Lacey was quick to receive the new attention from Eli, her tail wagging happily. Thankfully, Eli's tone kept her from reacting poorly to the situation around her and she seemed perfectly content to bask in the ear rubs. At least someone in this situation was enjoying the experience.

On the other hand, Matheus was quietly freaking out. Of all the ways he expected Eli to handle the situation once he returned from helping to calm Shannon down, this was not on the list of possibilities. His eyes darted around; he went systematically down his spine to test the possibility of moving anything else. Only his mouth responded. This was going to be tough as hell to navigate, but at least it meant physical signs of fear would find it more difficult to present themselves. "Eli," he said, carefully and as neutrally as he could, "that's something Shannon should decide. He gave me that key years ago, he's the one who should get to take it away. You know I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Is he all right?"