Nobody on the landing moved, the thousand faces inside the wall staring back without blinking once.
"Tell me those are paintings, Idiot," Juna whispered, her ears pinned flat against her skull.
"Hold Red a second, Mutt, I need to look properly," Hajin said, easing Cessy into her arms.
Juna took the redhead onto her back with a long-suffering sigh, hooking both arms firmly under her knees. Cessy folded against her neck like a tired cat, arms dangling, too exhausted even to make a joke.
"Why do I always get the broken ones?" she grumbled, though her grip stayed gentle.
Rumi leaned toward the nearest pane, "I'm only going to knock once on—"
"No," Nari said, catching her sister's wrist before the knuckles landed.
"Something's wrong with the echo in here," Ferra said, frowning up at the ceiling, "the sound isn't bouncing back, it's being answered."
