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When Ever finally did reply to Cee's text, it wouldn't be via her phone so much as appearing beside her all of a sudden, stepping out of the crowd while she was looking down at the screen. His own goggles were pushed up on his forehead and he looked a bit wide-eyed, a bit pale, a bit breathless himself -- wanting nothing in the world, in this moment, so much as a cigarette.

He caught her around the shoulders carefully, trying not to startle her, but making himself known in the crowd. His fingers were shaky.

"Do you know what the hell is going on?" He obviously didn't, and it was making his expression tense, jittery.

Melvin watched as Rin took out her phone, leaning over her shoulder to read who and what she was texting. He tried not to make a face when she texted Otto. He and the young man didn't exactly get along well, but that was usually when they were alone. Maybe he'd be more pleasant to Rin, though he didn't know if they even were on good terms. As for Rep, well he always approved of supporting and protecting the red-headed Sun.

And that's what he was good at in a battle. Protecting and healing. He was Life.

Not saying a word, he watched as Otto appeared and made his way to Rin, looking worse from wear. He guessed waking up someone who needed his rest for growth early was not a good thing.

His attitude to Rin wasn't a good indication he would even be willing to tolerate them. He sighed and let Rin handle it.

Melvin looked at his own phone, debating who he could even contact. Rin was here. Rep was already contacted. He could possibly talk to Peyton, but she and Rep clearly didn't get along.

Your list of friends could be put on a post-it and still have room. He could hear her laughing and made a face, not needing to hear that from his weapon. It was depressing.

"Fahck!" Cee jolted in Ever's hands when he grabbed her but upon whipping her head to see him, she sagged. "Jeezus."

Thankfully her phone was forgotten now and she stuffed it between her breasts for safekeeping. She shifted, grabbing his arm momentarily for stabilty against the entire foreign situation. "I guess we're doin what we sposed ta do? Thissis our job right?"

After a moment she did calm though, and release him. Snap's presence for once was reassuring and grounding.

"You wanna stick tagether?" When Cee looked at Ever with doe eyes, for once they were genuine and pleading. "We gotta go with one'a them squads."

Waking up this early and abruptly was the worst way for Wyatt to start his day. Hell, he never liked waking up in the morning, but this was the worst possible way for that to happen, minus the time he woke up to find his member being attacked by a dog. He was a bit dazed and confused trying to figure everything out, and luckily he spotted a familiar face in the crowd - Ever.

"Heya buddy," Wyatt gave a light smile as he approached. He'd need some more time before he'd be back to his normal full-energy self. He checked out the girl next to them, a familiar face he had seen before in the halls. "Hey you too, name's Wyatt."

"Either of y'all understand what's goin' on?" he asked, then added a bit more quietly. "Or mind if I just follow y'all around till I figure it out?"

Ian nearly sagged with relief upon hearing Shiloh's voice, and he turned towards him with a smile on his face in spite of their less-than-ideal situation. He reached out and threaded his fingers through his almost automatically, not just wanting the contact but needing it, craving the warmth of another human being.

And by "another human being" it clearly meant "only Shiloh Parish."

Ian slid his gaze sideways towards Alistaire and then back to Shiloh, giving him a rueful look and a small shrug as though to say, I didn't plan it. He and his brother were getting along marginally better than they had before his near-death, starting from his breakdown in his room, but that didn't mean everything was flowers and roses all of a sudden.

"Good morning," his brother said, though he wasn't looking at Shiloh. Alistaire was looking strangely irritated, now that he looked at him. Ian opened his mouth to say something, ask him what his deal was, but a second later he heard a familiar voice and then Harland was weaving his way through the throngs of people towards them, his expression sunny.

"Hey, Harland," said Ian, trying to recall the last time he'd even seen the cowboy. His gaze slid towards his brother, arching a brow, because apparently he'd missed something; since when were Harland and Alistaire on such friendly terms?

Alistaire, in the mean time, was slightly pale.

"I did not sleep in these, no," he said, his voice dry. "I merely lay out my clothing the night before so when I wake I can get dressed quickly and efficiently."

He was very studiously not looking at either Ian or Shiloh, his cheeks faintly pink.

When Mimsy woke, she was flustered for a reason that she knew very clearly that she should not have been. A dream of a table for two, sharing memories and nods to the brevity of the mortal - which they were both above, of course. He probably already knew how she would achieve her own immortality, but she understood why he couldn't tell her.

It was this dream and not the urgency of the apparent mission that her thoughts lingered on as she pulled on a shirt (which was not even hers, as it turned out) and her coat and boots, moving through a checklist of mechanical motions as she mulled over the (lack of) actions from her dream-self. This was something that she should feel guilty about, she knew, and she began to consider her options.

Her feet stopped short of the threshold of the house, thoughts stopping along with her, and she turned to look back into the house with a deep frown of an expression.

"But Lucky," she murmured, just in time to be ushered outside by someone who probably had not bothered to listen.

The strange shift in the temperature and atmosphere went unnoticed, but the lack of stars did not. She stopped again, and made no indication that she intended to follow the Hunters escorting them this time. A trembling finger extended to point skyward, but she couldn't manage to raise her hand to accommodate it. Both hands remained clutched at her chest, just below the spot where a tight lump was beginning to form in her throat.

"The stars are gone," she squeaked, an obvious tone of fright in her words. She turned to look at Robert, eyes wide, confused. Hurt. "No. No, they should be there."

Ursa Minor. Libra. Lupus. They all should have been watching over her, among June's other stars and constellations, but they were all absent. Was this her punishment? It seemed severe for just a dream, but dreams were not always just dreams, so maybe...

Maybe the stars were gone because of what she had done.

"I am sorry." It was blurted out as her panic escalated, and she struggled to continue looking at him and not stare at her feet instead. This was what she was supposed to do. "I went to dinner with Death in my dreams. It was a nice restaurant. We were not together when I met him, so it is possible that he thought that the circumstances were the same. I woke before I could say anything. I will not make the same mistake again. I am very sorry, I truly am!"

A quick glance skyward indicated that the stars had not yet returned. This must be something worse than she had previously anticipated. She offered a smile in penance, but didn't reach to touch him, lest that be the wrong option.

It was more difficult to wake up Robert from the dream, than it should have been. He was already half dressed before he realized he was awake and being ushered out into a mission. He'd gone through this drill so many times before, that he'd been able to prepare while still technically unconscious. When he realized where he was, and what he was doing, he was already outside, heading towards the portal. He hadn't heard Mimsy's cry for Lucky, but his worry instantly flared when he realized that the man was being left alone. He turned around to try and head back, but it was too late to get through the crowd, and it was all he could do to wrap his arms around Mimsy's waist, pulling her close to him to keep from losing her.

The desert was high on the list of places he didn't want to visit again. He looked up the moment Mimsy pointed, but it took him several long seconds before he realized what he was seeing - or not seeing, rather. It wasn't so odd, to him. He only expected to see stars in places that were beautiful, because he liked to think what little magic there was in this world helped keep beautiful things in their rightful place.

"They're up there," He assured her, breathing the words into her hair. "They're just hiding from this awful, awful place."

But the mention of death in her dreams had him sighing in resignment. "I had the same dream." God help him if all of this wasn't real. He was so done with all of the ******** that had been going on lately - the last thing he needed was another alternate world to deal with.

Unless it was Wonderland.

He put both of his hands over hers, and squeezed them tightly. "Don't let anything separate us. We'll be okay."