At the short pause, Ryker opened his mouth to specify who he had meant by ‘Ms. Heatstroke’ in case that was the problem. But his mouth snapped shut and his eyes widened when laughter bubbled from Alexander in answer.
	A concerned confusion settled over Ryker’s angular features. He took a step back and looked his new roommate over with a cautious, calculating eye. The last time he had seen someone laugh like that, they had been bitten by a snickering snake. That had been a week to remember. And [i]not[/i] in a good way.
	“Everything alright, mate?” Ryker asked, his brows rising.
	Thankfully, Alexander’s laughing fit ended quickly in an apology.
	Ryker’s hopes rose a fraction when Alexander began to actually answer his question. Though he had no idea exactly what ‘as Nonesense as they come’ meant, he rather liked the sound of it. 
	Before he could ask what ‘the talk’ was, Alexander grabbed Ryker’s luggage and continued up the stairs. With a half shrug, he followed, his steps unhurried.
	He kept careful track of where he was relative to the front exit. Though the mansion was not small—its halls huge compared to the cramped, horribly claustrophobic space of the car—the number of walls between him and the outdoors made him nervous. His gaze lingered on every window they passed, part of him wanting to run to it and pry it open. No matter the temperature inside or out, the air indoors always felt a little too warm, stuffy, and stale to him.
	Ryker stopped a pace behind Alexander when the boy paused to open a door. He fidgeted with the hood of his hoodie, the garment still slung over his shoulder. 
	Once the door was open, Ryker stepped in tentatively behind his roommate, uneager to see his newest cell room.
	Ryker stopped in the doorway and blinked at the sight before him. He took in the glorious mess of what could only be Alexander’s half of the room. A familiar kind of mess. His gaze hovered over the impressive dagger sitting among other tools if a carver.
	A grin spread over Ryker’s lips as he stepped fully inside. The stark contrast of the cleanliness of the other half of the room nearly made him laugh. It looked like the perfect ‘Before and After’ picture, cut straight down the middle. Even the warm, earthy scent of shaved wood fought against the sharp odor of cleaning supplies and freshly washed bedding.
	“You kidding?” Ryker began when Alexander apologized a second time. “It’s ruddy [i]brilliant![/i]”
	Not waiting for the other boy’s explanation, Ryker tossed his hoodie on the perfectly made bed and practically sprinted to a window placed squarely on the line between the halves of the room. Only half listening as Alexander spoke, he quickly unlocked the window and lifted it open as a bell rung through the halls and filtered into the bedroom.
	He inhaled deeply as a flowery summer breeze blew through the screen. With even that minuscule bit of the outdoors inside, he felt a bit better almost immediately. He let out a quick laugh when Alexander confirmed which side of the room was his.
	“Thanks, Captain Obvious.” He turned to face Alexander with a good-natured smirk, his eyes slowly lightening to a pale green. He crossed his arms over his bare scared chest. His hide-wrapped pendant hung just above his forearms.
	“Thanks. I think,” he offered with a doubtful snort to Alexander’s unsure welcome. The back of his messy black hair ruffled in another gentle breeze as his attention turned to the tidy dresser and its contents.
	“I have a friend back in Never… wood High,” he corrected unconvincingly as he easily picked his way toward the dresser, “who carves.”
	Without bothering to ask permission—and trying to not further think on Pan at the moment—he reached to pick up the dagger.