When: Pre-meta prior to the drought. At approximately sometime between 9-10pm on a Thursday.
Following the destruction of OHC and its rebuilt Civisect City, Chittentown ultimately received an influx of displaced lowbloods trying to rebuild their lives. While the desert had its appeal (or lack there of depending on whom you asked) the important part was the fact it had not only a learning center, but a Library of all things. For some trolls, this was the saving grace of the dry, arid region.
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 7:37 pm
Stryke knew logically speaking a desert was almost the opposite of where he'd been living. When he applied for his voucher, it didn't really matter. Living in a shelter was hardly his idea of a great time. At least when the new hive of his was built, it had a place to sleep...eat and a ratty chair to read in. The only problem was having material to actually pour over. In the first few weeks, he refused to leave the little house away from home. However, sheer boredom finally got him to motivate. He'd heard a few rumors of a learning center, but the word 'Library' being mentioned down by the market place actually got his feet moving.
The building its self wasn't necessarily massive, but the words on the sign near it announcing what it was brought a sigh of relief. Trotting up the steps and ducking inside he was glad for the familiar scent of books. He'd nearly forgotten what a large collection in one space was like. Keeping to himself, he found the fiction section after a few moments of wandering.
Almost as if his mind was playing tricks on him, he saw a rustle of long hair and the glimpse of yellow. Rubbing his eyes several times he frowned, wondering if he'd imagined the figure. After that last tragic night in Old Hemisect, Stryke had convinced himself all the faces of trolls he'd met during the summer were gone; never to be seen again and safe only in his memories. Hope was something he'd checked at the door when he arrived in Chittentown.
Frowning, the kid shook his head. No, surely what he'd seen was nothing. "looks like im imagining thingsss now. great.." he muttered aloud to himself. Up on his tip toes he loaded his arms up, cradling a few random titles to his frame. Stryke went to a table to sit down, cracking a tome open. He had a bit of time to look before he'd look into a library card, and rent them out and go back to his hive.
The soft crinkle of the flipping pages was music to Vremea's ears after having unfortunately gotten used to the sound of things being knocked down and destroyed night after night, scared for her own life, scared for the lives of her team, and most of all, scared for the lives of her friends. She was constantly attentive, thankful for the soft murmurs of her workplace instead of the faraway sounds of explosions. She hadn't even bothered to tell them to quiet down-- it almost felt therapeutic, and as she flipped through a book while she organized an old, nearby section of the library, she felt calmer, happier. She was in her element, she knew this library top to bottom, from the education pamphlets for kids in the front, to the secret, hard to find history books she liked to hide deep in the library...
Vremea was so happy, so calm as she flipped through the books, she almost didn't notice the hissing voice until she started thinking back to the explosions, the worry... My friends. And she had to remember that the library may have been her sanctuary for now, but... If she kept at it... It was possible she'd never see it again. Placing the book back on the shelf, the long haired female wandered back to her place near the door, silently searching for the owner of said voice. It'd been so long, so long since she'd last seen him-- she was sure, so sure it was--
The yellowblood stopped when she saw the other yellowblood's small frame. That little kid, adorable little kid... She was sure it was him. Stryke... apart of... Just Vigilance. With, um... Kursha? ...and Ganyma. She honestly wondered-- What happened to them? Not now, Vremea thought to herself-- Now, she needed to focus on saying hello to him.
Approaching him slowly, Vremea let the smile on her face spread as she looked at the book he picked from above him. "That is a good choice." She murmured softly, placing a hand on the table carefully, not wanting to shock him too bad-- after all, this was supposed to be pleasant, not a jump scare!
leon_a_darkangel
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 11:43 pm
The novel in question that had been complimented happened to be of all things A Game of Thrones. Stryke looked down at the book and back up to the owner of the voice blinking several times as if he’d seen a ghost. “yesss..it’s certainly not a bad read. i don’t own a copy of it anymore. might as well brush up on it. it does have a sense of irony about it, don’t you think? i could do without the lewd bits but i just skip over 'em.” In reality he didn't own any of the titles he had plopped on the desk for that matter anymore.
It wasn't the potential book banter that got his attention. It was the owner of the voice that held the young troll in awed rapture. Stryke at first wasn’t sure if he’d imagined that clear, soft and gentle voice speaking to him. It had seemed like sweeps worth of lives had gone by since he’d heard it. The last thing he’d remembered from her was calling for evacuation. To run, flee from the city as she tried to coordinate people away from the detonation of the once proud Old Hemisect City.
While not frightened by any means he instead lost that serious scowl, his brows furrowing in consideration before actually smiling. If it weren’t for a public place he might even have teared up, as it was he slid off his chair looking up at her with searching, questioning eyes. That voice. That hair…could it really be one of the members of Totally Spies?
“wait...vremea?” he asked in a small voice in follow up, extremely tentative-like. A rush of emotion and confusion swept over him. He’d tried so hard to forget about those nights. The chaos, trolls friend and foe, the explosions and most of all the madness that ensued. Yet everything was all back full circle in a single moment. She represented hope, and was one of the more positive things from the experience.
For now, he had to concentrate on the present; and make sure she wasn't just a figment of his imagination.
quite uneventfulx
lol i know you said dont worry about it but that weird sentence bugged me
The smile that spread across the teenagers face as she heard Stryke's commentary on the book made her smile brightly— Though he was too young to be reading books with pails, the yellowblood was willing to over look his words and gave him a serene, knowing smile. It had been ages since she'd last seen this troll, ages since she last saw his normal grumpy expression. It gave her very happy emotions, something she hadn't completely felt for quite a long time. "Yes. Hello Stryke." She murmured, wanting to give him a hug but deciding to wait until later. After all, the more she made a scene, the more attention she brought to herself, the more she'd be questioned— she needed to become less suspicious. Instead, the yellowblooded lolita squeezed his shoulder gently, looking at the books he had on his desk and looking through them.
It was easy to see what his favorite genre was. It was a shame that the library did not stock a lot of fantasy books. Stupid monarchy and their wanting to keep trolls ignorant(she assumed). She'd have to write more stories for herself... Turning back toward Stryke, she placed a hand on the pile of books and looked down to him. "How have you been, Stryke? I have been very concerned about you and the others. I have not seen them in a while." She had expected not to see Ganyma after... What happened, and she didn't know Kursha well enough to get a burning desire to visit him, not that she knew where he lived. Stryke and Vremea had definitely connected in some way, having shared a similar interest in books(having realized this after the aforementioned greenblood burned down a library) and a camaraderie over having the same blood type. It was very comforting to chat with him when they were left in City Hall together... "Is everything alright?"
leon_a_darkangel
ehehe <3
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 6:00 pm
Thankfully, Vremea was not some phantasmal product of his worried mind. While he did flinch when she touched his shoulder, Stryke didn't try to shrug her off. Instead, he tentatively pat at her hand in a return gesture of acknowledgement. "so. it really is you, i'm extraordinarily glad you’re alright." Perking up some, he listened to her carefully. Even if he wore his grumpy serious expression again, there was a small hint of a smile at the corner of his lips.
"i haven’t ssseen anyone since then honestly.." he looked around nervously. Where they even at leisure to talk so openly in an empirically owned establishment? The last thing he wanted was suspicion, and chose to throw caution to the wind. "i am well enough at least. what about you?"
An idea occurred to him; in his travel bag he had his usual notepad and pen for jotting down ideas. Without another word, he reached into his bag rifling around rushing a bit before producing the required items. Stryke took painstaking efforts to write his letters, as if driven by an ingrained habit. " ï †hïnk ï†'š beš† ïƒ ï reƒrençe †hïš nex† par† oƒ †he çonverša†ïon ïn †hïš manner iƒ you don'† mïnd." He pursed his lips before adding more. "†ha† nïgh† waš a çluš†er ƒuçk. ï dïdn'† know how †o go abou† çon†aç†ïng anyone and waš aƒraïd ïƒ ï dïd, ï'd be çulled. ï haven'† šeen kuršha nor ganyma šïnçe †hen. ï'm šorry ï çan'† oƒƒer you more. ï'm on †he ƒençe how ï ƒeel abou† every†hïng, bu† ï do know †he movemen† belïeved ïn šome†hïng good; †he me†hodš weren'† alwayš çohešïve. however, ï belïeve wha† we ƒough† ƒor waš good, even ïƒ †hïngš wen† horrïbly..wrong." He remembered his broken nose..pained cracked ribs from the beating. Emotional distress still threatened to choked him, the failure of the Phoenix Initiative still was fresh in his mind. Yet he pushed the thoughts away. Most of that was irrelevant to the movement’s goals and ideals. Having his team fall to pieces before his ocular orbs was a wiggler’s reason to be afraid.
Looking up from his writing he spoke aloud to make the conversation look normal. "if it's alright with you, i'd like to keep coming back to visit with you when you have free time going forward." He laid his pen down, casually pushing the pad closer to her.
His flinch made her almost pull away from him— but the pat of his hand made Vremea's hand relax on the young kid. Listening to his words, the teen let out a light hearted chuckle. He was adorable... Waiting for him to finish his words, she squeezed his shoulder again and gave him a soft smile. "I am glad you are alright too, Stryke. I am sorry you have not seen anyone from your group, although..." The yellowblood trailed off, not wanting to repeat what happened aloud for other trolls to hear— libraries were a perfect source of it.
Watching Stryke rummage in his bag, Vremea raised a curious eyebrow. "I am fine. Milieu and Odette are as well... We are all safe. They have grown since then, though." The yellowblood murmured, remembering seeing her friends, pride in her heart. She knew Odette had been a teen before, but she had grown again, and she... She looked somewhat different than before. More confident. And Milieu was beautiful... They were so big, it almost brought tears to her eyes. Blinking and pulling herself out of her daze, the yellowblood realized the younger yellowblood had pulled out a pen and paper and had begun writing. Very... Carefully? Vremea understood what he was doing— she had done it with Milieu when they'd first met, of course, but he seemed to be... Taking a lot of care with each letter. He seemed to be writing a lot, so Vremea let her mind wander some, not minding to wait.
When he finished and slid the note to her, the teenager listened to his words and a sudden bright smile spread across her face. "Oh my, Stryke! Definitely yes, I would love to see you more often!" She said happily, the smile wide as she gave him a bright nod, looking down at the text, the yellowblood wondered if he had written a new language altogether, until she finally made out a letter. Slowly, Vremea read over his words, eyebrows pulling together with each sentence she read. Oh, Stryke...! She wished she could pull him into a hug, his words sounded so sad...
Vremea took the pen and checked for ink in the corner, enjoying the release of ink on the page before beginning to write, handwriting loopy but neat, written in cursive, each dot a heart. > I do not mind. It is safer... < She started, reading over his words again and frowning slightly. > Oh Stryke, it is completely fine. It is your choice to choose what to do— I understand what you mean. I was the same... I was constantly afraid they would catch me. I have never been caught before, and I hope it stays that way... < She tapped her chin, thinking of how else to respond before her expression became completely impassive. > The P.I. has... Questionable methods. I agree... that night was a horrible mess. I am just glad most of us are alright. I do believe we might actually be able to do something if we are more coordinated and plan things ahead. I hope... I can be more of use to them in the future. < When Vremea finished swirling her last word, she massaged her wrist a little as she passed it back, eyes flickering onto Stryke's face. "You can visit whenever you like. I am planning on opening a book club, if you would like to join. It will be... a lot calmer."
leon_a_darkangel
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 8:15 am
Her words earned a small shake of his head as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before lowering them back onto the table. "it is perhaps for the best i haven't. i'm not sure really." Stryke tone was neutral as he responded, with a gentle shrug of his shoulders. No more words were exchanged directly on this particular matter; he didn't want to burden her with all that happened. He was more so interested in the mere fact he had a chance to be around a familiar troll that didn't leave him feeling confused and namely conflicted.
Listening to her as he wrote, he chuckled softly nodding his head in understanding. "i'm glad to hear it for all of you that is." He responded truthfully with a slight bow of his head, bangs sweeping across a large portion of his face. "ah! good then, i will make a habit of visiting with you then." Stryke actually smiled this time, pleased to hear the warm reception from the older yellowblood.
When she passed the bad back to him, he scanned over her words. His fingers brushed over them in consideration as he took their meaning to heart. Stryke noted how her bow’s looked like her speech was contained in a package, and chuckled softly. " ï ƒïgured ï† mïgh† be a† leaš†." He responded at first, tapping the pen tip to the paper a few times as he thought about what to reply with. "†hey mïgh† be queš†ïonable, bu† ï belïeve †ha† †heïr wïšh ƒor equalï†y ïš šome†hïng †o be upheld a† all çoš†š. ïƒ we plan, and çome †oge†her ï †hïnk a grea† many †hïngš are poššïble yeššš. ï hope †o be oƒ uše †o †hem aš well ïƒ permïššïble." With that, he was done with the matter for now. He understood she was stilly loyal, and had spoken his peace that he wished to remain connected to the rebels.
His eyes searched her face as he nodded slowly in agreement. "oh wow. a book club sounds wonderful vremea! consider me signed up!" The younger troll yawned tiredly, rubbing at an eyelid a few times. Shortly after this, Ryk rest his chin against his palm swinging his legs in his seat lazily. "i live in chittentown now...but i should get back before it gets too early." He murmured, hesitant-like. Stryke wanted nothing more than to hug her but found himself unwilling to move into the motion he half started. It was outside his comfort zone, and found himself settling back in his seat sitting up straight to clear the tired hazy fog he felt gnawing at his thinkpan.
"i want to stay..but there will be other nights we can talk i'm sure." He stated softly, with some amount of confidence despite his uncertainty.
Even with his lusus present a sudden change of heart lead to him hugging her tired of being wishy washy about it. Stryke closed the distance between them and held onto her tightly for a long moment before slowly going to pull back asking about the libraries book checkout policy.
The yellowblooded teen stared at Stryke with a confused expression at his words, but decided not to press the matter. They could talk about it on a different day, perhaps. She didn't want to stress him, especially not now that they had just seen each other for the first time since the war. Smiling at his happiness for their well-being, she felt her smile broaden when she heard his words and reached over, squeezing his hand in happiness. This is great! She'd be able to talk to him more, to connect more-- this was splendid!
Reading over the words he had sent over to her, slightly squinting her eyes at the handwriting and trying read it better. Instead of continuing to write, Vremea gave Stryke a firm nod and jotted down an address on a side of the paper. She lightly tore it off and slid it over to the kid, warm smile on her face. "You can visit me whenever you like. I am usually home when not working." She murmured, sliding out of her chair and listening to his words, feeling a little excitement course through her veins. He enjoyed the book club idea! Oh man, oh man, this was so amazing!! Plus one to the book club!! "Oh, you do?" She asked brightly-- "I can show you around, if you would like? I definitely do not mind, it would be my pleasure!" Oh, gog, she was too excited. Shhh, Vremea, calm down, shhh.
Watching Stryke sit up, the yellowblooded teenager listened to his last words and smiled, beginning to walk over to the desk-- until she was stopped by a sudden embrace. Her eyes widened and her pump biscuit warmed, feeling her face flush from embarrassment and look around at the others whom stared. Feeling the moment resound deep in her, she felt herself lean down when he pulled away, almost sweeping him in her arms and planting a soft kiss upon his nose. She hadn't meant to let her feelings overflow so much, but at the moment, Vremea could hardly care-- She only cared if he minded that she treat him like this... Like... She honestly didn't know how to define it... It was such a strange, motherly feeling...
leon_a_darkangel
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:59 pm
It wasn't lost on Stryke the excitement reflected in her expression, it was unmistakable and admit-ably infectious to a degree. He didn't expect her to write back, but was pleased when she passed him another note. This one's meaning was a comforting one and an extension for a future invite."i would like that, i will have to make a point of coming to visssit you at your hive. and yesss of course! the book club sounds like a grand idea!" He agreed with a thumb up in response, easily finding himself caught up in her joy. Studying the words on the slip of paper a few times, he pushed it deep into his pocket for safe keeping. With that secure, he inclined his head to her as he stood, and went to follow after her.
Stryke's tiny form tensed as he felt her sweep him into her arms. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he’d latched onto her but to be received so warmly was...nice. His arms slid around her as he buried his face against her as she squeezed him, his short limbs holding her tightly giving her one back in return. After she relaxed her grip and set him back down, feet flat on the ground he found his nose being kissed. His eyes went wide, blinking a few times as he wiggled and wrinkled his nose. “hey now don’t push it!” His laugh was a short one, blushing from embarrassment as he looked away hiding that smile as he rubbed his neck sheepishly. She was so motherly, it was weird. Not unpleasant, but weird all the same.
After the moment had passed, Styke found himself sighing; the note was a happier one, a far cry from his grim expression he’d worn when he initially entered the library. "thanks by the way..." He murmured quietly, gathering his books into his arms as he walked to the counter Stryke and seen her heading for. Glancing over his shoulder at her shyly, he waited patiently for her as he peered over the arm full of novels.
His thumb up just made Vremea clap her hands in excitement. Oh, this was wonderful! He had returned her hug, but the kiss was definitely too much, Vremea had noticed. She giggled a little, dark eyes practically glowing from happiness as she watched him blush from embarrassment. She covered her own blush, then let out another giggle. "Push it? Now, why would I push anything?" She asked teasingly. She accompanied him to the front, then headed behind the counter, taking the books and stamping them quickly, arranging them in a neat pile on top. "Always, Stryke. I promise." She then motioned toward them, eyes squinting slightly at his face with a smile. "You have a little something, right there." She murmured teasingly, tapping her own nose— she was just joking of course, her lipstick wasn't the type to smudge!
leon_a_darkangel
Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 10:35 pm
Stryke shook his head at her as she giggled at him, poking his tongue out as he smiled at her. Arching up on his tip toes he huffed as he peered at her over the counter, although he lacked any real aggression. Reaching for the books, he paused as he gripped them, watching as she tapped her nose implying he had something on him. Letting go, he touched his nose rubbing at it as he pulled his hand away finding no lipstick. “ha. no there’s not!” The young troll rolled his eyes as he shook his head with a good natured chuckle. “nice try.” Stryke gently gathered the books, rubbing his nose a few more times (just for good measures) before swinging his bag around so he could tuck them away neatly so they’d be safe from the desert sands.
Taking a step back from the counter, his hand quickly dipping in his pocket to touch the paper she’d written on. "thank you vremea…and i hope have a good night.” The yellowblood rubbed the back of his neck as he waved to her before getting ready to leave. “l’ll see you soon!” He replied, inclining his head to her and a sort of half bow.
While he wanted to stay in her presence as long as possible, it was a given night soon to turn to day. They'd spent a fair amount of time writing, and chatting back and forth and knew he had to return to his hive before to much longer. He'd been all too glad to see her, and share time together in the towns library. Some how he knew he'd indeed see her sooner than later, and it was a relief. Before his emotions could surface further he retreated for the door. Pausing to turn around he waved to her, smiling as he left.
