The sky shines differently today than it did yesterday

[employeeoftheyear]

[Perhaps to the surprise of no one, there is no after party after that trial. Two children were dead. Two children were dead over a simple accident and the Wizard cared more about himself than anyone else. But they won't give up, they can't give up. They had to keep fighting until everything's been set right.

At the Lobby ofrenda later that night, there are six origami pieces accoupling the other memorials. A penguin, a rose, an octopus man, computer, a music note, and the last one are of a boy and girl holding hands. Along with that there is a plate of strawberry cupcakes with blueberry icing and a note that reads:]

There is still hope and love in the world

Never let The Wizard make you think otherwise 💗

Comments

[mayavericks]

[Oh. Maya more or less knows the sound of that voice. She follows the noise just a little quicker now.]

Spongebob?

[brokeforgood]

[There is red—- but it’s wine that’s splashed out of the bottle onto Farrah.

She whirls, looks at Maya, and…

She has no retorts ready for her. Her barbed tongue is silent. And then she yells again, her wail full of agony and pain. ]

[employeeoftheyear]

[First there a note:]

Farrah, I know this won't bring him back, but you deserve something to remember Varian by. Please keep this with you.

[And along it is a tiny, well made papercraft of Farrah and Varian holding hands. They both look happy.]

[barberic]

[Benjamin is handling this... Well, he's handling it fine. He's. Fine. This is fine.

He doesn't immediately go to Hester's office to retrieve the solemn duty that they left there before the trial. It'll take them a few hours to dig, though her hole will be smaller than the Balladeer's, and he needs his strength to do it.

So at first he can be found in the Cafeteria, nursing a cup of tea and staring wordlessly out into space.

Then after retrieving the (unexpectedly) two bodies, he can be found down in the garden, digging. There's a couple of extra shovels, for anyone who wants to join in.]

[employeeoftheyear]

[Nowhere near the trees! This is like the saddest game of hide and seek.]

[employeeoftheyear]

[The music stops abruptly. Spongebob's voice speaks up, still sounding distant.]

Hello?

[It seems to be coming from above her.]

kitchen

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice follows him to the kitchen and also gathers what provisions she can. She keeps quiet, until she slams a kitchen cabinet perhaps a bit too loudly. ]

They were family, Orpheus. They relied on each other, and the Wizard didn't even care.

cw: slight disassociation

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Surprising possibly no one, Cassandra isn't around to stand guard like she did the last couple parties... party due to the fact that there is no party this evening. The unfortunate loss of two kids - two friends is nothing to even try and recover from. Cassandra's head is still spinning; it's like she's barely within herself, even while Elsa guides her out of the auditorium.

They spend most of the evening together before Cassandra breaks off to take to the girls locker room for a shower. The water... helps. It washes away some of the utter despair she's feeling, also makes her look less like shit. Brings some color back to her face. It won't bring Varian back to them, or Rina-san. But maybe it's a start.

After the shower, just for a couple minutes, she treks down to the scene shop. There, she combs over shelves and over the tables. She peers in the prop barrels and kicks one over out of sheer frustration. She's just about to give up... when she finds it, hidden beneath a loose sheet of paper.

The music box she gave Varian. Fully repaired. She tests it. Just taking in the soft tune that plink away on the cyllinder.

Once that's settled, Cassandra heads outside - not to the courtyard, but all the way out into the gayseball field, where she plops down in the grass and just... sits. And thinks. And listens to the softly whistling grass, feels the breeze against her warmed skin.

Owl, who has been with his owner since she returned from the trial, swoops around her. Appreciating the space, but never going too far from his sullen mother.

The music box is still in her hands. She shudders, once. Then swallows. One hand takes the wind up switch and turns it, again and again. Soon, the same music from the scene shop fills the air above her, and with it.... a song.]

Guess we all are born with parts to play
Some of us are stars and some are just... in the way

I thought I was meant for glory, but that's never what my story brings... And yet I keep on waiting.

[fourbutts]

[ Truly. Did someone climb up to a feature on the building or something? ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya sits up, just a little. She glances up at Janis and... Tries to manage a faint smile.]

It... Feels too empty.

the cart :)

[barberic]

[Benjamin finds the cart waiting by the front doors, but when he sees the second body laid out on the cart, he drops down to one knee, then both, reaching out and running his hand over Varian's shrouded head, and letting out a soft gasp when the touch confirms that the body is solid. Real.

His other hand reaches over to touch Rina's body, fingers tightening in her carefully-swaddled shroud, and he bows his head over the two children and just.

Sobs.]

[employeeoftheyear]

[It sure does look like the grappling hook's been used recently!]

garden

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice takes a shovel. The weight isn't all that different from a pickaxe.

She'll dig in time with Mister Barker, focusing on the rhythm rather than the task. ]

[themuseabandonsyou]

Why? [ It's not accusatory, or dismissive. Just curious. Orpheus even takes a mildly cursed biography off the shelf and hands it to her. ] I guess Maestro Salieri said he was hard to get along with, but. Is there something else?

Library

[defyingfrigidity]

[The good thing about suffering in isolation for thirteen years is that you kind of... don't judge other people for their coping methods, for good or for bad. Elsa's brows furrow when she wanders into the library and sees Farrah surrounded by books, but makes no move to stop.]

What are you doing?

[fourbutts]

[ Gasp! Well then, Janis is going to go ahead and use it too! ]

[mayavericks]

[Maya... looks a little surprised. She doesn't expect anyone to approach her, let alone Eurydice.]

Ah, thank you.

[She pulls the coat over and... pauses.]

Would you like to sit?

[howtheworldwas]

Sure.

[ Eurydice sits, but this time, she doesn't look at the stars. Instead, she looks directly at Maya. ]

Never try to do that again.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah shrugs her shoulders.]

He doesn’t deserve to be remembered, if Salieri isn’t. That’s fucking dumb. So I’m erasing him.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa is a girl from the far north of Europe. She's never heard a ukulele before, so as she wanders outside for some fresh air, she just. Pauses. Her head tilts to one side, curiously listening to the sound of the instrument, and as the song goes on, it seems like her shoulders relax. Just a tiny bit.]

Who's out there?

[fourbutts]

I get that.

[ She... maybe arguably should have brought Peregrine, now that she thinks about it, but. She wants to have some one-on-one time with Maya after all of that. ]

Mind if I join you?

[mayavericks]

[Oh. It's just... wine. Maya breathes out a heavy sigh of relief.

Still it's... probably wrong for her to walk away, right. Farrah might not like her, but...]

Do you -- need company?

[barberic]

[He pauses, briefly, when she joins him. There's mud streaked on his cheeks, from dirt-caked hands wiping away tears.

He just gives her a nod, and then resumes, not trusting himself to speak.]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus jumps a little when the cabinet slams, nearly dropping the bottle of wine, though he fumbles to catch it just in time. He looks over at Eurydice, eyes wet. ]

I know. They loved each other. They were happy together, even in a place like this. [ His voice breaks, and he dries his eyes on the back of his hand, taking a deep breath. ] The Wizard said - that all this was to put an end to this. But why them? Why any of them? Why us? What have any of us done to deserve this?

girl's dressing room

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[....there's a lot Cassandra could say about this. But. No, she doesn't really want to.

She just wants to get the water running for an actual shower. Not... whatever this is. But she can't exactly ignore this either.]

...Farrah?