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[The click, click, clicking of several pairs of shoes, each one out of sync with the others in an unorchestrated din, makes its way across the hard floor. The only other noise that reverberates every so slightly off the walls is the accompanying voices.]
“...”
[The first voice that can be heard is a man’s, deep and laid-back as he gets on in the years, though there is still a sense that he can be quite sharp.]
Person 1: “... It’s likely that they’ll still be asleep at this time. We’ll be giving them the proper song and dance later.”
[The second voice is of a soft-spoken man, mature and lacking in distinguishable emotions.]
Person 2: “Still, I was surprised when you mentioned seeing them early. Even for you, this level of diligence wasn’t something I expected.”
Person 1: “No, I wouldn’t say that. This is more to fuel my own curiosity than anything.”
[Next to speak is a woman, mature in quality yet full of a youthful (or perhaps airheaded) cheer in tone.]
Person 3: “I can understand the feeling! Meeting them seems so eventful. Oh~ I’m already excited!” [One pair of footsteps becomes more energetic briefly.]
[Fourth is of a young man, rough, crass, and edging on the loud side.]
Person 4: “Geez, how can you be this energetic this early-” [His sentence is punctuated with a yawn.]
[Lastly, a young woman speaks, cool and blunt as if constantly making observations as she sees things.]
Person 5: “I’m more surprised that you of all people managed to get up this early.”
Person 4: “Ha? Whaddya mean, ‘of all people?’” [Huffs.] “I also want to see this chum’s whole deal as soon as possible, ya know. It’s not every day you get to judge a criminal.”
Person 2: “It sounds like you’ve already decided their judgement, though?”
Person 4: “Of course! They’re a murderer, aren’t they? That kind of shithead might as well be scum of the Earth. Hey, don’t you think so, too?”
Person 5: “My knee jerk reaction is to agree.” [The fourth person starts, but he’s quickly cut off.] “But I don’t think just knowing that they’ve killed is all there is.”
Person 4: “Tch. Whatever. Murder’s still murder.”
Person 1: “Settle down, now. We’re here.”
[One pair of footsteps slows to a halt, and the others are quick to mimic.]
Person 1: “There they are.”
[The soft, steady sound of breathing can be heard, as if asleep.]
[The others are audibly surprised, though the breathing continues as normal, undisturbed by the sounds the figures make.]
Person 3: “That’s…”
Person 2: “... They’re so young.”
Person 1: “Mm. I’d say that they’re only around 15 years old.” [He breathes in.] “... We know nearly nothing about them. Not their birthdate, their origins, or even their sex or bloodtype. All we know at the moment is what we can see and that their name is ‘Es.’”
Person 5: “And they’ve killed?”
Person 1: “And they’ve killed.”
Person 4: “What about that rabbit that’s in there with them?”
Person 1: “That’s ‘Jackalope.’ As far as I’ve gathered, we’re not judging him, but we should still consider him a prisoner. He's paired with Es, but the cell over there is technically his.”
Person 3: [Claps.] “Oh, is he like an emotional support animal?”
Person 1: “I don’t know yet-”
Person 2: “Those horns… It's strange to be asking this, but they’re not real, are they…?”
Person 1: [Scratching back of head.] “That’s another thing. His name is… well, what he is. Some kind of mysterious creature.”
Person 5: “... Jackalopes are mythical animals originating from America. Being jackrabbits with antelope horns, they’re said to be extremely hostile and dangerous towards people.”
Person 4: “Shit, and it’s just here? What the hell’s up with that thing? The kid, too.”
Person 2: “For this child to have killed… We’ll have to figure it out one way or another.”
Person 1: “Mm, somehow.”
[The breathing becomes less regular, on the brink of stirring.]
Person 1: “Ah, it’s nearly time already. Let’s meet up with the others now so we can give the rundown together.”
Person 4: [Sighing.] “What a pain. It’s not like we need the whole circus for this.”
[Despite his words, all of them start walking back.]
Person 3: “Don’t be like that! You know, some of them were looking forward to this. We shouldn’t leave them out, now~”
Person 4: “This isn’t some game, y’know.”
Person 2: “It’s not good to be too tense, either. After all…”
[Their voices and their steps fade gradually until they can barely be heard. Then they are gone.]
