(Untitled)

[missingthekeep]

The tan line on his ring finger is gone. It's such a silly thing to get all pensive about, but there it is. He hasn't been wearing his wedding ring for a couple months now, had made the conscious decision to take it off somewhere around the time Theresa had shown up (not as a result of it, though, at least he doesn't think so). He'd thought that

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[vendettaevey]

The ache of missing Marcus had begun to fade slightly, though Evey's demeanor still hadn't returned to the carefree manner she'd had before and there was a small pale line on her finger where she'd removed the ring. She couldn't bear to wear it when she wasn't really engaged anymore. It and the wedding ring were safely stashed somewhere that wouldn't call them to mind too often. John had disappeared as well, and she'd been glad she'd had one last conversation with him, that he'd been there when she'd needed a friend

[missingthekeep]

"'s nae a problem, lass," Sean says, swallowing another sigh in favor of nodding to Evey. Really, he's just glad for a distraction from the ruckus as well as... well, everything else. "Lookin' fer anythin' in particular?" Hopefully she'd have more luck than him.

[vendettaevey]

He really did seem to have poor luck with the jukebox and bookshelf, but then so did they all at times. She smiled slightly, politely, when he nodded to her.

"Something about ancient Egypt, actually. Have you spotted anything like that today?" she asked seriously.

[missingthekeep]

"'fraid nae," Sean says, slightly apologetically. Something seems different about her, but there's nothing overtly off about the way she's acting, so he doesn't say anything about it. "I'd say I'd keep an eye out, but with me luck, I doubt it'd me much help."

[vendettaevey]

She hadn't really expected a different answer, but the shelf did display different things for different people, so perhaps it might still provide something she wanted.

"Thank you all the same," she said. "Do you mind if I look?"

She wouldn't approach him without warning. Personal space bubbles were not something to be danced into and out of, after all.

[missingthekeep]

"Oh, o' course nae," says Sean, as if the answer is fairly obvious. He's not that off-putting, is he? Not for it to be a concern.

Not all of the time, at least.

"Hope ye fare better'n me," he adds, taking a small step back to give her room.

[vendettaevey]

"Thank you," she replied, and walked past him, carefully staying just out of arm's reach. It wasn't that she expected him in particular to be a problem, but the island's cruel tricks lately had made her wary of everyone, even those she considered friends.

She knelt by the shelf, beginning at the bottom shelves first as always, and sighed. Nothing but books on revolutions.

"It doesn't seem to be friendly today," she said to Sean, looking at the books rather than at him.

[missingthekeep]

At her reaction, Sean takes another glance at the shelf, only to spot a small row off to the side of similarly-themed books. The Troubles, The Irish War, A Secret History of the IRA, The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin, From Civil Rights to Armalites.

"Ye're tellin' me," he says with a frown, stuffing his hands in his pockets and forcing himself to look away.

[vendettaevey]

The Irish had had their difficulties during the Norsefire era as well as during the troubles. She knew that and was reminded of the subtle threat to Detective Finch that Creedy had offered in the movie she'd watched. Finch's voice had the trace of an accent, but no more. He'd probably lost it as camouflage against Norsefire, if she was to guess at his motives.

She glanced at the shelf above and saw The Anarchist's Handbook, A Guide to Explosives, Guy Fawkes: Terrorist or Hero? and Revolutions for Dummies.

"Oh, come on," she said to no one in particular. "Revolutions for Dummies? That can't possibly be a real book."

[missingthekeep]

Sean gives a snort of incredulous laughter at that, shaking his head. "Please tell me 's nae a how-to guide. Because that's 'bout the last thing I want ta see some o' the morons I've known attemptin'."

[vendettaevey]

Mostly out of slightly morbid curiosity, Evey pulled the Revolutions for Dummies book out of the shelf and flipped through the pages.

"It does appear to be a how-to guide to some extent, though it also has a few chapters on the philosophy behind various revolutions," she said, then put the book back. She'd just discovered a chapter about Neo-Fascist dictatorships and the legitimacy of overthrowing them. That was a bit too close for comfort.

She glanced at the shelf above it and saw books in hieroglyphics. That was approaching what she needed, she supposed.

[missingthekeep]

"Saints preserve us, the stuff this thing'll turn up," Sean sighs. What he wouldn't give for an normal library.

"That a sore spot or summat?" he asks absently.

[vendettaevey]

She almost didn't answer him. She was perusing the available Egyptian-themed books, most of which were still in hieroglyphics, and deciding which might ones might be useful for her revision. There were two, and one that she wasn't sure about but would take just in case. It wasn't that she was exactly ignoring him, but she wasn't sure what to say. Very few individuals wanted the truth of why the shelf presented her with such things, after all, and she decided that her usual answer would be the best in this case as well as others.

"Something like that," she said lightly, in a voice that didn't really invite further questions but also didn't reject them beforehand.

[missingthekeep]

Being both a natural snoop and someone who appreciates privacy often has Sean slightly at odds with himself, especially since he's also not a fan of hypocrisy. Sometimes he just has to split the difference and live with it.

"It usually is," he says, obviously curious but not pressing.

[vendettaevey]

"Yes, the shelf does seem to have an uncanny knack for noting and emphasizing things that individuals might wish it not to note and emphasize," Evey agreed a bit ruefully. It wasn't a rejection of his curiosity, but she would never presume that anyone wanted to hear about her past.

She selected another book that might be interesting (My First Hieroglyphics) from the collection on the shelf, which was now a dissonant combination of Egyptology and Revolutions.

[missingthekeep]

"I dinnae usually bother," Sean says, noting that she's at least managed to find something along the lines of what she's been looking for and gesturing towards the book. "Least a wee bit o' masochism pays off sometimes?"