"Wait," Dani sighs. I glance skeptically back over at her, an eyebrow raised. Her head is hung, and she's chewing the inside of her cheek, contemplating her following words carefully. For a moment, I don't think she'll say anything, but after another beat, she says, "Thank you for helping me protect everyone."

I pause, surprised at her words, but I smile, welcoming the change of attitude. At least when we part tomorrow, it won't be on horrible terms. "Sure thing, it's the least I could have done."

Dani looks like she wants to say more, thinks better of it, and decides to keep her mouth shut, tugging her legs into the bed and rolling on her side. I take it as my cue to leave the room, closing the door behind me and returning to the living room.

"Thanks for that," Josh says when I return. "Hope she didn't give you too much trouble."

I shrug. "Nothing I can't handle. I'm sure Dani can be a real softie when she wants to be."

"I heard that!" Dani's muffled voice echoes from the back bedroom, and Josh laughs at that.

"Let me know if you ever find that part of her because I'm gonna want pictures!" He chuckles. "All joking aside, though," he adds, "don't be too harsh on her. We're all just trying to make it at this point, and usually, we don't let a bunch of strays stay the night like a cheap motel."

"Well, I'm glad that you're taking a chance on us 'strays', then," I chuckle. "If we had stayed at that little camp as long as we had planned to, and if you hadn't come along when you did, we probably would have gotten caught up in that mess on our own."

"Eh, it was nothing," Josh grins. "It's just a shame that you guys are leaving in the morning; having you guys around would definitely improve a lot of things around here."

I raise an eyebrow, and Felix and Octavia perk up. "Oh? How so?"

"For starters, we could always use more hunters, especially with the winter coming and all that," Josh starts. "Secondly, having Felix around with his knowledge on plants and animals would help out our farmers and scouts immensely, and thirdly, having more people around who know sports, like softball, would help morale. You know, play a few games, improve the general mood."

I glance at my siblings, who are looking at me with puppy-dog eyes, practically begging that we stay for a bit longer. Saying no to them is hard, but saying no to having big, strong walls around us with shelter, ample supplies, and relatively kind people, is even more challenging.

I manage to shake my head, however. "Sorry, but we just can't stay. We have important stuff to do."

"It's all good; you don't have to explain yourselves to me," Josh dismisses with a sad smile. " But, for tonight at least, we have running water. It's not warm, but in case if you wanted to take showers, it's an option."

Felix and Octavia perk up again. "Wait, does that mean..?" Felix ventures.

"You have toilets? With running water?" Octavia finishes his thought. Josh grins, moving out of their way, and gestures to the bathroom.

"A working toilet and a functional shower with cold water," Josh muses. "Might as well be a five-star hotel."

Felix and Octavia shove each other out of the way, fighting to get to the bathroom before the other.

"I get it first!"

"I'm older, so I get it first!"

"Beauty before age, you old hag!"

"I've been holding in a shit in for two days; you are so not going to use it before me!"

I gag at my sister's comment. "I didn't need to hear that..."

Josh just cackles like a wicked witch as we watch my siblings fight for the bathroom. Eventually, Felix manages to use his larger body mass to shove Octavia out of the way and jump into the bathroom, locking her out.

"You asshole!" Octavia screeches, making Josh and I cackle even more.

Octavia pounds on the door for a good few seconds before Dani's very pissed-off voice sounds from the back bedroom, "I'm about to use your fucking head as a football if you don't cut that shit out!"

Octavia jumps at Dani's sudden voice and, knowing that she'll very likely make good on that threat, stops, sighing with defeat. "You win this round, you ass-muncher," Octavia growls through the crack of the door before turning to head into the spare bedroom.

"I'm going to turn in for the night on that lovely note," I tell Josh.

"Probably a good idea, before Godzilla back there decides to take matters into her own hands," Josh replies, gesturing with his head towards Dani's bedroom. "Sleep well, Cassandra. You, too, Octavia."

"Yeah, sure," Octavia grumbles, flopping on one of the beds. "Sweet fucking dreams and all that shit."

Josh just laughs at that, shaking his head as he wanders towards the back room, knocking on the door. "You decent in there?"

"Yes, Josh, I'm decent," Dani sounds annoyed - so far, when does she never? - and Josh steps in, closing the door behind him.

I sigh, heading into the spare bedroom and flopping on the other twin bed.

"Well," Octavia groans, "today was eventful."

"Yup," I breathe. "Fought a couple of weirdoes in the woods, got taken to a camp full of weirdos, camp got attacked by a bunch of assholes and a Titan, and now we can add 'harassing the local paramedic' to the list."

"Hey, I never harassed her. Some of my thoughts are just a little more public than others. Plus, those weirdo's turned out to be total hotties."

"So the whole camp is a place full of hotties, now?" I taunt.

Octavia throws one of her pillows at me, hitting me square in the face. "Ew, Cass, gross! No, I was talking about the step-siblings in the other room!" She pauses, glancing out the door towards Dani and Josh's door. "Do you think they're actually step-siblings, or do you think that they're step-siblings?"

Now it's my turn to hit Octavia in the face with a feathered pillow. "Octavia, you're fucking nasty, you know that? Only you would ask that kind of question!"

"What? I'm curious! Everyone has a kink, you know," Octavia giggles, settling the pillow back under her head. "Besides, they're both hot, but I've got my eye on Dani."

"Do not even go there, O," I warn her. "You know we're not staying long."

She groans, throwing her hands out to the side like the drama queen she is. "Yeah, but why? Besides the Widow's, this place is a paradise! And I'm not just saying that because of the hotties next door!"

"Mom told us-"

"No offense, but fuck mom, okay?" Octavia growls. "Sending your kids on a bullshit suicide mission with a tacky piece of jewelry five states away with no explanation is hella sketchy. We should be focusing on finding a safe place with people we can trust. Oh, look, we found it!"

"Octavia," I warn.

"I'm just saying," Octavia continues, "Mom had a lot of loose screws when she called us last; I wouldn't be surprised if 'crazy' is how she died."

"Octavia!"

My sister pauses, sitting up to look at me, concerned.

"Just... Stop talking like that. She's alive," I sigh. Maybe if I say it out loud more often, I'll trick myself into actually believing it. "I know she is. So just... don't talk like that."

I know she can feel just how serious I am about this, and after a while, she finally nods, sighing. "Alright, Cassy. I won't bring it up anymore."

The bathroom door opens up, and Felix steps out, his hair wet, and looking happier than I've seen him in a while. He steps into the bedroom, his content expression falling when he notices the room's solemn tone.

"Uh, did I miss something?" He asks.

"Octavia just farted, that's all," I lie.

"Eww, O! Could you not wait while I showered before shitting the bed?!"

"Sorry, little bro," Octavia shrugs with a tired grin as she stands. "You wanted the bathroom first after I told you I've been holding it in for a while. When nature calls, it's best to answer because leaving her on 'read' is a sure way to start regretting life."

Felix looks over at me pleadingly as Octavia wanders over to the bathroom, a satisfied grin on her face. "Cass, can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Nope, last one in the room gets to sleep with stinky butt," I tease. Felix groans, reluctantly climbing into the bed Octavia was just lying in as I get comfy on mine.

Several minutes pass before Octavia finally joins us back in our room, closing the door as she enters. I blow out the lantern as she gets settled in the bed with Felix, the two of them bickering about the limited space, though their arguments have no bite to them.

"Sleep well, you two. I love you," I mutter to them.

"Love you too, Cassy," they mutter back in unison, falling asleep almost instantly.