Third.

[trustmods]

This week has been eventful for the lot of you, if a bit political for some; another resistance meeting, petitions everywhere, group dinners, and the new addition of a bunch of chickens to the group have ensured that at the very least, you've all had reason to keep busy. Of course, there's still that incentive to keep in mind, as well as the fact that there's been a murder every Friday since everyone arrived. Either way, the clock chimes in the morning, as it always does; the doors to the kitchen and the mail room unlock themselves, and all seems quiet. Thankfully, today the ballroom is blessedly corpse-free, as is the rest of the first floor. Maybe it would be good to move upstairs, though, just to make sure the rest of the Academy is likewise. >Explore?

Comments

[mortyfied]

I-it's the other way around.

[He sighs and peeks his head back under the bed.]

Look, if it's too hard to remember just call us "Smith" and "McFly" o-or something. Hell, you can even call me Mortimer if you wanted, if - if it'll stop you from calling me "Marty"!

[zomgboom]

Ok, ok. I got it, Morty. You're too twelve to be called Mortimer.

[one day, tabby's cr chart may actually have everyone's names on it. HAHA YEAH RIGHT.]

[mortyfied]

I'm not twel---OOOH SHIT! L-look what I found! [He'll bring the doll pieces out then, and show them off to Tabby.]

Wh-why is there - what is this doing under her bed...? [It's super creepy.]

[zomgboom]

[Uh. Well.]

I dunno, but like. I think she was crying over that a couple days ago.

[charcoalfeather]

[...That does sound like more shouting. Rakka is just going to wonder over.]

Guys? ...Did you find something?

[mortyfied]

U-um, this. [He holds the doll out for Rakka to see.]

What do you mean she was crying over it a couple days ago? D-did something happen with it? [Well obviously it's broken, Morty.]

[charcoalfeather]

[...That doll IS creepy.]

Oh, it's... like the other ones I found on the desk.

[mortyfied]

Other ones? What - what other ones? [There's more....]

[charcoalfeather]

More dolls. I found them on the desk... but, none of them are broken like this.

[Curiouser and curioser.]

[mortyfied]

That's... that's super weird. Maybe she broke this one on accident?

[charcoalfeather]

I don't know... [Why would she? that's the question here. Ugh.]

[mortyfied]

[Yeah, he's not sure what to think of it either.]

Um.. anyway, this counts as a clue, right? Or do you think it's not important enough to bring up?

[zomgboom]

I dunno. I went into the library to grab something and she was, like, holding it and crying. I didn't want to bother her.

[mortyfied]

[The plot thickens]

S-so it must've been important to her... d'you think she stepped on it on accident or something? Maybe she was crying because she broke it? [Of course saying this before knowing it's supposed to be Ashely]

[zomgboom]

[squints at it]

. . . Yeah, I dunno. Ashley didn't strike me as much of a Barbie dress-up girl.

[mortyfied]

What if it belonged to her grandmother or something? It could've had some sentimental value, right?

[zomgboom]

They don't really look antique, IMHO. [That's pronounced "im-hoe."] But I'm not, like, a doll expert or anything.

[mortyfied]

[Yeah, he's not sure that they're really antique either, but something catches his attention more than that.]

...i-im-hoe? What? [What the fuck is that even, Tabby..]

[nankurunaisa]

Oh.

[Don't mind the girl from over under the desk.]

You guys found the dolls, huh?

[charcoalfeather]

[...Hibiki....]

Umm, yeah. I guess we did?

[zomgboom]

Was one, like, super busted when you last saw them, Hibeeks?

[THAT SEEMS IMPORTANT TO KNOW.]

[nankurunaisa]

When I got 'em all, they were all in one piece! But that one you guys are holdin'...that one's Ashley. The rest are her friends.

[Time to leave out ALL the details.]

[mortyfied]

[He looks surprised, and holds the pieces away from himself a little more.]

Th-this is supposed to be Ashley? [UGH THATS SO CREEPY]

What happened to it - wh-why is it broken?

[nankurunaisa]

Eh? How is it broken?

[After she's done with the desk, she'll be coming over to join you guys proper.]

Did she drop it or somethin'? She...she really didn't like those dolls.

[mortyfied]

She didn't? B-but Tabby said she was crying over this one earlier.. [Here do you want to hold the pieces? He's totally okay with handing them over.]