dated: tbd

Getting things organized and ready had been Greta's job, but Saoirse had tried to make sure she helped, by not being a nuisance. She wrote more letters, little things, thanking Greta or encouraging her.

Picking out the bed had been fun. It's not as extravagant as the bed she has at Green Gardens, but it's hers, and it's big enough for her to grow into. And it's going to go just where she'd wanted it the first time she'd visited and shown Greta the lay of the room — even if, at the time, Greta hadn't realized what she'd been doing. Sometimes grownups were so focused on one thing that they forgot about other things.

She leads the way up the stairs for the mattress delivery men. Cu follows, paws loud on the stairs. They've brought the frame as well, which is good, because Saoirse doesn't want her bed on the floor. She's not afraid of monsters under it with Cu and everyone else she has to protect her.

Saoirse is small, but she likes to wander a lot, and it's easier now that she has Cu. He doesn't need a leash to stay with her, but she's learned that people like it better if she has one in her hand. One of the caretakers from Green Gardens is close behind her, making sure she stays safe. She doesn't mind so much. Baz and Simon know that she can take care of herself, for the most part, and that Cu will keep her safe, so the caretaker is kind and attentive, but keeps her distance.

She finds the shop by accident, and only stops because there's a clockwork seal in the window. She perks when she sees it, and she reaches up to tug the door open. It's heavier than she'd hoped, but with some effort, and a little help from Cu's heavy frame, she gets it open and steps inside with him. He stays close beside her, careful not to bump into anything despite how fluffy he is.

There's a clerk behind the counter where she can buy things, and all over are fun little trinkets that she can imagine Greta, Baz, or Magnus might like.

"Those stories that Mum told me," Ben says as he ties Cu's broken leash around Saoirse's waist. She frowns at it, but he continues, "Are you really a . . . selkie?" She looks at him steadily with a small smile on her face. His eyes widen and he pales a bit. "Oh, Geney Mackerel," he says. Saoirse looks down at her shell and kicks her feet a little happily.

They ride the bus for a time, but soon enough, Saoirse grows bored. She begins to idly play her shell. At first, it's not to any tune in particular, but as always, the same one comes out, and the pretty little faerie lights appear in the window of the bus. She's not entirely sure why, or how, but Saoirse knows she can trust these lights. And she knows they're leading her back to her coat.

Without hesitation, she makes her way to the emergency exit door. The red and white bar handle is vibrant, but before she can push it, Ben shoves her back.

"What are you doing? We're on the bus!" He steps back towards the seat and retracts the leash connecting them a little. "I'm getting us home!" he insists.

Saoirse glares up at him. The lights are leading off into a field, now. The bus is going the wrong way!

She shoves her shoulder into the bar. It depresses, and the driver jams his foot onto the brake. The door flies open. Saoirse tumbles out, shell and all. She feels give, as if the leash has broken. The impact with the ground is jarring, but the fall isn't far, and the bus hadn't been going very fast. All the same, it takes her a moment to orient herself. She sits up, hugging her shell close.

There's no bus. There's no pleasant Irish countryside.

There's no Ben.

Cu's leash is still tied around her waist. She can see the leash handle on the ground in front of her. It's half-hidden in the snow.

Snow! Saoirse is suddenly aware that it's cold here — winter time, she thinks, though there's only a little snow on the ground. Her sweater and dress aren't doing much to keep her warm, and her toes are already starting to go numb. She pushes herself to her feet to look around, and stamps in place to try to warm up. She has no idea where she is. This isn't where the bus stopped. This isn't Granny's city. This isn't the lighthouse.

Nervously, she pulls her shell close and plays the tune that thrums inside of her. The saoilse — the faerie lights — dance up around her, and that's reassuring, but they don't go anywhere. They don't attract any scary owls, but they don't lead her to her key, or her coat, like they had before. She lowers the shell and sneezes, then starts walking. She should at least find someone, some grownup, to help her.

It isn't long before her cheeks and nose feel numb, too. The plastic leash box clatters against the ground behind her as she walks, like a noisy tail. To take her mind off of the cold, Saoirse lifts her shell to her lips and plays a wavering tune. The saoilse dance up around her once more, but only hover around her as she walks. It's still reassuring, at least. She looks around as she walks. There's a grownup, just coming out of a building.

The saoilse begin to float over towards him. Saoirse perks. Maybe he has her coat!

[ timed to March 10th, early afternoon ]

Saoirse is not doing well at all. She can barely walk on her own. Her entire body is exhausted, and nothing can perk her up. She's been taken to the doctors many times, but none of them have found anything. She's losing color, now, too. Her hair has gone from glossy black to flat grey, and her skin isn't far behind.

She knows she's dying. She wishes Ben were here. She knows she won't find her coat before it's too late.

She grabs her phone and taps out a shaky, incomplete text to first Baz, then Magnus. If she's going to die today, she wants them to be there with her. She doesn't want to die alone.

She convinces Mr. Barnes to bring her outside. She's bundled up quite snugly, even though the weather has nothing to do with her condition, and she cradles her shell in her lap and weakly blows out a few notes. For a moment, she thinks she can hear the saoilse, but when she lifts her tired eyes to look, they're nowhere to be found. She lowers her mouth to the shell again, but only breathes weakly before sagging.

She's so very tired.

Saoirse looks around, trying to will her friends to be there. That's the only reason she sees the key. It's there, just outside of arm's reach, bright against the winter-grey ground. She reaches for it, arm wavering. She nearly falls over. With a little sigh, she resolves to wait. Baz and Magnus will be here soon, surely. She can point it out to them. They'll help her.

[ FINALLY sorry this took so long. I figure the order can be Baz-Saoirse-Magnus, or vice versa, or whatever works for a given tag? ]