Closed Books and Words (Castor)

[Reign]

It was fascinating for the thief to listen to the librarian talk about reading stories to his now-deceased father. Family love was a strange and foreign ideal to Reign. Tolerance barely existed in the corridors of her home. Shunned and hated, she never really had a true conversation with her own family. Her mother despised her for being plain and uncivilized, her sister loathed her for being younger and causing discourse between the members of the house. Never for certain did she ever understand her father’s feelings towards her, that man was usually locked in his chamber lamenting about his dead son. “What do you do in your spare time, Miss Reign?” The librarian asked, obviously changing the subject. Her spare time? Stomach clenching into nervous knots, Reign felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down the side of her face. Castor Riley surely couldn’t even begin to imagine the nightmarish events of her waking hours. From the ninth bell to the fourteenth, she was usually scrounging about for a handful of coin. But sometimes, when her body wasn’t in complete disrepair, she would drag Daniel out and perform night robberies. Though, profit from burglaries weren’t consistent enough to trump her adoration of pick-pocketing . Climbing through a window and creeping through someone’s home was certainly more difficult than sticking a hand down one’s unsuspecting pocket, or simply cutting free a purse. On the exceedingly rare occasion she actually managed to place her paws over some nilo; all the money was spent on liquor or tossed at Daniel to keep Aether at bay. Her “brother” was extremely lucky that his usefulness outweighed his less-than-desirable qualities. While disposing of him directly would be near impossible, with a paranoid Aether ticking somewhere it that fellow loon’s head, but if she wished, Reign could allow the deceived man to slowly starve... Breaking away from her thoughts Reign gave the librarian a comforting squeeze on the shoulder with a fragile hand. Attempting to flash him a comforting grin she began, “I’m sorry about your loss Mister Riley…” trying to catch his eye she continued, “I-I truly am.” Pausing, the thief struggled for the right words, “I take care of my b-brother, Daniel... in my spare time”

[Castor Riley]

They walked in silence together as Reign considered Castor's simple question. It seemed his question had been more thought-provoking for the young woman, as it was a chime or two before she pulled herself back to the conversation to respond. "Thank you, Miss Reign. It means a lot," he said in turn, accepting the comforting words and gesture. He was a bit surprised by her response to his question. If all she did in her spare time was take care of her brother, then what about her parents? Or perhaps was her brother sick? Either of those questions, however, could potentially lead to more painful subjects, and Castor felt they'd reached their quota for a first meeting. Any more, and they might find themselves wallowing in their sadness at the Kelp Bar. And Castor knew he could not handle the amount of kelp beer such a situation would demand. "That is an admirable thing to do," he said, simply. Thankfully, at that point, it was time to take a right as they approached the Travel Literature section. "This way, Miss Reign," he called behind. "So, tell me more about the sort of book you're looking for. I'm having trouble thinking of one that matches your criteria, but perhaps you'll spark a thought in me if you talk about what you like to read."

[Reign]

As Mister Riley mentioned that her taking care of Daniel was an “admirable” task the thief snorted, only to realize it was a rather rude action and casually hid her mouth and nose behind a thin hand. While she might shine with benevolence for her tolerance of her “brother” on the surface, no one could possibly ever guess her true revolting intentions underneath. If the opportunity ever arose, she would murder the Isurian mutt… before he could kill her. It was a deadly game she was playing with him, deep in her heart she knew that Aether would manage sniff through her lies eventually and slice her to pieces; but Daniel could be killed. He could take a knife to his muscular back. When she first discovered the emaciated asylum escapee huddled outside of an inn in Ravok, she was involved with a different business. She required a large, loyal protector to swoop her up and away if she was in trouble. Of course, Aether had always doubted Reign. A being formed in the depths of nightmares and lunacy, composed of nothing but anger and violent paranoia; his only objective was to protect Daniel and preserve his happiness. In a sense, she had acquired much more than she had bargained for when she lied and took on the former prisoner. Her life now depended upon her ability to outwit Aether. Challenging one of the insane in a battle of wits wasn’t an ideal situation; they would always come up with an angle you never thought of, a new way to pierce through your emotional armor. Though overtime, as the thief slipped further and further in the gnawing madness of her mind, she began to understand Aether more… This journey to Zelvita has to cure me. "So, tell me more about the sort of book you're looking for. I'm having trouble thinking of one that matches your criteria, but perhaps you'll spark a thought in me if you talk about what you like to read." Mister Riley spoke, causing Reign’s mind to wander back to the subject of books. Considering the librarian’s words, Reign glanced up at the enormous collection of stories and histories once more, processing her request. Something that wasn’t too dreadfully dull, and that unraveled far away, in a distant land; and a book that lacked a love story was always ideal, but maybe she was asking for too much? “Well,” she began an idea sparking in her mind, “do you have any foreign recipe books? It’s far away enough for me, and it would occupy my thoughts. There’s too much passion in adventure.“

[Castor Riley]

Castor waited patiently as the young woman considered his request. He saw a sudden flash go through her eyes as she finally found her answer: a recipe book. Castor restrained himself from groaning, or any other outward sign of disappointment. He had nothing against recipe books, however, they were almost at the travel literature section, and now they had to travel all the way across the library to reach the culinary one. Still, the woman was an interesting conversation partner, so he began to feel less averse to their roaming the library together. He made no special mention of this change in direction, simply turning left rather than taking the right that would have led them to their original destination. "Hmm, a recipe book..." He mused aloud. "You know, most of the university's books have a decidedly academic verve to them. However, the culinary section's ones are potentially the most... intriguing. You see they mix cooking and academia, trying to make a science out of it. It all ends up sounding rather forced and perhaps a little cooky." He chuckled to himself. "It is sure to be an interesting read," he ended, smiling at her.

[Eldritch]

Castor :

Skills
Socialization +3
Observation +1

Lores
Reign: The not so mad woman
Reign: Lost her fiancé

Reign :

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Notes :

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