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Eva remained standing, her eyes glassy as she blankly watched hunters running back and forth, shouting orders as they saw to the wounded. It was easy to pick out those who had been on the mission from those who hadn't. The ones who had been there to see--and in some cases, take part--in the killings were quiet, a mixture of sorrow and shock painted over their faces.

They were also the ones who were protectively cradling their weapon tablets.

She glanced down at Gale just in time to catch the tear rolling down his cheek, her heart aching at the sight. When Wilson approached and sat down, Eva slowly slid down and settled against Gale's other side, her arms wrapped tightly around Chara's tablet. Wordlessly, pulled her legs up to her chest and rest her head on the blond's shoulder.

She couldn't bring herself to speak.

"I'm so sorry Candace, I should be a better moon. I should've defended better..." His breath hitched, more tears and then quietness.

Quietness is what scared him more.

"Chama is so quiet, you know in times like this...she would be yelling at me. Stop me from being such a baby. Man up." He murmured. "This was just a research mission...why do they always go bad?" They always did...they always did. He took a breath and tried to stop the tears, steady himself.

Orange eyes lifted up to the bright purples of Candace's. "I'm scared....I am really scared...of what happened. how do we recover Candace?" he stopped...and in a smaller breath..."can we?"

The Hunter felt the faintest of tugs, it didn't dawn on Leon that someone was trying to get his attention till he turned around to check on the halloween pills in his satchel. Green eyes blinked blinked profusely as the cogs began to turn and the face finally had a name to it.

And frowned even harder at the girl before him. "Cassandra." He said softly, voice cracked and weary, the deep rumble was painful and he felt the scratchiness of his throat finally kick in, the payment for all the yelling from earlier. The hunters momentary lack of life was interrupted by the sudden attack oh coughing, violent and relentless as he turned away and coughed into the crook of his arm, his body shook with the intensity of the fit as he let it pass and sucked back in a lungful of fogless air.

It came with such a heavy price, the clean air.

The hunter didn't trust his voice as he stared down at the female he was proud to call his sister. not without Nid there to talk to and find the right words to say together.

Instead he relied on action and pulled out the pilfered item from the examination room, a tiny pink bandage with a smiley face on it. he removed the paper backing with care, gingerly and slowly, fingers shaking at the movement with his thighs far too busy holding the chainsaw tablet from the dirty soiled ground.

Nid would NOT touch that horrible surface.

The bandage in all its adhesive glory was pressed against Cass's chest, the awkwardness of touching the mist trainee's bosom was easily ignored.

The tight hug that came afterwards refused to not be notable.

Robert supposed, if there was any hope for the two idiots who had somehow managed to turn themselves into statues, it would be in the Life Labs. So, despite all his better instincts to continue to play barbies with Lucky and Mimsy, he picked them both up and carried them over to the cots. He settled them down gently, and then signaled two Life hunters to come cart them away.

"All right, kids. Now, you know the rules. Be home by curfew. No arguments. And if I see either of you turning to stone again, so help me-"

His little joke got him a little too animated, and he smacked Mimsy's face, knocking a tiny chunk of her bangs right off her face. He froze when it happened, his face the picture of shock.

"Oops."

He looked like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar when the Life hunters came to take them away. He picked up the piece of rock, put it in his pocket, and whistled innocently.

And suddenly, it all clicked in Lex's head. He'd had his suspicions about why Ami always used Runic guns, why she never talked about her weapon, or why he never saw it summoned. Her weapon had the same thing happen to it - put out of commission. He got up, the cogs in his mind finding their rhythm.

He put a hand on Solia's shoulder, giving her a soft smile. "Those are all great ideas hon, we can do them later." He gave Otto a pat on the shoulder as well, before making his way up to Ami.

"Ami...about that explanation." He cleared his throat, placing a light hand on the woman's shoulder - a gamble in and of itself - before speaking again. "I'm pretty sure I've got things figured out. You don't owe me one."

"It's usually a lot... louder. You know? Sylvia was she, she's a Banshee so when she sings its really really loud..." He continued to cradle the tablet and take another huff of the smoke. "She was a pest in her golem, she still was able to sing... but she was just. She always wanted hugs, attention..." She was like a needy puppy, or a bubbly girl, a dead bubbly girl cold as ice and with a voice that cracked glass when she was excited or upset.

But she was his, and him hers.

"It's too quiet without her... she always hummed I used to hate it but..."

Sherry took several steps after stepping through that portal. She was well aware of being home, and she would later remember some moon hunter or other asking her about wounds and giving her some kind of shot. But right then, her mind was still focused on what had just happened. A howl, fog, blood, and...and..She kept staring at the tablet that she was holding gingerly in her hands.

Armagnac. All she'd asked was that Sherry not get them killed. I'm sorry, Sherry said. The lack of reply brought tears to her eyes, and she didn't bother to try and stop any that fell. She didn't even know if her friend was truly dead... She hugged the tablet to her chest. "You'll be fine. Just sleeping," the whisper was barely audible.

She glanced around, knowing she should keep out of the way. Spotting one familiar soul, Sherry went and silently sat down next to Jake. She didn't say anything, she just didn't want to be quite so alone.

Ami jerked at the hand on her shoulder, but Lex was harder to shake off than Solia. She gave up. If they were going to pester her, this far, she would just yell at them some harsh words and they'd go away. It always worked. Even when she didn't mean it to.

Lex spoke first. Figuring something out. "And just what have you figured out?" she said bitterly, not facing him. "The great mystery of the girl with the runic guns?" She sighed. It wasn't exactly a secret anymore, was it. People were bound it find out- a hunter without a weapon stuck out like a sore thumb.

Well, maybe not so much anymore.

A purpleish girl came over and asked if they needed help. Ami was inclined to say no, but she stopped herself. Lex might need something. The others might need something. Marcus would've been up there handing things out first thing- he was that kind of guy. Kinder. She needed to be kinder. "No. He might though," she said, gesturing to Lex. A pause, and then she said, "Can you ... check on my ... friend over there? Not now, maybe later though." The word felt foreign and strange on her tongue, but she pointed to Otto nonetheless. She wanted to know people were checking on him.