"Thank you for being here with me," Lorelei said loudly with a hum, her hands in her lap. She sat at the head of a long table. "We'll get started as soon as Idun shows up. It was a last-minute decision to ask her to join us here today." She looked down the table's length and watched as the rest of the chosen teaching staff took their seats. With the silence that fell into place after everyone settled down, the sound of the door opening echoed more pronouncedly. Idun walked in, sheepishly, and scurried away from the curious eyes to sit in the last remaining open seat. She smiled at Landon, who sat next to her. He stared back, confused.

"Now that everyone is here let's begin." Lorelei's voice echoed through the room. "All of you are here because either Death or I think your expertise with your species will help us in our goals. Some of you have unique skills in coexistence, and we plan to use those well past their extent." Lorelei paused to lock eyes with everyone at the table one by one. "I'm not here to coddle you. This won't be easy. Not only will you have to get used to each other, but you'll have to get used to the students that you have sworn to educate as well. I will not hesitate to eliminate any of you if you were to step out of line. Do I make myself clear?" Her sharp words were met with silence. "I will start the students' day off. They will spend a bulk of the middle of their day with their assigned teachers. Then, to end the day, they will meet with Death. As the students progress in this school, they will meet with you less and with myself and Death more. Death and I do hope by this time we will have more than just a few students. A full school, filled with all forms of supernatural species."

"Have any of your fae offered to be students here?" Susan spat out at Lorelei with a glare.

"No fae will leave our dimension," Lorelei responded.

"Except for you." Susan pointed out, obnoxiously. "You've been so busy with other supernaturals, haven't you? I noticed there aren't any reapers here, either. Funny. Death in charge of a school and no reapers?" she looked around the group with a sly grin. Some of the others whispered amongst themselves.

“Nathaniel has agreed to give his assistance here.” Lorelei responded quietly. Susan didn’t let her smirk waver as she continued to stare at Lorelei. “It was Death’s decision not mine.”

“Uh-huh,” Susan almost laughed.

“You two will be the perfect picture of Life and Death creatures coming together, don’t you think?” Wilhelma added on with a twisted smile. “Such good role models.”

“Which reaper has been picked as a student?” Winry asked softly.

“At the moment we have not been able to find another reaper. The selection process for teachers and students was extremely specific. Death and I do not feel any reapers would positively impact the school.” Lorelei answered quickly, feeling relieved to change the subject.

“Seems like Fae and Reapers are getting special treatment, as always.” Victor commented in a low tone. Everyone began agreeing with him quietly.

Lorelei felt at a lost and nerves begun to set in, “I-I-”

“Reapers can do and go wherever they like. The Fae have their own dimension that Death herself cannot enter. The Fae and Reapers are always favored.” Victor glared.

“The Fae, as some of you know, are very stubborn and intolerant creatures,” Landon pointed out flatly. Everyone glanced at Lorelei as her cheeks turned red.

“Not that… They won’t help. I’ve tried. They believe this won’t work.” Lorelei confessed.

“They aren’t the only ones,” Susan commented. Others nodded.

“It’s possible,” Landon almost growled, “I want to know why this is any different.”

"Hm?" Lorelei hummed, surprised by his question.

"Why are we doing this? Because of the recent massacre? You really think this hasn't happened before?" Landon questioned her. Lorelei took a breath as she tried to relax her shoulders. She stood for a moment before she wandered over to a table with wine glasses and a bottle. She filled up a glass and took a large drink.

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“I beg your pardon.” Idun interrupted. “But what massacre?” When everyone stared at her, she turned a deep shade of red. “I’m sorry, but some of us have just been away for a couple centuries!” Landon leaned over to whisper in her ear. As he spoke to her, her bright red cheeks slowly went pale.

"A seer gave Death a prophecy." The whispers stopped as Lorelei began to talk again. She took another drink, "If we do not learn how to coexist, all of Life and Death creatures will die. All of us. Gone." Silence passed for a second before some of them broke out into laughter.

"Quiet!" Wilhelma's yell shocked the room into silence, and she stared deep into Lorelei's eyes as she asked. "Who was this seer?"

"Tanda," Lorelei answered without hesitation. “Tanda gave the prophecy to Death right before…” Her voice broke as she fell short. She closed her eyes as she rushed out. “Right before she died.”

Wilhelma stood up, grabbed the bottle of wine and chugged the rest of it. She wiped her mouth and let out an unamused chuckle. "Welp, we're gonna need something wee bit stronger here, missy."

"You believe her!?" Susan asked incredulously. “We can’t even double check her story, if she’s telling the truth and the old bat bit it. How convenient a story that is!” The rest of the gathering sat, whispering amongst themselves.

"Of fucking course. They be Tanda's words. What? You think Lorelei is telling us a tale? Tanda was a seer that's been around since the Roman times. The things she's foretold…" Wilhema shook her head in awe, “Her being dead is irrelevant, you’d have to be at least half mad to whisper lies about such a lady. May I?" she asked Lorelei as she held up a cigarette. With Lorelei's permission, Wilhelma lit up her cigarette and took a drag, "Look, we all have our issues with each other." she scowled at Victor. "But we haven't killed each other yet, and that has to mean something." She took another drag. "I'm on board. What kind of miscreants are we going to have to deal with?"

"We've already talked to a few students on the list. Gods, incubus, succubus, shapeshifter, kelpie, banshee, Nymphs…", Lorelei looked away quickly, "and a vampire and oni."

"And where are those teachers?" Victor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ha!" laughed Winnie, "A vampire? That is quite a joke. Imagine if we brought a vampire to this school. Everyone would be in danger."

"What vampire is going to be involved in this?" Moss asked Lorelei quietly. Everyone fell silent as they waited for a response.

"Uh…" Lorelei paused, her mind a mess as she tried to find a way to word her response. Before she could, the silence was broken by a loud thud. Heads turned as everybody stared at the intruder.

Khalida stood there. The mess of books in front of her indicated that she had knocked over a pile. Her outstretched hand indicated that it was anything but an accident. She was a teenage girl who, at first glance, appeared to have a side shaved head with purple choppy hair. Her eyes were a deep magenta. She was tall and lean and wore heavy combat boots, shorts and a shirt with a skull on the front. "Khali? What-" Lorelei sputtered to a stop. She sighed heavily as she turned to the group of teachers, "Let's continue this later. Please."

"You can't escape this conversation that easily, Lorelei." Susan hissed as they all stood to leave. "If that Leah girl comes here, people are not going to be happy." Lorelei and Susan locked eyes with one another, "Everyone wants her head."

As soon as the group disappeared out the door, Lorelei whipped around to look at Khalida with a glare.

"I figured you needed an excuse to get out of that conversation." Khalida smirked, "You looked really uncomfortable there. But, seriously, who's this 'Leah girl'?" She imitated Susan, her nose held high. The imitation only lasted a second before Khalida jumped forward, revealing that her hair was really a mohawk. She landed in front of Lorelei like an overeager puppy. "Tell me!"

"No, the details are still not being told to the public yet," Lorelei stated firmly, her arms crossed.

"Are you really sure about that? I already had a fascinating conversation with Adrian." Khalida's grin spread from ear to ear.

"Kali!" Lorelei rubbed her temples, "This is a delicate situation! We can't have you running around, sticking your nose into business that has absolutely nothing to do with you." Lorelei put her hands on hips, "What the hell are you even doing here in the first place? How did you know I was here?"

Khalida strolled around the books and grabbed one from a stack as she passed, "I wanted to know what Death was up to." Khalida planted herself on an open couch, spread out haphazardly across its surface. "She's been neglecting me." Lorelei ripped the book from Khalida's hands and ignored the resulting pout on her face.

"You reapers, always so intrusive," Lorelei grumbled, almost to herself.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Khalida waved her arms wildly. She almost made herself fall off the couch, "I like to pride myself on the simple fact that I am nothing like those other reapers." Khalida let her pout remain on her face for a few more seconds before she smirked, and crossed her arms, "Now tell me what you guys are up to!"

"Don't you already know? How long have you been listening in?" Lorelei glared at her. Khalida giggled and stuck her tongue out at Lorelei. "Go away, Kali."

"Let me in the school," Khalida demanded, her tone turned serious. "You heard them! No reapers… No fae. Very suspicious, lady! You need me in this as much as I want to be in it. I'm up for coexisting! The best part is… Nobody knows who I am. Easy-peasy!"

"Not easy-peasy, Khali. You are literally a one-woman wrecking crew." Lorelei groaned. "Does Death even know you want to be part of this? Why are you here, bothering me? You know she's in charge of the school too, right?" They stared at each other for a moment before Lorelei let out a groan and muttered, almost to herself. “You’re right, though… it would make things less tense… Having a reaper as a student." Lorelei tapped her chin in thought as she studied Khalida carefully.

"Lorelei," Khalida said sincerely, "I want to be part of this. Please."

Lorelei stared at Khalida for a moment longer before letting out an exhausted groan. "Fine!" Lorelei finally gave up. Khalida squealed in delight. She jumped up, clapping excitedly in victory. "But you've got to promise me something."

"Anything!" Khalida's eyes shined in the afterglow.

"I'm trusting you. I need you to trust me too. Everyone is going to be up in arms about this school. Especially once they confirm their fears and find out that Vanya Leah is attending." Khalida eyed her suspiciously but stayed quiet as she continued. "I need you to keep an eye on her. Can you do that for me?" Lorelei asked. Khalida nodded slowly, and Lorelei smiled gently in return. "Thank you."