(The Enclave) New Blood (Alstroemeria)

[Vala]

49th of Summer, 511 AV Three more dabs of glue, two remaining strips of parchment, and one last chesty sigh, Vala was finally almost done repairing the book. There were more tears in the tome, but only one could be pressed at a time. Vala pulled another raggedy old manuscript to her workstation from the endless pile. Referring to the clay tablet to her left, Vala looked for the page with a straight tear. The record said it would be on page 32. It was right where it should have been; records never lie. Handling the book with more care than she would have a new born, Vala slid the protective sheets of wax in front and behind of the ripped page. The sleek surface felt greasy against her dry, ink stained pads. Next she would have to pick a sheet of parchment that best matched the worn pages that remained. A took a few chimes of rifling before she finally found a close enough match – sometimes perfection just isn’t possible. Scorning the inorganic scissors, too bulky for repair work, in her opinion, Vala ripped off a proper scrap with her bare hands. She cringed reflexively at the sound of perfectly good paper being so defiled, she comforted herself at the thought it was for the greater good. It was moments like this Vala was reminded why she hated other people so vehemently. It didn’t take long for Vala to go through the motions with practiced ease. Her hands, while soft from such modest work, were still surprisingly strong, specifically her fingers. The sensitive flesh tingled as it ran across the coarse surface; it was like seeing with her hands. Vala could see the texture clearly with just a simple brush. The repair paper was thicker, but a fraction rougher. The original paper had been much rougher, eroded by time and use, until it was smoother than the new sheet. She had been taught only matching the color mattered; few people like her could read paper, even fewer cared. Vala cared. Even though she closed the book slowly and gently, a musty cloud of dust still puffed out from the collapsing pages. Ten book tears repaired were good for now; Vala stood up and moved to a stool to the front of the desk. There was always work to be done. Today a new assistant librarian would be welcomed into their sheltered fold. Due to her lack of seniority, the honor of showing the new recruit the ropes had been dumped onto her. Vala figured she needed to leave a few books to show the girl how to repair, but just the basics, nothing fancy. Or many she would teach her how to copy tomes? Could the girl even write? Of course she did, the Yasiry education made sure of that, and the Valintar wouldn’t be so obtuse as to assign a simpleton to the one sanctuary for knowledge, in Wind Reach. Vala did not care for teaching unless she was rightly compensated, but she figured it would be a nice break not to be the lowest chick in the pecking order, anymore. Vala knew the girls name would be Alstroemeria; a girl just out of the yasiry; about the same age Vala first joined the Enclave. She had heard rumors about the girl, strange habits and what not; rumors spread quickly in the narrow aisles. For such ‘meek’ exteriors, many librarians turned out to be quite the sharks – Would Alstroemeria be able to handle such backhandedness after a lifetime of the ‘openness’ naturally afforded to their race? Vala listened, knowledge was power, but she had never bothered to piece anything together until Kirna sprung the assignment on her the night before – not that she tried any harder afterward to learn more. Vala would read the girl in person. Not wasting anymore of her time and energy wondering, Vala began to do. She pulled out the Materials Record Book from under the counter. She set it own with a relieved thud, her muscles aching from the fleeting effort. A sedentary life sneaks up on you. Vala flipped open to the latest page, popped open a half used bottle of ink, pulled close several clay tablets in need of logging, and lastly pulled a simple quill from the rack. Using her left pointer finger to keep her place on the clay tablets, Vala began to dutifully log the entries about new supplies, lost supplies, used supplies, until nothing but thoughts of supplies filled every conscious thought. It was nice. Nice to get lost in the work until nothing else mattered. It was small, no one would praise her, but Vala felt right, doing her part to make the city better. Every little bit counts. Vala’s quill continued to fly across the page with languid yet forceful strokes. Her left hand, when not busy keeping her from getting lost in the endless pages of barely legible script, was busy smudging out the recorded lines. It was more snobbery than anything, but Vala loved how her superiors would always be able to identify her work over the mass of other nameless sheep from her signature use of calligraphic fonts. It took just that much extra effort, but beauty and the order of the characters was worth it. Vala continued to work, nothing but mousy red headed girl bent over her papers as she waited for the new girl – Alstroemeria.

[Alstroemeria]

It was a bright fine morning, Alstroemeria had a bright smile on her face because today was her first day at her job in The Enclave. The woman she was going to be working with her name was Vala. Some said that she was nice person and she was really good in storytelling, maybe she’d pick up a few tips. Maybe.. She’d give her a sample of her work! She thought for a moment about how she shouldn’t bed for things because she wasn’t here to beg, she was here to do work. Like her mother said, “All of us have to pull our own weight.” In the distance, she could see The enclave, she began a small jog because she was only second away from reaching her destination. Finally she saw The Enclave, her gaze all over the place, amazed by the monument she stood under. She pushed one of the doors open, her little red-head peeking out. She saw a woman at the desk, working… She seemed very busy. That had to be Vala because she was technically the only worker around, therefore she could identify her easily. Her personality seemed nice for that matter so she was in good hands, for now. “Hello? Are you Vala?” Her voice was soft but still audible. She closed the door behind her, making her way towards the desk. She revealed her face to Vala so she could get a proper look of her, more or less judge her. Today Alstroemeria had her hair up in a tight bun, although it did reveal her scar she really had nothing to hide at all. She just wanted to be herself without appearing like a fool, like she said... First Impressions = Bad Idea For Her. She was going to try her best to be herself, actually she should just be herself... And do what she is told! She let her mind return back to Vala, she gave her a quick smile and wave. "I'm Alstroemeria, but you probably know that already." She said, laughing nervously. "So what do I have to do today?" She asked, arching one red haired brow. She looked over her shoulder to see other people around her, how she hated making contact with people. Even touching them sent her off guard and completely on a bad mood, or road... Whatever you call it. She then thought about Ven when he was about to touch her when she had the note. She felt horrible, his touch made her feel like he was going to rape her. She needed to calm down because hallucinating was not on her list and never shall be. She returned back her gaze to Vala, she gave another smile, placing her hands on the desk, waiting. Suddenly, she had another flashback... Meaning another migraine... It showed her the man in the black cloak running off into the forest, she saw the eagle desperately flying away into the mountains. Her eyes seemed to have turned to the other side only revealing her pupil to be white. She lost her breath as if she was having a heart attack, her fingers tapping. Her pupil returned from the inside of her head back out, she started to breath again. She played with her skin, removing her touch from the desk to make sure she was still alive. Another ritual that she attempted to do when she almost thought she could have died. She was more or less a girl of paranoia, she was strange, but if you really got to know her she was alright. Okay, well basically she thought she was blabbing too much so she decided to shut her mouth to listen to Vala.