Library, Monday

[intotheout]

Tip had let her guard down when they'd gotten to Christmas without the usual fall disaster happening, and she was kicking herself for that so hard as she came into the library for work on Monday.

Seriously. How had they all not been on high alert for something like this? It happened every year. Just -- you know. The new kids usually got a chance to settle in, first. Instead of going immediately missing.

She hoped her new sib was okay, wherever they were.

She looked around for any evidence of what people had been looking into yesterday, then went to pick up any books she could find on missing people and bring them out to the center tables. It was going to be a long day in the library, especially if no one found anything. . . .

[minor OCD coming open!]

Comments

Mod your library

[intotheout]

In case you're here for some other reason

Get your research on

[intotheout]

This was where Tip was, flipping through a bunch of true crime books and wishing they at least had, like, a creepy fog wall or something to go on, here.

Re: Get your research on

[bookbeltof_love]

It really… really… bothered her that, like, she couldn't hold her first class ever (well, she could, but Nina didn't think anyone would show up and, also, she'd feel terrible for holding it in defiance of those kidnapped) but figuring out how to get those who were kidnapped was more important and she couldn't (and wouldn't) even argue about that.

But she was still going to mope as she industriously worked her way through anything related to gift-giving and kidnapping.

… There was more out there than she'd thought there would be.

Re: Get your research on

[intotheout]

"Got anything good?" Tip asked after a little while. Not because she thought the other girl would find something and not tell her, but more because working quietly was starting to get to her. "I wish the squirrels had seen more at the picnic than unwrapped boxes."

Re: Get your research on

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina sighed as she looked up from her latest book.

"Nothing promising," she admitted, making a face. "Except the fact that I might have a song about kidnapping the sandy claws stuck in my head forever now…………………….."

But that didn't seem right for this situation.

Re: Get your research on

[intotheout]

Tip had spent enough time around J.Lo over the years to figure out 'sandy claws' right quick. "Pretty sure we didn't do that," she said. "It's more like . . . Santa Claus is kidnapping us."

Re: Get your research on

[raisedbybooklice]

From behind one of the shelves of books Nina was researching, a book louse the size of a kitten skittered forward.

Re: Get your research on

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina had hoped she'd see Elizabeth around, given that the last she'd heard of her friend was that she'd transformed weeks ago.

So while the size of the louse startled her, mostly Nina was just glad.

"Elizabeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she said, kneeling down, delighted. Despite her excitement, Nina kept her voice low. She wasn't sure how sensitive a louse's hearing was.

Re: Get your research on

[raisedbybooklice]

Maybe it was the magic of hearing someone say her name. Or maybe Fandom was just tired of losing students.

Or maybe it was just irony, Elisabeth transforming back into a girl on the busiest library day she'd seen here.

But one minute Elisabeth was an oversize book louse and the next she was an oversized - and very nude - girl curled up in a ball on the floor.

Re: Get your research on

[sake_shinigami]

It had been nearly a decade since Shunsui last taught at this school, but he was pretty sure that a group of disappearing newbies and a smattering of missing residents was a good indication that his class that morning would be canceled. And, since he'd just gotten back from a great big world-threatening thing back home, he was actually feeling pretty keen on figuring this one out and getting it out of the way before it turned into a great big obnoxious thing, too.

And if they could figure it out before it came to obnoxious fighting, all the better.

He was teaching Pacifism, after all, so he was going to be big on practicing what he preached right now.

So there he was, fluttering into the library, and taking a quick look around to see how everyone was doing.

"How can I help ♥?"

By help, he meant, of course, which book should he idly flip through with the vague hope that he might just so happen to come across something useful?

Re: Get your research on

[intotheout]

Tip waved to the growing pile of books she was collecting. "Dive in. So far we've got 'gift giving' and 'disappearances' as our general themes."

Re: Get your research on

[sake_shinigami]

"Hmmmm," Shunsui considered that with a thoughtful hum, a lift of his brow, as he shifted through the pile a bit. "A bit of a Trojan Horse situation, plus kidnappings?"

And he made a selection, deciding to start with one that looked like it may have a lot of picture.

Which could be very helpful, you know.

Re: Get your research on

[bookbeltof_love]

"I," Nina said dramatically, "will accept help in the form of sake, should you be so willing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Because surely drinking would help her research!

Or, if nothing else, it might help her sulk…

Re: Get your research on

[sake_shinigami]

"Ahhh, Nina-chan, forgive me," said Shunsui, with a wry, amused smile as he ducked his head in condolences, "no sake today ♥! We must keep our minds sharp and our wits about us, neh?"

Plus, they were on school grounds and that was definitely a line.

"Let's save it for after we've gotten this whole...mess figured out," he suggested, "when it shall be all the more sweeter from our success ♥."

Re: Get your research on

[hashtag_chocobro]

Prompto had been on his way to the library a little earlier, when a juicy little side-quest (which included, heartbreakingly, throwing in the presents he'd picked up into the destruction, too) popped up, but once that was done and photo evidence sent off to Nina, he continued on the main objective and bounced into the library.

And then sort of gawked a little at the pile of books that had been accumulating.

"Whoa," he said. "That is...a lot of reading we need to get through..."

Re: Get your research on

[intotheout]

"Our clues so far are kind of really vague," Tip said with a sigh. "We've got presents, and kidnapping. Soooo everything from a Trojan horse thing to those creeps who lure kids into vans with candy."

Re: Get your research on

[hashtag_chocobro]

Aaaaand now Prompto could only imagine some creep trying to lure Sidon into a much-too-small
van with a fish....

"Yeaaaah," he said, "I don't know what that first one is, but I'm just going to assume that means it's a pretty wide range of possibilities..."

There was...a pause.

"Still nothing about chocobos, though, right?"

Re: Get your research on

[bookbeltof_love]

Sure, sure she'd been in contact with him and had evidence that he'd been around but when her brother entered the library…

Well, Nina felt deeply relieved and that was definitely showing on her face as she smiled and then pretended that she was totally not mushily happy he was fine by reading the next page of her endless pile.

Re: Get your research on

[hashtag_chocobro]

And once Prompto had himself a good armful of books to start out with, he went over to Nina's table and went to have a seat across from her, leaning over a little as he whispered, "So how's it coming along?"

Nina had about a million times better chance of finding anything in this haystack of academia than he ever had. It was, you know, sort of her thing and all.

Find the thing!

[intotheout]

For the person who knows who they are to find the clue they know what is, and then others react

Re: Find the thing!

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina's day had been so long and it wasn't even over yet and, like, she was (in her heart of hearts) almost glad that she didn't have to teach today because she was deeply frazzled.

And still sort of sulky that Shunsui hadn't had any sake on him that he'd been willing to give her. Rude, Shunsui. She deserved it.

Research, though, had given her a lot to work with and Nina knew that she was most likely the best researcher they had, modesty aside, except for possibly Elizabeth (who'd just turned back from a louse) because if Shunsui had done more than look a pretty pictures, well, she'd be surprised. Prompto, bless him, was doing his best but she could tell that it was killing him to just sit and go through books. Tip, well, she didn't know much about Tip (at least, not more than she knew about anyone) and Tip did work in the library… and it wasn't really a competition anyway……………

Still, Nina was determined to figure this out.

Tip had had a point with the whole first wave of an invasion thing, but as the day wore on, Nina felt less and less certain of that particular idea. The presents hadn't felt impersonal. They weren't being terrorized with visions of what was happening to those who'd been taken. Instead she kept coming back to that stupid, ridiculous song that didn't even suit what was happening and yet…

It felt closer.

"Kidnap the sandy claws indeed," she muttered to herself, too low for anyone for anyone else to hear. Only it was the sandy claws doing the kidnapping, wasn't it? Who else had given the gifts? Who else was sowing discord and spreading fear and ruining the peace and joy of…

Wait.

Waitwaitwait. Maybe they were going about this wrong.

Nina dove back into the books with a renewed sense of energy.

It was incredibly stupid. It really was. It was a ritual that, like, was so barebones that it wasn't even a ritual, really, but Christmas wasn't about defeating anyone. It was about family, joy, and coming together.

Nina stared at the song she'd found.

"Guys," she said raising her voice, "I think I've got something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Re: Find the thing!

[intotheout]

Tip hurried over. "What is it? Has this happened before?"

Re: Find the thing!

[bookbeltof_love]

"I haven't found anything about that," Nina admitted, "but, like, I did find a way to possibly make this place completely unsuitable for what's going on???????????????????"

Talk to the librarian

[intotheout]

If he's around

OOC

[intotheout]

BDE BDE BDE!