week 1, friday

[seaclipsed]

[ so katara is hanging out near the bonfire, looking still pretty mad about everything, but at least she isn't attempting to mug anyone like before?? that's progress, probably.

she'll glance up at anyone approaching.............. like fie, perhaps??? ]

Comments

[sylfied]

[ yep, that sure is Fie. A Fie casually waving a hand. ]

You look less ready to knock someone's head off.

[seaclipsed]

That's definitely still on the table.

[ but with the chiefs out of the way for now, there's really no specific to direct her anger at. ]

That was horrible.

[sylfied]

... I know. I don't think it's promising if this is only the first murder.

[seaclipsed]

This was more than just a murder, this was-- ugh!

[ katara covers her face for a moment. when she uncovers it, she just looks more sad than angry. ]

That poor girl. Haru was so sweet.

[sylfied]

She didn't deserve that.

... I don't think anyone would.

[ Fie's pragmatic, yes, but what this had been was... entirely unnecessary. Someone had toyed with the body beyond belief. ]

[seaclipsed]

Definitely not. Did you see the look on her face? She was... so scared.

[ and katara assumes that was just from the stabbing. the... dismemberment probably came after. ugh. ]

There's children here.

[ katara you're a child ]

[sylfied]

Some kids have seen a lot.

[ You're a kid, Fie. ]

[seaclipsed]

Not all of them though.

[ she remembers hayner's face when they found the torso.

(katara hayner is older than you) ]

[sylfied]

Mm, not all of them. But if they want to survive here, they're going to have to figure out their strength. Or this will get them long before any killer could.

[seaclipsed]

They shouldn't have to though. People shouldn't be... forced to grow up like this.

[ her tone is bitter. ]

But they don't care about that, I guess. It's just a game.

[sylfied]

It's definitely a game to them.

And I feel like we still don't even know all the rules.

[ Her tone isn't bitter. Just... kind of tired. ]

[seaclipsed]

... I don't think we do either.

[ the moment the partner thing was revealed, katara became certain that there is a lot more going on that hasn't been said. ]

I doubt they're going to just tell us though. We'll have to figure out a way to get the answers.

[sylfied]

So learn it on our own, huh? I bet the trial's going to be a lot of hidden rules, too.

[ Ew. ]

[seaclipsed]

... Probably, yeah.

[ she's really dreading tomorrow. ]

What happens if everyone can't agree on one culprit? There's so many of us.

[sylfied]

Then it's probably a majority vote.

Or we get lucky and the culprit confesses.

[seaclipsed]

We can't depend on luck though! We have to make them confess by-- I don't know. Pitting enough evidence against them?

[ she doesn't sound very confident when she says that because... what evidence tbh. ]

[sylfied]

Normally, that'd work. But...

[ WHAT EVIDENCE ]

[seaclipsed]

We really have nothing to work with other than the fact that she was stabbed.

[ awesome!!! she rubs her face. ]

Where did someone get something like that?

[sylfied]

Maybe one of the chiefs? The same way they set out those water bottles out of nowhere.

[seaclipsed]

As if things weren't already unfairly stacked around here.

[ so it really could have belonged to anyone. great. awesome. ]

[sylfied]

I don't think I've played too many games that were all that fair, honestly.

[seaclipsed]

This isn't even a real game. It's a slaughter.

[sylfied]

That too. And the bad thing is, it doesn't look like it's going to be a matter of everyone saying they won't kill.

[seaclipsed]

Anyone can say that. But we still have a body.

[sylfied]

Yeah. I bet we'll get another next week, too.

[seaclipsed]

Since they seem pretty firm that someone has to die each work, I guess it's because they have a way to make sure that happens?

... My best guess is threatening the people here. Go for our loved ones.

[sylfied]

It might be even bigger than that. But you're probably right-- if they know enough about us already, they probably also know our weaknesses.

[seaclipsed]

And they've already proven that they can actually get to them. The fact that we're here shows that.

[ the thought of her brother or toph or aang being brought into one of these games is... too much. ]

[sylfied]

... Would you kill for your family?

[seaclipsed]

I don't know.

[ she frowns, before looking at fie. she just stares at her for a second before continuing. ]

Before I came here, I had a chance to kill someone who took away a person very important to me. And I couldn't do it.

[sylfied]

... Why?

[ She's not going to judge either way, but she's curious as to what stopped her. ]

[seaclipsed]

I'm honestly not sure. A friend of mine told me that killing is wrong, no matter what the reasoning was... maybe his words influenced me?

[ she really isn't entirely certain. ]

I still want him dead though. That hasn't actually changed.

[sylfied]

Mm... yeah, there's really no way to justify murder.

But that thought of yours isn't wrong, either.

[seaclipsed]

That's the thing though, isn't it? You never know what you'll do until you're at the moment. I was so certain I could do it, but then I stopped.

[ it really wasn't that long ago, but it feels like decades after only spending a week here. ]

That's probably how a game like this works.

[sylfied]

... If you've never killed someone before, I hope you never have to.

[ said Fie. in a murdergame. a game that was all about murder. ]

[seaclipsed]

... I hope that no one else has to. Even if they have.

[ LOOK. look.

it's nice to have dreams. ]

[sylfied]

[ that sounds fake, but okay ]

... That'd be nice, [ she just says instead, despite knowing better. ]

[seaclipsed]

We'll do what we can, okay? There has to be another way to beat this game.