Week 7 - Trial(?)

[petoskeymods]

TRIAL(?)

On Saturday, everyone gathers around the campfire as usual. However, there are a few more people missing this time, as only seven of you appear for the trial.

Red and Archer are there, though, and after giving each other a look Red is the one who steps forward to speak.

"Some things happened last night, and as a result Cielo and Richie have died. Given the timing of their deaths, they satisfy the death requirement for the trial, and as such we will have no trial today.

Go back to your cabins and rest up. We will have a lot to do next week."

Red and Archer will be around to answer questions, but the remaining campers are otherwise free to go about their business and spend this weekend resting.

Comments

[le_mat]

Cielo... Richie... what-

[Cielo helped save his arm. He still wears the bullet he pulled out of his arm around his neck. And Richie... Oh god Richie. After yesterday he shouldn't be surprised but-

-he sits, hard. Too shocked to respond.

...he does eventually go to Red. Not saying anything, just... Existing nearby]

[linearcrash]

[ Before he goes to Red, Nine will just sit down next to him to wrap his arms around him. Hey baby, he got you. ]

[killtheanimals]

[...So they're dead as well, then. All his plots, all his scheming, and they're just--

Mitsuru once again isn't very present today. It's possible to find him; sitting on the beach staring out at the lake, spinning the Ragnaruk in hand.

Other times, when it's not common eating hours but others may be in for a snack, he can be found grabbing food for himself - something easy to prepare, like a sandwich, or looking through whatever might have been left over in the fridge.

He's Around. It's just a matter of catching him.]

Kitten catching

[linearcrash]

[ Nine heads into the kitchen to just grab peanut butter again. It's been his go-to snack now. When he sees Mitsuru, some of the tension in his shoulders and back drains. He was thinking of looking for him after this. ]

Hey.

[ His voice is a lot more gruff than usual. Sorry. ]

[killtheanimals]

[His head lifts when he hears the voice, but he doesn't turn to face Nine.]

...Hello.

[And that's the only response before he continues selecting ingredients. There's various fixings in there, but he just needs the basics, some butter, meat, mayo, enough to taste alright and give him some nourishment.]

[linearcrash]

[ Nine is going to move closer to peek around him, while placing a hand on his back. ]

What the hell are you going to do with the butter?

[ Don't put it on the meat. That is not what you do. ]

[killtheanimals]

...For the bread?

[What are you expecting out of him here, Nine. It's a sandwich.

-Oh, there's even some lettuce in here. He'll grab a little of that, too.]

[linearcrash]

[ tfw the feral cat is letting you touch him

Nine tilts his head. ]

Does it even taste good with all of that other stuff?

[ he's had buttered toast. But he hasn't had butter on bread with other sandwich ingredients. ]

[killtheanimals]

[Feral cat is too tired to protest, keep this in mind for belling him.]

It's not bad.

[But he also really doesn't care too much about taste right now. Unless Nine keeps him there, he's going to send a couple of the ingredients along with telekinesis while he balances the others in the hand not occupied with the staff, taking them to a table to assemble his meal.]

Beach

[finalguard]

[ As has been established in the last few weeks, Boa's zombie body has a real talent for finding Mitsuru everywhere and anywhere and with preference for very unfortunate timing. This is no different.

Except maybe it is a little different, because this time he doesn't speak up at all. Instead he sits down next to Mitsuru, very close, but not close enough to be touching. Much like another time, back when there wasn't stone protruding from so many spots of his body...

After the awkwardness of his last few help attempts, the zombie is relieved to finally have found a situation that is so physically similar to a memory that it gives him a frame of reference. This worked and he remembers it working. ]

[killtheanimals]

[He only spares a brief glance in zomboa's direction before turning once more to look out at the lake. It occurs to him that he could shoo it again once more, but he lacks the energy for it, and it shows in how he hunches, head no longer raised with the same confidence as before.

He's so tired, and the weight feels so, so heavy.

They're turning to stone, if slowly. The bodies from before should be proof enough that flesh still remains, but he still entertains the thought for a moment, that perhaps his heart is finally beginning to change - it, too, feels heavy in his chest.

He'll sit in silence for a good while, spinning that beyblade in his hand. When he finally does speak up again, his voice is quiet:]

I'm sorry.

[For failing.

Again.]

[finalguard]

[ That's not what Boa expected to hear, least of all from Mitsuru. He's been sad a lot lately, that has been easy to notice even in the current state of being dead, but as far as the zombie is aware there is nothing tangible actually wrong? Which makes this kind of hard to judge and react to... ]

Do you want to... talk about it?

[ He gives a pleasant smile, as he does most of the time, but there is a concerned look in his eyes.

Summer camp is for getting to know one another, so maybe... ]

[killtheanimals]

There isn't much to talk about.

[A sigh. This is all just so...

He doesn't even have the energy to be frustrated. All he feels is a hollow void of resignation. If they couldn't beat the camp at its own game up until now, how are they going to pull out a miracle or ten in their final week?]

You... probably thought I was stronger than I am.

[...]

We both did.

[Because all of this has proven to him quite the opposite, really. He thought he was powerful, he thought he knew what he was doing. He thought he could win.

Victory feels so empty when the only qualifier is that he lives to see another day. Another week. Exerting his own will hasn't only proven futile, but there's a high chance it will be impossible, despite Red's attempts at reassurance.

He draws his knees up, curling. What was the point of any of this?]

[finalguard]

Maybe so.

[ The admission probably comes too quickly and too cheerily for comfort. But Boa doesn't stop there. ]

But in summer camp, I'm realizing maybe being the best at everything isn't all there is. It's been fun, you know? Just fun, hanging out with you. I didn't even mind losing at Splatoon that much.

[ If he could, Boa would love to make eye contact now, but Mitsuru's so curled onto himself that the best he can do is just sort of stare at the top of his friends' head. ]

I thought you were cool right when we came here and that changed, but now I just think you're great for different reasons than back then.

[killtheanimals]

You would think that.

[His words are further muffled by his posture, not caring enough to project any louder for the sake of a mere zombie. The message, he figures, either got through or didn't.]

gently scruffs

[soylentprotag]

[What's common eating hours in a week following near-starvation, honestly (realistically most of them could probably make it longer, but none of them are in peak physical condition at this point, and all of them are goddamn teenagers, and half of them are superpowered teenagers with more intense food needs than even your regular growing children).

So here's Lenka in the kitchen at a ridiculous hour after... everything has gone down. He's actually holding the fridge open, seemingly in search of food, but his gaze isn't really moving -- so it's more likely that he either opened the fridge and forgot what he was doing, or he was doing one of those peckish things where you open the fridge, find nothing, and then immediately open the fridge again five seconds later.

It's not an ideal weekend for getting things done or for not getting distracted, is it? He will tilt his head up eventually, and blink at Mitsuru, because not even a cat's paw can go noiselessly in the kitchen at this hour.]

... Mitsuru. There's some leftovers. [he seems to finally remember to actually look around the fridge] Soup. I don't think there's anything else.

[killtheanimals]

[A pity, because much like a cat, Mitsuru's in the mind to hide away, defensive of those invisible wounds that seem to have torn away at everything he thought he was. As such, Lenka's gaze is met with a glower, head tipped down petulantly.]

...You can have those, then.

[He'll just fetch something for himself, by himself.]

[soylentprotag]

[He knows Mitsuru's patterns by now -- he was probably either in a tree or on a roof or otherwise hiding out before this, and he has a tendency to extract himself from those scenarios as soon as he can or to be hissy if he can't. All the same, they just keep meeting like this: it's not like Lenka will leave someone to their own devices at a time like this, after a week like this, and after they've lost the people they have.

Cabin 2 is getting real lean in terms of the living, between last week and this week. It might be a bit selfish of him, but he wants to make sure what's left of them comes out of this in one piece, first of all.]

... There's more than I need. This is for the whole camp, I think.

[And he's going to extract a giant tub of soup, because all of them have been resorting to a liquid diet this week. The fridge is probably just shy of literally flooded.

He's not going to wait for a reply before just... dumping the entire thing in a pot on the stove and starting to reheat it. He'll let the scent of chicken noodle or whatever speak for itself.]

[killtheanimals]

[Lenka is wise to Mitsuru's bullshit these days. It's a smart idea, putting the soup on, because the smell only makes him hungrier, much to his annoyance. With a disgruntled look (but when isn't he, these days), he settles himself down to wait, arms crossed.

They can have a nice moment of silence as it heats, unless Lenka has something to bring up.]

[diesifkilled]

[And while the counselors are there, one particular zombie is suddenly marching up to Archer, looking absolutely furious.]

Two of them?! There's no way that was necessary, you...

[Right as he's closing in, maybe for a futile attempt at punching, he starts to trail off and slow down. However, he grinds his teeth (with a sound much more like stone grinding against stone) and manages to push out a few more words.]

A-at least tell everyone... who...

[Then he's gone for real, smiling once again like a good little camper.]

[homeecspacecop]

[This is bad. It's been bad since he woke up yesterday morning, and Chuuta knows it. Eddie's dead, and he doesn't have an alibi, so he's going to have to argue and fight his way out of an execution. Someone's going to die, and then next week it's going to happen again and again and again until there's no one left.

He sits on a log by the campfire and tries to get his thoughts in order. Someone's missing.]

[Richie isn't here.]

[Chuuta looks around but it's weird, ever since yesterday he hasn't really been able to see people's faces. He keeps missing things, and right now he can't really check to see if Richie isn't there.]

Are you sure?

[Drew's sure. The blue guy isn't here either.]

[And then Red stands and steps forward and opens her mouth and--

and that's all static too, it blurs and snaps and buzzes.]

What did she say? [He asks, quietly. He can feel something in the shared space of his link with Drew, a confusion and curiosity.]

[Richie's dead. Cielo's dead too.]

... oh. [That's weird. That shouldn't have happened, that's not how things were happening.

He walks over to Red, once the shouting's died down.]

But who did it?

[Chuuta?]

What happened on Thursday? Ichigo and Eddie died, so who killed them?

pre-Red

[soylentprotag]

[Chuuta's been off since yesterday; all of them have been off in some fashion for weeks now, and it's getting worse and worse; but after a Friday, after a Saturday and anytime during the weekend it's always extra cause for concern. Lenka hasn't had the chance to check in with him before now, but at least he seems to be talking to Drew.

Even if their conversation is even more incomprehensible than usual, it at least means Chuuta is present in some way. That's important, going to be important all around -- this is the most people they've lost in a weekend since... actually since last weekend. And what does that say about their lives, really.]

Chuuta, Drew. [at this point, he might as well address both, if they're that wrapped up in their one-sided talk; Lenka's going to be coming over to sit beside them once Red is done with her announcement] Can you talk to me? Did you think of something?

[homeecspacecop]

[Static, something that's maybe his name, something buzzing. It's... Lenka, maybe, or Nine, or maybe Ichigo or Kon or... it's one of the older boys.]

[He wants to talk to you. He wants to know if you thought of something.]

[At least Drew's words are coming through clearly. There's just some lag time before Chuuta responds to Lenka, tone as flat as it was all day yesterday, expression distant. He needs to focus but with all the distortions things are very dreamlike.]

Someone here killed them. Unless Cielo killed both of them.

[soylentprotag]

[He's been there -- not with the hallucinations, so much, but the difficulty (near-impossibility) of responding coherently or promptly. Because the world seems to have been kicked on its side, some fog of war covering it in a way that renders everything indistinct but also lets him pull back just enough to find which parts of himself are still left.

(At this point in the proceedings, everything is patchwork: what there is of him pulling itself forward with the force of sheer inertia -- moving in a line because there's nothing behind or or beside him -- gathering the scattered dreams and hopes of others as he goes. There's somewhere they all need to be.)

So Lenka takes it in stride for now, because Chuuta is still responding, and maybe that means he can coax him a little further out of the fog. Whatever it's doing.]

... It's possible. [he doesn't specify which of the two is more possible; because this week's motive and Cielo is an easy equation, but that's not the equation he's interested in solving right now] But -- listen to me, Chuuta. We're here for eight weeks. Next week is the eighth week.

That means next week may be our last chance to end this.

[homeecspacecop]

[The more Lenka talks, the more easily Chuuta can see and hear him, which is good. It means he can do what he has to do.]

[Chuuta?]

[Eight weeks. Tomorrow, the eighth week starts. They have to figure out how to get out of here. Or not.]

I don't have a plan.