INTRO LOG #2

[abraxasmods]

Intro Log #2

It has been two months now since the initial group of summonings first took place. Castle Thorne, or at least the part above ground, is buzzing with a vibrant air of hope following the 'success' at the Singularity. Eager smiles and excited chattering are to be found in nearly every corner of the castle and surrounding town. The honored guests may find grateful looks turned their way more often than not. A new and brighter day seems to be dawning on the kingdom.

In the dungeons it's a different story entirely. The mood is somber and uneasy. The prisoner taken for trial has yet to return, and no word has come regarding her or her fate. There has been no mention of any further trials as of yet and guards seem to have little patience for unruly behavior or even conversation. Some seem to not even look at or acknowledge the prisoners at all.

[ Feel free to continue threads from the TDM here or start your own! As cell and room assignments will be short-lived due to this month's event, you're free to assume whichever cellmates and roommates you like instead of officially signing up as long as there are ICly no more than four people in a cell or room at once. ]

Comments

Cell visit

[souille]

Abigail watches him approach, unable to stop her stomach from growling at the smell coming from his basket. She's not sure whether to trust him, though, or whether this is a ruse to poison her and avoid the need for the execution that Eponine had described to her in such detail.

"Thanks, but I'm okay."

[iobject]

"Really?" He's clearly surprised. He's not sure anyone's rejected his food on any of his visits. But he rolls with it, shrugging. "Suit yourself. The offer stays open."

He puts the basket down near her cell, near enough that she can reach for it without asking him to push it towards her, and he leans on the bars.

"What's your name? I'm Phoenix Wright," he says. He gets that not everyone understands what defense attorneys are, so he likes to ease into introducing himself first and then explaining why he's here.

[souille]

She keeps back from the bars, still not wanting to trust anyone in this place, but feeling a little more at ease that he's neither forcing the issue nor leaving her to starve.

"Abigail," she replies, not wanting to give her full name out of the dread that someone here will be from her own world and recognise her name from the news, for all the wrong reasons.

[iobject]

"Okay, Abigail." He gives her a warm smile that reaches his eyes. "It's nice to meet you."

And he does mean it. He likes meeting new people. Especially people with big eyes who need help getting out of a jail cell--but that's his hero complex talking.

"I'm a defense attorney. Do you have those in your world?"

[souille]

It's clear in her expression how surreal it is to be asked about something so mundane in her own world, but then with the people she's met here so far she might well be in the minority who'd actually answer his question in the affirmative.

"Yeah, we have lawyers. I'm not sure the people in charge here care much about due process, though."

[iobject]

Okay, they have lawyers. That's good. It saves him needing to explain that much.

"They do care, mostly. Unfortunately, we're dealing with one of the few people in the kingdom who doesn't have to care about due process."

He crosses his arms, his voice serious but not dire. He never shows fear or helplessness in front of a client if he can help it. Half of his job is keeping their spirits up, after all.

"Ambrose can decide if you stay in here or if you leave. Luckily, he can be talked around. I've managed it in the past."

[souille]

"He's already decided for me." She looks resigned to her fate, turning around so he can see the Hanged Man crudely embroidered on the back of her prison tunic. "It means he's going to hang me."

At least, that's what Eponine had told her.

[iobject]

Phoenix frowns, his brow creasing. "What? No, that's not what that means. Who told you that?"

He doesn't wait for an answer before tugging the neckline of his silk tunic, straightening it so it shows off a the stylized heart of the Lovers embroidered at his breast.

"It's your Arcana. Think of it like your star sign, but somehow connected to magic around here." And also real, but Phoenix won't say that quite so bluntly. "I'm the Lovers, and you're the Hanged Man. People with the Hanged Man Arcana are usually outsiders wherever they were from."

[souille]

Abigail stares at him, utterly confused. She'd felt as though she'd done nothing but wait for her impending execution, and she'd actually begun to accept it as her fate. Now she's not sure whether she's being lied to now, or if she had been before, but either way she feels like an idiot.

"Are you seriously telling me I could have got out of here this whole time?"

[iobject]

"Well, not exactly." Phoenix gently pushes the basket of food closer to her, encouraging her to take something. "But I do mean that the situation isn't nearly as hopeless as you think it is. I've already been able to convince them to let a few people out."

[souille]

"How did you manage that?" She sounds sceptical, not of his abilities in general but that he'd be able to help her. She's still sure that the reason she's been put in here is that she was guilty of crimes in her own world.

[iobject]

"I talked to Ambrose, and convinced him that my client wasn't a threat." He crosses his arms, cocking his head. "He puts people down here because for some reason, he's convinced you're more likely to hurt Thorne than the people he has upstairs. But that's just a prediction on his part. If someone upstairs vouches for you and convinces him to give you a chance, then he'll let you out."

[souille]

"Wait, hold up." Immediately, Abigail has far more questions. "I thought they put me in here because I did something wrong. But this is like a Minority Report thing? They think I'm a danger to them?"