Leon frowned at the page, eyes narrowing at the scrawled madness. The ink twisted into symbols and slashes, nonsense layered over nonsense. His finger traced a jagged line as though meaning might suddenly surface, but all he felt was the weight of a headache pressing in.
A prickle stirred in his senses. Subtle at first, like the wrong note in a song, then sharp enough to freeze him.
In a heartbeat, he was on his feet. His chair screeched against the floor as his sword flashed into existence, the blade leveled at the shelf behind him.
His pulse slowed, eyes narrowing on the shadow that clung there.
A quiet shuffle. Then;
A rodent darted from the darkness, squeaking as it scurried across the floor and vanished into the corner.
Leon exhaled, lowering his weapon. His shoulders sagged as he muttered,
"Was I just scared by a rat…?"
