Mia raised her hand to knock on the door, but as soon as her hand even brushed against the door, it was repelled and she got the distinct feeling of being burned.
She considered leaving Mhaiera alone. After all, she obviously didn't want to talk to anyone if she went to such extreme measures... But that in and of itself disturbed Mia. After all, locking oneself in one's room (and for such an odd reason...) is rarely a healthy thing to be doing. Especially when said 'one' had such a tendency to take things to extremes...
Careful not to actually come in contact with the door, she called through it to Mhaiera.
There was a frightfully long pause, and the door distorted for a moment, then opened. Mhaiera stood staring at Mia, ashy pale, red-eyed and with a blank, dead look in her eyes. Finally, she said in an emotionless, dead tone, "Usually, when people do such things, they do not wish to entertain company..."
"I'm sorry..." Mia said. "But it's just that you've been in there for the past week, and I'm starting to get worried..."
Mhaiera kept looking deadly at Mia for a while before she said, "You are something of a worrier, are you not? I find it interesting, particularly your concern for one who, quite frankly, doesn't give a damn whether you live or die. I request in the strongest possible terms that you do not disturb me at this time."
Mhaiera started to close the door again, but Mia quickly said, "One last thing, though..."
Mhaiera waited, eyes boring into Mia.
Mia squirmed somewhat uncomfortably before saying, "Why... are you taking that... like this?"
Mhaiera's dead-looking eyes suddenly grew slightly wild, and there was an odd tone to her voice as she said, "You don't understand. I don't want you to understand. Now go!" With that, she slammed the door shut, which distorted again.
Mia blinked a few times, raised her hand as if to knock on the door again, and decided against it, remembering what had just happened. She sighed and left.
She let her hair fall behind and away from her as she reclined against the rock. "So we're going to look into that book thing, then?"
He shrugged. "Why not? We certainly don't have anything better to do, and the idea of this book... intrigues me."
"Said the cat," she said with a half laugh.
"Same cat that curiosity killed?" he asked, then shrugged. "But it doesn't matter, anyways... One, we are not cats. Two, it's just a book. A book never hurt anyone by itself..."
She began to examine her needle-like nails. "But this book has been sealed away, and with that comes protections, you know? But that certainly doesn't mean I won't go for the thing, just that there'll probably be lovely things keeping it from being an easy task..."
He made a noncommital sound and shrugged again. "You worry too much."
She laughed, slightly. "And you don't think ahead. Sure, something seems like a good idea right here and right now, but d'ya really think it'll always seem that way?"
"Like I said, you worry too much. Things have a way of working themselves out..."
She sighed. "And you're too stubborn to admit when you're wrong for once..."
He grinned impishly. "But that doesn't ever happen, so why worry about that, either?"
"You," she pointed, "are impossible."
He nodded amicably. "And you are, too."
"Naturally," she smirked. "But now that we've agreed we're both impossible, what are we going to do about it?"
He shook his head. "You have such a one-track mind..."
"I don't see you getting off that track..."
"Dear goddess, no! I was just commenting, is all."
"... And I think you're right to be worried, Mia... But while I could possibly see her hurting herself in some form, I don't think she'll do anything while locked up in her room the way she's been..."
Alex, leaning against the wall, made a noise that could probably only be described as "..."
Mia just sighed and shook her head. "She's just so... so..." She sighed again, then said, "But I am wondering about why that specific thing set her off like that..."
Luna said nothing, even though she knew the answer.
Alex, on the other hand, said nothing because it seemed like the thing to do.
Just then, there was a knock at the door, then a short pause before it opened.
Mhaiera stood on the other side, eyes still a touch red, but glittering coldly nonetheless, her chin held high, lips forming an odd mixture of a dejected pout and an arrogant smirk.
She flung herself into the nearest chair and gazed imperiously at the other three occupants of the room. Finally, she said in a tired but commanding tone, "I want to know everything that happened..."