Snaust was sitting on Miss Angela's desk, taking a short break from reading to munch on some big and juicy strawberries her best (and only) friend brought her, before going away on undoubtedly important Library business. She almost went ahead and asked what was happening that required the Director's attention more and more over time recently, but bit her lip in time. She didn't want to impose on her friend any more than she already did, and there wasn't any doubt in Snaust's mind that once Miss Angela finally solved whatever problem that was troubling her, she'd come back to her and they'll spend some time together. She even prepared a few books she really wanted to read already, but held herself back. She really wanted to read them with Miss Angela, just like they always did.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Snaust instead thought about another thing Miss Angela briefly mentioned every now and again, and that is her no-good servant, Roland. Snaust never met the man, but she figured out she had his measure enough. A mysterious handsome man mysteriously appearing where he shouldn't, only ever alluding to his mysterious past? Snaust knew enough, and her tomes of romantic wisdom were clear as day about what's happening - Roland was a no-good villain, here to steal Miss Angela's pure maidenly heart! To think she had enjoyed reading stories with ruffians like these in them once!
Snaust bit into the next strawberry especially viciously, spraying fruit juice all over her face. She just knew this was Roland's fault to, the villain!
Cleaning the desk and herself up (also the strawberry bowl, it would be rude not to), she then went back to reading the book she started earlier.
Hours went by in silence, only the occasional rustling of a flipped page breaking the dull monotony of Snaust's surroundings.
Once finally finished with her read, Snaust looked up and around for the nth time today, eyes searching for that flash of light blue hair in the distance. Finding nothing again, she heaved a sigh and started the laborious task of tying the heavy tome onto the back of her shell to put it back onto it's proper place on the nearby shelf. Miss Angela told her numerous times she didn't have to do such things, but Snaust thought that Miss Angela has been really busy lately, undoubtedly working really hard on something very important, and so she didn't want to add to that burden by making her clean up after herself as well.
It took her some time to climb the proper bookshelf, the one she noted Miss Angela taking the book from, the heavy tome tied to the back of her shell making the climb into a precariously challenging experience. Thankfully, she avoided falling down this time, and managed to reach the book's proper resting place. With a satisfied sigh, she pushed the tome into it's spot, patted away at some imaginary dust, and made the journey back into her cozy little alcove. Perhaps it was overconfidence over a job well done that had she fell prey to, because just as she was just about to reach the ground she slipped and fell down with a startled shriek.
"Owie..." Snaust exclaimed, clutching her hurting head and struggling to hold back her tears. Thankfully the hit wasn't so bad, so the only thing truly hurt was her pride and not her shell.
She shimmied back into her cozy alcove, surrounded by some of her most precious of possessions. Her diary, for one, thought she didn't really have the time recently to work on it. Her bag of sweet coffee from Mister Chesed once Miss Angela told him Snaust liked sweet things. It was a precious gift she hoped to enjoy soon, as well as some tea she apparently got from a Miss Binah. She didn't really have a chance to taste either of them yet, since only Miss Angela knew where to get boiled water, and she was too busy recently to stay around and enjoy a drink with her. She also really hoped to finally meet her two friends in person as well, and couldn't help but wonder what they were like outside of the stories Miss Angela told her about them.
There was also a small pile of books there - it was a place only she knew about. What looked on the outside as a just a messy pile of books haphazardly placed on top of another, for Snaust it was a very secret hideout of Fort Bookfort, as she called it silently in the privacy of her own thoughts. There was a secretly hidden entrance under a book file back by the wall and near a another shelf, and one had to be a very clever and sneaky little snail to find it and get inside.
Inside the Bookfort was a tight and cramped space, and Snaust shimmied her way inside, placed one of Miss Angela's handkerchiefs she got as a gift once over her shell like a cozy blanket and lit up one of her scavenged candles, one of her last ones. She thought it was about time to go on another expedition as she was running out of candles as well as paper, and she had to replace her pencil with a pen already. Shimmying around, she dug out some of the papers she kept hidden inside of her shell, the manuscript of her very first real book she started writing. Her precious gift to Miss Angela, once she finally finished it. She had to finish it in secret of course, hence doing it while hidden under a pile of books, it just wouldn't do to spoil the surprise!
Taking her pen in her hands, and placing the page she was working on before her, she started her work. With brow furrowed and concentration deeply etched onto her face, she carefully drew letter after letter onto the slightly crumpled piece of paper. The book had to be perfect, or as close as Snaustily possible with her meager means, so she spared no effort on the task.
