Amongst the books ((Immortals only, let me know if you wanna join in))

OOC Note: This is a thread intended for Krell and Léona, though I'm not aversed to other people wandering in. After all, it's set in a public building. Only requirement is that the character be an Immortal.

A soft breeze made its way through the aisles, causing pages of countless, ancient texts to flutter gently. The almost musical sound of the near silence was enough to entrance anyone into spending their lives in the halls of the library of The Divine City. Sitting in front of what could only be described as a table large enough to hold a King's banquet, covered in books, scrolls, loose pages and all manner of blank parchment, quills and ink pots, was a small, thin woman with platinum hair; her long white robes trailing along the ground by her chair. The candlelight cast long shadows on the ground, making everything about the place seem warm, but imposing; welcoming, warranting respect.

At the present time, she was pouring over her latest research into a book on ancient, extinct creatures. She sighed with the nostalgia of it, while making corrections in descriptions of body shape, behaviours and the like. She occasionally mumbled to herself, complaining about how many errors these young "historians" were making in their latest theses. When she had finished with that particular volume, she moved onto the twenty sixth (she especially liked the the cliché A through Z categorising of the creatures, as though the books had been written for infants) and final volume, dipping her long peacock feather quill into some ink to continue correcting the mistakes. These books hadn't yet made it into the shelves of "her" library - that is to say that she thought of it as such, since she was the one who took the most care of it - and she would ensure that the authors knew of their mistakes before they were placed there: how could the Universe's collective knowledge improve if people were constantly making mistakes, is what she asked those authors of fact and fiction alike who had made errors in their writings who took offense to this.

And so her day continued, much as most days. Reading, writing, and near silence - that is assuming that there were no intrusions upon her solitude.

Krell's head poked out from behind a bookshelf and peered down the next empty corridor, his body followed as he rounded the corner and walked down it, flanked on both sides by all manner of books and old parchment scrolls that hadn't yet been transcribed into book form. He didn't want to admit it but he was utterly lost, after taking a right at the galactic charts, a left at the history of magic section, then two rights that he could have sworn took him in a complete circle around the history of the Divine City section he honestly felt as though the library was shifting on purpose to send him in a very particular direction.

"I don't remember drinking too much wine this morning," he said, looking around confused as he walked between the unfamiliar set of shelves.

These shelves had a lot more parchments and scrolls on them than he was used to, which meant that these were works that weren't yet ready for being put on the shelves that everyone saw, that actually excited him a little - he'd always had this insatiable hunger for knowledge. There was suddenly a strange sound behind him and he turned his head, the shelves behind him were shifting again rapidly and coming right toward him, he stood still for a moment and then turned and bolted in the opposite direction with his old ornate cane held around the very top of its neck.

With a skid he ended up in a room he didn't recognise, but he was too busy staring at the shelves returning to normal outside it to properly take a look around, which meant it was a moment before he saw Léona sat at her large table working. He blinked a few times for a moment and then grinned, walking around the table and coming to a halt beside her, planting his cane on the ground and then leaned over to look at what she was working on - she didn't seem to have really noticed him yet in her typical fashion.

"So this is where you hide," he chimed, pulling up a chair which appeared out of thin air and leaning on the table. "I've been coming here for a few million years now and all this time I had no idea this room existed... your shelves are quite pushy, by the way."

Léona gently placed her quill down on the table, placing a bookmark at the page she was reading and slowly closed her book as Krell spoke. She blinked a few times, still hazy from the near trance she had been in as she read. She turned her head and looked at Krell over the top of her half-moon glasses and frowned.

"Shh."

Seemingly satisfied that this intruder had been put in their place, Léona shook her head and tutted slightly as she reopened her book. Then, suddenly, as though struck with lightning, Léona jumps up from her seat and patted down her robes. "Krell! I do appologise. I didn't realise it was you. Welcome back." she smiles, brushing a stray lock of hair from in front of her eye, though it falls back to its preferred resting place fairly quickly, extracting a frustrated sigh from Léona. "Please, have a seat. she pointed at what had been nothing, where now stood a chair. She sat back down in her own chair, conjuring two mugs with hot cocoa - complete with marshmallows and whipped cream - on the table in front of each chair. "What news from outside the Divine City?" she asked after a sip of her drink. Though she knew everything that had been happening, she always liked to hear as many accounts of events from as many people as possible. "One mustn't have a biased point of view in regards to current events" she often told herself.

Krell watched with a wolfish grin when she hushed him. He obliged and just leaned on the table until she leapt up, apparently surprised by his presence and he failed to contain a faint laugh. There was nothing else in the universe that brought a smile to his face or made him laugh quite like Léona could, even without trying but perhaps that was why felt like a moth drawn to a flame when it came to the pretty librarian who locked herself away to write and chronicle.

"It's nice to be back," he replied, his purple eyes following her hand when she moved to brush the stray lock of hair from her eye, only to see it fall back into place and at the very same moment he felt the light thud in his chest as his heart began to beat with a steady pulse. Her offer of a seat was met with a small chuckle again, as he had already pulled up a chair at the table, that wolfish grin turned into an amused smile instead. "I already have a seat, Léona."

The refreshments she made were as always, sweet to the scent and also something he would never normally be seen drinking, or eating. Marshmallows, cocoa, and whipped cream were all fairly outside his usual image, but when he was alone with her he didn't mind partaking in sweet things, that was essentially why he came to see her anyway - to partake in sweet things. Even if those sweet things were never what he really wanted, deep down.

Picking up the cup he took a sup, looking thoughtful at her question for a moment, then after a second sip he answered. "Not much, I'm afraid. The war continues as always and the universe suffers for it, much to my own failing for not ending my father sooner." He paused, having a sip and then smiled. "But Isaan is branching out on his own, he doesn't want any part of the war, his project, Midnight, is picking up nicely and accepting even angels. He's recently taken an expedition onto Aurela, some hundred of his people."

For a moment he adjusted his seating, turning toward her more so that he was looking at her, rather than being side-on. "I'm curious what he's up to... he's particularly close mouthed and for some reason I can't seem to read him on the rare occasion he talks about it." He sighed lightly, "well, that's what I get for encouraging his independence."

"Oh, so you do... she said as Krell pointed out that he already had a chair. "Not quite all with it this week." she smiled as he told her of current events - of Isaan and Midnight. She noted how proud Krell seemed to be, and she smiled all the more because of it.

"You mustn't pry into matters which he isn't open about. At least that's what Parenting for the Idiotic Immortal says. You could give it a read if you like. Uh..not that I'm calling you an idiot or anything. I mean, that is to say, that you're intelligent enough to know how to deal with your own son the way you feel fit, but another point of view is always nourishing for the mind, don't you think? It's like this book here that I'm reading: amazing piece of fiction. Sadly it's supposed to be factual, you see - there are so many errors that I'm considering just popping it into the fiction section and seeing if the author even notices. Most of them don't. I first started doing that, come to think of it, around three hundred and fifty thousand years ago, with....."

And so began another long, confusing rant which seemed at times to be more of a lecture. Such was what usually happened when Léona began talking. One sentence lead onto the next in an illogical manner, jumping from one topic to another - sometimes even mid sentence. At one point, she wandered off into the library proper (still ranting away) to fetch a couple of books to back up points she had made.

When she finally finished, she blushed and tried again in vain to brush the single lock of hair from her eye, then adjusted her spectacles. "I did it again, didn't I?...Sorry."

Krell went to open his mouth several times during her build up, but he knew what was coming probably before she did. Most people would have bolted by now and it was unlikely she would notice until her ramble ended, but he nodded along and drank in everything she was saying. Though what she was saying was hardly all that important, it was at least interesting in its own way. When she got up to fetch books he walked with her because she had a habit of continuing to talk when she did this, even though she had left the room he was in and though he could hear her anyway he felt it rude not to be beside someone who was obviously talking to you.

Well, mostly talking to you.

He waited for her to finish and he ended up laughing when she realized what had happened, the blush crossing her cheeks was positively adorable and then she went to brush that lock of hair away again, very much in vain. An adjustment of her spectacles later and he was nodding in agreement with her asking if she'd done it again, but her apology made him frown and shake his head.

"Not to worry," he replied, obviously not remotely put off by the rant. "It was enlightening, but if you'll humour me."

Reaching over he brushed the lock of hair away from her face, then instead of hooking it behind her ear, he hooked it under her glasses a little so that it remained in place, it would eventually fall again when she took them off but at least it would remain up longer than it normally did. After he'd done it he paused, looking at her and then retracted his hand with a rather embarrassed feeling all of a sudden.

"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat, "it seemed to have been annoying you for a while."

After a moment of awkward silence (mainly from his end probably) he finally decided to divert the conversation. "But the truth is, I don't know how to deal with my own son. Isaan has become rather distant from me, ever since his mother died... I can't really blame him for that."

There were things Léona didn't know about him, things he was almost afraid of her finding out, like his real condition beyond this avatar that he used to speak with her. What he feared about her seeing him, catatonic on his throne, unmoving and emotionless, was that she would think less of him and despite himself the notion terrified him. A small tap of his fingers on the table and he quickly tried to veer the conversation to something more cheerful, so he looked pointedly at the work she'd been doing when he'd come in.

"So, what are you working on this time?" he asked, his voice lighter than it was.

Léona blushed heavily as Krell brushed her hair back and fixed it behind her glasses. Her heart begged her mind to allow her hand to grasp Krell's in that brief moment of contact, but she quickly came up with precisely 5,326 reasons not to, and decided the odds were stacked heavily against her. So her hand remained, and she resigned herself to simply smiling politely and stammering out a small "Thankyou...", followed by a small cough.

There wasn't a single person who visited her home in the library who could hold her attention for as long as Krell could, and at times it felt like she was the only true scholar left, but the way he took interest in her work while offering well-reasoned points that she hadn't come up with herself at times, coupled with the fact that he actually listened to everything she said (not a small feat in itself, as often her rants could last for months on end if the subject matter was particularly interesting), made her feel something she hadn't felt in millenia, though she had difficulty putting the right word on it - something which annoyed her to no end. She simply shrugged appologetically when Krell spoke of his parenting woes, having no real advice to offer on the subject, which wasn't one she took a great deal of interest in. There were so many conflicting opinions on how to raise children in the books in her Library that she had long ago decided that she would never understand how to, and that it was in fact impossible to raise children effectively, hence why the universe always seemed in a state of constant impending destruction.

When the question of her work came up, her blushing ceased and she actually grinned slightly "Oh, this and that." she briefly waved at the mountain of books and papers neatly arranged in alphabetical order around her large desk. From a brief glance, it would seem that "this and that" in fact meant "everything at once", which was partly true. "Do you need any reference material, or help with something academic, or...? she continued. She wanted to add, "Or is this a social visit?", but the words caught in her throat, and instead she stood with a hopeful gleam in her eyes as she left the question hanging in the silence.

Krell looked in the direction of the mountain of books and couldn't help laughing, this was typical of Léona and it was part of what made her so endearing. He was amazed of course that she had time for their conversations considering all the work she did, but that was just proof of how brilliant and quick witted her mind was.

"Ah, yes, this and that... and everything else on top of it, evidently." He teased, smiling at her good naturedly.

Her asking whether he wanted some reference material or academic help made him frown, and he immediately picked up one of the thinner books that wasn't delicate and stood up before giving her a light bop on the head with it. He then locked her with an amused gaze, the words that had caught in her throat had been completely overlooked by him, though of course he had noticed - how could he not when he was always so attentive with her.

"When are my visits ever anything but social?" He asked, chuckling. "Your library may be the finest in existence, but it's not the books or scrolls I come here so frequently for."

There was an awkward moment of silence from him then having said that, he blinked a few times and then turned his head and gave a light cough against his fist to break the silence. He hadn't intended to admit something like that, at least not in such a forward way and so he quickly decided that a subject change was needed, so he smiled at her again and acted like everything was normal.

"Speaking of your library being the finest," he began, pointing out the door. "There's also the finest city in existence beyond its walls, you should accompany me into it and take a break... how long has it been since you went outside anyway?"

Léona hesitated for a moment at the question. For once, she didn't have an immediate response as she, for the first time in her life, was contemplating telling a lie. The truth was that she hadn't left the Library since she had become its protector, but she didn't know if she should tell Krell that. It was an odd sensation, feeling that she had to tell a lie. She sat back in her chair and shuffled through a few papers, trying to seem like she was beginning to get lost in her work as she struggled with how to answer such a simple question. After a few minutes of this, she finally sighed and put the papers down.

"I haven't set foot outside since I first came here to live, in all honesty.." she frowned. Something told her a lie would have been easier, but her life was dedicated to facts and absolute truths - she had never once tried to deceive anyone, so why start now? She didn't look at Krell, assuming he would think her a mad hermit. Instead, she opened a book at a marked page and picked up her quill again, making a few notes here and there. She knew what was to follow - Krell would try to convince her to go outside with him, but after so long in almost complete seclusion, she was nervous at the very idea.

Krell's face visibly fell. If he was correct - and he usually was - then Léona had taken control of the library upon Lilith's imprisonment, some millions upon millions of years before Krell had even been born. But there was also a mixture of understanding in his eyes, for who was he to judge? The king who would not rise from his throne out of fear for what he might do, afraid to face the world without the woman he had loved. Perhaps he was selfish to pass those feelings over to Léona, to use her as a means to feel at peace again, but he did love her whether she knew it or not.

The avatar looked down at the table for a time, silent and pensive. How could he love somebody in this body anyway? He was just a shell, an advanced form of illusion that could touch and feel, little more. What would Léona think if he were to show her the real him sat upon that crumbling throne in Underworld, hidden away from the world? Well, perhaps she might understand after all now that it dawned upon him, but fear kept him from taking the step of actually inviting her to the throne room.

"In that case, we should go together." He said, then stood and held out his hand toward her like a gentleman at a ball offering to dance.

He didn't make any big speech about how she shouldn't lock herself away, nor any form of persuasive comment, he just looked at her with his hand held out and a simple if troubled smile on his face. Perhaps walking outside with Léona would be a first step toward freeing himself of his burdens too, there was that selfish thinking again. He was curious how Léona would feel to know he was using her to a degree, perhaps she might be angry to know, or maybe flattered that she was the only person in existence right now who brought him any form of peace.

"It's bad form to decline a High God, I've been told." He spoke quietly, a hint of teasing in his voice.

Léona blushed again as he extended his hand towards her. She looked down at her work, then back to him, and back to her work. She wanted to spend time with Krell, but the prospect of going outside and leaving her precious Library actually scared her - a feeling she hadn't felt in several million years. She almost felt duty-bound not to leave for even a minute: her promise had been to the Creator to watch over the place for all time, guarding the knowledge contained within until such a time that, she hoped, Lilith would return to the Divine Order. Perhaps, she thought, her fear stemmed from failing in her duty.

But then a thought occurred to her: what sort of loving father-figure would the Creator be if his will was that she stay locked up in a library until the end of time? Surely he wouldn't wish that on somebody who had remained loyal to him and the Divine Order throughout the most trying of times, when she had every opportunity to betray everything she held dear and join Lilith in her madness. So, taking a deep breath and suppressing her fear, Léona took Krell's outstretched hand in hers and stood up from her chair. She smiled at him, not for the first time remarking to herself how much she liked his eyes as she looked at him.

"Alright, then. You can be my chaperone for the day. Where to first?"

Krell closed his hand around hers gently and helped her to her feet like a gentleman should, looking into her eyes for a moment and returning her smile more affectionately than he probably should. Turning he offered her his left arm, waiting for her to place her hand on it or wrap her arm around it, then he'd walk out of the library with her. Of course, he would need her to direct him some, considering the shelves had decided to move themselves when he'd entered the grand hall - something he was convinced it had done on purpose now.

Eventually they would be standing in the entrance archway, the light of the city hitting them in a way that might have briefly blinded them were they not immortals. The city was probably the most beautiful place in existence, it was filled with stone buildings of grand scale, all of them looked hand carved with statuettes and other finery. Fountains littered the paths of the city in places, parks and beautifications were rife. In the distance from the library you could see the Creator's palace, and the divine palace a short distance from it, with the library the three were the largest buildings in the city.

But Krell's eyes weren't on the city, he'd seen it plenty of times before and if he was honest, in his heart the beauty of Underworld's midnight grass and blossom trees would always win out against the city despite its undeniable magnificence. Right now though, his eyes were on Léona. The way the light hit her blonde hair, he had never seen her beyond the library and all of a sudden she looked more beautiful than anything else he could lay his eyes upon right now. His heart gave a noticable flutter amongst its constant beating, and he cast his eyes down and away a little, the flutter had nearly driven him to kiss her and he didn't want to do something so brazen.

"The city is beautiful." He said, but what he really wanted to say was, you are beautiful.