some sunny day

[sticksandbomesmods]

Its the early morning, the sun has been up for about an hour or two with the quiet stirring of the Grove. The town slowly wakes up, and goes about their morning...

There is a smell in the halls of the Inn. Subtle in the early hours, but as the sun rises higher in the sky, it becomes difficult to ignore. Pungent and sharp. It's the smell of warm milk on the cusp of growing sour.

Under one of the doors a bright, almost pearlescent substance, that has started to leak out.


Uncovered Clues:

1. Unlocked door.
2. Signs of light scuffling
3. Upended box of pastries
4. Stabbed in the heart, likely died instantly
5. Wound is small with no exit wound.
6. Window is Adjacent to Body
7. Dipper's blood is two different colors, red and pearlescent white. The pearl blood seems older. The red blood comes straight from the wound.
8. body is cold and has been dead some time.
9. Noise at 10-11 pm
10. Dipper left a note for his uncles he was meeting a friend.
11. KNIFE

Comments

[alphacraft]

[ It's not surprising that nobody heard her approaching, even stomping as she was. It doesn't matter. There's a sparkle of Craft and everything in the hall slows down. It might not be enough to stop the fight, but at the very least it should annoy whoever is making so much noise-- ]

That's enough.

[ Her glare turns fully on Loop. Sorry, but as a late-comer they are slightly lower in priority. She's already forming a Paper sign. It will just take a while to actually cast. ]

[start_again]

[Siffrin doesn't immediately notice the lag. He's distracted by Loop's weight on top of him, trying to dodge their hands and shove them off at the same time–

And then Odile's voice cuts through the chaos, and Siffrin's head drops back to look up and behind him, eye wide. He's still breathing heavily, and it takes him a moment to find words again.]

H-help–

[theuniverseleads]

[They're not looking at the Researcher, they're far too busy trying to pin Siffrin to the floor.

Which isn't any easier! When they feel so slow! Why did they waste that Craft so early?! Stupid, stupid, stupid—]

Fight your own blinding battles, stardust! [how dare he? how dare he ask for help, when she should've been theirs in the first place?

But if the Researcher wants to attack, so be it. They press down against Siffrin's form—if she wants to use Craft so badly, go ahead! She'll have to take them both out! That's fair! That's balanced!]

[alphacraft]

[ She does, in fact, send a Paper attack down the hall at the both of them. Is that a bit harsh? It's weak, but it should at least be enough to distract them as she continues to stomp her way in their direction. If she has to drag Loop off of Siffrin with her bare hands, so be it. ]

[start_again]

[Dragging Loop off him would be greatly appreciated, actually. The Paper attack seems almost inconsequential in the face of the person on top of him actively trying to kill him.

One hand manages to slip between Loop's and palm their face, shoving it away.]

I don't know what got into them!! They were being weird and then they just–

[Even while he shouts, he's trying to wriggle one of his legs between them to kick Loop off.]

[theuniverseleads]

I'm the one being weird?! Like you're so innocent—

[The paper stings against their back—ugh, like this they're basically shielding him, this is still unfair actually! And now there's a hand in their face and they have to fight to regain control of the situation, pinning down his other arm, grabbing for his throat with the other. They decide when he gets to talk.]

Tell them, stardust! Tell them what happened! I'm sure they'd all love to hear about what sparked this cute little fight of ours!!

[alphacraft]

[ Welp, they asked for it. As soon as she's close enough she reaches down to hook her arms under Loop's so she can pull them up and away from Siffrin. For all she pokes fun at herself for being old, she does keep herself in good physical shape. ]

I have had a difficult enough morning without the two of you bickering like children. Rest assured I will make both of you suffer for this.

[start_again]

[Getting scolded for nearly getting murdered would probably sting more if he wasn't distracted by coughing, catching his breath again after the lovely experience of Loop trying to crush his windpipe with their bare hands. He pushes himself up, scrambling backwards away from the angry star in Odile's grasp, and draws his knife as if to ward off any further attacks.]

You mean you barging into my room to accuse me of murder and then getting pissy when I point out how insane you sound?!

[theuniverseleads]

[They bristle at the arms hooking under them—clinging, grasping, at least making it difficult for her to pry them away, but she still manages to extract them in the end. They're both pretty small and light like that. Loop writhes in her hold.]

If you didn't do it, then why was it so hard to just say that?

Tell them the real reason! It's fine since you didn't do it, right? You want to help everyone, don't you? Or are you just trying to shift the blame so you can deny it now?!

Tell them what you told me, stardust!

[alphacraft]

[ She lets them at least have their feet on the ground, but she tries to keep hold of them for now. ]

Tell us yourself before I throw you out a window.

[start_again]

[Siffrin slowly gets to his feet, wincing as he puts weight on his bleeding leg. Absently, he makes a quick handsign to Craft a healing spell, sealing up the wound if not the gash in his pantleg. His voice is tight with restrained emotion, teeth grit.]

I saw Dipper last night, before...before whatever happened. They decided that means I must have killed him, and apparently me being upset they'd think that just made me more suspicious, but they sure didn't like it when I said they were acting weird and suspicious.

[theuniverseleads]

[They stop resisting so much to stare, silent, expression unreadable. Not that anyone but Siffrin can see their face right now.

There's something else buried in their tone, sharp and icy.]

... More suspicious. Is that how it went?

Who was the first to draw Craft, Siffrin? Because I was ready to walk away. I was just messing around, and you attacked me.

[start_again]

[Siffrin practically growls under his breath, hackles raising.]

"Just messing around" by shoving me into walls and threatening to kill me? Again? Oh, sorry, did you not want me to tell people about the last time you tried to murder me so you could replace me?

[The apology is biting and sarcastic.]

[theuniverseleads]

Stardust—

[the word twists out like a splinter, like venom, more vile and hateful than they've ever spoken it before

this is not the fucking time for this]

You brought that up, you— hah! Hahahahaha, I was right, wasn't I?! I was right from the blinding start! Stardust wouldn't... it has to be you! You killed him, you killed him, you killed him—!

[Hey, sorry Odile, they're back to writhing for freedom. Too bad she's occupied holding them by the shoulders, or she might be in a position to stop them from Crafting at point blank.

They swipe the air with scissors. This time, they're really not holding anything back.]

[start_again]

[He knows Loop's Craft like he knows his own. He knows what a big hit will look like, and there's not a lot of room in this hallway to maneuver, whether to dodge or retaliate – especially not with Odile right there.

So Siffrin quickly makes a handsign himself, aiming over Loop's shoulder.]

Odile!

[Turn it up. Give your turn to a friend. ATK + CRIT CHANCE up!]

[alphacraft]

[ Odile puts all of her strength into wrenching Loop sideways and down to the floor. There's one window open already, but getting them that far is going to be difficult... She should get their hands behind their back first, drag them that way. ]

Perhaps. I was. Unclear.

I don't care who started it. This ends now. So help me, I will tie both of you to chairs if I have to.

[theuniverseleads]

[They're still slowed, and with that boost in strength—she wrenches them down, Craft unleashed a moment too late. The blast shreds into the wall just a hair shy of Siffrin, slicing deep enough to show their intent.

Under threat of defenestration or not, they still continue to struggle, flaring and sparking and snarling. Not yet, not yet, not while he still lives—]

He killed Siffrin! He killed him, he killed him, you can't let him leave! I can prove it! He killed Siffrin and he killed Dipper!! Researcher, you're smart, you have to see it, it's not him!

[Screeching in their hysteria, they try to throw Odile off of them—and they may be smaller, but they still have several dozen levels over the Researcher. Now that they're fighting for their life, they're willing to bruise her up a little for the sake of murder.]

[start_again]

What are you even saying?! I'm Siffrin! And I didn't kill anyone!!

[Siffrin has to shout over Loop's screaming and screeching, which only adds to the chaos of this scene.]

[alphacraft]

[ Odile has the advantage of gravity, but she's not in a very stable position. She grunts as Loop nearly succeeds in throwing her, stopped only by the minor problem of their arms being tangled together. She's knocked off her balance, her arms aching as they try to twist the wrong direction. ]

Stanley! Stanford! A few extra hands would be appreciated!

[charlastan]

[It would be hard to miss all the commotion going on in the hall, but Stan admittedly tried pretty hard. Honestly, it felt like he and Ford were just starting to get somewhere when Odile shouts for them.

In a split second, Stan decides this is probably worth it - the odds of this not having something to do with Dipper's murder are pretty slim after all. When he bursts through the door he has his hand on his cane just under the handle, ready to transform it into its gun form if needed.

Maybe another person would have moved to help Odile hold Loop back, but he's heard enough through the door that he takes a different approach. In a quick motion, he takes advantage of his position and moves to scruff Siffrin with his free hand like a cat.]

Alright, EVERYBODY can it! And you, quit struggling.

[That nod was to Loop, and maybe a little to Odile. She shouldn't let go yet, but also Stan thinks he's got a pretty good grip on Siffrin here so maybe that will calm Loop down a little?]

[theuniverseleads]

[They really, really want to keep struggling, feeling a bit of progress made with knocking the Researcher off them—if they keep at it they know they'll succeed and then they can shut him up for good—

Stan is a wildcard, though. They don't know what to expect when he makes his appearance, and for a moment they think they'll really have to start using force against Odile... until he goes to grab Siffrin.

Oh.

Hmm.

... it does calm them down, if only a little bit. But that little bit matters when they were getting desperate.

They hiss in a breath, and slowly, slowly exhale it... and relax. There. Not struggling! Happy?

They'll start struggling again if Odile tries to throw them out a window tho]

[jouvente]

[ can't believe what a day Isabeau is gonna have later whenever he comes back from his morning jog ]

[start_again]

[ isa i'm so sorry

Siffrin reacts very much like a cat to being suddenly scruffed, limbs flailing dangerously for a moment given he's actively holding a knife, before he seems to recognize the futility of it and settles down. His breathing is heavy and his hand is clutching the collar of his cloak tightly to keep it from choking him, but he's not actively fighting it.]

[charlastan]

[Stan gives everyone a second to simmer down before he keeps going. No one lets go, and no one is actively trying to murder each other in the moment. To be honest, he actually seems a little surprised it worked this well!]

Alright, great! Good. Now, I only heard a little bit of whatever's going on out here but all of the he said/they said is already exhausting, so we're gonna start from the top. No buts. I've got a lot of questions, and I'm sure Odile does too.

[Yes, they sound like they already talked about it. No, Stan doesn't care. He wasn't there for it, so it doesn't count.

He doesn't pull Siffrin harder than he already is, but he does wiggle them in place a little bit so they know exactly who Stan's talking to.]

First thing's first - you. Where were you last night?

[Stan isn't making an threats exactly, but there's an edge to his voice that he can't help at this point. You know, since his nephew's been murdered and this might lead to answers about that.]

[start_again]

[Having his collar digging into his throat is not super conducive to talking. Siffrin has to wriggling a bit to get into a more viable position for it, a rasp in his voice when he finally manages to get words out.]

H-here, for a little while.

[Or, y'know. Dipper's room. He looks unwilling to even look in the direction of that open door right now.]

Dipper... He wanted to show me his camera thing, so we hung out for a bit, and then I left probably around 9ish? That's all I know. He's...he's my friend, why would I ever hurt him? And why would I say something that'd make me suspicious if I was the killer?!