cradleproject | WEEK FIVE

[adrien confirmed for WORST FRIEND

she instinctively grabs for his arm once she starts falling in, which means unless he's quick he's being pulled in along with her. revenge!!]

[honestly. he could move out of the way, but he's too busy laughing and he yelps when he's pulled in, though he's back to laughing his ass off when they resurface. listen he said he'd probably go himself in a second he expected revenge.

what he doesn't expect is that there is a very angry cat in his shirt who is going to fight him]

Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist-- [he's still laughing though it's punctuated by a soft "ow". @ adrien don't take a bath with your cat he hates it]

[she brushes strands of her now soaking hair out of her face with the most offended expression possible!! adrien is lucky he's on the valued list tbh]

What was that for?

[do you know how long this dress is going to take to dry!!]

[the most innocent of expressions even as he moves to get out of the pool before plagg loses his shit]

It seemed like it'd be fun. [once he climbs out he'll hold a hand out to her, a clear mistake but, y'know, polite.] And you looked so contemplative... I thought a distraction might help.

[it was clearly done with good intentions!!! and only 70% the "this looks like it'll be funny"!!]

[she's tempted to pull him in again but decides to take the ~moral high ground~. that being said, she's also pulling herself out of the pool on her own because he's a t r a i t o r.]

I was thinking about something important, I'll have you know.

[he shrugs at her rejection, though he is giving her the equivalent of sad kitten eyes. he's so sorry adelina. look at how sad he is!! so sad!! dripping wet!! so sorry!!!]

Well, hopefully the dip in the pool gave you a fresh perspective on it. [adrien now is not the time to pun] What was it?

[good, accept your punishment for pool betrayal adrien!!]

I wouldn't say that, precisely. [can you feel the salt] The motive. It just seems... Strange.

[no but he sure can feel the chlorine. heyooo. he's decided to shake off his head like a dog, though he's a respectful distance away from adelina has to not Splatter Her More]

Does it? People kill for materialistic things all the time. [well. that's a bit more straightforward than adrien usually is on these subjects. he might be feeling the salt a little, but his is towards the game.]

No, that's not what I meant, precisely. It's just that the previous motive... The one that wasn't revoked, I mean. Endless wealth, coupled with an increasing feeling of paranoia the longer we went without killing. Don't you think that compared to that, this is... rather light?

[a frown as she goes on, taking a seat on the side of the pool again and cupping her cheek in a hand]

I saw items as small as pictures there. I suppose she could be assuming some will take that as a threat to their loved ones, but she took care to specify it was a precious item, not person at risk. Perhaps she is sending a message that she knows the people most important to us, but... If that were the case, why would she not simply insinuate she was going to hurt them?

[he considers her point with a frown of his own] I don't know. It might be lesser, but it's more... personal, in a way, isn't it? It's more proof that whoever put us here did their research. [he settles down next to her, kicking off his wet shoes and socks before dipping his own feet in] The last murder that happened was an accident. No one really fell for the motive. I feel like that was more of a show of what she could make us do... but forcing our hand isn't the point of the project. Otherwise they'd have just messed with our heads the entire time.

She did say she was going to give us nightmares before she changed her mind. I wouldn't be surprised if she did something to alter our state of mind once more.

[begins wringing out her dress as she talks]

It is more personal, but... The fact that it's more personal doesn't necessarily mean it would make people desperate. Showing us the depth of her knowledge of our lives would make more sense to me if she was leading up to something, but on it's own, it seems overall less tempting than the last motive.

I think it's less the items and more the chance of losing what they are, or what they represent, permanently. [he's kicking his feet a bit, staring at the water] From her explanation, it seemed like only whoever murdered would get whatever was in their case. Everyone else would lose it... "forever".

[he shrugs]

I wouldn't have called any of these motives good, but I know there's at least one item that might've made even me hesitate if it was in there. I think it depends on the person and what they value.

I don't think she would destroy what they represent, honestly. Just the items themselves. But... Yes, I suppose it does depend upon the item.

[taking her attention away from her wet clothes for a moment to look at him]

What is it? The thing that might have made you hesitate, that is, if I may ask.

[he's the one not looking at her, staring at his hands and rubbing at the ring on his finger. subtle.]

I say might, I... I know I'd sacrifice it for the life of others. Always. But it'd mean saying goodbye to a friend, and... might be putting a lot of others in danger. I'd definitely be sad about it. What she's got right now... it was important to me at the time, but it's replaceable, and it's definitely not worth a life.

[what a non-answer]

[pushes into his super secret item!! okay no]

I'm glad she chose something less tempting, then. Even if you wouldn't bend regardless... I'm happy she won't take something irreplacable from you on top of everything else she has already done.

... Me too. [sighs] I just hope everyone else is as lucky.

Yes. And in case there's an item extremely valuable to someone here... Please take as much care as you can.

I'll be fine. I'm "valued". [you can definitely hear the air quotes, though he turns to grin at her mischievously] You should worry about yourself. I sneaked up on you and pushed you in with no problem.

[it's lucky he's valued because he's about to get drowned]

[gives him the Look of all Looks]

That's because I recognized your voice, and I know you couldn't actually hurt me even if you wanted to.

[you're a wuss]

[what!! mock pouts]

What's that supposed to mean? I'm tougher than I look, you know.

[and would absolutely let a fellow teen beat him so as to not hurt them so she has a point]

Ah, of course. My mistake.

[said in the most "that sounds fake but okay" tone imaginable]

[why you gotta be so rude]

You're going to hurt my feelings, Adelina. [it's said completely in jest... though he does kick water in her general direction. isn't she already soaked enough adrien.] I'm serious, though. Don't worry about me.

Hm... Perhaps I should be certain.

[guess what's happening

she's leaning over to push him into the pool because of course she is]

[he definitely deserved that, and he flails a bit before falling into the pool. he doesn't resurface immediately, choosing instead to go shark-like for her ankles to try to pull her in

that's scandalous, adrien]

[that works, but also

if she kicks him in the face accidentally in alarm while being pulled in he has only himself to blame]

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