Fourth Trial

[neverhadafriend]

[Same time. Same place. Same old murder. Thus is the cycle on Pleasure Island, and thus are the circumstances you find yourself trapped in.

The birds are unusually quiet when you enter the room, peering down at the crowd with some curiosity. The Genie is center stage, his eyebrows knit together in concern.]

...You know what to do, folks. [He rubs the back of his neck, somehow looking even more anxious than previous trials.] Just a, uh, fair warning, my master's getting real antsy about this whole exercise.

[ TRIAL START! ]

Comments

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

Yeah, probably from the potted plant.

[ A frown. ]

And it looked like it was leading away from the library, but the footprints in the library were Bob's. His feet are... big.

[prodigalhairess]

Just his? But this... wasn't an accident, right?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

He was in the library with a knife that didn't look like it was used. Maybe it was an accident, but...

[It seems unlikely.]

[prodigalhairess]

But there was dirt in the hallway. If it was an accident, then wouldn't it have just all been in the library?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Hmmm. She has to think it over.]

Okay, so there was a potted plant knocked over in the library, and dirt outside of it. So maybe it was a real fight after all, and dirt got trailed out when someone left.

[prodigalhairess]

Did the trail lead anywhere? If it led up to one of the rooms, we could figure it out that way...

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

If that's true... maybe we can check shoes? There weren't any footprints besides his that I could see, but someone might have some dirt or different shoes than usual.

[prodigalhairess]

Yeah... even if the prints don't match what was around the plant, then we could still maybe narrow things down.

[Look I hate talking about Rapunzel's feet don't make me DO this in detail.

But. Yes. Rapunzel is still barefoot as always, and although they're not 100 percent squeaky clean, the dirt on her feet does not match the dirt from the potted plant. Just... normal "walking around an old clubhouse" dirt.]

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

[ And in return, X-23 will take off her boots, which do probably have a little dirt on them, but- ]

I was looking at it, so... some probably got on then.

[halloteen]

[marnie just wears cheap flipflops now because she's given up on life, but they are distinctly sandy, not dirty.]

[madmadam]

[Mim's shoes are dirty, but it's definitely not fresh dirt.]

[tadaishi]

[Got slightly sandy, slightly (faded) bloodstained hi-tops here.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I tried to step over the dirt in the hallways, so you're probably not going to find anything.

[She offers her boot for X-23 to inspect. The top looks nice, because her life is a disaster but at least she likes to keep her shoes meticulous.

Underneath, there's definitely some dirt on the heel.]

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

[ X-23 looks at it. ]

And you stepped over all of it?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I... Yeah, I tried.

[It does look fresh.]

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

[ ... She breathes. Oh, she's not a fan! Not at all!! ]

Bob's body looked like he had been dead for a little while, but... there's still some fresh dirt here.

[ mmmmmMMMMM ]

Just in case, where were you last night?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

With Rapunzel in our room. [Said immediately.] She can vouch for me.

[nobodylikesyouwhen]

[ an exhale. ]

No, I... I trust you. I just want to figure out what happened.

[ and SOMEONE keeps hitting the bold text! ]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cass lets out a breath she didn't notice she was holding.]

That's good. Thanks.

It's not easy, that's for sure.

[prodigalhairess]

Yeah. I'll vouch for her. She was with me the whole time, until we fell asleep.

[bornforit]

[Leia's fancy space-princess boots are, as always, pristine white!]