PROLOGUE ; INVESTIGATION

[themodsgrimm]

The Story Continues... PROLOGUE - WEEK 0??? 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 your first investigation post! This time, as it is tutorial week, we will be posting toplevels for searchable locations; moving forward, you will post your own toplevels for locations you wish to searh. Evidence — or lack thereof — will be noted in these threads. We ask that group threads consist of no more than 3-4 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 Danielle (entrappings) and Britt (bloodthirstiest), as we will be taking point on this investigation! full navigation. locations taken (statuses) stories (profiles) info & faq wishing well private conversations

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[alttitude]

[By the time that you arrive in the Grand Foyer, there are countless slams.

His fingers are already bruised, shaking from his misguided attempts to claw the glass case open. Despite everything he'd said, dragon claws would be truly useful right now rather than these human fingers. They feel brittle, not strong enough to reach his Captain. So Jae-ha fell back on what he remembered, what he knew, and that was kicking down anything in his path that might keep him from what he treasures most.

So it happens again and again and again - the slamming of his right leg into the glass that acts as guard between him and the pale, cold Gi-Gan. With each kick, his anger grows, and he snarls viciously. The noise is angry, frustrated, and pained.]

Damn this castle, damn this glass, damn this useless leg...!

[He kicks at the glass again - and it doesn't so much as rattle. Pathetic.

The sting starts to seep in but it barely registers amidst the tornado of his emotions, everything whipping around him like a hurricane.]

Captain...!!

[With trembling fingers, he presses against the surface again, shoulders rattling as he can't find where the rage ends and the agony begins. Gi-Gan doesn't open her eyes, doesn't give a chiding remark, doesn't laugh and call him overdramatic.

Instead she remains there, just out of reach. When he'd left Awa, he never thought it'd be forever. She was always meant to be waiting for him, there for him, just as he'd return to her side because—

You said I'd always have a home with you.

His head bows and he poses a question, voice low.]

What happened... to not doing anything stupid?

[For a brief moment, that's where he remains - waiting for orders that won't come.]

[discardia]

... Jae-ha...

[ she hadn't known this woman. But she's seen that kind of grief, from a little girl much smaller than the man who was breaking before her now. This time... it isn't her help, but it does feel just as terrible.

So Cardia finally reaches out, carefully plucking at his sleeve. ]

[alttitude]

[Cardia plucks at his sleeve and Jae-ha remembers that other people exist -

Other people that might have killed Gi-gan.

- but not Cardia. She wouldn't. He seems to take another moment to inhale, to take the breath into his lungs, and then exhale. Composure, he reminds himself.

So he turns to him, expression tight around the corners of his eyes.]

... miss Cardia?

Ah... Sorry - I didn't mean to scare you.

[discardia]

... You didn't scare me. But I was worried.

[ she's never seen him... lose his composure like that. ]

[alttitude]

... then that's my mistake as well.

[he thinks it's terrible, how heavy his heart must feel if he can't even get any small thrill out of having someone admit that they were worried about him - especially if it's someone as sweet as cardia.

so he turns her hand over in his, then bringing the back of it up to his lips as he places a kiss there]

I beg your pardon, lovely miss Cardia. Remind me to make this up to you later.

[but... later.

because in the next moment his hand slips out of hers as he moves to leave the room.]

[function]

[ 2b claims to not have emotions, but clearly she understands the pain jae-ha is going through right now. she's prepared to catch his leg should he lash out again, but if he just continues to stand there, she just says, ]

Jae-ha. Snap out of it.

[alttitude]

[ - her voice reaches, if just barely. His fingers curl into a fist against the glass, but he raises his head. It takes a few seconds that pass like small eternities as he puts the pieces of himself back together, standing up straight and taking a number of quiet breaths.

He still doesn't face her.]

... Out of - what?

[He's.

Clearly fine.]

[function]

[ it's fine, she's patient. ]

You can't bring her back.

[ she wasn't programmed to be compassionate. ]

[alttitude]

[Like ice water.

He knew that. He knew that once people die there's no way that they can come back. It's how you remove the trash of the world, how you make sure they never hurt other people, sometimes it really is the only way -

But Gi-gan wasn't like that. Gi-gan never hurt another soul without a greater purpose. She wasn't meant to go. She wasn't meant to go before him.

He doesn't have a response to that but - You don't know how to court a woman, do you? - Gi-gan would never forgive him for raising his voice against a woman trying to help him.

So his feet guide him away when he can't find his voice for anything more than - ]

... excuse me.

[function]

[ kind words aren't what he needs to hear, she thinks. he needs to face the reality of the situation, that this really isn't a game. his cold shouldering ends up being a relief.

she lets him go right into their pc. ]

[axilium]

[...

belph doesn't know how to comfort others. he's the worst person to be around during times of grief, really.

so although he watches from a distance, he says nothing. letting jae-ha be alone would likely be kinder than whatever belph has to offer.]

[alttitude]

[it's good to have that kind of awareness.

it takes time - a few more seconds that border into minutes - but he slowly puts himself back together after his initial outcry. the pain that he feels doesn't subside. it throbs harder in his chest with every passing moment that gi-gan remains in the glass encased in front of him

but he eventually pulls himself away

and stalks past belph as he does

though he manages a small, breezy - ] Apologies.

[his tone does not suit the expression on his face. not at all.]

[axilium]

[...]

Apologies don't suit you.

[is all he says as jae-ha walks by him. he won't follow.]

[sanguinairy]

[He doesn't know what to do with this, really - with grief and anger so intensely private, spilled out in the open. He's not a comforting person by nature, but he's drawn over regardless, like maybe an idea will come to him on how to comfort if he stands there long enough.

It doesn't, of course.]

...Will you come with me?

[The very least he can do is get him away from the obstacle he can't kick down, for now.]

[alttitude]

[ . . . . the other voices remind him that there's something else. Something else beyond this inherent drive to slam his fist and feet against the glass, as if that'll eventually get it to yield to his will.

He hears Souji, and he straightens. His brow furrows and he wonders silently when the nightmare will end. When will curfew truly break, and when will he meet Gi-gan for breakfast, draw up battle plans for escape from this place.

Jae-ha doesn't turn to Souji. Not yet.]

... must I?

[sanguinairy]

[There's a pause, one or two beats of thoughtful consideration, and then:]

You don't have to stay with me, but I think you should at least come.

[He doesn't intend to crowd Jae-ha right now or force himself to endure anyone's presence if he needs time to himself. He won't try any harder than that to make him leave Gi-gan, either - for now, this is the most he figures he can do.]

[alttitude]

[ . . . Jae-ha's lips settle into a small, fragile smile.]

... ah, because I'm making a scene, aren't I? And not a particularly beautiful one.

[Even if it's not what Souji intended - that is what Jae-ha hears. So he inhales and exhales just once more, before shaking his head.]

Then - don't worry about me, my friend.

[and with that, he will aim to leave.

grief is so very ugly.]

[sanguinairy]

[Souji won't hold him back from leaving, though his brow furrows a little. He doesn't know how to handle the kind of fragile he's seen in that smile; for now, he can only back down and wait and hope that Jae-ha doesn't do anything too damaging to himself in his upset.]

[disilluded]

[Sousei's another who's watching from a distance, expression tight, hands balled into fists. He had been so certain that if he had just tried hard enough, he could have protected her, no matter what the case may have been. No matter what--

(And somehow, he failed.

His best wasn't good enough, and not Gi-gan is dead and Jae-ha is suffering and Sousei's own fate is up in the air, and he can't even bring himself to care about that right now.)

He watches Jae-ha for a long moment--and then he drags in a slow breath, closes his eyes, and turns to walk away. He'll have to apologize for his lapse in capability later.]

[doublecrows]

[empathy is not Akechi's strong point]

[he doesn't know how to comfort other people. he doesn't know how to offer soothing words of wisdom, to temper pure anger and grief. he isn't what Jae-ha needs right now, and truthfully? he never will be]

[he watches the display with a dispassionate, detached expression. and before Jae-ha can turn to face him, whenever he is done mourning against the glass door of Gi-Gan's new coffin. . .]

[he takes a step back, turns on his heel, and walks way]

[hairbrain]

[ rapunzel's only known gi-gan for a few days, and this loss cuts her to the bone. she can only imagine what it feels like for jae-ha --- who's known her for much, much longer. ]

[ so, yeah, orders aren't coming for jae- ha, but, well, something is coming. it's his death, because rapunzel stabs him!!! just kidding. she's actually just going to fucking hug during the brief moment where he's still. ]

[ she doesn't immediately say anything, either. ]

[alttitude]

[that's not what he expected.

but his arms wrap around the other body instinctively, though more to catch her than to hug back. once he realizes the notion behind the gesture, he relaxes from the tense coil that was curled in his stomach and

places his hand at the top of rapunzel's head, in an attempt to soothe her]

... I'm okay, lovely Rapunzel.

Are you?

[hairbrain]

[ ]

Of course I'm not okay --- and you can't be either, Jae-ha!

[ she's not crying yet but it could happen, watch out. ]