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The brunette pushed herself up off the cold floor, limbs slightly stiff from sitting in the same position for probably over an hour. Though she remained rather graceful, showing her years of yoga, it did show.Ā āYou wouldnāt have come in here if you hadnāt at least heard something. Didnāt think I was rather quiet so the other option was probably giant mice, which might be even creepier than a slightly lost human.ā she replied, stretching a little to get the blood flowing again. Her eyes followed him as he stepped into the room she had made into her own private mess of a playground and close the door. Normally, she would have felt incredibly trapped, especially in the world they now found themselves in. But not with Philip. There was a weird feeling of trust, combined with the knowledge of them being on the same side, made her not feel as fearful.Ā āI do not know why you would want to join⦠this, but always.ā she replied with a hint of a smile as she slowly let her gaze go around the room. Many cabinets with opened drawers, of which the half of the content was missing, a knocked over lamp and a half empty bottle of whiskey somewhere in a corner. It looked like the hide out of a perfectly mad person.Ā
The Englishman clearly had made the same observation of his own. His comment sparking a larger smile to hit her features.Ā āAh yes, I enjoy throwing around jury papers , creating a large pile and rolling around in it until I fall asleep. A secret habit of mine.ā She told him with a perfect straight face, as if she was telling nothing but the full truth. A face that was far too familiar to anyone that had met her during her workdays. It faltered into a smile once again quickly though.Ā āIām trying to find some information on a man, though unfortunatly it seems that everything was stored in the precious cloud that no longer exists. - Maybe Iām wasting my time anyway. These documents may not even hold any value any longer in thisĀ ānewā world.ā she paused, looking back up from all the papers to face him. āMay I ask how you ended up here? This is not the first place most would pick as a āhideoutāā
Philip huffs a laugh at Valeriaās point ā she isnāt wrong. In fact, sheās completely right, but heās known her long enough so that he doesnāt easily want to concede, so he merely shrugs casually, as if the comment is neither here nor there. ThoughāāSpeaking of giant mice, have you seen the animals running amok?ā he asks, vaguely gesturing towards the large door. āI swear I saw a penguin running around earlier. That canāt be humane, can it?ā
Walking closer to her as she speaks about her unusual habit, Philip canāt help but roll his eyes. Her humorās always been his cup of tea, and itās nice to know she can hold it still, in the face of all this adversity. Perhaps sheās handling this the same way Philip is ā pretending there is no grief, that there is no chaos, and focusing instead on superficial thoughts, such asā
Well, yes. Finding a document on a man now, of all times, definitely seems like something someone whoās avoiding digging deeper into themselves would do. Still, itās an open invitation, one Philip eagerly accepts. āIād suggest we try the system,ā he says as he steps over the pile and onto the empty tile beside Valeria. āBut Iām afraid thatās not working either.ā He smiles, slightly bitter. āItās funny, the one thing we thought we would always be able to rely on no longer holds the same rank.ā
Philip makes an instantaneous decision to sit down, legs crossed, on the floor, eyeing the documents around him. āWhatās this bloke done, anyway?ā he asks, as he picks up a folder and starts sifting through it. He doesnāt know the manās name, nor what heās looking for, but this keeps his hands busy, which is just the same. He laughs quietly at her question and shakes his head. āItās the only building not currently being invaded by people whoāve realized theyāre not actually dying, and perhaps need supplies,ā he explains, looking up at her. āI doubted anyone would need anything from here, but I should have thought of you.ā

















