Donovan stands outside of Corbin’s door for a long time, listening for any indication that something is wrong. After twenty minutes of silence, he sighs, stepping away from the door. A black and white cat walks up to him, purring softly. “Yes, I know, Pip. I know,” he says softly, placing the palm of his hand on the door. “I know.” He walks away from the room, leaving the boy inside to sleep. Donovan walks down the hallway, opening a door at the end. He slips inside, shutting the door to keep any unwanted visitors, or cats, out of the office. He snaps his fingers, and beads of light shoot out towards the various lamps scattered around the room.
There is a large desk in the small room, made of warm, reddish wood. Books, papers, pens, and bottles of ink are scattered on it. There are various notebooks splayed out on the desk as well, quills writing in every single one. The quills move without anyone touching them, writing down anything and everything that Donovan tells them to. He sighs, and sits down in one of the two armchairs in front of the fireplace. Closing his eyes, he forces his mind to stop. The quills freeze, and drop to the desk. He sighs, leaning his head back on the back of the armchair, straining his neck to look at the ceiling. The ceiling of the room has been enchanted to show the night sky, like a live video feed. The stars are twinkling, the moon is bright, and soft clouds are rolling along the sky. Faint lines plot out constellations, as well.
Donovan watches the stars for what seems like hours, before standing up and walking over to his desk. He picks up one of the notebooks, brushing the fallen quill aside. He flips to a page near the front and sits down in front of the desk, starting to read what the quill had written that day. While he does his daily tasks, he has the quills copy passages from books that will be useful for him. He reads until the moon had moved halfway across the ceiling above him.
In the early hours of the morning, Maebell pushes her way into the room. She jumps up onto the desk, rubbing her head against Donovan’s hand. Donovan looks down at her, his eyes half closed. “What is it?” he asks, his voice weak from exhaustion. Meabell purrs, jumping off of the desk and landing in Donovan’s lap. She meows, pawing around on Donovan’s legs. “I’m not tired,” he tells her. She sits down with a quiet huff, giving him a look only human eyes could give. “I’ll go to bed in a little while,” he says. “I’m working on something. I’m… I’m almost done.” Maebell makes a small noise, before jumping off of his lap. She curls up on one of the armchairs, watching Donovan as he goes back to work.
An hour or so later, he hears a quiet whimper. He looks around for the source of the noise. “Maebell, can you…” he starts to ask, standing up. He doesn’t need to finish his sentence. Maebell is already running out of the room. Donovan follows Maebell, quietly walking out of the office. He looks down to Maebell, who is pawing at the door to Corbin’s room. She lets out a soft meow, pacing in front of the door. Donovan looks back and forth between the cat, and the door. “I should go in, shouldn’t I?” he says softly. Maebell meows again, and Donovan sighs, pushing open the door to Corbin’s room.
“Corbin? Are you alright?” Donovan asks, slowly walking into the bedroom. He sees Corbin standing near the dresser. “Corbin?” he says again. Corbin jumps when he sees Donovan walk into the room. He quickly shoves whatever he was holding into a drawer. “H-hey, Mr Delina. What’s up?” he asks, putting on a smile. Donovan looks around the room, something still feeling off. “No, nothing. I thought I heard something. Apologies. What are you doing awake?” he asks, leaning against the dresser and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “I… uh… I woke up, and couldn’t fall back asleep,” Corbin says, looking down. “Okay. Are you sure you’re okay?” Donovan asks again, shifting nervously. “Yeah.” Corbin smiles. “Thanks. Uh, you can go back to bed,” Corbin adds. Donovan sighs, and nods. “Of course. I’ll see you in the morning, little crow.” He walks out of the room, closing the door. He crouches down next to Maebell, who had been waiting patiently outside of the room. “I don’t know what to think right now, Mae,” he says softly, stroking the fur on her back.
Maebell pulls away, stretches, and starts to walk towards the other end of the hallway, away from Donovan’s office. She pushes open the door to Donovan’s bedroom. “I’ll be heading to bed in a little while. I want to finish up with today’s notebooks,” he tells her, before walking in the opposite direction, back to his office. He shuts himself inside, and picks up another notebook. With a sigh, he sits down in front of his desk and starts to read again.
Maebell saunters downstairs, through the library, and down the hallway. She passes the first door, poking her head into the room. Pip is sprawled out on the rug, asleep. Good, Maebell thinks. She needed the rest; been spending way too much time as a person. It’s not good for her. She walks out of the room, to the second door. She walks inside and jumps up onto the cat tower near the door. She pads around in a small circle, before laying down on the highest part. It’s been a long day. We all need a rest, she thinks, before going to sleep herself.
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