and how can you learn what's never shown?

[thanoptical]

Satsuki isn't very eager to do much of anything after the trial... but she's as unyielding as ever. Someone needs to bring them together. To make sure everyone's okay. Why not her?

It's a simple notice to come to the conservatory after dinner for snacks and supplies. Some basic snacks are on tables. She's not sure what to do so she just mimics the other ones before her. She even makes some basic healthy sandwiches and leaves them out next to the snacks. What makes it a Satsuki afterparty is that on a separate table is an anatomy textbook and a small first aid kit she's snagged from the biology room.

A small note on the table reads:

Take one of each. No more than one. It'll help with the basics.

Minazuki

Comments

[hootheart]

[Tiera does go to the conservatory, but mostly just to grab snacks and supplies. Unless someone tries to flag her down, she's going to head to the quad soon after that, sitting at a table and quietly watching the storm around her as she eats.

It all feels so wrong.]

conservatory

[thanoptical]

[Before Tiera leaves the conservatory Satsuki does flag her down. It's important.]

Tiera, I'm sorry. I'm going to be leaving our room.

cw: a very sad conversation with a dog

[shellhawked]

[Closed]

[Surprising no one, Hawke keeps her head down and goes straight upstairs to A-3 when they're let back upstairs. When she pushes the door open she sees a familiar sight: Varric sprawled on his back in Vanity's bed with his head shoved under the pillow, the picture of luxury. She takes a seat on the edge of the mattress.]

Hi, baby boy. [Her voice cracks when she greets her dog and a single tear escapes down her cheek. He pops up eagerly at the sound of her voice, sending the pillow flying onto the floor, and excitedly licks her face. Hawke smiles weakly and presses her face into his wide neck with a soft sniffle.] I know, I missed you too.

[After a minute Varric turns his attention to the door with perked ears and wagging tail. If Hawke is here that means Vanity must be close behind, right? Maybe she'll give him pets if he's extra good. Or a treat! A treat would be great. Hawke follows his expectant gaze and stops petting him.] ...Sorry, Varric, she's...she's not coming back tonight. [Her voice cracks again and part of her is so glad it's just the two of them. He looks back at her and cocks his head.] She, um...she got to leave. And we might not see her for- [Another tear falls. Then another. Then another and suddenly they won't stop.] For a long time. But it'll be okay, buddy. It's...it's all going to be okay.

[It takes a few minutes for Hawke to pull herself together enough to wipe her eyes and notice the book that had been tucked under the pillow with her dog's head. She reaches over and picks it up.] "Hard in Hightown"- how long has this been here?

[open]

[Hawke isn't leaving her room the rest of the night. Dog Varric, however, will be making his rounds downstairs to offer emotional support in the form of doggie kisses. Anyone passing by A-3 will notice the door is open just enough to hear the soft crying coming from inside.]

[sweetsynergy]

[From the playing card sitting partway through the novel like a bookmark, not too long. Vanity's a pretty quick reader, and the mark is less than halfway through the book.]

[Something about the cover isn't sitting quite right, however- looks like there's something inside?]

A3

[bellpepperexercise]

[Kana is looking for Hawke for a bit, before she realizes she's probably in her room. The open door makes it obvious to Kana what's going on, but for Hawke's benefit, Kana quietly closes the door and knocks on it as if it's been shut this whole time.]

Hey, Hawke? Kana. Just, uh...wanted to give you back your jacket.

[rosewitch]

[As soon as they make it back to the hall proper, she loses sight of Hawke. As soon as she loses sight of Hawke, she makes a beeline for A-3. It's an easy decision. From the second she saw the ugly scratch on Vanity's neck, she knew this was where she'd be going before doing anything else.]

[It's just important.]

[The door being open is irrelevant. She knocks because it's courteous, then speaks softly because she's a little worried that if she doesn't, she won't get an answer.]

. . . It's Anthy. [That's what Hawke seems most comfortable calling her, so — tonight, just Anthy.]

A-3

[rednails]

[She's about to go head off and have her own good cry. But she hears Hawke's and-- oh she can't stand that.

It's typical for Mariko to darken a door or two. Now, at least, she wraps her knuckles against the door frame before she calls through the frame.]

Hawke? It's me.

A-3

[hootheart]

[Tiera eventually makes her way to Hawke's door. Instead of knocking, she leans against the crack in the door, letting out a soft hoot to announce her presence.]

[ergine]

[ For once, Kohaku isn't found in the conservatory with the plants. Instead, she stops briefly by her room, only to emerge again shortly thereafter; from there, she heads directly to the lounge.

Those she spoke with may recognize the notebook held in her hands—the same one Mariko had mentioned during the trial, that she had been so absorbed with filling during the week. Now, though, she empties it; one-by-one, she tears out its pages, and as each one is ripped from its bindings, she feeds it into the fireplace. She watches until every page has become illegible ash.

Later, though, she does make an appearance in the conservatory. Rather than any notebook, the object she can be seen clutching close to her chest appears to be a photograph. Her gaze darts this way and that, scanning her surroundings, as though looking for someone in particular... ]

Lounge

[bellpepperexercise]

[Kana had a similar idea about burning things, apparently, and she just stares quietly at the fire for a moment before speaking up.]

...is that...the thing Mariko asked you about before?

[She's still holding the note Rinne left her.]

conservatory

[thanoptical]

[Satsuki is still here for a moment. Just sitting in a chair and watching the snow fall. She sees Kohaku but doesn't really react much to her appearance. Satsuki really hasn't been very talkative most of the evening.

She doesn't hide, though.]

conservatory

[rednails]

[Mariko doesn't see this display in the lounge, which is probably for the best. However, she dose make it a point to approach Kohaku. She's got her hands politely in front of her, worrying at her knuckles. Mariko looks clearly at the girl before her when she says;]

... I'm sorry. For the trial.

[Then... she glances down at her worrying hands, considering her words.]

I knew it wasn't you and yet I still asked you to share that... It was wrong.

[Her voice is soft, like she's getting used to how words like this feel in her mouth.]

lounge

[goldendoll]

[ look, of course doloris left the trial room with kohaku. obviously.

when they eventually end up in the lounge, she startles when she realizes what kohaku's doing, knowing the significance of that notebook, but... well, it doesn't seem like her place to stop her. and in her position, if she had made that kind of archive... she knows exactly what she would do. so she stays back, giving her space, but watching. when the last pages fall into the fireplace, doloris finally advances, standing alongside her just as the flame scours away last of those private, precious words. ]

... I'd have done the same thing. [ she takes kohaku's hand, eyes remaining on the fire. ]

Lounge

[hootheart]

[Tiera ends up passing by, noticing Kohaku's paper-burning process. Instead of saying anything, she simply moves to stand by the other girl, facing away so there's no way she can see any of the pages. Her positioning is such that she'd be able to block anyone else who enters from seeing the papers.]

[bellpepperexercise]

[After everything, Kana spends a while in her room. She just went in there to finally change out of her bloodstained clothes, but then she realized that she was completely alone now. She can't bring herself to leave for a while, or do much of anything beyond stare blankly at Rinne's stuff.

Eventually she forces herself out, focusing on the fireplace and keeping that same note close to her chest. It would be best to dispose of it, she knows, but Kana keeps rereading it first. The least she can do is memorize what Rinne wanted to tell her, right?

She's quiet in the brief time she's at the conservatory, nibbling on her sandwich with the saddest tiniest bites possible.]

...guess I'm not that hungry.

room talk

[thanoptical]

[There's quiet knocking at your door, Kana. Satsuki doesn't really know what to say. If she should even bring it up--Tiera would be alone if she left but... they really weren't close. Kana needed her, right?

...maybe.]

Kana--it's me, Satsuki!

fireplace

[tomestones]

[It took Dagr longer than expected to get their act together, and their first stop is to try to find Kana. They've missed her in her room, but come across her in front of the fireplace. Ah, that's the note from the trial, isn't it...?]

Uh. Hey, Kana. Sorry to trouble you. I'll be on my way in a moment.

[They approach, holding out their hands to reveal...]

But I figured you should have this. I mean, you might already have a bunch of 'em, but...

[Rinne's paper crane. Her last one, it seems. It's a little crumpled, but Dagr holds it carefully to prevent any further damage to it.]

[kickdownthatwall]

[Alena goes to the conservatory and looks over what Satsuki put out for everyone and... hm. Like. It's not unappreciated, but she looks over the healthy food and the anatomy textbook and...

...]

...it is helpful. But I cannot help but feeling we are missing comfort aspect...

[You know... that does give her an idea. Since she doesn't really have another outlet that feels... appropriate, because she'd probably demolish her sad little punching bag...

maybe she should try and make comfort food? Blini shouldn't be that hard to make, right? There's gotta be pancake mix somewhere.

...

Well, anyway, she's in the kitchen attempting to make blini, and there's an increasingly large stack of fucked up looking... look. They're not blini. They're pancakes. Some of them are thin. Some of them are thick. Some of them are a little burnt. Some of them are gooey. There's, like, jam and icing and shit next to the attempted blini so she could make those parts, but it's not working out...]

These do not seem like they should be so difficult.

kitchen

[ergine]

[ ...Oh. Hm.

...

Well, Kohaku isn't going to muscle in and take over Alena's thoughtful gesture. That would be rude. Still, she will offer: ]

Would you like me to tell you when to flip them?

conservatory

[thanoptical]

...I'm not good with comfort, Alena. Sorry.

[You can practically sense a raincloud over Satsuki's head as she wanders over.]

kitchen

[tomestones]

[Dagr didn't spend long in the conservatory before leaving. They just... can't be reminded about more potential deaths right now. Yes, they know it would be best to prepare, and yes, they know Satsuki is just trying to help, but it's... too much, too soon.

They wander aimlessly into the kitchen when they hear noise, and watch Alena for a long moment from the doorway before approaching.]

Making pancakes? I can help, if you'd like.

[Stress cooking sounds great right about now, actually.]

Kitchen

[hootheart]

[Tiera carefully pokes one of the pancakes, feeling it sink gooily under her finger. She licks the goo off, glancing at Alena's efforts.]

Want help?

[rednails]

[She feels god awful. For the most part, she's stuck to Thomasin's side and trying to cope with all of this new information. It's considerably difficult. God, is this what they'll have to deal with every week?

This whole time, she's kept Usagi's note. Glancing at its persistent place on her bedside when she's trying not to sleep. And now? Re-reading it on the edge of her bed in Room B-2. What's surprising is that she's tearing up, crying silently.

What has she been doing all along?]

b-2

[tomestones]

[It's strange not seeing Mariko around. Sure, Dagr doesn't spend long around the others before wandering off on their own to try to find something halfway useful to do with themselves, but ultimately nothing really works out. They're considering calling it a night early when they pause outside their own door.

...Maybe Mariko's in her own room. Knock, knock.]

Hey, Mariko? You in?

[Just to check in on her. Just to make sure she's okay.]

[thanoptical]

[Before setting out her notes to everyone Satsuki looks for someone in particular. Dorothy. Her head bowed, far more meek than she normally acts like. Vanity was gone. They needed someone and... Dorothy was smarter than her in social aspects. A senior. Well respected. She could do it.

Later... she's in the conservatory. She's not exactly trying to be a host this time. No simple games or warnings about sugar or frostbite. She's just staring at the dead plants, the blizzard outside. She was unusually still--normally Satsuki would be shifting in her seat even during class.

After everyone seemed to leave the conservatory Satsuki finally heads to the lounge. Sitting on one of the couch's she stares into the fire. Maybe hoping the flames would cover the sound, she starts to cry softly.]

[banishedfromparadise]

Satsuki?

[The actual words 'what's wrong?' die before they reach her lips. They all know what's wrong, it's the whole reason they're here.

So she just looks at her curiously, leaving the question unspoken. Why does she seem to want to talk to her in particular?]

Speech time

[banishedfromparadise]

[Dorothy's been feeling a need to do something, especially after figuring out what happened. She hated Vanity, there was no secret about that, but even she didn't suspect that her eternal rival would try something like this. Not really. Not even when she accused her of being willing to do it when the murders started.

Then, Satsuki approached her, and now she has some idea of what she can do. What she was always able to do, but had let herself forget for a couple of years when the stakes were just simple school life.

She won't go to the trouble of gathering everyone, or seeking out any absentees. She simply stands and clears her throat, delicately yet with a surprisingly commanding tone. If she has to find objects to tap together to catch most of the room's attention, she'll do it.]

Everyone? I'd like to say something.

No... I have to...

[She takes a quick second to gather her thoughts, and continues.]

I know we're here to remember them, but I think we all have to take a moment to acknowledge what happened. Vanity really was willing to sacrifice the rest of us just to... win this stupid game.

I don't want to let that happen again. Ideally, I'd like to say we can stop the killings, but... I don't know if we can. Not necessarily right away. That girl calling herself the interim headmistress, or whatever is behind her, clearly knows the best ways to get to us.

[She closes her eyes, takes a breath, and looks up again. Her eyes move to look directly at whoever is listening, from each one to the next.]

But I'm going to promise you something. Whatever happens, I will never betray you like Vanity tried to. ... I can't promise I won't die, or even kill. I don't know what the headmistress will do to try to make me. But I will not intentionally attempt to sacrifice all of you to escape. I hope I can trust you all, too... at least that much.

[Everyone seemed genuinely horrified enough at Vanity's admission. Even those in the room Dorothy still doesn't know very well, she doesn't think are capable of that level of heartlessness.]

... I don't want to sound resigned to this continuing, either. I believe there's a way we can win. Not the way she wants us to win, by turning on each other, but a way we can all beat her and get out of here alive.

[Those of them that are left, she leaves unspoken but hanging tangibly in the air.]

That's why... I need your help. [For some reason, her voice trembles just a little on this sentence. But she recovers immediately.] I don't know how we get out of here, or how we beat the interim headmistress at her stupid game. But I believe if we all keep working together, we'll find it. If I can ever help, I promise I will. If I can't, I'll at least be here to support you.

[Another breath, and she looks slightly downward.]

That's all I wanted to say. I know now's not the most hopeful time, but... I honestly believe in us. I think Usagi and Rinne would, too. And everyone else.

[Fuck Vanity, though. Psycho bitch.]

I won't stop believing in us, either. No matter what happens.

[goldendoll]

[ she's never seen dorothy acting like this. it's... familiar. comforting, almost. really, it almost makes her believe in the same thing, to some level. she can't, of course. any tangible hope for herself is always out of her reach. even so, maybe...

still. doloris claps lightly a few times, offering a slight smile. once people's attention has moved elsewhere, she approaches. ]

... Thank you for doing that, Dorothy. [ she's not looking at her properly, just a glance or two from the peripherals. her eyes are cast on the storm howling outside the conservatory windows. we hear the storm, and it hears us. ] I think people need it right now.