Fandom Library, Wednesday

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

You know, it had been a hard and confusing couple of days and Arden was just going to spend her shift reading. Sure, she had stuff she could be doing, but you know what else? She also had a book she could finish and she knew which one was going to be a priority today.

Maybe if anybody saw her, they'd assume it was some kind of class assignment. Or maybe they'd accept that sometimes, a little bit of escapism was what a girl needed. Whichever.

But she wasn't completely shirking her responsibilities! If anyone showed up, she'd be happy to help them. Though maybe people could time their visits to coincide with chapter breaks? That would be dope.

Comments

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Suuuuuuuure. That was definitely it. The different presidents thing.

"Well, if there are factions like that at home, they'd care a lot," Arden said. "Like, at least two factions would be at war with each other and a third would probably be draining one of the first two super-fast, and that faction and another faction would be making more of their kind and outbreeding another faction and...look it would be a whole thing."

You know. If. A weirdly specific 'if.'

"But the first and most important rule of the Detente would be that any person not already part of the Otherside finds out about Othersiders, they get executed to protect the secret." Exceptions were made but they were rare and only given if the human in question could prove to be a benefit. "And if somebody finds out because they were told by someone else? Both people get killed."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

That was a very specific if, there, but, "Okay, that's...okay. There's a really hardcore rule that says you can't tell humans about supernatural society, which apparently calls itself the Otherside?" Sure. Why not? "So you extended that to...everyone including supernaturals from other universes, like, just in case. Is that what you're trying to say here? Because that sounds exhausting." Or maybe that was the Sloth talking.

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Arden shrugged. "It's better than being killed," she pointed out. "Don't say anything to anyone, just play dumb and normal. Just pretend to be from a normal world where there's nothing supernatural. Then you don't have to try to remember what you've said or how or try to come up with any fancy explanations. You protect your own ass and everyone else's."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"Exhausting." Then he took his hand out of his pocket and held it out to Arden. "Hi, I'm Gray and I'm a Nephilim. And I promise you do not need to protect my ass. I can do that myself." When he wasn't asleep.

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

For a long moment, Arden looked at his hand, her own hand coming up to clutch the onyx pendant she wore beneath her shirt. She'd been planning to just leave it at the explanation given. But with Gray framing it like that...

It would be a lie to take his hand and not introduce herself back. And not taking his hand would be like saying she didn't trust him. In her head, Callista and Duke and Grim were all screaming at her, telling her that she was stupid, that this was going to get her killed, that they'd told her over and over and over that she couldn't trust anyone, couldn't tell anyone.

But...even if the space thing with Cal wasn't gonna happen, she'd really liked sitting around a sushi table with everyone. With her friends. Even twenty years later, they'd been friends. And Gray had been one of them. Maybe...maybe this was how that happened.

Slowly, and like she was afraid he might bite, she extended her hand and took his, offering a shake. "Arden Finch," she said quietly. "Sylph. Um. Air Elemental."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

Gray grinned at her and told her, "I have no idea what that means, but it sounds cool."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Well, it means I do a lot of stuff with air," she said, giving him a tentative smile back. "I mean, you wanna fly a kite or make sure your ultimate frisbee always goes where you what? I'm your girl. Uh, except for how I try to never use my powers and pass as a human as much as possible. But, um. It's why I loved going flying so much. And why I love being up high. It's not something I can do, but...it feels like home."

She bit her lip and said, "But please, please don't tell anybody what I am. Or that I'm anything at all. Not even your brother. Even more than not breaking the Detente, what I am? Has to be a secret."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"I can keep a secret," Gray said, "but you should know that my brothers and I have a telepathic bond. Sometimes when we're close together things seep through without us meaning for them to." Which was going to become a problem for him for reasons completely unrelated to Arden, but he wasn't letting himself think about that right now. "Speaking of, uh, I was actually really worried after Parent's Weekend because you kept insisting your world was definitely 100% mundane and I knew it for sure wasn't." On account of the extremely freaky sex Bellamy and Grim had had.

"Oh, but we can totally go flying again sometime!"

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Because fucking Grimm can't keep it in her pants," Arden groaned. "Or in...whatever form she's wearing that day." She buried her face in her hands. "But I guess...if they do find out, let them know that they can't tell anybody? Especially not Grimm." She moved her hands to peek up at him. "Um. The Detente also has a provision about Elementals. And that provision is 'kill on sight.' I'm a walking fugitive and, technically, any Othersider that figures out what I am? Is supposed to summon the Duskwatch to come and, uh. Execute me. Immediately. Like, some other things could happen - like a vampire could claim me as a blood doll for a few days, but they'd have to provide my drained body as proof to the Duskwatch within three days or be in violation of the Detente. Which, I'm pretty sure you can guess what that means."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"It was more like her sentient flames from what Bellamy said...uh. He gave her five stars if that helps?"

Okay, wait. "What is with your universe jumping straight to execution for everything? I thought angels were buttholes! And just 'cause you're a...sylph or whatever? There are angels who wanted to kill all the Nephilim because we're abominations, but you'll notice they didn't do it."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"It absolutely does not help," Arden assured him. "I'm good with never knowing that much about Grimm's sex life ever."

Their relationship was...fraught.

"But yeah. Well. All Elementals. So even if I were an undine or an oread, I'd still count. I don't know why the elves hate us so much, but they do. Maybe we're also abominations? That could kinda make sense, since I'm not sure how I am what I am anyway." She really had a poor understanding of a lot of things. "I saw a book once, in my legal guardian's library. It has illustrations of what they did to us when they caught us. I...still have nightmares about some of the pictures. And since I don't wanna live that out at all, I'm just gonna keep my head down while pretending I'm human as hard as I can."

She shrugged. What else could you do, you know?

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"Okay, but does that Grimm lady know that you're this Elemental thing or not?" Gray asked, because now he was kind of confused on that point. "Because I thought she was your friend, but you said she can't know, so if she's at risk of murdering you or whatever I have to tell Bell she's not cool and he can't sleep with her again."

Hashtag priorities.

"Also, I'm sorry. That really sucks and I totally get why you moved to space."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

At least somebody understood her priorities, Cal. And also, Lydia.

"She knows," Arden said. "She helped raise me. But she can't know that I'm telling people what I am. Or else she'll get really mad and point out that I'm risking her life, too, and maybe even will tell Callista where I am, because if I'm being dumb enough to tell people stuff that can get folks killed, I probably shouldn't be allowed out without supervision. You know?"

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"...I just think that would be really hypocritical of her, considering," Gray said, "you know." He gestured vaguely to encompass the extremely nonhuman sex Grimm had had with his brother who she had just met.

To be fair: Bellamy.

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Grimm isn't exactly not hypocritical," Arden sighed. "But also, to her way of thinking, she told a little secret. Djinn are just kinda like that, especially if they can get information out of it. Like, Duke gives random people his real name so they can summon him for stuff and he can either learn stuff or mess with them, depending on his mood. Djinn are..." She shrugged. "Yeah, just like that. And they're always scrupulously sure to never make it seem like anyone else exists but them. Me talking about what I am? Big secret, and the kind that hints at a wholeass society just by virtue of being the kind of secret it is. Her risk is calculated, mine's stupid."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"But it's not like you asked to be born," Gray protested. "Any more than I did, with all the bullshit that comes with that."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"When has that ever stopped anybody?" Arden asked quietly. "Doesn't change what we are, and, with Othersiders, doesn't change what the law is."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"But it's a stupid-ass law. Especially if you don't even know why. Like, at least we Nephilim know why the angels hate us. And it even kind of makes sense! But even they're like, 'Well, they didn't ask to exist so it's not like we can genocide them about it.' They're just buttholes."

Well, Uriel had done a little more than that, but Gray didn't know that part yet.

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Elves are a predator species," Arden said with a shrug. "Just dressed up in fancy clothes and bureaucracy. Maybe they picked us once humans were deemed too dangerous to hunt. That's what the Duskwatch is. The Otherside's paramilitary policing organization. They're supposed to be for all of us - well, everybody but me - but they're mostly marshmallows anyway."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

Okay, now she'd lost him again. "Then what are you so worried about if they're a bunch of marshmallows?"

Possibly they were using that word really differently.

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Suuuuuuuper differently!

"Oh! Sorry, yeah. Um, all of us supernaturals have different scents that people can pick up on, from our magic. Vampires smell like iron and ashes. Djinn smell like lemon zest. Elves smell like toasted marshmallows and herbs. It's why I don't like the smell of marshmallows. Gives me panic attacks. So people call elves 'marshmallows,' mostly to be derogatory."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"Oh! We don't have anything like that." He gasped. "Does that mean you can't have s'mores?!" A tragedy.

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

The way she recoiled at the very word probably answered his question for him.

"Professor Amicitia was really great and didn't have marshmallows at all in his camping class. Professor Atreides, too. I just...can't. Different from how I can't with birds, but still can't."

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[napking]

"I'm so sorry." She was missing out on so much gooey goodness. "You can't eat birds either? Are birds scary too? Should I stop saying birds?"

Re: Talk to the Aide - NFB, please!

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

Okay, Arden had to laugh a little bit. "No, no. I mean, I can't eat birds, I would definitely puke, but that's because - remember how I said the sky feels like home? Well, sylphs, like, vibe with birds so hard that we can't eat them. It's like eating people." She gave a shudder. "Still, I'm pretty sure I get the better end of things? Oreads - earth Elementals - supposedly weren't able eat anything with hooves. No pork. And undines couldn't have fish. And dea...huh. I don't know what they wouldn't be able to eat."