Time folded around them until the night felt used in the right way — worn in, not wasted.
Elowen rose first, the motion quiet and deliberate, like someone putting away a thought instead of ending it.
Lilith followed a moment later. Both of them, without thinking, rested their hands on the backs of their chairs before stepping away.
The wood seemed to know them. The chairs leaned just slightly, as if listening. The crystal walls dimmed on their own, and the house's hum changed to match their pace, steady and slow, almost like a lullaby meant for walls instead of people.
At the threshold, Lilith stopped and turned a little toward Elowen. Her voice came low and soft, warm in the still air.
"Do you want to check the suite?" she asked. "Stand in the hall a moment, listen to them breathe? It's a good sound."
Elowen almost said yes. The word reached her lips, sat there, and then faded before she could give it shape.
