Comfort in Books

[Anonymous]

Connlaoth was a nice place, for some. If you were human and hated magic, it was an absolutely wonderful place. If you were a mage... the going got tougher.

For a marked mage and a non-human like herself... Well, Ileana just tried not to complain too much. After all, she had a nice life. She was paid for her work at the college, and she got to be with a ton of books every day! How cool was that?

Cloven hooves trotted carefully on the tile floor of the library, sunlight streaming in through the mosaic windows, beating against her dappled silver fur. Her arms fumbled with the pile of books that she was carrying, worn leather spines and musty pages, tongue sticking out from between her lips. Scrunching up her nose, the centaur tilted her face up... and up... and up, blonde hair falling in front of her delicate features, blue eyes narrowing at a hole in the otherwise immaculate row of books. The missing spot where the book needed to be.

Ileana tried her best not to sigh, but she couldn't help it. This was going to be difficult. Tightening the leather strips along her forearms to keep her white cotton shirt from interfering, and the red, somewhat tattered underbust tight around her chest, she steeled her gaze as she honed in on the spot. The clopping of her hooves echoed as she backed up, the tail swishing in the still air of the library, and she knew that if she could just..

The clattering of hooves echoed as Ileana charged, and then, her muscled bunched, and she leapt, haunches strained as her legs extended, slim arms outstretched as the book was held precariously by her spine. All she needed was a few more--

CRASH. Ileana bit her lip as she fell uselessly to the floor, her legs giving out on her as she was only inches away from shelving the darned book. Her nose had bonked on one of the shelves, now red and irritated, while her legs were folded underneath her in a way that shouldn't have been comfortable, not to mention she was on her side. And then, three books tumbled from the shelves, each one bonking her on the head. Ileana whinnied without meaning to, and winced as she heard the rickety voice of one of the librarians.

"Ileana!" She called. "Did you make all that commotion?"

"I, uh..." Ileana quickly scrambled to her four feet, hastily picking up the books below her. "I'm s-sorry ma'am!"

"You had better be sorry!" Her voice chided. "Of course, I'm sure a few hours overtime without pay will enforce that lesson. Now clean up whatever it was that you spilled!"

"Yes ma'am!" Ileana said, looking sheepish. She waited until she heard the click of the door of the librarian entering her office again, before she let herself groan, slapping her palm on her face, and running her fingers along her hair, tangling the wavy mess that it had now become.

"It's what you get, Ileana. Stupid centaur," she muttered under her breath. Overtime, without pay. For the third time this week! ... Well, at least it meant that she could spend more time reading those books on mage hunters. And hopefully find ways to curb her powers...

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Not while there was still light in the sky yet, and books to be put away. Carefully, Ileana knelt upon her knees, scooping up the books that had fallen into her arms, and began to trot her way around the shelves, placing each book in its correct and proper order. She paid little attention to the few students that were in the library, some of them with their noses buried in their books, and the new ones gaping at her like she was some magical creature.

... Well. She could pretend to be normal.

[Rhindeer]

This was the last place in the world Beatrid wanted to be, but necessity had brought her here. A nearby village was being troubled by a creature that she and others hadn't yet been able to locate and that the local church's priests couldn't exorcise. So far, no one had even seen the thing that was causing all the damage, but their livestock was still suffering for it. Disappearing horses, cattle found in the morning with their blood drained and hardly a mark on them. People reporting hearing strange noises, seeing strange things out of the corner of their eye.

It seemed the work of some kind of magecraft, some sort of vile curse or spell or trick or evil, summoned thing that had been set on the village to plague it. So with that mystery hanging over their heads, Beatrid had headed to the Uthlyn's vast library to check out some records and see if she could find any instances similar to thing one, to maybe shed some light on the issue. Meanwhile, a couple Knights of the White Lily had stayed behind, to see if that had any effect.

It was tiresome work, dull and boring, and Beatrid had already spent hours there. She had a pile of books in front of her on the table with one currently opened in front of her. On her right, she had a sheet of paper scribbled over with notes. She had found a few promising bits of information and was jotting them down when a great crash sounded through the library, shattering the silence like a blood-curdling scream in the night.

Beatrid jumped and hand jerked; her pen slashed across the page, leaving an angry black line where the paper hadn't outright ripped and her hand smudged the drying ink, rendering a large chunk of those words unreadable. Heart in her throat from the scare, it took her a second to realize what she'd done, and when she saw it, for a moment she could only stare in horror.

Hours and hours of painstaking note-taking and research, ruined...

Horror swiftly turned to anger and with a loud curse, Beatrid slammed the book shut and rose to her feet. What the fuck was that about? This was supposed to be a goddamned library!

Stalking around the bookcases, toward the sound's source, soon enough she found what looked to be the cause: a bloody centaur with her arms full of books, other books scattered about her on the floor. Well. They just let anyone work here nowadays, didn't they? Now they let horses work around delicate books?

One hand on her hip, scowl on her face, and dark circles under her eyes, she snapped, "Hey, you care to explain what the fuck's going on? Some of us are working here!"

[Anonymous]

What hopes that Ileana had of a good day were quickly dashed when she heard the sound of an voice... directed at her, once again. She really wanted to just be a helpful librarian, but that never seemed to work out! She was always causing some problem or another, tripping over something, making a general mockery of herself and the college...

She didn't mean to cause problems, really! She just wanted to help. But nothing ever went quite so easy for her.

The sound of the woman's voice made Ileana stand up quickly, wincing slightly as her knees locked into place. But when she caught sight of the woman... she paled. A Connolaothian soldier. Of all her rotten luck...

Fear engulfed her, and the centaur started shaking, her hands trembling violently and her knees quaking as she gazed at the other. It didn't matter if she was way taller than the other-- she had managed to piss off a Connolaothian solider. No matter what way she tried to look at it, it wasn't good at all.

"I-I'm s-sorry," Ileana stuttered out, in a voice that was barely above a whisper. She couldn't even look the woman in the eyes, and dropped her gaze to the floor. By Ansgar why did she have to make such a fool of herself every day?! And now this woman hated her for ruining her studies... Oh, Ileana couldn't blame her in the least!

"I, uh, I was, I, uh...." Her voice trailed off pathetically as she tried to think of an explanation, but her mind wasn't cooperating with her. In fact, it froze on her and gave her nothing.

She hung her head, letting her long hair trail in front of her eyes, and mumbled another "I'm sorry." It was the only thing she could think of to say, and she bent down to continue picking up the books she had dropped.

[Rhindeer]

Beatrid's angry scowl quickly transformed into an expression of startled disbelief.

You have got to be kidding...

This horse, this...this centaur, she was actually quivering in fear? Over that? The bloody girl must have had several hundred pounds on her at least and a simple inquiry had her quaking? Seriously? Beatrid's mouth dropped open and for a few seconds she simply stared at the girl, eyebrows climbing. It was an odd sight, to be sure--and truth be told, Beatrid wasn't really used to people reacting quite like that. Of course, she spent most of her time among fellow soldiers that would bark back when she snapped, not curl up into a ball of 'please don't hurt me'.

Ultimately, however, there was a limit to her surprise. The whimpering grew annoying.

"Ansgar's balls, girl! I'm not going to kick you!" she snapped, barely repressing a tired roll of her eyes. "Now stop that. It's embarrassing as fuck. I just wanted to ensure that wouldn't be happening again. That cost me several hours of work, girl."

She took a deep breath. Deep down, she knew she was likely overreacting. This girl was a townswoman. Not a soldier. And it wasn't her fault she was tired and here when she didn't want to be here. With another deep breath, she shifted her weight. "Now. Apart from breaking shit, do you have any useful skills? Are you a scribe, girl?"

[Anonymous]

The surprise in the soldier's face only made Ileana confused. And then she was frightened all over again. She didn't know what this soldier was thinking, or why she was surprised and gaping at her. She started to feel self-conscious, parts of her coat twitching in nervousness, her hands fiddling, constantly tugging at her sleeves and underbust, and keeping her arms in such a way as to cover her mage marking. Not that it really did much in the end. The soldier had already seen it, and there was no getting rid of it.

When she snapped, Ileana yelped slightly, even jumping a little, her hooves pawing at the tile. She winced at the tone of voice, and she wasn't exactly reassured that she wouldn't get kicked. But when the woman told her to straight, Ileana tried, even if her hair was still drifting in front of her face and her eyes were carefully downcast. "Y-yes ma'am," she mumbled, "and I-I'm s-sorry. I, uh, I didn't m-mean to destroy your work. I'm sorry." That word was ingrained into her, and she repeated it like it was life-giving.

When the woman mentioned skills, Ileana shifted a bit, and tried to meet her gaze, but couldn't for more than a few seconds. "I, uh, I'm just a librarian... B-but I can write." No one had ever really wanted her to write, however. They didn't trust a centaur with their work. Not that she could ever really blame them... she could never blame anyone.

[Rhindeer]

Beatrid eyed the girl a moment longer, considering her. The cringing and scraping and fidgeting was going to get old fast, but for now she could tolerate it--and hope she knocked it the hell off. Pursing her lips thoughtfully, she turned and waved her hand for the centaur to follow. "Good enough for me. C'mere, then. I have a job for you."

She didn't wait for the centaur to agree or disagree; like other areas of her life, she just expected obedience. After all, she was not only a centaur but a mage, and while Beatrid was not wearing the tabbard marking her as a Mordecai, her attire made it obvious that she was a soldier--and one could do the math from there. Women were forbidden from soldiering--a crime punishable by death, in fact--and only Mordecai were the exception.

If she were smart, the girl would figure that out.

Reaching her table, Beatrid slid heavily into her seat and flipped the book open again, spread her notes out to see what could be salvaged. It wasn't ideal to trust her notes to a bloody marked centaur, but she was exhausted, grumpy, and her hand was cramping. Besides, the centaur might find this research very relevant, considering it dealt with magic and its destructive, vile properties.

[Anonymous]

For a second, Ileana wasn't sure what to do. She saw the soldier turn and wave for her to follow, but she seemed hesitant to do so. Well, Ileana did have reason for some amount of trepidation on her part. But there weren't any plants in the area, or animals.. so she was good. For now, at least.

There was also the small matter of her job. Her blue eyes scanned the shelves of the library, almost feeling all of the books that needed to be re-shelved and realigned... but the soldier was giving her a job. And her job was to help any patron in the library. Especially Mordecai.

So Ileana nodded and carefully trotted behind her, softening her hoofbeats as much as she could. The ends of her tail dragged upon the ground, but she still couldn't muster the confidence to lift it up that high. Upon reaching the table, however, Ileana was at a bit of a dilemma. She was much higher than the table, and looking around, she couldn't spot a stool to use as a table either...

Pulling her hair back with one hand, Ileana backed up a step, and then carefully laid upon the ground, folding her legs underneath her horse torso, exposing her underbelly. She laid her tail carefully along her body, and then looked back at the notes which were scattered.

They were about magic, which made her curiosity perk, but she knew better than to read someone's work.

"S-so, uh... what shall I do, ma'am?" She hoped that was the right way to address a soldier. Hopefully.

[Rhindeer]

Beatrid drummed her fingers on the table as she waited for the centaur to situate herself, reminded somewhat of an abused puppy. The drooping tail, the lowered head--dear Ansgar, it was just sad, and she'd admit, she felt a small pang of guilt for snapping at her. Just a small one. She was used to barking at people who'd bark back or at least have a spine enough to take it, not wilting flowers and kicked puppies. Or, rather, horses.

Tossing her braid over her shoulder, she waited for the girl to get settled, and when she spoke, Beatrid gave a bitter smile.

"You're gonna help me rewrite my notes and write any new ones. Luckily for you, I mostly remember where I found everything, but my fuckin' hand's cramped and I think this'll do you some good."

She finished flipping through the book and jabbed a finger at the page, pointing out a small paragraph. "Copy that paragraph for me," she said, setting the quill and ink in front of the girl and laying out a fresh sheet of parchment. It didn't have anything to do with the livestock case, but during her research she'd also happened upon a page concerning stillborns and how that could often be linked to magic-use. Of course witches would produce dead children. She'd found it interesting.

"We can all use a reminder now and then."

[Anonymous]

If the task was supposed to give Ileana some trepidation, she didn't show it. She just gave a small smile, but it faltered, as she still wasn't sure what to do around this soldier. But she nodded politely when Ileana was assigned the task, and she carefully began to collect the notes that had been damage, arranging them in one neat pile.

She took the parchment and quill gratefully, and even muttered a small "thank you" at being handed the materials. As for what to copy, well... she felt little surprise. Magic was evil, it was dangerous. That it might cause stillborns was only another part of this puzzle.

She began to copy the paragraph, and simply said a small "yes" when the soldier mentioned how we all needed a reminder. She did. With her powers on the fritz... she always needed a reminder. Her handwriting was careful, neat, and surprisingly quick. Of course, she learned how to be quick and legible after trying to copy stories from bards.

The moment the paragraph was copied, Ileana gently replaced the quill, and looked up at Beatrid. "W-what did you want me to write next?" She asked, still soft.