Foxes and Leopards
"Right this way Master Ava! Must I say though that this is a pleasant surprise from you, Kupo!" Ava giggled a bit at this, although she was known to visit shops for wielders, she had never quite been one to visit the atheneum regularly. "If I am to be honest, a certain keyblade wielder had come to me and recommended I read this novel. They said it was quite good and spoke so passionately about it that I just had to read it for myself!" Looking back, the fox leader could clearly remember the pure mirth on their face as they started speaking about it. So infectious that it even made Ava smile just thinking about it. While lost in her memories, she couldn't quite hear the librarian snicker as they passed the tall mahogany bookshelves.
"Two foretellers in the same day, my place will be poppin' in no time, Kupo!" Popularity for the library and envy from the other moogles because of it, two birds in one stone for the moogle.
Under the warm yellow lamps and lit candles, the moogle led Ava deeper to where the particular book had been shelved.
"Ah," suddenly realizing the present she remembered the question she's been meaning to ask before. "If I may ask, why are you closed right now? It seemed to me like you were open since the lights were on despite the whole place being closed." Indeed they were, which is why Ava opened the front door (despite the apparent closed sign) just to be sure. To her surprise, it opened and then the librarian moogle quickly came to her, at first looking annoyed until recognizing her. It was certainly late when most wielders should be getting home but not quite so late that would close up most shops so why did the librarian close early?
"Hm? Oh that's because Master Gula is here," the Moogle responded nonchalantly which made the foreteller herself stop for a moment. "Eh?" Quickly regaining her composure at realizing she was getting left behind, she caught up to the moogle. "The library is a place for reading and silence, and I think everyone deserves that…" Some more than others though, Kupo! "Which is why when Master Gula comes here I close up since wielders tend to be excited with foretellers. It's fine and dandy but this is a library so I won't allow any loudness in here that'll disturb Master Gula and the other readers, Kupo!" She nodded, it was understandable although the librarians words had tipped her some new information.
"From what you say, it seems Gula comes here quite often." Although amiable in the company of the other foretellers and also their own selves, she didn't know much about him now. Before, he somewhat opened up to her and she in turn but ever since their Master had assigned them their roles, he had been more aloof as of yet. It worried her but she can't do much since even before then Gula wasn't really approachable or easy to read, much less outspoken when it came to feelings. It wasn't likely he would speak of his worries to her or much less anybody else.
The thought of that would make anybody wonder why he was a popular union but as the warriors she's been training said, he's "Cool" and "Amazing". She could agree with this too since Gula did have a certain flair about him that made her much more curious about him when they first met. After continuous socializing, Ava could confirm that he was, in fact, a warm-hearted and admirable wielder with his heart in the right place. It wasn't out of the ordinary to think he could possibly be an avid reader, right?
The Moogle nodded to her question. "Oh you bet Master Ava, he's been here at least once every other week. Such a fast reader too since he sometimes finishes a book in a day, Kupo." Ava smiled at this, new information about her fellow foretellers was nice, especially Gula. She decided to dig a bit more but the moogle stopped, seemingly have reached their destination. "So do you know what types of books he reads or perhaps genres he loves?"
"O-Oh, he has quite the er…. Choice for a Master. Well then again, I wonder if it's a trend with the masters, Kupo" The moogle started remembering one night when they accidentally spotted Gula reading something so unsuitable at first glance. Truthfully the librarian couldn't judge so they tried their best not to talk about it. Finding the book, the Moogle pulled it out and gave it to her.
Before Ava could question any further, much less thank him for helping her find the book, a quiet but still audible noise cut through the silence. She and her guide stood still quietly as they waited. After a minute or so, another sound of turning paper. "Ah, Master Gula must be reading in this area, well then, I mustn't make much noise, I'll be off. Enjoy reading, Kupo!" In an instant the Moogle poofed and was gone. "Okay then, maybe I'll say hello to Gula before starting this novel." Following the crinkle of pages quietly, she found herself in an open space filled with leather armchairs and sofa's, coincidentally facing the behind of Gula. Something important to note was that the ever private union leader had discarded his mask which made sense since he was reading but still without a doubt rare. Union leaders rarely take off their masks so this was indeed a surprise as she took in the color and shape of his hair.
Usually he's pretty alert but it seems like the novel he's reading is doing a good job of getting him immersed. Suddenly an idea sprouted in the Vulpeus Foreteller's head. Slowly but surely, she made her way to Gula like a fox stalking her prey. Tip toeing at a time, she was now right behind him although keeping low to not cast a shadow and alert him yet.
Remembering what some of her students did to each other, she sucked in air and after a moment…
"MMMMMMPPPHHHH!"
She let out a high-pitched Zolephant cry right behind his ear through barely closed lips. The response was perfect. "Gaaah!" Immediately Gula, who was reading comfortably upon his chair, yelped and had jumped a bit erratically. His hand dropping the novel in his lap and the other knocking over the layered books that laid on the arm of the chair.
"W-What the-" He stuttered and Ava covered her mouth to let the gasp and chuckles stop from escaping before dipping under the chair in a meek attempt to hide herself. She didn't think that there was a lot of books around Gula to make a mess, but at the same time she couldn't help but laugh at the cool-headed Cheetah being now skittish. Ahhh, if only she did managed to scare him in front so she could see his face as it was in the moment.
Even though she hid herself behind the chair she could hear her comrade groan. "Ava..." He said in an exasperated tone as he pulled her up by the ears of her mask. There was no real point in hiding if the ears would be a dead give-away she realized and let herself be pulled up.
"Scared you didn't I?" Smiling sheepishly, she went around the chair and picked up some of the books which had fallen. Gula too helped her as he picked them up rather quickly. They piled the books to a nearby side table which the Cheetah's mask lay upon. Grabbing it aside, they put the books on it. Dusting off her hands, she turned around to finally get a good look of her victims face, but the mask was already fastened on the young man's face.
She groaned inwardly. Although it's not like it was restricted by the Master, he was still very adamant about keeping each other's faces a secret, referencing it as to not judge someone by appearance but rather personality, that and it would be convenient for the wielders to recognize their union leaders. This is what kept Ava from not asking the other union leaders about their true face. Not for judging but simple curiosity. Still though, she must be straight and narrow about her Master's words.
Gula broke Ava from her thoughts. "I didn't take you for the type to come into the library, especially this late." Turning around he went back to his seat where the book he had been previously reading had lay. "Well you are right." In fact she spends most of her time hanging and training with wielders. "But one of the kids recommended me this book so I decided to try and pick it up."
"Oh really? Which one, I may have heard of it." Sitting down, he picked up the thick book to try and find the page he was on. She pulled out the book behind her that the Moogle gave to her. "This one!" It was bright pink one and was titled "Amorous tales of Soreo and Kailiet" with a cursive font. It was quite a girly cover but Ava didn't mind as much as what was in it.
Gula looked up lazily before coughing a bit. "O-Oh that book, I heard that it's pretty decent." Then, very quickly, he stood up and grabbed the book he was reading along before going to the assorted books on the side table. "I should get going actually," Wait what? Wasn't he in the middle of settling himself, why the sudden departure? And also more importantly, how would she leave? Her guide had poofed away and it seemed like they walked in for half an hour until finding the book she wanted to read. There was plenty of turns and stairs as well plus it wasn't like she could jump and get a view since the shelves literally touched the ceiling. She grabbed onto his cloak to prevent his hasty escape. Although she grabbed a little too firmly that a couple of books spilled out from his arms.
"Really Ava?" He asked, irritation clear, not that she couldn't blame him. "Sorry! It's just that I don't know how to get out and you're leaving way too quickly." He looked at her and she blushed. She did not mean to confess she's lost but it got out. Looking down at the ground she saw the dropped books and decided to divert her attention. "Anyways I'll just pick these up th-." She crouched and started grabbing his books when- "Hey wait a minute!" Too late since among all the dull colored books was a very noticeable pink book that Ava had grabbed. She looked up at Gula whom was looking away now as he muttered under his breath. Although very faintly, she could still see the lightest dusting on his cheeks… Was he embarrassed?
Standing up slowly she opened her mouth. "I didn't know you read this too, this book must be more popular than I thought." She offered the book to Gula who hesitantly took it before returning to grab the fallen books. Gula joined in silently. A long silence ensued. After everything was picked up, the male foreteller finally broke it. "You're not going to say anything about it?"
"About what?"
"The, erm, novel?"
"Oh that? I don't see the problem with it." And Ava honestly believed it, she knew the pride he had as a foreteller but was it so wrong to like something that's supposed to be read for everyone? He sighed in relief. "I should've known you wouldn't tease me like Aced would."
Ava chuckled to herself inwardly since Aced would certainly make it known to the Master and in turn, the Master would not let it go. "Although I must admit, I never knew you liked romance much." Picking up the books, they returned to their seats.
"Ah there it is. Although in all honesty, it's one of the genres I do enjoy reading. It's just I can't really be… seen with a book this flashy." Using air quotations on the word "flashy" he picked up the book in question. His defense was weak but understandable given his position. Still… Ava couldn't resist teasing himsel at least slightly and smiled. "Oh? Is it too uncool for our Gula?" Catching along, he let out a smirk. "Almost as uncool as the one who's lost in a library." The smile disappeared off Ava quickly as Gula's smirk only grew wider. There was no winning in a comeback battle against the quick-witted leader and she knew this perfectly well as did he. A quick thought emerged wondering if her fellow comrade could possibly have a genuine goofy smile. She tried to envision it but couldn't quite see it.
"Oh yes, since you're reading Amorous Tales of Soreo and Kailiet, please tell me what you think about it?" Sitting up straight and attentively she waited. "Wait why me? Weren't you already going to read it anyways?"
"That's true but I'd also like to hear what you think about it."
"But I'm only halfway done."
"Come on, you should atleast have some thoughts about it!" The fox ushered while the leopard grimaced. "I do have more thoughts mind you most of all…" Ava stuck out her tongue at this. "... But I would rather finish the book before I say anything else."
"Geez, can't you atleast try Gula?" The Vulpeus Foreteller proceeded to grab her own copy of the novel and sat down, seemingly giving up on him. He peeked up from his book. "Well if you insist… I'll have to say that the novel is unrefined and lacks the pacing necessary for the overarching plot to take place. The characters are a bit one dimensional..." The girl groaned, although she did ask, Ava didn't want a list of negatives. "... but they immediately become characters with depth when the main pairing is involved. It's actually quite engaging and well-written. It shouldn't be surprising because this is the main genre but I never expected something so brilliant. The male lead is heroic but does have some flaws as well as the heroine who's pretty clever despite being portrayed as nothing of importance in the first few chapters by others, then again that was probably the author's purpose. They work together perfectly as a relationship by the way. There's even moments that makes your heart pound and feel what the heroines feeling when you put your place in her shoes. The two have such chemistry and I really- I mean it really makes the reader want to see them happy together- What's that face for?" The feature adorned on her face was a wide smile.
"I never knew how passionate you were about books." He coughed a bit, as if trying to remind himself of who he was. Or at least, who he was supposed to be in Ava's eyes. Well at least she didn't point out how much he seems to enjoy the genre romance in particular.
"...Sometimes the author gets a bit too focused on the color of eachothers eyes though. They keep describing it a lot. For some reason it seems like everyone has blue eyes in this novel, I can't really go far with "eyes like the sky reflected upon the sea," or something among that. I swear there's a paragraph devoted to the color of their eyes." And there's the nitpick back again although this time accompanied with commentary from Ava.
"Hehe, that makes sense coming from you."
Gula cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's not like anybody can see your eyes." He laughed a bit. "That's true but the other leaders, including you, have seen me so it's not entirely true that nobody has seen my eyes."
"It's been such a long time ago though, I'm pretty sure we've misremembered some details." She battered playfully. "For example, my memory dictates that you had pink hair. Unless your saying… That I'm right?" Gula closed his book but still smiled. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to finish his book in the end, not that he minded for just today.
"You're the youngest and yet your memory fails you, ah this is worrisome."
"Hey, you're barely even older than me."
"But I am older." She groaned and looked the other way for a bit, faking offense even though her smiling betrayed her. Letting out a laugh, he sat up straight.
"Anyways." GuIa began to take a serious look. "I still remember what everyone looks like…" Suddenly his gaze seemed to look beyond his and her own masks. "Oh really?" It unsettled her a bit, the feeling like somebody could see through her mask since the only other one has been the Master.
"For example, I still remember what your eyes look like." She swallowed a bit, the remark making her hands tighten a bit. "Is that so…" What had come over Gula?
He nodded. "In fact they are like Emeralds in the glittering green fields…." And after a few seconds, he burst out laughing and it took a few minutes for Ava to realize why.
"You were quoting that book weren't you!" Her flustered nature quickly replaced the one of anxiety, which she welcomed. Yet that didn't mean she wasn't embarrassed for being unsettled by Gula's original words.
"Pffff- Sorry hold on." He kept his snickers until they were dying, finally the last of them managed to get out. "Okay but did you actually think I was that cheesy?" Ava blushed. It wasn't her fault, she didn't know much about Gula so who's to say was sure?
He took her silence as an answer. "Really Ava? I hoped you know me better than that."
The cheetah glanced up at the clock, deeming it appropriate to get up and leave with the books. She followed in suit. To be honest, Ava didn't really know much about her friend than the way he trained and pronounced himself, but then again how much did HE know of HER? An idea formulated in her mind. "Oh but how much of me do you know then Gula?"
It was a question that only led to one answer that Ava, with all her knowledge of Gula, would be picked.
"I know what you like to do in your free time and also your favorite desserts-,"
"You can't include gossip from your wielders, that's cheating." Gula walked in pace with Ava as he navigated between the bookshelves, effectively being Ava's guide.
"Alright, I guess you have a point that we don't know each other as well." She smiled at the answer she was hoping for. Time to reel this in.
"Well then, why don't we fix that?"
"Huh?" Gula whipped his head toward her.
"I don't really know much about you and you don't really know much about me, maybe we could be better friends to each other." Gula's mouth etched a deep frown. Was the idea of being closer to Ava that bad? "Unless you don't want to though. That's perfectly underst-"
"No, er, sorry… It's just that…" He paused a bit as if to remember something distantly before shaking his head out of it. "I guess I can't really see a problem if it's just as friends." Something still seemed on his mind but she didn't press further, after all, he had accepted it so it was probably best not to push it yet.
She opened her mouth to say something until a noise was heard. Specifically a Kupo In surprise. It was the librarian and apparently had just arrived to the lobby. "Oh my, I didn't think you two were still here!" The moogle flew towards them. "Unfortunately I think it's about time for me to really close up so..."
"We were just about to leave." Gula assured and Ava nodded. "I see, well then… Master Ava and Master Gula, have a good night. Kupo!"
They nodded and the moogle went ahead to open the door for the both of them. Offering thanks, Ava went ahead with Gula behind before they heard the door close behind them.
Turning around, she faced Gula now with a wide smile. "Well then I'll see you soon!" Returning the smile he nodded. They had to both go to their unions dormitories to make sure at least most of the members had returned. Exchanging goodbyes, Ava had turned around to walk toward the direction of her dormitory, not noticing that Gula still hadn't left his spot to go toward his own.
"Friends… Huh…" He looked at the palm of his hand before closing it.
"As long as I don't trust them it should be okay." The masked foreteller quickly turned away and walked to his dormitory.
Thanks for reading this story. I actually kept it for almost a year but I decided to post it. I'm not too sure whether or not I'll continue on it but we'll see!