yogen | just another day in paradise

Who: all you cool kids
What: family meeting
When: 9/15
Where: by the poool
Warnings: none yet

[bro this is all so disorganized. Shepard can hardly stand it -- but she's heard of the meetings that they had had in the past, and she's going to take it upon herself to do one of her own. they had to get all of their facts together somehow, at least.

it's the Leader Things in her.]

Everyone meet me near the pool. Between the apparent disappearances last month and what's been going on at the pool, we need to get our facts straight. Meet me here after school's over for the day.

[aaand she's there at her designated time, hoping that they'd at least try to listen to her and gather as she intended...

she's not going to lock anyone in or anything, but if you try to pass her by, she's going to give you A Look like you'd better mind her message. not that she's even close to punching someone out, but. there's probably something a little bit intimidating about the commander who's looking at you expectantly if you try to ignore her meeting.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

While everyone else took a trip into the void, Akehoshi-kun and I checked around... I stayed behind at the lockers.

Most were already open, a few closed, and so I broke into the ones that nobody was there to claim. Inside were a pair of glasses, a watch, white candle stubs, dirty rags, a half empty box of chalk, and Shopkeeper-kun's gacha rocks.

( that's what he can recall from his memory, and he hums in thought. ) I took the glasses and watch, everything else I left there... as to who found that, I hope you're willing to speak up with the rest of the group.

( not only that, he brings a hand to his chin in thought, looking down at the ground. )

In the boy's bathroom, it smelled heavily of cleaning solution... it seems the janitor's stash had a round two... ahaha... ( maybe it's not funny. ) But there were empty bottles of cleaning solution inside... And I mean, a copious amount, more than a normal amount meaning it feels excessive... but I don't hate your crime, Criminal-kun, you must be pretty good at cleaning.

( hum... hum... )

I noticed a bit of wax by the sinks as well...

That would be me, for who took the rest.

[Helena's voice is soft as it always is, but she has her bag with her, and opening it can produce everything but the glasses, watch, and rocks.]

Subaru took the rocks for his own, but the rest is all here. As well as this.

[and reaching in again, she pulls out the burned length of narrow red ribbon that they had found.]

I'm not sure exactly what was being cleaned, but I know by scent that apart from the chemicals, there's some kind of alcohol that was used as an accelerant. I can't tell exactly what, but it's there, so that might explain how much charring we have. And there was also wax between the boys' room and the pool - someone can go check that right now, if they like, if it hasn't been cleaned away.

( he wonders if he should be shocked that it was helena, but he isn't, instead he stands right next to her in thought. )

I checked every bottle of what was left in the trashcan, nothing stood out aside from it all being cleaning solutions, we also have a storage in our dormitory, so we should have someone check that as well... if anything appears to be out of place.

( he stares at the ribbon she pulls out, and he uses his mechanical arm to reach out for it — allowing her to know that he's moving close without saying so. )

Where was this found, Adams-san? Would this be enough to say that they were half dressed if a ribbon managed to get burned... what did Sakasaki-kun say about the clothes, he's too far away... will you repeat it for me?

[subaru, floating from the pool:]

I found the ribbon in the changing stalls~. I really had to look for it though... Oh, there were some of the chalk bits there too.

[is this what meetings are like... this is a lot more boring than subaru thought they'd be]

It's not a ribbon like - [she reaches up to her neck, but then drops it, remembering that she doesn't have hers anymore. really, she needs to replace that.] It feels like a different width. And Natsume said that the clothes were burned, completely, but the wrapping was not.

[she offers it up with the rest of the items.]

The locker these were in...I've been coming here since we knew it was an option, and always, that locker was taken and used. No matter the day.

A thinner ribbon...

( but not like the ones they have on hand. )

Perhaps they got the wrapping from the Janitor's closet as well... With what was inside, candles, glasses, a watch... among other things, what sort of person do you believe had a locker like that?

( small suspicions. )

I don't know. But, given what we found on the floor...perhaps someone more versed in magic can correct me, but it makes me think of how people describe setting up for rituals. I've read a few books where people prepare with candles, and drawing with chalk on the ground.

[but, not being any sort of magician herself, she has to ask.]

Rituals... we do have an Occult Club, and people who dabble in magic here... ah, it's true, there were so many signs pointing to it, and the use of alcohol could brighten the flames.

( that's the rituals for dummies outlook, but it works. )

There's plenty of people we could ask...

[Shepard notes that this one is much less hesitant to speak up, and she's a little relieved but not at the same time. the way that a bunch of kids are discussing this sort of thing is...

she doesn't want to think about it much.

she processes the info carefully, because he had a whole lot to say...]

Wax? You think they were burning a candle or something? And...it must've been a mess, to have used so much cleaner.

[ugh. she wants to punch the criminal in question.]

Anything interesting about the watch? Any clues on it or anything?

Nope, it runs properly, and there's nothing amiss.

( the glass isn't cracked to a specific time, there's nothing noting when all of this could have happen, and didn't happen — they're still trying out the way this case started. )

Even the glasses were in perfect condition, but nothing too out of the ordinary from when the shopkeeper wore them and spoke to me.

( don't ask him where the items are, because he definitely doesn't have them in his hand. )

[this place just gets weirder and weirder to be perfectly honest. but it's not like she hasn't faced impossible odds before or anything.]

That sounds almost too good to be true...almost like a setup. Is there a possibility that could be a fake?

[she's just trying to theorize here.]

just another day in paradise

locker / bathroom

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