Welcome to Gaia! ::

The light had begun to fade as the sun sunk toward the horizon for the night and left the sky streaked in it's fiery hues. Sova hurried up the stone stairs of the library with notebooks cradled in her arms like precious packages. She still wore her uniform, but had replaced her blazer with a comfortable, worn brown hoodie that she shrugged into to beat the slight bite of the afternoon breeze. Her heels clicked noisily as she slipped through the heavy, ornate door at the entrance of the building.

She immediately felt more comfortable inside the warm, inviting walls of the library. The smell of used books and old leather filled her lungs and she exhaled what seemed like all the days stress and exhaustion. It was quiet here, which she valued above all. Here, she would be able to study and get some work done with unlimited resources. At least, until they closed. Then she was on her own again.

With relaxed, slow movements she toed her way through the isles, fingering the spines of books new and old that she might find of some use. It was an old routine, and her mind almost blanked as she went about, searching for just the right place to start her studies. It was the frayed binding of a dark red spine that finally attracted Sova, and she smiled as she gently pulled the book from it's home on the shelf. She carried it to a table and laid down her load before sliding into the wooden chair and slipping her heels off.

It was mere minutes before she was chewing on an eraser tip and furrowing her brows as she decoded the pages before her.

She was so concentrated on her work, that she was uncharacteristically surprised when the puppet appeared in her peripheral vision. She stared hard at it, then up at the boy, and raised a brow.

"I would hope that a more fitting puppet is high on your list, actually." She glanced back down at the unfitting antlers that seemed to sag sadly to one side and tapped the eraser of her pencil against her chin. She wasn't contemplating so much as she was just absorbing information that she'd been unable to gather while she was engrossed in her studies. The boy was unfamiliar, though that wasn't odd for her. It was easy to see that he was doing a puppet show for the children, whether he was practicing or had actually performed recently was up for debate. His hair was long and left an impression on her, so she honed in on that characteristic to stick to her memory.

Locking her bare ankles together she leaned over her book again, though was still paying attention to the boy. "I think there's a craft store a block or two from here. You could make your own."

Her eyes flickered to him with a hint of surprise. "Really? I've never noticed it. I must not walk that way very often. I suppose that might be easier, as well." She nodded and placed the tip of her pencil under an old, black ink drawing in the book she had before her. The picture was of a massive army, all armored and vicious looking. Where they were marching off to was for the reader to find out through the text, but it was no doubt somewhere important.

"Just some old history. I don't study it nearly enough, so I figured now was as good a time as any to brush up." Her chin tilted up and she offered her hand without hint of a smile. "I'm Sova."