Library Days

Log Info

• Title: Library Days
• Emitter: Slixvah
• Characters: Slixvah, Patch
• Place: Quill's Repose, City Library
• Time: August 14th, 2022
• Summary: Slixvah and Patch ran into each other while both researching different topics at the library. It caused them to discuss friends, their adventures, and about some personal pursuits of Slixvah. The two decided to study together, and find a bench to do so quietly.

Quill's Repose, Midday

It's none too long after an outing with a tree and some nefarious fey folk. The day after, really. And, after much time spent away from such a place. It was needed to have time for one's self.

So, surrounded by piles of books at one of the study tables in the library was an egalrin woman. Half of her rainbow of ribbons were on her lap, her murmuring a spell for mending as sky blue eyes flick through lines of a dense, thick book in front of her. A spectral hand turns the pages for her. The sun is bright out, filtering through the window to make it easier to read, but there's a distant thunderstorm rolling in in a number of hours.

She squints at a diagram, a wing coming down as she ties that one back onto the joint. "... that's... odd..." she murmurs, musing, head completely lost in the sauce of theorems. "Shouldn't that be... no... Xietal's constant says..."

Patch had been meandering the library halls, her left arm in a sling. She's without her her coat, eyes searching the binding of tomes . She wears a sleeveless blouse, trousers, and simple shoes.

Shee treads carefully, more because she's sore than the threat of making noise. After a moment a tome is selected, taking her towards the study desks where she spots a familiar hue of feather and the ribbons that come with it. "What are you muttering about?" Patch chimes in question, taking a seat opposite the woman at the table. Her tome is placed before her, a book of enchantments, and enhancements. Theory and observations. "Anything good?" she asks, adjusting her sling.

Slix doesn't pull her beak out of the tome, her shaking her head. "Naw, 'fessa," she murmurs, completely focused on the book in front of her. "It's just right odd that's Xietal's constant is just straight up ignored here in this equation. Like, looks. Here. It slots in riiiight here," she points to a complicated math problem as her head finally looks up to see who's speaking with her. "It makes no sense, it's like it's forgetting that an imbalance of-"

Blink blink. Feathers floof up. "Patch!" she chirps happily.

Then slumps, leaning forward worriedly. "... P... actch? Um... sugar, you... you okay?" she softly inquires, scooting forward as she spies the arm in the a sling.

"I am on the mend." Patch muses, a smile spreading as she'd been listening to Slix's words and not interrupting. It amuses her how the other woman droned on, even when not knowing who sits with her. "I will be fine. You should see the war machines."

"The reading sounds far more interesting than what I was working on." she notes, pausing and taking a long look at Slixvah. "What kind of work is this? Xietal's constant. Sounds a lot like the equilibrium formula they speak of when brewing potions." her mind now ticking in thought, a finger flipping open the cover of her book. "I was trying to research what kind of magics made Friend Spider."

Slixvah tilts her head to the side. "Well, uh, if ya need me ta give ya a once over, professionally speakin'-" a chuckle follows, "-if ya need be."

She bobs her head, picking up another ribbon as she does a little mojo on it to clean it up. "I'm tryin' ta figure out how ta get more oomph into ma magic. Figured out how ta do a bit more recently, but I need ta just... figure out a little mo'. But, ya right. It is used in equilibrium matrices. Not just for potions. But all kinds o' magic. Wands too."

"But. Uh... war machines? Friend Spider? What on Ea were you doin' girlie?" she asks, interested, and slightly worried.

Patch flares a brow at some of Slixvah's words, laughing. "I'm surprised I knew that much. Maybe the classes pay off." she admits. "More oomph is good. I could use that line of study myself."

To the topic of Friend Spider, Patch sits back in her seat. "You know, Slix. It was a weird night. A large sentient spider requested help with something that was in its part of the forest. It tried to eat one, it tasted bad, and was hard to kill. So... they sent word to Alexandros." the bard says, completely serious. "Friend spider has no name. it is just friend. It won't eat things that say they're not food." a smile flashed, but still seemingly serious. "I knew enough that no spider such as it is natural, nor was it like other things from the planes. Someone made friend spider."

Slixvah giggles. "Classes do pay off, that's how I figured out how ta make little sticks that hold my mojo," she hums, finishing tying off another ribbon as she listens. Her brows pinch. "... that... is rather odd. Yeah. It ain't unheard of ta have things that once were normal gain intelligence. But the circumstance is... odd."

She scratches her beak.

Slowly, Slix rises to her feet, grabbing the remaning ribbons and her chair before going around the table to sit beside Patch's good side. "But... war machines? Whazzat all 'bout?"

Patch smiles, watching Slix change sides, and offering a nod. "Three of them were just roaming the forest. Left over... still fighting a war that was long over. Friend Spider didn't like them causing trouble." she explains, shifting her seat under her with the good hand, inching closer. "You'd of been proud. I played scout, got in the middle of things. Was a mess, but we managed to disable them." laughing. "Though our Friend seemed to think we would eat them, and wanted the metal. Friend Spider is... smart, but clueless to city life."

A hand finally waves before herself. "It's all just adventuring silliness. Tell me, what's going on with you?" Patch ask, shifting topics. "Any new ribbons, or fun?"

Slixvah's brow raise, her stooping down some to be at eye level with Patch. Her gaze flicks over the broken arm, to her posture. "Goodness, hon. It musta been one hell'uva show." A hand reaches up, looping some hair behind a long ear. "I /am/ proud of you. Ya were worried 'bout tryin' ta do stuff like that, and here ya are."

Her eyes crinkle in a smile. Then she chuckles. "Well, Friend Spider just wanted to make sure you all were fed."

The question directed to her makes a long sigh leave her. "Fun, yeah," she murmurs, rubbing her face. "Picked up a couple gigs. One wit' some screwed up Fey. Another for Aelwyn."

She shakes her head. "That job almost went hella sideways."

Patch offers a quick blink, surprised a the sweep of hair in her face, smiling with a flush. She turns in her seat to face Slixvah. "What went on?" she asks, worry creeping into her tone. She offers a hand for the woman if she wished to have it. "You're not one to complain unless it was bad." she says, eyes looking over the woman as tries to read into her features.

"Lots of things going on lately, and most of it not wolf or wight. No wonder they're looking for more to take jobs." Patch ponders aloud. "So, tell me about it?"

Slixvah takes the hand into hers and gives it a little squeeze. "I don't, no. But just like..."

She leans back into her chair, letting her wings flare out like she was stretching her arms back. It doesn't curl around Patch, to spare her arm. "He wanted me ta distract some guys on a boat so he could reclaim some property on it. Fine. What ev's. I got a favor out of it. Me an' a friend saunter up, pretending ta be dock inspectors. Get past a drunk guy and manage ta accidently drop the gates. The crew patrollin' check it out and we get ta chattin'. Bluffin' our way 'round. But Ael failed ta tell us that these guys were comptenent. And when he popped out ta tell us ta hurry it up, they were gettin' fussy. So... I stuck 'em all to the ground. Started ta get out of there, then I get grabbed and nearly wrangled to the ground."

She inhales. "Then I nearly killed one of them. Fixed that problem and got away."

Slix pinches her brow and carefully leans against Patch. "... I swear, it's like Ael don't think. And I'm havin' second thoughts about this date comin' up."

Patch sighs heavily at those last words, nodding her head. "He gets fixated on some things, and doesn't think about everything as a whole." she admits, looking back to Slixvah. "He's different in a lot of ways, but he means well. That's what I feel counts. Hells, I don't want to speak ill of a friend. He's centered on himself, has no roots, and so his life is done more one day's thinking at a time." shrugging, and having to think on her last words. "I have faith he'll grow to see things beyond himself. We all awake to that at different times."

Slix rubs her face. "Sorry. I don't mean ta speak ill either. It's just been coming up more and more often, and I get this urge ta grab him by the shoulder and shake some sense into him."

She bobs her head slowly. "I have faith too. Prolly just gonna be brutally honest wit' him at the date. Ain't got time ta pussyfoot around stuff. Maybe that'll be his wake up day."

The fortune teller shakes her head. "Anywho. That mess is that. And there was some fey stuff with fey taking people's teeth. Was weird. I got a wagon load of teeth launched at me. I'm still finding them in places." She shudders.

Patch pauses and leans back into Slixvah. The topic of Aelwyn abandoned for the moment. "Teeth? I'll stick to helping my spiders. Nope." the bard freely admits. "Fey, and teeth?" hung up about that part as she's sent to shudder. "They used them as weapons?"

"As for Aelywn... it might help. I can't say much. I'm not much better at times. I tend to latch on to things and obsess over them. Strings to tug, knots to free. It's a compulsion." Patch admits, hand seeking pat Slixvah's leg with a laugh.

Slixvah murmurs, "Used them as weapons, pulled 'em from people. And a mess of other gnarly and nasty things. It was... I didn't use the nice mojo, they deserved it," she affirms with a nod, and a squinted gaze into the distance in front of her. Seemingly resolved on her decisions.

She shifts her attention to the side to look at the elf. There's a small laugh, her knee flaring to the side to knock against Patch's knee. "I suppose I can see tha' similarity, yeah. You're aware of this and admit it, which is strength in it's own right."

"You did best by dispatching them, Slixvah. There aren't many fey that aren't corrupt in some way, even the liminal fairies in the theater district." Patch warns. "Piss them off, and they'll fight, even in the city walls." her tone dropping as she raises her from Slix to tap on her chin.

"I also don't just focus on... me. My threads also belong to others. So I can justify my antics sometimes." The bard jokes, offering another subtle shrug. "Most the time I know if there will be danger." not admitting that she's the one usually taking the risks.

Slixvah chuckles. "I ain't fussed about it. They deserved it. Ruined the Tapestry of too many people. But.. fairies in the theater district? Hmm. I'll be sure to keep an eye out."

She turns towards Patch, her tilting her head to the side. A little breath leaves her as she picks up a red ribbon and loops a lock of elvish hair around a finger. "Like I said, it's good ta know your own faults," she intones, working on tying it a bow into the bard's hair. "If I may be so bold ta ask: what's got your focus right now, Patty?"

Patch had been distracted. The play of hair, the tying of ribbon into the sun-colored strands of blond. She had been fixated on other things, and letting Slixvah do as she wished, pausing as she realizes what the woman was doing. "Honestly? Work... until now." she admits, flushed again. "Though, now? You."

"You do pay attention far more than others." fingers rising to meet that ribbon, feeling of it but leaving it in place. "Thank you." a smile flahsed, and a hand reaching then into her sling, drawing out that mended feather she's kept with her. "I think of you rather often. In many ways." teasing, and cryptic on purpose. "What of you? Mind full of magics and formula?"

Slixvah's face feathers floof up from Patch's wandering focus being revealed to be the witch herself. She giggles. "You're sweet," she coos, smiling with her eyes as she gently pat's the marked cheek.

Her hands fold into her lap, gaze flicking to the feather. And her expression softens. "... glad you still got that. Touchin' ya still got it." She twiddles her thumbs. "I gotta pay attention. I ain't strong. Or fast. Or hearty. But I got a brain, I got strings, and I got friends. Need as much info as I can get from anything ta know what ta do."

A chuckle leaves her, and she looks to her pile of books. "Presently? You. Makin' sure you're alright. Five minutes ago? Advanced arcane calculus. Overall?" She ponders letting that knot loose. Then: "I'm working on a paper."

... a what? "A thesis."

Patch had been all smiles after that touch, listening and watching until the talk of paper and thesis is brought up. "What's the topic?" Patch suddenly asks tucking the feather away, her mind latching on to the for the moment. "What's this thesis? I'm schooled in many things, but the arcane is something I only know because I must." admitting the subject is a forced study for her. "You said your magic was more than academic, yes?"

"As for I?" Patch suddenly muses. "I'm sprained, bruised, and sore... but well. And now? Wonderful. Company helps that." lifting her arm from the sling and trying to move her shoulder. "It's more my back and shoulder. Hand and elbow works fine." she admits. "Clubbed me twice, war golems don't much like music I think."

Slixvah blinks. Then blurts out, "The title is: Esoteric Methods of Arcane Weave Manipulation. It's... witchcraft. Literally," she rubs her neck. "Talking about such methods of manipulating the Sea of Mana. Arcane in nature, but it's a bunch of shortcuts and what not that most fancy wizards hate and don't bother exploring. I'm exploring that," the bird woman elaborates with quite a bit of unintentional enthusiasm. "If I can get a place ta accept it... my magic. Other witches. They'll be stigmatized less. Because they won't fear the unknown."

Her eyes shine bright with fervor. Which then pitch down to a soft expression. "Oh goodness, honey. I'm glad I can just sit here and wash away your woes," she giggles. "I guess they don't. But perhaps they like metal instruments instead?" Another laugh. Then, a touch more seriously and softly. "Do you need me ta fix anything lingerin'?"

Patch shakes her head to those last words, a sheepish glance cast away. "I will suffer. My feet are almost healed, and I'd hate to rework for flesh to callous. Some bruises and.... I've had worse." waving off the concern, and looking back to her friend.

"You have an energy about it, and I wish you luck. The bardic college was founded because those same wizards didn't like how we did things either. It's arcane plugged with hymn, faith, and perhaps bits of creation. So little is understood they'd rather not include it in their 'pure' studies." the bard muses, a hand rising to caress feathers against Slixvah's beak. "I wish you luck. Seriously. I have seen your work first hand, and I admire all of it. They will too in time. Even if it takes multiple papers."

Slixvah bobs her head slowly. "As you wish, Patch," she hums, then teases. "But if tha arm falls off I'm gonna do somethin'."

She smiles with her eyes. "Yeah. That's why I was there, pickin' their brains about it. And, well, a little elf distracted me," she chuckles, face floofing up once more before a hand brushes them back down. Slix rests her head against the other's palm. "Thank you. Seriously. I'll slap 'em with a whole stack of hand written papers to get it through they thick skulls."

She looks to the book Patch brought in. "So what are you in here for? Aside from, well, me."

"I was looking to see what schools of magic may of made Friend Spider." Patch admits, seemingly serious about what she said earlier. "What Friend knows might be valuable to us in time. If they watch the forest as we think, they might have seen things that need be known. Just... communicating with Friend is hard. They lack some of our qualities." the bard explains with a sigh. "What really is Friend, why were they made, and... who taught them what 'Friend' means? It's a mystery." the bard muses. "I like those."

"I could talk of other work too. The temple of Daeus has been keeping me busy." Ticking off things as she speaks, but Patch soon stops. "I came here to think, read, and think some more. Now I am just glad to rest and talk."

"As for the colleges? Give them hell. I'll go after them with you. Though, perhaps you might look into founding an institution if they're too resistant. Actions often speak as loud as words. You should know, Ms. Smooth-Bird." the Bard teases.

Slixvah hums, raising her head some. "That's smart of ya. Makin' connections will serve ya well in the long run like that." She taps the side of her beak. "If ya wanna head start... look inta Transmutation. That sorta magic can alter the mind. I know some mojo that does just that. For the betterment of the soul that gets it, mind you, nothin' spooky," she grins in her voice. "It's a good mystery to untangle. One that I hope ya get ta tell me mo' 'bout it when ya get it sorted."

The egalrin tilts her head to the side. "Busy bee, ain't ya. Jus' don't overdo ya'self okay?" Then, a chuckle from the teasing. "Oh yeah, I absolutely know. If it comes to that, I'll do it. But right now, I gotta write the dang thing."

A long pause, and a wing carefully wraps around Patch. Lots of fluff. "Well.. if its rest ya want. How about we go find a bench somewhere here and ya can lay against me while we read?" she offers in a soft, library approved hum.

"That's a divine idea. Let's go find someplace comfortable." Patch's eyes alight as she makes to stand, careful of her shoulder and sling. "And I won't overdo it. Not unless it matters." the bard muses after Slix, and letting out a soft sigh.

"Transmutation is where I shall begin. Can I ask you bits when I don't understand?" Patch asks in a quieter tone, offering her good hand to Slix, the other now carrying her tome pinned to her side. At least the arm isn't totally useless.

Slixvah rises as well, her taking the hand into hers. "Absolutely hon."

-End Scene-