**12** [Audio]

[bffpoltergeist]

[Liz has kept mostly to herself since the Furball incident got a lot of people hurt, but certain things catch her attention without fail.

This time it's the fact that she can't seem to find Chloe anywhere.]

Umm... I know that, like, I'm not everyone's, like, favorite or anything right now, but... umm... Has anyone seen Chloe? She's been here a while now, but, like, I can't find her at any of, like, her normal hang-outs.

Sollux? Derek???

[Is someone freaking a tad? Mmmm, yes.]

Comments

[bffpoltergeist]

[Derek whines softly and Liz absently drops a hand to rest on his shoulder as he semi-shrugs at her.]

I've, like, checked the castle from, like, top to bottom... I mean, I haven't gone into the tunnels yet, but I can...

[She bites her lower lip and shifts from foot to foot. She is torn between hoping Chloe wasn't that foolish and hoping she WAS that foolish.]

[sociopathicwolf]

[He leans into the touch, just a little bit. Derek's still not completely used to Liz being able to touch, but she's been pack in his mind for a long time, so it'll never be something he shies away from.

Especially now.

He shakes his head at that. Derek doesn't want her going in there, not alone. And he knows how the tunnels work. If Chloe'd gone in there, Liz won't be able to find her, even if she goes in after her.

...not that it isn't something he'd thought of himself, but he's always allowed himself to take more risks than the people he cares about.]

[bffpoltergeist]

[She tangles her fingers into his fur, rooting herself for at least as long as she's solid. She knows Derek is far from the touchy feely sort, but she appreciates that, even in his wolf form, he's not trying to shake her off.

When he shakes his head at her suggestion, she deflates a bit. Even after being trapped in an inescapable black room with Sollux for a week, she'd still been perfectly willing to go into the tunnels for Chloe.

She swallows thickly, biting her lower lip.]

She... she could, like, still show up... right?

[Even if she already knew the answer to that... and, ghost or not, there is a definite burning of tears welling behind her eyes.]

[sociopathicwolf]

[He's a lot more comfortable with touch in his wolf form now than he used to be. Most of that is due to Chloe, to her comfort around him like this, to the hide and seek they'd play in the forest, to her sleeping curled around him when he was a wolf.

And now... now, it's easier, than having to talk. Not that he could, like this, but still.

They both know the answer to that. But Derek hasn't given up yet. He's not willing to face the reality that she's gone. She's not gone. Not yet. Not when he hasn't searched every single area possible.

He pushes his head against her leg, hoping she'll stay solid enough for him not to go through it.]