[Week 4, Thursday: Ichigo, Ashikawa, Lenka]

[fallbymyhands]

[Thursday night comes, settling upon them like a blanket, and Mitsuru is out and about on her now-weekly Thursday night patrolling. but this time, she doesn't go alone! what's up Thursday patrol fam, how are you doing tonight]

[at any rate, Mitsuru herself is idly circling the outer areas of camp, looking both alert and yet pensive all in one]

Comments

[killtheanimals]

[This Mitsuru is around as well, careful to stick close to the others at all times. He's here as a last resort healer, in the case that they do find something, as well as another pair of eyes and ears.

Unsurprisingly, he looks very serious. But he might be good for a conversation, should you decide to talk him up during the patrols.]

[fallbymyhands]

[it's good that he's here to heal, since Mitsuru's own abilities are. . . well. with Eddie this week]

[she doesn't say anything, but when her gaze meets Ashikawa's, she nods at him in understanding. ALL BUSINESS NO PLAY]

[killtheanimals]

...Quiet so far.

[Hard to say yet if it truly is clear, or if they're just missing a murder entirely.]

[fallbymyhands]

Yes. . . it is.

[she responds, snapped out of her thoughts by Ashikawa speaking]

I hope it's like this all night, all throughout camp.

[and they just aren't missing something]

[killtheanimals]

[Narrator voice: they're missing something.]

It... wouldn't be the first time we didn't hear loud sounds we should have.

[Hn. Out in the evening like this, he can't help but feel a bit paranoid - like there's someone out here he just isn't fully aware of.

And of course, he doesn't even have his magic to rely on.]

[fallbymyhands]

[MEANWHILE, LANCE PREPARES TO MURDER KANJI--]

You're right. It wouldn't.

[this is the third week she's been outside. and every week, she's failed to hear any sort of commotion related to the weekly murders. it's. . . strange. but she'll think about that more tomorrow]

[killtheanimals]

[THANKS LANCE, THANKS KANJI.]


You would think the gunshot from Chloe would have alerted someone...

[fallbymyhands]

[THANKS ROCK GOD]

It should have. And I should have heard the incident with Griffin, Kon and Sakasaki. And yet. . .

The only things we can observe on nights like this are non-violent, non-deadly events.

[killtheanimals]

...

If this doesn't work... [And his tone is reluctant, here--] We may need to discuss alternatives, too.

[fallbymyhands]

. . . yes.

[but, that said?]

I feel as though we're always discussing alternatives, though.

[their original plans never seem to work]

[killtheanimals]

This place keeps throwing us off. It makes it hard for us to thwart it.

[fallbymyhands]

It does. But we have to keep adapting, regardless of what it throws at us.

[killtheanimals]

And unfortunately, we can only do so week by week.

[fallbymyhands]

[mmmm. she looks away, letting out a small sigh as she does so]

And in the interim, more people fall victim to this camp's machinations.

[killtheanimals]

But something like that won't stop you.

[Not from what he's seen of her, anyway.]

[fallbymyhands]

. . . no.

[she's a force to be reckoned with, for all of her soft parts]

Would it stop you?

[killtheanimals]

I can't afford to let it.

[He's determined to keep that minimum, if nothing else.]

[soylentprotag]

[It's been quite a week already, even if nothing's been lit on fire other than the fish yesterday, and Lenka's shoulders are lined with tension even if the rest of him is carefully loose as he moves. He's at the back of the group, doing his best to keep an eye on their surroundings and keep a little distance.

It's the type of night where having the powers he does right now is both a blessing and a curse. He could probably defend fairly well. He really doesn't want to have to resort to it. He might be more of a last resort here than Mitsuru (Clarke).

Distract him before he bores metaphorical holes with his gaze in half the camp, perhaps.]

[fallbymyhands]

[Mitsuru isn't exactly great at distractions. especially not when her own mind is so occupied. but nevertheless. . .]

That's quite an intense gaze you're wearing, Utsugi.

[soylentprotag]

[His shoulders tense a little further for a moment, even though he knows it's just her, but Lenka lets out a breath a moment later and his expression relaxes a bit. Not by much, but he's less liable to set something on fire with his eyes in the next minute and a half. That's Mitsuru's job, if needed.]

... I don't want to miss anything.

[He is taking patrol super seriously, surprise surprise. They still haven't found a good way of countering whatever the stone god is doing in their heads. As much as he's braced for action, his hands are also tucked close to himself, wary of too much contact.]

You're... used to patrolling like this, aren't you?

[fallbymyhands]

[she's happy to see him taking it seriously! someone needs to teach these two how to have fun, probably]

I am.

[. . . sort of. this is her third week patrolling the camp, so if it only takes three weeks to get "used to" something, then yes. she's used to it]

It isn't much, and last week, I was unable to prevent what happened to Kon, Sakasaki and Griffin.

But I was able to stop Lance and Nine's fight from escalating. And that is something.

[that is something to show for her efforts, even if it isn't much]

[soylentprotag]

[The sad truth is that Thursdays are never quite fun nights, even with manicures and Wii breaks and stargazing involved. They'll have to be real people on some other night.]

Yes. I don't think that fight would have ended in anything good. You really saved them.

[Especially if there were people in the lodge and then fire involved; the camp is made of wood, you guys. He shakes his head after a moment, though.]

But I mean... you were the first to think of patrolling, and helping to defend the cabins.

[She seems pretty practiced at this sort of thing? More so than many at camp, anyway, which he appreciates but is also kind of curious about. Especially given: mind goblins.]

[fallbymyhands]

[he's right. she is practiced at this sort of thing. thanks, time with SEES]

They were the next two logical steps to take considering the danger of our circumstances.

[she's a leader, through and through. and someone who wants to protect]

Even if their effectiveness is uncertain, I felt as though we had to at least try.

[soylentprotag]

It's the best we can do, while we're trapped here. And until we find out exactly what to do about the rock god...

[They really don't have a lot of options at the moment, still, beyond learning more and hopefully keeping their fellow campers away from each other's throats and other extremities. He'd wondered a little, to himself, if the lake cats might be some sort of ally after the mess with the kittens last week. But that might be a dead end, too.

So that leaves them with themselves, once again. The real difficulty is probably in protecting people from themselves, and he still doesn't have a very good answer for that.]

... Have you dealt with something like this before, Kirijo?

[fallbymyhands]

Oh?

[she looks at Lenka in surprise when he asks that question, though it fades fairly quickly]

No. . . I have not. At least, nothing comparable to what we've experienced here.

Have you?

[soylentprotag]

No. We don't deal with this type of god.

[It would be a little wry if he weren't so outright stressed and if the subject weren't at least a little overly serious at the moment.]

Missions aren't usually... We're not trapped like this. Our team stays mobile. [of course he's still intrinsically used to being under siege, danger around every corner, but...] And we've never had to deal with -- with people.

[That's really the part tripping him up the most. Neither his Arc nor his mindset were prepared to be turned against anyone else. They still aren't, really.]

[fallbymyhands]

[he answers her question, and in that same moment, realizes she knows so little about him and what he does back home]

. . . you never told me about what it is you do at home.

[she comments, voice quiet. it's not a question, but she's subtly asking him to elaborate]

[soylentprotag]

Oh. Right.

[He actually hadn't realized either, how little he talks about what he does back home or anything about back home, really -- it's because everything in this world is so new and startling and all-consuming that it takes up all his attention and focus. It's much easier to talk about what is here than what isn't.

And he's never been very good at talking about himself. But he doesn't mind, if it comes up.]

We fight Aragami. Me and my Unit, under Fenrir. [a pause] That's a little like the military. There isn't that much left, of the real military.

[He tilts his head, trying to think of an easy way to sum it up.]

Aragami are the monsters that ended the world. So... people don't usually fight each other anymore.

[That might be the bigger difference between back home and what he knows of the old world, the one that many here probably know much better than he does. And here, this place... for all the ways in which it's off and wrong it's still something like the old world too, from the ground up.]