SECOND TRIAL

[bathymetric]

Time's up, boys and girls. Please gather up your evidence and make your way to the vault door.

[ The process of heading to the elevator and crowding in remains the same as last week - Angel leads you all to the elevator car, then stays behind as you make your slow descent to the dome below. You might not even notice if you aren't paying attention, but... the cart is already less crowded than it was last week. You certainly won't be able to avoid noticing it if your numbers dwindle too much further than this.

When the doors open on the trial room, it's just as bleak a place as last week. ]

Take your places, won't you? And this time, you all know what's at stake. No more... funny business.

[The number of podiums displaying that red light is higher now - Damien, Lif, and Piers are all represented by blank spots now, no tasteful covers or anything normal to mark their passing, just a red glow and a gap in your number.

Cheery!

The screens raise up to the ceiling to give you all room to see, and the Professor's final words before the trial begins ring out: ]

Find the killer, leave alive. And killer? Try a little harder to stop them from doing that than the last one in your shoes. Call out for me if you require anything.

[ Welcome to your second trial. ]

Comments

[precognit]

Fine.

[She snaps. It's not even the accusations, it's the rudeness. She turns away from him, toward the rest of the circle. Her posture is upright and defiant, but her fingers tremble at the podium.]

Everyone...I'm sorry. I haven't been completely honest with you. But it's true...I am a vampire.

[emberserker]

And that's it, isn't it?

[precognit]

I don't know what else to say. I...I know how it looks.

[nothingcanstop]

[ surprised pikachu face- no, okay- ]

Alice. [ ...her podium's next to birkin's, sorry alice. ] I understand this is scary...but if you didn't do anything, there's no reason for any of us to jump to conclusions. Can you tell us what happened last night? Where you were, what you remember?

[ good cop! ]

[precognit]

[Della. Okay, Della is here, Della is her friend. She can do this. She exhales a shuddery breath.]

I delivered all the bowties, to everyone. And then Zerinda came and asked if she could stay in my room, last night. We talked, and then she went to sleep, eventually.

[hardnosed]

You told me you didn't sleep much. It was a lie, wasn't it.

[snackooed]

Well, no, not quite. I don't think we'd be doing our due diligence if made our decision based on that alone.

[ Though it isn't good, that's for sure... ]

If she has an alibi, for example, we're back at square one.

[fivestagegod]

Alibis are only good if they can be corroborated by someone else. I don't think a lot of people have that just because of how things like that tend to go.

[bogwife]

[dis someone say alibi?]

I stayed in her room last night. I'd found the gift she left on my door so I ran to her room before lights out to give her the shawl I made for her. [The one she's wearing right now in fact.] She invited me in to chat a bit and I just ended up sleeping there.

[bolderfell]

...How light a sleeper would you say you are?

[bogwife]

Is that why you asked me about vampires in my world when we talked before? [Her tone isn't accusatory but it laced with Deep Concern over the dog piling evidence.]

[precognit]

...Yes, it is. With everything you told me...I thought maybe you might not judge.

[bogwife]

Oh, Alice. I could never judge you or anyone for what you can't help being.

[precognit]

Thank you, Zerinda. I...

[She's at a loss for words. She just hugs her shawl more tightly around herself.]

[fivestagegod]

[...Okay, he still stands by the notion that that was goddamn stupid, but.]

Points for the honesty, I guess.

[reallyhatesharks]

[well. okay then.]

How long can you go without blood, Alice?

[precognit]

N-normally, a couple of weeks. But I was only getting a little bit at a time, so when I couldn't get it anymore...

[Alice sounds very upset. She can't cry, but if she could the tears would be welling up.] It took way less time than usual for it to affect me.

[philoxenia]

... Your protein shake?

[precognit]

It wasn't a protein shake, Mira. It was blood.

[Alice bows her head.]

At home, I'm what we call a vegetarian. We never drink from humans, only animals. But here, I had to take what I could get.

[reallyhatesharks]

[yeah. totally great. we're fine. it's fine.]

Gonna guess you weren't in enough control to drink from one of us either.

[precognit]

I-I couldn't have possibly asked that of any of you. I don't even drink human blood, normally!

[drladysounds]

Nothing that happened would even be your fault! That jerk cornered you on purpose!

[Shelley is still dancing around the topic of 'Alice very, very likely bit Piers because of desperation for blood, but she's pretty outraged anything that happened would be the Professor's complete fault]

[precognit]

[A very, very soft whisper:]

I know.

[ladygeryon]

[Aria's been snuffling around, but she's going to move to nuzzle against Alice now.]

By the Swords and Dragons. He probably planned this all along, didn't he?

[drladysounds]

...I knew something was up with you, but I didn't think 'vampires'...you're nothing like the brutal vampires I once encountered...

[The strength she once presumably had, the cold skin, the age, it all pointed Alice wasn't human, but Shelley hadn't bet on vampire at all]

I just wish the truth had come out in better circumstances than this, especially since...

[...since it just fits the narrative created by the crime. Shelley can't bring herself to say that part]