maladied | [0] WEEKS WITHOUT MURDER

BONJOUR.

Another morning greets you in [ setting ], and it greets you loudly. A commotion erupts somewhere ahead: voices raised, someone screaming, another shouting for help. If you're unlucky enough to be passing near the infirmary, you have a front-row seat to the chaos.

Fran and Y'shtola are flung from the infirmary like ragdolls, hitting the ground in a tangle of limbs and dust. Something inside is on a rampage— something feral, unbound, and unwilling to be tamed.

The speakers crackle to life, Lobelia's voice far too cheerful for the circumstances.

❝ Bonjour, mes amis. If you happen to be wandering near the infirmary this fine morning, do take care... there appears to be a rather spirited beast expressing its displeasure. Fran and Y'shtola have already demonstrated the consequences of getting too close... quite spectacularly, I might add.

So, unless you wish to go flying before breakfast, I suggest maintaining a respectful distance. C'est simple.

Thank you for your attention, and do enjoy the rest of your morning... preferably from afar. ❞

OOC NOTE: A temporary barrier formed around the battlefield during the fight. Only characters already inside the epicenter were able to participate. Anyone who attempts to cross the boundary will be met with a sharp electric shock and forcibly bounced back several feet.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

…

[ Siffrin

looks away. ]

Shut up.

[Wow so that's all it takes to deflate him here.

But if it gets them to stop and listen for a moment. This isn't earnest blame of the rest of them. It's lashing out.]

Siffrin. Right here, right now there's nothing else to be done. [His voice drops off, softer. Tired.] Go somewhere else and grieve. There's no need to stand here recalling what we just saw.

And then what?

[ You think that’s it, Alhaitham? Siffrin laughs, as if the man had said something hilarious. ]

Hm? What’s your big solution? You always like to think that you have the answer, but in reality, you don’t know anything at all. Stop acting so high and mighty like you’re going to save us all.

I'm not going to save you all. [He's not a valiant hero, nor is he a leader. He'll contribute everything he has, but the solution itself? He knows it won't be so simply he can do it alone.]

I'm telling you to go because you're overwhelmed by your grief and just picking fights with everyone else.