[early morning cat posting]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

Who: everyone
When: July 25
Where: class 3-C
What: a few visitors!
Warnings: none!

[On Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. on the dot, the student body is awoken not by the bell, but by the sound of meowing echoing over the intercom.

[It's not just the PA system, either. Soft, gentle, and very cute mewls fill the classroom hallways; distant on floors one and two, but much louder on floor three. Intrepid explorers who follow the noise will find that one of the third floor classrooms has been overtaken by a pack of ghostly cats!]

[Each creature is the size of a normal housecat, and has the mannerisms of one. That is, they will attempt to hop into your lap for some prime cuddling time, ears and tails flicking adorably all the while. Their bodies are a pale, ghostly white, and their eyes glow a soft, gentle blue. Although they are translucent, they are still solid to the touch, and they feel just like a normal cat does. Soft fur and everything! Aren't they precious? Aren't they just so stinkin' cute??? DON'T YOU JUST WANT TO SMOOSH THEIR ROUND LI'L KITTEN FACES??]

[So long as characters are kind to the cat spirits, the Nekomata are completely harmless. They just want to play and snuggle!! Although. . .]

[Anyone who touches a cat spirit will find themselves hit with a sudden need for physical contact. This can range from something small (desiring a high five) to something bigger (needing to CUDDLE THE SHIT outta someone). Being surrounded by more than one Nekomata means the compulsion becomes stronger, too! One cat means it can probably be safely ignored, but five?? If you don't HOLD SOMEONE'S HAND RIGHT THIS SECOND you JUST MAY DIE!!]

[Oh, so you don't like cats? No problem! The Nekomata are mischievous creatures, and they WILL leap onto people's backs and shoulders without warning. Being cat spirits, they can also teleport from one place to another, so. . . you can be minding your own business one second, blink, and then be staring into the eyes of a cute cat spirit perched on your lap the next.]

[The Nekomata will be drawn towards members of Anzen more than anyone else per their target lock curse, but they are excited to shower literally anyone in a bit of cute kitty affection, regardless of their homeroom]

[Please let me know if your character is being violent and/or aggressive towards the Nekomata. Otherwise, enjoy some compulsive physical bonding with a cute ghostly flair!]

Comments

[darkholder]

Yes.

[there's the ghost of a frown as she brushes her fingertips against her temple for just a moment, but her tone and body language don't change. sometimes... things just happen...]

I trust that even if you share that theory with anyone, the source will be kept private?

[ratiocinations]

[It does not seem this is a fact that she's despairing over, but rather exasperated about. How odd.

Still, his own brow remains scrunched.]

Of course. If you wish it so, I'll not share my sources.

[ ... ]

Are the circumstances regarding your dying state... Are you willing to talk about them?

[darkholder]

[thinks about that, for a moment.]

I think the circumstances are irrelevant, but if you have a convincing argument for why that's not the case, I will consider it.

[ratiocinations]

My argument is a simple one: the attempt to root out correlation between the meaning behind our arrival. Perhaps there is a small detail in your... circumstances that ties subtly to others, binding us together in ways unilluminated until now. Perhaps there is not. But I will not know, either way, if I am blind to this data.

...That, and I do wonder at the extent to which you've been healed from either injury or sickness.

[Because, perhaps despite that missing finger which hints at something more, she appears healthy now.]

[darkholder]

[thinks again, for a moment.]

The entire explanation is difficult to convey in short. I can say it was not due to injury or sickness, and I think if anything ties me to the people here, it's most likely to be the outcome rather than the means.

[ratiocinations]

[A death—or something close to it—that did not come via injury or sickness?]

And yet the means in your case may be more informative than the outcome itself. No one else I have spoken to has claimed to have been dead before arriving here.

[darkholder]

[a beat]

I understand your curiosity, but I don't particularly enjoy speaking about this. I kept my word and told you despite that fact. I would prefer to leave it at that, especially since I doubt you would believe the circumstances under which it occurred.

[ratiocinations]

[Hmphs! The people here and their well-kept secrets. (guy keeping a secret about being a detective)]

Very well. If it causes you distress, I will not press the matter, and trust you to know when such facets of information are worth keeping to yourself, and when they are not.

That said, do not underestimate my propensity for imagination.

[So much has happened in less than a week. The fact that she thinks he'd not believe her is a wild one, in his opinion.]

[darkholder]

I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Adair.

[as she continues looking through this desk.]

[ratiocinations]

Thank you, dear girl.

[He will let her look for a moment, though. Unfortunately, there is nothing there but scraps of paper and maybe half-broken pencils.

...Idly bends down to pet the cats at his ankles.]

Anything?

[darkholder]

[shaking her head with a frown]

No, nothing important.

[ratiocinations]

[He didn't think so. But how frustrating.]

Fruitless, every classroom so far. Perhaps it's all been magically or maliciously whisked away, but I find that unlikely, given the shred of evidence we have to the contrary.

[evidence?]

[darkholder]

[tilting her head]

What evidence is that?

[ratiocinations]

[Lights up a little with the sharp arch of a brow.]

Well. Would you like to see it for yourself?

[darkholder]

Of course.

[ratiocinations]

Then if you'll follow me.

[Without any further preamble, he straightens and immediately heads out the door. A few cats trail behind him, but his pace is a quick one, if only because his strides are so long.

Follow!!]

[darkholder]

[following along! after leaning down to pet one of the cats one more time.]

[ratiocinations]

[He takes her down to the first floor (cats and all), and leads her to the school's lobby.]

There. [He directs her attention to the large glass case. No doubt the portraits hanging above are the most striking—and eerie—part of the display.] Do you see what I mean?

[The students which have "GRADUATED."]

[darkholder]

...And yet we can find no information about them.

[glancing quickly over their faces, the scratched out eyes, with a frown.]

Do you recognize any of them?

[ratiocinations]

No, none at all. And it is vexing.

[Though it adds to the mystery, if nothing else.

He shakes his head, glancing over the portraits again. He has looked at them more than once, trying to glean familiarity, but he is fairly sure he knows none of them.]

I do not. Nor are the names legible enough for me to verify one way or another.

[darkholder]

You're right, though, that it's strange to have their faces here if it's otherwise intentional to hide their information.

[ratiocinations]

And further: what happened to them? All this- [gestures at the portraits, with marked out eyes and impossible to read names] -does not paint a promising picture.

[darkholder]

I assume they're dead or met an otherwise unpleasant fate, but... I would be glad to be proven wrong about that.

[ratiocinations]

Hm.

[Yes, so would he. He has the distinct feeling that "GRADUATED" is the fate they might be pushed into, if they are not terribly careful.

But then he looks at her again, a thin grin on his features.]

Indeed. So, I would appreciate any further effort to keep looking for evidence of what happened to these now-graduated students. If you'd be so kind to help me with it, Ms Star.

[See? Asking. Nicely.]

[darkholder]

[nodding as he asks.]

I'm fairly unsatisfied without answers, too. I don't mind working together.