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[sub][@Ruler Inc][@Fernstone][/sub]
 [code]Near the Library[/code]
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Rita was busy destroying what remained of her fingernails to calm her nerves. She at the table to give herself some space from the others, although it unfortunately left her closer to the stench of the rotting dinner. Kimberly asked about Justin. Rita hadn’t seen him since he turned the snowstorm into a firestorm to drive the Wendigos away. Hell, she felt like she hadn’t seen anything until she was inside of this house, at this table, studying a spoiled plate of Kraft macaroni and cheese. Before this, she’d just felt things: the cold, fear, weakness, and the literal pain in her ass from after being thrown by the Wendigo. 

Rita looked over at Tuyen. She had seen Tuyen’s shadow fight before, but that was when she was under the impression that Tuyen had been controlling it. Back at the hospital she said it was sentient, but Rita had always figured that meant it was some kind of quirky sidekick by the way Tuyen had brushed it off. From what bits she had caught in the library it appeared much more intense than before. Gleefully destructive. Dangerous, even. There was a shadow of unease over Tuyen’s face, and Rita wasn’t sure it was only from her concern about Justin. [i]Even if it just is,[/i] thought Rita as she stepped away from the table while the others began to pour over the map. 

“Hey. Um,” said Rita as she joined Tuyen on the sofa. She didn’t know how to continue. It’d feel lame to tell her that Justin was alive or that everything would be okay considering Rita didn’t believe either of those two things. She mulled over things for another second or two, and then just pulled in Tuyen for a hug. Rita was one for touching other people ever, and her hug showed that. It was poorly executed, definitely awkward, and thankfully short. She pulled away. “I’m glad you made it.”

There was a loud thunk from above before Tuyen had a chance to answer, and Rita tensed as the voices of Wendigos carried throughout the house. It sounded like Justin was alive, which was great, but they had given up hunting him and were now looking for them. As the Wendigos jumped off the roof, the others began to come up with a plan of action. Rita agreed that getting back to Grand Ridge before trying to fight them was their best chance of survival, but just running like crazy had only worked when they had Justin covering them. 

“Wait,” said Rita. She looked down to avoid triggering her abstraction. “Grand Ridge isn’t too far, but we, uh, we won’t make it if they spot us right away. Sorry, this might be a dumb idea. Rien, could you draw something that can be used as a distraction to draw their attention inside after we start running for it? Like an...like an alarm clock or a firecracker or something. Just anything to buy us an extra minute.”