WEEK 1

[bathymetric]

Well, you've now met the brains of the operation, as well as the shockingly nice-looking young lady in charge of day-to-day business. Now all that's left is to get used to your accommodations - there's 24 other people in similar shoes to yours to meet in this building, you know! And who knows how much longer you might have them...

The daily routine in the facility quickly becomes obvious - the only way to tell time moment to moment is to check the strange device The Professor gave you, but at the same time every day the lights in and out of the facility go up, and at the same time every night they go down. Otherwise, it's almost maddening sometimes, how little happens in here. At least you have a few rooms with enough to hopefully keep you occupied. Who knows what secrets they might hold? And there's always that vending machine, if you can find something that fits in the coin slot...





MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
FRIDAY | SATURDAY

[ ooc: Welcome to Peace Week! Enjoy it while it lasts. Remember, office hours for The Professor's Assistant are over here if you're interested, while regains can be deposited over here! ]

Comments

Lunch

[bolderfell]

[...

He pulls his scarf up higher and keeps walking. Maybe she'll get the hint.

On the other hand, he's still walking towards the dining area, so...]

wow rude??

[snackooed]

H-hey! Wait a minute, wait a minute--!

[ She knew this guy was called "dodger," but that was slick..! ]

Don't you think it'd be productive to, I dunno, have a tactical meeting or something? I'm not gonna bite, I promise!

Dislikes: overtures of friendship

[bolderfell]

If that's what you wanted, why not just say so.

[That makes more sense than "It's dangerous to lunch alone, take me!"]

...Still, I don't think I'll be much use to you.

[snackooed]

Not to worry. I don't expect anyone to have all the answers after just a day, you know?

[ At least he seems more eager to accompany her now! And she's perked right back up... ]

I'm mostly just looking to get to know everyone's strengths, is all. We're all in the same boat, so I'm hoping we can start a mutually beneficial relationship, of sorts! And lunch is a pretty good way to do that, at least in my eyes.

[ And the slight grumbling in her stomach chimes in, too... ]

...It helps that I'm pretty hungry, but that's neither here nor there.

[bolderfell]

[Oh, no, she's Chatty.]

...Fine.

[He could eat. Anyway, that's all he says until they're at the conveyor belt. He doesn't say anything then, either, actually. Just watches to see what she does.]

[snackooed]

[ we fly high, no lie, you know this (ballin') ]

Hm, I think today I'll have the chicken instant cup noodles, but, I'll have them put egg on top this time. Just to make it a little fancy.

[ Good God. ]

Are you craving anything in particular? It says that you can put down anything you like on this form, and they'll put it on the conveyor belt for you, but I haven't experimented too much yet.

[bolderfell]

[Therion's expression gets progressively blanker as she goes on about fancy ramen, but then she explains about the form and he's a little less lost. So that's how it works.

(Has he not eaten since waking up here? Maybe. You can't prove nothin'.)]

Don't suppose I could get an ale and some barley bread.

[snackooed]

That depends. You are over 21, right?

[ She chuckles to herself at her little jest... ]

Ah, I'm just kidding. Even if you weren't, these are extenuating circumstances. I'm sure they can do that, but I think you should have a little more than just bread, no?

[bolderfell]

[Great. He's all grumpy question marks again.]

What does my age have to do with anything?

[snackooed]

Do you not have a drinking age where you're from? Actually, I think I remember that from when I studied abroad...

In my country, you're not allowed to drink alcohol until you reach a certain age. Mostly because they don't want to deal with what happens when a kid drinks too much irresponsibly...

[bolderfell]

What are they supposed to drink? Milk?

[snackooed]

Water, milk, soda, seltzer...pretty much anything that won't get you drunk. Though, scientifically speaking, it's often debated whether or not it's a good idea to have one. After all, when you're a teenager, you always want to do things that aren't allowed...

[ She sounds like she's speaking from experience, there. ]

[bolderfell]

[...

Maybe it's a good thing she talks so much, because Therion only understands about one word out of each ten she says.]

...I'll have two ales. And salted pork.

[And he orders that with his barley bread.]

[snackooed]

That's the spirit! Actually, that sounds yummy, I should put pork on top of my noodles too next time...

[ Maybe he'll loosen up a bit after some drinks? He seems a bit thin, so maybe he can't hold his liquor... ]

Anyway, I'm sorry for my manners. I'm Ema Skye. I'm part of the forensic investigation team for the Los Angeles Police Department. You know, like CSI?

[ She's...probably going to have to explain a bit more than that, huh? ]

[bolderfell]

...

[He sighs, and then states flatly:]

No, I don't know. [And, to clarify:] What anything you just said is.

[snackooed]

Yeah, I kind of thought not, actually, after I said it out loud...

[ Okay, maybe we should start from the beginning-- ]

So let's say, just as an example, that a burglar comes to Joe Schmoe's house. Someone breaks into his safe in the middle of the night and takes all of the money inside and runs, and nobody saw the culprit at all. My job is to help narrow down who did it. You with me so far?

[bolderfell]

[Well, well, well. Way to be relevant to Therion's interests.]

How, if no one saw anything?

[snackooed]

[ A-ha. Now she's got his attention! She can't help but mentally fist-pump. ]

Well, even if no one actually sees the crime, it's very possible, even if the burglar is extra careful. There are little traces that the criminal tends to leave behind, even if he doesn't know it, and with those, I can usually figure out important information. For instance, let's see, little more details...let's say that it was raining and he left some footprints in the mud. I can use the size of the footprint to figure out the general height of the person, and measure how deep the footprint is in the ground to figure out his weight. And just like that, I've got a general idea of the guy's body type.

But I can do better than that.

[bolderfell]

[Ah, yeah. Grudgingly, he nods a little at her example. He's dabbled in some of that logic himself, though he definitely didn't glean anything that specific out of his casual investigation in Atlasdam.

Her last remark all but begs the question, but damn him, he's curious.]

What do you mean?

[That she could figure out a man's body type just from footprints is already slightly nerve-wracking.]

[snackooed]

[ She's got him! ]

Take a look at the inside of your fingers for me. Close look. See those little patterns on the tips?

[ She shows him hers, just for good measure. ]

Something interesting about fingerprints and bare footprints...actually, two interesting things. First and foremost, every single person in the world has a completely unique set of them. Sure, you'll find common patterns, but even two brothers, even two twin brothers are going to have a different handprint. Not only that, from the moment you're brought into this world to the moment you're out of it, your fingerprint will never, ever change. There's only one way you can get rid of your fingerprint, and that's by permanent damage to your hand.

Now, of course, you might think to yourself, a good burglar would never touch something that would leave a visible print, right? I mean, it's not hard not to touch ink, or wax, or something like that when you're at a place you're trying to steal from. And if you don't leave a visible print, I won't be able to find it, right? Right?

[ There's a huge grin on her face that just screams "wrong". ]

[bolderfell]

[Ema is BLOWING HIS MIND RN]

...Right...

[Therion knows, from long experience and also more recent events, when he's being led into a trap. Unfortunately, there's no way out that he can see. She's Gonna Tell Him.]

[snackooed]

Well, if you'd like to know the right answer to that question, you'll just have to stick around for lunch with me, won't you?

[ As her noodles approach on the conveyor belt-- ]

Gosh, these look good...

[bolderfell]

[Oh, damn it. She got him good. Therion pulls his scarf up again to mask a long exhalation as his own meal comes down. Also, more importantly, the ale. He's going to need it.]

Maybe that's why the Professor's keeping away from here. So, whatever we do, there won't be any of these invisible traces to find.

[He collects his tray and goes to find a table without waiting for Ema. She knows she's got a captive audience, he doesn't have to let her gloat about it.]

[snackooed]

That could very well be...the place seems immaculately clean anyway, but if he was here, he could leave prints, or hair, or even fibers from his clothing. Even the smallest traces can prove totally vital in an investigation.

[ As she follows him over to his table, she already can't help picking at her noodles with a fork. She really must have been hungry-- ]

But unfortunately, there's only so much I can do without having access to my tools. If I had my bag, I'd be able to do some more in-depth searching, but that Professor must have taken it from me before I woke up yesterday...

[ A sore spot... ]

If it turns up, I'll be able to at least search doorknobs and that vault for prints. It might not be much, but it could prove to be a boon.

[bolderfell]

[Not like someone like him cares about manners. He sits and starts in on his first ale.]

What kind of tools let you search for these... prints?

[It's easier to talk about her skills when they're hypothetically being used against someone else. ...Not that he was putting himself in the example burglar's shoes or anything.]

Would you be able to improvise something?