Sleep Is a Funny Thing (Private)

❊ Saudade ❊

Marschal stirred in his sleep some, like a puppy that was dreaming of running wild in the tall grass of his owner's yard. Occasionally, a finger would twitch, but other than that, his expression would remain pleasant and at ease on his face. It was as if nothing could disturb him from what he was dreaming about, not even the pretty woman standing before him. While she observed him and wondered what had happened to cause him to pass out right here, right now, he did not budge. In fact, it was like he did not even notice that Arianna was watching him sleep, too deep in sleep to ever realize. Was this a bad thing? Who knows. As long as Arianna didn't try anything to disturb him from his slumber, nothing would happen. However, she was not a fortunate child and her actions would prove to lead to something that may not be what she expected.

He was not asleep because of injuries or having collapsed from heat exhaustion; it was from too much alcohol.

Let him be and nothing would happen, but disturb the resting dragon and a fury of fire will ensue from his awakening.

An ear twitched in response to Arianna's words, though no movement of his eyes indicating that he was waking. Actually, he appeared to simply roll onto his side, causing the bottle next to his leg to go crashing to the ground. Despite being full of alcohol, the contents did not spill, as if only he could remove the liquor that was stored inside. This was not entirely wrong, for Marschal was the only one capable of drinking from the gourd that had once been strapped to his belt. He let out a yawn and a slight purr in response to the woman's touch on his shoulder, but didn't bother to do anything else. Perhaps, now that he was slightly awake, but keeping his eyes closed, she would eventually leave him back to his peace. Knowing him though, it would be more likely that Arianna would stand there and try to wake him or get him help.

When she spoke a second time, this was when Marschal responded clearly to her words, giving her sign that he was all right. His body convulsed a little as he was jolted awake by her words, eyes looking straight ahead, across the street. He did not notice the woman hovering above him, not until his sixth sense kicked in and he could sense her magical presence. Only when he felt that did the magus roll onto his back again and this time was met eye-to-eye with the bookworm. Blinking his eyes, Marschal stared quietly into hers, not answerng her words at first, for he had not heard what she said. Slowly, he sat up in a more straightened position, giving a small stretch the muscles in his arms and upper torso. As he blinked again, his gaze would wander away from Arianna to look around at his surroundings in a better view.

Finally, it dawned on him what she was asking him, shaking his head in reply to what she had said earlier to him. "I'm perfectly fine," he answered her, though his words were slightly slurred, giving away that he was partially drunk. However, his mind was not fully corrupted by the poisonous liquid, as he was capable of answering a question. Where others would be shitfaced from the amount of drinking that Marschal was capable of, it wasn't like he was affected at all. "What are you doing disturbing a man catching up on his sleep? I know it's a strange place, but I had been awfully tired. Working many jobs for many days and many nights takes a toll on your body and you just have to stop and rest for a bit." He would fall silent and adjust his position, letting his hands come to a rest in his lap and his eyes never leaving her.

Helping him out wasn't necessary, as he was capable of taking himself, even if he appeared to be rather drunk

Marschal Leigh watched as Arianna grew a blush over her cheeks from having disturbed him from his sleep, not that he was that bothered by it. He slept almost all of the time at the Black Rose guild hall, having claimed a recently new table there as his very own table. Since the last guild hall had been blown up, he had lost the table he originally claimed back when he had previously been in the guild before leaving it. However, he was known for sleeping anywhere and at anytime of the day, so it was no bizarre thing to see the man sleeping on the street. Yet, he was wide awake now, so there was no reason for him to go back to sleep when it was now apparent he had company to entertain. Clearing his throat, the magus would look away from Arianna and push himself to his feet, dusting off the jeans that he was wearing. Once all of that was done, his golden attention would be brought back to the younger and far shorter girl standing in front of him.

He gave a shrug of his shoulders when he heard her apology, as if not really caring what she happened to think or that she was apologizing to him. “It’s no big deal,” the man stated in a calm voice, letting his shoulders drop back to their normal height after shrugging to her. “I happen to sleep anywhere that looks comfortable, as I’m used to having been a guildless mage before rejoining one of my former guilds.” Subsequently, he would answer her next question without even hearing it, having explained why he had been sleeping there in the first place. “I should be asking what you’re doing on the streets alone at this time of day,” he stated, crossing his arms over his chest. While he was certain it wasn’t uncommon for women to walk home alone at night, he was still adamant about the answer. Surely, it would be easy for a young girl like her to be kidnapped off the streets by a crazed dark mage or even a regular human at that.

Marschal blinked as she inquired about why he was sleeping out on the streets rather than bunking down in an inn or hotel. While the beds there were nice, he had his fill of inns, considering Black Rose was an inn of its own and ran its own chain of them. “Well, for one, the guild I’m currently a part of runs an inn chain, and is stationed just below the inn, itself,” he answered her. “I get sick of them rather quickly, considering I’m in one all day and all night most of the time unless I’m out on a job.” His gaze would shift toward the building that he was standing in front of, noticing that it was the bookstore that she had just come out. “In fact, Black Rose’s inn is not that far from this place, just a few blocks down and you’ll run across an inn, called Silver Moon Inn. That there inn is home to the mages of Black Rose, and is considered a well-known inn due to the famousness of its members there.”

It was then that his eyes would settle upon the slight shift of her bookbag and notice the corners of books peaking out of it. So, it appeared that she was an avid reader and this caught his attention, making him curious to know what kind of books she had read. “Actually, if you want to head down there right now, we could relax there and discuss all those books that you have in that bag. I, myself, am an avid collector of books; I even have my own library located in the guild headquarters that I like to read in.” It was unfortunate that he couldn’t bring outsiders into the guild to read all of his books; plus, he didn’t want anyone to steal them. They were precious objects to him, but to see that there was another bookworm like he was, was a bit reassuring to him. “Perhaps, if I get the guild master’s permission, I could bring you down into the library sometime in the future if you’d like.”

"In all honesty, I can't blame you if you happened to lose track of time while shopping around in a bookstore," he responded to her. It had been a long while since he had last been to a bookstore, but he could vividly remember the enticing smell of new books. Whoever didn't like the smell of new books was insane, as it was just a mind-pleasing sensation to breathe in. Closing his eyes, Marschal could imagine the smell of the books entering his nostrils, only to realize he actually could. With his heightened sense of smell, it wasn't hard for the half yokai man to be able to smell the books in her bag. As enticing as the smell was, he opened his eyes and leaned back against the bookstore wall, looking to the sky. "So, what kind of books did you purchase from the bookstore if you don't mind my asking and inquiry over it."

When she answered him about potentially asking the guild master of Black Rose to bring her down into its library, he smiled. He knew, however, that an important book resided in that section of the guild and it was likely she would refuse. Whatever was important about that book truly irked him, as he wasn't even able to know the contents inside of it. Sighing, his gaze would shift from the sky back to Arianna, giving her a small shrug of his shoulders in the process. "Like I said, it's dependent on the guild master, as I know an important book resides down there that only the guild master knows the contents of. To have a strange person that isn't part of the guild wandering the isle of the library is a bit suspicious if you think about it." Another shrug of his shoulders would lead the other mage into believing that he didn't care for the topic or at all.

Hearing what she had said next, Marschal merely chuckled at her words and rolled against the wall to face her. "If I was feeling pressured into bringing you back to the guild just in order to impress a pretty girl like you with books, I wouldn't ask. Besides, I have other ways of impressing women, not just the fact that our guild holds one of the largest libraries known to man." Whether he was bluffing or being serious was hard to tell, but the smile never left his lips when he spoke to her. "I'd like to think I'm a bit more sly than the average male when it comes to wooing and impressing the ladies." Marschal winked at Arianna, but would drop the act the second that he was done talking about impressing many-a-women. It wasn't like she needed to know that he was a manwhore or better yet, the type that would be considered a player.

Marschal's ears perked forward more when he heard what was said about the books she had gotten from the store. She stated there was one about gemology, the study of gems, which Marschal had never really gotten into yet. However, he was interested in learning more about gems and what one was capable of doing with them. So, when she explained the books that she had gotten from the store, he was more intrigued by that book than any other. On top of that, she had gotten a book on Earth magic, and he was all about being able to learn about other magic. Perhaps if she ever finished reading those books, she would let him borrow them for a while so he was able to read them. "Hey," he began, a little nervously, "if you ever happen to finish those books, mind lending me them so I can read them?"

However, she would proceed to answer him about why he may not be able to bring her down into Black Rose's library. Unfortunately, he didn't have any other recommendations for her, but would contact her if he thought of any. "Well, if you happen to have an iLac, I can exchange my number with you and if I happen to find anything, I'll gladly share it with you. There is hope, though, as I know Black Rose is an open guild, so you're more than welcome to stop by the inn. In fact, if you're interested, we could head down there right now and get some coffee if you'd like to talk more." Marschal wouldn't push the offer more, as he didn't want her to feel pressured into having to talk with him. He would leave the offer up, though, but focus his attention to another part of the conversation she had brought up.

Noticing the blush on her face, Marschal chuckled a little, figuring he had caught her off guard with his flirting. Perhaps he would need to tone it back a little, as it even looked like she was uncomfortable by the flirtation. Clearing his throat, the magus would look down at his feet and shuffle them a bit, trying to think of an apology. He was so used to being able to nonchalantly flirt with women that he hadn't thought it would ever make them uncomfortable. In fact, most of the time he had simply tried to flirt enough that it would boost their confidence in their appearance. He didn't mean it in a way that would mark him as a rapist or a pervert if that's what she felt like he was. "Sorry, I didn't mean to deter you with the flirting; I'm just simply use to flirting with other women in order to make them feel better about themselves," he explained.

Hearing her words, a smile played across his lips and he would shrug his shoulders in return to her answer. "Izayuki is a really nice and genuine person, I doubt she would get too angry at me for letting you into the library. As long as she knows about it, I see no reason in you not being able to enter the library as long as you're with me," he stated in reply. The smile never left his lips, stuffing his hands into his pockets before he decided to continue the conversation. "Actually, you aren't far from the truth; at one point in time, I did not belong to any guild until I decided to return to Black Rose. You see, before I had become a guildless magus, I once resided in Black Rose long before its original home was destroyed. So, I have a bit of background there compared to the other places that I've come and gone from."

The reason behind why he often asked others to borrow their books was mostly because he had never seen or read them before. It was an honor in his eyes if he was capable of receiving a book from someone he had asked to borrow the written story from. As stated previously, he was someone who loved to collect and avidly read books and wouldn’t stop until he read them all. Even the library down in Black Rose’s guild hall was not fully read by the magus, many of the books still left as mysteries to him. Eventually, he would come to read those books one day but as of right now, he was busy with a single book about demons and demonology. What was so fascinating about that book was beyond the recognition of those who were able to see the cover of the book. To them, it was just a book, but to Marschal, it was a book that held explanations behind the way he acted and who he was.

He was not often one to ask to borrow books either unless the book truly took an interest to the magus and it just so happened that Gemology took his interested. As terrible as it sounded, he wanted to get his hands on that book, just so that he was able to claim he had read it and learned of the magic. Because, in all honesty, he had never heard of a magic in which a person was able to control the minerals and crystals of Earthland. What exactly was each gem able to do? Did many of the gems coincide with certain elements or did they do things on their own? His mind was filled with questions about the magic to the brim, aching to know if the book would answer them or not. However, he didn’t want to come off as a crazed bibliomaniac to someone that he hardly knew and was no just beginning to impress. In fact, he looked forward to being able to friend Arianna Rinn and sharing their knowledge they had gained from reading.

“Awesome! If you don’t find me too much of a creeper, I’d happily come along with you to check out those books,” Marschal answered when he heard her.

When he had asked for her number, Marschal nodded and beamed brightly, taking the number from her and inputting it into his iLac. After which, the magus would give her his so that she would be able to text and call him if she ever found an interesting book he’d like. In all honesty, though, it was a tad creepy to be exchanging numbers with a person that neither of the two magi knew very well. They were merely acquaintances with each other but had deeply connected with each other via discussion of books and the like. Stuffing his iLac back into his back pocket, the magus would stick his hands back into his front pockets and let the smile drop from his face. While he was certainly excited to have made a friend over a couple of books, he didn’t want to appear too excited toward her. Mostly because he did not want to scare her away when he knew that he could come off as a rather creepy guy when not spoken to.

“That is true, the self-esteem of those who aren’t complimented as much as they should be are often fragile pieces of a person,” he responded. Long ago, he could remember when the villagers of his former home would throw rocks and sticks at his windows because of his looks. Due to the danger it put him in, his mother had never let him outside of the home, and when his mother passed away, his father did the same. The children of his former home had called him derogatory names, which had ultimately led to the death of his mother by stoning. He had never once felt good about his looks and it was the very reason behind why he hated humans as much as he did. However, instead of letting the hatred get to him, he turned it around and used it as a means to flirt and catcall women whenever he wanted. Most of the time it made them feel good about themselves, as long as he wasn’t bodaciously catcalling a woman, but actually complimenting her.

Marschal chuckled when he heard her state something about him being a decent tour guide for those who wanted to join the guild. “It’s simple, really, the guild now resides in an inn, down on the corner of Silver Moon street; the inn is called Silver Moon Inn,” he answered. “The build is quite quaint and has a second and third floor that holds rooms for customers if they want to check in and stay. When they check in and stay in the rooms, that’s usually when we try to recruit them into the guild if they show a bit of interest.” His gaze would focus back onto Arianna, noticing that she was intrigued by the guild and what it was up to as of now. “You seem to be rather interested in it; would you like me to take you to the inn and show you around? You can order food and drink there if you’d like. Don’t worry, I’m not going to recruit you into the guild if you aren’t interested in joining a guild at all; it’s usually only those who are looking for a guild to join that we attempt to recruit.”

If both of them were coming off as strange to each other, perhaps they were not ones who were able to see that. After all, if two weirdos got together and started talking, would it be much different to two normal people who got together? Likely not, as normality was something that had been constructed by society and there wasn't much if at all no such thing as normality. More so, they were just two magi who were sharing with each other a love of books that others may not likely have. What was so wrong with two humans connecting on a level that other humans may not have been capable of doing? Their love of books was what drew them together and it would not stop them from seeing each other to discuss their findings. Who in this world loved books more than bibliophiles? Certainly not the normal people of the world, that's for certain.

Being brought out of his reverie for a moment, the male had to think for a second of what was on Silver Moon Inn's food menu. He didn't eat there often; in fact, he was likely one of the few magi of Black Rose that didn't always eat at the guild. Most oftentimes, if he did eat at the bar, then it was likely something that was raw, such as raw steak or raw fish. "The one thing that you'll come to realize about me is that I'm half feline," the male stated as he stopped thinking about the menu. "A lot of the times that I eat at the bar usually involves food that is not cooked at all or so raw, it can be considered uncooked. While I'm not one for eating cooked food so much as I am one for eating raw food, I have had my fair share. As for a suggestion, I would think that Chicken Marsala would be the best to try; it has the right amount of flavoring and just enough meat."

Marschal had to pause and think over his words for a moment because he could have been talking to someone who was a vegan. They were often rare people, but he should be considerate toward her in case she wasn't one for eating meat such as chicken. "If you happen to not be a meat eater, like you're a vegan or a vegetarian, whichever of the two, there are foods for your people. Should you not want to try the Chicken Marsala, then I suggest you try the couscous, which is just pasta made of crushed and steamed semolina. I would assume it's good, it's always smelled delicious to me, but pure vegetables isn't something I can really eat on my own." He would shrug as he finished suggesting platters to her, then proceed to start walking down the street in the direction of Silver Moon Inn. "The menu is quite large in itself, so if there's something that you absolutely love to eat, we likely have it on the menu."

A smirk played across the man's lips and he glanced back at Arianna when he heard what she had to say next. "Well, it's nice to know that Black Rose has been the first guild to catch your interest because of its vast library. Yet, I believe that just because it has a library shouldn't be something that becomes the reason as to why you join a guild. A library is a nice asset to joining a guild, especially for bibliophiles such as ourselves, but there should be a bigger reason as to why you choose the guild that you do. Black Rose is my home because of my relatives that are located in it; if not for that, I likely would not be a part of Black Rose anymore. I would hate for you to make the wrong decision or at least an irrational one when choosing the guild you want to join. If you would like, though, I would be more than happy to explain what our guild is and what it does for the people of Fiore."