Take Responsibility.

[andexecutioner]

The door at the northwestern corner of the foyer is open. It's hard to say when it opened, but the fact of the matter is that it seems to have; it leads to a separate hallway that seems to run alongside the dormitories. The hall is long and dimly-lit, but it's illuminated well enough to make it plain that the walls and floor in here are different; they're far less designed to give off an impression of grandeur - if anything, it's claustrophobic back here: the walls are close and darkly-colored, and the entire area is barren until it opens up into the room serving as your destination. The room is circular and high-ceilinged, covered in more of the exposed wood that lines the rest of the building; there aren't any visible lights, however, which is...odd, given how bright the place is. It lends the entire area a sense of unreality; it's easy to distract yourself from it, however, once you notice this place's centerpiece. In the center of the room is a circle of podiums, thirty in total, arranged so that everyone standing at them can see each other. So everyone can look each other in the eyes, if they so choose. The podiums are interlocked - there's no cutting across the center of the circle, and for good reason, it looks like there's a lot of nothing down there where the floor should be - and each is bearing the title of the person who's assigned to stand at it. No names, just adjectives, emblazoned across two brass panels on the very top and the front of each podium. Affixed to the podium itself is a panel with buttons on it, and again, there are thirty in total; next to the buttons are smaller strips of engraved metal to serve as labels, bearing the titles of everyone that's been present in the facility, living or dead. All of the podiums are identical, except for the one intended for Sayaka. The podium that should bear Attentive's title has had a black cloth draped over it, and a copy of Sayaka's profile photo is sitting on top of it, framed and colorless, an image in greyscale. Juri is nowhere to be found in here, but that doesn't mean you're alone down here; the feeling that you're being watched is strong, and he'll wait until you've had time to take in what you're looking at before he addresses you - over the public-address system again, from the sound of it. "Attentive's dead, and somebody's to blame for it - but you guys get to decide whether Rule Seven's carried out or not. It's your job to hold them responsible for what they've done. Good luck in doing it."

Comments

[seventhprogenitor]

Fern and I had a bit of a... disagreement while she was showing me how to wash my clothes and it all ended up a bit mixed together. I don't mind the color, though.

[He looks good in it.]

[flagitate]

What'd you do to make Fern mad?

[ Existing??? ]

[seventhprogenitor]

[Existing.]

I asked a rather tasteless question, in hindsight, though things worked out. We aren't buddy-buddy or anything, but she got many of her frustrations out on me.

[flagitate]

[ She's not even surprised. ]

Wow. I can't imagine why she'd do that.

[seventhprogenitor]

Neither can I, but she was rather testy before. I'd like to move on from it, so may we get back on track?

[flagitate]

Sure.

[greenmamabear]

Not enough of them.

[middaymoon]

In 2,000 years you never learned how to wash your own clothes?

[ Mahiru's not any good at it, either, but she's sixteen (last she checked). ]

[seventhprogenitor]

I've always had servants.

[Fuckin' nope, Mahiru. He's useless.]

[middaymoon]

That's honestly impressive.

[seventhprogenitor]

In some regards, yes, but it's made communal living like this... a new experience for me. Thank you though.

[... Like it's one thing for a bunch of nobles to live together, but this? This is like,pleb status living. It's weird.]

[losthisflower]

[Ah, that explains... quite a bit.]

A royal can usually live a life unburdened.

[seventhprogenitor]

[Doesn't it fucking just.]

Indeed. But even old dogs can learn a new trick, as they saying goes~.

[losthisflower]

As it would seem. [Heavens know that he's tried.]

[notaccurate]

[2,000 years.

2,000 years...

Give him a moment, the gears are turning in his head.]

...Ferid. You're 2,000 years old.

In your world, how does someone maintain their youth like that?

[seventhprogenitor]

I don't see why it matters, but there's several ways -- most of them are simply myths, such as the Fountain of Youth or wishing to be young forever by way of a genie. In my case, however, it's something more like genes.

[There's no hesitation either.]

Most people never realize I'm thousands of years older than I look, but those profiles have certainly put a dent in that... I do hope you won't look at me any differently because of it.

[greenmamabear]

Don't worry, you're still the same creep.

[notaccurate]

No, I don't think you did. There would have been more clues pointing to you.

But if there is a way for you to say young and, more importantly, unscarred, then it is possible that someone else is from a world that can do that as well. If someone has a way of getting rid of wounds on themselves quickly, without leaving any marks, then checking for fight wounds or tarnish on their hands won't mean much of anything.

[seventhprogenitor]

[Ooooh. Oh my, isn't that the truth.]

I see your point. Regenerative abilities, or something like it, though everyone here appears human enough...

[... Besides our little immortal club, probably, but like, just because you're thousands of years old doesn't discount your humanity.]

[middaymoon]

I'm not sure the group will assent to having this tested.

[seventhprogenitor]

I certainly wouldn't like it.

[You know. Not good with blood and all.]

[notaccurate]

I'm not saying we should stab everyone to see who heals fast, that's ridiculous. And if it's a voluntary function, they can just choose not to do it at that moment.

[notaccurate]

The way I see it, if someone has regenerative abilities, then their profile age would likely not match up with their appearance. Which narrows the suspect pool down by quite a bit. You, AZ, and Aligula are the most obvious ones, of course, but there are others. Isaac told me an age that is seven years off from his profile age, for example. And there's Mahiru, whose age is apparently in the mid-20s, but she looks like a teenager.

[seventhprogenitor]

[Oooh, he's a suspect. How exciting.]

You aren't wrong, but I'm not good with blood at all -- I faint at the sight of it, which is why I'm very glad it was in the woman's bathroom and not any closer.

[Which is also why he's never looked at Aligula at this point of time. God, blood.]

[didntgetdadslooks]

Would they still work, though? I know my powers don't.