[color=fafabe]'I...Thanks. Just don't tell anyone I'm here yet, okay?'
[/color]

Did Sodalite know she wasn't ready to go back out yet? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, she was glad that she would be able to stay behind for a while. She returned the smile and watched Sodalite leave, a quarter of her wanted to chase after and change her mind.

She'd follow in time. For now, she needed to be alone a bit.

Her attention turned towards the books. She'd never actually seen, much less read one before, and her only (rather vague) knowledge of them came from Reggie. But she was more than familiar with drawings, and there were certainly lots of those, at least on the covers. Practically breathing in the images before her, she took in every single detail, trying and failing to avoid thinking of Talc.

[color=fafabe][i]If Talc liked my crude scribbles, she would've loved these.
[/i][/color]

Wait.

Would've loved?

[i][color=fafabe]She's fine, Eve, for the love of the sky. Fragile or not, she's lived for so long. It's not like she'll be taken down so quickly...Not like Howlite...

...Right?[/color][/i]

She hoped she was right. Yet her worries kept tugging at her mind. Worries of Talc, worries of Reggie, worries about words and swords and right hands. They tugged as she finally flipped the book open, tugged as she tried making sense of the words before her, and tugged as the minutes went by, and soon they were tugging down at the corners of her mouth, only returning to a smile whenever Sodalite would.

For a good week, she remained like this, holed away in Sodalite's room. A week too long.

 With a sigh, she gathered the books, put them away, and walked over to the door. Hesitating for a good few minutes, Eve though as to whether she really wanted to leave, but she knew that if she stayed alone any longer she'd just be left with those thoughts. 

Besides, she wanted to stay beside Sodalite, and Reggie was probably worried.

And so, without another moment longer, she took a step forwards, the clanging of gears and turning of gears ringing behind her as she took a step forward. A gentle but clear [color=fafabe]"Hello,"[/color] broke any chances of her going unnoticed to anyone in the temple.

[color=fafabe]"...It's been a while, hasn't it?"[/color]