The Grand Reopening!

As the others caught up to the gunman so did Montare, who arrived in the form of a large, black wolf before shifting back into a human, a shortsword gripped in each hand. At the other end of the alley a man dressed in the grey and green of the Lupine Guard stood with a mace in hand, eliminating what little chance of escape the gunman might've still had. Montare approached the gunman until he was stood beside Magic, glaring down at the man after offering glances to the Magic and Sylvia. "We'd be better off asking him questions at the Reformatory. Wouldn't want any of his friends to try and come back for him." Montare kept his gaze on the gunman as he spoke, the look on his face almost daring him to try and shoot again. Deep down he almost wanted him to, so that he could cut him down where he was; his tolerance for an assassin, let alone one as cowardly as the masked cultist before him, was rather thin. Montare pressed a finger to his collar, activating the tiny comm link attached to it. "Make sure none of those protesters are hiding around campus, and keep the Headmasters under extra security for the time being."

Keir made his way over to his siblings once he managed to find them in the crowd, his mildly wobbly stride making it apparent that he still hadn't quite recovered from hearing gunshots followed by all the loud chaos that followed after it. "Are you guys all okay?"

Shepard's blue eyes widened in shock as the shooter pulled out the gun once more and aimed at him. The shock kept him from defending himself or moving out of the way. Only a flinch as another pop of the gun screamed in his ears. Shepard closed his eyes and braced for an impact, swearing to himself that if he made it out alive--he would definitely tell Joanna he loved her. Yet, no bullet entered his body. Instead, a familiar man blocking the bullet with the manipulation of sound. Blue eyes peered open to see him, gasping out a quiet."Uncle Mason...!" In similar fashion more people appeared around the corner, Syl who gave him a disapproving look, another girl who he barely recognized, and Montare who shifted out of his large wolf form. That must mean that his father was alright. Shepard paused, eyes widening in fear. "I'm totally grounded.", then in another moment of bigger fear, he had to tell Joanna he loved her.

He cast a glance toward the crowd then flicked his eyes away. That could wait for later...right?

---

The headmaster confirmed his wife was okay before standing back up onto the podium. "Everything is alright, we already have guardians looking into this event. I would like everyone to have someone with them when going home to ensure safety. if you do not have someone please ask the closest guardian for assistance. Classes will start tomorrow in spite of this so please follow suit with the buddy system then until we get this sorted out. Thank you." Leo stepped down, and took his wife's hands carefully, pulling her along to meet their two kids who did not run off after the shooter. Pulling both Adam and Eve into a hug, Leo looked back out at the crowd, eyes narrowing in the direction where they ran off. Shepard was definitely grounded.

---

Eve hugged her father back, burying her face into his chest wondering to herself what if he had died today? She pulled him tighter, biting back fear at the thought. As soon as he let them go, Eve sent her older brother a quick message after seeing the look on her dad's face.

Cupid wrote:

Shep. You are so dead.

---

One of the many white-haired students flinched at the gunshots, watching many take after the gunman. His blue eyes narrowed, only sparing his sibling a nod before trotting after his father. However, he stopped as soon as he saw a student around his age on the ground hands to her ears. Sparing a glance back past the crowd, Beecher ducked down to her level, giving her room, waving to catch her attention. "Are you alright?" He asked softly, doing his best to remove his resting bitch face, brows upturned in worry. Sometimes you needed to worry about the little people. Besides, she was too cute to ignore.

An empty gap in the crowd quickly filled back up when Olive's body reappeared, the invisibility wearing off. The mother reached back out to her daughter, shooting a worrying glance her way. Her blue eyes darting to her son then over to her husband, looking them up and down as if checking for any blood.

---

Iris felt her mothers touch and turned around to meet her eyes. They had gotten good at that: communicating through eye contact. Her mother rarely spoke, and when she did it was mostly to their father or the small humming of songs throughout the kitchen. But this look was one of fear, and she knew that. Still holding onto Wally's arm she tugged him closer, her eyes glancing to her uncle then to her dad. "Dad we need to get out of here, it's not safe." Her voice was almost drowned out when another gun shot thundered through out the air. This one being more sharp and precise, this time being from directly behind them.

---

Sketch had put his pen behind his ear and his notebook was clenched tightly in his palm. What had he just seen? Was this his imagination? Did he never wake up from his dreams this morning? The white mask that had just blurred his vision was now cracked and on the ground, surrounded by a pool of red liquid that seemed to never stop. The red just like the bottle of ink that sat stiffly on his desk in the dorm. So much poured out.. so much life gone.

---

Seth spun on his heel to see the bullet whiz through the air and pierce the white mask. The white clothes crashing to the ground behind the remaining standing bodies in the back of the crowd. The blond's eyes slimmed as the shock faded from his body, and a sort of choke in his throat made his body buckle. His brows furrowed and his eyes held a look of worry, but his mouth twitched into a smirk with short breaths of a chuckle that escaped his throat. What was going on?

---

Scarlett's knees pushed against the ground so hard she could feel each individual pebble stabbing into her skin from the pavement. Her hands cupped her ears, but the bullets sounded so loud it felt like she was doing nothing to stop the deafening booms. Her eyes were locked onto a crack in the ground, one where a weed could easily take root but hadn't yet. Scarlett took a deep breath in as a shadow loomed next to her, it had kneeled down too, her head turning to meet the intruders eyes. His voice was like silk compared to the rumbles of the bullets that had sounded moments before. Her vision blurred, tears threatening to run down her cheeks. The final gun shot sounded, impacting something behind her. The fox-girl nearly jumped out of her coat, her hands reaching for the shirt of the savior before her. Maybe he could get her out of this place, or protect her from the death ridden metal flying through the air.

Magic hadn't been aware of the sniper on hiding, keeping an eye on everything. The guardian flinched putting up a barrier as quickly as he could around him and the others, not protecting the Lupine Guardman and the gunsman. Though the barrier was pointless. The shot landed home on it's intended target, which was the gunsman they wanted to arrest.

Mason looked at the dead body for a moment. "Get this cleaned up as soon as possible, we don't need others seeing this, and make sure the area is clear of anymore threats." He told the other guardians. The sound manipulator turned and started moving Shepard away from the scene. "Are you okay?" He wanted to make sure of that first before he started yelling at the teen for his idiotic actions.

Bang!

Shepard saw red arcing across the small back alley, it was thanks to a well-timed shield from his uncle that kept a majority of the blood from splattering across the blond. His blue eyes widened, mouth agape yet no breath escaping his chest. A moment of panic flooded Shepard as he staggered backward, grasping at the helm of his shirt to try and aid in a breath. Red peppered the right side of his body, catching his cheek in a streak of blood.

"I--" Shepard gulped, doing his best on forming the words he wanted to say. His breath returned, faster as his heart raced as he stared back at the bloodied mess in front of him. "I don't know." It was an honest response. He didn't know. Shepard didn't feel hurt? He wasn't in pain, but his heart was racing. He could breathe, but it didn't feel like a real breath. All the will in his body was forced through his legs to turn away.

---

Bang!

Hands pulled him closer to the girl, shirt thankfully stretching enough where it didn't rip at the sudden jolt. Blue eyes did not flinch against the loud noise, but rather toward where a figure vanished. Beecher in any other circumstance would rush toward the second shooter, but the terrified girl in front of him made that not even an option in his mind. They had to get out of there. Gently wrapping his arms around her protectively, he closed his eyes. The white-haired teen was never the coziest of his litter but had certain qualities to help calm someone. "Let's get you out of here, okay?" He murmured, carefully guiding her away from the now departing crowd.

As the crowd started to disperse, breaking off into groups, Carolina stood there with a frown on her face as she looked around. Group of two or more, huh? She wasn't eager about having to find somebody to walk back with...At least until a girl caught her attention. The young girl - years younger than Carolina - looked terrified, locked in place and unsure of what to do. For a few seconds, she stood there, uncertain of what to do before she gave her head a shake and headed over to the girl, gently planting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey kid, you okay?" she asked as softly as he could, giving the girl a light shake to break her out of whatever stupor she was in. "Got anybody to walk you home?"

-

Once his breathing became a little more manageable, Morgan started to look around for...Somebody, anybody, who could go back with him...And honestly that caused his breathing to hiccup slightly as his body felt like it was going to explode from the idea of just...Walking up to somebody and asking for them to take him to the academy. He hated people he didn't know, or well, he was terrified of people he didn't know but he didn't want to go against the Headmaster's words.

So, he stood there, his eyes landing on somebody who looked rather calm despite not being much older than him. He blinked, swallowing as his grip tighten on the flame retardant cloth as he forced himself forward. "H-Hello," he managed, shifting his weight as he squeaked out the words. He could do this, he could do this. He just had to breathe and...Not make eye contact, his gaze focusing on the ground beneath them. "I-I need to get back to my dorm in Beata Academy b-but we can't go alone...C-Can you walk me there?"

From a peaceful quiet ceremony in celebration of the new headmaster to the chaotic panic of an assassination attempt, the crowds erupted into a storm. Masked figures with hoods over their heads screaming in desperate cries and the distinct lingering of metal bullets slicing through the atmosphere. The rustling runaway of a a true murderer down the sewers and away from the prying eyes of the masses. A figure on the rooftops hopped over the top of light posts, daintily and delicately, virescent hair billowing with the breeze as they landed near the sniper's weapon, distanced well away from the retreating buddies in their plea for safety. Paler than snow fingers carefully clasped the gun, the mask over their face pulled upward to reveal lambent empyreans of blue, swirling in frozen emotions.

Without a word, Aine slung the rifle over his shoulders, darting away and back before anyone else saw. Not a single clue should go unaccounted for. Not when his readings don't perfectly extend into the enclosed spaces of the filthy labyrinths. Not yet.