ăđ§ăâ The stern look and scowl, if Misha was attempting to intimidate, was all the intimidation he needed, as the tiny human was indeed quite intimidated. She was still pleasantly surprised that he was willing to help, however; he was in no way obligated to, especially since he already had decided on not initially attacking her and allowing her shelter from the storm.Â
    âRight, sâpose Ah cainât stretch yer hospitality any more than Ah already have,â she replied shakily. The storm wouldnât be ending any time soon, but he had a point, going out there now would be foolhardy. Still, she hoped by the time it was over and they could get out there that the securitron unit wasnât completely buried in sand.
     Since there was nothing much else to do, she picked the book that had interested her back up and flipped it open for a moment. The silence in conversation was more deafening than the raging sandstorm outside, like having a large, green elephant in the room or something.
      âSo uh⊠yâ like collectinâ books, huh?â She asked. She refrained from making any kind of comment that might be misunderstood as snide or insulting. âNot many folks really âppreciate thâ old texts anymore.â It was strange that, had the individual been a human or ghoul, she would probably be a lot more enthusiastic about speaking with another person who collected literature.
Misha had allowed the silence to fester, not replying to her initial response. Instead, he resigned himself to keeping a careful watch on the human. His heavy breathing the only sound that escaped him as he wondered why he was doing this.
Knowing the books were safe in her tiny hands, the mutant allowed her to examine them once more.Â
âNot many people can read.â He replied curtly.Â
For a moment he was quiet again, slowly rolling his shoulders as he gazed at the floor. Did he really feel guilty for being short with a human stranger? He sighed.
âYes. I collect them. I read many times.â Another pause, shorter this time, âMost from libraries. Many burn but some did not.â
A third pause, a second sigh. âThey are not useful but--Hn.â