The little witch no longer knew where to turn. If it were up to her, she would have already gone out to see what was happening, but it wasn't that easy for her.
The sound of glass coming from Shauwn's apartment was indeed worrying, but her ever-present timid nature didn't allow her to act freely.
Little by little, a flow of questions began to flood her mind. "What if I cast a spell to see?", "No, that would violate his privacy," and so each possible solution she came up with was discredited by a contrary thought.
Shyla couldn't stay still any longer; even the floor seemed to feel her anxiety. Sometimes she tapped her feet, sometimes she stood up, walking in a straight line, going back and forth, as they say.
" I've got it! "
Finally, an idea came to her. Because of her lifestyle, she was used to preparing her meals and storing them in her fridge, and today that habit would prove useful for her plan: to use food as a pretext to see him and try to find out what had happened.
As soon as her plan was set in motion, she took the food out of the fridge. The dish was originally meant for the oven, but too impatient, Shyla decided to use magic instead.
It was a very simple spell that required no incantation. All she had to do was place her hands above it, and a few moments later, the hollows of her palms began to emit warmth.
Meanwhile, Shauwn was cleaning the shower and gathering the glass shards into a garbage bag, which he tied up and set aside in the living room. He then went to his bedroom, put on a simple oversized pair of pants, and lay down, the damp towel covering his face. He wasn't really the emotional type, at least not in public, though when he was alone, he sometimes let it out.
The audio player in his hand, he eventually pressed play at random on one of the recordings it contained. Hearing Ivy's voice in the room filled him with sorrow; his closed eyes trembled, tears escaping as he envisioned the dreamlike scene in his mind, where, there too, at least, she was still alive.
"I'm sorry..."
By coincidence, she answered him through the recording, in a completely different context from what he was referring to.
A few minutes later, he came out wearing pants and with the towel still around his hair, using it to dry them. A piece of cloth he had found served to cover the wounds on his hand.
CLING ! CLING !
The apartment's doorbell rang. Who could that be? Shauwn wondered, but very quickly, he realized who it might be.
Shauwn moved closer to the door and opened it—and there, he came face to face with Shyla, wearing a big pullover and holding a dish in her hands.
" I thought you might be a bit tired, and since it's your first night, I figured you wouldn't have much to eat, so... here! "
She held out the dish to Shauwn while leaning forward, hiding her flushed face at the sight of Sirius's half-naked body, which also made her blush.
Leaning against the door with his arm holding it open, Shauwn looked at her silently.
It was about her that his conscience had been in conflict, and now he didn't really know how to act toward her—he just seemed expressionless.
"..."
He didn't answer her, and the once-friendly atmosphere between them grew heavier and heavier. Resigned not to embarrass her any further, he took the food she had brought with his right arm.
As soon as he did, she straightened up immediately. With a quick glance, the bloodstains began to show through the cloth that had covered the wound.
" But you're hurt?! "
Shyla quickly removed the cloth, which fell to the floor by the door, so she could observe the small cuts. It wasn't anything serious, but she was worried and rather agitated.
— Wait, stay still for a moment, I'll heal you.
— Wa...
Shauwn tried to reply, but before he could, she had already begun. Using the same gesture she had used to warm the food, she began to cast a spell. This time, small spheres of light appeared, falling from the hollows of her palms.
What both Shyla and Shauwn noticed, to their surprise, was that the spheres disappeared as soon as they got too close to his injured hand.
She tried three times, but the result was always the same—unsuccessful.
" Sorry, Shauwn, I can't seem to help you... probably my lack of experience."
She said it, but she didn't really believe it. This spell was far too basic for her for it to be an issue of inexperience. She would find out on her own why it hadn't worked.
" Not... a problem."
" Oh, and Shauwn, since tomorrow's the weekend, maybe you "
He closed the door before she could finish what she was trying to say. A normal person might have been offended, but not Shyla—she simply went back home.
" Why did he seem so distant? Fatigue? That must be it... And what was that tattoo he had? I didn't see it the first time... One of his supernatural abilities, maybe?"
Though her interpretation was off, the answer she gave herself for his behavior seemed logical enough. Moreover, she had noticed one of the traces of his past that Sirius was desperately trying to erase.
So many questions and so few answers raced through her mind, but she was happy to see that nothing serious had happened.
Usually, she was very careful about who got close to her and who seemed interested in her. However, in this case, it was she who found herself strangely drawn. Attraction? Love? She had no idea, due to her lack of experience, but she knew it wasn't something superficial—it was deeper, more spiritual. A kind of destined encounter.
Back in his apartment, Shauwn placed the dish she had given him on the table and sighed for a moment.
His stomach growled—a sign he was hungry. He looked at the dish for a long time, wondering if he truly deserved to eat it, but he eventually devoured it, consumed by remorse.
Nothing else happened for the rest of the evening, and the handsome young man eventually fell asleep, exhausted, slumped on his bed in his room.
But that night, it didn't take long before he had a nightmare. And, as always, in that nightmare, his body moved on its own—slaughtering countless people, walking through a river of blood, his skin stained scarlet red.
Shauwn eventually woke up with a start, breathing heavily. He didn't know how many hours had passed, but the sky had not yet regained the brightness of morning. He was in the middle of a calm, quiet night.
"It feels like the whole world is asleep... it's kind of strange, but peaceful."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I need something warm."