FIFTH INVESTIGATION

[bathymetric]

Friday morning dawns like any other. There's no sharp indicator whether or not you've all managed to avoid this motive - nothing missing returned, or anything like that. You still have the photos of the Ideal Futures that Jack gave you. The hallway outside your rooms is again clear of bodies. The air is still, the ship quiet.

Still, you can't help the feeling that, well... why would this Friday be any different? You've been in this cycle for over a month now, after all. But... only one way to find out!

Comments

[dokkalfheimr]

Flayn...? Is there something-

[Oh.

Oh, this is...

Freyja usually freezes up when she sees the bodies. This is no exception.

It's no exception until it is, and then she's quite suddenly on the floor - she doesn't know when her legs gave out on her but they certainly seem to have, and she's simply dropped to the ground, legs bent awkwardly under her, with her hand clamped over her mouth, and when she bends forward she isn't sure who's screaming.

And then she realizes that her throat is burning, and she manages to work out that it's probably her.

It gets her to shut up, at least, but she doesn't seem able to stand; she just stays where she is, curled up forward around herself, shaking her head.]

[sivard]

[He comes running when he hears Freyja screaming.

There's nothing he can do, but he drops down to lay a hand on her shoulder just the same.]

[dokkalfheimr]

[That's. That's okay, she doesn't mind being touched right now.]

[sivard]

If... if you need it...

[He'll remain right here until they're called below.]

[cethflayn]

[Hey so Flayn is also freaking out but that scream sure uh, gets her to snap up real quick.]

Freyja - Freyja!

[She pushes off whatever she'd been leaning on to stagger to Freyja, dropping to her own knees and. Uh. Hands are kind of hovering, because she's not sure if the other woman would want to be touched, but. Flayn definitely seems like she would like to at least hold Freyja?]

[dokkalfheimr]

[Touching her is okay. That's. That's okay.

It's just going to take her a moment to regain her composure.]

[cethflayn]

[Then Flayn is going to embrace Freyja with all the strength her tiny body can muster. It's actually a surprisingly firm hug, it could hold Freyja up if she needed it.]

W-We...We shall find who did this. They will not get away with it.

[Would it have been like this? In Enbarr, if Edelgard had met them in the streets with Hubert, and she watched his body fall...?]

[dokkalfheimr]

[Oh.

This is weird but it's nice; she's not...really used to being held by others? So she's just going to take a moment to experience that, before she moves a little to get up, if Flayn is willing to help her do so.]

They won't. They won't get away with it.

[cethflayn]

[Yes she will help! She is tiny but she can help!]

I am going to stay here and - see what I can find. You...must do what you feel you can do.

[She's not going to force Freyja to sit through an investigation that's going to push her towards a breakdown.]

[ltcommandroid]

Freyja?

[It's the screaming that summons Data from the other room. He pauses in the doorway, assessing the scene, then carefully kneels next to Freyja to put a hand on her back. She seems...even disregarding his own nature, he understands how bad this is.

Regarding his own nature - he looks around to see if someone else knows what to do.]

[dokkalfheimr]

[Touching her is okay, she doesn't...exactly mind right now.

Just. Just give her a moment, it's going to take a moment.]

[ahelpingpaw]

[Filbo hadn't left his fledging investigation of the teenzone when others started going towards the room not too far away from him. It's only when he hears Freyja screaming that he does and sees what caused such a reaction.

He just...stands there for a moment. That's unmistakably Plumeria. Someone--Someone killed Plumeria. Plumeria was his friend, they had--why do things get worse every time...?!

Slowly, all he can do is stand near Freyja. Takes him a moment to look away from Plumeria, and it's to Freyja. Seeing her like this is heartwrenching. What's he supposed to do, what...]

L-Lady Freyja...the culprit will be caught.

[It's what she told him a moment ago when Decus was seen, but this...this is far more personal for Freyja. This is her retainer, the person Filbo had hoped would support Freyja through thick and thin, and she had been murdered. This is seriously too cruel!]

Are you...gonna...try to investigate this or would you rather go...somewhere else?

[He feels so horrible asking that. This is a question nobody should have to ask someone else. Either way, he's there if she needs someone's help to stand up]

[dokkalfheimr]

I...

[She manages that much, before just shaking her head again, the motion strange and repetitive.]

I think... I can't, I can't investigate this. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...

[ahelpingpaw]

Don't be sorry about it. Come on, you gotta stand up. Staying here's only gonna hurt you.

[He doesn't know what he should do. Should he stay with Freyja while everyone else investigates? Should he leave her alone? He's not sure what's for the better, and it doesn't help that by now deaths are starting to take a rather personal turn for him -- Plumeria was his friend and someone he really liked, while Decus had a tough life ahead but was going to try to tackle it anyway. He wants to help catch the culprit, but he also doesn't want to leave Freyja alone]

If...you need company I'll stay wherever you want to go.

[dokkalfheimr]

...I'll come with you. If you investigate. We...need to. I just can't do it here.

[Flayn should be able to help her up, and she'll...manage from there, probably.]

[ahelpingpaw]

I see. Don't stray too far, let's just...move away from here. I can't handle any of what happened here either.

[And check a whole bunch of places that are unrelated to the murder, to find nothing at all, except for one of them, probably]