a rich unhinged mongoose (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clavesregni) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
eastbound2023-01-30 01:38 pm
clavesregni) wrote in eastbound2023-01-30 01:38 pm
video; un: hopscotch
[Caitlyn has found a small corner somewhere in the Wards that she's turned into a personal headquarters. Several sheets of paper, covered in incomprehensibly messy scribbles, are stuck to the walls, and there's plenty of room for more to come. She's even found some colored string somewhere and has started to make connections between the papers with the strings.
She speaks very enthusiastically. Nothing makes Caitlyn's whole being light up like detective work.]
I've begun working on solving the series of murders that have occurred here over the last eleven weeks.
The victims were all male, between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-five. There are no other obvious connections between the victims, no common physical characteristics, profession, or origin. We'll need to dig if we want to find any commonalities apart from sex and a rough age range. And, with only five victims, we can't entirely rule out the idea that the commonalities we do know of may be coincidental.
There are rumors circulating of someone referred to as the 'Reaper,' who is punishing the people here for abandoning their duty. I don't know if that's the killer's true motivation; why kill only young men? There's something more going on here.
There are two clear points of interest:
First, none of the victims have an obvious cause of death. Some have wounds, but nothing that would be fatal under normal circumstances, and none appear to have been ill. How is the Reaper killing the victims?
Second, all have a white string tied around their wrists. This must be some sort of calling card, though what it means is not yet clear. If we can determine the meaning of the string, it could give us an insight into the killer's motivations and perhaps their identity.
I suggest we collaborate in our work to find the killer.
She speaks very enthusiastically. Nothing makes Caitlyn's whole being light up like detective work.]
I've begun working on solving the series of murders that have occurred here over the last eleven weeks.
The victims were all male, between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-five. There are no other obvious connections between the victims, no common physical characteristics, profession, or origin. We'll need to dig if we want to find any commonalities apart from sex and a rough age range. And, with only five victims, we can't entirely rule out the idea that the commonalities we do know of may be coincidental.
There are rumors circulating of someone referred to as the 'Reaper,' who is punishing the people here for abandoning their duty. I don't know if that's the killer's true motivation; why kill only young men? There's something more going on here.
There are two clear points of interest:
First, none of the victims have an obvious cause of death. Some have wounds, but nothing that would be fatal under normal circumstances, and none appear to have been ill. How is the Reaper killing the victims?
Second, all have a white string tied around their wrists. This must be some sort of calling card, though what it means is not yet clear. If we can determine the meaning of the string, it could give us an insight into the killer's motivations and perhaps their identity.
I suggest we collaborate in our work to find the killer.
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you have any idea how hard it is trying to help her and keep her from finding out you're here?
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She needs to be contained.
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i know what that means
[ Cait who did you just say that to??? ]
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Vi.
She's dangerous.
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[ She knows it isn't fair and that her sister needs to be handled somehow, but that's not... That's not happening. That's not happening. ]
they also said i needed to stay contained
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[She's deliberately not mentioning Jinx blowing up her parents. That was just a hallucination, something her rational mind knows she can't really blame Jinx for, and she's trying very hard not to think about it at all. But, even though she won't admit it, it is influencing her belligerence.]
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If Caitlyn could just not fuck it up.
The video flicks on after a few minutes of gaining her bearings, and her glare is reminiscent of when steel bars separated them. ]
Let me be clear. If anyone tries to put her away or take her things, they're going to have to get through me.
[ That includes you, by the clench in her jaw. She's livid that Caitlyn of all people is putting her in this position. ]
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She hates to put Vi in this position. But she sees no alternative.
After a long moment, her video clicks on as well, so that Vi can see and hear that her question isn't sarcastic or dismissive.]
Then what do you suggest? What is your plan?
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But she can barely think straight between trying to keep Powder safe or from hurting others, all while hoping Caitlyn isn't off getting murdered by a serial killer because Vi isn't there to help her. If there were more hours in the day—
She's not sure when she last slept more than thirty minutes at a time, and she...misses Caitlyn. Just seeing her face is enough to soften Vi's features a little, but there's still a rigidity to her visage. ]
Well part of the plan was keeping you away from her long enough for me to get through to her a little. If she sees you she's immediately gonna assume the worst and then we'll be right back where we were.
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I suppose I can be... [Not reckless. Never reckless.] ...hasty.
[She pauses.]
Tell me what you intend to do, Vi. In the long term. If you have a real plan, I-- I'll support you. [She stumbles over her words slightly, because, as much as she would never, under any circumstances, admit it, she's afraid of Jinx and all the ways in which this could go horribly wrong. But if Vi has a real, proper plan, well, she's put her life in Vi's hands before.
If Vi's plan fails, however...] But if it comes to it, I need to protect the people here.
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[ There's no way she's going to fail at this again, not with what she knows. Even still, she has no real plan beyond what she's already said. And that's...not a plan. Caitlyn's tentative faith immediately shames Vi into that realization, but how's she supposed to plan when her sister's so unpredictable and they're in the middle of a war? There aren't enough plans in the world. ]
Look, I'll—
[ She rubs her hand over her face and sighs, the bandages over her knuckles dark with dried blood. ]
I just need to think of what to say to her. I just need to— to say it better. [ Better than last time. She can do it right. ] I just need to remind her of what's really important. Silco took that and twisted it. I know she can remember.
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I hope you're right. [She truly does. She doesn't want any more bloodshed or misery than there's already been, especially for Vi's sake.]
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I am. Her old self is still in there, somewhere.
[ But then there's the reason that triggered Vi's frustration in the first place... Even when her sister's at her side, Caitlyn's in danger. They all are, they always were, but this isn't the same as the undercity. Vi's not at her side. ]
Meanwhile you're also on the lookout for a serial killer. I never know if you'll answer the next time I check the watch and I can't fucking concentrate, you know?
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I worry for you, too. You're in the thick of the fighting, and if anything were to happen, I wouldn't be there.
[And she hates it.
She takes the pendant in her other hand, as though holding it in both hands somehow brings her physically closer to Vi.]
We have to trust in each other, and ourselves. We'll be reunited for good before too long.
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Y'know it'd be a lot sooner if I could just find a back door to Rathakku so I could knock his head off.
[ There's a dry smirk at the thought. Would that do it? Maybe they'd also need an exorcist. She's still figuring out the undead side of things.
But it'd definitely be easier to help her sister if his asshole siege wasn't going on. ]
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If all problems could be solved with your fists, we'd be home within the hour.
[A thought occurs to her, and she perks up a little.]
I've been exploring the mines in my free time, and while none of the passages have shown evidence of a 'back door to Rathakku,' as you put it, I have encountered at least one creature that might have originated from his forces. If they can get into the mountain, it may be possible that some of us could sneak through those tunnels to get into Rathakku's encampment without his noticing. It would require more exploration to find a tunnel that leads to Rathakku of which he's not aware, but perhaps your back door is out there.
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What kind of creature?
[ She'll get to the rest! But she's curious okay. ]
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A shot through the eye didn't kill it. Only sent it running. [And that's a little concerning, if Vi wants to go sneaking into Rathakku's camp, where there are doubtless a lot more creatures just like it.]
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Did you make sure to look up when checking where they came from? Was it too high to see?
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Too dark. And it happened fast. I only saw it leap at the person I was with and disappear again after I'd shot it.
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[ By her impressed tone, Vi shares how much this pleases her. As much of an 'I'd expect nothing less' as she can manage in the rush of processing all the other information. ]
Who were you with?
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A man called Bucky. He was brought here from another world, like us.