First.

[trustwellness]

The past five days have come and gone, though exactly how easily they've done so is debatable; some have been trying to press onward in their optimism and faith that things will get better, while some seem convinced that things will only go downhill from here. However people have chosen to see it, though, clearly this week hasn't been all bad – after all, attempts at encouraging unity among the group seem to have been at least reasonably successful. ...Seem to have been. Friday dawns like the rest of the week before it – the clock chimes the hour at seven, the doors to the kitchen and the mail room unlock, and the building is quiet. It would seem that maybe the night passed reasonably quietly – were it not for the large red smears on the walls and floor of the southeastern side of the dormitory. It looks like somebody decided to be a damn overachiever and took some initiative of their own. >Explore?

Comments

[modernmedicine]

[When she sees the red smears, Mercy curses under her breath. She had been hoping it wouldn't come to this.]

I'll go where I'm needed...

[Namely, following the red - is it leading in any particular direction?]

[certaingiant]

[Well. That's less than optimal.

Christo thinks he just won a bet, but he's not particularly thrilled about that. He'll go to investigate that side of the dorms more closely.

Anything besides smears? ...Like bodies?]

[iaspis]

[That's just the thing to see first thing in the morning.

Time to follow the blood.]

[officerhops]

[Judy always gets up early every morning. Always. It's a shame, then, that she had to choose today of all days to be up nearly the moment the clock chimes to start her day.

Because she's honestly hard pressed not to notice the smears, and for a split second she just. Freezes in her doorway, not really wanting to believe what she sees to be true. Because...that can't be. No. It's...only been a week.

There's just no way.

But she can't just stand here forever, so...she'll go look, for better or worse.]

[acherontiastyx]

[...well that's a hell of a thing to walk out and see first thing in the morning. Where... where is this... ketchup smear, definitely a ketchup smear, going.]

[trustwellness]

[The smears are a little hard to trace directionally, but there are several on the walls that seem to be concentrated near the end of the dormitory hallway - you want to check that out?]

[modernmedicine]

[Yep. She's going to check it out.]

[trustwellness]

[The hallway itself is actually corpse-free, thankfully.]

[introspects]

[ This is what Orihime was afraid of the most. Five days have gone by too nicely, it seems, and it's time for these peaceful days to be over. Her heart sinks when she sees the read smears on the walls.

She's going to follow the smears and follow the smears down the hallway. ]

[byday]

[...Bruce does not take this well. At all.

He stops, staring at the smears in pure horror. There are a million thoughts coming into his head, and most of them revolve around guilt.]

...No.

[trustwellness]

[Follow to your heart's content, Jasper. A large amount of it is concentrated toward the end of the hallway.]

[plentyfriendly]

[Phi isn't exactly close by the trail when she wakes up, but she can tell something is... not quite right. It's not often she heads to the other end of the dorm hallway, but this morning she does - and she has a bad feeling about today.]

[certaingiant]

[Well. That'd be reassuring if blood stains came out of nowhere, but since they don't, it's not.

Any of the rooms down at that end unlocked?]

[elepe]

[...goddammit, Lusamine was hoping to wake up early enough to get her laundry done without any issue. When she see the red that's going down that hallway, she stops in her tracks.

Now is not a very good time to have been right...

Well, let's see where this fucked up rabbit hole goes. Where is this blood trail ending off toward?]

[neverheardofhim]

[It was the clock the rouses Varric at first, for once encouraging him to actually get out of bed. As sat up and ambled to the door, though the scent of rust but not-rust accosts his nose. Bile rises in his throat, and he turns the knob.]

[From directly outside of room 009, he glanced up and down the hall. A drop of sweat trickled down his spine. First he followed his nose, then the smears themselves, leaving behind him a string of blasphemous swears.]

Andraste's chapped ass, when I find out who did this I'll--

[oyashiromama]

...

[She hates being right. Hanyuu very lightly places a hand on Bruce's shoulder.]

If it's too much for you, there's no fault in that. You can stay back.

[trustwellness]

[It looks like the door to Room 25 is slightly ajar; it'll probably swing open if you push on it.]

[modernmedicine]

[That's not good. Pushing the door open!]

[trustwellness]

[Actually, it smells a lot less like rust than you'd think.]

[byday]

It's not too much for me.

[He draws back sharply.]

I could have stopped this.

[trustwellness]

[End of the hallway, Lusamine.]

[trustwellness]

[I mean, she's not wrong.]

[neverheardofhim]

[Welp.]

[Either way, something smells fishy (probably not literally), and he's chasing it down.]

[trustwellness]

[Off you go, Orihime.]

[trustwellness]

[Bless your heart, Guzma.]