The Library, Wednesday

[talentforlying]

John had gone home long enough to get a good three hours of sleep in, shower, and then gotten back up and come into work.

Real coffee was out, you could ask for tea if you wanted it, and the librarian was in-and-out of Special Collections, bringing out the oldest books and scrolls he could find.

Good luck, Fandom. You were going to need it.

Comments

Re: Research -- Morning

[spin_kick_snap]

After shattering her mirror, Kathy had gone to bed and slept for almost twelve hours, gotten up to eat anything she could find in several common rooms, and then gone back to sleep for another four.

She still felt awful. Not even her first shower in days could fix that. She still looked awful, too. Too thin, too tired, too much time crying. But she had to do something other than sit in her room and brood over how she'd ruined everything. So she'd made her way into the library, found a nice out-of-the-way nook, and curled up with a stack of books. She wasn't sure she'd find anything useful in a bunch of old Korean books of myths and legends, but at least she could make sure no one else wasted their time worrying about what secrets the books held.

Re: Research -- Morning

[wildandbrave]

"Can I get you something?" Cosette asked quietly, approaching but not getting too near in case Kathy wanted her space. Yes, she'd noticed that Kathy was in bad shape, but wasn't going to point that out; she just hated seeing people in that kind of state and wanted to do something to help. "Coffee, or a cup of water, a pastry perhaps?"

Re: Research -- Morning

[spin_kick_snap]

"A pastry and some water would be wonderful," Kathy said, looking up to give Cosette a wan smile. "I think I cleaned out the dorms of anything remotely edible before coming over here, but I'm still hungry."

Starving a super-speedy metabolism would do that to you. Go figure.

Re: Research -- Morning

[wildandbrave]

"Just a moment, then," Cosette said, and hurried off to the main section of the library, returning shortly with a bottle of water and a couple of blueberry scones wrapped in a napkin. (She'd decided the morale boost would be worth the risk of going into town on a bakery run.)

"I'm sorry, the water isn't very cold," she said apologetically as she held out the scones and water, "but I thought that this way it's less likely to spill. I think Monsieur Constantine would feel better about that."

This was also why she'd taken care to get a selection of pastries that weren't as likely to leave grease stains on the books.

Re: Research -- Morning

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's perfect," Kathy assured her, taking them both with gratitude. "I'm still really chilly anyway, so I'm glad the water isn't that cold. Thank you."

She took a bite of the scone and a long sip of the water, clearly savoring both.

"How are you doing?" she asked, when she'd swallowed. "Okay? You don't look like you got caught up in this mess."

Re: Research -- Morning

[wildandbrave]

"I didn't," Cosette said, looking a bit guilty about it. "No more than just being here this week, that is."

To tell the truth, she wasn't sure what she might have wanted as much as the things other people had bought, or maybe she just didn't want to think about it too much. What if she'd found something that belonged to her mother?

"But that just means I owe it even more to everyone to help."

Re: Research -- Morning

[spin_kick_snap]

"Don't," Kathy said, seeing the guilt on Cosette's face and recognizing it immediately for what it was. She hesitantly reached out to pat Cosette's shoulder, uncertain how such a gesture would be taken. "Don't feel bad that you didn't get cozened like I did. Looking back, I just feel so stupid for falling for it."

For betraying her friends.

For betraying herself.

Re: Research -- Morning

[wildandbrave]

Cosette wouldn't take it badly, that was for sure, and even managed a slight smile.

"You had a chance to get something that meant a great deal to you. You can't be blamed for wanting to have it," she said, trying to be reassuring. "It's only a shame that someone was horrible enough to take advantage of that."