Hands were clenched upon each other, a cold sweat formed upon her brow. Her gaze seemed often to dash left, right, left again ; as if she was scared, keeping an eye on someone who might just pounce from the bushes or from behind the corner or from behind her or perhaps even from the sky or..
" N-no.. I'm, uh, I- I'm fine.. " Marianne nearly stumbled over saying an easy sentence, her mind too full of a presence that doesn't belong there. Maurice.. are you finally here to claim me?
H̶̛̝͎̎è̵̡̜̹̌ ̵̹̩̐̓s̴̛͕̯͙̃̋e̶̡͈̞͙͙̎̾͋̓̏e̶̢̊̔̚̕m̷̨̼͔̲̉̉̓͘͘ş̶̻̰̻̭̐͌ ̶̘̭̘̇̀e̶̝̯͊̿a̷̭͔͆̏͛g̷̢̨̪͇̽̉ê̸̢͇͎̭̓̀̄̄ŗ̸̯̰̺͍̄̃̿ ̴̝̝̦͇̊̈́t̸̻̱̿͛ơ̵̝ ̷͚̗̃̈́b̸̳̙̏̈́ë̸̼͕́̏ ̸̜̉́̚y̶͍͙̯̜̰̆̈́̏̑̕ó̶̢͍͖̓̾u̸̢̻͐̚r̵̻͔̒̓͋̕ ̴̤̀̊̇̋̎f̸̹̰͎̬̀́̚i̸̬̐̔̕r̸̨̡̤̪͕͝s̵̯̻͌̒ṫ̷̫̮̞͙͗͂̚.̴̢̦̻̻̰̕͝.̷̨̣̰̈̏̈̽͑ ̴͙͍̫̰͂n̶̗̼̓͝o̴̩̰̳͔͉͌?̶̲̪̔̅͗́
" Leave me .. ! " Her voice rose, higher and louder than she'd ever do as she almost stumbled back, away from his touch. Was she talking to him, or to the voice in her head.. ? She didn't even know anymore. But no matter, she couldn't risk him being close to her, to touch her. Who knows what might happen.
" Just.. stay away from me. It's for the best.. " Her gaze was avoidant, not wanting to cross his eyes - not wanting to see the worry p̸͕̈́̉̔ͅi̷̼̪̎͘t̷̨̪̒y̴͎͔͕̮̏̇̿̍ he had for her.
Hearing his reaction, the seemingly anger that rose within him caused her to stir and glance up to him, only to quickly avert her eyes once he returned her gaze.
" Um, no.. don't worry about it. I understand, are you.. um, are you alright? " A small pause, before she continued: " A god who possesses one.. it seems like a vile and cruel thing. " Another pause, her digit lightly messing with the corner of the page, before making herself stop. " I cannot imagine how terrible it must be, to be forced to do awful things that are not within your control. "
Her eyes remained on the words written upon the page, letting his words sink in. " I .. I assume it is not allowed. This book, I mean. It.. just feels wrong, reading all of this. Like it doesn't belong here. "
Her head now turned to Berkut, gazing up to him. " So far, the books about religion here are mainly about The Goddess and other gods and holy figures from different continents. But.. this one.. I think someone snuck this in. The more I read.. I just feel like this is forbidden knowledge not meant to be seen. "
A moment of hesitation as she skimmed the pages of the book, the ones that had been left untouched. The book had been dusty and hidden, perhaps it really was never meant to be discovered. Stopping at a certain page — for no reason, truly — her eyes lingered upon the written words:
If thou hast read this far, know that it is too late. Thou hast invoked Him, awoken Him. Knowledge of His existence is enough to infiltrate and feed on thine mind and soul.
More erratically scribbled writing — it wasn't writing, really, more like incoherent words and drawings — filled the page, leaving whatever else what might've been written there unreadable. It was enough to make a shiver go down her spine, to creep Marianne out. With haste, she quickly shut the book.
" Um.. I think I might've read enough for now.. " Had she really, though?