Gavin eyes Cefin Glynn warily on his approach, though he does not seem hostile. The golden gaze of Rocket's underboss is narrowed with suspicion, his too-fast breaths coming slower as he adjusts to whatever the definitely-not-water had done to him.

"None of us are safe." Calmer, now, but no more reassuring. "No, you can't touch my tongue."

His throat still hurts. How much worse would it be if this one contaminated him with... what was that red stuff, exactly? It was the colour of rust, but there was nothing natural about the way it tattooed the skin.

Though Gavin hasn't noticed, Cefin Glynn might realise that Gavin's throat is striped white as well.

Sharp eyes flick to Elisabeth Fiorelli.

"It's certainly not Chu-e Choi. Choi is dead."

Careful, so as not to give the non-Rockets in the room too much information. Doubtless Silph would have informed those in the League who mattered of the man's death, but to say much more is dangerous.

He looks to Martín del Mar, then. "Gavin is fine. They're..." He shakes his head, looking troubled. "Dangerous. I don't know what they are. But they're all around us." He bares his teeth at Chu-e Choi. The man's answer to Zac Ramsay's inquiry isn't satisfactory. He is Changed. We have to work together. He steps toward Ramsay, comforted by the anxiety that not-Choi seems to exhibit when faced with the redhead. "I told you, that's not him. No more than those logs are mine."

Temp was alive. Lopez, Reyes, Kingsman... they were his enemies, not his coworkers.

What do you hear?

"Whispers." He looks up at the ceiling full of eyes, shakes his head like an animal trying to shoo away a fly. "But I can't understand them. Can you?"

He steps toward the WALL OF WATER, perhaps seeking some comfort in the ocean that ordinarily brought only fear. That post mentioned Lugia...

---

Mostly reacting to interactions with Cefin Glynn, Zac Ramsay, mint frost, Chu-e Choi, Elisabeth Fiorelli, Martín del Mar.
Insists that 'they' are dangerous, but doesn't seem to know what 'they' are. Tells Mint that what he hears is whispering, but that he can't understand what's being said.
Steps toward the WALL OF WATER for comfort, also keeping Zac Ramsay between him and Chu-e Choi.

ROUND ONE UPDATE: PART THREE

Boredom, Boredom
Dirty Water

Boredom, Boredom
Do your worst here

Wash your hair with turpentine

---

Cefin Glynn is a dirty slut who touches tips with Cillian Quinn next.

Longing and Fragments caress, a hand and throat their vessel.

There is another clap of thunder that shakes the building. You all feel unstable. Not physically or mentally. But like the building blocks of what you are is coming loose.

Yet that isn't all here, is it?

Cefin Glynn, Cillian Quinn, and kyle lopez. An unlikely trio. In trying to clean his shoe, ink spreads from the glass, visibly outside of the wall. kyle lopez loses both of his shoes in the process; like they slipped through the solid object, sinking.

Their hands will not pass through. A glitch?

Whatever was in the water is coming closer.

---

Meanwhile, Chu-e Choi suffers a deluge of questions.

He scowls at what Cillian Quinn says but does not deny the accusation. If anything, he just looks sad when he glances back at Eris Halla when she speaks.

"I knew you were too good to be true." He touches her face again, lingering a moment. Eris Halla, Martín del Mar, and anyone close enough might see him blink back a few tears.

A deep breath.

Then his game face is on.

"The Symwave is what we call the Synthetic Hyper-Transic Cellulation Stimulation Wave Machine. I was told it was built to assist in curing otherwise fatal or irreversible diseases. It's just a prototype, though, and so far has been a big fucking waste of energy. Leave it on too long and whole facility loses power." Hopefully that would be enough to sate all of Martín del Mar' questions for now.

"Dick-breath-" He jerks his head towards Cillian Quinn again. "threw me in there to stop his fucked up experiments with it. Well, I think. He's been raving mad for weeks now."

And of course the last question answered, like the NPC he is.

"I'm Cress' Vessel. She's here... somewhere. After she let me out, she fucked off. Probably to find Merlino and kick his ass."

As he talks, Chu-e is animated with his hands. chryssa glasgow, looking close, would see a scar on his palm. Just, on the opposite hand of what she might remember.

---

Martín del Mar easily scrubs the ink from the plaque. It wasn't dry yet. Inspecting it will reveal simple marker.

The goo numbs his fingertips. It's thick and viscous but otherwise easy to wipe off.

Something about the doorway is unnerving.

---

mint frost and chryssa glasgow meet up at the menu board about the same time. Just a plain whiteboard, wishing a coworker a happy birthday. Looks like someone was playing a game of hangman. The Tuesday specials are still written on it.

Much like the plaque, something black leaks from behind it.

---

Arashi Akiyama inspects the blackened doorway closer.

But we almost forgot some people, didn't we?

We'll come back to that.

---

BARNABY FINCH examines the table. Aside from being covered in blood, it seems normal enough.

A few objects are left behind from a previous occupant. A tray with a few bites of vanilla birthday cake, looking dry and crusty. An ID badge is stained the worst.

Most interesting seems to be some type of map. Someone has worked hard to scrawl out the names of some of the rooms.

Something feels off about it.

---

While BARNABY FINCH is playing with papers, Felix Gallagher inspects the shudder. It's solid looking but not industrial. This was meant to keep people out on a more base level; nothing high security. It puts him in the mind of when people will put trays in a cafeteria to be cleaned. It's leaking that black goo, which has spilled out all over the collection area.

When he rattles it, curiously enough, there isn't some esoteric puzzle to make it open. It shoots up, revealing a solid wall of the black goo. It's similar to jelly.

Faintly, something shows through. It's hard to tell what it is.

---

Now, back to Arashi Akiyama.

Arashi Akiyama examines the doorway. It's open and pitch black inside, not revealing anything.

He sticks an arm inside. Instead of flailing around like one might expect, he meets resistance.

The blackness is perhaps darkness. But it's thick like honey, coating around his arm. It reeks and leaves a nasty residue when he pulls it out.

Locke Jamison, like a fool, steps through the honeyed darkness. It sticks to his skin and fills his nose and mouth, making it hard to breath. He might be stuck there forever.

The proverbial bubble pops, though, and he's on the other side.

The breathing is louder here.

Faintly, so faintly, something is coming towards him.

---

NEW ACTIONS!

You may still do the actions listed in the first post! These are just new! As before, you can only complete one of these per post!

- Interact with the NPC - Chu-e Choi
- Examine the Glass wall of water
- Inspect objects in the Birthday room

The Birthday room is too dark to see much right now. You can only interact with what you see in the previous images by the light of the open door. (These objects are: Birthday! Banner, Small Shudder, Small Table, Menu Board, Door Plaque, Water Cooler, Black Doorway)

---

This is the final Round One Update! The next Update will be the start of Round Two!

There may be multiple Round Updates depending on what happens IC! Since this Round has a lot happening, I decided to do one now! This Round is not over yet! You still have till the 15th to post!

Please remember that you can post more than once per Round! You must also Roll with your first post each Round.

All of you that have active Secrets can start DMing me if you would like to use them! Choosing to not use your Secret, unless otherwise stated, will grant you a Punishment IC.

As of this post:
One Secret has been Stolen

Two people has been marked for Death

Punishments are now incoming.

mint frost Eris Halla Martín del Mar Elisabeth Fiorelli illeana reyes Cefin Glynn Locke Jamison Summer Atreides Kaida Adachi chryssa glasgow Zac Ramsay nagi miwa kyle lopez Kazimir Wynter luka chêne BARNABY FINCH Cillian Quinn Chu-e Choi Felix Gallagher Razz Kingsman Arashi Akiyama aster rousseau chryssa glasgow

A stiff nod is offered when Cefin Glynn asks to touch his neck; as the other's hand draws close, Gavin's own fingers curl into a fist as if in expectation of a fight. Yet he doesn't lash out when Cefin touches him, only clenches his jaw and looks distinctly uncomfortable.

The room shakes with thunder. His sense of unease grows.

"No doors, this time."

He can't decide if he's disappointed or relieved.

His eyes narrow as Chu-e Choi jerks another finger at him.

"I'm not your Merlino." And you're not my Chu-e, not my best friend, because my best friend is dead. "I don't work for Alternis, I work for Rocket. I hope your Cress can tell the difference."

He feels wrong. There's something wrong.

But he doesn't say it again. They've been warned. If they don't listen, that's not on him. Gavin seems calmer on the surface, now, as though whatever panic had gripped him is faded, but on the inside his heart continues to hammer against its cage of ribs.

He places a hand on the glass wall of water, as if in longing.

"Is Lugia out there?"

---

He's pretending to be fine. He's still not fine.
Chats with NPC Chu-e Choi and asks if Lugia is out in the water.
Touching the glass wall of water.