007 || [Location:Taxon Library/Accidental Visual] || Seven For Avalon

[patternal]

Corwin has definitely learned his lesson in “be careful what you wish for,” and instead of wandering the city aimlessly and complaining about how dull it is here (or hacking at trees), he’s managed to find something to occupy himself with

Comments

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

Denial was working wonders as motivation as far as Alexis Castle was concerned. In a few short weeks she'd already begun writing up her own curriculum based on what she remembered of her English syllabus and while the Taxon library's books were a hodgepodge, she'd found enough to occupy herself.

At least for a few days, and now she was back, her arms already full of books. There were only two more on the list that she needed, and there was one of them. On the shelf above her head.

Alexis eyed the shelf, the load in her arms, and the shelf again. She could probably manage without stopping to get the ladder. So intent was she on finishing her task that Alexis didn't even notice the presence of the cigarette smoking man not too far away who could probably help. Instead, she reached up on tiptoe, fingertips brushing the book. Another half inch or so... She strained for the last bit of length and overbalanced, books toppling out of her arms and onto the floor with a loud clatter.

[ooc: oh no this isn't going to be trippy and mood

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

Denial may have been a miracle for the girl, but it was something that Corwin had never been able to afford. Aside from being stuck here, this wasn't all that odd anyway. Everything existed somewhere, he'd just had the misfortune of wandering his way through this one.

The sound of crashing pulled him out of his near-trance and he managed to catch himself before he rolled his eyes too obviously. He set his book down on the table laying open and came to loom behind the poor girl somewhat ominously on purpose.

"You could try not throwing things on the floor, kid."

((Nope, not at all~))

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

Alexis blanched as the man she hadn't noticed before approached, looming over her. While she'd had plenty of experience staring down her dad when he was being weird or unreasonable, Alexis had much less experience staring down strangers. "Sorry, I didn't mean to," she apologized, her voice squeaking a little. A blush began creeping up her cheeks. She waved to the shelf above her head. "I was just trying to get another one."

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

"And you didn't think that maybe you'd better put a few of them down first?" Teenagers. And it had been long enough since he'd been one that he felt he had every right to think what he wanted about them. He'd never particularly enjoyed interacting with children, even if he and most of his siblings were just as self-centered and little better.

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

Despite the spreading blush, a little frown tugged at Alexis' lips at the question. Her initial embarrassment slowly began to turn towards irritation at the patronizing question. She took a breath before answering, and her nose wrinkled at the acrid smell of cigarette smoke. "Aren't you not supposed to smoke in a library?"

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

Corwin ignored the irritation in her voice--she was just a kid, after all (but then, really, everyone here was to him) and he didn't exactly care what anyone else thought of him, angry or not. "I don't make a habit of throwing things on fire into things like books. I do actually care about them."

[location: Taxon Library] - argh sorry about late tags, life ate brains

[littlestcastle]

"But accidents can still happen," she pointed out. The looming man was intimidating, true, but Alexis pressed on. "Like falling ashes, or people dropping books."

[location: Taxon Library] RL > RP bb~ I understand~

[patternal]

"I'll be careful," he assured her with a well-concealed roll of his eyes. Being told off by a kid? Not an experience he particularly enjoyed.

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

Alexis gave him a look; something about that reminded her of dealing with her dad. Or maybe she just missed her family and was imagining things. She took a step back into the row of shelves, nearly tripping over one of the books that had fallen, and hesitated. There wasn't anyone else around. Or a step stool.

She glanced at the man, then at the shelf. "Could I borrow your chair to get the book off the shelf, Mr...?" she asked. It didn't hurt to ask, right?

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

The kid's attitude set him a little on edge, though he managed (somehow) not to glare outright at her and grabbed his chair without looking, swinging it around with one hand. "Corwin. Have at, kid."

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

Blinking in surprise, Alexis barely managed to suppress an audible 'eep' at the casual display. "Thank you," she said, perhaps a little meekly, and scrambled up for the thick volume of Chaucer, which got added to the pile of classic literature that was turning into the world's most thorough AP English reading list. Alexis hadn't wanted to borrow Dr. Reid's books, especially since she was already intruding his apartment, but she was starting to regret that particular decision.

"Sorry for interrupting, Mr. Corwin."

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

Corwin almost couldn't help looking at the volume that she'd pulled off the shelf or any of the rest of them in her pile and he was at least a little impressed by the choices. He may not have been all that fond of kids, but she's managed to garner a little bit of respect for her choice in reading material, at least.

"Heavy stuff for a kid."

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

Gathering up the pile again, Alexis managed to shrug without the books toppling out of her arms again. "They're on the AP syllabus," she answered, as if that explained everything. For some people, it probably did. "And we never have the chance to go through everything I'm interested in in-class, so I thought I'd get to the rest of it now that I have time to keep up."

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

"Not many kids who'd do schoolwork when they didn't have to." Because there was so much else to do around here. At least books were something a litle more healthy than hacking at trees or fighting off zombies.

[location: Taxon Library]

[littlestcastle]

"I do." It was a simple statement, spoken without pride or awareness of its oddity. The polar opposite of her father, in fact. Maybe that was how she'd learned it. "If I'm lucky enough to get home, I don't want to be behind in school. Or with my violin or fencing lessons."

[location: Taxon Library]

[patternal]

"Fencing" had him paying a lot more attention than even the books had. This girl was getting more and more interesting and he wasn't sure that he was particularly alright with that. "Sounds like you have wuite the interesting life."