It had been exactly a week since Ifrit and Zephyr were banished. The den felt empty, suffocating. It felt like the two were just gone off somewhere else in the ministry, and they would return any minute, just in time for dinner.

The remaining ghouls were all coping differently. Mountain threw himself headfirst into his work at the greenhouse, leaving early in the morning and only coming back when dinner was on the table. Dew closed himself off, snapping at almost everyone that talked to him and growling when somebody so much as mentioned the old ghouls.

And Aether... Aether didn't know what he was doing. He felt empty, lost. He passed through the days almost like a zombie, getting up without a thought between his eyes and doing what needed to be done; he cooked breakfast for the others (for Dew. Mountain was never there to eat. Sometimes Aether would stop by and drop off a meal for him, but he swore he would see the plate still there the next day), do his chores, and go to the infirmary without so much as thinking. It was hard.

He was sitting on the couch today, a book in his hands, although he was staring directly forward instead of reading, his eyes almost unblinking. His ear twitched at the soft sound of your footsteps and he looked up quickly, his expression falling into a small smile. "Hey." He said softly. "How you holding up?"