"Yeah. Well, Karl and Nick."

"I see. --I won't, uh, I won't say anything."

"What? --Oh, no, we're, uh, we're polynamorous or whatever. It's cool."

"Oh. I see."

"...Toby. You'd cover for me if I was cheating?"

"...Yeah? I mean, we're friends, aren't we?"

Huh. Good to know. Would've maybe been useful a bit ago, although it's also possible Toby did help cover for him while he was just assuming Toby was oblivious. "Yeah, I mean, of course. Why are you so curious about my love life all of a sudden?"

Oh good Alex thinks them being friends is an 'of course'. "I was just wondering, I dunno, it's--kind of a fixer-upper here, I'm gonna be honest. It's a bit-- I mean, look around, you know?" Small laugh.

"You're wondering if I'm going to leave now that I've got an enclaver boyfriend."

"I mean. Yeah. Especially after Wilbur kind of wrecked the place."

Toby's not wearing bandages anymore; the scars are an angry red, covering most of his arms and peeking out from under his collar to up his neck. "Can I be honest, Toby?"

"Sure."

"When I joined, I joined because--because I believed in Wilbur's project. Okay? The only issue was--Wilbur was, he wasn't... Sooner or later, there were gonna be problems. But--I'm not going to just give up on you guys."

"Okay! Okay, okay, okay. That's--great! That's great.

...I'm going to be honest with you, too, we're--we're kind of doomed. We're a little doomed. Just a little bit, you know. Just a little bit. I wouldn't--I wouldn't blame you, I guess, if you wanted to throw in with Tampa."

"Yeah. We're--yeah. I realize. But at the end of the day, whatever happens, I'm--I'm part of it, okay, I'm with you."

Sigh of relief. "Thank you. That, that means a lot to me."

"I get that."

"D'you want to come loot Wil's room with us once Tommy gets bored? I don't think there's much left, to be honest, but there's his blanket, at least, and maybe we can take apart some of the furniture."

"Sure, why not, I wasn't doing much today."

"Cool. --Can you do this last bit here, it needs mana and that's easier for you--"

"Sure, yeah."

Then they can continue working on chair repair until Tommy starts causing problems. Toby's pretty sure he got more mana than he spent, too, which is nice. A little win for the day.

Wilbur's room is... Fairly barren. His blanket's there, and his backpack, and one shirt, and the furniture that came with the room.

(Niki's crying. It's kind of awkward, honestly.)

The blanket and backpack go to Alex with promises of trade, the shirt to Tommy and Niki to figure out what to do with since they're the best at sewing and also because Tommy's the only one even close to as tall as Wilbur. Toby thinks he might be able to make some progress on taking apart the drawers for parts; that can be their next project as a group, once they get the chairs fixed. They probably won't be able to get much done on it today, and he doesn't try. It'll generate mana, too, which they need. At least Tommy won't be giving away half his mana to Wilbur anymore. Not that he's glad Wilbur's dead, but it definitely--simplifies some things. Maybe they can even work on some communal mana reserves, for the whole group. He's pretty sure that had been a goal of Wilbur's. Then again, it having been a goal of Wilbur's doesn't necessarily make it a good idea. Something to discuss, at least. It can go on the lower-priority list alongside "we need something to trade now that Schlatt's gone".

(It's funny, if someone had asked Toby before Wilbur died who he thought would lead the group with Wilbur gone, he probably would have guessed Alex. Or Tommy, maybe, through sheer force of personality. But he isn't overwhelmed or even particularly surprised by Wilbur's death, which is an advantage over everyone else, and it's easier, more natural than he expected, to keep tabs on what needs to be done and who can do it. It doesn't feel too different from what he had already been doing, honestly, except that now when people look vaguely lost he gives them a task.)