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

[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. ]