applechemist | Not Again | Catch All for Magnus

[ Hm. Escha shakes her head. ]

Have you used your power this week? Beau has some marks on her that she's worried will make her a suspicious target. She says she fought with someone, and thinks they're someone's power. Like a retribution.

[He shakes his head.]

Nah. Beau and I get along fine? We patched things up last week. And I haven't used my power this week.

[ Hrmm. Escha just. sits down and sighs, deeply exhausted. ]

... So, here's what I know.

[ HOPE YOU WANTED TO HELP HER SORT THROUGH THIS because she's overwhelmed and doesn't know what to do and Magnus is the first person she's talking to about it! ]

Wuxian and Beau are worried about marks on Beau that came from a power, because Beau had a fight with someone, and thinks she's being targeted to look suspicious. Minako's power was to leave marks on people, but... Beau and Minako are on the same team. Or... Were...

And... One of the other victims today had the power to bind two lives together. Whoever killed them is tied to Lili, so if we catch the killer, Lili will be at risk, too...

So... Am I supposed to protect Beau looking suspicious? Or am I supposed to save my power, in case I need to protect Lili? If we even manage to figure out the right killer...

[ ... ]

I have to choose before tomorrow.

[Instantly - ]

Protect Lili. She told me her plan, and I immediately thought of you.

[As for Beau.]

If we believe Beau that she didn't hurt anybody, we'll stand up for her. We'll point out there could be a power involved. I feel like - everybody knows so much is possible. It's not necessarily gonna lead to Beau.

. . . You feel pretty strongly she didn't kill Minako, right? If you say so, I trust you.

[ Honestly, the instant response is a comfort. Escha is much better at following directions than making her own plans. . ]

Okay. Lili, then.

[ ... ]

I don't want to think that Beau would hurt anyone. Especially not Minako. And... I trust Wuxian, and he was the one who brought her to me.

Maybe I can make sure I'm the one who strip-checks her.

Yeah. Smart idea. If stuff starts looking messy, you can always downplay anything weird.

[And then - ]

Taako and I lie about things all the time! Sometimes just because it's fun!

[Oops. I forgot to have him blurt something out until now because I was so curious about what Escha wanted.]

Okay. Sorry to put all of that on you, I just didn't know what I should do and... Anyway, I appreciate it.

[ she seems very unbothered by this admission, though. almost like... it isn't surprising at all. ]

Yes, I know.

Hey, don't apologize. I'm happy to help out.

[He gets why she'd ask.]

Beau, uh - doesn't know the full story of how my power works. I didn't know if I could trust her when I told her. But if she did think I targeted her or something - it doesn't work like that, but I wouldn't even if I could've.

I kind of think anybody here could be a killer? So I'm not gonna rule out Beau, but. It'd be weird for her to target somebody on her own team.

[ Escha nods... ]

I know that one person has to die every week, or else all of us are... [ dead. ] Um, out of luck. But with this many deaths in one week... I don't know. There are people who aren't doing it out of necessity, and it's hard to guess who they would be.

I guess we'll see where the rest of the evidence leads. Maybe... It'll make the mark seem like no big deal.

But for now, I'm going to hide it for her and save my power for Lili. Please go along with that, tomorrow.

You got it. I'll support you tomorrow. [. . . ] I feel like Lili is determined to out the killer either way, and I don't wanna see how far she's willing to go for that.