Now into the heart of a Charoda? (Lliwen)

[Bob Barton]

9th day of Summer 512 AV

It took some time for Bob to rest and recover after that adventure in the pool, the pool that was still maddening and unbelievable for him. Remembering what he has learned and the people he met especially the charoda, Lliwen...Bob wondered if he should continue. He knew where she would be and perhaps using the excuse of their missed dinner he could meet her again. A hard decision made in his room where he was pacing around trying to make his decision. What if now there was no more danger the charoda would not need him anymore? That would be so much harder for him than trying to picking clothes that he felt the charoda might like. Out of all the options he settled for the captain's uniform that he...acquired in Sunberth last time since he was trying to impress a charoda. Being from the sea she might even recognize it and be impressed. So Bob used it all, even the broken monocle that came with it.

He must have looked really good because some people were looking and smiling with giggles. Bob obviously misunderstood why and continued braving through Alvadas. As far as he was concerned he was a real captain to them like when he saw those on the Zeltivan docks. Bob used all he knew of them to the extent of making for himself snooty curled red locks and walking in the arrogant way of using his cane to clear out the way for him among the non seaworthy folk. Those people apparently had no sense of humor. Nearing his destination which was the Sunken Conundrum he knew she loved being in for its books, Bob put on the finishing touches. Hopefully he was in the right place or he would have to do this all over again at the Rainbow Shells. To everyone passing him at the entrance they would not even realize what he was doing when he wiped the monocle that lacked the glass unless they knew shielding themselves.

Knowing that he wanted to use the broken monocle with the full uniform, Bob prepared for it at home. As long as it still had a frame, it was enough to use shielding to make it look more real...ish...? With his handy supply of ink, Bob a black line on the frame with its convenient circular shape. If only every surface was like this Bob would be able to draw a perfect round focus each time instead of taking too long to be practical in the crucial moments. His fingers which were 'wiping' traced around the frame and the dark focus on it adding more djed with each repetition. While there would be inconsistencies with the quantity, Bob knew that no one would notice as long them as the shield did its job. Assisted by the glyph the djed extended into the centre of the monocle and the hand Bob placed on it that had more djed so that it can all weave together to form a layer where the glass should have been before Bob tasked it to block out light. A lovely pitch black to look like a lens.

And none of it was stuck on his hands. Lovely. Of course that would not have happened but Bob learned shielding with reimancy as his basis and his understanding was that some djed might be left over on his hand which he produced it on. With only the monocle, or half of a dark glass Bob walked into the library. With only one eye actually being able to see Bob missed the obvious sign provided by the library. In fact, he not only missed the sign but also did not notice that through the door the building was full of water! Not until he got in for a few steps to realize that he was not breathing into his lungs. "Not again!" Bob yelled struggling as he reimagined his experience at the pond. This time he was alone so no one was going to be able to keep him alive...or not. "Why am I still alive?" he asked looking at himself in surprise. Perhaps the answer is he is dead? It was then he caught the sight of other visitors to the library reading their books under the water and decided to find out what was happening to him.

[Lliwen Vafara]

Lliwen was still to get used to how many books there were in The Sunken Conundrum, she had no idea how many times she had visited the library yet it always managed to take her breathe away, the same way a flower enthusiast would feel when seeing a beautiful garden. Each of the books were like treasures to her, holding precious information and she looked after them as though they were, indeed rare gemstones. She was currently curled on her favourite armchair, its colour constantly cycling through every shade imaginable. At this point it was a deep purple, and it never failed to surprise Lliwen that the seating in here always felt warm and dry. Then again, considering this was a library filled with water in the city of illusions perhaps it wasn’t that surprising. She had in her hands a book on reimancers throughout history; secretly wishing that maybe, just maybe one day she would be in a book like this. Or at least a cheap one filled with half-decent reimancers. Books always made her glow inside, whether it was on a topic she was fond of or one she knew nothing about- knowledge about anything was useful. She placed the book on the oak table in front of her, looking to see if anyone was around whilst she did so. One of the reasons this chair was her favourite was its location towards the back right hand corner of the library, near an almost empty bookshelf. The few books on it covered in dust and looked as though they hadn’t been touched for many years, meaning few people ever came to this spot. ‘I’ll have to take a look at them one day… anyway, now back to this.’ She held her left hand out in front of her, and moved it round in small circles, her glittering pale pink res emitting from her palms. With focusing, the sparkling gas-like substance vanished and a small whirlpool of water appeared in front of her. She smiled; magic always did make her happy, though she longed to gain more skill in it. She was about to return to her book when out of the corner of her eye she saw someone that appeared to be dressed as a crew member of sorts. A captain, perhaps? And why did he seem so familiar? Whoever he was, he seemed to be panicking slightly, presumably he hadn’t been to the library before and wasn’t used to being able to breathe underwater here. Lliwen wondered what her response to that would have been if she did not have gills, most likely very intrigued. She made her way over to the man to offer some reassurance, for he was acting as though he was going to drown. Even his motions seemed familiar- how could movements of drowning seem familiar? Unless…no, it couldn’t be, could it? Bob? Lliwen began to panic, how should she react? Should she go she him or wait for him to find her or go and hide amongst the musky smell of paper? “I’d better say hi, even if he hasn’t come here to see me it would be rude to avoid him. Besides, I’ve already started making my way over, he may of spotted me already” Taking a deep breath and trying to look as confident and calm as possible, she made her way over to the entrance. Unfortunately her mind was racing as she strolled over to Bob, thoughts popping into her head such as; ‘Was it weird that she spotted him? Did she seem desperate coming over? What if he didn’t want to see her at all?’ How events turned out though, Lliwen did not have a choice in the matter. So tangled in the web of her own thoughts, she failed to see a book on the floor (which in itself was bad enough for Lliwen, such thoughtlessness for books was a crime in her eyes) and tripped, causing her to hurtle forward in the water. If this alone happened, she may not have attracted Bob’s attention, but due to the accident a large Jamoura whilst turning failed to see her, causing her to fly forward once again, landing at Bob’s feet accompanied by several bubbles and a sore head. “Uhh… Hi?”

[Bob Barton]

The monocle looked fine and real but it proved to be a bad idea now that Bob has tested it. It made everything too dark with only a few outlines here and there, visible only due to the inconsistencies with the djed. Unless he could make it properly and control the amount of light shielded through it Bob would not be able to use this to block Syna's rays when they became too bright. This meant he would have to hide indoors like in the library if only it was not so wet. As if that was not the strangest thing he found, Bob felt the water suddenly pressing on him from the front and when he looked at its direction he saw a...jamoura? It gave a grunt while it stared at Bob's direction before giving him a dismissive shake of the head and going on with its work. "Ok..." Bob told himself trying to ignore it having no clue what was going on until...

...he heard her, Lliwen, the only reason he would have come to the library. Bob had no idea how or why she was on the ground having missed the entire scene thanks to the monocle. Not only that, he had no idea how he should react to suddenly seeing her like this except returning her "...hi?" mentally cursing himself for how stupid that would sound after. Regardless he put away his monocle to show Lliwen his smiling face and to save him from anymore embarrassing situations while mentioning that "it seems that ethaefals aren't the only beautiful things that fall from the sky." But what the ethaefals do not have is a person to fish them out like Bob who had his hand stretched out to help the charoda. If she took it, Bob would draw her closer to him before asking "are you hungry?" He was not going allow himself to worry about how he appeared doing that since he already did his share of worrying before he even decided to find the charoda and when he experienced the water of the library.

Not wanting to give her time to think about anything else he quickly reminded her "we missed our chance from our pool adventure. After all thats happened, I just wanted to make sure you're alright..." which might appear as the case when Bob who was under the impression that his mix up with the letters was what put Lliwen in danger looked at the lovely blue face that made the waters of the library seem dull and drab by comparison. Which is why "I came a little earlier so we can have our own adventure," a very nice safe one "right before our meal. I hope you don't mind?" As it was Bob did not really have any proper plans but Alvadas was the city of illusions, never the same and always shifting. Just walking through it can warrant an adventure with the sights it had. "If you're busy, I'll wait for you" since he had nothing better to do. "Do you have any favorites?" Bob asked before pulling her closer to him so he may whisper "I want to know what is it you like..."

If the books can help him with even before they went, it would be to Bob's advantage. As the reasons for Bob's interest with her was for a possible relationship and they probably have went a lot further than the norm a few days back, he was not going to try and hide his intentions. He felt it would be a lot better for him to just put it out there and see how she would respond to his advances, hoping it would be favorable just like a few days ago.

[Lliwen Vafara]

At this distance, a dazed Lliwen could now see Bob’s outfit clearly. True it was magnificent, though she wondered how he came upon it. He even had a monocle dark enough to be made out of shadows which he removed after replying to her confused greeting. She stared at him, half shocked he even remembered who she was-they were not well acquainted, “Yet.” She couldn’t help but adding her hopes to the sentence, blushing as if somehow he may be able to read her thoughts. It was if the water that she loved had turned on her, freezing her to her very core unable to escape. "It seems that ethaefals aren't the only beautiful things that fall from the sky." Bob held out his palm, its warmth melting her icy prison, and she was freed, allowed to move once more and grasped his hand. She had to admit his words did make her swoon a little; he certainly did have a way with words. He pulled her closer as if a fish on a hook, the force of his body surprising her and causing her heart to race. “Are you hungry?” The corners of her mouth automatically curved up; if he was going to ask her to dine with him he must have come here to look for her. Truth be told, her levels of hunger were not that high, however, she nodded, eager to spend more time with the man. First things first though, that book had to be put back on the shelf. Reluctantly dragging herself away from Bob’s appealing clutches, she picked up the book. Fortunately, it hadn’t wandered far from its home and belonged to the bookcase closest to them. She swam to the top shelf, trying to look as delicate and charming as possible. How successful she was at this she doubted she would want to know. Returning to him as quickly as she could, she just dodged a nuit that nearly sent her flying once more in her haste. “I really need to look where I’m going more…I could end up in plaster soon- not at all attractive.” Resuming holding his hand, she entwined her fingers in his, shyly looking to her side. It was like returning to a favourite spot of beauty, she couldn’t help but be happy. "We missed our chance from our pool adventure. After all that’s happened, I just wanted to make sure you're alright..." It felt oddly wonderful, someone she barely knew seemingly caring about her. Realising she had barely spoken, she managed to open her mouth, praying words would come out. “Oh, yes I’m fine thank you, was an umm... interesting first adventure. Apart from you know, you nearly drowning.” She winked mischievously, before adding, “And you? Not terrified to be underwater again?” She herself was shocked at how confident she appeared, her insides were a fragile cliff, crumbling bit by bit. Bob answered before jumping to what Lliwen thought he wanted to say, it looked as if he had enough of small talk. "I came a little earlier so we can have our own adventure, ‘a very nice safe one’ right before our meal. I hope you don't mind?" This suited her well, then her hunger may grow and she could enjoy the meal properly, though the real enjoyment would come purely from Bob’s blue eyes, as deep as the bluest of seas. “No of course not. In fact, I’d love to. Anywhere in mind? Not that it matters to me.” Bob came across as if he hadn’t thought his plan through to this point, and to avoid an awkward silence Lliwen kissed his cheek gently. She wasn’t sure why she had done it, but it seemed the right thing to do. "If you're busy, I'll wait for you" Lliwen peered at the large clock face behind her, as it was she had half an hour left of her shift, though the library was living up to it name and was almost deserted, as if it were sunken at the bottom of the ocean. Still, she has best stay, and informed him of this somewhat glumly. She turned to leave, only to be pulled back by his magnetic force. He had never pulled her this close before, it made her both terrified and full of bliss. "Do you have any favourites? I want to know what you like…" She pondered the question carefully; it was always so hard for her to choose favourites of anything, let alone books. Her decision kept flickering like a candle unable to ignite. Finally, its light illuminated her clouded head. She twisted her body playfully away, twirling towards a bookshelf a few rows back, returning in the same manner with a large leather bound book. The leather had obviously been infused with some sort of mystical properties, for its color was constantly changing. The only thing that remained constant was the colour of the large purple gemstone on the front cover. Daintily peeling open the book to the first page, the title was revealed; The Magic Hedgehog. She giggled as she opened it, for she knew it was a slightly ridiculous title. “It actually has very little to do about a hedgehog, bar a short story at the end and he’s constantly used as an example in situations.” She explained. “It’s mostly about learning how to control your djed and how to do slightly bizarre spells, oddly educational though. It has a few more conventional skills too, but I like the more unusual ones.” She felt slightly foolish for her choice, but at least it was an honest one, and hopefully she wouldn’t come across as boring.

[Bob Barton]

Yet? Yet what? Did she have some other arrangement with some other real sailor person? Bob could not tell and did not bother to ask. He did not even want to know the answer to that question at the risk of looking like some kind of idiot coming for her. Instead he continued on with his plans if it could be called that. To see how she would react and accept them. It had to be good because she seemed pleased with the offer, unless the smile was just her being polite since she did not say anything. That was probably it because his catch of the day escaped his clutches to get back to work. Bob just looked on disappointed as Lliwen, the first charoda he ever met swam away completely oblivious to what she was trying to accomplish since he was not familiar with how the fish people would seduce another but that looked...interesting?

And better than the rush after that nearly had her running into yet another person. Seeing the difference between the two trips Bob was glad that it was not like he initially thought but, why the difference? As he tried to compare the two, the train of thought at the point that Lliwen might be putting on some show for him became one of those things that were no longer important because he felt her hand holding on his, fingers wrapping around each other. That gave him a lot more confidence to offer her the invitation but one of those things that can make him lose that confidence almost immediately was the charoda pointing out how Bob nearly drowned that day. It was not really his fault that unlike her, humans cannot breathe underwater. Being at a loss of words even if her wink hinted that she was not too serious about it Bob did his best to try and think up a witty response as quick as he could but all he came up was with the cheesy "not when you're reason enough for me to live." Yeah...that was pretty bad.

But in fact, she was the one who saved him from drowning last time and hopefully she would have done the same if Bob suddenly did not grow gills to breath in this strange library. He needed to buy some time since he did not know where to take her as dinner was at the Rose was the only thing he wanted. Maybe coming this early was a bad idea. It was because of her dutiful attitude towards her work with the books in the library that Bob saw, he thought of the perfect reason of Lliwen not being done with her work yet. Perhaps by the time she finished he would be able to think up of a great place. That should be good enough to make up for causing her to be glum when he reminded her about it and the book he asked for might give him a good idea about it too. A really good idea since it looked like she was thinking hard of the book that she wanted to let him read. Hopefully it was nothing too hard.

Then Lliwen was off again to get the book. This time knowing what he did not the first time Bob was able to appreciate the grace she was showing when she twirled around in the water while being aware that he would not be able to do the same unless he wanted to look like some sort of fool. So he waited until she came back with the large book. Bob was quite interested with the gemstone that was on the cover of the book itself bringing to a mistaken belief that the book was valuable. Hard to deny that Lliwen had good taste until he saw the title asking with a slight choke "The Magic Hedgehog?" since he could not believe he was saying it out. Apparently the charoda did not think the same as he did about the book, giggling the way she was even if it was quite cute.

It was the book that was cute, not...actually there was no point in lying. No point in lying that Bob did not know anything about magic either since Lliwen saw him using his reimancy in the pool's bath house. When she was done with her explanation Bob asked her if the book is "educational? Had me fooled and I wouldn't be able find something like this in the university" of Zeltiva let alone Sahova with all the serious-ly boring nuits. "So...have you tried anything from this book?" he asked although magic might not really be something he would want to focus their later adventure on unless she really wanted it. "Maybe you can show me one of those unusual spells later if you want" Bob offered with a smile or maybe he can try impressing her with one later if he had the chance to read and understand what the hedgehog was trying to do. Like Lliwen and her swimming earlier, Bob would not be able to emulate things physically impossible for him or he did not understand as much as he would like to for her.

Before any of those plans of his could be put into action though he had to ask "would you like to stay with me Lliwen? and read this...magical hedgehog story with him. It would be nice to be able to spend more time with her but that should not get in the way of "unless you have to get back to work. I understand and don't mind reading" the leather bound book or any other he might find, giving another smile to reassure her that he was ready and willing to wait for her as long as she needed.