036-[Action?] The Grinch who stabbed Christmas.... and little girls....

[friendly_ghosts]

[Remember Mindy's plan to save Christmas? Well, it turns out that Mindy failed to save anything, but Black Mage succeeded. Yay?

At any rate, those who actually go to the tree on Christmas eve as she requested, will be greeted with a gruesome sight. Mindy is dead, and her corpse is artfully hung on one of the lower branches of the tree as if it were

Comments

[strike_you_out]

[That tiny corpse looks familiar...

Oh shit. Slugger looks around for any sign of Pokey -- he cannot let his friend see this.]

[ooc: Permission for Slugger to take down the body - Y? N?]

[godisachild]

[Haha, too late for that buddy. In fact, seeing you staring at something kind of caught his curiosity. He'll just be walking over now.]

Hey, what're you-

[Oh. Well. Now he sees it. And just goes quiet, instantaneously at the sight. A few long, silent seconds pass before he puts a hand on Slugger's shoulder and gently shakes the other boy. It's a weird motion for him to be giving but...for some reason it makes him feel better. And he actually sounds calm. Reasonable.]

...C'mon. We need to get her down. We can't leave her like this.

[strike_you_out]

[Slugger was just about to disentangle Mindy from the branches when he hears Pokey's voice and nearly jumps out of his skin. Initially, he tries to block Pokey's view of the corpse but it's too late and he steps back a bit, looking at the ground.]

...

I can do it, if you want...

[godisachild]

[Pokey thinks for a moment, just...looking. He's honestly hard to read at the moment.]

...We'll both do it. Get her down and I'll show you where we'll take her.

[strike_you_out]

[This isn't something he's going to argue with Pokey about so without a word, Slugger nods and does as told. He can already guess who might have done this...]

[godisachild]

[Pokey just nods for a moment at Slugger. He can guess too, but he won't say it out loud yet.]

Can you carry her? ...We'll take her to her house.

[strike_you_out]

Yeah.

[Quietly, he gathers the girl in his arms and lifts her easily. His plan, had he a moment to formulate one, would have been the same---to take Mindy to her home and place her in her room.]

[godisachild]

[Pokey doesn't look back at Slugger or Mindy, just straight ahead as he walks, quietly for a moment.]

Where are you staying right now? You have a place to keep safe in?

[Because it's so much easier to discuss than what they just found.]

[strike_you_out]

[Slugger follows behind, barely moving his feet as the wheels roll.]

Here and there. Your house, the school... sometimes I sneak back home.

[Even if they don't all remember him, he likes to be around the people whom he felt attached to. He kept hidden from their sight, but he still liked to see them and hear their voices.]

[godisachild]

Alright. Good.

[Just as long as you're staying safe, Slugger. That's all he wants to know, all he cares about. Just stay safe.]

...You haven't seen Picky at all, have you?

[strike_you_out]

No. [He really wishes he had a better answer than that.]

Can't find him?

[godisachild]

[Pokey just shakes his head.]

No.

After this, I'm going to look for him.

[strike_you_out]

I'll help.

[godisachild]

I know.

[And he does. He just intrinsically knows that you would. It's odd. He's considered you his best friend for awhile. But it's only now that what that all entails is hitting him.]

Thank you. I just need to make sure the nerd is safe.