It wasn’t often that he gave himself a true day off, but for so long his life had gone up and down, pulled in so many directions and he was emotionally exhausted to say the least. And even though he could summon any of his weapons to his side should the need arise, he was only allowing himself one blade to keep on his person. Presently it was sheathed safely into its spot on his back, crossing over his shoulder blades comfortably. Should the need arise it would take nothing more than a quick pull to have it at the ready, but he highly doubted such actions would be necessary in a library. Much less this library.
Some time had gone by since last he had conversed with Chae, and it was still strange to think of her as a deity. On the one hand he respected how she had hidden her place in the pantheon when first they had met, but on the other he knew what she was capable of. And all that he had seen her do had only been the very tip of the ice burg in her abilities. She was smart, she was precise, and she was ruthless: a deadly combination.
Her library was unlike any he had ever seen, not even during his years in training at the Shadoka School, though their lessons were more in experience and stored in the mind rather than put onto paper. It was as if every thought ever pondered was slipped onto a page and nestled into binding: all to be found here. He could spend the rest of his life amongst the shelves and knew he’d never read through all of them, not even a fraction.
And while he was pulled to the vast selection of magick and psionic tomes, he knew he’d slip too easily into work or training should he go that route. So instead he was trying his best to find a good work of fiction to fill his time. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had read merely for enjoyment and imagination. Hmm… Not wanting to think about if that fact was sad or amusing, he pulled down a particularly thick book.
Its spine was old, already cracked from use and affection and he ran his fingertips along the soft edges of the pages. He looked to his left, then to his right before opening the book and inhaling its scent. The smell of a book was unmatched; all of the effort, years, degrading of paper and ink, wrapped into one handheld package of nostalgia that he hadn’t even been there to experience for the first time. That’ll do. It’d be a start, and with how quick his eyes, mind, and fingers could move he’d probably have it fully read in an hour or two.
As he walked from the aisle to find a table he took note of the faintest sound of hooves. Strange, he couldn’t remember if transportation was allowed inside the library, but he was surprised to see that it was no mere steed but a woman. A centaur. He’d never actually encountered one in person before and he tried his best not to stare, thankful that she was a good distance from him. It wasn’t often that you’d see one outside of a wooded area and he pulled his eyes away from her and continued over to a table. She was a person, not a spectacle.
When he opened the book he was surprised and yet not to see that it was written in another language. The characters were that of the common tongue, but nowhere near the same language. No matter, the root was able to be obtained and it would be a nice work out for the mind to try and decipher through. As he was making it to the second paragraph he heard the first crash.
His green eyes flashed to red and his hand raised to pull his blade before he realized what had happened: each book case was slowly falling, tumbling into the one behind it, all starting at the woman who had come in. His mouth slowly opened in surprise and shock and he was left only to watch as they came crashing down. All of the atrium had gone silent and he followed the line of fallen shelves back to the young woman centaur. Oh that look of humiliation was unavoidable…
Before a fuss could be made, he gently closed his book and moved up from his seat, leaving the novel on the table. His steps were light but his pace was brisk as he made his way towards her, ignoring any looks he may have gotten for being so outwardly casual about what had just happened. A gentle smile spread on his lips and his eyes softened, returning to their emerald hue, "This must be your first time…It can be hard getting your bearings." The only thing worse than being different was being made to feel like an outcast, and he didn’t want that to happen.
His voice quieted down even more, keeping a soft timbre as he looked to the fallen line of bookcases, "Nothing that can’t be cleaned up…" He gently rose up his hand, slowly curling his fingers and keeping his eyes focused on the cases, watching as they slowly righted themselves once more. It took a great pull of his energy to do so, but his focus was steadfast. Despite this, he spoke back to her, though his eyes stayed forward to watch them as they rose, gently lifting the books in the same way to replace them onto their respective shelves, "If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you here…?"