ignorance was something to never be tolerated. blessed be - if one had to bless anything - the power of knowledge. she would rather die than be idiotic. idiots themselves she could tolerate; if only for a little bit. being an idiot? well, place a bullet in her brain. she was better off dead. though she was not quite ready to lay down and die. Huntington would place her steps forward, curiosity driving her further away from the neutral lands and into court martial areas. she held no light in her eyes as she stepped, ever forward, and wonder would fill her body instead of expression at the site of the library.
perhaps this land was not entirely doomed to idiocy.
they had a place of learning, even if it was in this court alone. she wondered if the native residents visited often or allowed them to be tended in solitary? ah, but inside... she was met with a flurry of activity. small creatures rushed about, tidying things up and placing them in order. librarian assistants. how quaint. the woman would wordlessly step forward in the 'lobby', eyes trained to the scrolls littering the area. where to start, what to read first... she had time to do most of this. if she sat down and did not move for years, she could finish at least sixty percent of this collection.
though that was by mortal standards, taking into account her own lack of immortality. t'was just something else to accomplish. she wondered briefly if this land had immortals. Huntington would approach a table, eyes lingering upon the text the scroll provided before turning away. she barely registered if another approached her. she was lost in her own thoughts now.
home is behind the world ahead
there are many paths to tread
The library was a dramatic change from his usual scene as of late, its interior hushed, uncrowded, and eerily quiet. It was a jarring contrast to the streets of the Night Court, where everything and everyone was hardly in motion, and the music played so loud he could hardly hear himself think.
Here in all the silence that was Delumine, his thoughts felt uncomfortably loud inside of his own head.
The scent of Denoctian spices and perfumes still clung to him, wafting through the otherwise stagnant air in a trail behind him as he walked. His scarves whispered against his sides as he moved, hoofbeats landing so quietly on the earthen floor that he made hardly a sound as he went. Aside from the library keepers, who hardly stopped to acknowledge him, he was alone. Dust stirred as he walked amongst the aisles, scanning the titles half heartedly. Toulouse wasn’t sure yet what he was looking for - only that he would know it when he saw it.
And so far he had yet to see it, or even a glimpse of it; there was not a single hint that he was headed in the right direction.
But it would seem he was not the only one dedicated to studying today. As he turned a corner another came into view, head bowed low over a pile of opened scrolls. Toulouse came to a stop, watching her with interest; he did not recognize her, but then again, he had been absent from the Dawn Court for months now. She may be new, he supposed, or an intruder.
She seemed to linger over a particular scroll, eyes scanning the expanse of text inked onto the parchment. But as he watched she turned away, hardly bothering to turn the page and see what else the story had to offer.
“Find anything interesting?”His voice was cool, breaking the silence. He had stepped forward after her, taking her place at the table. His eyes fell downwards, studying the discarded text with feigned interest. He could already tell that it lacked the secrets he was looking for; it was a fable, and not a particularly well-written one.
"I have yet to find anything worthwhile myself."
His eyes flickered up to meet her's then, green meeting gold.
thoughts would be broken, though adjusted quickly. her gaze would turn to the man standing there, questioning her like a nosy patron of a purchasing establishment. a store, yes. this was not a bookstore, however, and she had no obligation to answer him. her eyes would flicker away from him, walking a few paces to another table to bend over. it was by his second query did she turn back, half-lids viewing him with a deadpan expression. so he had been here before, hm? and judging by his words, he had found nothing 'interesting' and worth his time. shameful. she was not going to take him at his word; she was going to look for herself. some speck among Novus had to have something useful.
else why would she continue to stay here? it would be a waste of her time. a seeker of knowledge needed constant stimulation. they breathed facts. spoke riddles. "unless you should count Fifty Ways to Properly Bow a topic of interest" she would pause, eyes briefly upon the scroll at the nearest table next to her before turning back to him "then no. nothing thus far." why did he even bother to... well, bother her? this was a library. were you not supposed to keep to yourself and ask not silly questions? everything was provided for such queries. all you had to do was make the effort to look.
home is behind the world ahead
there are many paths to tread
She didn’t answer him at first, and the smile in his features faltered, for a moment threatening to dip into a scowl. Toulouse was not one to be ignored - his demeanor, his looks, his very presence demanded attention. His lips twisted at her turned back, following as she moved on to the next table.
But he kept his voice steady, holding onto his charming edge - and when she finally turned. sparing a glance over her shoulder at him, he flashed one of his best smiles, wolf teeth and all. He could pretend he did not see the vacant expression in her eyes, the way she looked at him like he was beneath her. He was gold, he was the sun; she just might not know it yet.
He sidled closer, taking her reply as an invitation to peer at the scroll she spoke of. Fifty Wats to Properly Bow.
“Well that’s hardly helpful,” he made a face, moving on past her. His eyes scanned the titles lining the shelves around him, flicking an ear impatiently. “Surely we can find something better than that.” Toulouse had been to the library only a few times before - business had taken him out of Delumine, after all - but he had heard of the wonders and secrets it held, somewhere deep within. And he was eager to find something, anything -
- Everything.
He paused, casting a careless glance back at the morbid-looking mare.
“Is there anything particular you’re looking for?”
She could brush him off, he knew, and he would take his leave if she did.
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