GUSTAVO AMON in: Mayor Malfunction.

[2:34 PM] raine: You fall without much injury, only a mild soreness despite the ground below you being solid. There’s roots and pipes and whatnot sticking out of the dirt walls around you. There is, however, a tunnel with a small light at the end…

A few minutes of walking through it, you’ll find a little alcove. There’s various crates of little trinkets, bookshelves with the pages faces outwards, and a small table with a chair with a lamp and various papers. Currently, the chair is unoccupied, but you do find a few feathers. Not pure black, but not completely white, either. A grayish, neutral sort of color.
Image
[2:42 PM] Flamy: Y'know, he expected it to be a lot worse. Dying, he means. Well, maybe it wasn't so bad. With a groan, he stands up, shaking his head. Wordlessly, he beckons to the others to follow him towards the light. He's got his pen in his left hand, warily watching for any signs of movement, leaning against a wall.

The alcove leaves him rubbing his eyes, shaking his head for just a moment. "Hey, anyone home? This place definitely doesn't follow any building codes."

That sort of midtone gray... He approaches the feathers on the chair. What's the detailing on them? Any flecks or stripes that might help in identifying the bird?
[2:44 PM] bad idea maker: Toroko, after wrestling herself out of the climbing gear and checking on Vivi- who is likely very mad at her right now- Looks over at Amon in a mix of shame and anger.

Despite this, she follows him anyway.

It's... a cute? Sort of place? That's the first thing that comes to mind. However, she doesn't really say anything. Just to be safe.
[2:46 PM] raine: Somewhere, a higher power, higher than even Satan and God themselves, laughs, though you can’t hear it. Because the feathers are small, but they’re very distinctly owl feathers.
[2:52 PM] Flamy: Owl feathers? Nah, there's no correlation. Amon shrugs, taking a look around, sticking his hands in his pockets. He takes a deep breath, and sighs. Hey, he get any service here? Maybe he should ask Ayaka where they are... Assuming that they're even in the same plane of existence as Edenshire.

He glances at the two with him, then he proceeds to rearrange the books so that their spines are facing out, instead of in. He thinks about the archives in Coronet Impact. He REALLY hated how all the books were page side out. What self-respecting place of holding information would not have the information about them facing out?!
[2:55 PM] raine: The books seems to be mostly by the same person, though it’s abbreviated as such: M.R. Malphas. There’s a few written under K. M. Gemory, and a handful with no author, instead having a little owl symbol on the spine.
[3:00 PM] bad idea maker: "... Huh. Would it be too obvious to say this is where Owl Kid spends their time when they ain't in their office, or..."
Toroko takes one of the books written by M.R. Malphas- A random one. Any hints on the cover... ?
[3:02 PM] Flamy: Gemory. Gremory. No, Gemory.
Gremory Gremory Gremory Gremory Gremory--

He lets out a long, perhaps overdramatically drawn-out sigh. He really needs to stop thinking about her. He will write a personal hate message to all French people later. He takes care to walk carefully- Heel down first, then rolling his feet forward by the outer edges of his feet. He's slowly fuming his breath out through his nose, stopping at the desk. He takes out his phone, snapping photos of the papers on the desk. As an afterthought, he takes a snapshot of the feathers on the chair, too. Can't disturb anything here.
[3:10 PM] raine: The cover doesn’t have a title, but holding it up to the lamp on the desk might show the letters Journal d'un rêveur. Opening up the books, it’s the same situation: the pages are indecipherable until they’re held up to the light. Seems like a fantasy story, filled with knights and heroes and princesses and dastardly villains.
[3:14 PM] Vivivi: She’s in an absolute state of distress, her glasses having been separate from her at some point during the fall. Rubbing her eyes doesn’t seem to help much besides making them redder than they already were from her teary state earlier. Doesn’t seem like she’s inclined to talk just yet, but well.
[3:21 PM] Flamy: Amon clicks his tongue, carefully backing away from the desk and any loose items before striding over to Vivi. He lowers his voice, trying to keep it as far from the usual loud, boisterous jaunt that he took. "Hey, c'mon, no need to cry, we're still... in the afterlife. Or, well, we're still existing. Sssshhh, it's alright, it's alright. We'll make it out. Prommy."

He pulls Vivi's glasses from a pocket- He saw her struggling to look around earlier. This must have been what she was looking for. He holds them up, still closed, to Vivi's face, palm open like he's offering a sugar cube to a horse. "Here."
[3:24 PM] bad idea maker: .... Toroko skims over the book before hastily putting it back. That's not important right now. What's important is-

She follows Amon, licking her currently very dry lips.
What do you say? What do you do, even? It was her idea in the first place.

"... Sorry. For draggin' you both into this."
[3:28 PM] Vivivi: Besides a brief glance to see her glasses, which she promptly takes from Amon and puts on, she’s not really looking at either of them. Still not talking either.
[3:45 PM] Flamy: "No use in playing a blame game," Amon shrugs, pulling the pen out of his pocket and twirling it about idly, taking a sidelong glance over to the trinkets- Likely unimportant, but worth taking a look at, anyways, "I'd have appreciated if you didn't try and stop me, though. Why bother getting yourself involved with other people, anyways? What do you think you two are, the virtue police? Think you'll get to Heaven if you can 'save' me?"
[4:02 PM] bad idea maker: "... Okay, look, I dunno what th'f*ck is currently goin' through your brain, but this ain't some anime where you're the broodin' protagonist!" Toroko snaps at him, narrowing her eyes. "I tried stoppin' you because I realized we were bein' f*cking stupid, and goin' into this thing headfirst with no backup plan! This has shit t'do with saving anything, I just wanna figure out what the f*ck happened to my friends!"
[4:10 PM] Vivivi: She sniffs and rubs her nose before standing up, brushing off her skirt as she does so. Glances around. Moves over to actually look at the books. She pulls out one of the ones with the little owl symbol on the spine.
[4:36 PM] Flamy: "Ooohhhhh, friends, huh? And they left you behind?" Amon rears his head back with a bitter laugh, shaking his head while he passes the pen over his head and catches it with his right hand, throwing his arms out wide, "Some friends they are! Guess you don't need me antagonizing you, if this is how they treat you. Do you even know their names? Or are you struggling to remember even that?"

As if you could find a friend in some place like this. In the afterlife? Get real. You can't even find one who won't betray you eventually in real life. Right, gotta play to his strengths. He won't die here. He can't. But he's gotta goad Toroko on. Maybe Sumizome might figure something out of this. Aside from the owl prints, none of this really lined up to anything that he cared much about. M.R. Malphas? K.M. Gemory? Could be either people at his post office or real authors, for all he knew.

A guy's gotta wonder, though... Those are the names of demons. What's an owl doing with names like those?
[5:11 PM] bad idea maker: Oh, she's had it. She has *had* it. Toroko strides up to Amon as he laughs, gripping his shirt and pulling him in- her teeth are bared, lips pulled back in a snarl. It's the angriest she's been, genuinely, since arriving here.

"They left *all* of us behind! Why don't you get that through your thick f*ckin' skull! How th'f*ck do you not notice that *Kari an' Soleil were f*ckin' missing?!*"

At this point, she's seeing red. She shakes Amon slightly, as if trying to jog the memory itself back into his head. "Don't you think that's f*ckin' odd?! Don't you???"
[5:22 PM] Vivivi: She wants to keep ignoring them — after all, she’s entirely somewhere she doesn’t want to be because she had been worried for them. But really, enough is enough.

The book is basically dropped as she tries to get in the middle of them. “Stop! Stop it, both of you!”

There’s an edge to her voice as she continues. “None of this situation has been normal, not even from the beginning, and arguing like this isn’t going to solve anything.”
[6:08 PM] Flamy: "Yeah? I don't even know who those two even are. Got proof of them being missing? I haven't seen Kalelius or Apelle, either- Or do you think those two are also goners?!" Amon grits his teeth, butting heads with Toroko before Vivi pushes the two apart. Thankfully, Vivi's efforts gives him enough pause to consider Toroko's words again.

"Okay, well," He sighs, glancing away from Toroko and letting his right hand rest on his hip. The pen passes over to his left hand, which he uses to rub his temples. "I'm gonna guess that they're probably someone you met or knew well. I'm not gonna say that I know or knew everyone here, 'cause I don't. You seen that Miho kid anywhere? Guy looks like he wouldn't even want to be in this town, and I haven't seen him around Hotaru one bit after we got off that train... Not that I don't trust you, though. Two people suddenly go missing, and now two more come in? Ayaka didn't even mention those two names, so I... I'll have to trust you on this."
[6:14 PM] bad idea maker: Toroko sucks in a breath, holding her head as Vivi gets between them. Her teeth grit, she just glares at Amon before turning away.

"Well, I know. I remember 'em. That's what matters in th'end. Somethin' here is f*cked up, and it definitely has t'do with those two."

Kicking a stray rock on the ground, she scowls back into the tunnel.
"... F*ck. F*ck. This is all a big f*ckin' mess!"
[6:28 PM] Vivivi: “Toroko…” Vivi turns after her, hands held up like she isn’t certain just what to do with them. She doesn’t seem to know what to say either, as her voice trails off into silence.
[7:20 PM] bad idea maker: "... Whatever. I'm gonna keep lookin' for clues. You guys are free to do what you'd like, I guess."
Toroko heads over to the desk, shuffling a few papers. Her brows furrow, picking up a couple of feathers from the chair so she can sit down on it.
[7:27 PM] Flamy: Amon runs a hand through his hair, slicking it back. He shakes his head, takes a deep breath, and then sighs.

"Okay. This solidly torpedoes at least three different theories I had here, but let's take stock of what we do know-" He motions towards the books, walking over to pick up the book that Vivi dropped, making sure to dust it off before cracking it open. "We've got an owl hanging around here. Birds seem to be outside of this whole Up and Down jurisdiction thing, and that might be unreliable with our sample size, but keep in mind that a sample size of one is greater than none! Also, they clearly read, so this isn't any old birdbrain we're working with. More specifically, they're reading... Well, never heard of any of these authors. Do either of you do much reading? I've never heard of these guys, and I happen to also know that these are the names of demons... Not that important, really, but I think we should figure out a way to communicate to this owl, without, well, scaring it off. Give it bread crumbs to get it on our side. You get what I mean?"
[7:36 PM] raine: “Oh feath—“

Seth blinks as they appear, glancing at the feathers Toroko brushed off, before glancing to Amon, catching the tail end of their little speech, then turning to the very uncertain Vivi.

They sigh with relief. “Oh, good, you made it safely.”

[7:38 PM] bad idea maker: "Ghhz?!" Yelp- Toroko hops away.
"... F*ck! I knew it! I literally jus' said-!"
[7:38 PM] bad idea maker: "Well. here's your owl, Amon." Pointing at Seth.
[7:39 PM] Vivivi: She’s hiding her face in her hands.
[7:43 PM] Flamy: "Yeah, thanks for agreeing with me here, Toroko-" Amon does a double take, blinks, and then continues on, handing the book that he took from Vivi to Seth, "Here. As I was saying, birds don't seem like they're within the whole up and down sort of dichotomy, and I have no clue what is in these demon books, anyways. Whomever left this hole behind clearly meant for us to go down it, which then means... Toroko, you called 'em Kari and Soleil? Those two might be here. Probably not, given that this room doesn't seem to have any other visible exits, but who knows? I might hallucinate a fish lady in here later, or there could be hidden passages."
[7:47 PM] bad idea maker: "... Please tell me y'picked up what I was puttin' down. Oh my god."
[7:54 PM] raine: Seth frowns as they take the book back. They brush the bit of dirt that’s gotten on it. “This was one of my favorites…”

Seth shakers their head, placing it back in with the others. “The hole itself wasn’t meant to be traversable. It took a bit of rerouting to lead it here, and even more to keep it safe. Um, I’m not sure what you mean about the whole… bird thing? And technically these aren’t demon books, they just happen to be written by demons.”

Seth pauses. “Did I miss anything…?”
[7:56 PM] bad idea maker: Inhale. Toroko rubs her temples.
"... Oi, Seth. You... know everyone that's come in an' out of th'town, right...? So...."
... Should she even mention it? Better her than Amon, she guesses, because that guy has apparently lost it on the way down.
[7:58 PM] raine: “Ah… I’d rather not talk about them right now.” Seth looks away, but it doesn’t quite hide the look of despair on their faces. “But if it helps, they did— *do* exist. They’re just not here in Edenshire anymore.”
[8:02 PM] bad idea maker: "... Why not? Here I am thinkin' I've gone crazy this whole time so- We have a right t'know, don't we? They were part'a th'town too, weren't they?"
[8:10 PM] Vivivi: Her hands slide off her face to curl up against her torso. “Toroko…” A moment of hesitation. “I don’t think it was Seth’s decision…”
[8:11 PM] bad idea maker: "Mmh. I mean, likely not. Considerin' that earthquake..." Toroko looks down, seemingly lost. "... I dunno. I don't know and that's what's f*ckin' me up."
[8:17 PM] raine: Seth nods at Vivi. “I’m an overseer. A mayor. There are higher ups that I have to answer to that make decisions I can’t fight against otherwise I’ll look suspicious. And one of those decisions was taking those two out of Edenshire. Truthfully, I was worried that the memory spell wouldn’t work since my casting’s never been… consistent, but I’m relieved to hear that you have at least a few memories of them.”
[8:25 PM] Flamy: "You've got some guts, trying to slip us out from under everyone's noses to tell those two that," Amon shrugs, sticking his right hand in his pockets while he looks down at his left hand, holding it up for Seth. "It can't be just that, though, I'm sure. That does remind me- Those two, who had to be taken away... Those two didn't happen to be the last couple who had *this* done to them, yeah? It'd clear up some mysteries in my head, at least."
[8:28 PM] Vivivi: She’s really only half listening to Amon, instead stepping over to Toroko. Quite frankly she’s… not really sure Toroko is going to go for this, but… gently, Vivi wraps her arms around Toroko. Just a bit of comfort, right?
[8:31 PM] bad idea maker: ... Blink? Toroko's barely listening to Amon as-is, so... She looks up at Vivi, confused.
But it's not... bad. She isn't pulling away. She leans back against Vivi, letting out a sigh.
[8:32 PM] raine: Seth winces at the sight. That in itself is a clear enough answer.
[8:47 PM] Flamy: Amon sighs, shakes his head, and then sticks his hand back in his pockets. "Yeah, I figure keeping those two around would be more trouble than it's worth, then. I don't blame you for what you did. Still... What's the point of knowing all this? Those two can't have been sent here without a good reason to, and I'm guessing their replacements are here to finish their respective jobs. I don't know what Upstairs or Downstairs have in mind, but it's not like we have the sway to say that we should lynch the two of 'em."
[8:56 PM] raine: “If I said anything up there, they’d know. They can see everything in town— except for here, that is. If you leave this cave and go back to the hole, actually, you’d be taken back directly to the moment you left. We’re effectively in the dot in the Jeremy Bearimy— oh, wait, I haven’t explained that yet. Well, it’s not super important right now anyways.” Seth sucks in a huge breath of air. “Right… well, there’s a specific book that isn’t here that I need first before I explain the story, and I need all of the pages too— there’s… I think three pages in total missing from the book, though, so…”
[9:01 PM] bad idea maker: "..." Looking up at Vivi. "Is that what you were talkin' about in our chat? That book..."
[9:07 PM] Flamy: "Right, so we don't need to climb down carefully or any of that stuff, right? I'll just push Vivi in, next time... And Kichiro, too, I guess, he seems tied up in all this torn pages nonsense," He lets his breath simmer out, relaxing his shoulders while he paces about in the room. "Hey, those books without an author- Those books by you, by any chance? Didn't think you to be the writing type."
[9:24 PM] bad idea maker: "If you push Viv in here I'll break your f*ckin' nose, guy."
[9:49 PM] raine: “I mean, it’d look suspicious if you just… jumped. So I’d advise against it.” Seth says, before looking at the book in their hand. “And yes, I wrote these ones, although it was mostly just something I did to pass the time as a human. I never published what I wrote, but I wanted to see if I could write like mīn modor.”
[3:16 AM] Vivivi: She nods.“There’s… just one page still missing. From that book. Kichiro and I found two.”

Her arms tightening around Toroko seems to be her only response to Amon’s threat to push her.
[3:03 PM] Flamy: "Hey, it's not like we experienced that much pain from that fall, and neither of you had anything to secure yourself," He shrugs at the two, shaking his head before he pockets the pen, "Ah, doing it to be like your mum, huh? I can't say I get it, but fair's fair... Who are the guys who wrote those other books, though, if you can tell us? Or is telling us that something you'll need your big ol' book of torn pages for, too?"
[5:01 PM] bad idea maker: "How 'bout this. One of us goes back up t'look for th'last page- just so it might be less suspicious? I dunno, I'm throwin' ideas here."
[5:04 PM] Vivivi: “I… asked Kichiro to keep looking for pages, but… he can’t read them at all.”
[5:54 PM] Flamy: "Well, I trust Seth to keep Toroko from killing me a second time, so I figure Vivi can go," Amon shrugs, pulling his left hand out to jerk his thumb at the tunnel. "So let's have Vivi leave, if it's only one of us allowed out- Though, I figure we should all leave, so neither Up or Down think anything's up. We can always get stuff to climb down here later."
[5:57 PM] raine: “Well, those books specifically are, well… banned books? Or more specifically, books in the Archives that were deemed as unimportant, so… yeah. I could tell you who wrote them, but you wouldn’t have the proper context. I kind of need the whole book.” Seth says, nodding to Amon. “And make sure to pretend as if you don’t know anything. Your memory was supposed to be wiped, after all.”
[5:57 PM] bad idea maker: "... Aight. So we all go up t'look for those pages. Should we split up?"
[5:59 PM] Vivivi: “Um… we looked in the town center and Kichiro found one in the cafe so… the last page probably isn’t going to be there…”
[6:00 PM] bad idea maker: "... Mmmmh...." Thinking, thinking. "So... Th' theater, th'cafe... I guess if outside counts th'rec field or park could be just as well..."
[6:59 PM] Vivivi: “Since I was… already coordinating with Kichiro… maybe I should stick with him… there’s still a fair bit of ground to cover…”
[8:01 PM] bad idea maker: "Yeah, true. Guess I could stick with Amon, then. If he promises not t'go cuckoo."
[8:02 PM] Flamy: "Hey, I've been perfectly sane this entire time!"
[8:04 PM] bad idea maker: "Okay, mister I gotta laugh while holdin' my arms out like I'm f*ckin' Komaeda."
[8:05 PM] bad idea maker: "Jus' promise t'act sane when we get outta here, yeah?"
Pause.
"... Shit. Should we tell Kichiro n' Hotaru n' Miho about this too?"
[8:07 PM] Vivivi: “I can fill in Kichiro but… I dunno how to tell him about this place without…” well, being caught out.
[8:07 PM] Vivivi: “Are you sure you two will be ok?”
[8:12 PM] Flamy: "Get some new rope. I remember that thing, and it must have done the same thing that happened to me one time. Ask Ayaka for new rope. Uhh, if you need some specs," He snaps his fingers, glancing at the ceiling before looking back at Vivi. "Static rope, eleven millimeters by forty-six metres. Secure it on a different post- I'll figure out how to get a more secure access down here."
[8:13 PM] bad idea maker: Toroko shoots Vivi a withering look.
Help.
[8:14 PM] Vivivi: Why her? “That’s… not really discreet, is it? Also, um… the spell I was practicing… is a wind spell.”

[8:15 PM] Flamy: "Well, I don't see any other ways we can feasibly get down here without looking too suspicious. Wanna try a tarp, or something?"
[8:16 PM] bad idea maker: "... Fake trippin' over the fence would be too easy."
Blink. "... Huh. Wind spell... might be useful for gettin' us down here again without dyin' a second time."
[8:18 PM] Vivivi: A sigh. “So… is the plan that I grab Kichiro and the missing page and bring them back here then? If you guys can’t get in or out easily…”
[8:24 PM] bad idea maker: "... Wouldja be able t'do it on your own? I mean, we'd have our phones an' that group chat but... that's about it."
[8:32 PM] Flamy: "If Toroko is anything to go by, I could not give any good suggestions on how to get people in, so, y'know, don't listen to me," Amon waves his hands in a wobbly motion, shrugging. "But if you were, I'd definitely suggest letting the others know that we fell in, and that you don't know where we went... Or like, just mention only Toroko, because I feel like it'd be kinda weird if you mentioned me, too."
[4:01 AM] Vivivi: She hasn’t realized she’s started tapping her fingers. That’s… actually not a terrible idea. Setting this up as though it’s a rescue mission and Vivi needs help getting these two out… she wouldn’t even need to lie about what happened. They were, well, being Toroko and Amon and arguing over the hole, ending in them falling in, and she doesn’t have enough practice with the wind spell to get them out safely… “That… might actually work.”
[6:16 AM] bad idea maker: "... So You're just gonna go up there while we stay? I guess..."
[6:47 AM] Vivivi: She’s definitely fidgeting now. “Do you… want to come with me?” That plan can work if it’s just one of them down here too…
[7:04 AM] bad idea maker: "Well, duh." Toroko puts her hands on her hips. "It's not that I don't trust ya, Viv... But I dunno. I got a bad feelin' if you went up there alone. Plus we're already together a lot of the time, it won't be sussed out."
[7:07 AM] Flamy: "Yeah, it can just be me left here," Amon shrugs, making a sort of shooing motion. "I could probably pass the time with Seth around."
[7:08 AM] Flamy: "Oh, one last thing, actually: I am NOT a Komaeda!"
[7:11 AM] Vivivi: Her face is pink and she’s looking at her feet. “I mean… it should be ok…”
[10:05 AM] bad idea maker: "Komaeda lookin' ass." Toroko sticks her tongue out at him. Anyway. She pulls away from the hug, patting Vivi's upper arm.
"C'mon. I'll be with ya."
[10:33 AM] Vivivi: She fiddles with her ribbon. “So… back through the tunnel then?”
[8:13 PM] Flamy: "Right, then," Amon paces about the room while the two make their exit, "So, Kari, Soleil. Those girls (Damn, it really do be the girls that got the forbidden pairings, huh? Not that I disapprove, but-), they're now replaced with... I'm guessing also an angel and demon. The new guys. Kinda late to ask, but is it likely that either or both of them are aware of your plans, and are looking to disrupt them? I mean, we're just normal, market-standard humans, except maybe Quinn, so I'm not really sure what we could to stop them, if it came down to it."
[2:36 PM] raine: Seth shakes their head. “I can’t say. Quinn *is* human despite her mannerisms, but I’m not sure. I know… I know there are some that would be sympathetic t— sympathetic to humans, but I’m not quite sure how many of them are. I don’t know enough.”

Seth takes a deep breath in, making their way to the bookshelves. “You’d have to talk to both of them, see what they know and don’t know. I know at least that they wouldn’t take you seriously as humans, so they might drop their guard more and let something slip…?”
[2:39 PM] bad idea maker: "... Gotcha. I already talked with Makoto, so I can go after him?" Toroko raises a hand, glancing at Vivi. "You can take the other one, Viv."
[3:26 PM] Vivivi: Her fingers twist together. That all makes sense but… “Um… what about Kichiro? He’s… got the book and the other two pages…” which technically makes him a target.
[3:28 PM] raine: “Ah… I can hold onto them but I’d need to have a good reason to meet with him…”
[3:28 PM] Vivivi: “I… asked him to hold on to them so… it might make sense for me to get them from him…”
[3:48 PM] bad idea maker: "... Huh. Uh-oh."
[5:42 PM] Vivivi: “…. Uh-oh?”
[5:42 PM] bad idea maker: "Uh-oh."
[5:44 PM] Flamy: "Well, I'm sure if you look for him hard enough, you'll find him. If you can't," Amon shrugs, making a sort of wibbly-wobbly motion with his hands, "I'm sure one of us can lead us into the hole, and have ourselves another happy little accident. You girls have places to go, don't you? Get going, already. I've uh, I've got one more thing to ask Seth here. Before I may or may not be present in this bubble outside space-time."
[5:45 PM] bad idea maker: "Look, all I'm sayin' is we better catch Kichiro up with all'a this before anything else. If he's got those pages he may as well have a sniper rifle pointed at his back."
[5:48 PM] Vivivi: Well, yeah, that’s why she brought him up in the first place. “Right… so I think first step is recover the book and pages from Kichiro… and then go after the new neighbors…”
[5:49 PM] bad idea maker: "Sounds good t'me. Ready t'go up?" Toroko cricks her neck, letting out a sigh.
[5:51 PM] Vivivi: She nods, after a moment. Her hands still twist together.
[5:52 PM] bad idea maker: ... Toroko, while looking away, ~~fumbles for~~ takes one of Vivi's hands in her own, squeezing it.
"... It'll be fine, okay? Don't get so worried." She mumbles after a moment.
[5:54 PM] Vivivi: Her cheeks go pink, and she nods once more. And makes no effort to let go of Toroko’s hand.
[5:54 PM] bad idea maker: Sorry if this looks gay to you, Amon and Seth.
[6:01 PM] raine: Seth politely looks away and busies themselves with their bookshelf. You go, gay people!!
[6:05 PM] bad idea maker: "... Okay. Let's do this."
And so, Toroko leads Vivi back into that hall before the cave.
[6:17 PM] Flamy: Amon isn't looking at their gayassery. However, he does wait until he figures they're far enough to not overhear him. He paces about the cave, stopping to glance at Seth.

"...I WAS gonna ask you something about this string, but I think it's better to keep it to myself- Well, find the answer for myself, really," He sighs, shaking his head as he stuffs his hands back in his pockets. "It'd be no good to get you into my specific troubles, after all, but I wanna ask about the general- What got you thinking about helping us out? Is... this a part of whatever Up and Down are doing, too?"
[6:26 PM] raine: Seth shakes their head. “I have my own reasons for doing what I do. I know that sounds terribly vague and suspicious, but I can’t give you much right now since in all honesty, I’m taking a risk in trusting you all.”

Seth takes a moment to think, idly taking one of the books on the shelves. “I’m not sure why Up and Down are doing all of this, but I’m sure it’s partially because of my existence. That’s all I can say for sure. Everything else… guesses and speculation.” They turn to Amon, apologetic. “I’m sorry for not being able to give more answers.”
[9:15 PM] Flamy: "So you're a plotter of your own. Someone who has something to gain from it, independent of us. Can't say it's not what I expected," Amon shrugs, turning on one heel towards the exit, then glancing back, following up, "I getcha. Opsec's important. Information is everything. I've got a few guesses, myself- Of course, standing around and trying to guess isn't much use, huh? You're the mayor, so I think we can trust you, in turn- It's not like we have much of a choice otherwise."

Amon never really fancied himself the sort of guy to know movies or plays that well. However, as he gives one last wave to Seth before walking out of the cave, he thinks that's a good moment to end a scene on.

...Hopefully, he hasn't missed much. But if Seth was right, then he should be back in about the same moment in time as he was when he came here. If this is a bubble in spacetime, then it should be easy to re-emerge at the same entry point. At least, that's how it makes sense to him. Would it even be possible to emerge at a different point in time? Maybe that's not worth considering, actually.
[9:33 PM] raine: Seth takes a deep breath in as Amon leaves. But just before Amon’s out of earshot, he might pick up a small mutter from Seth.

“A plotter, huh…?” they mutter. “*Modor, mater*… serais-tu fier?”

They shake their head, taking a seat at their desk and laying their head against the desk, burying their face in the crook of one arm while clutching their head with another. Best to leave birds to their cages.