WEEK 4.

[trustwellness]

WEEK 4 Three more have died this past week. Milla Maxwell was killed for breaking a rule, Chiyuki was murdered, and you all had a hand in executing Yoshikage Kira. It seems like this isn't going to stop any time soon. How many more will join them this week? 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... Despite the Wordsmith's reaction to the last trial, it seems as though you've been rewarded once again for a job that was...well, it was done, even if he didn't explicitly say it was well-done. Another door has opened in that stairway, it seems, leading you further down into the building; once again, there are more rooms down there, more things to occupy yourselves with. Or perhaps just more means to get creative with regards to how you take initiative with your fellow Apprentices. APPRENTICES REMAINING: 23 APPRENTICES REMAINING: 22 APPRENTICES REMAINING: 20

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[OOC: Welcome to week four 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

[quadruples]

Oh, he's more than just a friend. [ He smiles brightly, brimming with delight. ] Again, I don't remember it, but the ring I'm wearing implies some wonderful things.

[feistytrader]

I'll keep a good eye on them.

[Weavile's content to go bug Clefable- hey buddy, you probably float or something, right- while Silver scoops up some water to hold up for Lilligant to get a better look.]

It's not gonna hurt. I can help you in if you want, but you don't have to.

[It's so much easier talking to Pokémon than everyone else.]

[firstaid]

[Yeah, she can tell he's completely frustrated...

Ugh...

So what does she do? She goes up next to him and punches the bag right after he gives a punch. It's clear that her punch, well, packed a punch, too.]

[tsugomori]

[ The more you know. ]

Alright, I'm ready. Come at me.

[ Mikazuki sort of enters into a battle stance that is common for him, or at least close to it. It'll feel more natural if he had his blade with him. ]

[tsugomori]

My, my, while I'd say our situation is quite dire, I wouldn't say it was that hopeless.

[ Although he understands why Silver would say that... ]

[elepe]

[Lusamine was actually going to head off to the Infirmary to take up Mercy on her offer--she wanted a nice, quiet place to write, and since Kimbley was likely living in the Chemistry Lab now, this seemed like the safest option.

...seemed. While Lusamine perks a bit at seeing the shadow creature, actually going and seeing who's inside and...dead is...

No. Oh god--oh god--]

Angela!!

[...why did she do something stupid? Why did it have to be her? Dammit all...]

[feistytrader]

You're right. Maybe three months.

[...That's not any better. He briefly shakes his head.]

If you've got a positive spin on things, I'm all ears.

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki accepts the moving on, not seeing anything odd about what he said in the slightest. ]

Oh, is it because of the Grim-eels? Or is it someone else that you need to be prepared for?

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki steps into the room, and the sight... well. It's one he didn't expect to view concerning a certain individual. He thought the woman would have been more cautious, considering what had happened to Milla. Still, once everything its done, as always its as if she had never been there in the first place. ]

...

[ He'll just quietly slip away now; there's no reason for him to linger anymore. ]

[tsugomori]

If you want, you can start somewhere, and I can listen. Holding it all back probably isn't the best thing to do.

[deofoled]

[ Duel is a go then!

It's been a while since he's fought, but Killia is still deceptively fast, favoring bursts of attacks to biding his time. So he doesn't hesitate at all in going in for a flurry of strikes, hoping to land at least one. It leaves him pretty open when it's said and done, but he's always been more about offense than defense.]

[tsugomori]

[ ... It really isn't, but their situation was bad enough that it could happen. ]

I understand it's tough to be optimistic, but I don't think I'd want to say we're doomed just yet. Although, I do have a overly positive scenario of how things might happen and since you want to listen, I'll say it.

Ahem, one day, soon, probably a few weeks from now, the Wordsmith will take a stroll down the hallway. Everyone still around then surprises him and gets him to cough up a key to the exit or the exit itself after defeating him soundly. We also making sure he can never do anything like this again. Then, we all skip out to freedom and everything is solved.

[ ... ]

...I suppose in the end, I don't quite really have anything, but. We have to keep trying, right?

[deofoled]

[ Killia doesn't lay down, but he does just sit in the middle of the floor pulling out a bag of candies he took from the kitchen. Look, it's important to be prepared to snack at all times, and this is one of those times.]

Do you want some?

[ They're jellies, he couldn't resist because they're so colorful and like hell he's eating properly today.]

[plegia]

Well, there's them too, but I'm primarily concerned with the war that's apparently started. I wish I could remember that...

[But nope, instead he's got a lot of memories he still has to put together. Ughhhh, work.]

I was preparing for battle in one of the memories and in another the Prince of Ylisse was damned determined to kill me for kidnapping his sister.

[...and also getting ready to execute her but shhh.]

[deofoled]

[ The punch surprises him, but earns her an appreciative nod after.]

There's got to be something we can do that isn't killing each other. Even if we have to make our own exit from this place. [ Maybe that was the source of it too, because he spent the past week in a funk with the loss of Christo, who usually directed him in some way. But he wasn't content at all in just waiting for the Wordsmith to finally show his face.]

[plegia]

[Killia, you're the best. Gangrel studies them for a moment before reaching out to gingerly pick one out of the bag.]

I've never seen anything like these before! They're sweets of some kind...?

[He's lightly squeezing it between his fingers because why is it so squishy, this is cool.]

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki has little to no experience utilizing hand to hand in combat explicitly (as he has said), but he is definitely the type to "bide his time". He tries his best to see his opponent's next move before they strike, but Killia's already striking so there is no time for that.

He'll try to block as much as he can with his arms since he doesn't quite have the time to move in the dodging sense-- ]

...

[ He's unable to intercept a strike that hits him in his right shoulder, and there's a moment where the surprise of being hit throws him seemingly off-balance. Of course, Mikazuki is going to try for a trap and just hopes Killia tries to take the bait. ]

[neverheardofhim]

I know -- [But he trailed off. He'd just been talking to the doctor yesterday. He'd laughed about her odd companions.]

I know enough.

[neverheardofhim]

Not good.

[He stood in the door way, horror written in his gaze. All he could let himself think about was the logistics of her death, because like hell did he want to think about anything else. About how there were good people, and then there was Angela.]

[And then there's uneasiness, a deep seated worry in his gut. He made a note to come back here later, once everything was settled.]

[Now? Now he needed a drink. A drink and someone to talk to. Good thing he had a phone in his room.]

[deofoled]

Yeah, they are. I don't usually eat things like this much because they don't fill me up, but they're pretty good. I like the lemon flavored ones.

[ Killia is just eating a handful at a time because what is properly eating, he doesn't know that's for sure.]

[plegia]

[Huh. Well he'll try it!! He doesn't seem to know what to think of it after he's done though.]

...That's the strangest thing I've ever tasted. It's good, but it's... very different.

[...PASS HIM A FEW MORE OF THOSE, HE'S GOTTA TRY THE OTHER FLAVORS]

[officerhops]

[After what happened with Mercy, Judy is...shaken. But Judy is stronger than to let something like this cause her to hole up in her room like a frightened baby bunny wishing she were back home. She trained for four years to be able to withstand this kind of situation, so while she's definitely upset and disturbed by Mercy's sudden death, one other emotion takes precedent before all else.

Anger.

And not long after she's recollected herself, anyone looking for Judy will find her in the Gym, standing in front of a punching bag that's several times her own height, dozens of times her weight, and more at eye-level with a person than a rabbit. But it's not stopping her from taking several steps back and taking a running start, leaping up so she's more-or-less at "eye" level with the bag, kicking out with her hind-legs to pummel the thing before dropping back down to the mats on three paws. Then, she backs up and does it again, this time punching with a bare fist from the right and kicking out with her left foot, shouting as she does so.

She's really just...trying to get out her frustrations here, at being stuck in this place for so long, at the senseless deaths, at how useless she feels to stop it. She'll probably stop if you approach her, but the force she's kicking that bag with is making it rattle on its chains.

Later on, Judy can be found patrolling the hallways of pretty much any floor, looking up and down at the walls and the floor, writing things down in her notebook as she goes. She looks very concentrated, and every now and then she'll stop to read, tapping her foot briefly before continuing on.

Then, finally, when evening hits Judy's gone back to her own room instead of staying up late in the library today. Her door is cracked open if anyone wants to visit, though it's not like she's doing a whole ton. She looks busy when she really isn't; she's pouring over her notes and mumbling to herself, brushing her ears back, writing things down, scratching them out and repeating the process all over again.

She doesn't expect to sleep much tonight.]

[plentyfriendly]

[She has to think about this.]

...Fine.

I know what happened that leads to the future that I wanted to prevent.

Re: Retaliation.

[introspects]

[ There's something different about Mercy's death that hurts Orihime more than any of the others did.

She was close to Mercy on some level. Mercy looked out for her, they'd investigated together, Orihime talked to her about a lot of things. So seeing Mercy dead on the floor, only to be enveloped by the same shadow who'd taken the culprits away is more than just a shock to her. It causes her chest to hurt, her stomach to churn, and Orihime feels sick. ]

Angela-san!

[ She starts to run for her before the shadow can take her whole; it's too late. Mercy is already gone.

Orihime's still for a while, trying to process what's just happened, but she can't. How...how do you process a friend, someone who took care of you, dying just because of Rule Three?

She's going to kneel on the floor for a bit and just. Cry. Forget that Mercy was a doctor who knew how to investigate bodies. She was kind and sweet and Orihime really looked up to her. ]

[introspects]

Y....You scared me, Watanuki-kun! I thought something bad--

[ And then Mugetsu jumps out at her and she yelps as it lands onto her arm. ]

Hii-! [ But she doesn't try to get him off, doesn't try to push him away. She was just startled, is all-- ] Um--w-what is this?