After failing to rouse Emil and Theo from their states via physical slaps and shakes, Alan Richter extracted smelling salts from Emil's person, proceeding to use it on the redhead and crossdressed woman. He cursed under his breath with every attempt, patiently experimenting with various methods of stirring them to consciousness, like pinching their cheeks and holding the smelling salts to their faces while he yelled at them, or yanking the hairs of Rorschach's nose with his fingertips, the latter of which successfully woke the muscled man and spurred from the redhead a spiel of expletives.

Alan's attempts did nothing for Theo, and after Emil recovered from the nasal intrusion, he began to question the magician.

"What in the dickens did he puff?" Emil stared down at the slumbering individual in eveningwear that Alan was desperately trying to rouse. Alan tried pinching Theo's ear. No luck.

"Night stag's grit," the slick-haired man grumbled, distracted by Theo's unreceptiveness. "Our last cannibal monster seems to have rather...unique attributes from what records have typically stated about Wendigos."

"And the reason for that?"

"First time dealing Wendigos,if you don't recall. But our flesh-eater might have a powerful friend or two helping him."

"Like that Djinn?"

"Perhaps so, though it's uncertain." Alan yanked Theo up by the collar to deliver a resounding slap to the unconscious one's face. Emil flinched at the sound. Alan wrapped the woman in his jacket, beginning to raise her in his arms until he realized that his partner had more phenomenal strength than he did. He glanced up at Emil.

"Yeah, I got it," he replied, accustomed to be the heavy lifter between the two of them. With Alan's help, Theo was slung against his back, and he locked the woman's feet under his arms. "Ironic that I'm piggy-backing when Piggy's is on fire, isn't it?" he chuckled, eyebrows wiggling at Alan.

"Your humor is atrocious, Emil."

They began to walk towards the hotel they had tracked Theo in earlier that day as the evening converted into the next morning. The sun stewed under the horizon as its rays merged with the night sky, and the trio found themselves witness to a city reviving itself despite the events and creatures they encountered.

Once at the hotel, Alan's talent at twisting truths convinced the initially skeptical concierge that Theo simply had too much fun at a soiree, had decided to dance on a table and ended up leaping into the cluttered mass of the party, all of whom rejected the poor soul and stepped out of the way, causing Theo to make the acquaintance of the floor that evening and subsequently pass out on impact.

Impressed by the vivid account and sympathizing with the pitiable figure on Emil's back, the concierge urged the jittery bellhop in red to lead them to Theo Bulloch's chambers on the third floor. The pubescent boy conveniently lingered around for a tip once they reached the door, and finally left when Alan offered him a small, mustard yellow gem in place of money, excitedly scurrying off believing the item to be worth more than it actually was.*

Once settled, Alan propped himself by Theo's bedside to observe any subtle changes in her condition while Emil paced back and forth, his mind returning to Yoni Endigo's last words before disappearing. Despite his penchant for carelessly elocuting dreadful jokes and puns to his companion, Emil never mentioned the purpose of his journey to anyone, save for the black-haired fellow watching over their new ally, and even then it had been a discovery Alan made through thorough interrogation. The prospect of getting closer to his goal rendered him restless, and he continued to make a dark trail in the vermillion-colored carpet with his footsteps well into the thick permeations of a summer dawn.

Emil had finally halted his restless march to observe ribbons of light trailing along the creases of brass-colored curtains over the window when a light rapping at the door startled the two men back to reality. The two exchanged a bewildered look for a minute, which was too long of a wait for the person on the other side. Alan glanced wearily at Theo, succumbing slightly to his physical form's needs.

"We should at least have breakfast." Alan's voice was a foreign entity interrupting their marathon of silence. The sentence was accompanied by a low grumbling from the stern man's stomach.

"Yeah, I could go for a Lumberjack breakfast with some hashed brown potatoes myself," mumbled Emil, scratching an itch on his shoulder.

"I am quite a fan of potatoes, though I don't think I've tried 'hashed brown' ones before." Theo rubbed the black grit from her eyes as she awoke to the sound of her favorite root vegetable.

Emil shot Alan a look of horror, "Whaddya mean you've never had 'hashed brown potatoes before'-- Bulloch!"

Theo grinned. "Hey there, spud."

∞

*The item Alan had given the bellboy was actually a "drop of sun," also known as "urine amber" belonging to the bowels of a Burmese Cloud Leopard, whose "drops of sun" are the only way of tracking down one of their misty ilk.