THE MOCK VICTIM

[strangerpeople]

[The morning atmosphere is quiet, when the Titled wake up. Not just quiet, but almost relieving. The strange sensation that they had felt since they received those terrible letters is, if not completely gone, certainly much lessened. It seems like whoever issued the threats has backed down.

It feels wonderful, doesn't it?

Though the faint, strange smell which greets their noses as they open their doors into the hallway of the Barracks might not be as wonderful as the weight that has lifted off their chests. It lingers in the air, hangs on the tongue. Its almost a bit annoying.

Perhaps someone ought to see what's causing it.]

Comments

[deviloftekkadan]

[Well that sure wasn't an exit. Is he gonna have to hop in or something. What happens if he hops in.

He'll look over at Karolina when she asks, though. And maybe, you know. Try to dim the light a little because whoops.]

I'm human. I couldn't do this before, though. [Just gonna look down at his glowing hand here.]

[lesbointhesky]

[Well, that's too small for Karolina to fit into. She puts a hand on his shoulder- though if it's for comfort, or to try and keep him from hopping in, nobody knows. ]

It's okay. You'll get... used to it. [Sounds like she's speaking from experience.]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Wow, he's not used to people getting that close unless he's more familiar with them?? He doesn't shake her off though, but he's more confused than anything else by her actions.]

It's not like it bothers me or anything. [And from his tone, which doesn't have much inflection to it, he's being pretty honest about that.]

[strangerpeople]

[Well, only one way to find out what happens!]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Well okay. He'll slip away from Karolina's hand to give the space a closer look. He's actually pretty small himself (maybe 5'2" or so) so would he be able to fit? Because he sure is gonna try and see if there's anything else there even if he has to mess around in the dirt there.]

[strangerpeople]

[Kanna was about that height before her murder, anyway so Mikazuki does fit if he slides in!]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Welp, that's good to know. Anything notable on the bottom or sides of the space, like clear signs that it was heavily disturbed or that someone was struggling in there? And if he tries scraping through the dirt, how far will he get? too bad he doesn't have a spoon]

[strangerpeople]

[He won't get very far into the dirt - underneath is solid earth. Otherwise, the only things in the crawlspace are a stitched-animal skin bedroll and a medieval lantern that has not been used recently.

Oh, and a blue book next to the lantern. That's it.]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Well okay. Maybe he'll just grab the lantern and book because why not. What happens if he flips through the book, by the way? He might not be able to read it, but he can at least see if there are any pictures or blank pages or whatnot.]

[strangerpeople]

[Only a few of the vellum pages in the front are written on. Aside from that, all the other pages are otherwise blank.]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Well okay. Time to get out of here if there's nothing else. If you anyone wants to take a look at the book, go for it!]

[jinglebros]

[ Heeeereeee's Santa! He grabs the book and flips through it slowly and carefully. He's wearing gloves from the clothier's, making sure that he doesn't leave fingerprints on anything that he touches. ]

Link CW: Maiming mentions

[strangerpeople]

[SANTA OH MY GOD YOU'RE READING SOMEONE'S DIARY.

R U D E]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Tell everyone embarrassing stories from this person's diary, Santa.]

What's it say?

[jinglebros]

[ OH SHIT AND A DIARY IS SACRED! He knows this from raising a little girl! He nearly drops the book right then and there but the fact they have to solve the mystery keeps him from doing so, so he keeps on reading. When he's done he squints and reads it a second time, then a third. ]

If I hadn't seen that body myself, I'd think this chick wasn't really fucking dead! She talks about being here by goddamn mistake, and regrowing limbs, and about how she can regenerate and how she was ready to kill one of us so she can leave. Clearly her so called victim fought the hell back.

[deviloftekkadan]

[That sure was a reaction. Mika's not really sure what else to make of the mistake and stuff, but at least the part about why she died is clear. He understands self-defense well enough. Santa's reaction, though...]

...Why're you so worked up? [It's just something someone wrote about themselves, what's the big deal???]

[jinglebros]

Because! [ Santa closes the diary firmly and holds it with one hand, waving the other at Mika wildly. ] You don't know what the hell a diary is, do you? Ever been around a teenage girl? If this bitch could come back from the dead to slay me, she'd do it right now!

[ He shivers. ]

[deviloftekkadan]

[Wow dude take a chill pill. Mika thinks back to the like... two teenage girls he knows and--]

Huh, really?

I don't think they'd do something like that. [Yeah they'd probably get kind of embarrassed, but you know. They wouldn't flip their shit over it, probably.]

[reverseit]

Oh, he speaks from experience.

[ Akane watches from the door with a hand on her hip. ]

Give me the diary. A girl should be the one to investigate it more thoroughly.

[jinglebros]

[ Santa's mouth goes dry at the sight of his sister and he hands it over. ]

[deviloftekkadan]

[whipped Honestly, it doesn't really matter to him who keeps it to be honest, as long as someone apparently finds it useful. He'll just. Watch this exchange with his usual lineface, and just shrug. He'll take her word for it!!]

[reverseit]

[ She flips the book through and nods. ]

Have we checked for hidden writing, or is that a dead end?

[ It's her first line of query whenever finding written word. ]