un: magic wand (video)

[faceblocker]

So, I saw the blood, I just wanted to see if someone was really shitty at hiding bodies, but—

[ Out by the trio of wells, Vi's sporting a cozy red jacket that she 'liberated' before leaving Serthica. This close to the pocket watch, the scarring on her lip and brow is visible, along with her nose piercing and the VI tattoo under her left eye. She isn't wearing a hat despite her short hair and undercut, and when she leans over and swings the watch to face down, it's visible she's opted to do without gloves for the moment, too. One hand gripping the well is only protected by some dirty hand wraps.

The well she's leaning over is the one that should be lidded, but...that lid is a little bit broken and leaning against the side after a certain someone wrenched it off.

It's not easy to see from this high up, but the well is mostly empty, and down below is a skeleton dressed in a gown. ]

Not the kind of dead body I expected.

[ The pocket watch is tied around her belt so anyone watching can enjoy some Hardcore Henry motion sickness as Vi hops over the edge of the well and ping-pongs off the narrow sides to keep from dropping down into the three feet of what looks to be very dirty water. Somehow she manages to keep a grip without falling, but the watch stays on her waist so she can have both hands free.

Down here, the skeleton's dress is visibly tattered, and the water is filled with silt. The partially submerged skeleton is posed...almost like it's sleeping?

Just as Vi's trying to scrape closer for a better look, one of the innkeepers is heard fretting up above to not disturb the skeleton's napping spot. Something about the sun's glare. Since there's nothing else to see, Vi concedes and climbs back up, the pocket watch bringing the innkeepers into view when she lands back on the ground. Vi's husky voice can be heard 'asking' for (demanding) an explanation: "Sorry, but, what the hell?"

The innkeepers explain that they suspect the lady of the bones forgets each night where her final resting place is and keeps trying out each of the very similar wells. They lid the well they find her in every morning. The water returns in that well, nicely purified, once she's out each night.

It isn't until the lid's back on and they've left that Vi looks back to the video, more disturbed than when she had started. Are they getting their drinking water from magic haunted skeleton wells? ...Probably still better than the water she had back home. ]

Feels like we ought to pour one out for her. [ A softer mutter: ] And she should have a better grave marker...

Comments

un: absterge

[downswing]

She escapes entombment.

[faceblocker]

[ It's too cold (and slow) to type! ]

Does that mean she's undead? Because she was pretty...immobile from what I could see.

[downswing]

Ghostly.

[faceblocker]

Her skeleton's getting up and moving around...because of her ghost, right?

[ Vi needs an ELI5 on all the different types of dead around these parts. She doesn't understaaaand. ]

How's that any different from undead?

video | un: wooden sword

[vdovy]

[ It's a shame about the camera angle(s) because what little Yelena can piece together suggests an impressive feat of athleticism. ]

Did you just parkour down that well?

[faceblocker]

[ Mild confusion. No mention of the dead body? That 'parkour' was nothing.

Well, maybe not nothing. Her hands are fucking freezing and she has possibly slipped before and eaten some ice while galivanting on slippery branches. Nobody needs to know about that. ]

That was easy. Just cold. Expected it to be icier, and it's weird that the water wasn't frozen, but I'm not used to this kind of weather so...maybe that's normal?

[vdovy]

The water is below the frost line, too deep underground to freeze. [ An advantage of having a scientist for a fake mom: Yelena's childhood curiosities were always satisfied with factual explanations.

She taps her lips thoughtfully, thinking back to the skeleton in the well. ] I bet she can't rest in peace until her gruesome murder is solved. It's always something like that in the movies.

@yiling laozu | audio

[weifinder]

Or get her a nice blanket...

[faceblocker]

I won't lie, that thought crossed my mind. Pretty sure it'd just get all wet, though.

[weifinder]

A net? Two nets, together, like they're meant to blanket.

un: pillar of the heavens

[inkfire]

[ mo ran can use qinggong with the best of them but floating down from roofs doesn't look that cool. color him impressed. ]

You climbed down the well. Can you teach someone to do that?

[faceblocker]

[ For now she'll keep to video, at least until she's somewhere warmer and easier to type. For now she's circling the wells. ]

You want to learn how to climb down wells?

[ Yes she is being snarky, but it's good-natured. ]

[inkfire]

[ well, in that case, he'll switch to audio ]

I can climb down them just fine. Getting back up is what I want to learn.

un : deft hand of little deaths (voice)

[scrapgege]

You shouldn't have disturbed it....

[faceblocker]

They didn't seem too pissed. Pretty sure the lid is...good enough.

[ A corner may be broken off, but she tried. ]

[scrapgege]

Oh, I'm not worried about the well itself, or the people. I just don't think whoever is in there would like being annoyed while sleeping.

un: tagged | video

[kahl_175]

[This place keeps finding new ways to confuse Kahl. Dead bodies are nothing new. And the dead are supposed to rest. But...]

Kahl not understand why dead lady choose to sleep in well. That not look comfy. [Being a skeleton also does not look comfy, but that doesn't seem to stop anyone here.]

Maybe that why dead wake up? [Does that make sense? Kahl has no idea. Dead didn't do this back at home.]

[faceblocker]

Pretty sure she wasn't actually 'sleeping' there, pal. She either killed herself or was thrown down there. Guess she could have fallen, but seems unlikely.

[ Either way, the innkeepers sure seem to think it's cool to just leave it like that, which just feels all kinds of wrong to her but whatever. ]

But yeah, that's a pretty shitty grave. She deserves a real one.

[ Vi knows that not everybody gets a proper grave in the real world, especially in wartime, but there's no excuse for this. ]

[kahl_175]

Kahl know. It just what Grineer day about dead. Better word. Live hard, then rest. [Grineer might not always be good with speaking, but that didn't stop them from making new things with them.]

But Grineer dead not wake back up. Dead lady should rest. Find better place. Or burn? [Bones can burn, if a fire gets hot enough...]

video;

[soulsrob]

Aww, the poor dear. I wonder why she escaped to begin with? She might be looking for someone.

[Winnie's eyes light up in delight] Maybe she's trying to reconnect with her secret long-lost lover?

video;

[faceblocker]

[ A face! A nice looking one. Why is everyone else so weird about video? At least the ladies around here don't seem to be shy. Too bad the topic of conversation isn't nicer, but apparently this lady can get excited about anything. Vi looks curious, but definitely not...delighted. ]

I mean, I hope not. That'd make it even more tragic. Could be why she killed herself, if it wasn't murder.

[soulsrob]

A tragic, possibly doomed romance... [Winnie doesn't seem at all deterred by the real tragedy of this, giving a dreamy little sigh] That's the kind of thing true classics are made of. Why, where would Romeo & Juliet be without the doomed aspect of their relationship?

Poor dear. I wonder if there's any way to ask her? We have so many people in this group with hidden, surprise talents like that. I can name a few that might be able to do so.

Or I suppose we can just wait around until she wakes up and try to guide her somewhere? [She taps her bottom lip thoughtfully and then grins at Vi] There's always so much to get up to, isn't there?

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's been busy running around in the woods to prevent herself going mad from boredom. With nothing to put her mind to, other than all the utter misery and horror of the past weeks, and no way to actively work on getting home, she's been restless and desperate to clear to her head. So, hunting it is. She probably should be more wary of direwolves, especially with a hunter having gone missing, but so far she hasn't encountered any.

Today, she's caught a pair of rabbits, and is bringing them back to the inn to give to the kitchen staff when she notices Vi's newest escapade. With her curiosity piqued - and, well, she hasn't seen Vi all day, and she misses her - Caitlyn makes her way to the wells.]

Were you able to get a close look at the body? I couldn't see with the pocketwatch bouncing around. [Yes, she's diving right into it. She needs something to work on, and besides, Vi's right. Whoever that skeleton once was, she deserves better than lying anonymously at the bottom of a well. Perhaps they can figure out who she was and how she died. They could tell her story, if nothing else.]

[faceblocker]

[ Man, Caitlyn might not be happy with the trouble Vi's already been planning over this skeleton... ]

Just a skeleton in an old dress in some dirty water. Couldn't see anything else down there.

[ In this case, Vi's pretty sure there's nothing else Caitlyn would notice, but just to help her scratch that itch, she'll glance around to make sure that no staff is around, then hook the wrist watch back over her belt and do a bit of extra parkour just for Cait.

Vi's only down there for a few seconds, but this time she'll strain to hold onto one of the rougher stones with one hand while holding the watch out so Cait can get a better view.

There's a momentary slip, as Vi just isn't familiar with this terrain and the stone she'd wedged her foot onto loosens. Please...ignore that little splash before she vaults back up the well. Nothing happened! Her foot is absolutely not wet. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn is half-surprised by Vi immediately jumping back in the well, despite the fact that, by now, Vi doing the unexpected should be entirely expected.

The ease and grace with which Vi navigates the sheer climb down what must be wet, slippery stones is not only impressive, it makes something flutter in Caitlyn's chest. The last time she watched Vi parkour, she was far too vexed to appreciate the artistry of her movements. But now, without needing to worry about following Vi, she can properly appreciate the agility and strength required.]

Do you see any contusions that could have occurred pre-mortem? Anything that couldn't be explained by an accidental fall down the well?

[She peers closely at her watch, but it's dark down there, and the view afforded by the watch is too small and moving too much to make a proper examination of the corpse. In the absence of an obvious knife wound to the frontal bone, the answer to her questions seems to be 'no.'

She hears the little splash before Vi reappears, and, frowning, looks her over to check that she hasn't injured herself.]

You're alright?