Fic: Books in the Hallway
Title: Books in the Hallway
Fandom: Simoun
Characters/Pairing: Anubituf/Guragief
Summary: A young Guragie reads books in the hallway at night rather than going back to her room. Anubit seeks to find out why, but decides that reading the books with her is more interesting than that.
Word count: 702
Comments: silverzephyr13 ’s choice~ Thanks for the genga!!
The clocks ticked in the dark halls of Reinef Palace. A girl sat there behind a pillar, nose in a book, head on a quest of hell. She hated this. Hated life if this was what it was. To-day in training, a question about a point of doctrine-answered it. A question about a Ri Maajon lost for a hundred years-answered it. A question about Onashia’s predecessor who had vanished as Simulacran rulers did when the girl’s great-grandparents were yet unborn-answered it.
A question about flying-no. No dice, as the young ones said. The cadets laughed. Because she had no wings, she would have to watch them as she plodded along the ground. A joke of a priestess, that was what she would be. Never having been a true sibylla-oh, what a travesty. What a horrid joke she made of her life.
She cared so much, and it hurt so bad every time she was disappointed. Every single time-and the times came, piling up over each other and deepening like a coastal shelf. The book was her consolation. It was what she did and what she could do and what she knew. The Ri Maajon of the Raging Sea, for a dead potentate or magistrate; the Ri Maajon of the Morning Calm, which had last been used at the Proclamation of Neutrality ninety-six years ago; the Dandelion, the Shark, the Iron (Tempus Spatium forbid their use ever again being needed-!), the Emerald whose power spun closest the Divine; and the Ri Maajons that only Guragie knew, that Guragie prided herself for being the only one to know: the Spiderwort Ri Maajon, the Wandering Flock Ri Maajon, the Ri Maajon of the Sun and Moon, the Ri Maajon like an Army with Banners.
She sighed-and shut the book-and heard a laconic laugh and a dry cough.
A shorter girl, brown hair back over the head blown, stood before her in the dark hallway. ‘What are you doing out in the hall, Guragie?’
‘A-Anubit!’ Guragie yelped, clutching her book (and knees) instinctively to her chest. Anubit was a nice girl-but her unflappability and cool made her scary!
‘What’s that you’re reading?’ demanded Anubit, easing herself on to the floor next to Guragie. She drew up her skirts around her knees and smiled.
‘I-it’s a book of Ri Maajon patterns. Some of them are pretty interesting.’
‘Really!’ Anubit raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m interested. Let me see.’
Guragie, silently thanking Tempus Spatium that Anubit, training chor superstar, was paying her any attention, turned and showed her the book. As Anubit peered at the spread that Guragie had it opened to, from Annolimon and Vyenrat’s room came the sound of a gramophone playing music of the new style.
‘Do you like listening to the jazz, Guragie?’ asked Anubit.
‘N-not really,’ Guragie said, shamefast. ‘I prefer traditional songs from, well, from the countryside where I’m from. I was born and raised in Iellar. It’s near the unclaimed territory by Plumbum. I really love the traditional music.’
‘I see,’ said Anubit. ‘Well, you know, I’m just a gutter rat.’ She laughed. ‘Not a very nice part of the capital, though my family’s all right.’
‘If you’re going to read the book,’ said Guragie, ‘can you read the book, please?’
Anubit nodded. ‘Right. Sorry.’ She pointed at a Ri Maajon pattern in the upper right corner of the spread. ‘What’s this? It looks complicated.’
‘Oh!’ said Guragie, much more animated now. ‘That’s the Wandering Flock Ri Maajon. It uses two whole chors and hasn’t been attempted since the twenty-seventh century. The one below it is the Parkland Ri Maajon which is a simpler version.’
‘Yes,’ said Anubit. ‘Much simpler. It only uses…it looks like, what is this, four Simoun?’
‘Three,’ said Guragie. ‘I wish I had a pair. I’d like to try that one.’
‘So would I.’ Anubit extended her hand. ‘Pair, Guragie? Let’s try the Parkland Ri Maajon at our earliest convenience.’
‘Wait, what?!’ Guragie hardly knew Anubit! It was…it was…
…looking into Anubit’s eyes and at her confident and cool and smiling face, it was something that Guragie found herself entirely and gloriously willing to do.
Fandom: Simoun
Characters/Pairing: Anubituf/Guragief
Summary: A young Guragie reads books in the hallway at night rather than going back to her room. Anubit seeks to find out why, but decides that reading the books with her is more interesting than that.
Word count: 702
Comments: silverzephyr13 ’s choice~ Thanks for the genga!!
The clocks ticked in the dark halls of Reinef Palace. A girl sat there behind a pillar, nose in a book, head on a quest of hell. She hated this. Hated life if this was what it was. To-day in training, a question about a point of doctrine-answered it. A question about a Ri Maajon lost for a hundred years-answered it. A question about Onashia’s predecessor who had vanished as Simulacran rulers did when the girl’s great-grandparents were yet unborn-answered it.
A question about flying-no. No dice, as the young ones said. The cadets laughed. Because she had no wings, she would have to watch them as she plodded along the ground. A joke of a priestess, that was what she would be. Never having been a true sibylla-oh, what a travesty. What a horrid joke she made of her life.
She cared so much, and it hurt so bad every time she was disappointed. Every single time-and the times came, piling up over each other and deepening like a coastal shelf. The book was her consolation. It was what she did and what she could do and what she knew. The Ri Maajon of the Raging Sea, for a dead potentate or magistrate; the Ri Maajon of the Morning Calm, which had last been used at the Proclamation of Neutrality ninety-six years ago; the Dandelion, the Shark, the Iron (Tempus Spatium forbid their use ever again being needed-!), the Emerald whose power spun closest the Divine; and the Ri Maajons that only Guragie knew, that Guragie prided herself for being the only one to know: the Spiderwort Ri Maajon, the Wandering Flock Ri Maajon, the Ri Maajon of the Sun and Moon, the Ri Maajon like an Army with Banners.
She sighed-and shut the book-and heard a laconic laugh and a dry cough.
A shorter girl, brown hair back over the head blown, stood before her in the dark hallway. ‘What are you doing out in the hall, Guragie?’
‘A-Anubit!’ Guragie yelped, clutching her book (and knees) instinctively to her chest. Anubit was a nice girl-but her unflappability and cool made her scary!
‘What’s that you’re reading?’ demanded Anubit, easing herself on to the floor next to Guragie. She drew up her skirts around her knees and smiled.
‘I-it’s a book of Ri Maajon patterns. Some of them are pretty interesting.’
‘Really!’ Anubit raised her eyebrows. ‘I’m interested. Let me see.’
Guragie, silently thanking Tempus Spatium that Anubit, training chor superstar, was paying her any attention, turned and showed her the book. As Anubit peered at the spread that Guragie had it opened to, from Annolimon and Vyenrat’s room came the sound of a gramophone playing music of the new style.
‘Do you like listening to the jazz, Guragie?’ asked Anubit.
‘N-not really,’ Guragie said, shamefast. ‘I prefer traditional songs from, well, from the countryside where I’m from. I was born and raised in Iellar. It’s near the unclaimed territory by Plumbum. I really love the traditional music.’
‘I see,’ said Anubit. ‘Well, you know, I’m just a gutter rat.’ She laughed. ‘Not a very nice part of the capital, though my family’s all right.’
‘If you’re going to read the book,’ said Guragie, ‘can you read the book, please?’
Anubit nodded. ‘Right. Sorry.’ She pointed at a Ri Maajon pattern in the upper right corner of the spread. ‘What’s this? It looks complicated.’
‘Oh!’ said Guragie, much more animated now. ‘That’s the Wandering Flock Ri Maajon. It uses two whole chors and hasn’t been attempted since the twenty-seventh century. The one below it is the Parkland Ri Maajon which is a simpler version.’
‘Yes,’ said Anubit. ‘Much simpler. It only uses…it looks like, what is this, four Simoun?’
‘Three,’ said Guragie. ‘I wish I had a pair. I’d like to try that one.’
‘So would I.’ Anubit extended her hand. ‘Pair, Guragie? Let’s try the Parkland Ri Maajon at our earliest convenience.’
‘Wait, what?!’ Guragie hardly knew Anubit! It was…it was…
…looking into Anubit’s eyes and at her confident and cool and smiling face, it was something that Guragie found herself entirely and gloriously willing to do.