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 Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:31 am
Ami was, at best, a husk. The husk walked to her libraries and tried not to cringe at every corner Lex had pulled her into for a hushed word (sometimes more; small touches, public affection in private- sometimes less; a small glance, a warning or a supportive look). When that failed, she reserved herself to pulling the hood on her jacket up, weaving what shaggy remains were left of her braid (despite it being almost 4 days, she still couldn't shower) outside of the cloth and over the right side of her chest.
The jacket was like a blinder, keeping her from seeing all of these corners, the halls, the labs that he had touched, poisoned now. It was worse than it had been with Wilson. Wilson was tinged with the rotten despair of failure. Lex still turned everything rose.
She opened the double doors to the library that Stormy was normally found reading in at this hour. Though Ami would never deign to say it (the audacity at such forthright emotion), she was grateful that the girl still found time in her busy schedule to donate time to her project, even as a full hunter that was no longer required to.
That, and she was selfishly grateful that Stormy seemed to be locked in a pitiful existence coinciding with her own. They shared long hours of silence in the libraries, only sparing words when necessary (are you done with that tome yet?) and Ami preferred it that way.
If anything was worth noting, as Ami's time at Deus increased and her friendships deteriorated, Stormy was the one she chose to entrust her libraries to. Not out of friendship or affection, but efficiency and logic.
Ami sucked in a short breath, half expecting the other life hunter to be there with her (they often worked together), but was relieved to see she was alone. It was additionally a noteworthy encounter, since Ami hardly ever visited Stormy personally and privately.
Her hands were cold by the time her chipped fingernails tapped against the wood of the desk, alerting Stormy to her presence. Too many visions of the past already. Lex had even ruined books.
"Stormy," was all Ami said, expecting a response.xmedigel this predates disaster rp btw
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:36 pm
In a world full of supernatural beings and apocalyptic figures ready to snap out at God knew when, it was comforting to know that a library would always be a library regardless of its position and its contents. She was comforted by the smell of parchment and the constant cups of coffee that usually accompanied the hunters who chose to study there, the mumbles of those who needed to read to themselves mixing with the shuffle of feet and the flipping of pages to create a gentle white noise that eased her mind. Here, at least, she could keep organization. Here, at least, she could pretend she was just as much in order, just as much capable of keeping her binding and chapters and footnotes.
She'd found a simple index of mythos regarding a cluster of artifacts located by hunters some five or six years ago in an archipelago she couldn't pronounce the name of when she heard the tapping. That in and of itself didn't surprise her; Ami addressing her at all, however, did.
She pulled herself from the book with a blink as if trying to wake up and became attentive. "Yes, Ms. Ami?" Already she was running quickly down a list. Had she misplaced something? Did someone leave a spill and sneak off again?
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:41 pm
"At ease," she said, with all the tension of a military environment, gesturing that Stormy should go back to working. No need to interrupt efficiency; the same she'd told Dr. H.
"How are you?" Odd, because Ami never cared about how people were doing. Even as Stormy answered, she probably looked like she was preoccupied, elsewhere. It was more a delay tactic than formality; Ami detested change. Some part of her wanted to cling to her books and pretend nothing happened.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:46 pm
Oh thank God. Wait.
When was the last time Ami had asked how she was doing? When was the last time Ami had asked anything outside of hunter business? Noting how detached she was (and vague had never been something to describe someone like Ami Raine), Stormy couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease--even before considering the question itself.
"I'm okay," Stormy replied, because she doubted anything more descriptive was needed. "About to get cozy with this since it's slow today. How're you?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:20 pm
There was a long, very awkward pause in the conversation.
And then Ami picked up. "I've come to you because there will be ... changes to our regime." As though Stormy's question never existed. "There will be more expected of you."
She finally removed her hood, as though it was a reward for Stormy to see her broken appearance. "But you have always risen to my expectations Stormy."
It was disjointed, the way she spoke, the emotions that bled through and then ceased, eyes unfocused and blurry, looking elsewhere. A compliment for Stormy, but emotions were robbed from her voice, strange affections mispaired to her stone voice. She thought maybe Stormy would be relieved to have something to relate to for once, the emptiness and the sterility.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:31 pm
The discomfort grew, not just from the glimpses Ami gave but from Stormy's own disconnection. Adequate. That was the sort of terminology she was used to. As expected. Not something even remotely proud, if ever a thing could be construed from what she saw in Ami now.
She knew she should have reached out more, but it wasn't in her to embrace someone else's sadness right now. It was tiring enough just wading in her own. So she merely looked at Ami, almost hollow-eyed herself, already anticipating those changes that would continued to dig under her skin and fester more in her life. (Like the bugs that still crawled in her own skin.) It was to be expected if this was the effect she saw now. Maybe not right now, but eventually. Far, far more changes than merely to the schedule.
The bookmark was slipped in and the book closed like an after thought, her gaze still drifting in the vicinity of the Lifer's face. "Okay. What do you need me to do?" she asked. "Should I get a notepad out?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:47 pm
"If you wish," she prompted, giving the more-familiar look of impatience that hinted if she wanted to get out a notepad she should probably do it right now.
Now she really looked heartbroken. "I am ... giving you full control of the libraries. You will be the authority in all mannerisms and responsibilities."
But she quietly added, "Temporarily."
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:52 pm
She froze mid-digging into her bag until the conditional was added, and then Stormy foregoed the action altogether so that she could give Ami her full attention again. "H...How long?" she asked more timidly.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:53 pm
"I don't know."
Ami always knew.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 10:52 pm
"What's...going on, Ms. Ami?" she had to ask then, and the discomfort grew to dread. "Where're you going?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 10:55 pm
"I have been assigned to ... an off island location.."
She mulled something over for a moment, debating internally (slow, always so slow with silence and uncomfortable, oozing pauses) and then she finally reached consensus. "The remnants of the library of Alexandria remain, and Dr. H has appointed them as my responsibility."
It technically wasn't a lie. There was more, always more, but Ami was a spiked pit at any point; now she was a smashed vase.
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 10:37 am
She breathed an "oh," and almost, almost thought for a moment her anxiety had been misplaced. But one explanation did not excuse another. Exploring The Library of Alexandria would not stretch these spaces.
She wanted to ask. She was afraid to ask. People had come and gone enough in her stay at Deus that departure was now starting to sound final rather than temporary. Stormy didn't know if she could keep handling it even at her barest of functioning right now. Ami had been one of her first friends, even if it had been in the capacity of superior and trainee for the majority of time. She had always been a solid structure; seeing her crumble only made Stormy's already uncertain world that much bleaker.
"You're the best candidate for that sorta stuff," she offered with a shadow of a smile. "That's so cool...When do you have to go?" How long?
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:10 am
Ami ignored the compliment, not finding herself to be in any capacity of "best" at the moment. She was suited for the job; that did not make her the best or even worth praise.
She has too many lines on her face. She looks old, old, and worn. Ready for a coffin.
"As soon as I've arranged my things here," she told Stormy softly. "Soon."
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 12:19 pm
Another oh, this time silently. In the niches her mouth forms when it tries to keep that smile. Soon. Too soon. More spaces filled with more responsibilities. It's a quiet space with white noise and now there's going to be just her wandering it like a ghost. Maybe that's why it's okay to keep looking Ami in the eyes where normally Stormy would have averted them: one living dead to another.
How long?
"I should get started then," she said dutifully, back to reshuffling the contents of her bag, picking the book up and then putting it back then when she remembers she won't need it with her right now. Back to the notepad she meant to grab earlier. "Anything special I should look out for too while you're," gone, "out? Like other projects in the labs and stuff. Or should I go put those on Mr. Lex?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 12:32 pm
Ami visibly flinched when his name was spoken.
It's incredible, the barriers she's built for herself. Years of emotional stunting could lead to a fortress, and where she might have let the drawbridge down for others, now it only squeezed tighter when prompted.
"You will be in charge," she said indifferently, "Those are your decisions to make."
She seemed to remember something, and reached into the small pockets on her hunter's coat (Ami was one of those tight asses that wore her coat even when off duty most of the time. Both out of adherence to policy, and paranoia that a mission would strik at any moment). From it she procured her card key, worn around the edges a little, but infinitely valuable. Stormy would know that it never left Ami's person, because it quite literally had access to every archive (Ami had never stepped foot in the archive; as a Lifer she didn't need to, and she didn't abuse her power, ever) and every library in the life labs.
Ami held it out for Stormy to take. "This is not a gift," she said somewhat gravely. "The libraries are ..." Her voice trailed off and she stared at the walls with something akin to affection. "The closest thing I have to a legacy. They are the only thing that will be left when we are all dead and new hunters have fitted our coats." Dramatic, but Ami always was. "So I hope that you should remember my threat when you take this key." Her eyes narrowed. Ami's resting bitchface was already scary- her intentional glare was more so. "I will return to my libraries, and you are their sole collateral."
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