Reynion mentally traced the patterns in the wood of the counter top in a futile attempt to get his mind off of his headache. It wasn't working. The patterns blurred and shifted, seeming to rearrange themselves into new ones. It made his eyes hurt. He shook his head, and rubbed his temples. Someone seemed to whisper his name and he turned, expecting to see Esgallhugwen or Lira, or even no one at all. Instead, he saw Taurewen.
She looked exactly as he remembered her, but he had the feeling that he didn't exactly fit the image she would have carried. It had been years of nightmares, and years of drinking in futile attempts to expunge those nightmares. He knew that he must look haggard and worn. Unconciously, he tried to straighten, to look less weary and more like the confident elf she'd first known.
Eru, why is she here now? I must look terrible, I haven't been sleeping well, I haven't been eating, what must she think of me? he thought, somewhat panicked. He blinked several times, trying to make certain that his eyes were not playing tricks on him.
"Tau-Taurewen?" he managed. "Is it really you, or am I delirious?"
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