"A Swing and Miss Doesn't Mean it's Game Over"

[mayavericks]

[Well… All of that sure happened. And while Maya is visibly shaken Sissi's literal dance with death, she’d meant what she’d said to the others -- she would protect them. At that moment, it meant voting and making the “right” decision. Now, though? It means ensuring that no one feels alone, and that everyone has a good meal in them.

She’s not Nana Daiba, however, she certainly can’t do this alone. But she does have the resourcefulness and authoritative disposition to to recruit allies. Discord is sure to be… mostly unbothered by everything that’s happened, and Spongebob will likely be eager to help. She approaches both men: one is asked nicely; The other is grabbed by the collar and dragged from whatever hole he’s locked himself in. Sorry Discord.

For Maya's part, several potato dishes are prepared (can you tell someone has a bias). And while she doesn’t have the resources to make baumkuchen, Maya does manage to produce a cake, as well as… muffins? They’re not… quite how she remembers Nana making them, but she can at least recall how hearty the food had felt, and how it had restored her energy on long days.

It’s a pleasant memory, even if it does make her a touch melancholy.

Nevertheless, the food is laid out in the kitchen, as are a number of pies that Maya has uncovered. She even tucks a few bottles of wine in a corner for the adults that might like it. This is in addition to the mead apparently brought by Salieri. Look she’s not a fan of having alcohol but… she can’t tell the adults no.

But hey, courtesy of Benjamin, there is even some cocoa. It doesn’t start off spiked but… you know. Thanks to Spongebob there are, well… Angry Patties? It’s fine. Even Discord managed to contribute some pies and tea, as well as being bossed around to do the grunt work in the kitchen. There’s also that inexplicable pizza? Huh, that’s weird.

Eventually the group goes around extending invitations to the dorms, knocking on doors and explaining what’s been set up. No one will be forced to go, just… strongly encouraged. Maya herself will even duck into the principal’s office and, if she’s there, invite Hester.

She seemed just as upset as the rest of them.]

Comments

[tellthestory]

[The sound jerks the Balladeer out of whatever reverie he had fallen into; he startles where he sits, automatically moving his hands away from the guitar strings. Oh. Oh, Salieri...

He swallows harshly, then stands just long enough to go sit on Salieri's bleacher instead, next to him.]

[violentenvies]

[Salieri can hear the squeaky shifting of the bleachers as the Balladeer moves and sits next to him, and something about that, the comforting show of solidarity with that simple action--the I'm with you, I'm here, and you're not alone--means more than even Salieri himself realized. It tightens that feeling in his chest; it feels raw and real and far too close to the surface, and he's transferring the bow to his hand, fumbling to try and grab for one of his handkerchiefs, keeping his head bowed]

Apologies, I--I, ah--[his voice is wavering, and he sucks in a breath, again hitching, again a bit too close to a sob, and he's not quite blinking fast enough now to stop his makeup from being ruined. Sorry, Farrah.]

[tellthestory]

No, it's...it's okay. Of course you're upset. Everyone's upset, today was horrible.

[He...doesn't entirely know how to comfort people, all of the time. Maybe ever? So he does what he saw several people doing at the trial, and offers his hand, palm-up.]

[violentenvies]

[his throat goes tight at the proffered hand, and he sucks in a watery breath, but does carefully set the violin down so that he can reach out and take his hand]

...thank you. [quietly, hitched, as he tries to control his breathing.] It was all so...unnecessary.

[tellthestory]

...it was.

[He squeezes Salieri's hand in his own, leaning against him a little.]

I always thought...nothing would happen, because everyone here's good people. [if abrasive in some cases] It never even occurred to me that...

[That things like that just happen sometimes. No murderers and motivations to sing about. Just a string of horrible chances.]

[violentenvies]

[Salieri startles just a little as the Balladeer leans against him, but after a moment he leans back slightly, tilting his head to rest it tentatively against the other man's.]

I...didn't consider it, either. That such an accident could occur. I don't know why I did not; such things happen on the outside, in my world. Little accidents that no one is to blame for but that can have dire consequences.

[tellthestory]

They don't in mine.

[But then, there are no accidents in a stage show, even if it weren't about murder. Everything's scripted. The Balladeer's sure that things go wrong in shows sometimes, but that doesn't really echo through to him. Let people flub a line. There's no real consequence to that.]

I'm used to...the murderers being pretty obvious. I figured since no one here was like that, we'd all be fine.

[violentenvies]

...so did I. I've never spent a lot of time thinking about those everyday accidents, so it did not even cross my mind that it could happen here.