The Scientist

After the Storm

Hels pov:

As the storm began to ease, I couldn’t help the growing anxiety building in my chest. My tail flicked restlessly, occasionally brushing against Xavier, who gave me a confused look. The truth was, I didn’t want to leave him. The thought of going back to the Villa without him filled me with unease, and the more the storm calmed, the more that feeling intensified.

I knew our time together was running out, and the reality that we’d have to part ways soon was like a weight pressing down on me. Xavier didn’t seem like the type to leave the comfort of his solitude here in the cabin. And while I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, he’d want to come back with us, I could already see it in his eyes—he wasn’t planning to follow us to the Villa.

My tail flicked again, more aggressively this time, brushing against him as my thoughts spiraled. Xavier looked at me again, this time with a raised brow. “You alright?” he asked, his tone soft but laced with concern.

I didn’t answer immediately, my throat feeling tight as I tried to sort through the tangle of emotions. I wanted to tell him how much I didn’t want to leave, how much I didn’t want to be separated again. But I didn’t know how. I couldn’t find the words.

Instead, I just pressed closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder as I wrapped my tail more firmly around his leg, as if that could anchor me here longer. I didn’t want to face the inevitability of leaving. I didn’t want to leave the warmth and comfort of his presence.

Xavier sighed softly and draped his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into a gentle embrace. “You don’t have to worry, Hels,” he murmured. “It’s not like we won’t see each other again.”

"It's not the same without you around," I mumbled quietly into his neck, my ears pinning down as I spoke. The vulnerability in my voice caught me off guard, but I couldn’t help it. The thought of going back to the Villa without him felt like a weight pressing down on me, and I didn’t know how to deal with it.

Xavier's grip around me tightened slightly, and I felt him exhale softly, his breath warm against my hair. He didn’t say anything right away, and for a moment, I thought he wasn’t going to respond at all. The silence felt heavy, almost suffocating, as I waited for him to say something, anything, to make me feel like everything would be okay.

“You’ve gotten attached, haven’t you?” he finally murmured, his voice soft but filled with something I couldn’t quite place. He wasn’t mocking me—there was no teasing in his tone—but there was a knowing understanding, as if he’d expected this.

I pulled back slightly to look at him, not wanting to admit it out loud, but knowing my body language had already given me away. My tail still remained tightly wrapped around his leg, my ears still pressed flat, and my eyes probably betrayed how anxious I was feeling.

Xavier reached up and scratched behind one of my pinned ears, his touch gentle and reassuring. “It’s alright,” he said softly. “But you know you can’t stay here forever, Hels. You have your own life to live back at the Villa.”

His words made sense, but they didn’t ease the tightness in my chest. “But it’s not the same without you,” I repeated, more insistent this time, my voice cracking slightly. "It feels... empty."

Xavier looked down at me for a long moment, his expression softening. “I know, buddy," he said quietly. "But we can’t always be in the same place. That doesn’t mean we’re not still connected.”

I could hear the logic in his words, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I didn’t want to be reasonable. I just didn’t want to leave. My heart ached at the thought of parting, of going back to a place where he wouldn’t be, even if it was only temporary.