At Haruken's remark, she flushed a light red hue and decided to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the duration of the day. Fumbling with the hem of her damp black sweatshirt, she was biting her lip, wanting nothing more than a hot cup of coffee. The chill of the night was slipping past the semipermeable barrier of her thin piece of clothing, the delicate hairs on her arms prickling up in response to the cool breeze. Yet her question was left unanswered, left to be carried away in the folds of the passing zephyr. It was almost as if no one had heard and the inquiry was abandoned and returned by the bird-like Nowherian as an invitation.

A steaming glass of tea sounded quite pleasant and she was itching to get back to the warmth of the cabin. The mayor did not hesitate to agree and shooed them rather eagerly to join Two-Third's at his welcoming offer; complimenting his specialty drink all the while.

With her nose beginning to leak, hinting at the first symptom of catching a cold, she fell into step behind the feathery hybrid and awaited to take their leave. The others didn't look too swell and she wasn't able to get her full night's rest either. In the back of her mind, the disturbing image and sensation of Rosen deliberately choking her was still lingering and she was hoping that a bit more slumber would be the perfect cure to wash it away; the growing lump of worry in her chest hardening.

Songbird didn’t like any of the attention he was getting. With a firm tug at his hat to hide his face from the prying Tuna Spicy (he made a mental note to just call the nobody “Fish” or “Mayor”) who dared ask him the dreaded question, the item hunter took a step backwards to move to the rear of the group. Now the task was about collecting something from a siren and as expected the other nobodies would look at him for advice. How bothersome.

While Songbird considered the humans and their accident without so much as a frisson of concern, he didn’t possess the complete lack of regard the mayor had with their safety. What’s done is done, and now that the lot of them almost got waterlogged Songbird felt It better to plot out measures for their wellbeing for the nearby future, which was better than mumbling about the incident. He was startled by an outburst from the boy he had fished out of the water earlier- Harp something- and although the rant was short, the white-haired nobody fell silent (this could be redundant seeing that he already was quiet every since everybody was pulled to safety) as he remembered the casualties. A grim scowl adorned his face as he turned around to discipline Fluffy and Stuffy, but he stopped soon as he saw that they were both clinging to Brandy’s legs like fashionable fur boots. Momentarily roused from his foul mood swing, Sonbird cracked a smile before turning towards Serenade.

“Yes, I brought more than enough for everybody, and I’ll go retrieve them in the morning.” Totally avoiding the rabbit’s question about the siren, he hid his bag of supplies within a hollow tree stump near the cabin before they had the grand idea to paddle in the lake, so there was no issue about the latter problem. Songbird couldn’t help but growl at the retreating figure in the distance, and was unable to resist sending a petty (if not convincing) lie towards the fish. “Be careful, Mayor! In this fog, you wouldn’t know a monster was near you unless it bit off your head!” He called out and then jogged to Jasper, placing his hands on her shoulders then gently steering her towards the sole lamp light in the distance. “Two-thirds, I also brought some tea leaves of my own, so if it’s a bit of comfort we can share losses today,” The item hunter called out behind him, stepping out of his comfort zone to get everyone to move. “Come on, everyone. Pick up the pace. “

“Oh, and to answer your question earlier, I forgot how to do it since it’s been a long time since I accepted a retrieval that could very well kill me, but it’s not impossible. Give me a few moments to remember, if you would,” Songbird let go of Jasper’s shoulders and fell in step beside her as their group got nearer to the cabin, and, after sneaking a glance at the human, he sighed, unfurled one of his scarves, then draped it over her head instead. “Don’t catch a cold.”

As he stood near Jasper whilst they both awaited the mayor's reply, Hakuren was once more grabbed by the arm by the ever so exuberant white hare, Dissonance, and was taken towards her twin as evidence for the low damage the humans suffered during this "unfortunate event". The young man was wet from head to toe and so was Leila, the second talisman the bunny girl loved to keep around, yet he was noticeably less affected than the rest of his companions. Indeed, the lad felt cold and soaked, which were both quite unpleasant in the beginning, but his adaptation speed was fast, especially in new areas and situations. He had been awake in the lake, which made him grow used to the slimy feeling of the water, not to mention those few occasions when he had to go to Sweden in the middle of winter provided him with enough experience to distinguish mild from cold and chilly from winter's embrace. Out of the mentioned, on shore he felt the first, but the happenings around him were enough to make the lad forget his body's state.

Serenade, the black rabbit of the set of twin sisters, was currently quite exasperated. A peculiar sight, considering how calm and graceful her demeanor had so far been. Apparently, the cause of this infuriating fit was the fact that a certain someone had not informed them about the hazardous night song of the siren. This could be deducted from the manner with which she glared at the landowner, those two sharp blades sparkling in the dim light. The white lass attempted to lighten the mood up with her cheerful attitude and sought help from the two people she held hands with.
"Of course we're alright." the green-blue-eyed boy responded with a smile to her question. "We were all going to have a swim in the morning, anyways. This was a good test of the water."
Just as she was about to give a comeback, Dissonance looked to the side. This movement drew in the youngster's attention and he also allowed his gaze to travel a short distance away from the gathered group of people and nobodies. The target was Mado, the only human who had evidently not succumbed to the siren's spell. While the snow bunny girl called out to her, cupping her hands around her mouth to allow her voice to sound louder, Hakuren simply put his hands in his pockets. Thankfully, there were no remains inside.
Mayor Spicy Tuna finally, yet reluctantly, gave a reply to Jasper's inquiry, which was most likely on everyone's mind. The fish-man stated he had not the slightest clue about the mechanism of capturing the elusive melody, which resulted in Serenade sighing, but still glaring at him with fury. The black-blue-haired boy did not assume the governor was lying. After all, his mannerism whilst speaking suggested that he was not of that sort at all. Albeit it was still too early to judge, his actions so far sketched him out to be a rather ordinary official of a small lowly area. He didn't have much to take pride in, so everything he did was to gain one or two more sparkles. Showing some concern, yet uncaring in the end, his portrait gained a few harder darker lines as he told the band of newcomers one of the tales of this town after Harper found the courage to ask him for more information. Yet this was not a fairy tale, but a story of reality. There had once lived a woman in this forsaken place, whom had been accused of witchcraft. Despite her pleas and denials, she was sentenced to death by drowning in the waters of the lake. After this had been carried out, the deadly enchanting song appeared and wrecked havoc on the locals, killing many in the process.

Hakuren only listened and did not speak. Everything became perfectly clear, now that they had acquired this scrap of important information. It puzzled him why they had accused her of being a witch. Perhaps if they learned that final bit, it would be enough to solve the mystery or at least lead them to another clue. But the fish was obviously unwilling to speak of this. He was a mayor of a cursed town and had to keep secrets, such as that witch hunt, hidden from outsiders' view, in order to maintain a good image for himself and his domain. How foolish. It couldn't be helped, though. Such was the way of those in power. Status before everything.
As he was about to continue the interrogation of their suspect, pardon, their kind host, he was halted by Riddle's sudden outburst. That was rather entertaining, enough to make the young man let out a small "heh", a short laugh to remark his pleasure. Honestly, Harper was almost too human to be true. He was an open book to read and followed most cliché hero-to-be rules. It was amusing, delightful, perhaps even cute.
'What am I in? A manga?' Hakuren asked himself as he sighed with a smile after seeing the tears in the young student's eyes.
Hands nearly in the pockets of his coat, he walked towards Riddle and stood beside him just when Serenade, who had offered him the comfort of a hand on his shoulder for a few moments, left in order to talk to Sonbird and Brandy. Dissonance, who had been trying to function as a blow-drier on him, had now went off to assist Leila in getting her dry. The mayor went off to converse with Two-Thirds, his appearance becoming more and more like that of a fool trying to impress someone. Iro was shivering on the ground, ill physically and probably mentally as well. Mado was being her usual self, so was Jasper. Everything seemed to be getting back to normal, well, "normal" was still an abstract term.
" "I'll do anything", was it?" Hakuren spoke with a smile to Harper, whose eyes had not yet dried. "I don't care what you saw down there, but just forget about it. Stuff like those will only drag you down in the deep. We can't afford to be sea food, now, can we?"

"Hey. They are calling out to you."

Mado turned around. It was.... was... sonance something. Resonance?

"Dissonance, my dear."

Yes it was. However, she had did nothing, or close to nothing to save the others. Should she feel guilty about it?

"My dear, you would have accomplished nothing but drown yourself if you did try. And even if you managed not to, how exactly were you going to save all of them?"

Perhaps she should run away before the rest of the- Ah, too late,another one of the fellows had already called out to her, this time for tea. In the middle of the night?How...unusual. Mado sighed, and walked up towards the group around the tuna. The tuna was saying some rather unsatisfactory things, including something about a woman being drowned because they thought she was a witch even though she pleaded she wasn't a witch. Now that... that made her blood boil. Perhaps during the day she will pay a personal visit to the mayor, and get out more information about that woman. More about what set the crowd off, who exactly reported her of witchcraft, the location fo the drowning, the victim's house, etc.

"We should pay him a visit." The gentleman corrected her. "Two minds are better than one after all. And you can do some persuading."

Yes... perhaps one of the things she can do is that...

"Where.... Where does he live?" Mado asked, after the tuna person left.

Her hand was in her pocket, running through her piles of pills and the old wooden handle in there.

The bunny-eared man leapt off the boat the moment the little boat bumped the shore, feeling almost instantaneously better as he felt solid ground beneath his feet. He silently swore to himself that he would rent a Pegasus next time even if he had to fly alone. As his nausea receded he looked back to where the sodden humans were, some starting to stagger up to their feet and all rather pale and shivering. He couldn’t blame them, it had no doubt been a harrowing experience being underneath that murky water. Luckily they had earplugs, he thought while taking them out and placing them safely within his shirt pocket, or no doubt both him and Song would have ended up leaping overboard.
He turned to go help out where he could, but looked down when he noticed his feet seemed to feel heavier. He was greeted by the sight of two happily chirping and slightly damp fluffballs (If he remembered correctly these were Fluffy and Stuffy. He could never remember the names of each individual fluff apart from Bill, who had a distinguishing bald spot) attached to his feet, and despite some gentle nudging they seemed rather determined to hang on so he left them there. Familiar voices made him turn and he greeted Serenade and Dissonance, giving the fish headed mayor only a curt nod. He wasn’t too happy with the man; no doubt he had known of the lake’s dangers but obviously hadn’t bothered informing the humans at all.

Serenade didn’t seem too pleased with the fish either, looking rather upset at the mayor’s almost flippant attitude to the entire matter. The human boy seemed to have had enough as well, nearly breaking down into tears. He looked over to Serenade as she approached the three Nobodies, shaking his head. “It’s our job,” he replied as Martini gave a similar answer from where she was busy draping her slightly sodden but very thick scarf over the upset and shivering Harper.

“The song was too faint for me to hear any lyrics and the melody didn’t seem to be anthing special,” The mermaid burbled, having finished bundling up Harper and giving him a soft and reassuring pat on the head in an attempt to soothe him. “It should be louder from the cabin, so if she sings again tomorrow night I’m sure I’ll be able to understand something of it.” She was rather upset at the mayor as well- the silly fishy thing could’ve prevented this almost drowning scenario with a few words of caution and yet had said nothing at all! A small laugh drew her attention to Hakuren who had a small smile on his face and she frowned deeply at his insensitivity. He was no doubt feeling alright, so shouldn’t he be helping out instead of standing there and laughing at his fellow humans? “Just because you didn’t see anything bad down there doesn’t mean this little guy didn’t,” she chastised rather crossly as she pulled out a miraculously dry handkerchief and dabbed at the boy’s wet eyes. “C’mon, let’s go back to the cabin. Some hot tea will do you good.” The mermaid cooed gently to Harper, leading him by the hand and drifting back towards where the humans had been lodging.

“Speaking of tea, I have some too.” Brandy offered rather reluctantly. It would be rather mean of him to keep his leaves from the humans if Song and Two-Thirds (What was he doing here? Brandy was rather surprised. It wasn’t like the shopkeeper to leave his tea shop) were offering their wares. After all, he could always buy more later.

In the town of Yonder...

Serenade couldn't stop glaring at the silhouette that disappeared into the fog.

If anything, Mayor Spicy Tuna was a horrible Nobody and she didn't like him one bit. The black rabbit shot a grateful expression at her fellow guides then stared silently at the lake. Something was very wrong with this town, but whatever it was, they'd sort it out and help the humans finish their task alive. They wouldn't repeat what had happened at the ship and they wouldn't suffer such heavy losses again. She and the guides would definitely make sure of it.

The black rabbit noticed Song's act of kindness and smiled to herself. The item hunter could be a grump, just like Brandy, but both of them were softies deep down.

"We were all going to have a swim in the morning, anyways. This was a good test of the water."

Serenade's ears perked up and she turned to face her sister and Hakuren. Really, it wasn't the time to fool around...if not for Song, Brandy, and Martini, the humans could have died. Her eyebrows twitched in irritation before she shot her sister and Hakuren a glare that was seething with rage. "Sure, if you two want you can test the waters in the morning and get dragged to the bottom!" She bit down on her lip only to explode, being stuck with her unreasonable sister and a few of the more crazy humans for two weeks had taken a toll on her temper. "Let's see how fun drowning can be, yes?" She exploded before bringing a hand to her head and massaging her temples. After this, she'd request a break...a long one.

Then Hakuren had the nerve to laugh and a part of her wanted to shake some sense into him. The lad had been mostly apathetic through and through but it was one thing to be unflinching in the face of danger and another to laugh at the others who were shivering and scared to death. The black rabbit stared at Iro who was hit by another coughing fit then at Jasper who looked like she was about to cry. Harper was shaking in anger and fear and Leila, well the girl didn't seem very upset, but she looked out of it and Mado...where was Mado?

"I don't care what you saw down there, but just forget about it. Stuff like those will only drag you down in the deep. We can't afford to be sea food, now, can we?"

Hakuren had always been weird to him, but he wasn't in the mood to be nice or friendly. Harper frowned, "Well, I care and it's not as easy as that..." He focused his eyes on the older boy. "You might think this is some fairy tale, some sort of game, but I don't! This," he gestured to the lake and everything around it. "This could kill us! This is real." The boy felt guilty for his actions, but he just had to get it off his chest.

Harper's expression softened and he turned to look at Martini. "Thank you, thank you very much." The guides were kind and while he was starting to hate Nowhere, he couldn't bring himself to dislike them. They were all insane characters, but they were frighteningly human in emotions and in their actions. He pulled the scarf close trying to absorb whatever heat he could from it. He flashed a grateful though shaky smile at the Nobody than thanked them all one by one. He understood that even the grumpy bunny could be kind...he detested Yonder and perhaps even Nowhere, but not them.

Martini began leading him by the hand and he followed after her without complaint, allowing the mermaid to lead him along. Songbird dealt with Jasper and Dissonance dragged both Leila and Hakuren along. Iro followed after them bitterly and Serenade stated she would remain to look for Mado.

"Thanks again, really, I'll catch up with you guys in a bit. I need to make sure she's okay." And with that Serenade walked deep into the fog, calling out for Mado while Mayor Tuna sat comfortably at his desk just a few buildings away.

On the road to Yonder...

Cello was expecting negative feedback, but it seemed like both humans genuinely liked Froggy.

"Interesting, I guess the kid has the potential to be a great guide then." Cello chuckled at the thought of Froggy leading people all around Nowhere and getting them hopelessly lost. He had a passion for what he did and was very likable, but as Skitz said Stephen was not the sharpest tool in the drawer. "Mhm, you're bound to see a lot more of magical stuff. Nowhere is great." Cello sounded enthusiastic as he bounded down the dirt road, eager to reach Yonder was quickly as possible.

"It’s Leon by the way.”

"Ace and Leon then, okay, it's less confusing this way." The guide turned around and began walking backwards. Cello laughed slightly though there was a hint of worry in his eyes. "You see, we used to have another human named Elliot, so this makes it a lot easier." The guide didn't say anything else about the other Elliot and instead chuckled softly to himself. "We're headed for Yonder or Siren Lake, the other humans got their today, and you see, the Queen wants me to deliver you guys to the guides stationed there so you can meet up with the others." He shrugged, a toothy grin still plastered onto his face. "The more the merrier, right? There are about six or so of them."

He spun around and continued marching onward. It had been almost three hours, though in Nowhere it was impossible to tell and no clocks or devices that told time existed.

"The guides at Yonder are great, there's a pretty mermaid, two rabbit sisters, a bird man, this bunny who likes tea, and a tea shop owner named after something involving math." Cello scrunched up his nose at the word math. He didn't know Two-Thirds as much as he knew the others, but then again, he wasn't a guide. Cello wondered why he was even there, but the Two-Thirds did have great tea, maybe he could buy some when he got there. "But enough of my rambling, what's it like being stuck in the square for so long? Most humans are shipped off on crazy quests the moment after the party. Though, I guess you guys are lucky. Did Froggy tell you about the first quest involving the Shakespearean?" Cello frowned but proceeded to walk down the dirt road with bouncy steps.

"And since we're getting to know each other and stuff, would you mind if I asked some questions." The trio passed a bunch of whispering trees, some looked upset when they passed and others complained about how rude it was to be so noisy late at night.

"Sorry, sorry, just passing through. Sending humans off to Yonder." Cello whispered.

At the word humans the trees began to converse louder than they had before. "Humans?" They'd whisper over and over in exasperation. It was an orchestra of hows and confused babbling. Eventually the trees focused on Leon and Ace then began greeting them all at the same time.

"What is the human world like?" One tree would ask.

"What do you think of Nowhere?" Another would butt in.

"Is it true that trees in your world can't speak?"

Cello laughed at all the commotion. "Calm down, calm down, don't frighten my human friends." The guide placed a hand on Leon's and Ace's shoulder then steered them out of the forest of talking trees. It took a few minutes in human time, but soon they were out and the trees were waving goodbye.

Ace's admiration never ceased as she continued on their journey. At the mention of where they were going- since Ace was actually paying attention this time, she kept a mental note. 'Yonder or Siren Lake. Got it. Just in case she got lost, Ace would at least know where she needed to head to. Everyone- more rather, everything seemed pretty friendly in Nowhere, so she assumed asking directions wouldn't be too much of a problem. "Wow...that means there are humans already here. Froggy did mention them, and something about us being on a late train." She thought aloud, keeping up with the others.

The young woman focused on Cello for a few more moments as he explained more wonders of Nowhere. Rabbit sisters? Mermaids? Bird people? It all sounded splendid, and it made Ace quicken her pace- eager to meet them all. Eventually she'd calm down from this "amazement high", but that wasn't happening as of now. Letting her mind wander, Ace almost missed the question at hand. "The square was really nice. It was much better than anything I've done. It was so nice." Ace could have stayed forever if she could, but being prodded along by Froggy prevented it.
"Quests? That sounds...exciting." Whether or not Froggy spoke about them was left unanswered. Ace was unsure if she had missed that explanation being so intrigued with the world. So, Ace let Leon answer that question- if he could. If not, she was sure Cello would probably give a brief explanation.

"Ask as many questions as you'd like. I don't m-" Ace slowed to a stop as the trees spoke. "Whoa.." Her voice was awestruck before she began laughing at the questions.
"The human world? It's nothing like- Oh Nowhere is fantastic!" She couldn't keep up with all the questions, but ended up getting prodded along anyway.

"Bu-Bye trees! Nice meeting you!" Ace waved back with a small laugh.

"Well they were nice." She inquired as they continued their traveling.
"This is a long walk... When will we get there Cello?"

The fog was thick and weighing down the surroundings. It hazed up the village enough, that it would be impossible to navigate more than a couple steps in front of you. Based off of these circumstances, she understood completely why the guides were getting a bit flustered and stressed. With the scenarios of tonight crawling and bothering every single one of them, the secrets that enveloped the quiet little town of Siren Lake were silently insidious. The place itself seemed to be the perfect setting for a horror movie and the very thought was enough to get her paranoia into high alert. Harper seemed to have snapped his final straw of faith and she felt pained to see him in such a state. He had been the bravest of them since the beginning, but she could see now that he was a fragile being, clouding his sadness in a cloak of courage and an eager demeanor.

Their group was a pretty somber bunch by now, many had been lost and it felt as if a year had already passed though they had only gotten there a couple of weeks ago. Human losses, never forgotten; Jasper wanted to break down and cry just as badly as Harper had, but there was no time for that. Funny how she still thought of terms that kept track of passing hours and days like it still existed in the current realm she was trapped in. She pondered about the Queen and thought about where she would be instead if she hadn't set foot in that godforsaken train to Nowhere.

Feeling two hands settle on both her shoulders, the physical contact jolted her from her deep thinking as she realized she had been following the wrong crowd. “Be careful, Mayor! In this fog, you wouldn’t know a monster was near you unless it bit off your head!”, Songbird hollered halfheartedly after the pair of figures, now a mere silhouette in the musky, mist filled surroundings. His palms felt heated against her cold, shuddering skin and it was honestly very comforting. She usually shied away from any person-to-person touch, but right now she needed the feeling of another being to keep herself sane. The steady rhythm of her footsteps thumped mesmerizingly in her mind as she allowed the Nowherian to lead her back towards the cabin, along with the rest of the crew. Everyone looked exhausted, Nobodies included as they all shuffled back to the comfort of their makeshift "home". Maybe it was just the scenery of Siren Lake, or it may have been the memory of Rosen, but she felt water start to well up in the corners of her eyes. Gulping down the stinging stiff lump nearing the top of her throat, she held back the tears with much effort.

“Oh, and to answer your question earlier, I forgot how to do it since it’s been a long time since I accepted a retrieval that could very well kill me, but it’s not impossible. Give me a few moments to remember, if you would.” His grasp fell from her shoulders and she let them, though missing the limited source of warmth she could consume from it. The statement caught her off guard. It seemed like every single quest they were given was life threatening and she didn't expect any less as she recalled the SSF. People had died, a child had died... for a tart. It sounded absolutely ridiculous and all she wanted to do was have an anxiety attack to free herself from this horrid misery.

Nodding wordlessly in response, she paused momentarily in her walk when he placed one of his scarves over her head. The same article of clothing in which he had buried himself in when she had made the terrified face at his heterochromic eye. Heart twisting in guilt; the simple act of kindness made her feel like a jerk. “Don’t catch a cold.”
Glancing up swiftly, he was looking straight ahead, wispy puffs of breath swirling out from under his nose. Jasper's cheeks suddenly felt slightly hotter and she looked away, the scarf sufficient protection from the chill of the night. It smelled of herbs and strange scents she's never inhaled before. It wasn't bad, but she wasn't sure it was good either, but she could care less. The smell of the lake and aquatic weeds mixed with its scent and she suddenly felt filthy. She definitely needed a shower and the now visible structure of the wooden building soothed her.

"Aight everyone, get inside," Songbird strode forward as soon as they were a few feet away from the safe house, and he quickly opened the door to usher Jasper within the cabin which was most definitely more welcoming than this forsaken bog. Standing beside the open door like a guard of some sorts, the item hunter tucked his arms over his chest as he took in the sorry sight of the humans and his fellow Nobodies, all the while mentally clucking like a mother hen. Look at those damp clothes! ... And where was that smell coming from? Thinking back on it now, didn't the Mayor say that...

"Humans, take your clothes off as soon as possible and take a bath! Right now! Martini, Brandy, could you heat up some water for them?" He barked out, hands balling into fists as he unfurled them from under his thick clothes. "Ugh, that stinking piece of SALAMI! Lemme at him!"

... the villagers dumped a barrel of toxins in the water in an attempt to dispose of the siren? A thoroughly stupid and pathetic try, and most certainly a plan not thought of. Dirtying water had far reaching effects on the surrounding flora and fauna, didn't it? Despite the fact that the Nowhereians just had to be pretty desperate just to do that, Songbird felt his blood boil at their varying levels of stupidity and nonchalance. If he was a siren- *cough*- and somebody chucked in a barrel of who-knows-what at his house, of course he'd very well drown- er, drown as in a temporary sort of drowning, not the I'll Kill You type- the idiot! Ooooh, but that wasn't the end of it! Fish-head didn't even have the decency to warn- Oooooh! Songbird pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to remain calm, and those who knew him could very well guess that he was about to explode (Thugbird mode.) by the way he suddenly paced to and fro with his free hand covering his mouth.

The Nobody bit his lip furiously as several mean phrases attached themselves to his mental caricature of Mayor Fish-head. "Then again, I shouldn't have expected better from a flat-headed, filmy-eyed, scaly piece of walking sushi!" He snarled, thankfully out of earshot of most humans, before forcing himself to remain calm... or at the very least, focus on a certain task.

"... I'll just leave to retrieve my supplies, but I'll be coming back," He took in deep breaths and swung towards the humans, eyeing them all from head to toe. "And I expect you all to be warm, dry and clothed in different apparel when I return," The white-haired nobody raised his head up, turned to look at Jasper whom he had somewhat nudged inside the cabin, and then swivelled back to Brandy and Martini's direction. "I'll be back! Look after them for a few minutes, will you?" He shrugged as he unhooked one of the lanterns hanging on the cabin's hooks.

"Oh and I'll be fine, Dissonance. It's not as if I'll trip over something and break my neck-" A high-pitched whine from Fluffy reminded Songbird that for him, even that wasn't impossible, so he cleared his throat and revised the sentence. "At least, I won't trip over something without seeing it first."

With that said and done, he walked away from the cabin and disappeared into the fog.

Leon matched the cat-eared man’s pace with ease, taking in his surroundings while the guide spoke. The road to Yonder was definitely longer than he would’ve liked but Cello made it much easier to bear with his lively chatter. Once or twice, Leon found himself mesmerized by his eccentric surroundings and looked on in wonder, his eyes taking in anything and everything at once.

Eventually he tore his gaze from a tall mushroom house that was leaning over at a precarious angle and turned back towards Cello, who’d started walking backwards.

"You see, we used to have another human named Elliot, so this makes it a lot easier."

“Used to?” Leon’s knowing gaze fell upon the cat-eared man. “Is he one of the humans that went along on that mission with the star?” The details were few and far in-between but Leon had paid enough attention to come to know about their near-perilous mission. “I’m assuming he didn’t survive that encounter, hmm?” His tone was much lighter than expected, though it did not bother him much.

What was more surprising, however, was that the information he’d just received didn’t put off Leon one bit. Human losses were tragic in themselves but it hardly impacted the young man at all – who was to say he’d probably share their fate? It didn’t come as much of a surprise to him now that he was surely aware of possible risks – if anything, it heightened his curiosity more about Nowhere, the prospect of an adventure lighting up his face with a brilliant smile as Cello rambled on about the company awaiting them in Yonder.

“A mermaid? I’m liking them already,” Leon laughed. “Froggy did tell us about the ship – the Shakespearean? Yeah, apparently they lost a few humans while they were at it. I hope we do something like that… of course, I wouldn’t want any of us to die, though… did Froggy tell us something else, Ace-san?” Leon addressed the girl walking next to him, certain he was missing out a few details he couldn’t bother himself with.

"And since we're getting to know each other and stuff, would you mind if I asked some questions."

Leon smiled. “Only if you let me ask you some too.” At that moment, the whispering of ancient trees filled his ears. He turned his head slightly, eyeing them with wonder as they were bombarded with question. Leon couldn’t even begin to process all those simultaneous questions, let alone answer them as Cello ushered them through the woods at a rapid pace. A slight breeze fluttered past, his feather earrings swaying along. The trees weren’t as ominous as any normal person would find them; Leon almost wanted to go back and chat with them a little bit longer – a couple of days couldn’t hurt, could they?

“What were those trees? Why do they speak? I wish we had trees like that in our world, it’d make life much more interesting,” Leon observed, turning to look back at the receding forest. Perhaps he’d come back one day and wile away his time conversing with the talkative trees. It made him realize exactly how much time had passed since they’d departed. How much longer till they reached Yonder? It was beginning to feel like an endless journey, nevermind the fact that time didn’t seem to flow properly in Nowhere. Nevertheless, it didn’t diminish Leon’s excitement whose pace still hadn’t slowed down.

Two-Thirds looked away from Jasper to see Songbird approaching them. He resisted a chuckle upon hearing the offer from the item hunter. Despite how his attitude my come across as harsh at times, he was very kind after all. The shop owner acknowledged the other's offer with a smile that cracked a little wider than his usual polite ones and a slight incline of his head. "Thank you, mister Song," He said with polite gratitude. Two-Thirds's smile faltered slightly when he looked off afterwards, breaking eye-contact with Songbird. Mado has made no response to the offer. Although Two-Thirds was not worried, that raised a slight concern in him, just like when customers would enter the shop complaining about the cold weather and Two-Thirds would think about his tea leaves.

A small laugh distracted Two-Thirds from his thoughts while on the way back. The laugh was rather insensitive - he noted-, the rules of basic social decorum would rule it so. However, he said nothing against it but rather watched the laugh evoke one of Serenade's rare outbursts. And so the Nobody spaced out for a brief moment, caught in the surprise at her irritation. When he has returned to his senses, Two-Thirds took a larger stride and stopped in front of Jasper. He bent down his knees slightly to reduce the distance between them. "I'm sorry your question didn't get answered. Frankly, I don't know the answer and I am not positive that the f-mayor knows it. I'm sure, though, we'll find out soon," He cracked a gentle smile, "Now if you will excuse me."

He stepped away in Serenade's direction. On his way, he nodded acknowledgements towards Martini and Brandy before walking deeper into the fog. It was until after he couldn't see the others that he saw the black rabbit's silhouette. He approached the figure and lay a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Serenade, mind if I join you?" He smiled politely.

Harper said Hakuren had always been weird to him, but he wasn't in the mood to be nice or friendly. Harper frowned, "Well, I care and it's not as easy as that..." He focused his eyes on the older boy. "You might think this is some fairy tale, some sort of game, but I don't! This," he gestured to the lake and everything around it. "This could kill us! This is real." The boy felt guilty for his actions, but he just had to get it off his chest.

"Of course it's real." Hakuren smirked, his eyes as playful as ever "I've never once thought of any of this as a dream. Believe me, I can tell when my eyes are deceived. However," he placed one hand on Riddle's shoulder and continued "that doesn't mean this isn't a [g.a.m.e.]"

With that, the young man in the midnight green coat left his companion to deal with his unstable self and departed for the cabin. Once inside, the peculiar hobo-like nobody, named Songbird, began pacing about, whilst keeping his hand close to his mouth, as if he were trying to keep away a bad sneeze. The Nowhereian was, quite frankly speaking, furious, much like his comrade, Serenade, the black hare, who had exploded moments ago. This sudden eruption of emotions within the group was a delightful sight for the black-blue-haired lad. This certainly proved that the beings from this world had a mental structure not too different to, if not the same as, a human's. It was intriguing to observe the silly-looking man walk in the room with no particular direction whatsoever, fuming at the mayor, who had not given a minute of his time to prevent this unfortunate accident from happening.

Rather than throw a comment regarding the idiotic fish, albeit there were plenty of tasty puns to be used, Hakuren decided to take note of the order Songbird placed.
"Heh, a bath sounds just perfect right about now." he spoke while stretching his arms above himself "Will we be going in one by one or will we save up some water and go in groups?". At the very end of his sentence he shot Jasper a glance, indirectly suggesting that if she were to be placed in the same group as him by some unfortunate twist of fate, the drowning incident wouldn't be the last one for tonight.

No one. Of course, there's no one outside. Not when sirens are liable to drag you to the lake.

The mayor wasn't hard to find at all. While she had initially followed the group, after the unsatisfactory answers the mayor gave her Mado had instead tailed him. Even the gentleman was rather perplexed by the mayor.

"Tis as if he does not care or is utterly ignorant to what detective work really is."

"What is it really?"

"I.. What? Well, firstly, we have to establish who the suspects are, and what their motives are. What we do have is this girl who was drowned after being accused of being a witch." He puffed on his pipe, blowing out a large O shape and blew another smaller line through it. "Then that girl is our lead. Firstly, who reported her of witchcraft? That one is extremely important, for it begs the question of how. How did that person know she was practicing witchcraft? From there, now we have two suspects and different motives. If it was truly the drowned girl, then the most obvious motive is revenge. And that other person who reported it? He or she may be practicing magic themselves, and thus needed a scapegoat for whatever reason, like drawing attention away from themselves. Thus, that person may still be operating, utilizing the drowned girl's legend to blame for all the strange happenings. Hmm... but all that hinges on either sirens being created by vengeful spirits..."

"...so that means we need more info?"

The gentleman pointed his pipe at Mado. "Exactly."

After tailing the mayor, and avoiding Serenade by hiding in a large pot which somehow worked though she didn't quite manage to get her head inside, she quietly slipped in the mayor's office.

By jumping though a glass window.

"Sushi or sashimi?"

"No, no, my dear. The question was 'what else do you know about the drowning?'"

Mado stood up straight and pointed the knife at the Mayor. "Tell me what you know about the drowning, or be turned to a dish of your choice."

"Close enough."

A warm breath of hot air flushed over her entirety as she entered the humble abode. Songbird was usually particularly reserved from what she could recall, but he seemed to be taking the lead as a assertive guide. Encouraging all the humans to get their butts inside the cabin, Jasper twitched and turned bright red when the quirky fashioned Song began hollering some urgent commands to start stripping asap. She watched in slightly afraid amusement as he began cursing inaudibly about the fish head Mayor. Eyes swiveling left and right as she observed his momentary rambling, whilst he paced about the room in no particular pattern.

"I'll be back! Look after them for a few minutes, will you?" And with that last sentence, he was off, back into the thick blanket of heavy mist that they had just recently escaped.

Jasper blinked rapidly a couple of times as the lodge door finally swung to a close just as his figure completely disappeared in the embrace of the haze beyond their wooden enclosure. Hoping that he'd be alright out there, she pulled his scarf off her head and clutched it tightly against her chest. You could guess she was becoming somewhat fond of the homeless looking, heterochomic Nowherian.

"Heh, a bath sounds just perfect right about now. Will we be going in one by one or will we save up some water and go in groups?"

Feeling Haruken's vision dart her way, a sensation alike to insects crawling up your back rippled her very core. It didn't occur to her what that look meant, bless her innocent soul, but she thought nothing of it and headed for the bedrooms upstairs to get out of her funky, moist clothing.
Making sure to close the door behind her, she wondered what was so wrong that Song had stormed off like that and had urged them so intently to take a shower. Slithering out off her hoodie and skinny jeans, she crawled over to the corner of her bed to grab her teddy backpack. A fresh set of shirts and jeans settled into her grasp as well as a towel almost as white as her skin.

In the town of Yonder...

He was angry, not just at Hakuren, but at the Mayor, at the queen, and maybe even at Nowhere itself.

The way the place defied everything he knew about logic, science, physics just got underneath his skin. He wanted to go home as soon as possible, and Jasper with her glassy eyes and shivering frame looked like she wanted to go home too, but they were powerless. They couldn't go home, not until they collected every item on the list. "If you know this is real," Harper inhaled sharply before finally snapping, "then act like it! Some of us, some of us aren't suicidal like you and I...I can't be as brave as you!" He exploded before allowing Maritini to pull him away. It had been a long day and they were tired and cold and crabby. Maybe, tomorrow would be better.

Songbird took charge of the others, shoving them along grouchily, but Harper didn't feel upset or intimidated. He was extremely grateful that the bird was doing what he did and he was glad that the guides came when they did. Drowning would have been a horrible way to go and if they had died, they wouldn't have the chance to go home.

"Hey, Martini...thanks for everything and I don't know if asking is alright, but," he walked alongside the mermaid who floated on her little bubble. "What happened to the batches before us, why aren't there any other humans...did they go home?" In the pit of his stomach, he doubted that they did, but it was nice to hope.

Not too far ahead of him Dissonance dragged a soggy Leila and Hakuren along. "Hey, don't be so mean, Haku. She looks frightened already!" The white rabbit gave the boy's cheeks a hard pinch. Maybe that would teach him to behave. The white rabbit was still bouncy and happy, but it was more in an attempt to keep the mood light. She sensed that something was wrong, but wasn't the type to admit stuff like that, so she did what she did best and grinned.

"Oi Song!" She yelled, "Don't get lost in the fog, we'll be at the cabin." And with that said she hopped alongside Martini as they made their way to the cabin. As soon as they arrived Dissonance began ushering the humans towards the bathroom. There were only two bathrooms, one upstairs and the other one down. However, there were several showers separated by stalls. Harper stumbled into one and took a warm shower before he got changed. When he was done with everything he collapsed onto the couch beside the fireplace and closed his eyes.

"Tomorrow, we'll figure out exactly what happened. Sis, is probably going to talk to the mayor and maybe find Mado too." Dissonance grinned cheerily at everyone in the room. "We'll get to the bottom of this, so don't worry about anything you pasty-skinned humans." The word pasty-skinned had become one of endearment and Dissonance did care about them, despite her brash decisions and silly shenanigans. It had been two weeks after all and she had grown rather fond of them.

"Okay, get some sleep, humans. Tomorrow, we become detectives!"

One by one everyone began falling into a deep and fitful slumber. In the darkness of their minds in a realm between waking and sleep they saw her, a distorted reflection beneath the blackened waves. The blood red moon was reflected on the water's surface and peppermint stars shimmered in the construction paper night. There was the chanting of several citizens, torches and pitchforks that were raised high into the sky. A sad song and then a scream. The Nobodies dreamed about it too, but it was blurry and told in nothing more than fragments.

The dream came to pass and morning came.

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On the road to Yonder...

Ace was very enthusiastic about Nowhere and it brought a smile to Cello's face. He had been a guide for as long as he could remember, but he never got tired of the amazement he saw in the human's faces. Most of them always talked about how fantastic Nowhere was, but despite that majority of them always wanted to go back. It didn't make any sense because if Nowhere was grand and far more magnificent than the human realm then why did they always want to leave? It always made him curious.

If humans always wanted to go back then earth had to beautiful in one way or another. If it wasn't then they would have stayed without a fight, of that he was sure.

"Heh, I'm glad you like Nowhere so much." Cello stretched like a lazy tabby, the stars shimmered brightly in the sky and the town of Yonder became visible in the distance. "Man, I wish I could visit earth. I bet it's much prettier than you humans make it sound, I mean, you guys always want to go back..." before he could say more he was interrupted by Ace's question. "We'll be there real soon, kiddo. That's the town of Yonder." He pointed to small town in the distance. It was made up by clusters of wooden houses and looked so old in comparison to the city they had come from.

“Used to? Is he one of the humans that went along on that mission with the star? I’m assuming he didn’t survive that encounter, hmm?” Leon's question reached him, but Cello didn't really know how to answer that one. It was a supposed to be sensitive topic.

"Well, you can say that. Nowhere can be dangerous too, well, I bet earth is the same way, yeah?" Cello grinned. "And sure, fair is fair. I'll ask you guys about your world and you can ask me about mine, I swear, I know this place real well." And with that they walked on.

Timeskip...

After much walking the two found themselves in a small and cheap looking hotel called Spouter inn. The wooden floorboards creaked with each step, the food smelled stale and the corners had molds, cobwebs and the works. The nobody in charge was a large cockroach named Skeet, he had a long mustache and ice-blue eyes. His assistant was a rat named Tomlinson who seemed to know Cello. The two weren't on good terms, but Tomlinson was civilized because Cello and the humans were guests.

"Sorry, we'll have to spend the night in this place." Cello mumbled. He was bundled up in a sleeping bag in front of the fireplace, not too far frome Ace and Leon. The place had run out of rooms, but it was the only one open so late at night. "G'night, kiddos." Cello rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Like the other humans Ace's and Leon's dreams were also plagued by a distorted face that screamed from beneath the blackened waves.

Collab between Fox and Rabbit

Everything in the town of Yonder felt wrong. Serenade was far from psychic, but her gut told her the place was just bad news. Everything from the lake to the mayor just felt bad...but why it felt that way she couldn't understand at all. It was an illogical fear, silly considering she always tried to find reason in things.

"Serenade, mind if I join you?"

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and it made her freeze. The chilly fog and the near death situation the humans had gotten into had made her jumpier than usual. She took in a breath of air then turned around to see Two-Thirds smiling. "Oh, it's just you." She returned the smile, though the look of worry didn't leave her face. Something wasn't right, did the other guides feel it too? Did the humans know? Why had they marched towards the lake like zombies...what did the siren tempt them with? There were too many unanswered questions and they irritated the black hare to no end. "It's rather cold out, you should follow the others..." there was a pause, "but I'll need all the help I can get, so thank you."

The black rabbit nodded her head then made her way through the fog, she made sure to keep Mado in her sights, but it was harder to keep up than she had imagined and soon the two guides found themselves just outside Mayor Spicy Tuna's house. Serenade shook her head. "Whatever mischief she's up to, we need to stop her. Let's go, two." Mado hid in a giant pot and Serenade decided to play along, she pulled two by the hand and they ducked behind a bush, as soon as Mado thought the coast was clear she hopped stepped out of the pot and jumped into the mayors window.

Serenade cursed beneath her breath. "She's a little unstable, Two. We'll need to stop her before anyone gets hurt."

The two guides dashed towards the glass window only to see Mado, waving a knife threateningly at the mayor. Why were the humans she got stuck with the crazy and unreasonable ones.

"What on earth?" The Mayor's eyes grew twice their size and he eyed the knife with a frown. This girl was insane. "Where are the guides and are they with you? How on earth did you get in here?"

Two-Thirds nodded at Serenade's directions and followed her to duck behind a bush. It has made him uneasy that the black rabbit is in so much visible discomfort at the situation but decided that the current situation at hand is more important. Serenade said that Mado is unstable and after all they just can't let the mayor become a dish by the mercy of a blade.

(sushi or sashimi?)

Two-Thirds blinked. Mado has somehow entered the the mayor's house in an oddly heroic fashion before the nobody can come up with a counteraction. Before he could dash into the house, Mado's second question caught his attention. It clicked something in Two-Thirds into place and restored his composure.

(Tell me what you know about the drowning, or be turned to a dish of your choice.)

At the moment, Two-Thirds tugged Serenade to a halt and they both stumbled down to duck under the window pane. The Nobody put a single claw lightly to the black rabbit's lips with a furtive smile and a glance towards the house's interior. We'll see what the mayor would do to save himself. Two-Thirds is positive, even if Mado were to go a little too far, they would stop her in time.

A look of confusion crossed the black rabbit's features before she finally understood what Two was trying to do. So they would let Mado scare the mayor then learn as much as they could, huh? The tea maker was much more devious than she thought. At first the plan seemed a little cruel, and Mado was well unpredictable and unstable. However, they would need information and anything involving the drowning was bound to be crucial, right?

"Listen, human. Get that thing away from my face. I don't know anything about the drowning. I only know it's caused by some wretched siren. Now out with you, please." He glared at the human and waved a fin in the door's direction. "Tomorrow I plan to speak with your guides, but for now, please leave."

The black rabbit didn't know what Mado would do, but she kept her head low and listened. Two-Thirds was relieved that Serenade did not struggle to provide the mayor protection. Nonetheless, he stayed alerted.

The haze emitted from the flames of torches playfully danced above the heads of unknown figures, whilst the chants of low deep voices of both men and women alike reached the heavens bit by bit, echoing through the eons. A full moon, the graceful mistress of the night, had come to shine upon the shadows, dressed in a gown soaked in blood. Clouds painted in jet black ink floated through the sky, as if they were dragons, chasing after the stars, which twinkled and shined on the dark blue canvas that was the welkin. The water's surface was still for a moment and then became distorted. Ripples disturbed the lake's serenity, so crystal clear and splendid. Like a century-old music box, a song was gently carried by the wind to those who listened. Each note was slow and light. A sad melody it was. It spoke of agony and morning, of a voice unheard, of a side unseen. And then came a scream, one of pain and suffering. It pierced all with the emotion the barer felt, one of both deep sadness and flaming anger. As sudden as this attack was, it all vanished in the depths of darkness. The water became still once more and a mist of shadows began its slow waltz over the scenery. The curtain fell. The play came to its bitter ending. With that, all became silent and not a single sound was uttered.

Slowly his eyelids parted from one another and lifted upwards, revealing the condition of the wooden sealing. Cracked, drilled by unknown miniature creatures, with thin white threads that spread left and right, like highways across a barren plane, sometimes parting and dripping downwards, resembling the pale bony hands of an elderly woman, reaching out for her grandchild, in order to give it a nice big kiss. Light from a debatable source entered through the dirty barred windows, weakly illuminating the contents inside. Lifting himself to a sitting position, the young man's mouth slightly open as he inhaled silently, bits and pieces of dust floating undisturbed in the air. The atmosphere was calm and quiet, so much a needle could be heard as it hit the hard floor of the cabin. It would have been completely soundless if not for the soft breathing of those who peacefully slept under the white covers of their beds. Resting upon the top bunk of his own, Hakuren Zabluda was as if in a daze. Eyes somewhat clouded, he used his right hand to let his fingers run through his black-blue hair. For comfort's sake, he had removed the black band, which usually tied it together as it hid, tucked in beneath his clothing. Wearing a light blue shirt, which was unbuttoned until the middle, and hair going down his neck to a level slightly below that of his shoulders, the lad stood motionless whilst he sorted out the thoughts in his head. Lightly, a breath or two escaped through his lips, pushing away the particles, which glimmered through the staleness of the space around him. His expression was calm, lacking his usual friendly smile, and finally resembled that of a psychologist, of a person asking and answering questions concerning a world only he knew of. Several heartbeats were spent in this manner, until a crack in the ice broke the serenity of the moment. A smiled appeared on his face, yet it was not of the nature already mentioned. Perhaps, the most likely word befitting a description of it would be "sinister".
"So, shall we begin?" he asked no one in particular.
Pushing the last covers aside, the youngster moved and allowed his legs to hang, while his gaze quickly scanned the area around him. Dissonance's sleeping face was adorable, of course. This was most likely the only time she could be seen in such a dormant state and, even when she was not beaming with her sunshine attitude, her charm continued to brighten her image. Pulling his arms behind his back in order to stretch, Hakuren heard a crack and found it enough. Taking to the ladder, he took one step at a time, all the while observing the person, who slept in the bed below him. Her name was Leila, the girl who had been his companion, whilst the two of them had been dragged by the white hare practically everywhere. It was then that he realized how accurate the bunny lass's nickname for her actually was. She was curled up much like a small animal, the sheets covering her entire body and the back of her head, including her ears, an attempt to block the noise, no doubt.
"The harder the shell, the deeper the crack." he sighed as he dropped down on the floor to put on his shoes.
Not a single other person was awake. The young man went to the toilet, which was a room composed of only a hole in the ground and a rusty old sink with a white chunk of something that was meant to serve the role of a soap. Other than his bodily need, he made sure to wash both his hands and his mouth, albeit he didn't use the questionable detergent to do so. Afterwords he checked the black jeans he had left to dry on the bottom end of his bed, finding that not only were they no longer damp, but they also did not have a single hole or remnant of the accident on them. This was pleasing, for he didn't want to be left pantsless. Putting them on, he went to look out the window, only to see that the landscape was no different than what he last remembered of it. Bare trees with branches reaching upwards, like beggars pleading for a dime from ignorant passers by. The ground dark and dusty, not hinting at a single shred of life left in it. And the ever sneaky mist, creeping between the trunks. This was the type of place Yonder was. Haunted, corrupt, a corner of Nowhere that showed just how real a 'fantasy' world could be.
"Wake up, this is reality." he uttered quietly as he gazed over at Harper, who was still resting in his bed. That student had showed a rather flashy display of his youthful flame the other day, but Hakuren had the heart to forgive him. After all, it was only natural for a person of his age and kind to react to the current circumstances in such a manner.

Day had soon turned to night, almost without Ace realizing it. When she did, her intrigue allayed to a much more calm demeanor. Walking under the stars was always a nice and relaxing thing. She listened to Cello speak, tilting her head at the mention of going back home. Ace wanted to say something, but she decided to let it pass. As the night became more imminent, Ace seemed to calm. Although on the inside she still had bounds of energy left in her. Ace learned at a young age that at night it was best to stay quiet- due to past experiences.

She listened to the two males talk, occasionally giving her own input as they walked along. Knowing that Yonder wasn't too far away but a slight bounce in her step. "Yonder here we come." Ace smiled, anticipating what wonders she would see there.

Timeskip

Those wonders would have to wait though... The small group ended up at a rundown hotel making Ace mentally laugh. 'I guess all places have their not so great areas.' It was a stark contrast compared to what they had seen early with Cello, and even before that with Froggy.

Meeting the person- well creature in charge made Ace visibly shudder. This, Skeet character, was a large...cockroach. It was kind of gross... Ace never got the opportunity to say anything to either the cockroach or rat, but in hindsight, it was a good thing. Ace would have more than likely hurt the creatures' feelings.

Ace bundled up in the sleeping bag she was given, having no problem with sleeping on the floor. She didn't realize how tired she was until she got comfortable enough and fell asleep.

Instead of peaceful dreams that occurred because of such a lovely day. . .
Ace's dreams were plagued by a distorted face that screamed from beneath blackened waves. The scream was sickly, sending cold chills down her spine. Ace could only watch as the figure would disappear and reappear because of the waves. . .

It was confusing and the screams made her go cold. The distorted face flashed in her mind once more, this time waking her up from slumber. Waking up, Ace looked around realizing she was still in Nowhere. Still in the shabby hotel. Ace let out a soft sigh and mentally pushed the dream aside, leaving it as it was. She then looked over to see if the other two were awake.

.