fandomhigh | Library, Friday

"Hyacinthe," Lucille greeted him. "It is good to see you here."

"I would say the same, but I believe I'd rather see you somewhere safer," Hya said, brushing his dark curls out of his eyes. "This place is a guttering candle in the darkness, and I would you away from it all."

"It is sweet of you to care." It was, even if Lucille felt she could take care of herself.

"Can I offer you a cup of tea?"

Hey, it had nothing to do with whether she could take care of herself and more with him preferring them both somewhere else, preferably with a large tub and several bottles of wine, with nothing that screamed danger lurking in corners.

"Please," he said gratefully. "It rarely gets this cold in the City of Elua." Or, at least, it wasn't the kind of cold that felt like it was wrapping around your very bones.

Lucille could be persuaded to spend some time with him in that large tub when this was over, if that would happen.

She poured a cup of tea for Hyacinthe. "I am used to the cold myself, but not to whatever else is happening."

Even if the decay wasn't too unfamiliar, not that she would admit that.

"The City of Elua is in the south of Terre D'Ange," Hyacinthe said, cradling the cup in his hands and letting the warmth seep in. "Sometimes, deep in the winter it snows, but usually only enough to line the streets and rooftops with glittering white. I have been too poor not to know cold, but there was always the warmth of my mother's house to chase it away."

"My home was often cold," Lucille said, leaving open whether she meant physically or mentally or both. "But now... I understand people have met monstrous versions of themselves. At least I have been spared that ~~because the mun has been too tired~~"

"I doubt there could be a monstrous version of you," Hyacinthe said, being completely wrong on that count. Possibly twice over. "I've not been out much, so I haven't the least idea if I've an evil double about."

That was sweet too. Lucille wasn't going to mention that her own mother had called her a monster.

"Then I think we are both lucky on that account."

"We needed a bit of luck to counteract the rest of this," he said, gesturing to the world at large. "Though I'm ashamed to admit that I've not gone out much to search, either. I'm a deft hand with a knife, but this feels like something much larger than a street brawl."

"I agree with you," Lucille said. "I went out to buy pastries, but returned as quickly as I could."

Especially after running into Kathy.

That girl was probably a bitch anyway.

"Were there any to buy?" Hyacinthe asked. Maybe with a little more hope than he ought to have been showing.

She was totally a bitch.

"No," Lucille said with a sigh. "They were all too covered with mold."

Hyacinthe made a face. He'd grown up poor, but they'd never had to eat moldy food. 'Twas rare that even the lowliest beggar needed to stoop to that.

"How did this all happen?" he asked. "It takes longer than a day to go bad."

"I have been told strange things happen here without explanation," Lucille said, shaking her head. "But if this lasts long we will starve."

She had been hungry but she had never starved, not even in the asylum.

Same for Hyacinthe. The idea that someone could starve in Terre D'Ange was absurd.

"Well, that's why we're here, no?" he asked, smiling down at her to try to absolve some of her worry. "To make sure it doesn't get to that point. We'll not starve, chavi. We're far too pretty for that."

Lucille smiled. She liked being called pretty, especially by someone like Hyacinthe, who was very pretty himself.

"I'm mostly providing tea."

"Which, in turn, provides warmth to those who are doing the research and allows them to continue on, looking for an answer," Hyacinthe said with unexpected seriousness. "Do not discount the impact you have, for all that it seems small. 'Tis on such things empires are run."

And then he winked at her, all roguish charm once again. "Though I will admit to you being somewhat of a distraction as well," he said. "I can't help but wonder how you'd look stumbling out of the stacks, your hair in disarray and your mouth bright red with kisses."

Half a year ago that comment would have made Lucille blush brightly, but now her cheeks just went a little warm. "Perhaps, if we survive this, we could find out."

"Thus giving me even more incentive to try to find something," Hyacinthe said, reaching for her hand in order to brush kisses over her fingertips if she'd allow it. "Starvation offers not half the motivation that the promise of your kisses do."

The light kiss on her hand and his words warmed her. Of course Lucille knew that she was hardly the only one he gave this kind of attention, and in fact she would have been uncomfortable if that was the case, but that didn't matter.

"That is a different kind of hunger though."

One day, Hyacinthe would be thrilled to devote this kind of attention to one person in particular. But none of the lads and lasses in this age seemed inclined and he was hardly one to regret the opportunity to flirt with as many pretty people as possible.

"And to a D'Angeline--even a Didikani Tsingano like myself--'tis the more important one," he assured her. "Food is fuel for the body. You are food for the soul."

That gave him an unusually wide smile in return and the look in her eyes was almost mischievous. "Didn't you show me before that there are ways to use your mouth..." She didn't think she needed to finish that sentence. It was quite improper anyway, and they were in a library!

That was going to stop Hyacinthe not at all.

"I did," he said, eyes going dark while a smile tugged at his lips. "Though I don't believe I've educated you as thoroughly as 'tis warranted. We should amend that oversight sometime." He stepped closer to her. "Though, I warn you, 'tis a subject of much...depth. And my people are most diligent scholars upon the matter."

This was entirely true and considerable understatement.

"That is something to look forward to. It was quite enjoyable the last time you showed me some examples." That was an understatement too.

Library, Friday

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