that's not what we usually mean by 'dance with death'

[cherryblooded]

[That certainly did happen. Cherryblod's not the type of person who will judge one person's value as being more than another's, so he can't say whether it was better or worse than the first week. It came as less of a shock, maybe, but even so...

It's not the kind of thing people usually want to go through alone.

So, after he spends some time in the kitchen preparing (with assistance from Bruce), he'll slip some personalized notes under everyone's doors.]

[Name],
If you'd prefer to spend this time alone, that's fine.
If you'd prefer not to, I've made some food and set it out in the dining hall.
Even if you're just hungry and would rather not talk, feel free to come take some.
But if you'd like the company, we're here for you.
-Cherryblod

[Those arriving in the dining hall will find an assortment of food - a fair number of sandwiches and other, actual meal-like options since most people missed a meal or two, but also a goodly number of desserts. There's tea, as well as coffee for those who favor it.]

Comments

[amygdalae]

Me neither. And to think it was the two of them...

[Caren and Pearl. He didn't know both of them well, but they hadn't seemed like the type to go at anybody's throat at all. There's no telling what really happened now, though.]

[happysweets]

...I didn't think Caren would do something like that. Sure, she was a bit on the grumpy side, but...Misa-Misa knew she was really sad.

I wanted to cheer her up, but...I didn't think it was so bad that she'd go and do something like this. To kill someone like that...

[ The idea of it is making her get pretty upset, clearly. ...More than upset. Even a bit angry. ]

[amygdalae]

[Oh Misa. If Bruce was the sort of person he would try some sort of physical gesture to reassure her, but as it stands he can't quite bring himself to do that.]

...she was desperate, and couldn't rely on any of us. I can understand why she wanted to do it, but...

[There had to be another way. There always should be. It's not as if this is all an impossible scenario.]

I suppose it doesn't matter now.

[happysweets]

Even if she was desperate...I can't believe she would resort to that. I didn't think she was that kind of person at all.

[amygdalae]

Me neither, but people can always do impossible things when they're forced into a corner.

[To fight back, rebel... whatever it is, humans always fight back one way or another when cornered. Just for Caren, it had to be murder.]

[happysweets]

It's...well, that is true, I guess.

[ Misa can't help but think, though, that when she was forced into a corner like Caren was, assuming Pearl really was about to take her life, all she could do was cry.

Did that make her weaker than Caren was? Or stronger for not resorting to murder..? Is it that easy to break the situation down? ]

I just...I don't know. Is it, um...is it naive of me to not want this to happen again?

[amygdalae]

Of course not.

[His response is almost instant, and though soft is still full of conviction in his own way.]

I don't want this to happen again either, just as much as you do. [This is the person who has 'violence' up on his profiles as a blatant dislike, so its probably obvious... but still.] I don't think any one of us wants this to happen in the first place.

[It's just... sometimes its hard to feel like there's any other choice, which he supposes is what happened to Caren.]

[happysweets]

But it still does, though...

[ As much as no one wants this to happen, this is the second time now. And it's not like there isn't a choice. ]

[amygdalae]

[Bruce lets out a small sigh here, almost weary.]

I know.

[And he wishes he doesn't understand why, but he does, in a way. And that's probably the hardest part. Caren was in no way a bad person, but she simply... her hand was forced. And they sent her to her death because of it.

It's a bitter pill to swallow.]

[happysweets]

We should make sure this doesn't happen again, if we can. There's no telling if someone'll try to strike next, but, we really shouldn't take any more chances, right?

[amygdalae]

I agree.

[They should really try to get that night patrol running properly soon. He doesn't know how much that will help, but at least its a deterrent.]

We've lost more than enough. [Four is more than enough.] We can't let this happen yet again.

[happysweets]

Oh, oh! Misa-Misa's got it! What about a curfew? If everyone's in their rooms after a certain time of night, it'll be that much harder for a murderer to get someone, unless it's a trap! Isn't that a good idea? I can't imagine too many people would want to murder during the day when everyone's around!

[amygdalae]

[A curfew? In theory, it is a good idea, but...]

I can see the logic in that, but I'm not sure how open everyone else would be to the idea.

[Bruce certainly doesn't want to force any restriction on anybody, especially since it sort of defeats the purpose of, well, trusting.]

[happysweets]

We can at least maybe bring it up at a meeting or something and see what everyone thinks?

[amygdalae]

That, I think, shouldn't be too much of an issue.