The COATS Files

Chapter Four- We Do What We Have To

When the doorknob jiggled, then turned, and Cookie walked in, Locks' with her, Shawm stirred for the first time in hours, the only one of three figures to wake up upon the arrival of the two new figures. She looked up slowly, slightly dazed, and gave Locks' a weak disarming smile, exhaustion pulling at her consciousness despite having been sleeping hunched over Qween's bed, her head using her arms as a pillow, for the hours since Cookie had left.

To her left, Fanta slept, the same dark circles standing out under her eyes that they all wore, and across from her Sofi was curled up on a chair, her small feet thrown over one arm well her head laid against the other, Mr. Carrot's unmovable dark eyes stared into the distance as he sat in Sofi's arms.

Shawm stood from the armchair slowly, working her stiff muscles, and giving Qween another once over. The girls' hair was messy and her clothes dishevelled, they had been too preoccupied getting Qween to a long-lasting stable condition than keeping her appearance tidy, and her lips and skin had paled drastically. Her eyes remained firmly shut. Walking past Cookie and giving the struggling girl a sad look, Shawm laid a hand on her shoulder as she walked past, waving at Locks' with her free hand as she did so. As Shawm exited the room, she didn't miss Locks' slightly awed gaze on her back, but she didn't notice how their gaze lingered on her ring finger as Cookie shut the door behind her and they traded positions.

Almost immediately Shawm turned down the stairs, moving first toward the direction of her lab, but pausing halfway down the stairs. Her eyes narrowed in on the bolt latch keeping the basement door locked. It looked the same as it always did: locked tightly. Swallowing the dryness in her throat, Shawm turned into the kitchen instead, her steps padding against the titled floor softly. She nearly jumped when she saw another figure hunched over the sink, his head thrown back as he downed a glass of water, set against the counter with a moment later.

"Hey," Shawm said, her voice flat, hoarse from hours of screaming as she took her anger out on a punching bag, then hours of silence as she and Fanta watched over Qween silently before eventually falling asleep.

"Hey," Jay returned, stepping out of her way so Shawm could get her own water, and the sound of running water filled the room for a moment as the glass in her hands steadily grew heavier.

"Find anything?" Shawm asked because she had to because even though she knew the answer a part of her was desperate for a spark of hope, anything to stop the feeling clawing at her insides.

"No. You?" Jay asked for the same reasons, his blood slowly turning to rust, as Shwam shook her head. He swallowed thickly, rubbing his hand across his sore throat, "but," he said slowly, "Ty should be pack from their dragon base in a few hours, maybe they'll have something,"

Shwam nodded dully, filling herself with doubt to protect her hopes when Ty came back inevitable empty-handed. "Cookie and Flix are up in Qween's room,"

Jay's eyes flicked through the doorway and onto the visible parts of the staircase, "alright. I'm going to make some food," he said, and his tone made it obvious he'd rather be searching for Marc, but they needed to eat if they were going to make any progress on finding him, "they're probably starving by now."

Shwam held her glass in two hands for a moment before trading it off to one and setting it on the marble counter, pulling Jay into a sudden hug. Jay went ridged in her hold for a moment, but eventually relented and his arms moved to hug Shawm back.

"I'll be in my lab," Shawm said, making no motion to move for another long second before they separated. Jay looked considerably better, his eyes no longer hollow, but he still appeared as if he would burst into tears at any moment, and Shawm knew she probably looked very similar.