Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You wake up with a jolt to your phone's ringtone. Almost immediately you groan internally. You finally have a day off to sleep in and of course someone calls you at, uh…

You turn around to check your clock. 6:30AM. Jesus christ. Outside your window you hear distant cars and sirens out in the distance. Sounds like there's less traffic than normal. 

Hesitantly, you reach out for your phone on the nightstand. It takes just about all your willpower to not throw the damn thing out the window, and you slowly turn it around to see who's- OH CRAP ITS YOUR BOSS.

In a split second your grogginess disappears. You can NOT afford to lose this job, so best to try to sound atleast somewhat awake. Why on earth is he calling you on your day off though? Please dont be fired. 

You answer the phone.

"Hello sir?" Your dry throat is apparent. You reaaaally hope it's because you just woke up, and not because you've contracted whatever bug is going around these days. Apparently there's been a more intense flu season than usual, there's even been talks of declaring some sort of minor epidemic. 

"Siffrin. I need you to come in and cover two shifts today. Three other people had to call in sick, and even with the reduced amount of people out and about nowadays I'll still need more hands on deck for rush hour."

Great. Just what you wanted on your day off: More work. You DO really need the money though. Living in this city is expensive…

"Alright, I'll be there in an hour."

"Attaboy."

Your boss hangs up.

Well. This sucks. 

Steadily, you start going through your morning routine. Shower, eat breakfast, brush teeth, yadda yadda. Just as you're about to throw your coat on, however, your phone once again starts blaring.

"Son of a–" You rip your phone out of your pocket. What does this damn thing want now?

Instead of another call, you're met with a message:

Emergency Alert
New York City is going into quarantine. Please stay indoors and avoid any unnecessary trips outside. Further information can be found online. 

…

What. 

…

WHAT? 

Are you seriously THIS bad at paying attention to the news? Quarantine??? Yesterday it was just a really bad flu season and now they're putting the whole damn city into lockdown? What the hell happened?

Stumbling into your living room, you turn on the TV and switch over to the news. 

As you listen, your heart slowly begins to sink.

"...A new report from the CDC on the new illness sweeping through New York has concluded that the virus appears to be a new strain of the variola virus, more commonly known as the smallpox virus. Following this report…"

The news anchor continues to talk about lockdown procedures and measures to reduce your risk of infection. Most of it goes ignored. Smallpox. Don't we have a vaccine for smallpox already? We literally wiped it out. How bad could this actually be? Surely it'll just blow over, right? 

Slowly, you take out your phone again, and call your boss.

After a few rings, he picks up.

"... hm."
"So, uh. Do you think this will all work out or…" Your poor attempt at a joke seems to go unappreciated. "...Does this mean I dont have to come in to work today?"

You listen to the sirens in the distance. They sound closer than before. 

========

You slowly stir awake as the light passes in through your window. The morning sunrise is illuminating your room in a warm golden glow. You hear the calming chirping of a peaceful birdsong. 

You feel… at peace.

Until your brain catches up and reminds you where you are.

Oh, right. Everything sucks. 

It's been about… two months since the lockdown announcement. Turns out whatever the new strain is made of is different enough that the old vaccine doesn't work, and it has a high enough fatality rate that it's overwhelming hospitals and morgues. Usually high mortality viruses die out quickly, but this one spread all over the world in barely two weeks. Why the hell is it so insanely infectious? How the hell did a virus come back from extinction while being so different?

That's about what the news anchors were discussing before the power went out a few weeks back. 

It's fine, though. Everythings fine. You've still got some food left since your last trip outside. And you're not sick, so it's not like you need medicine…

But it is getting colder. The one coat you have is fine, but you don't want to exactly wear it 24/7 either, so you'll need to scavenge for more clothes. Why the hell did this outbreak have to happen in the fall? Couldn't it have hit at a more convenient time of year, like march? Atleast then you wouldn't have to ALSO be worried about freezing to death. 

You sigh. Whatever, it won't be your first time out. It's gotten more dangerous outside as people started getting more desperate. They locked the city down once they realised things weren't going to get better. No imports of food, medicine, clothes… You've managed to make do so far, but you still occasionally wake up to the sound of distant gunfire. You hope you never end up on the receiving end. 

If worse comes to worst, then atleast you can defend yourself…

Your fingers brush up against your own gun at your hips. You feel your muscles tense…

You…

You feel cold metal press into your side.

"Don't try anything."

A shiver goes down your spine. You know what? Maybe you'll just accept death if it comes. Rather that then having to use this cursed thing. 

You crawl out of bed and start getting ready for your expedition outside. Hah, look at that. "Expedition". Makes it sound like a fun adventure almost…

You put on your singular coat. Hopefully you'll return with two or more. 

========

Ok, also on the agenda: Gloves. Probably should've expected your hands to be cold too.

You walk through the messy streets. Cars sit abandoned on the side of the road. Looking around you see some other person far off in the distance, seemingly also scavenging for supplies. You're not used to the city being so damn quiet. It's eerie. The only noises you hear are the birds, and what is probably some rat bumping things over in the alleyway to your right.

You look to your left. You figured the first place to start may aswell be the local clothing store you always frequented. As you enter and look around at the shelves, they are all predictably barren. A small melancholy fills you. You remember buying the coat you're currently wearing here. Sure it was fairly cheap, but its held up throughout the months. 

If the store was still open, you could've probably turned it in for a discount. They had some sort of campaign going where if you donated your old clothes, they'd distribute it further to some local homeless shelter and give you a 5% discount on the replacement. It was probably just a way to boost their PR, but you still thought it was a nice gesture.

… Thinking about it, they probably stored those clothes in the back, right? Maybe you'll get lucky? Wouldn't be the first time.

Walking into the backroom, it seems your luck fails you. It's unfortunately empty, nothing but more empty shelves and some memo. "I know we keep the clothes in a big plastic bag, but that doesn't mean it's garbage. If I see any of you accidentally throw another bag out in the dumpster you're getting fired" . Hah. It says "any of you", but you know it was probably just one person who seriously messed up. Poor guy. 

… The dumpster… You sigh. If there's any chance of spare clothes back there you need to check. Even if it costs you a bit of your dignity. 

You walk out the backdoor and find the dumpster to your right. The smell isn't particularly nice back here, but it's not like the rest of the city smells like flowers and perfume right now either. You start throwing out bag after bag, until eventually…

Jackpot. A bag filled with a bunch of rugged clothes, but some of these still look pretty damn solid. Looks like someone really did throw away a whole bag of perfectly good clothes. Hopefully none of these belonged to an infected person. The virus would probably die out anyway, stuck in this dumpster for several months, right?

Rummaging through you find a nice pair of leather gloves, which you instantly put on. Your hands thank you. Additionally you drag out a… oh, hey, that's a pretty nice white jacket. Looks huge, too. Someone gave this away in the fall, right before winter? Did it belong to an ex or something? You don't see any holes in it. Combined with your white hair and scarf, it would probably make you look like a snowman. 

"HEY!"

You freeze. You suddenly regret your internal monologue. Should've just ran, instead of contemplating your fashion choices. So stupid.  

You turn your head and see two people rapidly approaching you from both directions. Nowhere to run. One of them is armed with a wrench, the other with a hammer. What is this, the carpentry squad?
"Heyyy, sorry, didn't mean to intrude, i'll leave-"

"Not yet. What've you got on you?"
Figures it wouldn't be that easy. Allllright. Bluffing time. 

"Oh you know, just the clothes on my back. Does it really seem like someone rummaging through the dumpster has a lot to their name?"

"Well, those are some pretty nice looking clothes." They start to corner you against the wall. Do they... seriously want to rob you of your clothes? Looking them up and down, it seems they're only wearing thin hoodies. Yeah, ok, that makes sense.

"Nono these are all really old," Not really a lie. "I'm sure you wouldn't want them." You look at their weapons. "Trust me, I wouldn't screw with you, you've got me nailed here after all."

They return with blank stares. Damn, tough crowd huh? Seems like they're not going to let you leave… your mind wanders towards the gun hidden under your coat.

You remember…

"I know you grabbed something. Hand it over."

… Maybe you should just comply. You could probably find another jacket somewhere else. 

"Are you fucking deaf? Hand over your damn clothes!" Oh, he must've been talking to you. Your hand moves towards the buttons on your coat when-

"Just what the hell is going on here?" A voice from your right. You turn and see three people stand at the end of the alley. The voice came from a tall, toned guy at the front wearing a long beige coat. Next to him, a young woman with a shaky grip on her baseball bat sporting what looks like a very comfortable red cable sweater and… an old woman with an axe??

"It's none of your fucking business. He's got shit we want, so we're taking it." He raises his weapon, instantly on guard. His friend seems to hesitate. He seems almost... nervous?

"Riiight, and you're doing that by undressing them in an alleyway?"

…

Oh, you think he may have misread the situation. Well, if that's what will save you here then, "You two are such pigs! First i give you everything i have, and now you even want to take me?! " You yell in the most scandalised voice you can manage. Although judging by their pissed off expressions, maybe you should've toned it down a notch. 

"Oh shut the hell up!" The robbers turn towards you and raise their weapons. Oops. Well, you had a good run. You close your eyes and wait for impact… and hear a thud on the ground next to you?

Opening your eyes, the man is sprawled out on the floor, having been punched by your mysterious savior square in the face. He spares a glance at you. "You okay?"

…

Your face suddenly doesn't feel so cold anymore. Uh oh. 

The man scrambles to his feet. "What the fuck?!" He appears to be about to retaliate when his friend pulls him back. "We're outnumbered, man, it's not worth it."

That seems to give him pause. The man hesitates for a second before scoffing, as they both turn around and leave. 

The young woman breathes out a sigh of relief. "Honestly, Isabeau, you gotta warn us next time you decide to charge into battle like this."

Your saviour, Isabeau, protests. "Oh come on, Mira, we couldn't just leave them to those guys! It's like they said, we outnumbered them, there wasn't any danger!"

The woman carrying an axe, which on closer inspection appears to be fireaxe, adjusts her open white coat. "Sure, we got lucky, but what if they had been hiding a gun?" Hah. "You can't just assume that people are always as harmless as they look." 

Isabeau looks flustered. "What, you too Odile?" He turns towards you. "What about you? Surely you're on my side here, right?"

He looks into your eyes, waiting for your response. You look away. "Y-yeah. You were quite quick, certainly beat them to the punch ."

The alleyway goes dead silent. Mira looks away, seemingly holding back a snicker. Odile looks like she regrets waking up today. Isabeau though…

"HAH! Well, on a chilly day like this, how could I resist trying to knock them out cold? " 

He howls with laughter. 

Maybe going outside isn't as bad as you thought it was.

Chapter Text

You remember the day the quarantine started. 

You had been roommates with Mira for a few months at that point. You gotta admit, you were really nervous about the concept of sharing an apartment with some random stranger, but she ended up being super nice! You're honestly not sure where you'd be without her now.

When the announcement first came through, you didn't actually take it too seriously. It felt a bit surreal, to suddenly be living in the middle of a quarantine zone, but you figured that you two could outlast it. 

Turns out, when you live right next to a hospital during an epidemic, your whole neighborhood turns into a biological no-go zone. Apparently the new virus has a longer incubation time, and starts presenting with milder symptoms, so everyone thought it was just the regular flu before the announcement. The hospital didnt take the proper precautions, and… well, It's probably best left unsaid. It's like this thing was designed to cause as much chaos as possible. 

The two of you eventually decided to leave the area altogether. It wasn't worth the risk of infection to stick around, but this obviously left you with the issue of finding somewhere to stay. 

That's how the two of you stumbled on Odile! Or, well, you suppose she stumbled upon you . The two of you had been hiding out from the rain in one of the abandoned metro stations when she came through. The two of you must've seemed rather pitiable and scared, which, ya know. You were. 

But! She offered to let the two of you stay with her! Hesitantly, of course, but you could always tell she was a softie at heart despite that "calm and calculated" exterior she puts up. 

All that is to say, its been a while since someone new joined your little group! It's been about two weeks since your encounter in the alley, where you rescued Siffrin from some thieves. He nervously walked up to you afterwards when you were beginning to leave and suggested working together on trips, insisting that they'd share everything they find. You had a little discussion about it and decided that they seemed harmless, and just like that you had agreed to meet up the next day!

As it turns out? They're really good at scavenging. He seems to know this city inside out, knowing exactly where to look to find anything they need. You suppose you shouldn't be too surprised, when they somehow managed to find a jacket in almost perfect condition at the bottom of some random dumpster. The four of you quickly fell into the habit of letting Sif search, while you three acted as lookouts, since he doesn't have the means to defend himself.

Or, well, you did notice the gun. On the first meetup where you went scavenging together, you figured it was just them not fully trusting you, but then you noticed they always carry it around. It obviously must give them a sense of security, but then why didn't they use it in the alley? Was it empty? Did they only start carrying it after that?  

You decide not to comment on it. He'll tell you in time… you hope. 

"So, uh. Here it is." Siffrin shyly exclaims, trying to hide themselves in the same white jacket they were carrying when you'd found him. Turns out he was just out searching for warmer clothes that day, and those guys wanted it for themselves. Personally, you don't understand why they didn't just ask politely, that bag of clothes was huge! You're sure Siffrin would've been willing to share. 

"Wow. You were living in such a cramped apartment this whole time?" Mirabelle says as she walks into the apartment. Up until now, you'd been agreeing to a time and place to meet up every time you went out looking for stuff together, but you'd all agreed that you should probably know where they live and vice versa, in case anything bad happened to either of you, or you simply couldn't make it in time. Siffrin offered to give a tour of their place first. 

It's… modest, all things considered. They were apparently living alone, which must've been VERY lonely, but that also means the apartment didn't need too much space either. There's a surprisingly compact bathroom just by the entrance, and just past there's a living room with a TV in one corner, a small kitchenette in the other and a small sofa in the middle. Judging by the blanket covering the sofa, he probably uses it as a bed.  

It has a certain cozy charm to it, sure. But to be stuck here for the past two months, only occasionally wandering out on potentially life-threatening trips? Yeah, you're kinda surprised they don't have intense cabin fever. 

You watch as Siffrin fidgets slightly. "It wasn't all that bad." He stops, as a small smirk pricks at their lips. "I mean, I managed to make it sofa r."

You bust out laughing.

"Honestly, Siffrin…" Odile scorns behind you. Turning around, though, you notice she can't help but fight back a smile. With you and Siffrin's powers combined, you'll make sure she joins the dark side eventually. 

Walking over to a small nightstand next to the sofa, you note a stack of astronomy books piled on top. Siffrin seems to notice you looking.

"I, uh. Found a bunch of books during one of my expeditions. Figured that it would make a good enough use of time while I waited out the days." 

You get hit with divine inspiration. "Well then it looks like Mira was wrong." you start, eliciting a confused turn from where's she's standing by the kitchenette. "It looks like there's more than enough space here."

You hear Odile groan. 

========

You walk up to the apartment complex. It's ten stories tall, and Odile's apartment where you and Mirabelle have been staying at with her is right at the top. 

"I assume you three dont typically use the front door, then?" Siffrin says, gesturing at the boarded up doors at the front of the building. 

"No. Best for it to look abandoned, but not worth the effort of breaking into. Even if they manage to make it inside, I'm hoping no one can be bothered walking up ten floors." Odile replies, as she starts walking around and into the alleyway. The rest of us follow. 

"I see, so you scale up the building instead then?" Siffrin says with a grin.

"No, we just use the backdoor." Mirabelle says, as Odile takes out her keys and opens the door. 

Siffrin seems disappointed. "Boo." 

The four of you start ascending the stairs. "So, judging by what Mira said earlier, I'm assuming you have a bigger apartment than I do, Odile?" 

"Sure. It's got enough rooms for these two vagabonds to stay in." Odile says, smirking as she turns to face you and Mirabelle. 

"Really, Odile? Vagabonds? Is that all we are to you even now, after all our times together?" You say, your voice dripping with faux-betrayal. Odile just rolls her eyes. 

"Right, right…" Siffrin starts. "But weren't you living alone before they showed up? How did you manage to afford this place alone?" 

Ugh. The question that keeps you up at night. Mirabelle luckily handles explaining this one. "We've been trying to find out the same thing for weeks now! Well, mostly Isabeau. His theories have gotten kinda wild." 

And it's time for you to test out your next one. "You're the runaway daughter of an oil baron, who you stole all the money from before running away to pursue your true passion in the big city: MUSICALS!" You wait with bated breath as Odile stops, and slowly turns around. 

"My god… Isabeau!" Odile has a large smile on her face. Your face lights up, have you finally got it?! "You've never been further off the mark!" 

Damnit. 

Siffrin snickers behind you. Atleast SOMEONE is being entertained by your torture. 

At last, you make your way to the tenth floor and walk towards your apartment door. 

"Ok ok, what about this," Siffrin says, "You used to be a high ranking member of the mob. You knew the deals, the inner workings, the schemes." 

His voice turns conspiratorial. "But you just couldn't take that life anymore. A life of betrayals and looking over your shoulder at any given moment. So you ran! You told the authorities everything you could, everything you had picked up on over your 50 years experience–" 

"Siffrin, I'm in my fourties–" 

"In exchange, you got more money than you could've ever DREAMED of making, and you've been in witness protection ever since."

Odile opens the door to the apartment. Did she not use her key to open it? You probably just missed it, too engrossed in Siffrins theorycrafting. You vaguely notice Mira tense up in your peripheral vision.

"So, how close was THAT, Odile? If thats even your REAL name!" 

Odile sighs. "Siffrin, I have enough on my plate dealing with Isabeau's insane ramblings. Please dont encourage him–"

CRASH

The mood instantly shifts. The apartment grows deathly quiet. 

Someone else is here.

You, Odile and Mira instantly get on guard, walking in front of Siffrin. "Sounds like it came from the living room" Mira whispers. Unlike Siffrins apartment where you can see pretty much everything from the moment you enter, the living room here is down the hall and to the right. Out of your line of sight. 

You turn around. "Stick close, Siffrin. We don't know if there's someone outside waiting to come up behind us." They nod. You note that he seems oddly… conflicted? 

You turn back around. No time to think about it. You start moving down the hall. You're about halfway down when suddenly–

Someone jumps out from around the corner.

"S-STOP RIGHT THERE!" 

Mirabelle instantly drops her bat besides you. 

That… is a kid. Who brought a kid here?!

While the rest of you are stunned into silence, Mirabelle walks in front, crouching down. "H-hey, relax, we're not gonna do anything."

"SO… SO LET ME GO!" The kid holds out a pan in front of him. Is that their weapon? they're carrying a backpack, which seems stuffed to the brim with various items. You think you see the sleeves of one of your sweaters poking out. 

"Well, um, we can't just let you steal from us either…" Mirabelle looks awfully torn about this situation.

"Kid, don't you have any parents? Who sent you here?" Odile seems to have regained her composure enough to ask a question. 

"I… I don't have any, I can handle myself just fine! I've dealt with worse than YOU. So get out of the way unless you want to get hurt!" Their threatening words are undercut by their intense shaking. If you had to bet, they probably weren't expecting someone to actually live here. You doubt they've ever been in an actual fight. 

Still… no parents? How have they survived these past several months ? Now that you're taking the time to look, they seem… awfully thin. Their clothes look old and dirty. No wonder they were trying to steal some of yours. You can't just let them run off on their own, there's no way they make it through the winter like this. 

You walk up besides Mirabelle. "Look, we're not just going to let you leave with all our stuff." They back away, their eyes darting around you. "But, if you just need some food–"

It seems crowding them just made them panic. "F-FINE! TAKE YOUR JUNK!" they throw the backpack on the ground and start running past you. 

They get blocked by Siffrin. 

"Hey. Look at me." Siffrin's tone is sharp. It seems to grab their attention, although you're not sure if the plan is to calm them down or freak them out more. 

"You run out that door, and you'll have to survive the coming winter on your own. You've seen the clouds, it's not long until it starts to snow." 

The kid seems to hesitate. "I… I'll be fine." 

"Maybe. But the alternative is, you can stay here. We've got enough food, and you can have a solid roof over your head. You won't need to wake up at every minor noise, wondering whether it was just a stray animal or an intruder. You can be safe here." This is their first time visiting, and yet he's talking as if they've been living here together with you for years. 

You… don't find yourself too opposed to either of those two ideas, actually. 

Siffrin seems to suddenly remember where he is, and looks over at Odile. They blush, slightly. "If, uh, that would be okay with you three, of course." 

Odile seems to think it over a second, before giving a gentle nod. "I should have another mattress somewhere around here. I understand if you don't trust us, so we can give you your own room. Right by the exit, if that would you put more at ease?"

Not 30 seconds ago this kid was ready to bolt out with all their stuff, and now she's offering them their own room? You knew she was a bleeding heart underneath all that sarcasm. 

"... I don't need your help." They mutter out. 

"But, um. Maybe i'll stay for dinner, i guess." 

You all breathe a sigh of relief. You'd all have a tougher time sleeping if you just let some poor kid run off into the cold winter evening on their own. Now you can make sure they'll atleast be alright for today. 

"So," you start, reaching out your hand. "My name's Isabeau. What about you? Unless you want us to keep calling you 'kid', we're gonna need a name."

"Um," They look up at you. Slowly reaching out and shaking your hand. "You can call me Bonnie."

Chapter Text

You wake up to the sound of… nothing. It's dark, but this roof doesn't look like the one you've spent the last two months staring at, and this bed doesn't feel yours, and where the hell are you–?!

Your brain catches up with you.

Oh, right. You're having a sleepover with your friends. Looks like you woke up in the middle of the night.

You slowly go through the events of the past 12 hours. The dinner ended up lasting several hours, as the four of you went back and forth chatting with each other. Even Bonnie joined in towards the end. 

…Right. Bonnie's staying with you all now. 

You remember seeing them jump out in the hallway, shivering and looking like they've been through hell. Considering how they've somehow managed to survive for two months on their own, they probably have . 

To be honest, you didn't really know how to convince them to stay, but Isa and Mirabelle's soft approaches weren't working, so you tried to bluff your way through with a sharper tone.

You think back on what you said, and cringe a bit internally. God, you acted like you were the one calling the shots, as if you owned the damn place. 'You can stay here'. As if you could decide that. You're really lucky it all ended up working out. 

You sit up, and look around at your… friends. As much as you want to stay here with them, you doubt they feel the same. As far as they're concerned, you're just some clingy… how did Odile put it? "Vagabond"? You'll have to go back to your empty apartment tomorrow. Alone.

You're glad they still let Bonnie stay though. Maybe, if you asked to stay with them, they'd…?

Wait, where is Bonnie anyway? They seemed a bit fidgety about being in this small room with all of you (which apparently isn't the norm, but Mirabelle suggested that "since we're all here, we could all have a sleepover in the same room!"). Thinking back, Bonnie also tried to run after Isabeau got closer, surrounding them. You make a mental note to try and not crowd them in the future. They ended up taking Odile's offer of the room right by the entrance. 

You stand up and walk out into the hallway. Looking down the hall, you see the door to their room is open, which you very distinctly remember being closed when you all went to bed in the evening. 

You feel a knot tie in your stomach.

You walk down the hall, and brace yourself as you look in and see… nothing. 

Even their bed is empty. 

…Oh. You guess they left. 

That's… fine. They'll be fine, right? You fed them, and they hopefully had the sense to grab some of your clothes before leaving, so they'll be fine . Even if it's dark, cold, and dangerous outside. They managed this long, right? They'll be FINE.

…

You feel cold. 

… Ok, you feel unnaturally cold. You're wearing your jacket (can't sleep without it these days), but you still feel a small gust of wind pricking at your ears.

You follow the wind out into the living room and- 

OH. Oh. Bonnie's right there. You feel like a massive weight has just been lifted off your shoulders. They didn't leave. Not yet. God, you need to stop being so overdramatic. 

Bonnie is on the balcony, door open and standing on their toes trying to get a good look over the railing. 

"Hey Bonnie, can't sleep?" You say before walking up besides them. You didn't wanna scare them by silently approaching. 

"Look!" Bonnie says in a hushed tone, pointing up towards the sky. 

You look, noticing that while the clouds have started to part, the few still left have started… snowing. Faintly, but it's there. 

Behind the clouds, in the areas where they've parted, you see… stars. With power outages across basically the entire city, the usual light pollution blocking the skies is gone. It's not the first time you've seen the stars since the pandemic began but… It's the first time you're looking at them with someone else. 

"... My sister is out there, somewhere." Bonnie quietly mutters out next to you. You look back down. If Bonnie is going to stay, you need to somehow convince them that they can trust you. You hang on to every word they say. 

"I don't know where, but. She's out there somewhere. She has to be." They look up at you, tears starting to form in the corners of their eyes. "She has to be, right?" 

You don't know. "Of course she is, Bonbon."

Their expression… suddenly goes blank. Did you say something wrong? 

"...Bonbon?" 

… OH. THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT. GET IT TOGETHER SIFFRIN.

"Oh! Uh! Sorry! If you don't like the nickname, I can–"

"No, no! It's fine. It just… reminded me of her." They say. "I guess I'll have to come up with my own nickname for you now." 

You both go quiet, staring out into the night, the snow slowly drifting down. If their sister is still out there somewhere, you hope she has a roof over her head tonight. 

"Hey, Frin."

Frin? You look back down towards them. 

"I can't see anything from here. Let me onto your back." 

You stare at eachother for a few seconds. They look resolute, you look dumbfounded. 

Eventually, you chuckle as you crouch down, letting Bonbon climb onto your back. 

You're suddenly glad you spent so many days reading those astronomy books. The two of you spend the next several hours looking up at the stars as the clouds continue to part, pointing out constellations as they slowly sprawl out across the sky. 

========

Its been a few days since that night. 

Since then, the winter has only picked up in intensity. Snow already covers the streets, making trips outside even more of a hassle than before. Atleast you have another person in the group to keep you all company. 

"Doesn't seem to be anything in here." You say, slowly pushing the closet back into place. "Any luck on your end?" 

"No…" Bonnie says dejectedly, closing the cupboards over in the kitchen. They had insistent on joining you four on your trips outside. You all obviously said no, at first. It's far too dangerous out here for someone as young as them. But you all quickly learnt just how stubborn kids can be, and Bonnie is especially relentless.

Eventually, you all caved. Ever since the event in the alley, none of you had ever actually been in a direct confrontation (unless you count the incident with Bonnie), and you figured the city might finally be starting to get more peaceful. Leaving them on their own back in the apartment might turn out to be more dangerous anyway. 

You're not gonna let them fight anyone, of course, so they're currently helping you look through an abandoned apartment. The two of you aren't having much luck, however. You decide to call it quits and head back out in the main hallway, where the other three are waiting. 

You sigh. "We've been looting around the area for weeks at this point. I don't think there's much more left around here." They take your words as confirmation of yet another failed attempt.

"Well, we've managed to gather a decent stockpile over the last few weeks. We could go back to the apartment for the day and discuss our next move there?" Mira suggests, leaning up against the stairway. 

Bonnie interjects. "What's there to discuss?! There's only one way we're gonna find more stuff, and that's by going further out." 

Ultimately, you know they're right. While the local area has grown familiar and comfortable, supplies will eventually dwindle, and you won't be left with any choice but to venture further out. It's best to do it as soon as possible, while there's still something left out there. 

"I agree with Bonnie. We should push further into the city and see what we can find."

The others seem a bit more hesitant, though, but that shouldn't be a surprise. They've been the ones protecting you, so if something goes wrong, they will have to clean up your mess. 

If they have any objections, they don't voice them. The five of you head back out into the cold.

========

You're walking down unfamiliar streets. This is a part of the city you rarely visited before the pandemic, and you've had no reason to come here since. The air is thick with tension. You're not sure what you're going to find here.

Odile suddenly perks up. "Look, another one of those emblems."  You look to the side of the small, four-story building she's pointing towards. As you've been walking, you've noticed the same strange tag scattered about. It was difficult to discern at first, but it looks like a… front-facing bird skull? 

"It's so creepy. What do you think it could be for?" Mirabelle asks. She's been the most on edge ever since you came to the area. 

"Maybe… it was a symbol used by other survivors to mark something about the house? Like if it's already been looted, or dangerous, or something?" Isabeau suggests. It's certainly a possibility, but then why is it the only type of symbol you've seen? And why use such brutal imagery?

Odile seems to have another idea. One that's unfortunately more difficult to disprove. "It could be a gang marking its territory." You… can see the reasoning. 

The group goes quiet while the heaviness of that implication looms over you all. Now you feel especially guilty for pushing you all to venture into a potentially dangerous area. 

Surprisingly, Bonnie is the one to break the silence. "Well, we haven't seen anyone, have we? Plus, if it really did belong to some bad guys, we'd have been spotted by now when we're just standing outside gawking at it. It's probably abandoned!" 

You… suppose that's true, but…

"Well…" You start. "We haven't seen anyone yet , but let's not push our luck. If it really used to belong to a gang then we should be able to find something in there. We go in and out, then hurry back home." 

Everyone nods. Mirabelle looks about as nervous as the rest of you feel. 

Let's get this over with, and go home. 

As you approach, you note the door is already slightly ajar. Did the people here leave in a hurry? That increases the chance of them having left something behind, atleast. 

The five of you walk in, taking note of the four apartments in the hallway. All of them wide-open. The doors to one of them are even missing. To the left are stairs leading upwards to the rest of the complex, but they've been blocked off by stairs, tables and other furniture that have been piled on top of eachother. 

"Alright, we'll just check out that first apartment to the right, and then leave. Quick and easy." You say, unsure of who exactly you're trying to reassure. 

As you all enter the apartment, it instantly becomes clear you've hit the jackpot. Whoever used to inhabit this place must've REALLY left in a hurry, as food, water, and medicine are left scattered about all over the floor, tables, and chairs. It would take a while to grab everything on your own, but…

"We'll help." Isa says as the four of them start pacing around, stuffing as much as they can into their pockets (or in Bonnie's case, backpack). 

You start going around, picking up as much as you can and putting it into your own pockets. Idly, you continue to wonder about who used to live here. What made them leave in such a hurry? Everything is still in pristine condition, nothing even looks knocked over. Looking closer, you dont even see…

… any dust…

…

This place isn't abandoned. 

You turn to adress everyone. "We're leaving. Now. Grab whatever you have and go." 

They hear the urgency in your voice and immediately start heading out with you. "Siffrin? What's up?" Mira anxiously prods you for answers.

You step out into the hallway, just when you're about to answer her question when…

"Well would ya look at that. Looks like we've got a rat infestation on our hands." 

You're met with the sight of 3 men, all of whom have jackets with the same skull poorly painted on as the one on the side of the building. 3 men, 4 apartments, one without a door…

This… is an outpost, and you just robbed their damn storage, didn't you?

The man at the front takes out a pistol, aiming it between the five of you. Your blood runs cold. You're not fighting your way out of this.

"Now, this is all just a big misunderstanding, right? We can work something out, I'm sure…" he trails off. 

Looking out the door behind him, you see the evening sun illuminate the street. For a brief moment, you wonder if you'll get to see it rise.

========

"I gotta say, I'm fairly shocked you five have managed to survive this long while showing such piss-poor looting skills." The armed man taunts. The five of you have been sat down against a kitchen wall, being watched by the man with a gun. Odile and Isabeau to your left, Mira and Bonnie to your right. All your weapons were confiscated and put on the countertop several feet in front of you. Tantalizingly close, but you'll be shot dead before you make it to any of them.

Although… you still have your own gun, stashed away in your back pocket, hidden under your jacket. You don't want to use it unless strictly necessary, but it's not like the situation can get much more dire than this. You were the one who got you all into this mess, you will fix it.

The man watching you yawns. Seems he couldn't care less about any of you. You're all quiet. Hah, you might even say deathly quiet.

… That's not funny. 

"Alright, you two can start patting them down. Start with Mr. pretty boy on the right." The man says, casually pointing the barrel over at Isabeau. Your heart skips a beat.

It's just a matter of time before they find your gun. If you pulled it out now, you probably wouldn't be able to fire it off in time. You need a distraction. Desperately. 

"Honestly, I dunno whether to be angry or happy with you five. On one hand, I've had a LONG day. You unlucky bastards snuck in right at the tail-end of it. On the other hand, whatever stuff you've got on you will make a reeeal nice bonus." 

Your hands shake. You think about the gun. You think about how quickly you'll need to pull it out and aim it. You think about how you need to not miss. 

You think about the panic of a crowd, a stampede rushing out, getting pushed to the floor, a small stream of blood rushing down–

You break out in a cold sweat. 

"Nothing of interest, it's all just our stuff." The two lackeys have finished patting down Isabeau, and move on to Odile. Out of the corner of your peripheral vision, you notice Isa looking at you expectantly. 

You're next after Odile. They'll find the gun. You need to do something now. 

You look in front of you, the man looks disinterested. He's barely holding his gun up at you. You could try. You think about how the man's body would look with a bullet hole through it. You think about how the others will react. 

You think about the gun.

You think about the gun.

You think about the–

"Hey, check this out." One of the guys pulls out a long gold locket from one of Odile's pockets. It's one you've never seen before. "Mind telling us what this is?"

Odile is glaring daggers at the man, but keeps her composure. "It's just a pendant. It's useless to you." 

The armed man seems to disagree. "Let me see that. Might make a nice souvenir of this whole thing!" He says with a grin on his face. 

The man grabs the locket, inspecting it. The man fiddles around with it, trying to get it around his neck, but finds it awkward with only one hand. 

Time seems to slow, as the man forgets himself and

puts,

the gun,

on the counter.

He got too comfortable.

He seems to instantly realise his mistake, as he turns back around to it. Before your mind registers what you're doing, you've launched yourself from the wall, crossing the distance in a blink and hurtling yourself over the countertop. The gun, along with all your weapons, get thrown onto the ground. 

The room decends into chaos as everyone jumps to action. 

As the now formerly-armed man starts rushing towards you, you pick up the nearest item on the ground, Mirabelle's bat, and swing it at the man, hitting him right in the side of the head. He goes down in an instant. 

The guy who handed him the pendant is already rushing over to attack you, but is stopped by Isabeau putting him in a chokehold from behind, leaving him open to another swing from the bat. How did Isa get here so fast?

As you look back at Odile, it seems she and Mira already handled the last guy who was patting her down. 

That… went surprisingly well?? 

You walk over to the others. "Huh. Guess that's what happens when you underestimate a threat."

Mira doesn't look happy. "Yeah, that goes for us too, you know? I told you we should've gone back to the apartment!" 

Mirabelle… is right. Bonnie looks terrified, Odile seems exhausted, and looking over at Isabeau, he looks… mildly upset at you. 

"Sif? Why did you jump for the counter instead of…?" Isabeau looks conflicted.

That… wasn't the complaint you were expecting. 

Although, it is a good question. Why didn't you go for your own gun instead? Your body reacted before you, it seems. But why would he ask you that? It's not like he knows about the—

Bonnie screams. 

" BEHIND YOU! "

You whip around. You barely register the image of a knife being swung towards your face. 

You don't move out of the way in time. 

The pain doesn't instantly register, as you stagger and fall backwards. Half your vision disappears in an instant. You hear screams, but you can't tell where they're coming from. You recognise the man who was holding the gun, now instead holding a very bloodied combat knife. You assumed he was knocked out for good. You assumed he didn't have any other weapons.

You got too comfortable.

As you vaguely register Odile and Isabeau rushing towards the man, you look down and notice the stream of blood gushing down, staining your white jacket with red. The rest of your vision starts to swim. 

You notice someone crouched down next to you, yelling in a panic. You can't grasp the words. 

The world s l o w l y  g o  e   s    d   a   r   k

Chapter Text

You rush ahead of the others, opening the door to the apartment. 

"Hurry! Bring them into the living room!" 

Isabeau runs past you, carrying a limp Siffrin in his arms. Mirabelle and Bonnie follow closely behind, dropping their weapons by the entrance on the way in. 

You follow in afterwards and close the door behind you. Before you head further inside, you take a moment to lean against the door, and take a deep breath. You let the axe you've been holding fall to the ground. 

You pull your locket out of your pocket. Shit, you were this close to losing it. So close to losing the only picture you have left of him … If Siffrin hadn't chosen that moment to attack, then…

You put the locket away, and walk into the living room.

You look at Siffrin, laid down on the couch. It's not a pretty sight. Mirabelle had luckily been able to bandage their eye with the resources present at the outpost, but they were lacking in disinfectants, which you only had back here at the apartment. 

The bandages are starting to bleed through, and his white jacket, which previously blended in with the snow, is now stained a deep crimson from dried blood. They still haven't woken up, even after you all practically sprinted through the city to get back here. The sun fully set during your trip back. It's pitch black outside. 

Mirabelle is crouching down next to Siffrin. She's the only one with any medical experience, and even then it's only from a first aid course she took a few summer back. Still, it's the best you're gonna get. 

You feel useless. You have nothing to contribute. 

"Do you need any help for this, Mirabelle?" You ask. She turns towards you, looking tired and shaken. She was the first one by Siffrin's side when they fell, so she saw the worst of it. "I…" Her eyes suddenly turn more resolute, as she turns to address Isabeau. "Isabeau, bring me some gloves and disinfectant. I'll need you to stay close during this in case I need anything else." 

She turns back towards you. "And you, Odile…" She spares a glance at Bonnie, sitting down near the edge of the sofa. They're no longer crying like they were back at the outpost, but they don't look the best right now either. "Take Bonnie away, the wound isn't gonna be pretty to look at." 

Bonnie instantly jumps up. "NO! Don't send me away, I want to help Frin!" You can see their eyes starting to tear up again. 

There's nothing they can do. You know the frustration well. "Bonnie," you start, slowly walking up to them. "Come on, let's go back to your room." 

"But I…" They look back at Siffrin. For some reason, their resolve quickly falters. "... fine…". 

The two of you walk back to their room by the exit in silence. Once you get there, Bonnie sits down by the wall. You join them at their side. 

...You look out into the hallway.

From where you're sitting, you can still see your weapons in a pile by the entrance. You see the blade of your axe head poking through. It's stained with blood. 

You don't regret what you did. Not right now, anyway. But you do regret the fact that Bonnie had to see it. God, you promised to protect them and instead you all ended up almost getting killed on one of their first trips out with you. You wouldn't blame them if they decided they had better odds on their own, you can't protect any of them.

The two of you sit there in silence for several minutes. The only sounds you hear are muffled from down the hall. It sounds like Mirabelle talking to Isabeau. What do you do in this situation? What will Bonnie do? Ask to leave ? Your heart aches at the thought, but after what happened today, you don't think you could bring yourself to stop them. 

What they actually end up saying, however, catches you off guard. 

"... Are you going to throw me out?" They sound… terrified. They're scared of being kicked out ??

"What?? Bonnie, of course not, I was worrying you wouldn't wanna stay . Why would you think we'd kick you out?" 

"Because I was the one who said we should go further out! If I wasn't here, maybe you wouldn't even need to in the first place! Maybe you could have waited!" Bonne yells. 

After their brief outburst, they turn their head down and stare at the ground. You hear them sniffling. 

You don't know what to say. 

…Great. While you're here feeling sorry for yourself, Mirabelle and Isabeau are trying to save Siffrin's life , and you can't even do the bare minimum of helping Bonnie.

Have you always been this helpless ? 

You sigh. You need to calm down. It would be a disservice if you didn't atleast try to help. Maybe you can still salvage some of this. 

"Bonnie, what happened today was not your fault, okay? It wasn't anyone's fault." Except yours. "You weren't the one who lined us up against a wall, you weren't the one who confiscated our weapons, and you weren't the one who…" The words you were intending to say die on your tongue. "... hurt Siffrin." 

"It's not my fault, and yet I'm always there when it happens…" Bonnie mutters out.

…What? Has this happened before ? You suppose you know practically nothing about what they were up to in the months before you met them. You didn't want to pressure them into saying anything they didn't want to, but maybe that was yet another mistake. 

"Bonnie, what–" 

"What does THAT mean???" 

You startle. Mirabelle is standing by the entrance. 

"I, Uh. Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Isabeau and I finished cleaning Sif's eye so I went to go check on you two and…" … And she must've overheard. 

Mirabelle looks tired. Really tired. Looking over at her hands, you notice the tips are slightly bloody. You promised her a safe place to stay, and yet she's probably going to end up traumatised after this incident. You almost wonder if she would have been better off if you never took her in. 

She walks over and sits on the other side of Bonnie. "Look, you don't have to say anything you don't want to, but–" 

"It was my sister."

You and Mirabelle go quiet. You didn't even know they have a sister. Or, maybe had is the right word. You'd rather not think about that possibility.

"When they started shutting down all the bridges out of the city, Pétronille said we had to leave before we got trapped. But when we went over to one of them, there was a huge crowd all yelling and trying to get through." Bonnie takes a shaky breath. You note the name Pétronille . Must be their sister. 

"I don't remember what happened exactly. People kept getting more angry while trying to push through the barricades, and at some point I think I heard gunshots? Me and Nille ran away, but…" Silent tears have started streaming down their face. "She… fell. I saw her leg was bleeding. I didn't know how to help. She just… told me to run home. I didn't want to leave her, but I was scared, and…" 

You had heard about what happened when they started shutting down the exits to the city. Large riots had broken out, and you heard reports of things turning violent at the checkpoints, with people dying in the ensuing chaos. This is the first time you're hearing about gunshots, however. You always assumed it was a result of a crowd crush, or maybe blunt weaponry. Thinking back, that was definitely a naive assumption to make. 

"I waited for her, at home, for over two weeks, but she never came back. I was hungry, so…" 

So that's how they ended up off on their own, then. 

If their sister was shot in the leg during the chaotic start of the outbreak, and was stuck outside with the wound… You don't want to admit it, but you doubt she made it. Probably for the best not to say that, though. God, this poor kid.

Looking over at Mirabelle, she seems… upset, to put it mildly. It seems she's come to the same conclusion as you.

Bonnie continues. "... I should've told you all earlier, but… I don't know. I was scared, I guess? I'm sorry."

That seems to make Mirabelle react. "Bonnie! You don't have to apologise for not telling us stuff! We all have a right to our own stories and secrets, you shouldn't feel 'obligated' to tell us anything !" You're slightly taken aback by the force in her words. This day seems to have taken a toll on her. 

Bonnie doesn't seem convinced. "But I–"

"Listen, Bonnie." You can't just let Mirabelle do everything for you.  "You're not the only one here with secrets and stories they'd rather keep to themselves." 

You… didn't want to talk about this, but if it helps bonnie... 

"The truth is that this apartment… isn't even mine." 

"WHAT?!" Mirabelle once again startles you by yelling.

"Lower your voice, I don't want Isabeau hearing this!" You say as you hush her. 

You sigh. "My mother… left when I was rather young, so for as long as I can remember it's just been me and my dad. I really loved the guy, couldn't have asked for anyone better, honestly."

You barely know anything about your mother. She left when you were too young to remember her, and your dad rarely spoke of her. You don't find yourself thinking of her much anymore.

"When I went off to college, he eventually ended up moving here to this city for work. I continued visiting him every now and then, but I ended up working on the west coast, and it became difficult to travel across the country just to visit." 

You regret that, now. You never knew that it would be the last time you got to talk to him in person. 

Your mind briefly wonders when the last time you spoke to Siffrin was. 

…You don't want to think about it. They will wake up. They have to. 

You continue. "Before we even knew what the virus was, he was one of the first to get infected. He was in his seventies, and was hit harder than most… he called me, said he had ended up in the hospital. Said he wanted me to take care of the apartment while he was gone. I rushed over here, but I never got the chance to see him. They pronounced him dead by the time I got out of the airport."

You should've gotten here earlier. Instead, the last time you ever heard his voice was over the damn phone. First you failed him, now you've failed everyone else. 

"I… didn't leave the city after that. Not even when they announced the quarantine a few days later. Not when they started shutting down the exits. I just… stayed here, in his apartment. Couldn't bring myself to part ways with it." Through your coat, you clench the locket. It's the only photo you have left.

Bonnie seems to be looking at you in shock. "So… what was your job before the quarantine?" 

You give Bonnie a tired smile. "I'm just a software engineer, Bonnie. I was about as least prepared as I could possibly be." 

Bonnie gets a confused expression on their face. "A what engineer?"

Despite yourself, you chuckle. "I'll explain it to you another time." You turn over to Mirabelle. "I'd prefer it if the two of you didn't tell Isabeau or Siffrin any of this. As much as I hate to admit it, their silly theories do help the mood." 

Despite the circumstances, Mirabelle manages a weak smile. "Of course, Odile. Your secret is safe with me." 

She stands up. "Although, speaking of Siffrin and Isabeau, we should probably head back to the two of them. We should all be there when Siffrin wakes up!" She starts walking out. 

"Right." You say, standing up. You extend a hand to Bonnie. "Wanna come with? I understand if–"

Bonnie cuts you off. "No. I'll go." They grab your hand, pulling themselvesup, "And, uh. Thank you for telling me your story." 

"Has it changed anything?" 

Bonnie thinks for a moment. "No. I guess not. And neither does my story, does it?" 

"Hah, no. We'll still take care of you Bonnie." You say with a smile. You're glad you seem to have gotten through to them, atleast a little bit. 

God, you really are growing soft. 

As the two of you meet up with the rest in the living room, you see Isabeau sitting by the edge of the couch, having pulled up a chair to sit next to Siffrin. Siffrin is still unconscious, it seems, but atleast their bandages have been replaced with clean ones. Seems you have Mirabelle to thank for that. One of them also took off their jacket, leaving him in his black jumper underneath. Speaking of Mirabelle, though, Bonnie walks over to her, standing near the foot of the couch.

Looking at the four of them like this, you remember how you promised to keep them all safe here when you first met them. Actually, now that you think about it, you suppose you never formally invited Siffrin to move here permanently, did you? Maybe it's for the best. If you had invited him to stay here, just for them to lose their eye shortly after…

You really need to apologise to all of them for messing this up so bad. 

"I… want to apologise." You start. They turn towards you in confusion. "When I first invited you all to stay here I promised that you could be safe here. Clearly," you gesture towards Siffrin. "I failed." 

Isabeau tries to speak up. "Odile, you–"

"I understand if your trust in me has been broken. So if you wish, I won't get in your way if any of you decide to leave–"

" Odile! " Isabeau raises his voice. Alright fine, maybe you shouldn't have tried to just ignore him, but you wanted to say your piece.

Isabeau stands up and walks over to you. "If you hadn't helped me and Mirabelle that night, we'd very likely both be dead today. You don't get to take that back now . I don't know what kind of guilt this incident has gotten into you, but none of this is your fault." 

Bonnie also speaks up. "Yeah! You told me this wasn't anyone's fault! Why are you taking that back?!"

"Well, I'm the olde-" 

"That doesn't matter! I've been much happier staying here than I would've been on my own!!" Bonnie is yelling. Hearing them say that though…

You… feel a bit better. Hah, look at you, being cheered up by a preteen. You thought it was supposed to be the other way around.

Still though, you can't bear to look at Siffrin in the state they're in right now. You look away in guilt. "Alright, fine. Maybe you three don't feel particularly betrayed. But what about Siffrin? I was the one who noticed the tags first. I should've said something earlier, made us leave earlier." 

"I…" A raspy voice answers from the couch. "Don't think it would've made much of a difference." 

"SIF?!" Isabeau whips around, and is by their side in a moment. He must've been incredibly worried about them. It doesn't take a genius to realise the two of them have been crushing on eachother recently. You think it's kind of cute, honestly. 

"C-... could I get some water?" Siffrin's voice sounds dry. You're surprised they can even speak. He can barely keep his eye open. Seems they're slowly realising what's happened. 

"I'll go!" Bonnie runs off into the kitchen. 

"Odile…" Siffrin turns their head towards you and slowly sits up. "Siffrin! You shouldn't try to stand the moment you wake up!!" Mirabelle scolds. 

Siffrin ignores the three of them fussing over him, and instead looks directly at you. 

"Odile, regardless of who's fault it is, it won't change the past. For what it's worth, I don't blame you. I should've probably been paying more attention…" Siffrin pauses as Bonnie comes back with a glass of water. He chugs it down. 

"I, um, don't think I can go back to my own apartment, at this rate, so…" Siffrin shyly tries to hide themselves in their jacket, but it's not there. "If you'll have me, then I'd like to start staying here, too…"

He… would really stay here? Despite everything that's happened? 

"... Of course, Siffrin." 

They seem mildly shocked, and a wide smile breaks out on their face. "Thank you!" He exclaims, then coughs.  

… Did he seriously think there was even a chance of you saying no?? Maybe Siffrin wasn't doing so well before this happened either…

Their smile slightly falters. "Although, with that said, I think I need to lay down. I feel really dizzy…" 

Mirabelle pipes up. "That's what I TRIED to warn you about!!" 

You still feel guilty about what happened. Despite what Bonnie said, they still probably do too. You'll all probably be haunted by this night for a while. But, for now with the five of you all together…

…You think you can get used to this.

Chapter Text

"...Frin?"

You slowly open your eyes. How long have you been asleep?

"Frin! Wake up!!"

The smell of food slowly drives you to sit up. Bonnie is standing next to your bed. 

"Frin, you almost slept the whole day away! Come on, you can grab something to eat in the kitchen." They say as they walk out.

You look around your room. 

God, it really is your room now, isn't it? It's been a week since you asked to live with your friends, and Odile actually said yes! You couldn't believe it!!

Ok, well, technically it's not just your room. There aren't enough available, but Isabeau suggested sharing with him, so now the two of you get to be roommates! You can't remember the last time you felt this happy about things. Losing your eye might've inadvertantly been one of the best things that's happened to you so far. 

… Ok, saying that out loud actually sounds incredibly sad, so let's maybe dial it back a bit. 

Things aren't necessarily perfect either. Since you're still recovering (even though you've INSISTED you're fine), the others have made you stay behind while they go off looking for stuff. Also, Bonnie is staying at the apartment now, since the others very firmly decided it was too dangerous to risk them getting involved in another incident. 

All this means that their trips outside take longer, and they usually don't bring back as much as you all used to. You've avoided mentioning it so far, but your supplies are starting to dwindle. You'll need to figure something out soon. 

You slowly stand up and stretch. You're in your black jumper, since you haven't worn a jacket to bed the past few days. Your old white one is still bloody, and there's not a lot of functioning washing machines around. It feels… wierd. Like something is missing…

"Frin! Are you coming or what?!" Bonnie shouts from out the hall. 

You suppose it's not worth thinking about. 

Heading out into the hallway and towards the kitchen, you see Bonnie at the kitchen counter cooking something with some of the ingredients you have left. They've proven themselves surprisingly resourceful, all things considered. You could imagine them becoming a pretty good chef in the future. 

… You haven't thought about having a future in a while. Guess that's just another unusual new normal in your life. It's nice. 

"Smells good, Bonbon." You say, sitting down at the table. They already prepared a plate for you. It seems to be some sort of pasta.  

… Ok, it is nice to be pampered a bit after being injured, but this can't last forever. You need to start pulling your weight, especially if you're going to actually be living with them permanently. You're not useless yet… you hope. 

You start eating. "So, how long have the other three been out?" You say absentmindedly between bites. 

"About 3 hours. They should probably start heading back soon." 

You look outside. It seems to be midday. If you had to guess, there's probably only going to be around 3 or 4 more hours of sunlight left. Winter has started significantly shortening the days. Wow, you really did almost sleep away the whole day. 

You and Bonnie continue eating over the next 30 minutes, chatting idly, until eventually…

"We're back!" You hear Mirabelle say from the entrance. She sounds fairly excited. Did they find something out there? 

You start walking out as Bonnie hurries to meet the others.  

The three of them have started bringing backpacks on their trips outside, in case they end up finding more than they can carry. You figure it wouldn't hurt, just in case. But the backpacks dont seem particularly full. 

"Did you find something?" You tentatively ask. 

"Well, we didn't find much in the way of resources , but…" Isabeau starts.

"But we did run into another survivor." Odile continues. You're surprised they're so laid back about this, considering the last time the five of you ran into survivors, you…

Nevermind.

"Apparently, there is still a small contingency of the government working on the other side of the island. Turns out they've actually got a lot of people and resources, including some small greenhouses that they're using to actually grow food. " Odile eventually finishes. 

You're… skeptical. Why would this person leave, if all that was true? 

Then again, it's not like you all can afford to stay here for the next few months either. Winter isn't even at it's worst yet, and you've been hit by a resource drought at the worst possible moment. The local area can't sustain you indefinitely. You need a more permanent residence. If this camp exists, and they're willing to take you all in…

"...Maybe it could be worth investigating." You eventually respond.

"We thought so too." Odile agrees. "But it's very far, and it's about time we relocate soon anyway. If we're going to go, we should all go together, and… possibly be prepared to leave this apartment behind." She seems hesitant to leave this place. You again wonder what this place actually means to her. How long was she living here before the quarantine?

 "Regardless though!" Mirabelle says, moving up towards you. "Since you're going to be staying with us, you'll probably want to bring some stuff from your apartment over!" 

…Huh. Yeah, you suppose you haven't actually been back there in over a week at this point. Good riddance. 

"There's still a few hours before sunset, so we should have enough time for all of us to go and bring back anything you wanna keep!" Isabeau adds from behind her.

Wait. 'All of us'? Guess you do need to actually join them to pick out what you wanna keep. You just didn't expect to already have to go out on another trip, albeit a fairly short and safe one. 

"I… I guess I'll go get ready." You eventually stammer out. Real smooth. 

"Heck yeah! I get to see Frin's apartment!" Bonnie enthusiastically runs past the others and into their room to prepare. 

You walk back into your and Isabeau's room. Checking the closet at the back, you look for any spare jacket that could fit you. 

Lets see… its been a while since you had to prepare for one of these trips. You've gotta get your jacket, scarf…

You need….

…

….Where's the gun?

…

…You are such an idiot!!!

You've been staying here for a WEEK and you only NOW REMEMBERED?!

Your breathing starts to hurry. 

THINK . It was under your jacket, in your backpocket. When you woke up, it was already gone, so atleast ONE of them must've seen it. 

Why haven't they said anything?! Is there even anything to say? It's just a gun, right?! 

No, no, but they'll wonder why you haven't said anything about it!! So why hasn't anyone said anything?! Do they just not care? WHERE THE HELL DID THEY PUT IT–?!

"Sif? Are you okay?" 

Your head whips around. Isabeau is standing by the entrance. Pull yourself together. 

"Is-Isabeau…" You're stammering. You're going to give yourself away you idiot. "When I was unconscious, what did you do with my jacket after you took it off…?" God, could you be any more obvious?

Something in Isa's eyes seems to click. He sighs, and closes the door behind him.  

Wordlessly, you watch as he quietly makes his way over to where you're standing by the closet. You're too scared to move. Why the hell are you so damn scared?! It's just Isabeau!

Slowly, he sets aside some clothes piled together at the bottom, and pulls out your bloodied jacket. It almost looks like he intentionally hid it at the bottom of the pile. 

He opens one of the pockets, and pulls out…

Your heart skips a beat. 

"I already knew you had been carrying around a gun." He's tentatively holding it in his hands, careful about where he's pointing it. 

"When Mira went to check in with Odile and Bonnie, I took off your jacket and hid your gun. As far as I know, I am still the only one who knows about it." 

… So only Isabeau knows…

You… feel a bit relieved, actually. You'd rather he didn't know, of course, but if it's only him, then…

Your breathing starts to slow down.

"Listen, Sif…" Isabeau continues. "That day, at the outpost. I could tell you were planning something, but I thought it would involve the pistol. When I instead saw you throw yourself against the counter , do you know how scared I was?"

… Scared?

"You chose the most reckless, and dangerous option, when you had a GUN on you, Sif." He gently cups your cheek with his free hand, and places his thumb over your bandages. You can't help shudder a bit at the touch. "I can't be sure if this would've been prevented if you had chosen differently , but…"

Looking at his pained expression hurts. You should just tell him the truth.

He sighs. "Look, I'm not going to force you to tell me what the deal with this thing is. I don't know why you didn't use it at the outpost, and I don't know why you seem so hesitant to even tell us about it's existence, but…" 

Isabeau looks into your eye. 

"Tell us eventually, please? Knowing you're in pain, whether physically or emotionally, it hurts , Sif. It hurts all of us. We want to help you. We can't do that if you don't tell us anything."

… But you don't want to tell him, or any of the others for that matter. What will they think of you?

…

But…

"... Maybe one day." You settle on a compromise. 

Isabeau gives you a soft smile "That's more than enough for me, Sif." 

You watch him as he uncups your face, slowly stands up, and walks out of the room. 

… Guess you need to pick out a jacket and scarf now. 

========

"So, here it is!" You say as you open the door to your apartment, and Bonnie runs inside. 

"Woah! It's…!" Bonnie's enthusiasm quickly falters. "...Small and boring." 

Yeah. Fair enough. 

"It's been a while since we've all been here, hasn't it?" Mirabelle comments. It's not like you've all had a reason to return. Like Bonbon said, there's not many exciting things happening here.

"Yeah, hopefully this time we'll return without any rascals going through our stuff." Odile says, ruffling up Bonnie's hair. 

Slowly, you start to tune out the others as you look at your apartment. There's really nothing here you want to keep. For the longest time, you just brought what you had to to survive. Both before and after the quarantine.

Although, you suppose there is one exception.

You walk over to your nightstand, looking at the astronomy books that you've piled on top. You spent a lot of your early days of the quarantine reading these… 

"Want to bring them?" 

You jolt a little. Isabeau is suddenly standing right next to you. 

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I enjoyed reading these." You turn around to face him, and give him a smirk. "I'd give it five stars ." 

He laughs. It's nice to listen to. "Siffrin, if you keep making puns like that…" Oh? "You're gonna send my sides into orbit." 

… Wow. Your cheeks are flushing. Man, you've got it BAD . 

Luckily before your silence drags on too long, someone interrupts. 

"Ugh you two are the worst." Bonnie groans.

You both chuckle to yourselves as you get back to the task at hand. 

Isabeau takes the books and puts them in his backpack.

"Anyways, anything else you want to bring?" 

You look around some more, and fail to find anything of sentimental value. Wow, you really were living a minimalist life for a while, weren't you? You don't know if you'd be able to go back to this kind of life anymore…

"I think I'm done!" You say. 

"Alright, then let's head back before it gets dark." Odile says as the others start to filter out of the apartment. You're about to follow when Isabeau suddenly holds you back a bit. 

"Hey, Sif…" 

Uh oh, did you do something wrong?

"I know we were just cracking jokes about it, but were these books really all you had for two months? " He's speaking in a hushed tone. He must not want the others to hear. 

"It… wasn't that bad…" Your excuse is getting harder to say. You felt fine, didn't you? 

"It's just… sorry for being blunt here, but being all alone here for so long must've been incredibly lonely, no?"

… Yeah.

"It was." You sigh. "But…" You muster up the courage to look him in the eyes. "I haven't felt that way for a while now, Isa." You say with a smile. 

Isabeau returns it with his own. It's pretty. 

"I'm glad, Sif." 

"In fact…" He looks at you with a curious expression. Guess he wasn't expecting you to keep going. "I'd say I'm over the moon. " 

You hear him laugh once again. 

Yeah, there's no way you could go back.

========

"Alright, so we're all in agreement?" Odile says as she pulls out a map of the city and lays it out across the living room table. You had all agreed that moving across the city was the best move, regardless of if there was a group of survivors there or not. However, that would likely mean not returning to this place in a while, if ever . 

"I mean, yeah but…" Mirabelle seems hesitant. "Are you really sure you're willing to leave this place behind, Odile…?" 

Odile sighs. "I'm not thrilled, but…" She looks around. "I think it's about time I moved on." 

This apartment must mean a lot to her. Suddenly, you feel a bit bad for always trying to pry into her past. Maybe you should've let it go…

"Regardless, we still need to figure out how to actually get to the other side of the city." She says, as she turns back to the map set out in front of you five. 

Usually the trip should only take a few hours if you're being careful, but…

"We can't just take a straight line from here to there." Mirabelle finishes your thought. "We'd be passing by right next to the outpost where…" 

You don't miss how she briefly glances at your missing eye. They all seem hesitant to bring it up. You… don't know how to feel about that. You don't like the idea of them thinking of you as fragile.

"We'll need to take a detour, then." Odile points to the map as she speaks. "Go a few blocks out and around. Should be safer."

"And if we don't make it before sunset?" Bonnie asks from where they're standing next to Isabeau.

Isabeau chuckles. "Then we'll just set up camp in some abandoned apartment, right? It'll be like a sleepover!" He turns to Odile. "We have sleeping bags, right?"

She nods. "Just enough, yeah."

With that, no one else had any complaints. By the time you had finished planning your route, you were all ready to head to bed and start the journey tomorrow. 

You'll finally get to go on another trip with everyone…

As you stare up at the ceiling of your room, with sleep slowly claiming you, you find yourself looking forward to the day tomorrow. 

========

As you turn the corner, the first thing you notice are the cars. 

"Talk about a traffic jam, huh?" Isabeau says behind you.

All along the road, as far down the street as you can see, are piles and piles of abandoned cars. Strange. There was little traffic on the day the quarantine was announced, why is this road such an exception?

"I heard about this." Odile comments as she walks ahead of you. "A couple days after the final bridge had been closed, there was a rumor spread about another possible temporary opening down that way." She points off into the distance. "Pretty much everyone who still had the means tried to hurry over, but you can see how that turned out." She gestures out towards the lines of cars.

"Pretty sure that was one of the last few days of things being somewhat orderly, before everything deteriorated to the state you see today." 

… You remember the day the roads out of the city shut down. That was still considered part of the "okay-ish early days"? You're glad you managed to keep your trips outside to a minimum in the months after. 

"Not to be a buzzkill, but we should focus." Mirabelle interjects. "We're close to that gang's territory. Keep an eye out for the sigil, ok?" 

You note that she's… shaking slightly. Something about it puts you on edge. Last time you saw her this visibly nervous was at the outpost, just before you went inside…

Regardless, everyone heeds the warning, and goes tense.

The five of you continue trudging down the street, peering into cars and buildings as you pass. A lot of the windows on the vehicles have long since been broken by looters. Inside the cars, there's not a lot to see except for the occasional blood splatter. You try to keep Bonbon from looking too closely into any of the cars, just in case there turns out to be any… 

Nevermind. Don't think about it. 

As you manage to shake off your thoughts, you focus back in on your senses to distract yourself. You listen to the sounds around you. The steps of your friends, the gentle wind passing through windows and…

A rustling from the alleyway to your left. 

You hold up your hand as everyone stops behind you. 

"... I think I heard something." Your voice comes out as a whisper, as you narrow your eyes down the alleyway. It's dark, with dumpsters lining both sides. At the other end you can see it opens up on another street. 

You start to step forward to investigate, when a hand holds you back. You shudder slightly, even though you know it's just Isabeau again.

"Siffrin, are you sure about this? I can check if you'd–" You shove his hand off and move forward. "It's fine, Isa. I've got this."

It's not that you don't appreciate his concern or anything but…

… You don't like feeling so useless. 

As you walk in you make your way down to the first dumpster, where you think you heard the sound coming from. As you slowly peer your head around you find…

Nothing. 

You turn around to the others. Isabeau is standing slightly ahead, as if waiting to jump in. Is he really that worried about you?

"See? Nothing to worry about!" 

You watch as they all sigh out of relief, and a quiet tension that was hanging over the air disappears. 

Isabeau is looking at you with an anxious tint in his eye. "You know what, Mira? I think I'm starting to understand what you mean by…"

Your body instantly tenses as you see Isabeau's expression turn to horror. 

"SIFFRIN BEHIND Y–" 

You don't need to hear him finish his sentence.

You whip around in time to see a man rushing towards you with a knife. AGAIN. Can't catch a break, can you?

Luckily, you manage to dash out of the way this time, and the man cuts into air. 

"Damnit!" He turns to look down the alleyway. "WE'VE BEEN SPO–" 

The man doesn't get to finish his sentence as Isabeau sprints in and knocks him to the ground. Odile comes rushing up behind him. As the three of you look down the alleyway, you suddenly see a whole group of 5 emerge behind the rest of the dumpsters lining the alley. Were they all just waiting here??

Looking closer at their clothes you see… An emblem. 

It's the same one as the one at the outpost. Damnit, they must've spotted you at a distance and followed you.

You can't risk fighting them. You step in front of Isabeau and Odile and start pushing them out of the alleyway. 

"EVERYONE RUN!"

As the three of you make it out, you join up with Mirabelle and Bonnie and start sprinting down the street, the cars passing you by in a blur.

They are for you, anyway. You're the fastest of the group, so you're gaining a bit of distance on the others…

As you turn around to make sure they're not falling too far behind, you notice the gang members aren't chasing you, but are gathering at the exit to the alley. 

Your friends catch up to you.

"Siffrin?! Now's not the time to start sightseeing, we need to run!!" Mirabelle is yelling at you in a panicked voice, but you don't listen.

… Something's off.

As you look closer at the five men, you think you recognise one of them from the outpost. They're all just… looking at you, discussing something…

Time seems to slow, as you watch him reach into his pocket and…

… You see the man pull out a gun, and aim it directly at you…

"GET TO COVER!" 

You tackle Mirabelle to the ground as you fall behind a car. You hear a loud bang, followed by the sound of a window shattering behind you. How are there even more windows to shatter in the first place?!

You look at the others. Odile was quick to get behind cover, but Bonnie is getting dragged along by Isabeau. They look like a deer caught in the headlights. Your heart sinks.

You scream. "BONNIE! GET DOWN!" 

"W-what? I–" 

Their words are cut off by another gunshot. 

"AH!" 

They fall to the ground, clutching their head.

…This can't be happening.

"BONBON!" 

You scramble over to them on all fours, still pinned down by the gunfire. Their eyes are filled with tears, but they manage to look at you regardless. 

"I-... I'm okay! I-it just… p-passed right by my head. The s-sound shocked me, is all!"

…

…

You were…

… So close to losing them.

…You might still end up losing them. All of them, if you don't figure out a way out of this…

…Your hand reaches for the back of your jacket…

And you grab the gun. 

You're not losing them here. 

You refuse.

You turn around, and throw yourself up as you aim down the sights at the five men who are now moving towards you. 

Looks like they didn't expect you to also be armed.

…The gun goes off.

========

… 

They're all looking at you. 

You can't bear to turn your head up and look them in the eyes, but you know they are. They're just sitting there, in silence, looking at you. You don't know what you'll see if you dare to turn your head up. Fear? Disgust?

You continue to stare at the linoleum flooring. You had all decided to get off the street for the day and spend the night in an abandoned apartment. Normally, you'd have looked forward to something like this, but now…

"... Siffrin?" You flinch. Mirabelle's voice sounds apprehensive. Like she's approaching a dangerous animal. They're all going to leave you.

"... Are you okay?" She shuffles over to you and… grabs your hand? "You're shaking."

Slowly, you tilt your head upwards and look into her eyes. She seems… worried. For… you? 

Odile joins in from the other side of the room. "Siffrin, how long have you had that gun? Did you somehow grab it from the outpost when we weren't looking?" 

You stay silent. You can't answer. You instead turn towards Isabeau with a pleading look. Bonnie is clinging to their side. They don't seem to want to talk to anyone either. 

He sighs.

"They've atleast had it since we met. I noticed it shortly after." Isabeau says for you. 

"What? How did none of us ever notice? Why didn't either of you say anything–?" Odile suddenly falls silent. You've curled yourself into your jacket as much as you can. 

She sighs, and walks over to you.

"Siffrin, you don't seem like the type to have owned a gun before the quarantine… So, how did you get it? What happened? "

You don't want to think about it. You don't want to say it. Not to them . They'll think you're a monster. They'll leave you. And then you'll be stuck alone to rot again. Things will never be the same.

…

… And yet… you're so tired of lying.

"It…

…happened near the start of the quarantine, on my first trip outside."

========

It's been several days now since the announcement. Things don't seem to be particularly… calming down. You had a few days worth of food, sure, but you werent really expecting to be stuck inside for months on end either. 

Just this morning, they announced they were stopping all traffic in and out of the city by sunset. You don't see what the point is, since there's already reports of cases popping up around the world. This thing apparently has an incubation period of several weeks, so everyone who was exposed, wherever the hell ground zero was, then went on home from their business trips and vacations none the wiser. You were hoping this would blow over but it seems like it'll still take a while. 

…Why the hell aren't the vaccines working?

Focus . 

With all traffic stopping, stores will start to run out of food. You've heard stories on the news about swathes of people panic buying and leaving store shelves empty. Avoiding the virus is fine and all, but it would be a bit embarassing if you ended up starving to death instead. You dont want to leave, but you don't see any other choice. 

You put on a large black hooded jacket, and the largest scarf you can find to cover your mouth and nose. Not like you've gone outside yet to pick up face masks. 

You walk down to the nearest store you can find that still has anything on its shelves. You notice a large crowd gathering near a specific chain down the street. You see a truck pulling away…

They must've restocked just now. Better hurry while there's still anything left. 

As you get to the entrance, you see the inside of the store is in disarray, with people desperately trying to get their hands on anything they can get. 

You start pushing your way through the crowd. 

There's way too many people in the main area of the shop. You feel bad for the poor employees who had to work today. You send a silent thanks to the universe for not being deemed an 'essential employee'. You're shocked that any of these stores are even open in the first place. 

Although… Noting how busy the employees are, would they notice if you snuck in the back? It's not like you're gonna be able to get your hands on anything out here . 

You make a run for it, shoving your way past the 'employees only' door and into the back. There's luckily still a few crates here, and looking inside it appears to be… MREs? Are things seriously so bad that they've already started handing out rations ? 

You can't waste time thinking about it, you'll take what you can get. Your jacket luckily has more than enough pockets to stuff several of the things inside. You manage around 10 until you have to leave. 

Sneaking back outside, you look out at the increasingly chaotic crowd. Seems like more people have noticed the ruckus, and are trying to get their own share. The guys behind the counter don't seem particularly bothered though. You suppose after several days of this the chaos starts to become routine. Or maybe they're just completely detached at this point. Who knows. 

Either way, no one seems to have noticed you. You sneak back into the crowd, and start to push your way back through towards the exit when suddenly–

"Hey." 

A hand grabs hold of your shoulder and digs in their fingers. 

Before you get to fully turn around a man presses up against your side. His eyes look tired, like he hasn't slept in days. 

"I saw you go into the backroom. I know you grabbed something. Hand it over."

…Is he joking? You try to pull away when-

"I'm not asking."

You feel cold metal press into your side. 

You look down. 

A small pistol is aimed at you.

You look around. The crowd around you is too swept up in the chaos to notice. 

The pistol presses itself further in. The man must've noticed your glances. 

"Don't be stupid. Don't try anything. Just hand it over. Please." A desperate undertone marks the man's voice. He almost sounds like he's about to pass out. 

… You can't believe this is happening. Just a week ago you were complaining about work, and now you're being held at gunpoint for rations. HOW THE HELL IS THIS–?

The crowd suddenly lurches forward. The man stumbles forward, bumping into you and…

…And the gun goes off as it hits the floor.

Suddenly the crowd's yelling turns to screams. You fall over in the ensuing stampede, and a sharp pain hits your leg as someone almost crushes it beneath their heel. Your pained pleas for help are drowned out in the pandemonium. 

As the crowd starts to funnel out, you take a look at your surroundings. The man is still on the floor, almost passed out, but slowly getting back up. You notice the gun laying on the floor between you. 

You scramble over and grab it, and then instantly turn to follow the crowd out of the building.

You stumble over debris and garbage left behind. You can barely walk 3 feet without tripping over yourself. Your leg is throbbing. You can feel your eyes start to swell with tears. 

"h-... H-HEY!"

You turn around and see the man has stood back up. He picks up a small metal rod from the ground. 

"I-... I'm not going home empty-handed…" 

He starts to walk towards you. 

… Your leg is in too much pain. You won't be able to escape. You're trapped. You're going to DIE HERE AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO!

… Nothing except …

Except…

…Another gunshot reverberates through the store. 

…The man is no longer chasing you. 

With a limp, you make your way home. 

…And you don't…

…think about…

…anything.

========

Tears stain your cheeks as you finish recounting the events of that day. 

"I-I don't know who that man was. I don't know if he had a f-family, or pets, or even friends . I don't know anything about him, and yet I…" 

… You took him away from all of them. For what? To save yourself? What makes you so special? 

…

Your friends don't say anything. You don't look at them. 

They know now how horrible of a person you are. How selfish you are. Will they ever trust you again? Would they ever believe you if you said you'd do anything for them? How should they know you won't kill them to save yourself? 

… Even though the truth is the exact opposite. 

… 

Suddenly, You hear a small sob from Mirabelle, breaking you out of your thoughts. "S-Siffrin!" She… throws her arms around you? "I-I'm so sorry! You should've never had to make that choice in the first place!" 

… What?

Odile walks over and puts a hand on your shoulder. "Siffrin, you have no idea what could've happened if you didn't decide to defend yourself. What matters is that you're alive , and here with us. We wouldn't trade that for anything."

… Does she even realise what she's saying?

Isabeau comes up next to you, bringing Bonnie in tow. Surprisingly, Isabeau looks more anxious than them. As Bonnie wordlessly hugs you arm, you can tell that he wants to say something to you. 

And you…

You can't handle this right now. 

You stand up, shaking everyone off. "I-I'm sorry. I need to get some air." 

You walk to the back of the apartment and exit onto the small balcony, just barely away from everyone's line of sight.

You… don't understand. You don't understand any of it. Not their reactions, not their hugs, not the way they still look at you as if they consider you a friend.

You don't understand anything. 

The door to the balcony creaks open, and Isabeau walks out. 

"Hey, Sif. Sorry to intrude."

You… suppose you don't mind. 

He sits down next to you. 

"Look, I wanted to say this inside before you suddenly left but…" Hah, yeah, that flee was really effective wasn't it? 

He grabs your cheek and turns you around to face him. You don't flinch this time. He's got the same scared expression as he had inside. 

"... Thank you, Siffrin. For telling us." 

…

"Then why do you look so scared?" 

He seems surprised to hear you speak. Or maybe it's at your words? You're too tired to tell anymore. It's been a long day. 

"Siffrin, you just told me how you almost died, of course i'd be scared! I already had to witness it once, and to hear it almost happen again, I–"

"And why are you all so worried for me?!" You yell out. 

He's taken aback. "W-What?"

Your words come spilling out. "I KILLED someone, Isabeau! I did it again today! I never even told the others that I had a gun! And yet now, after everything, you all just… accept it?! You hug me, and tell me you're scared for me, and- and–..!"

Your words trail off as you break down into tears. 

"... And I just… d-don't understand how you can all care about someone like me…" 

At that, he brings himself closer to you. 

" Siffrin. I told you, didn't I? We want to help you. Because we care about you. You've had to make horrible choices to defend not only yourself, but to protect us. We wouldn't abandon you because of that." 

He pulls you away slightly to look into your eye.

"And for what it's worth, you're not the only one in this group who's done that."

… Wait, what? "... Who… Who else…?"

Isabeau seems to be recalling a bad memory. "Back at the outpost, when you first passed out, Odile and I rushed the guy who stabbed you, and…" He takes a few deep breaths. "I didn't have any weapon on me, but Odile had an axe, Sif. She did what she had to to protect us. To protect you. And I don't doubt for a second that she'd do it again if she had to."

…You… Didn't know. 

"All that is to say, we care about you because we love you, Sif. Your story to us isn't some criminal indictment, but a traumatic story of something that happened to our friend. "

… Your mind takes a second to process what he's saying.

They all… truly care about you? Like you care about them? The same way you love them?

A silence drapes itself over the two of you, and you turn around to look out at the street. This apartment isn't as high up as Odile's, so you can't see over the buildings across from you. 

"... It's going to get cold out here. Do you want to head back inside?" Isabeau asks.

"... No. Not yet. Would you… stay here with me for a little bit?" 

He gives you a soft smile. 

"Of course, Sif."

========

When the two of you finally head back inside, you're met with your concerned friends once again overwhelming you with hugs and words of assurance. This time, you welcome it with open arms. After a long evening of tears and worries, the five of you finally start to settle into your sleeping arrangements for the night. Once again, you've all decided to have a sleepover in the same room. This time, Bonnie decided to join you all. 

As you stare up at the ceiling, you silently lament the mild buzz of adrenaline keeping your brain awake despite the complete state of exhaustion your body is in. You're reminded of the last sleepover you had, when you talked to Bonnie on the balcony. Hah, that night you thought your friends wouldn't ever let you live with them. Look at you now. 

… Are you seriously feeling smug right now? Ugh, you're such a dork. 

You turn over to your side, being met with the sight of Isabeau's back. You suppose you have him to thank for all of this, right? He was the one who originally intervened in that alley, weeks ago. God, things really have changed so much in such a short amount of time. 

You… want him to know how much you appreciate it. How much you appreciate him. How much you…

… Maybe he'd feel the same way? Usually you wouldn't ever dare to entertain the thought, but recent events have proven your gut instincts can't always be trusted…

You reach out, and tap his shoulder.

"Hey, Isa, are you awake?" You whisper to him. 

Slowly, he turns around to face you. He looks incredibly sleepy. It's cute.

"Yeah, what's up?" 

… Oh, god. Now you have to actually use your words. 

"Um. Well. I uh–"

"Sif?" His expression is starting to turn into mild concern.

Ok, this is already a mess. You just need to say it now , or else you're never going to feel this brave again.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm really glad you saved me in that alleyway all those weeks ago. It's thanks to you that I'm no longer in that cramped apartment sleeping on the couch and waiting for some trip-gone-bad to kill me." Your words are once again spilling out. You don't care anymore.

"Siffrin, that's kinda–" 

"And it's all because you saved me back then! And I appreciate the way you always laugh at my jokes, and join in to annoy the others, and that you're always looking out for me even when im being difficult, and i just-, I just really, REALLY like you, okay?!" 

"God, can you two lovebirds keep it down?" You freeze in terror as you hear Odile's voice. You thought everyone else was asleep. Damnit. Isabeau starts to giggle at you. 

"W-what's so funny?" 

"Sorry, sorry! It's just… You look so red in the face right now." 

WHAT?! "Isa!! I don't!!" 

"Stop being gross! Some of us want to sleep!!" 

Oh god, now Bonnie's up too. 

"Sorry, sorry…" You both quiet down, and let the silence envelop the room again. 

… Well, that went about as terribly as it could have. And you haven't even gotten a response from Isa! He's just laying there, looking at you with his dumb, cute smile and–

Suddenly, he pulls his arms out of sleeping bag and pulls you closer, until you're right up against eachother. He leans his head over to your ear. 

"I love you too, Sif."

… Damnit, you've really got it bad…

As you slowly drift off to sleep in his arms, you figure it's not the worst thing in the world. 

Chapter Text

"Hey, look! I think I see it up ahead!" You point towards a tall gate, with what looks like two guard booths on either side. 

"It doesn't look particularly welcoming…" Odile hums next to you. "But I suppose that kind of attitude would be hard to come by these days." 

"It's not completely gone, though…" You hear Bonnie mumble under their breath. You decide not to comment on it.  

You instead examine the gate more closely. It's set up to cover the entire street from one end to the other, connected between two buildings.  You can't see that far behind it, but it looks to be about halfway down the street. Only one way to approach, from the front. They've probably already spotted you, but if they haven't, they'll see you coming. 

Siffrin steps up behind you. "We should probably have something of a plan. Anyone want to lead the negotiations?" 

The five of you go quiet. You would, but… 

Well, it's a lot of pressure, ok?!

Odile sighs. "I'll do it." The four of you give a slight cheer as she starts walking in front. 

As the five of you pass over a crossing and make your way down the street, you notice floodlights set up on the guard towers. It's still daylight, so they have no reason to use them now, but… they're really prepared, aren't they?

When you get close enough to get a good look behind the gate, two guards come out from either side. The one on your left approaches with a wary look. She looks about your age, with short blonde hair and round glasses. 

"We haven't seen you around before. Who are you?" She's holding what looks like a hunting rifle. Her friend behind her is watching you carefully. You're suddenly very glad that you're not the one doing the talking. 

Odile starts. "We heard from a survivor you've got a camp set up here. We've slowly been running out of resources, and were wondering if you'd be willing to help us out, or maybe even take us in."

She grumbles slightly. "Sorry ma'am, but we don't have the supplies to help you. We don't run a charity here. If you want something, whether that's food, medicine or shelter, you'll have to give something in return." She stands up straighter. "Whether that's through work or trade is up to you, but we're not in a position to be giving out stuff for free, not right before the worst of the winter." 

Yeah, you figured that part was too good to be true. Still, atleast they're open to the idea of trade… Maybe… 

In an usual burst of confidence, you take the lead and step ahead. 

 "Well, what kind of work do people do here? What stuff do you trade?" 

She seems slightly taken aback by your sudden entrance into the conversation. Odile doesn't seem too pleased either at the plan already going off-script. "Uh, well. I'm just a guard, I can't exactly authorise this stuff. I can bring you to Euphie, though." …'Euphie'? "She's the one in charge around here." She points towards your bat. "But you'll all need to leave your weapons behind. Even if you're harmless, people here are jumpy. Don't cause a scene, ok?" 

You all look at eachother, as you move back slightly to discuss things in private. You especially want to gauge Siffrin's reaction. You know now that he was probably carrying around that gun for a sense of safety, but if– 

"I'm fine with it." They say, catching you off guard. 

"Wha–, Siffrin, are you sure?" 

"Why not? I don't even have it on me right now." Siffrin says with a smug grin. Wait, what do they mean by that?!

"It's probably for the best. We're not going to get inside without proving we're atleast open to cooperation. We shouldn't get on their bad side this early." Odile adds. 

"They seem nice! Let's do it!!" Bonnie jumps enthusiastically. Are they all just moving past what Siffrin said???

"Well, if we're all ok with it then…" You watch as Isabeau walks ahead up to the gate, and puts away… is that Siffrin's gun!? The guard seems equally surprised at the sudden gun being pulled out, but doesn't voice her concerns. You notice she grips her rifle a little tighter, though…

Odile sighs and walks up ahead, putting away her axe in a small crate the guards have prepared. 

As you watch Bonnie walk ahead to put away their pan, you stay behind to talk to Siffrin.

"Since when did you give Isabeau your gun?!" 

"This morning! It's nice to not hold onto it anymore, honestly." He's… smiling.

… Well, if it makes them happy, you suppose you won't question it further. Still though, you're surprised at how close Siffrin and Isabeau have gotten recently. You walk ahead, and put away your bat. 

You watch as the guard picks up the crate and gestures you all to follow inside. "We've got some lockers near the entrance. You can pick your own code for them, and then come to retrieve your stuff if or when you decide to leave." 

You lean over to Isabeau in a hushed whisper. "Are we sure this is safe? We're going in blind and unarmed, here." In the beginning, it was just you and Isabeau trying to survive. You still find yourself falling back to asking him for advice, out of habit. 

"Not sure, but if they just wanted to rob us, they would've probably done so already." He responds, but you don't miss the way his eyes dart around cautiously. He likes to act carefree at times, but you know he's more observant than he lets on. 

The five of you, lead by the guard, pass by various buildings, greenhouses and open areas on the way to wherever their headquarters are. They've sectioned off a small part of the city here all for themselves, it seems. 

The streets aren't particularly crowded, all things considered, but it's more people than you've seen for the past couple months combined. They all seem to be in a hurry… You hope that's a sign that there's some work available for you.

You watch Bonnie pull on Odile's sleeve. The five of you slow down. 

"Hey, I uh…" They look around nervously at all the people shuffling about. You're… reminded of when you first met them, when they tried to run away…

When… you started to crowd them... 

"Bonnie…" You walk up besides them and crouch down. "If this place is too busy, we could probably seek out an abandoned apartment outside of here. I'm sure there's more than enough available!" 

They look into your eyes, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I… yeah, t-that sounds nice. It's just…" Bonnie looks down. "It's stupid. There's not even that many people here but I'm still–"

"Is everything alright?" The guard has turned around, noticing you've all stopped. 

The incident with their sister must've left deeper scars than you originally thought. Your heart silently aches. A kid like Bonnie shouldn't have to be dealing with all of this…

As you stand up, you reach out for Bonnie's hand, which they slowly grab hold of. You turn to face the guard.

"Yeah, we're alright. Sorry about that…" As you walk ahead with Bonnie in tow, you feel a knot start to form in your stomach. 

========

"She's in here." The guard ushers you all into a small room within the central building of the compound. Inside, you see a small mahogany desk, with who you can only assume to be the aforementioned 'Euphie' sitting behind it. 

She looks up as the six of you enter, with the guard closing the door behind you. She looks to be somewhere in her fourties, with long and flowing white hair. While almost all the people you meet these days seem tired, her eyes seem especially heavy. Administrating this area probably isn't the easiest job. 

"Well, Claude? Who have you brought me now?" She addresses the guard, Claude, as she leans up against the wall by the door. 

"Ask them yourself. Five survivors who heard about us from some drifter and came here looking for supplies." Her lazy attitude rubs you the wrong way. She could atleast try to seem interested.

Odile once again takes the lead in the conversation. "We're sorry to intrude, Euphie, but–" 

Her face instantly turns into a grimace. " Euphie??? Claude, did you tell them my name was–!?"  

Claude stiffles a giggle behind you.

She sighs. "Well, for the record, my name is Euphrasie , and for future reference I'd suggest not listening to that charlatan behind you." Despite her resigned tone, you notice a small smile tug at her lips. 

"Uh, well, in that case, Euphrasie," Odile once again steers the conversation back on track. "Claude here, if that's even their real name, told us you're all willing to trade or accept work for supplies." 

"What sorts of supplies are you looking for?" Euphrasie asks, raising an eyebrow. She must get these kinds of requests a lot. 

"Well our main priorities are disinfectants and bandages to replace the ones on our friend," Odile replies as she points her thumb towards Siffrin's bandages. "And we're always on the lookout for food and water, naturally."

Euphrasie sighs. "Look, before we get into the business side of things, how about we actually introduce ourselves properly ?" She reaches her hand out. "As we've already made clear, I'm Euphrasie, in charge of this settlement."

Odile reaches out and shakes her hand. "Odile. And this is Mirabelle, Isabeau, Siffrin and–" 

"And Bonnie!!" They cut in from where they're standing behind the four of you. 

Euphrasie narrows her eyes, as she seems to study them. "... Bonnie, huh? Interesting…" She turns to address the four of you. "Where did you all say you were from, again?"

You hear Claude shuffle behind you. Euphrasie's gaze has gone from tired to focused. Something in the atmosphere has changed…

You turn towards Isabeau, and he gives you a worried look. Seems he also picked up on it. What's going on?

Odile continues. "We've been surviving on our own on the south side of Manhattan and just recently came north here to–"

"HEY! LET ME GO!" 

You all whip around to see Claude has grabbed Bonnie, hushing them. Before you can all process the situation, you hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor as Euphrasie speaks up behind you. 

"Nobody move." 

In the brief moment you were all turned around, she stood up and pulled out a gun. You're starting to think you're cursed based on how many times you've been held at gunpoint now. 

"What the hell is the meaning of this?!" Odile nearly yells. Seems just a few moments ago you were all on amicable terms. Something about Bonnie must've…

"When the bridges out of the city first closed, there was an internal schism within what remained of the local government. Those of us who opposed the violence at the checkpoints went and established this settlement. The rest…" 

Euphrasie slowly looks between the four of you, studying your faces and expressions.

"Went to establish 'The Kingsmen' in central Manhattan." …'The Kingsmen'? The only people you ran into on your way up here was… "They don't let anyone pass through in one piece. The fact that you're here, allegedly from the south side, either means you fought your way through armed and dangerous murderers , or…" 

She looks at Bonnie, and takes a sharper tone. "...You're all saboteurs who forced a child to go along with you to infiltrate us." Her expression hardens. "It wouldn't be the first time they've tried to attack us, but this would be a new low."

A silence envelops the room. What the hell are you all supposed to say to that? You look towards Bonnie to clear up the misunderstanding, but they've frozen up at the sight of the gun…

Damnit, what's the right thing to say here?

Siffrin is the one to break the silence. 

"You're right." He takes a tentative step forward, as Euphrasie points the gun in his direction. What on earth are they doing?! "They don't let people leave in one piece, usually."

They take another step forward. She cocks her gun. "Don't move." She narrows her eyes at him.

Siffrin continues. "The first time we ran into them, we wandered too far and ended up in their territory. That's how I lost my eye. The second time we ran into them was on the way up here, and that's how I almost lost my friends…" Their voice wavers slightly. 

"... And what actually happened?" Euphrasie seems impatient. 

Siffrin leans in slightly. "Well, they shot at us, so I shot them back. An eye for an eye, isn't it?"  

… You don't appreciate Siffrin pulling out puns at this moment. Somehow though, Euphrasie seems taken aback. 

"I..Y-YEAH! Siffrin protected us from those guys! I haven't been kidnapped!!" Bonnie protests from where they're being held, finally breaking their silence.

Euphrasie's gaze nervously darts between Siffrin and Bonnie. You almost wish you could see Siffrin's expression from where you're standing. Eventually…

"... Fine." She lowers her gun and sits back down. "If Bonnie says so, I suppose I can't argue with that. If what you said about taking on a patrol of the Kingsmen and winning is true aswell, then I suppose we owe you a favor." The tension drains out of the room, as the five of you breathe out a sigh of relief. Bonnie is released, and runs back towards you. 

"Claude, take them to the medical center, and give them some spare bandages and some antiseptic. Make sure they run into…" She let's her sentence drifts off, but Claude seems to have gotten the message. 

"Of course. Follow me, you five." She opens the door and leads you outside the building. As the five of you exit out into the frigid winter air again, Siffrin takes a deep breath. 

"OOOOOoookay. NOT doing that again." They cling to Isabeau's side as they walk, seeming dizzy. 

"I must admit, that was an… impressive bluff of confidence, Siffrin." Odile compliments. "But was the pun really necessary?" Siffrin just gives a small smile in return. 

"So, um…" You interject. "Are we… still going to work with these people after they pointed a gun at us?" 

The five of you look between eachother, unsure of yourselves. Claude really wasn't kidding when she said people here are jumpy. 

"Well…" Isabeau starts. "I suppose it wasn't entirely unreasonable. They're just… really paranoid, I guess. They are letting us go, after all, and with medical supplies, at that." 

Siffrin seems a bit hesitant. "Yeah, but they still grabbed Bonbon. We were already unarmed, It's not like we could've done anything!"

Odile hums. "They did seem a bit aggresive in that regard, but…" She scoffs. "Look, I'm not sure who else has the supplies we need. We're not planning on staying here anyway, right? We might not have a choice but to atleast trade with them by the entrance."

The rest of you nod, as you're led into open area with strewn out stretchers and makeshift medical tents. Seems this is where they treat their wounded… it doesn't look especially clean, but it's not the worst you've seen. This would've probably been a better place to treat Siffrin's eye than in your living room.  

"There's one thing I don't get though…" Odile speaks up loud enough for Claude to hear. "Why did you two only go on edge once you heard Bonnie's name?" 

She looks back and gives you all a small grin as she opens the flap to one of the tents, walking in. "Hey, got five more stragglers for you." 

In the back of the tent, a feminine voice responds. " FIVE? What, are all of them injured? You better pay me extra for…" She turns around, and you're met with the sight of a young girl with black hair, flitted into a braid, and you swear they almost look like…

"BONBON!"

She rushes past you, pushing the four of you to the side as she practically tackles Bonnie into a hug. They seem dazed. 

"...N-Nille?" Their voice sounds shaky, as tears start to prick at their eyes. 

  … She's ALIVE?!

========

"... Wow, you've all been through a lot." She tightens her hold around Bonnie, who hasn't left her side since they reunited. You've all just finished filling her in on where you, and more importantly Bonnie, has been the past few months.

Pétronille, or just 'Nille' as she insists you all call her, turns to look at Siffrin.

"You're Siffrin, right? Thank you for looking out for Bonbon. I tried looking for them all over, but I hadn't dared to cross south through Kingsmen territory yet. If they would've gotten hurt, I don't know what i'd do with myself..." She bows her head slightly towards him. She seemed to respect them a lot after you told her about the shootout on the way up here.

Siffrin tries to hide in their jacket, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. He mutters a "thank you" under their breath. 

"So, not to sound too morbid, or anything, but…" Odile says. "I honestly thought you were dead. What happened after the incident at the bridge?"

You're glad to find out you weren't the only one who thought Nille hadn't made it, but while Sif apparently knew about her existence, they had no reason to think she was dead, so you had to fill in both them and Isabeau. 

Nille sighs. "Well, I'm not sure how much Euphrasie told you, but it's true there was a major split when the riot police started shooting protestors at the checkpoint. Some time after Bonnie left, I was picked up by some of the dissidents and carried off to one of these medical tents. I spent a few weeks unable to move much, but after I finally managed to get up, I went to our apartment and…"

Bonnie seems to curl a bit in on themselves. 

"... Well, Bonnie wasn't there. I've spent most of my time since here, helping out the settlement for supplies, and any spare time I had I spent exploring, looking for Bonnie." 

"Guess that explains Claude and Euphrasie's reactions when they heard their name…" Isabeau says. 

Nille immediately cringes a bit. "Right, uh, sorry about that, again. I had kept them up to date about my searches, and we were all starting to suspect that the Kingsmen may have kidnapped Bonnie, so…" She looks down apologetically. If it really was just a massive misunderstanding, then maybe you could still consider working here…

"So… are you a doctor?" You tentatively ask. Maybe she could teach you some stuff in case you'll ever need to deal with an injury like Siffrin's again, and you could gain some favors here alongside Nille…

"Well, I'm not licensed , since I never actually got the chance to graduate, but I was studying to become one, yeah. That makes me pretty damn rare, all things considered. Not a lot of doctors survived in the first few weeks…" She replies. 

Yeah, that's what happens when they're trapped in the epicenter of the outbreak…

"But!" Nille changes the subject. "You said you were looking for somewhere to stay? I don't actually live within the settlement, I've got an apartment in an abandoned complex outside. I can give you the address, and then I'll meet you there after I'm done here!" 

Odile chimes in. "Sure, sounds great. We'll let Bonnie stay here, since I presume the two of you would like to catch up some more." 

"Nille will get to stay with us, right?" Bonnie asks from where they're sitting in Nille's lap. Odile chuckles and ruffles their hair.

"Of course, Bonnie."

As Nille writes down the address on a note, and you all get going, you finally feel the last bits of tension leave you after a long day.

You watch as Isabeau and Siffrin skip happily along, chatting with eachother. They really have been hanging out more recently. You wonder what that's about. 

…

… Hey, wait a minute… 

…Their shared love of puns, the way they seemingly cling to eachother, the fact Siffrin entrusted Isabeau with their gun…

Conspiratorially, you lean over to Odile. 

"Hey, Odile…" You say to her in a hushed whisper. "Maybe it's just me but… I think Isabeau and Siffrin might be crushing on eachother!"

You watch Odile's face rapidly change from confusion, to amazement, and finally…

Oh god, that is the most amused look you've ever seen from her. You just said something REALLY dumb, didn't you?

"Mirabelle, they confessed to eachother last night. "

"THEY WHAT?! SIFFRIN AND ISABEAU ARE DATING NOW?!" You yell out, loud enough for Isabeau and Siffrin to jolt and turn around. 

"Uh… I suppose you were the only one who didn't wake up, so…" Isabeau says. Siffrin looks flushed standing next to him. They all knew and didn't think to MENTION THAT TO YOU?!?!

"Honestly, Mirabelle, I'm shocked you never picked up on any of the hints earlier. It was super obvious." Odile teases you. 

"HEY! I'm not completely oblivious! Atleast I know the story behind your apartment!"

Isabeau and Siffrin Immediately react. 

"YOU WHAT?!" 

Well, so much for a calm end to the day…

========

========

You slowly stir awake, struggling to keep your eyes open. A bright light passes in through your window, setting your room aglow in a golden hue. 

Outside, you hear a gentle breeze, and the chirping of birds. 

You feel… at peace. 

In your half-hearted attempt to get up, you note Isa's side of the bed is empty. Guess he must've already woken up. He's always been more of an early bird than you. 

As you contemplate whether or not to go back to sleep, a voice calls out to you from just outside of your room. 

"Sif, don't spend the whole day in there, okay? We've got to head down to the settlement today." Isabeau says. How did he even know you woke up? You swear he's got to have some kind of super hearing. 

Begrudgingly, you slowly sit up, throwing on some spare clothes and walking out into the hallway. 

You've spent six months here, now. Nille really wasn't kidding when she said the place was abandoned, so when you got here, you all reserved an entire floor for yourselves. You and Isa decided to share an apartment. It's been nice. 

You walk into the kitchen, where Isa has already prepared some leftovers for you on a plate. Looks like a vegetable salad of some kind. With the seasons changing, it's nice to finally be able to get fresh produce from the gardens. You were getting real sick of eating canned food. 

As you take a bite, you savor the taste. "Gotta say…" You make a smug grin at Isabeau. "Even though it's been out for some thyme, Bonnie's cooking is still pretty grate. " Isabeau chuckles a bit, but otherwise sits at the table simply looking at you. 

…Alright, you know it wasn't that good, you just woke up afterall, but this is starting to get a bit wierd. 

"... Is there something on my face?" You hesitantly ask. 

"Sif, have I ever told you that you look like a hamster when you eat?" 

What?! "I don't!!"

He laughs. "No need to be embarrassed, I think it looks cute!" Before you can protest further, he stands up, giving you a forehead kiss as he passes you by and leaves the kitchen. "Now c'mon, I'm sure the others are waiting for us!"   

…

Isa is going to give you a heart attack one of these days. 

You finish eating your breakfast, now significantly more flustered, and follow him out into the main hallway of the building's floor. 

"Slept in again, I presume?" Odile says when you exit, surrounded by the others. Mirabelle, Bonnie, Nille… They really were waiting for you.

They… waited for you…

…It's been so long since you felt alone, stuck in that old apartment of yours, wasting away as your supplies slowly dwindled. You almost can't believe how far you've come now. You almost wonder what would've happened if you never had that chance encounter with them, in that alleyway, all those months ago…

"Hey, uh, Siffrin? You good?" Nille walks up to you, putting a hand on your shoulder. Thinking about it, you suppose you're all in the same boat, aren't you? If Bonnie hadn't decided to stay with you all, who knows if they would've ever been reunited with their sibling…

Oh, right. Someone asked you a question. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm doing good." You reply, managing a smile. It was an automatic response. The kind you always say to avoid any further conversation. But…

"Then let's go already!! I wanna check on the gardens!" Bonnie exclaims as they start to hurry out. 

"Bonnie, don't go too far!" Nille yells out after them. "Honestly, that kid…" Mirabelle snickers next to her. 

…Looking at everyone as they slowly head off, trailing behind them as they begin their idle chatter…

"C'mon, we don't want to fall too far behind, do we?" Isabeau says as he walks up next to you and grabs your hand, giving you a warm smile. 

… You find yourself happy you left the house, all those months ago.