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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[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.

[siffriend]

[ ...?

Siffrin will

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

Why?

[simulacres]

[ why is she sorry. does she even know? not really. ]

For reacting like that, probably.

[siffriend]

... It's natural.

[ So she shouldn't feel sorry. ]

Are you two... friends?

[simulacres]

I'm not sure.

[ she shrugs. her idea of friendship is still extremely warped by her love of solitude. ]

But we woke up in the same bed together, and she's always been oddly kind. It...was nice having her around.

[siffriend]

I see. Um... I only really met her today, or... last night, really... but I like her too. She reminds me of a family member.

[ Which is comforting, in a way. But it isn't... the same, either. How Ayaka knows her, or how Andrew knew Tia.

(you just want to get to know her a bit more) ]

Urianger's a kind person. He'll take care of her.

[simulacres]

I'm sure he will.

[ she nods at them, reassured by their words. ]

I hope you have a chance to get to know her more too. She's good, I think.

[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. ]

[oncefallen]

I'll get you some water.

[And he's off before she can say that she doesn't need it. It's been a long several hours for all of them, honestly, and while he doesn't experience emotions the same way humans do, that doesn't mean he can't comprehend them all the same.]

[simulacres]

....Thank you.

[oncefallen]

[He returns shortly, a glass mostly full of water in his hand. He'll wait until she looks steady enough before he offers it to her with a slight smile.]

Here. I wasn't able to find any ice, so I apologize for it being less than entirely cold.

[simulacres]

It's fine.

[ she takes the glass of water in her hands, drinking it slowly. ]

Thank you, really.

[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.

[ocenon]

[ She gets a brief, tighter squeeze on her shoulder as she places her hand on his. He can feel her breathing relax, and in return whatever breath he's been hold onto is released, though he's still wary. ]

She'll be fine. I have no doubt that they'll be able to take care of her.

[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 ]

[baebladie]

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