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

[sharpasanarrow]

[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:

1. Try not to think about it.
2. Do not get hysterical.
3. Crying is permitted, but keep it within a reasonable volume. (For the consideration of fellow mourners)
4. Maintain civility
5. Do not plunder the belongings of the deceased.
6. 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.]

Comments

[pinkflip]

I had to, Rémy. She... I told her so many times I'd get her out.

[bestchefinparis]

[ooooooh dear. That's a promise maybe you shouldn't have done]

...I'm sorry this...uh...

[Sorry this didn't work and she died. Rémy has no idea how to put it in words]

Do you think you'll be okay?

[This is far from over, after all]

[pinkflip]

[ Yeah. Yeah, she's realizing that. And Jane's not the only one Kim's made a promise like that too. ]

Yeah. Y-yeah, I... [ The words sound wrong even to her own ears. She frowns. ] I...don't know.

[ Honesty. It's a start, at least. ]

[bestchefinparis]

['I don't know' is not a hopeful answer. Rémy is in silence for a moment]

...I doubt anyone knows.

[Especially tonight]

...there's a lot of trouble still ahead. Guess we will all not know, together. It's not much, since we're all trapped here, but at least we do have each other.

[He can't put a lot of heart in these words because he doesn't feel optimist at all right now, but it sounds right to him]

[pinkflip]

[ It's more honest than she's been in awhile with anyone about her mental state, frankly.

She sits with that for a good long moment. That sounds like something she should be saying. It sounds like something she's believed. And yet...

...Kimberly bows her head a bit. It's halfway to a nod. Not quite one. ]

Yeah. Yeah, it...would really suck to be here all alone.

[bestchefinparis]

And I know we're not the friendlist group ever, but some of us are going to keep trying the best we can.

Just...know that you're not alone.

[Maybe it's because he's saying it aloud to someone else, but something about this all is helping lift Rémy's spirits a bit]

[pinkflip]

[ She glances over at Rémy. He's...really trying, isn't he? Even though this couldn't have been easy to see. ]

You know. You're a pretty good guy, Rémy. ...Good rat. Good rat-guy.

[bestchefinparis]

[He feels anything but good right now. A good person would have tried harder to save Jane, right? He looks away, feeling guilty]

...thanks...I'd like to think that.

[Besides, doing this much is the very basic support anyone should give, right? Nothing amazing about it]

[pinkflip]

Really. ...I know I- I'm not the only one messed up by all this. So it's...reaching out, when you're also upset, it's good.

[ It's something she wishes she'd done lately. ]

[bestchefinparis]

...it's not something I have done many times before, so I don't even know if I'm doing it properly. Talking to other people when I'm upset is not my forte.

[Since most of his woes involved Dad's disapproval and pretty much nobody else experienced such thing]

But if it makes you feel a bit better then that's good.

[pinkflip]

...You are. Um- doing it properly.

[ It's hard for her to feel much better right now, but the attempt is touching. ]

You should do it more often. It's never good to bottle things up. [ she says, like a hypocrite ]