(no subject)

[flippity]

[ so, later sunday evening after the execution, papika is gonna be poking her head into her hotel room. she doesn't go in right away as she seems to be checking... for... ]

Robin?

Comments

[flippity]

No, not yet.

[ her expression turns into a displeased one because man. she hates the sheriff. ]

Should I?

[bittybat]

That depends on what you want to do. [He peers at her for a moment, then looks away.]

Has anyone you've spoken with told you they tried to talk to the Sheriff in private, or he talked to them in private?

[flippity]

No... Sometimes I talk to Percy about wanting to many... manipu... trick the Sheriff into giving us more info, but I don't know if he actually went and talked to him without me.

[ and she also isn't sure if, even if that's possible, if the two of them could even accomplish it considering they both managed to piss the sheriff off during the first trial. ]

[bittybat]

[There's the barest, briefest hints of a smirk.] I don't think you have to trick him. He tells you what he wants you to hear, and what he wants you to hear depends on who you are and what you're willing to do.

This is a game. We're playing a game for an audience. So all that matters is entertainment.

Understand?

[flippity]

Hm, so if two people went to him and asked him the same thing in private, he might respond differently according to what they might want...

[ she finally walks away from the doorway to sit on her own bed. ]

Have you spoken to him then?

[bittybat]

Exactly. [For a moment, he doesn't answer, then, finally:] Yes.

[flippity]

[ she's surprised by the answer, although she's not sure if she's surprised that he spoke to him or that he answered truthfully. ]

Did he tell you what you wanted to hear?

[bittybat]

Yes and no. He did, but I didn't like what I heard. [Well, you know, shut up. Papika is just lucky she's a cute girl... or whatever.

He's quiet again for a while, though turns to look at her. His eyes are pretty piercing, careful and too intelligent.] I'm looking for someone. Someone besides the Bandits.

If I can find them, the game can be over.

[flippity]

Someone besides... [ give her a second.

and then (after several seconds actually) her hand flies over to cover her mouth. ]

You have a role?

[bittybat]

You can't tell anyone. At all.

I don't know what may happen if I'm killing. It could put everyone's lives in danger.

[flippity]

I won't tell anyone! I don't want you to be targeted... or anyone else... so I'm not going to risk your life!

[ she sounds serious about that. and while her tone usually carries a hint of puzzlement to it, papika is very firm about this matter. ]

..............if i'm killed* @self: rip

[bittybat]

I have to find them as soon as possible. If you hear of anyone speaking to the Sheriff in private, tell me immediately.

it's ok i understand what you meant

[flippity]

Okay. I'll let you know.

[ a moment of hesitation, then, ] Did you tell anyone else? You don't have to say who, if you did...

[bittybat]

I've told Jackson. [Who hopefully... they can trust. What is trust in this hellish place? Damian doesn't have an ounce of trust in his body, but he needs to make progress.] I asked him the same question I asked you.

[flippity]

[ she smiles slightly at that. ]

Oh. Percy is good!

[ as you can see, papika does not have the same issues with trust ]

[bittybat]

[He's dead. Dig his grave ahead of time for him...]

We don't know that for certain. It's only an assumption. People will lie about anything if it means they get to live, or they get to keep someone they care about from dying.

[flippity]

Maybe... I'm not sure if you can survive here long without trusting someone even a little bit though. It'll get too lonely on top of everything else, wouldn't it?

[ she can understand not wanting to trust someone completely since... well, what he said is true. especially given what's on some of those wanted posters. but she can't imagine keeping everyone at arm's length. ]

[bittybat]

There's no way for us to tell who is lying and who isn't. At least--there's no way for me to tell without making an educated guess based on what I've perceived of someone when I met them.

Anyone can pretend to be your friend, but then turn on you for the right reasons.

[flippity]

At least we know some people who might try something? So we can try to keep an eye on them.

[ at least, people who don't seem too bothered by the concept of killing someone so they might not need that much convincing in terms of reward. nui. she means nui. ]

[bittybat]

Some people here may not need a role to do what they do. [He's thinking about the Joker.] They want to kill because they want to go home, or they want to kill just because they enjoy killing.

Just because one person is suspicious doesn't mean their motives are because of the Sheriff. [He frowns, knowing this is pessimistic news, but--logic, come on.]

And if you make yourself stand-out, you'll become an easy target.

[flippity]

[ she pouts. ]

Stand out how? Lots of people are standing out in different ways here.

[bittybat]

[He gives her a mildly flat look.] Look me directly in the face and tell me you have fifteen fingers without making it sound like a lie.

[flippity]

[ welp. with that, she slides off her bed and walks over to him, and stopping once she reaches a respectable distance to properly look at his face. ]

I... have fifteen fingers?

[ she mostly just sounds confused ]

[bittybat]

Fail. [He doesn't even have to wait very long right after she finishes to know.] You would be their next target. You can't even believe your own self; how do you expect anyone else to believe you?

[He stares at her. Nothing about him wavers in the slightest.]

I have a giant, red bat beast as a pet.

[flippity]

[ she... squints at him... ]

Do you...?

[ in her defense, she is used to weird stuff so she wouldn't write that off as a complete impossibility?? ]

You're really good at this.