FIRST INVESTIGATION

[bathymetric]

Friday, the deadline for The Professor's generous offer, dawns like any other. The automated cycle of lights, the only real indication of time passing here on the seafloor, passes into an imitation of daylight with a series of clicks and the hum of bulbs intensifying their glow.

Just last night, spirits were high as many of you watched movies and chatted. But as you leave your rooms today, there's something... foreboding hanging in the air. A quiet stillness, almost unnatural.

... Eh, it's probably fine, right?

Comments

[archboxer]

[How ominous... Let's start the day off by going to the library.]

[bathymetric]

[ well hm. unlike usual, where even if you leave the library in disarray (Della), someone comes around at night to clean it, the library is kind of a mess.

Maybe it's the other person in here's fault. They don't seem to have had a good time, and are lying on the floor in the middle of the room.

... The blood also probably isn't a great sign. ]

[archboxer]

[...okay, that's ominous. She wanted to see if anyone had left one of those weird bibles around but. Just.. who is laying on the floor?]

[ladygeryon]

No! [Nira is instantly rushing to the person's side, hands extended almost instinctively, an attempt to channel the healing powers that are blocked here.]

[archboxer]

[Rhea grabs her arm and pulls her back.]

Mercy is important but we probably should not touch the body quite yet.

[ladygeryon]

I can-I can- [She stops, and buries her face in her hands, screaming in a combination of rage and pain.] If I had my powers, I could save them! Even-even if they were dead, if it wasn't for too long! The-the Professor, he-

[lovelikeyou]

[What's all this shouting about? Rose walks into the room and immediately stops up short, hands covering her mouth as she takes in the scene.]

Oh...oh no...

[Tears are already welling up in her eyes, both from sentiment and instinct, but what Nira's saying is true.]

My tears, I could...can I try that?

[archboxer]

[Her heart aches but Rhea shakes her head.]

I fear it is too late.

[lovelikeyou]

[Crying properly now, Rose's hand moves over her mouth again for a moment...but that wouldn't work either, without her powers. And besides, there's reasons she's never tried that on a human. It would be a terrible fate, for someone who could understand.]

[ladygeryon]

Have-have you tried it here yet? [Nira can already feel the lack of power welling up within her even as she tries to summon it.] But-if there's a possibility it could help-

[lovelikeyou]

[Rose shakes her head.]

Nobody's been hurt.

[archboxer]

[What the hell, why can't her healing be that good?? She doesn't show that thought.]

That may be true but right now our magic is blocked. We must get the others -- once the soul has left there is little we can do for her.

[ladygeryon]

[There's only so many times she can do that in her lifetime, but she would be perfectly willing to give them all up here to stop the sick game.]

D-damn it! [She lowers her head, eyes shadowed in fury.] Zekrom curse that man!

[archboxer]

The Goddess will punish him most thoroughly.

[She agrees. She's quite tense herself but...] We must find who did this. If they can take down a skilled mercenary then they are a danger to us all.

[ladygeryon]

[A slow nod.] We'll...probably need to search around more. Try and figure out where the killer went after this...

[bathymetric]

[ Well, it doesn't take much effort to figure out who it is, really. She's certainly been around plenty this last couple of weeks, and lying on her back certainly isn't doing much to obscure her face. And by now, well...

There's only one face among you that's always covered in actual war paint, isn't there?

Aela the Huntress is dead. ]

[archboxer]

[Oh.... oh no. That's not good at all!]

[onefuture]

[The fitness room is right near the library, and Lif's pretty sure that he thought he heard something--it's likely not good, all things considered, but he should check it out, right?

Well. Needless to say, that's the biggest mistake he's made today as he goes to see what the fuss is all about and is hit with what he sees, eyes widening--]

Aela--!

[What starts desperate is very much slowly turning into fury. Lif's not usually the most expressive man in the world, but he's fucking openly pissed here.]

[precognit]

[Alice is a little late to the party, but she notices that people are gathering in the library, so—

...Oh. Oh, no. She smells blood.

She only took two steps into the room, but Alice immediately turns around and flees.]

[bogwife]

[Hey, guys, is there a party going on in the library- oh no.]

Is she-? Oh Ancestors, someone actually did it.