week 1, friday

[ninjay]

[ a few hours after the investigation wraps up, jay will make his way to room 108 and knock on the door.

if no one shows up he'll just leave because this isn't that important, but. he figured he should check on things. ]

Comments

[wristbands]

[chie had gone back to her room almost immediately after the investigation. even after a year of being part of an investigation team in her hometown, she's not exactly what you would call used to murder.

for a second, she vaguely wonders if her roommate had forgotten his key; then again, he doesn't seem to be the type. she stares at the door for a couple of seconds, then gets up and places her hand on the knob. before she turns it, she asks,]

Who is it?

[ninjay]

It's Jay. Open the door, I'm not going to kill you.

[ he says, right after someone got killed.

to be fair, he wouldn't be surprised if she was wary to open the door because of that. ]

[wristbands]

[she pauses, because that's exactly why she waits, but. jay does not strike her as someone stupid enough to murder right after the first one has been committed.

she opens the door.]

Wow, you came all the way here to visit me?

[... she jokes, of course. she remembers his sass when they'd met.]

[ninjay]

You seemed shaken, so I decided to check up on you before returning to my own room.

[ he tries to peek around her. ]

Is your roommate here?

[wristbands]

He's not. He usually doesn't come back until right before curfew hits.

[after another couple seconds of hesitation, she steps aside to let him in, if he'd like.]

Why so worried about me?

[ninjay]

Because I don't want there to be any weak links. You shouldn't trust any of us, because any of us could have done it. But we have to work together, so like it or not we have to depend on each other if we want to get anywhere with this.

[ he will enter though, because he would prefer privacy. ]

When you said that wasn't your first corpse, what did you mean?

[wristbands]

[she can't deny that he's got a point. hell, she can't trust him, but neither can he trust her. and yet, like he says, they still have to work together. how fucked up is that?

when he brings up her earlier offhanded comment, she bristles a little. she didn't think too much about it when she'd said it. she's not exactly regretting it, but... hrm.]

There was a serial killer loose in my hometown. The victims' bodies were publicly displayed around town; it was kinda hard not to see them before the police could take 'em down.

[she can say that much safely.]

i thought i replied to this but the comment field was still open and blank

[ninjay]

So you were just a bystander then.

[ his tone doesn't really give away whether or not he fully believers her, but he takes that explanation without further comment. ]

Did they catch that killer, or are they still running around?

smdh

[wristbands]

[she just nods.]

He was caught after about a year. His copycat killer was caught way faster than he was.

... Geez, and here I was a few days ago, talking about how normal my life was before coming here.

[ninjay]

Normalcy doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

[ he tilts his head, considering her. ]

Have you spoken to many people so far?

[wristbands]

In general? Almost everyone here.

About what I just told you? ... Nah.

[ninjay]

You should probably try not to tell too many or else they'll jump to the conclusion that you were involved in the case.

[wristbands]

I only told you because I let it slip without thinking.

[she sighs, kicking her feet up in the air as she leans back a little... she's about to ask him if that's all, then remembers something.]

Oh, yeah—ever find out anything about this place? From the first time we met, I mean.

[ninjay]

I'm still looking into it.

[ having to admit that he does not know is awful and he wants to die. ]

I... may have a possible lead on something, but I'm still working on it.

[wristbands]

You can't just say "possible lead" and leave it at that. What's the saying... two heads are better than none?

[she tries so hard]

[ninjay]

I say possible because I'm not entirely sure if it'll actually be helpful or not yet. I don't mind telling you once I know for sure though.

[wristbands]

Fair enough.

Can I ask you a question, though, since you asked me?

[ninjay]

Of course. Go on.

[wristbands]

[she gives pause for a couple of seconds, looking like she's deep in contemplation... and then:]

What's your deal with otters?

[ninjay]

[ he fucking knew it would be either the otters or the murder. it's always either the otters or the murder. ]

There's a species of otter-like creatures where I'm from, and I grew up near them. Anything else?

[wristbands]

Wow, I wasn't actually expecting you to answer that seriously.

[she chuckles a little, because she's not sure if he's making that up but also why would he?? anyway. she figures the murder part is something he's been asked about, and probably not something he'd really divulge on anyway...]

But my real question is the espionage bit. You're a spy?

[ninjay]

Enough people have asked me about the otters that I might as well answer honestly.

[ as honestly as he can without giving too many details anyway. ]

As for your second question... I collect information back home.

[wristbands]

[she wants to ask exactly what for, but that also might not be an answer she can get.]

So that's why you're so thorough about investigations and finding things out.

[ninjay]

I don't like to do things poorly, especially with something as important as our lives on the line.

[ his patience is gonna get tested so much in the upcoming weeks, he can already tell. ]

[wristbands]

Well... it's good we have you around, then.

It's gonna be hard.

[ninjay]

It will be. We will have to depend on everyone's strengths. If they have any.

[wristbands]

As long as their strength isn't lying.

[ninjay]

Well, that would actually be useful.

[ he shrugs. ]

It's more like... as long as they're not lying about committing murder.

[wristbands]

[and she winces.]

Yeah, that's what I was trying to get at.

[ninjay]

We'll see how it goes. If they're inexperienced, then chances are they'll make mistakes, especially since they'd probably be rushing to kill their victim before time's up.

[wristbands]

Ugh, the fact that we even have to think about this stuff... discussing people's motives and methods like we're talking about what to get for dinner.

[ninjay]

It's a hard pill to swallow, but something we must do regardless of our discomforts.