"I... I suppose it doesn't go there?" Lenalee stammered at the curious child that had stopped her to ask the most inane questions.
"But I thought flowers always went in their mouths," the pout was disconcerting.
Lenalee had no idea what to make of this child with dark hair and dark eyes that made her uneasy. She almost couldn't see the child's pupils, and that gave the terrible feeling of being stared at in the deepest recesses of her soul, her vices and virtues open for all to see.
What a terrible child,she thought, right before a pang of guilt ate away at her bemused smile.
"I need to go now, okay?" she patted the child's the head, nervously flitting away once she received a nod.
If Bookman noticed her disquiet, he said nothing. Lenalee had no time to feel grateful, for the moment she finally felt comfortable on the train compartment was the moment Allen and Lavi entered, leading a timid man between them.
"Yo, panda!" Lavi's grin was huge, "Nice to see you haven't died yet!"
"We'll see who dies first, you brat." The tiny old man swore at his apprentice, and Lenalee was content to giggle for a moment.
The man they introduced to her was... cute. Soft, shy, Aleister Crowley was the kind of person she thought needed someone to care for him. She wondered if Miranda would be a good match, as despite her clumsiness, she was a rather determined woman.
Allen, cute little Allen, with his half-bright, half-soft smile, who made her want to shelter him in her heart, who made her want to be sheltered by him, spared her a tired smile before finding a bed for himself and falling asleep. Lavi followed his example.
"Miss Lenalee?" Crowley's voice called once Bookman had left, claiming to desiring something to eat. "May I ask you a question?"
"Yes?" she blinked at him.
"Why are you fighting... Akuma?" his gaze was curiously honest.
Lenalee wanted to scream at him. What a terrible question to ask. "For my brother," she murmured demurely with a soft smile. "And you?"
Crowley seemed to understand he had asked the worst question possible, if his tight smile was answer enough. "To have a reason."
She felt it was the truth. Why wouldn't it be? He'd had no reason to keep quiet, no reason to smile in the face of danger, no reason to- but that bitter thing wasn't who she was anymore. Maybe if she said it enough times, "For my brother" might become her truth.
The silence drowned them until after Bookman returned, dissipating somewhat only once Lavi was awake and boisterous, burning the shadows with his natural fire.
