voidbreaker | KARA and LILI

[ they're probably all huddled and that makes me laugh. ]

It's more complicated than that. I don't even know what it is, I just know it's complicated. Beau's fair though, she didn't do us wrong before and... well, hopefully this doesn't make her bitter. [ beau no good, very bad week. ]

... Can you say the name of the team the lead's in?

[ well, he's gonna sit. under the kotatsu. they're warm now. ]

[ kara's just sat comfortably next to lili, probably, but the blanket's just on his lap like a normal person ]

How are you planning to follow it? It's not likely they'll be honest about it.

[ since they're probably a murderer or covering for one. what other reason would they have had for cursing them? ]

It's not that much of a lead, and I haven't come up with a plan yet.

[is it really a lead, lili. she's probably hoping that charging in will work for her yet again.

she resists the urge to hide under the blanket when ash gets closer.]

Maybe it's closer to say I have an idea, and I'm going to exhaust all avenues until I find answers.

[ .... ]

Are you gonna do something that's gonna put you in the firing line?

[ pointed. stare. ]

Don't do anything stupid, Lili. At least take one of us with you, if you go charging in again.

[ kara knows how she works!! ]

[sdlkfjlskjdf]

I-I'm not...! I'm just asking questions and gathering information right now, so that's not necessary!

You don't have to worry....

[even if the concern is kind of nice too....]

People get suspicious if you're poking around. Do you have more than just your power to use if you're in trouble?

[ it's always been a low key Concern, but it feels like a bigger one now. ]

She has a weapon, and she can use it.

[ they should note that right now, kara thinks. that's not why he's worried. ]

But if someone thought to curse us specifically to disrupt the trial, there is a chance they'll come for any of us for real by the next curfew. It means they think we're the ones in their way. Just keep that in mind, while you're following this lead of yours.

.... okay.

[she'll agree to that a bit hesitantly, though she seems to push the nerves down rather quickly. she can't let fear stop her. she won't.

but she'll reach a hand out to ash specifically, because he seems more protective than even kara? she'll rest her hand on his arm]

I'll be okay, Ash. You don't have to worry. I'll ask for anything if I need it.

Or maybe they just wanted to disrupt the trial generally and figured a three way fight was the best way to do it. If we assume we had at least three killers, we had more of a chance of pinning this on someone... so that might've been their contingency.

[ it... sort of worked? ]

... [ hm? after a moment he just sort of pats the hand on his arm. ]

Yeah. It's still better to be aware of how things can go South at this point though. Maybe we all need some kind of trap, like the one Todd pulled.

That's true, but Lili has made herself an important factor just by trying as hard as she does in the trials. The more she takes lead, the more of a threat she becomes to anyone who intends to kill, and the greater impact it will have if they target her after curfew.

...Though my theory hasn't been disproved yet, about our killers choosing lower-impact targets.

[ but yeah. he nods. ]

I've already told Lili, but I do have a sort of contingency plan, if I'm targeted. It wouldn't work as well as Jason's ability, but it's better than nothing.

.... I can think about what to do.

[and she'll pull the blanket closer to her again.]

.... if I have my plush that can clean or soil something, I might try to leave a stain on the inside of my attacker's scrunchie. You'd have to check everyone during trial, but if they can't remove it...

[there's one option.]

Kara, since you're with me during curfew, you could use it for the same thing. Or the other plush you have, you could leave the insignia on the bottom of someone's foot or the back of their neck, where they wouldn't be able to see.

[you want contingency plans? lili can give you contingency plans.]

When you have a definite plan, let me know. Just... try and make it before Thursday, yeah?

[ ... he knows both their powers, and could see ways both of them could be used to mark a killer. but he's not really sure how he could use his. ]

Neither of mine are gonna be as useful. Only thing I could do is hope my power overwrites something that'll kill me long enough to use it for something. Combine it with the watch and I could pull something off.

[ there's a pause, and then-- ]

I can make an argument for why Tomioka was killed. And the butterfly girl was one of our medics, so maybe we need to be telling Grayson to put some plans in place in case they go after the other one next. And... I dunno. Maybe someone thought killing a robot was less immoral than killing a human. [ he's... not sure he agrees. ]

That was the plan, yeah. I'm not sure if it'll stick to their person, but if not, I'll mark the scrunchie. If that fails... [ kara frowns thoughtfully. ] I have the venom I made this week. I was going to try something Shinobu suggested next week, but it will be useless without her, since I don't know how to prepare it properly, so - maybe something that will paralyze an attacker, at least temporarily. I can keep it with me at curfew, in case either of you are awake and need to take it.

[ they've spent enough thursdays together, so there's no reason they wouldn't be able to grab that, on their way out.

he does give ash a curious look, though. ]

Why do you think Giyuu was targeted?

[ kara is... concerned? about him being stabbed with his own blade? ]

.... I'll think of something.

[for ash, she means. she figures that if she has enough time, she might be able to come up with something.

but then she'll tilt her head along with kara's question. why was giyuu targeted?]

He pretty much outed his team last week, and we can't be the only ones who have realised Shadows' team has the advantage and is probably responsible for recent killings. So either he became an acceptable target, or someone on his own team would rather he didn't keep sharing information on what they've all been getting.

[ he shrugs. ] There no evidence to it, but it's an idea.

Theories are all we have right now, anyway, so it could be a combination of yours and mine, for all we know. Giyuu was on my list to watch, and so was Jason.

[ kara's expression darkens a bit. ]

If Nie had told us why he'd killed them, we would have a better idea.

[ . . . ]

He might tell Akira or Beau. I won't be able to get it out of Beau if he does but...

We just have to keep trying everything.

Yeah, he wouldn't have said anything in front of everyone. [ because he's a lil' bitch, send tweet. ]

... It'll probably come out eventually. Just hopefully not too late to be of... well. If "use" is the word.

[ brilith is nodding, somewhere out in the void. ]

Then one of you needs to ask Akira about it later. The more we know, the better chance we'll stand at winning this.

He already knows that I'm looking, and expecting it from him.

[she harasses akira so much.... so much. but she'll just slump on top of the kotatsu then, gently tired. she pillows her head in her arms.]

We got it right, and it still feels so exhausting...

[ does she harass akira as much as ash does? that's the big question. ]

We missed... at least one more killer, probably. Although I doubt it was just one. It still feels like a failure.

One is better than none. At least we aren't sending another innocent to their death.

[ kara sighs. ]

It would be hard to tie the vote and catch them all even if we did find all of them.

[she sighs]

And it'd be hard to remove them before the vote if we don't have their testimony about whether it was in self-defense or their reasoning. I would always rather condemn someone actually guilty, and taking a life is something heavy regardless, but...

[she wants answers. more than anything.]

We have to keep looking. I'm worried this will plague Dimitri if we don't.

...

Right, three of the dead were from the Island. [ ... how would he feel if three people from the mansion showed up dead? NHS is... one thing but he would've been pissed if he was murdered by someone out of principle. ]

Have you spoken to him?

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