Borrowing Books from the Princess

[Stein]

Stein walked up the small staircase to the door of Eirika’s loft. Stein had been told by the librarian that her list of books were in Eirika’s loft, and recommended that she not disturb the girl’s room; but Stein had been looking forwards to meeting Eirika eventually. Stein knew much about her and her family, and was actually a little excited to meet this girl. Stein pulled out her list as she neared the top and checked over it one more time to ensure she hadn’t forgotten anything. “The Philosophy of Astrophysics”, “The Ecological, Evolutionary, and Behavioral biology of Species, all 10 volumes” (each is a different species), and “The Encyclopedia of Disorder, edition 12” Stein also wanted to get a blood sample from Eirika, but figured that feat would be impossible. Stein was interested in what trait might have caused Eirika’s weakness, and she had her suspicions, but in must have been deeper if truly no one else had made progress.

Damu trotted along behind Stein, he was all healed up and had wanted to accompany her on an adventure. Stein reached the door to Eirika’s loft and knocked 3 times before waiting for someone to answer the door. Veronica will probably answer the door since I know that she’s never far from Eirika Stein quickly remembered the little trick Damu had pulled on one of the other 1st years in the math lab and looked down at him saying “Do not pull that little stunt again, you are under no circumstance to scare Eirika, Veronica will not hesitate to hurt you if you scare her. Am I clear?” “Perfectly” Damu responded being adult, he’d act like a puppy if Eirika encouraged him to, but otherwise he’s act like an adult and make Stein proud.

[Johnathan]

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." a mature female voice called from within. "Imagine that, someone actually knocked for once instead of waltzing right in. That arrogant twerp could stand to learn some-" The door opened abruptly revealing an elegant woman clothed in a flowing black dress. She glared down at Stein suspiciously from the doorway. "And what do we have here? Is it Halloween already? I'm sorry dear child, but I have no candy to give." Veronica snapped open her black lace fan, peering over the top of it. "While my appearance may suggest I celebrate the holiday I'm afraid I'm adamantly opposed to the concept of it. Really, any child foolish enough to play a trick on my household is simply asking to be turned into a spirit, isn't that right dear?" Veronica turned to look to the hallway behind her where four suits of armor stood guard, two on each side of the walk. In unison, they turned to her, saluted, and returned to their original position.

From the end of the hall, their was a faint giggle. Peaking around the corner was a small blonde child who was watching the exchange with amusement.

[Stein]

Stein wanted to run to greet Eirika, and he stood up, before sitting again and containing himself.

“Hello Veronica, I enjoy Halloween only for its psychological value however that’s not why I’m here; I was told by the library that Eirika had these books” Stein said handing the list to Veronica. Stein heard Eirika giggle and looked at her out of the corner of her eye, but continued addressing Veronica “I would like to borrow them, also I was wondering if you had a spare chess set or knew where one was. I’m brushing up on my skills by playing with the best chess-players I know, Soleth and Luca.” Stein knew that Eirika had beaten both boys in chess, but Stein knew child psychology,a nd knew that Eirika was nervous of everyone she didn’t know….maybe Stein would be able to play her or discuss science with her in a few months. Oh, and Veronica if you add a small amount of patchouli to your perfume it will combine better with your natural body chemistry.” Stein said to Veronica as she scooped Damu up and set him in her pocket.

[Johnathan]

Veronica snatched the list up, glanced at it for a moment, and regarded Stein suspiciously again when she mentioned a chess set. Down the hallway, Eirika disappeared from around the corner, and the sound of patent leather shoes could be heard clicking against the polished stone as she ran deeper into the loft. Veronica sighed before turning and gesturing with a finger.

"Close the door behind you." Leading the way down the hall, Veronica stepped into the main foyer of the loft. Classically decorated with antique furniture and ancient treasure, the massive space gave the impression of a wealthy collector's penthouse. Beneath an opened but shaded window to the left, was a fluffy carpet that appeared to be derived from the pelt of some massive beast. On top of it were seven opened books laid out in a hemisphere, and there were many more that were closed scattered about.

"Please excuse the mess." Veronica commented dryly. "The books usually change by the end of the day but in the mean time it's as you see." Taking a right, Veronica continued through an ornate arch of sandstone and lime, that was engraved with a ancient script along its length. The room they stepped into was four times the size of the foyer. It was filled with all manner of archaeological treasure from ancient civilizations. Some were on pedestals while others were set within glass cases. On the wall were segments of stone scoured with hieroglyphics and pictographs, and paintings of many sorts and styles. Directly ahead and to the right were two additional arches, which seemed to be the preferred style of doorway for the loft. These were crafted of a fine dark wood that exuded a mystical aura. Through the arch ahead, many books could be seen, lining shelves that appeared to be made of the same material as the arches.

Through the arch to the right, soft grunting could be heard, as Eirika attempted to turn what appeared to be a large stone wheel that was protruding from the wall. She was making no progress. The room she was in was pale white. Along the floor, large channels were carved, creating a central island of stone that was linked to the outer floor by small bridges. In the channels was a shimmering silver fluid that exuded pure magical essence. Someone familiar with the rare substance would recognize it as Solice.

Veronica stood in the center of the collection room chuckling softly at the sight of the small girl attempting to turn the wheel that was much too big for her. "Eirika dear, would you like some help?"

[Stein]

Stein stepped inside and closed the door behind her as instructed. She silently followed Eirika through the twisting arches, taking mental notes on everything she saw for further study. Stein clicked her screw a few times, listening to the sound reverberate off some of the walls. Stein pulled out one of her small notebooks and was writing in some chicken scratch nonsense as she continued following Veronica through the virtual museum of artifacts. She heard the small girl running ahead of them, probably to the safety of her room, or where ever she felt most safe.

Stein identified the Solice moat for what it was quickly, and wished she had a vial to collect some with, she had several hypothesizes that Solice was required to test. “How did you collect such copious amounts of Solice, it’s rare at the best of times.” Stein asked as she looked into the room. Stein peered into the room again and watched little Eirika trying to turn the wheel, Stein lifted her right hand a little and began to assist in turning the wheel slowly, not enough to startle Eirika, bur enough to help her do whatever the girl was planning. Stein mused that Eirika was attempting to hide from her, which was ok, Stein knew that neither of them were very sociable, she’d wait till Eirika spoke to her first. Stein smiled a little looking around the collection room, looking but not touching “Just don’t let the twins in here for too long, they’ll claim half this stuff as their work, and that the other half were ideas stolen from them.” If Stein was a history person this would have been heaven for her, but she was always more into the sciences, history was interesting, but Science was still preferred. “How long have you had this collection? It’s quite extensive and spans several millennia?”

[Johnathan]

Once the wheel had turned, Eirika stepped back and crossed her arms, maintaining a dignified expression even as she panted slightly. "You- you don't expect me to give away such valuable secrets- so easily now do you?" Closing her eyes and turning her nose up and away in proud defiance, the Solice began to hum softly. "You have the pleasure of seeing one of my most prized possessions. Be grateful, as not everyone gets this honor!"

The Solice danced to life in a mesmerizing display of magic ingenuity. Flowing without boundaries up over the edge of the channels, it swiftly covered the pale white floor and began to climb the smooth, featureless walls. At the same time, whirling columns rose straight into the air, defying the laws of gravity with their grace and beauty. The streams branched and divided, tracing out tapestries, trellises, railings, and columns. The various flows coalesced overhead, creating a roof of sorts and the structure took shape. From the ceiling, slow drips of Solice began to pool together and then drop gracefully. At the same time, the structure and color of the room changed completely. What was once a pure white and indistinguishable material, began to take on the hue and texture of stone, wood, and clay. The color of the silvery white drops faded to clear transparency, and increased in frequency. The air suddenly was filled with the scent and sounds of a rainy afternoon in the countryside. The gentle pitter patter of the rain hitting the stone floor and clay tiles, was accented by the coo of a seemingly distant bird.

(This is what the room became)



Eirika could hardly contain the excited and prideful smile that overtook her face. She loved showing this room off more than anything out of her collection, as she had a hand in designing it. "The holo-field system was patterned off of Solice, you know. It does a decent job at imitating it, and is relatively inexpensive to mass produce, but nothing can compare to real Solice!" Skipping to the center structure, another column of Solice rose from it's center. It quickly took shape, taking the form of a large oriental chess set, and two comfortable looking chairs. Eirika hopped into one of them, swinging her legs excitedly. Crossing her arms again, she turned away from Stein with a blush. "E-even tho I'm very busy, if you insist on playing chess, I won't make you beg."

[Stein]

“Science doesn’t advance unless people share data, but I understand your desire to remain on top of the scale” Stein listened to Eirika boast about how few people were allowed to see this room and stein attempted a nice smile (she’s trying not to be creepy) “I will keep in mind that I’m part of a select few with that honor.” Stein said as the Solice began moving and swirling. She transfixed observing it. She was finding it fascinating to watch it form. When Eirika was explaining how holo-field systems were based off of Solice Stein simply nodded; she already knew that fact, but was acknowledging Eirika’s knowledge. She is a fascinating girl Stein thought as the scene solidified. Stein could tell Eirika took great pride in this room and in her abilities. Stein watched as Eirika skipped over and sat at the chess set. “What inspired you to choose this room design; its shape, size, color? The choice to fill it with Solice alone?

Stein bowed before also sitting down at the chess table “I would enjoy playing chess with you, but I must warn you, my skills are rusty since I haven’t played for a few years.” (Stein might say she’s rusty but she’s still good enough to win every tournament she’s ever entered. But I doubt she’ll bet Eirika)

[Johnathan]

Eirika happily made the first move and the game got underway. She looked around the room with a reminiscent expression. Veronica moved quietly to lean on the banister unobtrusively to Eirika's left.

"This room has the ability to reconstruct scenes from someone's memory. This court yard was a part of my family's compound." Her expression grew sad. "It was my grandfather's favorite spot, especially when it was raining." Attempting to push the sad thoughts out of her mind, Eirka focused her mind on the game before her. Thousands of separate mental cycles calculated the board before her, predicting every possible move, every possible outcome, and every possible response. Smiling slightly as Stein moved a piece into a thread of probability that was particularly favorable for Eirika, the small blonde girl's sad mood gradually dissipated once again.

Swinging her legs and humming happily, her mind calculated and recalculated the millions of possibilities the game before her could take. Reality became almost an afterthought, as she calmly reached out lifting her rook, and preparing to place Stein in check. Suddenly, there was a horrible grinding sound. Before she could react, the ceiling shattered with an explosive crack as the metal support beams suddenly gave way. Eirika could only stare in horror as a girder fell like a javelin impaling Stein straight through the chest.

With a gasp, Eirika's hand went limp and her rook clattered to the chess board below. Her vision blurred as tears began to stream freely down her face. She stared at Stein (who was unharmed as the roof didn't actually collapse) in shock, trembling in her chair slightly. She was pulled into a tight embrace as Veronica buried the girl's face into her chest, kneeling to her left.

"Shh, it's alright. It's alright. You just overdid it a bit." Gradually recovering from the sudden shock, Eirika shakily gripped onto Veronica's dress and began to sob openly. Veronica gently stroked the small girl's head and gave Stein an apologetic look. The shadows on the chess board twisted into a short note.

You're free to look through the literary collection if you wish. I'll be along in a few minutes to help you find what you need.

[Stein]

Stein moved after Eirika, moving her knight into a prime position to win this game, she didn’t think she’d win, but she would still try. “This is a lovely pavilion, especially in the rain, and Petrichor is wonderfully relaxing.” Stein said looking around the room again. The game continued quietly and skillfully as Eirika slowly pulled into the lead. Stein could tell that Eirika was enjoying herself during this game, stein hoped that she was atleast making the game interesting for Eirika. Many moves later it became clear that Eirika would win this game, Eirika picked up her rook to prepare to move Stein into check when she froze, looking at Stein in horror and dropped the chess piece to the board, where it clattered and knocked over several other pieces, including Eirika’s king piece.

Stein sat quietly staring back at Eirika, who was staring at her and collapsed into tears. Stein read the shadow message and stood up to leave saying quietly. “What happened, did I scare you? Thank you for the game, I’d like to speak to you more if you feel up to it.” Stein knew that Eirika and Veronica wanted some privacy, so she left the room, still listening quietly to what they were saying

As Stein turned to leave, Damu hopped out of her pocket and inched his way across the floor over to Eirika’s feet. He sat there by her right foot, looking up at her, he did remember what Stein had said, but he wanted to be friends with Eirika too, and he couldn’t do that from Stein’s pocket. He had planned to sit and wait for her to see him, but he got bored after a few seconds, so he inched closer till he was nuzzling her foot, trying to comfort her.

[Johnathan]

Veronica spared Stein a glance as the girl misunderstood the situation. She wanted to correct the girl so that Eirika was not thought badly of, but couldn't decide on the correct method. Before she could speak, Eirika interrupted her.

"I h-hate this!" The half scream half sob was was enough to unsettle the normally stoic woman. She pulled Eirika in tighter and lowered her mouth gently to the top of the fragile girl's head. "I c-can n-never make any f-friends. It h-hurts t-too much!"

"I'm your friend Eirika." Veronica's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "I'm with you a~ll the time and we still have lots of fun, right?"

"That's not the same!" It was the desperate scream of a desperate girl. Veronica gently stroked Eirika's hair, giving her time to continue. "You- you're strong! The ch-chances of you dying are m-much less."

"Nevertheless, they still exist, no? Your visions don't always take things like probability into account." Veronica paused as Eirika continued to sniffle into her chest. When she didn't deny what Veronica had said, the dark woman continued. "It's not chance and probability that keep the visions away, right? It's your own strength. Your own control. To become more skilled at anything, you need to push the limits of that control." Still sniffling, Eirika pulled away, reaching down to pat Damu absently.

"I hate this." She repeated again in her tiny voice. "I can learn anything else from reading a book once. Why does this have to be so hard." Veronica smiled and tenderly lifted the girl's chin as she pulled out a handkerchief to clean her face.

"You can memorize anything by reading it once. While that works perfectly well for pursuits of knowledge, skills require practice and resolve. Think of your brother. He's the first person in the history of your family to master the void itself, and even now he still cannot fully control the energy it entails. The chains he wears are his crutch, just as the blocks he placed in your mind are yours." Finished with cleaning Eirika's face, the handkerchief vanished. Veronica took the smalls girl's face gently with both hands and met her eye to eye, gently but firmly. "However, crutches do not exist to be a lifetime support. People strive to grow stronger, so that they may stand on their own."

Eirika looked slightly downcast as Veronica released her. She stared at the ground silently as she continued to pat Damu lightly. With an understanding expression, Veronica stood and gave the girl one more consoling and affectionate pat.

"Though I should add that no one is rushing you, dear. You can take as long as you need. I certainly won't complain. It just means I get to keep you a~ll to myself for longer, fu fu fu." As Veronica teased her way towards Stein, Eirika's face scrunched into her usual defiant pout.

[Stein]

Damu heard Eirika crying, but he knew how to fix this, he looked up at the little girl and said “Stein wants to be your friend! And so do I! She only left because she thought you were scared of her. He then got up to run and find Stein

Stein nearly ran into Veronica at the door to the Solice room, she hadn’t gotten far from the Solice room when she’d noticed Damu was gone, she trusted Damu not to be stupid, but he could be naïve at times. She walked around Veronica to go collect Damu, scooping him up mid-run. As Stein picked up Damu and tried to put him in her pocket he squirmed wanting to get down again “Lemme down, I wanna play with Eirika more. Besides, she’s not scared, she wants to be friends, she just had a-um…vision, yeah, that was it, a bad vision Stein paused looking at Damu and Eirika in turn, thinking Her Amygdala is a little over-active for her age, as is her Hippocampus…..but what spiked to cause this vision, I’d need closer analysis to determine what… Stein walked over to Eirika, being careful not to set off a fear response. Stein closed her eyes and sighed silently, she wasn’t good with people unless she was dissecting them. She opened her eyes still looking at Damu “Eirika, I would like to be friends with you…but I’m inept with social interaction skills… She looked directly as Eirika “I’m curious what your vision was? I know you have visions and can visualize the end of everything, but what scared you so badly…my death? Death’s not scary, everything ends and dies eventually….Damu’s actually died before.” Stein said as she set Damu down, he proceeded to run over to Eirika and jump into her lap, settling into her skirt and getting comfortable “He’s 14 years old technically, but this body’s only 4 years old. You could ask him how he died, if you don’t know already…”

(Can stein interact with the visions if she sees them? Like if Eirika does get Stein into a vision, can Stein avoid the girder coming at her, or melt it?)

[Johnathan]

Eirika went rigid when Stein began to talk about death. Veronica huffed to herself and pinched the top of her nose tiredly. Gradually, Eirikas eyes became distant, until they appeared utterly hollow and empty. She sat motionless with a downcast and tired expression. For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the continuous drone of the rain. Then, in a distant and monotonous voice, Eirika spoke.

"Afraid? You misunderstand." Slowly, Eirika turned to face Stein. Her eyes settled on the other girl's face, but didn't truly see. "Did you know that there are approximately thirty four thousand ways you could meet your demise in this room alone. Twenty two thousand, eight hundred and eleven of those ends involve Veronica killing you directly. The remainder include stress fractures in the building's structure, spontaneous Solice expulsion, self bodily harm, unexpected bodily failure, radioactive emission from seven separate stars, and many other instances of less probability." Turning away to stare at the wall, Eirika went on to mumble off the various ways and probabilities of deaths in the immediate area. Deciding enough was enough, Veronica walked over to the small girl's side and with a snap of her fingers, Eirika fell unconscious.

Catching her as she tottered to the side, Veronica lifted the fragile girl into a 'princess carry' and with a wave of her hand the room reverted back to it's original state. Making her way towards the door, as the dark woman passed by Stein, she paused.

"If you happen to be thinking something like, 'this is my fault' you can stop. This happens far more frequently then I care to admit and has become an inevitable occurrence." With a sigh, Veronica continued on her way, taking a left to walk back across the loft towards Eirika's bedroom. "I'll have to let Erebus know his blocks are weakening. Ah, how annoying; just as she was getting used to living here."

[Stein]

Stein watched and listened to Eirika as she listed off all the ways Stein could die, she was unfazed by these facts and simply listened with curiosity. She stood when Veronica lifted Eirika into her arms. “I’m aware that this is not my fault, but I did not help by bringing up death directly. Her IRD-III levels spiked when I finished my statement, so although I am not the cause of her distress I did increase the levels.” She was not self-blaming, or trying to absolve herself of blame, simply stating a fact. Stein tilted her head and asked as she followed Veronica. “I’m sure she’s been through several rounds of therapies to help her with her visions and creating new blocks. But has anyone considered re-routing signals through the amygdala by creating several additional nerve destinations to help further filter the emotional and visual inputs she receives. It would also be plausible to center it on the hippocampus and thalamus, but that runs the risk of altering her perception permanently, much like my screw.”

Stein stopped herself after that, Veronica was not known for her patience, but was known for her fierce devotion to Eirika…and what Stein had just suggested was probably considered unethical, and was a near impossible task, it’d be possible with enough research, but wouldn’t help till then. Stein was muttering to herself quietly following Veronica while clicking the screw “If you blocked the GFY-II and V hormones you can adjust the response levels, but the body is quick to break those down…interfere with fear-responses, not dangerous any longer, but are necessary in some quantity for daily life. Tests are needed, how low do level need for numbing….when do levels increase death-risks…”

[Johnathan]

"Stop, stop." Veronica called out as she pulled back the blankets on Eirika's bed, gently tucking the small girl into their folds. "I don't know much of the specifics on the science of it, but I can tell you with certainty that her visions aren't caused by any aspect of her physical body. Manipulating it won't do any good." Once Eirika had been set down to rest, Veronica turned to leave the bedroom, closing the door partway behind her. There was a flare of dark flames above her left shoulder and when they dispersed, an odd black raven perched there silently. In her hands, a piece of parchment and a strange quill morphed into existence and she immediately began scratching away at it.

"The Melanthios are cursed." Veronica stated absentmindedly as she made her way back across the loft towards Eirika's personal library. "The Void grants them great power, but not without taking something in return. Eirika needs to learn how to exert her will to force the Void to obey her, but with her fragile body that is much more difficult than it should have been." Finished writing, the quill vanished and Veronica folded up the parchment. Holding it over her shoulder, the strange raven took hold of it in one talon. "To Erebus please." With one deep caw of acknowledgment, the raven took flight. Headed straight towards one of the walls, it found a shadow there and vanished through it.

Veronica came to a stop in the archway to the book room. "Now, what was it that you needed?"

[Stein]

Stein did not actually enter Eirika’s room; she stood outside in the hall as a consideration to Eirika and Veronica. When Veronica brought up the list of books again Stein assumed she’d lost the previous neatly written list of the books, but Stein still had an extra copy of the list that was written in chicken scratch. She pulled the folded list out of her pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Veronica. “If you are unable to read it I can tell you what was written. I’d additionally like any books you have that contain information on the Void, and any literature on the Melanthios family if it’s not all closed file.” She said as Veronica exited the room. Stein was now very curious about the ‘Melanthios family curse’; she intended to do as much research on it as possible, and figured books were as good a place as any to start. Stein then turned to follow Veronica towards the library again, or planned to head there if Veronica tried to steer her wrong, she had the path from Eirika’s room to the book collection and the Solice room committed to memory.

Damu had hopped off of Eirika’s lap when Veronica moved the girl, and had taken up residence right beside Stein, following her silently. Damu peered at Veronica across Stein’s legs a few times, the tall dark women was scary, but probably wasn’t bad.

(The list: "The Philosophy of Astrophysics”, “The Ecological, Evolutionary, and Behavioral biology of Species, all 10 volumes” and “The Encyclopedia of Disorders, XV ed.")