between pages two and three

A couple of weeks had passed since Libbs had her intrepid first day in the land of Caido. From that day, it had been a whirlwind of knowledge and exploration! She joined a guild. She met new people. She even was beginning to participate in some of the local events! If it wasn't for the fact that the basket took literally two people to make and was still rather delicate? She may have brought it to show him! In the midst of all of the learning, and remembering, and creation, however, Libbs indeed did not forget. And as promised, a couple of weeks later, a bright, spritey woman would find it's ways to the halls of the Athenum.

Having exchanged her pajamas for some actual clothing, Libbs looked a lot more like an aspiring student then a messy pile of nonsense. Her hair was pulled tight, leather pants, boots, gloves. A backpack that was suspiciously packed, and of course, the hoodie that she entered the world with.

Entering the halls for the first time, Libbs literally pulled a first-time tourist moment. She stood in the corridor, jaws dropped, eyes to the tallest cases, and gasping silently as if someone had told her the secrets to life. There was so much in here! Did they have any information on the technology they have so far? What they've found? Or where the metals were? Possibilities started to pour through Libb's brain. But wait! She snapped her head, and walked towards the nearest person. She had a misson!

" 'Xcuse me. I am looking for someone named Jigano. Tall dude. Long white hair? Blue eyes? Has a really cute little gryphon that's like part owl part leopard?" she asked politely, using hand gestures to describe Jigano. Mind you, she didn't realize how UNNECESSARY this was, EVERYONE probably knew who the bard was. But she didn't know that.

The elderly woman patted Libbs's arm kindly and directed her down a corridor between tall shelves, one that led to a door set into the stone wall. The door was sheathed in metal that had been polished and recently repaired, depicting an open book with rays of light rising from its pages. At the moment it stood open, and as she approached a small gryphon came bounding out of it, looking over her shoulder as she peeped excitedly.

Unfortunately that meant she wasn't looking where she was going, and she ran right into Libbs's legs, bouncing off with a squawk of dismay as she was bowled over onto her back. Jigano came hurrying through the door behind her, laughter and concern mixed in his eyes as he swept to scoop her up into the crook of his arm, stroking her cheek soothingly. Blue eyes went to Libbs next, widening a bit in surprise before his smile settled back into its usual friendly lines. "Libbs! It's good to see you again. What brings you to the Atheneum today? Any information I can help you find?" he asked, his initial errand in the stacks above set aside at the sight of his fellow Outlander - and Isuma's good friend - standing there looking much better than she had when they'd first met. Caido, it seemed, agreed with the young woman, and he was glad that she seemed to be doing well from herself, at least based on initial appearances.

Libbs squeaked excitedly. Isuma!

But the bird was just a little too happy to see her, running headlong into her legs. She giggled a bit, and was just about to lean down to give the bird a good amount of much needed pets! However, the real star of the show showed up, quickly swooping the gryphon, greeting her with a familiar, pleasant smile.

Being the excitable and extroverted soul she was- she did what was to be expected. She screamed his name, leaped up, wrapping the poor bard in a giant squeeze, before pulling it back into the happy little 'tip-tap' dance that he may have recalled from their first meeting.

"Huh? Oh! Well, I came to see you!" she nodded, folding her arms. "I didn't forget, I remembered, and I wanted to thank ya for helpin' me out all those weeks ago. So, I got a small treat- and I was gonna leave it here for ya. Though, not gonna lie.." she scratched her head and looked to the halls. "I didn't realize there was so much stuff here, I was gonna go back to work- but I betcha if I took a day to look through here, I can probably figure out what my next big project's gonna be." she smiled. She suddenly shook her head, and reached into the backpack, pulling out a basket with a subtle, sweet smell from it.

Inside was freshly baked sweet rolls. Nothing too complicated, but Libbs was awfully fond of them, and thus she thought to share them with Jigano. She offered the basket to him, a tentative smile on her face.

Oh, that was right. Libbs was a hugger, and Jigano found himself enveloped once more, freeing a hand to give her a slightly awkward but comforting pat on the shoulder as his smile turned a bit wry and Isuma wriggled and peeped for breath between them until they were freed from the well-meant embrace. He shifted the gryphon up to his shoulder as soon as Libbs released them, and his smile turned to a grin at her eager dance.

The words came tumbling out in the cascade he remembered, and his grin widened as his mind raced to keep up with his ears as her words poured into them. When she wound down again and presented the basket his brows rose in delight and he took an appreciative sniff as he collected the basket. "These smell wonderful! Thank you very much. We were probably going to forget to eat lunch again today, weren't we?" he asked Isuma ruefully, reaching up to rub her head as she danced on his shoulder, peering down eagerly at the basket with its soft, tasty treasure.

"But where have you taken up working?" he asked curiously. "Did more of your memories return?" As he talked he led the way over to a research table. There was no one else around, so he set the basket down and opened it up, pulling a chunk off of the roll on top so he could feed it to an excited Isuma, who gulped it down with every evidence of enjoyment. "I can maybe help you find a section of what you're seeking if you can narrow down what you're interested in."

Libbs sat down on the table, placing her arms onto the table and leaning in, holding up her head with one arm as she reached for a roll. Oh there was such a happy swelling in her chest! She had guessed right, the rolls were a good call! And she decided to help herself to one, taking one and plucking it apart, popping a piece into her mouth and giving it a good chew before she swallowed. One corner of her lips were suspended into a delighted smirk as he fed Isuma.

"Oh, well, I work for the Artisan's guild. I don't.. really have a trade yet. But, I think that's a large part of me remembering what I used to do." Libbs nodded. In this moment, her eyes lit up, extremely excited, as if she was about to combust from the inside. "So, when I was workin' on stuff in the guild, I figured it out. I used to work on giant transportation machines called 'cars', in my world. They'd take you from one side of the continent to the other in a couple of days. They used a lot of science and stuff. Physics. Engineering. The tools I had were used to take them apart, and put them back together. And, I remembered that wasn't all.." Libbs nodded, blinking a bit.

"I don't.. remember why, but I remember that I did something that made it so I couldn't go work on cars anymore.. I was about to go to school for engineering. I even remember some of the textbooks I was readin' about it!" she clapped her hands excitedly. "So, what I've been doing now-a-days: I've been trying to remake some of the stuff I used to use, or make some stuff for me to use when doing.. other stuff. My latest project I think you're REALLY like! You can take it out with you to that Halo place!" she whispered in pure excitement. "Or, I've been opening up stuff for people. Doors. Chests. What-have-you. Locks actually ain't all that complicated when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it."

"But what have you been doing? Have you had any really cool things you discovered lately?" she asked, eyes focused, eager to see what he comes up with.

The rest of the roll he had fed to Isuma went to himself, and he tore off little chunks to nibble on as Libbs spoke. He nodded approval of her choice of the Artisan's Guild, knowing Deimos would take good care of her there, but his expression turned sympathetic at hearing that she still didn't remember her trade. "Cahrs?" he repeated curiously, but she went on to explain and he nodded slowly - more in acknowledgment than understanding, admittedly. Something like portals, it sounded like, but... slower. So Libbs had been a portal engineer on her world?

Before he could interject with a question she had continued on. The mention of a school had him perking up again. An engineering school sounded decidedly gnome-ish in his experience, but he'd known quite a lot of it himself, at least as far as Androffan technology went on his world. He was no technomancer like his friend had been, but he was not without his own skills in the subject. "Oh? What kind of project is that?" he asked, genuinely curious and feeling a little of her excitement just from proximity to her enthusiasm. "And ah, a locksmith? That is useful! I used to dabble in it myself... I keep meaning to make myself a new set of picks, but never quite have time to get around to it," he lamented. As a bard he'd been a jack of all trades, master of... well, a few, actually. His ability to disable devices, his knowledge of engineering and technology, and his skill with his instruments had been his pride, but there had been little call for the former in Caido, and he'd let those skills rust over the past year and a half.

He grinned at her eager question, taking time to savor the roll and teasing her with the pause as he considered his answer. "Hmm. Well. There's preparations for the Midnight Party that are underway. I discovered a cannibal hideout in Halo. Oh, and I learned that dragons can, in fact, sing quite well!" He chuckled as Isuma abandoned his shoulder for the table to begin chasing down crumbs. "Or did you have anything else in mind?"

Libbs gave a very silly smile. She bit the bottom of her lip, her eyes glittering for a brief moment, before she gave way to the impulse that was building up like an avalanche threatening to crash. Not many people were always keen to listen to her brainstorming. Libb's rants were very wordy, and very technical! But Jigano was also a different person in general. Perhaps she would finally have someone to share all of her crazy ideas with.

"Well.. A lot of people been going out to Halo lately, and it's cold out there. And, I remembered something that existed in my world. Something called a lighter. My brother used to collect them!" she nodded. "It's a small little device around the size of my palm that has a piece of flint, and some flammable fluid inside of it. Because of how it's designed, it's like having four match boxes. You open it up, click it, a flame sparks up, and you can use that flame on whatever. Then, you close the lid to put out the flame. And it's refillable." she added.

"And the best part? There's a windshield built into it, meaning that no cold winds can blow out the flame. Because of the wick and the metal casing, it'll always be warm enough to spark. And you know, I thought that'd be useful to have out in the middle of the cold. So, that's what I'm making. Whaddya think?" she asked. Her eyes followed him closely right here. Because what Libbs DIDN'T tell him; was that he was on the list to receive one. Libbs had already designed the case. It was blue that faded into a white silver casting. Much like Isuma. She thought it fit well.He said it was his favorite color. And she remembered. But; she didn't want to give him something he wouldn't enjoy. Then she'd feel like an ass. And Libbs DEFINITELY did not enjoy that.

"That's what I actually plan to bring to the Midnight party." she admitted, before she sighed. She grinned as she heard him state his stories. Holy- "Man Jigs, you go on so many adventures! You need to take me along with you one of these days." she waved a bread roll at him. "You got so many cool stories and stuff and I can't believe that all just exists! You're freakin' amazing!" she exclaimed before pushing a piece of bread to Isuma. "You as well." she poked the bird.

Jigano was also often accused of being wordy, and he could hardly argue with it. He recognized a fellow explainer in Libbs, though, and he was beginning to sense the start of an avalanche of words to come. Which, really, suited him just fine, and he settled in with a grin to see where the ride would go this time. He had rolls to nibble and his research was going slowly today, so he was happy to sit with her and listen to her ideas and plans for her future - and future projects.

A 'lighter'? At first he thought it was some sort of small lamp, perhaps to chase away the darkness of Halo's frozen nights, but Libbs quickly corrected that notion. It was exactly the sort of thing that Yohgel used to love playing with, or something similar enough, and the corner of his lips tugged up in a sadly wistful smile at the memory of his goblin friend. "I think it sounds amazing," he said softly, clearing his throat to push old nostalgia down again before it could threaten his composure further. "And incredibly useful, especially for a place like Halo. That's a brilliant idea, Libbs!" He would have encouraged her anyways, glad to see her finding ways to put her skills and energy to use in making the world a better place, but this did sound genuinely useful, perhaps even life-saving in the colder regions and seasons.

Ah, so she'd already learned of the Fae revel and capturing the sun? She really was acclimating well, and his smile took on an easier aspect, glad to see the newcomer fitting into Caido with such enthusiasm. Her desire to go on adventures with him had him chuckling, ego puffed up a little, but the memory of what they'd seen in the Whitebrim Mine stole some of the merriment from his eyes. He reached for another breadroll, pondering what other field trips they might take, perhaps a little closer to home to start, that would be less full of dead bodies. "Well, the dragon is easy enough to meet," he said with a mischievous grin. "He's very fond of Isuma, too!" And the gryphon let out a little squeak as she was poked, pouncing playfully on Libbs's finger with gentle talons and pretend-nibbling. "I'm sure we can find something to do together! Hmmm... have you been to the Greatwood yet? I can show you the Crimson Cataract, or we can sift for colored stones on the Whispershore?" The forest had its own dangers, but the way the trees moved about would likely fascinate and enchant the newest Artisan, and the Fae tended to leave them alone as long as they didn't try to reach the village.

Libbs didn't seem to notice the hesitation in his voice in that moment, the slight rapture of composure sliding away. She actually glanced away- not wanting to signal her thoughts. She always had a fear of being read like an open book. It seemed like people could just take glance at her and know exactly what she was thinking or feeling. And this wasn't something she wanted to reveal quite yet. It had to be a surprise after all.

Still, Libbs ate praise like a young puppy. And Jigano was definitely praising her creativity and ingenuity. The smile she was wearing only grew, Libbs seemingly growing brighter with every bit of positive reinforcement! "Sure. Does the dragon live in the Greatwood? That'd make sense why everyone keeps telling me to stay away from it." she pondered, rubbing her chin.

"Both sound really fun. Though, I'll be honest, unless you're also a fighter- you may want to find someone who's good with a sword. I uh, I don't know how to use a weapon yet. Everyone else has been kinda escortin' me places. Or I run away. " she pointed out to him. As Isuma chewed at her fingers.. Libbs took the other hand and made a dive for the belly, antagonizing the gryphon much like she would a small cat.

Libbs might have been an open book, but she was an unfamiliar one whose handwriting was still a puzzle to the bard as he sought to get a better understanding of her. A few more meetings and perhaps he would have been able to figure out her surprise, but for the moment her secret was safe, and he grinned at her beaming expression as she positively blossomed under his encouragement. "Mmm. Actually, he lives in the Outskirts of the Hollowed Grounds, at a place where the Fields meet the Forest," he explained with mischief sparkling in his blue eyes. "But he's been seen in the Greatwood before, yes." He tilted his head in wry acknowledgment of the warnings, though, humming thoughtfully. "And the Fae live in the Greatwood. It's their home and country, in a way, and we are but guests there. They don't like outsiders much, but they've given us permission to be in the Greatwood as long as we stay away from their Village. Which is easier than it sounds, since the trees move and confound your path!" A little bit of magic that he suspected Libbs would pounce on eagerly.

Isuma let out a squeak of mock-outrage as Libbs went for her soft belly, releasing the girl's finger and rolling over to hide her weakest point, glaring with a look of utter betrayal at her new friend. Jigano smothered a laugh at the gryphlet's performance, reaching over to scratch between her wings as he nodded at Libb's very sensible concern. "I can probably defend us," he said with a smile. "And of course, we'll have Isuma along for protection! I'll bring my rapier, though, and I can arrange for a distraction if we need one to give us a head start while we run!" He grinned, not at all minding that they might not be standing to fight whatever threat came their way. He was a bard after all. Running away when outnumbered or outmatched or being pelted by rotten fruit was just good survival sense!

Libbs started to give him a very skeptical look. Very skeptical indeed you see. This was right up there with some of the god nonsense that she was being given- like you want to try and befriend them and such. Well she has now seen the nonsense the gods have put some of the other citizen's through, you couldn't fool Libbs that easily! "That's a bit weird. All I know is farmers live out there. I think the farmers would have pointed out by now if a dragon lived that close- they're kinda big. At least, I thought they were supposed to be kinda big.." she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sides, why the fields? When there's mountains and other really cool stuff?"

"So.. what's a fae? Is it like a faerie? I don't plan on messin' with anyone's home anyways. I just wanna see stuff. But how do they move the trees and- wait. I know the answer to this. This is always the answer." she wiggled, having learned very well the modus operandi of this land. "Magic. Again." Libb's eyes looked to a corner of the room, with a bit of a smirk on her face. "I gotta get me some of this magic one day. People throw it around willy nilly around here. I'd like to be able to do something not-logical too!" she chuckled.

She suddenly remembered. Jigano was a magic user. "I'm just joking, Jigs. I think what ya do is really cool. I just get some really weird answers sometimes. Like magical rings that apparently arouse people." Libbs continued her battle with Isuma, scruffling her feathers and making some weird clucking noise at her like Isuma could understand. Bird nonsense if you will.

"I believe ya! I think we'll be just fine if you're along. Same with Isuma. Our fierce warrior companion! Therefore, I made a decision, I want to go!" she grinned. "Where do I start? How do we prepare?" she asked, eyes focused on him, pulling her hands away from Isuma to hold her head up.

"I live out there, too," Jigano revealed mildly, his poker face firmly in place against the smile that threatened to ruin the game. "And he doesn't really bother anyone. Most of the dragons here are pretty small, though. If you get the chance to meet them... ah, Adam and Phoebe have dragon companions, about Isuma's size," he explained, the grin finally breaking through. "This one, though, is a properly big one. Perhaps you can ask him when you meet him!" The dragon couldn't talk, but he was at least quite friendly. Jigano could personally vouch for that.

Her questions on the Fae only broadened his grin, and she answered at least one of her own queries. He nodded approval of her correct guess, and chuckled at her desire to be illogical. "The Fae are another race of people, not human though they look somewhat similar. Like very short - ah, somewhat short," he amended, considering Libb's own modest height. "Somewhat short humans with dragonfly or butterfly wings. They're connected to their forest home in ways I don't quite understand, but some of them are quite powerful. They live much longer than humans, too, so just because one looks young doesn't mean they aren't three or four times older than you." He waved off her apology with a wry smile, clearly taking no offense. "I don't mind, really. You're not the first to come from a world without magic, and it's always a greater shock-- I'm sorry. Rings that do--" He cut himself off, considering the answer t othat question. "Ah. Nevermind. I can probably guess." Frey licking the wedding rings sprang to mind, and he really wished it hadn't. He shook his head to clear the image, grinning at his adventurous young friend.

"Well, it's a bit of a walk to reach the edge of the Hollowed Grounds, so we should probably start in the morning. We can go tomorrow, if you'd like. Meet here at sunrise and Isuma can lead the way? Bring food and water for the day, and something to keep the sun off until we reach the forest. After that we should be fine." Unless they ran into something they'd rather not, but Wicker Women were easy to avoid and wouldn't chase them, and he doubted they'd see a Cait Sidhe in broad daylight outside of Ludo's Woods.

Libbs nodded. “That’s okay. I would probably want to prepare anyways. These aren’t good hiking clothes.” She pointed to her work outfit, which: while functional would probably be highly uncomfortable for travel. Instead: she added more: “In fact, maybe I can help gather some supplies like food or water. Maybe some medical stuff if we get hurt...” Libbs thought about it for a second. “Wait..”

He was a healer. D’oh!

“Y’know that sounds an awful lot like the faeries in my world. Supposibly they didn’t exist, and legends say they went into their own world..” Which gave her a thought. “.. maybe here is where the faeries fled to?” She perplexed about this for a moment.

Ironic how her twilight zone theories could exist in a world where she couldn’t figure out Jigano was a dragon.

“Is there anything I should do to prepare?.. also- is there anything ya might need help with today? I don’t got a lot to do. I am waiting for my current project to dry.”

"Good idea," he agreed with a nod for her desire for better traveling clothes. "Water especially would be appreciated." Because, really, he could conjure up as much local fruit and vegetables as they needed, and as she realized a moment later, he had the healing covered. Still, he grinned and tilted his head in agreement. "I'll bring my old medic kit," he promised. "If I'm not able to use my magic for some reason, or if I'm unconscious, you'll still have access to something useful." You just didn't make assumptions in this world, and overconfidence was one of the leading causes of death on Caido.

His smile faded a bit as she mused, and he shook his head in negation, however much he enjoyed her hypothesis. "No, there were fairies on my world, too, but very different from the Fae here. They'd take great offense at such a tale, I think. They're a proud and isolationist people, and can be very dangerous. They're linked to the Greatwood, somehow, and this is their home." He arched a brow at her, solemn tone fading back to amusement and gentle teasing. "Unless, of course, you think the humans from here somehow populated your world, however many years ago?" ...Probably a dangerous joke to float with Libbs, since she'd probably take it seriously, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

"Preparations involve finding comfortable travel clothes, water, and food," he ticked off the suggestions with a smile. "As for today... actually, I could use a hand with something. Can you help me move some tables and chairs around? I'd like to set up for a class I'm going to be giving in a couple days."