What I want to hear on nights I can't sleep is your voice

[philoxenia]

[ ... Well, that was an absolute shitshow, wasn't it? Instead of dwelling on how she feels about everything that just happened, Mira's channeling that energy into something else--and she has a little bit of help doing it. Zerinda and Ema are here in the bar to make drinks, and Mira's brought in a ton of food that's definitely not healthy for anyone, but screw it, who cares about health right now?

Della's here to pass out invitations, too--they let everyone know there's a gathering in the bar, if they'd rather not be alone.

If you choose not to come, well... Mira's got that taken care of, too. She'll place a little container of cookies and hot cocoa outside your door. Maybe it'll help someone feel a little less alone--at least, that's what she's hoping. ]

Comments

[bolderfell]

[He looks surprised, then pleased, but he's quick enough to shake the expression off and look around.]

...Well, I don't know if Sly would agree with me, but to my mind, the first thing a good thief looks for--before even the likeliest valuables--is his escape route.

[He moves closer to her and the punching bag again.]

If I were going to kill someone-- [At that, he pats the punching bag, indicating his murder victim.] --I'd concentrate first on how to get away with it. [He points to the exit.] Then I'd work out how to do the deed. Our first cases would have looked a lot different if the killers were thinking that way.

[hardnosed]

Right. Succeeding in one aspect of your directive would be worthless to you without some way to save your skin afterwards. There’s no grey area for losers. You succeed utterly, or you die.

[ It’s underhanded, in the way the Professor’s strictures force them to be underhanded, which she hates. ]

But working out your method is part of that. So is picking a victim. So far, everyone who’s killed just went after whoever was there.

[bolderfell]

Exactly. Our killers so far have been strong, or at least highly skilled in combat. Among those of us left, I'm probably in the middle of the pack as far as that goes. Some of you I'd have no chance against. Some are ludicrously easy marks. Unfortunately for me, only a few of the latter category wander around in the hours I do my best work. I'm much more likely to run into you.

[And then he'd be a wine-colored smear on the wall. He pushes the punching bag a little, testing its weight.]

I'd have to stake out an isolated location and hope for the best, like Zelos. [He gives the bag a shove away from both of them.] Or... [He catches it as it swings back.] I'd have to ensure an easy target came to me.

[hardnosed]

You mean an invitation.

[ As ever, this is a question disguised as a very emphatic statement. ]

That’s a risk in itself. How would you guarantee your mark doesn’t mention it to someone else?

[bolderfell]

It'd depend on who I picked. Some are naturally less likely to say anything. Others...

[He tips his chin up and taps his fingers against the punching bag, then looks at Jasper.]

Do Gems ever do forgery?

[hardnosed]

They'd be shattered for trying.

[ Which is not a no! ]

[bolderfell]

All right, so you know what it is. With all the notes we pass around at the meetings, it'd be easy to forge someone's handwriting, write a letter asking to meet. Masks my involvement and gives the rest of you a target to suspect all at once. Could kill in a way that looks more like them, too.

[hardnosed]

You'd have to pick someone nobody trusts, wouldn't you? Or someone who's made themselves suspicious already. [ She's looking down at herself, at this point. She knows how she made herself look after blowing up on Tuesday, and also exactly the kind of person she is in general. ] If anyone catches on, it won't be long before they point the finger at the kind who'd use a cheap distraction like that.

[ And now she's looking at Therion. ]

[bolderfell]

[When she looks at him, he's wearing an odd, considering-but-surprised kind of expression, like what she's putting down didn't quite occur to him. Not the second part, of course, which is what he chooses to address first.]

It'd be a risk. Forging something, making any kind of false trail--it means actively choosing to leave a trace. Can't control what conclusions people will come to or what questions they'll ask.

Rather than frame someone...generally mistrusted, I'd choose someone close to the victim. Someone whose invitation would be believable. Not like people who've been friendly haven't turned on each other. [Lif, Aela. Alice, accidentally. Zelos.] I'd have to pay attention to those who react to the Professor's weekly offers and make up a story accordingly. And it would have to be someone whose strengths I could mimic passably.

[Jasper ain't a good candidate for his hypothetical purposes is what he's saying.]

That's how I would do it, anyway. Guess others could try it your way.

[hardnosed]

My way would get me shattered, never mind a runt like you.

[ There's a low, rumbling bitterness in her voice. This isn't the natural order of things, as far as Jasper sees it, and that's one of the things that makes her angriest. She can't just take out the trash and be done with it. To get away with murder, you need to conform to their standards. ]

But I wouldn't be surprised if someone else thinks I don't know that. Lif was halfway there.