World Tree MUSH

    It's not uncommon every now and then to come across a world in the process of Dying. Pandemonium has only just begun that process. A planet not to dissimilar to 1800's Earth, the biggest difference might be the prevalence of magic, and the fact that the entire population is made up of elf races.
    Though visitors from offworld are scrutinized with careful and wary eyes, right now, the locals seem to have relaxed up on that a bit due to a certain issue that has cropped up.
    Central Park, New York City's massive and sprawling wildlife preserve for magical creatures, has had a recent spate of way too many animals going missing. Between the local Rangers putting out a call for aid from anyone that can investigate the matter, several bounties being put up, and word filtering through the Gardener channels, means this is probably something to be looked into.
    The meeting point, at an entrance among the high walls that run the perimeter of the preserve is somewhere around mid-town, and anyone visiting from offworld are 'highly encouraged' to no go anywhere south of 34th street due to something called 'The Anomaly'.
    It is visible even from afar; a perfect circle of utter blackness in the atmosphere through which nothing can be seen.
    Several jeeps have been prepared and are waiting with crates of climbing gear, tents, rations, and other necessary equipment for a deep trek into the preserve.
    The sun is beginning to set, and an elf in green military fatigues, with long blonde hair tugged back in a ponytail is putting the finishing touches on maintenance to one of the jeeps, before motioning for the gates to open to let anyone coming to investigate into the park.

Well, a witch shouldn't look too out place on a magic-focused Earth right? Except for the fact that Holly lacks the pointed ears to pass as an elf. That and she has two ghosts following behind her. The magic readings were off the charts here which had got her attention. That and the giant hole she couldn't help but to wonder how it was made.

    Scrapclaw arrives to the scene. She isn't sure what kind of help she can be for this, so she brought a laser rifle and laser pistol, and plenty of ammo. She peruses the camping supplies if allowed for rations and other supplies that she may need if she's stuck out there for too long. Once she has determined there isn't much she can make use of, she heads into Central Park. She moves with a military purpose, not wanting to let these animal disappearances to continue without some kind of response.

    She is ignoring the black hole for now. And the rest of the party as well.

    Unusually bold today, Terra has ventured out on her own! There's things needing done, help required and whatnot. She doesn't garner much information given she resides a bit far off the beaten path. Nevertheless, the half-esper arrives.

    Whether she notices the fact people here are elves isn't apparent.

    What she does notice is the extra regard she receives. Immediately self conscious, she tenses up and doubles her pace to get to the meeting point before she has a moment of panic and bolts back to the safety of judgement free Snowpeak! Sooner or later, she'll arrive at the location, taking in the assembly of military vehicles as well as the sights of the city. This feels more like the era she's used to and, other than the curious looks and the gaping hole in reality, this place seems nice enough.

    Soon, whether they were there before her or not, Terra begins to notice other arrivals from off world. Holly gets a look, then Scraps really REALLY gets a look. Lots of deadpan staring, in fact. "..."

The Alpha and the Omega... 

 Or at least that's what Vergil would tell someone he is. He carries his curved Odachi Katana, the Yamato, and his step is trailed only by his dark blue coat. Cold eyes look dead ahead, and white hair slicked back makes him look a small mixture between pompous and warrior. 

 He sees the land around him and he seems to narrow his eyes. Taking the feel of military vehicles, he doesn't quite stop to ask questions.Does he intend to just go and....fight something? Seems unnecessary, wouldn't one think? 

 He notices the black hole, and he pauses in his step lightly. He is silent.

    The Legendary Devil Hunter suddenly claps Vergil's arm, as Dante makes his presence known with a box of pizza. "Hey, there you are! Sorry I'm late. I just _had_ to drop by this pizzeria along the way, friggin' starvin' y'know?" He's got a pizza slice in his mouth too, as it dangles precariously with every word he says. Taking a bite, Dante offers the box to Vergil, Holly, and Terra cheerfully, then...to Scraps? He has no idea if the lizard is interested, but whatever.

    Then he sees the black hole, tilting his head. "Huh. No wonder cops are everywhere." He mutters. Good thing he kept Rebellion in a guitar case when he got here.

A staticky portal opens up near the military group, and out floats ... Emily! After several weeks of investigation and having to look formal and polite, Emily has cut loose and is now indulging in her shapeshifting shenanigans. She's taken the form of a lavender-skinned demoness with four arms, six glowing purple eyes in three vertical rows, ears much longer and pointier than the actual elves here, and hair so black it looks like a rip in space or a graphical glitch. She's wearing a bright pink crop top with the text "I'll Stop Wearing Pink When They Invent A Darker Color", sky-blue jean shorts, and white sneakers.

She saunters through the military cordon, smiling her usual amused and faintly smug smile, and she grins at the sight of the black hole. "Now that's interesting!" She ignores Scraps just as much as Scraps is ignoring everyone else. "Hey, Terra!" she calls out, in the exact same voice she always has, and she waves to Holly as well.

But she pauses when she catches sight of a familiar face.

The same familiar face twice, in fact. "Hmmm ..."

Tentative conclusion: when Dante warned her about the possibility of running into an alternate counterpart of herself, he was speaking from experience.

>> SUMMARY[Emily Nyx] >> Emily has never encountered identical twins before

    A hand goes out, and a pair of claws gingerly picks up a slice of pizza. Then, it gets popped right into Scraps' maw. Offered food won't get turned down here. She says, "Thanks." She looks between Dante and Vergil. "Don't dally," she tells them, and heads on ahead.

    Funny enough, Holly DOESN'T look too out of place. Though the style of fashion seems to be reminiscent of late 1800's New York, there is the occasional pointy witch hat worn among the locals that says it may just be a standard profession on this world. It's the lack of ears that make her a dead giveaway.
    Scraps is given wary glances and a far berth by most. It's one thing that she looks like some kind of monster or magical creature all on her own, but to be armed on top of that earns a pointed level of 'maybe if we ignore it, it'll walk right into the preserve'.
    Then come Terra, the demon brothers, and Emily. Pizza is a thing even in this New York, it seems, and it's just as good as New York Pizza can be expected to be. But with everyone arriving, the military elf, a patch on his sleeve denoting him as a Ranger, clears his throat for attention.
    "You all be careful in there, now. I don't know what's making the animals up and vanish, but chances are they may be spooked. And there's nothing more dangerous than a scared hippogriff, or a nervous owlbear. ... And keep an eye out for a Honey Badger while you're in there. If you see Gulo, do not engage. I repeat, do not engage the badger."
    Once past the walled gates... The park is a veritable jungle. Massive flowers as large as trees, in all colors of the rainbow, vines and ivy, wild brush runs with rampant and untamed growth. The path here has been carved out already by the repeated pass of Ranger trucks and feet, but the deeper in the group may go, there will be less of a path to follow and some trailblazing may be required.

    So many newcomers! Terra does her absolute best to look at everyone in turn and not show any signs of uncertainty! So, she maintains an almost stern looking deadpan instead. Aside from staring and stealing glances at Scraps, she's greeted with a friendly offering of pizza. The strange lizard took one, so she takes one. Then she holds it up in offering!

    Emily's arrival and appearance gets a startled look, though the voice being familiar lets her key in a little better. So, rather than call out she dips her head in a quick nod of greeting!

    She would continue her silent offering of more pizza but it seems time's coming for things to turn more work related. Oh. Missed opportunity?

    The ranger offers his briefing, mentioning animals she's never heard of at all and even she feels a little excitement at the thought. "Gulo is the honey badger?" But it sounds sweet! How could an animal that sounds so nice be dangerous? Thoughts!

    Rather than move forward with all initiative, she lags just a little while contemplating the provided information.

Holly takes a piece of the pizza that's offered, "Thanks Dante!" She then looks back forth between Dante and Vergil a bit confused. "Did you cast a twin spell or is are you brothers?" Both were viable options where she came from.

 She waves to Emily and Scraps also gets her attention, "Wow, you must be really good at scaring people!" There isn't any sarcasm in her voice at all. "I wonder if the animals can sense ghosts or not?" She looks to Servis and Lavaux knowing some animals are senstive to the supernatural. She can't help but to wonder if it was the pair that scared the animals now or not.

    "C'mon bro, can't brood all night!" Dante says, as he gives a nod to the lizard girl, and wolfs down his own slice before shoving the box in the soldier's arms. "Hold this. Take only one slice. If you take two, I'm gonna be mad." He says mock-sternly. No fighting the Honey Badger? Dante doesn't even know what that is. Or why it's so important, but it sounds badass.

    Emily gets a cheekygrin as Dante asides, "Vergil. He's my brother. We used to be enemies, now we made up...kinda." He explains very quickly to everyone before speeding off in a sprint toward the forest. Dude can _sprint_, evidently. "How bad can these things be? Seriously, just some animals...gonna need a net at worst."

    Click. Vrrrrrrrr... Scrapclaw activates her laser rifle when she hears about a Honey Badger. Then she heads onward, ready to get into some kind of trouble, as heroic survivors are prone to doing. She breathes a sigh through her nose as she walks, and chews on the remnants of a pizza slice as she walks. Grease drips from her maw a bit, and she lids her eyes at the flavor of a really good pizza. Rumble rumble.

    "I'm Scrapclaw," she introduces to the others, since she's in a good mood. When Dante speeds off, she speaks up, "Please don't d--" Another piece of pizza. Distraction. Scraps munches on that one, too, and reaches out to give Terra a hug with one arm. Squeeze. And now the reptile can be heard purring as they progress. Feeding the lizard clearly is the best way to befriend her. She'll stick around Terra for now, since she feels she could be useful if she helps out this kind girl.

Vergil looks at Dante as he arrives, and he does take a slice of pizza, taking a bite, then tosses it aside. "We're here on business Dante. Try to at least act cordial." he says in a cold and factly manner. Though as he walks, he glances to Emily and Holly. "Dante is my twin. For now, I am not trying to kill him." which is Vergil's way of saying 'he's my brother and I will protect him with my life'. 

 As they walk though, he starts to move, keeping up with Dante evenly. To Scrapclaw? He raises a brow. "A pleasure, for now." 

 But, looks like the mission has officially begun!

Emily extends her lower left arm slightly longer than is realistic to grab a slice of pizza. "... oh, brother," she says dryly. She nods to Vergil. "Hi, I'm Emily Nyx, a magical shapeshifting robot. At a glance I'd say I have more in common with your brother than I have with you."

She smirks at Dante. "It's probably not going to be a good idea to underestimate the fauna in magical worlds like this. I'd at least take the military into consideration for when we do run into the thing." When, not if. At this point Emily seems to think this is a foregone conclusion.

She takes a bite out of the pizza, chews, and swallows. In a swirl of what looks like silvery glitter, a hovering dinner plate materializes under the slice. "Releasing capacitor seals three and two," she announces. Three distinct auras appear around her, one gold, one silver, and one pearlescent; the first two shatter, and the third one fades away.

Then Emily and the plate with the pizza slice both rise up a few dozen meters into the air, as she tries to get a wider view of what's ahead.

"He brought pizza, that was pretty nice!" Holly defends Dante as she climbs onto her broom to do air recon as well. "A honey badger is kind of like a weasel except it never gives up or back if it's provoked. Basically something you don't want to fight directly." The witch takes to the sky to help out Emily with spotting the escaped animals from above.

    Sharing pizza is all well and good. And when he has the pizza box thrust on him, the Ranger flashes Dante a puckish grin and helps himself to a slice. But then Dante goes running into the preserve and the others venture inward as well.
    It feels like hours pass without running into a single animal. The sun is beginning to set before long, and it would probably be for the best to turn back and call the investigation quits for the day before...
    Something toddles out from the brush. It's tiny, maybe three feet tall tops, ambling on hind legs. It has the body of a bear, wing-like arms tipped in razor claws, and a head of downy feathers with a little beak.
    "Who-oh?"

>> SUMMARY[Salome] >> After hours of searching, the party seems to have come across a lost Owlbear cub. ... Hatchling? What do you call a baby Owlbear anyway?

    Dante's hands go to his pistols as he draws Ebony and Ivory, but the small animal doesn't seem too threatening. "...huh. Kinda cute. We gonna do anything about this?" He asks, stowing the guns.

Vergil skids to a stop as he sees this large creature, his hand already gripping the handle of the Yamato, but not drawing it yet. "Be wise, Dante. Even things meant to attract is deadly among monster-kind." Vergil comes to a stop alongside Dante. He lets his brother approach it, but keeps an eye on him.

    "We could eat it," Scrapclaw answers Dante, and gestures to the creature with her laser gun as if this wasn't clear initially. But she looks around the area, since this is the first activity they've seen since they got here. "Where's its parents?" she wonders aloud.

    Lots of walking. That's not really such a big deal even for Terra. Everyone seems to be gathering up, the day has worn on considerably and the time with Scraps, though pleasant, has been rather quiet most likely. She's not much of a talker.

    Then, something rustles in the brush. It's small, downy and she's instantly enamored. Though she doesn't charge forward and grab the animal up in a hug and while she does remain wary of the company she's in, she lowers to her knees so as to not seem threatening while she regards the little owl-bear-creature. Oh dear.

Emily quickly finished the pizza and dematerialized the plate. Now she descends, and stares at the owlbear cubhatchling with a wide grin. "... Yeah, Terra has the right idea," she says. "That little dude is adorable." She looks around. "But Scrapclaw has a good question. Where are the parents?"

"Oh, a cublet! Maybe it was seperated from its mother!" Holly looks at the baby owlbear from below. It's pretty strange that they didn't run into any other animals. She's not sure if it was capable of surviving on its own yet.

 "Perhaps something or someone is terrorizing the animals?" Servis suggests to the others why its on its own.

    The Owlbear cub clicks it beak and peers up and around the gathered party with big... Owlish eyes. Though it hisses at Scrapclaw, this seems to me more from her being a seven foot tall radmonster rather than actuall understanding her. It toddles curiously from person to person, sniffing and poking and hooting softly before it stops in front of Terra, and swivels its head to a bird-like angle.
    Keen ears might hear it, though... The creak of a bowstring.
    A single figure emerges from the trees; a woman. She's dressed like... A Native American. Clad in hides and furs, feathers adorning her hair and clothes, war paint adorning dusky skin as she regards the group with dark green eyes, bow drawn.
    "Step away from the cub." The Wood Elf says sternly as several more bows are drawn, and the rest of her tribe reveals themselves from the trees, brush, and giant flowers.
    Then. Then comes a familiar sounding voice.
    "Y'all better listen to her. The Poospatuck tribe's normally a peaceful people, but Little Flower's been none-too-happy about how these animals been stuck here with that calamuty downtown going on." Salome Highscribe says, emerging from behind a tree, the witch in red already flashing a fanged smile as she rests a hand on the gun at her hip.

>> SUMMARY[Salome] >> Meet the Wood Elves. Also hi.

    The second Dante hears the string, he draws the pistols again and aims them at what look like Native American...elves. Weiiiird. "Okay. First you drop the bows." He says cooly, backing away. He spies Salome, eyeing the gunslinger elf. "First off, /what/ is going on downstairs? And why does this have to involve robbing a zoo anyway?"

    Scrapclaw is staring down at the cub after it hissed at her, looking unimpressed with its gumptian. The creak of a bow string makes her lift her head and look at the Wood Elf with a similar reptilian glower. The draw of more bows doesn't intimidate her terribly much. It only seems to annoy her.

    "I don't care about how happy they are," she replies, "If they don't calm down I will start killing them." She doesn't mince words. She seems quite capable of doing so. "Where are the animals? Are you moving them without informing those outside the park? If you are, it is becoming problematic, they believe animals are being stolen or harmed. And if they are..." She doesn't elaborate. She's holding a gun, she'll let them draw their own conclusions.

Emily immediately steps back from the cub. That's probably good. "Oh, hey, Salome!" she says cheerfully, shooting her a winning smile and waving to the Wood Elves. (With four arms, there's a lot more to wave.) "How's it going?" That might not be so good, given Salome's grudge. "We're here cuz the military seems to think it's a problem that the animals are 'missing.'" That's ... not so much good as Chaotic Neutral, maybe?

But she seems to be taking a more ingratiating attitude towards the Wood Elves than Scraps or Dante, and jumping to the conclusion that 1. the Wood Elves are responsible, and thus 2. from their perspective, they have a good reason.

"It sounds like the animals had to relocate because of the giant hole! Am I right? Hi Salome!" Holly greets the fellow witch. "Or did they disappear when the hole apppeared." That would explain why the owlbear's parents are missing.

Vergil comes to a pause as he hears the bowstring. His hand gripping the Yamato blade a little tighter, almost drawing it. His eyes narrow, if they loose those arrows, then Vergil is going to kill something. But he currently says nothing. Dante was better than him at the 'talking' bit, and Emily seems t obe good enough at explaining things, with help from Holly. 

 either way, Vergil is focused...and it will only take a moment for Vergil to know harm is meant.

     Terra can't help herself. She almost reaches out to the little owl-bear-lette! Almost. She leans just a bit, watching as it gazes over every member of the group and though she does worry about the hissing spared for Scraps, she's ultimately pleased to have it come to her!

    This contrasts quite a lot against her feeling of trapidation as someone emerges with a bow pointed and drawn. She wants to move to protect the little animal but the delicate nature of the situation at least keeps her from making any sudden motions! Then there's someone else?! What should she do!? Twitch.

    Reactions are mixed, huh? Dante draws his guns and none of the elves back down. Though Sally does step forward, careful of the black cat walking between her boots.
    Scraps is met with a sweet smile, before the Dark Elf thumbs back the hammer on her revolver with a pointed *click*. Though that smile turns into a sneer at the sight of Emily. She chooses to focus on Holly instead. "Hoooolly, how have your studies been going, hmmmm?" But the witch opts to let the Wood Elves talk for now. It's the one she called Little Flower who steps forward.
    "The High Elves do not care for these animals. If they did they would have relocated them from the park far sooner, instead of let them remain so close to danger! My tribe has been leading them to safety off world."
    "So." Salome interjects. "Y'all are gonna march back to the gate and tell the Rangers you didn't find anything. Or we're gonna have a real problem, and I'm going to have to start flinging hexes and bad juju around."
    The little owlbear--... Proceeds to climb Terra and latches onto her back. "Who! Who!"

Without another word, Emily interposes herself in front of the nervous Terra. And she reacts to Salome's snub by blowing her a kiss with a triple-wink.

She rises up off the ground, and looks over towards the black hole, then lands again and looks over to the Wood Elves. "Mmm ... it's not exactly clear-cut, but ..." She looks around. "I vote we go with what Little Flower said. Like, I dunno if the black hole over there is a recent thing, but if the powers-that-be aren't inclined to even do the bare minimum to protect the stuff they're supposed to be protecting ..." She shrugs. And, again, four arms makes it a lot of shrug.

>> SUMMARY[Emily Nyx] >> Hateflirting with Sally, also siding with the Wood Elves

    Dante...stows the guns, hands raised. "Yeah okay. Question is, -what- is going on that's got the city in a panic?" He asks, very quickly putting himself between Vergil and everyone else, just in case Big Bro decides to be a bit more stabby.

    Those lousy summon swords of his are gonna be a bitch to deflect.

"I'm still trying to get my magic working properly more often!" That was an ongoing struggle for Holly. "It sounds like a good idea especially if the hole keeps getting bigger! Is there any way to stop that at all?" It would certainly be rather difficult to close it buut it's going to be a problem for more than just the animals if it keeps growing.

    Terra is rewarded for all of her trouble and relative indecision with a tiny owlbear mini on her back. She lets out the tiniest sound, somewhere between shock and total joy. The creature probably isn't the lightest thing ever but she seems fine bearing a little extra weight, though she is still kneeling. A hand reaches back over her shoulder, as if she may try to pet and soothe the owlbear.

    Still matters seem rather grave. The witch with the firearm seems intent on harming the animals, the elves with bows seem dead set on helping them. Seems pretty cut and dry, though she doesn't dare move for the moment. At least the young animal is out of immediate danger. Right? And everyone else seems to have her back. "Please don't hurt the animals. If that... blackness is harmful, it's best everyone gets away from it." Animals included. She feels bad for not having a solution for the major problem but maybe she can just help this little bit!

Did she just threaten them? 

 Vergil is about to make the charge and make an elf version of sushi before Dante gets in his way. Growling, Vergil lets his blade fall back fully into it's sheathe, looking at Dante in a 'you better have a good reason for that' kind of way. Though Vergil seems to agree that the animals should be kept safe against that black hole.

    Salome did just threaten everyone! But it's Dante who asks the magic question. And when Ebony and Ivory go away, Salome's hand inches back to her revolver. There's another *click* as she actually de-cocks the gun. Though she turns her head to glance at the dark hole dominating the sky to the south, she tugs the brim of her hat lower, casting a dark shadow over her face. For once, the smiling witch ain't smiling, and her expression is mirrored in the scowl of the mimic she wears for a hat.
    "That. That's 'The Anomaly' as folks been calling it. That's my sin, so it's my problem to handle. But yep. It gets bigger. Slowly, slowly, but not stopping." She says.
    "You know, the world's top witches say that if no one finds a way to stop it, all of Pandemonium'll be swallowed up-- starting right here in my hometown, now how do you think that makes a girl feel?"
    A snap of her fingers though and she's back to smiling brightly with those sharp teeth. "Hurt the animals? Me? Why I do declare, little miss, you've got me all wrong tonight. I'm letting the Poospatucks take them!"

"You created that?! No wonder people think you're scary. How did you do it?" Holly can't help but to be curious now.

 "Perhaps it might be for the best not to ask how the reality destroying witch how her magic works?" Servis advises her.

 "Why, it's not like Holly can recreate it, with her her magical talent she would likely punch a hole with her fists than any spells." Lavaux knows her magic isn't that threatening.

    "Okay...well, not like I was being paid anyway." Dante says, "So why and how did you do..." He points up to the black hole lackadaisically.

Emily looks back at Vergil and furrows her brow. (Perhaps fortunately, she has only one brow.) "I realize I live in a glass house and I'm hefting a fairly large stone, but settle down, dude."

She looks Salome up and down, then shrugs. "Looks like things are settling down in a fairly satisfactory manner." She grins. "Wow, I've never openly defied a government organization before! Usually I just haven't cared."

    The implication that the armed woman with the strange hat did something to create that darkness makes Terra, well... She holds a very neutral expression. Accidents happen and it's not really her place to judge, she feels. She has the little animal, it's safe for the moment and nobody appears to be resorting to violence just yet.

    So, she stands, reaching back to support the owlbear cub. She doesn't make any move just yet. Other than to dip her head, "Sorry. I shouldn't have spoken so quickly." If nobody's hurting the cute animals there's no problem. Right? Though she does steal a look toward the wood elves.

Vergil looks at Emily, narrowing his eyes. "Do not command me." Regardless, Vergil stays behind Dante, simply standing there as Salome seems to calm immediately down. "You created that?" Vergil asks, then actually....looks impressed? Vergil looks at Dante and seems to relax fully, moving to his side. 

 Seems Vergil also wants the answer to Dante's question.

    "How did I do it? Don't be silly, you should know the answer to that, Little Witch Academia. Magic of course." Salome says, shooting Holly a finger-gun.
    "Truth is, when I graduated outta Columbia-- that's a super prestigious witch college here-, I came up with a very special magical formula. Some idiot thought it'd be a grand idea to try it out while my back was turned and that happened because someone done gone and messed it up." She explains at multiple prompts.
    "Now are y'all gonna hand over the owlbear, 'cause the faster the Poospatucks get out of here, the faster I can grab myself a slice before I bail."

>> SUMMARY[Salome] >> Welcome to my world.

    "Ooooookay. Terra, hand over the baby owlbear. I don't think we wanna mess with these people...or the mother if she sees us." Dante advises. He's very pointedly holding onto Vergil like an exasperated babysitter. Never has he ever imagined himself being the rational one in a room with /Vergil./ But that's the world we live in.

Emily raises her eyebrows at Salome's explanation. "Certainly beats some of the disasters that happened on my world," she says. "Although I dunno if I can say that since ... the entire human population got wiped out. Somehow. Still dunno how that happened."

She snickers at Vergil. "Wow, he really is your exact opposite, Dante." In a swirl of silvery glitter, she transforms into ... a human-looking woman with silver hair about the same height as Dante and Vergil, dressed in a green trench coat, a bandeau bikini top, black jeans, and combat boots. Still with glowing purple eyes, though. After another second, a silver falchion materializes on her back, looking like a rough analogue to Rebellion and Yamato while still being a different type of sword from either of them.

    Scraps has remained as stoic as a statue after all of this. She wasn't really engaged in the conversation, and was trying to process how it was playing out so far. When it's clear this isn't going to erupt into violence and that these are people trying to preserve a bunch of magical creatures, she instead looks into Salome and breathes a hissing sigh.

    "This has been a waste of my time," she says aloud, and turns to leave the way she came.

"Do you think they could teach me to be a great witch! I've done a ton of reading and spells still don't work right most of the time." Now Holly's curious about the college that Salome mentioned.

 "Such a prestigous school sounds quite costly, I'm sure it's not free." Servis knows there's no way they can afford it.

 "Yeah, you would be better off being a wrestler. I'm sure a witch gimmick would sell some tickets." Lavaux takes this chance to persuade her further.

 "It's not just a gimmick, I know I have the talent!" She's certainly not going to give up so easily.

    Sparing a glance and then a nod to Dante, Terra then marches forward with her downy burden, picking her way along carefully. Well, doesn't seem that there's much choice! Still, she pauses at a respectful distance, dipping her head in a little nod of acknowledgement to Salome, then her attention is directed to the wood elves waiting to take custody of the owlbear. She's not putting it down since, well, it seems a little unkind to just dump it on the ground and she can't exactly disentangle herself in case it's hanging on.

    Everyone else gets another look, "... I could stay and help." Or maybe she doesn't -want- to let go of the cute fuzzy bearbirb. Alright?! She already thought of a name and everything!

Emily can't quite stifle a soft giggle. "You're both adorable," she says to Terra and the owlbear.

    It would be pretty bad if mama owlbear came along right now. Though that doesn't seem to be the case. And Emily... Does her Emily thing.
    "Teach you magic? I don't see why not. If you're good enough you might even get a scholarship like I did." Salome replies to Holly.
    "You wanna stay and engage in highly illegal animal smuggling, that's on you." She answers Terra, amid Scraps taking her leave.
    "HEY! You didn't see anything, y'hear!" A pause. "And the rest of you didn't see anything either, capiche?"

    Scraps waves off the words. She doesn't seem to care enough to tattle on anyone.

Emily responds by briefly materializing a blindfold over her eyes and giving a thumbs-up.

    Dante scoffs, "I dunno what you're talking about, babe." He shoots Salome a wink, before clapping Vergil on the arm. "C'mon, bro. Let's go. We're wasting our time, won't find anything in this kind of dark."

"A scholarship? That would be helpful, are ghosts allowed on campus?" It would be difficult for Holly to get rid of Servis and Lavaux for an extended period of time. She's forgot about the owlbear cub at this point as her thoughts have turned to getting into Columbia. Of course it might be kind of awkward for a human to go to a college full of elves.