Pandora's School for the Magically Gifted (Dorm 221)

Ki

Ki didn't bother looking up as Amin entered the room or even as he flung himself onto the bed next to him. He was used to the mood swings, one moment he was vowing his undying hate the next they were sitting only inches apart. It had been like this for as long as he could remember.

Staring down at his No.6 manga Ki's fingers held the edge of the crisp page delicately as he studied Shion (not to be confused with the annoying shit he lived with) planting a soft goodbye kiss on Nezumi's lips. This development in fantasy world was far more interesting than Amin's current issue.

"Attacked?" Ki asked with a raised brow, turning the page with a dissatisfied sigh; he'd expected more groping, what a tease.

"Liberal word really, could mean a lot of things..." he shrugged before reading more, "It's not like you knew her last name or anything. Just be glad it's not Adel." A pause entered his actions as he looked to the door before quickly looking back to his page as if thinking those words himself.

"You know in ancient times, they used to stone half bloods at birth... Thought they'd bring bad l-u-c-k.... You know how our kind is about luck," he smiled softly to himself all the while staring intensely at the blank panel, not realizing he'd categorized himself with Alice.

"She's a little too old for that sort of thing, best to not worry, someone was probably just trying to let out a little bit of that bad blood..." Ki whispered closing the book between his palms. He stopped himself from giving away any more.

Ki
"Who says I'm not just naturally jaded?" Ki asked with a rude smirk.

"It's not my fault she's a jinx..." the Goblin shrugged before throwing his manga onto his bed.

"So did they say if it was Ryker's crazy girlfriend or our loving Court?" He asked with interest, "Either way it was her bad blood's fault, she really should switch I hear Oliver loves freaks... A stray collecting strays, I wonder what he pays-" Ki paused as if for a moment considering switching himself before letting out one of his hearty laughs.

"Both of the Courts are fucked. Although Sofie is nuts, my money is on our kind, people have been talking you know about how the Queen and King's death was caused by all the bad luck these freaks have been causing. Hell, our new Queen is a freak. Bastard, guess Oberon liked to get freaky with a Pixie once in a while. It's pretty funny, I told Kal something would happen... I mean no one ever listens to me." He frowned seriously suddenly glaring at the door.

Ki
"Our cultures are different, our beliefs are different..." Ki shrugged not taking Amin's words to heart, much less so his physical reaction.

Sure not everyone in his Court would have said what Ki did so bluntly, but that would be to try and circle around some weird politically correct notion. The Seelie Court was not the only one to believe in blood purity. It was a serious part of their culture. Each species and inner species had history, ancestors, stories which needed to be passed down, if blood was to mingle then the stories would be forgotten and the ancestors worshiped would be angered.

The Originals (Gods in their own right) demanded recognition, their stories and lore set precedence for all. Royals were meant to guide their Court, to make sure the Originals were appeased, to uphold the traditions of the past...

Oberon and Titania had grown lax with their overseeing, the traditions of old were forgotten so the Originals had obviously put into motion with their death the warning of wrong doings. Everyone had a place. The godless Council and its members were being punished with deaths of the new generation. The serial killer who plagued them and the crumbling UnSeelie Court who's new King (if that was what you would call him) gained his seat by murder and who's blood was knowingly tainted. Oberon and Titania's blood may have satisfied the gods but Tundry's place as Queen will quickly bring about more unrest.

Ki was not one for needless violence nor would he offer himself to be the sword for the gods, he was never so selfless, but he could understand the feelings of those who acted against his housemate.

In a world obsessed with political correctness attacking Alice was unthinkable... But the anger of gods in the hearts of those Court members who still believed in the ancient ways (not only those who were Ancient themselves), this was a necessary evil.

Her pain was to show the gods that there were servants who still treasured the old ways, who understood the need to preserve history, and were not willing to throw away their teaching for the new age.

There was two loyalties to the Originals and to the King/Queen. For so long they have gone hand in hand, but now there is a distention. To be a follower of the Originals meant to forsake the Queen, to be a follower of the monarchy meant to forsake the gods.

Unrest which had been at the heart of the Court for 100's of years had finally come to a head.

Ancients and those loyal to the cause of the gods called for Tundry's removal from the monarchy and an appointed Ancient and his/her decedents to be placed as monarch. For now though no one dared to cause such a war, to cause civil war would risk the entire Court.... So instead of going down the road which would appease the gods fully the cowards went to offer smaller acts of loyalty.

Alice would only be the first, and there was no way for Ki to explain this fully to Amin...

If anything the girl was lucky; if she wasn't dead, that is. This loyalist was bound to be sloppy with their first try, the next person they deemed sacrilegious would meet a steadier hand.

Ki had too much on his plate to think about such things though. All Ki cared about was which side would allow him to survive. This was not his battle, he owed the Court his servitude he didn't care who ran it as long as his immortality was kept. He had another 200 years of service until it was his to do what he wanted so when it came to Court matters especially things which could piss off the person allowing him to live Ki pretty much kept quiet.

"Joy... A movie night, how Bambi spoils us with her understanding of our maturity," he snidely remarked before grabbing his blanket and pillow off of his bed.

Kalya was standing stoically in the hospital hall, away from the nurses and doctors, careful not to get in their way, but still close enough to know what was happening. She had made occasional trips into the waiting room where she had made Ryker sit and eat, the food he actually needed, keeping him calm and bringing word on whatever progress Alice's condition had made- if any.

She didn't really need to be right there outside of Alice's operating room, but to be anywhere else felt like a betrayal to her. She didn't have any control over the situation, any idea of what was happening if she was outside in the waiting room. Here, at least, she could see the climate of the situation and get word on Alice's progress quickly.

At the moment she had her sights set on the clock on the wall. Her attention had been on it for at least 10 minutes, as she tried to ignore the horrifying scent and sounds around her. Antiseptic, blood, and burned flesh were just as evident here as they had been at the scene of Alice's attack. The sound of them setting Alice's rib back into place had almost been too much for Kalyani and she had opted to go visit Ryker, but her sense of determination and worry kept her there, glaring at that clock.

Please, just let her be okay.

A hand tapped her shoulder and Kalya looked to see the doctor with a grim yet satisfied look on his face. After a few words and prodding, he managed to talk Kalya into going to the waiting room, where she saw a still disturbed looking Ryker. Before meeting and sitting with the boy, however, she took off to a different sector of the hospital, to make the appropriate calls.

Silence, then a ring, then silence again. She had memorized the kids safety contacts right after she had started working at Pandora, but for a moment she was honestly worried she had mistaken the digits in Alice's fathers phone number. Then he answered, and Kalya was worried for a completely different reason. How was she supposed to tell this man that his child, his only daughter, was possibly at deaths door and she, as her guardian, had allowed it to happen?

She gathered her strength and spoke politely, formally into the phone, though her urgency couldn't be ignored. She let him know the facts as of now, what had happened. The call went by in a haze as Kalya responded to his questions and concerns, taking whatever comments he had, and answering whatever questions she could. When she finally has gotten off the phone with the man, she went out to join Ryker.

She didn't pay attention to his food as she sat next to him, sighing. "They're still working on getting her in fever down, and a few other things, but she's getting there. She'll be okay, Ryker."

Kalya wasn't sure how often she had said that, nor if she was stating that fact for her benefit or his. She took a shuddering, deep breath, as they waited for what felt like forever. Thoughts kept playing in Kalyani's head over and over again. She should have gone to check for Alice herself. If Ryker hadn't suspected something, Alice would have been left there alone and hurt for who knows how long. She wouldn't have had the chances of making it she did now.

It was Kalya's job to know her students, to suspect when something was wrong, and to be there for them. Yet she had failed miserably and now one student was in the hospital because of a hate crime because of it. How irresponsible could she get? Not to mention the fact that Ryker, who already had issues with his sense of attachment and humanity, had to deal with the trauma of finding Alice, the bubbly little girl who basically attached herself to him, the way he did. The sound of his fear still resonated in Kalya's mind, but she didn't know what to say to make any of this better for him. She glanced at him and the still noticeable signs of the abuse he had received earlier from some classmates. If only that was all she had to concern herself with now.

More time passed and the occasional nurse would come out to let them know how Alice was fairing. Despite herself, Kalya was struggling to fight her exhaustion when finally, a doctor came out to greet them. Kalya stood to talk with the doctor, allowing Ryker to listen as well- it would do no good to walk away from him anyways, the kid would hear them regardless. Besides ryker had just as much a right to hear how she was doing as she did.

They listened attentively as they were instructed on her condition. A slight weight eased off Kalya's shoulders as they told her Alice was awake, slightly unstable and still at risk, but awake and okay. She let the doctor ramble on about what they had fixed, what they still needed to look out for, and everything.

Finally he said she could be visited...

Kalya braced herself, nodding, and turned to Ryker, looking at him steadily in the eyes. "Ryker, I can assure you, you're going to get to see Alice. We know she's okay now, but-"

"What?.... What! But-But..."

"Listen to me, okay? I think you should wait here for a moment or two first, and let me see how she's really doing, and if she wants visitors right now...you understand? You can see her, but I think one person first is better for her. If she wants other visitors right now, you are definitely the first on the list...okay?"

"What if she- I mean, yeah I guess, maybe you should," Ryker collapsed into his chair, eyes red rimmed and his face drained of energy. Kalya looked at him with worry and anxiety but patted him awkwardly on the arm, promising he'd get to see her, and walked with the doctor back into the hallway outside of the room Alice had been operated in.

"Ms. Akhtar, the burns will look worse than they actually are. We can take care of those easily enough in the next few days, but right now her fever is of the most importance, as you can imagine. Being an elemental such as herself, her current temperature is life threatening, as I've explained. We need to get her temperature to a steady place. Her hair, of course, has been cut. She will look different, but she is mostly stable. do not be surprised by her skin, please."

Kalya nodded, remembering the amount of burned flesh she had seen Alice back at the scene of her attack. She was more than well prepared.

"Another thing," the doctor added, and kalya's heart sank as she knew what he was going to talk about.

"There is no sign she was sexually assaulted," he clarified, and Kalya felt a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding escape her. Nodding, she thanked the doctor and went into Alice's room, which the doctor pointed out to her. Knocking to announce her entrance, she went in.

Alice
"T-T-That hurts," the little girl sobbed, bloodshot eyes filling with tears as the nurse messed with some tube attached to her arm. Another part of her body she couldn't move. Everything felt like lead. Heavy and sinking, she tried to keep her head above consciousness.

The nurse only apologized for the discomfort she was causing the child wanting to run her fingers through the girl's hair comfortingly she paused, not sure if the burns were present upon her scalp as well. In the end the woman just packed up her things, gave the inconsolable child a small smile and scurried away.

Nothing felt right, she was so tired like syrup coated her body making everything stick to the bed. No matter how much she wanted to move she couldn't. Talking was difficult enough, breathing was horrible. Horrible but not as scary as the tube the doctors had asked her if she needed.

Every breath was met with bitter pain, her sides ached and her mind became dizzy as she tried to keep from falling asleep again. Everything was fuzzy a mixture of pain and numbness-- she felt like there was something seriously wrong. She just knew. Something wasn't right.

Her ribs, they had hurt her ribs, and her skin that was bad too, but she wasn't sure how much she wanted to investigate but found no strength to do so... No one would listen to her when she asked what was wrong, no one would tell her, they wouldn't look her in the eyes.

Fear soaked into her skin drowning her as she waited alone for someone to come back in.

What if they came back? They- Them.

The crying started again, first high pitched and then mixed with a stressed coughing, she couldn't breathe! She needed to breathe. The air in her lungs escaped with a scream of pain as she took too much in and it pressed against her broken ribs.

Why did it hurt so much?!

"Daddddddddddddddddddddyyyyyyyyyyy!" She managed to get out at the very top of her lungs the scream echoing down the hall as she choked on her own breaths. Panic flushing her burnt skin as her thoughts became a jumbled mess as she flung her head to the side with surprising force.

Those boys, they were coming back for her, they were they were they were they were they were they were they were.

They were going to hurt her again and then Ryker---

A sob broke her scream as she realized where she was... Not in Denmark, she was not in Denmark. Everything was so confusing.

Kali, she wanted Kali.

Nurses she had never met before swarmed her bed asking her too many questions, pulling on too many things.

"Kalya," she whimpered unable to protest the pulling hands as they tried to calm the girl down, giving her even more sedative which didn't completely knock her out but felt like familiar ice running through her veins none the less.

"Where is Ryker what did you do to Ryker?" she cried fingers flexing against the hospital metal railings as she deliriously accused the horrible nurses of doing wrong to the boy who saved her.

"Kalya..." Alice's eyes became slightly glazed as her sobbing calmed and the medication started to take it's toll.

"I want my Kalya," she whimpered closing her eyes for just a second before blinking away little black dots from her sight.

She was so tired, so so so so so so so so tired, but she was much more scared. What if they came back when she was asleep?

Kalya entered the room cautiously, glancing about until she saw a sleeping Alice on a hospital bed, skin marred by burns and hair cut in a jagged mess like the doctor had said. She glanced at a nurse, who had been sitting next to the girl and had gotten up when Kalya entered. "She became distressed, so we had to give her a sedative," the nurse explained, glancing worriedly at Alice. "She was asking for you and the boy, and her father. She may be asleep for a while, but you are welcome to stay in here if you'd like."

Kalya nodded and the nurse left, leaving the two people alone. tear tracks stained Alice's cheeks, and Kalya had to take a deep breath before approaching the girl. Ignore the scents, she told herself as she sat in the chair beside Alice's bed. If she didn't wake up soon, she'd have Ryker come in to see her and then send him home to get some rest. Until then, she would sit here and see if the young girl woke up.

"Alice," Kalya murmured, softly straightening out the girls pillow and patting her head, careful not to touch any parts of her body that were injured. "Sweety, I know you're probably sleeping soundly right now. I hope you are, you've been through a lot. Your father is going to come visit you," she whispered, knowing she'd have to say it again when the girl was conscious. "He loves you very much, little one. He's really worried about you, and so is everyone else. We know you'll be okay, though. You'll be wide awake to say hi to your dad and grandmother, and hopefully you won't be in so much pain," Kalyani murmured, feeling the girls skin and realizing how hot it was compared to her normal freezing temperature.

Alice
Alice slept for another 25 minutes, none of which was entirely peaceful as her lips twisted in a foul manor and whimpers escaped by the minute. The painkillers could obviously only do so much.

Again when she gained consciousness it was not pleasant and met with some confusion.

Her blue eyes bolted open without warning as her scraped lips formed a painful looking 'o' using all of the fiber of her being to jerk away as an unfamiliar hand ran through her hair.

Accusation shone clear in her eyes as she started to cry again, not registering who the hand belonged to just that it was in her space.

"Stop it! Please don't tou--ch me," she wallowed her voice rising up from the bottom of her chest radiating off of her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...." she gasped pain thumping against each broken rib and burning through her skin as she felt her head tilt with nausea.

"I'm going to be sick," she whimpered hyperventilating. Her eyes shooting around the room for the first time and fixating on Kalyani, a cry of relief mixed with sorrow breaking from her.

"Kaallliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," She screeched her voice begging for comfort.

Kalya froze, as Alice violently tore herself away from her grasp and frantically looked around, sobbing and in hysterics. Her ears rang as Alice finally realized it was Kalyani there in front of her and screamed out her name, an odd expression on the girls face that broke Kalya's heart.

Quickly, yet ever so gently, she rushed to cup Alice's face before realizing how bad of an idea that was, and instead she put herself in Alice's vision. "Alice! Sweety, it's okay, it's okay. They're not here, whoever harmed you is not going to touch you anymore. they'll have to go through me and a ton of other people, and that is not happening." She made calming noises, gestures, trying to calm the girl down. "It's okay, Alice, sweety. I'm here. I- I know you're in pain, I know, I'm sorry. You have nothing to apologize for, though, just sit back. You'll make it hurt more if you move like that."

Alice

As if Kali's permission meant everything Alice allowed herself to collapse against the pillows only a small yelp escaping her lips as she tried not to think about the pain.

"Safe?" she whispered eyes rolling to exhaustively check about the room. As if at any moment those boys would come creeping in and harm her or worse Kali.

"They could hurt you, what if they hurt you? Where is Ryker?" she pleaded fearfully a panicked look striking her face as her heart monitor beeped with excitement.

"I just wanted to help them," she suddenly sobbed trying her best to explain before she suddenly became deadly silent. A look of pure terror entering her eyes as her lips snapped shut. What if they hurt someone because she told?! No, that couldn't happen.

"I-I want my daddy..." she whimpered bottom lip wobbling. Her father would know what to do, he would make everything better, he always made everything better.

"Sweety, no one is going to hurt me!" Kalya began, worried about the girls alarming panic. "Whoever hurt you? They attacked you while you were alone, defenseless, and not expecting it. You did nothing wrong by trying to help them. They're cowa- They're not very smart people, and they lack bravery. With so many people here in this hospital, they'd never think to try anything on me or Ryker, or anyone else."

Kalya pressed the nurses button, then looked back at Alice. "I called your father, Alice, honey. He's on the first flight over here, you'll see him in no time. When you're able to, we'll call him so you can talk to him- okay?" Kalya tried to smile for her, to ease her worries, but she was finding it hard to keep a calm face. "Alice, honey, you need to calm down a bit though- okay? Ryker is safe and sound in the waiting room. He's really worried about you. Do you want to see him? You can wait until later if you need to."

She wanted to ask who had attacked her, and every fiber of her being told her to ask the question. But looking at how panicked Alice still was, it wasn't the best idea- and perhaps Kalya wasn't the one who should ask. She needed to get the doctor here, maybe Isobel, someone who could talk to Alice without causing her more distress.

Bambi

Bambi tried to make it look like she wasn’t checking on how Shion was doing every time she turned the page of her textbook, even if that was exactly what she was doing. The boy had gone quiet, he had a look Bambi couldn’t exactly read screwed upon his face, the same blank stare he’d held for the past 20 minutes, it was worse than the freakout… At least when he’d been panicking she could tell what the boy was thinking.

She was seriously worried about him, how close was he to Alice? Sure the girl was almost physically attached to the boy at the hip, but it always appeared she was following him not the other way around. How sick was he with worry? Was he confused? Was he scared? She didn’t know, the language barrier and his stoic personality made that impossible. Shion may be one of the sweetest kids she knew but he wasn’t a sharer. The boy was skittish and hated causing a fuss. He was the kind to suffer in silence to not inconvenience you. That made her really sad, almost as sad as when Kalyani had called in with the details, telling everyone exactly what they assumed happened. No one really felt like talking now, even Ki who appeared questionably okay with the news at first was dead silent when Kal told them the gory details. Bambi had asked for the truth, and with something like this if Kal hadn’t told her everything she would have felt betrayed.

If this was any other night the room would be buzzing with laughter, the beds made up extra comfy in the living room by Shion were amazing, the smell of popcorn hung in the air as a crowd favorite played: Howl’s Moving Castle. Yet, this wasn’t like every other night and there was no laughter, banter, or arguing. Even Ki and Amin were silent from their spots across the room. Ki held up in his armchair made no move to leave, he just sat with his knees folded fingers shaking as he looked at something on his Iphone, even though this was his favorite movie, even though this was his favorite part. The twins were a strange pair, Adel laying down as if she was ready to sleep while Amin sat stiffly at the end of the couch bed, his back bent as he faced the screen. A blanket was wrapped around his shoulders, Bambi was sure this was a way to make Shion feel better, like his work making the comfy beds meant something even if none of them would be comfy that night. Perhaps she had judged him too harshly after all. Closer to home, Shion laid with his head on Bambi’s lap not really appearing to watch the movie. The position was not his idea, at first he’d gone as if to lay by himself on the edge of the bed away from her, but the Witch Doctor needed comforting too and practically dragged him over dropping his soft head on her lap and offering comfort the only way she knew how, with authority.

The girl had a test tomorrow but all she could think about was what Kali had said, “They stabbed her,” Alice had been stabbed, someone had not just bullied her or-or pushed her down, someone had tried to kill her… A girl Bambi knew saved spiders from being swatted, sang Disney songs in the shower, and always, always had the best corny jokes to tell when someone was feeling upset about something.

Ki

Ki wrapped a hand around his knees as he stared at his Iphone screen. Kal’s words bumping around in his head. Alice had been burned, Alice had been severely burned, Alice had been stabbed, left for dead, beaten, and bruised, at the bottom of some hill covered in her own blood. The girl had almost died hell she might still die, he hadn’t thought it would be that bad… When he had said those things to Amin he’d assumed someone had tossed her around a bit, maybe broke a limb if they were feeling really cruel. Not this… Not three broken ribs, third degree burns, stabbed and left for dead, for all they knew that was the least of it. If it had gone to that extent how were they to know it hadn’t gone farther that Kal wasn’t speaking the R word simply not to scare them more.

Ki felt like he was going to vomit all over the ugly ass floral printed armchair. His eyes stared at the screen reading the message again and again and again and again, his glamour slipped and all at once he was green. No one noticed. Everyone was wrapped up in their own problems, too busy to care about what he was staring at. The boy who was staring at the same text for more than ten minutes straight.

“#OneLessRoommate—Rocket”

And then he knew.

Ever so quietly the Goblin closed his phone, shock buried in him and went back to watching the movie. If he said anything, everyone would just think it was him.

"You know I've never seen you so shaken before," Gretta stated with a curious glint in her deep red eyes. Staring past a fountain of mascara she almost appeared catlike with her head tilted to the side.

"I'm not shaken, I'm hungry," Ryker growled pouting as he broke her gaze, she intimidated him. Maybe it was because she knew him, knew exactly what Sofie had...

No this was a good thing, opening up. Gretta couldn't judge his relationship with people just as he couldn't judge her and Alistair. Normal people had someone to talk to... But a part of his mind reminded himself he wasn't normal.

Things were just royally fucked up.

"I brought you out a pack, or are you already full?" Gretta asked knowing in her weird way exactly what had happened because she had been in positions just like his herself.

This made him angry.

"I am not an animal," he growled shaking his head as he snapped the blood bag from her fingers.

"So that's not her blood I smell on your breath?" Gretta asked with an arched brow.

"It's not like that," he sighed looking everywhere but her eyes. God he hoped Kalyani didn't notice.

"We've all been there, the thing is, don't let it beat you up Ryker. You saved her. You did good, now drink your damn juice box and take a drag outside before coming back in with your head out of your ass," She laughed slinking out of the chair before brushing off her nurse's uniform.

"Play your cards right and I might wear this for you sometime," She whispered in his ear before grabbing a handfull of his shirt pulling his lips to hers. A soft purr leaving her throat as he threaded his fingers into her silky blonde hair. She was practically stealing his breath, the last thing he needed at a time like this was a makeout session with a girl he was hooking up with after class.

"I'll keep that in mind," he whispered mystified and a little foggy as she pranced off her butt moving amazingly against the tightish skirt fabric.

~~~~~~~~

Alice
Alice's face controlled into panic as Ryker's name was brought up from Kali's mouth she pushed herself forward off the pillow barely holding herself up as she sobbed words lost between the sniffles. "Ryker is o-kay?" She asked petrified. "I didn't mean to! I didn't know I was being bad I didn't-I didn't I just wanted my-mymy watch!" She screeched in a scratchy soprano version of her voice. At mention of her watch the girl's eyes widened. She became instantly quiet, the sobbing stopping in an instant as she reached for her neck with panic. "My watch," she whimpered, "Kali where's my watch?" she asked giving the woman a broken hearted look. "Daddy is going to be so mad at me, I was so bad I know what it meant I knew I knew and I-I-I... My watch!? I have to go get it, I have to go get it, I need it Kal I need it I need it now, I can't I can't... I need it now, he'll be so angry," her voice raised until she was practically screaming it at the top of her lungs, trying to pull herself out of the hospital bed in search of her most precious watch.

"Alice!" Kalya yelled the words out over the panicked girls shouts, desperately trying to keep her calm as she thrashed about, talking about one thing and then the next. "Alice, he's not going to be-"

Then Alice was trying to get out of bed and Kalya's hand shot out, grabbing the girl by the shoulder before realizing what a horrible mistake that was and releasing her grip, heart thudding in rhythm to her panic. Then, the vampire girl came in, the nurse, and Kalya stepped back to allow her to take control of the situation as Kalya stared on in a lost daze. What should she do?

She listened to every word that came out of Gretta's mouth, regardless of if she whispered it or was saying it outright. Kalya's eyes shot from Alice to the woman in a panicked state, though she didn't move from where she was. She couldn't lose her, she couldn't lose any of the kids, and she had no idea what to possibly say to calm the girl down. She hardly even registered what watch Alice was talking about- it had to be the one she had shown Kalya a few times, a beautiful piece of workmanship her father had made for her mother. Faintly, it clicked why the watch was so important and what Alice's ramblings were about.

Kalya followed Gretta readily enough, glancing at Alice with furtive glances until they were in the hall and all she could hear were Alice's pained screams. Kalya did her best to block them out as she listened, determinedly, to Gretta's words. Her eyes widened at the suggestion, her mind automatically flinching away from the idea. To allow someone to compel Alice just felt so wrong and violating- yet they were low on options. With Alice's screams still ringing from the door, Kalya knew they really didn't have any other choices. She turned on her heels, the sentence leaving her mouth while she was already making her way back to the room to try and console Alice for a few minutes while the vampire woman went to go get aid. "Do what you need to do to ensure her safety. I'll sign whatever needs signing, but for now get this demon here and get Alice calm." Kalya turned to her before making a turn to go back to Alice's room, dogged determination and a sense of finality on her expression. "I'm trusting you to do what's best for her medically," she whispered, in case Alice could hear- which would be unlikely as she was still panicking, her sobs ricocheting in Kalya's ears. "If you believe this will help, so be it."

She entered the room and rushed back to Alice's side, hoping her presence would at least calm her down until the demon could be summoned. She needed to make her way back to the waiting room and talk to Ryker. Alice was in no condition to be visited, and she needed to get someone to the Dorm to spend the night with the kids until she could get back.

Rayna opened the door, surprised and a little more than unhappy to find that the others of her dorm had deigned to make the living room their campground. She was well aware of the situation, the witch doctor girl had made sure of that, but a candle light vigil was a little unnecessary. It's not like the girl was dead yet, and honestly, of all the times for her to get attacked today was not the best day.

She was in a sour mood. Today's experiment had been an utter and complete flop (she was convinced Peter had messed his part up, the boy was too distracted lately for her tastes), her cheek still throbbed from her earlier encounter, and now this. What annoyed her most was that Jamii had been clinging to her more than he already did half the time, and thus had seen the text from Bambi- which in effect meant the others knew as well.

Rayna walked into the living room, to assure they were aware of her presence. The dead were more lively than this group, she thought dully, eyes meeting the Witch Doctors. "How does my roommate fare?" Rayna asked monotonously, eyebrow arched slightly.

Bambi & Ki

Bambi's eyes suddenly watered over as Rayna spoke with such nonchalance... It was down right cruel, and left the silent room even more silent. Bambi swallowed back a sob, crying was not her thing and it wasn't going to be her thing. Bambi's lips trembled as she opened her mouth to speak only to be cut off unexpectedly by Ki. "Don't answer her!" He demanded towards Bambi with seriousness, shocking the girl back into silence as her head whipped towards Ki who had thrown himself out of the chair and was now standing shaking with anger.

"How the fuck do you think she's doing? Skipping along some damn yellow brick road?!" He hissed ignoring the surprised looks from all around him. Bambi's mouth fell open in utter shock, "Don't you have someone better to fuck with Rayna? Like your hillbilly cousin/fiancé?" He hissed angrily shoving the burning phone deep into his pocket. "In case you haven't noticed no one has time for your bullshit," he growled breaking the distance. "So unless you want to stop being a bitch and ask the question like you mean it, get-the-fuck-out," He hissed pointing to the stairs, his eyes like daggers as he held his ground, Bambi in utter shock.

Rayna stared at the green goblin boy, a snide sneer growing on her otherwise passive face as she regarded him as if he was an easily squishable insect beneath her shoe. From his spot on the couch, Amin scoffed, glaring at Ki with eyes full of distaste and anger. "What a hypocrite," he hissed, keeping his voice low to avoid waking Shion. "You weren't so quick to care about Alice earlier. Why don't you just keep quiet?"

Adel shifted in her spot, eyes alert and peering at all three, as she sat up, placing a hand on Bambi's shoulder. Despite the girls best efforts, Adel could tell Rayna's passivity upset the girl. She glanced down at Shion, wondering if the boy was still asleep. She glanced back to Amin, whose demeanor confused her more than anything else. What was the point in instigating Hiroki? It was unnecessary and the last thing anyone needed right now. She took an intake of breath as Rayna laughed at Ki, shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't think it's me who's causing bullshit," she chided, staring him down with her frightening blue eyes as he lectured her. "I am genuinely curious on how she's doing, but if this is the treatment I must suffer to find out?" Rayna passed by the Goblin boy, heading towards her stairs. "I'll wait till the other shifter gets home."


Bambi was moving more now, Shion noticed as he slowly zoned back into the living room, amid the people talking in angry tones. A pang of fear shot through him as he jolted awake, wondering if Ryker had come back, or perhaps Kalya. It was neither, however, just Rayna, back from her day out, peculiar smells cloying around her. He still stayed in his spot on Bambi's lap, keeping his sleeping pose as he listened to what they were saying, trying to keep up and figure out why they were so angry.