Fourth.

[trustfellows]

As the fourth week comes to a close and Friday morning dawns like the rest of the week before it, with the chiming of the clock and the doors to the kitchen unlocking, it seems, for a brief moment, that everything will be normal. For a given degee of "normal", anyway – perhaps some are on edge because there's a definite pattern that's been happening here, but for a few blissful moments, everything seems quiet. It doesn't last long; eventually, Jericho's voice can be heard over the public-address system. He doesn't sound as excitable as usual, though perhaps that can be explained away with the content of his message: "Hey. Just so you know, we've kind of got a problem this morning. Nothing catastrophic or anything, but you might want to get into the foyer so you know what's going on. We'll be waiting." You might want to go.

Comments

[trustfellows]

[Well, the outfit on this person is a bit distinctive - they've always worn quite a few layers, maybe because it was necessary back home, maybe because it's smart to not go around in flimsy clothing, maybe just because they find it familiar. Despite the layers, however, it looks like their left sleeve has been pushed up well above the elbow, and the spreading pool of blood has been spilling out from the deep cut on their arm.

And there's a knife in their right hand where it's set on top of the bar.

The person's face is turned away from the doorway, but she seems peaceful enough where she's flopped over onto the bar, as far as her expression goes; she's still warm, but that will begin to fade quickly enough. Even as the warmth and her general color fades, however, certain things remain vibrant - the bright red of her hair, for example.

Just the same, she isn't breathing, and she doesn't stir when approached or seem aware that anyone is there. Still-present warmth aside, there's only one conclusion to be made.

Sigrun Eide is dead.]

[destage]

[...No. No. No.]

Eide-san! It's Eide-san!

[...Yeah, she's. Going to get the hell out of there--she didn't know Sigrun as well as she'd like, but by god, she can't be in here. Not after what happened with Tabby, and not after any of this shit today.]

[sleepytimegal]

[ Sayaka's scream brings Alex from down the hall. Dreading this, another person who's been good to her, another one--

And she has enough time to take in the look of Sigrun's body before Sayaka's taking off. ...God- she's tearing up, but the living need her more than the dead right now. She follows after. ]

[destage]

[She's...gonna just be going into the ladies room after this, picking somewhere to just kind of curl up and cry. She doesn't really notice Alex following, but she's just. Gonna need a while and be categorically useless.]

[sleepytimegal]

[ ...That's okay. They've both done so much here. Why not be useless, this time?

Alex approaches, looking through blurry eyes. ] Sayaka... [ Make sure she knows who's there, who's in the room. Then kneel by her side. ] S- Sayaka, I... M-me too.

[destage]

[Sayaka doesn't really look up until Alex speaks, just...kind of horrified by everything she saw. How peaceful Sigrun looked, how she still looked alive, just...maybe sleeping, or maybe she bashed her arm off of something--

...She's gonna peer up a bit and lean into Alex a bit, just. Sobbing like hell.]

It's--It's awful, it's awful--it's just terrible, all of it..!

[sleepytimegal]

[ Well, once the her weight is against Alex, she pulls Sayaka right into a hug, letting out a little sob herself. ]

I know. I- I know. It's h- horrible! [ ...Holds tighter. Any one of them could've been chosen. Any one of them, it's setting in. ] I'm h-here. I'm here, o-okay?

[destage]

[She'll gladly cling back--this is just how they're gonna be spending their time until the trial, isn't it? She buries her head into Alex, letting herself sob freely.]

E--Eide-san--Eide-san--she didn't deserve that, it's...it's...

[Heck. They could've died. Alex could've died there, and Sayaka would've been horrified--]

I wouldn't...have been able to keep my promise...

[sleepytimegal]

[ Promise...? Alex is confused there for a moment, but what matters really is being there for Sayaka. ]

Sh- she's- was- she didn't. None of us do. [ Promise... ] What are...you...?

[destage]

Y--yeah. I...I know... [She sniffles a bit, just...kind of trying to calm herself a bit.]

What...do you mean?

[sleepytimegal]

[ A shaky breath. ]

What promise?

[destage]

...That I was going to keep you safe, and...find a way to get you out of that horrible mess. For good.

[sleepytimegal]

[ ...Oh. ]

Who asked you to promise that?

[destage]

No one...no one really asked me to. I want to, but...

[...]

Can we talk about this after the trial? It...it might be for the best.

[sleepytimegal]

Of course. I- I won't push you, n-not after...not after what we just saw.

[ She holds a little tighter. It could've been any of them. It could've been any one of them. ]

[matchbreaker]

[ Someone bested that monster of a woman? That's Elda's first thought as she follows the voice past the hall and to the bar. Honestly, she's a little slack-jawed, waiting for confirmation when she gets in the room but...

No yeah that's definitely her. ]

What a scene.

[ That's what she mutters, playing with the ends of her hair. ]

[heritrix]

[Well, too late to help Sayaka after all. Rin watches her run from the room before just... Glancing back at Sigrun's corpse.]

Dammit...

[chessturner]

[Kyrie comes running once she hears Sayaka. She recognizes the name. So it's Sigrun...and yep, once Kyrie enters the bar, she recognizes the person]

...not even ten minutes...

[Logically, an unplanned murder hastily committed should be easier to solve, shouldn't it? At least Kyrie hopes so]

[perpend]

[That gets him to come rushing in.]

No...!

[evilfrenzy]

[That gets Rideaux rushing in as well, but after getting a quick glance at Sigrun's state, and the injury... It...doesn't look great. Did Jericho wait things out to inform them? Probably.

What the hell is going on today?]

[paralogical]

[ ... ah. No idea what they're supposed to do with a body like this, but this is the kind of thing best left to someone else.

Suoh lazily trails out of the room, not wanting to get involved. ]

[innocentloveholic]

[ .....Ah, well, that's great.

So much for her party buddy. ]

[ninehundredlives]

.....stupid woman.

[Susan says it quietly, hunched in a corner. She's probably going to have to help with this, but...couldn't she have waited a little longer?]

[evilfrenzy]

...Yeah.

[He has some thoughts about what this looks like as well.

Uh. Since Susan is kind of away from the group this time, he glances her way. He just kind of...observes for a moment, before-]

Ready to do this? I doubt it's going to take as long as last time.

[ninehundredlives]

[She takes a moment to answer, hands in her pockets and gaze on the floor.]

.....yeah. Fine. We might as well.