"So, the rest of the Librarians, huh?" Roland mumbled under his breath as he watched Angela manifest the Light into two distinct pillars, much like she did when she first summoned Powder's cloud-haired assistant and the lazy slob who occasionally served as a distraction whose name was 'Bob'.
They were at the Library's entrance, where he himself had ended up after being teleported into the massive wooden structure, and where several other guests had accepted the Invitation into the Library, sealing their fates and becoming part of its massive book collection. This entire place still gave him the shivers. Despite Angela claiming otherwise, this place felt every bit as cruel and monstrous to him as the other Syndicates and crime gangs in the City. The fact that the Librarians could be revived until the guests were defeated was even less fair to him, even if the process of dying was still as painful and scarring as it would be under normal circumstances.
Of course, given his own blood soaked and more than dodgy past, he doubted that he was in any position to talk about being cruel and monstrous. He couldn't lecture people on it, but he could recognize the horribleness of it all. Regardless of how he felt, Roland knew it wasn't in his place - or current interests - to play moral guardian with his boss. If anything, he simply needed to butter her up and nod along with her and answering any questions she may have, especially considering the fact that he was simply biding his time to repay the 'debt' that he owed her.
In blood, naturally.
"Say…should we do some new guy hazing or something?"
"Do what now?"
Roland's morally dubious thoughts were interrupted by his youthful peer, Powder's blue eyed, thoughtful gaze looking from behind his shoulder as Angela was focused on calling upon their new workmates.
"I mean, that's how it usually goes right?" The blue haired teen continued on as forms began to come into view from within the pillars of Light, "We mess with the new guys in order to properly initiate them into their new place here, like all workplaces do!" Powder blinked as she realized something, "Wait…is the Library something we can consider a workplace?"
"Considering how Syndicates are regarded in the City and how we're pretty much one no matter what our boss says, sure, why not?" Roland shrugged, his tone cynical...well, more cynical than usual, "Though, I don't see much point in hazing given we need to stand as united as possible to get this One True Book, and pissing off our new coworkers seems like a surefire way of making sure the opposite happens." He shrugged the thought off, to the displeasure of his younger co-worker, who scoffed.
"Killjoy."
"Look, kid, I'm just trying to keep Angela as happy as possible. You're not the one whose limbs got torn off because you spoke at the wrong turn." The Fixer doubled down on his position, pocketing his hands as he spoke, looking at the shorter girl, who didn't seem to have a rebuttal for his point. "If you want to do it by yourself, then by all means, go ahead."
"It's not fun when I'm doing it by myself." Was all she was content to say, looking into the older man's dull, tired eyes. "You're awfully gloomy, y'know. We're making history here, Roland! We're winning duels, collecting Light-"
"From the blood of our fallen Guests." The taller man corrected. "That part seems to always fly over your head when you talk about our work here. I'm not objecting, but it's not exactly something I take pride in doing." He mumbled, only to receive a dismissive wave from the blue-haired Patron Librarian.
"Quit trying to be my conscience, will ya'? I'm not particularly blind to it, but I know Angela. I stayed with her for years before this Library business really started up. I know better than anyone that she has good reasons for what she's doing, and the Guests we've been having here don't seem like the best of people for the most part." She answered, almost nonchalantly as she spoke, though she licked her lips at the end. "I believe in her to make the best decisions."
"Suit yourself." The simplicity of the suited man's response almost shocked Powder, his tone entirely casual as he shrugged. "We all find our own justifications in life, that's that, and this is this, after all. But I'm still not that comfortable killing the Guests that don't belong to the 'most part' you just mentioned, even if Angela told me she had a big ol' story for what she's doing." He defended his position, though he raised his eyebrows at the Zaunite's dumbfounded expression.
"Angela…she told you about her past?!" Her voice was an octave under being a shout, to the older man's confusion.
"Just little hints here and there whenever we'd talk together. She mentioned a few parallels between her past and the way the City works." His tone hadn't changed at all, though it seemed to have an immediate effect on the younger Patron Librarian, who opened her mouth to speak before closing it to think of better arguments.
"I…see." Was all she said. It wasn't much of a surprise, at least, it shouldn't have been; Angela had told Powder of her discussions with Roland and of the information she'd extracted out of him, although for some reason, the younger bluenette had assumed it was a one-sided information exchange. Perhaps she had thought that Angela would entrust such information only to her? She had certainly wished for that to have been the case… "Still, I'm betting Angela won't be too happy if you told her how you feel." She tried maintaining a neutral tone, hoping that she hadn't revealed too much with her mini-outburst, instead opting for a small smirk.
"No, she probably wouldn't." Her older coworker agreed, narrowing his eyes to ponder her statement for a moment. "But so far, my limbs have remained attached to my body, somehow. I must be doing something right, don'tcha think?"
"It means she likes you!" Powder chirped, giving a playful nudge on his shoulder. "At least, enough to keep you alive for now." She added with as much energy, not exactly filling Roland with a lot of confidence. "Our relationship is also a lot better than how it started between us too, right Suho? Right Bob?"
"...I suppose so?" Suho answered hesitantly. She had been standing behind her shorter Patron Librarian, monitoring Angela's manifestation of two new Patrons with interest, though mostly with worry, no doubt thinking of all of the new Guests they'd have to receive with the new helpers.
"Eh, not my problem." And once again, the sheer uncaring nature of Bob's tone made Roland's eyebrow twitch. He was sitting on the ground and leaning on a bookshelf, shrugging as he spoke.
"Glad to know my assistant cares for my well-being so much," Roland mumbled, "Seriously, do I actually need to start paying to get the slightest of damns out of you?"
"Well, you know what they say: money makes the world go round!" Powder added from his side cheerfully, which, much to Roland's eternal suffering, made Bob nod in approval.
"See, boss man? She gets me. Wouldn't kill ya to give me a little incentive now and then."
"Just keep your trap shut. Spare me the migraine." The threatening glare Roland gave his assistant was enough to make him stop talking. Oh, if only he knew just how much the Fixer could beat him up…but, all in time. All in time. "Anyway…do you even know who's being summoned now? Seems like Angela spoke a lot about them to ya'." He switched the topic at hand, looking expectantly at the younger girl.
"Looks like you and I are about to find out in a second or two."
At that answer, Roland turned back just in time to see the two pillars of Light dispelling into nothing as two bodies slowly and carefully landed on the ground, feet first, Angela having a passive and unemotive look as the two new Patron Librarians took in their surroundings.
"I see you've done up the place a good bit since we've been put asleep…"
"And it begins again? Interesting times are indeed ahead of us all."
"Glad to see time has yet to change you two too severely." Angela observed, her tone sour and bitter, with a hint of nostalgia evident in her voice as she was reunited with two faces she hasn't seen in years. "Malkuth. Yesod."
In front of Angela's right, there stood a young woman diligently with her arms around a big brown book. She had long brown hair that was long enough to reach around her lower back, a bright red hairband nestled neatly on top of her head. She wore a brown coat over a white dress shirt and a brown bow tie adorned with a clear brown glossy brooch, along with a black vest, and brown low-rise ankle boots.
In front of Angela's left, there stood a young man that had both of his arms folded across his chest with short, sharp violet hair that covered his purple, right eye. He wore a long purple coat that extended to his knees, with a white tucked-in shirt and a deep violet necktie with a glossy violet brooch underneath, along with purple, straight-cut pants fastened with a white belt and black dress shoes.
"So: ready to begin again, my dear Librarians?"
Of all of the things Powder was expecting to be assigned today, meeting the two new Patron Librarians was certainly not it.
Of course, she couldn't complain too much, considering she was usually assigned the ever-so-wonderful tasks of sorting books and training for meeting new guests, though it was still a new sensation to interact with someone other than her assistant and Angela. Her caretaker had claimed that it was necessary to 'strengthen bonds between coworkers in preparation for emergency situations', and Roland was supposedly doing the same thing, so it was only fair for her to do the same thing.
Still, the young Zaunite wasn't exactly the most socially adept of people, so she was at least somewhat happier that she was assigned to Malkuth before Yesod; the purple-haired Patron seemed rather cold and distant from his manner of speech, while Malkuth seemed more hospitable with her ever-present smile and her more bubbly attitude. Of course, appearances could be deceiving, but just because they could've been didn't mean they were.
Apparently, Malkuth and Yesod already knew each other, which wasn't too much of a surprise considering they worked in the same horrible Corporation Angela worked in, according to what the older bluenette had told Powder. They definitely seemed more comfortable around each other than with the rest of them, something that was definitely evident when Angela properly - if begrudgingly - introduced them to her and Roland, with no small talk even being attempted to be engaged by either side besides the stale and brief introductions given by their shared boss before Angela went away with the two newcomers to help integrate them to the respective Floors they'll be running for the foreseeable future.
Of course, Powder could've simply teleported using the Light, but she also didn't want to surprise Malkuth too much - outside of the potential pranking she will now have to do by her poor lonesome given that Roland was locked out from using the Light and Suho putting her foot down on the subject matter.
Well, in that case, there was only one way to get to know her new teammates, social ineptitude be damned!
So here she was: walking through thick brown hallways of the Floor of History, hands casually in her pockets and whistling a tune from her days hanging around the streets of the undercity right up until she reached the door that led to the room currently held by Malkuth.
"Whelp, here goes nothing!"
And without further delay, Powder pounded on the door like she was a landlord damning the money from her tenet on payday.
"Ayo, Malkuth! Open up, I wanna get to know you better!" Well, Angela wanted her to know Malkuth better, anyway, and she didn't want to upset her caregiver too much when her demand was harmless.
Crash!
"C-Come in! Please don't mind the mess…"
"Malkuth?" Powder opened the door slowly, fearing something would blow up in her face once she entered. Apparently, there was a veritable explosion alright, just an explosion of books that landed on the floor. Apparently, Malkuth still wasn't used to sorting books. "You good?"
"As good as a klutz like me can be…" The brown-haired Librarian responded with a low, self-deprecating chuckle. Powder blinked as she stared at her, the new Patron Librarian on the floor and surrounded by scattered books, with her in the center, "You'd think that after all of this time, I'd be over this kind of thing." She winced as she rubbed her head delicately.
"You mean this kind of thing is the standard for ya?"
"Not necessarily with books, but I guess dropping things isn't new for me." The brunette sighed, resting her hands on her knee and getting up to greet her fellow Librarian, "But enough about me and my clumsiness, I take it you came here for something in particular?"
"Would you believe me if I said that I came here just because?" It was Malkuth's turn to blink and stare as Powder simply shuffled toward her without a care in the world, "I heard a looooottt about you during my time with Angela and wanted to know about much of it would hold up when face to face with the truth!"
The older girl tilted her head curiously. "You really wanna know that badly? Surely you couldn't have heard too much from Angela at this point; I can't imagine she'd tell you too much..." She then shook her head, a realization dawning upon her. "How long could you have even been with her at this point?"
"Me? I guess six or seven years, give or take. I lost track of time after that." Powder shrugged helplessly, stopping before a confused looking Malkuth, "What can I say? Time passes fast when you're busy!"
"Seven years…" Malkuth repeated in disbelief, "B-But that's just after we made our deal with Angela and ended the war…" She mumbled once more to herself, furrowing her brows for a moment. "You were with her at such a time?"
"Well, more like she took me in when I had nowhere else to go when I crashed into this place." Powder informed, leaning sideways on her shoes at the memory, "Really couldn't have had happened at a better time for me, considering I wasn't in the best of spots…"
"What do you mean? You were an Agent at the Corporation, right? Angela only had us and our Agents here, as far as I knew. Where did you come from, if not from ?" The Floor of History's Patron questioned, only for the younger Patron Librarian to wave it away.
"That's another story for another time. It's no big deal right now." Powder waved off casually…a bit too casually if one were to be watching the way quickly she moved to get away from the topic, almost as if she wanted to dodge the question. "You know, if I'm not feeling too depressed even thinking about it, then there's really no reason to bring it up." Powder stated, a dark look overtaking her facial expression for a moment before she fiercely shook her head, her carefully braided hair wildly swinging left to right as a result, "Besides, I didn't come here to talk about little ol' me! I'm here to talk about you standing here in the flesh!"
The younger of the two then leaned in with a wide grin - the kind of grin she reserved when hiding the less than desirable results of her tinkering from Vi or Vander.
"So tell me: what's your big deal? Mind telling a simple gal like me who Malkuth is?"
'...Either she's here to size me up or Angela truly picked up one too curious for her own good.' The brunette hummed internally, taking great care to not let any of her inner thoughts be picked up from her expression, 'Either way, it'd be impolite of me not to respond, seeing how curious she seems to be.'
"What would you even want to know about me?" Malkuth responded, carefully brushing the hair behind her ear, looking at the younger girl and trying earnestly to remember if she was an Agent back when she was in the Corporation. "You want to hear my life's story? Or more specifically, the part about how I got into my current position as the Floor Patron Librarian of History?"
"I'll take option B, thanks!" Powder answered cheerfully, "Not to be too rude or anything, but I'm not sure I'll have the patience to stomach a whole-ass biography spoken to me like some walking and talking history book." She paused as if realizing what she just said, narrowing her eyes a little and scratching the back of her neck. "Uh, no offense to you or the Floor you're representing."
"None taken!" Malkuth giggled a bit less sensibly than what one may expect out of an adult in such a prestigious - well, prestigious looking, what with the uniforms and all - position. It seemed she was far less posh than Angela or Yesod seemed to be, and definitely not as cynical as Roland was. That was…a sign, though whether good or bad, Powder couldn't decide too easily. "I'll admit, my life dream wasn't exactly history, either, but I guess I like it enough." She shrugged, earning a raised eyebrow from the younger Patron.
"You don't? I'd have thought Angela would've put you in positions you liked; she talked a lot about efficiency and such things, so it only made sense." The Zaunite said with blue eyebrows raised. "You don't see yourself fitting into where you're at right now?"
"Now, I never said about hating my current position. It's not even about my Floor's theme or anything like that but I…no, we have a lot of grievances with Angela that stem most from our personal experiences with her." She crossed her arms, sighing as she closed her eyes for a moment.
Powder frowned, "You mean that whole war you guys waged on each other right? That one that resulted in most of the Light being wasted?"
Malkuth tilted her head in surprise "Oh wow. She told you that much, did she?"
"Yep!" Powder confirmed while popping the 'p', the young bluenette answered with some joy that she seemed to have been entrusted confidential information. "I mean, it was only natural when Angela and I only had each other for who knows how many years." Still, she had to downplay that joy it she didn't want Malkuth to treat her suspiciously if she thought she was too close to Angela for comfort.
"Uh-huh…guess you two definitely spent some time together if she told you about- nevermind that, then." The brunette waved away the topic dismissively, not wishing to dwell on it for too long.
"Right, well, you guys ended up making a deal when all things were said and done, right?" Powder reminded her, arms opened wide as if presenting something, "Otherwise you wouldn't be here talking to me, right?"
"Yes, I don't need to be reminded." Malkuth responded with a slight roll of her eyes, "But even if we managed to come to a compromise for now, it doesn't mean how we got there in the first place was desirable in any way in the first place."
"Mind explaining?"
"It's a bit complicated."
"We are way past 'bit complicated' at this point, considering we're inviting people to the Library and booking 'em." And with how close this Powder seemed to be to Angela, telling her about the grievances she holds against the Library Director would probably not be the smartest move possible, all things considered, "So again: mind explaining?"
Malkuth suddenly looked ever so slightly uncomfortable, "That's…a topic that doesn't need to be addressed at the moment, especially when I still have so much to set up on my floor, not even counting the fact that I just woke up not too long ago. We have all the time in the world to talk about it later, methinks. You probably also have your own stuff that you aren't willing to show off right now, right?"
Powder couldn't hold back a pout, though she had to admit the validity of the argument. "Fiiinnneee. Guess I'm in no position to be upset about holding back stuff." With a childish huff, the Patron of the Psychology Floor turned on her heel and towards the exit. "I guess I just wanted to check on how you're doing, since we're now co-workers and all that. Let me know if you need any help getting things up and running to your tastes since everything in the Library is still all new for ya."
"Oh, not to worry! If there is one thing I'm proud of, it is my ability to adapt to any situation at hand!" Malkuth boasted with some pride seeping into her tone. "Until next time Powder!"
Well, Powder thought as she closed the door behind her, that was an experience for sure. Whether good or bad, she couldn't really tell; Angela had spoken with her in length about the fact that she and the other Patron Librarians had a bit of a rocky relationship, although she never elaborated on why. The teenager thought that it was only logical that the rest of the Patron Librarians wouldn't be too willing to open up so soon, either. Even if Malkuth was as cheerful as she looked, at least from what the young bluenette could tell from their first interaction together, she seemed to be rather intimidated by Angela or the prospect of speaking about their past together, which was…fair enough, really, considering that Powder herself still got intimidated of the golden-eyed woman from time to time.
Still, it did ask more questions than it answered. She knew Malkuth worked at the awful Corporation that still haunts Angela in the present, but who was she before that? What really happened between Angela and Powder's future-co-workers…?
It was probably best to not dwell on those questions too much, anyway; if the rest of the Patrons were going to be so hostile and obstruct towards her one caretaker, that only meant she'd just stick more with Angela to make sure nobody backstabs them. Of course, she was curious to know what made them act so uppity when it came to the A.I., but…
Well, she could ponder such a question later. Nothing good came from asking such things, anyway. And besides, she still had one more Patron Librarian to entertain, didn't she?
Next stop: out of this Floor…for now. Until the time comes when getting those answers are necessary, she'll have to do her best to make sure nothing stands in the way of her most cherished friend reaching her dream.
It's what she owes Angela, after all.
Up to the Floor of Technological Sciences, she went, then!
"...Is it just me, or is this place a lot spookier than before?"
Powder crossed her arms as she shivered from the cold atmosphere that has taken over the Floor room she just entered.
As she walked across the road-like bridge that reminded her a bit too much of the one that connected Piltovor and Zaun, the blunette looked up into the sky, it itself a deep, neverending purple that completely covered from above the great, neon glowing city-like structures below, the gigantic gears littered between each building, their slow and meticulous turning filling the seemingly deafening silence with their grinding.
It was a reminder for Powder that her new normal was beyond anything 'normal'. It wasn't the first time she came up to the Floor where the so-called Yesod would be situated, though she hadn't visited it often, considering she had no reason to. It was also a reminder of the massive technological advancements in her newfound home and just how much she has yet to uncover about it even after all of these years living in it. To have a whole city that rivaled the entirety of Piltover itself in terms of size and scale in just one of its rooms…it genuinely made the Zaunite question if Angela was pulling her leg when she told her that there was no magic involved at all.
"As if a room with a freakin' moon in it can't be counted as being magic…" Powder grumbled as she suspiciously eyed the crescent moon ominously hanging right above the chained and tall tower a good distance away from the bridge, "How is this place even supposed to be experienced when everything is said and done? Will we shock them with the stars? Angela better give me a freakin' full map of the entire Library once we get the One True Book." Preferably before that, if the Library was just going to keep on expanding like it currently was.
Shaking her head, Powder refocused her efforts on her current mission statement of finding the Patron of this Floor before any other Guests arrive at the Library. Speaking of which…
At the end of the road bridge was a not-so-small office, certainly bigger than Malkuth's at first glance, with the same purple hues that decorated the Floor and a lot of mechanical parts and pieces with some bookshelves near the walls, a staple in every Floor. Seated on a wooden bench with an open book in hand was Yesod himself, looking much more at peace and relaxed than when she first met him.
'Hmm, a total bookworm then? Seemed obvious from before but I didn't want to assume too much from my coworker. No matter how much it looked like he needed to get that stick out of his ass.' Powder thought as she reached closer to her target. Whelp, no time like the present, "Good book you got there? I haven't read everything this place has to offer yet, don't think I even made I dent! Reading anything that I'd be interested in taking a crack at?"
"Given the fact that we've only been introduced to each other, I wouldn't know if our tastes aligned with each other or not." The purple haired young man answered coolly while simply turning from one page to the next, "You must be Powder of the Floor of Psychology, right? The one I've heard Angela has taken in for quite some time now." He greeted her without lifting his eyes off of his book, finishing his current page and picking up a bookmark from a nearby table, resting his book on said table and getting up, fixing his tie and brushing any lint off of his suit. "Allow me to properly reintroduce myself: I am Yesod, Patron Librarian of the Floor of Technological Sciences." He offered a firm hand, which Powder - while pushing down the idea that he sounded like a Topsider too much for her liking - took and accepted.
"Nice to match'ca again Yesod!" Powder replied goodnaturedly with a wide, toothy smile as she wildly shook her peer's hand up and down, "Glad to have ya on broad…or reboarding, if we're being a bit more honest!" She grinned, though he kept his neutral expression in the meanwhile, eyeing his new colleague and almost boring a hole through her with how intently he was focused on her.
If Powder's actions or words caused him any discomfort, Yesod didn't show it, calmly and almost mechanically retracting his arm when the younger Librarian released it, pocketing it, "While I don't mind unexpected visits from my peers if they prove to be non-distracting, may I ask what has prompted this particular one?"
"Oh you know: just checking to see if you need help resettling in or need some help in organizing stuff on your Floor and whatnot, you know, like any good ol' co-worker does when a new guy enters the workplace!" Powder answered brightly, putting her hands in her pocket while rocking on the heels of her shoes.
"Right, I see." Yesod mumbled, clearly unamused. "Hmph, at least your clothes are not as unkempt as Roland's. I would assume so, seeing as Angela seems to be rather keen on keeping you as her protégée, though it is one nice thing to see." He…He what? Was this a compliment? An insult? A snarky comment? His tone was still entirely neutral, and the younger girl couldn't tell what his intention was.
"Well, I wouldn't call myself her proégée, per se." Powder responded while scratching her cheek in slight embarrassment.
"Then what are you? Her spy?" Yesod's words took a suddenly harsh and uncompromising turn, his arms crossed firmly. Powder frowned at the abrupt hostility directed her way.
"Her ward, thank you very much. For seven years and counting for your information." The look the purple haired man gave her a strange look as if she just started talking out of her ass, "What? Is that so hard to believe for you?"
"Seven years, you say? So much for the 'quick' victory she spoke of. I suppose she had too little Light to work with at the time, after all…if we had fought just a little while longer, we could've-" He stopped himself, making eye contact with the blue-haired teenager once more. "Forgive the abrupt accusation, although it is quite difficult to be so trusting when Angela sends two strangers for me to meet simply because she wishes to humor me." He explained mirthlessly, keeping his arms crossed.
"Jeez, first Malkuth, now you…do none of the other Patron Librarians like Angela?" Powder shook her head, clearly not appreciating how the conversation was going at the moment.
"Not to worry, I'm sure she's quite pleased with her new lapdog, and you seem to be rather fond of her as well." He answered, shrugging as he spoke. "There's a lot of bad air between all of us and Angela. She destroyed something that we gave our sweat, blood, and tears for, all to further a personal and selfish goal that could've been accomplished by a multitude of other means." He added, keeping an entirely neutral expression and only narrowing his eyes a little.
Powder sniffed, clearly insulted at the accusations he's been laying at her feet. "Well, excuse me for wanting to get to know my new teammate better! I'll have you know mister that I was only sent here by ME and ME only to see what you were all about so we can work together better."
"How very kind on your part." Yesod's tone was dry, though not humorless. "Nevertheless, beget not fear; I am more than capable of differentiating between professional work and my personal sensibilities, so when push comes to shove, I will be able to support you in a combat situation." He assured her, though all he got was a raspberry blown in his direction, alongside a dismissive wave as the younger bluenette put a hand on her hip.
"Cut me the malarky grape head; all I've heard so far from you is the same crap I've been hearing all my life from people like you!"
"People like me?" The older Patron Librarian echoed, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at the blue haired girl glaring daggers at him. "That's a bit presumptuous to say don't you think, given the fact that you don't know me in any meaningful way."
"And yet, you have no problem acting like you damn well know who I am." Powder let out a brief, but scornful chuckle, "But yes, people like you, who seem to think that they know everything! What do you know about what Angela went through? She fought against you for a reason!" She wagged a finger at the purple-haired Librarian, closing an eye as she did so.
"And do you know why we fought against her? I will not deny the horrible methods we had to use to achieve our noble goal, but are you any happier about the methods Angela applies here?" He raised the other eyebrow in return, tapping the ground with his foot.
"I don't need you to be my conscience-"
"Are you happy with it or not?"
Powder paused, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't matter whether or not I'm happy with it. If there's one thing life has taught me is that doing what you need to do to get where you want to be isn't a road that'll be exactly spotless to walk on."
"Then do you think that her goal is worth those spots, not of ink, but of blood?" What was It with this guy?! This was their first meeting and he was already saying all sorts of gibberish! Talk about intense!
"Well…you did a whole bunch of stuff while you were at L Corp to get where you wanted to be, right? Are your hands so clean from your time there?"
All too suddenly, Yesod's whole body stiffened, his expression of cold calculus all too abruptly transformed into a clear blankness as Yesod's purple eyes starred way pasted Powder and into the distance as if a particular memory has taken complete hold over him, resulting a complete silence to blank the entire space both of them currently occupied.
Honestly, it creeped Powder out, to say the least. It was as if the man's mind was transported into a completely different dimension or something. But something in the back of her own mind told her that trying to shake him out of his odd trance wouldn't do either of them any favors, so she decided to just wait it out in respect for the man's personal space and emotions.
Then, after what seemed to be forever, Yesod spoke up once again, his tone of voice much more careful and vulnerable than before.
"...No, my hands are not bloodless. I am man enough to admit that at this point and accept that fact, and no matter what happens next, for good or for ill, those actions I have taken in the name of my goal will always be a part of me."
Yesod's eyes then returned to look Powder directly into hers, as if they were looking directly into her soul.
"Will you be able to do the same if Angela's ways prove to be too bloody of a road for you to walk?"
"...I'll see ya again when new Guests arrive, Yesod. Laters."
And without another word, Powder began walking back toward the way she came into the room.
'Angela isn't the kind of person who'd put me in that kind of situation in the first place. She isn't Vi.' Powder thought stubbornly as the door arrived through and came closer into her purview with each slow, unsure step she took, 'I know her too well to think anything like that could ever happen again with her, not after all she's done for me, not after everything we've been through together. S-She'd never go too far to get what she wants…'
…Right?
AND BACK AT IT!
Hope you all are having a good New Year so far!
And finally, we've reached the introduction of the other Patron Librarians! Hope their interactions with Powder are going well so far and are believable so far.
We also wanted to clear up some things regarding the LoR integration in this 'Fic. Unfortunately, we have come to realize that a 'Fic retelling LoR's events would be too long, especially with our future plans for the plot. This is the main reason for any and all discrepancies which you might find compared to the Canon events of LoR. We will not disregard events and/or LoR plot points, however, we will be forced to skip over most fights and Guest Receptions, only focusing on major ones without whom the story cannot progress, hence why we skipped most of the Guests up until Dawn Office's members.
This will also affect the various Realizations of Angela and Roland, where we will focus primarily on four important ones and mention the rest in passing. We realize this may not be what everyone wants, however, the 'Fic would be too long otherwise. Thank you for understanding.
Hate it? Love it? Do tell!
Until next time!