[For Dani]

The sun is out. There's no denying that sunlight has an important place in her life. The Academy was always cold and dark; the building's great halls had very few windows. Vanya's bedroom had none at all. If she risks thinking back, that is what was in her head when she blew the place up room by room. She was raised in a prison of body and mind. From the dull echoes of her bare bedroom walls to soundless padding of her basement cell, hers had been a life of cold and shadow. Of course the skies darken when she loses control, pouring down her misery and rage. The sun bring promise. Seeing it reassures her. It looks back at her and assures her that she's still in control.

All of this comfort has brought her clear across town, far away from Hargreeves House. The promise of a cool used book store with books of unknown origin carries her neatly across the park. She's got the sun on her side and her violin strapped around her chest. Somehow, weeks after she picked up the well-worn instrument whose bowstokes can bring her back from the brink, she found the perfect case. It's got a cross-body strap like she likes, and not very bulky. Being as small as she is, she has to shop small, as well, lest she look like a pack mule.

New Leaf is exactly what she wants it to be. The second she swings the door open, the smell of dust and paper warms into her like the first hums of a freshly-tuned instrument. A small, quiet smile just barely curves the corner of her lips. She drinks the place in. Stacks upon stacks of untold wonders are before her. A man stands at the counter saying something. The tone strikes her unpleasantly, but she can't quite notice yet. A stack of who-knows-what by the door calls to her. The topmost book is called What I Love About Used Book Stores. Her smile widens. This is where she belongs.