The Library [EverlyxAndy]

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Eirian watched Jason for a long moment, taking in his crestfallen expression and the dull acceptance in his eyes as he studied the floor. Perhaps she had finally gotten through to him. Now he would understand just how odd and hopeless this all was. She felt for him, yes, but there was nothing she could do. The Library did as it wished, as always. Trying to control it was a worthless gesture. It would cause only frustration and disappointment. Jason would need to see that and simply accept that this was how things were. He would run the risk of never seeing her again, but it was more of an inevitability than a true choice. Pretending to choose it just made it easier.

She sighed and gave a half shrug, not struggling nearly as much as Jason was. As much as she wished for him to stay, it was more difficult for her to wrap her mind around the fact that he could not simply leave and come back on the next day. She knew that his world ran on a different time table that was a bit shaky, but there was no precise chart for it recorded. That would be helpful, but nobody managed to understand how it worked. She knew that he could leave and come back at a different time entirely, but there was no point in fighting it. The Library was her life. She wasn't about to start arguing with it.

"Why don't you find a book that you would like to read? Sit and relax. There is nothing more to do," she pointed out, giving him a calm smile and going over to a bookshelf to do precisely as she had suggested. When all else failed, Eirian would read.
 
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Jason just sat there numb. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to curse the world. He wanted to do something that would let him stay here with her forever. Yet no matter what he did..no matter how hard he tried he would never be able to do that. Yeah he could love her..and she could possibly love him that was if she chose to do so. But..there was no guarantee that it would work. He could leave the library this day and then never see her again. The door could never return and he could be stuck with a hole in his heart for the rest of his life as he tried to find a way back to her.

When she suggested he just read he said nothing. He wanted to snap at her and scream how could she just read at a time like this?! He was hurting mentally and emotionally and she wanted to read and pass the time to try and calm him down? Reading was the last thing he wanted to do at this point. He didn't react to her words in any way however as he just sat in his chair and stared at the floor. What was he going to do? Was there really no hope for his love for her?
 
Eirian picked a book from the shelf, feeling rather content. It was one of her favorites - though, to be honest, most of the books in the Library were her favorites. That sort of came with the territory. She blew the dust from the pages and looked over at Jason, but he hadn't budged at all. Apparently he was not interested in reading. She hesitated, then selected a book for him as well. Reading always made everybody feel better. Words could heal. That was what her mother always told her, and Eirian had never found it to be wrong. Her perception of the world and how it all worked was simultaneously smaller and larger than Jason's. She did not understand his conflicting feelings, but she did understand far more of other worlds than he did. She was both more naive and more wise than he was, making for a combination that likely confused him at the moment.

"Here you go," she said, her voice cheerful as she laid a book on the table in front of him. He may not read it, she knew, but hopefully it would help him in some way if he did. She felt satisfied. This was her job. The Guardian provided books from the Library to those who needed them. It made her feel like she was accomplishing something. She smiled and took her own book over to the window, perching on the wide sill and curling her legs up in front of her as she cracked open the aged spine. Without a bit of hesitation, she settled back and started to read.
 
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Jason said nothing as she placed the book in front of him. He only glanced at the title as he tried to figure out why the hell she thought reading would calm him down. To help him get over the current situation he was in. He wasn't interested in reading. He wasn't interested in anything at the moment. He felt the strongest urge to just leave and never come back. It would save him from further heart ache and it would give him the chance to move on with his life.

But almost as soon as he thought this it made him want to cry. He couldn't imagine leaving this amazing place forever. He couldn't imagine leaving her. He knew that one day something would happen to this library while she was guardian that would cause it to go up in flames. What that was he had no idea but he was determined to try and stop it somehow. He shook his head and covered his face with his hands for a few moments before he let out a slow breath. a few tears escaped him as well in that brief moment but he shook them off before he took his hands away from his face and simply stared at the book she had placed in front of him.
 
Eirian, as usual, was blissfully unaware of the happenings going on around her as she read. She knew by instinct that the Library was fine. It was a constant monitor in the back of her mind. Other than that, her focus was on the book in her hands. Her imagination lit up and she delved into the story, delighted by the turns of phrase. Every writer has a different voice, and she loved to hear them all. She did not realize that Jason was not in a happy little bubble as she was. His discontent was supposed to be cured with a book. That was how things worked for her, and she assumed for everybody else.

She flipped a page and paused as a niggling registered in her senses. A new visitor. This one felt familiar. She looked up just in time to hear Kiana calling out to her from the stairs. Ah, one of her favorite friends. The elementalist had already met Jason, of course, but they seemed to get along well. It'd be nice for them to meet again.

"I'm over here," she called, hopping up and going over to meet a very excited Kiana. To Eirian's surprise, her friend had brought a second guest. The girl was about the same age as Kiana, with short red curls that were brighter than Eirian's own. Her eyes were large and bright, a shining gold.

"Eirian, this is is Jaliah," Kiana explained, gesturing to the olive-skinned girl to her right. "She's a fire elementalist who's just learning! I told her about the Library and she's been dying to come. I figured you could help her out with some scrolls, like the water ones we found last time I was here. She definitely needs the help."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," Jaliah protested. "Look!" she added, holding out a hand as a flame danced across it. Seconds later, however, the flame got bigger and jumped erratically, nearly landing on a book before Kiana extinguished it with a spray of water. "... Oops."

"Oh dear.. Yes, I believe I have something that can help," Eirian said, a bit worried about the lack of control, but willing to help as always.
 
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Jason said nothing as he heard the familiar voice of Kiana calling down to Eirian as she looked for them. Jason said nothing and just leaned back in his chair as he watched the two friends converse along with the new girl that was a friend of Kiana's. However as soon as he heard the word Fire he jumped to his feet and stared the new girl down. It might have looked rude or something but that was the least of his worries at the moment. When he saw the little control that she had over flames he knew right there and then. That this girl..whether she meant to or not would be the destruction of the library.

Jason swallowed hard and gently walked over to Eirian and tapped her on the shoulder "uh..Eirian..can I speak to you for a minute..in private? This will just take a moment" He looked at the two elementalists and gave them a small smile "Sorry.." Not waiting for Eirian to speak he took her hand and pulled her away so the two friends would be out of ear shot.
 
"Hm? Oh, sure," Eirian agreed, a bit confused by Jason's sudden desire to speak when he had been sitting in silence for a fair amount of time before that. Apparently reading had helped him as she hoped. She walked along, not minding that he lead her away from the other pair.

"What's his deal?" Jaliah murmured to Kiana as the pair walked off.

"He's from Earth. Kind of weird. He thinks everything related to magic and such is amazing," Kiana said with a giggle. "But he was pretty nice when I met him last time. I think he and Eirian might be a 'thing' now," she added by way of explanation, nodding toward them as Jaliah grinned.

Once they were far enough away that Eirian could no longer hear the two females, she turned to Jason and tilted her head curiously, giving him a calm smile. She knew that no matter what he had to say, she would support him. If he wanted to go back home and see his family again or if he wanted to stick around until he fell asleep. Either was fine. Perhaps his scholarly instincts had kicked in and he wanted help researching into his world and the connection to the Library to see if he could find a way to stay. She thought it impossible, but he may be entertained by looking. Who knew?

"What is it, Jason?"
 
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Jason glanced over at the two elementalists and then back at Eirian and let out a slow breath "ok listen to me..I know that we just had a rough time a few minutes ago before they got here but I need to say this and I think it is extremely important that you listen to me." He let out another slow breath before he steeled his nerves to continue "remember that I told you I came through the door and I found that the library was on fire? I saw you die in front of me. I didn't catch her name but I think it's the fire girl over there that starts it. I'm not saying she does it on purpose but I think one day she comes in and something happens and she is the reason that the fire starts."

He took her hands in his and stared deeply into her eyes worry clearly etched into his face. "I don't think she is a bad person..I'm not saying that she is but I think that her and what I saw that one time I came into the library are linked. The library doesn't let anyone with evil intentions in right? Well..if that's the case then she has to come in with good intentions to learn about her abilities and accidentally sets the library on fire. I know it sounds crazy but you need to believe me. If you don't..the library will go up in flames one day. Your the guardian of the library..in the end I will trust your decision..I just wanted you to know what I saw and what I feel about this.."
 
Eirian stared at Jason, stunned by what he was saying to her. She did remember that he had explained there had been a fire, of course, but this was not something she expected to hear. Jaliah was not somebody familiar to Eirian but she was a friend to Kiana. The water elementalist was extremely sweet and had always been nothing but kind and respectful to both the Guardian and the Library. Eirian found it hard to believe that Kiana would bring somebody else here who was not the same way. Jaliah seemed eager to learn and a generally happy person so far. It was difficult for the Guardian to picture Jaliah setting the Library aflame, even accidentally.

"I understand your worry," she finally said, speaking slowly because she was still trying to think it all through herself. "However.. I am the Guardian of the Library. It is my duty to provide knowledge to any who seek it. That is my honor and my job. Jaliah is here to learn. She wants to control her abilities. That means the risk of her setting something on fire that isn't supposed to be will go down. I will help her until she is not a risk any longer," she decided, nodding once with a smile.

"Relax, Jason. Nothing bad will happen."
 
Jason shook his head. He didn't feel like she was hearing what he was saying. her kind nature to help others was almost maddening to him at this point "look..Eirian..if you want to help her I don't mind..I'm just asking that you take the proper precautions..set some rules..say that she can only practice with someone watching..it doesn't matter to me. Just be careful. Because it just takes one mistake to set the entire library on fire. You saw how close she came to setting that one book on fire the only reason it didn't happen was because Kiana was here to put the fire out. What if she hadn't been here? what would you have done then?..I know your the guardian and it's your decision..but I'm worried about your safety and the safety of the library.."
 
"You are a sweetheart," Eirian murmured, a tender smile on her lips. She stepped closer to him and gently kissed his cheek, then shook her head. "I know, Jason. I know that you worry. I understand. I just need you to understand that I am going to help her anyway. She really will be a danger if she is not taught. I will be very careful, I promise. Mistakes do happen, but we will take every measure possible to ensure there is no fire in the Library. Relax," she assured him, hoping that he would feel more at ease about the whole situation. She noted that he looked a bit tired, but perhaps it was stress. It would be good to be aware of such a thing, as she knew he would leave the Library when he fell asleep.

"Eirian, come on!" Kiana called out to her friend, getting impatient as the secluded meeting took too long. "Jaliah can't stay here all night!"

"I'm coming!" Eirian called back. She gave Jason a quick hug and a reassuring smile, then turned and went back to the two elementalists. "Alright. Let's get started."
 
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(I love the comic in your signature XD it's so funny XD)

Jason only blushed as she kissed his cheek. He had no idea what to say anymore. He had told her his worries but whether or not she was just saying things to calm him down or whether she was actually going to heed his warnings had yet to be seen. He only hoped that she would actually listen to him. He gave a small sigh and followed her back to the other two girls. However he didn't get involved with their conversation. He just sat down on one of the chairs that was nearby and rubbed his eyes and looked over at them as he listened to them converse.
 
Eirian worked with Kiana and Jaliah for several hours. They sat and pored over books, writing down many notes about how things would work for a fire elementalist. Jaliah was very serious about the entire process, taking as many notes as she could before her hand cramped and Kiana had to take over. Eirian retrieved scrolls similar to the ones who had helped Kiana before, and the girls worked their way through the exercises. There were several times when they had to stop so that Eirian could translate an obsolete piece of advice scribbled on the side of a paper, but they did not allow that to dampen their spirits. Finally, the pair of elementalists left, eager to go home and try the new things they had learned before returning the next day.

"I'm impressed that you are still awake," Eirian said to Jason, giving him a tired smile. "Even I am exhausted."
 
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Jason for the most part watched the three of them out of the corner of his eye. He knew he was being rude in a way but he just didn't want to take the risk of letting Jaliah out of his sight or making sure that she was practicing her powers without someone there watching her. He knew it wasn't fair to be scrutinizing her like this. But..he just felt that this was the only way to make sure the library didn't go up in flames one day. To make it look like he wasn't watching her too much he had taken the book Eirian had grabbed him from earlier and started flipping through it. He wasn't reading that much of it though. He only read a few pages here and there and he wasn't necessarily reading it to store the knowledge either. When Jaliah finally left he let out a slow sigh of relief. When Eirian came over to him he gave her a small smile and a shrug of his shoulders "..too much on my mind to sleep I suppose..not that I could if I wanted to"
 
"Ah. I know how that feels," Eirian murmured, nodding once. "Having too much on your mind to sleep, I mean. When my mother first taught me how to read, I felt as though I was going to stay up for the rest of my life, just to have the time to read every single book in this Library. I was so determined! I would spend hours upon hours sitting in dark corners, reading until my mother had to pry the books from my hands. I would read for days, fascinated by all that I could learn. The only time I went to sleep was when I passed out," she recalled, laughing.

"But, things changed. When I became the Guardian of the Library, all that I had not read that was stored in this Library became knowledge to me. I did not have to sit and take the time to actually read it. It was a surprise and I was glad for it, but to be honest, I still take the time to read books. I enjoy the feel of the pages in my hands and the pleasure of just sitting and absorbing the words. It's a beautiful feeling, one that simply knowing can not replace."

Eirian smiled, tidying up a few more things before going over to Jason and offering her hand to him.

"Come. I want to show you my room. You can lay with me there. It would be much more comfortable than these chairs or the floor."
 
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Jason blushed a bit at her offer to go up to her room and stayed silent. Swallowing hard he gently took her hand and stood up and looked down into her eyes and gave her a small nod "alright..let's go to your room." He didn't know why exactly she wanted to go to her room but..it was better then staying here sitting in these uncomfortable chairs. He didn't know what was going to happen once they reached her room but..he could only hope that it wouldn't end with the two of them parting on difficult terms.
 
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