Closed Fortune at the Library

[Kahli]

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March 26th, Year 124
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"Prithee, madame bookkeeper. Could you reconsider denying my passage into the library? I will be mindful of your possessions, I merely look for an opportunity to digest the trove of knowledge this library offers," Kahli pleaded with the much smaller female Fælniri, who has seen better in her youth and currently stood between him and the books within the public library of Hespæria. The large eastern dragon, proud Drækr of the Ævergreen flight, found himself in the gloomy bog that was Hesperia. His appetite for knowledge guided him all the way to this very library, where a wretched woman guarded its secrets!​

"I will not change my mind on the matter. I cannot have a lumbering beast like you within this sanctum, even regarding how true your words may be," the older woman stated firmly, meeting the dragon's steely blue gaze with the fury of an elder up in her age and with too many worries upon her life to be bothered with the dealings of a dragon. Kahli scoffed down at her, paying no mind to the crowd which would encircle the plaza around the library. Dragons were scattered and sparce, and to have one marching up to the library and holding his temper against the head librarian—bless her soul for being brave enough to challenge the dragon in his pursuit for information—was a spectacle to behold. Young Fælniri children hid behind the legs of their parents, while those whose souls were more courageous peeked out in wonder at a beautiful and well-kept beast.​

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"Then might I offer an alternative? You do have bookkeepers, yes? Would you be willing to, under direct supervision, task them with bringing me books so I may indulge myself in Hesperian culture?" Kahli reasoned; his heart wasbeing let down further with each second that the librarian stared him down. Her brows furrow, and with an impatient shake of her head and a dismissive wave of her hand, she would quash the dragon's efforts in a single gesture.​

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"No means no, respect your elders, dragon. Scram, off to the wilderness with you!" She would shout up at him with irritation, turning her back and marching right back into the library with a rather rude slamming of the door. Kahli's ears lowered with dejection. That librarian was not rude or short with him, but he was still glowering in defeat. He only sought material upon the Æcturnis and their ties to the infamous witch who constructed Hesperia, Hesperide fyn'Seiðr Maebh. It was not just the witch and information of the Æcturnis, though. He yearned information about the history of the Fælniri, and greedy creatures that go by the title of the Inari. This very library was rumored to contain knowledge of the Inari... and his journey was thwarted by a batty old lady! His manners and ethics prevented him from torching her on the spot, so he grumbled and closed his eyes... just how could he access these texts now?​

 

[Haruspex]

˗ˋˏ ◜ ♡ ◝ ˎ´˗
ꘜ‿︵‿ꘜ
March 26th, Year 124
︶꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶꒦
▲‿▲

It was the throbbing heart of Hespæria, Scholar's Square, where all the food came to know what their ælven liege deemed fit to allow. Scratching upon the table with a nail, Yonakouchi sat gazing longingly from the window of her perch up on the second floor. Her Seeming, a Fælnir girl with raven black hair, spectacles, and freckles. A book in front of her to complete the look.

Krrr-rrrk.

Krrrk.

Like a cat scratching out of boredom, she had hewn discoloration into the wood, as she had done the day before that, and the day before that. She sat at this post, or near to it, keeping an ear to the goings of Fælnir magi whom showed promise. After all, she was one of her patron's many ears, and she ought to be useful even when a more pressing matter came to task.

When a dragon landed in front of her gaze, Yonakouchi barely flinched, but her gaze did fixate upon it like a predator assessing its prey.

The librarian dared not to compromise with the Drækr? This wouldn't be good. Haesperide would be cross if he damaged the library. The food would be threatened.

Rising suddenly, the chair clattered as she clacked it back into the small table and stepped leisurely down the stairs, curling around its spiral to emerge in the library. She could see the dragon reasoning, antlers bobbing behind the window of the door.

Emerging quietly, Yonakouchi stepped aside for the librarian who paid her no heed, but she gave Kahli a look. By the ebon black robes she wore, and the palish hue of her skin, it might have been hard to mistake her for anything but a Fælnir witch.

When their eyes met, Yonakouchi looked down to the steps and circled near to him, gazing quietly at his hide.

"Drækr, hush now, you are causing a scene among the hooded eyes," she said quietly such that the gathering crowd could not hear. "What is it that you Seek? You could have it brought to you, should you name me your patron."

 

[Kahli]

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The dragon pulled his lengthy green whiskers back, his eyes centering upon the ebony robed Fælnir before his eyes. Her gaze was studious, fixed upon him as though she showed a deal of interest in the Drækr, and rightfully so considering he was stirring a commotion with his intimidating presence. Aside from the librarian, this witch seemed to be only other soul brave enough to approach him, let alone offer him a compromise. Kahli respected that, the vexation behind his blue eyes snuffed out by her willingness to meet his requests. With a pleased, hearty rumble reverberating in his chest, he would answer to Yonakouchi in a hushed voice, as instructed.​

"I hope you find it in your heart to forgive my intrusion. I never meant to come off as crasse to the librarian," Kahli would admit solemnly to Yonakouchi, blissfully unaware of the illusion that she upheld before the eyes of himself and the crowd surrounding them. His fur bristled, the spring wind blowing the long fur of his mane. His mane fluttered in the wind, the crowd falling silent, as though time froze for himself and Yonakouchi. Kahli was a seeker of knowledge, and while his temper was chiseled and kept under wraps, no one dared to invoke the wrath of a dragon.​

"...If this is how I obtain what I am seeking, then so be it. If I name you to be my patron, let it be known that crossing me would be the error a fool makes. I do not seek violence nor blood. Instead, I seek books about Hesperide and her connections to the Æcturnis, to start. I have many requests, but I do not want to overwhelm you any more than I already am," Kahli would request, laying out his conditions in return. The eastern dragon would let his tail whip back and forth in anticipation, heart pounding against his chest excitedly. Was this how he would beat the librarian who gatekept him from pursuing his interests? This mysterious Fælniri woman did not seem the least bit fearful of him, but his calling drowned out any interest in spending a minute too long with her. She could be his patron for as long as necessary before he'd move forward for his ultimate desire.​

 

[Haruspex]

˗ˋˏ ◜ ♡ ◝ ˎ´˗
ꘜ‿︵‿ꘜ
︶꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶꒦
▲‿▲

She listened, and she listened some more. Her mind puzzled out what it could be that he Sought, so she could hold sway over the dragon. It seemed to be books, or knowledge, or magic. All of which she could provide, and while she was not authorized to slay a Drækr of the Ævergreen, there was value in at least commiserating with one, if she could satisfy its wants and desires enough that it feels indebted to her.

"Then say it is so, and all of this will be yours," Yonakouchi replied, casting a subtle glance to the crowd. "There are books at my home, you are welcome to them. Some on Hespæria, others on Hesperide. Journals, and thoughts, passed down by my ancestors." Victims, from the people she had lured and killed. Scholars' journals, and checked-out books from the libraries that Yonakouchi could not return herself.

"But there is only one way to my estate, from here to there. By canoe. You are too large to walk; why don't we fly?"

Reaching out, she dared to take his mane by its luscious, wispy lockes, and pulled at him with an offer to kneel so she could mount him. "Shall we go, then?"

The crowd seemed to balk, murming amongst themselves before another wisely cajoled them away, and the pair were mostly alone save for prying eyes from the window. Better trust the whims of a witch than to deal with an ornery dragon themselves.

 

[Kahli]

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The young eastern drake's steel blue eyes flick towards Yonakouchi, the witch displaying a feat of bravery as she so nonchalantly extended her palm and took a handful of his green mane into her grasp. It was as soft as fleece and could easily be spun through a loom to construct warm, durable clothes for the denizens of Hesperia. His lengthy ears rustle and lift up at the murmurs within the crowd. Did they just witness a witch disrespecting a dragon by laying a finger upon him? Especially a Drækr of the Ævergreen? ...Nay. There would be no blood shed for such insolence, and in fact, one of Kahli's bushy eyebrows rose, bemused by the Fælnir wordlessly requesting him to kneel for her to mount atop of him.

"You are either brave or foolish to assume that I would allow you to take residence upon my back. ...Very well, brave one. I shall accept you as my patron, and in return, you shall feed me all the books I request." Seemingly, the witch of the library was able to pacify the dragon, as he knelt down until his stomach touched the cobblestone terrace surrounding the public library. He waits patiently for the Fælnir to ascend his furred body, for her to situate and secure herself upon his back. It was foreign for another living creature to ride atop of his back, his muscles rippling uncomfortably. How experienced is this witch with being a mount? Would his ascent into the wild blue sent her hurtling towards the earth and meeting certain demise, giving rise to mayhem from a bloody, disfigured corpse staining the cobblestone before the library?

"I trust that you must know what you are doing. You will need to guide me to your estate once we take to the air. Are you ready to ascend?" The beast bellowed lowly back at her, turning his head and meeting her gaze with a single-eyed glance back at her, inquiring her permission. Up close, there was a distinguishable feature upon his head. Kahli did not sport traditional antlers that kin of his anatomy would possess, and instead, it seemed as though living wood sprouted from his skull where his antlers would be. Bright, vivid orange lilies were in full bloom. It was an undeniable hint towards his affiliation with the Æcturnis, binding himself to the delicate flowers resting upon his head. The pale moon hung high in the sky, shimmery and wispy rays bathing him and Yonakouchi in its soothing embrace, invigorating Kahli, almost to the extent that he seemed restless, his furred tail thudding idly. Through his eyes, that fiery passion for learning the history of the infamous witched burned, brimming with something other than a dragon's fury; a dragon's passion, a dragon's journey to find what he Sought.​