CHAPTER 5 ; INVESTIGATION

[themodsgrimm]

The Story Continues... CHAPTER 5 - WEEK 5??? Narrators Remain ; The clock begins to chime, and on the first note, curfew lifts. Your doors swing open, whether you are ready or not. Leaving your room is a blur. The person you fell asleep beside — are they still there? Have they vanished? Were they ever there at all? You can't seem to recall clearly. What you are most aware of is the pervading sense of wrongness in the air, and how you can't hear anything but the chime of the clock. Even the sounds of your own voice and your own footsteps do not reach your ears. By the time the time the clock strikes nine, you know one thing to be true: blood has been spilt. Search the castle carefully — you wouldn't want to miss a single important detail, would you...? Welcome to this week's investigation post! This time, the mods will be providing top-levels for you to search. Please note the Locations page for your reference. Evidence — or lack thereof — will be noted in these threads. We ask that group threads consist of no more than 2-3 characters. After the discovery of the body (or bodies) and any pertinent evidence, an IC announcement concluding the investigation will go up. You are then free to make your own toplevels on this post for any threads you would like to have between the end of the investigation and the start of the trial. If you have any questions, please ask on our Discord server or ping us on plurk. Please direct pings to Britt (bloodthirstiest) and Danielle (entrappings), as they will be taking point on this investigation! Instructions on this week's investigation can be found in a pin in the General chat! full navigation. locations taken (statuses) stories (profiles) info & faq wishing well private conversations

Comments

[nivation]

[ She's too lost in her own grief to notice his. Her movements are stilted, not too unlike his, as she tucks the fork away. It's like she needs to do something but doesn't know what.

She stars at his hands like they're alien. ]

Why....?

[ Her voice is hoarse even though she hasn't shed any tears. ]

[sanguinairy]

[He doesn't know. He's asked himself that question a lot, especially over the last few weeks, but he still doesn't know how to answer it in any of its iterations.

If she won't take his hands, that's okay. He can't fix things with his words - he's never really been good with them. Instead, he just reaches forward and pulls her into a (somewhat loose, at least) hug. Maybe not the smartest thing to do with someone who has stabby reflexes but it's fine, a gutpunch or fork shank is the least he can do for someone in so much pain.]

[nivation]

[ She twitches a little when he touches her, but there is little resistance when he pulls.

It's that motion that gets her to tear up finally. The only other person here who's tried to pull her into a hug like this before is Jae-ha.

Was Jae-ha.

She leans into Souji's hug, and like the scream that she couldn't voice earlier, her sobs are quiet. ]

[sanguinairy]

[Once it's clear she's not discomforted by the contact or going to break away, he'll tighten his hold a little, like he's trying to convey all of the things he doesn't have the talent to sew into words.

As she cries, he's quiet and mostly still, just doing the best he can to provide her with a place tucked away from the hall and those looming glass cases where she can let out some of that hurt. He'll stay exactly like this for as long as she needs him to.]

[nivation]

[ Even before this castle and its game, Kyouka was used to death and seeing people die before her. It never stops eating away at her, no matter how much she's tried to kill herself inside.

It's always worse when she lets herself become attached. As if she could stop herself.

She doesn't have anything to say for a long while. ]

Is wanting to kill playing into their hands?

[ Even muffled against him, her words sound more monotone than upset. ]

[sanguinairy]

...It may be.

[It likely is. This game has done everything to set this up, after all; allowing them time to get to know each other, to become so tenderly attached. All the same:]

It's still your grief.

[Even if it's what they want, maybe, it's not like anything can be done for such a genuine reaction. Maybe it would be better for all of them, not to feel things so fully. But it can't be helped.]

[nivation]

What about yours?

[ She's cried enough to be cool-headed to think about a few certain things. She's cutting away at her feelings, compartmentalizing them so she can focus. She knows enough that Souji has lost enough in the previous weeks, and this week is more on top of that.

What is his grief? ]

[sanguinairy]

[What is his grief? Something useless and listless, honestly; an ugly thing that shouldn't be witnessed. Which is why he's netted it together and made something new.]

Mine is a reminder.

[A reminder that there were people here he loved, people that he doesn't want to fail. After a second, he leans back onto his heels.]

Take a walk with me? I could use a little air.

[And Kyouka could probably use like, not being around these deadass bodies.]

[nivation]

[ Timelines are fake, and Kyouka will go on a walk. ]

Reminders are heavy.

[ Even in her own fragmented state, a part of her wants to go with Souji. Following him to get air doesn't seem like the wrong thing to do. ]