"I'm going to the coast." Hyquaria said abruptly. "To send a message back home."
"What? Via Delphyne?" Zynfi asked. Hyquaria snorted. "God no, she doesn't want to be involved in this at all. She hates Altirian shit."
"Makes sense..." Rhea muttered. "Even the sea witch wants to avoid the demons. How are you going to get out?"
"The balcony." she tipped her chin towards the doors. "This place is bougie and it looks on the coastline. We're only one story off the ground."
"Alright. Be safe. You've said these are siren waters."
"They won't bother me," Hyquaria waved her off. "They know better. See you, be safe. Make sure that door stays locked."

"Rheaaa?" Leriph tried, roaming into the hallway. He had seen her tonight, hadn't he? "Rooooommer.... Rheeeeeaa..."

Zynfi had vanished into the bathroom and Hyquaria, off the balcony. Rhea had been sitting on a chair in Rommer's room, trying to review their options and struggling to keep tears of exhaustion from leaking out of her eyes, when a distant call caught her attention.
Rhea...
Her name? Who was calling her?

"Hello...?" Leriph continued, stumbling down the hallway off the kitchen that led to the bedrooms. "Damn it, is she gone already?"

Rhea bit her lip, glancing once more towards the balcony and then to the door. She exhaled a short sigh as her name echoed through the hall again, then finagled the lock and pushed out into the hallway, stepping directly into Leriph. "Oh!"

He reeled from the shock of her sudden appearance before his face lit up again. "Heyyy!" He thrust his arms into the air. "There y'are!"

"Shhh," she motioned for him to lower his voice, glancing anxiously out into the hallway. Rhea wasn't sure what made her more uneasy; the idea of someone more sober following Leriph's voice only to find him in conversation with an Altirian, or the idea of having a conversation with Leriph at all. "Yes, I'm... I'm here."

He leaned forward, protruding deeply into her personal space, and whispered loudly, "Why can I touch you?"

Rhea reflexively leaned away as he approached, her back thudding against the wall. "B-because I'm real. I mean, I'm... I'm actually here."

His eyebrows creased in confusion and he moved an exploratory palm to touch the top of her head. "Woah."