The Ol' Room

[Will Stanton]

Will Stanton walked directly from the battle, ignoring the medical teams and skipping out on the infirmary.

In the lighthouse, he wandered around the bottom floor for a minute, before finding the boarded up room he was looking for. With an angry snarl, he smashed through the barriers put up around it, and entered the old, forgotten, dusty office, shifting his way around boxes and debris and collapsing into an old dusty chair behind an old dusty desk.

((open))

[Narrator]

Will has been there awhile when he hears the sound of a beak tapping on the window.

How he knows what that sounds like is probably a good question.

[Will Stanton]

Will sighed, and stood up, opening up a window. "Hello?"

[Narrator]

Birds apparently don't stand much on ceremony, so it's at this point that they bull their way into the room in an unruly flurry of flapping. They're not aiming to hurt Will so much, they just want to get in.

Ultimately, a good half dozen are perching around the room.

[Will Stanton]

Will looked around, blinking, making a slow circle to take in the scene.

"You're not my birds, but then, this isn't my office. How can I be of service to you today?"

[Narrator]

The ravens all turn their gazes to him and caw expectantly.

[Will Stanton]

Will sat down. "I'm not a telepath, damn it. You have to be more clear to us mere mortals."

[Narrator]

One crow flaps down to the floor in front of Will. Leaning forward, it scratches something in the dust.

L-O-S-T

[Will Stanton]

"...You can't find your Sam? She must have stayed here; I didn't see the Morrigan out there," Will frowned.

[Narrator]

The ravens caw amongst each other for a moment, then the one in front of Will smooths over the dust with a wing and scratches out something new.

B-L-O-C-K-E-D

[Will Stanton]

Will frowned, standing up.

"How. No one...the Morrigan shouldn't be stymied by anyone..."

[Narrator]

There's another cacophony from the ravens, then the spokesraven smooths the dust again and scratches out another word.

M-U-M-M-E-R

[Will Stanton]

Will's fists clenched tightly--if he wasn't made of clay, he certainly would have drawn blood from his fingernails digging into his palm.

"Let's go. I've dealt with her before."

[Narrator]

The ravens caw again for a moment, but reach a consensus quickly. Two of them perch on Will's shoulders, while the rest go out the window.

[Will Stanton]

"It'll be ok, guys. We're all in this together," he said, softly, scratching one under the bill as he headed towards the door. "I know what it's like to be lost and scared."

[Narrator]

As Will makes his way out, he'll see the other ravens outside, circling on thermals as they wait for him.

[Will Stanton]

Will smiled--a little bit of familiarity, even if everything else was just...off.

"Lead on, and I shall do everything in my power to end the Mummer's grip on you. I am, as always, your loyal champion."

They marched down from the point towards the main campus.

[Samantha McManus]

After she's had a chance to rest and get her bearings, Sam heads to the Lighthouse.

She's not sure why she remembers a room in the place, and a smashed-in area, but she does and she has a distinct impression of Will having been there.

Cautiously, she makes her way up the stairs.

[Narrator]

There was, indeed, a busted down door frame, and an office still coated in a fine layer of dust after having been put out of use for what looked like several years.

The dust had been disturbed, which was a clue someone had been here more recently. Well, that and the fact the door was busted down. You know, little clues and big ones.

[Samantha McManus]

"...Will?" She asks, looking in the doorway cautiously.

[Narrator]

No answer. The room was empty.

[Samantha McManus]

"If... if you don't want to talk, that's... that's okay," she says, making her way in.

She sighs, settling into the dusty old chair.

[Narrator]

It was a fairly comfortable chair, but the room was still empty.

Well, empty except for Sam, that is.

[Samantha McManus]

"I just... hoped you'd be here, you know? I don't even know how I knew to look here."

"And I know you can get kind of... deep into it when you hide."

"Just... I'm here. I'm here and I'm me."

[Narrator]

No response. With ASHLIE still missing, the point was abandoned more often than not.

[Samantha McManus]

Given who she's looking for, Sam is content at the moment to just let out a long breath and wait for awhile, though she does look around the room for objects that might have less dust than others.

[Narrator]

If Will had been in the room, Sam's telepathy would have picked it up almost immediately.

[Samantha McManus]

After probably longer than most others would have waited, even Sam's denial isn't sufficient to keep her there. With a sad look around the room and no leads, she heads out.