Discoveries | TMR | Three

1:6

After almost all had dispersed following Matt's tiny outburst, the only two left in the office were Lily and Adeline, who sit on opposite sides of the office; with the older woman on her chair and the young girl on the worn down sofa, both of them still feeling the effects of the tension that swarmed the room.

It was unlike Lily not to get involved in matters that concerned Adeline or Daniel, especially when one of her little darlings were being targeted. Normally, she would find herself entangled within the chaos of another coarse quarrel between the redheaded girl and whomever she decided to take her frustrations out on that day, and the older woman had always a foolproof plan for placating her ever-growing temper.

She had discovered such solution only a month prior, you see; when Adeline - goodness, Lily does not even recall what happened or how it happened. All she can say for certain is that, if Matt had not physically restrained the girl, there surely would have been blood shed that day. He and Nick had taken her to a boat on the more... cheaper side of the Harbour, given her a baseball bat, and told her to 'go nuts'.

Not long after, Lily had tracked the trio down to call them to dinner, and that is when she noticed the carnage they had caused to that poor boat, but she also realised how unusually relaxed the young girl looked. It became a running source of refreshment from that moment on; if Adeline felt as though she may spiral into a fit of rage, she was to grab her baseball bat, take a gander to that boat, and keep swinging until her nerves had calmed.

Now, you may be thinking that telling the volatile girl to smash the ever loving shit out of a boat would be a step in the wrong direction, but, hey at least she was not taking it out on a person. Besides, they could use the wooden slats of the structure for firewood so... two birds, one stone, right?

That is why Lily had been sat quietly on her castor chair; eagerly awaiting the moment she would need to intervene, send Adeline to her boat and remind these teenagers that the source of the young girls pent up rage comes not from a place of anger, but rather, from the effects of the Flare itself.

She was ready for that fight; propped up straightly on her chair and prepared to - once again - condone the actions of Adeline and jump to the defence of the poor girl who has endured so much... but Nick got there first.

It was all rather odd, to see him jump to her defence so swiftly, yet equally as odd to see her blush, rather than burst at the notion of someone thinking she cannot hold her own.

Lily will have to keep an eye on that.

"Well," Adeline starts with a sigh, "that could've gone better."

It cuts Lily from her thoughts, and the woman would be lying if she were to say she did not flinch a fraction at the sudden noise. "It could have gone worse." Leant back on her chair with one leg crossed over the other and her left forearm resting on the desk as she fiddles with her pen, she inhales a long breath before tilting her head and locking her vision onto the young girl. "My darling, what happened last night?"

Adeline, herself, has curled herself up on the corner of the sofa at the furthest corner of the room, and her expression immediately falls flat. "You really wanna know?"

"Not particularly," Lily admits. "Though I am eager to know how Oscar got those bruises on his face."

The young girl shrugs nonchalantly. "He got into it with a guard."

But the older woman sees right through her statement. "That is untrue."

"No it isn't."

"Yes, it is," Lily states. "You forget that I know when you are not telling me the truth, petal. I can see it in your eyes. They do not meet mine when you lie."