Al smiled at the light coming from the door to the lab, tiptoed over to the couch. He sat down on the leftmost cushion, reached out and hugged the Compendium to his chest.
He bent his head down, until his nose touched the grimoire's spine, and sat like this for awhile, inhaling the scent that calmed him. Afterwards, he looked up at the light, and, Compendium in hands, slipped through the doorway toward the noisier space of the laboratory.