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

Retaliation.

[wordsmithery]

[Thankfully, Wednesday will dawn reasonably uneventfully; none of the rooms smell heavily of blood, and your executioner "friend" is nowhere to be found in the rooms or corridors, either. Outside of a bit of a personal project that seems to be happening in the foyer – it looks like someone's been stacking chairs in here, all the better to get at the vents on what's presumably the outer wall of the room, but after the Tuesday meeting that's probably not much of a surprise – the University is largely just business as usual as people go about their day.

Sometime mid-morning, however, Judy and Nick can be found huddled with a few items near their makeshift pathway toward the vent – screwdrivers and other small tools from the workshop, along with a bizarrely-designed thing about the size of a softball. Nick goes up first, unscrewing the cover on the vent quickly and easily, his hands deft and dexterous against the small tools used to do so; Judy remains crouched down with the little tank, keeping an eye on it almost warily until Nick's back down on the floor, passing her and moving back a good distance away into the room.

And then she pulls the pin, makes her way up to the vent in a series of quick jumps and bounds, shoves the device inside and slams the button down before leaping down off the chairs and using her momentum to land further back in the room.

At first, there's nothing from the vent; after a brief moment, however, a shout of "Look over here!" can be heard both in the foyer and a few of the adjacent rooms, carrying through the vent in a manner that's surprisingly loud before Sheer Heart Attack does its job.

Namely, it explodes.

That sound is also loud, more than enough to warrant Judy and Nick covering their ears, their eyes closing on reflex until the sound is gone; while the wall of the foyer hasn't come down, it has cracked, a large, jagged break forming down the wall from the vent, stopping almost at ground-level; it's not quite what they had hoped for, but it's enough to provide some hope at all, and after a brief moment and a glance between them that seems almost relieved, they approach the wall to examine the damage.

As it turns out, this is a mistake.

As they move toward it, the damage seems to change all on its own, a burgeoning darkness making itself known behind the split; a large amount of that black, inky silt usually reserved for the pit or those who break rules makes itself known all at once, pouring down the walls and quickly wrapping itself around the legs of both animals, enveloping their paws and swiftly and immediately coursing up the rest of their bodies, the movement far less deliberate and far more agitated than it usually is – there's no attempt at garnering witnesses, there's no slow toying-with of the victims, just swift and angry retribution.

They're small, compared to the rest of the bodies it's consumed; it doesn't take long for it to be over, and perhaps there's some small mercy in the fact that it's so fast – they don't have time to suffer, or even fight all that much, it's done so quickly. They're simply there, and then they're consumed, and then they aren't, though the entity does see fit to leave one reminder of what happened here for those who aren't drawn in right away by the shout and the explosion – after the silt withdraws, the friendship bracelets that Orihime made for them can be found lying on the floor near the spot where they were standing.

Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are dead.

The Wordsmith's voice can be heard over the system before long.]

You really should have left well enough alone; perhaps now you'll learn.

[And just to make a point, at some point later today there will be a new rule added to the list on the wall; there's no fanfare announcing it, it's just...there.

However, the crack in the wall won't repair itself today, and it seems that it won't repair itself tomorrow, either; maybe it's going to be there for the duration, it's difficult to say. Just the same, approaching it probably won't be something that most people will do in a hurry; the dark entity is still there as well, flowing down in a constant stream from the broken wall onto the floor, where it seems to dissipate and start the whole process again.

It won't attack you if you don't attack it. It's entirely safe to be in that room and be around it, if a bit unnerving. (Perhaps quite unnerving.) But it probably isn't a good idea to upset it, let's put it that way.]

SHADOW THING and anyone else

[introspects]

[ It all happened so fast.

The yell, and then the explosion; for a split second, Orihime genuinely believes that her two animal friends have made a miracle happen. Somehow, they'd found a way out and freed everyone. Somehow, they were the two who managed to save them all.

That's not the case at all.

The shadow lurches out and consumes them whole, and it's only there for a split second before suddenly, Judy and Nick, her two most precious animal friends, are gone, and the only thing the shadow had left behind in their memory are their bracelets.

Orihime clutches her wrist, covered in the various ones she's made for the people here, Judy and Nick's among them. Blue, navy blue, pink; orange, red, and green. First Mercy, and now--

her stomach drops, her chest pounds with sorrow and anger and a rage she'd never felt before, eyes wide in shock and horror, and the only thing she can do is yell at the dark entity lurking around. ]

Where are they?! Give them back!!!

[trustwellness]

[There isn't going to be any sort of answer, verbal or otherwise; it doesn't seem interested in acknowledging her presence, even, loud though it may be.]

[introspects]

Judy-chan...Nick-kun!

[ Fuck you shadowfriend. ]

Where are you taking them?!

[tsugomori]

Orihime...

[ Mikazuki can't ignore Orihime's outburst, and so he steps closer -- first to pick up the bracelets, his intention to be giving to her soon. His actions are for fear that she may be tempted to do something. At this point, he can't exactly predict what anyone may do.

And maybe, it's not a good place for anyone to linger, when they are like this--and he doesn't know what words would be helpful so he starts with something immediate, hoping for the best. ]

It may be wise for us to vacate the area, for now.

[ He'll then hold out the bracelets to her-- for her to take. ]

[introspects]

No...no! What about--Judy-chan, Nick-kun?! I can't leave them!

[ There's nothing she can do, and she knows it; yet, there's a part of her that's yelling at her to do something. Bring them back.

What the hell is she thinking. There's no bringing them back now.

She takes the bracelets from Mikazuki, looking at them in her hand, trembling as tears roll down her cheeks. ]

[tsugomori]

[ Mikazuki eyes soften at her distress. He's not heartless to say and insist too strongly that they need to go and nothing more; he's too soft-hearted. "Loss" in the life that is surely even ephemeral is not something to be easily dismissed...

He'll then reach out to place his hand gently on her shoulder, if she should allow it. ]

[introspects]

[ Maybe when Mercy had died, Orihime would not move. But right now, Mikazuki's touch at least gets her to turn back and walk away slowly. She's crying too much to be coherent, holding their bracelets tightly in her hand.

She will allow him to rest his hand on her shoulder, at least. ]

hello darkness my new friend

[sportadork]

[... haha we're. all going to die. all of us. every single one of us. we're all going to die.

so, like. good to know.

he's not exactly sure why he decides sitting in front of the crack in the wall is a good way to spend part of the day. stop people from trying to attack it, or the darkness, and thus getting themselves killed? or maybe it's just kinda interesting to watch it. it's like a lava lamp except it's eaten people you love. so that's good for at least a few hours. he's brought some lunch anyways.

it's when he's peeling an orange that he gets the idea. he frowns, takes the segment of the orange he'd been planning to eat, and... holds it out to the darkness.]

Want some? [maybe it's just hangry.]

[byday]

Sportacus.

[Stern Batdad voice coming from the other corner of the room. He's definitely judging you from over here.]

[sportadork]

What? [literally not even looking at him don't mess with his orange-giving concentration]

[byday]

Last time I checked, interacting with that thing will probably get you killed.

[sportadork]

It's only attacked people who broke rules. Last I checked, oranges were not against the rules.

hello there shadow friend

[iaspis]

[She really shouldn't be approaching this thing. It's killed four people, not including those who were executed. But she didn't survive a thousand year-long war by being cautious. She steps towards it, not aggressively, just staring at it.]

What are you?

[She's certainly not expecting a response, she's just talking aloud to herself as she looks it over.]

[trustwellness]

[Well, it doesn't look like it's going to answer any, verbally or otherwise. So it's probably for the best that she's not expecting too much.]

[iaspis]

[Her head tips.

It has seemed to have some sort of awareness, so she'll see if she can actually get the eldritch abomination to respond to something.]

Can you understand me?

[Maybe it can nod a tendril or something.]

[trustwellness]

[So much flowing down and looking vaguely gross, Jasper. Seems it's not really one for casual talk or something, maybe.]

Shadow thing investigation

[foundfate]

[It's a few hours before Watanuki comes back to it, because he's busy preparing a few things. But sometime that evening, when it is quiet, Watanuki will go to where the dark entity can be found. In his hands is a bowl of rice, with a fork stuck up in the top of it, much like chopsticks would be if it was an offering.

Actually, that's exactly what it is: an offering. He wants to see if maybe the dark entity will respond to such a thing.

So he very carefully sets the bowl on the ground near where the dark entity is flowing into the floor, and then he scoots back. He'll keep his distance, but he stays in the room, waiting to see what happens.]

[trustwellness]

[...Well, that sure is a bowl of rice on the floor.

It'll be vaguely checked out, as though to see whether or not it's...I don't know, an exploding bowl of rice on the floor or something, but largely it's going to be ignored once it's verified to be nonexplosive or what have you.]

[foundfate]

[You never know it could be POISONED!

Ok it's not, it's just regular rice. But when it's eventually ignored, Watanuki starts to get irritated. Irritated enough to speak up.]

You're supposed to eat it.

[trustwellness]

[Jeez, maybe you were planning on wanting this back or something, how should it know.

Anyway, for a while it seems perfectly content to ignore Watanuki and everything he says - it doesn't seem to be responding at all, it's just continuing its usual pattern of flowing down the wall and generally being a black waterfall of vaguely disgusting-looking shadowy crap. After a few moments, though, it'll creep back in the direction of the rice again, and eventually it will eat it, so at least there's that.

...I mean, it also takes the bowl and the fork with it. But it did very much eat the rice, it did do that.]

hello shadowfriend

[quadruples]

[ ...Welp, that wasn't how Viktor wanted to start the day. This is fine. He's okay with the events that are unfolding currently.

Seeing the dark entity reminds Viktor of the conversation he had with Varric after the second trial, where he'd wondered if Molotov cocktails or an improvised flamethrower would work against the shadow. Fire or some sort of bright light seemed like the kind of weakness a living mass of darkness would have.

However, he's pretty sure throwing a Molotov at it is going to get him killed, so he's not going to do that. Instead he whips out his phone and steps close enough for the flash to illuminate the broken wall before he snaps a picture. ]

[trustwellness]

[Good idea, Victor. That said, for now it looks like the entity gives not a fuck regarding being photographed; it seems to disregard the light entirely in favor of just...continuing to do its own vaguely disgusting flowing thing.]

[quadruples]

[ Aw, he was hoping for something to happen, but he supposes no reaction is better than accidentally pissing the thing off.

That said, he decides to step closer to the wall, turn around and... take a selfie with the darkness doing the flowing thing in the background? This is really a thing he's doing. ]

Hashtag #weirdshadowthing!

[trustwellness]

[...Viktor, you...

Okay. This is fine, apparently? This is fine.]