foolishmortals | This is fine. It's fine. We're fine.

[Well that was.

Something.

Underneath everyone’s door they’ll find a slip of paper, in shaky calligraphy, that reads:

INVITATION

Meet in the Dining Room.

Do not bring alcohol of any sort.

Upon arrival into the Dining Room it’s clear that this is very much...not a party.

The center of the room is cleared of all tables, and instead has all the chairs arranged in a circle, facing inwards. On the tables pushed to the side are jugs of water, cups, plates of saltines, and several hastily-made pamplets that read on the front ”How to cope with Child homicide” that contains an advisory list:

Try not to think about it.
Do not get hysterical.
Crying is permitted, but keep it within a reasonable volume. (For the consideration of fellow mourners)
Maintain civility
Do not plunder the belongings of the deceased.
No drinking or gambling your sorrows away. Set an example.

Standing in front of one of the chairs already is Mr.Arrow. He clears his throat as people start to slowly come in.]

I gathered you all here because I believed it would be conductive to group morale if we all worked through our feelings regarding recent events. Talk about your feelings with one another, but not with me.

[He steps back a little, out of the circle of chairs, in what seems to be an invitation for people to sit down and discuss with one another.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I know you're right. But... I'm a princess. I'm supposed to look out for others.

[It's hard not to be a little hard on yourself when you've been raised being told to think of your duty so many times.]

Still... you're right. It won't help anyone if we lose more people. We're definitely stronger together.

[He does a little double take at that.]

You're a princess?! [Jeez, how many people were royalty or had connections to royalty?] Oh...oh dang. Wow. That's a big responsibility, ain't it?

But...yeah. As long as we stick together, we should be okay!

[His expression turns to that of worry. He said the same last week, and...look what's happened now.]

We should be okay.

Yeah. Next chief of the island of Montunui. It's... I love my island and my people, but-- there are a lot of expectations. You can't just do whatever you want when you're the princess.

[But that seems like such a small complaint now.]

Hey-- we learned something. It was a hard lesson, and not one we ever should have had to learn, but... we did.

Next time we'll be better prepared.

[He lets out a heavy sigh.]

How prepared, though? I mean, we were all rampin' up to kill a monster. Well, everyone else was, but not me. And then this happens--and didn't that phantom guy say we would have 'incentives' every week?

[His voice becomes bitter as he talks.]

This ain't right. We have to somehow find a way out. We can't...we can't keep livin' in fear like this, not knowin' whether or not to trust each other.

Yeah, but-- we should have camped out together. We didn't... we didn't think about how scared those kids must have been, hearing that pounding when they were all alone.

We won't make the same mistake twice. And when they realize that, they're going to realize that they can't just push us around.

I'm going to do everything I can to get us out of here. This... it's gone on too long. And I'm not going to stop trusting you all.

Yeah...yeah! We...we gotta stay strong. For everyone's sake.

[He says that now, but wait until Tuesday.

Louis scratches his chin, thinking.]

We could...I dunno, maybe some people could room together. For safety purposes. Like a buddy system. It'd help out lots.

That's a great idea! Even if we can't get everyone to agree, there are probably only a few we have to worry about. We'd all be safer that way.

[actually it was mostly kim's idea from last week and the only reason he's suggesting it is because he's absolutely terrified of dying lmao]

Yeah! Maybe we could do like, a sign up or whatever. Have people room with other people they're comfortable with. Like, I know some of the kids might be more comfortable if they're with other kids rather than an adult. I mean, it might be safer if they're with an adult...whatever they feel like, y'know?

[It would also help them deal with...everything. Being alone with one's thoughts after this trial was probably not the best idea.]

We can have a meeting tomorrow or something. I think it'd be best to just give everyone time to rest tonight. Once we've all had some time, we can let everyone sign up. If we have any concerns about who stays with who, we can talk about it together.

Maybe over breakfast.

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!

...And maybe we could ask Remy to help out. Since, um, he's one of the few here who actually knows how to cook. I'll write a list or somethin' out tonight, since, um...I don't think I'll be gettin' much sleep.

[Also he needs to work on his spelling.]

Thanks, that would be a great help. But don't overdo it too much. We'll need you tomorrow.

And I'll see what I can do to get Remy to help us cook up a good breakfast to go with it.

Gotcha. Try and sleep at least a few hours.

[hahaha he has a feeling that's gonna be easier said than done.]

Ooh, if you do that, make sure to mention sweets. People tend to feel better when eatin' sweets. Like...pancakes or something.

[She knows. But if she had to promise Maui then she won't feel bad asking others to try.]

Pancakes. You got it.

In that case, we'll save the talking for after breakfast.

This is fine. It's fine. We're fine.

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