Library, Wednesday [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle hadn't received word from home this week. Ordinarily that was little cause for concern; not even her Greece, strange as it was, could send correspondence with anything like the (more or less) reliable speed of the current era. This week, though, it had her fretting. Were her parents all right? Was Lila? Helen, wherever she was now? Salmoneus, Autolycus, Hower and Minya, Flora, Pandora, Joxer, her Amazons, Homer and the boys at the Academy, Hercules and Iolaus?

And Xena . . .

That was the one that really twisted her stomach with worry, even though she remained mostly convinced that no matter what this thing was, Xena could handle it. The what-ifs were just persistent enough that Gabrielle couldn't help imagining a world without the Warrior Princess in it.

Her life without Xena in it.

That was . . . unthinkable.

On one level, she was aware of how many people she'd met and learned to care about throughout the past several years of her travels. It wasn't until moments like now, though, that she realized just how many people there were, and the thought had her in a pensive but agitated mood.

Comments

Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

But still in possession of her vocal faculties.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[endsthegame]

"Good morning," Ender greeted, because it was only polite. "My brother and I are going to be in here for a while today."

Until Peter got bored and wandered off to do something he considered 'more useful', but such was the way of the Peter.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"Oh, hi." Gabrielle was about half a beat slow in responding, but she shook off her faraway look with an almost visible effort. "That's fine -- it's what the library's got all those tables for, and there's coffee if you need any."

She hadn't had a chance to listen to the radio yet, but she frowned.

"Is there someone back home for you who . . . ?"

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[endsthegame]

"Yes," Ender said, with a brief smile. He glanced towards the coffee. "Thanks for the coffee," he added, "I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

He looked back to Gabrielle. "How about you?" he asked, a little more gently.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle nodded, the I'm sorry she wanted to say constrained to the flash of sympathy in her eyes; even she got the feeling saying so would only be absurd at this point.

"A few people. Some places. It's -- it's hard to say how much, now; letters sent by messenger aren't quite the same as phone calls." She glanced past Ender for a moment, to Peter, then back at Ender. "The ones who can't say something like that seem to be the lucky ones, at this point."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[endsthegame]

"We're losing more every day," Ender agreed, "But on the other hand, more and more alumni seem to be making it to the island; we're gaining manpower."

He didn't want sympathy right now - that's why he didn't elaborate on his own situation. "This place is likely to get busy."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle had enough experience with Xena's stoic tendencies to recognize the signs of not wanting sympathy. Unlike Xena, though, Ender wasn't that familiar to her and so she wouldn't push the subject. Not yet, anyway.

"That's how it usually goes when we have a crisis," she agreed instead. "Extra people on board won't hurt at all, especially if they already know how Fandom is."

Something occurred to her; she shook her head. "If they're up to helping, that is. It can't have been easy for them to leave their worlds behind."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

Faramir's unease had only grown as the board had gotten an increasingly large number of names added to it. Enough that he could not help but wonder if he was in the right place at the moment. He had a sense of foreboding, one that possibly only was augmented by the dreams he had of the great wave swallowing up the island Númenor.

Perhaps he had known his decision for a while, but that morning he had packed his possessions and gathered the library books he had in his possession right now. It was those he was carrying as he entered the library, but they were not the main reason for his being there. "Hullo, Gabrielle."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"Faramir." Gabrielle had taken to perusing a stack of books on ancient Greek history, trying to find evidence that the places and, well, some of the people she knew from home still existed, at least in someone's reality. It wasn't that reassuring, and it was hard for her to manage a smile.

Not impossible, though, with a friend, so she managed it.

"Here to trade all of those in for new things to read?"

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

"I am here to return these," he said, placing them on top of the desk. This, perhaps, was the only hard part about his decision. "And to bid you farewell."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"Farewell?" Gabrielle didn't realize her voice had pitched up a couple of notches, and she sounded a lot like the wide-eyed village girl who'd first set out on the road from Poteidaia. "But -- Faramir, you're not leaving now, are you? Not with everything the way it is?"

The causeway had not been kind to her when she'd tried to go home and check up on things the other day.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[thinkbetterofme.livejournal.com]

His shoulders tensed, but he gave her a rueful smile. "Is that not why I should be leaving? I need to make certain that everyone is well, and... Perhaps I am being silly, but if so, then I shall return quickly."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"No, you're right." Gabrielle bit her lip, then moved around the desk to reach out and give him a hug. "I wouldn't really expect any less of you -- you and your sense of duty," she teased fondly. "And it's as hard for you to get news from home as it is for me. I wouldn't have you any other way. I know you can take care of yourself, but . . ."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

With a little while left until closing and an entire table's perimeter stacked with walls of books four feet high, it occured to Wesley that he should probably get to work on the mess. It was a shame, because the books were organized, but he wasn't about to leave this for Gabrielle to deal with.

"I'll, ah, I'll start taking care of, er, that," he made sure to disclaim to her, stopping by the desk. Then, with a glance at the sheer multitude of them -- "Do you mind if I borrow one of the carts?"

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"They're technically as much yours as mine, aren't they?" Gabrielle pointed out, wincing slightly at the mountain of reading material on his table. "You work here too, after all. I don't mind putting the books away if you've had a long day, but . . . be my guest, if you're set on it."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

"I'm hardly going to have you reshelve all of these," Wesley pointed out mildly, claiming a cart and starting to load books back onto it. "Though I might've considered this inevitability, er, perhaps at some point toward the middle of the day."

Instead of, you know. Now.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"You got caught up in it," Gabrielle replied, instinctively trying to make him feel better about it. "It happens, even in fun circumstances. But --"

She held up a finger.

"Don't think you're going to get away with doing this all by yourself, mister. What's a library aide for if not helping?"

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Despite his exhaustion, Wesley, nerd that he was, actually cast back for an answer for that.

"Well... 'aid' comes from the French 'aidier,' and..."

Then it occured to him how completely needless that train of thought was, and he cracked a smile. "Dear lord, I truly am exhausted," he murmured, reaching one hand up to rub at his temples.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

Jack came into the library carrying a laptop with a scruffy looking dog trailing behind him.

"Hi," he said approaching Gabrielle. "I don't suppose there's a place where I can plug in my computer where it can access the library files?"

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

"Of course there is," Gabrielle answered, getting to her feet. "I'm not very good at using them, but --"

She pointed toward one of the IT-equipped tables. "Well, I'm going to assume you know how to do it, at least."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

"Well, actually I'm not but-"

"It's okay, Jack," the computer said cheerfully. "I'll be able to tell you what to do. Thank you, miss!"

Jack gave Gabrielle a small grin. "That's SARAH," he said nodding at the laptop. "She's very helpful. Most of the time."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

And there was Gabrielle, blinking at the computer. "Hi, SARAH, nice to meet you," she said half-automatically. She'd talked to weirder, after all. Then, to Jack: "Nice to meet you, too. If you can help us figure out anything at all about this, I won't complain. Good luck."

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[halfman-lion.livejournal.com]

"Where's the best place to start if you're reading about the disappearances?" Tyrion asked. He'd been in the library, but only idly and as a child; he was cursing his failure to explore more now.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle rubbed a hand over her face and laughed ruefully. "Isn't that just the question? Books about supernatural causes have been pretty popular around here lately, but then so have science books. I'm not sure we even have a really solid place to start, actually."

Personally, she was halfway convinced someone ought to try and figure out if someone else had ended up with an enchanted scroll like she had that one time, and everything they were writing -- or erasing -- was coming true.

Re: Talk to Gabrielle [11/30]

[halfman-lion.livejournal.com]

"I haven't been able to find one," Tyrion volunteered. "It's absurd. And cowardly of whatever it is in such a way that we can't confront it."