>>255
In a blinding flash of deduction, you realise that Jack was actually not trying to willingly hand herself over, but in fact planning to attack the girl in lilac. On the one hand you have no particular reason to wish to offend this girl in lilac, who, for all you know, could prove a valuable ally; on the other hand, this seems the perfect opportunity, both literally and figuratively, to stab her in the back for your own benefit.
You drop everything and grasp the discarded parasol in both hands, wielding it as a lance. Despite its delicate, befrilled appearance it has a rather vicious point at its vertex. You begin to charge but an angry, screeching mass of fur and claws leaps towards you and attaches itself to your face. You cannot help but feel that this cat is really not fond of you. By the time you manage to free yourself from Theodore's assault, the battle between Jack and the girl in lilac is already in full swing.
>>256
"Jack!" you exclaim over the fray, "Your surname is actually Aaronova, not Aaronov!" For reasons you cannot fathom, she gives every impression of not caring in the slightest.
>>257
You are now playing as Jack Aaronova.
Your ambush is a partial success. You clearly catch her off guard, and thus manage to knock her over and pin her to the ground, face down. She produces a startled warbling sound, but makes no apparent counterattack. You are about to declare your victory, but are momentarily distracted by that halfwit outside shouting something to you. The girl escapes from your grasp, yet instead of attacking you or running away she instead dives towards the can and frantically begins trying to open it.
Still hesitant to use lethal force, for the sake of a living sacrifice for tonight, you throw a punch to the back of her head. The girl squawks inelegantly, puts her arms up in a plaintive gesture. "No, Jack!" she exclaims weakly.
>>258
You keep hitting her in the head until she stops moving. What a feeble opponent, you think to yourself; hardly befitting your martial talents. Indeed, you aren't at all sure why she didn't even try to fight back.
>>259
You pick her up - she isn't as heavy as she looks - and throw her off the top of the staircase into the trap-laden basement. Bizarrely enough, she doesn't fall, but simply floats, like a ragdoll, through the air before coming to a rest against the ceiling.
>>260
You have absolutely no idea what the date is today, but for all you know it might be the new year - or at least a new year, in some calendar. You feel the need to turn over a new leaf, and to find some way to better yourself for the coming year. You solemnly vow that this year you will ritually sacrifice more innocent people than last year.
Though not strictly speaking fireworks, a severe thunderstorm is just breaking outside. You spend a few moments watching the enormously powerful, yet evanescent bolts of lightning.
>>261
"Well," you say, turning to Aaron, who has just arrived sheepishly at the doorway, carrying a folded parasol, "I'm glad one of us knows how to defend themselves." He stares glumly at his feet, blood welling from his feline induced facial lacerations.
The first rain of the storm is just reaching you now, and immediately begins to fall in sheets, buffeted to an angle by the strong wind. Thunder is calling from outside, coming so frequently the sound seems continuous. Looking around, you find Theodore standing, back arched, a little way down the path leading to the brook, looking unhappy at being wet but not willing to join you inside with Aaron nearby. The red bird is nowhere to be found. The girl in lilac is floating in midair above the staircase, a purple handbag hanging from one shoulder, and a can of meat in her grip. She appears to be unconscious for now, but you have no idea when she might wake up.