week 4, thursday

[ninjay]

[ sometime thursday evening, but before curfew, jay is going to track down andersen. when he does find him, he will pull him aside to some remote corner.

whatever he has to talk about is obviously very urgent since he doesn't even give the dude a chance to ask what's going on before he blurts out, ]

You might have to cut off your legs.

Comments

[ninjay]

And you should have done it the second that person told you to.

[ he glances at andersen's legs. ]

I wonder how we can get them off without amputating the whole leg...

[ninjay]

Because a certain group of murders can probably overhear what we are saying because of them.

[ he points at one of the mouths. ]

Everything you have said, or heard, or even felt is being sent to their lovely boss. If you don't want to get yourself and everyone else you've gotten attached to killed, I would suggest getting rid of them.

[ninjay]

[ he immediately rolls up his sleeve, like he was waiting for andersen to ask for proof. the same stitches are there, holding those strangely curved and identical cuts closed. ]

They're eyelids, and behind them used to be eyeballs until I had to pluck them out. Unfortunately, I had no one to warn me about them. I only discovered what they did when I thought to ask Craftly about it.

[ninjay]

I made sure to ask him, yes. It's basically... "her" mark.

[ it's a major security risk for everyone involved here, after all. ]

If you don't have time to do it tonight since we're so close to curfew, I would recommend doing it as soon as you can tomorrow as you won't have access to the clinic during the weekend.

[ninjay]

That's fine, it's your decision to make. I can only pass along the information.

[ it would make andersen even more of an easy target than he already is. ]

[ninjay]

... [ that makes him smile. ]

If I'm still alive. Admittedly, the chances of that happening are getting dangerously low, but I'd hate to let someone who doesn't know what they're doing help you out there.

[ninjay]

[ he just points at his arm again. ]

Craftly more or less told me that if I'm not attacked this week, it's likely to be next week. Unless whoever's working with Mira decide to go after someone else, of course, but that's probably a rude thing to hope for.

[ninjay]

We might be able to figure out a way to get rid of the mouths without actually amputating. It'll still hurt like hell and you'll probably have difficulty walking, but it'll be better than getting rid of them altogether, I think.

[ is rachel's wheelchair still around maybe he can borrow it. ]

[ninjay]

It would be a shame if you outdid Jake in the amputee department. You should only be able to gain so much sympathy before it starts becoming unfair.

[ninjay]

You can get pushed around in Rachel's old wheelchair.

[ a pause. ]

What floor do you live on, again? I see a potential hole in that plan.

[ninjay]

Ah.

[ he pats andersen's shoulder. ]

We'll figure something out.

[ coming from someone else, it would probably sound completely sincere and caring but somehow jay still sounds like an asshole. ]

[ninjay]

Your lack of manners is atrocious. You could say please.

[ jay doesn't care, really, since he wasn't trying to actually comfort andersen with that gesture. he was mostly just being a shit. ]

[ninjay]

Maybe being polite will help us live longer. I heard somewhere that being nice will help you live longer.

[ he's heard the opposite, actually. you'd think the nice ones would be the easier target since they're more likely to be trusting. ]

[ninjay]

I want to survive.

[ everyone does, obviously. it's said nonchalantly, and for a moment it may seem that's all to his answer. he decides to keep going though. ]

Because the longer I survive, the more chances I get at making sure everyone gets to go home in the end. It'll be hard to solve any mysteries if my body is on the evidence table one of these days.

[ninjay]

[ he thinks about it. he could just answer with, "if someone attacks me, then i'd defend myself," because it's the truth. a little generic, and anyone could lie and say that, but still true. ]

Sometimes, you're thrown into a situation where you have no choice but to do the absolute worst to get out of it. Your hands get bloodier, and bloodier, to the point where when you finally manage to escape the situation, you can still see the blood every time you look at yourself. My profile card says "murder" because I have killed people, but it is not something I did because I wanted to or enjoyed it. It's sickening, and it destroys you in a way that I don't know how to accurately describe.

[ he pauses there, frowning, before shrugging. ] So no, Andersen, I have no plans to run around killing everyone just to end the game sooner. If someone attacks me and I am forced to defend myself, then that's another story. But to me, killing others just to keep myself alive isn't survival.

[ninjay]

[ jay doesn't seem that bothered by andersen's reaction. honestly, the only reason he said any of that is because he didn't expect andersen to be the kind of person to offer sympathy. jay would have been annoyed otherwise. ]

Something like that. [ look he may be a dick at times but he's also a tales party member let him live ] I did mean what I said about wanting to send everyone home though.

[ninjay]

I haven't figured that part out yet.

[ whoops. ]

But we already know that they're not dead in the typical sense of the world.

[ninjay]

I know I'm not the only one thinking this, so I'm sure someone will figure something out. Anything less than that doesn't feel like a true victory from our end.

[ and if jay plays a game, he plays to win, which means everyone needs to go home. ]