Sotto Voce
[ˌsädō ˈvōCHē]
ADVERB
(of singing or a spoken remark) in a quiet voice, as if not to be overheard.
(Y/N) always knows, even if you don't tell her.
(I'm an anime watcher and a manga reader, so things from both places will be the...
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"Now we have 16 kids under the age of three to protect..." Norman whispers.
"...and our current enemy is now not just Mama alone." Ray ends the sentence they shared.
...
"Alright kiddos, time to go outside to play. Sister Krone and I have something to discuss." Mama pats the head of Phil and Sherry.
"What about you?" The blonde girl asks.
"I'll join later ♥" She smiles at the girl. "I promise."
...
(Y/N) sit's down in a bush, watching and listening to Norman vent.
The albino boy punches a tree, "Rats!"
"Things aren't looking great for us." Ray says, looking up. "I also don't like that she move into that room."
Ah yes, they cleared out two different rooms during the time of their chores, but the one that he was specifically talking about was right in between all of the kids rooms on the second floor.
"Re-organizing the food supply, checking the sheets for any defects, we've been tricked into preparing for welcoming a second enemy into our grounds!"
'Yes, yes you have, Norman.'
"It was obvious from those hints, how did I not notice?!" Norman was frustrated, to say the least.
'Maybe you looked too far down one rabbit hole, and not down the other.' (Y/N) suggested, but only she knew it.
"Well, even if you did, there was no way to stop her from coming. There's no need to-"
"That's not the point though." Norman cuts Ray off. "Mama was intentionally sprinkling hints in front of our faces this whole time! If she has truly wanted to catch us off guard, she would have never made us do those three chores!"
Emma looks surprised and ticked off.
"If we truly want to escape, we have to overcome that mother of ours!"
"But, we also have to remember that us even panicking like this could be part of Mama's plan." Ray says. "The fact that she's leaving all kind of hints for us proves she's trying to intimidate us into submission. In that case we shouldn't be backing down here. Look at it from the bright side."
"Huh?" The two others ask.
"We have two extra sources of new information." They step away from the tree and into the forest, and not too long after, Phil and Sherry come up to the tree only to be disappointed with Don, Gilda, and Anna there instead.
...
"First, we need to find out where those two came from." Emma says.
(Y/N)'s sitting in the middle of a tree, spying on them.
"Right." Ray agrees.
"Carol is the replacement for Conny, that means they've restocked the farm's supply." Norman's hand is propped against his chin.
"Agreed. Assuming this place is a 'farm' and not an 'orphanage', there must be some sort of source that the demons are getting the babies from." Ray says.
"Does that mean all of us came from that source too?" Emma asks.
"Probably." Ray looks at Emma. "That weird lady must be from there too."
'Well no duh.' (Y/N) rolls her eyes.
"Our biggest clue is that there are other adults out there apart from Mama." Norman's voice comes out slightly muffled due to his hand being over his mouth. "Perhaps there are multiple farms just like this one out there too. Were these adults born into serving the demons? Or were they abducted by them from normal human society? Even a small difference like that could make a huge difference in the world we're up against."
"The fact that Carol got here early is a great plus." (Y/N) shifts her attention to Ray, the current speaker. "There are no visible marks on the older kids, but Carol just got here."
Emma nods her head enthusiastically in acknowledgement.
"To summarize our current situation in three points... One, the adults are our key to knowledge of the outside world. Two, Carol will be our key to uncovering the secret behind the trackers. And three, Mama is being weird."
"Wha-what?!" Emma looks like a brick hit her head.
"Wouldn't you agree, though?" Ray says, taking a deep breath to elaborate. "Though indirect, she keeps trying to intimidate us. Not just once or twice, she does it every time! Something's definitely up. If she knows all our plans, why doesn't she just hurry up and find us?"
"That's true!" Emma gasps in realization.
"If she tried, she should be able to." Norman adds. "But there must be some sort of reason that she can't or intentionally doesn't."
"What's the reason?" Emma asks.
'I don't think they know, Emma...'
"I don't know yet."
'See?'
"But that's pretty much all there is to not predicting Mama's next move." Ray sums up their conversation. "Understanding her reasons is top of our priority list right now. You know what to do?"
"Yeah!" Emma says, pumping her fist in the air.
"Us two won't be able to approach her."
"Leave it to me! I'll do all it takes to find information on the trackers from Carol!" Emma points at her chest.
'Playing hero now, Emma? Don't get too cocky, or Mama will know.'
