Guess what sucks?
SUMMER SCHOOL.
That's what I get for being an over achiever, I guess.
Also, how do you like the new picture? Coloured it myself!
The next day, Eve tries to find Ronald.
She fails.
"Ronald?" The reaper calls out for quite literally the hundredth time, poking her head into one of the many places the social blond may frequent. It is incredibly difficult to track someone who seems to be everywhere and with everyone at once, and he is no exception.
Eve sighs. It is nearing the start of her shift. Where is Undertaker? The mortician had promised to help her find him. One more try, she tells herself. One more try, and then she has to go back down the many flights of stairs between her and her cubicle and go back to form filling and preparing to go out reaping later on. She can try talking to Ronald later.
Strange though, that Eve has not seen him yet. Even before the workday begins, her senior always had had a habit of drifting between floors and groups of people, usually women, flirting and talking with pretty much everyone he came into contact with. Usually women. Briefly, Eve wonders if he happens to be sick, or if such a thing is even possible for a grim reaper to do. Eve herself has not gotten any particular illness since her existence as a phoenix, but then again, she cannot be convinced she is immune to disease, and besides, not being of the same species or race as her fellow co-workers, comparing herself to them will hardly do any good to answer her question.
Maybe what she has to say can wait until after work. Even though after work may be too late.
"Oh! Um, Eve Britford, is it?" Someone says from behind, a vaguely familiar voice paired with a hand clamped on her shoulder.
"Yes, can I help you?" The reaper reacts almost on reflex; she does not even need to think anymore to respond like this. Craning her neck, Eve sees her cubicle neighbour- Alice, is that her name?- smiling down her, nails digging into the fabric of her blazer a stark contrast to the warm grin on her face.
Alice nods, apparently affirming her name. "Yeah, I heard you were looking for Ronald, right?"
"... Yes. Can you help me?" Eve answers with a tentative truth in her head. For Alice to know this would not be unusual at all- rather helpful, in fact, as she may know where Ronald is, but the girl feels like she should be made wary by the almost saccharine sweet smile her co-worker is wearing. Very much so.
That same fixed, fake feeling smile remains on her face even as Alice dips her head again and then promptly starts to drag Eve to an empty office room, one that would usually be occupied by a high-ranking officer if there had been enough high-ranking officers in the department to fill all the aforementioned office rooms. She lets herself be led, if only for the chance to hear Alice out, and maybe get an explanation for the slightly passive-aggressive behaviour."Mmm, right, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Alice says, before whipping around to push Eve into the wall by the shoulder as soon as the two are out of sight. "I need you to stay away from him. For a long time. Actually, stay away from everyone, if you know what's good for you. I mean it."
Eve blinks. "...well that wasn't helpful at all." She dead pans almost absentmindedly before gathering her thoughts together. "I mean, what are you talking about?" Not expecting a fellow coworker to suddenly nearly assault her, the girl does nothing to stop her being shoved into a wall, but her hands, at this sudden confrontation, also travel to inside her pockets where her assortment of wires and knives are begging to be used. Still, she stays her hand in case an explanation is coming. Alice is a coworker, and supposedly a friendly force, so why has she suddenly chosen to antagonize her? The prospect is confusing to Eve.
"Don't play dumb." The snapping is also unprovoked and an unwelcome surprise. "The fact of the matter is, you're hurting people."
"There's still no proof of my being guilty-" Eve starts to say, perplexed expression still knitting her brows together, only to be promptly cut off.
"But that's not the point to this. Haven't you seen? Miss La Fenza from the trainees, John from collections." Alice lists off, face now grim and serious. "They were people who were actively pissed off at you. They got hurt and John died, because they got close to you and you ticked them off." They both know this is true, but the accusation fails to ring right with Eve. It still seems rather hollow.
A deeper frown. A spark of panic. Eve refuses to let if show, however. "Ronald-"
"Is my friend and I won't let you hurt him." Now not quite as malicious, Alice seems to have regained what little loss in her temper she had experienced at the beginning of the conversation, her tone clipped but even, though she still looms over the shorter reaper with a certain degree of intimidation. The hands in Eve's pockets, clutching a pair of knives, loosen, but then tighten enough that she will imprints on her palms later. It is a strange feeling, to be internally conflicted like this. In all honesty Eve would very much like to do something to make this person stop touching her, yet can't bring herself to do anything. So she merely keeps listening. "Seeing as you've been hanging out so much, it's just a matter of time before something happens to him too. Hell, we have him and Grell on lockdown right now because everyone knows something is going to happen. We can feel it. Haven't you realized the pattern? If someone dies again, it'll be your fault."
Eve's mind kicks into overdrive. "My... fault." It's my fault? Even when I didn't commit the crime, am I endangering people merely by being next to them?
...No. That's the doppleganger. The problem with me was, I didn't realize I was endangering them. Everyone knew before me... I haven't gotten closer to anyone at all, have I? She failed to see the pattern because she has been unaware of the feelings of the people around her. She failed to protect people by being near but not aware of them.
All this time, I haven't truly been close to anyone. What distance do I have a right to stand with them with? My coworkers and Undertaker and Ronald... Do I hurt them by being close? Or far away? What devision do I make here.
I don't know what to do. It may be the first time Eve has said that to herself, or at least had been willing to admit it. But then again, maybe I don't have to. Alice is right, and Eve cannot bring herself to hate the women, same as Grell, because they felt the need to protect those they cared about. If that is the case, then to do her part, should Eve...?
"Look, just... Keep your distance until this is done, alright? You haven't done anything." The moment following this is tense as Alice seems to read Eve's expression, and try to soften her words and face to accommodate accordingly. She is not the only one who feels guilty. Despite this, her tone is still steely and untrusting.
"Done." Eve says. It seems like the only thing she can.
And then the lights blow out.
...
Still not completely sure that Alice's idea is the best course of action to take, Ronald shifts on his feet rather uncomfortably before deciding that he has gone long enough without moving and paces around the room. "Am I really spending the whole day in here?" He asks to no one in particular. It seems like a drastic measure to take, especially for a plan forged in the matter of a week by Alice and his other friends... Yeah, they had it approved and everything: Separate Eve from her peers and wait for whatever has been coming after the reapers to go after Grell: who already had taken the liberty of expressing his (her, Ronald corrects himself; she always did get insistent when he said otherwise) ah, distaste, if not for Eve, than any trouble that may be related to her, to be the bait, but even the happy-go-lucky Ronald cannot help but see one or two holes in the story. Like, how do they know whatever is out there will even attack Grell that soon?
And what about Eve? She already has trouble fitting in, but this? Man, it is a little harsh, Ronald admits... When this whole mess is over, he will definitely give her a big apology, because this is not going to be pleasant. Or maybe it will not be quite as bad as, say, someone as social as Ronald were put in the position, but still. Big apology due. Maybe flowers, though he is not entirely sure about whether she likes those kinds of things. Definitely.
"Oh, Ronnie, impatient as always. You never were the lone wolf type, hmm?" As Grell literally waltzes into the mostly empty room, it takes the younger reaper a second to realize that the redhead is answering the question he had asked but not really expected an answer to before launching into a rather questioning internal monologue, and that Grell is in fact in the room at all.
As it is, he is supposed to be hiding in a separate place somewhere else in the less populated part of the department. "Sempai? Fancy seeing you here..." He says a little dead panned, knowing that his superior had never been one to follow rules. Or orders. Or many standards of etiquette. Especially when the blond ladies-man is trying to pick up girls.
The self-proclaimed lady in question saunters over and gestures with dramatic sweeps of his arms: swinging as he walks, putting on a 'woe is me' pose with one hand to her forehead, before giving her subordinate a rather smothering hug. "Well, it got awfully boring sitting with just little-old me for company," He purrs, suddenly making the decision to cozy up right next to Ronald, a cheeky grin on his face displaying razor sharp teeth. "So I thought I'd visit my cute kouhai, and see if he had any fun ideas to pass the time."
"...is that so, sempai?" Ronald indulges slightly, words a little mashed like his cheek against Grell's, though he does not feel particularly like playing along with Grell at the moment, what with the whole 'person/thing on the loose going around killing reapers' problem going on.
Grell suddenly straightens, his made up cat-eyes widening scandalously as she huffs and pushes him away like the blond had been the one to start this. "My my, so glum? That's not like you, Ronnie!"
A shrug. Ronald makes sure it looks casual, and not dejected casual, either, but just casual casual so the boy does not look quite as conflicted as he is. "I'm just bored n' kinda worried, is all." There is nothing suspicious going on, if that what Grell is getting at. Not that he is worried about himself- with his custom death scythe in his hands, or even just his trusty knives, it takes a lot to bring down the otherwise newbie reaper, being rather skilled at fighting- but he has friends to worry about. Like the girls from general affairs, who are nice and pretty and can type up a report faster than Ronald can ask them out to a party, but really are not the best when it comes to reaping or physical activity of any sort. The victims so far have been limited to the Collections Department, which admittedly has the best fighters, but who knows? By himself against an enemy, fine, but to have a threat here so close to home? Ronald has friends that simply cannot protect themselves like he or Grell can. It is not a completely assuring thought, he admits to himself.
(Although to be honest, the whole subject of 'Eve and everything related to her' itself has a tendency to put some kind of dampening, sobering effect on his mind. A little depressing, when he thinks about it.)
Another huff, another cattish grin, more sly than usual, and that is saying something. "If you say so, Ronnie... But ah, who is going to entertain me now? Perhaps I'll go see Willu for a sec..." Grell ponders, a fingertip touching delicately to his pouting lips.
And then the lights blow out.
...
The lights are not meant to blow out in London's Grim Reaper Association's Headquarters. Ever. But that it not about to perturb William T. Spears in the slightest if he can help it.
The man in question sighs, more like exhales in annoyance, and merely stops to adjust his glasses while the workers just outside his office promptly begin panicking and screaming and panicking even more like chickens that had been stabbed, decapitated, and stabbed again. And again.
"Really now," he calls out to no one and everyone in particular as he strides out of his office, which had been temporarily moved to just outside the study hall since he had started his stint with the reapers in training. "Is that how you are all going to act?"
And then, because most of the people he is surrounded by are not total imbeciles, or maybe cowards, which actually makes sense given that he has been assigned to the trainee section anyways, the group of students in front of him collectively behind to calm down, with the few screamers left after a few seconds quickly shushed by those who are more mindful of the noise. Good.
Theoretically, the lights inside the buildings are meant to stay on indefinitely, because while day and night both exist in the reaper's realm, death does not wait for the sun to fall before claiming souls, and so the existence of the night shift of reapers that regularly makes use of the halls in the later hours of the night also means that the electricity is never meant to be shut down. It can, theoretically, can be done, however, given that electric lighting requires physical wires and power sources and loads to operate, not being powered by something ridiculous, like magic.
Thus, it stands to reason that someone, possibly a trainee that has yet to learn how very bad and consequential it is to pull pranks and break rules, has seem how found a fuse box of some sort, or, in a worse case scenario, destroyed a portion of the lighting. Completely explainable, and no reason to panic, he eventually explains to the reapers around him with a calming, steady tone.
The only odd thing, it strikes him, about this situation, aside from the obvious, is that Sutcliff has yet to use this incident as an excuse to force himself on the man. Not that he is complaining. With him not interfering, William can at least formulate a way to remedy this problem as efficiently as possible. He does not want an incident like this ending in overtime, after all.
The spear-armed man opens his mouth to give some orders. Send a few people to the General Affairs department, and find out what the problem is and whether they can fix it. The action seems to mollify the others enough that they return to their study period long enough to wait for an answer. (Despite this, quite a few trainees do gossip, especially the Miss Rorn, who has yet to comply to the dress code as well, and William makes a mental note to send all trainees involved a warning about staying diligent under pressure.)
A few minutes later, William gets a response, though not one he had been expecting- a carrier pigeon.
He only needs to scan the message, tied to the bird's leg, for a split second before he inwardly groans. Outwardly, he allows himself to tighten his jaw and pulse a blood vein momentarily. "It seems as though overtime is imminent for the lot of us."
Annnnnd we are FINALLY reaching the climax of the climax of the arc! Yay! Prepare for it to get really dark really soon! (Don't say I didn't warn you. I mean it.)