[They're talking about possessions and angry ghosts, but it's not until Pal asks about Luke that the air grows colder. Natsuno still remembers how it was when he asked the same, too embarrassed by these awful mugs to truly understand the effect the Luke one had on Jade.
So once his roommate is done explaining, Natsuno moves on like nothing happened.]
All the messages seem kinda personal. Do you know "Arthur" from 127?
That is precisely what I mean. [He frowns in thought, his fingers flexing at his sides with the pent up energy of his many, many questions. The idea that the possession (possessions?) might have something to do with the lack of ship maintenance had crossed his mind, and yet…] If there is a relation, that implies that there are significantly more possessions than we currently know about.
[And isn’t that an unsettling thought.
The temperature in the hallway drops about five degrees when Pal mentions Luke. He watches Jade without blinking, unable to discern what exactly has caused the darkness to fall over the man’s expression. Clearly, Luke was a particularly important friend. And very probably, something terrible happened to him.
Which makes the note even more cruel.
Pal doesn’t say I’m sorry because he doesn’t think Jade would take it well. Better, in this case, to stick to business.] At least that narrows down our list of suspects. Who knows about him?
[Then he turns to Natsuno.] They do, don’t they? Though I’m afraid I don’t know Arthur. Do you know anything about him?
[More possessions beyond the one that had killed Salazar. Just how many souls have been utilized to act as drones for this ship? Far more than there are passengers, no doubt--though Jade's fairly certain that he himself isn't currently possessed by anything, at the very least. Looking back over to Pal at length, he can't imagine the other man might be either--surely a necromancer of his sort would notice such a thing, if not already have innate measures against it. For that matter...
Yes, business. It's strictly business, here, and it's a tone that's appreciated. Jade's tone mimics Pal's neutrality in turn, in the end, strengthened by the quiet solidarity of dodging neatly around the more, emotional aspects, of all this.]
Currently--Rita, Yuuki, Ava Starr...Tear as well. She and I were both friends back home. But that's where the list ends, which leaves things very limited...perhaps too much so. [After all, Pal claims to have picked up a reading of a male, nebulous age notwithstanding. And the only male on that list is Natsuno....who still stands at the corner of his eye, as he speaks. But Jade hadn't even looked directly Natsuno's way, as he'd listed his name evenly alongside the rest. Seems entirely unlikely that Natsuno's currently possessed either, after all...as startled as he'd looked at the blood himself, and hardly exhibiting anything in the way of murderous intent at the moment either. ...Surely, then, there must be some other factor they're missing here?] ...The captain does have access to detailed personal information pertaining to each of us--there's a possibility that information could have spread in other ways...
[Jade's falling silent to mull over such thoughts, from there, while Natsuno answers the other question about this 'Arthur'. Not a person he's met himself, he's pretty sure...possibly a newer passenger here. (And already acquiring an oddly personal grudge?)]
[They almost clock him there, but then Jade is being so helpful by suggesting the information spreads in other ways. That's the things about four-eyed nerds, sometimes they're too smart for their own good.
He's not entirely off the hook, of course, but at least "Tear" won't be suspected. Worst case scenario, he will use his host's other power to throw them off the trail. His own powers were stripped away when he was pulled to the ship so long ago, while this kid was just playing defense while holding back on everything else he can do! Not one bite, not one visit to the gym or fight club to hone his physical prowess.
Well, he's going to give this body the respect it deserves. It's gonna be GREAT.
In the meantime though, he should answer Pal's question:]
Same as you. Never met him or his roommate, if he has one. I only know his name because it's written in the message.
[The first part isn't even a lie! Natsuno never met the man, but word spreads... especially when you ask your allies how to fuck with someone.]
[Palamedes looks thoughtful for a long moment, and then slowly turns his head to examine Natsuno. His expression isn’t accusatory, but he certainly looks curious.
Perhaps if he hadn’t spoken to Bash, Pal would be less likely to weigh the possibility of Natsuno’s guilt. That man had been fooled into thinking the ghost was a man he loved; could another ghost fool him and Jade into thinking their notoriously taciturn friend was in full control of his body?
Perhaps. But Pal has no proof, and only scant evidence. If he acts without being certain, things could go very badly indeed.]
You have a good point. We have little sense of what these revenants are capable of. They could very well have their own methods of communication. [For a long moment, his gaze continues to bore into Natsuno; then he sighs and looks back at the bloody door.] Hell, they might be holding secret meetings in the morgue to exchange information. That’s what I’d do.
Well, I suppose we can at least be sure that you're probably not one of them, or else you've certainly just blown those secret meetings out of the metaphorical water.
[A flicker of humor there at last, though it's a brief and very dry thing. Pal's leveling a longer look Natsuno's way, but Jade's eyeing the door once more around this time, misses the instance of scrutiny. ...He truly doesn't care for it, after all, even if he was the one to float it. The idea that such personal details that ought to be kept vested may very well be currently ferried about between murderous spirits, about now.
(No other message could have been so effective, really, in thoroughly distracting Jade as this one does. Which sure is working out in somebody's favor, about now...)
Still, though. All that aside--]
So, the blood in itself--it's indistinct in your readings, then? Doesn't appear to belong to any one particular individual? [Pal had nothing to say, it seems, about any actual demographics where the blood itself is concerned...]
We should check the morgue anyway. See if there's someone there with the same blood.
[Aw yeah false leads, he's NAILING this. Pal's curious glance is noted, but not acknowledgement. Just you wait, he thinks, I'll tear your noodle arms off their sockets, beat you up with them and once my friends take your body I'll have someone put them back. But first you should raise an army of skeletons, I wanna punch a skeleton...
Go on guys, Notsuno's just dreaming about murder over here.]
[Oh, Notsuno. Oh, you dear psychopathic ghost boy. Do you know what happens to people who underestimate Palamedes Sextus and his noodle arms?
Nothing good, is what.]
Or maybe it’s a trap. Maybe, if I were possessed, I’d want to lure you there.
[Okay okay, maybe that’s a borderline unfunny joke, given the situation. But also…he’s not wrong. They have to be vigilant. Without falling into a whirlpool of mistrust, they need to remain aware of the precarity of the situation. Not for the first time this month, Palamedes is reminded of the events at Canaan House, of the mysteries he wasn’t able to solve in time, and the people he wasn’t able to save.
Again, Pal glances at Natsuno, this time the look a bit more surreptitious. After a beat, he nods.]
A very good idea. [The blood on the door is still faintly damp and sticky, so Pal takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes away a bit of it. It’s not the most scientific way to collect a sample, it it will work for these circumstances.] And there’s no time like the present. I don’t think there’s much more I can do here, anyway.
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come_sailaway
no subject
So once his roommate is done explaining, Natsuno moves on like nothing happened.]
All the messages seem kinda personal. Do you know "Arthur" from 127?
no subject
[And isn’t that an unsettling thought.
The temperature in the hallway drops about five degrees when Pal mentions Luke. He watches Jade without blinking, unable to discern what exactly has caused the darkness to fall over the man’s expression. Clearly, Luke was a particularly important friend. And very probably, something terrible happened to him.
Which makes the note even more cruel.
Pal doesn’t say I’m sorry because he doesn’t think Jade would take it well. Better, in this case, to stick to business.] At least that narrows down our list of suspects. Who knows about him?
[Then he turns to Natsuno.] They do, don’t they? Though I’m afraid I don’t know Arthur. Do you know anything about him?
no subject
[More possessions beyond the one that had killed Salazar. Just how many souls have been utilized to act as drones for this ship? Far more than there are passengers, no doubt--though Jade's fairly certain that he himself isn't currently possessed by anything, at the very least. Looking back over to Pal at length, he can't imagine the other man might be either--surely a necromancer of his sort would notice such a thing, if not already have innate measures against it. For that matter...
Yes, business. It's strictly business, here, and it's a tone that's appreciated. Jade's tone mimics Pal's neutrality in turn, in the end, strengthened by the quiet solidarity of dodging neatly around the more, emotional aspects, of all this.]
Currently--Rita, Yuuki, Ava Starr...Tear as well. She and I were both friends back home. But that's where the list ends, which leaves things very limited...perhaps too much so. [After all, Pal claims to have picked up a reading of a male, nebulous age notwithstanding. And the only male on that list is Natsuno....who still stands at the corner of his eye, as he speaks. But Jade hadn't even looked directly Natsuno's way, as he'd listed his name evenly alongside the rest. Seems entirely unlikely that Natsuno's currently possessed either, after all...as startled as he'd looked at the blood himself, and hardly exhibiting anything in the way of murderous intent at the moment either. ...Surely, then, there must be some other factor they're missing here?] ...The captain does have access to detailed personal information pertaining to each of us--there's a possibility that information could have spread in other ways...
[Jade's falling silent to mull over such thoughts, from there, while Natsuno answers the other question about this 'Arthur'. Not a person he's met himself, he's pretty sure...possibly a newer passenger here. (And already acquiring an oddly personal grudge?)]
no subject
He's not entirely off the hook, of course, but at least "Tear" won't be suspected. Worst case scenario, he will use his host's other power to throw them off the trail. His own powers were stripped away when he was pulled to the ship so long ago, while this kid was just playing defense while holding back on everything else he can do! Not one bite, not one visit to the gym or fight club to hone his physical prowess.
Well, he's going to give this body the respect it deserves. It's gonna be GREAT.
In the meantime though, he should answer Pal's question:]
Same as you. Never met him or his roommate, if he has one. I only know his name because it's written in the message.
[The first part isn't even a lie! Natsuno never met the man, but word spreads... especially when you ask your allies how to fuck with someone.]
no subject
Perhaps if he hadn’t spoken to Bash, Pal would be less likely to weigh the possibility of Natsuno’s guilt. That man had been fooled into thinking the ghost was a man he loved; could another ghost fool him and Jade into thinking their notoriously taciturn friend was in full control of his body?
Perhaps. But Pal has no proof, and only scant evidence. If he acts without being certain, things could go very badly indeed.]
You have a good point. We have little sense of what these revenants are capable of. They could very well have their own methods of communication. [For a long moment, his gaze continues to bore into Natsuno; then he sighs and looks back at the bloody door.] Hell, they might be holding secret meetings in the morgue to exchange information. That’s what I’d do.
no subject
[A flicker of humor there at last, though it's a brief and very dry thing. Pal's leveling a longer look Natsuno's way, but Jade's eyeing the door once more around this time, misses the instance of scrutiny. ...He truly doesn't care for it, after all, even if he was the one to float it. The idea that such personal details that ought to be kept vested may very well be currently ferried about between murderous spirits, about now.
(No other message could have been so effective, really, in thoroughly distracting Jade as this one does. Which sure is working out in somebody's favor, about now...)
Still, though. All that aside--]
So, the blood in itself--it's indistinct in your readings, then? Doesn't appear to belong to any one particular individual? [Pal had nothing to say, it seems, about any actual demographics where the blood itself is concerned...]
no subject
[Aw yeah false leads, he's NAILING this. Pal's curious glance is noted, but not acknowledgement. Just you wait, he thinks, I'll tear your noodle arms off their sockets, beat you up with them and once my friends take your body I'll have someone put them back. But first you should raise an army of skeletons, I wanna punch a skeleton...
Go on guys, Notsuno's just dreaming about murder over here.]
no subject
Nothing good, is what.]
Or maybe it’s a trap. Maybe, if I were possessed, I’d want to lure you there.
[Okay okay, maybe that’s a borderline unfunny joke, given the situation. But also…he’s not wrong. They have to be vigilant. Without falling into a whirlpool of mistrust, they need to remain aware of the precarity of the situation. Not for the first time this month, Palamedes is reminded of the events at Canaan House, of the mysteries he wasn’t able to solve in time, and the people he wasn’t able to save.
Again, Pal glances at Natsuno, this time the look a bit more surreptitious. After a beat, he nods.]
A very good idea. [The blood on the door is still faintly damp and sticky, so Pal takes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipes away a bit of it. It’s not the most scientific way to collect a sample, it it will work for these circumstances.] And there’s no time like the present. I don’t think there’s much more I can do here, anyway.