Ice-blue eyes, weary from hours of reading, pressed themselves closed momentarily in order to relieve themselves, even if just for a second. After a moment they opened again once more the cyclical routine of reading began once more. Line by line, the tabby's oculars steadily grew heavy, until eventually Alaric could not take it anymore and he closed the tome with a single paw.
Since arriving in Tanglewood, Alaric hadn't had the easiest time assimilating to the life of a Tangler. He'd previously prided himself on being adaptable, and now he was beginning to eat his words. Many Tanglers regarded him with suspicion, and the only answer that he could get as to why was something about the "political climate", whatever the fuck that meant. The tabby was not at all well-informed about what was happening in and around Tanglewood. In all honesty, though, their skeptic stares did not faze him. As long as they left him alone he would be okay—until then, he'd keep to himself and his tomes.
The library was one of two refuges that he actively sought after. Its collection was not exactly massive, but the number of books that could be found there was certainly respectable. Similarly respectable was the range of genres that the library boasted. Alaric himself had already borrowed quite a number of books, many of which he'd finished in the short time that he had lived in the Tangle. He was well aware that he needed to return them, but somehow it kept slipping his mind and the piles of books in his home continued to climb to new heights.
On this particular night, Alaric had been reading through yet another one of the library's small collection of medical and veterinary journals. He was finding them to be quite fascinating, in all honesty, even though most were about humans and their issues. The books about animals were even more intriguing to the tabby, especially since he, well, is one.
Exhausted from poring over tomes, the tabby drew himself to his paws. He issued a glance around his home, noting the stacks of books that he needed to return to the library. He made a mental note to do that tomorrow. One book, which sat by itself near his bed, was about the medicinal properties of common herbs. The drawings were intricate and detailed, so much so that Alaric was beginning to notice several of them growing in the underbrush whenever he happened to decide to go hunt something to eat. He'd been reading through it abnormally slowly because he was making a conscious attempt to commit each of the herbs to memory.
Alaric allowed a sigh to escape from his lips as he gazed around at the mess he'd made of his home. It was much too late in the night, he decided, to clean it all up. Instead, the tabby departed his home and began a trek towards the shore. He noted while pacing through the town that there was no soul in sight. He didn't give it much thought, though; a quick glance upward would reveal that the moon was directly overhead, meaning it was around midnight, which in turn meant that everyone in the town would be asleep. Alaric thanked the stars above for that.
The journey to the beach seemed to get shorter each time he went there. This was not the first time that he had gone to the beach in the middle of the night. The droning of the waves crashing against the shore helped to clear his thoughts, and the beach's windless nighttime doldrums were always welcome.
Walking out onto the soft sands, Alaric once more breathed in the salty air that he had become acutely familiar with. His paws carried him across the sand onto one of the piers extending outwards from the shore. He took a seat at the end of the wooden structure. The moon's ever-changing reflection on the water stared back at him like some sort of heavenly spy as he cast his gaze downwards. A sudden sense of tranquility settled over Alaric, reminding him of a time before he left his home. Yet another deep exhalation found its way past his loose lips as he continued to stare outwards at the sea.
Since arriving in Tanglewood, Alaric hadn't had the easiest time assimilating to the life of a Tangler. He'd previously prided himself on being adaptable, and now he was beginning to eat his words. Many Tanglers regarded him with suspicion, and the only answer that he could get as to why was something about the "political climate", whatever the fuck that meant. The tabby was not at all well-informed about what was happening in and around Tanglewood. In all honesty, though, their skeptic stares did not faze him. As long as they left him alone he would be okay—until then, he'd keep to himself and his tomes.
The library was one of two refuges that he actively sought after. Its collection was not exactly massive, but the number of books that could be found there was certainly respectable. Similarly respectable was the range of genres that the library boasted. Alaric himself had already borrowed quite a number of books, many of which he'd finished in the short time that he had lived in the Tangle. He was well aware that he needed to return them, but somehow it kept slipping his mind and the piles of books in his home continued to climb to new heights.
On this particular night, Alaric had been reading through yet another one of the library's small collection of medical and veterinary journals. He was finding them to be quite fascinating, in all honesty, even though most were about humans and their issues. The books about animals were even more intriguing to the tabby, especially since he, well, is one.
Exhausted from poring over tomes, the tabby drew himself to his paws. He issued a glance around his home, noting the stacks of books that he needed to return to the library. He made a mental note to do that tomorrow. One book, which sat by itself near his bed, was about the medicinal properties of common herbs. The drawings were intricate and detailed, so much so that Alaric was beginning to notice several of them growing in the underbrush whenever he happened to decide to go hunt something to eat. He'd been reading through it abnormally slowly because he was making a conscious attempt to commit each of the herbs to memory.
Alaric allowed a sigh to escape from his lips as he gazed around at the mess he'd made of his home. It was much too late in the night, he decided, to clean it all up. Instead, the tabby departed his home and began a trek towards the shore. He noted while pacing through the town that there was no soul in sight. He didn't give it much thought, though; a quick glance upward would reveal that the moon was directly overhead, meaning it was around midnight, which in turn meant that everyone in the town would be asleep. Alaric thanked the stars above for that.
The journey to the beach seemed to get shorter each time he went there. This was not the first time that he had gone to the beach in the middle of the night. The droning of the waves crashing against the shore helped to clear his thoughts, and the beach's windless nighttime doldrums were always welcome.
Walking out onto the soft sands, Alaric once more breathed in the salty air that he had become acutely familiar with. His paws carried him across the sand onto one of the piers extending outwards from the shore. He took a seat at the end of the wooden structure. The moon's ever-changing reflection on the water stared back at him like some sort of heavenly spy as he cast his gaze downwards. A sudden sense of tranquility settled over Alaric, reminding him of a time before he left his home. Yet another deep exhalation found its way past his loose lips as he continued to stare outwards at the sea.
♔ don't do love, don't do friends