WEEK 5

[bathymetric]

That's three murders now - and this last trial got more than slightly out of hand. It looks like you might be in for another tough week... or at least, maybe that's just the refusal of this place to change too much. You lose Saturday again, but maybe six-day weeks are starting to feel normal by now. Who knows? The cycle of day and night continues apace, changing so little.

Speaking of change, though, there's a new area to look through, the biggest and most complex yet. And the end of one wing of the facility, from the looks of it - though you can probably guess where more areas might start to open up.

And speaking of opening up (segues!), this week if you're out particularly late, you might sometimes see Angel out and about! So hey, maybe change is on the horizon.

Just gotta hope it's a change for the better, don't you?



SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Week 5! Remember to turn in AC here, threads for regain coins here, and if you feel so inclined you can visit Angel's office hours over here! Or, if you want Angel to come to you, that's now an option! Simply put a prompt after lights-out into your toplevel and indicate you want Angel in the subject line, same as investigations! ]

Comments

[bolderfell]

[A full month. That's more than a little troubling, actually, but then she brings up the luminol.]

You mentioned that. For finding traces of blood, right?

[Maybe this is a grim thing to toast, but this time, he's the one to begin the clink of glasses. He even sounds genuine.]

Congratulations.

[snackooed]

Exactly! I can even give you a small demonstration, if you like. Not with blood, of course, that would just be morbid, but if you want to see how it works, there are ways I can give you a primer.

[ She brings her glass to his and smiles, before taking a sip of her White Russian through a straw. If there was ever a drink she'd like... ]

Been a bit of a while since I gave you a lesson, so hopefully you haven't gotten too rusty.

[bolderfell]

I'll have you know I keep all my tools sharp. Including this one.

[He taps the side of his head and sips at the electric lemonade.]

So how does it work without blood?

[snackooed]

There isn't much that can trip it to give it a false positive. But oddly enough, there are a couple of things that react to it in the same way blood does, and this is one of them.

[ She reaches into one of her labcoat pockets, and pulls a tiny jar of...

Is that horseradish...? ]

There's an enzyme found in horseradish sauce that trips the luminol, and so any traces of it will glow, just like blood. Of course, in the field, you'd be able to tell the difference between a blood sample and horseradish pretty quickly, if the smell didn't give it away. But since it reacts in the same way, it's perfect for our purposes!

[bolderfell]

...

[He covers the lower half of his face.]

Do you just. Have that? [He's grinning behind his hand.] Have you been carrying that around all this time hoping someone would ask for a demonstration?

[snackooed]

A-and so what if I was, huh?! I wanted to be prepared! Hey, are you judging?

[ From the way her face turns hot pink, it seems like he got it in one. ]

I was excited! Don't laugh!

[bolderfell]

[He turns aside to cough a bit into his fist, which definitely isn't laughter, totally. She's blushing so bad, holy shit.]

All right. Heard. [When he faces her again and picks up his drink, though, he's still smiling through the blue glass.] And it's not like you were wrong. I'd like to see it.

[snackooed]

See, that's what I thought!

[ She makes a short harumph sound and goes back to sipping more of her drink, puffing out her cheeks. She's a touch too embarrassed to keep eye contact. ]

If I didn't go around carrying around horseradish in the name of science, you would've been straight outta luck! And when you see it, you're going to say, "Wow, Ema, you're so amazing! I can't believe you know about all of these cool tricks!" So there!

[bolderfell]

[He hides his snickering behind the glass.]

Right. You've got me down to a T.

[So this is what Tressa's going to be like in nine years. Good to know.]

[snackooed]

After five weeks, you start to get to know a person a bit, you know!

[ Don't think she doesn't see you trying to hide that laugh-- ]

Anyway, this is probably going to smell a bit pungent once I start taking it out, so hold your nose or something while I spread this. Don't worry, I'm going to clean it up really thoroughly, so you won't even know it's here...

[bolderfell]

You could put it on one of those paper napkins. Easy to get rid of that way.

[All the same, once he takes another sip of his drink, he sets it aside to hold his scarf over his face. Really, though, there's no question Therion's smelled worse. Sometimes, Therion smells worse.]

[snackooed]

Well, I could do that, but I want to show you what happens when I, you know, really, really get in there and clean. I'll be quick about it, I promise. With lots of soap...

[ And as she spreads a good amount of it on the bartop and cleans it up well, she takes the glasses off the top of her head. ]

You'll need these, by the way.

[bolderfell]

[Bemused, he accepts the glasses, gets them on, slides them down a second to confirm, yeah, that horseradish is super gone to the naked eye, and readjusts the way they sit on his nose. They probably look pretty good, with his color scheme.]

Like that, right. Why?

[snackooed]

Perfect, they look good on you! Now, watch this.

[ Once the bar is clean as a whistle, bone-dry, and there's no trace at all of the horseradish, out comes the luminol. She gives the bar just a couple of good sprays, and lets it sit for a second... ]

It's too bright in here to see it without them, but if you put on your glasses, you should see exactly where the sauce was.

[ In bright, bright blue, no less! ]

[bolderfell]

[Oh! He lifts the glasses by the frames again a couple times to see the blue vanish and reappear, then laughs, impressed.]

I'll be damned. Very neat trick. Or... a cool trick, right?

[The things she's done to this medieval gremlin's vocabulary.]

Wow, Ema. You're so amazing. ...Scientifically speaking.

[snackooed]

[ She can't with this doof..! ]

See, look, I told you! Isn't it great to look at? If you use it in a dark room, it'll pop up clear as day, but with those glasses of mine, you'll see it whenever and wherever you want! So you better not steal them! They're a heck of a lot more than a fashion statement!

[ But she's glad to see he got such a kick out of it! She knew he would! ]

Let's hope I only have to use it on horseradish, though!

[bolderfell]

[He laughs again, a little brighter, and hands the glasses back to her.]

I won't tell you how tempted I've been to just snatch them off your head all this time. If I'd known they were one of your tools, though, I'd have made a note to leave them alone. Can't deprive an artist, after all.

[Actually, he totally can. Some of the things you can have him steal in the game... boy.]

[snackooed]

Oh, to call me an artist really couldn't be further from the truth. If you saw how bad I am with yarn and crochet needles, you'd be walking back on that in no time.

[ Though she does take her glasses back and smiles, as the blue of the luminol starts to fade out. There's something about the sight of that that just doesn't get old, like watching a sunrise... ]

You probably have more dexterity in your pinky finger than I do in my whole body, Therion.

[bolderfell]

I'm an artist of my craft, sure. Same as you are of yours. If I didn't have more than the average dexterity in my hands, I'd make one sorry thief.

[He pauses, then. And then he brings something out from under the folds of his scarf and slides it across the bar to her.

Did you remember to put your horseradish away, Ema?]

Though I guess this would count as one of your tools, too. Sorry.

[snackooed]

Huh?!

[ When did he...oh, that sly little-- ]

That was fast...you really aren't kidding! I didn't even see you move to grab it...

[ Talk about a demonstration..! ]

I knew you weren't just all talk, but it's impressive, to see it in person!

[bolderfell]

[He chuckles.]

You were busy wiping down the bar, that's all. [He returns his attentions to his drink, still looking pretty pleased with himself.] Been a while since I could show off. And I did say I'd teach you a thing or two in return for all your lessons.

[snackooed]

Is it all just fast reflexes and waiting for the right opportunity, then? I imagine a lot of it kind of comes from learning with experience, but I'd also think there's only so many times you could slip up before things get a little hairy, so...

[ The solution would be... ]

Just don't get caught?

[bolderfell]

...Or if you do get caught, know how to slip your bonds. [Shrug.] Thieving means a lifetime of balancing risk and reward. Observing people, avoiding traps, putting on a convincing show... As long as I've been at it and as much as I've honed my skills, even I still make mistakes. Reflexes only get you so far.

[snackooed]

[ It sounds like a position of last resort, from the way he talks about it. Use all of the tools at your disposal to get away, and live to steal another day.

She takes another sip of her drink, but the chocolate tastes a touch more bitter, now. Maybe it's her imagination. ]

Something tells me I wouldn't make it very far, even if I had you mentoring me.

[bolderfell]

...Well, that's why, instead of burglary, you've got a ready career in tavern-keeping to fall back on.

You're resourceful and observant, but the rest of your talents would be wasted as a thief. Orsterra doesn't have the... technology your world has, but we still have our scholars and apothecaries. Bet you'd love something like that--studying your brains out to harness magic. Teaching. Helping people.