The encounter with the young boy had ended fairly well enough and Willow had to hurry back to listen to the lecture she was interested in before they could scour the library for whatever Winona had wanted. Though, Willow didn't expect that the next leg of the lectures were taking them to the library itself - and she had to bite back a bit of disappointment that welled up in her for the waste of time.
As they entered the library, her eyes immediately began to roam - books as far as the eye could see and some students were already inhabiting the library. All this knowledge stuck inside one academy? She wondered if outsiders were allowed within the premises. She couldn't remember. Still, it would be a shame to restrict whoever could access this.
Theo's comment pulled her back from her thoughts followed by Arturo's reassurance as her eyes landed on the templars and the retreating lecturer.
"If they were after us, they had plenty of opportunities to do so before this." She commented with an idle shrug though she looked uneasy as well.
"We'll just have to be prepared if things go wrong." If anything, she could probably get out of there by flying out with Theo and Arturo in tow - though carrying them is a feat in and of itself. Doing it while trying to dodge templars would make it more difficult.
When she scanned the library again, a familiar blond haired boy caught her attention - hands on a tome and seemed to be waiting for them. Right. She made a deal with the boy. The Templar Knight's kid, Michel. She excused herself to her two companions and headed over to Winona, brushing her hand against the other girl's shoulder to catch her attention.
"Looks like Michel's still here and hasn't been kicked out yet." She mused with amusement in her voice.
"Well, I have to continue to fulfill my end of the bargain. He can probably teach us how to navigate through this maze." He mentioned gravity slides. Was that how the students were getting to the books up top?
Michel reluctantly raised his eyes from the pages of the book in his hand to look down at the crowd as the library got considerably louder, much to the
librarian's overt contempt. The moment he noticed the two who had helped him get into the library, a wry smile appeared on his lips.
As a sign of good companionship – and a reason to distance herself from the boy that made her uncomfortable – Winona had followed after Willow to whatever she was hurrying towards. That 'whatever' turned out to be a lecture of sorts. Yet, as it wasn't a lecturer of her own House, Winona spent her time flipping through her spell tome. Keeping her mind occupied by trying to find any lingering discrepancies in the writing she'd dutifully jotted down over the years. Incantations she'd recited until her jaw was sore from utter the words. She knew there was no fault to be found in these spells, yet the mindless activity blocked out the non-Nito-approved lecturer's spiel.
Still, the background noise that the lecturer produced interfered with her reading to some extent. Enough to make her wonder if the path she'd chosen was correct. First, there was that boy that made her doubt how she knew the world functioned and now she was potentially getting indoctrinated by this lecture. Trying to find a reason for all these obstacles on her path yielded no results, only headache. That was until her imagination kicked in and provided her with a means to prolong the girl's delusions regarding the world. This was a test! Just like the note leading her to the blacksmith and the letter leading her here!
Call it fate or dumb luck, but her realization came at the conclusion of the lecture. Immediately allowing the young necromancer to erase any doubt about this theory when the lecturer mentioned they'd proceed towards the library next.
Once they reached said destination, Winona couldn't believe the fairytale-like place she'd found herself in. Her eyes dancing around trying to take in all the sights at once. A place this magical had to have secrets! Yet, her primary objective remained books regarding Grandmaster Nito, but if she stumbled across any goodies on the way, well…
Still taking in the sights, Winona's attention was diverted by something brushing her shoulder. Prompting the girl to turn towards it. Still sporting a giddy smile as twinkling emerald eyes landed on her companion.
"It's so pretty here!" She announced, loud enough for anyone to hear despite directing the words at Willow. Her mood was dampened but a little when Willow brought up Michel, causing her to immediately look around closer. Eyes narrowing as they landed on the blond-haired boy.
"Do you have to ask him? We can just look around ourselves, can't we?" She pleaded as she brought her gaze back to Willow, far from keen on engaging with the boy a second time.
Winona's energy was almost contagious. The library was starstruck inducing and for a moment, she wondered if there was anything like this back in Ithya. Though, her mood fluctuated at the mention of Michel, the sour tone of the earlier interaction still fresh in their minds. Willow wouldn't hesitate to admit that the boy was spoiled but a deal was a deal.
"We can, but I gave him my word. Though, he is already inside the library and the visitors are likely sufficient distractions for him but I'll still check whatever else he needs." The older woman gave Winona a reassuring smile. It wasn't like he would make them do anything absurd.
"Besides, I'm sure he's seen us already." She looked up again to see that the blonde boy had, indeed, been gazing at them.
With that, Willow headed over to Michel - eyeing the librarian and moving to block Michel out of the sight of the clockworker.
"Having fun there Michel?" She asked, keeping her tone light.
The boy tensed up as Willow called out. He shuffled in his spot, looking left and right dramatically to see if anyone could see him, while sitting out in the open in clear view of almost everyone in the entrance of the library. Once he was confident everyone was ignorant to his presence, he got up and furtively gestured the two to come up. There were no stairs in sight leading directly up to the next level, but there were signs on the walls pointing to "Floor 7" in one direction, and floors -3 through 5 in another direction. The floor 7 signs pointed to the open edge overlooking the atrium several storeys below.
"Jump," the boy mouthed, pointing at the dozens of meters high fall.
Despite disagreeing with the notion of honoring the word she gave Michel, Winona knew better than to directly oppose the decision of her elder. For a moment she considered if she could just wait here while Willow went over to chat with the boy, but after being showered with a smile that option was also discarded. Following after the older woman as they approached the blond-haired boy.
Along for the ride, but unwilling to speak on account of childish pettiness, she listened to the words being exchanged. Silently gazing down into the pit in front of them. Under normal circumstances, Winona wouldn't have given it a second thought and would've jumped at command. However, since the person instructing wasn't exceptionally high on her 'friend list' she decided to assess the situation herself.
Stepping closer to the edge, it still very much appeared to be a large pit. Holding her hand out above the pit provided some insight into the situation, however. Feeling a strong current of sorts pushing her hand upwards. Strong enough to carry a person, no doubt. But then where would it go? As she looked upwards her first guess would be that the ceiling was covered in spikes, or fire, or roof snakes, but before her eyes could reach the ceiling they landed on a platform. Very similar in appearance and clearly meant to serve the same purpose as the one they were currently standing on.
Having made up her mind, she still glared up at the blond boy.
"If this is a trick, I'm going to haunt you!" She warned before taking a step forward into the pit before them. The current enveloping her not only prevented her from falling but also carried her up to the next level. Hopping off onto the platform and immediately spinning around to look down at Willow.
"It's safe!"
Receiving no response but not minding either way, she watched as the boy cautiously, if a little dramatically, checked the surroundings before leading the way. She idly followed, gazing at the signs. It really was an impressive feat of engineering, if she had to say so herself. She stopped at the edge and looked down. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
This wouldn't be the first time for the past few days that she's had to jump from a tall height. What is it with heights and herself?
Willow watched as Winona methodically went around to see what was up with the pit. She swore she could hear the gears of her brain move and Willow was about to jump in herself. If anything, if she fell, she could help herself. However, Winona made a snide comment at Michel before stepping off of the platform before being blown upwards by the strong draft of wind and onto the next platform.
Willow gave her a nod before pressing a finger to her lips. The last thing they needed was the librarian breathing down on their necks. With that, she stepped off of the platform and let the wind guide her upwards. Something tingled behind her back, instinct wanting to sprout her wings to gain more control over the situation but she fought it back. If the Templars saw, they would be discovered. Still, it was impressive how similar it felt to flying but she couldn't think too much on it before she reached the platform and landed on it.
"Well that was fun." She grinned at Winona, looking back down to watch Michel.
"It was like flying." She continued with a muted laugh.
The boy looked at the two expectantly for a few seconds before speaking in a hushed but excited tone.
"How did everyone get past the librarian?" he asked, starry eyed. The sense of superiority in his voice seemed to be gone for now.
"Did you sneak them in as well?" He pointed at the group of twenty odd lecture attendees talking amongst themselves.
"It was! This place is so neat!" Winona retorted with glee. Practically bouncing in place from the excitement of having 'found' a place this magical. She had to test the gravity stream more, if only for the fun of it. There was no way she'd leave without satisfying her curiosity. With a loud thud, she dropped her backpack onto the platform. The contents shifted, rustled, and clanged as they were violently being banged into each other from the impact.
Practically shoving half herself into the bag, she eventually produced a sound of paper tearing from within. Pulling out a blank sheet of paper. Satisfied with the dimensions of the sheet, Winona sat herself down on the edge of the platform. Feeling the gravity push against her legs as they attempted to dangle over the edge. As she sat there, she used the flat surface of the platform to meticulously fold the sheet into the shape of a plane.
With the entirety of her being set on making this paper plane fly, Winona failed to hear Michel's sudden change of tone. Or maybe it was simply her unconscious being unwilling to pay attention to the boy. Whichever the case, Winona blatantly interrupted the boy without even the slightest consideration.
"Eh, Ms. Willow?" In an attempt to address her companion she realized she hadn't asked about the proper way to do so.
"Is that alright? To call you that, I mean. Eh, but! Look!"
At the conclusion of her sentence, she threw the paper plane into the stream. Expecting it to utilize it like a wind current and fly for miles. Instead, it succumbed to gravity and shot straight upwards. Winona's eyes quickly followed after it as her expression turned from excitement to confusion. That was not the expected outcome.
"Eh…"
Willow smiled at Michel, mind gearing on whether making the tale more grandiose than what it really was - a little tour group. Still, she could remember Michel's father being the one to lead them there before leaving. She hummed and gave him a conspiratory wink.
"Let's just say we had some help from the inside so we could all get in. They're a pretty good distraction don't you think?"
Her smile widened at Winona's apparent and vibrant excitement. She watched as the younger girl pulled something out from her bag. Willow watched patiently as she continued her experiment. She was curious about what she was up to but decided to keep silent and see how it'll go. As long as she wasn't pulling out a bomb or anything that could ban them from the library - and the Templars finding out about her - then there weren't any problems.
"Just Willow is fine." She reassured the younger girl, the addition of such formality rubbing her the wrong way. In any case, she watched as Winona threw the paper airplane and, instead of going forward, it blasted up. She let out a hum.
"The current was probably too strong for it to simply hover." She noted, seeing Winona's confusion.
"It was able to lift us up without much difficulty." For it to be that powerful yet so controlled that it doesn't shoot a living being up is still impressive in its own right, but it wasn't in a school of magic that she was knowledgeable about.
"In any case, you were looking for something here in the library?" She reminded her, looking back to the rows of books that dot the area.
As Willow looked at the bookshelves, a distant shattering glass echoed through the library. Henri LaFramboise had already left in a hurry, and one of the two knights by the doors hurried toward the source of the noise.
"You're looking for books?"
