Joe backed away from the gargoyle and let Salem smack it on the head a few times. When the club broke, Joe eyed at the gargoyle  wearily. He was much too exhausted and terrified to deal with jokes like that. They had almost been killed! When the gargoyle made eye contact with Joe, he straightened. Even though apparently the gargoyle wasn't going to steal their souls, he saw no purpose in pissing it off in case he didn't like slouchers. Teachers were like that, why wouldn't tiny living statues be like that too?<br/><br/>The shadow waited patiently for the gargoyle to begin explaining things. However, when he didn't, its eyes rolled across its mask upwards and then appeared at the very bottom. Talk about a hella eyeroll. "Please don't scare them, they've been through a lot and you have no business doing anything like that," it scolded. It slithered quietly towards the gargoyle and planted itself behind the stony creature. It rolled onto its side, legs crossed over one another. However, it held its head up high and attentive. "I am Aamu, it is nice to meet the both of you. Apologies for the small one's bad behavior, he's not good with guests."<br/><br/>"Uh," Joe started, and kind of raised his hand in a form of greeting. "I'm Joseph." He sounded kind of pitiful. He also looked pitiful. He was kind of like the dog in the cell at the very end of the pound that's seen so much shit that no one wanted it. His eyes were wide and he had nowhere pleasant to look. The shadow was spooky, and the gargoyle was kind of gross. He didn't want to make eye contact with Salem lest he saw the same fear reflected in his friend's eyes. He watched the colors of the shadow's mask shift to a pleasant reddish purple circles of varying saturations. The circles rotated in a rythmic pattern.<br/><br/>As if Aamu noticed him watching, she looked down at the gargoyle and requested, "Why don't you explain their situation? You've always been a better speaker. Besides, I heard that people understand things better when they can see someone's mouth moving." It almost sounded like she was laughing, though it was hard to determine where the sound was coming from.