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

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio smiled sadly, stroking the boy's hair again. "There, there, dear, it's alright. Let it all out." If the boy needed to cry, he'd let him cry. He knew well how painful it was, to lose someone's parents. Especially someone so young. A parent felt the same kind of helplessness when separated from their child, didn't they?

He sighed, closing his eyes. ... Suddenly, more than ever, he missed his Young Master.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

When the Mazoku lord felt as if he had cried for a long enough period to appear authentic, he pulled back from Gremio and apologized for his behavior.

"I'm happy to know you believe me," he said, smiling weakly, "But I won't feel any better so long as Mister Zelgadis is here."

He intentionally slipped the chimera's name into the conversation so it would seem he UNINTENTIONALLY did it. After all, what if Gremio ran across him? It would do no good to have him go in with an open mind...

"Do you really think I could make the other people here believe me over him? He's very good with words and I'm..." He looked down. "I never was the smartest."

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

"Zelgadis? Is that his name?" Gremio would keep that in mind. "Don't worry about him. Just focus on taking care of yourself, alright? There's far more formidable things in this place, I can promise you that." Oh dear, he hoped this boy would be alright during Nightshift? If he were to encounter any monsters, then who knew what would happen?

... Yeah, best not to think too much on that now. "Now don't say that, alright?" he said, tilting the boy's chin up. "My Young Master used to say things like that all the time when he was your age. It's only true if you allow it to be."

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"A-AH!" Phibrizzo pretended to be apprehensive about Gremio knowing the chimera's name. "P-please! I didn't mean to say that! If he finds out you know who he is, he'll know I'm here and kill me! You don't know what bandits are like- they're MEAN!"

He turned away from Gremio, looking worried. "I'm sorry, but it must be true. If I had been smarter, I might have been able to...s-save my parents."

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

"Ah, please, don't worry!" Gremio replied, lifting his hands defensively. "I won't use that name anywhere outside this room, understand? Don't worry, don't worry!" He reached out, setting a hand on the boy's shoulders. "And please, you mustn't say things like that. No parent would ever want their child to blame themself like that. I'm sure they'd be much happier to know that you're alive and well, wouldn't they?"

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"...I dunno how well I am," Phibrizzo mumbled glumly. "But I trust you, mister."

He made it look as if he was transitioning to another topic to keep from dwelling on his suffering too long. "Where are you from, Mister Gremio?"

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

"Ah... w-well..." Gremio smiled, leaning back against the wall. "I'm from a place called the Scarlet Moon Empire. The capitol city, to be exact." He laughed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I doubt you've heard of it. Very few people from this world have, from what I can tell."

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo nodded. "No, I haven't heard of it. Is it nice?"

Like he cared.

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

He nodded once. "It used to be. Though I'm afraid it... wasn't as nice when I left it, unfortunately." Yuber had told him the Succession War ended, and in a clear victory for the Liberation Army. But he still couldn't imagine he'd been dead that long. To him, the war was still going on strong.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"Anything would be better than here, though," Phibrizzo said. Except Landels was just fine in his book- plenty of negative energy to tide the Mazoku Lord over until he managed to destroy this world. Sure, having all of his powers would have been ideal, but he had high hopes for regaining them.

And hey, he wasn't dead here.

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Gremio answered detachedly. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He would much rather be back home right now. And not Liberation Castle either. His home. The place he hadn't seen since they left Gregminster. His bed, his garden, his kitchen. He wondered if that house still stood, in the future Yuber had described to him. He wondered if Tir was staying there again.

... No, somehow he doubted that.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

The Mazoku lord cocked his head and acted inquisitive. "How long have you been here, Mr. Gremio? I bet all your friends miss you."

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "About a day and a half or so. Though to be honest, I'm... not entirely sure how long I've been away from my world." Now how to say this without scaring off the poor boy? "I was... well, the last thing I remember from my world was my own death. So unfortunately... I'm not sure if I can return, after I leave this place.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo feigned surprise. "Eeeeh? But if you were dead, how can you be alive now?"

He looked his companion over and over, as if looking for a hole or something. Finally, he poked him with a finger. "But you're solid! So you can't be a ghost!"

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio laughed a little to himself. "Well, yes, I certainly don't feel like a ghost." He tapped his chin contemplatively, trying to think. "To be fair, the circumstances behind my death were a little... different," he continued, more to himself than to Phibrizzo. "My soul should've been absorbed into my Young Master's rune, and yet it wasn't. Perhaps that has something to do with it..."

... But then why didn't he see Odessa anywhere around here? Still, it was something to think about.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo blinked. "Am I dead, then? I can't be!"

Of course he was. But why not mess with Gremio a little more?

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio laughed quietly, again reaching out to pat the boy on the head. "No, no, I don't think you are. I've run into quite a few people here who still seem to be alive in their worlds." He frowned, looking away for the moment. "From what I can tell, the ones here who have died... still remember their deaths." And oh, how could he ever forget his?

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Hellmaster looked at Gremio curiously. "What was it like to die? Did it feel funny?"

Idle chatter to pass the time and win over this man. Maybe he should go back to the topic of the chimera. "I wonder how my parents felt..." He decided upon, quietly.

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio's lips twitched. A weak attempt at a smile. "It was... far more peaceful than I would've thought, even though it was very painful. I was just happy, knowing my s--" he hesitated, "my master's son would be safe. I'm sure it was the same way for your parents." It was that way for any parent.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"Mmm."

Just so long as his "suffering" remained in the forefront of Gremio's mind, Phibrizzo was content. He became aware of the book he held in his own hands again and attempted to steer the conversation that way. They WERE in a library, afterall. "So, what are you reading, Mister?"

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

"Hm? Oh, ah, it's just something I picked up off the shelves." He hadn't gotten a very good look at the title, though the cover did look... ah... interesting. Much like some of the books Cleo used to collect. "Would you like to have a look?" he asked, offering the worn paperback.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Aw, how cute. His "protector" was gonna offer his book to poor little him now. Phibrizzo flashed a big fake smile, saying, "SURE, MISTER!" and scooped it from the other man's hands, flipping through it "appreciatively".

My, my. It was clear the other man handn't paid much attention at ALL to what he was offering Hellmaster. Somewhere between 'heaving breasts' and 'throbbing manhood', the Mazoku lord realized that this was most definately a romance novel. This ought to be good.

"Mister," he said looking up confused, "I don't understand this. Why is the woman saying, 'Yes! Yes! Oh, yes! Plunge your thick rod into the caverns of my womanhood and ride me like the naughty girl I am!'?...and then why does the guy answer-"

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio choked.

"Th-th-th-th-that..." Quickly Gremio lept to his feet, snatching the book from the boy's hands with panicked frenzy. "That is most certainly not for children!" He walked back down the aisle to put the book away, one hand covering his face as if it would hide the dark, dark red blush that stretched from ear to ear.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Oh ho ho. This was a fun reaction; he'd have to poke at Gremio some more.

"But Mister Gremio!" he said, "You haven't told me what that means!" He put a finger to his chin, as if working through a puzzle. "Maybe it's like a story book. Was she a talking horse, Mister? She was asking the man with the rod to ride her..."

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

He stuffed the book haphazardly back in its place. "I-I really couldn't..." What the hell was he supposed to say to him? Wasn't this the kind of question his parents should be--

Oh. Oh right. Damnit. Gremio hung his head pitifully.

"... Yes," he replied with a tired, exasperated smile. "Yes, that's it exactly. You're quite a perceptive boy."