To the Library!

Posted on Tue Apr 30th, 2024 @ 23:09 by Jonathan Monroe & Sarah Bright

Chapter: Winter's Crest Festival
Location: Avalon Institute: Library
Timeline: 10th December
2837 words - 5.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Given the alarming number of interruptions forced upon him in the English classroom, Jonathan had found that the library was becoming a bit more of a refuge; the only students that might be there actually wanted to be there, and were usually reading quietly. The adults tended not to linger, and would stick to the more social areas of the Institute. It was, therefore, a nice quiet space to escape.

At that moment he was browsing the library's collection of Scottish myths and legends, looking for something a little different to the norm. Aside from the plethora of works on a certain beast residing in Loch Ness, there didn't seem to be anything jumping out just yet.

Unbeknown to Jonathan, the librarian lurked on the other side of the stack, doing some browsing of her own. Inspection would've been a better word for it, actually, as she was using some free time to look over the books to make sure they were in the proper order. Students often thought they were doing her a favor by returning books back to the shelves, but a lot of the time they were just making more work for her by re-shelving books out of order. That became an issue if someone else later came looking for those exact same books, which were now in a spot they were not supposed to be.

At any given moment there were dozens of misplaced books, and often times Sarah's only way of mitigating this was scanning the catalog labels of every book on a shelf to make sure they were in proper sequence. It was maddening work.

Finding yet another book out of order, Sarah grumbled quietly and plucked if off the shelf, revealing a gap clean through to the other side of the stack. She learned closer, as if to wonder why the gap was there, as she'd just done that side of the stack and tightened up all the rows. So, even though no books were yet jumping out at Jonathan yet, as he returned the book he'd just pulled out, he was treated to the strange sight of a glasses-framed eyeball peering straight at him though the empty gap,

"Oh!" His reaction was mirrored by the individual on the other side. A moment of embarrassed surprise turned into a slightly amused relief. He peered around the end of the bookshelf at the diminutive woman in the glasses. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's not a hard task, given the company I keep." Sarah said with a wry smile, gesturing to the rows upon rows of books surrounding them. With the library among the quiets places in the castle, and probably the most organized, one could imagine any number of things that would render the librarian startled or surprised.

"How are you you, Mister Munroe? Is there anything I can help you with?" Sarah asked, sensing a welcome reprieve from her scheduled busywork. Normally the librarian was not so quick to offer aid, especially with the students. While she was happy to help, it was also important to her that every student have at least a basic familiarity with a library--how to use a card catalog, how to search the computer database, and of course, how to browse the shelves. Once they had the confidence to do that, they could find the answers to almost everything if they looked hard enough. With that goal in mind, she usually just let the students flounder about, even making messes if need be. Only when it was clear to her that no fruitful research was forthcoming did she step in and offer assistance.

This was all assuming, of course, that a student didn't just simply ask for help. She would never turn town someone asking for help, obviously.

Faculty were a different story. Many, if not most of the teachers had not gotten to where they were in their professions without knowing how to use a library. And even if they did not have any such familiarity, it was not her job to teach it to them, so much as it was her job to help them do theirs.

"Myths and Legends," he answered. "And no, I'm not talking about myself...as much as any man wishes to be eulogised." He tapped on the empty space on the shelf with his finger. "I was actually looking for some tales. Something a bit different for the students." He smiled slightly. "The normal tomes don't seem to be here. Any suggestions?"

Sarah laughed at his self-aggrandizing, clearly entertained by his response. Thankfully she almost always kept her library voice in check, and so the laugh was a bit muted, but no less unhinged than it usually ended up sounding.

"Of course. That would be my doing." Sarah admitted, gesturing to one of the tables against the nearest wall, which was usually reserved for seasonal offerings and related themes. Books pertaining to Scottish culture in general were a regular fixture there. "Those are usually in high demand, so I've pulled and displayed them there, at one of our special collections tables. I'm afraid the newer picture books tend to be scooped up first, as the students don't seem to want to understand that with myths and folklore, the older, books tend to have a lot more information. The newer ones just keep getting more and more summarized, until all you're left with is short blurbs on travel brochures." Sarah shook her head as the led the way over to the indicated table. Deep down though, she could understand the hesitation. Older books were harder to read, both in the mental and physical senses. They contained outdated language, and most students didn't want to be the one holding the book when it finally fell apart.

"Loch Ness Monster, huh?" he murmured with a dry tone. "Seems to be the one everyone thinks of. But no - I was more thinking about the way those older stories come about. Quite often these myths and legends are inspired by real events. I guess I was curious to figure out if there were any texts on things like that. I mean, one might even wonder if any of them were inspired by mutants like us..."

"It's entirely possible." Sarah replied, her interest piqued. Actually the notion hit quite close to her own post-graduate research, though not quite in the same vein. She was very reluctant to talk about that, however. The topic of mutants with regards to current events was controversial enough. Trying to find evidence of them in the historical record? No one in academia wanted to risk their reputation poking at that hornet's nest just yet.

"Some of the stories are so out there... I mean, how could they not be?" Sarah mused. Her expression scrunched in focus as she considered one piece of relevant folk lore. "Speaking of Loch Ness, have you ever heard the story about how it came to be? The loch, not the monster, mind you." Not waiting for an answer, Sarah proceeded to tell the story, whether Jon had heard it or not.

"The story begins with Beira, the Queen of Winter, described as an old hag who raged against the landscape as she tried and failed to come to terms with her lost youth. It's said she created the barren, windswept highlands and made them dreary more often than not, to reflect her own perpetual gloom. She allegedly had a servant named Nessa, who disobeyed her one time too many, so Beira punished her by transforming and locking her within an icy flow--the River Ness. The legend says Nessa fought long and hard trying to break free from this spell, and Loch Ness came to be from the aftermath of her violent struggle."

For a long time Sarah had never put much stock in myths, especially a myth like the one she'd just told. That was before she found herself teleported into a loch, and saw another woman--Kaylee--transform herself into an iceberg to save herself from drowning. After seeing that, the story really didn't seem so far fetched.

Jonathan pondered the tale. "Having seen what I've seen? Probably not entirely far-fetched at all. There was this rumour about an ancient Egyptian high priest I heard a few years ago, some suggestions that he was the very first recorded mutant. So they believed, anyway. It's hard to decipher some of these old wives tales." He paused. "Still, they make out like Beira's the villain of the tale; sure she sounds like she was a bitter old woman, but perhaps Nessa needed to help her rather than challenge the status quo, hmm?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye as he studied her face.

"Ahh, the devil's advocate. Most fun at parties." Sarah said with soft chuckle. It was tough to tell if she was going for sarcasm, or simply being nostalgic over past discussions. "But in all seriousness, I've heard that rumor too." Sarah said, arching an eyebrow. Though Ancient Egyptian lore did interest her, she did not know how to read Hieroglyphics, or any of its associated language forms, and considered herself an outsider to the field. With that in mind, she put little stock into most of the rumors she heard, and counted them as wishful translations for the most part. It had been a cautionary tale for her own research, really. And to think she thought her proposals were ludicrous--she couldn't imagine trying to tow that hot mess through peer review.

"This one here takes a special kind of reader." Sarah said, pointing toward what was probably the most boring-looking book on the table. The title was a long-winded mouthful of hard to pronounce words, as was the name of its author. "We've all got that relative who loved to bake, but just made everything too sweet. That's what this is, thoughtful folklore analysis with last-century flair." For Sarah, that was putting it nicely. The author had been ahead of his time, but my god. For every one meaning she struggled to pull out of a paragraph, she couldn't help but sense two more sailing overhead, just out of reach.

Jonathan touched the cover and flicked through a few pages. Dense lines of small text covered the pages. "You've read it yourself, then?" he inquired, wondering if the librarian had any more insight other than a cooking comparison.

Sarah nodded, doing her best to swallow a wince. The book was not a long read, but for her ability it had been a somewhat ungainly one. Some assumed that since she was a librarian and litterateur she must be an excellent reader, but that was not the case. She'd simply enjoyed a strong support network in that field.

"Aye, I have." Sarah admitted. "I wouldn't have put it out on the special collections table, otherwise. It does has a favorable reputation, but books that old are a mixed bag, really. Especially when you get into history and cultural anthropology. That one's a good egg though. Though I do regret reading the chapter about the Will-o'-the-wisp... or spunkie as its known as locally. The windows in my room overlook the loch, and now I can't help but think I'm seeing ghost lights floating over it at night." Sarah shook her head abruptly, as if to dispel such notions. She seemed surprised that she'd admitted them aloud. Normally she didn't entertain ideas about the supernatural, but now... well, that was essentially what the Avalon Institute was all about.

"Well, I promise that's not me throwing the odd fireball into the lake, but I can't speak for any of the others here," Jon replied with a faint smile. "Perhaps one of these evenings we should organise a ghost walk. See if we can figure out whether the loch really is haunted?"

Sarah abruptly laughed at the suggestion. She didn't mean for that to be her first reaction, as she did like the idea. but what made it so funny to her was that she could picture how it would end.

"Sorry... I like the idea, I really do." Sarah said, holding up a hand, as if to ward off an objection to her amusement. "But you have to know were going to spend half the evening trying to debunk student pranks, and one of us will more than likely end up in the loch." Sarah paused for a moment, sighing heavily. "Probably me. Again."

"Oh I doubt that. Unless we bring Cam along." He smiled affably. "For some reason, the students don't seem quite as prank-happy with me. I suspect someone got worried I'd set them on fire or something if they stepped out of line. Which is completely ridiculous..." He shook his head, not sure why he'd gotten onto that topic. " Besides, I can at the very minimum guarantee you won't freeze."

Sarah's laughter had calmed a bit, ending with a chuckle at Jon's comment about his suspected reputation. Obviously it was unwarranted, right? He wouldn't still be at the school otherwise, but then again Sarah was usually among the last to hear anything about anyone at Avalon. Whatever the case, she could understand the issue. She had, after all, lashed out uncontrollably with her powers the first time they had manifested. Now she could control projecting them at a distance, but she suspected that restraint through direct physical contact was always going to be an issue for her, unless she could find a way to do away with her emotions, or somehow separate them from her physical feelings. That was one of her greatest fears: harming someone who didn't mean her any harm.

"The less advance warning, the better." Sarah advised, shifting her focus back onto the proposed ghost walk. "Less temptation to plan some elaborate hoax if there's no time to do it. Plus the group size will be smaller and more manageable."

"Spontaneous, then," he nodded. "Probably a good idea. Maybe if it's a late-night thing we just bring a few of the staff, rather than the students? That way you have even less to worry about. Most of the teachers are fairly safe...mostly..." he added with a faint self-depreciating grin. A strange irony that he was probably among the more dangerous of the active roster, given his power set. Certainly the one with the most destructive potential. Not that she would know that, of course.

Sarah couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow as Jon considered inviting staff instead of students. The thought was just as interesting, though for different reasons. She'd been meaning to get to know more of the staff in a casual fashion. A nighttime ghost walk certainly would fit into her vision of what such an event would look like, but she just wasn't convinced that most of the adults would be interested. Kids were adventurous and whimsical, even if only to pass the time. Adults were more circumspect about what they devoted their time and energy to. Or at least, that seemed to be the most common facade that was presented.

Plus it was winter. Sarah might be interested, but then again she didn't feel cold the same way most people did. She could imagine few of her colleagues wanting to venture outside to trade nighttime ghost amid the cold winter lake breeze. Not when they could do the same while sipping something warm n front of a fireplace. But then again Jon likely knew their colleagues better than she did.

"I don't think we'd last fifteen minutes out in the cold and dark, before one of us breaks ranks claiming the need to grade papers or some such." Sarah replied as she shook her head in jest.

He mirrored the faint smile. In truth, there might be one or two on the faculty that would feel that way, but not as many as one would expect. "I think you underestimate just how boring grading papers can be," he countered. "Think about it, yeah?"

"Oh I'm already in. I don't have papers to grade." Sarah said with a small smirk. She didn't get paid as much, but her off-hours workload was likely considerably less than what the teachers had to contend with. "The real question is when. I'm sure someone's got a lunar calendar pinned up in their classroom. Kaylee or Freya maybe? Of course the full moon phase has that eerie reputation, but the new moon will be darker and easier for spotting those spunkies. Your call!" Sarah said, wondering whether Jon would opt for the spiritual or the science.

"Good thinking. I'll see if anyone has something...maybe Phoebe can do her 'predict the future' thing and give us a clue." He chuckled. "We'll make sure to come fetch you first." He scooped up a couple of the books he was after and gave Sarah a short nod. "Just try not to get lost in the library between now and then..." he added over his shoulder as he made his exit.