TRIAL I

[lesmodsalouette]

Trial

Today is going to be a loooong day. You knew that pretty shortly after waking up, didn't you? On the plus side, it means you've had some time to process the death of one of your own, or leisure time at the very least. But come midnight, the clocks in the castle all strike out in unison again. This time though, you barely have time to clutch your head before you're transported elsewhere.

Yes, you're coming in your pajamas if you were already in bed.

The place where you find yourself is obviously not the castle, that much is obvious from an immediate look alone. The look is very circus fair meets hell, minus any actual fire (for now). The walls, the lighting, the atmosphere is different, reds and purples and exposed rock face all together with furniture that should belong in a courtroom, and a carnival, not a caldera. It's a stylistic choice, for sure.

Seating consists of various stools on the outer ring, the layout suggesting that the preferred way to conduct trial is to free mingle towards the center, unless you're partaking in food and refreshments. A veritable bounty of a spread is available for you to partake as you like. There's even an entire table's worth of chocolate, cut out in various animal shapes for you to enjoy. And yes, alcohol too, because a banquet without the finest wines isn't a feast at all.

Even with all the food there's plenty of space for all of you, but do be careful around the pit in the center of this room. How deep does it go? Where does it lead? There are other unanswered questions to answer, and you've been tasked with finding out who murdered Tia. The Witch of Ruin demands a show and unfortunately you are his captive actors. He presides over all of this from a balcony above, the best seat in the house.

(( OOC: Welcome to your first trial! You'll have 7 hours (until 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT) to vote one (1) person guilty of murder. As this is scapegoat style, a correct vote is not necessary. Please remember to vote unless otherwise discussed with the mods, as that is our AC for this game ))

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Comments

[coldseep]

( why does every quality he likes in a person predisposition them to an early death (it's because the qualities he likes makes them stupid about violence) )

... And all of that, the armor, every broken mirror, her body flung down, is a result of "fighting fairly"?

( he wants to hear this guy explain it )

[simulacres]

I-I-I--

[ her voice fails her now that she has andrew on her lap, but siffrin's instructions are followed in a very mechanical manner. she's seen so many people die in front of her. all because of her, because of her involvement-- is this something that she caused, too? if she had noticed anything sooner, anything at all...

she lifts andrew's head, keeping it slightly to the side. her hands are trembling. actually, her whole body is. ]

Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die, please don't die.

[fourtuity]

[ It used to be obvious. But now she doesn't know what to think. ]

...That makes less sense after...this.

[simulacres]

[ she's just kind of looking at dan heng like he's some ghost, but yeah he can scoop her out of her arms. ]

^^^ just in case hemoptysis cw for the above!!, idk if anyone needs it but i wanna be safe!

[distain]

[dumbface]

No. [ he softly taps his shoulder, around where her wound was. ] She fell when I hit her back, and I used what I could to fight. She didn't seem happy, though.

[ she seemed pretty angry the whole time, actually. ]

The armor was never part of it, I used it to break the rest of the mirrors later.

[coldseep]

( ????? :( another person for him to be sad over????

There's something that comes to mind but he's not saying it. Others have her, and... he hopes she's well... wtf... girl you need to be okay to have a happy ending with the love of your life ??? )

[remainsilent]

[ he will carefully pick her up and keep her head up. time to get her somewhere more comfortable ]

[divineth]

[Though rattled by what just happened, Urianger speaks up:]

I am no chirurgeon, but I shall see to her if there are no suitable candidates.

[He really has no idea how much he'll be able to help without his healing magic, though...]

[baebladie]

[ Wait...what?! ]

[dumbface]

[ honestly, he isn't sure why. do the sentiments he held then have no value now, or is it just that he messed up the sentiment in the first place? either way... ]

If you don't want to keep it, you don't have to.

[siffriend]

[ (the people you get involved with always get hurt you cant stop it your home is gone your family is stuck you cant break it theyve gotten hurt died crushed frozen in time--

you

breathe in

and

out

you breathe in, and out. okay.) ]

... She went through a lot today. She probably just needs rest, right now.

[ So Dan Heng's gonna come get her and. It'll be fine, won't it? ]

[oncefallen]

Miss Ayaka.

[It's soft, but with enough firmness to it to hopefully command attention and snap her out of it.]

[baebladie]

[ ...he doesn't speak ye olde but he is sure that means healer, or something like that??

Just...staring as this happens...he is pretty useless here, so... ]

[antemeridian]

[ homura startles when the fit first comes on, but otherwise is rooted to the spot.

then, once andy hits the floor... well, others have it handled well enough already, it isn't like she would have anything useful to contribute to this situation, but she'll watch them as they take her from the room.

after that, she's finally leaving the ballroom. ]

[baebladie]

[ Watching as this happens, I guess... ]

[coldseep]

... Were you trying to kill her?

Was she trying to kill you?

[dumbface]

Not really. I think it was just hard to stop after we started fighting.

[ heightened emotions and all. her frustration coupled with his own, so they were okay with that end, maybe, but it wasn't what they had in mind.

he sounds a bit remorseful when he continues but, again, his voice and expression are pretty stiff. he truly is this bad at emoting. ]

She was strong, though. I think that's why it happened.

[simulacres]

[ well, it's not like she's going to snap and get violent at vanis, but it does take her a while to get enough of her bearings. once she does, she takes a breath in... and a breath out.

how dare she be losing it around so many people? one person has died, they've convicted another to also die, and then andrew is...? ]

I'm... I'm fine.

[ she really isn't, but at least she can talk again. ]

[fourtuity]

[ Covering her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

She has enough to sense to keep out of the way (since super amateur medical knowledge), she's certainly getting traumatized by the sight. At least it looks like people who know what they're doing have it covered... But the dread is there. ]

[simulacres]

Probably.

[ maybe they all do.

with shaky legs, she tries to pull herself up. ]

I'm... sorry about that. I really am.

[diel]

?!

[ she... is she alive? ]

[siffriend]

[ ...?

Siffrin will

slowly pick themselves back up, then hold out their hands to her. Easy, easy. Breathe in, and out. ]

Why?

[ocenon]

[ A hand goes to her shoulder, as Richard wordlessly kneels down next to her. His gaze drifts town to Andrew for a second, especially as Dan Heng gets her and scoots off, but otherwise it's firmly locked on Ayaka as he applies some pressure, trying to give her at least a little something more real to ground herself to in the meantime. ]

[fourtuity]

[ That's the question, isn't it? What value this has for her now. ]

...I want to keep it. I was really happy when you gave it to me.