duologs | [OPEN] Library Shenanigans + May Catch-All

[ that snap of her notebook wakes her up the rest of the way, jolting slightly at it and his words, so close to her.

hard at work? dropping notes? wait— ]

H-Hold on, what're you doing with my— [ she jolts upright, thinking an actual stranger is stealing her precious notes, and then settles down in the next moment when she realizes it's someone she knows. ]

O-Oh, it's just you, V. Don't scare me like that...

[ she's awake now at least?? ]

[His grin might as well be a smirk. Waking her up was far from ill-intended, but it is a little funny to see her jolt awake. It appeals to his gremlin-like nature, nestled within.]

I didn't mean to scare you.

[CITATION NEEDED]

That said, I also didn't want someone to trample all over your research. That's what this is, isn't it?

[He shows her the notebook, opened to a random page.]

More plantlife.

[ yeah, after his weirdness in their first meeting, citation needed. she squints her eyes at him a moment, before looking at the notebook he's opened toward her. ]

Oh, uh — yeah. I've been looking into them a lot since I got here.

[ her shoulders droop a little, leaning her head back now that the initial shock is settled. ]

There's a lot more to them than I thought there'd be, though. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

[ she's enjoying learning about them? and learning what all luida has ahead of her in their world. maybe she'll be able to help, at this rate. ]

Are you interested in it? [ what she's written. ]

I think your pointed interest is interesting, yes. I don't know much about flora in general, but I can only guess that you're gathering this sort of information to bring it back to your world someday.

[And that's admirable. He has to give her that, even if it manifests in spending too much time in a library, clearly shearing away much-needed hours of sleep instead.]

They say the best way to learn is a hands-on approach, however. Maybe there's a garden you might while away the hours in, making blossoms grow from the earth. I haven't looked out back behind Dodo just yet.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing. [ a soft exhale. ] Even if I can't bring the flora themselves back [ she's hoping, though. ] I can at least try to learn what I can.

[ don't worry about her sleep, she's toooootally fine. nothing wrong here. no one is missing any sleep.

her eyes light up a little at the suggestion, though. ]

I was hoping to try that, actually. All I've got so far are the ones that can't wilt anyway, and I'm not sure there's much I can really learn from those.

[ the whole point is to learn what makes them tick, but if they're not ticking in the first place... there's no point, aside from learning their parts and being happy to have them around. ]

[Yeah, no, she should probably sleep. V knows that a weakened physical body makes life so much more difficult than it should be, and if she's going to wring herself through exhaustion, she won't even retain the information she's trying to so diligently learn. At least not nearly as easily.]

Of course. Flowers that won't wilt allow no room for failure, and failure is how we learn.

[Well! He clacks his cane against the floor again, as though to punctuate this new idea of his-]

Why don't we take a look for it? The garden, I mean. [He did, of course, notice how her eyes lit up from the very idea.] The weather's nice for it today, and you can familiarize yourself with the space and admire what might already be growing there.

And I can read my poetry in the sunlight.

[ she agrees completely, even if she's not one to enjoy failure herself. she'd much rather do The Best and leave it at that, but clearly she's going to be failing a bit with these flowers. she'll have to get used to it (and the terrible feeling of plants wilting on her).

a smile paints itself onto her face at his suggestion, and she seems a bit more awake than she was moments prior. this is far preferable to trying not to drift back asleep in the library, or having an awkward conversation about it. ]

Hey, that actually sounds really nice. [ she decides to gather up the books in her space, then, as she works on getting out of her blob of a chair... ] L-Let me just... [ get up... out of this chair she has been slowly sucked into over the course of the last few hours. her legs kick a little here. ]

[And it might just give her enough energy to stay awake... and enjoy a proper night of sleep once she does retire to bed. Getting an ample amount of sun has that strangely paradoxical effect, he thinks.

He can't help but watch as she tries her best to rise from that chair, but the furniture has properly swallowed her up.]

Looks like you're trapped. Well, it was nice knowing you.

[He's kidding. He offers her a hand up.]

[ WOW. she is so ready to fight him over that. ]

H-Hey, wait a minute, you can't just—

[ oh, is that a hand he's offering? god, she's too quick to react to things and get herself heated up sometimes. v is going to take her some getting used to. he's like a calmer wolfwood.

she sighs, groaning softly, as she takes his hand then and accepts his help, holding the books to her chest in her free hand as she does. ]

Very funny.

[Sorry he's this way.

But at least he's gentle about the way he hoists her up, waiting until she's properly to her feet and not sent her books scattering across the floor before he lets go.]

Just kidding, of course.

[She's easy to rile up, isn't she? He'll have to be very particular about his teasing.]

I assume you want to put a few of those books back before we head out?

[ she's removed from the chair, having a small amount of trouble keeping her balance through the process of standing but she steadies herself once she's flat on her feet again. ]

Yeah, yeah. [ gosh, why does everyone always have to tease her...!! she's not that tease-able, is she!! she's a perfectly respectable young lady!!

sigh. ]

Good idea. Give me a second. [ she'll go ahead and turn to the nearby bookshelf and work on putting them back where they were — the house helps out a bit, wiggling some books on shelves to show her where she needs to put them next to. she mostly remembered, but this is useful for her. thanks dodo house... ]

All right... I think that's all of them.

[To be fair, that's probably the exact fate that V would have suffered if he had decided to sit in that chair, too. Absolutely swallowed up, nothing but limbs protruding, and probably needing a hand to get back up to his feet.

He just has the foresight thanks to her mishap not to use that one in particular now.

V waits for her to return, patient. He smiles when she's ready.]

Then let's go.

[And with that, he turns to lead the way! It's not a long walk to the back of the house--assuming nothing wishes to rearrange itself on a whim--but he can offer a question to fill the air as they walk.]

How goes your overall adjustment to this strange new world, by the way?

[ meryl will quietly follow behind him, then, thinking for a moment on his question. ]

It's probably going about as well as it could. [ she thinks of all the food she's tried, all the comforts she's obtained, and how the people in general are here. it feels a lot less dog-eat-dog, a lot less living on the edge constantly... ]

It's not like it's all been easy or anything, but... it's a lot more comfortable here than back home. Soft beds, no more scraping cash together for food, and no more sweating all day... Not to mention all the water you can drink here. Plus, the people are really nice so far.

[ and consistently being able to bathe. god, she feels so good about that. ]

[He keeps a slow but steady pace, his cane clicking gently against the corridor flooring as they walk towards the back of the house. The windows let the light in, indeed revealing a nice, sunny day that beckons them outside.]

Creature comforts all around. I suppose, in your case, you could consider it something of a vacation.

[But V knows better.]

But... its contrast must only constantly work to remind you how difficult it is for you at home. At least, that's how I would see it. Right?

[ here's hoping the nice sunny day doesn't lull her to sleep outside in the garden next... ]

Mmm, something like that. Sometimes I kind of lose myself in how comfortable everything is here, and sometimes I can't help but wonder how everyone's doing back there.

[ she has to assume time is passing there, because why wouldn't it be, but she's had some strange conversation with wolfwood about their differing timeline points. she's not sure how to reconcile that just yet. ]

What about you? I don't think I ever asked what the place you're from is like.

[At least you'd get your vitamin D, Meryl.]

Wondering how things are back home... Yes, I do that, too.

[Likely they all do, unless there's an individual out there who sees this place as an escape, a vacation. He can't know for sure, but the wonderment must still exist.]

My world is a bit like this one, minus all the individuals that have animal features. Though... in another realm, there exists a world of demons, so that's the most striking difference, I think.

[ okay, it sounds pretty normal up until he mentions the demons. her expression turns to shock and Concern over the idea. even on a foreign desert planet, humanity has managed to continue to hold on to religion, so she's fully aware of those. ]

A-A world of demons? Yeah, that's a pretty big difference... [ haha... awkward laughter here.

he's being so casual about it. ]

Are they... as scary as they're made out to be?

[Demons trying to invade the human world is just a thing that happens sometimes. ~~Sometimes because of him.~~ It's not something to be casual about, but maybe V is just close to the situation at hand that he can treat it as such.]

Generally, yes. They're horrid-looking, and they hate humans. That said, it's not like they can't be defeated. Even someone as weak as myself has managed it several times.

Really?

[ she hasn't exactly thought about the logistics of "defeating" a demon anyway. her usual plan is to just run from something, as that's normally what she has to do anyway. she hasn't started to try to stand up to things blatantly stronger than her until recently. ]

So, then... how do you defeat one? You know, for... future reference. [ haha... ]

With a great show of strength, usually.

[And so, one might wonder how on earth this would apply to V, because just look at him. And to be fair, without anything to help him kill demons, he often abides by Meryl's plan, too: just get the heck out of there.]

In the ON world, I can show you. I have three familiars to my name that do the fighting for me.

[ ... ]

Well, I can show you one. The other two are locked away right now, I think.

[ you what now ]

Well, that sounds like a lost cause... [ she is going to go ahead and give up on defeating a demon before she ever has to start. here's hoping they're not real where she's from. or here. ]

Wait, so it's like you have partners to help you out? Wow, I'd love something like that...

[ meryl you have that. it's called everyone else you're friends with. vash and wolfwood in particular. ]

—Hold on, by "show me", you don't mean you're going to fight a demon or anything, right?

You don't have any partners where you're from?

[Here they are, at (one of the) back doors! V pushes it open, allowing them through. It's sunny and bright, and beyond them is an expansive stretch of yard... In which little splashes of color exist just down another small path. It looks like the garden is just up ahead!]

Oh, no. I'll just summon Shadow for you to meet. And you can see how... pointy it gets, sometimes.

[Pointy???]

Well, I am traveling with a group back home, but... I have a feeling they're not like what you're describing to me here.

[ vash, wolfwood, and roberto are not familiars. they are independent people that just so happen to have to protect her 24/7. and she does not make it easy for them.

her eyes flicker toward the flowers in the distance, a smile creeping onto her face before she snaps herself back into the conversation momentarily. ]

"Shadow"? Pointy? I guess so long as it doesn't hurt me... [ a pause, as she can't help herself, pointing toward the flowers as she walks. ] That's it up ahead, right?

[That actually makes him laugh lowly.]

No, maybe you can't summon them to your side. But Shadow is a friend and partner, too. [A little shrug.] Don't worry, it won't hurt anyone unless I tell it to. Do you like cats?

[But up ahead is indeed the garden! Down the little cobblestone path they go, and the first thing they're surrounded by are vibrant rose bushes -- reds, pink, yellows! They're big and fragrant, shining in the sun.]

That's a relief. [ hm, the question about cats is a difficult one, though, as she only has a small amount of experience with them, mostly seeing them in alleys and pet shops in this world. ] I think I like them? I haven't had many chances to form an opinion yet.

[ they seem cute from afar, at least. and they're not worms, which makes them automatically pretty great. so whatever he summons, cat-like or not, so long as it's not a worm, she'll be relieved.

she basically cuts the conversation off the moment they're close enough to the flowers to appreciate them though. these sorts of locations are where she's at her happiest here. they provide a sense of familiarity, being compared in her mind to the garden in ship three, but also a sense of wonder. they never get old.

the smile that had started to form before is now fully plastered on her face as she exhales happy-sounding breaths, spinning on her heels to look at them all. ] I had no idea this was right next to us...! You should've told me sooner! [ like it's his responsibility... ]

[OPEN] Library Shenanigans + May Catch-All

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)