Week Four

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Comments

[feudalladyshandmaid]

["Who are you?"

"A friend. Or at least I'd like to be."

Longacre is shaken by a loud gasp, choked in Cassandra's throat as she bolts upright in her bed. Her hands scramble for something before her. Only to find her sheets in this cramped cot stuffed in the same school she'd been trapped in for... It must have been a month now.

...Had she been crying? She wipes her eyes, loudly chasing her breath, trying to calm nerves that burned in her chest.

Oh. Oh this explains some things. She needs to think, she needs space, she needs... fresh air.

Which the outside has in abundance. As soon as it becomes apparent that the doors are now opened, Cassandra dashes from the courtyard and into the woods. She just. runs. The wind whips her face, adrenaline burns. It's almost desperate, how she's pushing through the trees, stumbling more and more... until she trips, and tumbles into a heap of leaves and dead foliage in the underbrush.

Maybe if she just lays there, everything will be fine.

Eventually though, Cassandra has to get up, whether through her own power or someone else's intervention. Soon enough, she leaves the woods, trudging to the north, out of the woods and through the parking lot, coming to an eventual stop in front of something she does recognize: the road.

Road that stretches on, and on. It dips beyond the horizon with nothing else in sight. Except for corn. But she never really liked corn.

But it's something, isn't it?]

Okay... [She breathes, steadying herself.] Okay. We're in the middle of nowhere. This is a start.

Longacre

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah’s awake pretty early, for Farrah—- which means she catches Cass springing out of bed. She’s been minding her own business, brushing her hair, but since she sees it, she’ll call over—-]

You good?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra flinches back.

...

It's Farrah. She's still in the school.

Not...]

I'm... [In the low light, her eyes shine. She blinks wetly.] Fine. I'm fine. Totally, I-I just... It was a bad dream.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah stares at her from across the room—- then hops up, and approaches Cass.]

...Yeah? You wanna talk about it? That helps, sometimes.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Does it?

A silent dread grips her, makes her pause.]

...I, uh...

I think I've been lied too, all my life.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah invites herself over, to perch on the side of Cass’ bed, listening as intently as she can. Look, she’s not always the best emotional support, and sometimes she can be rude, but it’s never on purpose. She cares!]

Whoa. That’s... rough. A lot.

Adults suck, sometimes. They think they’re protecting you, but...

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra's not about to stop her, a possible first. She enjoyed her space, but that was the furthest thing from her mind, even as her body screamed for it. She cares, surely. They all must care. Because if they didn't... Well.]

Yup.

[Understatement of the century, Farrah.]

But they're only thinking of what's best for them. Nobody trusts you, or gives you what you deserve. They just... take it. [She sits up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed to set herself beside Farrah.] And.... now, I feel like a traitor to my kingdom just for feeling this way.

Woods

[themuseabandonsyou]

Cassandra? [ calls Orpheus from a little ways away, having wandered over too late to see her actually fall and thus very concerned about seeing someone just... lying there, after the scare with Mister Barker this morning. He approaches slowly and cautiously, picking through the underbrush carefully, and kneels next to her. ] Are you okay?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Nngh - Ugh... [Cassandra's reply starts with an audible groan. Her voice is muffled in the dirt, until she finally decides that she can't lay here a moment longer.] Orpheus? ...Yeah. I'm okay.

[She's going to be sore tomorrow.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh, good. [ He sounds a little confused, but he's glad she's okay, at least! ] What happened? Did you fall?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I'm fine. I think I tripped.

[Definitely did. Her ankle is telling her as much. Sure hope that isn't broken...]

I'm fine. Really. [She repeats.] Feels like I didn't hurt anything. I was just... running. I had to run.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus will crouch down next to her, mostly for the sake of not looming over her as they talk. ]

I think I get that. It's weird, being stuck inside with nowhere to go for weeks.

[ at least it wasnt an entire year though right hahahahaha ]

We still may not be able to actually leave? But being able to go outside is a relief.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[In some sense, she almost seems to appreciate it. She shifts her body to better look up at Orpheus, but also slowly put herself into a sitting position. Her body is sore. But what did she expect, trampling through the forest like that?]

...Yeah. That's what it is. Being stuck inside.

[That's all. Definitely. She's fine. Don't mind the waver in her voice.]

But if we can get outside, then shouldn't we be able to - I don't know - just pack up and go?

The Woods

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa was up early again, after another dream-that-might-be-a-memory. But unlike last week, and unlike Cassandra now, she feels... different. There's still the lingering sadness from the trial, but that's almost overshadowed by what she'd seen...

The forest. The Northuldra. Honeymaren telling her about the spirits, and the Northuldra's connection to them. Telling her about the runes on her mother's shawl, and how it had belonged to one of the Northuldra's oldest families....

She's much more pensive about these memories(?) than she was the ones of her death, so she was only half paying attention as she wandered through the trees. But there was the unmistakable sound of someone running through the forest, the frantic snap-crack of brush being crushed underfoot, and then the unfortunate thud of a body hitting the ground. Spinning around, Elsa quickly sprints over to where she heard the commotion... then freezes.]

Cassandra??? What happened?!

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Her heart hasn't stopped racing, even as she decided spontaneously to rest in the dirt here, hoping that the world would disappear and she would wake up again. Surely... surely this was all another nightmare, a fake one; she was about to wake up in bed. What she had witnessed in her dreams couldn't be the truth.

...could it?

The stomping of crushed brush. A voice, fraught with concern. Elsa.

She's not alone anymore. Cassandra panics. That same frantic energy grabs her, orders her to get up, now. Act as if nothing even happened... Only, the moment she tries, Cassandra finds the world slipping out from underneath her, nearly sending her faceplanting into the dirt for a second time. There's scratches along her face, and for a moment, fear grips her. Her leg hurt. Had she broken it again?

...No. More likely it was a sprain. That would heal. Something she could walk away from.]

Elsa! I... I-I was just...

[defyingfrigidity]

[Oh no. Oh no no no. Something is distressing Cassandra - terrifying her, even. Something in Elsa's heart wrenches at seeing the other woman look so panicked, so she quickly drops to her knees next to her and helps her sit up, at least. There's... a moment of hesitation... before Elsa slowly reaches out, attempting to cup Cassandra's cheeks with her hands. To wipe off the dirt, if Cassandra will let her, and run a cool thumb over the scratches.]

Hey, it's okay...

[She talks in a soft, soothing voice. Like one would do when trying to calm a spooked horse.]

Are you hurt? What happened?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[No, no, no. She has to get out of here. The doors are open, they can just leave. Even as Elsa crouches down to help the other woman up, there's fear in her eyes. Her lips part, anticipating an answer to how she's doing - terribly, as anyone could see. How is she supposed to work her way out of this? What can she say to Elsa that would put her at ease without saying any-

Oh. Elsa's hands are. just as smooth as she remembered them. Soft and cool against the cuts and heat emanating from her face. Rather than pulling away, almost instinctively, Cassandra leans into the touch.]

I...

[She shudders. There's no strength in her arms.]

I don't think I can go back to Corona.

[defyingfrigidity]

[If this had been any other time, Elsa's heart may have fluttered a bit at the way Cass nuzzles into her palms. It's a... not an intimate gesture, but it's a silent symbol of trust, of this brave woman seeking some sort of comfort from her. But any fluttering inside of her instantly shifts to a knot of dread at Cass's words, and Elsa's brows furrow in worry.

Her hands shift from Cass's face to her arms, trying to hold her steady.]

What... what do you mean by that? What happened?

[Does it have something to do with the memories they've woken up with...?]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Yes, it's true. She needs comfort, but... She can't let herself have it now, can she? Even with all the worry on Elsa's face, the dread she's been carrying forces her eyes open and pushes her back, away from Elsa's hands. All until her back finds the tree she'd come to a stop beneath.]

It's the dreams. The ones we've been having every week.

[It would seem that memories are very important right now.]

I didn't know why last week, but... now... I understand why I betrayed my friends.

woods

[tellthestory]

[The Balladeer is, generally speaking, a little lost. But that's fine. He wasn't really doing much of anything today anyway.

He does hear the racket of Cass racing through the underbrush, though, and turns to head towards the noise. His pace is casual, until the noise abruptly stops. At that point, he starts running.]

Hello? Someone out here?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Ugggghhh...

[Everyone saw her. No doubt. Everyone definitely heard her, too. What did she expect? Rushing out of the school, listening to the panic in her heart, rushing to... where, exactly? Stupid. That's what she is.

A stupid fool.]

I'm here... [She calls weakly, stretching an arm out of the dirt, waving limply before letting it way back to the ground with the rest of her.]

[tellthestory]

Oh...oh, there you are.

[Once he spots her, he crunches on over. She's just...lying in the leaves, huh?]

You're fallen in a forest,
but there's somebody around.
So are you really hurt, or just laying on the ground?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[She's listless on the ground, at least until Cassandra shifts suddenly to the right, putting herself on her back. A slightly more comfortable position, all things considered.]

I could do without the play on words, thanks.

[...]

I took a run down the forest path.
Fog in my mind from the aftermath, I fear.
Where do I go from here?

[tellthestory]

I've been lost out here for like half an hour.

[He literally does not know where to go from here!]

What's up? Did something happen?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Stares at him.]

...Alright.

[Just gonna... try and muscle through all these uncomfortable feelings and sit up.]

I... had a bad dream. I ran out of the school, because - oh, I don't know, the door was open - and I ended up tripping out here.