speakveryclearly | (no subject)

(no subject)

[Kanaya has been lurking outside the emerald wing's south exit, by the staircase, waiting to catch sight of Kaoru. When that happens:] Hey, Kaoru, it's nice to see you in one piece still. --I was wondering. Would you like to come to my room? It's just a little difficult to hold conversation at length with the music room so nearby.

[A fortunate quirk of the layout she had noticed made it easier for them to publicly avoid a place they would end up being overheard.]

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[kind of her, to lack the sudden movements! it'd probably earn her a reflexive punch honestly... but Kaoru sits in silence, hands in lap, posture still refined and the picture of elegance even in the current situation. there's a wince at the sharp piercing feeling, but otherwise, no outer indication of being bothered in any way is given.

Kanaya, on the other hand, may note that Kaoru's blood is a little off. it's something that's impossible to judge by smell or look alone, but for someone who drinks it like a discerning wine enthusiast, the flavor profile doesn't quite match what a human's should be. that said, Kaoru raises a hand to touch the ribbon as soon as it's in place before leveling her a stare.]

You do not need to thank me, Miss Maryam. As I have said, I would very much like for everyone to be in good health.

Okay... [As the liquid settles in her dead body, something sure enough Feels Off about it, but she literally can't put her finger on it - by the time she unconsciously touches her hands to her teeth to make sure the color is the expected candy, there is no stain remaining. Ah, well. Efficiency has its costs.]

Moving on.... [Business...............] I made some effort to talk to Clyde the other day and I'm starting to think that he'll be a challenge to take care of, better left to someone who can take more than a beating. Namely, I'm becoming very confident - do you remember his dagger tattoo? I'm getting more and more confident in the conjecture that he's willing to use the provided weapons to defend himself.

[BUSINESS INDEED. the shift seems incredibly easy for Kaoru to make, expression dropping into something serious even as a hand lingers near the ribbon.]

It may be better, then, to frame him for the murder of another. A direct confrontation could be needlessly messy... But if things come down to it, I will volunteer myself to remove him.

Oh, that's a good idea. After all half of our eliminations will need to occur through the trial. That said, in general for armed contestants we could come up with a more elaborate trap. One group member wielding the chloroform or even a simple distraction and another on weapon duty...

That would be the safest way to go about it... To be honest, the more people we have working on one single murder, the higher our chances are of the actual culprit not being caught. Of course, becoming accomplices may also put the accomplice in jeopardy... [another sigh, and Kaoru raises a hand in a que sera sera sort of gesture.]

A risk I suppose we will handle should we ever come across it. In any case, we have numbers on our side when no one else does. It would be foolish not to use that. [...] Though I'm afraid I must ask, what exactly does chloroform do?

Chloroform is... [Uhhhhh... okay, she's got this...]

Chloroform is an Earth drug, usually used to knock someone out - you make a person inhale some, such as by pressing a tainted cloth over their face, and they lose consciousness for some time. However, I'm not sure if using enough all at once wouldn't be lethal... I'm not sure.

Ah. [a nod, and Kaoru lapses into a quiet sort of contemplative silence for a few seconds. it seems like a risky thing to use, and now there's the concern that everyone in this house likely has a bottle wow.]

...Do you know if it has a strong odor, or if it's lethal when imbibed? That could be another thing to watch out for, or something that could be used to take out larger threats.

There's definitely an odor, but I'm also pretty sure it's lethal when imbibed. [She thinks a moment more and then lights up.]

Hey. Do you remember when the hostess said whoever most directly commits the deed is the criminal? If we were to use the chloroform in such a fashion... and someone else were to deliver the tainted object itself...

[there's a bit of an "aha!" moment on Kaoru's end as well, but after a few more seconds of thought, the expression falls.]

I don't believe it would count toward our incentives, though, and that may be considered being an "accomplice" as well. We would become a suspect with nothing to show for it and risk execution without even the chance to be victorious.

...Oh.

[SHE'S NOT GOOD AT TAKING JOY IN THIS NEFARIOUS PLOTTING THING... clever sadism is hard what does she look like Rapture]

There's really going to be a lot riding on that suspect listing...

[it's okay not everyone is born to be a golden californian (murderer??)]

We could ask that snake the next time we meet up exactly what an accomplice entails.

Yeah... I'm coming up with more and more questions for him.

Hmmm. Speaking of accomplices - or allies, anyway - I noticed you've been talking with Gundam a fair deal and so have I. What do you think about him?

It's better to go in with questions than to assume, in my opinion. [a nod, and then carrying right on.]

Mr. Tanaka seems to be a rather... spirited individual. So far, I would say he is too much of a wild card to be of great use in terms of accomplices. In fact, I trust very few of the people I have spoken with. [by which Kaoru means "absolutely no one".]

I may have one person in mind but I will have to wait until further interaction to confirm or deny it. ...It's actually quite an unfortunate divide, looking at it objectively. I cannot name one potential ally outside of our own group, but there are quite a few who seem to me to be too dangerous.

There's nobody at this time whom I would trust with the truth of our situation or whom I have a particular desire to save. The divide you speak of... It's an acute problem. I really can only identify individuals who would be morally opposed to the means of our mission regardless of the ends, or else the braver souls would be of a more selfish sort.

It's a shame. If only we could swing the vote somehow...

Even if we cannot, five people is still a decent number. Assuming no other alliances are formed, that still gives us an advantage.

We will, however, need to act in order to destroy other forming groups, lest that advantage be lost. It is much easier at this point to pick targets rather than allies, unfortunately.

That's one advantage to this whole arrived-alone setup. Initially each contestant is a single cell.

Maybe some will want to attach themselves to us later once deaths actually start to occur...

We can only hope. Depending on the moral leaning of this group, they may be more inclined to fiercely abstain and go with all of their might after any potential perpetrator instead.

[And somewhere the part of Kanaya who haunted the graveyard rolled over in her coffin]

Do you think they're going to get excited about the hypocritical art of witch-hunting? It's a pretty human thing to do, I guess.

[tried so hard and only ended up a killer elsewhere...]

My, when you put it like that, it does seem to be something that has a high likelihood of occurring. [all things considered, Kaoru doesn't actually sound surprised at all. humans.png]

It would be in our best benefit, then, to create strong enough ties that they will be reluctant to cast suspicious glances our way on the days we end up in trial. One-sided, though, since trusting any of them at this point would be a foolish choice indeed.

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