Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMPC7EED0BK77GD6T932A8P

Aurora Carter pulled open the heavy wooden door, a bell above it letting out a low clang as she stepped into the warm, golden light of The Raven's Nest. The familiar smell of polished wood and whiskey enveloped her like an old friend, comforting and reassuring. She'd been running late, her delivery job from Golden Empress stretching into a three-hour fiasco, and the promise of a quiet pint was just what she needed to shake off the day's fatigue. Weaving through the scattering of patrons, Rory made her way to the bar, her eyes scanning the room for a familiar face - or, at the very least, an empty stool. Her gaze snagged on a figure hunched over the bar, his profile familiar, yet... altered. Thinner, the sharp edges of his cheekbones and jawline more pronounced than she remembered. His hair, once a rich, dark brown, was now flecked with threads of silver, combed neatly to the side in a style she'd never seen him wear before. For a heartbeat, Rory's mind lagged, struggling to connect the dots between the man she saw and the boy she used to know. As if sensing her stare, the stranger raised his head, his eyes meeting hers across the bar. Their gazes locked, and the years between them began to unravel. His eyes, the same deep brown she'd grown up with, now seemed to hold a million miles of pain and wisdom. A fleeting smile danced on his lips as recognition sparked within them, and Rory felt the ground beneath her feet give a little wobble. "Evan?" The breathless whisper escaped her lips before she could contain it. The man who'd been her friend, her confidant, her everything - for a time - nodded once, twice, his eyes devouring her as though searching for something lost. Time seemed to warp around them, bending and stretching as they sat in silence, taking each other in. Rory, feeling a little lost and unmoored, slid onto the stool beside him, her hands splaying on the polished wood of the bar. Evan's gaze drifted down to her left wrist, his eyes settling on the crescent-shaped scar marring the skin. A glimmer of something like sorrow flashed across his face before he looked away, focusing on the amber liquid in his glass. Silas, always attuned to the ebb and flow of the bar's dynamics, appeared as if conjured, his hazel eyes appreciative as he nodded at Rory before setting a pint of cool, frothy ale in front of her. "On the house," he murmured, his low voice a gentle introduction to the symmetry of old habits. Evan cleared his throat, the sound rustling like dry leaves in the otherwise quiet bar. "God, Rory, it's... been a lifetime." His voice was rougher, the edges softened, yet hastened, as if he'd grown accustomed to using it sparingly. Rory's heart, still racing with the shock of their reunion, began to ease as she wrapped her hands around the cool glass, letting the familiar comfort of it all sink in. "It has," she agreed, releasing a whispered breath as Evan's warm eyes found hers once more. Their initial burst of silences broken, words spilled from them in a jagged, fragmented dance. News of their lives post-separation, remarks about people they'd both known and lost, reflections on moments that'd stick with them like burrs in the fabric of their memories - it all flowed, reluctant and weary at first, but gradually, oily smooth and slumberous as the night wore on. The pub emptied bit by bit, and Silas made discreet appearances, refilling their glasses or deserting the spacious bar to collect choruses of clinking bottles from the far side of the downstairs cocktail room. 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Here is the rewritten scene: Aurora Carter pulled open the heavy wooden door, a bell above it letting out a low clang as she stepped into the warm, golden light of The Raven's Nest. The familiar smell of polished wood and whiskey enveloped her like an old friend, comforting and reassuring. She'd been running late, her delivery job from Golden Empress stretching into a three-hour fiasco, and the promise of a quiet pint was just what she needed to shake off the day's fatigue. Weaving through the scattering of patrons, Rory made her way to the bar, her eyes scanning the room for a familiar face - or, at the very least, an empty stool. Her gaze snagged on a figure hunched over the bar, his profile familiar, yet... altered. Thinner, the sharp edges of his cheekbones and jawline more pronounced than she remembered. His hair, once a rich, dark brown, was now flecked with threads of silver, combed neatly to the side in a style she'd never seen him wear before. For a heartbeat, Rory's mind lagged, struggling to connect the dots between the man she saw and the boy she used to know. As if sensing her stare, the stranger raised his head, his eyes meeting hers across the bar. Their gazes locked, and the years between them began to unravel. His eyes, the same deep brown she'd grown up with, now seemed to hold a million miles of pain and wisdom. A fleeting smile danced on his lips as recognition sparked within them, and Rory felt the ground beneath her feet give a little wobble. "Evan?" The breathless whisper escaped her lips before she could contain it. The man who'd been her friend, her confidant, her everything - for a time - nodded once, twice, his eyes devouring her as though searching for something lost. Time seemed to warp around them, bending and stretching as they sat in silence, taking each other in. Rory, feeling a little lost and unmoored, slid onto the stool beside him, her hands splaying on the polished wood of the bar. Evan's gaze drifted down to her left wrist, his eyes settling on the crescent-shaped scar marring the skin. A glimmer of something like sorrow flashed across his face before he looked away, focusing on the amber liquid in his glass. Silas, always attuned to the ebb and flow of the bar's dynamics, appeared as if conjured, his hazel eyes appreciative as he nodded at Rory before setting a pint of cool, frothy ale in front of her. "On the house," he murmured, his low voice a gentle introduction to the symmetry of old habits. Evan cleared his throat, the sound rustling like dry leaves in the otherwise quiet bar. "God, Rory, it's... been a lifetime." His voice was rougher, the edges softened, yet hastened, as if he'd grown accustomed to using it sparingly. Rory's heart, still racing with the shock of their reunion, began to ease as she wrapped her hands around the cool glass, letting the familiar comfort of it all sink in. "It has," she agreed, releasing a whispered breath as Evan's warm eyes found hers once more. Their initial burst of silences broken, words spilled from them in a jagged, fragmented dance. News of their lives post-separation, remarks about people they'd both known and lost, reflections on moments that'd stick with them like burrs in the fabric of their memories - it all flowed, reluctant and weary at first, but gradually, oily smooth and slumberous as the night wore on. The pub emptied bit by bit, and Silas made discreet appearances, refilling their glasses or deserting the spacious bar to collect choruses of clinking bottles from the far side of the downstairs cocktail room. When Rory touched on the catalyst for her interrupted finals at Cardiff, her words hesitated, and Evan's gaze locked onto hers, the quiet between them suddenly alive with the unspoken. "Rory, I -" Evan's voice began, his hand reaching out, hesitating, before pulling back to grasp his glass tightly. "No, it's fine," Rory interjected, tucking a stray lock of her black hair behind her ear. "I just got out of there, you know? Needed to leave. Needed to get away from... everything." Silence spread between them like a multi-layered quilt, absorbing every voice, every murmur of the dwindling pub. And for once, they just sat, no words required, no labels or descriptions, simply the passing of time, flayed open and exposed. 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