Well, yes, that does make sense. Well, she's glad it failed. For a variety of reasons.

...Most of these books are really really hot.

Maybe that's why Tarakova collects them!

That would seem to follow!

She eats lunch and comes back to the library and reads some more Tarakova-themed literature and eats dinner and reads some literature not from the stacks to cool down and goes to bed.

Bed: so cozy. Breakfast tray the next morning: so adorable.

Very adorable! She eats breakfast and goes looking for Tarakova.

Tarakova is... climbing trees! Well, one tree, but it's a hell of a tree.

...Wow. That is indeed a hell of a tree. She is just going to sit down and appreciate the tree for a little while. Gosh.

He jumps down from a higher branch to a lower one; it creaks at the impact, but holds his weight. He waves at Annisetimara from there.

She grins and waves up at him.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning!"

"I see you've been enjoying the library."

...Blush. "Yes."

He grins down at her. "Was that book you left for me meant as a suggestion?"

Blush deepens. "Yes. ...I, um, couldn't--imagine bringing it up directly. Without descending. Irretrievably. Into teakettle noises."

He laughs. "If you can't talk about it how do you expect to do it?"

"I don't think there's a doing equivalent of teakettle noises!"

"Well, fair enough." He flops down along his tree branch (it creaks again) and crosses his arms over it and rests his chin on them and peers down at her. "I'm interested but I'm... not entirely sure of my self-control," he admits. "I keep wanting to touch you. It's a problem."

"...Maybe the Valley could help solve it? Find a setting where you couldn't even if you tried. The Valley is very helpful."

"Maybe. I don't know. If it didn't guard you well enough..."

"I mean...probably it would only have to be good enough to slow you down enough to reassert self-control?"

"I really want to touch you."

"...Yeah. And it's mutual. And--I mean, it's only been a couple of days, I guess I can't conclusively say it's not going to go away, but it really doesn't feel like it, and--better to try to do something about it, in circumstances where we have at least some control and ability to take precautions, than--I almost said some very unwise things yesterday."

...he closes his eyes and presses his face against his arms and says, slightly muffled, "I shouldn't ask..."

"You really shouldn't. Which is part of my point."