drove to Chicago, all things know, all things know

[cherryblooded]

[This is getting so routine.

Cherryblod had thought about napping the rest of the day, like he'd said, but there are people to take care of, people who'd been closer to Aiden and Shirazu than he had been. So after about an hour in his room to decompress, he'd headed to the kitchen and started cooking. At some point Stan and Bruce had both joined him.

Almost everyone seems to want to take care of those who are remaining. Almost everyone.

The food this time is mostly soup and sandwiches - nothing fancy, nobody's in the mood to appreciate it - but it's there set up in the dining room by the time everyone (alive) receives notes under their doors. ...He slips an extra one for Sigrun under Mettaton's door, just in case.]

[name],
If you want to spend this time by yourself, that's fine.
If you'd rather have some company, there's food in the dining room, and you're all welcome there.
If you want to take some food and go, that's fine, too.
Take care of yourself.
-Cherryblod, Stan, Bruce

Comments

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod falls back into his usual role with the ease of someone who's been playing variations on it for more than a hundred years.

After he's judged that there's enough food and tea out for anyone who wants some, he'll be around the dining room area, wandering with a teacup in hand. Seeing anyone new, he'll meander in their direction - not directly, not too fast, trying not to look too worried.]

Can I get you anything?

[penduli]

A tub of warm water to soak my feet in.

[ ...he's mostly joking. His heels are off and you know what, they're honestly gonna stay that way, screw solidarity with Sigrun. Even if being a bit taller was nice.

He's never ever letting her convince him to put those stilettos again. Not even to step on the Kingmaker. ]

[isafraid]

...Hmm, only a cup of tea, and maybe an answer to a question?

[Speedwagon takes a moment to answer, like he's musing over it. He's... currently working on something, from the looks of the pen in his hand.]

[pokexplorer]

[From his spot, Colress just smiles a little bit.]

Your company, perhaps?

[He...feels like he should probably say something about the trial. He did come off as a little suspicious.]

[amygdalae]

[Bruce shakes his head at the question, giving Cherryblod a small smile.]

No, I'm fine. Thank you for asking, though.

[amygdalae]

[Only ten of them now. Ten of them... such a small number. That knowledge weighs on him more than anything else.

He can dwell on that later, though.

His first stop before anything else is at the chapel; there he spends some time putting up Mettaton's picture next to Sigrun's creation before making a spot for Shizaru and Aiden. There's so many of them here now... so many of them dead. It's terrible.

After that he goes off to help Cherryblod and Stan with making the food for the gathering, and when the gathering is in full swing Bruce just mostly sticks in the corners this time to eat his food and generally watch everyone from where he is. Cherryblod is back fussing, after all, and he's sure that nobody else needs another round of that. If there's anybody who looks like they need some company he'll go over, but otherwise he stays where he is and leaves himself open to conversation by others.

Then after the gathering, as they all retire, Bruce lingers for a while outside of his room, just... more or less staring at the rooms around him. It really, really feels like a pretty damn good reflection of his life now.]

[goodforsomething]

[Stan's way on the end of the hall, but he's taken to scanning it before he turns in for the night. Seeing Bruce, he wanders down to join him. There's silence for a few moments.]

...if Sigrun's set on stayin' in Mettaton's room, maybe the rest of us can move down here instead. It'd feel better stickin' together.

[For all that it never helps, of course, when Thursday night comes.]

[captainobnoxious]

[There really are so few of them left.

And good call, Cherryblod, because Mettaton's room is exactly where she buried herself to decompress a little, writing a letter quietly. It's... something she'd been doing, lately, to clear her mind, but this one's more feverishly done.

Not that anyone's gonna see it.

After that, Sigrun joins those who choose to come in the dining room with her lyre, playing a more jovial tune than should rightly be appropriate considering what happened. But some light music should help a mood, shouldn't it?

And yes, she still has the stilettos on for now. She needs to get used to them. They'll be taken off as the affair goes on though.]

[sleepingkogoro]

Hello, Eide-san.

I'd like to ask something...

[Mouri seems to be in good mood, despite having just gotten out of a trial. He also looks at the stilettos for a moment, because they are like a beacon, okay? Hard to not to notice it]

[cherryblooded]

I'd ask if you take requests, but you wouldn't know any of the same songs as I do.

[Cherryblod has a seat near her, a soft smile on his face that probably isn't a hundred percent fake.]

[isafraid]

An evening for music eh? I'm not against it.

[it does lift the mood a little. Nice legs by the way.]

[pokexplorer]

[Colress stops his note-writing to take in some of Sigrun's music. It sounds...really lovely, actually.

When she's between songs, he decides to strike up some conversation.]

Despite the unfamiliar subjects that surrounded the crime, I thought you performed rather well at the trial today, Miss Sigrun.

[He knows that kind of stuff isn't the best thing to be proud of, but...they all could really use some positive reinforcement right now. Things are pretty grim with their small numbers.]

[amygdalae]

That sounds lovely.

[Hello, Sigrun. Bruce will just be coming over now to... settle down beside you? Yes. Hopefully you don't mind.]

[garudynamic]

[Yosuke doesn't come to the party-

Well, that isn't 100% true, he does zoom in early on, giving a few people a nod as he passes but not stopping to talk as he grabs a sandwich to shove in his mouth. Not stopping to even really eat before he's gone again. His posture and expression likely enough to calm anyone's fears that he's freaking out alone somewhere.

...the brass knuckles gleaning on his fingers might be a warning flag though.

If anyone hunts him down well, they may or may not have a hunt on their hands, considering he went all the way up to the sixth floor, chewing on his food all the way. His maps are laid out in the hall, rooms marked- and depending on when they catch him he can be found running the knuckles along the walls of-- literally every room in the Vault. Occasionally stopping, tilting his head, retapping.

He doesn't have his headphones.

And that's what Yosuke does all night, until he finally goes to bed... after doing his own walls and nooks and crannies as well.]

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod saw Yosuke, for a second. But he hadn't gotten a chance to speak to him like he'd like to. So once everyone else has gone to bed, it's to Yosuke's room for him.

...and then elsewhere, seeing as Yosuke's not in his room.

He finally finds him in the music room, tapping on walls.]

Hello, dear.

[penduli]

[ Finishing whatever Shirazu might've been working on is the least Black can do—they'd been in the stuffed animal business together, after all, because Yato had asked them to work together—and it's the main reason he'd gone to his room.

He had expected to come back with a stuffed animal or two; he hadn't expected to come back with a letter along with it.

It's not like he's putting himself at a distance from everyone else this time! He joins the party in the dining room, pulling his heels off the first chance he gets and setting them aside to give his feet some rest. He gets a cup of tea, he sets out some materials to finish up the fox Shirazu'd been working on, he... spreads the letter he found out in front of him and ends up paying it more attention than what he should be working on.

It isn't a letter meant for any of them, but the chances of it reaching Sasaki are slim. Someone might as well read it and keep it in mind for when all of this is over.

(The plea for Haru hits harder every time he reads it instead of just becoming easier.) ]

[captainobnoxious]

[Well, well, look who gave up.

Her too. She's got them in one arm and her lyre in the other, so she'll take a seat beside him.]

What've you got there?

[goodforsomething]

[Stan's helping to make sure everyone gets some damn food and drink in them, but he pauses as he passes Black.]

Hey, lemme know if you need some help with those. [Nodding towards the animals. He knows Shirazu was on that project too, so...]

[isafraid]

[Ten out of twenty seven. And somehow, despite all odds, they were still here... he was still here.

It's a small number, and he definitely hopes it won't get any shorter.

For once he wasn't helping with the afterparty, doesn't stop him from showing up to the small gathering though. A sign of support, mostly. He'll try a sandwich, or you might spot him lightly sipping a bowl of soup, his appetite is simply not in this race. He's mostly here to check on everyone else, and his gaze jumps to someone else at the party, every so often.

After that, those that want to see Speedwagon might have to look for his room, where he's retired for a while to... stare at the ceiling mostly. His room's cluttered as usual, but it's an organized mess.

Even later, when most have probably retired to their rooms themselves, Speedwagon's up and out patrolling the halls, checking out most of the rooms on his way up through the vault. Be prepared for startled Speedy if you actually come across him. He's not expecting much tonight.]

[amygdalae]

Feeling any better?

[Bruce isn't trying to fuss as Cherryblod is doing that, but Bruce can't help but check up on some people anyway. They've all been through so much, after all, and it'd be a lie if Bruce didn't care for any of them in some fashion.]

[pokexplorer]

[Colress comes in a little later after spending some time alone in his room with his Pokemon, but he doesn't seem to be in a terrible mood or anything when he does plop down with his food. Just a bit solemn is all. It is getting rather empty at these gatherings, after all.

He's reflecting a lot as he pokes at his food, occasionally stopping to write a few notes down. The ones today are about Shirazu and Aiden- notably what went down at the execution. So many talents that only really showed themselves at the trials and down in that pit...

He does have regrets about not getting to know either of them very well. But...maybe that helped him stay focused during the trial in the long run, as awful as it seems.

Still...this really does need to come to an end. They have to do something and try to stick together.]

[amygdalae]

[It takes a while before Bruce goes over to Colress, but when he does its with his Ubiquitous Notebook out which he plops beside the other as he settles down.]

Do you mind if we trade notes?

[goodforsomething]

[Another week, another death. It's almost becoming routine.

Stan's gotten used to a lot of weird shit before. Seems like this shouldn't be one of them, but it's getting there. That's fucked up, isn't it? Once he's done helping out with the food and drink, he finds a table and sits with a glass of whiskey and a sketchbook. No worries - he's not getting too drunk. Not here, anyway; this isn't the time to make other people responsible for getting him back to his room okay.

It looks like he's making a pencil drawing of Aiden, guns blazing. If it were Stan, that's the way he'd want to have his memorial.]

[pokexplorer]

[Having noticed Stan working on something too, Colress can't help but lean over to see what he's working on.

...Oh!]

Recreating the execution, Mr. Pines...?

[It's a little strange, but the execution itself was strange, wasn't it? How did Aiden get those guns, anyway?]

[isafraid]

...Suppose you wouldn't mind sharing a bit of that?

[Cause he totally gets it if Stan doesn't want to. But boy would that help a little, not that he likes the thought of becoming irresponsibly drunk himself.]