Indira. She was still writing to him. The first letters were apologies. Professional, formal requests for his pardon for the offenses they’d caused. She’d asked him to reconsider, to give it another listen.
As time had passed, though, the letters had started...changing. The professional facade had chipped away, exposing the raw worry underneath the carefully-inked words. She’d begged him to listen. Pleaded with him to open the doors, to give them another chance. To give her another chance.
He’d never once replied to them. He still...it didn’t seem right to lead her on, and he’d said everything he needed to at their last meeting. Maybe it was wrong of him to refuse. Maybe he was being petty. But someone had to defend Alexandria, damn it, and they’d done nothing but toy with him since he’d taken up the mask.
No, he wouldn’t give in to her. He’d find another way. Somehow.
There had been other letters alongside Indira’s, of course. Ones that were even more sporadic than hers. He’d recognized Olivia’s handwriting instantly the moment it’d appeared on his desk.
Those letters, he burned on arrival. There was nothing she had to say that he was interested in hearing.
Too late, he realized a quiet had fallen over the study they’d claimed. Owl jerked upright, licking his lips. “B-But. Anyway.”
Leon opened his mouth, but Owl waved him off. “I’m fine. And I really don’t want to make this all about me. You guys keep visiting, and...I like having you here.” He chuckled. “I’m not going to ramble on forever about my life and its problems.”
Leon glared at him. “Come on. I’ve already told you I don’t care if you-”
“You’re all here,” Owl said, more quietly. “That’s plenty. I’ll figure the rest out. In the meantime…”
He bowed dramatically, sweeping one arm to the side and holding the other against his midsection. “Welcome, oh honored guests.”
Silence fell over the study again, broken by Maya’s snort.
“Come on,” he heard James say. “Do you really think your Library’s going to buy that?”
Owl stood again, tugging the edge of his hood back into place. “Probably not,” he said. “But, hey. You never know.”
Leon sighed. “Even still-”
Owl stepped away from the table and his creation, then, elbowing Leon on his way past. “Come on,” he said. “There’s got to be something left in this place you haven’t seen yet. Let’s go.” He smiled faintly, even if Leon would never see it. “And you promised to tell me about that guy. The one you-”
“Fucking hell,” Leon mumbled, pressing a hand to his face. “Look, can we- can we just not?”
Owl winced, hesitating. “Ah. It, uh. Went that badly, huh?”
Leon’s cheeks were slowly flushing, and he wouldn’t quite meet Owl’s eyes. “Just...it’s nothing. It’s not a big deal. Let’s just go.”
“Sure,” Owl said. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to, uh-”
“Show me that obstacle course again,” Leon said, thrusting his head higher. “And if we’re so flush on time, then you can show me another magic trick.”
He stomped off ahead of the group, still beet red.
Owl watched him go, chuckling sadly. Someday, Leon would finally catch a break.
But...he couldn’t quite stifle the elation that had ignited in his chest at the news, either.
Gesturing for Maya and James to follow, he strode after Leon.
* * * * *
For once, the Library was still. Quiet. Owl’s steps were light and soft, making nary a sound as he drifted. It seemed like the whole place was holding its breath, waiting for the clock to chime midnight.
He knew nights like this one well. There might not have been any visitors for this stay—as with all of his shifts over the past months—but it’d been long enough, likely. He smiled. The odds were damn good that that night would see him put back outside Alexandria. The thought didn’t excite him like it used to, but, well...without the booklenders running around to liven up the place, he knew he was starting to go a little stir-crazy with the endless monotony of it.
“How’s about it, Alex?” he murmured, laying his hand atop a mounds of books as he slipped past. “Let me out for a spell, I’ll be right back in a day. I’ve had some good long stints. Maybe we could even wrangle a shorter visit next time, eh?”
The candles around him dimmed, resuming their steady glow before he could lose his way. Owl grinned. “Oh, don’t grumble at me. How about it? Just this once?”
This time, he got no response at all. His steps slowed. He eyed the shadowy aisles around him for a moment, his brow furrowing. Normally, if Alex was feeling chatty, she’d never miss an opportunity to drip runoff rainwater down the back of his neck or blow out the candles in his path. He waited a moment longer, but when no reply was forthcoming, he sighed. “Fine. Have it your way.”
A door sat at the end of the hallway—a tall, ironbound construct. Owl hurried toward it, already dreaming of his bed. “Just think about it,” he said. “We could work together this time. We could-”
When he grabbed for the handle, though, it only rattled under his hand. He glanced down, taken aback.
Locked.
“Alex?” he said, turning around. “Why’re you shutting doors on me? I wasn’t trying to make you mad. I just thought-”
With a slow, pointed creak, one of the bookshelves alongside him started drifting open. Owl flinched, stumbling back instinctively.
It was just a door, he realized. ‘Just.’ The thing was cunningly hidden, worked into the frame of the bookshelf. Of course, knowing Alexandria, it was entirely possible that the door truly had been a simple bookshelf mere moments before.
Either way, the message was clear—go inside. Owl hesitated a moment longer, anxiety bubbling up in his chest.
Whenever Alexandria tried to push him around, whenever she tried to force him into specific actions, it wasn’t a good sign. Normally, it meant he’d finally annoyed her past her limit.
Or that something was very, very wrong.
He shook his
