Lucas left Emily's quarters at night, while the woman was peacefully sleeping on her bed, exhausted and entirely drained of all remaining energy allocated to deal with the day. On his way out, Cornelius arrived and instantly spotted him, then gladly told stories about his new friends and how he saw other familiar faces of Rogues— saying they had visited the village with Elder Veronica at least once.
For hours, the Alpha stayed in their residence to listen to the boy's rambling mouth. He was smiling and laughing uncontrollably at how fond he had become to Cornelius and his antics. Hours later, the little boy fell asleep on the couch with him, and he had to carry him over to the bedroom, placing his body near Emily's sleeping own despite knowing that Cornelius had his own room.
Upon nearin
