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

[jinglebros]

[ Here's a Santa, looking over the room to see if anything's weirdly missing or out of place. He takes the dead body and blood in stride. ]

[strangerpeople]

[Aside from everything found so far, nothing else.

TJ's been looking over the body, and Sakura's looked it over, but perhaps another set of eyes and hands might not hurt?]

[jinglebros]

[ Okay. He examines the wounds from where the limbs were taken off first, trying to possibly identify the implement used.. ]

[strangerpeople]

[Definitely something with a blade, at the least. Its easy to see it on the arms.

Its also easy to see, looking at the arm wounds, that one of the stumps looks...different. Less injured, like it had already started to heal.]

[jinglebros]

[ Santa skitters backwards. ]

Knew this bitch wasn't dead!

[crywiththesaints]

If she were able to come back to life, do you think they would have announced it? Though it is possible that her ability here was some kind of healing factor.

[jinglebros]

Fuck, right. It was. You get a gander at that diary of hers?

[ Santa leans in closer to the body again, but he's shuddering this time as he examines the neck this time. He's remembering something. ]

[strangerpeople]

[Good news, no one's cut her head off! Bad news, enjoy your nightmares of what that might imply, Santa!

Though in all seriousness, as Santa leans in he might also notice that one of the pockets of the girl's hoodie near where her legs once were is bulging slightly.]

[jinglebros]

[ he reaches into the hoodie pocket to try to feel around. At least she has no arms to kill him with if she came back to life! ]

[strangerpeople]

[There are three items Santa will feel. Two feel papery, and one feels thin and silky.]

[jinglebros]

[ He carefully pulls out all of them, one at a time. He starts with the thing object first. ]

[strangerpeople]

[Its a lock of hair. Black and long, straight on one end, before curling at the other end, ahoge-style.]

[jinglebros]

[ He wishes he had a bag to put this in all forensic scientist style. What about the two papery feeling things? He pulls those out too. ]

[strangerpeople]

[One of the papers is crumbled into a ball. Smoothing this out will reveal the motive letter.

The other paper is much more gently cared for, folded almost perfectly in half and nary a wrinkle otherwise. This paper is a life-like portrait, just like those given to the other Titled. In the victim's case, its of a girl.]

[crywiththesaints]

I've been here the whole time. I'd presumed that her ability was invisibility, but with this instead, there had to have been another way to hide among us. Secret passages, perhaps, or posing as the Intercessor, as they're always completely covered.

[jinglebros]

Posing as the Intercessor, huh?

[ Santa doesn't like that idea. It only furthers his nightmares. ]

I'd go for the secret passages, myself.

[crywiththesaints]

I like to keep my options open. We'll need to figure this all out.