[ She balls up her fists and nods—she's sorry too, even if things did get 'better,' it's not the relief that she'd hoped for—before she responds. ]
Yeah, you should be!
[ She takes a deep breath, frowning, trying to sound more angry than sad. ] What was with the other leaders pretending you didn't ask this in the first place?
When I first found out, I... tried to see if the rest of them knew as well. But they didn't. And because of the way that our rules have been setup, I couldn't tell them, since it involved participants.
It's... very frustrating. But please don't be angry at them, they didn't do anything.
[ How can that be true? If it is, how are they going to fix this if the leads can't talk about these stupid disruptions? She sits up a little straighter, her voice more urgent. ]
Then who told... whoever to kill Sharon? Was that you, too? I wasn't expecting to see a second body.
[ Though the fact that there'd been two of them may have been the chaos they needed to both survive. ]
I have no idea. I wasn't expecting there to be someone else...
[ and it's true, that most likely was the only reason hilda didn't get caught. they spent so much time focusing on sharon they didn't give cater the attention she deserved. ]
I don't even know if a Leader did tell them to--it is possible someone might have done it on their own, although I think that's... the worse option...
She was the only one, yes. I guess it's possible that someone else caught one that I didn't...
[ they tap their chin, in thought. ]
If... you do ask, [ since it's not like rabbit can actually stop her from doing it ] I'll suggest being careful. I don't think Swan will believe anything we say unless they personally find one, so they'd probably not take it well. As for everyone else, I'm not entirely sure how they'd react.
[ It's a more palatable possibility than someone out there killing on their own, but... it's not too hard to believe someone pulled a Virid, either. ]
I guess even if they can't hurt me directly, they could still do something brash...
[ Hmmm. ]
Hey, Bunny—do you know how people have been gathering nova? I know there's stuff like the scavenger hunt, but there's got to be more to it, right? Someone said killing might earn their team nova, so... [ maybe the nova rankings will show which team had another killer this week. ]
I don't have a definite answer, mostly since we're not awake when it happens and that would be the moment we'd know for sure, but... I think it's highly likely that nova is gained from killing, yes.
We know it's definitely received from voting. And... when those people had those odd adventures earlier this week, they also received some from whatever they did there.
[ If there's that many sources of nova, it'd be hard to track down exactly what pulls people ahead in a lead. Still, it's good to know. ]
Can you earn your team a lot of nova by killing? This wish business doesn't really matter to me, but do you think that's why Virid did it? It sounded like he was really treating this thing as a competition. I wonder if someone told him that he could win this way...
I don't think it's a lot, just because we would have noticed if there is a really noticeable difference in how much a team just gained. While we don't know the exact number each team has, we still have a general sense of the amount that's been gathered overall.
[ She sighs, quiet for a moment before patting the seat beside her if Rabbit would like to sit. ]
...I'll keep thinking on it. But enough about other leads, let's talk Team Rabbit. Are you upset I didn't get caught? [ They must not love that an innocent person is getting airlocked, but where do they stand? ]
[ unfortunately for the leaders, our spreadsheet is ooc only.
there's a pause, but rabbit will settle down. ]
I'm... sad about what happened. [ kano dying is a tragedy, even though it's not surprising why he got voted for compared to everyone else. ] But I'd also be upset if you were punished for something that was asked of you to do, especially when the reason was for the good of us all.
[ She'll never understand why Kano put himself out there like that—in a way, he saved her life, much like Sharon's 'distraction' at trial did. Less romantically, she's letting these people die in her stead.
It's difficult, but they made a decision. ]
...Mm.
[ She shoulder-checks them gently, her voice a little thick with emotion. She may be tough, but it's been hard not to cry today. ]
I'm glad you're not disappointed in me. [ For not being more noble. ]
at this point, whatever choice hilda made, rabbit will just have to support her. isn't that what being a leader should be, to help guide those they're responsible for? they can't say they're actually any good at that. but... they can at least try to be some sort of support. ]
[ She looks almost surprised—vulnerable for just a moment—before she laughs at that, a tiny, soundless puff. ]
Oh please, I could definitely manage to let you down somehow.
[ Don't get your hopes up just because she's managed this much, Rabbit. She leans in now, her sadness replaced in part with a teasing lilt as she pokes their forehead, fingertip bouncing off their mask. ]
But since we're such good friends now, can I see what's under here?
Don't keep me waiting too long. [ who knows when she might die. haha. she lets out a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment now that the air doesn't feel as dire. ] So, what now?
But if for some reason there's still a kill next week, I think we should keep our eyes open. Even though it might be someone doing it on their own, if there's a situation similar to ours... it would probably follow the same pattern. If you hear anyone mention that suddenly there's severe issues with their memory near the end of the week, we might be facing something like it again.
[ but it'd help to decipher if a kill was just made as a personal thing, or if someone was specifically targeted. not that it'd make a practical difference—they'd still have to go through trial—but it's something. ]
Hopefully you'll be able to figure out what's causing these problems soon.
Yes... maybe if we can figure out a way to catch the splintering at the very start of the process, we can stop it from happening altogether. But... our power is tied to how strong the Realm is, so it might just be because since it's not at full strength, we just can't notice it sooner.
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Yeah, you should be!
[ She takes a deep breath, frowning, trying to sound more angry than sad. ] What was with the other leaders pretending you didn't ask this in the first place?
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[ they look down, fidgeting. ]
When I first found out, I... tried to see if the rest of them knew as well. But they didn't. And because of the way that our rules have been setup, I couldn't tell them, since it involved participants.
It's... very frustrating. But please don't be angry at them, they didn't do anything.
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[ How can that be true? If it is, how are they going to fix this if the leads can't talk about these stupid disruptions? She sits up a little straighter, her voice more urgent. ]
Then who told... whoever to kill Sharon? Was that you, too? I wasn't expecting to see a second body.
[ Though the fact that there'd been two of them may have been the chaos they needed to both survive. ]
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[ and it's true, that most likely was the only reason hilda didn't get caught. they spent so much time focusing on sharon they didn't give cater the attention she deserved. ]
I don't even know if a Leader did tell them to--it is possible someone might have done it on their own, although I think that's... the worse option...
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Ugh, Virid killing on their own was what set this whole thing off! I hope no one would really consider it...
[ Like they need any more murder than necessary. One already felt excessive, even for a girl who's killed a field of bandits in her day. ]
Was Cater the only disturbance you could see? Maybe I could talk to another leader and ask, if you can't...
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[ they tap their chin, in thought. ]
If... you do ask, [ since it's not like rabbit can actually stop her from doing it ] I'll suggest being careful. I don't think Swan will believe anything we say unless they personally find one, so they'd probably not take it well. As for everyone else, I'm not entirely sure how they'd react.
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I guess even if they can't hurt me directly, they could still do something brash...
[ Hmmm. ]
Hey, Bunny—do you know how people have been gathering nova? I know there's stuff like the scavenger hunt, but there's got to be more to it, right? Someone said killing might earn their team nova, so... [ maybe the nova rankings will show which team had another killer this week. ]
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We know it's definitely received from voting. And... when those people had those odd adventures earlier this week, they also received some from whatever they did there.
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Can you earn your team a lot of nova by killing? This wish business doesn't really matter to me, but do you think that's why Virid did it? It sounded like he was really treating this thing as a competition. I wonder if someone told him that he could win this way...
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Guess it makes sense it wouldn't be that easy.
[ She sighs, quiet for a moment before patting the seat beside her if Rabbit would like to sit. ]
...I'll keep thinking on it. But enough about other leads, let's talk Team Rabbit. Are you upset I didn't get caught? [ They must not love that an innocent person is getting airlocked, but where do they stand? ]
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there's a pause, but rabbit will settle down. ]
I'm... sad about what happened. [ kano dying is a tragedy, even though it's not surprising why he got voted for compared to everyone else. ] But I'd also be upset if you were punished for something that was asked of you to do, especially when the reason was for the good of us all.
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It's difficult, but they made a decision. ]
...Mm.
[ She shoulder-checks them gently, her voice a little thick with emotion. She may be tough, but it's been hard not to cry today. ]
I'm glad you're not disappointed in me. [ For not being more noble. ]
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[ after everything that hilda did?
at this point, whatever choice hilda made, rabbit will just have to support her. isn't that what being a leader should be, to help guide those they're responsible for? they can't say they're actually any good at that. but... they can at least try to be some sort of support. ]
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Oh please, I could definitely manage to let you down somehow.
[ Don't get your hopes up just because she's managed this much, Rabbit. She leans in now, her sadness replaced in part with a teasing lilt as she pokes their forehead, fingertip bouncing off their mask. ]
But since we're such good friends now, can I see what's under here?
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I need to ask first if the others are okay with it. I've already done one thing they'd be upset with...
[ rabbit must try to not potentially rock the boat further, because sometimes you get nervous and sweaty when people are upset with you, ]
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Just going to keep me in suspense then, huh?
[ she'll let them off the hook........ for now. ]
Don't keep me waiting too long. [ who knows when she might die. haha. she lets out a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment now that the air doesn't feel as dire. ] So, what now?
[ are they done? are things normal? ]
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[ they frown. ]
But if for some reason there's still a kill next week, I think we should keep our eyes open. Even though it might be someone doing it on their own, if there's a situation similar to ours... it would probably follow the same pattern. If you hear anyone mention that suddenly there's severe issues with their memory near the end of the week, we might be facing something like it again.
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[ but it'd help to decipher if a kill was just made as a personal thing, or if someone was specifically targeted. not that it'd make a practical difference—they'd still have to go through trial—but it's something. ]
Hopefully you'll be able to figure out what's causing these problems soon.
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Yes... maybe if we can figure out a way to catch the splintering at the very start of the process, we can stop it from happening altogether. But... our power is tied to how strong the Realm is, so it might just be because since it's not at full strength, we just can't notice it sooner.