Blending In

The walk to the headmistress's office was quiet and it had remained long after they had arrived. The three boys watched Bloodgood carefully stack up some papers and sent the horse (which they learned was named Nightmare) away. Other then the strange looking animal, they couldn't necessarily find anything else strange about her with careful scrutiny.

Bloodgood knew they were watching her, but she decided to let them continue. Let them calm down and come up with their own conclusions, and then they could continue forward. At least, she would like to do that, but seeing as how the one wearing the hat seemed to still twitch every few seconds since they sat down, she might have to cut to the point.

"As you may have guessed," She said slowly, watching them straighten up. "This is not exactly the most normal of places. I do not doubt that you boys have some questions for me and I am absolutely free to answer whatever they may be."

"Where the hell are we?"

The question made the headmistress pause, looking over the short boy in the middle chair. Eddy (she believed his nickname was) seemed to have a suspicious look, tense and ready to run at a moments notice. He had his hand on Double D's shoulder as an attempt to soothe him- or was it to move him in case she turned out to be dangerous? She assumed the latter as he had a hand ready to grab Ed that was dangling limply off the armrest in said boys direction.

"You are within the city limits of New Salem and Bookend." She answered simply. She made sure to keep eye contact, watching as Eddy's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What- what my compatriot here means that," Double D started, flinching as Bloodgoods gaze switched to him. "What we're asking is what exactly this location is."

The headmistress sighed. "Now that is a harder question to answer." She composed herself carefully, making sure all eyes were on her. When she determined they were, she continued. "A good many years ago, the people of the world were classified into three groups; Humans, Monsters, and Legends."

"Monsters?" Ed said in wonder, eyes widening. It looked like he had begun to relax, curiosity instead of trepidation entering his features. An encouraging look if Bloodgood could say so herself.

"Legends?" Eddy said carefully, looking to Double D in confusion. His suspicion remained, but he was still listening. Double D seemed to also share these feelings, watching the administrator with critical eyes.

"For many years, the three groups lived in a fragile harmony. While it couldn't be called exactly abject peace, it wasn't close to absolute war." A small smile fell onto her features. "Many of these groups used to intermingle, working together towards common goals. Legends focused on becoming the creators of tremendous stories, while Monsters would focus on great innovations that would move each group forward. As for humans, they made sure to record everything and become the first historians."

"I'm sensing a but." Eddy interjected, raising an eyebrow. She would have been irritated, but at least a joke meant he was calming down. She kept going.

"But," She sent a look their way to not interrupt again. "There came a time when all groups wanted more from each other. Legends wanted monsters to play their parts more. Monsters wanted humans to write them in a better light. And humans simply... well, just wanted more."

She waved vaguely all around here at the knickknacks on the walls, the haunted items she kept as a collection. Even the pencils on her desk that were virtually worthless compared to everything else.

"When the situation kept boiling over with actions of taking rather then giving, no one can really blame the ensuing conflict on any one side." She sighed, looking down to the floor. "However, in the end, there was only one true winner."