Audience: Grace Monroe

[probe]

Comments

[alteracion]

Usually people text back.

[ rude!!!! ]

[probe]

It would have been a waste of our time rather than simply showing up.

[alteracion]

[ she sighs and ruffles her hair, waving a hand ]

Well, whatever, you're here now. [ she tilts her head ] I was going to start with something else, but after what happened today, I want to know-- is the hood for style?

[probe]

If I were wearing something for style it would be much better suited than this, Miss Monroe. Envy made these himself and we agreed upon...uniformity.

[alteracion]

Oh, good, then I don't have to judge you for style, just Envy. [ hmm. she tilts her head ] So there's no big reason to keep them on besides "you all agreed to it"?

[probe]

Correct. We could remove them ourselves at any time we so choose. Some are more eager than others.

[alteracion]

Soo... do you like keeping it on, or is this an earning thing?

[ like the train puzzles. ]

[probe]

..."earning"? [please explain your train, grace.] It's neither, I suppose.

[alteracion]

[ greed not quite getting it is kind of? funny? ]

I'm asking if you'd let me see your face, Greed. Or if it's one of those things you won't do for free?

[probe]

[oh.]

...I would prefer that you did not.

[alteracion]

[ oh, well. she shrugs ]

Well, that's your right, so I'm not going to insist, but... can I know why? It's not like I'd tell anyone.

[probe]

It's not a matter of disclosing it to others, but rather I've seen precisely how you feel about...I believe you called them "nulls."

[alteracion]

[ oh. she hadn't expected that, and it's clear by the way she sort of. tenses, a little? ]

... Or denizens. [ hazel's a-- she can't think about that without remembering that hazel might be alone with simon, back there, and without being able to deal with why that scares her so bad. ] And I don't... hate them.

[ but that's getting into difficult territory, so she veers; ]

They're from the train, that's not the same thing. You said you guys weren't from here, and Envy looked [ like a person ] normal.

[ that's not really better. ]

[probe]

[a clawed finger taps against their arm as they stand still. from under the hood, it's hard to see where, exactly, greed's looking but grace may get the sense their gaze is off to the side.]

And if one of us were to look abnormal? What would you do then?

[alteracion]

[ she's not sure, is the thing. up until maybe two weeks ago, she'd have been sure, she thinks.

she doesn't say that, looking off to the side herself ]

What counts as abnormal? I mean, Molly's a dragon or whatever, and Envy had all those extra eyes.

[ and maybe up until before today she kind of thought the avatars weren't people but she's not going to say that! no one needs to know that! ]

[probe]

Tiefling, specifically. [now is not the time to be pedantic.] Abnormality would be defined as anything that does not match the appearance of being human.

[alteracion]

He told me he was a dragon. [ this is absolutely not the time for this pedantry, and yet here they are ] And like I said, it's not about... appearances.

[probe]

[there's an annoyed sound like they don't want to admit they're maybe wrong about molly but also it doesn't matter.]

Then what is is about?

[alteracion]

It's not-- we're not on the train, it's hard to explain. [ please stop making her examine her own biases, that's what hazel is for. ] They're train constructs. It's like... I don't know, the murder robot. He was programmed that way, and it's the same for denizens.

[ this isn't quite right but again please stop making her examine potentially being wrong about things, it's only week 1 and i need her to murder sometime ]

[probe]

[whether it's because grace has said something to change their mind or because they just don't want to discuss it further, they don't say. instead, they fold their arms over their chest a little tighter.]

The hood will stay on, Miss Monroe. [there's an uncertain finality to it.] What else did you wish to know?

[alteracion]

Whatever, I was just curious. [ it's reflexive, because this feels like losing somehow? but she moves on: ] That thing, that Vira saw last Thursday night with the bones. Do you know what it is?

[probe]

[and now they seem sort of confused.]

What "thing" are you referring to, precisely?

[alteracion]

That weird creepy creature? I don't know. It was eating bones. She couldn't see it in detail.

[probe]

An illusion of the mind, most likely.

[alteracion]

It was literally holding the same skull we found later on Saturday.