Hollow

Chapter 19: Bittersweet

How is it possible that out of everything Llwell has so far had to do for the Restoration, taking a break is proving to be his greatest challenge? All he can think about is Tessiavar and finding Ysve. He thought about going out and killing some horrors so he can at least feel like he's being productive, but he's paranoid that the moment he leaves Ayiolas will be when Tessiavar decides to make their move.

So instead of sitting around and going stir crazy, he opts to visit Dumaine. The mage had asked to speak with him in private yesterday, but he didn't find the chance to head down to the archive. He also found himself pondering for a bit longer than he would like to admit on what Dumaine might want to speak with him in private about.

He has luckily taken some time to familiarize himself with the keep, and while he still gets lost from time to time, he can get around well enough. He follows the hall to a stone staircase that leads down to the lower level, where he finds the archive.

Wall to wall with bookshelves stacked with old tomes and scrolls, magical artifacts that Llwell isn't even going to try to guess what they are, and sitting at a dark wooden table against the far wall is Dumaine, flipping through an old book and occasionally stopping to write things down in a notebook. There are stacks of books strewn across the table and as he flips through the last page of his current book, he shuts it and sets it atop one of the stacks before grabbing from a different one and starting again on page one.

Best of all, he's doing all of this with a small smile. Seems the mage considers writing slander about his people a guilty pleasure. Or maybe he just enjoys studying in general. Despite the intense focus his expression conveys, Llwell doesn't think he's ever seen Dumaine look so relaxed.

Rather than abruptly walking over, Llwell knocks on the inside of the door to grab Dumaine's attention. The mage somehow snaps out of his trance to turn his gaze towards the entrance, seeing Llwell comfortably leaned against the doorframe across the room.

Dumaine smiles and sets down his pen. "Ah, good. You're finally here," he says and stands up, taking a step away from the table.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Llwell says and makes his way over.

The mage nods pointedly. "Yes. You have time now, I presume?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" the elf smiles as well.

Dumaine lightly chuckles and looks him up and down slowly. "So you are," he waves him over to the table. "Come. This is something I've been thinking about ever since our little trip to Clalleovion." He leans back against the table with his arms crossed and his head slightly cocked to the side. "I think we both know what I'm referring to."

'Us.' The word lingers on the tip of Llwell's tongue, but he refrains from speaking it aloud. So instead, he slowly nods with an expectant gaze and goes with a more judicial response.

"I think that you might be right."

Dumaine nods again, sharply this time. The anticipation is killing him and the anxiety is even worse. There's so much he wants to say, but his paranoia and uncertainty on how Dumaine feels holds him back from just speaking his mind. It's better to just let the mage lead the conversation since he was the one who asked to talk in the first place.

Dumaine loses his confident smile and sighs. "I just can't get that creature from Clalleovion out of my head," he starts and turns around to peer over the table of books.

Llwell feels his heart slightly drop. What was he thinking, assuming this was going to be about what is or isn't between them? He's an idiot.

"Oh," he says quietly and takes a moment to gather his thoughts. "What about it?"