Closed Of Books and Men[Tatiam]

[Richard Burke]

27 Winter, 512

Richard was sore after his long day of training, he enjoyed it though, it was his lifes purpose, and the sore mucsles were signs that he was growing to become a guardian of the great city he called home. For many hours a day he would spar in the training grounds, and then he would study history, religion, warfare, and any topic requested by his Patron. When he was done for the day, he had many hours on his own. He would frequent the Rearing Stallion for dinner, and then he would walk around the market. Some days he would visit a literal hole in the wall book store.

It was called "Undeniable Interests", it was ran by an ancient man, Richard didnt know much about the man, but the shop was one of Richard's favorite shops. Too many book, maps, and baubles for the squire to ever comb through. But today he was looking for something in particular, a book on shielding. Arkale had mentioned something about it, and Richard finally had the time and money to find it. He walked to the store, past the old man, who slowly got up and walked in behind the squire.

Richard didnt notice, he was already lost in the rows and rows of tomes, he had to cram himself between the rows, but it would be worth it if he could find just one book. He browsed for almost a bell before he found a promising book. It was old, but not old enough to from before the Valterrian. He opened the book, it had various magical terms, or atleast they seemed magical, he had no real idea.

Richard brought the book to the desk, where the man was now sitting, "How much for the book?" said Richard, and he put the book down on the desk.

The old man look up, and then picked up the book, and looked it over. He eyed Richard, then said "I'll sell it to you for 38 Gold Mizas." He looked up greedily, money was the mans favorite thing.

Richard pursed his lips, the book was much more expensive than he would have thought, but it may change his life for ever. Richard counted out his money, and set them on the counter for the man, and walked started to walk out of the store with his new book, excited and happy.

[Tatiam]

As per usual, Tatiam's daily activities tended to delay from the usual folk's schedule. Awoken around noon after another cryptic dream, the young woman spent the afternoon painting the leftover images from the blurred experience. And when she got tired with that, simply drew whatever her imagination would dictate. It'd been her third day secluded into the four walls of her little apartment. Not like it's any different outside... thought the painter, the air just as unbreathable, the sunlight just as nonexistent, although it managed to leak in certain places, where the hold's walls and ceilings didn't cover every inch of sky. It stunk, too. Come to think of it, Tatiam preferred the scent of paint and pigments to the one of... Everything that lingered in Syliras' streets. BUT- She'd decided to go out. Walk a bit, meddle with the common folk in the streets, find something to help her out with her ambitious project, or help her change her mind completely. Tatiam strolled in the streets, heading to the rather pleasant Nettle district, window shopping a little. She'd remind herself of her archery training as a child, observing the bows and arrows displayed at the Feathered Shaft with a strange sense of nostalgia, browse the variety of musical instruments at Wildwood Music's store, consider taking a bath, maybe, soon enough. But then her amber eyes strayed to the book store, Undeniable Interests. Undeniable, really? I could- Ah, well, perhaps it's time to let them be right, for once. Tatiam wasn't, after all, at the end of the learning curve--not in any field that mattered to her. Maybe it was time to make that situation evolve a little. With an open mind, it was easier to find just about any valuable information, right? She pushed the door and entered, her attention caught by the rather messy presentation, and the varieties offered. In fact, Tatiam was all eyes for the rows of shuffled items that she didn't spot a young man turning from one of their corners, heading straight for the door behind her. Obviously, she was in the way. Apparently, he didn't see her either. The result was a graceful bump of the two, Tatiam's face and bust colliding with the man's chest before she stepped back, looking up at the second reason for their little accident. "Oh,... uh, sorry," voiced the tan woman, sliding swiftly between the stranger and one of the books' narrow alley. She glanced around, stepping back and forth the alley, looking for some kind of order in how the myriad volumes, tones and books were classified, if there was any.

[Richard Burke]

Richard had already cracked the book, before he even turned away from the mans desk, which was so clean that it didnt look like it even fit in the store, his eyes moved excidly over the books pages, but he was too excited actually absorb the information yet, he was giddy to get back to the squire barracks and begin to read. He didnt notice the woman who had entered through the door, and for the second time this season he bumped into a woman. It didnt knock him off balance, he was used to subtle changes in his footing.

The woman was distant and cold, but seemed to be scrutinizing the book shelves. He liked a person who valued knowledge, and was couldnt help but finding himself drawn to her, if only because of her supposed search for knowledge, Richard didnt know if she was just ducking in to avoid someone, or if she was searching for something. "Its a marvelous shop, no?" he said, loudly to her, standing in the same isle as her, but not close enough to intrude on her space.

He didnt know how she would react to him, so he wanted to play is slowly, even if he was asscoiated with the knights he never knew how dangerous someone could be. "What are you looking for?" he called over his shoulder feigning a casual disinterest, tinged with friendliness to allow her to answer.

[Tatiam]

Absorbed in her improvised mission, Tatiam didn't pay attention to the young man at first. "Mmm." responded the artist idly, pulling out a book to take a quick look inside, only to slide it back in its place. She repeated that action a couple of times, moving to and fro the aisle, the stranger standing not far and annoyingly perceptible from the corner of her golden eye. What does he want? Finally she put down a large volume and decided to turn and confront the man. Dark gold eyes seized him almost appraisingly. He looked young, she thought, smiling inwardly and finding a hint of kindness for the innocence she supposed. After all, she had gone here to change her mind, didn't she? There was no harm in getting into a friendly chatter with a... ... Tatiam returned to her task, her stare moving from intriguing title to weird ones, frequently glancing astray towards the young man. ...Flora of the Cobalt Mountains, Divine Metaphysics, Legends of the Silver Tower... He's got the stature, she remarked. ...Why Can't You Be More Like Your Sister, On Mizahar, The True Nature of the Symenestra... And the stance. ...The Perks of Boastful Boatmen, Even Myrians Have Feelings, Sylir's Downfall... And a hand to his hip, as if prepared to withdraw a sword that he didn't have on himself then, the position probably a habit instilled by countless bells of work and training. Shyke. A knight. After the man's second inquiry, Tatiam would have normally ignored him to return to her deed. You're either interested, or your not, she commented to herself about his demeanor. But he was a knight. Or training to become one, no doubt. A shudder ran along the foreigner's arms. She had a hard time with people of higher status, but seeing as young as he looked, Tatiam guessed he might not yet have adopted the high and mighty behavior of his fellows. "I um... I don't know," she blurted out, a smile uneasily placed on her sunkissed features and a hand to her nape. The young woman approached him, long copper-brown tresses swaying at her waist as she did so. "Is there any order? Everything seems to be sorted in a jumble..."

[Richard Burke]

Richard looked over at her, not with disdain, but casual interest, he was probally too curious for their own good, and it might get him in trouble, one of these days, but, not today. The woman was slightly beautiful, and certainly not from the city, she was uneasily kind, like she sensed his status, some people were put off by the knigthts- mostly people from outside the city, by many in the city also became uneasy around them.

He watched her look over several books, apparently at random, and none of them caught her interest, she slowly made her way down the shelves to Richard. The squire was done looking pretending to be interested in books, he had the only book that would interest him in the store- atleast for now. Her common was good, but it made it more obvious that she wasnt from the city, but, that didnt mean anything else, not yet.

"No, Ive been in this shop many times" he chuckled at a joke he was going to tell, "I think this part is alphabetical," he pointed to one part of the store, "and I think that part is by color." he trailed off. "I think the old man prefers it this way."

He went back to looking at the shelves, trying to find anything that might interest the woman, but he didnt even know her name, where she was from, what she did for a living, or anything. It was sort of his job to keep track of the people in the city, to keep them safe, and to keep them from harm. The squire looked over at her, and said, "Im Richard," he half heartedly reached out his hand, "whats your name?"

[Tatiam]

With a raised eyebrow and a slight curve on her lips, Tatiam glanced towards the aisles the young adult indicated, amused by his observation. As silly as it sounded, still it seemed credible. Crazy old man, Tatiam kept for herself, greatly bothered by his selling practices. "He should reconsider his work," she muttered thoughtfully. When the man reached out towards her, the same spiritless way he had addressed her earlier, Tatiam watched him with distrust. Does he have poor social skills or is he just dumb? The younger woman wasn't one to talk, but she didn't know how to deal with his mixed signals. Her eyes simply went to Richard's hand as he moved forward, eyeing his features back without a budge. Well, he was trying to talk to her, for some reason... "Tatiam. What do you want?" Her voice sounded a tad intrigued, and rather distant. In times like these, the artist liked to ask things directly, know what was going on.

[Richard Burke]

Richard looked away from the shelves, this conversation wasnt going as he planned, his skill at oration left much to be desired he knew, so he decided to go about it in a differant way. The woman was not native to the city, she didnt have the repressed and sad look many workers carried, so she probably wasnt doing any sort of manual labor.

"I dont come into this store often," started the squire, making his normal, peircing eye contact, into the woman's golden eyes, they were pleasant, he noted silently to himself, he felt he could tell alot about a person by their eyes, "when I do, I like to meet people, and talk about the books they want. Most people dont have time, or the will to read, its a refreshing change." He was telling the truth, many of the people he had sworn to protect were rather drab and boring, and while he would protect them to his own grave, he didnt find them all that interesting.

But this woman, this non-native to the city, she was more interesting than anyone he had come arcoss in many days, and Richard always hungered for knowledge, even from people outside the great walls of the citidel.

[Tatiam]

Tatiam placed a hand to her head, looking pensive, with a slight frown on her features. First you say you've been here many times before, and then you say you haven't been here often...? Gods, make up your mind already! But then Richard agreed to share his reason for talking to her, and she relaxed a little. A finger traveled along the bindings, stopping on one only to find that even randomness wouldn't allow her to find an interesting book. "Well, it doesn't seem like I'll be reading today," she decided on a whim, leaning carelessly on the bookshelf, arms crossed. "You still wanna know what kind of book I would've bought? 'Cause that basically amounts to asking me what interests I have, besides books." Tatiam had a number of questions she could ask herself, but she'd wait. Richard seemed like a polite young man, she wouldn't want to scare him away already, would she?

[Richard Burke]

The woman, Tatiam, was acting rather strangly, some people did around knight, as they had the power in the city, but Richard didnt let this phase him, he was determined to have a polite conversation with the woman, even if she was put off by him. He noted how she acted, and he thought it was rather over the top, but he listened to her, since had started the dialouge between them.

She looked over a few more books, before seemingly giving up, and turning to the squire. He made eye contact as she talked, showing that he was being attentive, some people liked that, maybe she did, maybe she didnt, regardless Richard would make eye contact, "youre right" he started, any question he asked about books would not have been about books, but the knowledge inside the book, or inside the person's mind, "I am curious about what you." he didnt mention that he was curious not just for the sake of knowledge, but also for the sake of security.

[Tatiam]

Why? she wanted to ask, but resolved only to lift an eyebrow in curiosity. No matter. If he wants to talk, I can talk. "I'm an artist," she blurted, "A painter. I would've loved to read some prose or a story, perhaps, or maybe find some advices to better my artwork." Tatiam stared at the young man without letting her eyes stray away. If he wanted to read something in there, he wouldn't find much. The foreigner's secrets were enfolded cautiously, the life she was living then had become a truth with time and constant efforts. "When I have a few bells to kill, like now, I like to take a walk out and get a glimpse of the sky. It's a rare sight here," she confided, purposefully leaving out some subjects that were rather... less glorious about herself. No need to tell everything, right? "Truth is, I'd like to travel more, or just leave Syliras' walls once in a while and breathe some fresh air,... but the world is a dangerous place, they say." The tan woman smiled, letting out a soft scoff. "Well, I sure would have read about Sylira's fauna and flora, what herbs I could gather and use, what berries I could find and eat, maybe even spot a few animals, know which ones I should be wary of, but now's not the best season." Tatiam's feet shifted slightly and she pushed herself from where she leaned, breaking their eye contact for a moment as she walked to stand beside Richard. "Sylira's roads seem to be used more than the ones I've traveled, and it's not the beasts I apprehend... They're rather straightforward, you know. They wound you 'cause you might be threat, they eat you 'cause they're hungry... But people, you can never know what their intentions are. Unless I can defend myself, I'm not confident to leave the city for more than a few bells." Amber eyes wandered on the fighter, trying to find a few hints that would divulge more about him. "Now that I've satisfied your curiosity, can I ask you a few things?" Without waiting for his permission, Tatiam continued. "You're with the knights, right? I'm sure you could teach me a few things about fighting, now that you're done interrogating me. You often go out by yourself? You've ridden out on horseback?! The creatures are quite expensive for the common folk like me... I don't suppose I ever will..." She glanced at him, wondering what the poor adolescent would do with all that information.