"I'm afraid she might have the same intention. Our parents died when she was young; we've only had each other ever since." The fact that Lana herself couldn't have been that old, given the usual minimum age this place seemed to allow, went without saying.

"I think we might be able to agree to watch each others backs, though." She didn't want to let Ema go after any monsters, but she was trying to be realistic. One of them had to.

"As far as I know, she's unarmed, so perhaps we should start with that." Lana's eyes flicked to the door -- she hoped Ema hadn't fallen asleep again, even if the girl could use the rest.