Even though he still had his clothes on, Wyatt was feeling quite uncomfortable. The boy who had always felt invisible was now being seen by an audience of what seemed like a trillion people who knew him as 12, which was humiliating enough. Wyatt started counting with his eyes but quickly realized how dumb it was to count a crowd this large. As he turned back to face his team, he noticed Hanako Tone, a boy as short as his temper talking to Emmanuel (Min).

As fast as he could without looking like an idiot, Wyatt walked to meet the two. He didn’t bother pulling Min out of the way since it would probably be the same as trying to push a building around. Wyatt glared at Hanako. He’d heard a bit of the conversation on the way to the duo. That part being, “let’s just all work together.” It made him scoff. Hanako Tone, working together with someone? “I’m sorry, I don’t believe I heard you correctly, Tone. Did you just suggest our teams work together?”

He continued, “knowing you, even the slightest bit, you’re just trying to take our best fighter out of the picture so your team can win. You’re being selfish.” Wyatt took a breath. “You should know, anyway, it doesn’t matter who wins this match or the next one, because even if you go up against that maniac at the end you’re not going to win.” Something about Hanako Tone made Wyatt’s blood boil. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he’s a manipulative little loser, that will use anything against anyone if it benefitted him.

After giving Tone a moment to answer, Wyatt walked off to the corner of the ring. He needed to think, and to think, he couldn’t have any distractions, but those were difficult to avoid at the moment. You know, with the screaming crowd. And the melted boy. And the shirtless children gearing up to fight. They were CHILDREN! Who would do this! Wyatt was desperately trying to clear his mind but all that kept coming back at him was “why? Why would anyone dream of this disgusting club?”

He thought back on what that girl who was (apparently) on their team had said. “Well. I won’t play along. I’m not fighting anyone. Especially not as an amusement for this stupid crowd.” She’d grabbed Rainwood by the arm and tried to drag him away from the ring. Wyatt looked down at the dirt ground and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to fight. He didn’t want to hurt anyone with his own fists. He decided he’d back off and leave like number 26 had.

Wyatt shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, where he forgot his wand was. He walked up to where the girl and Rainwood were standing. He sighed, almost defeatedly. “I’ve got to get out of here. I couldn’t care less how. And Rainwood, you shouldn't stay either.”

_{Interacting with: @Emmanuel Min Requiza, @Hanako Tone, @Percival Rainwood, and @Ileen Knight
Mentioning: #26 @Selim Faust}

Interacting with | @Percival Rainwood | @Wyatt Starkey | somehow @Bridget Collins
Mentions | @Hanako Tone @Emmanuel Min Requiza

Ileen narrowed her eyes when Percival ripped his arm out of her grip. Why on earth had she thought for one moment that this would work? That she would find sense in this house, which consisted to ninety percent of strange, broken, impulsive and manipulative loners? Yes, her opinion of the house Slytherin was breathtakingly bad.
In her brown eyes was now a dark fire. Glaring at the blonde boy, she took a step forward. “Fine,” she hissed, lowering her voice to not draw all the attention to her and clenching her hands into fists. She had always considered him to be one of the less idiotic guys - well, maybe she had been wrong after all. “Fine. Go ahead and get beat up by the other idiots.“ She measured him with a devastating look and shook her head, gritting her teeth. "I thought Hanako was your best friend. How can you even consider going into that ring?"
She felt the strong urge to reach out for his ear to drag him out of this situation. He was a small part of the little group in Slytherin that had given her some sort of hope. Well, he was probably overdramatically foolish and resentful when it came to Dee, but otherwise he hadn't seemed that way to her. But everyone made mistakes sometimes. What did she care? She wasn’t responsible for him after all.

When Emmanuel passed them, eagerly entering the ring, Ileen was tempted to facepalm. Well, she had already noticed that he wasn’t a great thinker when she had tried to talk some sense into him while studying. What was wrong with the world? Or her? Why did she know so many idiots? Was it her or were there just so many of them everywhere? Well, he was probably a lost cause. She wouldn’t waste her energy trying to stop him. If he enjoyed the thought of fighting, he didn’t deserve better. Hopefully he would learn his lesson.
When the broken boy/instructor told them that everyone who wasn’t about to fight should leave the ring, Ileen eyed everyone in the ring. Her eyes stopped at the girl who had approached the disfigured boy. Would she leave? Ileen hoped so. She would try to catch her gaze to learn about her intention.

As Hanako spoke up, Ileen turned to him. She frowned as she listened to his speech and raised an eyebrow. That, on the other hand, was surprising. She hadn't really made up her mind about the Asian Slytherin yet, but she was reluctantly impressed. He put her opinion into a very complicated and rambling paraphrase, but she agreed with him. Somehow. She, of course, wouldn't rumble here. Let’s get out of here.

Just when she was about to turn around to leave this place, another boy would escalate the situation again by questioning Hanako's intentions. “Who cares about his motivation?” she hissed and glared at the other boy. “Let’s just get out of here.” Her brown eyes searched for Percival’s. “I’ll leave. Come with me or stay.”

Action: dramatic exaggeration of despair

Ability: Sixth Sense
Stats: Sta:5 | Ev:7 | Str:3 | Wis:7 | Arc:6 | Acc:7

Mentioning all | Concerning @Ileen Knight

Bridget wasn't quite sure what to make of Victor's response. The contrast between the definitive shake of his head and his words was weird, and what did "the pleasure is mostly mine" even mean? Odd. She didn't have long to dwell on it, though; she still had a fight to deal with.

It didn't come as much of a surprise that her words didn't seem to change anyone's minds--she wasn't any good at this sort of thing. To her relief, she was far from the only one who thought this whole thing was ridiculous--two of the members of the other team voiced their disapproval of the fight and the boy from the pillow fight gave some confusing speech about macarons, from which she at least garnered that he would have no part in this. Dan and Nick seemed lost causes, as did a boy on the other team. He had a point about there being a likely being a consequence for not fighting, but if you thought about it, the downside of going ahead and beating up your housemates and getting injured yourself seemed far worse. You know what? Fine. Her expression, previously displaying her nerves, turned hard. If they wanted to fight, they could fight.

She, however, was not going to stick around for that. So what was her other option? To watch? That seemed nearly as bad as being in the ring; she couldn't stand listening to the sickening sounds of fists meeting flesh and watching the splatter of blood as her housemates got knocked into unconsciousness. But what else could she do? Actually... she had an idea.

"Fight it out if you somehow think that's legitimately a good idea. I'm going to see if I can get us out of this mess," she said, voice low so as to only be heard by her team, the opponent team, and likely Victor due to proximity. With that, she walked right out of the ring, back turned on whoever was going to fight. She stopped to grab her wand, shoes, and socks, sliding them back on her feet. No more following this crowd's stupid rules or playing their stupid games. She was more than happy to get away from them and the incessant booing made her nauseous.

Bridget paused among her fellow students for a moment, just to wait for the attention to hopefully get off her, before heading straight back the way she came through the trapdoor. Even if she couldn't leave the tent, maybe spells could. Besides, she had a theory about what was keeping them there. It was possible the tent was simply enchanted to be entered and not exited, but she suspected something else. A binding mark. After everything with Marion, Victor, Vladimir, and the Blossom Ball, she'd taken the time to research them. Frankly, the numbers on their arms and what Jack Burnett had yelled about hearing voices directly into his head sounded similar. She wasn't sure if a binding mark could you from leaving a room, but it didn't really matter. What mattered was if her plan would work.

Action | Leaving the ring and heading back to the surface
Stats:
5 Stamina | 9 Evasion | 3 Strength | 9 Wisdom | 7 Arcane Power | 8 Accuracy
Race/Abilities:
Full Human | Sixth Sense | Evasive Maneuvers

Outfit

Seeing as he had a somewhat clear indication to start, Emmanuel would give a slight nod and smirk visible enough for all to see. Was he crazy? Sadist? Maybe a follower of the mood and didn't have a shred of consciousness or moral bone in his body? No doubt many foul words and crossed thoughts entered the minds of the fellow masses of Slytherin students on both sides, each step taken probably equaling to thrice the amount of bad blood coursing through their hearts from his actions. Mentally he was hoping that some sign or inkling of insight would arise due to the seer blood within him, atlas nothing come about as both fist clenched tightly, positioning himself into a fighting stance.

Though in the midst of his own inner struggle, before completely resigning himself to his decision, a boy from the enemy side had come to 'talk'. Tone, presumably a nickname he'd acquire moments later after his own teammate came up to intrude on the one-sided conversation. Although English wasn't a strong point of his, reading between the lines for insults was something anyone could gauge no matter the language. Thus Emmanuel didn't have the mind to even listen to the words of forfeiting, besides the feeling of something happening to those who throw in the towel without trying kept lingering in his mind.

“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War. He softly quoted after a few second of silence, removing his ignorant thoughts to comprehend what this tone was trying to convey. Nodding a few times he looked up at the boy, fighting spirit subdued some, body relaxed while he'd suddenly raise a smile. "Macaroons, do they taste good? Never had any myself, any good places around here?" His eye's revealed the pure curiosity, was macaroons some fancy pasta like food? Have his family been holding out on him all this time? "Very well, Tone? Tone si yes, I'll —"

The sentence wouldn't be finished before Tone would suddenly find Emmanuel dashing at him, a single palm thrusting out to hit square in the boys stomach. “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”― Sun-Tzu, The Art of War. If the thrust lands, hopefully the sudden shock would send the boy back and onto his ass. Maybe even forcing him to leave the ring, though Emanuel would admit slight anger seeped into the thrust, using more strength than what he originally intended. Though regardless the attack itself wasn't a direct means to harm.

"Regardless if I—We intend not fight, your words hide venom."

Interacting: @Hanako Tone
Mentions: @Ileen Knight @Wyatt Starkey @Percival Rainwood
Actions: Palm thrust/Shove to push Hanako in the direction of the rings edge.

Seer
Sta: 3 Eva: 10 Str: 5 Arc: 2 Wis: 5 Acc: 5

Dan readied himself to start taking down Team 2. This was his plan. Make people look at him so that the others could find a way out. The only sensible strategy.

But then, his ADHD mind kept bringing up what Victor said. True to being a Slytherin, he couldn't let it go. There had to be a reason he said that. That wasn't something someone would just say for no reason.

Then, all at once, due to his ADHD tangent centered mind going in random directions, it suddenly made sense. Victor WASN'T just talking out of his ass. Dan saw EXACTLY what he meant now.

That little rat bastard.

Without a word, Dan turned on his heels and took off running. Back across the field, and out of the ring. Anyone who got in his way would get a shoulder barge and a sharp "Outta me way, ya ragin' dumbass!", as he barreled out of the ring. He had his sights set on one person, and only one person.

For just a moment though, Dan had a pang of... he wasn't sure what it was. Irony? About how he had mentally berated those on his team who had refused to fight, only to turn and bolt immediately afterward. Dan had to quickly come up with some bullshit lie to cover up his sudden change of heart if he was asked about it later. Which he almost certainly would be.

On the way out, he made sure to grab his shirt, and check if his wand was still with him. Thankfully, it was, and continued out without stopping.

Actions[: Leaving the ring, and the thread.

Mentions: @Percival Rainwood @Bridget Collins @Dan Palmer @Victor Moore

Ileen glared at Percival one more time. She had made her point clear. Now it was up to them.
She was wasting her time with these idiots here. The other girl was right. Let them fight - she would try to get out of here and probably get help to stop that.
This whole situation just seemed off. The numbers burned into their skin, the weird broken boy, the shouting and mad crowd…
The boy. She narrowed her eyes and turned. It had started with him. He had burned the invites. He had brought them here - and he himself seemed incredibly off. The scars, the injuries, the kind of displaced skin. Something was just not right about him.
With a last glance to the ring, she would follow the Slytherin boy who had just left the ring without any noticeable reason besides the obvious one to not take part in this game. She couldn’t help but wonder what had changed his mind - maybe he was struck by a flash of genius that suddenly gave him common sense. Hard to tell.
Her eyes found her target. She moved towards him, carefully attempted to not move directly into his direction. She didn't want to attract any more attention.
Behind her she already heard movement in the ring. Had they really started fighting? Had anyone else left the ring? She did not turn around. Her eyes were fixed on the strange boy.

Action 2: trying to take advantage of Dans attack to not be discovered
Action 3: observation check on Victor (Sixth Sense)

Ability: Sixth Sense
Stats: Sta:5 | Ev:7 | Str:3 | Wis:7 | Arc:6 | Acc:7

Group 1
[18] Ileen Knight - watching from outside of the ring
[26] Selim Faust - Left, already upstairs
[8] Percival Rainwood
[12] Wyatt Starkey
[14] Emmanuel Min Requiza - Fighting, he attacked Hanako

Group 2
[10] Hanako Tone - attacked by Emmanuel
[27] Dan Palmer - Leaving (as declared in his actions)
[5] Bridget Collins - Leaving (as declared in her actions)
[29] Caelan Stewart
[15] Margo White

Many of the students had no interest in fighting. Or so they proclaimed, but they made no actuion to leave the ring. Was it merely a farce, a statement made to get the other team to vacate the ring and clear their team for victory. @Wyatt Starkley was one such student. he professed that he had no interest in fighting but he never acted on his words. He would simply state that he did not intend to fight and make the same recommendation to Rainwood.

@Ileen Knight from the same team in what was perhaps an elaborate farce say the same thing. That she was not going to fight. That she did not intend to play into the hands of the moderator. Unknowingly she already had. There were some that perhaps heeded her logic, they chose to leave the ring physically. No harm, no foul.

@Bridget Collins being one such youth. She would announce her intention to not fight, but it was more than mere lip-service for her. She was going to actually physically leave the ring; in fact the would go further. She was not going to watch the carnage, see her peers suffer and fall. No, she was going to leave the ring and leave this basement. Those that wanted to stay, get their asses handed to them or do the ass-kicking could do what they wanted without her. She had an idea, well a few ideas about the magic that had contained them in the tent. A condition of entry, rather than exit. The mark burned into their arms. was it a Binding Mark? Did it somehow prevent them from leaving? Is that how a voice got into Jack's (@Jack Burnett) head? She had more questions than she had answers, but she would not find the answers she sought here.

Left Topic

@Dan Palmer would have an epiphany, the words that the boy utter had meaning. It was time for him to leave the ring. Sure, the barefooted wonder; victor of the great peillow war, might have been able to hold his own in this brawl, but nothing was as simple as a brawl and a query. The urgency of the matter perhaps finally hit him, he needed to get out of there. Dan would barge out of the ring, he was not going to be fighting today. It was very much against the nature he had previously displayed, an aggressive sort of boy that fought with his fists as much as his words. He would take back his shirt, nobody had touched it and double check that his wand was still on his person. His wand was still there.

Left Topic

Emmanuel Min Requiza

was not as ready or as willing to give up. In fact, he was one of the few boys that was really looking forward to this brawl. This chance to display their martial prowess. A vent for the anger and frustration. Whatever @Hanako Tone had done in this life or a previous life to earn the Slytherin youth's ire. Emmanuel would attempt to give Hanako a good hard shove out of the ring. [There was no actual move from the move list chosen. Please choose an action from the list.]

Emmanuel Attack 8
Hanako Evasion 2

[Shame whatever it was, it would have done some damage] Emmanuel's palms met the boys chest and with a hard heave he would push the boy back a few staggering steps. [No damage, no mechanical effect. We did not have this as a move.] Hanako would catch himself, he would not fall over nor would he be forced from the ring. Of course he had a choice now, push back [hopefully with a move I can moderate] or vacate the ring and give the aggressive first year the victory.

@Ileen Knight would witness the strange decisions being made by the students. Those that decided to continue to fight. Those that had abruptly decided to leave the ring. The girl would simply look on at the spectacle. The kids certainly did make for a good show, a fight or not. Her eyes would be fixed on one -- Victor Moore.

Effect: +2 to their awareness rolls. If a player attempts to enter a thread that you are already in, there is a 25% chance that you automatically detect them on entry.

Roll: 2 + 2 (Sixth sense) + 7 (wisdom)
25% chance to notice a hidden user. Roll: 25

She would not learn anything new looking at Victor. What she saw was a walking contradiction. A boy made of burnt paper. He looked as if he might crumble any moment. He did not look like a fighter.Like the sort of person that would revel in such brutality. He stood off to the side of the ring, on the outer perimeter of the ropes. He was alone less the screaming crowd behind him.

Was he alone though?

Perhaps it was a trick of her eyes. It was not Victor but the space behind him that would catch her eye. In the space of about ten feet there was a set of bleachers that were five rows high. The cheering crowd was situated about five feet behind Victor.

In addition, there was something wrong with Victor's shoulder. One was higher than the other. A product perhaps of his incredible injuries? No, that was not the case. It was just a moment, a flash in which she would see it. A hand that appeared to be far from normal, twisted and gnarled, held the boy upright. With a blink, the revelation which could have been her imagination was gone. It was only Victor that stood there on the fringe of the fray and the roaring crowd to his back.

Interacting: @Emmanuel Min Requiza
Mentions: @Dan Palmer, @Bridget Collins, and @Hanako Tone

Nick watched silently from his corner of the ring as almost half of the fighters left the ring. Even Dan, who seemed almost as eager to fight as Nick, left. It seemed like something had just clicked that caused him to run off. Unsurprisingly, Bridget left the ring, leaving him and the other boy on his team, though he wouldn't fight most likely.

So, it was just him against three other people. Nick wasn't strong, could he really manage three people on his own? He felt vulnerable without his wand and looked over to his pile of stuff. He knew that Victor had said not to use magic but perhaps he was lying? At this point, he was going to either throw punches or try to use magic, it was too late to back out of the ring, his pride prevented him.

One kid on the other team pushed the boy on his team which was really weird. Maybe they had some unsettled beef that he obviously wouldn't know about, but that's a bit harsh to a person who wasn't planning on fighting in the first place. Then again, he hadn't left the ring so maybe he would start beating up the kid.

Walking up to the kid, he didn't bother to assess the situation, he was just pissed at the guy for pushing one of his teammates that wasn't planning on fighting. "Why did ye dae that man? Ye heard his entire forfeiting speech like the rest of us didn't ye? I mean I get it, it was pretty hard tae follow along." He didn't want to punch him just yet, but if he did strike him he would be happy to return the favor.

Actions: If Emmanuel attempts to attack Nick, Jab twice (two actions)

Ability = Seer
Strength = 3 | Evasion = 8 | Wisdom = 4 | Arcane Power = 4 | Accuracy = 7 | Stamina = 4

Interacting with | @Victor Moore

Ileen had never been aware of Victor before even though he was her housemate. Of course she had heard about the boy who had been burned alive at the Blossom Ball and had been escorted by her best friend to the castle. But the young Slytherin lacked the knowledge to put the pieces together.

But at that moment, that didn’t matter. She had noticed that the boy was kind of broken at the moment she had entered the tent. It had become even more obvious when he had entered the ring and shown his scars, but she had been too busy with her own misery. She had been thinking about her situation and just assumed that he was a mad guy playing his games with them. Well, maybe he was. But now when she had caught a closer glimpse of him, the perspective opened another possibility. He was more than broken. He looked like he was barely capable of standing on his own feet, just a crushed skeleton which was covered with thin skin and made the bones stand out more clearly than it was even remotely healthy. Ileen inhaled with a silent gasp. He really looked like he could just fade away at any moment or collapse. Was he a victim of this game as well? A puppet played by someone else?

And then she saw it. Or at least she believed she had seen something. A cool shiver ran down her spine and all the color that had returned to Ileen’s cheeks when she had had the short argument with Percival faded. She felt her panic rising again. But then she blinked and it was gone. Had she been hallucinating? It could have been her fear which she was trying to fight back down in that moment - or just the whole strange situation - but she could have sworn she saw a hand holding the boy up. Yet, there was no one standing behind him!
As if pulled by invisible strings, she walked towards the boy. Her strategy of keeping a low profile had simply disappeared. A mixture of horror, the desire to help and the need to convince herself that he was not a product of her fear and fantasy drove her forward.
Her hand would grab the boy by the shoulder where she believed to have seen the creepy hand. She still wasn’t absolutely sure what she was doing. Did she want to support him, since it seemed like he might fall at any moment? Did she want to check if there really was anything at all? Mostly she just wanted to make sure he was actually there, existing, human.
Above all, she wanted to make sure she had been mistaken. That there was just the boy and nothing else.
Her heart was racing in her chest and she would try to catch Victor’s green eyes. She would open her mouth - and hesitate. What could she possibly say? Are you alright? Well, he obviously was not so that was the dumbest question ever. “Who are you?”

Action 1: Observation check at the spot behind Victor to make sure if someone is there
Action 2: Observation check at Victor’s eyes
Action 3: Observation check on Victor’s 'higher' shoulder

Ability: Sixth Sense
Stats: Sta:5 | Ev:7 | Str:3 | Wis:7 | Arc:6 | Acc:7

Percival tore his arm out of the other's grip. The force of the movement causing him to step back to catch himself from falling backward. The sudden break of contact resulted in the boy losing some of his anger. Now he stood there almost awkwardly his right arm held close to his body. The boy was certain that Ileen would deck him right then and there judging from that look in her eyes.

As she stepped closer, Percival took a step back away from her. Putting him one step closer to the ring and where Hanako stood. Percival's eyes narrowed as the girl questioned his morals. "I'm not staying to fight Hanako." he snapped clearly taking offense to her words. It had occurred to him sure, but he still held onto the hope of avoiding such an act. Ileen was right when she described Hanako as his best friend. Despite everything that had happened between them this year. Percival still cared for the other boy. He wondered if that was why he was reluctant to just leave with Ileen. His gaze filtered away from the girl to the familiar form of Hanako. The boy wondered if he could really just turn and leave the other. Again. Didn't he promise to himself to never repeat the same mistake he had made at the ball?

He was pulled from his thoughts as he watched Emmanuel enter the ring. The boy seemed to spew an air of confidence entering the ring so easily. Percival missed the majority of the conversation between Hanako and Emmanuel. His attention being pulled from the ring back to Ileen and Wyatt. Inwardly, he wondered if Wyatt had come to try and back up Ileen. Despite their persuasive words, Percival felt rooted to the spot. The boy mutely shook his head at the pair to signal he wasn't going to leave.

Percival took a couple steps back before turning away from the pair. The boy was much closer to where the ring stood dauntingly. He was close enough that if he stepped just a bit closer he could touch it. In close proximity to the ring, Percival got a front-row seat to watch Emmanuel shove his friend. His breath caught in his throat as if someone had stolen it away from him. Percival knew what to expect in a fight. He knew that the other's shove had probably not even injured Hanako. Though something twisted his insides watching the other get hurt.

"Hana!" he called to the other quite loudly. His voice was thick with worry. Before Percival could even realize what he was doing, he was already in the ring walking quickly towards the pair. "Get away from him!" he snapped his eyes darkening as he glared at the overeager Slytherin. The boy was so focused on Emmanuel and Hanako that he barely noticed the others in and around the ring. Percival felt as taut as one of the strings on his guitar. Wound up any tighter and he was afraid he would snap. His right hand found it's a way around the left wrist of Hanako. His grip was tight and the whole situation felt uncanny. Black eyes stared into familiar brown ones as his expression morphed from anger to concern. "Hana let's just leave." he said his voice becoming quieter as he pulled the other forward. Away from the other's and hopefully away from the ring. Everything had been moving so quickly before, but now it felt like time itself was dragging its feet.

Interacting with: @Wyatt Starkey @Emmanuel Min Requiza @Hanako Tone @Ileen Knight

Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 5 | Strength: 7 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 8 | Accuracy: 5

Ability: Foul play