[The library] Can i get that book for you miss? (jean)

[Ximal]

2th spring 512AV Afternoon.

Warm and pleasant Xi was in high spirits after his meeting with his long lost brother four days ago even though he'd lost the damned race to the tavern. Still he'd make the money back on the 24th, Pay day at the pits. Still there had always been a place Xi had wanted to go but never had the time to visit. The local library. A large store house of books, was what he'd heard it be called but standing outside it's doors it was more like a small shop, i suppose most places with books in them tended to be. After all books weren't high on everyone's priority list, it was here Xi hoped to find a book with some information about the history of sunberth, after living here for almsot two years he'd think he'd sused outit's history by now but oh no, Nobody was willing to tell him everytime he asked the question people just blanked him and walked on. So now here he was at this, place of books to finally get the answer he sought.

The building was nice enough kept on the outside but with books made of very delicate paper he would be a lil concerned when he entered. He hoped anf prayed he wouldn't break anything. After all he didn't know how much the books were worth and he didn't have that much money. Stood out sie pondering and wondering he , waited too long and entered the building, inside two women stood nearby one behind a counter reading the other polishing a sword, or at least he hoped she was polishing it and not cleaning it. Neither paied him much mind as he entered and went straight too the back to look around for some informative books about sunberth.

[Jean]

A wonderful discovery had been made today. Of all cities, she never expected this of Sunberth. A library! She'd just stumbled upon and walked through the doors, in awe at the sight. Many, many books. She thought she might cry right then and there. Jean would probably have to be dragged out the doors before she ever thought of leaving of her own free will. There were only three people in the place that she could see. A man and two women. One was obviously the librarian, and the other woman looked like a mercenary to her. She was sharpening a sword. The man seemed to just be browsing for books. Jean moved quietly to the nearest shelf, not paying anyone heed. They all seemed distracted, who was she to interrupt? She tilted her head to read the spines of the books. Some had titles along their sides, other were blank. They were of all varying sizes, conditions, and colors. One in particular caught her eye. The dyed blue leather was shiny and smooth from the touch of many hands, and it was rather small. She pried it from its tight socket with her fingers, examining the cover. There was the silhouette of a single sword on its face, simply shaped and black. She turned to the first page. "Many philosophers like say that the pen is mightier than the sword. I view them as equal. In this volume, you will learn of all that I know involving the use of a blade. This book is divided into sections - part one is on handling short and long swords. Part two, on daggers and knives. I am far from the master of steel, but I have been told I have a natural talent. Here I will share with you my insight, in the hopes that my knowledge is passed on to the next generation. And from there, the next." "The blade is an important part of society. From the dawn of remembering steel and iron has been an extension of the arm. From a Myrian to a Konti, what we all have in common is the appreciation for a well made weapon. I hope this book helps you in your endeavors, and I have the confidence to assume these pages may very well save your life one day. But heed this - you won't master the skills I have explained in these pages just by reading them. Pick up your arms and practice! Those are my brightest words of wisdom throughout this whole book. Practice." Her eyebrows rose with interest. She'd been hoping to learn more about blades, and here was the opportunity. Perhaps she'd have this book copied. She might actually be able to sit and read it all in one go though. Jean flipped to the next page. The paper was soft from a long life of being handled, and the pages made a crisp sound as they turned. She started scanning, looking for a hint of where to turn to learn about daggers first.

[Ximal]

Scanning all the books he could find in this area he still hadn't found what he was after. How hard could it be to find something with a shred of history about this vile shithole of a city. He could feel his anger growing at his frustration, quieting it down, he took a deep breath and abandoned his search, what was the point of searching for something no-one would help you find and no body even wanted to talk about. Still he felt pained that he couldn't find the one bit of knowledge he had wanted too. Glancing around at the copious volumes he flicked his eyes along the sections. If nothing the place was well organized. History, was the section he currently resided in. when another woman entered the library, and began browsing the section defined as 'information' but information on what. Striding over slowly he led his eyes glance along the many tomes of information that lie before him what could each book hold ?

Reaching his hand out slowly, the golden ring glinting in the light, grasping in his hand a book, binded with gold and a green lacquer, he edged it out iof it's place ment slowly and felt the heaft of it. Screw moving bodies i should read more books if there this heavy. Flicking open it's large pages, it became more and more apparent what the book was about, reading the transcript quietly he gazed over it more so, it was a weapons manual, and it was huge, a normal sized book in his hands may have looked small but this thing was dwarfing him. Flipping to the first page of the introduction his gaze leered over it, simple old books often held the greatest stores of knowledge. Peeling over the next page he read the words calmly, looking into the book he let a small smile creep onto his face beneath his beard. Stroking its length gently he read the foreword on the contence of the book.


~...This volume contains the knowledge on half a hundred weapons and fighting styles though most are unique to each weapon they can still be transferred onto another, the most common and easily transferable fighting styles are from small weapons to medium weapons, this means taking a style developed for a dagger and applying it to something like a short sword. This book is there fore however divided into chapters relating to each individual wweapon...~ Closeing the book and placing it back on the shelf it became apparent that he would not find anything of use to him in that book, then something caught his eye,a tiny black tome on the top shelf,sliding it out from its confinement and looking at it's face it read plainly. The way of peace, how to stull your troubled mind. His eyes widened as he flipped the book open and read the first page with a hunger. ~...Most being struggle with their emotions even gods. Still in this book you will learn how to quiet a troubled mind in the most dire of circumstances. A quieted mind is by far more effective when practising anything be it calligraphy, or combat. Though it is often reported that there are two types of fighters when in combat, those who fight with no emotion fuelling their power, and those who let their anger control them. But this book is about controlling...~ Closing the book Xi slid it back to it's confinement. Sighing he looked down the stack of books and back up. Scanning the books in this section until another book caught his eye. a red velvet coated book with a spine of banded gold. The book was beautiful. Opening it to it's first page the immediate words which caught him was simple and yet so plain it was staring him in the face. A history of sunberth...He felt like an idiot, history was for the dead, sunberth was still alive. Albeit bleeding corruption from every point.

Placing the book back to it's perch he found his need to know about sunberth lessoned substantially by having thinking bout it's corruption and how far it might have fallen. Swinging his eyes across the books once again he, continued to let his eyes wander as he slowly leant too far to the side, looked down at the book the woman next to him was reading, before he could realize what the wa doing his eyes had flicked to her chest, puling away with a now reddened face beneath his bear he looked back to the tower of books before him, What was he thinking ? After all he was a male, cursing himself inwardly, hegritted his teeth at his own foolishness.

[Jean]

Her skin prickled uncomfortably, like it always did when someone is standing close when she isn't paying attention. She looked to her right, the side the man was standing on, and found him blushing, staring at the wall of books. They were standing nearer than she remembered. They must have wandered together in their distracted search for books. He was just staring straight ahead, and it was a little unnerving. "Err... Are you okay?" she asked tentatively. Jean closed her book one handedly and hugged it to her chest, letting the other arm hang at her side. Now she got her first good look at him. He was massive, standing much higher than she did, and had extremely dark eyes. From his angle, looking away from her, she couldn't place the color. He had a close cropped beard and hair that grew toward his shoulders. She wondered if he was sick, and if she should just move away from him.

[Ximal]

What was it and this's city's unnatural reservoir of pretty women ? Glazing the books his cheeks still red from the mishap he had. Cursing himself inwardly he glazed his eyes over the books, then suddenly he heard a voice calling to him, turning his head to the side slightly and looking down again he saw the woman from before was now starring straight at him. He starred her straight in the eyes. Here eyes were a bright blue a stark contrast to his own. His were a blue so deep and dark they looked black. Still feeling embarrassed from his earlier mishap his voice began to stutter as was his usual way with being embarrassed. "Y-yes, I'm fine. Th-that's an interesting bo-book you have there. I'm sorry but i happened to have a g-glance in-case it was the o-one i was after."

Looking at her he shifted his body to face her, and couldn't help but let his eyes wander, nice figure, even hidden behind that book he could see. Longish red hair, and a soft face, charming and she wasn't short, he was just abnormally tall. Looking down at her but not down on her he smiled lightly his face still a glazed red colour, but that was more his nervousness and embarrassment more than anything else. Still his friendly disposition was at the forefront of his standing,even when embarrassed he was nothing if not friendly.

[Jean]

Finally a good look at his eyes. They were such a dark blue that they nearly looked black. Jean had never seen such an eye color, and she caught herself staring rudely for several moments. He was staring at her right back though, so she didn't feel she'd offend him. But she was uncomfortable. Being stared at wasn't the most comforting thing. She shifted her weight, brushing a stray curl out of her face as he poke up. "It's alright. I agree, it seems interesting. I might get it copied. What book are you after?" she replied tentatively. He had stuttered like he was shy, so she unconsciously spoke in a lower tone. He seemed nice enough, and didn't act standoffish, so she decided he was alright to talk to. If he wasn't ill, she was fine with the company. Then his eyes roved her body. Jean shifted her weight again - nervous, blushing under his scrutinizing gaze. She wasn't used to being looked at like he was obviously looking at her. Her cheeks turned rosy, as pink as her lips. She could feel the heat coming off them. How to react was lost to her. Was she supposed to speak up, or just stand there? Her jaw tried to work, but no words came out, so she just stood. But then he met her eyes again. He smiled kindly, so she forced the thought that he'd just looked at like a... well, a man, out of her mind. Jean smiled back, her rosy cheeks making her eyes crinkle at the edges. "I could help you look. Two pairs of hands and eyes are faster than one."

[Ximal]

Still somewhat glazing his eyes over here he relized his problem, and stoped it turning his head away again his face reddening in embarrassment. He meant nothing by looking at her though all he was doing was suveying her. He was something akin to a child, when presented by a pretty woman he became almost child like in mindset starring in awe. Peeling his eyes away with some major embarrassment as he noted it made her somewhat embarrassed and uncomfortable from the way she kept shifting on her feet. Replying to her statement he said some what still shyly. "W-well if the book is to your liking, th-then thats a good thing i-isnt it ? Turning his head back to face the mountain of books before him what was the chances he would find something in this pile that would be of use to him. After all what he was looking for may not even exist. Loosing heart as well as his mind going somewhat lank he listend as she spoke again. Turning his head back around to look at her again she was smiling, her eyes had crunched lightly in the corners in a some what oddly cute fashion which, was something Xi found suited her face. Then he noticed the slight blush on her face, what had he done to cause that? Replying switftly befor ehis mind could go blank again.

"T-thank you for the offer to h-help me search f-for this book. I'm looking for something wh-which can help with, my p-problems towards well k-keeping my e-emotions in c-ch-check." He'd never been one for asking and defining what his mind was like he often found himself having a great deal of difficulty when controlling any emotion and right now he was trying to control his embarrassment and awkwardness.Turning his face to look back at the books he smiled lightly at the prospect of getting a hand to find it.

[Jean]

"Mhm," she hummed in agreement. She was glad she'd found this book. He was blushing even more now, and Jean watched with growing amusement as his face started to glow like a fire. He kept looking from her to the books, so to allow him some respite, she turned back to the shelves. Her fingers traced the spines as she shuffled away him, head tilted to the side so she could read the sideways labels. "I've never heard of a book like that, but I can try." She made a face, furrowing her eyebrows, causing her forehead to crease. "Why didn't you ask the librarian?" she asked conversationally. It seemed like the obvious solution to her, because a book on controlling one's emotions sounded like an odd thing. Jean didn't even know if you could write a proper piece on that, seeing how everyone was different. "I would think if you want to control your emotions, you just need to practice and learn a technique that works for you. Why would you need such a skill anyways?" Jean didn't mean to pry, but her curiosity, which always got the best of her, was perked. She looked back at him, eyebrows raised inquisitively.

[Ximal]

Smiling lightly beneath the flush on his face. she made a good point, why didnt he ask her...well because of his damned problem. Still she was kind enough to offer to help him search. That was rare in sunberth, an offer to help without needing anything in return. Speaking a little softer than before but just as jittery and full of stutters. "W-well i don't do well taking to pretty women and t-to be honest i didn't w-want to w-waste the librarians ti-time. Be-besides i'm not s-sure they even ha-have one on it." This issue of not being able to control hs embarrassment or his anger well had been detrimental. His embarrassment, effect his self esteem, and his anger had almost gotten him killed more than once. The most recent event was too close for comfort though.

He watched her fingers trace the spines of the books as his mind went off on several tangents, his eyes drifted and then he snapped himself back, and glazed over the books the in-descriptive tomes not revealing their contained secrets. Then she asked the why he needed the book. Oh gods how he wished she hadnt but then again his better nature forced him to answer. "W-well i ha-have trouble t-talking to pretty wo-women because of my embarrassment. And my a-anger has al-almost gotten me ki-killed more than o-once...So i'd li-like to control my emotions a li-little better." His voice was sincere, smiling a little through the inferno that now covered his face. Still he couldn't help being as he was he'd been brought up with his emotions flaring wildly inside him and once they had broken loose they stayed loose and all he could do was fight them as best as possible. Looking her in the eyes again he tried not to stare as best he could, more like an awestruck child in the presence of a woman than a formidable mountain of a man. Glancing over the times before them he asked her shyly. "Th-that book you h-have there is o-on swords is it n-not, i couldn't help p-peeking as i said earlier. Wh-what would a la-lady such as yourself, ne-need with a book on swords?" Thankfully for once his mind held back the fact he had let his eyes wander by accident, thankfully.

[Jean]

"Wouldn't not knowing if they had the book give you even more of a reason to ask the librarian? It is her job after all," she said, nearing on exasperation. Jean plucked a random book from the shelf and held it out to him. It was natural leather, smooth, and light in color. There was nothing on the cover. "I guess you should get to reading then, aye?" She pulled another much thicker tome from its resting place, two shelves above the other and to the right. This one was as red as blood and was stamped with an intricate golden design. His question of the relations between women and blades amused her, but was also a little insulting. Was he stereotyping her just because she was a woman? "I'm interested in the book because it has a section predominantly focusing on knives and daggers. I use a bow, but my aim isn't as sharp as I hope it will one day by. Until then, I think having some close quarters skill would do me nicely." Her mouth set into a hard line. "Heed me when I say not all the women you meet will be harmless kitchen wives, wanting nothing more than a suckling babe attached to their hip. I believe being able to defend yourself is very important." Over the course of their continued conversation, she noticed his eyes had wandered several more times. This was starting to perk her annoyance, but she wrestled the emotion down. Ignore it. It's just wandering eyes, nothing more. Jean took a deep breath to steady herself, masking it as a yawn with the back of her hand. "Now, I think we should spread out to cover more shelf. Collect any books that catch your interest and we can sort through them over there," she said, pointing to a low table surrounded by several chairs. With that, she meandered to the other end of the tall row of books, gazing up at their spines with her brows knitted in thoughtful concentration.