foxhounds | role

Fuck. [It's muttered, and he is pacing, letting Auger be the one to stare Ivan down, tough he does keep throwing glances up.] Now everyone is going to believe Murdock--or worse, the fake Fox!

I told you. [He stops long enough to stand sentinel by Auger, facing Ivan, face accusing, eyes hard.] We find out you're yanking our chains, lady, and we aren't going to play nice.

People are already voting for you, thinking you're suspicious. It'd be a shame if more of them thought you were.

Now spill: Did she tell someone? Did the kid wih her set her up? How the fuck could anyone else have known about something like that?

[ Her eyes widen, but after a moment's consideration, she balls her hands into fists at her sides, and she nods. It seems like she's decided on something. ]

...No. It's the Judge. The Judge is the one that brought you all here, and she's the one that makes sure that I do my duty as I'm supposed to.

[ Ivan stands, but her posture is still weak and nervous. ]

The General chose to kill Shijima last night, but the Judge saved her. Shijima... She's the one that killed Reimu. She's the one that did such horrible things to Ema and Stocking. That wasn't The General, I'm certain of that now. The Judge wants me dead, and if Shijima had gotten her way and everyone voted for me, then that would be it for me, and for all of you, since we would all be damned together. Except for Shijima. She would get to escape, because that's the deal she and the Judge had. I didn't know.

[ Fuuma was hilarious, thinking that the people with roles know all the rules so that they can play properly. Evidently, they don't even know who they're up against. ]

And I'm sure your reason for not telling us this until now was a really good one. [ his voice is dripping with venomous sarcasm. ] Who's the Judge supposed to be? Someone fighting against the General?

The Judge? [An exasperated look falls over Jason's face. He cannot even believe--] Who the hell? Are you telling us this island has some kind of warden?

And do you know how much that all sounds like a load of bullshit? [Because there's probably two people who aren't going to buy it immediately.] The General kills once a night, and so far up until recently, there's only been one a night.

Are you trying to say the General isn't required to kill at night if they don't want to? It doesn't make any sense. If she was also killing, there should've been more bodies. How do you know it's not the General?

[This is what you get with angry Foxes, Ivan. A lot of angry questions.]

I do.

[ Her voice is firm and certain. ]

You can believe what you want at this point, but I've been telling the truth this whole time. If you don't want to believe me, fine. But if you don't, then you'll get stuck in this same situation. I didn't believe my Overseer either. And now I'm stuck doing this until I'm no more.

[ though he's angry with Ivan for withholding information (and continuing to withhold information), in his heart, he knows she's probably not lying to them, angry as he is. They checked; she was apparently innocent. Of course, that relies on what she said about their role being true in the first place - but he won't get anywhere by assuming everything is false.

With an an annoyed grunt, he shakes his head. ]

Fine. Whatever. Are you gonna tell us anything about this Judge other than that she's a girl, or are you just gonna let us stumble around in the dark some more? If you want us to keep you safe, you should probably be a little more helpful.

You do, but you won't tell us why. [Jason seems to have all but given up on trying to get Ivan to answer anything with open, honest answers. He knows, or likes to think he knows, it's probably because she is sworn to some kind of secrecy, but still.

He flicks a hand at Auger, signaling for Ivan to answer those questions because he has none. Instead, he returns to pacing idly, thinking, head down.]

[ Ivan's fists are still tightly clutched at her sides, and she seems offended by Auger's last comment in particular, but doesn't say anything about it. ]

The Judge is the one that runs the Hunts. The General is different every time, since they're in the same situation as you are. But I can't say much more than that. There's something being hidden from you about the nature of the Hunt itself, yes, but I can't tell you. It doesn't interfere with what you're supposed to do.

[ She's getting upset, but she sighs to try and compose herself. ]

...I was in Shijima's position once. When you get stuck here, you can't pass on. That's why I don't remember who I am or what I am. I had to play this game so many times that... I don't remember. The Judge trapped me in this Hunt, so I'm forced to play until I can pass on too. It's why I don't want anyone else to get trapped in this situation.

[ this is interesting information, if it's true. Again, he's annoyed that she waited this long to tell them, but there's nothing he can do about that now. He merely listens, arms crossed, ears splayed out to the side in distaste.

The Judge runs the game. And you can get "stuck" in the game, playing over and over. For that to happen, one would have to survive; a dead person can't play games. ]

And how did you and Shijima end up like this? Is it because you guys had your Overseers killed?

[Pausing with his back to them both, Jason keeps thinking. He's thinking about his own things, but also about what Ivan has told them. There is something about the nature of the Hunt itself they are missing. Worrisome, but interesting.

He tilts his head to the side, throwing an ear back over his shoulder to listen to Ivan's answer. He adds two questions of his own:] You mean the General changes every time this happens, or do you mean the General changes every night?

And is the Judge one of us or an outside entity?

[ She nods ]

I can't speak for Shijima as much, but... In my case, it was the same as the worries I see here. If they're so desperate to find the culprit that they turn instead to the Overseer, it seems logical to vote for them, but—

[ She shakes her head. ]

It's not. I can only prevent it once, but I am certain that if I did, the vote would repeat the following night out of spite.

[ Then to Jason: ] The General changes with each Hunt, but not every night. That is consistent. The Judge is simply an outside entity that facilitates this happening at all. She's in no danger, which is why my role exists. All the risk is upon me instead.

[ well then. If that's true... He doesn't much like Ivan at this point, but he doesn't want to get trapped here. Auger loves to play games - games much like this one, even - but he'd rather be in the Judge's position than his current one, and he'd rather not get stuck here scraping for useless clues for eternity. He makes a small noise of acknowledgement. ]

I see. That's pretty smart. [ keeping yourself out of the fray, that is. ] In other words, having you here is a way for her to save her own neck... and also a way to keep these games going for a long time. 'Cause it's obvious that everyone's gonna be doubting the insider.

[ a short laugh. ]

I was kinda thinking about letting them kill you, but I don't wanna get punished for your misbehavior. Lucky you, Ivan.

[Finally, Jason turns around to face the other two.] But you know who the Judge is, yeah? Do you communicate with her often? [Jason's eyes narrow.] This game is bigger than the General.

Why don't you help us kill the Judge? Wouldn't we all be free then? You, me, Pussycat here, the rest of us.

Let me guess: "Oh no, she watches us too closely," is what you're going to say, right?

[ She shakes her head. ]

I know who she is. But she can't be killed.

[ Ivan laughs, but it's bitterly. ]

I tried. A few times.

[ a snort. ] If something's alive, it can die. That's how the world works.

[ someone here is from a world with no magic in it, uh oh. Auger looks highly skeptical. ]

I agree. Maybe you should try with everyone here. Someone has to be able to kill her. [Sadly... Jason is also of a world without magic... Ah...]

Anyway, that's up to you. Think about it. Sleep on it. Get back to us--if we're not dead yet. [He shifts his eyes to Auger.] Let's decide on who to vote for right now. That's why we're here, right? I think I may have a plan, if we even have the materials. Don't know how well it'll work, but it's worth a shot.

I say Matt since he was so bold to claim that shit earlier. See if he's lying. [Then he looks to Ivan.] You wouldn't happen to have any paint here, would you? Preferably two different colors.

[ She nods ]

Some, but not much. You'll find it in the drawer of the desk in the parlor.

[ at least someone agrees with him, even if it's just dumb Jason!! He nods, turning to him, as well. ]

I hope you have a plan, because I think I'm in trouble, [ he replies, sounding dryly exasperated, but continues on. ] Matt's fine. Shijima was a killer, but she wasn't on the General's side. He could have ratted her out while being a foxhound.

Perfect. [At Ivan, then he peers again at Auger.] Funny, isn't it? How did this supposed Fox figure out her role, be right about it, know about it, and then rat her out? Curiouser and curiouser, Cheshire.

[Jason shrugs as if to say he doesn't have an answer yet.] It's going to be hard for us to talk to people without giving ourselves away, so let's tag people instead. With the paint. One color for innocent people, one for guilty. Someone has to notice, has to correlate it. No one has extra clothes, right? Even if they're washed, the paint shouldn't come out. We'll have to mark something they couldn't take off without looking stupid. Pants. Shirt.

Anyway, when innocent people start dying with one color, or when a guilty person dies with another, someone'll figure it out. The only problem is: some people are going to have to die. [Sorry guys...]

We'll need to take all the paint. [At Ivan again.] Any you've got, we need to know where it all is, and we need it. Only us. We'll have to tag you, [A nod at Ivan.] Souza, and ourselves, but not at once.

If you don't like the paint idea, we could always slice them on the back of the hand a certain way. They might not take kindly to that, though.

[ fortunately, Auger is far from caring about whether people die here. The body count so far is nothing compared to what he and his brother have racked up at home. He wouldn't be opposed to slicing people on the hand, either, but that'd be far more difficult.

Paint would be easier to do. Easier to fake, too - but not too easy if they're taking all of it. He's quiet for a moment as he mulls it over. ]

That's not a bad plan. The hard part would be getting it on their clothes without anyone noticing. Well, I guess we could wait for laundry day or something.

[ not a bad plan at all. Just slow. Auger's not as patient when his life's on the line. ]

[Jason shrugs indifferently.] Getting it on them will be the hardest thing we do, if we go with it. I don't know how else we'll tell everyone who is innocent and who is guilty and have them believe us without outing ourselves. Even then, they will still doubt us.

If not paint, we could make rings out of things on the island, but we don't know if they will wear them, and we don't know if they would give it to someone else despite if we told them it could protect them. We'd have to have someone else give it to them. [A glance at Ivan, but not long.] They would think that person suspicious, though.

I don't know. We'll get the paint just in case. [He nods his head.] So, Murdock? He's got my vote unless you can think of someone better. [He'd like to know where Royce really stands, too, but... it can wait. Maybe.]

[ the second suggestion makes Auger shake his head. ]

There's no way people would agree to something like that. Let's go with the paint idea. Just be sneaky about it. You can do that, right?

[ he's pretty sure that he can pull something like this off without trouble. He's done worse without getting noticed before. ]

And I think Matt's a good plan. Just so we can be sure if he's pulling our leg or not. [ there's a pause while Auger mulls something over in his head; he looks like he might say something else, but he doesn't. ] Mm, let's do Matt.

[ She nods once the conversation proceeds, asking her usual question. ]

Then your choice for the night is Matt Murdock?

[Quietly, for a moment, Jason watches Auger carefully. He notices the guy seems ready to speak, then doesn't. He's curious, but maybe not that curious. Then he looks at Ivan.] Yeah, sure.

Matt Murdock.

[ he nods at Ivan, too, quietly waiting for her assessment. He doubts it'll be anything too exciting, but it's better to be sure. ]

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