( steve's only sort of half-listening to eddie, caught up as he is in his own freak out, or whatever the hell is happening to him. he absentmindedly uses his free hand to toy with one of the pins on the vest he's wearing, wondering distantly if the others will think to grab him some actual clothes while they're in there.

he's a million miles away, until something eddie says catches his attention and drags him back to reality with a start. a light frown furrows his brow as he blinks, mouth flattening into a tight line. )

Timing? ( he echoes, thoughtful. eddie could really be onto something with that, but... god. steve feels as if he's been plunked down in the center of a maze in the dead of night, blindfolded. he doesn't know what happens next. he has no idea how a change in timing could or would apply to any of it.

it's still enough to make him feel — well, not good, but better. he feels less like his chest is caving in on itself, anyway. ) Okay. So, like... maybe we took too long at the house, right? If me and Robin and Nancy move a little faster... because if the bats died, Vecna probably did, too. Or we distracted him enough to make him, I don't know, forget about the hivemind or something.

( is that how a hivemind works? he has no idea. )

If whatever we did happens sooner, you and Dustin are home free.