Pestilentem PC: Cantarella

[justscribing]

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WK0 - Post-Trial

[justscribing]

[Of course he's back in the library after Giyuu has been taken away. He's returned to where he had his pile of books the other night, sorting through which ones he wants to bother taking back to his room to read.

When he hears someone else, he pauses to look up.] Ah, it's you.

[physalia]

[She's not sure what she expects when she enters the library. That it offers really nothing new is... well, maybe that's what she was expecting all along.

Cantarella passes by the computer station and joins him by his reading cubby.]

Surprised that anyone else would come here?

[justscribing]

There aren't many places we can go. I imagine most people will want to avoid the murder scene even if the evidence is swept away again.

[Although others may want to just push something in their stomachs or sleep instead of staying around reading after all of that.]

[physalia]

That I walked up those stairs mere hours ago and found nothing of what was "truly" there irks me beyond belief.

[Which, although she says it, might be difficult to tell just from her tone. Cantarella is zipped up quite tightly, though her voice may be honest. She's inscrutable, as if she's holding herself rigid.]

After all your group encountered here the other night, I wondered if anything might have lingered—a feeling, a noise; anything. It just seems the veil has been drawn again.

[justscribing]

It's troubling that the area of this place is so unstable. I think it's important to find out how it triggers. The evidence only appeared after we gathered to investigate it--was that in response to our desire to see it, or something else in control only choosing that moment to reveal it?

[And how do they always know if it's true? Giyuu was forthright about things, but if this can be controlled then it's possible it can be used to lie, and not just reveal truths.]

That said, not everything has undone itself. Certain books are still missing pages and one of those pages is still vandalized.

WK2 - Tuesday

[justscribing]

[Where there are books, there is Alhaitham. So he's in the sitting room, and while the books aren't as much his usual affair there's something comforting about the vibrant colors, familiar to the weaves of Sumeru.

He's browsing casually until he twitches and swats at something unseen by his face. It takes a moment for his thought to catch up, and then he scowls with an irritable sound.]

runs in

[physalia]

[After all their intermittent passings in the library, she's not surprised to find him here now that another source of reading material has opened up to them. This one also has the benefit of being better organized and more focused.

There's nothing funny about the situation, but his irritable swat at the invisible irritant and the delayed reaction is enough to elicit a small and humorless smile from her. Lost, dazed, confused; seeing and hearing things that aren't actually there... They look mad.]

These sorts of disruptions are liable to make us lose our minds.

Catches you

[justscribing]

I'm sure that's the point. [Like the candy hunting when they first arrived, or falsified records. Disrupt their focus, disrupt their ability to uncover things. The confused and irrational are easier to manipulate.

He glances over--is she wearing boob sweater?] I noticed it's only on exposed skin so far.

[His thin little mesh is actually an adequate barrier for something.]

[physalia]

[She is! What would possess someone to wear a boob window, or three-quarter sleeves, or a v-neck, in weather or conditions like this?]

Indeed, I have. And never fully there... a cacophony of whispers to create as much noise as possible. I'll take more than that to deter me.

[But her throat moves a little as she swallows around it.]

[justscribing]

[Probably the same thing that possesses someone to wear a sheer mesh shirt or tight pants. So how many times have the ghost hands touched some boob.]

Something like this is a slow grinding down of one's resolution. Some will struggle more with this than others, so I'm glad to hear someone else able to deal with it. [They still need as many hands active as possible to deal with things.] What are your thoughts on better directing our efforts?

w3, tuesday

[physalia]

[There are so many little alcoves filled with books and study materials that, occasionally, finding people who thrive in those areas can be a bit daunting.

Cantarella tries a few of her own more usual haunts before she finally discovers Alhaitham in the study, a place she spends a little less of her time. Should it surprise her to find him there? It almost does.]

What's this I've been hearing about you sneaking around dangerous places to put some pressure on this realm? [She smiles, a little bit knowingly. She's definitely heard his invitation to discuss before.]

[justscribing]

[She catches him lounging in the chair, the picture of a comfortable cat as he reviewing his notes. At the sound of the door he looks up long enough to nod in greeting.

And then looks up again when she's actually talking to him and not just here to beat a book. Oh.]

There's no escaping danger anywhere in this place. [They're rats in a lab, something pulling the strings to test their reactions.] You want to help?

[physalia]

[There's no denying that the danger is always at the forefront of Cantarella's mind, as well. The letters last week only proved that they are ripe for observation as if living under a glass dome.]

That depends. [You can take the cat features out of the Alhaitham, but it's impossible to remove them from his personality, isn't it? Cantarella herself takes a prim seat, swinging one leg crossed over the other.]

That depends. Where are you looking, and for what?

[justscribing]

Various places. Those that seem particularly tied to desires, or to places that appear to have no relation to the four who arrived first. Something sought Ramuda out, and something also sent us a letter and all of those profiles. We need to get closer to identifying them, or the weakest point in this environment.

[Which risks the attention of unwanted things, but aren't they already roped up in that? Might as well go the extra mile to get information they can really use.]

I've also wondered if it's possible to intentionally trigger access to other spaces like the group who witness Henrietta's demise, though we'll need a better account of how they got there and what they were doing just before.

[physalia]

Sage said she saw "nothingness" in spots of the chapel and the museum both. We might have just about picked the chapel over, but the museum...up until now, it's resisted any attempts to enter.

[Once again, Cantarella has to wonder if "museum" is even the right thing to call that empty, blank facade.]

I, for one, would also like to know what happens when we are all contained and lulled into false slumber.

w4 probably backdated? to? like monday?

[physalia]

[Cantarella feels like she's fighting to puppet her own body. Her paths are erratic, and her steps often feel out of her control. It's such a small thing, but it's come the closest to finding a crack where everything else simply needed to be addressed with quiet resilience.

She looks unusually tired when she finally manages to both locate and make it to whichever study is Alhaitham's current roost.]

You're a difficult man to find. [Everything is hard to find right now.] So time has been robbed from me. Can you hear and see all right at the moment? [Just making sure.]

[justscribing]

[The funny thing is, he usually is a difficult man to find. And the amount of places he can be found in is expanding.

But Cantarella will track him down to the witch's lair, books shuffled around him.]

So far. [Because that, as he's noticed, can quickly change. He's taking advantage of his sight and hearing as much as he can.

So he looks up at Cantarella.] What do you need?

[physalia]

[Then he was doubly difficult to find this week, and with her wet shrug removed and hung up somewhere safely, Cantarella sits in one of the uncomfortable work chairs, crossing her legs.]

Lobelia suggested I speak with you regarding his circumstances and our own, as a "reliable source."

[And he honestly might have been right to do it. The trouble she has being direct with him isn't reflected in her interactions with Alhaitham.]

[justscribing]

... Ah. [It's an uncharacteristic delay. Alhaitham's gaze flicks down briefly.]

I believe right now the only more reliable source is him. [But Alhaitham understands why Lobelia asked she come to him instead. Because Alhaitham can then be a bulwark to keep him behind.

If Lobelia's assessment is wrong, this mitigates the risk.] Yes, I'm familiar with his situation... that is, that he's infected. Can I ask what you two were talking about?

NEVERRRRRR MINNDDDDDDDDDDD THIS HAS TO BE LATER IN THE WEEK FOR REASONS

[physalia]

[Cantarella stills. Her fingers lace together. She uncrosses and re-crosses her legs.]

I was concerned about the dreams. I suspected he was sleeping very poorly.

[And she was regrettably right in the very worst ways. Despite her poise, there's the sense Cantarella is hard scrolling in her mind at the moment, combing behavior not just of one researcher, but four.]

He's denied treatment? Why, when Victor and I could have-- Or...has already started it, and we're running out of time?

WK5, Monday

[justscribing]

[They have the start of a plan, and now Alhaitham is in Fran's lab reviewing all the notes on their work so far to catch himself up.

He looks up at Cantarella when she gets close enough. There's still a weight on him, but he looks steadier than he did before the town hall.] Did you sleep at all?

[physalia]

[The start of a plan exists, but there are still plenty of shadows and gaps to be filled in. That seems to be Cantarella's focus now as she's messing idly with different formulas and recipes.

She has a still calmness to her, but it's like a puddle over a hole in the earth. It's hard to tell what's beneath it or how deep it runs.]

I did. Now all that is to be done is to manifest those sweet dreams of success into reality.

[They have a big storm coming in this laboratory.]

[justscribing]

I wonder if dreaming about our situation is really so restful. [Has Cantarella taken her mind off of it since arriving even once? At some point, diligence is obsession.

He flips through more formulas.] Have you tested any of these yet?

[physalia]

It is to me.

[Alhaitham would normally be right, but Cantarella's dreams have never not been a scramble through the briars.]

We've gotten consistent results on sedatives. I thought I'd put my revision attempts into the next useful formula and work my way down. [She actually intends to raise that with the researchers to see what's possible.]

[justscribing]

Then is your idea to keep the next obvious infected in a state of sedation until a cure works?

[Which... hopefully won't be long, but.]