[crow]

To be honest, it wasn't entirely morally clean, and people could always surprise you, but she really didn't think anything untoward would happen if Hazel roomed with Akira. Of course, she didn't think anything would happen if any of them roomed with Hazel, though with everything that had happened, putting her and Bran together would have just been cruel. But Hazel wouldn't have been comfortable with anyone else, and they did want her to feel safe with them.

[crow]

Sure enough, Hazel shot her a quick glance that was equal parts nerves and gratitude, and Akira gave her a small, subtle smile. Bran looked impatient, as though he were waiting for her to get on with it, while Bastien's features remained impassive.

It was only Luke who seemed surprised. "Wait, hold on," he said, but Bastien elbowed him in the side before he could get any further than that. "Ow, what the hell was that for?"

[crow]

"We'll take one," said Bastien curtly, taking one of the key cards from Lyra. He dragged Luke off by the arm, with Luke still looking as though he had no idea what was happening. Lyra snickered, though privately she was glad for the intervention. They'd appointed her field leader, but she was still really the median among them in terms of seniority and experience, and she would have been lying if she said it wasn't nice to know that Bastien had her back with things like this.

[crow]

... Luke never could read a room for anything anyway.

"Well, that pretty much decides it, doesn't it? Unless you wanted to room with me, Hazel?" Lyra gave Hazel a little wink and a grin, then laughed it off when Hazel shook her head. "Yeah, I didn't think so," she said lightly, and handed one of the cards to Akira. The two of them walked to the elevator, with Hazel sneaking glances at Bastien and Luke and whispering furtively at Akira.

[crow]

Lyra watched them go for a moment, then turned to Bran. "And then there were two," she said. "Looks like it's you and me, baby cousin. Come on, I've got face masks, and we can do each other's hair."

"Oh? I wouldn't mind some tips on my beauty routine," said Bran. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes, but she'd take it.

"Let's go then," she said, linking arms with him. The elevators had already come and gone, so it was just the two of them waiting together now.

[crow]

He humored her until the elevator doors closed behind them, then extricated himself from her. He didn't catch himself until he had already begun to brush himself off, and she watched as he checked himself mid-motion, then slowly lowered his hands.

He turned slightly, meeting her gaze without flinching, as though inviting her to say anything about it. Or challenging her, she supposed. Lyra smiled. "You do this with all the pretty girls you meet, or is it reserved for family?"

[crow]

For a moment, he said nothing, and the two of them stayed like that, regarding one another as the elevator drifted up. Then the line of his shoulders eased just a fraction, and he smiled, almost the same wry smile that she must have given him earlier. They were only cousins, but Lyra could see a little of the resemblance even so. "I didn't think I would forget myself so easily. I rather hope it's a family thing. It wouldn't do if I slipped up like this at work."

[crow]

Lyra laughed easily. "Right?" she said, and though she didn't elaborate, the smile he gave her in response felt a little more lived-in.

How did that saying go? 'Takes one to know one'? They might have ended up in different places, but it looked like lying ran in the family. Just like a predisposition to supernatural nonsense ran in the family, apparently.

She wondered, briefly, what her brother would have been like if he'd lived long enough to join them.

[crow]

But then the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. "Shall we?" she said, though she didn't offer him her arm again. She didn't like hospitals. He didn't like to be touched. She didn't have to know why.

When they got to their room, Lyra jammed the card into its slot, then leaped directly onto the nearest bed, flopping onto it in a dramatic fashion. "Ahhhh," she said, rolling around on it to her heart's content. "This is it! Man, I want to live like this all the time."

[crow]

Bran, following in her wake, took his shoes off and laid them neatly by the door, then set his pack on the bed and began unpacking. Lyra, hugging a pillow, propped herself up onto her elbows to watch. He had laid out most of his toiletries before he finally glanced at her, inclining his head.

"You're not going to scold me for being a goblin?" she said.

"Why would I do that when you have your boyfriend to do it?" Bran replied evenly.

[Wild Pet Found]