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 Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:50 pm
Esrael stood in the line, waiting to get his food. Everything about the cafeteria made him cringe. There was just way too many people. He didn't like being smooshed in between two people waiting for his lunch to be served to him and he didn't want to be stuck in an area that had THIS many people in it at one time. Lunch. It was a good time, it meant that he could eat something and get his energy back up, but for Esrael it was a time of panic. It was just way way too noisy and crowded for him to enjoy himself though. The Fallen scanned the cafeteria, looking for a reclusive area to sit down and enjoy his lunch in peace.
Esrael got his lunch and turned around. Now for the hard part; finding a place to sit down and actually enjoy his food. The Fallen scanned the room, this was always the hardest part.
'Why do we even have to eat in here? Why can't we just eat in our rooms or something?' He thought to himself.
Then he saw it, the golden opportunity. He saw a few kids get up from a table off to the side and throw their wrappers away. Esrael immediately made a bee line for the empty table. He figured as soon as he got there he could scarf down his food and be out before anyone had the chance to ask if they could sit with him.
In his efforts to get there as quickly as he possibly could, he wasn't really paying attention to anything around him. Bad move. In his quick movement to get to the table he felt one of his wings start to drag. Esrael froze. Terrified of what he had actually just done. He slowly turned around and saw what happened. He had completely forgotten about how much room his wings took up and they had most definitely just smacked straight in to another person.
"I-I'm so sorry! I r-really didn't mean for that to happen!"
The boy's cheek color darkened and he bowed his head slightly as he faced the person that he had just rammed his wings into.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 9:16 pm
 So many people all cramming into one room, just to stuff their faces full of food. Citali always hated lunch time, and almost always never sat with anyone. If she was forced to sit with someone she'd would keep entirely to herself and not speak a word, attention focusing on her tray of food. She would eat her food as quickly as possible, and then pull out her book and start to read. If she had her way she would disappear to her room as soon as she was finished eating, but she promised her relatives that she would try harder to socialize with others. They didn't say though that she actually had to interact with them, so as far as she was concerned, sitting in the cafeteria with her nose in a book was the perfect way to socialize.
That's exactly what she was doing on this particular day. Citali had finally managed to get a table all to herself, and once she finished eating she quickly buried her nose in her book ignoring the world around her. If she had been paying more attention, she'd have realized that she was going to get smacked with a wing, but, instead was caught off guard.
"Ack! My book!" She cried out as her book fell from her hand as she caught her balance. Quickly she dropped to the floor so she could grab it from under the table. When she had it back in her grasp, she stood up and hugged it tight to her, before facing the thing that knocked into her.
Citali stared at him, tongue tied, as she contined to hug her book to her chest. "Um, well, um, yeah." She whispered as she tried to figure out how to respond to him. Deep down she was upset about being knocked into because her books were her babies but there was no way she could confront him. "It's, um, well, um, it's fine. Don't uh, worry about um, it." She turned her gaze to the floor, not really sure what to do in this sort of situation. Why didn't I just go back to my room? As she asked the question in her head, she also mentally cursed her relatives for making her promise to be social.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 9:45 pm
His deep blue eyes followed her movements as she dove for her book. Esrael knew that feeling. There had been many a times when someone had accidentally bumped into him in the hallways and he dropped all his things. Now he was that person and he felt terrible. This wasn't what he wanted. All he wanted to do was eat his lunch in peace, not knock someone around and make them drop their belongings! He really did have to pay more attention to his wings.
When she spoke...it hit him hard. She was telling him that it was okay, but he knew that it wasn't. Well, maybe it was and she was fine, but Esrael knew how he felt about things and to him books were sacred. They held so much knowledge and they let you escape to an entirely different plane. The Fallen always made sure to keep his books in pristine condition, he knew he'd be horrified if his books had made contact with the grimy cafeteria floors.
"No, I-I'm really sorry. Is your book okay? I-I didn't damage anything, did I?"
To anyone one the outside, it would have seemed like he was more interested in the book than the girl he carelessly knocked in to, but he had seen how she immediately dove for it, he knew that she cared for that book.
Esrael set his tray down on the table.
"Do you mind if I sit with you? I won't bother you anymore, I promise..."
What was he even doing? This was the first time in...well ever that he actually willingly wanted to sit with another person. Maybe it was the way that she tried to protect her book? Who really knew. The Fallen took a deep breath, trying to will his nervousness away.
"Can I ask what book you're reading?"
First he asked to sit with someone and now he actually engaged someone in conversation. It had to be opposite day.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:17 pm
Citali blinked slowly, confusion setting in as this Fallen asked about her book, if it was okay. Normally others just completely ignored the fact that her book fell and had no concern for it because to them it was just an inanimate object, nothing to be cared about. Yet, he was asking about it. "Y..yeah. My uh book, it's um, it's okay. No d...damages." She forced out, the confusion evident in the tone of her voice. Her book was still tightly held to her chest, protecting it, but at the same time she wondered if it actually needed any protecting from this particular person. Granted, he did knock it out of her hand, but it wasn't like he did it on purpose.
S..s...s...sit with m..me?" The Goblin stuttered in complete shock, the confusion now forgotten as she was caught completely off guard with the question. She was more caught off guard with the question, then with him knocking into her with his wing. No one ever asks to sit with her, but then she doesn't really make it all that inviting to sit with her either. "Um, well, um, y...yes, you c..can uh well um sit with me." What am I doing?! This goes against what is normal! She mentally yelled at her sanity as she answered him. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she quickly sat down and stared at the table.
As she waited for him to sit down with her, he asked her about her book, and she was surprised again. Did he perhaps like books too? "Oh, um, this book? It's uh, it's the first book in the uh, Pirates of Ysrukis series." She kept her attention on the table, her book still in her tight hug, and hoped that she spoke loud enough for him to hear, since she had a habit of barely speaking above a whisper when she had to speak, but since this was about books, well, she could get a little passionate about it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:56 pm
He smiled gently, "Ah, it's such a relief that you're b-book wasn't damaged."
Esrael was definitely relieved to hear that her book was okay. If one of his books had been damaged he would have had a panic attack. The boy was a little on edge as he stood there, not only because he still felt like the worst person in Below or Above, but because sitting down with someone may actually lead to conversation. He had pretty much given up on making friends at this point, the only two friends he had was years ago and he was pretty sure they had forgotten him at this point. Friends. Acquaintances. You didn't really need any of that, right? School is for studying. For bettering yourself so you can learn.
The girl seemed just as taken confused as he was, it was nice actually. Well in theory it was nice, in reality it was still confusing and stressful. It was just nice to see someone as withdrawn as he was and someone that cared about books. As soon as he got a delayed yes, he sat down at the table, noticing that the Goblin seemed to be just as uncomfortable as he was with interaction. She was still holding her book so tight, it actually made him a little happy to see someone that upset about a book falling that he let a small smile creep across his face.
"Pirates, huh? Is it fiction or non-fiction? I-I recently read something in one of my history books about pirates. It was a really interesting read."
Esrael began to pick at some of his vegetables, needing something to distract himself from what was going on around him. Though, if he had to bump into anyone, he was a little glad it was someone like her, someone that enjoyed books because it intrigued him.
"Are you taking English class right now? I-If not I have a really good book recommendation for you. I-It's nothing as cool as pirates, but it's s-still a really good book."
Small talk. Why did anyone do it? It's so stressful it should be called something different like 'important talk"!
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:20 pm
Why am I talking to him? He's talking to me. He's actually legit talking to me. No one talks to me. Never ever ever. Citali was panicking in her mind, as she tried to get over the fact that this Fallen was now sitting with her, at her table, interacting with her. At least now she could write back to the relatives and tell them that she actually interacted with someone outside of class, without a book attached to her nose. Maybe now they'd leave her alone about it?
Yet, when he mentioned it being a relief that her book wasn't damaged, she actually had to smile a little bit. A very very small smile, but still a smile. It was actually nice knowing that someone could care about books like she did, worrying about them being damaged. Still did not make it any easier to talk to him though. "Oh uh...it's um, it's f..f..fiction. T..they are these uh, um pirates who uh, normally rob the um the um seas, but th..th..they get caught up in t..this ultra villain's p..plans to um well, take um, over the world." She stuttered and stumbled as she explained the story to him, her voice sometimes dipping down to a barely audible whisper up to an actual hearable tone. Y..yet when they um, try to uh, seek help, um no one, well um believes them, so they uh have to try to well, um defeat the villain by themselves. As she spoke, her grip on her book loosened a bit, and she started to relax just a teensy smidge. Describing a book always made her happy, because she could still get caught up in it's world as she spoke and it always got her starry-eyed.
Yet, when she was done explaining the book she glanced sideways over at the Fallen, and then returned her gaze back to the table. Her arms were getting tired, so she finally laid her precious book on the table next to her tray, and then folded her hands into her lap just so she had someplace to put her hands, since she had already finished eating. "Um, I..I am taking English class. B..but, I do um still um enjoy hearing about um other books." Oh this was so hard! How do people do this all the time?
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 10:11 am
He was a little disappointed to hear that it was a fiction. There definitely wasn't anything wrong with fiction books, he had quite a few that he loved. It was just, it would have been a little cooler if it was non-fiction? Though Esrael would never turn his nose up at a book and pirates trying to take over the world did seem pretty intense. The Fallen had stopped picking at his food, content just sitting there listening to her talk about the book. 'She must really like that book. That's really...refreshing.'
Oh. She put her book down. Did that mean he wasn't bothering her anymore? He really wasn't trying to be a bother so it made him happy to see her relax a little bit. He took a few more small bites of food So she was taking English class. Was she in his class? He made another mental note to actually start paying more attention to the things going on around him.
"I w-was looking through the book list that was assigned for class," He paused to take a bite of food, he knew it was rude to talk with food in his mouth, but he really wanted to be able to finish his food before lunch was up. "S-So there's this really good one called 'I-Island of Fire'. It's a-about how these kids get deserted there and they have to find a way to survive. A bunch of things happen, I won't spoil anything for you, but it has a lot of foreshadowing and if you read between the lines I think the author was trying to make a really good point about life and the fragility of it...."
He finished and immediately dropped his eyes to the table, he had rambled again. Wait to go, Rae. "S-Sorry, it is a really good book, though. M-Maybe we can trade? C-Can I borrow your book and I-I'll let you borrow mine?"
The Fallen furrowed his eyebrows, imagining all the horrendous situations that could happen to his book being in someone else's hands.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:21 am
Citali kept glancing at him from the corner of her eye, trying to figure out how people can so easily have these, these conversations. This was not normal for her. Heck, she didn't even really converse with her relatives back in the Above. So how in the world was she suppose to do this now? At least though it was about books, and that made it a little bit easier, more tolerable. She wasn't asked to talk about herself, which she absolutely hated doing. Especially since there was stuff that she couldn't actually talk about, being a Goblin and all.
The Fallen though, wasn't the only one trying to remember if they saw the other in the class, but then for her, she tried to pretend that no one existed. Made the class a bit easier that way for her. "I..I saw that b...book. Um, I uh, was uh well going to um, read it. But, then um well, I wanted to read all of the um books on the list." A strand of hair made its way loose and started to swing in front of her face as she spoke, so she quickly reached up and tucked it back into place. Citali was starting to relax a little around this Fallen, and it was surprising, and confusing all at the same time. "I could have, um, well, I could have read the um whole l..list in the uh month we were um given." Which, she wasn't bragging, but it was something that she knew she could do. Reading just came so easily to her and she could read quickly but still pick up on all the subtle details in the books that would otherwise be missed.
Though, upon his mentioning the possibility of trading books, her eyes got wide and she tensed up. Trade books?! Trade books?! Is he crazy?! What happens if my book gets ruined?! So many thoughts were rushing through her head, but, at the same time, he did seem nice. He did also seem to care about books like they were each their own living, breathing person. Then a thought clicked with her head and it made her ashamed of all her lack of manners. "U..uh...well...um, b..before..we uh..um, t..talk, about well um trading, uh, perhaps uh, we should um give each other, our um names?" She stammered out, barely whispering. Citali couldn't believe that she had forgotten the very basics of manners. "Citali...that's uh, my uh name."
I screwed this all up! This is so hard! How can I keep doing this?
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:43 pm
It would have been a lie if Esrael tried to say he wasn't impressed with how fast she could read. It would have easily taken him at least double that to get through everything. Now it wasn't because he wasn't a good reader, heavens no, it was only because as he read things he would make sure that he picked up on all the little things in the book too. If he read too fast then he normally ended up missing things and would be confused a few pages later.
If they lived in one of those cartoon worlds Esraels jaw would have comically dropped to the ground. How could he have been so stupid?! First he knocks into her with his wings and then he never introduced himself?! Blood rushed to his cheeks, making a bright blush spread across his face. "O-Oh my gosh, I'm really very sorry," As he apologized again he bowed his head. "My name's Esrael, it's very nice to meet you, Citali again I'm really sorry. Normally I have better manners than this..."
He felt like the worst person ever. Could this day actually get any worse?
pippil8848 Sorry that it's so short this time ;;
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:29 pm
Both of them shy, both of them freaking out about the fact they forgot to introduce themselves. Was it a coincidence? Either way, at the moment Citali was still mentally yelling at herself for being so rude. I..it's fine. Uh r..r..really. It's um, fine." She was having such a hard time now with this. Why didn't she introduce herself first? Oh yeah, she was still freaking out about someone even talking to her, that's why. "Esrael. That's a n...nice name."
She glanced over at him and notice how bright his face had gotten, which made her thankful that her complexion was so dark, so her blushing couldn't be noticed. "S...so...um, about the, uh trading uh thing. Um, well, uh could you uh keep my book safe?" Citali tried to steer the conversation back to the one topic that seemed they could both be relaxed talking about, though, the thought of her letting someone taking her book still freaked her out.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:27 pm
Okay. Pull yourself together. Sure, you're actually talking to someone and sure it's going...okayish? Well at least there's something you both definitely have in common: books. When Citali complemented his name he blushed a little harder. Why? Why was he doing that? Ugh his emotions were all out of whack right now.
"Citali, I promise I will take excellent care of your book...in fact...do you have a minute?" The Fallen had a dead serious expression on, harming a book...? He would rather strip his wings of all his feathers before damaging a book. He was also about to do something he'd never done before, something he had never ever thought about doing before.
Esrael stood up from the lunch table and held out his hand with a smile. Anyone who cares this much about literature...they're trustworthy for sure. "Citali, I'd like to show you my dorm room. I-I think I might be able to alleviate your worries about your book. I have a mini library in my dorm, please come have a look at the state that I keep them in?" He wasn't sure if she'd decline or not, but if she liked books at least he could show her something cool.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:59 pm
Well at least I can tell the relatives to back off now. I finally interacted with someone outside of class. Why is this so haaaard? The internal struggles were very real for the Goblin and she was honestly quite shocked that she was even still sitting here and conversing. Though hearing him claim that he would never harm a book made it easier for her to breathe, but she still worried immensely about it. It was her book after all. Her baby. She never ever let them out of her sight in someone else's care. So she still was incredibly worried about the idea.
So worried that she almost didn't catch his offer to go to his room to see his books. Citali sat there in silence for a few moments, almost to the point of it being awkward, when the offer finally clicked in her brain. "Y...y...y...you what?" His room! He wants to take her to his room?! Yet, he had a library in his room, which meant books. Books that she may not have already read yet. She finally turned and looked up at him, with his hand stretched out, and a shocked expression on her face. What in the world does someone do in a situation like this? Do they run and cry? Scream? Accept?
Slowly she reached up with her own hand, and took his hand, pulling herself up. "U..Uh well, uh, I..I..do have um a l..l...little b..b..bit of time." She tried to keep eye contact with him as he spoke, but after a few words, had to look away, her face feeling like it was burning. "I...th..th...think it would be a um well um, a good idea to uh see them." Grabbing her book from the table, she held it against her, and then took a quick glance at those around her, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious about anyone watching them.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:32 pm
Esrael closed his eyes and let out a sign of relief when Citali took his hand. He knew that it was hard for her, it was hard for him too, but she had nothing to worry about. The last thing on Esrael's mind was to try and make her uncomfortable, he figured he could show her a bunch of his old books, one that he was sure no one had seen before.
He felt her uneasiness, mainly because he felt it too. Since he had started the Academy he hadn't made a connection to anyone, let alone invite them to his room. He, of course, had a private room, his space was his space and he decided to take that space and make it a mini library. "Ah, I'm so glad, I think you're really going to like this...!" He gripped her hand lightly and lead her to his room.
Hallway after hallway, when the reached his dorm room he paused and turned to her and smiled. "Are you ready?" He continued to smile as he opened his door, exposing all of the books. Some really old and some really new. As a Fallen he did have a few really old tomes that had been preserved with archival magic from years ago. "What do you think, Citali?"
Esreal stood there, pretty proud of the collection that he had.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:17 pm
As they wound through the hallways and among the other people in the building, Citali just could not believe she was going to someone else's room. It just never seemed like something that would ever happen. Thankfully she had her own private room so didn't even have roommates to deal with. Yet, here she was, holding hands with someone and being led to their room. She was beginning to think that maybe her brain would explode from all of the social interacting she was doing today. Ack! This was so nervewracking!
They reached his dorm and she tensed up a bit as he opened the door, almost afraid of how this was going to end up. Would she explode into a million pieces if she stepped foot in his room? But then...if that was the case then there wouldn't be many students left in the Academy. Citali just couldn't wrap her mind around how people could do all this social interaction, ALL the time. Yet, when her mind calmed down enough to notice what lay in his room, it took her breath away.
Taking a deep breath she could smell the books, old, new, and everything in between, and it smelled absolutely heavenly. "Th...this is amazing." She was in awe as she stared at the various books, afraid to touch anything in case it was all just a dream. "Where and and um how did you get um all of these?" Her curiosity was getting the best of her and she really wanted to look through the older tomes, but didn't want to be rude. Being somewhere so magical like this, also helped relax her a lot and she wasn't nearly as nervous as she had been the whole time since he first ran into her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:31 pm
This was one of the first times Esrael had every actually invited anyone back to his room. It was his space and he normally didn't feel the need to bring anyone in, but he could tell she was different than most of the other students. The Fallen stood there and smiled gently as Citali stared in amazement at his books. He blushed lightly at the compliment. His books were his life and to find someone that thought it was amazing, that in and of itself was also amazing.
He stood shly off to the side, "Thank you, I've been collecting books for years now. Some of these are many years old and some of them are fairly new...but they're all just as important to me." He solwly made his way to one of the numerous bookshelves and ran his fingers gently down the spine of one of his oldest books. Gently he pulled the book from its place on the shelf and made his way back over to Citali, holding the book out to her. "Iwanted to show you my books because I wanted to assure you that if you lent me yours, I would take exceptional care of it. Here, look, this book is centuries old..."
Esrael beamed happily as he spoke about his books. It was really nice to find someone as interested as he was in literature.
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