Shenanigans in Hargeon (social)

It was a fine day in the Town of Hargeon. The whether was cool, but not to cold to be a bother. Taking full advantage of the conditions, a certain gray haired mage was sleeping on one of his favorite rooftops. 

Dmitry Kazakov had decided to take the day off and was now using his black trench coat as a pillow with his similarly colored, wide-brim hat covering his face and his hands on top of one another on his belly while he slept. He had just gotten back the day before from that nonsense with the beer thieves. Wanting to forget about all that, he intended to relax as much as possible. He knew he'd be back to work the next day, but for now, peace and quiet.

Or so he thought.

'I wonder if we could move the Sabertooth Guild Hall somewhere like this? I suppose it'd be chillier up in the sky, but the sunsets and sunrises would be amazing...'

Though buildings blocked the full view, Mao could just make out a smidgen of ocean, and could hear it easily despite the hustle and bustle of nearby streets. The music of the churning waters could be so rhythmic and she’d enjoyed it at a restaurant near the docks where the fish was so fresh she could watch the fisherman selling it to the chefs in the nearby alley. It’d been mere whim that brought her here, curious what sort of interesting things show up at port towns.

People could haggle endlessly in the trade streets, though they offered the curious girl strange looks when they realized she’d sidled up to observe the goings on up close and personal-like. What could she say: she really wanted to understand bartering! Some people really got into it too, to the point they all but yelled at one another and yet, in the end they managed to come to some sort of consensus or agreed to disagree before parting ways. It’d been a fun process to watch unfold time and time again until the short sorceress decided to give it a shot and managed to save a little here and there on some books…once she’d stopped going overboard. Apparently asking for the thing 80% off was going too far, and many looked at her like a crazy fellow if she insisted on 50%.

Lesson learned: somewhere in the 20-30% range was the most feasible.

Wrapped in a paper bag, clutched to her chest were the prizes: a book featuring historical figures and an adventure novel. There was definitely a spring to her step as she exited the shopping street, large tail swishing side-to-side thanks to her good mood. A little tune even escaped as she began to hum some song a musician had played between stalls. She failed to notice the thugs tailing her with their obviously bad-guy smirks glued in place.

A tall, tubby fellow and a short, weasel-like man followed their lanky leader faithfully with only a few snickers almost giving them away. They always enjoyed this bit as the middle-man sped up, his overly hooked nose pointed at the ground as he moved to “harmlessly” bump into the girl – all so he could make some wild claim about her causing injury, and something about needing compensation in the form of extortion. He failed to account for distractions as he lowered his body enough to shoulder the girl, naturally leaning further to make contact.

…Except she’d leaned down in order to sniff at someone’s potted flowers while momentum propelled him to land face-first into the ground, or rather, nose-first then face. Immediately he stood up, yowling in pain and dancing from foot-to-foot, holding his beak so blood wouldn’t come gushing out.

”YOU BITCH! YOU PLANNED THIS DIDN’T YOU!” he screamed, accusatory aimed at the now slightly alarmed girl. The claim only caused her head to tilt, unsure what she’d caused, let alone her involvement. However his buddies yelled their agreement, demanding she pay for their boss’s medical expenses. Overall they were proving to be a noisy bunch, and not even flattening her long ears against her head could save Mao’s ears from the verbal assault…she couldn’t even understand a word they were saying at this point.

’Are they mad…cause I bought these books? Did they want to barter for them?’

Dmitry's right, blue eye as he heard someone yowling in pain and the commotion afterwords. Not believing it to be his problem, he shut his eye and tried to get back to sleep. 

”YOU BITCH! YOU PLANNED THIS DIDN’T YOU!”


Both Dmitry's blue and gold eyes shot open; now he was pissed. He pushed his hat back up onto his head and unfolded his coat before slipping it back on. As soon as he pinpointed the source of the disturbance, he hopped down onto a balcony before hopping onto the ground. This seemed to catch the noisy bastard's attention, as he and his goons turned when Dmitry landed. He simply walked towards them wordlessly while he took his hat off.

"Back off pal, this ain't none of yo-"


The fool's words were cut short by Dmitry's forehead colliding with his already busted nose, eliciting an even louder scream of pain. He then ducked under the incredibly predictable punch thrown by the chubby goon, while at the same time putting his hat back on as if it were more important than them. And it was. The skinny goon seemed to have better reflexes and thought he could knee Dmitry in the face. The summoner jumped back from his crouched position, landing a few feet back. Then the big goons tried to charge him and tackle him, the skinny goon following close behind. Dmitry took a step to the left, turned to his right, grabbed chubby by his hair with one hand and the back of his shirt with another, and used his momentum to sling him headfirst into the building behind him. As for skinny, the idiot kept up his idiotic attempt at a punch to Dmitry's face. Dmitry, having noticed this, simply stepped out of the line of the little man's fist, slammed the back of his left fist into skinny's face, turned to face him, and connected his fist with the man's now upturned jaw, sending him painfully to the ground. All of this, simply for interrupting his sleep. Dmitry enjoyed his sleep. He walked towards the ringleader, fury in his eyes, and grabbed him by the collar. 

"Leave. Now." The simple, yet intense words were more than enough for the coward and he ran off, followed close behind by his busted up goons.

'Well now,' He heard Hati from the recesses of his psyche. 'That rather was violent, wasn't it boy?'

'Piss off old man, I'm in no mood' Dmitry shot back through their psychic link.

"You," He turned and addressed the girl with the cat ears. "If your gonna draw so much attention, you ought to keep your guard up."

A mysterious figure appeared!

Hat somewhat obscuring his face, the entrance felt familiar before Mao recalled it’d happened in a book or two she read. ’Somethings really are based on real life, more dramatic than I initially thought,’ though Mao couldn’t really claim to be a damsel in distress since the woman failed to realize her situation. Before the odd, crooked-nose man could finish a thought the stranger of danger broke into action, and Mao winced as the man’s already injured nose proceeded to break further.

His speed was definitely impressive as he kept his hat safe through the struggle, avoiding the first man’s blood and plopping it back on after a punch. The quick motions and reactions to fighting multiple opponents surprised her, the goonish group completely forgetting all about their “prey” in light of a challenger who outwitted them at every turn until all they could do was run for safety to lick their wounds in grumbling peace. Then it seemed the man’s surly attention turned on her, the bunny-eared girl’s gaze quickly swiveling back to him as he chastised her.

Had she been in trouble?

The surprise somewhat lit up her eyes, certainly far from the average person’s over exaggerated reaction to such things, as if he might’ve mentioned her shoelaces were untied or some such – if her shoes had laces to begin with – and quickly enough she returned to her neutral expression. ”My apologies, it wasn’t my intention to garner their attention by buying the books they wanted. I’m sure other stalls might’ve had the same ones though…” It still struck her as silly to bother another over something that wasn’t exclusive or rare. Surely they could’ve gone to a proper book store and found the same things…

Still…

”Thank you for the help, I didn’t realize they’d turn so violent about it.” Mao bowed a little to the man before returning her gaze upwards to meet his, ”Is there some way that I might repay you?” Thanks to haggling she easily had some money left over for a meal, as well as treats hiding in various pockets of her satchel. When one was abroad it was hard not to shop for some local food.

Dmitry had an incredulous look on his face. Books? Yeah, that's precisely what they were after.


"Look its fine I just want to go back to Sle-" He was interrupted by his stomach.





"You know what? I could go for some food." He said, remembering that he hadn't eaten all day. "Come on, I know a good seafood joint."

He then proceeded to lead the her to one of his favorite establishments in Hargeon: the Filthy Fish Bone. On his way to the Fish Bone, Dmitry remembered your supposed to introduce yourself to people when you meet them. "Yeah, so I'm Dmitry Kazakov." Real smooth Mitry. When they got to the establishment, they were greeted with a smile by the man behind the counter.

"Dmitry! If it ain't my favorite customer" Said the somewhat heavyset man.

"How's it been, Marty?" Dmitry responded, taking his usual corner seat. "I'll take the usual, fish and chips." Marty nodded at his most frequent customer  and looked to the young lady. 

"And for you miss?"

Perhaps more surprising than his entrance was the vehemence with which the man of mystery’s stomach demanded food. It was like a dragon roaring at intruders touching its gold stash the way it went on, and she could almost imagine puffs of smoke coming from his stomach where the obviously silly adventurers met their terrible end…well then, payback in the form of food it was! Shame they wouldn’t be having pork buns, but seafood did sound delicious. Perhaps some shellfish…?

Mentally Mao drifted off, following the man absentmindedly as she almost drooled over thoughts of crab and shrimp before the notion of introducing herself hit. His mouth beat her’s to the punch as a name slipped out and she committed it to memory. ”Mao Nakiri,” she quickly got out before they entered the place where her momentary companion received quite the warm greeting. The purveyor of the establishment wasn’t quite as big as one of the cronies from earlier, but his girth and height was still somewhat intimidating if not for that friendly disposition.

Taking a seat next to the gent, who changed from man of mystery into Dmitry, Mao set the books on the empty chair on the other side alongside her bag since it wasn’t too busy it’d cause any problems. The pressure was on – even if only in her mind – to quickly decide on something as eyes roved over the short menu. ”Mmm…the Hargeon crab n’ chips please,” she asked, handing the menu back to Marty. When he walked off, likely to put in the orders and get them a quick glass of water, her curious glance swapped back to the very strange fellow next to her, ”What were you doing up on the roof, if I may ask? Certainly…an exciting place to make an entrance from.”

Dmitry was setting his hat on the table when Mao asked her question, causing his face to distort in confusion.

"What was I doing there?" He repeated her question as if the answer was obvious. "I was sleeping. What else would I be doing?" To Dmitry, such a thing was perfectly normal. What else would someone be doing on a roof in the middle of the day? After all, he was basically homeless and he barely had any concept on buying or renting a home. On top of that, he pretty much slept whenever he felt like it, instead of sleeping a particular time of the day. Marty's daughter, Claire who was also the waitress here, brought there drinks while Marty prepared their food; a water for Mao and for Dmitry, the house specialty drink, sea-salt beer. It was the only beer Dmitry actually liked. Claire glanced at Mao and gave Dmitry a look that suggested a certain assumption on the part of the counter-hop. Dmitry however was entirely oblivious to suggestions and assumed she was feeling ill.

"So what brings you to town?" He said before taking a swig of his salty beverage, not realizing he just made idle chit chat for the first time in his life.



(OOC: Sorry if it's a bit on the short side again.)

’What a strange place to sleep, wouldn’t he have to worry about sunburns or too much dehydration from the sun?’ Then again, a short nap might be okay, but it still sounded like a less than pleasant place to the girl who usually slept in a closet with a soft mattress and legion of pillows/blankets to burrow into. The place sounded comfy about now, curling up with a small reading light to blow through both new books…but alas, that would have to wait. The shade of a tree on some soft grass sounded like a good second…

The clunk of their glasses caught her attention, the water almost gulped down in an instance as she only now realized how parched her throat truly was. Bargaining on a sunny day was more work than she’d realized, the pleasant cool of the liquid refreshing after the heat of so many close bodies. ’Perhaps I’m the one who shouldn’t been worried about dehydration?’ Completely missing any motions by the barmaid, the long ears twitched as she gulped down the last of the water, lightly tapping the glass down rather than the unnecessary force some might apply.

” “Brings?” “ For a moment the question confused her, as if there might be a necessary reason. Shrugging, she took a smaller sip of the refilled glass, ”No particular reason aside for travel. Mostly I was curious about some of the markets that might be in a port town…and I have done some jobs with members of the local guild, so I decided to see what their home might be like. I suppose that clinched it as they’ve been very helpful to me. Do you live in the area, or are you merely visiting as well?”

"Heh, you could say I live here..." He said as he pulled his right sleeve up his arm, revealing the Lamia Scale emblem. While he wasn't a proud man, the symbol did bring him a bit of joy. He then put his sleeve back down as the food arrived. Dmitry grabbed the salt as usual and put an unnecessary amount of the stuff on both the fish and the already salted fries. "You know, it's kinda funny," he said as he prepared to dig in. "I used to hate towns. Still do for the most part. But this place is actually starting to grow on me." As he began eating his fish, a certain wolf spirit decided to interrupt Dmitry's thoughts from within said thoughts.

'It's a miracle...' Hati said. 'What the Hell are you on about, old man?' Dmitry questioned telepathically, wondering if the old wolf had finally gone senile. 'It's just that...your making conversation! I'm so proud of my little Mitry!' That last bit was said in a rather mocking tone. 'Can't you at least let me eat in peace, you decrepit bastard?' Dmitry's face was beginning to sour and it appeared as if the hetero chromatic mage was about to start shouting at someone.

"Hey Mitry, you alright there?" Asked a worried Marty. "I'm fine!" Dmitry exclaimed before washing down some fish with a swig of beer. Marty looked at him for a few seconds. "...Is it the wolf again?" 

Damnit Marty

”Oh,” she quietly remarked at the sight of the tattoo. Thanks to the earlier beat down of those less-than savory punks she wouldn’t have been too surprised to learn he was a mage – not that he’d required magic to teach them a quick lesson – but to discover she’d met yet another member of the guild was a pleasant surprise. Not wholly a surprise seeing as her chances of running into someone on their turf was higher than for any other guild, but definitely a pleasant one.

A plate with thick fries and a nice heaping helping of steaming crab now sat before her, though eyes remain locked on the motion of the ocean…no, of the salt shaker as the man with an apparently severe lack of sodium proceeded to slather his food in the edible crystals. ’That…can’t be healthy…’ No warnings or words left her mouth however, deciding to shrug it off: so long as he didn’t do it all the time once in a while would be okay. Ripping off one of the long, spindly legs, Mao began the all-too fun and mildly frustrating process of cracking the beast open to devour the delectable meat hidden inside. So focused on the task she failed to notice his sudden absentmindedness due to a certain invisible presence.

”They’re not for everyone. I’m not particularly fond of being in crowds if I can help it.” Sure the beast-woman braved the crowd earlier for the sake of experience and finding potential treasures, but it was rare otherwise to throw herself willingly into such a packed area. Mao preferred to stay on the edges of crowds: observing without involving herself in the hustle n’ bustle. To be fair, she primarily disliked the jostling and brushing up against strangers, more so to avoid people touching her large tail too much. Sometimes crowds gave people the opportunity to pet it without her permission, another annoyance of Mao’s.

In the middle of a sip of water the man yelled when the owner piped up, causing Mao to spray a bit. Quickly a towel appeared before her, courtesy of the daughter as she used a second one to clean up the counter, and Mao pressed it to her face as she coughed up the bit that tried a sneak attack on her lungs. Weakly Mao managed to get out a small question, ”Wolf?”

Dmitry sighed heavily. He really hated explaining this. The summoner looked to Marty.

"You mind?" He asked, suggesting Marty owed him for spilling the fish guts. "Yeah, I get it..." He responded. Dmitry turned to the center of the room. It seemed no one else was in the restaurant right now and he felt it was easier to show this than explain it. He held out his arms and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, his pupils were glowing silver and his irises had turned black.

"I invoke the Great Wolf: Hati!" After these words, a strange pulse could be felt as what appeared to be smoke gathered and converged to form a massive wolf. "Mao, this is Hati. Hati, Mao."

"A pleasure, my dear," the wolf said politely, though it's lips didn't move. "And might I say, well done on getting this boy to act so cordially" Dmitry rolled his glowing eyes. "Hati here is a nature spirit. There are others like him, spirits born from the natural order. To summon them, I have to create a psychic bond, linking my mind with their's." Dmitry dismissed Hati's physical form before turning to Mao, his eyes returning to their usual blue and gold. "Unfortunately, while most spirits have little to no concept of human language, Hati is fascinated with mankind. Since he knows human language and is bound to my mind, he can speak to me anytime he wants." Dmitry's face soured again as he turned back to his fish. 

"On top of all that, he's insufferable...."

It was hard to tell if this was just a touchy subject or a troublesome effort for the man. Either way he didn’t exactly want to turn things into a spectacle as he double-checked their surroundings, Mao’s eyes following habitually to scout the area for…really no reason. Thanks to the lack of people he deemed it worth it to reveal his “friend” as the invocation physically changed his eyes for the moment. ’Impressive,’ was her first thought thanks to the plume of smoke: spirits certainly knew how to make an entrance.

”Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mao bowed her head slightly to the wolf, more impressed it could speak the same language. The comment that followed left her a little confused, showing in her voice as she replied, ”It’s nothing?” Well, she couldn’t really tell if it was or not, and she’d met people far more friendly than him…but she’d also met people outright mean. ’To be fair, if he avoids social areas, it’s not likely that he’s mean so much as brusque and unused to interacting with others.’ Thinking on it now his quick, short, and to-the-point nature made a lot more sense to her now, or such was her impression of him to date.

The last comment evoked one of Mao’s rare giggles, some part of her sure that despite it all, deep down Dmitry liked the wolf despite the mild personality clashing. It fascinated her though, not having met a medium like him – nor a spirit of any sort until Hati – so she couldn’t resist a few questions, ”What is it like communing with a spirit who holds no concept of human language? Do you merely know what the other is thinking, or gain an impression? Do you have to seek out other spirits, or do they seek you out? Are they all animalistic in form? Ah-…err…sorry…you don’t have to answer any of those if you don’t wish. I might be prying a bit much.” Mao’s gaze returned to her food from the lunch-time companion, mentally chastising herself on almost turning inquisitor on someone as she’d annoyed more than a few people with barrages of questions in her short span of memory.

Dmitry was surprised to hear the long eared girl giggle; she seemed rather uptight before. He cracked a smile at her questioning, surprised at his own amusement. Normally he hated explaining things. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew all the right questions to ask right off the bat.

"It's fine." He said with a chuckle. "Well, I don't really need to communicate with my spirits, at least in the human sense of the word. Most of the time I can signal them using my will and thoughts. I can also tap into their senses and vice versa. As for the seeking, they usually come to me. A person being followed by spirits tends to draw other spirits. And while the majority of them are Animal spirits, there are four known as the elementals. They take form in the primal forces of nature: fire, water, earth, and air. There are even those spirits who don't fall into either category, due to how unique they are." Dmitry explained what Hati taught him when he was just a boy. "These ones tend to act as a counter balance to the other spirits."

Dmitry leaned back in the stool after finishing his meal, thankful for the exceptionally large portions here. After relishing in the joys of a full belly, the mage finished his drink, got up, and left the fee and tip for the meal. "Marty, thanks as always." He called back to the owner/cook before heading for the door without actually thinking to say anything to Mao. He just kinda figured she'd follow for some reason.

’Hmm, that does make sense. The other spirits would act as some sort of beacon…and surely others would become curious if nothing else at the group. I wonder if spirits tend to clump together, or if that’s what causes some of the spirits to present themselves?’ She wondered about the balancing of the spirits, more curious about the third category that couldn’t quite be categorized as it was neither animalistic nor elemental. Did that make them other things, like spirits of plants, or did they reach beyond physical things into some other group…or did all these possibilities make up their group…’Perhaps there was a reason he didn’t label them.’

The sudden lack of fries pulled the girl away from her near headache-inducing trail of thoughts and questions, realizing that their little meal together came to an end. Except what she thought would be her treat as thanks turned out to not be that so much as an eating companion because…he dropped money on the counter and left. So stunned Mao barely got out a sound as he started leaving, her mouth open a tiny bit in her loss of words. Coming back to herself, Mao shut her mouth, left money for both the food and tip, before dashing after the odd Lamia Scale mage with her purchases in hand.

”Wait!” she called out, falling into step behind him, ”I thought lunch was to be my treat as thanks for those three fellows?” Not that having lunch with a random person she just met wasn’t interesting in of itself, because she’d definitely learned some new and intriguing things…but the initial point had been to thank him! ’Maybe he simply forgot,’ she reasoned, ears drooping slightly, ’Or did he have something else in mind and food merely came first?’ What it could be she could only hazard a guess at, hardly knowing the man well enough to guess at any requests. It could’ve been anything from a quiet place to sleep to something as small as a new notebook. She wanted to pay him back, even if a little, as she still couldn’t payback her one friend for the kindness he’d shown the wayward girl. It simply wouldn’t do to be in debt to more people.

Dmitry was confused when he heard her say that lunch was meant to be her treat. Had they actually agreed on that? He must have said something that lead her to a conclusion.

"Look, I got money to spare so it's fine. It's not like I pay rent."  He stated, seeing as he'd only beaten those thugs for waking him up. Then he noticed her ears droop and for some imperceptible reason, that made him panic a little. 

"Alright, alright. Let's see..." Dmitry thought a bit. "How about you tell me some things about you? I already told you about the spirits." He wasn't just saying this to relieve her; Dmitry was genuinely curious about Mao. The mage could tell she had something interesting to tell and now was an opportunity to hear it. Furthermore, he seemed to enjoy talking to her, though he wasn't exactly sure why. Usually he didn't really care enough to learn about people. Perhaps being in a guild changed that in him. Perhaps he liked her a bit. Perhaps he was just bored. Dmitry tried not to think about things like that, instead preferring to simply do what he felt compelled to do.

The two began walking along the docks as it was less crowded, making it easier to talk. Plus, neither of them liked being in crowds. "So how about it? Got any interesting stuff to tell me?" He asked with a smile.

Some things about her? Well, she supposed that wasn’t an outlandish request given the fact he’d revealed a few facts not only about himself – such as communicating with spirits and sleeping on random people’s roofs – but about spirits that existed in the world that most people couldn’t perceive. Should she tell him where she sleeps in turn? Her friend Silabus laughed a little – she’d seen him, despite the man’s best efforts to hide it – when she’d revealed her preference for sleeping in closets. In fact Mao was pretty sure he’d made some sort of joke about it, though she still couldn’t fathom what was funny about telling someone to “come out of the closet.”

Maybe Dmitry knew…

…but it’d be a little embarrassing to ask him, at least the sensation matched with what she’d read in books.

Following his lead absentmindedly, Mao stared at the ebbing tides as she thought of how best to explain her abilities, ”Hum…in a small way my abilities are similar to your’s, though you communicate with sentient beings I communicate with rocks. Crystals to be specific.” Frowning in thought of how to better explain it, her eyes turned skyward. ”I suppose it’s more interpretation though than communication because I try to figure out a crystal’s metaphysical purpose, goal, or wish and then I can bring it to reality in some way. Even then, there isn’t a single interpretation or desire within each type…though I’ve been looking further into diversifying. It’s kind of strange really, like sometimes I get the feeling I knew some of them before, but I merely forgot.”

The thought didn’t really concern her though, the loss of memories and time never as alarming for the woman as it was to others who’d experienced it – sometimes strangers acted more worried than her, something that always struck Mao as a little amusing. It reminded her of something though, causing a small smile to form as she stared at a cloud shaped like a feline, ”I think my favorite so far though are emeralds…they’re the only ones I can create permanently for some reason, but each one holds a memory so if I ever forget I can regain that memory, or recall it in greater detail if it becomes hazy. Admittedly…most of mine are just books, so it’s more like a portable library than anything. Hmm…you don’t suppose that’s stealing, is it?” By the end she sounded worried, one of Mao’s hands resting against her mouth as her eyebrows knit with worry. They’d all been books from the same library her friend worked in…but it meant she wouldn’t need to buy nor borrow them again, so wouldn’t that impede business? Silently the avid reader hoped writers everywhere wouldn’t hate her for it.

Dmitry shrugged, not really experienced in libraries since he learned everything he knew from Hati. "I don't think that counts as theft." Dmitry said. Mao certainly seemed to like her books. After that thought, an idea struck. "Come with me, I wanna show you something." Dmitry led the girl to the massive, yet slightly damaged marble building that was the Lamia scale guild hall. "I'm guessing you've haven't been here yet," he said. "There's something here you'll want to see." After asking for some directions from a nearby guild member, he proceeded to lead the girl to the Grand Library, a massive storehouse of books from around the world. It was said that all the world's knowledge could very well be tucked away in this place. Dmitry had never been himself, but he had heard about it from the others. He wasn't exactly sure why he brought Mao here. Maybe he wanted to see her reaction.

'You're acting surprisingly kind today, boy.' Hati said within Dmitry's mind.


'And you're acting predictably nosy, old man.' Dmitry thought back.

Worries slipped away in the face of intrigue, the girl following faithfully as the man brought them before a building that’d seen better days. ’Wonder what happened here…’ No, this place was definitely new, not that she’d made it through even half of Hargeon before their fateful meeting and this place remained an enigma in the distance until now. Up close, despite the damage, there remained an image of grandeur about it, the place palace-like to some degrees. She didn’t have too much time to think about it, quickly catching up before falling too far behind as Dmitry gained some quick directions.

’Ha, that book lied: men DO ask for directions. Teach them to generalize.’

She found heaven.

At least, it was heaven by Mao’s definition. The sheer volume of books stocked in the numerous shelves: she could spend a lifetime in here and it might not be enough. Eyes glazed over as she took in the sheer glory of it all, mouth hanging open a little in awe and only the offhand realization she almost dropped her personal books forced her out of the moment of star-struck daze as her body twitched to regain her grip. Head twirling immediately to Dmitry, she accidentally spoke a little louder than she meant to due to excitement.

”Can I live here?!”

Okay, so it was an amalgamation of thoughts all coalesced into one sentence, and it took her a moment to realize what exactly she’d asked. She blushed a little, looking away in embarrassment, ”Err…sorry…that might have come out wrong…well not completely, it’d be magnificent to just, well, live in such a grand library as this.” The last time she’d been so excited was…well, she honestly couldn’t recall, not having been so in the few months she possessed. Sure, the girl enjoyed working at the same one as Silabus before she joined Sabertooth, but that small town library had nothing on this one. For a brief moment she’d even fully visualized having some corner of comfy pillows and a blanket in here with piles of books to read within arm’s reach. It’d been so beautiful she’d accidentally blurted out that question.

’That was likely rude to my guild too.’ Internally she became a confusing combination of guilt and longing, wanting to stay here to her hearts content and yet knowing she couldn’t – especially since locking herself up too much wasn’t healthy. Still, there was nothing against visiting, right? Maybe she could even…

Turning to Dmitry, seemingly back to excited yet with a hint of control this time, she inquired, ”Do you think I’d be allowed to borrow one or two? Or maybe visit to read some every now and then? I’ve never seen a collection like this before.”

Dmitry had truly underestimated this girl's love of books. He had to stifle a laugh when she asked if she could live in the massive hall of literature. The gray haired medium was a bit shocked at himself. He had never gone out of his way like this for someone he just met. This place really was having an effect on him. He looked at one of the shelves of books and pulled one out at random and opened it. However, Dmitry did not notice the title of said book: Men and Women beneath the bed sheets, Volume II. He wasn't exactly sure what he was reading, but he found himself disturbingly fascinated by it. Mao's comment on borrowing books and coming back to the library snapped him out of his study and left him oddly flustered. 

"Oh, uh, I'm not really too sure what the, uh, the rules are on borrowing...stuff..." He managed to get that much out while desperately attempting to cram the book back where he found it. "But you can come back here any time you want as long as there's a guild member present. Forget that for now, go nuts!" He gestured to the man books around them...except that one.  Dmitry never did have a lot to gain from books. Most of what he needed to know, he had already learned from Hati. He didn't care much about science or culture, so a place like this didn't have much to offer him. Still, for whatever reason, he liked bringing Mao somewhere she would enjoy this much In fact, while he still didn't know why, meeting her had been a fun experience. So this is what it's like to simply make friends with someone, He thought to himself. Most of his friends were comrades when he met them, so this was new to Dmitry. Perhaps this was him showing his gratitude. After she went off to read some of the books, he would sit down, lean against a bookshelf, set his hat down next to him, and slowly drift off to sleep while he let Mao have her fun.

The rules on borrowing could always be found out later as the fact remained that Mao could read to her heart’s content for now. At his indication to “go nuts” Mao beamed before dashing off like some child in a candy store. With so many options at hand she didn’t know where to start! So many titles swam before her vision, head swiveling about in an attempt to see everything at least once. Later it could be a good guide to any title that jumped out or caught her fancy especially, but for now everything was more about the magic of the moment and the mountain of possibilities before her. Every so often one of her hands shot out to nab a title from a shelf, eventually some books being balanced on the large tail as she flexed it like a third hand.

Deeper in the library, just when she thought she couldn’t carry another volume the girl stumbled across a comfortable chaise, the dark red velvet a little dusty from disuse. It caught her attention as one of the few things not made of the same marble material surrounding them. ’Doubtful I’d be the first to want to spend extensive time here…some of the chairs would likely bring about back problems.’ Whoever the mystery person was, Mao sent them a mental thank you before creating a few stacks like a mini fort before she tried to sweep off as the light layer of dust.

It turned out comfier than she initially imagined, the animalistic girl sighing with content as she grabbed the nearest book and began pouring through it. Page after page went by, minute after minute escaping her notice as the first book was merely recorded for a later date when she’d have more time to review it. The second book followed the same pattern, something to be enjoyed later, but the third caught her attention and forced the curious mage into actually reading even if a little speedily so, eager eyes gobbling up words. By the fourth though her pace slowed down, pages no longer turning furiously until she came to the second to last page and completely halted.

With that voluminous tail curled around like a wall, one of the tips acting like a pillow, Mao’s eyes finally drifted closed as drowsiness won out. Before her mind completely drifted off she recalled the glimpse she caught of the book Dmitry picked up, and lightly chuckled.

’Maybe he has an interest in biology…wouldn’t have…imagined…’

Slowly Mao’s mind came back to the waking world, eyes blearily blinking away sleep as she stared questioningly at the page before her. Absentmindedly she turned the page to read the final few paragraphs, and by the end the memories flowed back: Dmitry brought her to the library in his guild. A small yawn wracked her, forcing a full body stretch that felt delicious after a good nap. ’Hmm…I wonder where he got off too. Reading biology books possibly?’ A small quest it was then as she picked up the finished volumes, barely through a third of her original pile. How much time would they allow her to spend here? Forlornly she stared at the rest of the pile as her ears drooped in disappointment, ’As much as I’d love to spend even more time here, if I have to be watched then it’d be rude to take up so much of Dmitry’s time…I’m not even sure how to repay this much kindness.’

On the way back the girl replaced each book, including the rest of her “wish list” as she continued to fret and ponder how to give back for such a generous offer. ’Do other people worry about these things? I wonder…perhaps, perhaps it’s something worth thinking longer about though? Not something that I need do today…I might have to settle for that, I don’t really have any ideas.’

By the time she reached the entrance she stopped and tilted her head a little to the side, ’He’s asleep? How long?’ They’d likely been there for a few hours, did he clean up before he started napping? Should she wake him? Looking towards the ceiling, Mao briefly considered that as she recalled the three goons from earlier…’Probably not a good idea, at least not in a similar manner.’ Instead of screeching like a banshee – because that was rude, and very unlike her anyways – Mao chose to crouch next to him and stare with her purchases clutched to her chest, tail resting against the ground as a good balance. Truth be told, she’d never really observed someone sleeping so up close and personal before, nor for any length of time…

’I wonder how long before he wakes up? This can't be a comfortable spot...’

Dmitry's slumber had brought him to a place he had long forgotten. A small village could be seen. The buildings were very primitive, having been entirely made by hand. This was the home of an extinct tribe. Everything seemed still. There wasn't a soul around. No people, no animals; not even the wind could be heard or felt. Quiet. Everything was deathly quiet.

"Hi there." 

A voice set him whirling around. It came from a small girl, about 8 or 9. Dmitry could only tell this by her height and voice, as her features were blotted out by darkness. She was clutching something in her hand, though it was hidden the same way as her face.

"What's wrong Mitry?" The girl asked. She held up the item in her hand. "I found another r____ _____er. Wanna see?" Her voice sounded hopeful, as if she were tying to coax him out of hiding. "My mom says r____ _____ers are lucky. Wanna help me find some?" 

Dmitry tried to step forward, but his feet wouldn't move. "Oh, ok." The girl said dejectedly. "Bye Mitry." She turned and stared to walk away. Dmitry wanted to scream at his feet to move forward. It felt like if he didn't, he'd lose someone important to him. The girl slowly began to fade as did the village. Soon nothing could be seen. He tried to remember the girl's name: S__h_. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember who that girl was. As a foreign sense of panic began to overwhelm him, his vision began to turn white.

---

Dmitry's eyelids slowly drifted open. Who was that girl? Why was he dreaming about something like that? Questions racked his mind. Looked around to reestablish his bearings. He then came face to face with Mao, who was crouched inches away. The drowsy eyed spirit mage let out a surprised yelp and recoiled towards his other side in a state of shock, now fully facing the long eared mage. When he remembered where he was and the fact that he dozed off like this, he sighed. "Uh, sorry about. Did you find everything you were looking for?" He asked, not really thinking that question through. As he stood up and held out his hand to help Mao up, he could hear Hati laughing.

'My word. Are you embarrassed, boy?' The cackling wolf asked.

'Piss off, old man.'

”In a manner of speaking,” she replied, taking the offered hand, ”There are definitely many treasures here, but I don’t want to take up all your time with my selfishness.” Never mind the fact that despite a love of naps, spending time doing such when she could’ve spent it reading more rare books irked her a tad. On the upside there were a few recorded books to pour over later when she’d have all the time in the world to do such.

The book about dragons for instance would prove intriguing given their sheer strength compared to the everyday human, and she’d been a little curious about their slayer magic after realizing just how many slayers existed in her guild. Unfortunately a few people held fire-based so she’d be all but useless to them, but if she could come to understand their magic maybe she could find a way around it, a small part of her wanting to be of some help. And then there was the one that’d caught her attention before the nap snuck up on her, mostly speaking about a legendary fountain or spring a group of people searched for long ago. It’d come off as more of a fictional type book, or one based around a myth she’d enjoyed to some extent even if in the end the woman felt disappointment at the bulk of the members sought power and longevity of life above all else.

However Mao pushed those thoughts aside as she continued to observe Dmitry until her brows knit in curiosity and mild concern, ”What did you dream about, if I may ask? You tensed up towards the end.” At first the man gave off the picture of relaxed slumber, fitting various descriptions about “angelic sleeping” and “peaceful” read in a variety of books before something ended the relaxed image. ”Did you have a small nightmare?”

"You could say that," Dmitry said after pulling her up of the ground. He then knelt down to grab his hat before standing back up and leaning against the bookcase. "Honestly, I don't know what the Hell that was." The only thing he recognized in that dream was the village. It was the only thing he remembered from back then; everything else was lost. That girl must have been someone from his childhood, another reminder of what he had foolishly thrown away in grief. The only way to get it back was to return to that place and that simply wasn't worth the risk. Going back could very well be the end of him.

"As for my time, you don't have to worry about that," Dmitry said, trying to change the subject. "I've taken the day off, so I don't have anything planned. That rooftop was pretty much my plan for the day, aside from eating. You can take as long as you feel like." Though he said this, he failed to realize that he didn't have the slightest clue what time it was. It was already in the afternoon when the two mages met each other, and that was hours ago. Even without the nap, Dmitry's unique sleeping habits left him with a poor sense of time, making this a commonly occurring issue for Dmitry. And besides that, he was enjoying himself which made it easy to forget the time. He wanted to keep spending time with Mao. The normally reclusive man was having fun.

Perhaps it wasn’t a nightmare so much as a slightly disturbing dream with mostly weird elements? There’d been a time or two Mao experienced a dream comprised of multiple elements from various books that just left her feeling a bit off when she finally broke away from it, sometimes even a bit drained from the sheer strangeness of it. As tempting as it was to go through a few books the guilt remained because they’d ultimately just be doing what she wanted even more than they already had, the activity already lasting longer than his wish to eat lunch. Friendship, according to various sources, required a bit of give-and-take.

Plus maybe it’d help him shake off the strange dream?

”No, it’s fine as I recorded a few books before reading others so I can go back through them later. Besides if I read too much now then I’ll have less to look forward to later, so I should savor it a bit.” Plus she’d just feel silly if she fell asleep due to too much relaxing again, but the tailed woman pushed those feelings away. Nothing to be done about it now after all. Instead those clear, green eyes turned back to stare up into his mismatched ones, ”Is there perhaps something you’d like to do? Although it’s probably getting close to night, so there might be less we can do.” It wouldn’t do to annoy the citizens of Hargeon with trouble-making so close to most folks’ bed time, although at least Dmitry didn’t look like the type to cause trouble or go actively looking for it. The bit earlier found them, really.

So far the main thing she knew about her new friend – outside his spiritual acquaintances and capabilities to an extent – was the fact he liked sleeping. The suggestion to go find a hill for him to nap under the soon-to-appear stars almost came out except Mao recalled her idea involved distracting him from the previous nap/sleep session. ’That would just be stupid,’ she thought with a sigh.

Dmitry was racking his brain for something to do, when he felt something. Something he should have noticed. A presence he had never felt before. From the intensity of the sensation and the fact that it hadn't come to seek him out told him one thing. This was an elemental. He had an elemental bound to him already, though he didn't have the magic power to invoke it. But each of them had a presence unique from not only animal spirits, but from other elementals as well. If an elemental was maintaining a presence here, he would not waste the opportunity. 

"I...I'm sorry...I gotta go." Dmitry said shakily before walking off at a brisk pace. He didn't look back to see if she was following him or not. As rude as that was, this presence bordered on overwhelming. How had he not noticed this until now? It must have been hidden by something. But what changed? Dmitry's mind trailed back to the dream he had. Could that have been triggered subconsciously by the spirit? If so, it would have likely made the presence known to him as a result. Whatever the case, he had to find this spirit. To form a bond with an elemental would greatly enhance his sixth sense. That, and as a medium he was naturally drawn to the being out of sheer curiosity. Dmitry moved throughout the guild hall until he found himself in the labyrinth, one of the places most damaged from the fighting with Gwahard. It was here that he stopped dead in his tracks. This was where the presence was strongest. 

Dmitry took a deap breath and exhaled heavily. Bonding with an elemental was not like bonding with an animal spirit; the process was incredibly dangerous. This was a powerful being, one that he could lose himself in if his will wasn't strong enough. If that were to happen, the results would be...ugly. The young man focused on the sense that allowed him to perceive spirits as hard as he could. He then shifted his focus on to the elemental. After that things got a little crazy. The entire labyrinth began to shake, and by proxy, the rest of the guildhall with it. This shaking reached a plateau after about a minute as Dmitry's eyes glowed. Now, not only were his pupils silver, but the glow had taken up his irises as well, blackening the 'whites' of his eyes. After another two minutes, the shaking stopped.

Dmitry fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. After the bond was complete, images of events past began to flood Dmitry's mind. All of these memories involved the guild members and the guild master, Zuo Cii. Somehow, the crazy old bastard managed to bind the spirit of earth to this place. As such, it absorbed the memories made in these marble halls. Dmitry had barely known Zuo when he died. Now, he felt like he had known the coot his entire life. He was made to bear witness to it all. Including the day Zuo died. Dmitry stood up, resolving himself. He would do it. He would cling to these memories as long as he drew breath. Never would he throw them away like he threw away his own. He would bear witness to the history of this guild.

Dmitry wiped away his tears and noticed that someone else was in the room with him.