We Tried (afterparty)

[outsidethecircle]

[A couple hours after the trial there may be a note slipped under your bedroom door reading simply in very formal handwriting (actually it's very amazingly neat for someone of her age you might think it's the other Anna)--

I made sandwiches. They're in the lounge if you want them.

-Anna

Anna herself will be found in the study after seeing everyone has enough sandwiches. Where she very sulkily is drawing a boat.]

Comments

[folkscallmewander]

[The first hour after the trial, Wander is in room 124 decompressing. The trial took a lot out of everyone, him included, and he needs some time to himself and think about where to go from here. He has the cape draped across himself, and Heihei Honey Nut is clucking away, pecking at the ticking vending machine clock.

The door is open. He's not going to shut it in case someone is looking for him.

Afterwards, he heads to the afterparty with a certain dumb chicken in his arms, calmer and with a clear mind. Everyone is upset, and they can't be upset alone. Wander approaches you with a gentle smile.]

You wanna pet him? [Therapy chickens are a thing.]

[thetimebomb]

[A little while after the trial is over, Wander should hear a knock on his door. She knows it's open, but she figured she might as well be polite.]

Wander? It's me, Sylvia.

at the afterpart

[outsidethecircle]

[Wander, that chicken is almost as big as you. Also you caught her before she's heading to the study--]

Is he going to peck me?

Afterparty

[arpeggiositar]

Ah, yes, the dumb chicken.

[Nope, not petting it. Demyx looks around, wary, then leans forward to whisper to Wander]

By the way, if you see Maui, you may want to hide the chicken. He doesn't like it very much.

afterparty

[kindaruledatit]

[Looking for upset people? Why not Wendy, who seems kind of content to sit on this couch like a bump on a log. Until Wander comes by, that is.]

....Isn't that the chicken that came out of the slot machine? How's it alive?

afterparty

[tadaishi]

[Wander why are you carrying around a chicken?]

Will he peck me if I try?

[How does one pet a chicken? You pet birds on the head, right? And maybe chest feathers?]

afterparty

[capulion]

Nnnnno thanks.

[She looks concerned at the chicken, then folds her ears back sadly at Wander.

Very slowly, carefully, she licks the side of his face. He's too kind and gentle for this.]

[amadeusrockette]

[Julia shows up at the afterparty without prompting, although she looks . . . different? Where her hair has mostly been pulled back into a ponytail or a bun, it's down now and been teased into a vaguely wild style that's kind of at odds with her designer clothes.

She disappears into the kitchen after a few moments, where she can be found rifling through the pantry, looking for . . . the cooking wine. There's gotta be some kind of alcohol in here, right???

Eventually she makes her way back to the lounge, sitting and tiredly nibbling at a sandwich.]

[outsidethecircle]

[Anna's heading back to the kitchen to make more sandwiches just so she can have a chance to leave when she sees Julia.]

What are you looking for?

kitchen

[kindaruledatit]

[You would think that after everything, Wendy wouldnt have any appetite to speak of... and yet, she's still drawn to the kitchen. It's either a force of habit, or some innate desire to eat something, but she walks in, and instantly spots her.]

Looking for something?

[defyingfrigidity]

[It's a good thing they all retreat for a bit after the trial, and Anna's note comes after some of them have had time to just. Breathe. It gives Elsa a while to loosen her grip just a little on her powers, to let the frost creep along the walls and snow scatter along the rug. It eases the knot of tension in her chest just a little, and by the time she's ready to join the others outside her room, she's able to dismiss the snow surrounding her with just a wave of her hand.

She makes a stop in the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, but she can't stay there long. She can still see Karolina's body, she can still imagine the blood.... it's too soon. She nearly runs from the kitchen, retreating to the lounge and finding a spot to sit and eat.

Except... she can't eat. She stares down at the sandwich, but she can't even will herself to pick it up. Every time she tries, her stomach lurches, like she's going to be sick. So she just sets the plate aside, leans forward, and buries her face in her hands.]

Ugh....

[whistlenotchirp]

[For his flaws, Jiminy's still the sort of person who likes to help people out. Granted, it could just be an ego thing. Or it could be a basic decency thing.

Either way, he hops up to the table and sits down carefully, feet hanging over the edge.]

Not hungry, champ?

Lounge

[arpeggiositar]

Oh, geez...

[Demyx was just passing by, but hard not to notice Elsa's desperation]

Don't force yourself to eat if you don't want to. You'll be fine.

[That's not the problem here, Demyx, damn it]

[capulion]

Yeah, that about sums it up.

[Kiara can't imagine anyone really wants to talk about it, but she knows she doesn't want to be alone.

She sort of flops down on the floor by Elsa's feet, ears drooping.]

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou takes this hard. When he finally gets back up after the execution (whether by his own hand or with help, he's numb and in shock as he drifts back to room 103. The door is locked, but there's the flappy sound of a notebook being thrown at the door with a furious thud, the only indication of the Fit being thrown therein.

When he emerges, he's shed his black waistcoat and not yet replaced it. His bow is askew and his hair is still untied and flying in a wild mane around his face as he goes into room 105. During his little raid, the door remains open, and anyone can see him take Mulan's armor back to his room. He promised to take it home to her father for her.

After he goes back in his room, his morbid mission accomplished, he comes back out this time in the fashionable dark blue waistcoat that Elsa made for him, his hair tamed and tied back... with a green ribbon this time. He's at the party but entirely by coincidence.]

Oh... it looks like someone beat me to making food.

[defyingfrigidity]

[When Elsa notices Lefou walk into their little meetup... honestly, it makes the cloud hanging over her clear up a little to see him wearing the coat she made for him. Not enough to get her to flash more than just a tired half-smile, but... it still makes her happy, somewhat.]

Now, more than ever, we all have to look out for each other, so it's not too surprising that someone stepped up like this.

[thetimebomb]

[After talking to Wander, Sylvia ends up finding herself with some sandwiches and hot tea. But as she settles into a nice chair in the study she realizes she's not exactly hungry for once. She takes a few sips of her tea but she just felt just... not hungry, even though she hasn't eaten anything since the previous night.

So instead she just stares at the fire in frustration.]

So I guess this ruined our chances of waiting it out and hoping they just release us, huh?

[Sorry she's not in a great mood right now.]

[arpeggiositar]

Yeah...at least now we know what's going to happen if someone dies.

[Demyx sighs. He's not in the greatest of moods either. Not frustrated, more like...gloomy]

That's not much better, is it?

[ilovepuppies]

[At some point during the afterparty, Star appears. She's lying face down on a couch and moaning occasionally.]

[thetimebomb]

[Star, nooo.]

Star, are you o- wait no that's a stupid question.

[Honestly she'd be more worried if she was okay right now.]

This whole situation sucks, doesn't it?

[aboyandhiscar]

[Mike can be found making sure that blood has been scrubbed off their doors--and if it hasn't been, he sure is washing it off now. SCRUB A DUB.

Later, he can be found chilling in the Conservatory, with a little dog bobblehead right next to him. Look at it go, just bouncing away. He's just kind of absentmindedly staring out the window, and can be sneaked up on. Is he nodding off too?? A mystery.]

doors

[kindaruledatit]

...Hey.

[Far from their first encounter, Wendy's looking a little rough. to say the least.]

Don't suppose you need any help with all this cleanup, huh?

[whistlenotchirp]

[When he isn't pestering other people, Jiminy finds himself getting increasingly antsy with himself. He paces from room to room, increasingly desperate for a distraction. Talking to the others certainly helps, but as soon as the conversation ends he can feel the inner discomfort build all over again.

There was no other choice. There are rules and they have to be followed. He did the right thing.

He did.]

I already know this is going to end GREAT

[toogoodforhim]

[While he's going from room to room, he might almost get stepped on by a human carefully carrying a metal breastplate from room 105 to room 103.]

[heartofold]

[Sophie... is still in shock. The only thing she does know is that staying cooped up in her room in the silence is stifling. So instead she goes to the afterparty, making tea and coffee and offering it to the others. Her hands are going entirely by impulse. Muscle memory. Her mind isn't quite in it. Still... the tea and coffee comes out good all on it own.

But she hasn't eaten and it's questionable if she's actually stopped to drink anything herself.]

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou accepts the offered coffee but he's kind of noticed the way she hasn't stopped moving since he joined the party.]

Have you had a cup yet?

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip is sitting on a chair in the lounge, staring at the sandwich in her hands. She's blinking slowly.]

...I should have told her. [She didn't quite put things together until it was too late already, and she regrets that.]

[folkscallmewander]

[Wander finally stops asking people to pet Honey Nut and returns him to his nest in Room 124. He also grabs the first meal of the day and sits next to Tip. He's been worried about her since the investigation, ever since she seemed to shut down and just...wasn't there. He pats her on the arm.]

I'm sure she'd know that we all cared about her.

[kindaruledatit]

[After the trial, things had gotten quiet, at least to Wendy who went back to her room to de-stress, which mostly amounts to sitting on her bed and staring at the wall. And every so often, she looks over the bracelet in her hands.

The door's cracked open right now. She's not going to object to anyone that wants to come in, but she does have her axe, right next to her.

Later, Wendy actually does make her way to the afterparty, marching into the lounge and basically plopping down onto one of the couches. Her posture is slumped, head back and she simply chooses to look the room over. Really look it over, the furniture, the walls, the people in here. Despite everything earlier, she looks about the same as when she woke up today.

Except there was the addition of a certain bracelet, wrapped around her wrist.]

[heartofold]

[If Wendy hadn't come, Sophie would have eventually stopped by her room. She knew how hard this hit her especially. But since she's here Sophie, who's been making tea and coffee for the people who came, stops to check on her. Wendy looks terrible, but that's no real surprise. She's had to go through something no one should ever have to.]

Would you like something to drink?

[chainbroke]

[ After the trial, she goes straight to her room. Good luck convincing her to come out. ]

[heartofold]

[There are a few people who don't come to the afterparty. One that stands out in Sophie's mind is Namine. This... must be hard for her. So after giving her some time... she comes to the door with a hot cup of tea in her hand.

Gently she knocks with her right hand.]

...it's Sophie. I brought you some tea, if you'd like it.

[She has a sandwich with her too but. Baby steps.]

[strangerslikeme]

[Tarzan still doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. But he knows that he watched somebody die a horribly brutal death, which is probably why he's a lot more sulky at the moment.

He's in the lounge, mostly, hanging off of one of the chairs.]