[Not only worse—she was trying to use his own "get out of jail free" card against him. Hubert could spot that maneuver a mile away.]
[His brow furrows, eyes flickering as they follow her conspicuous glances about. He's seen this behavior before. Too many times, unfortunately.]
[A curt little motion of his hand cuts the burgeoning fire off. His familiar notices the lack of heat immediately, and lifts itself up to his coat sleeve, burrowing inside and curling around his forearm. It's a poor fit, though; the last third of the cobra's tail hangs out. Stupid cold winter.]
[If there was any doubt left in his mind about what was going on, it would likely be extinguished alongside the fire. The tension in her body doesn't leave her entirely, but the tension left is much less obvious and she's stopped looking around for an exit.]
[With the fire (and, to some extent, the snake) in front of her, she might have climbed over an arm of the chair to escape, but with both out of commission, she scoots forward to get down off the chair normally and pick up the dropped book. Hugging the book, she turns to Hubert.]
Thank you. [There's a little more emotion put into that thanks than would normally be the case for just him not holding her up.] Then...excuse me.
[She doesn't run from the room, but she's walking a little faster.]
no subject
[His brow furrows, eyes flickering as they follow her conspicuous glances about. He's seen this behavior before. Too many times, unfortunately.]
[A curt little motion of his hand cuts the burgeoning fire off. His familiar notices the lack of heat immediately, and lifts itself up to his coat sleeve, burrowing inside and curling around his forearm. It's a poor fit, though; the last third of the cobra's tail hangs out. Stupid cold winter.]
I see. If that is the case, I will not hold you.
no subject
[With the fire (and, to some extent, the snake) in front of her, she might have climbed over an arm of the chair to escape, but with both out of commission, she scoots forward to get down off the chair normally and pick up the dropped book. Hugging the book, she turns to Hubert.]
Thank you. [There's a little more emotion put into that thanks than would normally be the case for just him not holding her up.] Then...excuse me.
[She doesn't run from the room, but she's walking a little faster.]