Ithiel is by me!

The dust-furred coyote yearned to return to his cave, but the weather would not let up. The thunder cracked and seemed loud enough to split the sky, and flashes of lightning illuminated the whole world in stark colors all at once. The library was not a place he frequented, but it had some of the more comfortable seating, and Ithiel did not know if he was ready to give in and relent to the idea of spending the night within the mansion. He would seek out a room when that point in time came, but until then, he was content to remain in the library.

The dusky hybrid had never particularly liked human dwellings; he was tall enough to require stooping beneath most doorframes, and he felt out of place. Thankfully, though, the roof did not leak, and it wouldn't be quite so damp and drafty as his cave. Zedekiah might just have to fend for himself for the night. Ithiel was confident in the vulture's ability to find the stash of dried meat and gorge himself, and sighed aloud at the thought of returning home to find the pouch empty -- perhaps torn apart, if he was particularly unlucky.

He had gone so far as to take a book off the shelves -- predictably, one he assumed to be about religion. After a few pages, he put it back, finding it nothing but fictional drivel, near nonsense to him. Though the candles he'd lit and his two lanterns, both burning bright, provided considerable light, the hallway just outside the library seemed impossibly dark, save for when the lightning struck.