fandomhigh | Library [3/24]

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Library [3/24]

Things were getting weird in the library lately and while Shira wasn't at all surprised -- hello, look at where she went to school -- she also didn't want to deal with it. So she was scurrying around, doing her usual reshelving and pulling books for people who were getting their research on and needed an extra set of hands and all the other things she would do in a time of crisis.

And like in a time of crisis, she didn't exactly get the time to take a break. So she could frequently be found just standing still in the stacks for thirty seconds at a go at any given moment until she was off and doing things again.

Just another crazy day in the Fandom High library, people.

~~[OCD's here!]~~

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At your own risk, apparently, but still.

You may have to pin her down -- not dirty! -- but she'll help.

If he's around.

Oh, Constantine was around. Mostly on the phone with the informal network of magical information brokers, but he was sticking his head out of his office every so often to make sure no one had gotten abducted by flying monkeys or anything like that.

Get your research on!

Elizabeth had taken a necessary break yesterday. Now she was back, a few flowers sticking out of her hair. She hadn't been able to resist the bouquet outside the general store; getting the flowers had put her in a much better mood.

She was humming as she poured through more tomes.

Celia was back, having fallen asleep on a stack of books back in her room. If anything, the drive to understand how she -- as a version of herself -- fit into this universe was making it easier to go over the same passages again and again, looking for answers. They had to be here somewhere.

[slow because of work, boo.]

Cosette arrived after class with a folded-up brown paper bag in one hand and an air of focused determination.

When she unfolded the paper bag, you might catch a glimpse of handwriting, careful but a little bit shaky the way you might expect from someone who'd only had very rudimentary lessons and not much practice -- Éponine's contribution, notes on some of the odder things she noticed while roaming about the island every day.

With that list in hand, Cosette started going back and forth through the stacks, looking for any books that seemed like they might explain some of Éponine's observations.

Jeff wandered in after class and headed back to his usual table to slog through the pile of books.

He grabbed one that looked promising and settled in to flip through it, kicking his legs -- no exoskeleton, no leg braces, no crutches, just legs -- up onto the table. Try to ignore the humming, tongue-clicking, and other random noises coming from him -- this work might be important, but it was boooooooring!

"... Joker, your legs."

Elsa had pulled off one of her gloves to hold against her face, trying to staunch a nosebleed that she'd picked up on her excursion to the weather machine. On the one hand, she probably needed to pass on that she knew where the thing was. On the other hand, his feet were on the table, and that was distracting her from the task at hand for more than one reason.

"You... want me to 'joker' my legs?" Jeff asked. "I... don't understand." He looked up at her in confusion -- and then hopped to his feet. "Elsa, your face! Oh, your pretty face! Can I get you ice for that? Or a tissue?"

Well, that was new. Elsa blinked, slightly taken aback, before realizing, of course, this had to be him being switched out for someone else again. She swallowed and tried not to think too hard about what that might mean for him later, if they managed to fix this.

They would cross that bridge if they ever managed to get there.

"Trust me, I'm the last person around here to need somebody to get ice for me," she noted, a little wryly, as she pulled her glove from her face to look at the damage. Well. She wasn't going to be wearing that again. "A tissue, perhaps. Though I suppose I almost might as well use my other glove, too. Then I can have a matching set again."

Jeff, of course, had no idea what was bothering her. Aside from the nosebleed. "Hang on." He ran off for the bathroom and came back with a small wad of tissues and some damp paper towels. "In case you wanted to clean up a little," he said, offering her the paper towels first. "What happened?"

Elsa had peeled off both gloves by this point, and had thrown the first bloodied one into the garbage. There was no way the bloodstains were going to come out. No sense in even trying.

She gave him a twitchy sort of smile as she reached to take the paper towel from him.

"Would you believe I'm not entirely certain? I found the weather machine you told me about, out in the woods. There was a... a dig site of some sort? And I had gone to explore that. It was just sitting there." She frowned a little, wiping the bloody streaks from her face. The bleeding had stopped, at least. Thank goodness. "The voices and visions we've all been hearing are stronger, there. Especially if you touch it."

Which, she had to admit, was probably not the most brilliant move she'd ever made.

"Sooo... definitely the cause," Jeff mused. "Are you okay? Still you? I mean, don't get me wrong -- if I had been there, I'd-a been all up there poking and prodding, too, but... in retrospect? Not such a good idea."

"Not the greatest idea," Elsa sighed, looking down at the tissues and frowning at them. "I want to say I'm still me. It's just starting to occur to me, I probably wouldn't even know the difference if I wasn't."

After all, he didn't seem to.

"Seriously, tell me about it," Jeff sighed. "Nobody seems to know. I mean, I can't wait to see what wonderful new body parts Cecil has this week. Guy's slowly turning into a Lovecraftian horror, and he's as chipper as ever."

"... I think I understood about half of that," Elsa offered. "I have met him, at least. He came into the magic shop a few weeks ago, looking for bloodstone polish. I... had to ask what bloodstone was. I'm probably not the most qualified person on the island to be working there."

"...Oh. Okay. So. A) There's a good chance that whatever a 'bloodstone' is is probably just a weird Night Vale thing, so don't feel bad about not knowing it, and B) he's gotten himself a third eye and tentacles and crap like that. If you come across him, don't scream and run in terror, 'mkay? My point was, he's now frikking scary-looking and doesn't know that he's changed. That's all."

Well, that got Elsa to raise her eyebrows a little bit.

"That's good to know, I suppose. I'll try to keep my composure if I see him, though I suppose he can't be much more terrifying than the machines I saw earlier today."

Thank you for that horrifying vision, weather machine. Elsa so very appreciated that, truly.

Well. That had been an error in judgement. On the one hand, she knew exactly where the weather machine was and what it looked like. On the other hand, what was she supposed to do with that information, now?

Elsa came into the library looking perturbed, holding one folded-up glove against a bloody nose and frowning a little as she reached for one of the books she'd left out to read through yesterday.

She needed to read for a bit while she wrapped her head around the events of the morning.

She wondered, as she read, if more than the island being unusual, if she shouldn't be concerned for herself and the ramifications that caring--even if it was mostly about Sholeh, rather than in general--held for her.

It was hard to decide. She'd never really had friends before... and then there was what Sholeh had said about Evan. She still hadn't seen him.

But there were more books to read, and that was the most constructive way to help, she thought, especially without having to actually do anything more than read.

She'd think about it later.

As you will!

After speaking with Elsa (http://fandomhigh.livejournal.com/3583380.html?thread=205653652#t205653652), Jeff hopped up onto a table and waved his arms. "YO! PEOPLE!!! Can I have your attention, please?" He waited for a few moments, until people were looking at him. "Okay, so, we have some answers! Not a solution, but -- well, okay."

Jeff cleared his throat. "So, in December, apparently, there was a whole mess about a vault? And in the vault was a quote-unquote 'weather machine'. These ladies" -- he tapped at his omnitool, and two official-looking pictures appeared in the air next to him -- "are Bo, with school security, and Tamsin, with the sheriff's office. They broke the damn machine, which is, 95% sure, the reason for the shitstorm we are in. We're not here to point fingers, even though it's totally their fault and they should have known better, because now is not the time. So. They then locked it in a safe, but it disappeared from the safe, and is now back near the vault instead. The universey-mess is worse near it, and touching it is a very bad idea."

"So. Questions? Comments? More importantly, anyone got any ideas what to do next? Like, at all?"

He waved his hand, clearing the portraits from the air, and looked down at Elsa. "Did I leave anything out?"

Edited 2014-03-24 21:24 (UTC)

"Oh my," Elizabeth said when he'd finished speaking. She covered her mouth with her hand, then dropped it as she composed herself. "Is there anything we can do-- can we turn it off? Or perhaps repair it?"

"I wouldn't know about either," Elsa noted, frowning faintly even as she side-eyed Jeff. "It wasn't like anything I've ever seen before. But then... I'm not exactly from a time or place where machines have advanced much further along than clockwork."

So whether it could be repaired or not was anybody's best guess, unless they managed to check it out for themselves.

Jeff nodded at Elsa. "Right. Forgot that. Okay, so there may or may not be an off button, or... something. How about this for a plan: We read up on any and all info we can find, today, and then bright and early tomorrow we head out and poke it with a stick?"

Did I miss anything? Oh God, did I miss anything?

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Library [3/24]

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Talk to Shira

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Research

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Gather Up And Plan

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OOC