WEEK 7.

[trustwellness]

WEEK 7 Oerba Dia Vanille, Phi, and Gangrel have joined the deceased, dropping your number even further. This is the second week that the death toll has risen by three, just by way of murder alone. With well over half of your number deceased, how much longer can this go on? Saturday is given to regrouping and rest; on Sunday morning the clock chimes as it always has, but at least there are no bodies to find today. It seems you're safe for now. The night before wasn't necessarily a peaceful one, however; you'll probably feel a bit groggy when you wake up, and it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost... As before, it seems that door at the bottom of the stairwell has been unlocked, allowing you to descend even further into the depths of the university; perhaps the new floor holds something promising for you. Or perhaps you'll "christen" this one with another murder. Given the current pattern, that probably wouldn't be a surprise. APPRENTICES REMAINING: 12

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[OOC: Welcome to week seven of Trustfell! Feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget to save those threads for coins and the activity check!

If you'd like to get in contact with the Wordsmith, you can do so through letters or the switchboard!]

Comments

Room 11 and Room 20

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki doesn't go to bed until late, so it's no surprise he's wandering around ... including at this time. He's absorbed in his thoughts, and almost walks straight into her. ]

Miss Elda? Do you need help with any of that?

[matchbreaker]

[ She is, at this point, holding a decent sized poodle plush and a chessboard. ... And a skateboard.

... She reaches out to give him the dog, at least, because those others are under her arms. ]

I'd appreciate it, actually.

[tsugomori]

[ He'll take them, standing here a bit, and then... ]

What's the reason why you're moving all of this stuff, by the way?

[matchbreaker]

Oh, I'm just taking it to a different room.

[ . . . Is what she says, but her eyes are alight and she seems positively giddy, even now, as she shifts the chess board (which has some pieces within it probably to play with) in her hands ]

[tsugomori]

That's nice.

[ Happiness in her eyes... room 11 and room 20.

Well then, he just will simply smile and not say anything more, but begin to head towards room 20. ]

[matchbreaker]

Isn't it?!

[ . . . She should not be flaunting this to this man, and she knows it. But she can't help it, her happiness is simply too great. She's laughing, actually getting a few steps ahead of him, spinning with the skateboard sagging a bit ]

... Oh, but I also owe you something, so it'll be a good reward.

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki's fingers tighten on the items, unconsciously. It's good, he thinks, that someone would be happy right now. Killia had gone to the trouble to write him that letter, and though it made him wept, he had been happy for that too.

He feels himself become frustrated anyway, trying to push away his feelings. He'll get this over with quick, he tells himself. ]

I'm always happy to help anyone in need, and it's alright, I don't really need much of a reward, if any at all.

[matchbreaker]

No, no, this is one I have to give.

[ And soon enough, Room 20! It says Cynical on the door, which she can't help but find a little ironic these days. Oh well, she's just going to gently set her items on the ground in here. She'll sort of out later.

... There's numerous cardboard Viktor cutouts in one corner.

Either way, though. ]

Just set it down wherever.

[tsugomori]

Alright. I will take it, then.

[ It'd be rude to have kept refusing, or so he believes.

For a moment, Mikazuki had stopped, blue-yellow eyes on the nickname written by the Wordsmith. He can only think it never really suited Hanyuu, and he wishes the Wordsmith hadn't taken the spray paint. He sets down the stuff immediately as he walks into the room, and he turns to face Elda. ]

I didn't know where to put these, so hopefully this is fine.

[matchbreaker]

[ Honestly, Elda can see why but ... it's not as flattered as her own. Not as seemingly fitting at Mikazuki's. She won't dwell on it, though. ]

It is, that's fine.

[ And she steps right in front of him. She smiles up at him, brushing back her hair. And... ]

If you trust me enough for it, close your eyes, Mikazuki.

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki fiddles with a bracelet he was given, when she says 'it's fine', but as soon as she says the rest ... there is no hesitation (maybe there should be, he really should be careful of who he trusts here). His hand falls to his side and he closes his eyes. ]

I trust you, Miss Elda.

[matchbreaker]

[ Elda smiles, warm and gentle. Very carefully, the woman reaches out, and she takes one of Mikazuki' hands in both of hers. She cradles the thing for a moment, rocking it. And then, gentle, but with a firm sense that Elda has far more power in her hand than a woman of her size should (because she figured that Killia's grip was stronger than her own truly light grip) she squeezes his hand. ]

Right now, my hands are acting as Killia's. He told me to hold your hand.

[tsugomori]

Oh.

[ Mikazuki wishes that she can't see the conflicted look on his face.

All this time, Mikazuki has wandered, what business he had... falling in "love". He was a sword, and all he was really good at was looking pretty or killing things. He shouldn't have allowed Killia to get so close; same for Gangrel and Estelle. But he couldn't help it, he hadn't been able to help how he felt.

He tried to help others, tell them there's still a way out, but steadily he stopped believing, and felt like he was before he had obtained a body...mostly trapped in a room, only to watch people slaughter each other. It was no different; he's convinced he was being delusional in believing otherwise...that there was ever any hope.

He wanted to tear his hand away, but at the same time he didn't want to. He's always liked it when people gave him positive physical contact. ]

You didn't have to do anything like that. I don't know why... Killia would say something like that to you. I suppose he knew you more than I thought?

That's... odd... haha...hahaha... but it is not bad, I think. It's almost like I can feel him now, right beside me, so, maybe... it was a good thing.

[matchbreaker]

[ Knew her more than he thought...? Not really. She had given him a rude demand and he had given one in turn. It was exchange... right? The fact of the matter was that the man had betrayed her, showing that fiend inside of him and going out and killing people for no reason.

But she still felt some pity.

And more importantly...

Elda's thumb shifts in this firm hand-holding, rubbing Mikazuki's affectionately. ]

I can't possibly make my voice sound like his, but try to humor me, why don't you?

[ Elda inhales, exhales, and then shifts one of her fingers. Her longer nails - Killia had claws, right? She gently scratches the back of his hand. She move everything affectionately, hoping that the ma man kept his word and kept his eyes closed. ]

You can imagine him now. After all, I'm standing in by personal request. That man really was kind, wasn't he?

[tsugomori]

[ Careful Elda, you may cause Mikazuki to cry, and well ... actually, that may not be a bad thing. He's not sure what kind of expression he is to be making right now, even though it should be something that lines up with all of the emotions he's going through right now. It's a little embarrassing, honestly, how much he's cried over the past few weeks. He wondered, if it would make him subject to mockery, or considered "weak".

Maybe, if he could hide these emotions better, he'd be "strong"... but, it didn't matter much now, did it? ]

Ah... alright.

[ He feels her gently scratch the back of his hand, and honestly, he doesn't open his eyes... keeping them closed. He is a man of his word, no matter what. ]

Yes, Killia was quite kind. He sometimes tried to put up a distant front, in the beginning, but he couldn't resist helping out people in need or fulfilling the requests of others. It really was quite amazing...and when we were alone, we used to hold each others' hands a lot too.

[matchbreaker]

[ It's strange, in a way, to think that there were these people she barely knew who all had their own lives, their own passions, their own... loves. She wonders a little, as she scratches Mikazuki and as she rubs her thumb int him, about those she never really knew, what lives they led. Adelina and Alani, Kyrie and ... well, she won't think of Kira, but perhaps even him too. Viktor.

Killia.

She hums. ]

So he was a pretty sentimental guy on top of it all. Or you've just for sensitive hands.

[tsugomori]

Hahaha, yes, he was quite sentimental. Did you know...? He started to court me first, when he showed me a bouquet of flowers...

[ ... Somehow, talking about this is putting him in a slightly better mood. He is aware of this, though, even though Elda is helping him... and he manages to have enough awareness to feel a touch bad for feeling jealous about the fact another couple when... Y'know...

It was horrible of him to feel that way. ]

Well, even with his claws, he was careful so that hand-holding wouldn't be too much of an issue. Somehow.

[matchbreaker]

[ Elda Marker is selfish - she always has been, and always will be. Her happiness is, as ever, paramount to her. She wouldn't allow herself to feel bad for fronting her happiness in front of anyone.

... But she would not resent people for being pained by it. Or for disliking her for it.

But that's the furthest thing from hr mind now, this was about this man, and his lover. ]

I didn't know, but I would be very pleased to hear whatever you would tell me. I do so love a romance.

[tsugomori]

Then, I'll tell you...

[ Mikazuki doesn't seem to mind at any rate... if anything, he's more inclined to discuss this than he was earlier. Maybe it was because of Killia's request to her, and maybe it's because she's fulfilling that request. ]

I don't quite remember which day it was, but it must have been, ah... well past the second week at the very least, probably right as one month of our stay had come and gone, haha. He came over to visit me, and was holding in his hands a bouquet of sakura blossoms. He handed them right over to me, and I had decided then that it would be the start of our relationship. I had no idea that he felt that way towards me, of course.

I knew it was a bad idea, since any one of us could have died that week. But, then I realized that there was the possibility that none of us may make it out of here alive. I didn't say that and I didn't even want to acknowledge it at the time, but it helped me make my decision. I don't really regret a single thing, Miss Elda... I finally was able to experience what "love" was.

[matchbreaker]

[ He'd... never known love before here? Before that relationship with Killia? That's so unfair, when you put it like that. She's glad that he's been made to shut his eyes, because she averts her gaze. She looks off to the side, and while her voice is as strong as ever... well.

That's a side of Killia she wouldn't have expected, really. ]

I don't know if anyone would fault that being a motivator.

[ Even if her own, with Hanyuu, was motivated on the opposite... right? But then, would that have happened if they weren't so captured and so doomed? ]

So you were sweet on him first?