TAR- Exploring the Library
It was quiet in the library, as usual. Katara’s arms were full of heavy books as she made her way to a little table in the back of the room. She knew cramming was generally a bad thing to do, but she had little choice at this point if she wanted to pass the history test tomorrow. But as she flipped open a big book, making some dust fly up in the process, a blonde head entered her vision. She looked up.
“Katara, dearest friend!” Nova chirped happily, a big smile on her face.
Katara had to smile back. “Hey Nova,” she said. “How’re you doing?” She hadn’t seen the girl for a while now. She had sometimes worried that something bad might have happened to her, especially with Mok on the prowl not so long ago. But it looked like Nova was doing just fine if she was still smiling a lot.
“Wonderful!” Nove exclaimed. “Everything’s just wonderful. Master is so happy now that he has Phoebus back.”
“Oh, really?” That was all Katara could say. Of course, she hadn’t met Phoebus in person, but his reputation for beating the crap out of anybody was legendary. And if he was friends with Moses, then that was really dangerous. Surprisingly however, Phoebus had barely done anything bad since returning from…wherever he disappeared too. There had been rumors that he had gotten killed somehow, but those had been dismissed when he had come back to the school alive.
Nova nodded, her blonde head bobbing up and down rapidly. “Yes. Master is much happier now. He smiles more, he laughs more, and that just makes me smile and laugh more!” She gave a little giggle.
“Nova, not so loud,” hushed Katara. “We’re in a library.”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Nova giggled again.
“So, are you here to check out a book or something, or study a bit?” Katara asked. She figured those would be the only reasons to come into a library.
“I’ve never been in here before,” said Nova, slowly turning in a circle as she looked at the shelves of books around her. “I wanted to explore it.” She smiled at Katara. “Wanna come with me?”
“Well, I have a test to study for-“
“Pleeeeeeease?” Nova pouted her lips and made her eyes get all big and cutesy like a puppy.
Katara sighed, but she still smiled. She couldn’t resist that face. “Alright, but just for a little while.”
“Yay!” Nova exclaimed happily, getting some angry glares from studying students. But she didn’t mind. She just grabbed Katara’s hand, pulled her out of the seat, and dragged her down a random aisle. She ooed and ahed at all the books around her, pulling ones out at random and asking Katara about them.
“Oooo, what’s this one?” Nova asked, pulling out a thick book.
“That would be a biography on Mozart,” Katara replied, glancing quickly at the title.
“Mozart?” Nova raised an eyebrow. “Who’s that?” She opened the book and flipped through the pages, looking at the rows of words and the occasional picture.
“He’s one of the most famous composers of all time,” Katara replied, trying to remember what she knew about the guy. “You know, he was composing by the time he was four years old.”
“Wow…” Nova paused when she came upon a portrait of the composer. She ran a hand along the page, as if she could touch the man himself.
“Yeah. But he died young,” said Katara. “Thirty five, I think it was.”
“Why?” asked Nova, turning to look at her friend. “Did a vampire eat him?”
Katara laughed. “No, no. He got sick. Medicine was still pretty primitive back then, Nova. They weren’t sure how to help him.”
“That’s sad…” Nova’s voice trailed off. Katara gave her a curious look before the blonde hurriedly stuffed the book back onto the shelf. “I don’t like that book. Let’s find another one.”
“Oh. Um…okay.” That was all Katara had time to say before Nova took her hand and dragged her off to another shelf.
They spent at least twenty minutes like this: Nova pulling out books, asking Katara about them as she flipped through the pages, then putting them back and dragging Katara off to another part of the library. The subject didn’t really matter to Nova, she just wanted to know about it. She pulled out books about everything, from curses to great wars to potions to sword-making. She kept this up until she happened to find something else.
It was a small door, almost hidden from sight. Katara had never seen it before, but Nova was very curious about it.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” she said, grinning.
“I don’t know, Nova. It’s probably-“
Katara was interrupted when Nova pulled on the handle and swung the door open.
“Locked.”
Nova clapped her hands excitedly. “Come on!” She pulled Katara inside, shutting the door behind them. Katara managed to find a light switch and she gasped in surprise.
For some reason, this room was full of old records, like the ones they played back in the 50s. Boxes and boxes of them filled up the shelves lay scattered on the floor. There were was even an old record player in the back.
“What are these?” Nova asked as she picked up a record case, pulling out the black record inside. “They look like giant CDs.”
“They’re called records, Nova,” Katara replied, pulling out one that was labeled with a picture of Elvis Presley. “They played these before CDs were invented.”
Nova didn’t say anything to that. She just started pulling out records one at a time, throwing them to the side when they didn’t catch her interest. Katara looked through them as well, trying to find a good one to play for Nova. That was when she happened upon one that had Ave Maria, composed by Franz Schubert. She smiled. Now this was a good one. Stepping carefully over the records on the floor, she made her way over to the record player. It was a bit dusty, but it looked like it might still work. She put the record in, and after a moment of fiddling around with the thing, music started to play. Soft, gentle instruments started off first, then made way to ethereal voices humming quietly. Nova immediately looked up at the sound, her eyes wide with surprise and wonder.
“What is that?” she asked, looking around wildly, trying to find the source of the music.
Katara laughed a little. “It’s Ave Maria, Nova. It’s a pretty popular piece. Have you ever listened to classical music before?”
Nova shook her head. “Not that I…know of…It’s…different…” Her voice trailed off, listening to the song. She walked over to the record and looked at it with wonder, as if surprised that such a dingy little thing could produce such a sound. Katara watched lay a hand on the machine as the voices soared with the string instruments. Then, a long, female soprano voice started to sound, rich with vibrato and as sweet as an angel. That was when something started to happen.
Katara didn’t even notice it at first, but when she looked at Nova more closely, she saw that something was going on with the girl. Her hand was trembling slightly and her eyes were filling with tears.
“Nova?” Katara started getting worried. “Nova, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know,” Nova said as she wiped her eyes. “I…I’m not sad, but…this music…I don’t know, it’s so beautiful and…it makes me feel funny…”
That was when Katara understood. “Oh, Nova.” She put an arm around her friend. “Sometimes, there are things in life that you see or hear that are so beautiful and wondrous that it makes you cry. It’s just something that happens to us.”
“But…I thought you only cried when you were sad…” Nova sniffled, trying to get control of herself.
“People cry for more reasons than sadness, you know,” said Katara. “They can cry when they’re happy, too. I mean, I’ve seen people ball their eyes out at weddings or when they see their child for the first time. Sometimes, people cry for no reason at all, Nova. But, that’s why we’re human, so to speak. There are some things we just do that don’t really have a logical explanation. You understand?”
Nova nodded, wiping her eyes again. The song ended at that point, and Katara reached over to take the record out and put it back in its case.
“Come on, you wanna look at the books again?” she asked.
“Mmm-hmm,” Nova replied, nodding.
Katara gave her a comforting smile and led her out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Of course, as soon as they left the room, Nova pulled Katara towards another shelf and reached for another book. But for some reason, this book was particularly odd.
“What’s this book?” Nova asked, practically shoving the book in Katara’s face.
Katara frowned. “Weird,” she said, taking the book and flipping through it. “This is a child’s book. What the heck is it doing in a high school library?”
“Child’s book?” Nova asked, peeking over Katara’s shoulder.
“It’s meant for little kids,” Katara explained as she stopped in the middle of the book.
“What’s it about?” Nova asked, still as curious as ever.
“It’s the Ugly Duckling,” Katara replied, showing the pictures to Nova. “You see? Here, he’s crying ‘cause he’s all alone and nobody wants him.” She pointed to the opposite page. “But on this page, his family hears him crying and they find him.” She smiled at Nova. “Then the ugly duckling is happy, because he knows where he belongs.”
Nova seemed intrigued by the story. She took the book from Katara and started flipping through it, gazing at the pictures. Then, she suddenly snapped it shut, turned it to Katara, and asked “Can we check this book out?”
Katara laughed. “Of course we can. Come on.”
Needless to say, the librarian was a bit baffled on why Nova was checking out a kid’s book, but she didn’t ask too many questions. Within a few minutes, Katara and Nova were walking out of the library, the blonde clutching the book like it was a newly found treasure, the waterbender lugging around the history books in her backpack.
“We should do this again sometime,” said Nova.
Katara smiled. “Definitely. I have to get going now, but we’ll see each other later, okay?”
Nova nodded. “Bye Katara!”
She gave a little wave before hurrying down the hallway. Katara waved back, smiling.
“Hey, cuz. Who was that?”
Katara turned around. Of course, it was Sokka, leaning against the wall with a grin on his face.
“One of my friends, Nova,” Katara replied. “Sorry Sokka, I can’t talk right now. I have to study.”
Sokka just nodded as Katara headed off to her room. But his smile didn’t disappear. Now that he thought about it, Nova did look kinda cute. He would have to make her acquaintance sometime soon. His hands went into his pockets as he strolled cheerfully down the hall.
(I tried to come up with some Phoebus/Moses, but inspiration just wasn't hitting me and I really wanted to share this with you, even though I'm not in TAR anymore. So, Sauda, I hope you like it. :D)