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[wendigoner]

[ She really should have just done voice - or text - but Hannah isn't exactly in her right mind today. There's a wildness in her eyes and in her tone that is more than obvious, her entire bearing just... bordering on panic. ]

Has anyone seen Beth? My sister - I can't find her.

[ It's not that it's unusual to find one of the twins out of their room before the other, but it is strange to have Beth... seem totally gone, not responding to calls or messages, having left no note of explanation... ]

She isn't here, she isn't - answering, and - God, if anything happens to her...!

[ "My little sister is dead. The fall killed her..." The first pieces of what Matt had found and showed to Hannah claw at her brain, unrelenting. ]

I've gotta go out there and find her. I won't leave her.

[ No one found them when they fell, apparently, but that doesn't mean she'll give up. Not on Beth. Not for anything. ]

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[wendigoner]

[ Maybe it's all of their faults. The others for the prank, Hannah for overreacting, and Beth for running after her. The police for not looking hard enough. There are a million reasons why it happened and only one bottom line. ]

If there's a 'world' where we're all okay, it's still not our world. [ Hannah mutters, trying not to show Emily the sting of tears building in her eyes. ] My sister is still dead, and I -

[ God. No, no, she can't think about that, about what she heard. What she read. ]

You lost Matt. [ She mutters tearfully, chancing a look at her friend. "We all lost him." ] And Chris lost Ash... I'm not the only one.

[ She isn't alone in her losses, not by a long shot. ]

[unfollowing]

[That's the same thing she told Glacius. It isn't theirs, if it exists. And yet--] So what? Our world sucks, Han. I don't want to go back to a place without you and Beth. Not-- not after spending so long here together.

[Emily isn't stupid. She can see plain as day how this is upsetting Hannah. Hearing about Matt and Ash again makes it even clearer, though it's still not quite the same as what Hannah has to deal with.]

Anyone in this cave could disappear at any moment. Everyone's lost someone. And it sucks, but... it's not over. They could come back. [She shrugs, looking as defeated as she feels.] That's the only thing we know for sure.

[wendigoner]

They could come back. [ She repeats, like an echo, without conviction. ] Or you and Chris could go, too, and I'd be here all alone.

[ Alone, like a girl stuck in a cave.

She glances at Wolfie, blinking, as if seeing him for the first time. ]

Why did he stay when Mike left? Didn't they show up together?

[unfollowing]

Or maybe you and Chris could be gone, and then it'd be just me. Or the two of us could leave, and then Chris'd be by himself. Literally anything could happen here.

[And it's bullshit. Emily sighs, defeated, frowning. She's not good at this the way Sam is. Emily is the tough love friend, where Sam is gentle and understanding. And Hannah's best friend, and so someone who'd know far better what to do right now.]

I don't know, [she answers, looking at Wolfie.] The Door is weird. [And that's a true statement.] How fucked up is it that Mike of all people hasn't had to deal with all the shit that goes on here. [Her voice is sharp there because guess who's still mad at Mike and finds it easier to blame everything on him.] Wolfie deserves better than this, but I'm glad he's here. That's selfish, but...

[She shrugs and turns to look at Hannah.] I'm glad you're here too. I'm here for you, okay? Whatever you need. As long as I'm still in this shithole with you, I'm here for you.

[wendigoner]

[ Yes, it's unfair that any of them could leave at any moment. That Mike isn't here on which to heap their bitterness. There's a lot of unfairness these days, ever since the party. ]

Thanks. [ Hannah replies, because she doesn't know what else to say. Nothing she or Emily does will bring Beth back, or any of the others. It won't make any of this less painful. ] ... I get that she's - gone, but... I feel like it's giving up, just saying that and doing nothing.

[ Like some people maybe did after the twins vanished back home. ]

How did he even get to be friends with a wolf, anyway? [ She asks weakly, looking down at the creature. ]

i love when my finger slips and i pick the wrong icon lmao >:|

[unfollowing]

[Yeah. This isn't easy for either of them, and at this point, what else is there to say? Nothing, at least nothing Emily can think of, so it's not until Hannah asks something that she bothers trying to come up with an answer.]

I don't really know. [She shrugs.] When he and Sam were here, Sam told me something about how Wolfie went through this creepy sanatorium with him. I guess that's where he and that guy with the journal and the flamethrower, Jack, lived.

[Which disproves Emily's warning that Wolfie bites assholes. He didn't bite Mike, king of the assholes. Oh well.]

!!!

[wendigoner]

Flame- Oh.

[ Oh. Right. The guy who'd been chasing off the wendigos before they'd fallen from the cliff. The guy who'd tried to save them.

Suddenly, Wolfie doesn't seem as interesting a mystery. Hannah goes quiet, sinking against the base of her own bed. ]

Got it. [ She says, finally, in a small voice. ]