He had always helped when she needed it.

Orfeus came to a stop on the path. Faolan didn’t glance back and didn’t stop when she stopped. He just tried the door, then kicked it open. Orfeus let out a breath. If Linden was out, out at the swap-market, that…didn’t mean anything. Faol would just wait. Faol was good at waiting.

There was a plaintive, awful sound, almost a howling. A grey shape rushed at her. Orfeus took a step back, bracing herself, and blinked when it rubbed against her ankles, turned its head up to her and let out another plaintive, stretched-out miaow.

“Splodge,” Orfeus said blankly. Second instinct kicked into place before conscious thought could, and she bent down, patting at the cat. Splodge had never been that affectionate, but it certainly was now, nearly flinging itself against her legs, pushing hard, all the while uttering those miserable cries: miaow, miaow, miaaaooow. “Hey, there, honey. Shhhh, you’re alright.” She rubbed the cat’s cheeks and it shoved its face against her hand.

Orfeus patted it, making soothing nonsense noises. She narrowed her eyes at the cat. The short grey fur was sleek and clean, but there was a scratch over Splodge’s nose, next to the stripe, that hadn’t healed yet. Even more noticeable, Splodge was thin. Nowhere near starving, but undoubtedly thin; she could feel its ribs when it pressed against her. Linden took better care of his cat than this.

Something was wrong, something more than just this whole impossible situation. Faolan at last came out of the house, and said without looking at her, pointedly not looking at her in a way that spoke as loud as any accusation, “No one’s here.”

Orfeus straightened slowly. Splodge hissed in complaint.

Linden wasn’t smart enough to vacate before a hunter came. Not when Orfeus herself hadn’t, and Linden had about as many survival skills as his tape measure. Orfeus held her hand down for Splodge. Faolan was still glaring at her.

“Alright?” Orfeus said slowly. “I’m…very sorry for your disappointment?”

Faol narrowed his eyes.

“You think I warned him?” Orfeus said. Splodge shifted back a little at her tone. She forced her voice to drop, calm and collected and friendly. “When do you think I would have warned him? You didn’t even tell me who we were after until we got here.”

Faolan turned aside, disappearing back into the house. Orfeus followed. She knew he didn’t believe her. As long as he didn’t turn his claws on her.

“So we need to look around?” Orfeus said, poking her head around the doorway into the kitchen, then withdrawing with a wince. It felt bad to be here when Linden wasn’t. And he clearly wasn’t: the air felt empty, a little stale, like the windows hadn’t been opened in a while. “See if he’s here?”