bittybat | W3, post-investigation Friday

[ papika typically looks like she's ten seconds away from crying when things like this happen, but this time, at least, she isn't. it doesn't feel right to cry when percy is the one who is really hurt. ]

We wanted to... [ well, she can't say "see how you're doing" because it's pretty obvious how he is doing: bad. ] Um. Hey.

[Ah man...it's always hard when it's kids. It's always hard when it's kids and Percy doesn't know how to really respond to them or assure them or even give answers to unspoken questions. For Papika there's a half-smile that falls every bit flat as you'd think, and Damian gets a nod.]

Hey guys. [His own tone is quiet and a little forcibly even, but he is Trying.] Everything okay? [To him, he thinks it doesn't do well to have them worried about something like this. But also, he knows Damian by now and wonders about the questions he's about to get.]

[For a moment or two, Damian is silent because--well, he's not exactly Bruce fucking Wayne. (Definitely not Alfred Pennyworth.)

But, surprisingly, he says quietly:] It wasn't your fault.

[ the fact that percy is even checking to see if they're alright is kind of heartbreaking. she waits another moment, as if to see if either of the boys were going to speak again, before just walking over to percy and wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight hug. ]

[It'd be one thing if it was just Damian saying it wasn't his fault. He could probably brush it off, say he knows (even if he absolutely doesn't believe it, of course it's his fault, oh gods why did he listen to her, this wasn't safe) and assure them that things will be fine, but...

...well. The hug is unexpected and it ends up rendering a startled noise from him that's not quite a gasp and not quite choked tears. His expression shifts to surprise and he looks down at her for a moment like he's not sure what to do about that before tentatively draping an arm around her shoulders and sort of just dropping his face into Papika's hair.

Today's pretty much the worst.]

Maybe not, but I should have been able to save her. I shouldn't have listened. [It's probably muffled by Papika's scalp, but the intent is there. His limbs are shaky and he's tired, he doesn't want to actually face that this is now reality, but here they are.] Jason turned out okay when people were with him.

[Fuck. Damian has to bite his tongue, but the hands by his sides ball into tight fists. No, it isn't Percy's fault. It's his fault. He's Robin. This sort of thing--stopping bad people--is his job, and he has been so worthless so far, so not in control.

He thinks Bruce would be very disappointed he's not more proactive.] That doesn't mean it would have gone the same way if you, or anyone else, stayed with her. [Can you have survivor's guilt when Jason Todd lives, but Annabeth likely wouldn't? FUCK.]

I should have been there to stop whoever it was. I don't think she was supposed to be a victim. They must have been getting rid of witnesses.

[ she moves slightly, so that when she talks she isn't just speaking into percy's shirt, but not enough to really disturb their position. ]

Then... wouldn't anyone who gets put into the stocks get killed?

[ which is horrifying since this seems like it's going to be a weekly occurrence. ]

He's right though. And would the Sheriff have even let you? He doesn't really seem to like it when people keep doing the same thing over and over again.

[ like how he said he would prefer if they didn't keep choosing the same person to be executioner.. ]

Robin she's my partner. [More than anything, Annabeth was his partner, his best friend, his true love.] If anyone should have stopped her killers it should have been me. I've protected her for as long as I've known her. She's protected me, too.

[But he's not letting go of Papika just yet even as he's looking at both of them. There are a lot of questions, but...] If we're talking about this, let's go into my room. I need...Mrs. O'Leary's in there, I have to stay with her. Plus it's not safe to talk about this out here. Are you two coming?

[UGH, STOP, PERCY. He feels fucking super bad...]

I agree. Let's go. [He lets them decide when they're ready, and he lets them go in first. AND HE SORT OF FEELS EXTRA BAD WHEN HE SEES MRS. O'LEARY!!!] What exactly happened?

[Sorry, he's.... he's a detective.]

[ at the talk of partners, papika tenses for a second. that is something she knows very well, and she has never been more thankful that cocona isn't here than she is at this moment. and then she immediately feels bad for the thought.

after entering, she winces when she spots the dog too. percy is... seriously not having a good day today. papika almost immediately goes over to mrs. o'leary but sticks to percy's side instead, partly since she isn't sure how the dog will react to other people hovering over her when she's injured. ]

She wasn't hurt before you left the hotel yesterday... [ she remembers seeing percy run out the second the doors were unlocked with mrs. o'leary following. ]

[He enters the room and heads for his bed where the dog's laying, sitting next to her and letting the kids settle where they want. He's checking her bandages to give himself something to do, some way not to look them in the eyes just yet. It's hard to explain.]

...Papika you remember the bear trap we found? Think it might've been for the coyotes lurking around. [A thick swallow.] The stocks were burned. There was an empty can of gasoline under the Sheriff's chair and under the porch were coyotes. Two of them attacked Mrs. O'Leary...they were with Annabeth. [Please infer what he means, please don't make him say "my girlfriend was burned alive and feasted on by coyotes."] I got rid of the last one.

[Well, Damian understands that, at least. He sticks close to the two of them, and though he doesn't want to bug the dog with crowding, he goes over anyway to squat down and give her a few gentle rubs with the back of his fingers in a place not sore.] I don't think the Sheriff would have killed her if his methods of "helping" are to put Todd and the rest in the cells.

[Hopefully.] But she would have been a witness, and I assume whoever did the killing was trying to make sure she wouldn't be. [He frowns at Percy. It just sounds like they all should have tried to stay with her, honestly.

A sigh.] She isn't gone for good. We can still send her back with you, when we're all able to leave. If I can find who I'm meant to find.

[ she looks pretty horrified when percy mentions the bear trap and then what happened. if they had thought to use it for protection instead of automatically deciding it could only be put to sinister use... papika shakes the thought away. trying to pick apart what they might have done wrong will take them literally nowhere.

when damian mentions his apparent role though, she glances at him. ] Have you figured anything out about that?

[Mrs. O'Leary is at least awake enough to wag her tail at Papika's presence and also lick at Damian's hand where she can. Still, his shoulders tense and it's for a moment they can see the fact he really isn't okay with this.]

Then they could have done it some other way than burning her alive and leaving her for them to eat. [That's what bothers him. However, he calms a bit.]

...you told Papika what you told me?

I know. [Damian isn't okay with that at all either.]

Yes. [He glances at Papika, then away, pretending to be interested in not hurting Mrs. O'Leary.] And no... not yet. [Which feels ten times more insulting and frustrating. His jaw tightens.] I can't be sure if I can trust the Sheriff's word at all, but he told me those who die aren't fully dead.

There's a chance they can return to their universe, but-- [His lips pull into a heavy line.] --it depends on "how well we all play the game."

The Sheriff gets to decide what happens to all of us when it's over.

[ well, another reason to hate the sheriff. it's bad enough that they're forced to play this, but the fact that he has power over even that. ]

So... if you do your job correctly, then he's more likely to reward you.

[ aka, bring back the dead. ]

Why does he get to decide? What's the point of this stupid game if we don't even get to have the final word?

Something like that. [He finally glances up, at Percy first. The barest, faintest hints of a smirk. He's glad they were on the same page.] I'm aware. I told him the same thing.

Actually, I punched him because he deserved it, but it doesn't do any good. He's an android.

This game is a form of entertainment, and we are being watched by his employers. The more entertaining we are, the better our chances of everyone going home.

I don't know if it matters, but he claimed his employers played this game among themselves for a time, but then got bored. I assume that means they are serious about using this as a way to pass the time.

Punching him makes you feel a little better though.

[ she is still waiting to get her chance to do it since elizabeth had stopped her the one time she actually tried attacking the sheriff. ]

He doesn't want us to be nice about it. He wants us to do it like-- what happened today.

[ since they're supposed to make whoever is getting killed feel pain. the sheriff probably approved of how annabeth got killed. ]

[He pinches the bridge of his nose.] Guys, don't punch the robot yet. We need him still.

He wants us to up the ante which means the next set of murders is going to be worse. [He looks pretty perturbed by that, and still stricken by what happened.] You think maybe he's using threats or using people to threaten other people to make the deaths more gruesome?

A little.

[Hey, at least he's honest.] Probably. He's using the methods of getting rid of bodies to scare everyone into worrying about what comes next.

[He sighs, standing back up.] The person I need to find... I don't know what they do or who they are, but I need to find them quickly.

Or we need to find another way. I've been digging in the ground by the clinic. I was going to check the mines-- [He glances at Percy, the person who told him to "think" about it.] --but the other group got there first. I watched them go in, but turned back.

Goodman ended up beneath the clinic after what happened to them. I don't know where else she might have gone. I still think there may be more to the mines than merely mines, especially if it connects beneath the town.

How far in the mines did they go before they went down in the skeleton hole? It sounds like they didn't do a lot of exploring, so there's probably lots and lots that they missed in there.

[ since who would stay in there after sei and natalie got taken. ]

I heard Seizaburo showed up under the church, so it's entirely possible there's way more down there than what the girls found. Dr. Lecter left me at the Sheriff's station to go take care of her. I'm not sure how bad it turned out.

So what, you think there's something even more than tunnels down there?

Yes. Why would he want to keep us out so badly if not? Suspicious. I'm going to keep digging by the clinic regardless.

Or people could try going down further in the mines, I guess.

[ she's frowning. ]

Do we know if the skeletons attacked them immediately? Or maybe they set off a trap?

[ AS SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCE WALKING INTO A BUNCH OF TRAPS. she is curious. ]

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