WEEK 3

[grimgrinningghosts]

[Karolina and Mulan are dead. The first, and hopefully the last, deaths of your stay here. Hopefully their deaths won't be in vain. Your third week here starts on a solemn note, and the mood here has taken on a significant downward spiral. If it's any consolation (it isn't), you'll find that you have two new floors to explore...even if one of those floors has about twenty STAY OUT signs nailed to it.

23 guests remain.]

[SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY]

{ooc: Don't forget to turn in your week 2 AC! As we're now officially in full murdergame mode, AC from here on out is extended till Thursday.}

Comments

Wake

[toogoodforhim]

[It's not quite the laying in state fit for a princess, but eventually through collaborative effort Anna is laid out on one of the couches in the lounge, shrouded in a spare bedsheet. Her face is covered, too, by default - Lefou's on standby to make sure that anyone who wants to look is ready to see the state of her - and her hands folded atop her chest. The body looks peaceful. Whole, thanks to the red silk bow tied around her neck to cover the wound.

Lefou's wearing the waistcoat that Elsa made him, now, because even though it was blue the hues were more subdued than the black and golden flowers of his other. He looks somehow like he hasn't slept in six months.

His bow is missing.]

[terribibble]

[By the time Lefou is done getting Anna ready, Fiddleford is done with at least the preliminary process of cleaning up his room. That's given him enough time to get himself more or less under control and in a calm enough head-space to actually attend the wake at all. If Anna's ghost is still in this house -- and it's all but been confirmed by now that it probably is -- then it's the least he can do.

He isn't quite comfortable looking at the body but he's brought one of his own bedsheets and hung it over the mirror in the corner. It's only a token superstition when he hasn't covered any of the other mirrors but he wouldn't feel right not doing it all the same.]

I don't suppose we'll be allowed to stay with her all night, will we.

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou can't begin to say how thankful he is for everyone who helped get the body ready. Because it wasn't just him, that's for sure, he knew where they should put her and the bow was his idea (for lack of another scarf), but he... did relatively less, after he got her to her room.]

...I asked the host. He said they would bury her in the morning, as soon as we all leave her alone.

[terribibble]

Well that's... that's more kindness than I honestly expected.

[Well. Maybe 'kindness' isn't the right word, exactly, but he isn't sure there's a better one. Consideration? That might be it. The point is he didn't think they'd be allowed to give her a proper sendoff when they weren't with Karolina and Mulan, and it's good to know he was wrong.]

That's good. She deserves that much.

[sixfingeredstan]

[Once Ford has given himself time to calm down from the boiling rage he'd felt up in the attic, and cleaned himself up—his turtleneck had been nearly soaked in the princess's blood, and is now laying over the side of the bathtub to dry—he finally emerges and proceeds to the lounge to pay his respects. His expression is long, to say the least, and tired. He feels like they've already been here months, but it's only been three weeks and already three people have died. He's seen three corpses too many, and the up-close and personal nature of the discovery of Anna's corpse is a heavy weight on his shoulders. It's not like he's never seen death before, but this is different. Three innocent girls are gone, for no reason.

He bows his head toward Lefou, and then steps up to stand over Anna's prone, shrouded form.]

Miss Anna. We never met, but I know you were the light of your sister's life. I pray that you find peace in the afterlife.

[He lowers his chin and closes his eyes, saying a quick kaddish in his head. She wasn't Jewish, but Ford feels like the sentiment would still be appreciated. Not that he's even religious, really, but some customs stick, and this is one of them.

When he's done, he turns to Lefou, stepping away to allow others to pay their respects.]

Thank you. For taking care of this.

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou barely acknowledges the nod, but Ford looks as heavy as he himself feels. He watches, having stepped aside a long time ago - he never paid formal respects, not like he would have at a viewing back home, but he's bone-tired already from as much as he's done to help.

He smiles, wanly.]

Villeneuve is a small village - I didn't really realize how many times I've been to a viewing or a funeral until, well, now.

[He fiddles with the collar of his shirt, as if missing his bow.]

...I just hope it helps more than it hurts.

[sixfingeredstan]

It's the kind of thing one tends to try to forget.

[Hands folded behind his back, Ford looks back over his shoulder at the people beginning to file in to pay their respects.]

I'm sure Elsa will appreciate it, even if she can't really articulate that now. It would be terrible for her to have to lose her sister without a proper chance to say goodbye. We all appreciate it.

[defyingfrigidity]

[It's a little shocking, how one single event can completely undo a year's worth of good, hard work at improving yourself. One moment, and Elsa went from a woman happy to show off for her new friends to shutting herself away in her room. Again.

For a while after the makeshift wake began, Elsa is nowhere to be seen. It's safe to assume she's in her room of course, because anyone passing by her door will absolutely notice the frost creeping out from under it and the way the temperature surrounding it drops a good twenty degrees or so. There's no hint of her crying inside, but... well. Elsa's had thirteen years to master the art of not letting other people hear you even as you sob until no more tears come out.

She does leave her room eventually though, later on when she thinks there might be less people out. And.... god, unsurprisingly she looks like a mess. Thankfully there's no hint of her sister's blood on her dress - the perks of being able to magic away and re-summon your clothes - but the way Elsa carries herself is so heavy that it's a wonder she can stay upright. And her face... there's no spark in her eyes, no hint of anything. Just a dull blankness.

She doesn't stop to talk to anyone when she reaches the lounge. She'll just head right over to where Anna's shrouded vody is laid out, and after a moment to take it all in, to let it really register that this is her dead sister, her expression twists into a look pf all-consuming grief, and she collapses on her knees at the side of the sofa, hands curling tightly into the fabric of the sheet separating her from her sister.]

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...

[It's so soft, it's barely even a whisper.]

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou is nervous about Elsa being alone, but the chill and the frost under her door tell him that she's alive, so he lets her be. Just because he grieves like they do in Villeneuve, in the army, all in groups and quiet condolences (or food and stories, celebrating the life of the deceased, but usually that was at the end of a life long-lived), doesn't mean that everyone else needs the same.

It wasn't him, but someone must have told her because she comes into the lounge looking like somebody hollowed out her spirit and left nothing behind. He wonders if anyone used the notebook yet. He wonders if anyone even noticed it, if she even noticed it.

Out of respect, he stands back to let her grieve, even when she drops to her knees in grief, clutching at the makeshift shroud. Eventually, he goes over to her, kneeling down next to her and putting a hand on her back, heedless of the danger. He's seen her magic but he's not scared of it. Or at least, he's not scared of her.]

Elsa? I'm going to pull over a chair for you, okay?

[defyingfrigidity]

[Perhaps surprisingly, Elsa doesn't seem to react at all to the contact. Her pwers don't either, thankfully, buy for someone who can get a little jumpy when people touch her, that... might not be a good sign. ]

That won't be necessary.

[Even her voice is dull and flat... the grief is there too, but she mostly jusy sounds completely blank.]

[ilovepuppies]

[Star doesn't have much of a filter, but even she knows it's a good idea to keep her mouth shut right now.

So instead, she's just going to give Elsa a hug.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[In some way, Elsa can appreciate the gesture. She wasn't extremely close to Star, but it was impossible to ignore how the girl threw herself so vibrantly into everything. So the fact that she at least tries to act subdued is comforting.

But even so, the hug... isn't quite good for Elsa. She doesn't shove Star away, and her magic doesn't flare up, but she just sort of locks up in the younger girl's arms.]

[tadaishi]

[Like Elsa, Tadashi hasn't been to the wake, but his reasons are a bit less personal. He's lost parents, he knows exactly how that feels, even though he was pretty young, but he's never lost a sibling. For all that his brother annoys him, he loves Hiro too much to lose him.

He doesn't like the idea that it could be Hiro under the sheet instead of Anna. His sibling instead of someone else's. And Anna's death is somehow more real--Anna was one of the first people he talked to in the mansion. He should say something, even if it's 'sorry I didn't get to tell you about televisions.'

Elsa's there when he decides to do that, and he hesitates again before approaching and kneeling beside her.]

Elsa...? It...um...well, I can't say it'll be okay, but...I'm sorry.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa doesn't look up at Tadashi as he approaches, so it's unsure if she even realizes he's therw, but after he speaks, she just shakes her head.]

Don't. If anyone should say that, it's me. [Her fists tighten even more in the sheet, a few scrawls of snow crawling around her. Not on the sheet or Anna's body, no. It stays far away from her.] This is my fault.

[folkscallmewander]

[Wander hadn't spoken to Elsa much, he had good conversations with her and Anna, they were wonderful people. It make her death all much worse. Just by standing next to Elsa, he could feel the grief radiating from her body, the sorrow that comes from losing family. He wanted to shake and cry alongside her.

Sometimes he wishes he wasn't so darn empathetic.

And he wishes he knew how to fix this.

He doesn't know what to say apart from apologizing and giving Elsa a hug, but the apology is for both sisters. An apology for pain and an apology for not going inside the attic first. This could have been prevented.

For all he can do, Wander sits beside Elsa, watching her with sad eyes and waiting until she speaks up or he can think of something better to say than "I'm sorry". He could just sit here forever and offer Elsa his presence.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[She... appreciates it a lot, actually. She knows the others are just trying tp help, and she appreciates that at least, but... the words just seem ao empty. She can't accept any of it.

But just the feeling of another's presence is good. It helps anchor her a bit, to keep her from completely drowning in her grief.

Even so... she doesn't want anyone hanging around an uncomfortable situation for her sake, so after a few moments, she speaks up in that same quiet, defeated tone.]

You don't have to stay here for me.

[pardonmylanguage]

[Tip doesn't say anything, just lays a hand on Elsa's shoulder. She's thinking about J. Lo, with his own sheet covering up his body and face as a disguise. Even if he's technically an adult, technically sturdier than her...he's still her little brother. And now that she's calmed down from things...part of her is imagining him there as well.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[Ever put your hand directly on a sheet of ice and hold it there? That's kinda what touching Elsa is like right now. There's no actual icy burn so Tip isn't in actual danger, but Elsa's still cold as death right now.

And she's quiet as it, too. Some of the others have gotten her to talk, but she's so utterly drained now that she just doesn't have the energy to react at all. Sorry, Tip.]

[grimgrinningghosts]

[When Elsa returns to her room after the wake, she'll find a small wooden box left out in front of her door.

Inside is a set of chess pieces.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[... This is conflicting at first., because Elsa knows this has to have been left by Ezra; he's the only one she played chess with, so it made sense. When she thought of him, she thought of the ghosts, and it made a bitter burn rush through her. It had been a ghost that had done this to Anna, why would they do this now...!

But... then she felt shame rush through her almost as fast. Ezra had no part in this, it wouldn't be fair to get angry at him. So she takes the box, gripping it tightly for a moment before speaking softly.]

Thank you.

[And then she retreats to her room once more.]

[folkscallmewander]

[Wander doesn't have a tie or a solemn enough dress to wear to the wake, much less flowers or anything appropriate to give Anna. Being among the last to leave the attic, his legs were shaking when he returned to his room to lie facedown on the bed.

Grop, why did it have to be Anna? She had gone in without their noticing, what if she was calling for help when the ghost got to her? Was it during the night? Should Wander have gone in on Monday afternoon when the others were nearby to rescue him? Now Anna was the one given the wake when it could likely have been himself. Elsa had lost a sister and Wander could have prevented that. How could he face anyone knowing that?

He stays in his room for a while. The door is open in case someone needs him.

But he would be less useful if he locked himself away for the rest of the day. There are things he has to tell Anna before she's taken away. He arrives at the wake to fight off the urge to sit back and be everyone's comforter, but he manages to walk up to the couch, rest his arms on the bedsheet, and takes a long look at her hands.]

I'm real sorry. [Most of the blood appears to be cleaned. She looks as if she was only resting.] It shouldn't have happened to you. [Why did they leave her body like that?] Wish I could've been there earlier to help.

[First Karolina, now Anna, why can't they stop these tragedies from happening?]

[toogoodforhim]

[Lefou's not equipped to be there for everyone - several people have had to be there for him, he's had to go in the men's room and splash water on his face just to keep from falling too deeply into himself several times now, but he's Trying and sometimes that's what people need.

Right now, he's just kind of. Numb. There. He's sitting in a chair he pulled in from the dining room, fiddling with his shirt cuffs (he scrubbed the blood out, wrung it out so that it was only a little damp, but the sleeves are bigger than his arms and sometimes they cool before they brush his skin). He's emotionally drained. He's not sure how much longer he can keep this up. Anna didn't deserve this. None of them deserve this. But they have to keep going.]

[folkscallmewander]

[Wander stays there silently, not wishing to draw attention to himself. He needs to take time to be sad, it's better than giving up, but he can't expect the others to comfort him. It would just make him uncomfortable and how could he be the one to ask for help when others need it more? Wander has seen death before, he should be fine.

When he finally pulls away, his eyes have dried, his mind his cleared, his hopes...not dashed. Lefou has somehow showed up without Wander noticing or Wander was too stressed to pay attention in the first place.]

Thanks, Lefou. [He rests a hand on his knee.] I can't thank you enough for doin' this.

[capulion]

[This is not at all the kind of death ceremony Kiara is used to, but she's doing her best to adapt. The blood is cleaned up and Anna's body is made somewhat peaceful, now. She's quiet and moves softly and slowly out of respect for the moment.

Lefou looks like a dead monkey walking. She nudges his hand when she sees him.]

You did a good job.

[toogoodforhim]

[Well, he's sitting by the time she finds him, which puts his hand even more in perfect nudging range. He smiles absently at the tickle of her whiskers and texture of her nose, petting her head slowly and looking down to meet her eyes. She's a perfectly sentient creature, it feels strange to pet her, but... Well, even humans like to have their hair pet, right? That's... Kind of what it's like.]

I... couldn't have done it alone. I just hope, you know, it...helps.