GRAVEYARD

[retellers]

GRAVEYARD Well, that sucked. But no matter what your death was like—whether it was something peaceful or traumatic, you'll find yourself waking in a completely white room on the floor. Small and empty, there isn't anything else there besides an open door to walk through. But before you do that, you'll probably notice that whatever injuries you may have had, including whatever may have been the death blow, are now gone. That's exciting. Stepping out of the room, it seems that you're in a large... house? with three different floors. Everything from floor, ceiling to furniture is completely white, except for the drawings that are plastered to the walls in each room. These are all colorful, drawn in colored pencils and crayon, and resemble a child's drawing. The other notable thing are the windows. While they're present all around the building, looking out of them only shows TV static. Besides that, everything is furnished with the absolute bare minimum of each room. The first floor is all typical common areas one would find in a house. There's a kitchen, living room area, laundry room, dining room, and a main hallway where the stairs are. There are also helpful drawings in these rooms that show the rooms much more lavishly decorated than they actually are. There's a door that appears to be the way to exit the building, but it leads you to somewhere that's not the front lawn. The second floor consists of nothing but twenty bedrooms. Each room has one queen sized bed, an empty dresser, and an attached bathroom with only a sink, toilet, and shower. Like the first floor, each bedroom has drawn pictures that show it looking much more lavish than it actually does. Thanks for nothing, artist! The third floor only has two rooms. One appears to be a home office with nothing but a desk and two chairs, one behind it and one in front of it. On the desk are some blank pieces of paper along with crayons, as well as a written note next to them that says PLEASE DRAW THE PREFERRED ANIMAL :). It looks like this is how you ask for a meeting with a Leader. The other room is much larger, and it's completely empty save for the many drawings lining its walls— in fact, the walls are covered in them, much more than in any other room. On closer inspection, though, it seems like these aren't actually drawings? The papers seem to be showing scenes from the living area. Everything from inside the hotel to the areas beyond the bridge are visible here. However, when curfew hits on Thursday nights, they revert to being normal drawings! Except for the fact that they're all drawings of stick figures being murdered in various ways. Well. At least there's plenty of things to draw with, if you get bored. As of Week 3, each person has the ability to send messages on their PHS unlocked.

NAVIGATION locations ₓ˚. statuses *+:｡ ic profiles :ₓo ic rules ･ﾟﾟ･｡ audience requests murder proposals ｡✧o private conversations ･ﾟo｡ curfew ･ﾟ✧ memories

Comments

[laid]

[OH BOY.]

Maybe you should just leave me down here and try to run ahead to grab the monkey?
[HE'S MORE OF A HINDRANCE AS THINGS ARE...]

[maidforservice]

[hmmm. . .]

While that is the practical solution, somehow I doubt we will be able to properly collect the nova if we don't complete this task together.

[hm. she stops at the base of the stairwell and gives him an appraising look]

[Sharon what are you thinking]

[laid]

[SIGHS she's right. He has no idea she's looking at him, so he just sort of frowns into the middle distance.]

Well, then I suppose I'll just try not to slow you down too much.
[He has no idea he's in danger.]

[maidforservice]

Oh, don't worry. I have an idea.

[I'm so sorry Schwaven]

[with a surprising amount of strength considering her frame and general appearance, she scoops Schwann right off of his feet (?!?!?!) and into a proper bridal carry!! and from there, she just. . .]

[launches them both across the broken stairwell, leaping over the large gaps with little effort]

[you know]

[like assassins pretending to be maids do]

[laid]

[No but actually poor Schwann is so completely confused. He can still smell the dainty floral scene of Sharon, so clearly she's the one who picked him up, but also hello???? And now they're airborne????

WHAT IS HAPPENING? He reflexively puts his arms around her neck like a proper princess, and then when they land he just sort of.... remains completely still for a long moment, with a shocked and honestly flustered look on his face?]

Sh-sharon?

[maidforservice]

[heehee]

[they land pretty gracefully at the temple entrance, with Sharon only holding Schwann a moment longer before she places him down onto his feet again]

[and then she bows, contrite, even though he can't see it]

My apologies for picking you up without asking first, but I fear we have little time to waste. The baby gorilla has entered the temple.

[she hopes there are no TRAPS in there]

[laid]

I-
[He's still flustered enough that he can't seem to form a coherent thought? At least now if they ever need to shut him up they know how? Not that Schwann needs to be shut up, that's more a Raven problem.]

Y-yes, please, lead the way.
[He starts to head off in a direction just without thinking, maybe it's the right way, probably not? I hope Sharon is impressed with the uselessness of heterosexual men in this moment.]

[maidforservice]

[TEEHEE. . .]

[reaches for his hand again to guide him into the temple! she can no longer see the gorilla but she can hear the creature's feet against the stone floors]

We are now entering the temple. I fear there may be a few traps lying in wait for us, so we need to be careful.

The baby gorilla is somewhere up ahead.

[laid]

[Oh good, traps!]

It's times like this you wish animals could understand us.
[So they could tell the monkey to not wander into a place with traps.]

You said you had a sister, Sharon?

[maidforservice]

[RIGHT??? either way, their pace is swift! a bit swifter than it was outside, because there are less tree branches to get in the way. but she is keeping a sharp eye out for TRAPS]

Hm? Oh. . . yes, that's right.

[a tiny little hum]

I suppose the other part of the task is for us to share our families with each other, yes?

[laid]

So it would seem. Though, I don't see how it's going to affect the monkey, given it shouldn't be able to understand us.

[So maybe it doesn't matter that the gorilla isn't in earshot? Anyway.]

I'm afraid I can't be much help, I haven't seen my family in a decade.
[Because that's how long they've been dead.]

[maidforservice]

. . . oh dear.

[the empathy in her voice is sincere, because she can't imagine going so long without seeing her Reinfords]

[. . .]

You have my condolences, Master Schwann. That sounds quite difficult.

[a beat]

Also, please duck. ♥

[AN AXE IS DROPPING FROM THE CEIILNG??? if he doesn't duck she is just gracefully pulling him down to the ground with her]

[laid]

[If there's one thing Schwann's good at, it's following orders, so he does duck, but he definitely hears something overhead. Yikes!!

God, if only he could just stay on this floor forever. Anyway;]

Hopefully all these traps are designed for people at human height.
[Otherwise... the monkey is in terrible danger.]

[maidforservice]

[oh good, his reflexes are impressive! as Sharon moves forward, she smiles and says--]

It's safe to stand now.

[and then she falls silent, still listening for the sound of feet ahead. . . she can hear them, so--]

I believe our gorilla is still perfectly fine. Shall we continue? [oh. right. the family thing] The young lady I refer to as my sister is, in fact, not related to me by blood. She is the daughter of the Chairman I serve as house maid.

[laid]

[Ah well, time to press on.]

That's good. Hopefully we can catch up to it soon.
[He would like to collect the animal and leave.]

It's nice that you're able to have such a close relationship with your employers, Sharon.
[It feels... weirdly familiar, almost? But no, that must be just his imagination.]

[maidforservice]

I believe it's close. Just a few more steps.

[she's trotting quickly now, yanking Schwann somewhat harshly around a corner, though she gives his hand an apologetic squeeze afterwards]

Yes. . . I suppose you can put it that way. But I believe it's a relationship that is far more than just "an employer and their employee."

[laid]

[Well at least the harsh treatment distracts from the hand holding so he doesn't get distracted. He'll just trot on after as best he can.]

A relationship you choose rather than one you're born with can often be more powerful. I was never close with my siblings.

[maidforservice]

[oh no. . . he can't see it, but Sharon's expression shifts into something sympathetic]

What were your siblings like?

-- please also leap when I tell you to.

[THE GROUND IS CRUMBLING IN FRONT OF THEM]

[laid]

I suppose they were... normal?

[Pausing to jump when Sharon indicates, stumbling a little on the landing but recovering quickly, he just want to get where they need to go as quickly as possible.]

My older brother had his future laid out for him and he was more than willing to take on what it meant. My younger brother and sister were still young enough that no one was expecting anything of them. Maybe they were fed up too, for all I know. I was too-
[He can't see, but he can hear. And he knows the sound of an arrow being fired, can tell the direction, and with the lack of further context, all he can think to do is put himself between the arrow and Sharon, letting the arrow sink into the meat of his thigh.]

[maidforservice]

[they both make the jump rather easily, and Sharon is still listening as they run. and. . . perhaps that is why it escapes her notice. the notice of someone highly attuned to paying attention to her surroundings. by the time the click of the trap and the whizz of the arrow flying through the air reaches her ears, it's far too late, and she lets out a startled noise as Schwann's weight shifts in front of her instead of at her bac]

[what comes next is the dull thud of a weapon hitting flesh, and she can't help but let out a surprised--]

Master Schwann???

[?!??!?!!]

[at least by then her assassin instincts kick in and, with a furrowed brow, she yanks Schwann out of the line of fire!!]

[. . .]

[p.s. the gorilla has turned around and is now running towards them. arrow!! in daddy's leg!! yay!]

[laid]

[He groans a little at the pain, but it's fine. He's had worse than this. Pulling it out will hurt more, but even that will be fine. As long as it isn't poisoned? It could be poisoned. That seems like a thing to do.

...

Ah, well, it's not like he hadn't already prepared to die. He turns to look in Sharon's... general direction.]

Are you alright? ... Ah, is that-
[He can hear the pitter patter of little monkey feet. Coming back towards them?]

If that's the gorilla, you should grab it first. Don't worry about me.
[He's just gonna... reach down and try to yank it out himself.]

[maidforservice]

[YOU'RE ALRAEDY DEAD??? YOU'RE GIVING HER A HEADACHE!! before he can yank it out--]

[she reaches out to touch his shoulder, firm and a little demanding. there's exasperation in her voice, but it's not annoyed!!]

Please don't pull it out just yet. It may have hit a major artery; wait until we return to the mansion.

[AND THEN SHE'S GOING TO FETCH TEH GORILLA. the gorilla who is making grabby hands at the arrow in daddy's leg. child why]