Chapter Text
“Fuck!”
Noob hissed, hand flinching away from the frayed wires they were messing with instinctively. Dusekkar was floating idly nearby, keeping watch while the other worked to fix the generator. The man held his staff at his side tensely, occasionally moving to the other entrance of the Lost and Found, just to be safe.
The others were all off keeping John Doe at bay— Noob cringed every time they heard a gunshot ring out in the distance. For some reason, every survivor had been teleported this round, instead of the usual routine of a select few while those excluded were left to their own devices. It had been a shock to them all; the last time that happened, it was a complete and utter shitshow.
(They still shuddered at the memory of overexerting himself running several times, enough that their muscles howled at them in agony and caused them to become off-kilter, two killers hot on their tail with no sign of stopping, great Telamon, why couldn’t their luck turn around for once—)
Dusekkar jolted at Noob’s exclaim, turning with a worried expression. “Are you alright, Noob?” He clutched his staff tighter.
The person in question chuckled nervously. They were just as unnerved as Dusekkar. All of them were, really. Just waiting, expecting something bad to happen. For some reason, this round was a lot more successful than the last mass-teleport.
“I’m fine, just shocked myself. Almost done, though.” Noob attempted to reassure the mage. It worked, if only a little bit, as he turned back to continue his watch.
The sounds of battle were getting closer. 007n7 suddenly stumbled in through the left entrance of the small building, clutching his limp arm with his equally damaged other. The man was covered in blood and scratches, almost from head to toe. He sported a nervous smile on his face, and seemed a bit troubled at being near the other two. It was not unwarranted, with how he was often treated by the other survivors outside of rounds.
Noob had no upfront reason to despise the man, though Dusekkar did. The staff-wielder had found himself able to forgive the former hacker, at least somewhat.
If there was any lingering distrust or distaste between them, nobody was inclined to mention it.
The aforementioned mage yelped softly as he floated over to help support 7n7. The bloodied man coughed and hacked up some blood. Jeez, did they leave him to the wolves or something?
“S-Sorry— Sorry, about this…” He murmured, being helped by Dusekkar to lay against the wall. Duse shook his head. “No need to apologize. The round is almost over, you’ll be healed soon.” He silently cringed at the blood on his robes, but Seven was more important. He could always wash them later.
007n7 chuckled wetly at that, but seemed to have been assured. He was also more relaxed in a way. Probably because he wasn’t being stared at in disgust, for once.
Noob went back to working on the generator with more focus than before. They can’t let the others down! Just one more wire, come on, where the fuck IS IT—
“Got it!” He exclaimed in a whisper and an accomplished smile as they grasped the last wire with their right hand, connecting it to the one in their left. The completion bar on the front of the machine glowed brighter as it filled. Noob sighed in relief as their internal clock ticked down to ten seconds. They were almost there. Almost through this apprehension-filled ordeal. Honestly, and they were praying to whatever deity was out there that he didn’t jinx it now, but they were glad that nothing completely terrible happened this time around.
The clock struck zero, and a familiar shimmer of red surrounded each of the forms residing in the Lost and Found of the c00lcarnival, quickly growing brighter until Noob was forced to close their eyes against it.
When they opened them again, they and the rest were collapsed on top of one another in an animate pile of groans and curses, just outside of the cabin. They couldn’t help but laugh.
[_] -*- [_]
The small creature froze as it heard something thump outside, and a bunch of other noises following. It began to sob even more than it already was.
[_] -*- [_]
Chance sighed in pure adminsdamn relief, finally feeling safe enough to relax now that they were all away from the fucking beast of a man that John Doe was. He managed to untangle himself from the other survivors fast enough, somehow. His gun, however, was lost to them. Thank fuck it’s not loaded anymore though, or else he would be much less easygoing.
The man trudged away, falling back on his ass and looking pretty content at watching his companions struggle to free themselves as well. At some point, Dusekkar’s staff and one of Noob’s unopened bloxy colas had rolled over to him coincidentally. He cracked it open with a chuckle and pounded it back.
Chance’s eyes slowly flicked from his friends— were they all friends? could he even call them that— over to the door of the cabin, which had been left open with nobody remaining to shut it. There was something in the doorway.
Wait—
The poor fellow had to keep himself from choking too much as he stood out of nowhere, the small form noticing his alertness and instantly fleeing into the supposed safety of the building. The other survivors looked at him with faces varying from confused, wary and worried.
Chance coughed into his torn suit sleeve— damn he was gonna have to fix that later, FUCK John Doe, where the hell did his glasses go— before shouting, “There’s somethin’ in th’ fuckin’ cabin, weren’t we all teleported?!” He spluttered over his words, some cola still caught in his airways, but, fuck, this was more important, what if it’s something dangerous?!
The chronic gambler wheezed and started towards the house again, hearing a few sets of footsteps following behind. He didn’t bother to see who it was.
The door slammed open as he scanned the living room; nothing seemed out of place. He took it upon himself to check the upstairs, stairs creaking under his weight as he skipped every other step. Out of the corner of his vision, Taph’s robes disappeared around the corner elsewhere on the lowest floor. He only now realized his gun was left behind.
[_] -*- [_]
They’re getting closer, they’re getting closer, she’s going to die, how could she let them see her, why did she have to be curious where is big brother where is mama please I’m scared they’re gonna hurt me MAMA!
Her thoughts raced like jackrabbits in a frenzy and stomped all over her little brain. She whined, soft and low. It was more like a siren with the (almost) complete silence around her. The sounds of the other things (she has no clue who or what they are, she’s terrified) searching the house-place-wherevershewas were distant, but getting louder (coming closer, get AWAY—)
Her blubbering picked up in volume as she continued to panic. She tried to cover her mouth, how could it fail her now of all times, stupid tongue stupid teeth stupid—
Something black and yellow peeked from behind the wall, and she did nothing but freeze.
[_] -*- [_]
Taph was just trying to help Builderman out from underneath an unresponsive (and likely concussed) Two Time when Chance had sprung up out of nowhere. After all that time lounging back on the beach and watching them struggle, it was a startling thing, for a second at first. But when Taph saw the hysteric look in his eyes that were left without sunglasses to hide behind, the way his body language all but screamed something’s wrong and danger, Taph knew there was an obvious cause for concern.
Honestly, if not for Chance’s hasty follow-up after almost coughing out a lung, Taph would have thought someone had somehow gotten hurt in their mass unscrambling, someone out of Taph’s line of sight.
Taph had been one of the first few to run after the man. Despite not having any bombs on hand at the moment, Taph always had some spare tripwire and a knife just in case. Usually, it was not so dire that Taph had to use it, and it was mainly for quick tripwire severing. This may be the first.
As observant as Taph was— as much as Taph HAD to be, how Taph trained to see a lot more than most so that would never happen again— Taph picked up on how Chance’s left hand twitched without his gun to grip onto tightly, probably misplaced somewhere outside in the scramble. Maybe you could find it for him, make yourself useful for once, Taph’s brain spat out.
No, Taph shouldn’t leave now. Taph’s the only one searching the back areas. Sure, someone else could probably peek over the balcony to get a better view, but Taph is pretty sure whoever was left outside was checking the perimeter. Everyone else is busy in the living room or upstairs or somewhere else. Somewhere not here. Taph had to do it.
. . .
...Someone was crying.
If Taph were to tell you that didn’t throw Taph for a damn loop, know that that is a lie. It took Taph a good few seconds to finally process that someone was crying, and it couldn’t be anybody else, nobody cries openly in this damn house as much as they all want to, everything is so stressful in this hellhole—
Taph walked further into the diner, vision catching something small in the corner around the wall. It was sitting on the seats that faced the stage, pushing itself against them to get further away. A thin layer of dust coated almost everything near the unused stage, and it made the thing’s previous movements visible with how some of it was missing.
It was shaking, it was the one making the noise, it looked so tiny. Had Taph not been forced to undergo horrible things for who knows how long now, Taph would have immediately let Taph’s guard down. Instead, Taph carefully crept closer.
The thing— Telamon, Taph hated calling it a thing, but Taph couldn’t really see what it was otherwise in the dark— whimpered softly. It was terrified.
Taph saw something, an item, in its hands that it was clutching to like a lifeline. There was something, two things, actually, protruding and twitching on top of what should be its head. Its form looked too small to be a killer or even a minion. It was something else entirely.
It was a new survivor.
And Taph was sure it was a child.
[_] -*- [_]
Whoever’s out there, please do not let this sort-of-good day go to waste, Elliot swore mentally as he barged through the only entrance of the cabin. The door slammed against the wall, abusing it more than necessary. Builder was hot on his tail, along with the other two former admins. Two Time was left behind, not like they could help much anyways with their concussion. That piece of shit ‘father’ is with them anyways. Elliot was sure they’d totally be fine.
He was about to go upstairs to help search for whatever infiltrated their supposed safehouse when he was stopped by the familiar squeaks and cartoony-noises of Taph communicating (without sign language.) The person in question was waving at him frantically, half of Taph’s body still hidden behind the wall that secluded the diner stage from the public eye. The something must be back there then.
The man looked back at Shedletsky, who brandished his sword with a frown and furrowed brow in response. Elliot nodded and proceeded to trot over to Taph. He was ready to help in fighting off the thing despite his only weapon being his fists.
What he was NOT ready for, however, was to see a child.
A baby, couldn’t be older than ten, not like he could determine accurately—nevermind, someone turned the lights on. And, yep, that’s a fucking kid.
The same kid who seemed to be terrified out of their damn mind, shoulders shaking with too-quiet sobs, no child should have to learn how to cry quietly, oh fucking HELL how did this happen—
The poor thing raised its head, and Elliot’s stomach dropped to his feet. A flash of a memory crossed his mind in a split-second, sending his heart lurching.
They reminded him, impossibly, of Mia.
It took him a moment to finally snap back out of his thoughts. He found that the others who followed were in no better shape. The mage just floated there as he stared, Shedletsky’s sword clattered on the ground for a moment where he dropped it in his shock, and Builder— Builder’s gone.
Elliot bit his cheek as he went back to looking at the child, who was also staring back at them but still obviously petrified with fear. His brows furrowed when he tried step closer and received a full-body flinch in response.
He breathed in deeply, trying to regain his composure. How do you help people panicking again? Right, maybe... deescalating questions.
“I like your teddy. What’s its name?” The man began softly, which snapped the others out of their stupor as well. The former admin left with a conflicted expression, likely to inform the others upstairs. Dusekkar tried to make himself more visible from behind the wall as to not freak out the kid, and fuck, what the hell is a baby doing here? Weren’t they enough, why bring a damn CHILD into this adminsdamned place?
They seemed to stop crying as much, at least. Now they— she? was hyperventilating, in the way that kids do when they cry too long and don’t know how to calm down without help. Elliot’s face pinched in concern.
“It’s—“ He swallowed, “It’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you. My name is Elliot, and the guy floating over here is Dusekkar. The one who found you is called Taph.” Each waved when they were introduced. “Could you tell me your name, maybe?”
She looked to be calming down a little more, with his attempt at comfort.
Elliot tried inching closer again. It wasn’t poorly received like before. “Alright, love, I’m gonna need you to breathe for me, okay? Please, or else you’re going to hurt yourself. And none of us want you to get hurt.” He held up his hands in a placating manner. The man heard Taph shift behind him, but it was clouded and seemed farther back than it should be. He was hyper-focused now.
The girl nodded, slightly uncurling from the probably uncomfortable position she was in as she tried to take deeper breaths. Elliot made a show of breathing along with her as he continued to move closer until he was sitting down pretty close. She didn’t show any signs of severe discomfort at his presence.
“You’re doing much better, darling,” He tried reassuring the kid with a wobbly smile, “In for 4, hold for 5, out for 8. You’ve got it.”
After a minute or so, she was finally breathing normally, and Elliot moved on to cataloguing her condition and appearance while still murmuring softly to her. Most likely dehydrated, she was crying for a long while probably. She’s small, too small, she can’t be older than 9, damnit. Black sweater with purple waist and wristbands, green cargo pants, cute pink sneakers with little floating lightning bolts, reminds him of his own headpiece he wears sometimes. Light cyan skin, blue/purple hair with light yellow bangs. A cute star hat. She has little antennae, mothlike? No wings though, unless they’re hidden. Elliot frowned further for a second, before putting on a smile for the girl.
“There we go. Feeling better, love?” He murmured softly. He was granted a tiny nod in response. “That’s good. Are you okay with me carrying you? Can’t have you by all this dust, after all.” Another nod. She seemed a bit too trusting. Sure, it made his life easier, but still. Maybe she’s just tired, or traumatized, he supposed. Heavens above knows how she got here. It was a pattern amongst all of them to have died tragically before being brought to this realm of some sort.
He continued to ruminate over his theories and plans for what to do next as he carefully wrapped his arms around the girl. It was methodical, how he adjusted her for more comfort and held her head with one hand, arm supporting her back in the process. She kept the teddy in her arms closer to her, buried between their chests. With so much practice with his younger sister, it was no wonder he fell back into old habits even after all this time. It was calming, feeling her midsection rise and fall against his own.
A wave of bittersweet nostalgia threatened to derail the man’s careful stride around the tables and towards the two waiting patiently, however he managed to clear his mind before it did. No need to get so worked up. It would probably scare her.
Dusekkar smiled softly at the sight of the young girl, while Taph seemed a bit more excited. It was tragic, to have someone so young here, but they all knew there was nothing they could do now. All that was left was to make the best of it, for her.
He poked his head around the bend, the floating mage moving back to let him see better. He added in a low volume, “They are all gathered in the living area. My colleagues have informed them of the lack of any danger.” Elliot smiled at him in thanks. It would have been worse off, if they weren’t as collected as they seemed to be now. The jitters the others all shared couldn’t truly be hidden, however.
Elliot inhaled again, but not so deep that it would disturb the younger one. Here we go. He adjusted the girl again as he walked out carefully, eyes conveying the gravity of the situation.
The other survivors all gawked at the bundle in his arms. There were plenty of small gasps and noises here and there. 007n7 and Two Time were resting on the couch, recovered from being left outside.
It was Guest who spoke up first, voice wavering with palpable disbelief, “Elliot,” A rasp, which he fixed with a cough before continuing, “Who... is that?”
Elliot sighed as his eyes grew half lidded with sudden exhaustion. He drifted over to the center of the room, back facing the couch, allowing (most of, like hell he’d trust the baby with the deadbeat) them to see at a better angle. Duse and Taph flanked him for a moment, but stayed off to the side and left him to take the spotlight.
“Taph found her. Tried to calm her down as best as I could. She was crying for a while.” He projected his voice as best as he could. “She’ll need hydration, maybe some food, she’s so—“ Elliot’s voice cracked, which only made the severity of the situation more evident. He collected himself quickly, “She’s too small. And cold. Not sure how old she is, but can’t be more than ten.” Even more shock.
Guest was seething, Builder looked sick. Noob was horrified. Chance and Shedletsky both grimaced. Elliot couldn’t see 007n7’s expression. All of their thoughts, their feelings, harmonized, if only for a moment.
Chance cleared his throat. He could tell that the gambler was no better than the rest of them, from the varying dilation of his pupils to the way his hands trembled. Something that couldn’t be blamed on the adrenaline anymore. “Me an’ Guest found an extra room upstairs, actually. It’s already decorated. She’d like it a lot.” He tried to smile. It fell not a moment later. His words were a damning confirmation of the entire predicament. This was a new survivor, and she was here to stay.
Indefinitely.
Just like the rest of them.
Elliot nodded with a reassuring smile despite the way his heart was clawing at his chest, making him feel icky and disgusted. But not at her, never at her. “Best we could do.” He murmured, before tucking his chin in order to look down at the younger. “Love, you okay to speak now?”
She blearily opened her solid, pale green eyes. They were perpetually downturned, as if she had gone through some sort of unimaginable grief before all of... this. It made his chest bubble with ache. No child’s eyes should look like that.
“M’okay. Th’mk you.” Her reply was muffled with her mouth still pushed against his chest. She buried into him for a moment, as best as a hug as she could in her position, before pulling back and carefully turning her head to face the rest of the survivors.
They all held a collective breath, and she blinked at them. Their hearts melted at the sight. She was adorable.
It took her a moment, but the corners of her mouth quivered nervously as she waved. Guest, Taph, and Noob waved back. The others conveyed their emotions through their eyes and matching smiles. Her lips went from flat to curved as she returned the expression.
“My name is... uh, please don’t laugh...” She trailed off for a moment.
Elliot’s brow furrowed, again. At this rate he was going to get worry lines, his brain oh-so-helpfully supplied. He shook those thoughts away. “It’s okay, darling. We won’t make fun of you. I’m sure it’s a lovely name, for a lovely doll.” The man chuckled as he booped her nose, which made her giggle childishly in turn.
A sudden wave of something incredibly foreign yet somehow familiar washed over them all. It was so hard to decipher, and could barely be translated into words. Was it happiness? Pure, unadulterated glee? It sent them all for another loop on the emotional rollercoaster the day had somehow become. And the most confusing part about it? The raw emotion that was forced onto them had mysteriously radiated from the little one.
Elliot blinked down at her. She looked very unaware of the stunt she just pulled, only continued to grin toothily.
Whatever that was... it was something to tackle later. The blonde tuned in as she inhaled to speak again.
“^v3n_s!< . My name is ^v3n_s!< .” The word came out unnaturally, as if corrupted, crackly and choppy like radio static. It reminded the man of when 007n7’s name is said aloud, only worse on the ears, unfortunately. It sounded something like ‘Venus’.
Her solid eyes held apprehension as she scanned each of their faces for any negative reaction. Yet another thing a baby such as her shouldn’t have to do, ever. ^v3n_s!<‘s antennae twitched as she continued, “I’m.. uhm... seven. I think.”
Elliot nodded as he gently readjusted her from where she was falling from his grip, ignoring the way his chest constricted at the revelation. “That’s a wonderful name, love. Do you want to be let down now? We’d love to get to know you better. None of the goobers here bite, I promise.” He couldn’t help but titter at her, his shattered heart working to put itself back together rather quickly. The little one giggled at his word choice.
After a split second of contemplation, ^v3n_s!< nodded, and she was gently set down on her feet by the man. Her teddy was kept close to her chest (like it had been the whole time she’d been here) as her eyes turned up to look at them.
You could make jello with the gooey, liquidated leftovers of their hearts. She gazed with such hope and curiosity and innocence in her eyes, something they had all been lacking these past— months? years? Elliot can’t fucking tell anymore— without them even knowing. Now that he had a better view, he noticed how her shoulders only met his waist. He heard shifting from behind him, likely Two Time trying to look on even with the (extra) brain haze from his injury.
^v3n_s!< toddled over to Shedletsky, who promptly fell into a squat as she neared. The two had a bit of a staring contest for a moment, Shed looking down at her with a slightly anxious expression. Noob opened his mouth, about to kill the silence before ^v3n_s!< broke into a large grin. The man’s uneasy look was replaced with an identical one. He seemed to have passed a test of some sort.
“Hey there, little lady. Come to pay the awesome SFOTH champion a visit?” His lighthearted boast was audibly lacking the usual flair that came with it. The small brown wings that rested at the sides of his head flapped gently in his content.
Her antenna flicked erratically in a similar manner. It took her another few moments to speak up again. As if she hadn’t properly... interacted, with other people in a while. It spelled more misfortune that the girl had gone through.
“I like your wings. They’re very pretty, Mister Bird-Guy.” She chirped, turning to another survivor and missing the way the former admin looked close to (dramatic) tears. Sensitive ass. Like his ego wasn’t big enough, Elliot thought as he rolled his eyes playfully and snickered.
(They didn’t know how intensely her words and her presence really affected the man, how he was reminded so deeply of the child he once knew, the child he so utterly failed. How his heart would be decimated and repaired over and over again with every passing moment spent with her in the future, and how even though it hurt so bad, it was cathartic, in a way.
He wouldn’t, couldn’t allow them to know, lest they all look at him how they do at a struggling father, a retired hacker, who is trying so hard to make up for his past sins and mistakes and something far from his to command, yet it’s not enough, it will never be enough.
What would they think of him, who brought forth and raised the very Creation of Hatred that tormented them so?
He is so afraid of how much more things will change out of his control, and he’s never felt this powerless before in his life.)
[_] -*- [_]
The same stare-smile-compliment ritual continued until ^v3n_s!< was acquainted with every one of them. It had tuckered her out enough that her jaw cracked with a yawn every 20 seconds, which prompted Guest to scoop her up and take her to her new room.
Situated at the end of a newly-created hallway past the fake slot machines, it was just large enough for someone her size. Simply decorated, with a few children’s toys and stuffed animals placed neatly on a vaguely twin-sized bed. A nice lavender wallpaper with various flowers decals where the floor met the walls, from what Guest could tell in the dark, and a nightstand at the left side with a small, average-looking lamp resting on it. There was also a stereotypical wooden wardrobe sitting in the far corner against the wall, opposite that of the bed.
He gently laid ^v3n_s!< (who had passed out in his arms) onto the bed, pushing aside the toys and turning on the light. It wasn’t too bright that it would bother her while sleeping. There didn’t seem to be a nightlight in the first place, so it would have to do.
There were no extra clothes in the wardrobe. Maybe there would be later, who knows. Guest sighed under his breath. He quietly walked back over to the young ones, who was now sleeping with her mouth open and had sprawled onto the bed in a lopsided starfish pose, teddy still clutched tightly in one fist. It took everything the man had to not chuckle too loudly.
Since she didn’t have anything else to sleep in, he only took off her shoes for her and tucked her into bed. An instinct took over him, his actions practiced and meticulous. His heart ached for the little one he had so much time to rehearse with, someone that he never wanted to see here in this eternal damnation.
^v3n_s!< stirred for a moment just as Guest was about to turn away, blearily opening her eyes to stare at him sleepily. He gave her the most kind smile he could, which she reciprocated gratefully. The young girl yawned again, smacking her lips before murmuring so, so quietly, “Thamk you, Mist’r Guest.”
A deep inhale. “Of course. Get some rest, we’ll see you in the morning.” The man rumbled soothingly as he patted her head and gently ruffled her hair. It did the trick, her breath evening out as she dozed off in the next few seconds.
Guest chuckled again, exiting the room and quietly closing the door behind him.
. . .
It was only through years of training that Guest managed to stay composed, both mentally and physically. He had to stay levelheaded, couldn’t let his anger consume him. That’s what would get you killed, either here or in the war. Just stay. calm.
But, adminsdamnit, if this whole dilemma didn’t stain his vision red, make his skin boil with rage at every racing thought, cause his heart to pang and stutter and sink with borrowed grief, he would be doing a much better job at doing so.
The blue-haired man’s hands clenched open and closed rhythmically as he traversed down the stairs to the living room. Everyone, sans Two Time (who was likely sleeping off their concussion in their and Shedletsky’s shared cabin), was gathered there for an impromptu meeting. It was tradition now, to have one following the arrival of every new survivor dumped into their hands. A formal way to figure out a game plan of sorts, regarding the newbie’s abilities and condition as of appearance. Most were plenty frazzled after being suddenly forsakened, whisked away from all they’ve ever known, only to be surrounded by strangers in a place forever-shrouded in darkness. Usually, said survivor would be joining them, a proper welcoming gesture to show that they were (mostly) accepting of one another.
This was not one of those times. For obvious reasons.
Builderman stood in front of the fireplace, form tense and seemingly steadfast. Though he sported no poker face, his eyes betraying his emotional turmoil with how hollow and heavy they looked. Nobody could blame him.
As soon as Guest sat down, the bearded man ahem-ed into his fist and spoke, not so loud as to wake ^v3n_s!<, but also not so quiet to be drowned out by the soft crackle of flames behind him.
“Now that everyone’s here an’, hopefully, mentally present,” His southern accent stood out, though nobody (besides the other admins present) knew where he was actually from, “This meeting’s officially begun. I’m sure we all know why we’ve come together.” Many disconnected nods in response.
Builder inhaled, as if to steel himself, somehow, “This ‘s a very.. new experience fer all of us. We’ve never had a survivor so young. But we will navigate this with her, and continue on as we have been. It’s the best course of action, fer now.” Solemn nods, in agreement this time. They all understood, despite how much it stung and clawed quite brutally at them.
He continued, “We have ta show her that she’s welcome here with us. Please try not ta get too rowdy around her at th’ moment, she might get spooked. Let ‘er set th’ boundaries, an’ if she don’t know how, then we help her. Elliot seems pretty comfy with her already, which is good news.
“But— here comes the hard part.” Builderman’s tone was flat, assertive in a way only leaders could really be. Everyone winced. “Tellin’ her about what’s happenin’, and what’s going ta happen. If she breaks down...” He wavered for a moment, eyes darkened and conflicted, “We’ll all be there ta pick up th’ pieces. We might not be able ta fill the role models she needs proper, but it’s better than nothin’.
“Wellness check will be conducted in th’ morning. Assessment of abilities will come after. Besides that, we continue with our normal routine. Affirmative?”
He was met with no opposition.
The unease that physically plagued the admin evaporated almost completely at that. He just looked.. exhausted, at this point. “Now that that’s outta th’ way, anybody have anythin’ else to say?” (The quiet snort and ‘hey that rhymes’ from Shed at his right was ignored.)
Noob hesitantly raised a hand, speaking up when they were given silent permission, “She, uh, has this teddy bear she’s been carrying everywhere.. so I thought that maybe Two Time could help sew something for her? Like another stuffy, or maybe a blanket!” They flinched at their sudden exclaim, apologizing quietly while looking away in embarrassment.
Builder chuckled just as softly. “No need ta apologize, kid. That’s a great idea, yer gonna have ta talk to them when they work out their concussion though.” He smiled at their muttered ‘thank you’ before turning back to the rest of his companions.
“Alrighty, anything else?” No response. “Then I declare this meeting adjourned. Everyone have a good night’s rest t’night.”
Many various ‘good nights’ chorused from the shifting survivors, who all slowly and tiredly trickled out of the main cabin to their own to finally rest.
None could predict the day awaiting them, unfortunately.
[_] -*- [_]
1x1x1x1 couldn’t help but stare at the collapsed form before her.
“WHAT IN THE FUCK IS THIS?”