and dark halls were familiar to him, he'd been down here once or twice before for a few reasons. Once to test something he didn't trust anyone other than Connie to know about, once when he was feeling more paranoid than usual... It was certainly a useful space to bury a body.

"Try not to make too much noise, or get too far ahead," He whispered, for the benefit of the newer people among them. "The school's protected from things outside, but every now and then, people come down here to work something foul. They don't always clean it up, and sometimes it can get someone killed. We should be fine with this many of us, though. As long as we don't do anything foolish." Of course, Rohan didn't have that much faith in this particular team composition. But at least they couldn't say they weren't properly warned if something jumped out to bite their heads off from around the corner.

He reached into his pocket for a lighter. "Anyone bring any light down here?"

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Cassie was a little upset that Willow and Cal wouldn't be joining them, though she supposed she couldn't blame Willow given how much she had been going through lately. In truth, Cassie wasn't thrilled to be investigating a beheaded corpse, but if she wanted to remain here and show the others she could hold her own she needed to be ready for anything.

Plus, Jake would be coming and he was a good time. Connie was also someone she wanted to get to know a bit more. Cassie eyed Nicky who intended to speak more wtih Cal and she couldn't help but feel jealous. She shook it off.

Following the others, but mainly Rohan who seemed to know his way around, (and ignoring Jake's comment on knowing how to handle dead people's body parts), she tried to summon a light with her magic, but the only thing she did was create a pink aesthetic light in her hand. "No luck with light here. Sorry."

The fact the school even had a dungeon was not lost on her, but he school was full of mysteries. "What exactly would be down here? Apart from a beheaded corpse and spiderwebs?" She tried not to let the fear into her voice, but she was nervous. Still, she had something to back herself up with in case something happened.

But damn it, she wished Cal was here.

---

“I have no issues with any one who wants to join coming along,” Connie said. Her response was primarily to Cassie, but since she wasn’t the only one interested in joining it didn’t entirely matter. Cassie had asked though.

Connie’s attention then turned to Willow. “Of course.” It would be ridiculous to keep from Willow, her roommate, if the head belonged to Pancho. The three of them were roommates. If this was a potential threat, Willow needed to know. “I’d be happy to help later, too,” she confirmed.

Connie attempted to keep her annoyance at Barty to herself. The pair of them could get along, but it was always like this. A little snippy. She ignored most of what he said. “It is as if you think I haven’t been working on the problem all day.” She wanted to say more. Wanted to call him an ass, she was very proud of herself for not saying any of that.

She started walking. Down into the dungeons. Connie had asked Finley specifically because of two reasons. First, Finley had told Connie that they owed her a favor for her assistance when Finley first started attending the school. Second, because it skirted the issue of Barty. She found some amusement in him still deciding to join.

As the darkness grew, Connie removed from her bag a flashlight and flicked it on. “I almost stopped carrying this. Glad I still have it. As for what is down here. Generally nothing good. I remember some years ago coming down here on a dare with a couple of others. We heard some weird noises, and definitely got chased by something. Some students use the space for doing unauthorized experiments. The space is highly magical and liminal in nature. Too bad I don’t also have some rope.” She didn’t elaborate on why she carried it in the first place, or what may have driven her desire to remove it from her person. She shined the flashlight first one way and then the other. Connie almost asked if Barty happened to carry rope with him, but she did not. Connie frowned and considered shifting herself into a Bloodhound. Her knowledge of dogs was not as strong as her knowledge of birds. She should spend some time studying the anatomy of a dog that could be useful in such situations.

“Finley, Dysphoria, which way should we go?” Connie was proud of herself. Her voice didn’t shake and stayed a normal tone, it didn’t go into a whisper despite feeling that was the appropriate thing to do at this point.

---

Finley was a little sad that Nicholas and Callaghan were not joining for the adventure into the dungeons. Most of the others would be joining too. The sweet little moth was not one of them, tragic. At least Baty was joining. Though, Barty seemed particularly irritated with Constance at the moment so he was surprised.

They followed Constance as the young woman walked to the dungeons. They went down stairs and just as Finley was about to consider making light with their illusions Constance turned on an electric torch. It was bright, but limited, only illuminating in the direction it was being pointed in. Finley pulled some of their nature detritus out and snapped one of the sticks. Light glowed and lifted into the air. Several small balls spread out around them providing more illumination.

Constance's question about direction caused Finley to pause and sniff at the air. They looked at Frankie and Jake in turn, stepping close into personal space and breathing deeply. Finley grinned at them both.

“Oh you two have been playing indeed. Delightful” Their smile was absolutely feral, and they took another long wiff of them both. “Delicious.”

Finley sighed and looked at Constance, before saying, “The smell of blood is heavy here, more is that way.” They pointed down the hall and started walking leading the way. Their illusion lights following them.

“Ooooh, playing with blood? And they did not invite us? How ru-” Dysphoria's teasing fell away as their tongue flickered out. They cocked their head and swiveled between Frankie and Jake. “Did you two play here? The blood further down smells like the blood you are soaked in. Did you hunt? Did you chase something into this strange place beneath the ground and devour it? Darling, can we do this? It sounds very fun.”

Finley clicked their tongue. “I will forgive Jake as he does not know us, but Franklin, you should know better than to have a party with blood without me. Yes, my dearest, that does sound fun. We shall have to arrange that.” They sighed wistfully, their fingers on one hand intertwined with a tendril.

The tendril traced the edges of Finley's fingernail. “Yes, we shall have the science boy find us something. Something we can chase, something we can taste, something yummy with its heart still beating when our fangs break flesh.” Dysphoria cooed, shivering with the excitement of a future hunt. “But what did you play with? What did you two hunt?”

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"Thank you Cal, I do appreciate it so much." Willow smiled to Cal and then looked to the others. "Good night, I'll most of you in the morning." She got up and stretched, and then started to head to her dorm room. She gently nuzzled Luna as she walked, and the moth was her eyes as they navigated the halls from the Feasting Hall to their dorm room.

Once she was inside the dorm room, Luna fluttered up to the top of her four post bed, and then settled in a bit there. Willow walked over to her bed and took off her headdress now that she was alone and flopped out on her bed and sighed. She was so tired. It had been a long night, and despite her having so much fun, since then it had been nothing but haunting visions.

As much as her fingers twitched to flip cards, to start making some sense of everything she was too tired. Maybe the next day she would take some time to work through the screaming blazing people, and Keppler's journal, but for that night, she was done. She tugged the curtains closed and then rolled over and sighed. Maybe tonight sleep would be peaceful.

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Nicholas watched Cal flirt with the children before they wandered away, even his brother in tow. “Hm. Barty must find them amusing; he'd rather let a man die than help him for free. My sympathies to them.” Nicholas chuckled once the group made their way to the dungeons. “Perhaps he'll even let some of them come back vaguely sane this time.”

Nicholas considered the question, but there really only was one answer. “The library. We may need additional resources to make sense of what they found; I'd rather have everything on hand than need to take notes or disrupt our focus because we took an extended trip away from our workspace.” Nicholas decided, leading the way out of the hall before he reconsidered. “We also could step into the Professor's study if we think finding a way to decode his language could be of use? The message he left may help us in this. Though, we may well have time to do both. We'll start with what our covenmate brought us and we'll see how our time takes us. You left the material in your dorm? Then we shall be off.”

The trip to the dorm and then subsequently to the study was unhurried, Nicholas happy to enjoy the stroll after the meal. He enjoyed them when he had the opportunity to indulge and when they stopped at the shifter's dorm, he waited at the door and watched Cal collect his things.

“Did your last meeting with the Professor quell your concerns or should we continue our prior conversation?”

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Barty watched as the wooden owl flew off to fetch his masters things. The mask certainly could be useful at this juncture, and he was more than delighted to see that Rohan wasn’t about to waste all of their time with a trip to his dormitory just to retrieve it. This was partially why he liked the woodland spirit, because he had a sense for what to do without being asked. A person who knew their place and more importantly when their place was to hide away from the others. That was a skill needed to survive this world, one the others sorely lacked. He didn’t care for the birds that followed however. A trio of magpies lurking about to constantly remind them of what's to come. He wanted to believe that this was merely a prank being pulled on them by some other students to shake those who have entered the Coven systems, but he felt as though it was much more. Perhaps older magic was at play here. Cassie was as helpful as ever, asking questions that he doubted she truly wanted answers to. He wasn’t about to harp on the rumors that Fell was being produced here, he wouldn’t want undue competition with the drugs that he peddled. So instead he decided to elaborate a bit on what Rohan and Connie had already given.

”Perhaps the noises that you heard, dear Connie, were that of the old Coven Witches. Stories have it that a Coven of Witches, friends till the end sort of deal, had decided to scuttle away into the dungeons one dark night. They had awaited till the witching hour, a New Moon was on display outside, and in what can only be described as an act of stupidity masquerading as ‘a silly slumber party game’ they attempted to open up The Witches Road. There were no survivors, and yet there were also no bodies found. Those students had seemed to vanish out of thin air. Some say the spirits of old witches came to claim them for using their sacred road as a game. Others claim they were trapped within the winding road and have yet to ever escape it, doomed to live a thousand lives or die by the roads rules. Some say this incident never occurred and that it was all made up as a way to scare away young witches and warlocks from ever entering the dungeons or even attempting The Road. But if you truly did hear sounds and felt the chase of something at your heels, it may very well be the spirits of those who dared to blaspheme.”

Frankie was taken aback by it all, but mostly by the way that Dysphoria and Finley had closed the gap and began to ask him questions to things he hardly knew anything about. It seemed that the pieces he was working on earlier seemed to belong to the head that was missing and also found. “I wouldn’t say it was a party with blood. I was prepping pieces of a body. After getting the heart working earlier today, I had a spark to continue the work, to see if i can craft further than that which i can already and to create a specimen entirely of my own. No hunting, nor chasing, just good old Science and Witchcraft working hand in hand to create life. Though, I hadn’t made it to the life portion yet after Jake had come in. Sorry, can’t say I’m much help in the finding and chasing aspect of it all. Nor do I know the identity of the body found, it…was missing a head and any other identifiable features aren’t known to me. That’s part of why I wanted to tag along, to see who these pieces belonged to.”