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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all done!

[distain]

Ah...

[She looks at her palm for a moment, forehead damp with sweat. It took about as long as she thought. Strangely, she appears to smile.

She hits the floor again, unconscious.]

[simulacres]

[ ayaka stares at andrew when she starts coughing, frozen in place. she has that bad feeling that something's about to happen and...

then she sees the blood.

and then when she collapses. ]

ANDREW!

[ without realizing it, she's running to her side. she can't pick her up but at the very least she can hold her. ]

[siffriend]

[ Andrew's... cou--

(no, you recognize that sound, because you've heard it in your ears before she isnt coughing shes choking on

her own)

blood, Siffrin can tell, from the same shade that'd marked her cheek, that he's seen on his own person more times than he can count now, and

Ayaka'll find him beside her surprisingly quick, eerily quiet in approach, almost like a ghost. ]

Keep her head lifted and to the side, [ soft but a small tremor (memories flooding in your mind then disappearing over and over and over how many times did you hear this same sound did you feel that pain you've lost cou) in his voice. ] She'll choke otherwise.

[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.

[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? ]

[simulacres]

Probably.

[ maybe they all do.

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

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

[oncefallen]

Miss Ayaka.

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

[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. ]

[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. ]

[simulacres]

[ ayaka, even in the state that she is, doesn't need to turn around to know who's hand that belongs to. saber's presence grounds her back to earth, her quickened breathing slowing down to something more even.

slowly, with some hesitation, she reaches to place her hand on top of saber's. she doesn't push it away, she simply keeps it there. ]

I'm okay. [ she's not sure if she believes herself yet, but at least there's a smidge more conviction than there was literally 2 minutes ago. ] ...Thank you.

[remainsilent]

I can carry her.

[ once they are done fussing over her ]

[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. ]

[remainsilent]

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

[thesharpestroy]

[The sight of somebody collapsing leaves Shiv with a deep sense of disorientation and...is that fear? Is that what she's feeling?]

Wh-what the fuck--are any of you fucking doctors?

[Shiv's breath is erratic, as much as she tries to subdue that unease. You never know when someone might collapse and die, right?]

[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]

[ ...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... ]

[divineth]

[In FFXIV they're actual practicing doctors. Urianger's a very knowledgeable healer but you won't see him doing surgeries and the like.]

[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 ??? )

[baebladie]

[ Wait...what?! ]

[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. ]

[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. ]

[diel]

?!

[ she... is she alive? ]

[distain]

[Yes! She is noticeably breathing, albeit shallowly.]

[diel]

[ and it looks like people have her, so he's just going to sneak off... ]

Re: all done!

[the_obedient_servant]

[......

They glance at this, as it's happening.

And then they walk away.]