Carver quickly got comfortable next to Shock, but left enough distance that her friend wouldn't feel crowded. She looked out over the town, saying nothing. If Shock needed to talk, she would. If she wanted to yell at or punch someone, she could. Carver knew Oogie's oldest wouldn't need an explicit invitation to get started, either way. Or if she just wanted to relax and hangout without any drama from various siblings, they could do that, too. 

Carver decided to wait it out and leave it up to Shock.

---

Lillith shapeshifted out of bat form and sat down next to him. "You may not have to live with Carmilla, but I do."

She shook her head. "And I never said Shock doesn't deserve her part. Nobody in town believes you three pander to each other. But if your sister [i]wants[/i] to fight, then no amount of treading lightly is going to stop her. She'll [i]find[/i] an excuse. And even if she didn't Carmilla isn't going to roll over just to keep the peace."

She ran her fingers through his mohawk idly. "Carmilla works hard, too. Arguably, harder than Shock and even harder than you. We're [i]vampires[/i], Lock. We can walk steadily with a stack of books on our heads without even trying. We are physically incapable of tripping down stairs. Finding something that we're good at because we learned how -- rather than just because of our nature -- is difficult enough, let alone taking the time to actually [i]get[/i] good. She feels she has a right to be rewarded for the time and effort she put in."

Lilith rolled her eyes. "She could definitely stand to put some more work into her manners, though. You'd think with nine elders constantly drilling us about our place in Halloween Town, she'd at least act like an adult."