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[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.
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.
[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?
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?
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.
[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.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
It's a start. [It'll be even more of one come Thursday, once it becomes clear that even their actions backstage can be caught up and assimilated almost immediately.]
You've probably already concluded that we're not likely to make any headway with open rebellion. [She holds her cups to her lips, breathes it in before sipping, and lingers.] We are part of a system that doesn't want to yield us.
[It's factual, albeit full of barely restrained displeasure. They aren't merely Father's toys...but from the sound of her words, she's anticipating that playing house on the surface will allow for them to accomplish much more behind closed doors.]
Knowing this, how would you protect them?
You've probably already concluded that we're not likely to make any headway with open rebellion. [She holds her cups to her lips, breathes it in before sipping, and lingers.] We are part of a system that doesn't want to yield us.
[It's factual, albeit full of barely restrained displeasure. They aren't merely Father's toys...but from the sound of her words, she's anticipating that playing house on the surface will allow for them to accomplish much more behind closed doors.]
Knowing this, how would you protect them?
Mm.
Being confident in the rules of this space, for starters. Learning to use it to our advantage, rather than our detriment. In that regard, I feel you're already taking the correct steps I'd been curious of, and I don't intend to interrupt you.
Second: As much as it may pain us to do so, playing along with the bare minimum of what is requested will at least keep us standing. Those who are strong enough to handle the burden must help those who struggle. I would not see Don's tragedy repeated out of stubbornness.
Third: Learning about one another. Even in the broadest strokes. He already has placed us in where He wants us to be, not where we are... and I fear that, the longer this goes on, the more he will try to flick those parts of us away. If He means to turn us on one another for selfish reasons and threaten to tear us apart under fear, knowing one another will help keep us together if we're to falter.
[He pauses with a firm sigh, his fork smoothly travelling over his plate as though talking about the weather.]
For all else... well. I'm sure what can be found will be made clear, in time.
Being confident in the rules of this space, for starters. Learning to use it to our advantage, rather than our detriment. In that regard, I feel you're already taking the correct steps I'd been curious of, and I don't intend to interrupt you.
Second: As much as it may pain us to do so, playing along with the bare minimum of what is requested will at least keep us standing. Those who are strong enough to handle the burden must help those who struggle. I would not see Don's tragedy repeated out of stubbornness.
Third: Learning about one another. Even in the broadest strokes. He already has placed us in where He wants us to be, not where we are... and I fear that, the longer this goes on, the more he will try to flick those parts of us away. If He means to turn us on one another for selfish reasons and threaten to tear us apart under fear, knowing one another will help keep us together if we're to falter.
[He pauses with a firm sigh, his fork smoothly travelling over his plate as though talking about the weather.]
For all else... well. I'm sure what can be found will be made clear, in time.
Some weights belong only to those who've already weathered their storms. [A category Cantarella seems to index herself in as well, though she doesn't elaborate and moves smoothly to cover the rest. She hms.] Our roles, not just as "betrothed," but in this school, have already been determined for us. But there is much we can still define for ourselves. We may become safekeepers of more than a single missing memory.
[She considers what's written on her own rose-lined gravestone. There's nothing inherently untrue about anything there, but out of context, it's easy to see those words growing legs and heads of their own.]
I can't help but notice that I have yet to hear a question from you.
[She considers what's written on her own rose-lined gravestone. There's nothing inherently untrue about anything there, but out of context, it's easy to see those words growing legs and heads of their own.]
I can't help but notice that I have yet to hear a question from you.
[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.
Cantarella. With me, please, if you don't mind. I'd like to share findings.
Mm. We just need to hope those who aren't as steady can trust in those that know they can handle it.
[He'll nod in the affirmative, though.]
You've provided some of the answers I needed already, believe it or not. Maybe I'd just like to keep the conversation going to see if the rest pop up naturally.
Call me nosy, if you'd like.
[He'll nod in the affirmative, though.]
You've provided some of the answers I needed already, believe it or not. Maybe I'd just like to keep the conversation going to see if the rest pop up naturally.
Call me nosy, if you'd like.
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?
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?
[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.
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.
[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.]
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.]
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.
[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.
[No, Solomon, nosy is somebody else on the forums!]
Why put someone in a position to be on the defensive by asking questions when you can receive the information differently?
[She sets her teacup back down with a prim little clink. For example, she feels no desire to ask him what his impression of her is so far; she can get a sense of that over the course of the conversation, too. It isn't really being obscured that she has a sense of working those greyer areas when clarity isn't possible, and she doesn't like to belabor ineffciently.]
And what of the task to be granted Beautitude? Will you apply the same approach?
Why put someone in a position to be on the defensive by asking questions when you can receive the information differently?
[She sets her teacup back down with a prim little clink. For example, she feels no desire to ask him what his impression of her is so far; she can get a sense of that over the course of the conversation, too. It isn't really being obscured that she has a sense of working those greyer areas when clarity isn't possible, and she doesn't like to belabor ineffciently.]
And what of the task to be granted Beautitude? Will you apply the same approach?
[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?
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?
[Yeah, she gets it.]
You mean the shedding of blood?
[He hums, the ring against his finger tracing idle lines into the side of his cup.]
If there was a way to directly stop it, then I would be direct.
My worry is in the edicts. Not only because of the lure of a Beatitude for the scared and desperate, but also because Father's edict demands a life to be taken. If we do not, who's to say that more aren't punished in the same way Don was?
Do we lose in the end more by complete inaction?
You mean the shedding of blood?
[He hums, the ring against his finger tracing idle lines into the side of his cup.]
If there was a way to directly stop it, then I would be direct.
My worry is in the edicts. Not only because of the lure of a Beatitude for the scared and desperate, but also because Father's edict demands a life to be taken. If we do not, who's to say that more aren't punished in the same way Don was?
Do we lose in the end more by complete inaction?
Edited (whoops i meant italics whoooops) 2025-08-23 01:12 (UTC)
I'll have to do my best to neither irritate nor avoid you in the future.
[It's a very unclear answer compared to his more thorough, detailed description from before. It's not the time to palpate that just yet! Surely she'll see it in action soon.]
Are you ready to begin?
[It's a very unclear answer compared to his more thorough, detailed description from before. It's not the time to palpate that just yet! Surely she'll see it in action soon.]
Are you ready to begin?
[He chuckles at her response, but waves it off.]
Mm. You mean the next phase of Father's edict?
No. I'm returning to the dorm to change to something more suitable before checking the rest of the school. There are some of our number I want to check on before tensions become too high.
And what about you?
Mm. You mean the next phase of Father's edict?
No. I'm returning to the dorm to change to something more suitable before checking the rest of the school. There are some of our number I want to check on before tensions become too high.
And what about you?
For now, I meant to share our findings as you requested, though I can understand why you might be in a hurry.
[She's not overly eager to jump into the fray, as it were. This part of their necessary participation isn't one she can so easily abide by, which he should know from their previous conversation.]
Before we convene to judge the guilty, I'd also like to make a few stops. The kitchen, for starters.
[She's not overly eager to jump into the fray, as it were. This part of their necessary participation isn't one she can so easily abide by, which he should know from their previous conversation.]
Before we convene to judge the guilty, I'd also like to make a few stops. The kitchen, for starters.
Ah, yes, yes, that. [Nik forgetting their own dialogue from six tags ago whoops] Do tell me what has the kitchen in your sights, you've got me curious.
As for my own findings? Whatever was done to remove the boy's head from his body was very clean. There were no signs of obvious wounds on his face or skull, outside blood against the back of his neck and caked into the lower parts of his hair. My guess is he was attacked from behind.
They also didn't leave much of a trail. I found no footprints, and what blood trail was outside the altar was minimal, leading off towards the front doors.
The front of the chapel was clear up through the baptism and confessional, though I didn't do any thorough checking of the pews.
As for my own findings? Whatever was done to remove the boy's head from his body was very clean. There were no signs of obvious wounds on his face or skull, outside blood against the back of his neck and caked into the lower parts of his hair. My guess is he was attacked from behind.
They also didn't leave much of a trail. I found no footprints, and what blood trail was outside the altar was minimal, leading off towards the front doors.
The front of the chapel was clear up through the baptism and confessional, though I didn't do any thorough checking of the pews.
It was to both our benefit and our detriment that we learned of that collective punishment.
[The lesson won't come later or at a more inopportune time, but everyone has felt that pain and will do what they can do to avoid it—for better or for worse.
For a moment, the taste of tea in her mouth is older, mellower, honeyed, as if she took the cup once again from Hebenon's little, shaking hands.]
The simplest way to keep innocent lives from being trampled is to make sure they never fall beneath a scrutinizing gaze. But I really do abhor senseless sacrifice, all for hollow progress.
[The lesson won't come later or at a more inopportune time, but everyone has felt that pain and will do what they can do to avoid it—for better or for worse.
For a moment, the taste of tea in her mouth is older, mellower, honeyed, as if she took the cup once again from Hebenon's little, shaking hands.]
The simplest way to keep innocent lives from being trampled is to make sure they never fall beneath a scrutinizing gaze. But I really do abhor senseless sacrifice, all for hollow progress.
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