Willa meant to find Zerxus earlier in the month. She'd been reading some of the magic books her dad already had, reading them to him when she can't stand the quiet in the cabin any more. But it's not enough. And after the breach, with the fact that Arthur hasn't been answering her knocks or her messages, she needs something to do.

She spots him on deck, finally, after checking a few other places that seem like Him Kind of Places. There's a bruised anxiety around her heart on approach, fear that he'll disappear like Arthur or tell her to go away. She knew him for almost eight years. Except she doesn't know him that much at all.

It's weird.

"Zerxus?" Willa winces at how timid it comes out.