Week Two

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, no murder happened! Instead, a lot of students started work on Salieri's school play, which sounds pretty cool even though it's gonna be short, several people destroyed Bigfoot and got a few mysterious clues, and Orpheus started a fire in the kitchen! All in all, not a bad first week!

Though some people might have gone to talk to Hester, she hasn't made any more public announcements. There's some new papers posted up around the cafeteria, but it looks like it's just your upcoming lunch schedule. Seems like nothing's driving you towards Rule Five except, perhaps, all of the kidnapping and how criminally boring some of you are finding the school. Maybe the Balladeer is right, and you really can just wait this out? Only time will tell!]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( No new locations this week, since y'all haven't paid in blood! Hester's office hours are still open, as are regains! Make sure to complete your first activity check by Tuesday! ))

Comments

[mcfife]

[Angus doesn't know how to feel. Confused, mostly. Angry. Obviously worried considering that he had seen an image of his dead body, but his duties constantly put him at risk. How is he meant to know what series of events would lead him to be slain by an otherworldly creature?

He books it to the weight room, where he focuses on getting his blood pumping for reasons other than fear, the folded envelope on the ground. Wizards can look into the future. They can see general events, but not specifics. He'll be fine. He just has to trust in his allies and not get killed in a war. There's no need for murder.

But all that exercise gets him exhausted, leading to an hour-long stay in the Boy's Locker Room, standing in the shower and staring at the wall.]

Weight Room

[mayavericks]

[Most of Maya's workouts have typically consisted of cardio and dancing. But desperate times call for desperate measures. She's never used this sort of equipment before, but... She starts by picking up a couple of freeweights and doing what feels familiar.

She intends to be silent the whole time but... The presence of Angus's envelope is a curious one. And hell, maybe she just wants listen to something else, other than her thoughts.]

They certainly know how to get under our skin, don't they?

[mcfife]

[Angus lifts the barbells one final time and sets them to rest. He's learned from his previous workouts to be more careful of his limits, even if Maya could spot him if needed.]

They want to scare us. We don't know if the visions he's given are certain to come to pass.

[mayavericks]

We don't. But the images they provided certainly looked real enough.

[She'd left hers behind in the cafeteria, but she still feels the weight of the vision on her shoulders.]

They've already proven themselves powerful enough to rend us powerless and lost. Should it be surprising that they could do more?

[mcfife]

Do you think that The Wizard can ensure that those futures do occur? [Probability magic...such deviousness.] That would make these photos more of a threat than a reward.

[mayavericks]

The fact that they were photos would imply that he's already made them come to pass once, wouldn't you think?

[mcfife]

He set our futures when we arrived. That evil...!

[He slams his fist on the rack.]

Manipulating the timeline until he found one where I died! Is this how he ensures that I obey him until my release?

locker room

[prophetpriestandking]

[You know, Mumble hasn't showered since...well, he only just learnt what a shower is. But that's besides the point. The point is, he's found Angus here and Angus is behaving incredibly...un-Angus-y.

Mumble has to check that he's even alive.]

Hee-y, Angus... [He waves in front of him.] You there?

[mcfife]

[Angus turns away from the wall, his wet hair clinging to his skin and not feeling any better.]

Yes. I am merely...thinking.

[Would a penguin-man even feel embarrassed at interrupting someone in a shower? Angus is too preoccupied to even care.]

[prophetpriestandking]

[Penguins know nothing of such social conventions. He's completely unaffected.]

Thinking about - [Does he need to ask?] - what Miss Hester said earlier?

[mcfife]

[A nod.]

The Wizard threatens a future where I am killed. I do not know when, but I don't look that much different as I do today.

[prophetpriestandking]

That's-

[He sighs.]

I'm sorry, Angus. That must be a lot. To deal with, I mean.

[No wonder you're staring at the wall.]

[mcfife]

[It's rough.]

The strange this is that my killer may be someone from Maya's universe. The uniform she wore is similar to those worn by members of a particular tournament she's participating in.

Boy's Locker Room

[employeeoftheyear]

[What are the odds? Spongebob was just about to go in for an hour long moping shower.

He notices Angus in the shower and speaks aloud.]

You too, huh?

[mcfife]

[Angus hears someone. He twists the shower handle and grabs a towel.]

I will leave if you need it. [Then he can mope in his room.]

[employeeoftheyear]

No, it's okay, I don't wanna force you to leave because of me.

[And on the bright side you won't have to worry about seeing Spongebob over the stalls because he will be curled up in the corner of the shower.

There is a long silence before he speaks up again.]

So how are you holding up?

[mcfife]

[He can stay here as long as he wants drying himself. The texture of the towel helps distract him from his thoughts.]

It's terrible. I cannot let fear defeat me, but at the same time, how can I not be afraid of what the future holds?

[employeeoftheyear]

... I feel the same way. It's so hard for me not to be scared, even though I'm sure everyone else is feeling just as bad as I do if not worse. I... I just don't know why the Wizard is doing this to us.

[mcfife]

Evil is not something easily understood. They wish to see us suffer for selfish reasons. Because it is amusing. They want total control over our bodies and spirits.

[whatyouwant]

[Elle doesn't do weights a lot, but yoga just isn't cutting it right now.]

Hey, uh, are you okay?

[Dumb question, but she doesn't know what else to say.]

[mcfife]

[He tosses the barbells into its resting position.]

Not at all. I wish I could say this was the worst day of my life, but alas, it is not. Yet, I have been given a terrible choice that puts my own life over everyone else's. Truly, he wants to see us all turn to evil.

[whatyouwant]

[Elle frowns. It's a strange look on her.]

Do you want to...talk about it?

[mcfife]

[Angus sits up, leans over, and picks up his envelope.]

It's rather gory, but I am dead in the future he has manipulated.

[whatyouwant]

[Elle glances at the photo. It is bad, like really bad. She holds back a gag as she looks away, as if that will make the image leave her.]

Is that even real!?

[mcfife]

[Time to stuff it away.]

I cannot know. It may be an image from an alternate future. It may only exist in his crystal ball. I doubt he will give a straight answer.