Welcome to Gaia! ::

As Zindel tried to voice his thoughts about not being brave, Aconan couldn't help it - she snorted, and shook her head vehemently, grey eyes seeking out Zindel's and locking her gaze earnestly with his. Aconan disagreed, you see.

"You were brave just to turn up. It was dangerous to attend an attend with so many highbloods, and you did. You were brave to come on the expedition. It was dangerous to fight rebels - we didn't know their capabilites, their weapons, but you did. You were brave not to run when the fighting started, or the wall came down, or when people started dying. But you didn't run. You stayed, you fought for the Empire, and that should be commended. You were brave, even if you don't believe it."

She frowned, trying to articulate her thoughts and struggling. Aconan wasn't particularly good with emotions but this felt....important, somehow. To encourage him. Maybe, she mused, it was because he looked so dejected. Maybe it was because he was lower than her and so she felt a little responsible for him. Maybe it was just because he was pretty. Whatever the reason, she kept talking.

"Were you scared? Is that why you think you weren't brave? Because you know, the bravest thing of all is to be scared and push through it."

Aconan would have likely continued on in that tone for sometime, but Zindel had asked another question, and Aconan practically beamed as he spoke. A little weird considering it was a murder they were talking about, but hey.

"Yeah, I'm Aconan Eyulft, and I am going to gather evidence and help find out what happened and prove my worth!"

As Zindel continued to speak she frowned and nodded.

"It is difficult. I found out....well, frankly, not a lot. I asked Rutven about the mutantbloods, and he pointed out some obvious facts like they must have been raised by a sympathizer. Though there was something weird in the frid-"

Aconan paused suddenly as dots connected in her mind. The existence of a longstanding cage in the basement...and two portions of meat, in equal parts, on two plates. The fact that the mutants couldn't have got in without help. The idea they must have been 'raised'.

"....I think Erilys might have known about the mutants. There's a cage you see, in the basement? But it's big and long-standing, like it's been there a while. And in the thermal hull there was two portions of meat on equal plates labelled with tomorrow's date, completely out of character to the rest of the thermal hull, and also there's no way the mutants got in without help. Do you think she was keeping them to present to the Empress and they got loose somehow? Or worse, do you think she's a sympathizer?"

You get closer to the display case and take in its contents - a military troll uniform. [!]



You inspect the chest, but it is very clearly locked. No dice.

For the second time that night, the entire hive was plunged into darkness. It lasted a few heartbeats - and then the lights popped back on. Unlike the first time, no bodies immediately dropped to the floor. As if on some kind of cue, there was a crackle and pop from speakers that had been set up around the hive. They were, presumably, originally installed to trolls when events that evening were taking place, as they seemed to be on the same system as the one Awassi had used at the beginning of the night. The voice that came out of them, however, wasn't the greenbloods.

"Everyone return to the central hive, right now. I don't care if you got your hands around someone's throat, or are dragging the culler out into the light as we speak. There is a real important feelings emergency going on, and if it doesn't get sorted out right this instance, everyone in this hive is going to get to join in." The empress's tone was heavy with aggravation, a slight edge of sarcasm, and the flat monotone of a slowly breaking temper. In the background, a petulant, distressed stream of complaints could be vaguely heard.



Some noted reminders:
Please remember that you lose an investigation if you switch Outgrowths during a party hour!
Please also remember that 100 words are required for EACH investigation that you do.
Finally, please be aware of the players and NPCs when entering a room and be mindful of their presence when you RP! Not only is it good etiquette, there are certain mechanics that rely on being mindful of character interactions.

Even at the tail end of the commotion, Leeroi found it impossible to concentrate in the central hivestem with everyone gossiping and buzzing about. He made his way East, trying to find somewhere quiet and cozy to study up on his notes. Instead, he found himself in the Armory, and quickly found himself distracted by all of the shiny instruments. No, he warned himself, he couldn't be distracted by pretty, shiny guns. He had to keep focused.

A green glint caught his eye, and he turned to find the host of the party, Erilyn Awassi. He had asked a few questions about her before, as being the host of the party made her a prime suspect. He didn't know what to think of her, though. She seemed to have too innocent a face to be capable of this sort of drama. Then again, Leeroi reminded himself, that was the point of a murder mystery, wasn't it? Nothing played out like it was supposed to, and everything was a surprise?

Nonetheless, Leeroi was certain that she would have something valuable to say. Even if she was lying through her teeth, it might inspire Leeroi in the right direction. For now, his focus was on Puchen and Schrad, and trying to figure out their reasons for being here. Mostly, he wanted to clear the suspicions on the two. But it seemed that every question he asked opened a new door, a new thing to worry about. He'd carry on, hoping he'd discover something soon.

Up close, Erilyn was a lot more dazzling than he expected. He could feel something choking at his neck as he tried to speak to her, making him fumble with his words. "M-miss Erilyn, if it's alright," He said, "Can I ask you some questions about the military personnel at your party?" He rubbed at his neck, feeling claustrophobic even without his mask.

"Do you know anything about Puchen or Schrad?" He asked, the words fumbling out of his mouth quickly. He fidgeted with his pen, waiting eagerly for her answers. A bad feeling simmered in his bile sack, wondering what to ask next. He was fairly certain of Puchen's innocence, but Schrad... He had hardly spoken to anyone but her. And some of his clues seemed to point to the idea that he knew hardly anything about her. He gripped his pen.

Schrad had claimed that she had gone to investigate the mutantbloods herself, but did she really have an ulterior motive with going down into the basement? All of this was making Leeroi's brain hurt. Nervously, he looked up at Awassi. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion. "Is it possible... did you send Schrad to investigate the mutantbloods?" He paused, looking away from Awassi's eyes. He hoped her answer gave Schrad some validity. Otherwise, this investigation was not going in the direction he hoped.

The blades are plenty sharp and they all look recently cleaned. Something peculiar strikes you. [!]

You get closer to the display case and take in its contents - a military troll uniform. [!]

Ruminating over what Alifax had told her, Sarcel found herself wandering into the Eastern Outgrowth. She hadn't been here yet before, and found herself taking in the sights of the armory. Impressive to be sure, but she couldn't imagine a troll like Awassi being terribly skilled. Ah, she took that back; they were an adult after all. No one lived that long on Alternia if they weren't a fighter. That or extremely crafty, and Sarcel wasn't sure if being famous was enough of an excuse to warrant survival.

Ah, but it was nice and quiet in here. Sarcel found herself eyeing the Display Case, marveling at the uniform held within. She assumed it must have belonged to Awassi, but she could be wrong. If it did, it debunked her previous thoughts. She loved the simplicity and pointed look of the uniforms. While she was gowned in military regalia, she could practically envision herself wearing the mandated outfits, and that was such an incredible feeling.

And there was a blade rack there too! Suddenly the inside of her coat felt very heavy, and she absentmindedly remembered all the knives she'd stuck in there. Why had she done that again? Oh right, Tamiya. Hell, she'd even given the purpleblood one herself. She remembered those red eyes and shuddered; hopefully that hadn't been a mistake...

Of course, these were far different than knives. They were pretty to look at, and Sarcel admired others skills when it came to melee weaponry. Her gun was powerful, and while it needed necessary training to use, something like a sword took years of practice and decisive skill. It was an honorable craft to be sure.

And of course, all this thought of Awassi led Sarcel to the diva themselves! "A-Ah! You again... have you been faring okay, Awassi?" what with everything happening, Sarcel worried for the greenblood.

Oh, but she didn't have the time to sit here and make small talk! Excusing herself, she hurried back to the Hivestem. Couldn't keep Alifax waiting!

Leeroi made his way quickly through the East Outgrowth again, this time bypassing Erilyn in favor of exploring the rest of the area more thoroughly. He didn't want to admit that he was distracting himself, but he damn sure was having a much better time looking at guns and knives than focusing on the thoughts that were bogging him down. He wandered over to one of the display cases, scratching his chin and taking a closer look at the uniform inside. He circled the case to the best of his ability, trying to look at the thing from all angles.

Next, he wandered into the adjacent room, marveling at the green blood's impressive training yard. Another thing that surprised Leeroi. Just who did she have to train? This hive seemed to be full of strange surprises. Idly, he wandered around the room, admiring the dummies and the setup, until finally stopping next to a laundry basket. It seemed largely untouched, perhaps for obvious reasons. Everyone was so nicely dressed, they probably didn't want to get messy. Thankfully, Leeroi wasn't afraid to get into some dirty work. He dove right into that son of a b***h, looking for anything that might catch his eye.

After jumping out of the laundry pile, feeling incredibly smelly in his nice white suit, he meandered more around the room, eyes finally resting before a medical kit. It was expected in such an environment. Leeroi had plenty of his own, scattered in his own hive for when he broke the tv with his hands or fell off the balcony. He knew first-hand that they were incredibly useful. After a moment of introspection, he kneeled down to investigate, certain that he might be able to figure some secrets out from its contents (or possibly the lack thereof).

The blades are plenty sharp and they all look recently cleaned. Something peculiar strikes you. [!]

You get closer to the display case and take in its contents - a military troll uniform. [!]