Azrael did not at all like being lumped together with a troll he barely knew, Worst of all, it being the commander from the swamp. Azrael knew he'd personally been such a failure that evening and barely remembered anything after the rebels escaped. He slunk behind Kursha and Epratt, displeased but unwilling to reject the invitation from the two older trolls. He didn't say much to either of the two. Just silently walked along and observed. If he was going to be lumped into a posse, then he was going to get to know this troll whether it killed him or not.
He took a seat nearby Kursha and became absorbed in how to go about getting to know the greenblood, while hoping the swamp incident NEVER came up. He didn't really want to have to talk about how badly he failed that mission. But, if it did, he wasn't going to lie. He opened his mouth to speak to Kursha only for the words to die in his throat. Lucky for him, they were now being served..
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:53 pm
Quote:
And then, Awassi was back at the microphone, tapping on it for attention. Batting their eyes at the guests, they gave another star-studded smile. "Hello? Darlings? Thank you, it's time for the dinner to begin. If you could all take your seats that would be simply marvellous. There will be a choice for the entrees, and we'll be sending waiters around to get everyone's preference." As if waiting for those words, a small platoon of serving drones filed out of the kitchen, each with a sheaf of menus tucked under an arm. Nodding towards them, the greenblood stepped back down off the podium and drifted towards their seat at the head table. Along with them, the rest of the guests began to group off and find a seat at a table - with the head table's adults excusing themselves from any conversation before joining Awassi. The only troll not drifting towards a seat was Regina, who waved away a serving drone with an impatient hand, muttering something about having already eaten, and instead wandered over to a wall, leaning against it.
After every troll was seated, the drones fanned out and began distributing menus, taking preferences, topping up glasses, and bringing out the first round of food. A few stepped forwards to draw the curtains, as the wind outside was picking up, and beginning to rattle gently against the large panes of glass. Soon, the first plates began to wheel their way out of the nutrition block, and the clink of fork and knife was added to the background conversation. A slight flicker in the lights matched a slightly stronger buffet on the windows from the weather outside. Erilyn laughed loudly, and complained to their table loudly about the trouble they were having with electricity in their hive. The rest of the entrees were served up, and drinks were refreshed again. The empress, having watched the proceedings up until this point, excused herself to check on the rest of the party's preparations, and passed out of the room, nodding with a grin to anyone who glanced her way.
Suddenly, with a loud crack from outside, the lights in the room snapped off. With the curtains shut, the entire block was plunged into darkness. Trolls muttered in surprise, and chairs began to creek out before Erilyn's smooth voice cut overhead, silencing the clamour. "I'm terribly sorry my dears, we'll get the curtains open and - oh!" In the ringing silence, a faint gargle was heard, followed by the thump of something heavy hitting something solid. Then, as though nothing had happened, light bloomed again out of the chandeliers.
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Epratt Kewrei
Epratt was content to “casually mention” his hunting exploits of sweeps gone by for a good long while as the party began to swell with newcomers. The gentleman was a stack of pamphlets away from attempting to recruit Kursha into the orphaning business. However, if anything could tear the old seadweller’s attention from a noteworthy gun enthusiast, it was the arrival of the queen, Regina herself. Epratt’s drawling trailed off and he straightened his posture, grinning intensely should the empress bother to look his way as she crossed the room. The expression flickered in the briefest flash of disapproval as Regina continued on to speak quietly with the hostess of the evening. As soon as the moment occurred, it passed and Epratt turned back to his “audience” with a much sunnier smile and brief adjustment of his glasses.
Erilyn managed to announce the start of dinner before Epratt could launch into another anecdote. “Time for the real star of tonight if I do say so myself!” he joked to no one in particular. He clapped his hands together with a light papping sound.
With the practiced ease of an old aristocrat, Epratt took his place. He sat near the head of the table as was expected of one of his caste and prominence. Following closely behind, the wait staff emerged from the kitchen carrying gleaming metal trays loaded with the evening’s meals.
Epratt was clearly a fan of the seafood bisque. Shortly into the dinner he’d already consumed a sizeable amount, all while making sure to thoroughly lay compliments on the chef, the waiter, the ocean. He dramatically tipped his spoon up to his lips. Chuckling, Epratt brought his spoon to rest against the rim of his bowl.
The lights went out.
His pause dragged on. Epratt continued smiling, despite the sudden darkness. It was as though he’d somehow forgotten to stop. The muscles in his face flexed and his grip on his spoon wavered. It was slowly becoming apparent that something was amiss.
Epratt Kewrei’s hand suddenly convulsed and his shoulders buckled. His fist slammed down on the edge of the table, dumping his soup into his lap. Epratt meanwhile, was gargling madly, like he was trying to shout through a closed throat. His arms scrabbled at the table and his eyes bulged. His spectacles had fallen from his face and cracked in his thrashing. Finally, his seizing became too severe and Epratt lost his balance on his chair. He fell to the floor with a heavy thud and a splash as he landed in a puddle of bisque and shards of dishware, chipping a horn in the process. He continued to writhe there on the floor for a few seconds longer, before stilling completely.
The lights came back on.
Quote:
It is the second hour of the party! The third hour of the party will begin on the 17th!
The tableau was frozen for a moment, with each troll standing or sitting in the same position they had been as light came back to the room. Kewrei lay sprawled and unmoving on the floor, Awassi stood in the middle of pushing their chair back, staring down at him. The rest of the adults at the table were all in various states of standing or starting to stand, all faces turned towards the dead seadweller. Turning to look at the rest of the room, Erilyn's face was a mix of confusion and uncertainty, finally at a loss as to what to say to their guests. The silence held for a moment, then another, as the trolls from other tables all craned their necks around to see what was happening. Those who couldn't see would have their question echoed by the demanding voice that suddenly broke from the doorway of the room.
"What the heck's going on in here?" Regina stood with the door open, mask off, and frowning. Turning her face from confused troll to confused troll, she put her hands on her hips. "Well? Erilyn, this ain't the way to throw a glubbing party! First faulty lights, now a ban on talking?" Striding forwards, the queen slowed down and came to a halt as the body on the floor became visible to her. Narrowing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "And that shouldn't be happening here either. This was supposed to be a nice little get together - who's spoiling my evening?" Turning to the frozen adults at Epratt's table, she stepped forwards, chin up. "Well? What did you lot do to him, hmm? Or was it just one of you?" Cutting off a weak reply from the greenblood, who had managed to get ahold of their tongue again, she spun around to face the entire room.
"This was supposed to be a FUN evening - for all of us. All I wanted was for people to feel APPRECIATED. I wanted you all to know how much you all meant to me, how you were really HELPING. This!" Gesturing stiffly to the deceased seadweller on the floor, Regina didn't turn her wide, angry gaze away from the room, "Is! Not! On the menu!" Spreading both arms wide, she swung them out to encompass the entire room. "I try and be nice! I try and be charitable! And some troll's always gotta think of themselves first and s**t on my parade! No one is leaving this hive until whoever did this is tracked down, caught, and dragged into the light! I want to know which one of these six is responsible for messing with my lovely gog damned evening by the end of the party - or everyone here is gonna get the most unpleasantly intrusive interview and full body search that they've ever or will ever experience in their entire lives." Punctuating her long, drawn-out rant with gestures towards the various subjects of her ire, the monarch's mouth was locked in a tight, slightly maniacal smile. "And just because this evening was supposed to be for all of you, let's try and do this properly, alright? A trial and evidence and everything. So no one can say I'm not reasonable."
A culling has been committed! And not just any culling, but a devious sneaky one -- taking the life of Epratt Kewrei the seadweller. Demanding the name of the one responsible, Regina has ordered drones to seal off the hive, no one is getting in or out without her express permission. The monarch herself has retreated to the central hivestem to cool off and wait for someone to come forward with the culprit, while singling out the adults who were dining with Kewrei as the potential suspects. If your troll wants to get out of this evening with their dignity intact, they might want to interview the suspects, search the house, and rack their brains for who the killer might be. They have the three remaining hours of the party in which to get a name and some evidence, so they'd best hop to it!
The first post of this thread has been updated with the current status of the north outgrowth, the links to the other outgrowths threads, and the game rules that are also below.
Once your troll has finished reacting to the events that just transpired, they may pick one area of the hive to begin searching. They will not lose any investigations for the day if it is another outgrowth than the current one they are all in. (See how to play below.)
How to Play:
Welcome to a fun and exciting impromptu royal investigation! This is a RP-based event with simple mechanics, subterfuge, suaveness and no swamps whatsoever.
The investigation period takes place over periods known as “party hours”. Party hours refer to in-game time, not real-time. One “party hour” will take up a period of 3 (real-life) days. The end of each party hour will be clearly posted by the mule. At the end of each "party hour" all trolls will automatically regroup in the Central Hive and choose where to go from there.
Each day, your troll has the opportunity to investigate the murder and the suspicious characters of the party! They can do so through sleuthing via exploring locations and questioning suspects. Any time you do one of these things, it’s called an “investigation”. You have 3 investigations maximum per (real-time) day. These investigations will be refreshed daily by the mule. Investigations can’t be used retroactively, and can’t carry through if you don’t use them one day!
At the beginning of a party hour, your troll starts in the Central Hive. You can decide which outgrowth your troll decides to search – the North, South, East, or West Outgrowth. During each party hour you may freely enter and exit rooms as desired, so long as you are in the same Outgrowth. If you want to change Outgrowths, you will have to give up an investigation. However, at the start of a new party hour your troll returns to the Central Hive and may switch wings without penalty!
In the description of a room, you might see bolded text. Any bolded object can be investigated! If it is bolded in one party hour and then the next party hour it is not bolded, you cannot investigate it that party hour.
When you’d like to use your investigation on a bolded object or sub-location in a room, please write 100 words minimum of flavor text of your character interacting with said bolded item and quote the mule. (If you want to investigate multiple clues in one post, increase the wordcount by 100 for each clue.) If the result of the investigation yields a red exclamation mark like this: [!] then that means that you’ve found a distinctive clue! To claim your clues, visit the Central Hive and follow the instructions re: quiet review. There are mysteries aplenty, so sorting out the information is all about logic.
Some items found during investigation are unique, which means that if you find it first, congratulations! You are the only person who holds the information. In order to exchange clues or items that contain clues, trolls must do so in-character (the Central Hive is a prime place to do so). Even if you, the player, know of a clue that may exist, your character should not if they have no reason to. Be careful - prematurely calling out other guests may have negative side effects for your character or others in the hive if overheard, and subtlety and strategy is recommended.
RP is strongly encouraged during this meta! Strong RP going beyond the game mechanics will be rewarded. Due to busy staff schedules, please assume that the NPCs are not able to be interacted with outside of the investigation questions during this time. If you have a very special case and would like to interact with an NPC, please let us know privately.
Flickering lights, a loud thud and a series of strange sounds, then the darkness loomed. The lights were back on and a dead seadweller laid on the ground. Murder, was the first word she thought of. Complete and unjustified murder. Eridia's pump biscuit raced, her hands closed to her chest. Was that how death looked like to the eyes of the living? She gulped, not expecting this, any of this. The little purpleblood looked around, hoping to find an answer to this mystery. Epratt had to be avenged and the culprit had to be found. For the queen and for the seadweller.
"Why... Why is this happening." With pleading eyes, she looked at her father foolishly thinking he could answer her.
I do not know my dear.
Her fists clenched as she walked away from the scene. "Come on Father. This mystery won't be solved on its own." Her voice was dry, usually she'd be stoked to solve a crime, but victim changed everything.
Quote:
Clicked submit instead of preview
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 6:15 pm
Tamiya sat quietly. After a moment of feeling something brushing her foot, she twitched her sandal idly. Another moment, and it passed. Her eyes were wide at Epratt’s outburst. She was frozen. Tamiya’s mouth was agape. There was little time to react – Regina was giving her speech, and then… And then she felt a hand on her ********! GHOST!!! UNHOLY! HOLY ********!!!” Tamiya screamed at the top of her lungs and hopped up, aiming a sharp few kicks underneath the table.
There was a scream. A young scream, unlike Tamiya’s holy shrieking. The guests quickly turned to see what was going on, and a bright yellow smeared face appeared from under the table, tugged by the horn by the juggalo who was twitching and breathing fast. For Tamiya, everything went dark red. Her fingers tensed and her body became as rigid as a dead spider.
“HEY! A MUTANT!”
The child began to run – the doors were quickly blocked. Without another way out, they panicked. Ran for anywhere that seemed like a small enough space to escape. They were trapped like a squeakbeast. When the trance had broken, one of the guests checked under the table and gasped.
“THERE’S ANOTHER ONE! TWO MUTANTS!! GET THEM!”
A violent scuffle was soon to follow. The yellowblood was faster than their companion, who immediately found themselves dogpiled. The tablecloth was thrown every which way, and glasses shattered amongst the scuffle. More sensitive trolls hung back as a cluster of trolls sent out to restrain the two sudden, uninvited guests to the best of their abilities.
Finally, the two were hauled away. The guests were in shock. Tigwyn cleared his throat and looked out at the crowd, lighting his cigarette.
“Looks like we can add two more suspects to the list, yea?”
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zeflamigo
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:11 pm
Leeroi's eyes went wide as the room went dark. He immediately stood from his seat, fully prepared to fight of anyone who may jump him. To his disappointment, the lights eventually came back on and he was unscathed, and even more disappointing, there was only one dead troll after the whole ordeal. And it wasn't even somebody important. Well, Leeroi supposed he was important for being a seadweller. But did that really mean anything? No.
What really caught Leeroi's attention was the mutantblood child. He grinned. Now that was interesting. A pleasantly unexpected twist on the typical murder mystery. Mutantbloods were hardly ever characters in his games, save for shooting fodder. Occasionally, a boss, like the pinkblood rebel leader. But these mutants had to be separate from her, otherwise, why would they leave their sanctuary? Unless their real target was the queen, maybe? Even that seemed unlikely. They were only children, after all.
Wait, what was he doing? Standing around and thinking? There was investigating to be done! The culprit was sneaking around, or maybe even trying to sneak out. Leeroi had to move, and fast. He gave a quick glance to Psykgi and the yellowblood princess, and clambered up on the table. Raising a fist in the air, he yelled "Fancy party's over! I'm gonna find the murderer first!" Turning, he gave a whistle for his lusus. Once the hornbeast was in reach, Leeroi jumped on her back, nearly missing the landing. And then he was gone, following quickly after the captured mutantbloods.
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:35 pm
Sitting down, eating. Normal things. Pumpbiscuit-pounding considering the environment. Fancy attire, a large group with fine dining utensils. One could almost hear how refined every little clink was. The queen was among them, looking absolutely dashing. Wasn't there a recorded phase where she went without shoes in one outfit? Regina had well grown out of that. Good for her. A thrilling start to the night indeed. Hemera was willing to shrug off any little hiccup. She survived her embarrassment of a lusus, fortunately only dripping on things and otherwise clucking about how stunning their surroundings were. Fitting for the both of them, as far as he was concerned. He did his best to keep any wax off of her and any other guests nearby. She had made sure to pull the purple envelope from behind the tall leather chair as well. Mera barely blinked about the lights. Unfortunate, but not something anyone would talk about later. Does anything ever go off without a hitch, really? As expected, the moment passed. She exhaled. Good. Fine. All in order. She did not account for the body, not until she saw him on the ground. What terrible timing! Was he that old? Apparently not. Regina came in, enraged at the event. Hemera herself was practically cowering at the unleaded anger towards the room. The tealblood was completely innocent, but felt like she was on the culling block even though there was no reason for it. She needed a minute to pull herself together.
Foul play? Mera had to process the thought after everything that had happened in short order. There was an underhanded murderer among them? Hadn't we just dealt with trying to take care of that sort?
Pagoni poked his beak into her business: Was her food poisoned? Anyone's could be, at this point. Mera shoved her plate away and stood up, an impressive frown of disgust on her face. The horror. A killer among them. According to their fair queen, one of the adults. Certainly no one from the military, Hemera was certain, but anyone else... Hmm. What all knowledge she had was factual only; she knew little about anyone's personalities. Well, except maybe a shred of Tigwyn's. But a little bit of implied crudeness couldn't account for killing a superior at an event with the empress present. That took nerve. Was this a message? A seed of the rebels'? Retaliation?
She jumped out of the way as children clamored out from under the table. "What- what?!" Dirty, out of place... Was this a joke?
A word out of a mouth before she had a full chance to catch on: mutants. The rebel leader was a mutant. She must be in on this.
Her thoughts cut short as a figure jumped on the table, hoofbeast head wobbling on their shoulders. The voice, albeit muffled, was familiar. Obnoxious. Over-zealous. Groan-worthy. Furore.
"They let him in?" she asked aloud, watching the blueblood run off. Must have been a mistake. Society wouldn't let someone like him in if they knew more of him than just his blood hue.
What a mess. A death, her barely getting to socialize before it all went south, Furore of all people got in... Hemera fussed and fussed with her hair, keeping her hands busy while mumbling in aggravation. She had to keep the night from becoming a total wash, and quickly.
Furore thought he would get to the bottom of this? A child who got himself caught in a fight in the middle of bigger happenings? Yeah, right.
Success would look good going forward, Pagoni commented. If you get moving, anyway. Unless you are having fun with your little tantrum?
Eostre was stunned, to say the least. One moment, she's attempting to play footsies with a purpleblood, and the next, the lights are out and there's a small child darting out from under your table as the purpleblood screams.
Like Tamiya, Eostre was listening to the Queen's speech, her gloved hand brought up to her mouth in shock. A culling...? Of that seadweller hunter? Just moments ago she could hear him babbling on across the hall. That sickening gurgle and thud... must have come from him. She glanced down at her salad, but didn't feel anything amiss herself. As with everyone else...
Suddenly, Tamiya's screams brought her attention back to their own table, and Eostre let out a surprised shriek herself. How had a... a mutant been hiding under the table without her noticing? For how long? Eostre stood up, pushing her chair away as she stepped back from the table. A mutant! Under her table! Probably close enough to touch her! Eostre glanced around the room, stunned as they managed to catch not one... but two loose mutant children who attempted to escape the room. Pump-biscuit pounding, she walked over to Tamiya and touched her arm again lightly.
How... how... how exciting! Eostre grinned wide, and felt for the pocket sewn into her dress where she was keeping her brass knuckles, in case she needed to brawl at the party. She had a mystery to solve now. Whoever killed the seadweller probably was no fan of the Queen, and these mutantbloods... must be related to it.
Sypon
gosh tamtam are you alright ;]
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 10:14 pm
Chiara Moteku xxxxxDining Block Of course Chiara fallowed Kursha to the Dining block, even tho the dumb rotten-sea-weed-blood was being a complete trash can. She endured the old sea dweller's stories, non too interested in any of them. When the lights turned out and the culling happened she grew excited. This is where the fun started. When the boring ol sea dwelling troll fell over culled, Chiara grew excited. She was tempted to swipe his glasses, just as a memento for such a grand event, but thought better of it. There were things to do. With the queen's speech everyone was up and in a tiff. No one wanted to be called the murderer. Chiara took this opportunity to search Erilyn's pockets. Still being a child she could stand near him and look like she was concerned while actually fishing around. With that finished she moseyed around.I guess its time to play detective.
Right over to the western most speaker where she picked up a green parcel
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thyPOPE
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2015 11:40 pm
Alifax had a very easy choice to make. He glanced at the menu only briefly before selecting the most carnivorous, least sauce-y entree it had.
Then he just had to wait, glancing every so often over at the head table to see what exactly was going on. He was accustomed to lack of light, but sometimes it was eerie, on the night of a dual new moon. Of course, he didn't usually use knives to eat, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to use his. Uh. Theoretically.
It'd have been a lie to say Alifax had been giving the seadweller any notice at all, but once he began seizing Alifax's gaze fixed on him in horror. What was he eating? Alifax couldn't see; it was too dark, and the fact that their host's voice was talking over it - well...
It was incredibly obvious what had happened when the lights came back on. Alifax didn't have room to react much before their queen burst into the room and began talking. Ugh - okay, words. Investigate? Alifax could do that.
He pulled himself out of his seat, suddenly glad that Frossa hadn't come along. He needed to - ah - where might he search for evidence? Who might be willing to work with him instead of sitting around whining? He wanted out of here as efficiently as possible, after all.
Of course, then came the screaming about mutants. Was it that pink one again? Or - a bright yellow on a tiny body flashed in his vision. Alifax jogged to the door to help, because obviously that'd be much better than standing around, but it didn't really seem like any of his efforts were necessary. Well, that was fine. Once the commotion had died down he was out of here anyway. He had some searching to do, and...well, it really didn't seem like the mutants were that relevant to the issue. They were ******** kids. The seadweller had been humongous, in both girth and age.
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 12:14 am
For her face? Instinctively, her hand touched her face, realizing her mask was slightly damp from the tears she reluctantly spilled. "Oh, grubcakes!" How embarrassing...!
Cautiously, Elidae outstretched her hand to gently take the blue kerchief from Leeroi, listening to him apologize from behind his mask, then allowed herself to be hauled away by Lorata. Sending a confused glance back at the blueblooded boy to see him scurry away in the opposite direction, she felt a pang of regret. He might have yelled, sputtering curses and verbally attacked her new friend, but it almost appeared as if it was a... simple misunderstanding? At least, she hoped it was. Perhaps it was a stretch to call it that, yet she felt a sort of sympathy for him. Regardless, she held onto the blue fabric; she needed it "for her face", after all. Dabbing it at her eyes, she noticed smudges of black from her make up rub off, resulting in a very dismayed grumble.
Elidae inwardly sighed in relief, though. Blushing from the close contact, she smiled with appreciation in response to Lorata giving her a half-hug, loving the warm, welcoming feeling. Well, sort of warm. Lorata's blood hue definitely could be felt by the touch, bringing a strange chill down her spine. She didn't mind though, as the simple gesture calmed her nerves and brought her to smile. After pointing out a table to her, Elidae gleefully followed Lorata's lead. As they sat down, she practically bounced in her seat, pretty much over the awkward accident with Leeroi. Ladydad rested on the back of her chair after seemingly disappearing to use the little lusus restroom. To keep her lusus from going into a panic, she purposely neglected to inform him of the previous incident. She was doing that an awful lot lately, wasn't she.
As Lorata continued their previous conversation, she blinked wildly in response, tilting her head and pausing to process her words. Suddenly, Elidae gave a light laugh, patting Lorata’s shoulder and bobbing her head in agreement. "Of course! I would think anyone invited to this gala would have some manners." However, there was still a part of her that felt as if Leeroi wasn't terribly awful. An apology was an apology. Perhaps she would try to find him later during the auction!
Strange and unusual, a flickering of the lighting caught her attention. Shrugging, Elidae continued to enjoy the evening with Lorata as delightful company. The food was incredible! Nothing she ever had at home! This was so exciting!
- - - - - - - - - -
Dark. It went completely dark.
Petrified, Elidae ceased chewing her dinner, dropping her fork onto the plate before her with a clang. No. No, no, no. Her irrational fear of darkness began to consume her, pumpbiscuit pounding hard. She swallowed. At least she wasn't alone, she attempted to remind herself, eyes wildly searching around her for another trolls face, but it was too dark to see anything. With progressively more rigid breaths, Elidae gripped the edge of the table. Was that... what was that noise? Gurgling? What was happening? No no no no-
And then the lights flickered back on, sudden and bright.
Blinking with a moment of relief, Elidae glanced around, confused... until murmuring broke the silence. Even more confusion. Then, as if on cue, a piercing voice rang out, jerking her attention to the table of six adults where none other than the queen stood. Where did she come from? And... there was only five of them, standing and observing the floor. She craned her neck to get a better look, finally able to witness what all the commotion was about.
“Ohhhhh… my gog…" Elidae breathed, bringing gloved hands to her mouth in shock. Still and covered in bisque was the seadweller gentleman, dead and gone as the original mood of the party. Was this a terrible accident, or a... culling? She gave Lorata an uneasy glance, opening her mouth to say something to her, however her thoughts were halted by abrupt shrieking. Mutantbloods? Mutantbloods! Elidae pushed out of her chair, standing up to get a better look. Wincing as they were brought down by a number of trolls, her pumpbiscuit throbbed with concern for the well-being of the children, unsure if their take down was deserving or not. She watched the two be hauled away, clutching the blue kerchief to her chest, anxious. "Oh no..." What was even going on here?
Clattering from a nearby table made her swivel her head. Horse-mask boy?! "Ehh?"Was he looking at her? Blurting out that he was going to find the murderer first, Leeroi was yelling on the tabletop. Holding Leeroi's kerchief tighter, she gazed in astonishment as he ultimately climbed on what she assumed was his lusus' back, riding off and being the first to action. "Wow...! So brave!"
Aconan had hurried over to the dining tables when everyone else had, abandoning her comfortable chair with no regrets because frankly, food! Aconan wasn't short on food like some lowbloods were, but that didn't mean she'd pass up a chance to eat, especially superior highblood fare that would no doubt have more nutrients and provide a boost to her system. And, she privately admitted to herself, would probably be super tasty. As the serving drones arrived, she looked over the menu with interest in her eyes, before selecting some kind of meat starter. Mm. Meat. She'd been tempted by the fish, but that seemed a little presumptous to be allowed fish.
And then the lights went out.
When they came back on, Aconan was glad she hadn't gone for the bisque, fish or not. That...was a dead seadweller, most definitely. Moooooost definitely. Almost unconsciously, her lips twitched into a snarl, though no sound escaped her throat - just as she was about to growl, the Empress reappeared. Immediately distracted, because that was the EMPRESS (Aconan may have swooned a little - just like she had done a bit earlier when she'd noticed Kursha), she listened to her speech with rapt attention, eyes only occasionally flicking to the corpse.
As Regina's words sank in, Aconan's eyes grew wider and sparklier, and wider and sparklier. Oh, sure, someone died and that was very sad, but she was going to get to /find a suspect/, /find evidence/ and /arrest someone/. It wasn't quite a hunterrorist duties - no, that was more after the culprit had been found, but it was close enough! Aconan practically vibrated with excitement, though she tried to keep cool - after all, the Empress was displeased with this death.
Actually, that was bad. If the Empress was displeased. Oh, whoever did this was going to pay! This time a small growl did slip out of Aconan's throat, and Loupsus's ears pricked as he overheard. He wasn't too sure what was going on, being only a lusus, but he would protect his charge as best as -
what was that?
Loupsus's ears swivelled as he heard something under the table, and only moments later, as Aconan's eyes were drawn to her Lusus's movements, mutants were discovered.
Aconan's growl was even larger, and she would have gone straight for chasing the mutants if Loupsus hadn't snagged the back of her collar first, knowing his charge well and also knowing she'd get crushed with the bigger trolls charging around.
Aconan's growl persisted for a few seconds whilst their was silence, before a few glances got her to shut up, flushing slightly green as she did so.
Looking around after the commotion was finished, Aconan headed over to Rutven - she wouldn't want to interrupt the other two, but Rutven was on his own and also rather less intimidating. (She wasn't going to use the word 'foppish', but it did come to mind. Though of course, seeming harmless was a common predator's trick, Aconan reminded herself.) She mulled over what question to ask, and finally settled on asking about the mutantbloods, as that was prevalent in her mind.
" Mr. Rutven, did you see the mutantbloods? Where did they come from? Do you know anything about them?"
Well, that was two questions, but still..
After recieving her answers, Aconan decided that there was an obvious place to investigate - the Nutrition Block. That was where the Bisque had come from, and there might be scents there that could identify the poison, or even connect it to a particular person. Striding purposefully, the small greenblood entered the empty Nutrition Block, and after dallying for a few seconds, made a beeline for the thermal hull - any leftover bisque would certainly be kept there, and there might be something suspicious, too!
Of course, Aconan had an ulterior motive for choosing Gerard - she hoped to learn more about him. Sure, she could have asked the other guests, but this was more direct, really! She cast her mind back to the mysterious letter. Yes. She would do this!
Hivestuck
Investigating the thermal hull and questioning Gerard! 3/3 Investigations used if I am correct?
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 4:10 am
[+] Kursha Vidari
Everyone was all nice and settled, silverware in prong, the food laid out, conversation ebbing and flowing between mouthfuls, a bustle of activity from the serving drones, and then... the lights went out.
Of course they went out.
Internally Kursha cursed. He was blind. Everyone was blind. His hand slipped towards his boot, and he listened in between the black. At first, there was nothing. Then he heard a gurgle. After five—maybe ten seconds, it was followed by a thud and the shattering of glass. A moment later the lights came back on.
Kursha scanned the faces around the table. Everything seemed to be in order, but... at the adults' table... From the opposite there was one face missing. Pushing out his chair, he rose. At his full height he could see the tip of the of the body. Violet accents. Epratt Kewrei. Kursha's mouth twisted. He hardly knew the seadweller,* but someone was playing games in the dark. Not only that, they had employed cheap, under-handed tactics. It was just the sort of thing he hated.
He had been about to snap orders, when Regina returned.** With a lot to say too. Had the situation been any different, Kursha might have applauded her for her speech. A little too self-righteous in some spots, but otherwise assertive, to the point, and full of wrath. As it was though, he had other things on his mind.
Like the sudden appearance of two mutants.
Their appearance stunned even Kursha. When...? How...? No, why? By the time he had begun to piece together the beginnings of a theory, the two had been tackled and dragged away. They would be executed at some point for sure, but until their purpose was identified, they would live. After all, they potentially held information. They were not the only ones though.
After Regina swept out, Kursha regarded his fellow guests. It could be anyone. In a split second, he had come to a decision. His boot clapped against the seat of his chair. There was the clatter of dinnerware. A moment later, he stood on the table, hair unbound and pupils in the shape of crosshairs. Anyone who might have had trouble placing him before would find him a good deal more recogniseable.
“Listen up!” he barked. His gaze swept over the room. With a grim smile he realised most of his audience were children. “We fan out and share resources. You want glory? Too bad. This isn't the time or place for it. Right now we need to maximise information. Mutant insurgence, personal vendetta, agenda of lowblood privilege, political manoeuvring... anything's possible. No matter how unlikely, or even how obvious it seems, you overlook nothing. Got it? Move then!”
Kursha jumped down from the table. Spurs jingling, he marched off, not once so much as glancing behind him.
*Not exactly true. He had learnt a good deal during Epratt's long-winded deluge of life stories. **Returned? Where had she gone?
~Everyone~
Semi-tag for everyone who wants to be around for Kursha-Pretending-To-Be-A-Leader 2.0!
Green Minuet
Greedy Trickster
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Melancholies
Springtime Teenager
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 12:59 pm
Just as things started to settle, they decidedly... didn't. Of course. Chinchillamom barked at the sudden darkness, and Sarcel found herself jumping backwards from her chair, alarmed and on guard, ready for anything. No amount of mental preparation could ready herself from the choking noises in the distance. When the lights returned, they were one head short, one seadweller frothed and unmoving on the floor in front of them. Oh...
Well, she somehow wasn't surprised. It was funny how numb to this sort of bullshit Sarcel was. Ready for anything.
In between the Queen's speech; when had the queen got here? Her eyes sparkled with something placed between fear and respect as the understandably miffed highblood stomped off. A culling? And not just any... her eyes found the dead seadweller again. Her first thought was lowbloods, her second...
Suddenly Tamiya was screeching, which made Sarcel scream in almost perfect unison. Children? Mutants?! Like that crazy rebellion leader they had encountered? No, these were definitely different. The startled child was immediately running, small and meek and scared and... Sarcel almost, for the briefest of seconds, felt pity in how reminded of herself she was. Of course it wasn't any real matter. Though Sarcel was too stunned to immediately give chase, they were both apprehended quickly enough, and Sarcel found a small amount of solace in the fact that they would live for at least the next three hours, if only because they were worth more alive than dead while the culprit was at large... unless they were somehow responsible. It was suspicious, wasn't it? But then, how on earth would some children manage to bring down an adult anyway.
How did they even get in here? Why would they be in here? Sarcel pursed her lips.
And then, as if to contrast the brusque speech of the Queen, another familiar someone was trying to rally everyone up again—that was... certainly an interesting choice of apparel, ah but... she still recognized him, of course she would. They had only trekked through that god forsaken swamp together; him and Alifax and Lorata... were they here too? It seemed possible. Anyway...
What Kursha had to say was right at least. This was a group effort. Still, him trying to play Commander again was a little less than savory. Was there anyone here that she liked at least a little bit? Well, she supposed Tamiya had done nothing wrong... yet.
She already had some ideas on where to look. For now, she was going to regroup with the rest of them in the center. This was much more her element, in contrast to the masquerade. One quick step in her boots, and she was moving out too.
Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2015 1:19 pm
Not even moments later, the room fell back into a strange silence when another figure appeared up on a table, only this time, they were much bigger and called for a lot more respect. Oliveblooded, tall, wildly perceptive eyes and tattoos, long, tangled hair, and... western attire? Despite the absence of gashes and blood and a strange choice in formal style, it was undeniably him. Kursha.
Kursha.
“It's him... he's alive!” She whispered to herself, though her hands came down on the table loudly at this exciting turn of events. Memories of their last encounter flooded her think pan, bringing a strange tingling sensation in her bloodpusher and fingertips. The speech he gave was bold and true, Elidae held onto every word he said. He was correct. It was no time for silly business. But in the moment, she needed to talk to him.
"W-wait, I...!" Elidae’s voice dropped as she stumbled out from between her chair and table, realizing Kursha already made his swift exit, spurs jingling and all. Masking her disappointment, she assured herself she would most definitely find him later. For now, she had a purpose to fulfill.
"Hm. Right! Lorata!" Elidae spun on her heels to her seadweller friend, wide eyed with a huge, toothy grin. Tearing off her mask with enthusiasm, she tossed it aside, blowing the netted veil out of her eyes to reveal her full face, gold freckles and all. "Detectives Gorgos and Bonbon are on the case!"
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