[Prologue, Monday: Belph]

[doublecrows]

[so Akechi may not drink alcohol, but there is a certain drink he has found himself a bit addicted to as of late, and it may only have 3/4ths to do with the caffeine content]

[at any rate, around mid-morning on Monday, sometime after breakfast, Akechi can be found in the kitchen with one (1) mug of coffee in his hand. he sits at it thoughtfully, pensive and distant, and very much not paying attention to his surroundings. woo!]

Comments

[axilium]

[sliding into a nearby seat with a glass of (guess what) alcohol, thanks.]

Mind if I join you, detective?

[doublecrows]

[IT'S MID-MORNING IT'S TOO EARLY FOR HAPPY HOUR, BELPH]

[sllllowly glances up from his coffee, to Belph, to the drink, then to Belph again]

Certainly, but only if you're sober.

[axilium]

[NEVER TOO EARLY.]

I'm always sober.

[doublecrows]

You've built up your tolerance that much? [casual sip] I'm almost impressed.

[axilium]

It's on my tapestry for a reason—though it's nowhere near as impressive as being able to summon a monster from your psyche.

[doublecrows]

[the cup pauses at his lips, which is only a tiny blip on Akechi's composure before he goes back to sipping at his drink]

Few things are, I suppose. Rest assured I can't use that ability here.

[axilium]

Too bad. It would've been pretty neat to see.

[rest assured, though, that he isn't here to interrogate about akechi's apparently bizarre abilities.]

So, any more crimes to add to the list?

[doublecrows]

[tilts his head towards Belph, brow raised]

I'm sorry? Summoning a creature "from my head" isn't a crime.

[axilium]

No, no, I mean our captors. We had kidnapping and probably assault and battery, right?

[doublecrows]

Ah. That list.

[another sip, eyes becoming distant again]

Theft, since they apparently removed items from our persons. And solicitation of murder, considering their attempts to get us to kill each other with the promise of a reward.

[axilium]

... Ever encountered a case like this before?

[doublecrows]

None that I recall.

[his brow furrows]

This is a very unusual case.

[axilium]

It seems like it. As captives in this situation, what do you think we should do?

[doublecrows]

Not give in to the demands of our captors, for one.

[that's a given]

Stay strong, even in the face of temptation. Work together, to continue to look for a way out.

[axilium]

... Yeah, ideally. Think it's going to be that simple, though?

[doublecrows]

[aha. he can't help it; he laughs]

Not at all.

[no elaboration, but he probably doesn't have to. another sip of his coffee, and he continues]

That aside, there is one aspect of this war game that interests me.

[axilium]

[he sips at his own drink.]

What is it?

[doublecrows]

The distributed titles and tasks, and their overall purpose.

[axilium]

Yeah, that's a pretty curious aspect, isn't it? Not exactly something you'd expect to have in a kidnapping situation.

[doublecrows]

Or a solicited murder situation.

[har har]

If our captors intend to reward us for taking initiative in killing, then why also offer rewards for completing separate, unrelated tasks? Any sane person would choose to receive their wish from task completion only, and avoid spilling blood altogether.

Wouldn't you think?

[axilium]

Mm. So then begs the question of why they'd give out these tasks.

[doublecrows]

Good. You follow.

[empty cup of coffee is empty, don't mind him as he stands up to make more]

Have you any ideas on how to answer that question?

[axilium]

... They do seem to like their story motifs, don't they? It feels like we're all meant to be narratives intertwining with one another.

Killing is just the basic plot, but not the overarching story.

[doublecrows]

[a chuckle]

It almost sounds poetic when you put it like that.

[axilium]

Well, that seems to be what our captors are going for. Personally, I'm not a very poetic guy.

[doublecrows]

And I consider myself a philosopher instead of a poet. But I suppose, in some instances, they overlap.

With all of this in mind, what do you think we should do?

[axilium]

... It's hard to say, especially since nobody has actually been killed yet, or visibly made a move regarding their role. On the other hand, waiting might be a bad move—you don't want to act too late, after all.

[doublecrows]

I don't think anyone risks acting too late by waiting. Patience is a virtue.

[pouring the newly made coffe into his mug]

There isn't anything we can do now but wait.

[axilium]

Weeeell, strictly speaking, if we wait for someone to die before we act, by definition we were too late to prevent one death, to begin with.

[doublecrows]

Yes. That's true.

[. . . something falls in his expression, resigned]

I won't call it a necessary or acceptable loss. But ss much as detectives strive for justice, even we know that it's impossible to save everyone.

[axilium]

Well, you'd have to be a psychic detective to preemptively prevent the first crime from happening.

[doublecrows]

Exactly.

[still somber]

And while I like to think my deduction skills are top-notch, even I have my limits.

[axilium]

[...]

Aww, c'mon, detective!

[and then belph was decidedly not somber.]

Haven't you ever heard that you've got to aim for the stars?

[doublecrows]

[a chuckle]

Always! But it's important for one to know their limits, too.

[axilium]

Well, if someone does show up dead, I hope you'll do your best to solve the mystery.

[doublecrows]

Of course I will.

. . . if I'm not strong enough to prevent someone from dying, then the least I can do is catch the person responsible and bring them to justice.

[axilium]

Atta boy.

[...]

Though if things escalate, and this goes on for long enough... I wonder if we'll still be able to talk about things like "justice" then.

[doublecrows]

Oh? And what would we be talking about, if not justice?

[axilium]

I just wonder if we'll still be so idealistic.

[doublecrows]

[a soft chuckle]

We may not be, but only if we allow them to really get inside our heads.