estelle

[unrecked]

estelle, your coworker

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w0, monday

[unrecked]

[throws dart rng says butterflies i am so sorry to estelle

It's a new day, and Jason is back to being nosy around the hotel now that they are released into the thick of it. For now, he's snooping around the new floor, but hasn't made it to the hallway doors yet.

That's because he's in the butterfly room. It screams Poison Ivy to him, but he is trying not to take things with too much bias. (It screams Poison Ivy.) The butterflies are... nice...?]

Yo. [He lifts his chin in a greeting to Estelle.] Odd thing to put in the middle of a hotel.

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle was staring up at the treetops, the light filtering in from above, but she turns at the sound of the stranger's voice and offers him a smile.]

Is it? I haven't been to many hotels like this before, but it seems like a nice idea. It's pretty, don't you think?

[unrecked]

Pretty suspicious maybe.

[Sorry to Estelle who has to deal with a mostly paranoid, cynic Bat. He puts his hands in the pockets of his jacket--he's in this outfit today--and steps toward her to join her.]

Usually butterfly gardens are in... actual public gardens, or something.

[He really don't like those dark ones paying attention to them in the distance.]

[mustbepurged]

Is a butterfly garden really suspicious, though?

[Estelle here is in her default pink and white canon outfit. She just now notices the dark butterflies, giving them a lingering, curious look.]

I mean, compared to anything else around here...

[unrecked]

Any place in this hellscape should be suspicious. Stuff that's already here, stuff we get.

[It's so weird to get new things........ They never got shit all on the island. Wild. Imagine having different locations and stuff.

He shifts around her to slowly and casually walk a bit more into the garden.]

[mustbepurged]

Maybe you're right... In the last place, a lot of things that seemed harmless turned out to be really dangerous.

[She sighs. Estelle kind of wanted to enjoy the pretty garden. Thanks, Jason.]

I don't recognize a lot of these plants... Maybe because they only grow in warmer climates?

[unrecked]

Then you should have known better than me this place is probably got us on its shit list.

[ur welcome

The nice butterflies are so pretty, but they continue to stay out of reach. Frustrating. The dark butterflies, though...? Have noticed them. Jason isn't paying them a whole lot of mind right this second, but they are starting to converge toward him now that he's moving and obvious.]

Not a lot of them seem familiar, but they look tropical. Probably because the butterflies need the warmth.

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle watches the butterflies approach him, like he's a Disney princess. She thought she was the Disney princess here? How unfair.

Seeing one of the sparkling white butterflies nearby, she tries reaching a hand out to it, but it just flies away.]

[unrecked]

[He doesn't go extremely far. The butterflies are light to the touch, so he doesn't notice through his jacket when the first one or two land on him.

It's weird. Right now, he's not much else except cautious, but the butterflies draw... a lot of anger out of him. The anger that he keeps the cap on (barely). It feels a lot like the unbridled rage he had when he first crawled out of the ground again, like the rage he had after being dipped in the Pit.

Chaotic and wild, burning rage.]

Something... isn't right.

[He slowly turns to face Estelle again. Another butterfly lands on the top of his hair, and he closes his hand around the hilt of the gun in the holster on his thigh.]

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle's looking around at their surroundings, and she slowly meets his gaze for just a moment, before looking to his hand move to his holstered weapon.]

What's wrong?

[unrecked]

[looks at my past self typing hilt of a gun and laughs ok

His hand tightens. Another butterfly gently lands on his shoulder. Another. Until he has a slowly undulating mantle as they fan their wings. The bitterness that rises up in the pit of him is sour in his throat.

Why does he feel so… angry? And spurned?

He pulls the gun out after hesitating and aims it at Estelle. He’s thankfully not up in her space, but this means nothing when there’s a gun involved.]

Get out of here.

[mustbepurged]

[She freezes, looking down the barrel of the gun. It takes a moment to find the presence of mind to move... but she doesn't leave. Instead, she faces him directly.]

... Tell me what's wrong.

[unrecked]

[His grip and the point of his arm are steadier than anything. But it looks like he's struggling to figure out whether he wants to put his finger on the trigger or not.]

Nothing's wrong! [His voice pitches. He can't keep the anger out of it, and he sounds pretty unhinged.] I said to get out of here! What're you still standing around for?!

You want to die?!

w1, friday

[unrecked]

[HELLO ESTELLE, there are so many girls putting up with Jason, I feel so bad.

He is out in the courtyard, shockingly not pacing. Instead, he's seated on a bench with his arms draped over his knees and his hands hanging limp between them. The knuckles are pretty busted up and bloody. He doesn't look up at her but it's clear he notices her there.]

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle's been standing out here for a while, looking out at the statues and flowers. After a few minutes, she realizes she's not alone. She rubs her eyes with her sleeve, then walks over to see him.

There's a pause when she sees his bloodied knuckles.]

... Are you all right?

[unrecked]

[He shifts his hand to glance at it, then lets it hang again. Finally, he glances up at Estelle.]

Yeah. Got the urge to punch some stone. It happens.

[mustbepurged]

[She looks pretty concerned.]

I don't just mean that...

... Were you friends?

[unrecked]

Don't know if I would call us that. We just saw eye to eye on some things.

[No concern. He deserves it.]

You?

[mustbepurged]

I don't know if he would say the same, but... I think so.

[She smiles, faintly.]

He really helped me a lot.

[unrecked]

Sounds like him even though he'd pretend he didn't. We'll figure out what happened tomorrow.

[He glances away.]

The decent news is, he's probably not gone. He could be in a holding pen until we finish. So maybe it's not as bad as it could be.

[mustbepurged]

Right... There's still hope.

If there's some way to get him and the others to the lobby on the final day... everyone can be saved.

[unrecked]

[He looks back at her.]

You read the contract.

[mustbepurged]

Yes. There was something I wanted to confirm, so I asked about it the other day.

Did you read it, too?

[unrecked]

[He bobs his head once a bit.]

Yeah, I did. Pretty weird we can't remember most of the contract, but apparently we signed it. I'm not sure if I would have signed one so vague and shady, but maybe I would have.

[mustbepurged]

Yes... I usually have a good memory for things I've seen in writing, too...

[She looks a little troubled at that.]

If it was to save someone dear, though... maybe I would have signed anything, too.