sevenhorrors | doctor, doctor, give me the news!

[Given what they've experienced of this place so far, it would be awful to wish a familiar face here. And yet... Holmes is already feeling the dearth of a certain someone, too, keenly. And it's only day one. He gets it!]

If you'd have me.

Sure. Everyone's pretty tired, though, so try not to make too much noise.

[ Not that he seems like the loud type, but either way, she starts to lead him to the kitchen. ]

I'll be as quiet as the dead.

[Perhaps not a comforting parallel to craft, but Holmes' has a strange sense of humor. He follows her, his steps purposefully careful and quiet, despite his frame; that at least is of note.

Into the kitchen.]

I know it's not been long since we last spoke, but how are you faring now?

[ Did he really have to say it that way? Tifa shoots him a look that more or less translate to "really?," but then she leads him over to the kitchen all the same. ]

I'm doing a bit better, thanks. Things have calmed down, and I found out that a friend of mine from home was in one of the other rooms. What about you?

[ As they speak, she starts to put together a plate of food for him. There's not much since they already picked over what was brought by another teammate of hers from the cafeteria, but it's only right to offer some food to a guest! ]

I'm fine.

[lmao waving that notion away, he'd rather focus on-]

A friend of yours? Who? And... [Another waving motion.] Thank you, but no... I don't need anything to eat.

She's with Shiawase.

[ She pauses for a moment, looking him up and down. ]

Have you eaten already?

[Shiawase. He's going through the roster (that he's met) in his head, when her question makes him blink.]

No, but I can't commit myself to eating just yet.

Edited (wording) 2025-07-22 18:40 (UTC)

Hmm... You mean you're worried there's something wrong with the food, right?

[ The thought had crossed her mind, but then everyone seemed to be eating without much trouble, so... ]

[He shakes his head once.]

No, I mean precisely what I mean. I cannot commit myself to eating, because there is much else to be done. And I will not waste energy on digestive efforts when I've dormitories still to visit.

Haven't you heard of multitasking? [ lol, lmao ] You can eat while I give you my report, how about that?

[lol..lmao]

Are you making it a prerequisite for your report?

Would that bother you?

[ Just... putting some mashed potatoes and veggies onto a plate for him, along with some questionable meatloaf. It's not great-looking, but it is food. ]

This is more efficient, right?

...Very well.

[With the intonation of someone who is not doing so out of enthusiasm, but because he has been asked. Tifa really getting the Watson experience right now.]

[ Tifa can tell he's not thrilled about it, but he's already agreed, so... she'll take this as a win. (Not beating the Watson allegations, it seems.)

Honestly, it's really not so different from getting Cloud to cooperate. ]

Well, I guess first thing's first is that there's a cafeteria here. It seems like food is put out, I guess for all of us, though I'm not sure yet who's making the food. Another member of my group went there tonight, so I'm planning to check it out in the morning.

[ Also slides over some utensils for him... ]

[With an exhale, he takes the plate of food and the utensils, looking for a place to sit in the kitchenette area, if there is one. Regardless, his eyes sweeping over the plate creates no comment — it is not... particularly appetizing-looking, but it is no one's fault that it isn't. And it's better than anything he could whip up on his own.]

Which means that they intend to keep us here for a long while yet.

I guess so, yeah...

[ We'll say there's somewhere to sit! Tifa's probably going to be milling around the kitchenette as they talk, cleaning things up and putting food away for later or tomorrow. It reminds her of her work at the bar, and she falls into it easily enough, if only because with it comes the comfort of familiarity. ]

This seems like a whole lot of work, doesn't it? All the setup, making sure there's places for us to stay, sectioning us off into groups... I don't really get what the point is, though.

[ If it was just to kill them, they wouldn't be going to so much effort. ]

[Then! He sit!

He will poke at his meatloaf-esque item first, as though to test its consistency. Eyes flick up to her as she moves about, cleaning up — he does note that it seems practiced for her, though this is vague enough to tell him nothing, really.]

We know that they covet our names. It's possible they hope to keep us alive just long enough to trick us into giving them, though I personally feel this is an uninspired reason.

Just hoping we'll slip up, huh? I guess it's possible...

[ She had been so close to saying Yuffie's name when she first saw her, after all, and she's pretty sure the same was true in reverse too.

But it seems like everyone understands that's not a risk they want to take. ]

You think there's more to it, though?

[ She is subtly watching to make sure he actually eats instead of just pushing the food around the plate. Do not waste it, sir!! ]

[Wow!! He will eat!!! He spears the meatloaf-like entity on his plate and takes a bite. It's... interesting. He won't complain, either way, because he'd much rather talk about their circumstances than the food.]

If they wanted our names, and only our names, why keep us alive after they've already instilled the habit of being cautious against doing exactly that? Perhaps they might earn a real name or two with time; an accidental "slip up", as you said.

But that is an awful lot of effort to go to, to keep an entire group like this clothed, fed, and playing the part of students for an extended period of time, which I suspect will be the case for us. Why not just kill us and kidnap another group to try again? It doesn't make sense, unless a single name is exceedingly more powerful than we currently give them credit for.

Edited 2025-07-24 13:03 (UTC)

[ Tifa considers everything that he's saying, and she can't say she disagrees with any of it. This is so much effort to go to for just the chance of a name, especially when they've already been warned in a number of different ways. ]

... You're right. [ She pauses for a moment, sighing as she leans her hands up on the counter. ] It really feels like there's got to be more to it. I don't get why it's all in a school, either. Was that just a convenience because it can house so many of us?

[ What would they need this many people for... She doesn't like it. ]

[No, it bodes very ill.]

I doubt it. I think there is a history here, and the origins of these dark machinations may have begun at this school. Our presence might've been summoned in order to... recreate the past.

[But this is all theory, of course.]

[ Recreate the past? That's definitely a leap, but Tifa can guess where he might have gotten that idea. ]

The people who wrote in the journals... it seems like at some point they were in the same situation as us, right?

It seems so. But we're only given two entries apiece. That cannot be right — or rather, it is unlikely that was all any of them had written.

[Unless they all met a sudden demise at the same time, which is not out of the realm of possibility, but he'd rather focus on more promising ventures.]

Unless something happened to them...? The writing on the chalkboard matched, after all. In my room, at least.

[ And usually things that leave drawings or markings in places like that are ghosts, meaning... ]

[It matched in his, too.]

Unless the message that came after—"FIND THE KEY"—was written well before today, then it is evidence that they still are here in some capacity. No?

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