Third.

[trustharder]

There's tension in the air come Friday morning; the time limit posed by the Kingmaker isn't quite up yet, but as the deadline draws closer, the more anxious several Survivors have been about it. The first floor seems largely fine today; at the very least, there are no signs of a scuffle or a body lying around. It might be good to make sure that the upper floors have fared so well. After all, Fridays haven't had the best track record around here. >Explore?

Comments

[cherryblooded]

[That's bad. Definitely bad.

The nearest place a body could be, if we have a body which we might not, would be art storage. So he goes to check that out.]

[trustharder]

[Hope springs eternal, doesn't it. Unfortunately, those hopes aren't going to last long today, it seems.

The metal shelving units are thick and sturdy in the art storage room – a fact which is both fortunate and tragically unfortunate, given what they're supporting today. A length of rope hangs down from the upper shelves, the end of it knotted into a noose wrapped around something.

Namely, the neck of one of the smaller Survivors.]

[cherryblooded]

[...Well isn't that a pleasant sight.

Who is it?]

[trustharder]

[Green hair is spilling downward into the person's face as her body hangs lifelessly, supported by the rope around her neck; her eyes are thankfully closed, but she wouldn't be seeing anything even if she weren't.

She doesn't move, she doesn't breathe. She just hangs there. Gone.

Mion Sonozaki is dead.]

[prismbloom]

[ And Aqua comes in just as--

Oh. Oh god. ]

Mion....

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod swallows, and then again. After seeing corpses two weeks in a row, it's easier to stay composed, but - it's never something you can deal with completely.]

...Shouldn't disturb the crime scene. We should get the detectives, or the doctor...

[But just leaving her hanging there feels wrong.]

[prismbloom]

[ She's shaking a bit as she looks at him. ]

We can't-- leave her like that, Cherryblod.

[cherryblooded]

I know that.

...I'll get someone. You can take her down, that's probably fine...

[prismbloom]

[ She makes sure to memorize every detail, or at least she tries. Her throat is tight, and she drags over a step stool to very carefully take down Mion's body. Aqua does it quietly, carrying Mion down like a princess before laying her gently on the floor.

She hates it, but she keeps the rope around Mion's neck--just in case. ]

[cherryblooded]

[And he's off to locate a professional somewhere in the vault.

It's helpful and it means he doesn't have to look at her body any longer.]

[amygdalae]

[Last night was... well.

Sleep was hard to come by last night, that's for sure.

Bruce is tired as hell, feels like crap and honestly he doesn't quite feel like coming out from his room but he does so anyway.

Once he steps out, though, something instantly feels off. The usual energy of the place isn't around, and there's a dread that sets into him that feels far too familiar and wrong. He doesn't want to think what might have happened, but...

Hopefully he's just imagining it all.

Hopefully.]

[cherryblooded]

Bruce.

[He really doesn't want to harass Bruce when he's looking so ragged, but he has to.]

Could you head to the art storage room? There's a... crime scene.

[It feels a little easier to say than 'dead body' even if it means the same thing.]

[amygdalae]

[From the way that Cherryblod says his name, the dread in his stomach only intensifies further.

What he says next only confirms it.]

Crime-- [Crime scene. Murder. Somebody was dead.

Somebody was dead.

It's not the first time nor the second, but this hits even harder than the rest. A series of emotions passes through Bruce - shock, sadness, and for a brief moment, anger - anger that he quickly shoves back down even as it boils at the back of his mind.]

...I see. [His voice is quiet now, almost too quiet, nearly devoid of all emotion.] I'll head there at once.

[cherryblooded]

Thank you. I'm sorry to have to rely on you like this.

[God knows he'd rather not dump most of the burden of investigation on a small handful of people.]

[amygdalae]

It's fine.

[His response is brusque, almost too formal - like Bruce is trying to cut himself off from all emotion.]

Let everyone else know what happened. We'll get to the bottom of this.

[He has to.]

[ignorantly]

[ While sewing would've been nice, Shirazu doesn't really feel like making bunnies right now.

So a short while later, he walks into the art storage... and he immediately freezes, staring at the body.

...Shirazu.exe has stopped working. ]

[bloodisthicker]

[...there was a fight out there, wasn't there? ...but at the same time, that looks like...]

...I'm so tired of this.

Well, we should really figure out what this is. I know what it could be, but if someone actually killed her...

[...maybe he'll get to feel good about having someone executed for once.]

[penduli]

[ Black's here to round up the back, figuring he'd pick up some supplies to paint his fabric with and-- oh

oh. That's not pleasant. Even Aqua getting the body down doesn't help that.

...it couldn't have been a suicide, could it? ...Mion didn't seem like that sort of girl, though he can't say he knew her particularly well either, so maybe...

...no, he's going, he can't think of anyone just taking their life like that. ]