=> [MINI-META]The North Outgrowth

[zeflamigo]

Leeroi was dragging his feet by the time he made it to the Northern Outgrowth. Glitch repeatedly had asked him if he wanted to be carried, but Leeroi refused. He was perfectly capable of walking places on his own. Had he been more conscious, he probably would have accepted a ride. But now he had a point to prove, and he was going to walk until he dropped. He didn't want to bring any attention to himself, either. Riding a giant hornbeast around was a major red flag.
Not spending much time in the ballblock, Leeroi told his lusus to wait outside, and wandered into the kitchen, immediately drawn to the blueblooded Major. His eyes had lost a bit of glimmer for her, emotionally drained. Nonetheless, he was excited to talk to her. "Are you hungry, Major Puchen?" Leeroi asked, biting the inside of his lip. Food sounded really good right about now. He hadn't eaten anything all night, after all.

Actually, eating sounded like a really good idea. After chatting casually with Puchen, he moved back into the ballblock with his lusus. He patted down her saddlebags, looking for his metallic snack box. He didn't expect he needing to use it, but he brought it just in case the meal portions were particularly small, as they typically were at these fancy highblood parties. Retrieving the box, he looked around for somewhere to sit. Paging through his mental notes, Leeroi tried to remember where he sat before. Thankfully, his footprints were still on the table from when he had stood on it before, otherwise he might not have found it.
Running over to a table, he sat down and took the metallic box in his hands. Opening the clasps, he took out a sandwich and a juice pouch. He thanked himself for bringing it, after hearing what Psykgi had to say about the other refreshments. Unsealing the sandwich bag, he took the food in his hand and chomped out a huge bite. Chewing, he placed his notebook on the table and started going over his notes. On a fresh piece of paper, Leeroi started to write his dissertation on this "Scout" character he had been tasked to find. While he had been distracted by a few of the younger partygoers earlier, he ultimately decided the character must have been one of the two Alternia-bound military officers.
Finishing his sandwich, he wondered why nobody else came here to reflect over their notes. It seemed rather quiet, especially in comparison to the Central Hivestem. Maybe they were bothered by the aura of death? Leeroi didn't mind it at all. He took a loud sip from his juice box. He didn't know which of the two was the target, so he wrote about both, starting with their matching tattoos, mindful to write about the colors in Schrad's. Divided between the two, Leeroi was only able to follow them so much, and he shorthanded his description into: "2nd hr- Schrad, Basement, 3rd hr- Puchen, Ballblock, 4th hr- Schrad, Armory, Puchen, Nutrition Block". He detailed Puchen's trouble with Fluffl, suspicions about Schrad's psionics, intent to please the empress, blueblood obsession, and interstellar death count.
Finishing his food, Leeroi stood from his seat and stretched. He could already feel some energy returning to him, making him a little less mopey. Maybe he could finish this night in good spirits after all! He only hoped that greenblood captain wouldn't get in his way again. Leeroi's jaw still hurt from the bite before. Looking to see if anyone was watching, Leeroi reached into the bottom of his snack box and pulled out an envelope. He tore out the page from his notebook and slipped it into said document, and then slipped under the cushion of his seat.
Giving one last glance around the room, Leeroi gathered the rest of his belongings and prepared to make his leave. There was a lot he'd have to tell Psykgi about now, and he felt like he didn't have a lot of time left.

Quote:

Asked Puchen: What are you doing in here? Hungry?

 

[thyPOPE]

Alifax swept quickly through every block in the northern outgrowth before heading quickly into the dining block again. He took the detour time to quickly consolidate his notes: some of them were far more relevant than some others, after all. And while he hadn't had the time to verify much of anything he was still fairly certain his first instinct was correct.
After a quick glance toward his seat he made a beeline for the guests' tables, taking the time to gently check under each table and chair. Certainly Regina Marian suspected none of these guests, but the mutants had been hiding underneath that purpleblooded clown's chair, and Alifax wasn't willing to rule anything out. Even if he still had a theory, that he was still fairly well-convinced of, that had, well, nothing to do with any of the guests here, big-named or not. When he reached his own seat - which he'd chosen carefully to have an excellent view of the high table, and Awassi in particular - he slipped a bundle of notes labeled with their name underneath the seat when he had the time. It included a number of observations that'd been meticulously recorded throughout the night from various interviews, observations of the hive, and objects that'd been found, as well as the fact that Awassi had moved from the dining block to the armory, and then, according to Sarcel, to the ballblock. The parts he'd thought relevant he'd duplicated already, which was fortunate.
Well. It wasn't like he was going to mention it in this company.

After finding, well, not much, and seeing that many trolls were taking the time to make a thorough examination of the dining block (look at the organization on that high table - although Alifax doubted that it was a good thing, exactly), he headed into the nutrition block. There was Puchen, again, and Kursha, and the priestess - she'd been the one with the mutantbloods, tooo. Hmm.

Well, he'd avoid them for now. They were talking, or something. He pulled open the cupboard doors as pointedly as he could manage: he was doing work, after all. There were a number of cupboards, so it took a while - but that was probably unavoidable, if he was going to be thorough about anything. Fortunately most of them seemed just about as stocked as he might expect. Perhaps that was unfortunate, but, well - he couldn't really expect anyone suspicious to ensure that every part of the hive was covered in incriminating material. No matter how much someone wanted it to be.

The last cupboard was the thermal hull. Of course, it wasn't hard to examine it, but the first thing he could do was search for that meat that'd been mentioned. Otherwise he wasn't certain what he was seeking - had someone perhaps used it to store anything strange? Thermal hulls could be quite secure, although Alifax tended to think they stored information more than anything. Or perhaps there might be sign of whatever baker had made the cake Puchen was currently pilfering bits of. He searched a little for egg cartons because they seemed most relevant to that endeavor. Well, the eggs inside them did. Also milk.

Was that all? He gave a glance toward Kursha's conversation. He didn't really want to stick around for more.

Hivestuck

cupboard, thermal hull

 

[Hivestuck]

The flickering on and off of the lights by this point are completely ignored. You've gotten used to the fact that this hive simply has garbage wiring.

It's now time to return to the central hivestem, as the four hours of the party are up....!

 

[zeflamigo]

Leeroi was walking with excitement again, now that he had gathered something of a team and had some actual leads on the mystery. Glitch, while excited to see her charge happy and spirited, often asked the boy to calm himself. A concussion was almost certain, he needed rest. As always, Leeroi simply ignored her. There were lots of things he still wanted to check for, theories to confirm. Plus, he wanted to see Major Puchen again.

He saluted the major once again, taking a closer look around the nutrition block. He took a closer look inside the cupboards, seeing if he could confirm any of Psykgi's clues. Getting up on Glitch's back, he sorted through even the tallest cupboards. Finishing up there, he moved over to the oven, hoping to find some secrets, or even better, some of that leftover cake Puchen was eating. It looked great. Once he had gathered his findings, Leeroi made his way to exit the room, stopping to turn and salute the major one last time. "Major Puchen! It was great to meet you!" He said cheerily, blushing softly. He skipped out nervously, hoping things would turn out alright for the major in the end. He'd be defending her, at the very least.

Hivestuck

investigating cupboards and oven

 

[Hivestuck]

All trolls are gathering back at the central hivestem. Please submit your remaining clue claims via a quiet review within 2h of this post.
No more clues can be gathered after this point.

 

[Hivestuck]

thyPOPE

Searching the back of the cupboard, it doesn't take you long at all to notice something on the shelf. [!]

Inside of the thermal hull there is a fine stock of food. On one of the shelves, something catches your eye. [!]

Kimbley Kitty

See above clue for cupboard!

Inside the oven, you find a huge rum cake ready for serving. Well, not quite... [!]  

[Hivestuck]

thyPOPE

The piano is very tempting to play. As you step over to it, you make an effort to see what secrets it may hold... [!]