CHAPTER 5

[faentasy]

CHAPTER 5

monday

tuesday

wednesday

thursday

Almost half of the non-fairy population of Aira Niluc is gone.

Some may be feeling the absence of their fellow participants in this story. Others will stay focused on the wish they want to get. What never changes is that the story goes on, bringing you closer to the end -- and to another chapter. What will it bring this time?

Snow!

Snow as far as the eye can see, a cold blanket covering the new area. Some winter amenities are now available, ready for perusal! But that's not all there's to find: everyone also will find reminders of their homes, of people they know, of happier times.

Of their wishes.

Who will try to reach their wish this time?

[[Welcome to Week 5! Feel free to make top levels at your discretion, and remember to note it in your header if you plan on investigating any locations. However, please try to keep investigations to Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday! You can also privately contact Hamelin at your leisure.

In addition, a reminder that any Murder Proposals for this week are due by Tuesday 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST! However, please note that you have the option of submitting murder proposals for a later week as well.]]

navigation

murder proposals

profiles

rules

locations

shop

location changes

full navigation

Comments

TUESDAY

[faentasy]

[biqe]

room 5

[ As has become part of his usual routine now, Phil intends to make a quick stop in the empty room to make sure there's nothing new happening with the mirror there — quick enough that he just leaves the door open behind him while he takes a look. There hasn't been anything of note in here since he was last able to see that shimmer that allowed him into the mirror over a week ago, so he isn't expecting much, but today... there's something different.

Ah...

He thought he'd seen them in the mirror in his own room yesterday, but then it had disappeared so quickly that he thought he must have just been imagining it. The image is staying there much longer this time, though; and hesitantly, he reaches out to touch the glass... just in case.

...Well, he wasn't really expecting that to do anything, but he's a little disappointed anyway. ]


snowy streets

[ Later on, once he's shaken himself out of that, he puts on a coat and a dark blue scarf and heads out to the new area to get a more in depth look at things for himself; he hadn't quite been prepared for the cold when he first went out there yesterday, and he's learned from his mistakes. He walks along the streets for a bit, taking in the sight of the bright red holly berries on the bushes against the backdrop of the snow and the colorful lights decorating the trees, smiling softly to himself. ]

It really does feel a little like Christmas.


church

[ He eventually heads in the direction of the church, where he first pauses outside, looking thoughtfully and maybe a little sadly at the stained glass window, where for just a second in the right light, you might catch sight of another figure in the reflection... but it's hard to quite make out the fractured image in that colorful kaleidoscope.

Eventually he wanders inside — a little warmth is much appreciated after that walk — where he takes in the general scenery before his attention is drawn in particular to a set of figurines that seems to be depicting a scene in which a couple put their baby into... some sort of... trough or something in a stable, while the animals look on.

He leans in, looking at it curiously. ]

Hm... I wonder who these are supposed to be.

room 5

[gemuinemanagement]

[The empty room isn't part of Suga's routine, but he happens to be passing by when he catches a glimpse of Phil's friends. This... feels like something he shouldn't have seen, but it wouldn't be fair not to let Phil know he saw.

He knocks lightly on the side of the doorway to alert Phil to his presence.]

room 5

[scythegun]

[Considering he's right next door, spotting Phil this morning isn't all that unusual. Yeager raises his voice and knocks on the doorframe to announce his presence.]

Good morning, Phillip! Have you noticed any changes in... here...

[Ah. Looks like the mirror's showing some familiar faces. It isn't the first time he's run across this, but that doesn't make it any less awkward. Hopefully these people aren't dead??]

Church

[mirrite]

[The church itself doesn't hold that much interest for Marcus-- he's really just here because Phil's here, although he's certainly not going to object to ducking inside to warm up a little before they continue on with their exploration.

He's about to suggest as much when he spots that image reflected in the stained glass window. The shift in the atmosphere is immediate and obvious; he comes to a halt, the crunching of his footsteps in the snow going silent as he just stands there looking at that figure with an expression that, while largely unreadable, clearly isn't a pleased one.]

Is that who I think it is?

[The tone isn't accusatory, but there's a certain frostiness to it that wasn't there just a few moments ago.]

outside church

[amortristis]

[ The church catches Morgan's attention pretty easily, compared to a lot of the other things here. She looks up at the structure of the church as she approaches it, trying to look at see if the steeple or whatever kind of architecture it had contained anything of any note. Once she confirms there's nothing up there, only then does she notice Phil's line of sight. ]

I wouldn't look for too long.

[ She stands far back enough to where she can't see her own distorted reflection in the stained glass. No sense in getting riled up again. She's already hurt one hand in the process. ]

snowy streets

[incompletely]

It does, doesn't it.

[ Phil's not the only one enjoying it here. Tenn looks more at ease than he's been since the start; it really is a nice walk, even if it's bittersweet. ]

Is it your favorite holiday, Phillip-san?

church, inside;

[ideismo]

[Alexei is in here ensuring the votive candles for the dead stay lit; it seems like something to do, something that can force his attention away from the damn mirrors, and so long as he doesn't pay attention to the stained glass in here he should be fine.

He glances over to see what Phil's looking at and...oh, it's whatever's going on with what could probably be read as an attempt at human sacrifice or something if the animals involved weren't cows.]

I admit that I'm not sure either; I was trying to sort that out yesterday.

[Results inconclusive.]

Streets

[kowashi]

[ Koto's outside and only dressed in some mittens to nab some holly berries. It's fine she has her sweater, totally. ]

It's very pretty! It's the cute Christmas I get to see in books.

[ Mister branch, surrender your Holly. Any snow that falls on her as a result is ignored. ]

The lights aren't as bright or tacky. Just enough and light up the snow!

[edamamepon]

[ Anyone who's seen Makoto or Suga in person recently may have gotten invited directly to come watch these two attempt to make a Christmas cake (or two, depending upon interest) for everyone to enjoy. To those they might have missed in person, there will be a cheerful note informing them of this great opportunity slipped in their door or left for them in a well-known haunt.

Yes, there will be a reminder that anyone can watch from start to finish --or even help out if they know more about baking cakes than these two do. No, cyanide is not an ingredient.

The prize for stopping by will be a piece of cake, along with an offer of coffee or tea. What they will be attempting to make looks something like this, a strawberry sponge cake with fresh strawberries sourced from candyland (results may vary as neither of them are really bakers but at least Makoto can cook).

For prep Makoto will be carefully putting the batter together and leaving Suga in charge of stirring after a demonstration. Once the cake makes it into the oven to bake, they'll be around the kitchen keeping an eye on it, enjoying warm drinks. While the cake is cooling so it can be layered and frosted, they will be getting all of those strawberries cut and ready along with whipping the frosting. Of course, at some point the cake will be finally finished and ready to be shared. Wait too long though and they'll probably already be sampling it themselves. ]

finally finished;

[biyishuangfei]

[ Huaisang will peep his head around the time they're sampling it...looking a little intrigued. ]

So, why did you guys make "Christmas cake"?

[ What even was Christmas... ]

cooling!

[incompletely]

[ Tenn, being one of the lucky ones to get invited, has kind of just been spectating this whole thing unfold. He is very glad Makoto is here to help Suga not burn anything, and it actually does look good, all things considered.

So, when the frosting starts to be layered on, Tenn tilts his head and watches with a little amused sigh. ]

Huh. Not bad, you two.

[ ...he probably couldn't do any better but listen. ]

Cooling

[kowashi]

[ peeking her head up from the counter... She's about to steal some halved/whole strawberries while they're prepping up whipped cream. Definitely catch her in the act, stealth ain't her strong suit. ]

coffee or tea!

[crimson_flamel]

[Edelgard will sit by, once again watching them prepare.]

Do... you want help? I'm admittedly not too experienced with baking, but I feel odd just watching.

[amortristis]

boutique

[ Since the start of the week, Morgan seems noticeably on edge. She's not exactly been the most social, but she seems to be giving everyone a wider berth than normal. Is she giving everyone space? Is everything that's been going on affecting her? Hard to tell.

She decides to head to the boutique, seemingly looking for something other than warm clothing when she happens to cross in front of one of the mirrors. There's a tall man that comes into view, watching her with a stern expression. She stops once she notices him in her peripheral vision, and stares. She thought she had seen him out of the corner of her eye before, but she thought she was just seeing things. ]

You sure took your time. Do you know how long it's been since —

[ Her words die in her throat as she happens to look over the man's shoulder, seeing... someone else in the distance. They're turned away, and it's hard to really see who it is, but apparently it's enough for Morgan to recognize them as she goes rigid.

...

And then her fist collides with the mirror. Her hand is probably going to get pretty cut up pretty good, as there's already signs of bleeding, but she could really care less right now. ]

around

[ Once she gets her hand bandaged up, she goes out to explore the new area. If she's bothered by the cold, she doesn't exactly make it known - she was just on the moon not that long ago, so this probably isn't really that terrible. She pokes around the different facilities, making an extra effort to avoid any of the will-o'-wisps. She'll nod in acknowledgement as she passes by or comes up by someone, raising her unbandaged hand in greeting. ]

It's strange how festive this place is. It almost feels... sad, somehow.

[ Which is just her on a constant basis, but whatever. ]

boutique

[scythegun]

[Yeager comes in just shortly before Morgan shatters the mirror, so he's got enough time to realize she's talking to someone and the mirror's the likely recipient of that. He's considering whether he should just... leave... Would that be better, Morgan probably doesn't want anyone overhearing her conversation with whoever the mirror is showing her—

And then the mirror shatters and that solves that little dilemma for him.]

That's one troublesome mirror down! Do you need any help with your hand?

[Are you gonna be okay...]

around

[edamamepon]

Oh, yeah it is kind of-- [ Makoto keeps his even, polite tone until he glances from the unbandaged hand to the bandaged one with some surprised concern and his sentence derailing. With a frown, he takes a step closer. ]

Hey, what happened to your hand?

around

[ideismo]

It's melancholy in a way, isn't it.

[He doesn't understand what is being celebrated here, what's properly festive about it, but he does know that there's some sort of weird halfhearted attempt being made at conveying it, which doesn't help with how depressing the place is.]

I admit I'm not accustomed to anywhere quite this cold.

boutique

[incompletely]

[ Tenn's in the boutique for no real reason other than to stock up on warm clothing. That's when he hears a loud crash nearby; he jumps and his eyes snap towards the scene. A broken mirror, blood, and...Morgan?

At first, panic sets in, but when he realizes that Morgan's the only one responsible for this, he pulls a thin shirt off one of the clothing racks and walks towards her. ]

I'll wrap that up that for you, Morgan-san. Give me your hand.

[ It'll do for now, anyway... ]

[hellochildren]

[Others had suggested Pericles leave his room and generally be more active during the day, and while the parrot was still hesitant after everything with the last trial, he would prefer no more questions being asked and there's a new area to explore, so he'll do what needs to be done.

First, however, someone might notice in the lodgings that there's an open door to one of the dorms. Specifically the dorm room of the bird that had passed on. There's the sound of...rummaging in there. Perhaps someone will want to investigate that.

Later, a living bird can be found flying in the new area, noticeably awkward with his maneuvering to avoid being snowbound. The shiver he gives is not imagined, pulling the green tie tighter and closer to himself as he flies over the skating rink, looking down as he considers going back to gra-]

Scheisse!

[The impromptu landing is less than graceful, but Pericles is unharmed after making contact with the snow. He pops his head out from the hole he made, staring at the ice...the closest thing to fear he's displayed while here.

Someone was not happy with what he saw.

Later than that, if your willing to look inside a cabin, perched on the back of a chair will be the parrot, looking your way after your entrance.]

I...do not enjoy the colt.

[So this is literally the one part of the new area he likes.

R. I. P.]

cabin

[gemuinemanagement]

It does seem like a pain
Since you can't just put on warmer clothes like humans

[The boutique does not have clothes for birds and this is discrimination?]

cabin

[incompletely]

[ Tenn enters a cabin, hoping to warm up a little. He likes it here ,but it's starting to get really cold and he has no desire to get frostbite....

He's surprised to see Pericles, though, but his company isn't unwelcome. Tenn approaches, hands in his pockets. ]

I can tell.

[ He unravels his scarf and walks over to him, holding the scarf out towards Pericles. ]

Will this help?

skating rink skydive

[heroicact]

Ah, Professor-- Professor?

Professoooor!!

[Here's a dramatic yell to match the parrot's dramatic swearing and not-quite-as-dramatic landing -- Jack makes for a dive-catch before realizing that they are both properly in banks of snow, so all he gets for his trouble is a face full of snow and sputtering. They both pop out at the same time and he looks sort of sheepish and sort of like a snow grandpa at the same time.

He totally has a snow beard going on.]

Mmmff-- I feel like I've eaten a lot of snow this week... at least it's good snow... Are you all right? It's all soft but that seemed like such a messy way to fall-- [a small tilt of his head as he looks closer at the bird and his eyes fall on the green tie, and then the unfortunate expression] Are you...

[He seems a little torn on which dozen questions to ask first, so they might as well both be frozen here a little literally for the time being.]

Ice rink

[kowashi]

Pericles?

[ Koto heard the scream from behind her snow hill and Fort attempt. Running over, she's going to see if he needs help, and decides to dig around where he landed anyway if it helps. ]

I couldn't tell if that was terrified yelling or angry yelling...

[reallyfishy]

[Anyone exploring the new area yesterday might've caught a glimpse of Raven taking one look at all the snow, turning 180 degrees and walking away. While he loves the heat, the cold is his mortal enemy. Like hell he's going there!!

And so he doesn't! Instead, he can be found at his new stomping grounds, the archery range, where he seems to have found what Yuri had left there the day before- his transform bow! He seems a lot more at home shooting with it compared to the standard bow he'd purchased with crystals the previous week.

Once he's through with training, he starts to head back toward his boat to cross the lake, but finds himself frozen in place by what he sees at the shore. A reflection in the water, of...someone dear, but also long gone. He sits down, curls in on himself, and watches for as long as the reflection remains.]

...would you really be so supportive of what I've become?

[He quietly murmurs to seemingly no one but the reflection, though it could certainly be picked up by others passing by.

Later in the evening, Raven can be found in the kitchen making...hot chocolate?! Yeah, even he looks surprised with himself. Anyone joining him in there will get a defensive response.]

I'm not usually one fer sweets, but I needed somethin' cozy and you'd be amazed at how good hot chocolate tastes with a bit of peppermint liqueur.

[Good thing the bar had plenty of that lying around.]

If ya want some, feel free ta grab a mug.

[Teens will get no liqueur, though. Sorry kids.]