@Surtr Inc @Prosaic @He Who Walks Behind @Atrophy @FernStone @CiaranThe Reid Farmhouse - Main House --> Hillview High - Mason Square
Jasmine kept quiet for several reasons after her initial attempt at trying to talk it out with Sharon. For one, she really still didn't know much of what was going on and was having a hard time following everything. There was so much information to process at such a quick rate, and with people that she didn't know besides a very few amount of them, so she felt like she'd only be holding back the conversation at that point. The second reason she stopped was because Grant quickly corrected her after she had translated for him, as due to her decent but still rough understanding of ASL she ended up technically translating what he said correctly, but not accurately. This embarrassed her a bit, though for all she knew no one knew about her blunder anyway, but either way she was not exactly enthusiastic about trying to quickly translate for him again while things were heated.
However, the third reason she stayed silent was due to her growing anger with Sharon. Her smug responses, abrasive attitude, and complete lack of responsibility and empathy for murdering one of their group members quickly began to grate on Jasmine's nerves (honestly, she'd thought pleasantries had gone out the window the second they'd all been attacked, so she hadn't bothered introducing herself and all the dozen or so people there), especially since she'd already been through so much for a town she had no reason to defend in a conflict she wasn't even supposed to be involved in. And when Sharon began to shout at Paige for basically calling her out on it, Jasmine was absolutely ready to come to the silver-haired girl's aid, but Penny surprisingly enough had been calm enough to help in separating the hostile personalities in the room and shutting down the conflict. Jasmine did her best to hold her tongue, and after a moment or so of internally trying to calm herself down she realized it was for the best she hadn't exploded. Grant was still there and vulnerable, if Sharon snapped then he would just be put in danger. It was frustrating, but keeping her thoughts to herself was the best option at the moment.
It was eventually decided by the group for everyone to investigate Hillview High School, that would be where everyone would find the answers they were all looking for. The Dwyer Siblings were more than ready to move on, and though a creepy abandoned school was the last place anyone wanted to be when dealing with the supernatural, they didn't have much of a choice in whether or not they were going. Even if they wanted out, leaving the group would just be a death sentence, as evidenced by the fact that giant mutated monsters could show up at any time to kill off stragglers. At the last moments of the conversation however, Jasmine could sense remorse coming from Sharon, and while it softened the tension she felt it didn't make her change her opinion of the girl. They would all just have to wait and see just how Sharon would react from here on out.
...
The school ended up being about as creepy as expected. Everyone made their comments as they noticed everything that was off and wrong within the school, but still Jasmine kept silent. Time had passed and she had been able to digest everything a little better now, but she could still feel herself on the edge of feeling overwhelmed again. She glanced over at Grant every once in awhile, and every time he looked incredibly uneasy as they walked the halls and took in the disturbing scenery. But...something about it felt off to her. He didn't just look to be creeped out by what he saw, he instead almost seemed personally upset by it all.
And that's because he was. The moment they approached the school, Grant immediately began to feel inexplicably anxious for reasons he didn't understand. The town at times always seemed familiar, like as if he'd been there before in a dream, or perhaps even another life. But here? There was a familiarity that sent chills down his spine and rocketed his heart up into his throat. He didn't like it one bit, as he felt so anxious that he was nearly shaking. He was usually able to control his appearance and how he came across to others, but he just couldn't do so here. He honestly felt like he shouldn't be there...yet, he was almost entirely sure the answers he was looking for would be found there. If he could just keep it together, maybe, just maybe...
That plan more or less fell apart once they entered the room with the photographs. It was exactly what he'd been looking for, but the amount of absolute terror he felt within himself had grown to immense proportions as he took it all in. Photos of people in town who were marked to be killed, and even worse, marked as hunted down, all stared back at him. Though his powers didn't activate, he felt the world around him go silent as he stared at all the faces on the walls. His breathing was shallow and his forehead was beginning to brew with sweat as his eyes frantically scanned the pictures, desperately searching to see if he had been marked as well. But with so many to look at, could he possibly even find himself? Especially in his panicked state?
Jasmine, though not nearly as terrified as her brother, was still rather disturbed by what she saw and from the explanations that Sharon had given. The room was essentially a giant hit list then...shit, had this been why so many people disappeared or died in Farmer Hill? From what she could understand, whoever was deemed a threat would simply be killed, and then have the murder covered up in some way. Sharon did say that a lot of people in town already knew what was going on, that would make it way too easy to cover each and every death up as something more benign than what was actually going on. The thought alone was enough to make Jasmine feel sick to her stomach.
"This is so fucked up..." Jasmine muttered in disgust, finally breaking her silence as she slowly shined her newly-acquired flashlight (courtesy of Britney) over the many photos on the wall. "One guy killed all of these people? And for what? What's even worth guarding in this town if everyone's a threat or expendable anyway?" She wasn't expecting an answer, Sharon was obviously content to keep the biggest secrets to herself, and as Britney was slowly being revealed to know much more than she'd let on, it seemed she was the same way as well. She felt like she maybe should've felt betrayed by Britney due to this revelation, but then again, she hardly knew her. She didn't know who she could really trust in the first place anyway, besides her brother and Aliana. Though she nonetheless could feel anger beginning to bubble up once again at the idea of someone supposedly on her side using and betraying her.
Speaking of Grant, she noticed now just how freaked out he had become, and worriedly put a hand on his shoulder and began to ask if he was alright, but before she could even get the sentence out he quickly shook his head, almost impatient as he tried to communicate for her to stop.
"Focus," Grant roughly signed, his hands still quivering,
"I'll explain later. Just listen for now."His awareness of the world around him had returned once Jasmine touched him, thankfully bringing him out of the terrifying stupor he'd fallen into. And as he mentally returned he could hear the conversations going on around him, and they sounded important as all hell. He could deal with his problems later, right now the current discussion was key to finding the truth and failing to be a part of it could prove fatal. He couldn't talk, but Jasmine could. He would try to sign his thoughts if necessary, but right now the conversation needed to stay fluid, and only Jasmine on her own could help to keep it going. Interrupting with his drawn out and stiff translations could end up ruining it, and he just couldn't afford for that to happen.
Though still concerned about his well-being, Jasmine still hesitantly nodded and brought her attention back to the discussion at hand. Fortunately, she caught something that interested her, not to say that none of what was happening was interesting, but there was something in particular that Sharon had said that no one else had questioned her on yet.
"...I don't know what this stuff about Watchers and Leagues are," Jasmine slowly said after the others said their piece, her eyes shifting from Britney to Sharon as she talked, "But if we're being watched I don't know if the double agent here should tell us all the details. I wanna know what you're talking about with that stuff, but if talking about it now puts us in danger then we're gonna need to find a better time and place. This all feels so much bigger than us...we need to be careful how we do this." She paused, fidgeting with her bangs with one hand as she glanced at the crossed-out photos around her of people who had been "eliminated".
"You said you did the only thing needed to stop all of this," she addressed Sharon as she lowered her hand back down to her side, though it was notably clenched into a half-fist, "But your dad did all of this, and he's...gone." The implication alone should've sufficed, but she couldn't help herself but to continue. "Were you involved in his death? Did you....do it, yourself? You see the murders, you see everything he's done, and you decide to do what you have to to stop him."
