Day 27: Library

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

Libraries, he'd found, were rarely as dull as people made them out to be.  Though he felt no magic in these tomes, they were still full of useful information.  Maybe some of them could tell him a little bit more about this world he'd landed himself in. 

For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet?  They'd all been fairly close together when they'd left Rekord, but he hadn't seen a trace of any of them.  He was able to communicate easily with the people here though, which led him to believe Mokona was within a mile or so.  Unless the ones running this little game had some other way to let all these other-worldly people communicate amongst themselves.  In which case, the others could be very far away indeed.

The library had that wonderful smell of old books, and Fai traced his fingers along the shelves, skimming titles and pulling books that struck his fancy.  Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The War of the Worlds, and with a smile, he found Bram Stoker's Dracula as well.  Raven had been telling the truth then, in spite of his own lies.  Ought to be a good start.  He sat leisurely at one of the tables and began flipping through his selections.

[waiting for Tamaki~]

Comments

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget smiled and nodded. "Please go ahead, I would be happy to tell you what you'd like to know."

Bridget knew that his world, his family, and his lifeweren't exciting or even very noble, but he didn't mind sharing.

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

"What is it like?" he asked. "Other than the colonies and the suits, what else do you have? What's your history?"

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

"We have Magic," Bridget began. "Not like in stories though, it's a mathematical equation that gives us free, unlimited energy." He smiled, but it held little humor. "That didn't stop people from fighting, and, soon, we developed new weapons that we call Gears." He fiddled with Roger's ear again. "Then things developed into a full out war between humans and Gears and the world went to hell."

Bridget sighed. "That's about it really. As for me," he shrugged and grinned. "Nothing special about me."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre frowned and shook his head. "That sounds horrible. In my world people don't want war anymore. They've embraced peace."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget shrugged. "We're not at war now." He smiled. "We hold tournaments now. Helps keep things under control."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre frowned a bit at that too. "Violence has become like a sport where you are from?" Quatre didn't like that idea too much.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

"Something like that," Bridget said. "One on one combat for the most part, with a set of rules and ethics that, well, most people follow." He smiled. "I was too young to compete in the biggest and most recent ones, but there's talk of another one coming that, if I weren't stuck here, I would have probably joined in."

It would have been a very honorable thing to do and, he had to admit, very 'manly'.

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre took that in and nodded, though the idea was still a little horrifying to him. "I suppose that's one of ways that people can control their more violent urges."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget shook his head, still smiling. "Oh, no." He laughed softly. "People will be violent no matter what you do. That's why Roger and I are bounty hunters." He squeezed the bear in a hug.

"Well, we were, anyway."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre frowned at that. "I don't believe that," he said quietly. Then he shook his head and his voice got a bit stronger. "On my world, back home, people have forsaken war. The last time anyone tried to be violent the citizens stood up and protested, they don't want any more wars. Even the soldiers who fought have had to come to terms with that, but the whole world wants peace. All of our weapons have been destroyed and all of our militaries have been disbanded. We have total peace."

Quatre knew that human nature meant that in a couple of generations it was likely that his words wouldn't ring true, that eventually people might re-create weapons and mobile suits and that sometime there might be a reason for more people like himself and his friends to take up arms and risk their lives, but he preferred to be an idealist. He wanted to believe that the peace he had fought so hard and lost so much for really would last forever.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget's smile grew wistful. "That sounds wonderful," he sai, thinking about it.

"Back home, the last people that proposed peace as an option were nearly wiped off the face of the universe." He frowned and it was a sad expression. "Anyone that disagrees with the leaders is killed, or will always be fighting. It never stops." He spoke from experiance. One fought, or one died. The end.

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre didn't like the sound of that at all. "We used to have a system like that too," he said. "Or at least mostly like that. Maybe not as extreme."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget smiled. "Maybe it would be easier for us to stand up if the Gear Wars hadn't happened, if everything hadn't been so messed up." He hugged Roger tightly to him.

"Right now though, things are steady, and constant." He sighed. "That's all that we can ask for the moment."

Bridget looked up and smiled warmly once more. "Can I ask about your friends? Or your family? Are you alone here too?"

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

"I have a few friends here," Quatre offered, letting the change of subject happen. "My family is huge. We are one of the major finical backing for the Space Colonies. I have close to thirty sisters. My father... passed away a while ago." Quatre frowned as he remembered the explosion that had killed his father.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget frowned slightly. "I'm sorry to hear about your father," he said, voice sincere. "But wow. I can't imagine having that many simblings. It's just me and my twin brother." He blushed slightly. "The, um, one I mistook you for earlier. I'm sorry about that."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre smiled at the idea. "I don't know many of my sisters," he admitted. "Were you close to your brother?" Bridget had seemed both relieved and disappointed that Quatre had turned out not to be the man, so he figured he already knew the answer to that question.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget's smile brightened. "Yes. We are very, very close. Our village didn't care much for us so we really only had each other."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre looked at Bridget sympathetically. "If I see anyone I think might be your brother I'll let him know that you are looking for him."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

"I hope you don't see him," Bridget said. "But thank you. I appricate that a lot. Is there anything I can do for you?"

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre seemed to think for a moment. "Actually," he said. "There are two friends of mind that I haven't seen here yet. I don't know if they are here. One had brown hair that hides half of his face, he's kind of quiet so you may not notice him. The other has very dark hair and isn't as quiet." He smiled slightly at the way that described Wufei and Trowa. "I would like to see them both right away if they are here."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget smiled. "I'll be sure to keep a watch for them, but I hope I do not see them."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre sighed. "If they are here too then it means that this place has gotten all of my comrades," he said. "That's a little more disconcerting than I want to think about."

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

"I've heard people talk about the sheer number of companions they have found here from their own worlds and I worry. I know people that I would hate to see trapped here."

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre nodded. "I know what you mean," he said after a moment.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget smiled then made a soft sound. "Oh!" He looked down at Roger. "Our technology levels sound similar, so maybe you can help me..."

He held out Roger. "Roger's been offline since I woke up here, but I haven't been able to run a diagnostic check on him without the proper equipment. Do you have any ideas on where I might find some materials to fashion some?"