Where he may have felt disappointment coming from her, she would feel meager confusion coming from him in return. Standing there as she addressed herself in the mirror, he wondered if anything was amiss he couldn’t see. She showed him a smile, so he figured it was a fleeting feeling. Looking into the bond he could no longer discern her let down, but his confusion and concern weren’t dispelled as easily.
Seeing she was ready to go, he opened the door and let them out into the hall. The smells wafting up from downstairs made him realize how hungry he really was, and in that moment for a brief period his hunger was more prevalent than his concern. He passed by the steps leading downstairs and rounded the railing to begin up the stairs leading up to the final floor of the house. Perhaps later on, with growing experience, Elann would be able to tell that their home was rather wellmade and carefully constructed, maintained, possibly telling of whatever hidden wealth Noah’s family had.
Before they took to the steps Noah let his hand out for her to grab, understanding that steps weren’t her strong suit. He still found humor in the first day he met her, where she couldn’t figure out the key or push the heavy door of her apartment. It was what he thought about as they trekked up into the dark depths of the uppermost floor. At the landing, he looked around, able to see by the little light filtering from upstairs. He took a candle from a nearby holder and asked for Elann to remain there while he hurriedly went back downstairs, lighting the candle on one of the ones downstairs before returning.
With new light he navigated the small landing. There was an open space before a door came into view. It was partly open, either remaining that way for three years since he left or being left that way from the last time someone was in there. With his poor sense of smell he couldn’t discern anyone’s recent scent in the air. He disregarded the thoughts and pushed the door open quietly. He parted away from Elann briefly in order to light his room’s candelabra. With all the candles lit, his room came into full orange glow.
It was about half the size of Donavan’s downstairs with a slanted ceiling telling they were at the very top of the house. Everything there resembled much of the furniture in his apartment if Elann recalled, simple and dull in appearance. The bed was about the size of a normal child’s, save for it being longer to accommodate his long frame. He couldn’t fit in it now, at least not without balling up a little. The linens were made and everything was rather orderly. There was a thin standing dresser with clutter on top, most notably boxes and small chests much like the one holding his gold in him and Elann’s trunk.
Noah went to the far side of the room and drew the curtains. Moonlight flooded into the window, which was large. The heat from downstairs had yet to find its way up here, and with the door even partly closed, his room was cut off from much of the house. His love for isolation started here, that much was probably clear. Noah went to the small desk positioned in the corner of the room and sat down, taking an old and worn candle out of its holder atop the desk and placing the one he took into it. There were still papers on the desk, drawn on sketches of barely finished design.
He ran his hands over them, moving aside accumulated dust to examine his old work. Stood against the desk, on the floor, was an old lute, something he disregarded for the moment while he looked at his drawings, shifting the papers one by one. The looks were quickly made, him eventually turning to look at Elann wherever she was in the room.
