Closed Books and Words (Castor)

[Reign]

Summer The 3rd, 513AV By the 13th Bell Jair used to adore books. She didn’t possess many memories of her once fiancé where he lacked one. Any chance that was provided to him, the wealthy merchant would dash over to the library and bury his head in parchment and ink, not resurfacing for hours at a time. What type of book didn’t matter to him, as long as it were words scrawled on paper. It was through books she truly started to forge a connection for Jair. Reign, being an avid reader at the time, enjoyed conversing and debating about volumes they had both read. As well as the fact her mother had despised that particular habitat of her forced fiancé, which made it all the more precious. Though, ever since his death Reign could simply not bring herself to read. The mere touch of a book would fill her stomach will foul feelings of guilt and horror, and stories that once filled her with delight and wonder, could no longer charm. They were flat and tasteless. Daryl once called books useless, perhaps they were; she could no longer immerse herself in their magic. Reign viewed that her coming to this library, the library where Jair had (as her mother would say) “wasted” most of his time, as an act of courage on her part. Step one on her surely long and tiresome journey to recovery. Examining various titles on the spines of books, the little thief was reaching for a novel that seemed to have an interesting name, when the familiar shadowy whispering licked in her ear. “Why did you come back wife? Jair's sweet voice rang harshly. A pale clammy hand placed on her shoulder, gripping her hard enough to bruise. Body shaking, it took every ounce of strength in Reign’s body to keep herself from sprinting head first out of the accursed place. But it would be a waste if she threw away the hours of careful convincing she had completed before arriving. This haunting was nothing new, just a piece of her mind, as Daniel would say. “Look at me!” Glancing back at her hallucination, Reign’s eyes met Jair’s. Cold, black, and unforgiving, the hatred in them appeared so real… they had to be real… Sinking to the ground, Reign whimpered, “l-leave me a-alone J-J-Jair.” Laughing heartily, the vision complied, curtly nodded before disappearing suddenly, banished back to the hell where the nightmares of her waking hours were kept. Feeling the quizzical eyes of a group of students bore into the back of her head, Reign picked herself up off the floor and dusted off her breeches. Hoping no one else had witnessed her breakdown the thief continued on her hunt for a book.

[Castor Riley]

The library had been quiet that day. It was generally a quiet place, but Castor felt it was particularly so that day. As though the stacks were actually absorbing the sound around them. It was nice to be in a quiet place. Of course, as he'd found on numerous occasions, just when the library seemed at its most peaceful, something always happened to disturb that peace. On that day it was a girl -- no, a woman, who, as Castor turned a corner onto the main corridor, was whimpering on her knees, asking to be left alone. By the time Castor had even begun to register what had happened, the brown-haired woman was over it and rushing into the stacks, presumably in search of a book. Or of dancing mushrooms, you never knew with some people. He felt he would have to see what was wrong with this person. If Lisaelis found out he'd let a potential maniac handle her books, when he should have known better, he may not be long for employment in this library. He followed the woman down the corridor. Knowing that he shouldn't really be raising his voice in the library, but seeing the woman was already moving quite a bit ahead of him, Castor broke the silence of the library "Miss! Miss, please wait!" Hopefully, she would stop and wait for him. If she didn't he'd have to start breaking more library rules by chasing after her, as she was quite agile even at her walking speed. Peaceful days were always just the calm before the storm it seemed.

[Reign]

“Miss! Miss! Please Wait!” Biting her lip, Reign halted, feeling warm blood rush to the tips of her ears. Of course someone saw you behaving like a nutcase. Taking a reluctant breathe, the thief turned to face the caller, attempting to (unsuccessfully) wipe her face free of emotion. She had learned that it was always better if you weren’t flushed and panting like a loon when someone inquires about a break down you had just experienced. It was becoming more and more of an issue for Reign to keep her composure, the hallucinations were just intensifying and her thought process was nothing but a jumbled mess. No you’re not mad, almost but not yet. Perhaps the man was one of the numerous old drunks she had cheated, or a disguised Wave Guard ready to pounce on the wicked thief and drag her to the asylum. Thinking back to the unfortunate pattern of her encounters with other people; Reign prepared herself to be roughly thrown out onto the street. Once, a bartender saw Reign babbling to her drink and without warning chased her out with a broom, yelling “freak!” Though this man did not appear extremely angry; just a bit flustered, his black eyes glinting. Flashing the man a wavering smile, the thief shifted her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably, “let me guess, you’re here to pick me up and heave me out,” Reign noted, nodding at his lean figure. Not waiting for his reply the thief continued, “I’m not mad if that’s what you think. At least not extremely mad, almost, but everyone ticks odd for a reason.

[Castor Riley]

Castor breathed a silent sigh of relief as he saw the woman come to a stop as she heard his call. He caught up to her as she turned around. He could see that she was trying to hide her nervousness and unease, albeit unsuccessfully. Her brown eyes betrayed a depth of emotion that took Castor aback. She smiled at him, but he could see that it was a forced one. As she expressed her certainty that Castor was there to throw her out, Castor felt an immediate pang of regret. He had not meant to appear that way, the library was open to all after all. However, when she started debating the gradations of madness, he couldn't help but feel that such a course of action might be the most prudent one. But he relented; in this day and age you never knew what kind of experiences a person might have had. It was a wonder that more people weren't insane, or that so many could hide it so well. "Oh, sorry miss, I just thought you might be in need of assistance." He extended his hand and smiled charmingly. "I'm Castor Riley, a librarian here at Wright Memorial. Is there something I might be able to help you with?" Castor figured he could kill two birds with one stone; he would be fulfilling his duties as a librarian and keeping an eye on the peculiar woman at the same time, in case she was more than just peculiar.

[Reign]

“I'm Castor Riley, a librarian here at Wright Memorial. Is there something I might be able to help you with?" Paranoid by default, Reign hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the librarian’s welcoming hand. If only he knew what kind of scum she brushed shoulders with on a daily basis! Surely that would sour his afternoon. And she would definitely get the boot if she educated him on her current circumstances. No one has offered you a handshake in a while. Reign noted. But, as honorable as the librarian’s intentions may be, the little thief knew better than to shake a strangers hand. It was a popular method of murder and steal, a two in one. You extend your hand warmly, draw them close and then give them a swift blade to the gut. Reign had seen that trick executed several times before by fellow criminals. Those were the worst type of thieves, the kind that would slit someone’s throat for a copper. Truthfully, killing wasn’t really Reign’s style, she felt no remorse doing it, but it was a messy business and hard to hide. No, she’d shake no man’s hand. Castor appeared kind though, his black eyes betrayed no peril. And she needed to stop being so jumpy! The library wasn’t exactly filled with the same clientele of the dark alleys of East Street she frequented. Smiling back, Reign shook the librarian’s hand, “nice to meet you Mister Riley. People call me Reign. I used to come here all the time growing up and…” Chances to talk to other people weren’t usually provided to her, and her mind was pounding with things she wanted to say. Sure, she could speak with Daniel about her issues, but he was so screwed up the point was often mute. Taking a deep breath and a chance, “I haven’t been here since my fiancé passed, and I’m on one of those petching self-discovery… ha, no…uh.. self-peace journeys.” the thief said.

[Castor Riley]

Castor saw the way Reign was looking at his hand, and he briefly wondered whether there was something on it. He held it there awkwardly as she reached her decision to finally shake it. After she'd introduced herself, he waited for her to finish her thought. Again, she seemed uncertain what to say and was seemingly unused to small talk. Castor was beginning to second-guess his decision to just observe the woman, when she revealed her reason for visiting the library. Castor's own loss being so fairly recent, he immediately empathised with the woman's state, though the off-hand manner in which she referred to hers was a bit troubling. Of course, everyone dealt with grief in different ways and hers, apparently, was going on a 'petching' journey of self-peace. Nevertheless, he understood how one might be... unhinged due to such depths of emotion. "My condolences, Miss Reign. The loss of a loved one is very painful" he said, as earnestly as he could. "Is there something in particular that you might require help with? I am here for anything that you might need that is within my power to provide," he ended, taking her hand in both of his.

[Reign]

Uncontrollably, tears welled up to Reign’s eyes as the librarian cradled her hand sympathetically with both of his own. We can’t have this, don’t cry. It was an odd thing for the thief to become teary. In the past two years she had made sure to carefully distance herself emotionally from all people (even Daniel wasn’t close enough to her to actually inspire emotion), and throughout her entire life she had never handled such things as pain with tears. Scrounging on the streets had significantly hardened her. There was no point of tears amidst the reeking, dark alleys she called home. Weaknesses had to be hidden in such places, well, if you wished survival to be a priority of yours. Reign didn’t particularly mind the fact that she had evolved in a cold, heartless criminal, lurking beneath a hard shell. No, it was quite useful. But the librarian had managed to strike a weak spot, a fatal gap in her mental armor. Sure, near everyday she witnessed piteous glances throw her way from afar, but never in two years had someone been truly sorry for her (in any sort of way, shape or form). Slipping her hand away from the librarian, Reign wiped the tears away swiftly with the back of her hand. The flustered thief turned back to the nearest bookshelf, a nasty feeling of remorse knotting in her gut as she spoke her next words, “thank you sir, but don’t be sorry… it was my fault.” Bowing her head dejectedly, she closed her eyes. “I want an adventure book. Something that takes place far from here. Nothing about love.”

[Castor Riley]

Castor was very flustered. There he was, holding a girl's hand, trying to be soothing, and she goes and tears up on him. Castor worried that he'd said something unintentionally hurtful, so he just sat there, dumb, until she turned away, wiping at her eyes. When she expressed her thanks, Castor was relieved that he had not done something callous. The way she claimed responsibility for the death of her fiancé also struck a chord with Castor; he knew how that felt as well. It seemed as though Castor had quite a bit in common with the woman he'd previously thought deranged. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, but it did make him feel closer to her. He took the swift change of subject to the book she was looking for as a cue to let the matter rest and he did so. "Far-off adventure?" he said, brightly. "Well, let me take you to our travel literature section then, and we'll see what we can do from there." He gave her a warm smile before starting off in the desired direction. "Careful not to stray too far behind," he called over his shoulder. "It's easier to get lost in this library than it may seem."

[Reign]

"Far-off adventure? Well, let me take you to our travel literature section then, and we'll see what we can do from there.“ The librarian piped in animatedly , breaking Reign off from her thoughts. Silently nodding the thief turned from the impressively stocked book shelf she was studying and followed Mister Riley’s departing figure. Mesmerized (as she had been years ago) by the sheer number of books in the place, Reign began to try and read every title she possibly could as they strolled by. I wonder if anyone has ever read them all, she thought. In awe that someone (if they ever existed) could have all that free time. It was a weakness of hers to have a tendency to dwell more in her mind than her body so it was apparent until Mister Riley called out, “Careful not to stray too far behind, it’s easier to get lost in this library than it may seem." That Reign noticed she was falling more and more behind the librarian. Speeding up, Reign strode up beside him, attempting to read the expression on his face. It had been several minutes speaking to her and the man didn’t wear a disgusted look on his face, or sneer at her as though she carried about a foul smell. Making conversation wasn’t a strong point of Reign’s either, but she felt entitled, due to the kind nature he exemplified towards her, to try. Clearing her throat the little thief spoke, “What made you want to be a librarian?”

[Castor Riley]

Castor considered the woman's request once more, trying to think of a suitable book for her to read. It was most often found that some love interest or other was included in any tale of adventure, as that was also often part of the impetus for the journey; to find the loved one, to impress them, to prove something to them. Still, there were many that were purely about the journey. The trouble with those was that they were usually dry, academic texts about surveying the land, flora and fauna of a region. Suddenly, the woman was at his side, seemingly searching his face for... what? He had no idea. Whatever it was, it seemed to have given Miss Reign cause to speak, for she decided to ask him about his reasons for becoming a librarian. "Well, being a University student, the mizas were definitely part of it," he chuckled. "But what really drove me to choose this over other types of employment? I'd have to say everything; I have loved to read ever since I was a child and as a teenager I read to my father often." He paused at that point, before adding "He was very sick, for very long. My reading was one of the things that brought him joy." Castor didn't want to stay on the subject of his father for too long, or he might tear up himself before he knew it. "But I also love to learn, and working in the library I get the chance to do that as well. Every request gives me the opportunity to learn about something new as I help people research. There are many books to be restored as well due to the Djed storm, so copying those out is very informative and brings me in contact with texts that I may never have read otherwise." "But enough about me," he said, finally. "What do you do in your spare time, Miss Reign?" He asked with a friendly smile.