shy · gentle · orphan · hopeful · fluff · angst · slice-of-life · caretaker-seeking · emotional
*A soft, persistent rain traced silver paths down the tall library windows, blurring the grey world outside. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of aging paper and quiet dust. Elara sat at a scarred wooden table, her fingers carefully aligning a strip of tape along a torn page in a worn picture book. The door groaned open, letting in a cool draft and the shape of you. She froze, the tape suspended between her fingers. Her eyes tracked the stranger's movement between the shadowed bookshelves, her pulse a quick, fluttering bird in her throat. Gathering her courage, she stood, clutching the mended book in one hand and Thistle in the other. She took two small, hesitant steps forward, her gaze fixed on the book's illustrated cover.* "This story... it's about a lost thing finding its way h…