Bri moved her mask to the side of her head, letting it sit there despite wanting to just take it and the rest of her disguise off. It was surprisingly roomy and breathable to wear. But it wasn't quite dark outside yet and she didn't want to risk one of the actual Wandering Coins wandering into their current area of the sewers and seeing her.

She and Silver rummaged through Reaper's office once again, now amongst the creepy floating crystals. She tentatively walked around one, examining it from every angle. "Are you sure no one's going to come in here?"

On the other side of the room, Silver ran a finger along the spines of the many books stacked haphazardly on the bookcases leaning against the wall. Most worn from wear but kept somewhat orderly. "This is the guild leader's office, nobody's allowed in here. And nobody's going to want to come in here this soon after Reaper's death."

"Doesn't that make this is your office too, then?"

"No, I just use a notch in the wall in my area of the sewers. That's where I moved all the guild's paperwork to." He plucked out a book, tossing it in his hands to read the cover. The tip of his tongue poked out of his mouth in thought.

Cute.

"So you keep the guild's finances and important paperwork in a random hole in the sewer walls?" She said, not surprised at this point. "You're not exactly the most competent of guild leaders."

"Well I told you I didn't exactly want the position." He pulled another random book down, quickly opening it and reading a few lines before placing it right back. "Michael put me on the ballot and rigged it."

She tapped on one of the crystals, the hard marble sleek under her touch. She didn't know what she expected to happen, but nothing did. "Oh I know. But none of your members are going to respect you with the way you run it now."

"They do respect me! Yeah sure some of them would kill me on sight, but those new members do listen to me. A couple are a headache to deal with, but at least they're trying to impress me."

"What's to impress?" Bri asked, chuckling under her breath. She knew Silver's reputation, stealing houses and selling them back to their owners, stealing from the highest secured places in Atlantide. High standards to reach for new thieves.

Silver turned away from the bookcase to look at her, head tilted. He had an expression she couldn't place, somewhere between confusion and the same look he had when she took that hit for him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, you're just," Bri paused, "a lot. To be around. And kind of dingy."

"Dingy?" Silver exclaimed incredulously, eyes wide. "You think I'm dingy?"

"Well, yeah. A bit."

He began pacing back and forth across the room, jumping on and off Reaper's chair as he did so. "Dingy is what the guild used to call people who got caught pick-pocketing the elderly at night, or who get excited over stealing a typewriter. It's like calling someone dumb or weak with their magic."

Bri crossed her arms and shrugged a shoulder. "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying you could be a little more, I don't know, professional in your position as guild leader."

"Why would I need to be more professional? I'm a master thief! I took down my guy during that fight all by myself. What part of that says I'm dumb or weak?"

"None of it. But I mean-" Chooses your words carefully, Bri. "-your second is a teddy bear."

"I told you! Fred isn't just a teddy bear; he's got more power that anyone will ever understand." His voice trailed off, hints of sadness seeping in. He stormed out of Reaper's room, followed closely by Bri. He reached into his pocket, pulling out said bear, but kept him in his hands.

"Uh huh, then why haven't we seen him do anything?"

"He's been investigating, making decisions, and finding clues this whole time! Right in front of you guys! That's more than your kitty cat of a second has done." Silver's voice bounced off the stone walls, echoing down the deep tunnels of the sewers. "I'm not dense, I know most people just think I'm this idiot with a 'stuffed animal' who's failing as a guild leader."

Bri sighed. "Look, Austin-"

"Nope, nah, you're not allowed to call me that right now! Okay? You lost that privilege, only call me Silver."

"It's, your name though," Bri said hesitantly, eyebrow quipped in confusion, "I don't-"

"I'm leaving," he cut her off. Staring off down the sewers, he avoided looking her in the eyes. "You stay here out of sight. It's nighttime; no one will be down here so you should be fine to take off your costume if you want."

Bri opened her mouth to speak, but before she could blue and white light filled the tunnel as Silver zapped away. Now alone, something clenched at her heart. 'He's never left like that before,' she thought. 'Without finishing our conversation.'

As she walked back to the room behind the vault door, she realized he also didn't call her love once the whole time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Of course I'm not going to stay mad at her, Fred. I could never do that." Silver sat on the road just outside one of the many sewer entrances, back against the wall and out of sight of anyone walking past. Fred was propped up beside him, comfort radiating off him in heaps.

"I just...don't want her to see me like the others do. I know she likes me, whether she wants to admit it to herself or not."

"........."

"You're right, Fred. I should just let my actions tell more than my words and wait for her to come around. You always know what to say."

He heaved out a breath, fixing his hat so it was fitted more snugly. "Come on, Fred. Looks like we're sleeping in the jail cell again tonight. Bri will be safe down there in sewers, not like many people go down there much these days anyway."

Jumping to his feet, Silver tucked his second-in-command away and started blinking to the Protectors' jail.