first investigation

[arsholes]

[On Friday morning, the second Friday for the Thanatos Institute apprentices in the tower, the outside sun rises and spreads its light through the arrow slit windows in the tower’s stone walls. People rise from their beds, some earlier risers than others, and shuffle along to begin their day.

Things are quiet, even with the lowkey air of anxiety that’s lingered since Tuesday when the Alchemist made his offer and Bryn attacked Bruno with an animalistic fervor. It’s probably fine, this hanging silence in the air.

Probably.]

Comments

[philomachy]

[Oh, he knows that scent very well. The smell of dead.

Ah.

...He stops walking.]

[amitiesbind]

[ Olive, by virtue of being smaller, has sort of ended up behind Zenos, and so cannot see until he stops and she passes him. ]

Oh.

[ She hasn't actually... seen a dead body like this before. Not that she remembers, anyway. But she is very experienced at Coping, so! ]

Um... we should. We should probably tell the others.

[ghostsguysgyuudon]

Good morning! What's --

[Mei pops her head into the library. She freezes and stares, unable to do anything else.]

[philomachy]

It would appear we could not last the month, after all.

[Calm and impassive because... lol, obviously not even close to his first corpse.]

[strongestfeelings]

[hey gang she's here late w inkbucks]

Oh, another party, is it?

[philomachy]

[Ah.]

...Not that sort of party.

1/?

[strongestfeelings]

What kind of--

2/?

[strongestfeelings]

[what the fuck---]

3/?

[strongestfeelings]

[Her eyes shift. And just like that--- the light in the room gathers around her. Y'all might want to squint, or put on some shades, because right now--]

4/4

[strongestfeelings]

I'm going to destroy all of you [she's truly blinding.]

[philomachy]

[Definitely shutting his eyes a moment, because oh... oh now that is bright. Truly brilliant

Even if his eyes are closed now, that image is going to be burned into his mind.]

[spitessier]

You will ruin the crime scene if you do that! Then how will the killer be found?

[Please don't destroy us, that'll get in the way of the investigation. At least Katsuya already has sunglasses on, although he can't look at Stella for long without his eyes aching]

[philomachy]

I would point out that if she destroys everyone, the killer would inevitably be one of them.

[sounding extremely unconcerned about this]

[strongestfeelings]

Oh. Look, the one who failed to protect him-- he's volunteering to go first. [She can't make him see his greatest fears. She can't trap him in an illusion, like her mother could, to make him understand the same pain she feels right now-- the same grief, rage, passion, all boiling into one emotion, but she can do this.

Her eyes are the same raw brightness that her light is]

I'll microwave every water molecule in your body.

[spitessier]

Do it later, I'm busy right now!

[As if that's going to make Stella back off. Still, apparently he takes the threat seriously enough, because over him, Helios appears, hovering over Katsuya to defend him if necessary]

[encelevenemus]

[Okay, enough is enough.]

[The massive suit of armor (fortunately without anything to microwave in it) crossed the room in a blink, reappearing behind Stella with a very restrained strike to her head.]

That’s quite enough.

[strongestfeelings]

[fairy down]

[cuttingremark]

[Guess who also came in late! He shields his eyes and goes to try to touch her shoulder]

Stella, you need to calm down!

[strongestfeelings]

[SHE AINT CALM BRO, SHES GONNA MICROWAVE THIS JOINT]

[cuttingremark]

We can't avenge him if we're all dead! [He grabs her by the shoulders and tries to shake out out of it. His skin sizzles where he makes contact, but he holds on.]</small

[encelevenemus]

[You know what’s hard to blind? A suit of armor, which Somnus is very quickly shifting into.]

That’s enough, Stella! Calm yourself before you kill everyone here!

[nomansbosom]

[Sparring's a no-go, huh? Finn just kind of followed Somnus here.]

Schmow, dudes, what's with the light shooOOOAAAAAAAA-

[rikonstructed]

[Nuadha might be used to bodies, but he's looking moderately rattled at the small girls being here, that's for sure.]

This is no place for children. Both of you, go find the others.

[ghostsguysgyuudon]

But --

[But then Stella tries to mcmurder everyone, so she runs off to get them!!]

[spitessier]

[Takes a while for Katsuya to arrive to the library. Once he does and realizes what people are staring at, he inhales sharply, surprised]

A scene...!

[He should have seen it coming. Still, that it's Wu...it hurts. Perhaps he should have trusted his instincts and insisted in him staying with Katsuya at all times, like he did with Maya and Ulala when they were targeted by a killer. But no, he didn't this time.

Katsuya steps forward]

This is an active crime scene and everyone must watch where you step. If you can't bear this sight go somewhere else, right now.

[Yeah, he's already deciding he's going to investigate Wu once the investigation begins, that's for sure]