take me back home

KIADA

Auni appreciates the distraction and the small element of fun, as he pokes his tongue out at the gryphon, watching with wide eyes as she balls her talons into a fist and bat at it. In turn, he flattened his tongue and aimed to lick the side of her face as his ears flicker in a small kind of dance, entertained and content.

Kiada, meanwhile, nods to Jigano when he mentions they won’t be taking all the books – a bit of relief at the idea of it now as opposed to when she just glanced around the place and saw just how many books there were. Yet, she follows him as he continues, and she offers a small half laugh awkwardly in response. “I understand that.” She says softly, glancing toward the pile of books from his personal shelves. “Don’t want them to get in the wrong hands after all.” She agrees, a small quirk of a smile sent his way, as if to tell him not to worry so much.

She moves over to grab a few of the books and wait for Jigano’s instruction.

Isuma was licked more than once before she figured out to bounce back a little ways before pouncing forward again, peeping happily as her companion's aching sadness retreated and let her natural cheerfulness begin to shine through again.

The Provost's lips quirked in a wry smile at Kiada's relief that they would be picking and choosing their books carefully. It faded quickly, however, at the reminder of why he felt the need to do it. Paranoia? Perhaps. But it was that habit of looking ahead of his enemies that had saved his life, and the lives of his friends, on his world when they had faced a tyrannical ruler who had set all of Starfall's forces to seeking his team. It galled him that now that scenario was writ small again in the Hollowed Grounds. "Some of them would be unreadable, and therefore of little use to Zariah's folk," he said grimly, "but that doesn't mean I want to risk her getting a hold of them. Or us losing them."

He looked over the books she had grabbed and nodded his approval of her choices as he went to his desk and dug in the bottom drawer, coming up with some tough sackcloth that had originally been used to bring books down from the main library. Nothing went to waste in the Hollowed Grounds, not if it could be used again (and again and again), and Jigano had kept the sacks under the assumption that they would bring more books down to the Hall as they found them upstairs.

Now, it seemed, they would be used to take books out instead.

"If you could pack these carefully, I'll hand you books to put in them," he offered, laying the two sacks out on his desk. "And if you see any books that you'd like to read, just let me know." His smile was sincere in spite of the seriousness of their task, his love of the tomes that he handed her obvious in the gentle way he held them and the care he showed each one.

KIADA

She listens as Jigano explains that the books are mostly unreadable, but that doesn’t stop Kiada’s mind from imagining the Queen might burn them to gain control and release the power they might hold within their bindings. And so she nods in response, brows quirked slightly as she contemplates asking what’s within the pages that he fears losing, unless it’s the time needed to decipher. “We’ll keep them hidden for however long is needed.” She says, glancing to Jigano with a small smile, as though she’s saying even if he’s not around she’ll keep her mouth shut far past her last breath.

He nods his approval to her for the books she’s picked, and he asks for her to wrap them up to which so obliges. Grabbing some spare paper and anything to buffer the books during transport, taking her time to make sure none of the pages get warped or torn as she wraps them up carefully and precisely. She tries to show them the same care he does as he hands them to her, and she begins to stack them in easy to handle piles in an order of what book is which despite their bindings being covered.

A thought comes to her as his offer hangs in the air, and she glances to him curiously. “Are there any with interesting magical tales?” She asks with a tilt of her head as she works. There’s a part of her that misses the stories her mother told her and her twin at night, of castles and Kings, of warriors and battles, of things she could read without living to escape the urge to rush out there and do them all herself.

All while Kiada works with Jigano, Auni grows brazen with his attempts at play with Isuma, noticing her attention growing brighter and happier, and his antlers pulse with the happiness he feels at the change. He begins to play a small game of tag with the gryphon, his tongue the point of contact should it land before he darts away.

"Thank you, Kiada," he said warmly, appreciating the unspoken promise and her loyalty to her friends. "With luck it won't need to be for long. But... well. 'Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst' as the philosophers of my world say." He smiled ruefully, handing her another book before going back to peruse the shelves, reaching for one tome, then hesitating and choosing another instead. With the renovations going on above, it wouldn't be strange for them to be carrying sacks of (presumably) rubble away from the Atheneum, but that didn't mean they could make many trips without becoming suspicious. Though it broke his heart to be leaving any of these books behind, he could only hope that the Guild's doors being locked in his coming absence would help to protect them.

As he handed more books over to Kiada he was impressed with the care she took to wrap and pack them gently and securely, and his eyes and smile were warm as he gave her a deep nod of gratitude for her efforts. "I'd guess this isn't your first time helping a rebel hide seditious texts." He didn't quite have it in him to joke yet, not really, but it was very nearly one and he smiled as he said it. "The books in here are all histories and journals, bestiaries and herbals, and the chronicles that Sam has written since the guild began," he explained, though his smile remained. "But I can find you some books like that upstairs before we go. And... I need to decide whether to take the Sentient Books from the vault, or to leave them as a trap for unwanted visitors after we're gone." He grimaced as he said it, frowning thoughtfully. "Most of my Lorekeepers will know how to deal with them, should anyone return unexpectedly, but I'm afraid some of the newer members might not be quite, ah, ready for a challenge of that nature yet. Not, at least, from the Dracolich's book... and even some of the happiest fairy tales have rather grim climaxes. People being boiled alive or torn apart by wild animals, that sort of thing," he admitted with the offhand manner of one who has become used to such strange occurences in and around his Guildhall.

Outside in the main room Isuma was not as quick to join Auni in the game as she usually was, but the little luxere's tenacity and pink tongue eventually won through the remnants of her companion's weary depression, and she was drawn into the game of tag, sometimes getting licked and sometimes fluttering up to boop Auni's nose in return as they dodged and scampered their way around the dimly-lit Hall's sturdy furniture.

KIADA

She gives him a tentative smile as he speaks, nodding in agreement. It was a set of words she could live by, having nearly always prepared for everything that could go wrong – but Kiada was terrible at learning just how wrong things could get. At least she tries, and she takes some solace in that. As for the Guildhall closing, she can’t blame him. If she had an organization like this, she’d likely find a way to run something else, to hide the more precious items that were near and dear to her. In all reality, all she has aside from Auni is a little bronze gift from Ru’in along with his letter. She doesn’t think she’ll ever part with those.

But when Jigano jokes, her eyes lift to him with a bit of a raised brow of surprise. “First time with texts, actually.” She says, a bit factual before she offers that crooked smile of hers. “I had a tendency for destruction, so I know how to make sure even I can’t destroy these.” She adds, her smile remaining as she wraps more of the books and stacks them in order. But she listens as he explains, wondering which ones were the chronicles and ironically, who Sam was and why she hadn’t seen him before.

She interjects, however, as he speaks of setting traps, and there’s a small amount of that fire glimmering beneath the ice of her gaze as she looks up to her fair haired friend. “I always vote traps.” She jokes to him, trying to get the warmth to return to him as he had done for her. It begins to work wonders, and she can keep her mind off of almost everything that’s been driving her toward her darker, more unhealthy mental tactics. As he goes into details, she nods fervently. “Definitely traps.”

Auni seems to be enjoying the game, even though it took a bit of convincing on his part – his hooves clattering along the stone floors as he dances and dives between furniture and rows of books to prevent getting booped by Isuma. The little gryphon has a tendency of appearing where Auni doesn’t expect, and he grunts his surprise every time in a means of laughter before he slips along the stone to chase after her again.

"Ah well, there's a first time for everything, I suppose," he gave back, his smile a crooked mirror to hers. "But I thank you for your care with the texts. These are currently one of a kind, and I do not like to contemplate losing them." A tendency for destruction she might have, but he hoped she might be able to turn her time to learning how to create as well. She was already showing herself a deft hand at protecting, and he was deeply grateful to have her assistance in his task. If the world ever slowed down enough to allow them the pleasure of it, he hoped they could continue the music lessons, perhaps add dance or some other trade, things that she could build and see for herself what she was leaving behind to make the world a better place.

Sam... the Ascended's house was empty, the gentle bookmaker disappeared and Jigano didn't know where. It was one more mystery, a worry that he held close, desperately hoping that he could find time to slip away and brave the Greatwood, since his efforts to search the Outskirts had proven fruitless so far. Or maybe the Underground...? Sighing, he shook his head and handed Kiada a few last books.

"The problem with traps as that they can catch the innocent as well as the inimical," he explained with a wry smile. "If Zariah dares to send her guards down here, I wouldn't shed tears if they got themselves caught in a sentient book for a few months or years... but it would be very bad if some of my Loreseekers came to check on the hall in my absence and got themselves 'eaten' or injured. Though... maybe just one book, here in my office..." he murmured, eyes glinting wickedly. "No one should be poking around in here without my permission anyways. Between the Gorgon and the Lich King there are two ways for them to get caught up in an unfinished tale and locked in the book. If I put a riddle on the door that should serve as a warning to my Seekers, and I doubt anyone else would understand its meaning."

He nodded and turned to the sacks, beginning to stack the piles of books that Kiada had wrapped gently into their cloth bags. "What sort of traps would you suggest, to hamper foes but leave friends unhurt?" he asked curiously.

Isuma found Auni's company a balm that went from soothing to exciting as their game picked up, the two small creatures able to move freely through the room with their size and quickness, setting up a clatter and peeping of playful banter that made a pleasant background to the more serious work going on in the office.

KIADA

She nods toward Jigano as though she can see exactly what he’s thinking while she wraps the books with as much care and love as the Lorekeeper has for the contents within them. She takes the last few that he hands to her and she does the same, listening while he speaks and she agrees on traps, until he mentions that it might create problems. That is where Kiada doesn’t seem to think too far ahead – for she would just leave them out haphazardly, telling her fellow friends to leave it alone until it was time to return. But for the innocent, unsuspecting villagers, that would do little use.

Her head tilts as his mind begins to change and a wolfish, predatory smile blooms across Kiada’s face (a hint of her old self). “Yes.” She acknowledges, nodding in agreement. She takes a few of the books over toward where he’s bagging them up and contemplates the question he gives her, that same wicked smile playing on her lips as she looks back up at her pale haired friend. “Well, if nobody should be in here and they’ve already gotten past the riddle telling them to go back, why not something particularly draining?” She asks, something not necessarily physical but more of a mental check. That way, whoever had fallen into it wouldn’t be snooping where they shouldn’t be again.

Auni’s excitement as Isuma perks up is seen in the glow of his antlers, the light casting a golden shadow along the walls and furniture he dashes by. Back and forth, to and fro, toward and away from the gryhonlet with sounds of joy and happiness and the clatter of hooves.

The books were slipped into the bags one after another, stacked together to avoid slipping or rubbing until both sacks were full and ready for transport. Jigano nodded his thanks at Kiada as he tied them closed, then stood back to think about her suggestion, looking around the room with a faint frown as he tried to envision what she meant. "Something draining?" he repeated, a furrow between his brows. "What did you have in mind? I'll bow to your expertise in that, if you have something specific we can make. My friend Hiraku was skilled at setting traps... so I never had to learn," he admitted, a flicker of sadness in his smile as the memories brought bittersweet nostalgia. Hiraku, at least, had been alive when he had last seen his friend. The same could not be said for others he had left behind.... but he had allowed Hiraku as close as he allowed anyone, before he had pushed them all away and fled behind the bulworks of guilt and shame and pride to walk his lonely road.

Lonely no longer, and the sadness faded as he offered Kiada a sack and led the way out of the room to where the companions played. "We can hide these and then return to finish closing up shop, if you're up for it," he suggested with a nod towards the door, even if Isuma and Auni were busy chasing each other around in a display of innocent fun that warmed a little more of the grief from his heart.

KIADA

She gives him a small, wolfish grin, that she’s certain he could probably see the vulture within her peeking out at such a gesture. “Maybe something where they’re imprisoned in a magical dungeon with no way to escape?” She tilts her head, a bit more avian like in the gesture. “Or something like that.” She shrugs before helping wrap up the books in the little sacks, taking care to make sure nothing happens to them. Though she’s wrapped them very well, she makes sure they’re virtually indestructible in their transport.

“Something mentally draining that might keep them there until everything blows over – especially if they shouldn’t be here in the first place.” She offers, trying to be helpful. But the Harpy hasn’t seen any of these books, hasn’t experienced any of it. She doesn’t know what’s plausible and not. She leaves that up to Jigano’s discretion. With it, she takes the sack that Jigano hands her and smiles in response. “Sounds good to me.” She says, hefting the bag over her shoulder and steps out into the hall narrowly avoiding Auni as he barrels through in his attempt to chase Isuma.

"That would certainly serve them right," he agreed with a chuckle. "If you can rig something like that up, I'd be in your debt." Given the magical requirements and specifications she seemed to have in mind, it was beyond his own means of creation. He hadn't been being merely modest when he had admitted to no skill in setting traps. Ambushes he could do in a pinch, but traps of mechanical or magical nature were outside his realm of expertise. The Sentient Books had never been meant to serve as prisons, and their failsafes usually made them fairly easy to escape from - one way or another. The Dracolich book was the exception to that rule, but only if someone was caught by surprise by it and didn't recognize the mythology in time. Quite a few 'ifs' to rely on for protection... but perhaps the only option he had, unless Kiada could help him rig up whatever she had in mind. It certainly sounded like her plan was a solid one, though Jigano couldn't figure out the specifics of how to pull such a trap together.

It was something to ponder as they gathered the sacks and headed out, barely avoiding the playful companions. Jigano smiled at the sight, his heart lifting as he felt Isuma's familiar joy at frolicking with her friend, and he shared a look of fond amusement with Kiada before making his way to the stairs. "I have two places in the ruins I've made watertight and as safe as I can," he explained. "I had wanted to hide one set of books in the Woodlands, but I wasn't able to work out a way to make sure they'd be safe from the elements, animals, and people there. Though we might be able to store some with Deimos or Rory," he added thoughtfully. "Zariah's enforcers might not think to look for Loreseeker tomes with them." Rory was a busy farmer with little inclination for reading, and Deimos kept quiet enough that he was an enigma to most in the Hollowed Grounds. "What do you think?"

KIADA

He asks her if she can rig something up and she smiles to him easily. She hasn’t particularly made traps for people before, but she does know a thing or two of trapping animals. And at the end of the day, is there that much of a difference? She ponders her options on what to use while they gather the sacks of the books. “I’ll think of something!” She agrees, deciding her old home might be a good place to start — little to no chance of someone walking in on it and trapping themselves while she practices. She puts it on the back of her mind momentarily, hefting the bags as she looks to Jigano for his instruction.

He mentions where they should hide them and she nods in response. “Could dig a hole and cover the fabric with wax to keep it water proof maybe? Cover it with a bush or something?” She ponders, but nevertheless, she nods. “I can take some too if it eases your worry?”

He smiled gratefully at her nod of agreement and optimistic promise, glad that he could trust some of responsibilities to someone else. There was so much to do, and so little time, and less with every passing hour. He led the way up the stairs and back out into the library, giving a wry shake of his head at her suggestion. "Given the various creatures that burrow and and dig things up and light things on fire and swim through the earth as though it were water... even if I trusted the waxed fabric, I wouldn't trust all the rest. Perhaps if we had time to fashion a sort of stone or metal strongbox to bury it might work, but short of that these tomes are too precious to trust to the inconsistencies of nature."

Isuma gave Auni a final tap with her beak before bounding up the spiral stone stairs behind the humans, chirruping encouragement for the little luxere to follow them as she burst past her companion and tumbled out into the sunlight of the Athenuem's broken dome.

"I think I'll take you up on your other offer though," the bard mused, watching the little ones continue their game with fond affection. "There's no reason for Zariah to associate you with the Guild, and you may well escape her notice where the rest of us won't." He shook his head wryly as they continued to walk, down the steps and into the streets. "Truly, I am in your debt for your help with this, Kiada. If I can ever do anything for you in return, you need only ask."

KIADA

She nods in understanding, the Harpy exhaling quietly through her nose as he brought up points she hadn’t quite thought of. But that is why she was there, and why he was there. What better than to bounce ideas off of another, to point out flaws and strengths? “That’s fair.” She admits, a small tilt to her head as she keeps thinking. And as her and Jigano slip out of the office and head toward the entrance, she can see Auni pause as Isuma boops him and takes off.

He scampers up to follow her, bounding out into the light of the day but not before his hooves slip on the stone and he skids slightly to avoid hitting the wall. Kiada shakes her head slightly at them before she looks back toward Jigano and headed toward the streets. “Of course there’s not. I’m simply a baker in training by day, warrior by night.” She replies with a wry smile. “Who has time for reading?” She jokes, a small surprised laugh bubbling from her chest.

She lifts a free hand to wave at Jigano as though it wasn’t a big deal. “You helped me feel a bit less upset with the way my life was going. That’s a good enough payment for me Jigano.” She admits, a small smile crossing the corner of her lips.

He spent too much time nay-saying the ideas of others, he felt, but pessimism came more easily to him than optimism after all he had been through. 'Hope for the best, but plan for the worst' were words he tried to follow, but there was no denying the emphasis on the latter half of the saying. And lately the worst had been happening with increasing frequency.

Thankfully at the moment he had a friend at hand and two playful companions being charmingly silly to lift his mood from the exhausted weariness of earlier. He chuckled at Kiada's description of herself, the laugh surprising him as much as Kiada's laugh surprised her. "Nevertheless, I will make sure you get a good adventure tale," he promised, a small smile warming his eyes. "Just in case you find yourself with a few spare moments here or there." It was better to be prepared, was it not? Clearly too much introspection wasn't good for either of them.

"And you did the same for me," he acknowledged with a smile and a partial bow. "Now, will you lead the way to your house? I'm ashamed to say I have no idea where it is, but it's past time I paid you a visit." And follow where she led he would, and when they left again their sacks would be a little lighter for the next stop.