A Lesson in Practicality

Calming down

"You threw it out the window."

"I was panicking!"

"You managed to somehow fumble with the window and open it with one hand, and then you threw the pot out the window."

"There were more pressing things going on at the time, Logan!"

"This supposed cloud snake monster creature no one but you saw was not the most pressing thing at the moment?"

"Virgil was having a panic attack!"

"And you... panicked."

Roman groaned into his hands and covered his face. He rubbed his hands down and looked up at Logan from his spot on the couch. "Look, I was trying to focus on one issue at a time and I just wanted to get rid of it, okay?"

Logan rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around the living room. "Well, I'll give you credit for accomplishing that. However, I believe it is in our best interests to go and retrieve the creature?" Logan walked towards his room and spoke over his shoulder. "If we bring it back we can toss it from once it came. No harm was done."

Logan returned with a warm pullover sweater on while Roman had a jacket unzipped. His attention was down the hall passed Logan with a frown.

"I'm sure Virgil is fine alone with Patton while we look."

Roman shuffled towards the door without a word.

Patton was able to eventually slip away and into the kitchen, making himself a cup of hot cocoa in the process, not worried about how the sugar would only keep him awake longer. He sat in the living room tucked underneath a blanket when the two came back. He sat up, holding his warm mug close and gave a smile. "So, how did it go?"

"Good news, we found your pot!"

Patton perked up at the news and smiled. "Wonderful!"

"Bad news." Logan held up the pot and removed the lid. Lifting it towards his face, Patton could still see in the dim lighting that it was damaged with bends and dings, but the entire bottom was missing as if something melted and clawed its way out of the bottom. "Looks like our little friend escaped."

Logan walked over and handed Patton his deformed cookware. He held it up and looked through it with a sigh. "You don't think it'll buy me a new one, will it?"

"I'm so sorry, Patton." Roman walked up and reached out for the pot. "I'll buy you a new one."

"It's the end of the month if you can't afford it don't push yourself. Besides!" Patton carefully poked at a part of the metal that was loose and threatening to break off. "We can all 'chip' in for a new one!" Patton let out a yawn and looked over at the clock. "It's still early, I'm gonna try and get a bit more sleep."

"That would be wise for all of us, I suppose. No use in worrying about anything right now. Exhaustion will only hinder us on our days ahead. We also will have to tell Virgil what happened in the morning, if he is feeling up to it."

"Great. You know, sound even more boring when tired." Roman shuffled passed Logan. "Good night."

Patton allowed himself to sleep in a bit, given the night before. Calming down Virgil in the middle of the night and trying not to worry about what Roman had seen was enough to make him want to lay in bed even longer, but that wasn't something he could do. He'd grow restless in the hour and would have wasted all that time.

When he rolled out of bed, he was not surprised to see Virgil's door still shut tight and not a sound from the other, he had a bit of a rough night. A small creak drew Patton's attention down the hall, where Logan emerged from his room with an empty coffee mug.