“How did you get in here?” Slightly startled Higgs swivelled around on his desk chair. The cloak had been washed but Lou might have a hard time recognising that because it looked perpetually worn at this point. Higgs had pulled up his legs onto the chair and held a tub of ice cream in one hand, a spoon in the other.

It really was Zenna. Damn. But then again maybe he should have expected Sam’s entourage in Capital Sam city. Amused Higgs watched as she dropped her toys and seemed to recognise him as well.

“Would you look at that it’s Sam’s shortcake,” he mused and set her down again. Less because he was interested in her picking up the toys, although that was another good thing to come out of it but because he had no further reason to dangle her in front of his face now that he knew who she was. Also giving her no further opportunity to grab at his face.

“In the flesh!” He replied with a grin and furrowed his brows a little at her question. “I suppose I live here now...” He said with a shrug. It was better than most other options although Higgs could think of better places to stay than under 24/7 surveilance. “The same question extends to you,” he pointed out earnestly. He couldn’t imagine Sam wanted his little daughter to run around the bowels of Bridges unsupervised. It wasn’t like he was being kept anywhere close to civilisation.

What he could hear was that somebody was trying to break his shelter door open by force. Some stray porter who had been surprised by the timefall Higgs figured. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, the shelter hadn’t been built for that. And though he was now thankful for it there had been a time where it had frightened him, but that had been many years ago.

When the rattling at his door didn’t stop however Higgs did get up to investigate the situation. Maybe someone really was dying on his doorstep. In which case he might leave them there and later deal with the BT. Just maybe.

He could have unlocked the door from the depths of his shelter and he certainly could have figured out who was outside from there but his curiosity easily got the better of him. So it wasn’t exactly a miracle when he opened the door with a gun under his right arm that was loosely pointed at the outside world just in case there really was a BT waiting for him and it was catcher making all that ruckus.

He hadn’t been exactly wrong, however the catcher was only making so much noise because it had found something it wanted to have and was pawing at the inside of the entrance of his shelter furiously. He didn’t reconise whoever had lead it here but since he was out here, he could just as well do something about it.

With practiced hands he lifted his gun to aim it at the slimy BT leg. It was large enough that he didn’t need to do much aiming when it didn’t swing around.

Hurt, the catcher roared and retrieved its paw.

⨳ — TYPES OF HUGS; - send one for my muse's reaction!

“I’m... not sad?” Higgs offered. Although not entirely certain that he could convince Zenna of this. Not with the way she looked at him.

He couldn’t hear the rain so far underground. Or the BTs, really. Only the catchers made a bit of a ruckus when they appeared and chased whoever had spawned them, but Higgs generally didn’t bother with them unless they happened to run into the maw of his shelter and bash against the structure. Right now they weren’t a problem, but he kept an assault rifle close to the door just in case.

How he’d ended up all the way back east was beyond Higgs. Die-Hardman had done little other than locking him up and leaving him to rot. And if it hadn’t been for Lockne he might have died of boredom within the first couple weeks. He’d only seen Sam in passing from afar and Fragile not all, which was probably for the better.

Sighing Higgs stretched and let the book fall over the head of his bed. Admittedly half the reason he was staying put was that he had a bed in the first place. A real, proper bed. -- He was, however, out of reading material and that couldn’t stand, although it took another while before Higgs could convince himself to get up.

Unhindered by the locked door he made his way out of the room. The books weren’t materialising by themselves in his room and really he was doing them all a favour by letting himself out instead of waiting for someone to show up, Higgs argued as he opened the lock and pulled the cloak deeper into his face when he stepped out into the hallway.