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Over the past few days, Talia had chosen a route of seclusion; although, she wasn't entirely sure if she could refer to it as such — truthfully, she was simply trying to avoid Alastor. The brief interaction from the other day had unnerved her, rattled her senses and stirred up doubts she had fought hard to suppress. As much as she cherished Alastor's company, and as much as she longed for nothing more than to be near him once more, she had determined that it could not be so — as much as it had pained her to admit, Vox had been right. She did not deserve him.
So alone she forced herself to stand, in the library with only her thoughts to occupy the passing minutes. She was organizing the books, wrinkled leather stacked atop dusty shelves; she was not fully aware of just how long she had been there for, but she willed herself to remain in the room and not risk running into Alastor.
I miss him.
Oh, stop acting so fucking dramatic, a part of her mind whispered, You're doing this to yourself, idiotic little shit. No one likes a walking pity party. People have it worse — so shut the fuck up!
Talia exhaled softly, ears drooping slightly; regardless, she simply gritted her teeth and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. Only to freeze in place as a blur of shadows zoomed past her vision and caused her to drop the books in her hands.
Lurching backward with widened eyes, Talia inhaled sharply — her emerald gaze darted around the room frantically in an attempt to discover the source of the surprise, hands balled into tight fists at her sides. The very same shadow, the shadow that was moving on its own, popped right up in her face against, causing her to scream and fall backward onto the floor.
The shadow got close, invading any sense of personal space as it placed its wispy hands upon Talia's shoulders. Her gaze flicked up to the twin silhouettes that rested atop what appeared to be the shadow's head, and she realized with alarming certainty that it was Alastor's shadow.
"O-oh... uhm... hello...!"
The shadow didn't speak — Talia merely assumed that it couldn't — but it did begin zooming around in little circles before happily snuggling itself into the crook of her neck. The action caused her face to heat up in surprised shock, mouth slightly agape as she craned her head to stare at the apparition.
For a fleeting moment, she imagined that the shadow was more than a shadow — that it was Alastor himself. Wouldn't that be nice? she mused silently. As if. He gets uncomfortable if I hug him for too long.
Speaking of which, why does he let me hug him? I don't think I've ever seen anyone else actually come near him...
