TP - CANTARELLA

[impacter]

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WEEK ONE - WEDNESDAY

[impacter]

[A certain professor decked out in his usual dark pinstripes doesn't appear until near the end of the lunch service in the cafe, still looking half asleep when he quietly orders his meal. But he can spot Cantarella sitting on her own, and curiosity gets the better of him.

So hello, Cantarella, have a tall man gently approaching.]

Good morning, Professor. [There's some cheek to the title, but he continues regardless.] I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I had a couple questions for you.

[physalia]

[She has only a small plate, with no remnants of food on it, and a cup with her at the tail end of lunch service.]

Professor, [Cantarella bobs her head in greeting, meeting his energy.] Are they questions I'll find enjoyable to answer? Or are you merely seeking to determine friend from foe in an unfamiliar place?

[impacter]

Both, I hope. You're one of the few I haven't had the time to speak to yet. Plus, I'm curious about your investigation about the rampant gossip.

[He tilts his head slightly towards the free seat on the table.]

Do you mind if I join you for a moment?

[physalia]

Please. [She gestures.] Can I offer you something to drink? Service will be ending soon.

Does the gossip trouble you? Words are as seafoam.

[impacter]

No, but thank you. [He'll carefully hook the cup of coffee he's brought with his own lunch as he takes a seat.] I just need enough to perk me up.

[Ah, caffeine. Please rescue him.

Anyway.]

Mm, in ways. I personally don't pay it any mind. It's the adaptive nature of it and the atmosphere of this place that concerns me, more than the personalized jabs.

I worry more for the fragile among us, should this start to reach a more violent pitch.

[physalia]

There's no end to the dark rumors afoot. [This, too, doesn't seem abnormal to her, nor does it seem to bother her.]

That'll breed suspicion, whether it's warranted or not. And...perhaps in some cases, we shouldn't trust so blindly.

[Case in point. She gestures.] If this "performance" goes as scheduled, those who can't keep up with the dance of death will lose first.

[impacter]

Perhaps not blindly, no. But I'd rather believe the better of my fellow man than leave them to die like lambs to the slaughter. What caveats need to be made will be made. Finding the ones that need the most help with their footing is a higher priority to me.

[As much as he'd love to go directly intervene, that isn't happening, especially not without his magic.]

I take it your test on the forums went successfully, given some of the whispers I've been hearing.

WEEK ONE - FRIDAY POST INVEST BLOCK 1

[impacter]

[It's time for the changing of the guard for snooping around the chapel, so Solomon's quick to try and approach his fellow "teacher" as they leave the church grounds. Blast this stupid clergy outfit, what a thing to get stuck in...]

Cantarella. With me, please, if you don't mind. I'd like to share findings.

[physalia]

Join me. Our paths converge for the moment. [She gestures to her side with her parasol, which remains politely folded indoors as it always does.]

I don't need to ask you where you've spent the night. [So she won't waste time on it, though she does look at his priest outfit once they are in step together.] More importantly, did you all wake there at the same time we did?

[impacter]

[There's red smeared on the sleeves, but he was up messing with the altar and matches the actions he was performing with the severed head.]

If you mean to the girl announcing from the windows around 6 this morning? Yes.

We found ourselves trapped in the church around 11pm, with the doors refusing to open. None of our phones would connect to the forum, either. I don't remember what time I fell asleep, but it wasn't intentional.

[physalia]

[Everybody's bloody from getting head...]

It must have been near midnight. "The appointed time," as someone else referred to it. [Father's rules, as they'd both discussed and assumed, seem intent on enforcing themselves, with or without intervention.]

You'll hear this question more than once, so I'll ask it now before we share our discoveries. What brought you all there in the first place?

[The first of many times, probably, they'll get the third degree on sleeping in a place where the prying gaze seems most virulent.]

[impacter]

I can't speak firmly for the others, but I can tell you what I saw.

[Just moving down the list and checking off each point on his fingers as he goes.]

Annette was in prayer. She's a pious girl, and has great comfort put into her faith. This is not the first time I've seen her in the pews, so it didn't strike me as strange - only that she was there so late. I believe I heard her say something about feeling uncomfortable saying her bedtime prayers in the dorm.

Lovecraft was found sleeping when I arrived. He was disoriented, and didn't seem to know what time it was. He prefers to be alone and is frightened of the Extras, so perhaps the chapel was an easy place to escape.

Meanwhile, I was merely following Fandaniel. Why he entered the church, I don't know, but when he attempted to leave, we all found ourselves trapped. He was... irrationally irritated when we realized it might have been in regards to the Edict, but he was behaving himself up until I fell asleep.

[physalia]

[Poor Annette, who seems to have guilt seep out of her very pores the way toxin sweats from Cantarella's. She's like a little mouse... What starts as a thoughtful frown gets a little deeper as Solomon goes down the list.]

I should tell you, at least, that I saw naught related to the killing when I looked at the stained glass. It would have been a bit too easy if they revealed a guilty conscience, but this sin wasn't there.

[Or they might not have thought it was sinful! That's a card she won't flip out loud, though.]

What did Fandaniel do to catch your attention to begin with last night?

WEEK ONE - SUNDAY POST-EXECUTION

[impacter]

[Even with everything that has happened and how pretty much everyone will probably be wanting to be Anywhere Else, Solomon can be found at the Rose Gardens, settled under the great stone arch like a vulture overtop the rest of the tower, wind catching the flow of his coat and leaving the sound of quietly clinking metal rings in the wind

His face is badly bruised in several spots, his lip split, and reddish purple markings streak up what can be seen of the top of his neck before his shirt covers the rest. But it doesn't hide the polite smile he gives towards Cantarella if he sees her.

There's not much to be happy about, after a weekend like this. But he's never liked to look further than the present for too long.]

[physalia]

[That most would shy away from this place might be what brought her down—or up, rather— in the wake of the afternoon's events. There's no trace of what they saw, and Cantarella isn't sure she expected to see one. Maybe she only wanted to feel if the wind had changed at all, or if the fake sky showed any signs of splitting once again.

She smiles, too, the same level of politeness given to Solomon in return as she spots his bruised face.]

Has anyone looked at that for you?

[impacter]

[The chuckle that spills out is laced with tired exasperation.]

Lilia dragged me by the collar all the way to the infirmary, yes. I told him I could take care of it, but he was very insistent. Stronger than I thought, too...

[He rubs at his neck gingerly, the bruising covering large portions of his throat from the front.]

You've taken care of your burns since yesterday, I hope?

[physalia]

[BRO WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU (at this point this is just a running meme i fear and not a real reaction in her expression)

Her actual reaction is to nod at the explanation, though the mention of the infirmary draws a bit of a darkness into her rich blue eyes. If anything, she makes note of Lilia's quick intervention in another injury...again, compares it to his usual attitude.]

Luckily, I only burned the very tip of my finger to test the strength of the water's effects. The pain was...negligible, at best. It's all well and done now.

[impacter]

[GIRL JUST ASK HIM USE YOUR TITTY POWERS OR SOMETHIN]

Mm. Good, you had me worried with your talk about testing. But it worked out for the better.

...

[His arms cross in front of him, weight leaning a little heavier against the stone as he lines his shoulders up square and tilts his head back. Up to the sky, fake as anything. Fake light, fake voices, fake fake fake fake.]

It is what I try to tell myself, at least. It could have been worse. The trial, the execution. If I thought about the ways they could have ended in disaster, I wouldn't know an end to it.

But two gone, still... [He exhales hard, eyes closing tight.] With one's location a mystery, and the other...

[Well. Yknow. Child boiler.]

[physalia]

[SHE DOESN'T HAVE TITTY HYPNOSIS POWERS OKAY but maybe later she has a lot to talk about

As usual, her parasol is with her. Cantarella folds it and hooks it by her side.]

And the other still gone.

[The tip of the parasol gives a brief "mind if I join you?" gesture to him where he sits.]

If you'd ended up on the worse side of a fight, we might have had yet another to worry about. Maybe we should be grateful you weren't the one up there. [Specifically because, as she is certain he might also have noticed, the "wings" of those in the garden were being trotted out for show.]

w2, post-exe

[physalia]

[She finds him in the rose garden again, stripped of its black blooms and overpowering scent.]

Everything different, and everything the same. May I?

[She still asks to be invited to sit beside him, though this time, as Cantarella asks, she bends forward to place a hand on Solomon's shoulder.]

mario yahoo dot mp3

[impacter]

[This sure is the exact same spot they met last time! He disappeared for a bit immediately after the execution to do who knows what, but he's had himself planted here for quite a while tonight.

Solomon's bruises on his face are in much better shape, but he seems to have traded them for others that were covered up by his bridal outfit. One hand is bandaged at the palm and stretching down past his jacket sleeve, and he seems to be very careful in how still he's holding himself, wincing when he turns to look at Cantarella.

There's a small collection of paper strips in his lap with a small black pouch with golden thread sitting in wait, the blue pen in his hand halting mid sentence on writing something down.]

...I figured you'd be looking for me. [His laugh is tired, but he nods his consent.] Go ahead.

I can't imagine how tired you must be. You really do run the rest of us in circles during these investigations.

[physalia]

[Her gaze moves to the bandage on his hand, a flicker of connection there in the pools of her eyes. She sits and waits to see if he'd like to finish writing down his thought before it flutters from his head before she speaks.]

Hm, do you suppose? I think I'm merely practiced at analyzing things within a sea of noise.

[Within the whispers, within the puzzle of her own mind...with only fragmented information, as they've been given.]

I'd rather solve a happier puzzle.

[impacter]

[He does finish his little note, folding the paper and dropping it into the pouch.]

May we be at that point sooner than later. Until then... you're doing us a terrific service with your keen eyes.

[A beat of silence, letting the wind carry. His voice grows quiet.]

...I'm sorry that you had to be the one to find her.

[physalia]

I wonder if it's only your attention that I've captured.

[The voices from the crowd at the end of the trial had been...more concerning than before, for several reasons. After all that has transpired, the rumors that poison the school next week may be even louder than before.

Cantarella shifts to hold her elbow. The braid around her wrist feels tight.] It's all right, Solomon. What fair cost are my tears against the loss?

[impacter]

No cost is fair in this.

[He won't push it. As genuinely worried as he is about her, their relationship is only one of intellectual gain and mutual goal. Outside of moments of intense emotion, Cantarella has not let much slip about her personal life, and he'd tried hard to do the same.

Hypocrites they are, he supposes. Knowing they had to remember, but dancing the line with one another anyway.]

Though I'd be curious as to what you mean, "only your attention".