Remarkably, for the first time that night, Sarcel fell back on her invisibility. When she entered the Hivestem again, her body seemed nonexistent. She took a quick look around for Alifax... he must already be waiting for her. Sorry friend, but she needed a moment to think...
Or at least breathe. How much longer were they going to be here? Who was the culprit? There were a lot of things clicking into place, and yet a lot of things not making sense at all. She'd have to consult with Alifax about it, hopefully he had some insight. Maybe even the subject he needed to confide with her would bring some light to the tasks at hand.
Yes. Having that settled, Sarcel carefully walked over to the ablution block door, giving it a courtesy knock, "A-Alifax?" her voice was hushed, but there was enough of a commotion that she should at least slip in undetected, especially given her... status as invisible. Still... "D-Do you think you c-could have picked a more u-uh... r-reasonable p-place..."
"Though I guess i-it's private..." she added as she carefully opened the door and stepped inside. Oh! She guessed it was safe now. Clicking the lock so no one would happen upon what could be seen as a very prickly predicament, Sarcel showed herself, her skin dissolving into the somewhat stuffy air between them.
"So what's u-up?"
thyPOPE ;D
Hivestuck ;D
third hour questioned Awassi; are you okay? inspected display case and blade rack OK QUOTE GOT
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:25 pm
"Sarcel. I'm glad to see you, Alifax said with relief. This was someone who was definitely discreet. That was a good thing. "Well, I couldn't really, ah, think of a more private place..." Well, a hallway. But people could always be walking in on them, and there was a convenient load gaper here in which to deposit things. "I just...found some stuff," said Alifax. He hesitated, and then reached for his bag, where he'd been carrying his notebook and pens all night. In the bag, of course, were more than just his notebook and pens. He pulled out a candy wrapper and the purple-flowered box. He uncapped that box nervously for Sarcel to see. Then he reached in further and pulled out the real reason for the sneaking around - although it'd already been stinking up his bag a bit. "You see what I mean, right? But..." Alifax hesitated. "I wanted to test this," he added, wiggling his fingers significantly. She remembered their first - well, second meeting, right? She probably at least remembered the adventure in the swamp. "I was hoping you could supervise in the case of any unpredictable outcomes," he admitted, and then nodded to the load gaper which could conveniently be flushed when they were done. "I didn't know who else to trust, and I know you're at least pretty discreet compared to some of those people out there." He nodded at the locked door as though he was referring to the rumpus room, which. Well. They'd all seen what had happened there.
"I guess, other than that - well, I posted most of my findings," he confessed, keeping his voice low so any eavesdroppers might not hear. "I found a pretty interesting painting addressed to Erilyn in the ballblock, though. I figured it wouldn't be smart to mention it in there."
Melancholies
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:42 pm
"Stuff?" Sarcel watched curiously as Alifax produced a floral looking box, almost as fancy and un-befitting as the garb he was wearing tonight. She tilted her head curiously as he carefully opened the box, eyes going wide. "W-Where did you even find th-this?
Shaking her head dubiously, she tried to keep her thoughts contained until Alifax finished. "A-Are you sure? D-Do you know what you're doing?" she looked worried—genuinely so—as she removed her partial mask, setting it next to the fragrant smelling flowers. "I mean... y-you can count on me, of c-course, but..."
She sighed. "But... n-nothing... I-I got your back. I-If they start d-doing anything w-weird though...—" She gave him a firm, resolute look. She knew Alifax wouldn't want to try something like this if it didn't merit something (at least, she hoped). Caving completely, she added "I t-trust you..."She did perk at the mention of the painting. "W-What? Really? I a-actually found something l-like that too, in the n-nutrition block... it w-was an old poster—o-of Erilyn—s-said you are my dearest in p-purple font... c-course anyone could h-have written that."
"I found this too i-in a drawer. S-Some kind of list, b-buncha highbloods, but it mentioned Epratt..." she showed Alifax the slip of paper, thumb pressed against the "Thrice per sweep or after each hunt." next to Epratt's name.
thyPOPE
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 10:14 pm
Alifax winced, putting all but one item into his bag. He'd been, well, pretty quick in his snooping. And thorough. But some of it had to do with the fact that no one else had seemed very interested in the southern outgrowth. "I found it in the southern outgrowth," he confessed. "Mostly in the ballblock..." Not everything had come from there, though. He looked up at her reply, shrugging. It seemed pretty risky, especially in light of what he'd heard from Schrad, but that was why it was going to be in a measured amount - and why he had Sarcel there. "I'm not exactly sure what'll happen," he admitted. "But I have reason to believe it won't be as I might expect from its appearance." He shrugged. "That's why I'm taking the risk myself instead of asking you to do it," he added. Well, that and he was the one with the flame symbol.
"The signature on the painting was pretty loopy," Alifax said, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "It wasn't in purple, though, and the inscription only said for Eri." There was a pause before he continued. "I couldn't recognize the troll on it at all, though." He glanced at the list with surprise. Now that was interesting...He returned the paper to her after making a small note of it - and the other information she'd imparted - in his notebook, which he then also put away. For safety's sake - paper was flammable. "On a tangent more directly related to Epratt, Schrad actually has some interesting, uh, body markings." He proceeded to tell Sarcel about what he'd observed on her arm, and then shrugged.
"A-anyway. I'm just...gonna..."
He turned to face away from Sarcel courteously, still clutching that lone object in his hands. He lit the little roll in his hand with a wave of his fingers - a little spark, arcing from his black fingertip to the little cigarette's tip - and placed it in his mouth, taking an inhale. He coughed slightly, unaccustomed to the feeling. Then he passed it to Sarcel.
As Elidae finished, she realized… the greenblood was crying. Oh no. What did she do? Taking a step backwards, Elidae’s anger seemed to drain from her expression and was replaced by a strange mix of remorse and concern. Even while she still disagreed and some part of her held contempt for his careless words about someone she felt protective of, she hadn't meant.. “I’m-“ she started as a possible apology, but felt a presence looming over behind her. Elidae looked up at Kursha, blinking wide-eyed. Him coming and agreeing with her and the delicately candid blueblood in the nice suit (did he refer to her as Sarce?), eased her doubts. She smiled, putting the young greenblood in the back of her think pan.
Observing the commotion unfold, Elidae stayed silent and rested her hands on her hips, looking irresolute and occasionally shifting her weight. She was uneasy and tense still, and part of her wanted to cling onto someone. Or leave. While she understood the highblood's personal crisis, it... was still irrelevant. Maybe. Or was it? Elidae tried not to doubt Rutven's status, but she was a little curious about where and who the rumor even came from. Behind his purple-shaded spectacles, it was impossible to see the true color of his irises. Regardless, everyone who had already seen the writing written on the wall were already aware of it.
When Chiara offered herself up, Elidae's eyebrows shot up in shock. Her blood was blue! But wasn't that obvious? Was she taking the blame for someone else? And then... Eridia. Blinking furiously, she realized this time, really, she could not say anything. The purpleblood would find any way to destroy her; Elidae wasn't stupid. However, Eridia's rant towards Kursha sprung a few questions- and some very cross feelings. Elidae looked to him, opening her mouth confused, but ultimately shut it again. If he could ignore her, so could she.
When Kursha came to her level, Elidae gave him her full attention. The praise made her immediately feel radiant and pleasant, a special kind of feeling warmed her pumpbiscuit. The west outgrowth? Perhaps the library? She nodded along with enthusiasm, grinning back at him. When he made his farewell, Elidae could feel her exuberance rise. Nicknames were adored by her and the one Kursha just just used, well, it was her absolute favorite now. "Okay! See you later!" She didn't have a nickname for him yet, but she would think of one. Giggling, she took off in the opposite direction, giving a quick wave. She had a task to do.
- - - - - - - - - -
Returning to the Central Hivestem with haste, Elidae finished up in the Nutrition Block, becoming more and more curious of her recent findings- as well as some old. The rhythm of the mutantblood's tapping on the bars of their cage still rang in her thinkpan, haunting her. She had to have heard that somewhere... While it seemed as if most trolls had filtered out of the room, some remained and others returned to look over their notes such as she. She made her way to one of the many chairs around the room, finally sitting down with a sigh of relief. Exhaustion from running around was beginning to take its toll on the little yellowblood. Muffling a yawn, Elidae peered around the room, searching for someone she may know- or maybe didn't know- to share info with, as the queen still kept a tight hold on that chalk. Best time to make friends is while you solve a murder with them, right?
A little ways away, she spotted the blueblood boy from earlier, standing and appearing focused. Biting her lip, Elidae attempted mustered up the courage to talk to him. Their first and last encounter was anything but pleasant, but she noticed him earlier without the mask, and she... well. Her pumpbiscuit beat in a different pattern, cheeks flushing so yellow one could barely make out her freckles. With a final huff of encouragement, Elidae made straight for him.
"Hey, you look familiar." She greeted him, brushing some of her bangs out of her flushed face. "Find the murderer yet?" She stuck out her tongue between a silly smile, innocent yet playful. "I'm sorry we weren't properly introduced earlier. Uhm, it was kinda... yeah. I'm Elidae." Leaning in, she held her hands clasped behind her back as she flirtatiously batting her eyelashes at Leeroi. "What's your name?"
Hivestuck
Hour 3: North Overgrowth: Nutrition Block knife block, sink, oven
Katanari
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 11:55 pm
Chiara Moteku xxxxxReflecting Chiara felt the words stab her, giving her body real physical pain. "It felt like the mistake was mine, for ever trusting you.” The blueblood felt the flood ready itself right behind her eyes, but she was in the spotlight right now. Shedding tears here and now would be submitting, forfeiting everything she had ever worked for. Chiara nodded as the queen instructed her to erase the chalk, and gave the other blue-blood-kiss-a** a glare. What a suck up. Chiara wiped her hand along the chalk board, her hand now smeared in a dust of Zindel's blood color. The purple blooded adult got off. Chiara wanted him to remove his glasses, give her a glimmer of hope at redeeming her pride. Things didn't always turn out perfect. Or like tonight, even remotely okay at all.
Chiara's eyes examined the dust on her hands as she walked back to Zindel. Mechanically she said to him; "We will work out some sort of apology later. For now lets let things cool down. Keep up on investigating." She dusted her hands off, watching the cloud settle onto the floor. "I need to take care of something." Chiara said, not looking Zindel in the eyes. Her heart ached. He was all she had left right now, and she knew he would choose anyone else over her.
Chiara forced herself to walk among the trolls she so wanted to avoid right now. She was looking for someone. She felt all frozen inside, like the world was ending, like her insides were collapsing in on them selves. Then Chiara saw Eridia. The blueblood walked towards the purpleblood. Each step felt like forever, and yet all too soon Chiara was there. Just 2 feet away from Eridia. "Hey" the blueblood managed to croak out.
Eridia was forced out of her mind palace, with a scowl on her face she cursed and blinked at the troll who interrupted her mental processes. Who knew Chiara had the guts to approach her after her decision. She didn't return the greeting but instead stood up and looked at her in the eyes. It stung, everything did. She quickly looked away, it was noticeable she was hurt by the accusations.
The child breathed in, clutching the sides of her dress slightly as she thought of what to do. Demand an apology, beat her up senselessly or just walk away?
We better move to another outgrowth my dear. He father broke the awkward silence with a sinister smile but it died when she approached the blueblood. Eridia, remember what I told--
"If you're here to talk about convincing Mister Rutven to take off his glasses then you are wasting your time. I'm not betraying him." She said sternly. "But I hope that is not the reason why you are approaching me." She really wished it wasn't. "So Chiara," Eridia's voice was dry and bitter.
"what do you want?"
WHOOPS MADE A MISTAKE, Hivestuck
South Outgrowth: Questioning Gerard: What do you know about Comedi? Questioning Comedi: Gerard seems to be skulking around you. Are you on good terms?
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:13 am
Leeroi was engrossed in his notes, desperately trying to solve the mystery he had made for himself. If only Psykgi were here. He needed someone better at schmoozing information and thinking. Peeking up from his notebook, his eyes connected with Elidae's, who he hadn't even notice approach. His pen fell from his mouth and he scurried to pick it up, on top of fumbling to close his notebook. Gathering his materials, he stood straight, holding them close to his chest.
"Find the murderer yet?"
Leeroi's face flushed hot with embarrassment, turning his eyes away from her. "I- no..." He admitted, hugging his notebook tighter. Biting his lip, he glanced back at Elidae. "I was following a red herring, I spent the whole hour in the basement." He explained, having to try hard to keep eye contact with the yellowblood. "Then Schrad told me that the mutantbloods were planted here— th-that they're a ruse left by the real criminal." But how much could he trust Schrad? He ran a thumb along the spine of his notebook, falling a little solemn.
His attention was piqued again as Elidae introduced herself. He had the urge to write it down in his notebook, but now he couldn't draw his attention away from her. Elidae. How pretty, fitting for a princess. "That's... nice," He complimented her, though it came out condescending. He pulled at his collar, feeling like he was choking again. The next thing he knew, she was closing in on him, leaning in and smiling cutely, making his bile sack flip.
Leeroi leaned back, but held his ground as Elidae closed the space between them. He laughed nervously, more heat rising to his face and tinting his whole face blue. "My name's Leeroi Fruror," He fumbled, more nervous laughs escaping him, "Er, I mean, Furore. Leeroi Furore." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to understand what was going on right now. Why was she standing so close to him? Why was her face so flushed, was the room too warm? Warmbloods like her reacted differently to temperatures, right? And then of course there was...
"I-is there something in your eye?" Leeroi asked, legitimately concerned for the yellowblood's well being. Instinctively, he reached out and held her cheek, tilting his head to see if he could find the problem. It was pretty strange for a troll to get something in both of their eyes at the same time, but Elidae did have some impressive eyelashes. He wouldn't be surprised if this was a regular problem for her.
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:17 am
Chiara Moteku xxxxxReflecting Everything seemed to melt. Sure, Eridia was mad as a musclebeast in a sting-beast hive, but she was talking to Chiara. Everything would be okay. Maybe not as okay as it had once been, but better than walking around like the world was going to end. The blueblood went into business mode. If she dipped into her emotions she knew she would end up breaking down and sobbing like even more of a child than she was in this public place, now full of trolls against her. "Ive come with a peace offering, there is an enemy that I think is out for both of us. Ive been too... distracted to think what to do with this. I think you can come up with a plan that will really take advantage of this." Chiara pulled the piece of chalk out of her pocket and showed it to Eridia. It was Kursha's blood color.
ImaginationsParadise
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:37 pm
A faint aroma fills the air... The stinging smoke burns your lungs slightly and makes your eyes water. Apart from that, there's simply a tingly sensation...though maybe that's the simply a lack of oxygen from all the coughing.
thyPOPE
YOU GOT CANCER CONGRATULATIONS the tingle is the tingle of death. bursts party poppers jk
Eridia was handed her shawl and fan back as she looked at the chalk, immediately recognizing that stupid bloodcolor. "Well now..." Her eyes were still dull and her voice bitter towards the other. If they were on good terms she would've smirked and tell Chiara her plans, but things had changed abruptly. She fanned herself and took the chalk from the blueblood. Behind, she hid a smile, not like her usual but, one filled with malice. The child now leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "I supposed the enemy of my enemy is my friend, we get some revenge and eveeeerything will be all peachy!" She said, her eyes and body movements faked the excitement. She once again leaned on the wall. "Everything will go back to the way it was!" Eridia shook her head with a scowl plastered on her face. "It won't change... nothing will." She examined the piece of chalk and put it away quickly before anyone noticed as she exaggerated her bitterness towards Chiara. The other always knew she had a plan for everything and thought that since the both had a grudge for the greenblood things would go back to normal. It was true that Kursha had spent too much time walking on his two feet, but this troll wasn't someone she could rely on. Not anymore. Lovedad handed her some notes. Dang he knew she wanted to get away for her. So prepared.She began to write a quick note for the other to read once she was gone. When the child finished, she ripped the page, folded it the best she could and closed the book abruptly. "Sorry, but your 'peace offering' ain't tempting. I already have some plans of my own." Eridia straightened up and attempted to walk away. Oh, she had forgotten something. Eridia glared at Chiara and grabbed her wrist. She thrusted the note on her hand and forced her eyes to stare right into the other's.
"Don't talk to me again." Their eyes met and with that said, Eridia walked out of the Central hivestream. The note said: Go north. There's no time to waste.
Micillia
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:21 pm
Anyone outside the ablution block waiting their turn would've heard a hacking cough. Whatever Alifax was doing in there, it wasn't making out with, uh, himself. Who else might possibly be in there? No one visible had walked in after him, after all. He was probably just sick.
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:46 pm
Sarcel watched with baited breath as he spoke and went to work, well, whatever he was doing, nodding along with his words as she leaned back against the wall. whatever it was he was lighting, it kind of smelled.
"A-Are you okay?" she asked worriedly as he took the first hit, coughing in obvious response. Sarcel generally steered clear of smoking because well, clogging up her lungs when running was her passion seemed pretty backwards, not to mention stupid. There was still a little part of her that was curious, manifesting in a bizarre look as she took the cigarette from Alifax, gazing down at the object awkwardly between her fingers. Her mind rolled over with the information about Sir in distraction from the inane situation going on in front of her. Alifax wouldn't do it without a good reason, she reminded herself.
"W-What are you e-even trying to f-figure out..." she asked quietly, legitimately curious, but patient. It could wait until he was done hacking his lungs up.
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:00 pm
ignore me!
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:19 pm
Alifax shook his head as he tried to get his thoughts in order. The tingling feeling was...almost pleasant, but unfamiliar. He wasn't sure if this was normal, in all honesty, but...
"I," he began, and then stopped because his voice was a bit hoarser than he remembered. Right, smoke. "I think I'm fine?" He didn't feel much different, other than the lungs. He should've been prepared for that much, he thought briefly, but how would he have known what to prepare for? At her second question he quieted. "Ioyana and Comedi were both...smoking the same thing." As far as Alifax could tell, anyway. "I'd heard from Schrad that it might be a psychic depressant?" His voice was just about as low as it could go at this point. "I'm not sure if that means a mood-mellower, or...ah, you should probably be near the door for this. But anyway - that implies she's at least familiar enough with them..." His voice trailed off, although he'd kept it barely audible in the first place. He turned to the tap, turning it on in case anything unexpected happened with his abilities. Near the little stream of water, Alifax attempted to light a small puff of flame - preferably an amount that'd be easily doused. Enough to light a candle, really.
He wasn't sure how much this'd affect his control, but he figured even he couldn't light his entire body on fire by accident next to a source of running water. He was actually pretty good at using his powers, too. With any luck it only put a dampener on them rather than limiting his control - although if they limited control over psionics he had to wonder why Tigwyn was smoking them. Wasn't he Helmsman-class?
