A/N: This is my response to the 30 Screams challenge at the Livejournal community. Basically, each chapter is a drabble using one of the 30 themes given to you, each one including the theme given in some way, as well as a scream. The drabbles are supposed to be darker, angsty, or horrorific. I chose to accept the challenge for the pairing of AutorxAhiru, but other pairings like FakirxAhiru and RuexAutor will be very prevalent. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your read, and remember that writers live off of reviews.

Fakir often went to the library before coming home, to read and learn and hone his writing powers in order to keep Kinkan Town functioning smoothly. Ahiru understood this, and true to her nature encouraged him to work hard. Usually he came home before dark, but every now and then he would fall into a lull and stay until very late at night. Every time, Ahiru waited up for him to welcome him home.

But when the clock struck midnight, Ahiru decided that he had been there long enough. Not that she was worried- he probably just fell asleep reading a boring book or something. Besides, he was only at the library, what was there to be afraid of?

After a brief glance around to check if he was coming, she locked the door behind her and started down the street.

Since the battle with the monster Raven, Fakir had moved into his own house, closer to both the lake and the library. Before he had turned her back into a girl, he had visited her every day. Now, between the time she spent at school and the time he spent working, they rarely had much alone time. It was a little sad, but she understood how important his job was writing for the town. She had no right to make it any harder for him.

The first thing that struck her as she walked into the library was how very different it looked from the daytime. The lanterns burning cast eerie shadows along the rows of books. There were no people here, and the silence almost felt ominous.

Ahiru swallowed the lump in her throat and called out, "Fakir! Where are you?"

'Are you- you- you…' was the only response.

Oh yes, the library was nothing like it was during the daytime.

Taking a deep breath, she started moving through the dimly lit rows of books, nervously glancing about. "F-Fakir, can you hear me?"

'Hear me-me-me…'

The longer she walked the more the shadows around her looked like dancing ravens. Every time the lights flickered, they grew and twisted and she could only think of how she had tossed around like a rag doll in those cruel beaks. And were those footsteps behind her more echoes, or-

A hand descended upon her shoulder.

"QUACK!" She screamed, though thanks to Fakir's writing, there was no transformation back to her duck form.

When she heard, "Be quiet!", her pulse began to return to normal. Turning around, she found herself staring into an irritated face- which, while not exactly comforting, was at least familiar.

"I- I'm sorry Autor. I was just looking for Fakir." She blinked, as if just realizing something. "Wait, why are you here?"

"I can't go home until the last person leaves. Fakir hasn't left yet, so I'm stuck here." He grumbled, pushing his glasses up his nose- somehow looking even more annoyed.

"Um, do you know where he is?"

"Last I saw, he was upstairs sleeping. I was just about to wake him up myself, but I suppose you'd be more appreciated." With that, he turned and started walking away. After a minute, Ahiru realized he expected her to follow.

As she walked alongside him, the silence began to get to her. But she rarely talked to Autor, and had no idea what to say to him. He reminded her a lot of Fakir, back before they had teamed up to help Mytho. Distant, often irritated, and very anti-social… the difference was, though, that Fakir acted that way because he was afraid. Autor just seemed to be naturally like this.

Sighing slightly, she accepted the uncomfortable quiet and kept following as he lead up the stairs.

"…I apologize."

Looking up at him in surprise, she asked, "Huh? What for?"

His response, stiff and almost defensive, "I was going to wake him up sooner, but I fell asleep myself."

She blinked as she worked this new information out. "Does… does he fall asleep a lot?"

No response, but it seemed more like a silent 'yes' to Ahiru. 'He probably just wakes Fakir up so he can go home…' she decided, not quite sure why the idea didn't seem right to her. And… it might just be the bad lighting, but was Autor blushing?

Did… did he know that she waited up for Fakir every night?

Somehow she could not bring herself to ask.

Stopping suddenly, he pointed to a desk over in a corner. "Well, there he is."

"Oh- ah, yes." Following his finger, she saw her knight sleeping on top of an open book. Smiling fondly at the image, she started to walk past Autor, before pausing and looking up into his eyes. "Thank you."

There was no mistaking the red hue on his cheeks for shadows anymore, and he could not keep her gaze as he replied, "It's nothing…"

Giggling a little, she turned and went to wake up Fakir.

They were more alike than she had thought.