Unity in the Long Night

Emile did not want to be here, being forced to be seen, to be around others felt like one of the worst things that could happen to him. He wanted to curl up in his nest of furs and not be perceived by anyone. Most of all he did not want to be in the same room as Bowen. He has every reason to assume she'd be there and the last thing he wanted was to be around her. It made him feel massive like he was too big like he would just get in her way simply to share the same space as her. He wanted to never have to even be considered by her again, it was the only way to make up for what he'd said to her. Not for the first or last time, he thought about how much better everything would be for everyone else if he simply stopped existing.

But Emile also knew it wasn't an option not to show up, to at least poke his face in and make himself known even if the moment eyes inevitably turned to look upon his pitiable form he would be bombarded by their judgment and disappointment. He slunk his way to the chamber and pushed his way inside, forest gaze scanning quickly and noticing the area of the room he had to avoid at all costs. The window far from the majority of the congregation at the table. He slunk to the furthest corner from her and pushed his way into the stone walls, silently praying he could simply slip into the shadows unnoticed and no one would do more than let their gazes slide over him, like the worthless waste of space he was.

"Emile"