It's time for an after party!

[perpend]

[About an hour after the trial and subsequent execution, Cabanela makes a decision.

They need to do something, keep the morale up, however little it may be.

Under each occupied room door people will find the following note written:


In difficult times such as this, it is important to carry on.
Don't give into despair; we must preservere.
If you don't want to be alone this evening, meet me in the dining hall.
-Cabanela

[Upon entering the dinning hall, you will find Cabanela sitting at one of the tables; he has lit two candles that are placed at the center of the table, but there's nothing else to note.

You'll have to supply your own food, since he doesn't have much of an appetite.]

Comments

[shuttermouse]

[ Chie had watched the execution with indifference; he was going to die and that was it, she didn't have any particularly strong feelings about it, and if she had her camera on her she would have taken a picture of it. That discomfort that persisted throughout the trial didn't seem like it was going to go away, and she heads back to her room to think.

When she retrieves the note she reads it and then heads for the door - and stops, remembering something she left in the trunk. Given the reveals during the trials, she's pretty sure she knows who this particular item belongs to. When she enters the dining hall she's carrying a mask with her, which she sets down near the candles on the table. ]

[openterrain]

[ Jean feels pretty fucking numb. It's not a good feeling, but it is what it is and he's not sure what else to do with it.

But he sees Chie and a thought springs to mind. He approaches her without pausing to reconsider - because, really, what else is there to do at this point? ]

Hey, Chie. [ He glances at the mask, but doesn't ask about it right away. ] That pickaxe you got from the vending machine. What did you do with it?

[shuttermouse]

It's in my room. I can't use it, and as long as it's in there nobody else can either.

[openterrain]

[ Well, that pretty much answers his next question before he asks it, but just in case... ]

If you and someone else are watching me, and I give it right back, can I borrow it?

[shuttermouse]

[ Chie considers this for a moment before she responds. ]

Yeah, you can.

[openterrain]

[ That's unexpected, and it has Jean, very briefly, smiling in gratitude. ] Ah-- thanks!

[ His smile fades as he takes a seat next to Chie. ] After-- that, I might go crazy just sitting around.

[housenurse]

[peers at the mask...]

What is this? [it... kinda looks like something children shouldn't have????]

[shuttermouse]

Kaneki-kun's mask, I think. I got it from the machine.

[housenurse]

... I can't imagine him wearing something like that... [but, then, she can't really imagine him eating people or anything, either.]

Does it have to do with his... you know?

[shuttermouse]

Yeah. Ghouls aren't allowed to live, so they use masks to protect their identity when they do things like hunting for food.

[housenurse]

Not allowed to live? That's awful...!

I mean, so is eating people, but... It's not like it's their fault for being what they are! It's unfair!

[shuttermouse]

Humans see them as a threat. That's why there are organizations dedicated to exterminating them.

[housenurse]

Exterminating...

... If Ken-kun were still alive, I would've forced Conductor-san to give him human meat to eat! And I would've made him all the coffee he ever wanted! [SHE SOUNDS VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS. AND ALSO SLIGHTLY ANGRY.]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[Is it weird to seek out Chie? Probably. But Ashley does it anyway, uncomfortable about the mask enough to hesitate for a moment.]

Chie? Can we talk?

[shuttermouse]

Um, sure. What did you want to talk about?

[ She idly runs a fingertip over the black leather, feeling the material and briefly wondering who made the mask; it looks weird, yes, but this is the work of a professional. ]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[She pulls her gaze from the mask.]

You... Did you know Ken from back home?

[shuttermouse]

I didn't. We're from the same place, but I didn't know that until a few days ago.

[hashtagafreakingghost]

Oh... It just...it seemed like you knew him a bit more. You came to the conclusion that he was a...a ghoul? Fast.

[shuttermouse]

The letter said "not human" and "can't eat" - it wasn't hard to figure it out since it only could mean one thing.

[hashtagafreakingghost]

Things like that, super-strong...not-humans [because she's not using "monster" when Undyne could pop up no no] are stories where I'm from. Or- everyone thinks they are, there's the possibility- well. It doesn't matter, it's just not where most people's minds would go first.

[shuttermouse]

Where I'm from, you hear about it all the time on the news and the internet. About ghouls attacking and killing people.

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[She shivers.]

Jesus Chris. ...so of course it wouldn't be hard for you to put together... [She bites her lip.] He just seemed like such a- I have a hard time believing could do things like that.

[shuttermouse]

I don't think Kaneki-kun was a killer; I believe he tried to live as peacefully as possible.

[hashtagafreakingghost]

Ghouls can do that...?

[shuttermouse]

If they steal from hospitals or morgues or feed off of suicide victims, they don't have to kill. I think that's what Kaneki-kun did.