"Elias!" Irene rasped, the force of the exclamation grating like sandpaper over her vocal chords. Her hand had flown to her heart and she slumped against the brick wall, no longer cowering in fear, but relaxing (slightly) in relief. The relief, however, was soon replaced with embarrassment and she felt a flush flood her cheeks at her dramatic reaction to something she'd clearly made up in her mind.

Well, there was clearly nothing wrong, except how silly she'd been to think Elias, tall as he was, was anything near threatening. But it wasn't as if she would be able to brush this off. No, her voice was too hoarse, her reaction too big by half, and she knew she likely looked a fright. "It's...it's nothing, I'm alright." And yet she stayed there, her back pressed to the wall, leaning slightly to peer around him to make sure there wasn't anything behind him. You're being silly, she thought. Even so, she knew he likely wouldn't accept that as an explanation, for all that she'd nearly thrown him off her just then.

"I just had a fright that's all. I thought you were...something else." Even as she explained to him, her words slowed; quieted. Now that she knew there would be no danger, Irene could feel a wave of exhaustion plucking at her sleeve, as if it was waiting to swallow her in the shadows.

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