rogueinladysclothing | Scholarly meeting [Tagging Viatorus]

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Scholarly meeting [Tagging Viatorus]

On the border of the Parklands and the Commercial District of the Nexus stands a grand library. Its tall, arched entry way and high vaulted ceilings remind one of a church rather than a library. Inside, though, the walls of each of the three floors are stacked high with books, their ranks broken only by the large, stained glass windows. Rows upon rows of bookshelves across the floors offer even more volumes to those who set foot inside the library. A true scholar's delight.

For Amelia, though, the rows of books mean little. Without direction of where to start, it would mean little for her to delve into the complexities of new technologies or the rich histories of the many worlds from which the books come. She'll start in on them, someday, when she knows the best place to begin.

In a small alcove off the main entryway, there stands half a dozen polished wooden tables with matching high backed chairs with plush cushions. It is one of several, all of which have varying decor and furniture, but this one inspires the feel of the European Renaissance. Rich tapestries hang on the walls and a suit of armor holding a tall battle axe stands in the corner. The room makes Amelia feel more at ease, especially when she finds Viatorus Durant sitting at one of the tables with several large volumes spread out in front of him.

Although her entrance would cause no great alarm to him, she stops in the doorway and shuffles her feet noisily. No visible weapons hang from her belt, though the discerning eye would notice the two daggers still laced into her boots. She smiles in Viatorus' direction as she leans against the doorway. "Hard at work?"

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"Alchemy, yes!" He perks up as she makes the connection. "Yes! That can be a kind of science, I think. A-And people who make machines learn about science even if they don't know that's what they do."

As someone who regularly halts and hesitates as he speaks, Viatorus is unlikely to pick up on anything strange about other people doing it.

"What about supernatural beings? Ghosts? Demons? Sea monsters?"

The excitement in his voice, in his facial expressions, when he finds common ground for 'science' makes Amelia smile. For a moment, she sees someone else excitedly telling her about his latest invention while they take a break from their accounting studies. A young man with unruly dark brown hair and the most mischievous of grins looks out at her. But the moment fades quickly, as does her smile. "It seems my world has much to learn about 'science,' then."

The mention of demons earns a small shudder. "There are monsters in my world - trolls and kobolds and a few other things like that - but they live far from the more populated towns and cities. I have no idea what ghosts are and there are no sea monsters in our world, but..." She stops, her gaze falling to her hands, which she folds neatly in her lap. "I never thought magic could possibly be real until I met the... thing I fought about a year ago. A great monster, unlike any I'd ever heard described before, that erupted from a crystal covered in strange runes. A man, whose life I ended for the crimes he committed against me and mine, tied a fuse around the crystal and lit it. The monster was..."

There's another long pause before she continues, her eyes still focused on her hands. "It stood nearly 7 feet tall. Its face looked like the helmet of an armored warrior, but it was made entirely of bone and there were holes where the eyes should have been. It had the body of a strong, fit soldier, but it was covered with bone-like armor and some kind of... red, molten ooze poured out from any wounds we inflicted. And when my friends and I killed it, it erupted in a spray of more of that same ooze." She shudders, quickly wrapping her arms around herself. "If there were any word to describe such an abomination, it would be demon."

Her dramatic account holds his focus once again. The emotion behind her words and in the physical reaction the memories bring makes him feel as if he might have been there. She has his complete and utter sympathy. True, he's never been faced with something like that before, but it sounds terrible to have to fight such a creature.

Quietly he offers, "I... I've never heard of anything like that before. Maybe... maybe some kind of golem... Was that in your city? Or had you maybe stumbled into a mage's lair?"

She grips her upper arms tightly with her hands at his last question.

"It wasn't a wizard's lair or anything like that. It was an abandoned tower, used long ago during times of war. The men who lead us there, who set that demon loose on us, they..." She can feel her chest tightening with the pain of the memories. Even though a year had passed, the pain is still fresh. "One of my friends... one of the people I travel with, the inventor... Those men kidnapped his master's daughter, a girl who was like a sister to him. He followed after them with the man who was his father in all but blood. When they found where they had taken the girl, my friend came back for me and the others. We rode as hard as we could, slept as little as possible to make good time. We rescued the girl, found her safe and relatively unharmed. But..." Her grip on her arms tightens even more. The fabric on her shirt is straining against her grip now, threatening to break. Her voice becomes hard, cold, dripping with hate as she continues. "But those men, those animals, they drugged and tortured this man, this person who had been my friend, and because of their abuse and our late arrival, he died. He died, and there was nothing we could do about it. I had to watch that boy I had met years before grow up suddenly as his father was murdered, his master and his family moved away, and he was left all alone, with nothing but his thirst for revenge to keep him company."

There are no tears in her eyes in spite of the pain. She's barely managing to breathe given the tightness in her chest, but it's as if she doesn't notice. It's as if this pain has become a part of ever day for her. As she continues, her voice lowers to a whisper, full of sorrow.

"And now that friend is gone and I don't know if I'll ever see him again."

If it wouldn't be terribly improper of him to lose his composure then he might have felt his eyes watering for her. It's a horror story. And she lived through it. There are no sentiments he can offer for that, no experience he could possibly compare to it. He feels rather lost, horrified for her and wanting to comfort her but having no idea how to.

His hand moves to touch her arm in some display of compassion, but he gets awkward halfway through and pulls it back again. Instead he deflates and watches her sadly. "I... I'm sorry. I really am. That... That's terrible, it's awful. No one should have to go through something like that."

It takes her a moment to bring herself to look at him. She watches the awkward movement of his hand and offers a sad smile in return. "No one should have to live with it. That's why I want to go back home. If... if my friend returns, then he may have information on the men who ordered this to be done. If we can find them, if we can stop them, then maybe no one else will have to suffer like he did."

Carefully, she holds a hand out for him. He had wanted to comfort her and she's giving him an open invitation to do so. "Thank you for listening. Other than those directly involved, no one else knows the full truth of what happened at that tower. I didn't even tell my family what happened when I let them know of my friend's death." Does he realize the weight of all of this? Less than a dozen people know about this. And she let herself be vulnerable around him. It's a dangerous thing to do, but she feels oddly safe around him.

"Such a terrible burden you feel you bear," he mutters vaguely. With her hand searching for his he's drawn to take it as he'd planned to; fingers curling around hers although they tremble slightly with the contact. An attempt to imitate comfort he'd received before by warmer, steadier hands with a firmer grip.

Viatorus fully understands the importance of such honesty, even if he understands it from a place where the key is in playing political and social games. Still, the mention that she didn't tell her family surprises him and it shows. "Why didn't you tell them? They probably would want to help, or at least support you."

The contact makes her smile - and for her cheeks to take on a slightly pink color. She's never comforted anyone like this or been comforted like this before. The sensation of his fingers around hers is... nice. A small smile tugs at her lips in spite of her best efforts to suppress it.

"Because it's my burden to bear," she answers softly. "If they know anything and the people who hold the leash of those first men were to find out, they'd be in terrible danger. I want them to live long, happy lives, to enjoy the freedoms and privileges I worked so hard to get for them. The less they know about how I got it for them, or about the things I do when I'm not working for the family business, the better." Ignorant people can't divulge secrets they don't know and can live in unadulterated bliss.

The smiling is nice. He tries to give her hand a small squeeze of encouragement, but it's weak enough to be nearly unnoticeable.

"Cruel men don't care," he says quietly, reciting a far off memory and then finding it strange to have his sister's cynical words coming from his lips. He looks away, frowning, and then glances back at her, wishing desperately that he didn't feel the need to say what he was about to say. "If cruel men want to hurt them, they won't care what they do or don't know. Maybe... maybe some of your family would want to help protect the family. Family... Family should work together."

It's noticed and appreciated, even if she doesn't appear to react to it.

"As true as that may be, I will not allow my family to know what I have done." She gently takes back her hand and places it on her knee. Her gaze moves to the suit of armor behind him and her face hardens. "All they need to know is that I am looking out for them, that everything I do is for them. My sins are mine alone to bear." Her hands are stained with the best of intentions. "If I return home to find things any other way than how I want, I will find those responsible and take care of them - personally."

Watching her hard stare and careful rendering of her philosophy, Viatorus realises that he's listening to a creed. A cruel, unforgiving creed. It makes him uncomfortable. Since he was young he'd always been kept from the harsh realities of life. He'd only seen them through his sister as she turned into a fierce and cynical woman. To think that Amelia is taking on a similarly dangerous role alone doesn't sit well with him. Where is the system? Where is the back up? The reinforcements to ensure that the family survives, that it thrives, even in the face of terrible things?

He doesn't know what to say, so he pulls his hand close and stays quiet, uncertain and trying not to look disapproving.

It's not an easy topic to handle and she knows it. With a sigh, she stands and begins pacing the room slowly. It takes her a few moments to regain her bearings, to keep from lashing out at him when she has no reason to do so. Viatorus has done nothing wrong and, as upset as she might be, there's no reason to call him out for his naivete about how things work in her world.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, she speaks softly. "Is there anything else you want to know about my world? Or do you know enough to help me figure out where to begin my research to fill in the missing pieces?"

"I... I think I know enough," he says softly, trying to organise his thoughts again. "Um... Give me a moment."

He gets up and starts making his way back and forth through the shelves, seeking out books he'd seen in passing or that sat in the right section. It's nitpicky work, looking for just the right kind of books that require just the right amount of context. He doesn't want to overload her so there are only a few books in his arms when he returns. He's still flicking through the one at the top when he sets them down.

"Uh, these... these should be helpful." He lifts the book he'd been looking through. "This seems to be someone's account of entering the Nexus and understanding everything. Some things don't make sense, but it might help you a little."

"It seems as good a place to begin as any." She shrugs and gently takes the books from his arms, her hands gently making their way between his and the books before she pulls them away from his grip and into her own. "Do you mind if I read alongside you?" It's not that she doesn't have a place to go to read them, but after speaking about such terrible things in her past, she finds she'd rather be close to someone right now.

The books cover common types of worlds linked to the Nexus (with friendly glossaries at the back), one covers the more practical basics to science, and there's a history book that is more like Viatorus' world.

Viatorus hesitates, looking at the mess he's created that overlaps other desks, and then quickly sets about tidying it up. "No. Here, let me just... tidy this a little."

She lets him finish clearing off the table before she takes a seat opposite him at the table. She begins with the book on common types of worlds linked to the Nexus, figuring it might give her more ideas as to where to go next in her research. Silence falls on the room as she begins reading at a surprisingly quick speed. It's not obvious if she's skimming or just a fast reader, but she is all but flying through the pages.

After a while, she looks up across the table at Viatorus, frowning a bit. "I'm sorry, if I came across too harshly earlier. It wasn't my intention to do so."

Reading takes him to a place of comfort. Surrounding himself with books and texts to consume grounds him. Her apology comes as a bit of a surprise, and is a little disorienting when he's midway through a detailed paragraph.

Viatorus blinks at her. How to say that what she say worries him. That it needs to be fixed, sorted, so that it's safer for her... He opts to not interfere. "Oh. It's... No. It's fine. That... That wasn't easy for you to talk about."

Despite the fact that he has a natural tendency to hesitate when he speaks, the fact that he'd holding back is not lost on her. She frowns. "No, it wasn't." She pauses, taking a moment to come up with the right words before continuing. "You were upset by something before, are still upset by it now. Don't bother denying it - the way you sit, that look in your eyes, they tell me I'm right. What is it?"

It's unusual for her to be so pushy about a topic like this when she's speaking to someone she's still getting to know, but circumstances aren't what they usually are. She's in the Nexus now, for whatever reason, and she's promised to protect him. It's best if there aren't any secrets between them.

"No," he says hastily, eyes going wide. Getting called out always throws him and he stutters over protesting and reassuring. "I-I'm not! I-I'm just reading! I'm not upset. There's dust in here, and I'm distracted!"

Terrible a liar as he is, he is not falling into the trap of telling a woman she's wrong about something when she's distressed and sad.

Surprisingly, he'd be better off doing just that. Amelia is not one who likes to be shut out - or to have something not done or said to her because she's a woman. Even if the opinion is completely opposite of hers, she wants the chance to defend herself against it. On top of that, being lied to is one of the things that pisses her off most. Poor Viatorus, he has no idea what he's gotten himself into with this one.

"You're not the worst liar I've ever met, but you're one of them." Her eyes narrow at him and her lips draw into a thin line, obvious signs of her frustration. "Why do insist on lying to me? I'm here to protect you, to keep you safe while you're in the Nexus, and if you insist on lying to me, I'm going to be worse at my job. I can't focus when I'm trying to think of all of the things you could possibly be holding back from me."

Being around strong women figures has meant that he's been trained rather specifically on what to do and what not to. It just so happens that this time his sister's rules clash with the woman in front of him.

"I... I, uh... I... It... I..." He has no idea what to do so he tries sinking into his chair, as if that will help. "I-I-It doesn't matter."

They'll have to work that out, if they're going to continue to work together. Especially if she's supposed to be protecting him.

She sighs and runs a hand over her face slowly. She's unsure what's worse - dealing with her inventor friend taking everything she says out of context or Viatorus not saying anything, or at least not saying what he means. Both are not great options.

"Look, whatever it is, it's not going to stop bothering you if you ignore it. The sooner you get it out there, the sooner we can work through it and move on." She slowly looks up at him, leaning her elbow onto the table and then placing that hand under her chin, an exasperated look on her face. "Would it make it easier to tell me if you wrote it down? If I had someone hold onto the daggers laced into my boots?" ~~Stop being so oddly specific about that, Amelia, or he might ask why you're being specific.~~ "Or is there something else about me that makes you so unable to speak your mind?"

The more she pushes, the more he twitches and stammers. Pressure is not something he copes well with. Trying to figure out what the 'right' answer is begins to make his chest tighten and his stomach knot. "I-I don't know. No. I... I... It doesn't matter. It's not important. I didn't mean to make a face, I promise I'll stop."

"C-Can we go back to reading? Please?" It's a hopeful request. He likes reading. Reading is nice, calm.

She heaves a deep sigh. This isn't how she wanted this conversation to go and his reactions are only getting worse. If only she'd gone with subtlety instead of addressing the issue head on. Mental notes are made for the next time something like this comes up.

"Fine." She doesn't quite spit it out, but her frustration is obvious. She turns her attention back to the book in front of her and begins reading again at that same quick speed.

It doesn't take her long to finish the first book and move on to the second, the one covering the basics of science. This one gets a much slower read, due to the subject matter. After a short while, she stops altogether, her hands going to her temples. There's a lot to take in and the headache is beginning to set in.

Though she's clearly frustrated and it leaves some tension between them, Viatorus is happy to latch onto the small escape he's offered. It's much easier for him to dive into studying than to sort out his feelings and form them into coherent sentences.

It takes him a moment to spot her pause, however, but when he does, he hesitates. Aware that she's probably still annoyed at him, he's quiet when he suggests, "You should get some tea and go for a walk. It helps."

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