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

[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."

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"...that still doesn't explain the woman caverns," The Mazoku lord said, continuing. "Or why he has to put his rod there. Or why he responded with, 'who's your daddy?'"

He cocked his head. "How could the man with the rod be a father to a horse? People don't have baby horses...or can they?"

The awkwardness of Gremio's situation was perfect. Phibrizzo would need to make him flail about some more, just for kicks. Where was Xelloss? He would have appreciated taking part in this as well.

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Oh, he just didn't want to stop with the questions, did he? Gremio leaned forward, head resting on the shelves in front of him with a quiet thunk. He'd already given 'the talk' to someone once. Did he really have to do it again.

"Y-yes, well..." Gremio cleared his throat. "Well, I only just picked up the book, so I imagine I wouldn't have much to tell you about that, would I?" He looked down the aisle again, looking for something else, something to change the subject to. He grabbed the nearest book, quickly flipping through it. Hm... innocuous title, no young lovers embracing on the cover, lack of any real vulgar dialogue from what he could tell...

"At any rate," he said, flashing Lei a bright smile, "how would you like to read Alice in Wonderland?"

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Hm. He hadn't heard that title before. Why didn't he add to the situation, make it the EXTRA sickeningly sweet it needed to be?

"Will you read it to me, Mister?" He smiled up at Gremio. "I bet you're a good storyteller!"

[axe-of-oath.livejournal.com]

Gremio blinked. "Read to you?" My, my. It certainly had been a long time since anyone had asked him to do that, hm? He could still remember Tir, many years ago, when he'd been about this boy's age, sitting up in his bed at night. "Read it, Gremio!" he'd say, shoving a book--usually entirely inappropriate for his age bracket--into his hands. "I won't go to sleep if you don't; I mean it!"

The memory softened the blonde's expression, and he nodded his head. "Certainly. It'd be my pleasure."

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

"YAAAAAAAY!" Phibrizzo eagarly crossed his legs and moved for to a sort of "storytime" position in front of Gremio, grinning broadly. "I haven't heard anyone tell me a story in awhile and definately not since coming here!"