fifth investigation

[stagemanagers]

[Oh, what a night.
Why'd it take so long to see the light,
Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right.
What a time, what a night.

What a night last night was! Dancing under the stars, romance, family...all the things a good school dance should stand for. Even with everyone being sick it could still, overall, be considered a hige success.

But on the subject of the sickness thats spread through the school...when people start to rouse from their dance-fuled exhaustion in the morning all the symptoms seem to be completely gone. Which should be good news but knowing what day it is.

Maybe you should leave your dorms and investigate.]

Comments

[comeandfindme]

[ It's the announcement that slows her down. Three? Three of them? Peregrine's forgotten already to use the gloves she put in the first aid kit. For a moment, it seems like white noise might drown her—

But. Then, ever so calmly, she starts murmur-singing, almost distantly. ]

If you feel you've lost your stride,
Principles can be your guide.
Concentrate on what's inside,
Stay clear.

[ Use what Howl taught her. Don't just freeze. Keep going. Concentrate on the life she can save.

She holds out one hand, covered in Maya's blood. ]

More gauze.

[barberic]

[Her voice reaches out to him across the empty blackness that's closing in.

His hands steady, as he picks up the gauze and puts it in her hand, trying desperately not to focus on the blood, as a soft prayer takes shape on his lips.]

You can take,
You can give,
Let her be,
Let her live...

[comeandfindme]

[ That's right. That's just what she needs. Peregrine continues: ]

Loved ones may no longer stand.
Still you have to understand,
When it all gets out of hand,
Stay clear.

[ She's finding some interesting things about Maya's condition, so, pausing, she reaches out her hand again, before digging around inside her— ]

Gloves. Tweezers.

[barberic]

Gloves...

[Those had gone in the 'maybe' area, but he finds them quickly and shakes them out of the box, holding it open so she can just slip her hand in.

When he dares follow Peregrine's gaze, he goes lightheaded for a minute (that's his daughter, those are her insides, he's slit a dozen throats but never seen someone gutted before), before, grimly, handing Peregrine the tweezers.]

Tweezers.

[comeandfindme]

[ She withdraws the sword tip and places it on some unused gauze. ]

Examine this. Please.

[ Breathe, Peregrine. Breathe. There's no hallucinations right now, but...somehow she can still hear Howl's voice. Guiding her. ]

You can be just what they need.
Help them all, now take the lead.
Don't let death be guaranteed.
Stay clear.
Stay clear.

Mods?

[barberic]

[Benjamin takes the gauze, and uses a corner to wipe the piece of metal clean of Maya's blood.

To be clear he does not have sword proficiency, he has small blades proficiency. But what is there to notice about the tip of the sword

[stagemanagers]

[So the actual tip of the blade that did the stabbing is sharp as it should be. On the other end, where it should attach to the rest of the sword, it looks like it's been broken off and left that end jagged.]

[barberic]

[...That's. Interesting.

He's intensely not thinking about the fact that this was inside Maya.

How much of the blade are we talking about here? An inch? Two?]

[stagemanagers]

[Not much, maybe like an inch.]

[barberic]

[So it wasn't a... leverage thing.

Is there anything else to note about it, before he wraps it and sets it aside?]

[stagemanagers]

[Not really!

Also, while we're here looking at non-body things, that length of white cloth that was covering here is still here. It looks unevenly cut, and is clearly too long for Maya.]

[barberic]

[Noted! Eventually, when someone brings up the other cloths, probably.

But then all his attention is on Maya.]