Don't "what bird", me, you idiot. I saw it turn invisible to try and throw me off -- but I could still hear its wings. And it led me right here. Watanuki. I will give you one chance to have a conversation. Are you the one who brought us here?
You didn't get into the booze again, did you? Because if you did, you should probably sleep it off before trying a conversation like this.
[He's acting like he's surprised by the accusation- which he is, honestly, he's been doing a good job of keeping his identity secret- but he's also not answering that question.]
Everything. What are you trying to prove? What could possibly be worth innocent lives? Why did hide your true nature? Why are you using those annoying fucking birds?!
[...shit there's no way he can answer most of that without breaking a rule and making things worse. UM...]
Birds have significance in magic. When magic travels, it usually manifests as animals with wings. Butterflies, birds, you get the idea. Birds generally mean a stronger magic or a longer journey, since they can fly farther than other animals.
[Fuck fuck fuck how does he answer any of this without breaking any rules, he's so fucked.]
[Shadow growls, eyes flashing dangerously. He's losing his temper.]
Of all the questions, you pick the most pointless one to answer?! TWO PEOPLE! They're dead! [Erika's almost peaceful death mask. Karen's abject terror as she was forced into the Iron Maiden. Maria, crumpling to the ground. Shadow, unable to help any of them. His pupils shrink to slits, and he begins to shake] Because of YOU! This is YOUR fault!! And still you won't give me straight answers?! Because of a GAME?!
Look, I can't give you all the answers you're looking for. I don't even know half of them myself! How am I supposed to tell you stuff even I don't know?!
[Part of him is scared, but part of him is angry too. And right now, that anger is driving him to be irrational.]
Do you want me to make up some bullshit lies to give you instead? Is that what you want?!
[Something in Shadow snaps. Baring his fangs, he turns the gun downward and aims for Watanuki's knee. BLAM. Thanks to the injury keeping him from using his good hand, though, the kick on the gun makes Shadow miss, hitting Watanuki's foot instead.
Still pretty painful!]
YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'RE FORCING US TO PLAY THIS DEATH GAME, AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ALL THE RULES?!
[Well, Watanuki would have clarified a bit there, since it's actually 'Yuuko's' motivations that he doesn't know. But so much for clarifying things when he gets shot in the foot.
It's also a good thing that it's now past midnight and everyone is knocked out, because that gunshot is loud. And interestingly enough, Watanuki doesn't react like one might expect to getting shot. He finches and falls forward, grabbing for his foot as if it will help the pain. But he's not screaming, and he's not crying. No, he's acting more like someone who is completely desensitized to pain, as if they have experienced serious injuries thousands of times in the past.
Still, no verbal answer comes right away, as he's still reacting to the pain of getting shot.
A cockatiel is going to be appearing now too, flying in Shadows's face and chirping angrily at him. hdu hurt its master.]
[Shadow is a little too distracted by BIRD IN HIS FACE to notice Watanuki's rather strange reaction to what should be a very painful injury]
Gah! Fucking...!
[Shadow steps back a moment, but he can't drop his gun. He has to keep it safe in his hand. So he doesn't have a choice. He grabs the cockatiel in his broken hand, and crushes it to death, grimacing and screaming through clenched teeth through the pain he's causing himself in the process. The bird is dead, and he throws it to the ground, pointing the gun at Watanuki again]
No more games! No more! Tell me everything you know, NOW!
[So uh, Shadow. You kind of crushed a piece of Watanuki's soul there. And while he's desensitized to physical pain, an attack on his soul like that is a crushing pain he hasn't felt before.
Which means he's screaming as he falls to the ground, clutching at his chest like he just got stabbed through his heart. No evidence of the bird remains once it has been crushed, but the pain feels very real to him.
Then a red glow picks up on his chest, and suddenly a 'thump' can be heard in the bathroom. Huh. I wonder what that is.]
[Shadow takes no pleasure in torturing Watanuki -- he doesn't smile when the man screams as the bird is crushed. But he does note it. So a Witch's familiars were more than just pets.
But then there's the glow, and the dull thud in the bathroom.]
What kind of trick are you pulling now? [Shadow snarls and gives Watanuki a good whap to the back of the head, enough to disorient him but not knock him out. He wants to check out the bathroom without the witch trying to get away.
Holding his gun out, Shadow slowly opens the door and peeks through it.]
[Welp. He'll be reeling for a moment, so feel free to go check out the bathroom.
Ruler is slumped on the floor in the bathroom. It appears as though he is asleep and did not wake up during his sudden transportation to the bathroom.]
Shadow will... make sure Ruler is actually alive before he heads back out to the main bedroom with his gun drawn.
If Watanuki is still reeling, Shadow will grab him by his hair and hold his head up]
So that was your master plan?! You'd sneak someone into the game as your familiar -- your Furniture -- and trick us all again!? You really are a Witch. You really are the reason we're all here! And if you think I believe for a second you didn't think people would ACTUALLY DIE in a death game, you're even more stupid than you look. How many people are your pawns?! Huh?!
[He is dragged up by his hair! That hiss in pain shows that it stings too. He's also been bleeding from where he got hit by the gun, so have fun getting some blood on your hand Shadow.
Also, while Shadow was busy in the bathroom, Watanuki has been busy too. Namely, he's somehow gotten a pen in his hand (one that was tucked between his mattress and box spring, actually, which is one of his witchy hiding places) and is trying to stab Shadow with it.
In the leg.
It's probably just going to sting slightly and leave an inky mark though, because Watanuki is not strong.]
[his bandages keep the blood off his actual hand, which is good. But the pain in that broken hand means he has to let go.
... Which he does quickly anyway because Watanuki is trying to stab him with a pen. A noble effort, but one that is ultimately fruitless. It stings a bit, but black ink on black fur? Not exactly clear. ] That stung.
[Shadow uses the butt of the gun and slams it on Watanuki's arm holding the pen, where very little muscle covers the bone]
I'm getting tired of this, witch. There's still a chance you can survive tonight -- that we all can, without any more casualties. End the game. Put all the "pieces" back where you found them.
[His head drops, but he's not getting up from the ground yet. His foot is still injured, and between all of his injuries he's having trouble focusing.]
I can't!
[He's saying this through gritted teeth, because he's sure at least some of his hand is broke now. It hurts.]
She's the one in control of the game. It ends when she decides it does! I'm along for the ride just as much as you are!
And you better not even think about killing me! If I die, there's nobody to guide the rest of you! You'll be flailing blindly, at the mercy of someone who doesn't even know what that word means! Do you think she's going to be nice and clarify anything you guys don't understand? No! She won't!
Shoot me, and you're leaving everyone defenseless.
[Shadow twitches as he listens, his temper reaching a boiling point;]
I can't believe how incompetent you are! I can't believe you dove into the sea without knowing what lurked below and drug us all with you! And I don't believe you can fix it, or protect us, or even find your ass with BOTH hands! I don't think you can do anything. You ask for our trust and LIED to us! Lied through your teeth!
Fuck you, you lying piece of garbage. It's game over for you.
[The worst part is, he can't argue and say Shadow is wrong. He did lie, and he did dive into this game without really considering the consequences. People are dying, really dying, and it's all going to hell right now. He can't fix this, not as 'Watanuki Kimihiro, a piece in this game of witches'.
So, he just sags a little, defeated.]
...Just...don't hold it against anyone else. None of them had anything to do with this. It was all me.
[Hopefully the letters he left with a couple people will be enough.]
[Watanuki's defeated posture makes Shadow pause, just a little. But his anger clouds his judgement, a pall of red fog covering his logic with rage at being tricked and used. No one uses him, not anymore. He is not an object. He is not a weapon! He is a person, and he's sick of people treating him like he's some sort of toy!
He levels the gun at Watanuki's head]
Goodbye, Watanuki.
[but he can at least offer a very simple kindness--]
[He's come this far. He can't turn back now -- Watanuki is a liar, but he wouldn't lie for him. And quite honestly, Shadow doesn't trust him not to fuck this up more.
So, Shadow fires twice into Watanuki -- once in the back of the head and once squarely in the chest. Both are slightly off their mark-- Shadow vows to work on using his non-dominant hand more if he makes it out of this alive.
And it feels good. It feels good to see his body shudder with the impact of the bullets. It feels good to get vengeance on the idiot who possibly doomed them all. And before he can really stop himself, he puts three more bullets into Watanuki's torso]
[He sure is. Shadow sits on the edge of the bed, regarding the corpse with cold indifference. He was... hoping something would change -- hoping the mansion would melt away, hoping to wake up back in his room at the Foundation. Or even better, his room back home. He sits there for a good five minutes, watching Watanuki's blood ooze out onto the floor.
When he's certain that nothing is going to change, he sighs]
... I don't know what I was expecting.
[he feels sort of numb to it all, now. He doesn't regret what he's done, but he does wish it had done... more.
First things first -- he needs to figure out what to do with Ruler. Shadow heads back to the bathroom and gazes down at the snoozing detective, reflecting on what the Bird Witch had told him. He didn't know anything, huh? He didn't even know what he was doing when he was summoning him?
Shadow doesn't know if that's the truth or not... was Watanuki really that incompetent, or was he acting the fool? He couldn't be too careful -- Ruler could be hiding everything, too. He didn't want to think poorly of him, because Shadow respects the crap out of Ruler... what a pain.
He grabs the servant under the the arms and drags him out of the bathtub with significant effort — turns out, humans are pretty heavy when you don’t have super strength. There goes his plan to just put him in the sitting room. Plan B… well. Frame him.
He drags him into the main bedroom and sits him in the chair by the desk. Shadow places the gun in Ruler’s dominant hand and uses his fingers to pull the trigger twice more, putting two more bullets in Watanuki’s corpse. Then he sets the gun on the desk.
Now to rifle through Watanuki’s belongings a little. There should be some unanswered letters around here, somewhere? Shadow moves carefully, climbing over the bed to avoid the body and the puddle of blood. He looks under the bed, under the mattress, in the desk, in the end table, in the closet, and in and under the laundry hamper.]
[Damn Shadow, this sure is a frame job! Let's see if you can get away with this.
Also, by rifling though Watanuki's things, Shadow will find some interesting stuff. He won't find all the letters, Watanuki knows better than to hide them all in one place, but he will find some things:
1: two notes in the same, neat handwriting.
"That girl I saw - is she the one you and the other witch are trying to help?"
"I see then, I will have to figure that one out another time.
I have some questions, if you could tell me as much of the original 'plans' for the game as you feel possible - it might not do much, but any little detail may end up helping."
2: One note in a different kind of handwriting:
"That's true.
But I'd like to hear the full story from you at some point. And how you met them."
3: A response to the second one, written in the bird witch's handwriting, which has been scratched out but is still readable:
"I can't keep doing this, you need to know the truth: I'm-"
...it looks like he gave up on writing that note, though.
4: And finally, there's a drawing of a bunny-thing that is wrapping up a little cockatiel in a big hug.
5: Wait no I lied, Shadow's most recent letter is in the room too.
EDITING IN THIS: there is also this kimono hanging up in his closet.]
[Hmph. If nothing else, the presence of these letters confirms even more that Watanuki was the Witch -- though his reaction to the death of the bird was solid enough already.
But everyone else needs to know. They need to know that their mild-mannered cook has been lying to them wholesale. Though it looks like he was already losing his nerve, based on letter number 3. Unfortunately, he hasn't examined enough handwriting to tell who wrote each letter, but they're clearly meant for the Bird Witch. The neat handwriting is probably from Ruler, given the context.
He frowns as he reads those ones, especially. If Ruler had really been in on it the whole time, would he be playing the fool in the letters as well? He looks over at the sleeping man in the chair and frowns, feeling a pang of guilt.
… no time for that, though. He had chosen his path, now he had to follow it through.
He takes his own letter with him and scatters the others on the bed after he's climbed back over, once again avoiding the blood.
Rouge would be either horrified or proud. Possibly both.
He notes the kimono, but aside from being a pretty piece of clothing, it doesn't mean anything to him.
He checks his shoes to ensure he hasn't tracked blood anywhere before he locks the door to the room. Then he opens the window and flips the lock. He climbs out, checks that he hasn’t left behind any fur or quills. Then he slams the window shut so it locks behind him.
Hopefully the bushes around the mansion aren’t toxic — he snaps off a part of the bush with his gloved hand. As he walks backwards to the stone-lined pathway, he sweeps his footprints away with the plant, obscuring the shape, size, and outline of his footprints. Once he’s back on solid stone, he tosses the piece of plant to one side.
Then, down to the boiler in the basement. Shadow removes his glove, the bandages, and his letter and tosses them into the fire. (And starts a fire, if there isn’t one.) Cotton gloves and cotton bandages burn readily, as does the paper. He ensures it’s all ash before he leaves, mixing them in with the rest of the debris. By now, it’s approaching 2:30 am.
Then, it’s just a matter of cleaning up and setting up an alibi. Shadow takes a thorough bath, rinses the bottoms of his shoes in the sink, replaces his glove and re-wraps his bandages. He grimaces — his hand hurts a lot and is pretty swollen. There’s a partially drunk bottle of fine, aged bourbon on his desk in his room, and he takes it with him to the library.
He drinks about half of what remains in a few gulps, to numb his guilt and his painful hand. It’s not long before he’s every bit as unconscious as everyone else in the mansion]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[He's acting like he's surprised by the accusation- which he is, honestly, he's been doing a good job of keeping his identity secret- but he's also not answering that question.]
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Suddenly, there is a gun. And it is jabbed right in Watanuki's gut. His expression is deadly serious.]
Do. Not. Lie to me. I want the truth. I want the whole truth.
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Woah woah WOAH! I'll talk about whatever you want, but can we not do this gun thing?!
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[he jabs it again, and forces Watanuki to his bed to sit, so that they can be eye to eye -- and so the gun can be pointed at the man's head]
People are dead! Innocent people! I want answers, NOW!
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...What did you want to know, exactly?
[Might as well start there. He can dance around the rules to the best of his ability once he knows what Shadow wants to know.]
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Birds have significance in magic. When magic travels, it usually manifests as animals with wings. Butterflies, birds, you get the idea. Birds generally mean a stronger magic or a longer journey, since they can fly farther than other animals.
[Fuck fuck fuck how does he answer any of this without breaking any rules, he's so fucked.]
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Of all the questions, you pick the most pointless one to answer?! TWO PEOPLE! They're dead! [Erika's almost peaceful death mask. Karen's abject terror as she was forced into the Iron Maiden. Maria, crumpling to the ground. Shadow, unable to help any of them. His pupils shrink to slits, and he begins to shake] Because of YOU! This is YOUR fault!! And still you won't give me straight answers?! Because of a GAME?!
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[Part of him is scared, but part of him is angry too. And right now, that anger is driving him to be irrational.]
Do you want me to make up some bullshit lies to give you instead? Is that what you want?!
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[Something in Shadow snaps. Baring his fangs, he turns the gun downward and aims for Watanuki's knee. BLAM. Thanks to the injury keeping him from using his good hand, though, the kick on the gun makes Shadow miss, hitting Watanuki's foot instead.
Still pretty painful!]
YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'RE FORCING US TO PLAY THIS DEATH GAME, AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ALL THE RULES?!
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It's also a good thing that it's now past midnight and everyone is knocked out, because that gunshot is loud. And interestingly enough, Watanuki doesn't react like one might expect to getting shot. He finches and falls forward, grabbing for his foot as if it will help the pain. But he's not screaming, and he's not crying. No, he's acting more like someone who is completely desensitized to pain, as if they have experienced serious injuries thousands of times in the past.
Still, no verbal answer comes right away, as he's still reacting to the pain of getting shot.
A cockatiel is going to be appearing now too, flying in Shadows's face and chirping angrily at him. hdu hurt its master.]
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Gah! Fucking...!
[Shadow steps back a moment, but he can't drop his gun. He has to keep it safe in his hand. So he doesn't have a choice. He grabs the cockatiel in his broken hand, and crushes it to death, grimacing and screaming through clenched teeth through the pain he's causing himself in the process. The bird is dead, and he throws it to the ground, pointing the gun at Watanuki again]
No more games! No more! Tell me everything you know, NOW!
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Which means he's screaming as he falls to the ground, clutching at his chest like he just got stabbed through his heart. No evidence of the bird remains once it has been crushed, but the pain feels very real to him.
Then a red glow picks up on his chest, and suddenly a 'thump' can be heard in the bathroom. Huh. I wonder what that is.]
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But then there's the glow, and the dull thud in the bathroom.]
What kind of trick are you pulling now? [Shadow snarls and gives Watanuki a good whap to the back of the head, enough to disorient him but not knock him out. He wants to check out the bathroom without the witch trying to get away.
Holding his gun out, Shadow slowly opens the door and peeks through it.]
I'm armed...!
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Ruler is slumped on the floor in the bathroom. It appears as though he is asleep and did not wake up during his sudden transportation to the bathroom.]
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Then he.
Pokes at Ruler with the barrel of the gun.]
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Shadow will... make sure Ruler is actually alive before he heads back out to the main bedroom with his gun drawn.
If Watanuki is still reeling, Shadow will grab him by his hair and hold his head up]
So that was your master plan?! You'd sneak someone into the game as your familiar -- your Furniture -- and trick us all again!? You really are a Witch. You really are the reason we're all here! And if you think I believe for a second you didn't think people would ACTUALLY DIE in a death game, you're even more stupid than you look. How many people are your pawns?! Huh?!
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[He is dragged up by his hair! That hiss in pain shows that it stings too. He's also been bleeding from where he got hit by the gun, so have fun getting some blood on your hand Shadow.
Also, while Shadow was busy in the bathroom, Watanuki has been busy too. Namely, he's somehow gotten a pen in his hand (one that was tucked between his mattress and box spring, actually, which is one of his witchy hiding places) and is trying to stab Shadow with it.
In the leg.
It's probably just going to sting slightly and leave an inky mark though, because Watanuki is not strong.]
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... Which he does quickly anyway because Watanuki is trying to stab him with a pen. A noble effort, but one that is ultimately fruitless. It stings a bit, but black ink on black fur? Not exactly clear. ] That stung.
[Shadow uses the butt of the gun and slams it on Watanuki's arm holding the pen, where very little muscle covers the bone]
I'm getting tired of this, witch. There's still a chance you can survive tonight -- that we all can, without any more casualties. End the game. Put all the "pieces" back where you found them.
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I can't!
[He's saying this through gritted teeth, because he's sure at least some of his hand is broke now. It hurts.]
She's the one in control of the game. It ends when she decides it does! I'm along for the ride just as much as you are!
And you better not even think about killing me! If I die, there's nobody to guide the rest of you! You'll be flailing blindly, at the mercy of someone who doesn't even know what that word means! Do you think she's going to be nice and clarify anything you guys don't understand? No! She won't!
Shoot me, and you're leaving everyone defenseless.
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I can't believe how incompetent you are! I can't believe you dove into the sea without knowing what lurked below and drug us all with you! And I don't believe you can fix it, or protect us, or even find your ass with BOTH hands! I don't think you can do anything. You ask for our trust and LIED to us! Lied through your teeth!
Fuck you, you lying piece of garbage. It's game over for you.
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So, he just sags a little, defeated.]
...Just...don't hold it against anyone else. None of them had anything to do with this. It was all me.
[Hopefully the letters he left with a couple people will be enough.]
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He levels the gun at Watanuki's head]
Goodbye, Watanuki.
[but he can at least offer a very simple kindness--]
Tsubasa.
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He's laying face-down on the ground defenseless, Shadow. What do?.]
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So, Shadow fires twice into Watanuki -- once in the back of the head and once squarely in the chest. Both are slightly off their mark-- Shadow vows to work on using his non-dominant hand more if he makes it out of this alive.
And it feels good. It feels good to see his body shudder with the impact of the bullets. It feels good to get vengeance on the idiot who possibly doomed them all. And before he can really stop himself, he puts three more bullets into Watanuki's torso]
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hm.]
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You're next.
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Watanuki Kimihiro is dead.
Go take care of that witch-hate-boner, Shadow.]
longtag. its gonna be a longtag.
When he's certain that nothing is going to change, he sighs]
... I don't know what I was expecting.
[he feels sort of numb to it all, now. He doesn't regret what he's done, but he does wish it had done... more.
First things first -- he needs to figure out what to do with Ruler. Shadow heads back to the bathroom and gazes down at the snoozing detective, reflecting on what the Bird Witch had told him. He didn't know anything, huh? He didn't even know what he was doing when he was summoning him?
Shadow doesn't know if that's the truth or not... was Watanuki really that incompetent, or was he acting the fool? He couldn't be too careful -- Ruler could be hiding everything, too. He didn't want to think poorly of him, because Shadow respects the crap out of Ruler... what a pain.
He grabs the servant under the the arms and drags him out of the bathtub with significant effort — turns out, humans are pretty heavy when you don’t have super strength. There goes his plan to just put him in the sitting room. Plan B… well. Frame him.
He drags him into the main bedroom and sits him in the chair by the desk. Shadow places the gun in Ruler’s dominant hand and uses his fingers to pull the trigger twice more, putting two more bullets in Watanuki’s corpse. Then he sets the gun on the desk.
Now to rifle through Watanuki’s belongings a little. There should be some unanswered letters around here, somewhere? Shadow moves carefully, climbing over the bed to avoid the body and the puddle of blood. He looks under the bed, under the mattress, in the desk, in the end table, in the closet, and in and under the laundry hamper.]
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Also, by rifling though Watanuki's things, Shadow will find some interesting stuff. He won't find all the letters, Watanuki knows better than to hide them all in one place, but he will find some things:
1: two notes in the same, neat handwriting.
"That girl I saw - is she the one you and the other witch are trying to help?"
"I see then, I will have to figure that one out another time.
I have some questions, if you could tell me as much of the original 'plans' for the game as you feel possible - it might not do much, but any little detail may end up helping."
2: One note in a different kind of handwriting:
"That's true.
But I'd like to hear the full story from you at some point. And how you met them."
3: A response to the second one, written in the bird witch's handwriting, which has been scratched out but is still readable:
"I can't keep doing this, you need to know the truth: I'm-"
...it looks like he gave up on writing that note, though.
4: And finally, there's a drawing of a bunny-thing that is wrapping up a little cockatiel in a big hug.
5: Wait no I lied, Shadow's most recent letter is in the room too.
EDITING IN THIS: there is also this kimono hanging up in his closet.]
DONES
But everyone else needs to know. They need to know that their mild-mannered cook has been lying to them wholesale. Though it looks like he was already losing his nerve, based on letter number 3. Unfortunately, he hasn't examined enough handwriting to tell who wrote each letter, but they're clearly meant for the Bird Witch. The neat handwriting is probably from Ruler, given the context.
He frowns as he reads those ones, especially. If Ruler had really been in on it the whole time, would he be playing the fool in the letters as well? He looks over at the sleeping man in the chair and frowns, feeling a pang of guilt.
… no time for that, though. He had chosen his path, now he had to follow it through.
He takes his own letter with him and scatters the others on the bed after he's climbed back over, once again avoiding the blood.
Rouge would be either horrified or proud. Possibly both.
He notes the kimono, but aside from being a pretty piece of clothing, it doesn't mean anything to him.
He checks his shoes to ensure he hasn't tracked blood anywhere before he locks the door to the room. Then he opens the window and flips the lock. He climbs out, checks that he hasn’t left behind any fur or quills. Then he slams the window shut so it locks behind him.
Hopefully the bushes around the mansion aren’t toxic — he snaps off a part of the bush with his gloved hand. As he walks backwards to the stone-lined pathway, he sweeps his footprints away with the plant, obscuring the shape, size, and outline of his footprints. Once he’s back on solid stone, he tosses the piece of plant to one side.
Then, down to the boiler in the basement. Shadow removes his glove, the bandages, and his letter and tosses them into the fire. (And starts a fire, if there isn’t one.) Cotton gloves and cotton bandages burn readily, as does the paper. He ensures it’s all ash before he leaves, mixing them in with the rest of the debris. By now, it’s approaching 2:30 am.
Then, it’s just a matter of cleaning up and setting up an alibi. Shadow takes a thorough bath, rinses the bottoms of his shoes in the sink, replaces his glove and re-wraps his bandages. He grimaces — his hand hurts a lot and is pretty swollen. There’s a partially drunk bottle of fine, aged bourbon on his desk in his room, and he takes it with him to the library.
He drinks about half of what remains in a few gulps, to numb his guilt and his painful hand. It’s not long before he’s every bit as unconscious as everyone else in the mansion]