It was just past dawn when Florian awoke. His body protested every movement, but he needed to get moving and find his friends. He made a trip to the stream to drink some water and wash his face. The cool water helped to make him feel more alert and energetic.

The air was a little cool and he wished he had a coat. Not that he'd need it for long, he reminded himself.

Moving as briskly as sore muscles would allow, he started towards the shore, carrying along a handful of berries and the bundle of coconuts. He'd filled the one with water like a canteen.

He scanned the beach as he walked, looking for any sign of other humans. There were some animal and bird prints, but nothing close to human. He stopped at a tree closest to the waterline and in an almost direct line with where he'd taken shelter. Using the broken edge of a seashell, he carved an x into the tree at eyelevel. To make sure he had a good reference, he twisted several large leaves together into a rope and tied them around the tree.

"The sun is... there. So that's east." He spoke out loud for comfort and in hopes that if anyone were nearby, they would hear him. Perhaps Ray and Solomon were already found, and it was only him that was lost. If that was the case, he'd never hear the end of it from Ray. "To the west, then," he told himself, arbitrarily picking a direction.

He still had his walking stick, and he used it as he'd often seen older aristocrats do - as both a support and a prod. He poked at curious bits of seaweed and at interesting shells, and even pieces of wood and oddments washed up by the previous day's storm. He didn't find anything he recognized, and the only useful items were a large, shallow shell that might serve as a scoop or as a cup, and a piece of old glass worn smooth that glittered like an emerald. He added them to his bundle and kept moving.

The only time he stopped for more than a few seconds was when he found a dead fish washed up on the shore. It was as long as his forearm, and he briefly considered taking it along in case he needed a meal. In the end, he left it, telling himself that he could always catch something fresher now that he knew how to fish.
XXXXX

Solomon wasn't beside him when Ray woke, head throbbing and vision blurred. He lifted his head as far as he could without making the nausea worse and tried to determine if any of those blurry shapes was his friend.

He couldn't remember ever having felt this bad before. His tongue felt thick and swollen, his head throbbed and his body felt so painfully heavy that he couldn't stand to move any more than necessary.

Helpless and miserable and thoroughly disgusted with himself, he closed his eyes. He wallowed for a while, feeling a bit sorry for himself, but he wasn't usually one for such self-indulgence, so he turned his thoughts to Florian instead. He could just imagine what kind of trouble his companion would get into if left alone for too long.

Ray remembered the shirt containing the little account book and felt around until he found it. The shirt had dried, so he carefully extracted the book. It was soggy and probably ruined – he didn't even try to open it. Instead, he turned slowly and reached towards the low-burning fire. Solomon had left a small pile of wood nearby, so Ray added a piece to the flames before pulling one of the warm rocks out of the circle and setting the book on it, hoping it would dry quickly.

Exhausted from having done so little, he lay down again and rested. He'd just close his eyes until Solomon returned, and then they'd both go find Florian.

He was sound asleep when Solomon returned.
XXXXX

Solomon stared out at the horizon, taking just a moment for himself before going back to Ray. He'd lived a mostly solitary life since his sister and her husband were murdered. Part of it was his drive to find her killer, and part of it was his defection from the police force. He'd thought of some of the other officers as friends, but they'd been quick enough to mock him when he hadn't caught the elusive Phantom Thief, Noir. It certainly hadn't helped that Solomon had taken more interest in the thief than in his co-workers and overbearing boss.

Leaving the police and becoming a private detective had been the right thing to do, Solomon didn't doubt that, even if he sometimes regretted the loss of a steady paycheck. And it wasn't like he didn't have friends and acquaintances – but there was no one special in his life, and he was often lonely.

Or, at least he had been lonely before Ray and Florian had somehow drawn him into their little group of misfits. Not that Solomon objected, really, it was just surprising – considering he'd started his association with Ray purely as a matter of pride – trying to prove to his own satisfaction that the notorious usurer was Noir.

In the end, he'd been proven right and wrong, and had somehow managed to make friends in the process.

Not that he was ever going to stop teasing Ray – it was far too much fun to stop, and Ray seemed to enjoy their little battles as much as Solomon did. Florian, by contrast, was a calming presence when the battles, or life in general got a little out of hand. Not that Florian wasn't without his moments – the man could be reckless especially when trying to protect someone he cared about. And the fights between Florian and Ray were something to be seen – preferably from a distance. But even when they fought, it was clear how much the two men depended on each other.

Well then, Solomon told himself as he turned away from the water, time to go find him. If he could bring Florian to Ray, he was sure it would be exactly what Ray needed to recover.
XXXXX

Florian had never been overly fond of coconut, but right now it tasted marvelous. He had broken one open and sipped the milk throughout the morning as he trekked along the shore looking for his friends. When the milk was gone, he smashed the coconut and gathered up the pieces to add to his supplies. Rather than stopping for lunch, he munched on coconut meat as he walked.

He'd added a bent fish hook, a length of fishing line and another gem-like bit of glass to his bundle. He paused occasionally to take a drink of water from his coconut canteen or to examine something interesting on the ground. In a few places there had been rocks extending from the water up the beach and into the trees. He'd spent extra time walking along them looking for any sign of his companions or their boat.

As the day wore on, his speed decreased, and he needed to take more breaks. He was starting to wonder if he would find Ray and Solomon before sunset. He'd stopped picking up or even looking for items on the beach – keeping his attention only on finding them. But now he stared out at the small ridge of rocks in the distance and wondered if he really had seen that before or if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

It didn't take long to confirm his fear; there was his 'x' carved into the tree, and there were his footprints – most, but not all, wiped away by the tide.

Weakly, Florian leaned against the tree. Tears stung his eyes, but he fought them back. This was no time to fall apart! Ray wouldn't fall apart – neither would Solomon. Or Laila.

He'd just have to try something different, Florian told himself. He turned to look towards the trees and the shelter where he had spent the night. He'd stay there again tonight, and use the time to plan. There were plenty of places here on this island where he hadn't looked yet. He'd find a methodical way to search, and first thing tomorrow he'd get started. After all, they were surely looking for him too – it was only a matter of time before they found each other.
XXXXX

"Don't look at me like that," Solomon scolded lightly. "I know it tastes terrible, but you need to eat."

Solomon had mashed the berries and nuts together into a kind of paste and was using a bit of seashell as a spoon to feed it to Ray. The man looked awful, but he seemed more aware than he had the previous evening. Solomon hoped that meant that Ray was recovering. He hadn't vomited lately, so that was a good thing.

He'd convinced Ray to remain behind when he'd done the morning search, but it was clear that Ray wouldn't be put off much longer, and having him along would only slow their search.

"I think we should rig up some kind of roof, and maybe find a better way of using these leaves for bedding." Solomon motioned towards the flattened space where they'd slept. The leaves were flattened and tangled.

"Then I had better stay here and see what I can do." He looked directly into Solomon's eyes and added, "You won't get very far dragging me along anyway."

"Ray?" Solomon was shocked – he knew how Ray felt about Florian. He couldn't imagine the man conceding so easily.

"Find him, Solomon. That's all I ask." As he spoke, Ray reached out for the little account book. The cover and some of the interior pages were dry, so he turned it over.

"I'll do what I can," Solomon promised, wishing it was so much more.
XXXXX

It was nearly dark when Solomon returned, hungry and tired. He was surprised to find Ray awake and sitting cross-legged beside the fire systematically deconstructing one of the dresses Solomon had found.

There was water in the drawer, so Solomon dropped to his knees beside it and drank from cupped hands. It wasn't exactly sanitary, but Ray didn't object. He simply reached over and set a banana-like fruit on a leaf along with some nuts and berries.

"Don't even ask how long it took me to get that fruit," Ray said, with just a hint of his usual attitude. "But I will say I've gotten very accurate when throwing rocks."

"Does that mean you knocked this out of a tree or that you terrorized some poor animal to get it?"

"I wasn't exactly up to climbing any trees myself, so I let someone else do it and then we shared the results."

"I'm sure you've charmed all the furry creatures in the area."

"It's a gift," Ray shrugged before turning his attention back to the dress. He was carefully working the thread out of the seams, doing his best to keep the thread intact. It took Solomon a moment to realize that Ray was using a jeweled hatpin as his tool. He had forgotten about the jewelry case he'd found in the trunk.

"I should have known you'd find the jewelry."

"Nothing much of interest. But this is useful. There was a name on the case: Madeline Pennington."

"Pennington…" Solomon thought for a moment, then said, "I think I remember reading about her in the papers a few years ago – lost at sea on the way home from Australia."

There was silence between them for a moment as they both thought of Florian.

"Her trunk survived. It's possible she did too – considering that we appear to be on an unidentified island somewhere in the Pacific." Solomon kept his tone light – he didn't want Ray to descend into one of his dark moods.

"And I'm currently using her hatpin to take apart one of her dresses." There was something oddly funny about the situation, so they both laughed, even if it did have a note of desperation.
XXXXX

Florian's stomach ached, and he was cold. He curled up tighter under a pile of leaves and closed his eyes, visualizing his bedroom. He had a new silk duvet – a luxury that Ray insisted on – and hand embroidered pillow cases. The sheets were sinfully soft, and some days he lingered in bed because it was so warm and comfortable.

His room was a haven for when Ray was away, or when they'd had a disagreement, or when Florian needed a little time away from the frantic pace of Ray's household. His room was smaller than Ray's, but it was cozy and overlooked the garden. Beyond the high fence he could see other houses and sometimes caught glimpses of other people.

Sometimes, when he first came to live with them, Noel would have trouble sleeping. Florian would pull his chair right up to the window, and he and Noel would look out, making up stories about everything they saw until the boy calmed enough for sleep. On very rare occasions, when Ray was troubled, he would sit in that same chair and Florian would curl up in his lap and hold on tightly.

More than anything, Florian wished he could feel Ray's arms around him now – letting him know that, no matter what happened, they'd face it together.

It rained that night – soft and gentle, and Florian turned his face upwards and let the water trail down his face.