( MINGLE - WEEK 3 )

[abhoth]

SURVIVORS: 36 The sun is shining, the air conditioner units hum as they always do, and a gentle morning breeze blows against the windows. The scent of pine cones and evergreen follow you wherever you go in the motel, save for the parking lot and outdoor pool. It seems like someone was very generous with the detergent while moping the floors. The two grandfather clocks (one on each floor) will ring with each passing hour, indicating the time of day without fail. With this knowledge — they'll note the motel will continue to be surrounded by fog until 8:00 AM on the dot. It is at that hour that the fog will begin to recede. Not enough to reveal the whole city, but enough to allow residents to explore some of the buildings surrounding the motel. And speaking of the motel, it doesn't seem like there's anything out of the ordinary on this lovely Monday morning. How quaint. As a reminder, we are now accepting murder proposals for Week 3! If you're interested in having your character commit a murder this week, be sure to send in your proposal before Tuesday, 9:00 PM EST. Without any murders we can't have a murdergame, so go forth and let the bodies hit the floor! As always, feel free to PM us or send us a PP over plurk if you have any questions! ( quick navigation ) ic rulebook | locations | statuses | room assignments private conversations | ic profiles | graveyard | full navigation

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monday morning, closed

[g101]

[ sunday comes and passes, and hajime watches someone get crushed to death by spikes. okay. okay. that was something she was complicit in by not doing anything. okay. sure. she can agree with that - silence is sometimes the best enabler. to that end, actions speak louder than words, so monday morning --

hajime ichinose approaches a building. it's burned, but it looms overhead like a challenge. it's burned, but it's still standing. surely, without a doubt... there's something in there. a building still holding together despite it's wounds still has a story to tell, and hajime would wager that there might something to be learned even from it's remains. still, as it stands, this is where she has to be. as a hero, you have to be ready to move. heroes overthink and decide they need to do something about this situation, so they end up in dodgy places in the middle of town.

she's got a team with her, so hajime addresses them both easily. the picture before them is ominous but her tone is relaxed, it's easy and clear. this is what she's got to do. ]

My twooooooo birdies! Are we ready? We had the same idea, so I guess we can't get anymore ready than this, right, right?

DPS comin through

[lohengrins]

Ready when you are.

[ he draws near hajime, taking a small step forward to position himself in front of her. these two don't seem like the sort who'd allow themselves to be protected, but still--... ]

Stand behind me, should anything ambush us.

[ haha yeah. why would that ever happen! anyhow, his shoulders are squared as his eyes rove over the burned building. he stands tall to match it.

not the best of feelings, but some things are simply necessary. ]

[blacktailed]

[people have gone exploring, and came back missing limbs. that would be enough to frighten off some people, but not this team. rather, it's like they owe it to the rest to go and do this - they're smart people, right? they can handle this.

Quer actually doesn't mind Percival stepping in front of them, and falls in line. it's good to have a shield in case anything happens.]

Let's start breaking down that door.

[abhoth]

[ The trio of unlikely party members won't find anything abnormal. The tall walls were a mix of burnt wood and scorched steel framing. Concrete blocks lift the building off the ground and bits of broken multi-colored glass fall in front of the tall windows space that now boarded by plywood.

The group will find the front of the building is easy: steps leading up to two large wood double doors. Only 1 thin wood beam remains barricading the door. The hinges look rusted and worn too...

However, there's also a less savory way inside - one of the old basement door on the side of the building. The wind rattles its chains, but it seems there is no lock...

What will you do, guys? ]

[g101]

[ sometimes the roads less savory are the safest. it looks removed, which means it's probably less likely to have something waiting to kill them in it? probably.

hajime's gonna go for the basement door. ]

[lohengrins]

[ he'll follow suit -- follow isn't quite the word, considering he's ensuring that he's at least two steps ahead of her. ]

If anything is there, it's likely to expect us from the front.

Stand back.

[ he takes a few steps backwards, and then charges at the door, battering it 3/4ths the way open -- suddenly, he stops himself. ]

Let's see if something's present.

[blacktailed]

You need light for that.

[darting around him, she takes hold of the door and pushes it open the rest of the way, letting the twilight in to a degree. why so nervous? it's not like they need to be instantly cautious - they can always run if something bursts out.

one small step inside, and then another. if nothing jumps out, she's walking in further.]

[abhoth]

[ It seems the less savory road didn't have an impending death just yet. Quer is able to shimmy inside due to her frame size, Percival — since he's in front of Hajime — would need to break through further. Flex those DPS muscles.

Luckily, Quer isn't quite attacked just yet.

She can see through the twilit burst of the mostly open door no basement...

But a room filled with bright old posters of ABCs & 123s, childish murals on the wall of little octopuses holding hands, and a lot of bones on the ground. The room was scorched, though. Half the fingerpainting drawings burned to a crisp and old wood toys now a pile of ash with distorted googly eyes. The bones all tiny, grouped in a circle on a rainbow rug with one larger skeleton in the middle, half lumped forward in its chair.

What y'all gonna do? ]

[g101]

...That's kinda hella sad.

[ hajime's small enough that getting past her is easy enough, and she makes sure to linger behind. the bones are... upsetting, for sure, but she's not willing to disturb them. the posters, however - maybe she can get an idea of how many students were here or anything of note? ]

[lohengrins]

[ he finds that the bones are more disconcerting, so he'll be approaching them. he does, however, note the posters as he makes his trek.

percival's eyes rove over the drawings, and then the toys. he crouches down, fingers grazing across one of the charred paintings. is anything in particular on them? ]

Whatever this place was, it once housed children. It doesn't appear to be a residence, however.

[blacktailed]

[it's the bones that she approaches, stepping carefully so as not to disturb them. hopping over some of the smaller ones, she ends up in the center of the circle, next to the larger one, and she crouches down to examine it for any sign beyond the burning.

the bones are so small. they didn't have a chance.]

A school, maybe?

[what were they even doing in here?]

[abhoth]

[ From the mural: Hajime can see around 20 children in a cartoonish fashion standing on bright green hills with the sun glaring down. They're holding onto a definite tentacled beast, cheerfully showing harmony.

For Percival: If he looks over the paintings, they all look like red fingerpaint!!!!! How cute! They're making little suns.

Here's to hoping Quer doesn't lift a skull and recites Shakespeare. There's no impact in the bones or anything. If Quer definitely touches any of them, she'll feel tears beginning to swell in her eyes, trickling down her cheeks for a solid 5 minutes. Her heart feels tight and she hears the faint sobbing of children for the next few minutes! No one else can hear it.

Also, there's a door in the shadows that is open, leading to a flight of stairs going upwards... ]

[g101]

[ well. ]

...There were 20 kids here. I guess Quecchi's right, it was a school. So that's--

[ corpses of children. a mass grave for school children. why, though? that's something they'll have to discuss. she's not preoccupied with the bones like perci and quer are, so hajime drifts toward the open door. she really only finds it when she starts looking for it, though, by gliding her hands along the walls. ]

There's stairs going up! Should we go?

[lohengrins]

[ his eyes narrow at the sight of "red paint", and he mutters something indiscernible under his breath. he's clearly agitated. ]

This town...has been corrupted to its core, hasn't it?

[ they couldn't even leave this intact. percival's attention then turns to quer, and he heaves a small breath at the sight of her tears. ]

Hey...come on. We need to get moving.

[ a small piece of white cloth is motioned towards her -- it's just a piece of his pillow that he's opted to bring with him. afterwards, percival stands up, now having returned to his position as Hajime's Keeper. ]

Probably not, but we came here for a reason. I'll go first.

[blacktailed]

[the crying surprises even her, and the rush of emotion that comes through is foreign, her heart clenched in her chest. like the remnants of a curse, so deeply steeped in feeling that the living could still sense it. when had she cried like this before?]

I can hear them...

[words whispered to herself. Percival offering her a cloth is something she recognizes enough through the tears to take it, bringing it to her eyes. the crying won't stop, but it's better than her eyes needing to be dried on her sleeves. rising up, she nods, carefully working her way out of the circle to go find Hajime. she'll stick close, until all of this, whatever this magic is, wears off. these aren't her tears...but they could be, hearing those kids.]

[abhoth]

[ Hajime can see the brightness at the top of the stairs, it's calling to her.

For Quer, the sobbing children get worse until finally, she's able to only hear the thumping of her heart. Eventually, though. Quer would have to sustain herself through the sobs. As they go closer towards the stairs, there's a faint melodic noise coming from above — it sounds as some choir singing, faint and the words a language none of them know.

And Perc gets to be the eye candy, thanks for being a champ.

Up the group goes? ]

[g101]

[ hajime feels inexplicably drawn to the top of the stairs. the stairs seem fun, like there's someone there (someones?) and she has to investigate. there's a light, there, maybe electricity? maybe just the dawn. who knows, truly.

she's got to know what's happening up there. she can't help it, it's like a kitten mewing incessantly and she wants the details of it's adventure. ]

...Perci, can you make sure Quecchi is okay?

[ she says it like she can't, herself, and that's true.

she just bolts toward the singing, running up the steps like she's on a mission. ]

[lohengrins]

[ you're really rustling his jimmies right now.

it's unexpected, and yet it isn't -- hajime bolts, and he tosses his head to glance at quer. wordlessly, percival's hand grips her own, and he's already begun to pursue hajime. ]

Get back here! Hajime!

[ he hikes up the stairs, eyes constantly darting back to quer in some attempt to ensure her safety. percival catches up to hajime, however...

well, we'll see. ]

[blacktailed]

[holding tight to Percival's hand, she grits her teeth, trying to work through the crying and grounding herself through that - it isn't the best, but it's all they have.

and who's singing? isn't this place completely abandoned? keeping hold of Percy means that she comes up the stairs with him, keeping pace. and what they find by chasing the girl chasing the music is...

actually, what do they find?

[abhoth]

[ Since Hajime is Ready to Go, she'd be the first to see in front of her a half-burned, lavish church.

The light is one-part caved in roof and one part crystal glass, colored with brilliant shades of red, blue, green, and gold. It dances across the burnt pews, half teetered over wood beams and burnt carpet. Hajime will find that the choir stops the moment she steps into the opening.

Percival is able to see from his position the alter while Quer's eyes catches attention on some statues near the back of the building. ]

[g101]

[ the choir stops, and hajime dramatically pouts. with puffed out cheeks, she regards the church with a certain level of disappointment. by the time percival and quer round up the caboose, however, the church's beauty keeps her attention.

it's like a forgotten relic. the stainerld glass, a rainbow of light, speaks to her in a way she can't quite place. ]

It's like a temple... The school. Were they teaching them about the tentacle things...?

[ hajime stares for a moment longer before wandering again. her attention is on the floor, listening for loose boards tbat might give way, and when she reaches the walls, she looks for anything that might lead somewhere else. ]

[lohengrins]

Hajime -- don't you dare run off again!

[ fortunately (or not), silence befalls the room, the choir now having faded away. the church is a remnant of what it once was: crystal glass that reflects the light in his eyes, so sadly tainted by ash. ]

A cathedral, perhaps. It's probable that the children housed here were just like any other...the tentacles you saw could have been a fabrication by another force.

Otherwordly beings enjoy corrupting any trace of life...any trace of purity.

[ how unscrupulous. with quer's hand no longer in his, percival approaches the alter. ]

[blacktailed]

Says you.

[the comment is shot out towards Percival, but quiet enough that it can be ignored. instead, Quer moves away from him, feeling the pressure on her heart ease with time. okay. okay, she can get a hold on these tears and actually look around. she moves towards the statues in the back, walking lightly but eyes scanning for any strange details to remember, a hand darting out to touch, despite how bad the last touching experiment was.]

[abhoth]

[ Unfortunately, there is no real secret passage. Depressing, I know, but Hajime can see a door to the right marked "HIGHER ONE'S ROOM", there are strange sigils carved into the floor, on the frame of the door and right above the doorknob. Hajime may see that among her own secret passage hunting.

As the alter is approached, Perc can focus on a singular white bowl. Two gold candlesticks are half-burned, melted down to the base as if the heat came from more than just the wick that limply lays to the side. Behind the alter, there are still in-tact glass art. Take a look?

And Quer? She'll see that there are no angels or divine beings in this church. Whatever remains — among the ash, burnt wood, and exposed cement... An abundance of statues line the back. Some with features similarly to Craftly — limbs growing a monstrosity that is far from human. All remained hooded, some tipped over and cracked while others stay standing tall. ]

[g101]

A door!

[ her meanderings will lead her there, of course, but she's not dumb enough just yet to go running in. she wants to, but this time there's no ominous supernatural force making her feel compelled to. instead, she swivels at the hips, arms out, to face her companions. ]

There's some markings on it, suuuuuuuper weird.

[ how about y'all ]