I actually had to cut down myself from 586. Cripes.
No more pretending. No more thinking that it had all only been a dream. How sweet a relief that would have been for her, wouldn't it? To close her eyes to shut out the nightmare and then open them back to the safe world. Or at least, her version of safer. There were few things in this world that were more dangerous than the teeth and claws that hid in the dark but they weren't the only dangers around. Humans were quite capable of being extremely dangerous on their own, without any help from beyond the veil. But for Charlie, that had all been relative. Her biggest fears probably seemed small in comparison now. She was lucky to be alive. Another place, she would have been torn to pretty red and yellow ribbons. Colorful but dead.
When she opened the door however, it didn't look like she felt the same. Actually, it looked like she was about to heave her entire digestive system all over his shoes. She was terrified, that was obvious. Her skin had lost all color and though her lips were firm, he could see the tiniest scratches against them, like she had been biting them. Chewing. A common human habit. In spite of her terror, however, here she was at the door, staring him down with a determination that he had to admire. She hadn't completely broken down and run screaming 'wolf' to whoever would hear so it would seem that she had already accepted what she had seen as truth and reality, especially since she knew about her house guest's little secret.
Adorable that the little thing stood between them. That the boy thought he could seriously stop him was laughable. If Alexander really wanted to … if ... this had been a hundred years ago, he would finished the both of them off and then whistled his way to the next town.
Another place. Another time. Wasn't Charlie lucky?
"You've set the community into something of an uproar. That's usually a job for me to do, setting things into chaos." He grinned, attempting light humor in order to ease her nerves. Perhaps she thought he was here to steal her away. She was privy now to a very large secret. One that many would kill to keep. Including himself. But only when necessary and Alexander was sure, even without his persuading, she would have taken what she had seen to her grave.
Her face turned even paler, if that was possible. He cleared his throat and tried a softer smile this time. "As frightened as you may be, Charlie, there are others very frightened of you. More importantly, what you might ... reveal to others. I'm here to soothe those fears, as well as yours. You said once you were inflicted with a intolerable degree of curiosity. We fear what we do not know." The smile changed back a smirk, which was his trademark look. "Don't you want to know?"