Elias listened for the faint click of the lock after turning the key to close the infirmary for the night. There were no patients that needed to be taken care of which left him free to return home.
There was only so much he could do now, he had to wait while the solutions distilled and he was left with the precious chemical he needed to proceed with his experiments. He was so close to figuring out the secret, he had already managed to create the golden flakes, but it wasn't enough. There was still something missing and the doctor knew he was just a hair's length away from the answer.
He felt the weight of the key as it returned to his pocket. The man's head was filled with noise, his eyes unfocused as he stepped down towards the path and turned by the corner of the house to travel through the backyard of the infirmary and into the yard of his own home that stood behind the Soothery.
Elias was pulled out of his thoughts as he noticed a shadow shooting towards him from across the street, crying for the man's attention. The cat ran into the light of the street lamp, slowing down and wide green eyes before aiming another long, needy cry up at Elias.
The doctor stared down at the whiny feline, slowly stepping forward and the cat followed. Within moments Elias felt an added weight to his back and the distinct sound of claws gripping against waxed leather. The man didn't stop, by now used to the cat climbing its way up his back to play parrot on his shoulder, nudging and bumping the furry head against Elias' for attention.
He arrived to the door and while one hand found the key, the other free one moved up to gently scratch the top of the feline's head. It was a small thing, but a routine the two had done since the cat had been found and taken in. Elias had long stopped questioning the odd behaviour and merely accepted his role in this little ritual.
The cat whined loudly into the doctor's ear as the door to the house opened, it was time for the evening meal and Tirron would make sure that the man remembered.
Another bump of the cat's head and Elias glanced towards his companion, scoffing in mild amusement upon noticing that Tirron had managed to tangle his head and neck a fair bit into the doctor's raven locks.
For now, the door was left unlocked and once the cat had leapt from the man's shoulder to the table, Elias' shrugged off the heavy work coat and hung it by the door. He took a moment to brush down the thin clothing he wore underneath, plucking out a few stray hairs he found stuck to the linen.
There was another cry, a reminder to him that the cat was hungry. The doctor turned his eyes towards the cat, watching it pace back and forth on the dining table.
It didn't take Elias long to prepare a small bowl of dried kidneys and liver, placing it down on the table for the cat to enjoy. Silence fell over now that Tirron had his meal,- happily curling himself up by the bowl with his head already halfway down in the bowl to devour the dry organs.
Elias watched his hungry companion for a moment, but soon stepped away to make his way towards the chair that beckoned to him. As he passed the table, he let his fingers gently brush over the cat's back, causing the feline to react and push its hindquarters upwards as the man's touch ran down its back.
Slowly, his hand dropped back down his side and the man's focus fell on the empty chair. The doctor knew that he should have prepared something to eat as well, but he didn't have the energy or will to bother. He could eat in the morning.
Once he was able to relax, Elias sank into the cushioned chair and in that moment felt his entire frame turn weak. With no one to watch him, the tension in his muscles melted away, alongside his constant worry about his posture.
It was only then that he realised that there was no light. He hadn't lit the candles and the fireplace had gone out earlier that evening, leaving him with little more than a faint glow from the dying embers nested in the dark ash.
Aware of it now, Elias felt the chill within his home and soon noticed the vapour rising from each breath. Yet, he was unable to find the strength or will to get up and bring warmth back into his home, it could wait a little longer.
The doctor tilted his head back against the soft pillow that hung over the chair's headrest. His eyes moved upwards towards the ceiling to find the same old spot that often held his attention when his mind began to wander.
It wasn't a special or important spot, merely a discolouring in the wood itself. He was sure that anyone with a clever imagination could see something from the lines that ran around the dark circles, but he could not.
The doctor had tried many times to find a familiar pattern in the wood, an image of an animal or the face of a person, but with no luck. He had heard people talk about such things, finding the strangest imagery in the wood's irregular patterns, so why couldn't he? Elias frowned. He knew the reason, but not what the cause was. -He dismissed the thought.
There were a lot of things he didn't understand, things that he hadn't experienced or was unable to do- and that limited him.
The doctor thought on the people he had met and spoken with in the last few days, stopping to think on what they had said, how they had behaved, their expression, their thoughts and views. He wondered if he would speak with any of them again.
His mind brought him to how the housekeeper would fare on her adventure, if she would even be coming back. Did he have to begin preparing for such a possibility? The thought didn't settle well with him, but he didn't want to be caught off guard again if the worst were to happen. He had to prepare himself.
Elias was suddenly stirred out of this thoughts, jolting in his seat when the cat suddenly jumped into his lap. The man winched and shifted awkwardly in the chair, picking Tirron up and moving his body from the sensitive area that the cat's paws had managed to strike.
The doctor grunted uncomfortably and lent back again to try and relax, his hand moving over to rest against Tirron's back once the cat had gotten himself comfortable lying against the man's chest with his front paws hiding underneath his frame and the tail curled closely against the furry, warm body.
Having been pulled out of his thoughts, Elias began to notice that there was a shiver in his body and his teeth were chattering. He was puzzled; he hadn't felt so cold a moment ago.
He studied the purring cat in his lap, undoubtedly full from his meal. As the thought crossed the man's mind, he looked over to the table. He had fed the cat just a minute ago, it wasn't possible that he had gone through it so quickly. Where had the time gone?
What once were fading embers were, by now, long gone and the interior was only lit by the faint light of the moon and a few stars that appeared between the thin line of clouds crawling across the night sky.
Elias furrowed his brows, had so much time passed already? His head turned towards the other chair that stood empty beside him to reach for the thick blanket that sat there, neatly folded together.
When his fingers touched the layer of dust that had gathered on it, Elias pulled his hand back in surprise and closely studied the chair. In the pale moonlight he noticed how a thick layer of dust had collected on the chair and the blanket. Had it really been so long since anyone visited him? Elias thought on it for a moment, unable to recall the last time he had a visitor in his home.
Something in his stomach sank at the thought and the man averted his eyes from the matter, staring off into the darkness. Slowly, his mind began to make noises again, unpleasant ones that bothered him more than he would ever care to admit.
Elias tried to shake the thoughts and the feeling aside, but with little success. He stood up, forcing the cat to wake from its nap and leap out of the man's lap. Tirron's curious eyes followed as the doctor made his way across the room towards the bed.
The man knew he should light a flame in the hearth, but he had less will now than before to do so.
He just wanted to go to bed.
