WINTER IS COMING

[Gifted]

"None of you have the training I've got, I couldn't get you to pass on such short notice." She grabbed a black bag. "Plus I doubt Kailen wants to return to his house right now. Pretty sure his mother is dead."

[Doom]

Monique tensed, huddling up on the bed. "That's horrible..."

[Gifted]

"It's a fact of life. Now, I've got a job to get to, food to collect." She grabbed a back to store it in, a less conspicuous black thing wide enough to store a laptop. "Be right back."

[Raven]

Kailen was not at the vending machine, but he was in the hallway.

[Doom]

"Okay, good luck!" called Monique weakly.

[Gifted]

Stephanie briskly left the room, looking over and finding Kailen in the hallway. "Hey, you okay?" She asked, though quickly and with less emotion than before - she had places to be.

[Raven]

"Should I be?" Kailen muttered. "Cupcakes won't travel well. Get cereal bars, they're in the cupboard."

[Gifted]

"Smart. I'm going to grab whatever I can in whatever time I got. Even if the food doesn't keep, the containers'll be useful for storing more." Stephanie said. "Plus you both look like you need something to cheer you up. I'm heading out. Don't kill each other while I'm gone." It was difficult to tell if she was joking with her total serious face.

[Raven]

"Steph?" Kailen asked. "Will you see if you can find my parents while you're there?" His voice was almost a whisper.

[Gifted]

"Will do." Stephanie nodded once. "You sure you want me too?"

[Raven]

Kailen nodded. "Yeah," he said.

[Gifted]

Stephanie walked briskly out of the hotel and back down to Adam's house.
Fortunately, it seemed no one had called in the massacre to the authorities, and Stephanie did not have to deal with any cops. She systematically raided the cupboards for cereal bars, then found the tuppaware containers and started packing them with the brownies and cupcakes in the fridge. Isobel had baked obsessively in her last days and never sold any of it, so the fridge and freezer were practically bursting full. Stephanie prioritized brownies and squares, as they were the easiest to pack, but she grabbed some cupcakes and a whole frozen lemon meringue pie as well. This one she was mostly bringing back to share immediately - she figured they could all use something after this.
After she'd packed all the baked goods (and some fruit - she wasn't a child after all) she could carry into the bag she did a full sweep of the house to see if she couldn't find any sign of what happened to Isobel.
She had to stop for a minute when she saw the bloody mess of a body slumped up against the bathroom wall.
You are a cop. You see these every day. Act like it. Stephanie scolded herself. There was no one to act for, but to see someone she cared about - one of the first people she'd been able to allow herself to believe she could care about forever - was a staggering bow, and she had to fight not to break down. So she closed off her feelings entirely, only allowing herself to feel as the cop whom she was playing the role of would feel. She scanned the crime scene - knowing not nearly as much as an actual cop, but just enough to sound like she did - before quickly exiting the room to get some fresh air. Actually, she needed to go back now anyway, she didn't have to just 'get fresh air'. Alright.
Stephanie walked back into the hotel room, tossing the pie on the dresser and putting the bag down. "I'm back." She sighed and sat on the bed.

[Raven]

Kailen glanced up. "Did you find them?" he asked.

[Gifted]

"Your father wasn't there." Stephanie said. She hadn't changed out of her clothes, washed her face, or dropped the cop act.

[Raven]

"Oh." Kailen frowned. "Did you just get food?"