toku matsudaira, geezermancer (giri) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-11-16 17:04:00 |
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The Council meeting proceeded as scheduled, with two Councilors instead of three. Worry churned in Toku’s gut with every glance thrown at the empty chair. He said nothing, yet he knew Peony could tell. The years they’d known each other had gifted them with an extreme familiarity with each other’s moods and expressions; and so, though their conversation stayed within the bounds of guild affairs, he could tell she shared his concern. Toku could not shake the thought that whatever was wrong with Merrion, it was far more serious than a simple cold. Had it been some sort of illness, there was no doubt in Toku’s mind that Merrion would have been in a panic, convinced death lurked near—yet this time, Merrion had refused to see a healer. Soldiering through the paperwork on his desk had become a Sisyphean task. Where usually Toku enjoyed the silence of his office, that evening he could not help but resent the quiet, for it made the ticking of the clock seem far too loud. He kept an eye on the time, reminding himself that no matter how badly he wanted to cross the hallway and make sure Merrion was all right, it would not be proper to intrude on his fellow Councilor before the agreed hour. Merrion should be allowed his solitude, if such was his wish. And so Toku forced himself to continue reading and signing documents, as time trudged on agonisingly slow. Ten minutes before the agreed time, Toku stood from his desk, having made some progress, if not as much as he had hoped. He retrieved a few potions from a drawer and placed them on a tray; soon, they were joined by two cups of green tea and a cast iron teapot. Balancing this on one hand, Toku let himself out of his rooms and crossed the hallway towards Merrion’s quarters, and halted as he was about to knock. Would his visit be an intrusion? Had he been perhaps too insistent over the network? And what if whatever was troubling Merrion was not something that could be fixed with white magic? Would he end up saying the wrong thing? For half a second, he considered leaving the tray on the floor in front of the door and leaving. Yet he had already made the appointment; it would be far too unseemly to not show up. And so he raised his hand again, and knocked. |