[i]"The main caf is nearby. We can check it out. It's probably some preteens hoping for a snack."[/i]


"Probably," she replied with a quick, amused shrug "Sounds a good plan to me - I think we should" but she trailed off, frowning in confusion when she saw him slide out of his jacket. What was he doing? It was freezing in here - evidenced by the gooseflesh breaking out over her bare arms - so maybe the weird goings on had messed with his body temperature. She slipped off the desk, worriedly, her own pale hand an icy white as she held up her phone, to survey the situation


[i]"Here. I, uh...I just thought...I'm fine, guys generate more heat...might be a bit big, though..."[/i]


When she realised he was offering it out to her - and not about to break into insanity - she blushed at misinterpreting his intentions and accepted it, shyly, trying to conceal her own apprehension. She considered insisting he keep it as his own shirt didn't look particularly substantial but, for some reason, the protest died on her lips and she merely swung it around her shoulders and slid her arms into. The sleeves were way too long, dangling past her fingertips and it wasn't the warmest of garments, but it did help and the shivering subsided. She glanced down at herself; it looked comically out of place and she grinned at it.


"Um, thanks," she said, with a genuine smile and when silence broke out, she walked forward and slapped his arm playfully with one of the jacket's sleeve ends in a bid to bring humour to the situation "Well, I guess - [i]I'm glad[/i] - you aren't as intimidating as you appear to be."


She walked past him, hoping he hadn't seen her face redden slightly as let her hair swing over her face. She wasn't accustomed to kindness - her five elder siblings were all determined, driven people and whereas it had resulted in dazzling, big-money jobs, she would certainly not describe any of them as generous. As the youngest, she tended to be the most easy going of the six of them but that often meant getting last choice. To have someone else put her health first - even in such a humble action as offering her a jacket - warmed her, as much as the actual  material. She sauntered to doorway, where the door lay in splintered, wooden fragments on the floor and glanced back at Cecil, phone still held high to light the way, still beaming. 


"The cafeteria it is, then - no time like the present" she announced as brightly as she could muster, her voice echoing in the gloom and her footsteps distorted by the crunching of glass beneath her shoes from the shattered cabinet "It's probably already been ransacked but we might as well do a quick inventory whilst we're in the area. This office gives me the creeps..."


She gave it one last, searching look and headed out in the direction of the cafeteria, beckoning for Cecil to follow. As soon as she stepped out of the safety of the room - as if such a word could be applied to anything, in this current scenario - she felt her ease drain, as though she'd stepped into no-man's land from the security of a trench. She found herself instantly glancing back for the reassurance she'd found in Cecil's outwardly imperturbable demeanour, to make sure he was following. It was a ridiculous fear - of course, he was following; Jack had ordered them to stick together and besides, she had his jacket - but irrational fears can't always be dispelled by logic. 


"I hate this [i]not knowing[/i]," she burbled to Cecil, quite aware she was rambling but past caring, at this current point in time "This freak eclipse - or whatever they're guessing it is - I mean, why here? Why now? It's so bizarre. It makes me wonder whether any of this was planned by some government or some divine force, or aliens, or...or maybe I'm just reading too deeply into this. I guess the dark just makes me philosophical."


She laughed, aware of how ludicrous she sounded.


"Sorry, sorry; ignore me," she rushed to tag the words onto the end of her speech "I have a tendancy to overthink things. Perks of being into maths, I guess. What's your subject speciality? Somehow, you don't strike me as a science geek..."