pembrokeshire ♔ the day has come where i have died

[immuno]

WHO || Lydia Martin, Alaric Saltzman, Helen Magnus, Rose Hathaway, Sydney Bristow
WHAT || A couple of knights take a short trip west to investigate reports of Shadowkind deaths.
WHERE || Police Station, Pembrokeshire, Wales
WHEN || May 20th
HOW || Actionspam

The briefing was simple and direct: a string of disappearing Shadowkind centered around a small farming town in Wales. The Karthur Institute wasn't called in until the local authorities got reports of incessant, blood-curdling screams coming from a barn just past the edge of town. They found a girl curled in the corner there, screaming her lungs out, shaking, and looking like she'd been running around the forest alone for days.

They also found the five bodies of their missing townspeople in the barn.

They tell the knights (and thus, Wynn tells them) that the girl is in police custody, but they don't tell them that she's pinned in a cell. They've fed her and given her a coat by now, but the deputy is quick to alert Helen, Rose, Sydney, and Alaric as they arrive of the bad news.

"She hasn't shut up since we put her in there." He glances back over his shoulder, toward the lock-up. "Not screamin', just wanting to know who they were." He looks back at the knights, grim. "Don't think she's got any idea how she got out there. I don't have it in me to tell her I don't either; wherever she's rom, it inn't Pembrokeshire."

Comments

[immuno]

[ lydia's eyes widen briefly and she raises her hands to start brushing them lightly through her hair to untangle the hay—and discovers a few leaves in the process. lack of mirror is a serious bummer. she purses her lips sourly, preoccupying herself with the stray tangles while the deputy steps forward to unlock the cell. he swings the iron door open and leaves a wide open space between lydia and the rest of them.

if she was going to murder y'all, here was her chance.

instead, she hesitates, eyeing them as she finishes picking at her hair and arches her eyebrows. ] ... Well?

[ the deputy catches up and reaches a hand out to indicate for her to step over. he tries to grip her upper arm and she yanks her hand away, walking alongside rose as he leads them the whole 20ft to his boss's office, which has a single wooden door with a window with a shade pulled over it.

'you take all the time you folks need,' he assures as lydia moves into the office to find a seat. he turns to helen. 'we found her car out by the barn. ran the plates, but nothin' came up. that's why the sheriff figured we oughtta call you.' he nods, making it clear he just wanted to establish that before they went inside. as if lydia is going to bite or something. ]

[superswank]

[ sydney's been quiet through all this, apparently playing the role of strong but silent background muscle with her intimidate of 21. she's got that cold as ice stare locked down, aight. someone's gotta play bad cop. she finds a spot against the wall, where she folds her arms and leans back, fixing lydia with that look now. ] Why don't you start by telling us your name?

[immuno]

[ lydia turns a sharp gaze on sydney as she speaks, clearly ready to
snap back until she ... actually really looks at her. the animosity drains
quickly out of her expression (will 11). her shoulders shrug and she
hunches back in her seat, scooting back. ]

Lydia Martin. [ she may be intimidated into cooperation, but she's
still replying in a snide, curt tone of voice. ] But my name
isn't going to help you find whoever killed all those people.

[daredtobelieve]

And what do you suppose would help, Miss Martin. You're the only eye witness to the crime. [And currently the only suspect.] Why don't you tell us what you remember to help us get a clearer idea of what's happened here.

[immuno]

I witnessed a pile of dead bodies. If these police officers had a brain between them, they might know to watch the barn for whoever comes to get rid of more instead of worrying about what I was doing there.

[ the implication of her sharp tone being, obviously, that these knights should be the ones to make that better life choice. she leans forward, slapping her palms on the sheriff's desk. ]

I didn't see anything. I don't even know how I got there; I went to sleep at home last night. I woke up, started driving, and the next thing I know, I'm screaming my head off in some barn.

[ she glances over to ric and rose, who seem to have more empathy for her. she knows how to work a room, expression growing vulnerable and just a little pouty. ] They told me they found my car parked halfway in a ditch nearby with the doors open. I don't even remember getting out of it.

[littledhampir]

[Lets be honest here. Lydia won Rose over the second she made it clear that she thought the cops were idiots, mostly because Rose couldn't agree more.]

Anything like that happen to you before? Gaps in your memory, that sort of thing?

[immuno]

[ bristling to the defensive, she fixes her attention on rose, leaning in. ]

I am not crazy.

[daredtobelieve]

No on's saying you are. But a lapse in memory could explain more than you know. Just like I'm betting your last memory wasn't in Pembrokeshire- if you even have a recollection of this place at all before today.

[immuno]

[ she swallows thickly, green eyes darting over to helen. the reassurance is, truthfully, not that reassuring. she'd probably have been happier without confirming her suspicions that this is somewhere far, far from california. she knows a welsh accent, ok, but welsh people can live in california. right? ]

I was in Beacon Hills. [ a meaningful beat. her gaze drops. ] California.

[ which gives her a burst of certainty and she shifts in her seat, drawing her shoulders up and straightening, turning her attention towards sydney. ]

Which is how I know I didn't have anything to do with those people dying. The stench in that barn ... some of them had to have been there for weeks. I just got here. [ whether she knows how that happened or not, she knows it did. ] But if we go back there, maybe you can find out who did have something to do with it.

[superswank]

[ syd exchanges a significant Look with helen ] Do you remember any kind of mist... or fog, before you found yourself here?

[daredtobelieve]

[After sharing a meaningful look with Sydney, Helen slips her phone from her pocket to do some quick internet research on Beacon Hills (research 23).

She finds no results.

Glancing back up at the girl, she steps over to share this finding with Ric, keeping quiet for now but seeing the pieces falling into place. It's very likely that the girl really is innocent and the Veil simply dropped her in an incredibly inconvenient arrival spot.]

[ex_ric243]

[Good call, Helen. Alaric had the same lack of results when he first arrived and found out that Mystic Falls, Virginia was a non-existent location in this world. Of course, he had sort of been giving Lydia the benefit of the doubt all along, but that's just because he is a man and therefore a sucker.]

I'm going to go get directions to the barn, and the hospital where they supposedly shipped those bodies. [It's said in a whisper to Helen, before Alaric grants one last glance toward Lydia and slips out of the office to do just that. He really didn't think they needed four people interrogating what was looking to be an innocent teenager.]

[immuno]

I—Maybe? I really don't remember. [ she shakes her head. courtesy of a shitty 5 will save, she can't remember anything beyond getting into her car—what's more, she doesn't even remember where she was trying to go, let alone how her car got her to wales. the worst part is that it's genuinely not even the veil's fault: this particular instance of memory loss is something else, a lapse of consciousness. ] I just got in my car, and then the next thing I know I'm in some barn.

[ her gaze grows fixed on the corner of the table, eyes taking on a watery quality and reflecting considerable distance. ]

I don't know what happened. [ after a moment's silence, her eyes flicker back up to helen, like she's drawn herself back in. ] Can I just call my mom?

[ the deputy outside is happy to provide directions to the hospital, informing ric that the bodies are in the morgue—on the basement level. they'll know to expect outside investigators, so they should have no trouble getting in. the barn is a few miles outside of town, but the deputy will helpfully draw out a map on a piece of printer paper because they don't believe in gps. ]

[ex_ric243]

[Well he is just gonna input that shit into the GPS in his phone anyway because unlike these backwater fucks he is not trying to interpret chicken scratches the entire ride out to buttfuck Egypt (computer use 15). But thanks, bro.

And while he's at it he's going to try and find out anything he can about the crime scene before it was compromised to hell and back by deputy dumbass and his colleagues (gather information 19). Who knows, maybe they actually followed protocol and took pictures or something.]

[immuno]

[ the gps software may be up to date, but a computer use 15 check is not enough to magically convince it to find a barn that isn't on any map. when it fails, the deputy laughs at him. ]

That land was seized by the state ten years back. You hold onto that map, mate. [ he hands the paper over and grabs a file to begin explaining the rest. ]

Our doctors got back to us [ because they don't have a medical examiner ] while you were in with the prisoner. We weren't sure until they looked at 'em, but whoever's been killing these people ain't doing it like they're new to it.

[ he hands over a photograph of a pile of 6 bodies stacked in a hayloft in the barn—some of them are markedly charred, some of them covered in brown, oxidized blood, and some of them have more prominent veins and bulging eyes, reflecting some kind of poison. while alaric looks over the photo, the deputy explains their findings to give context to these varied appearances: they had varied causes of death, and some of them appeared to have been tortured before they were killed. alaric's 31 spot check means he notices that the bodies that appear poisoned have decomposed further than those killed in other ways. ]

Didn't put much effort into hiding 'em. Probably figured nobody would be out there.

[ex_ric243]

[Joy. He pockets the map for later. Apparently they were going on a treasure hunt.]

[Once the crime scene photograph is offered up for him to look over, he takes his time examining the photograph and notes all the shit already mentioned. At least well enough to describe it to Helen, who would know more about poisoning and rate of decomposition, most likely.]

Do we know anything about the victims? Any common factors you might be able to cross reference?

[immuno]

They're all them ... shadow folk. We don't keep too close an eye on them 'round these parts.

[ aka: that's all i've got for ya, bro. a+ policework right here. ]

What I can tell you is none of 'em were killed in that barn. Nothing else was burned up, and there wasn't enough blood on that floor to kill one man, let alone two.

[ex_ric243]

[So basically your whole office and probably your entire town are suspect. Got it.

But then Alaric is thinking about that girl in the other room whose more than likely one of "them shadowfolk," and whose main concern was getting out of here. He can't really blame her.

Fuck why does he have to care...]

Listen, I really appreciate the help. I know this might sound crazy, but would there be any way you might consider releasing her into our custody so that we could take her with us? She doesn't seem to recall much, but I'm hoping that being back at the crime scene now that it isn't full of corpses might help to jog her memory.

[immuno]

[ the deputy hems and haws for a moment—something about that 'not really being their policy.' when he relents, it becomes apparent he was only trying to make it seem like he was doing ric a big favor here—after all, unless they plan on arresting her, they can't hold her for more than 24 hours anyway.

he scrubs a hand over his face and then settles both hands to his wide hips. ]

Yeah, all right. You just keep us updated on what you find and try not to move anything around the barn.

[ex_ric243]

[Oh, now this bitch wanted to follow protocol?]

No problem. [Now begone he needs to text Helen what he saw because she might want to come out and examine that photo for herself.

Buzz buzz, incoming text, gurl.]

[daredtobelieve]

[Inside the little room, Helen's heart is breaking at Lydia's request. She isn't sure how to answer it. There's no way around telling this girl that she's likely never going to see her mother again. Her mouth twists as she tries to think on how to say it, gaze moving to Sydney for assistance.]

I'm afraid it's complicated. [But then her phone buzzes with a text from Ric.

Oh.]

Excuse me for a moment...

[She gives Syd and Rose an apologetic glance before she heads out.]

What did you find?

[ex_ric243]

See for yourself. [Not that she wouldn't have seen it when they arrived at the morgue anyway, but at least this way she'd have an idea of what to look for once they got there.

He hands her the photograph. Alaric will save her the spot check and point out anything that struck him as relevant. Once he's done that, he gives her a few seconds to look that shit over.]

Are you having any luck in there? [Because he was still worried about Lydia, too. :/]

[daredtobelieve]

[The photograph is troubling but they're both on the same wavelength about what's more important here.

#parents]

She asked to speak to her mother. I'm not sure I was quite prepared to ruin a young girl's life today.

[ex_ric243]

[Deep breath. Yeah, that's not going to be fun. As if the poor girl hadn't been traumatized enough already.]

I got them to release her to us, so at least she won't be stuck in a jail cell for another twelve hours. [It was a small comfort in the face of everything else, but it was the best he could think of.]

Directions to the hospital. [He raises his phone. Yay GPS.] Finding that barn isn't going to be as easy, though. [Allow him to present you with the folded up map that Officer Helpful drew up for them.]

[And then, he's whispering more sweet nothings to her.] I've seen some shoddy investigation work, but this one might just take the cake.

[superswank]

[ in the meantime, syd's expression has turned sympathetic, now that it's clear what's going on here. or at least, in regards to the girl. she moves to have a seat, explaining: ] This is... likely going to come as a shock to you, and be difficult to accept as real. But what you've experienced has happened to thousands of others as well, myself included.

This... what you see around you, it may look remarkably like your own world, but it isn't.