[The Keep] Walking to Skye

[Straken]

"Of course it is," Vincent confirmed, crossing his arms indifferently. "Crisp handwriting, attention to detail, and a mind for numbers are integral to druids of the Second Circle."

"Nerd," Brooke playfully flicked Vincent's ear. Turning her attention back to Drysi, the New Yorker shoved her arm forward causing her sleeve to pull back; revealing a wrist watch. "'Bout'a quarter ta nine, why?"



Bowie blinked lazily as he looked off towards the exit to the courtyard. He spoke without looking at Gideon.

"Druids aren't the only school of mages that can acquire familiars. To say nothing of the Druids that have turned on the Order, bringing their familiars with them. The other Circles don't need to worry about it as much, but those of us with the Keepers must be prepared. Our Druids take the mages, and we counter the familiars."

Bowie's paw closest to Gideon flexed, revealing claws.

"He's being a tad dramatic about it, but isn't far off the mark," Aashvi added.

[Kokuten]

Unlike the mammals, both Gideon and Tucker lacked much expression when it came to emotions, but the knowledge of knowing he would need to fight made Gideon stiff. He was most definitely not a Keeper’s familiar, but Drysi conducted herself in the manner and walked in the shadow of one. While he felt protective of his druid, Gideon avoided confrontation as much as he could. Even on the Safeholme grounds, he made an effort to be out as little as possible, so as to avoid running into students, teachers, or, worse, other snakes.

He couldn’t tell if he was afraid, and if he was afraid, he wasn’t sure if it was merely for himself, or for Drysi.

”That…” Gideon tried to compose himself, ”... is a scary thought… considering what my druid has already been through.

“Fo-hk!” Drysi’s voice pitched tightly as she realized it was already so late in the evening. She had to present her findings in the morning. “I need t’--”

In a hasty hop upwards that looked like a bushy bag of rags bursting upwards, Drysi stood to depart.

Then, she fell back into her seat, stricken immediately by a light-headed sensation. As soon as she was back down, a wave fatigue washed over her, and she realized just how heavy her eyelids felt. Having been in a constant state of social trepidity distracted her from how tired she felt. There had been a weight on her shoulders the whole time she had been eating and talking.

“Ough… So, fuckin’ bleary,” she pressed a palm to her temple, which felt a little oily. “Nevermind. I just remembered I need t’ get to the library and get back to my room to work on my submission for tomorrow mornin’. Get some runology books and catch up with Master Fly– …”

She blinked, and before slapping her hands on the table, as a flickering, fading light went off in her head.

“Do you wanna’ meet my Master?”

[Straken]

“Ah! AaaaAah! AH! M-mmm.....meet!? Master Flynn?!” Brooke began stammering at the mere thought. Her hands went to her face as she clasped her reddening cheeks. “I couldn’t. I shouldn’t! Never meet your heroes. What if he doesn’t like my makeup? Or my hair?! Satya! I need a makeover!”

Satya began to laugh while Vincent rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“Of everything you’ve heard of Flynn, do you really think he’d turn you away simply because of your hair?” Satya asked.

“...Maybe?” Brooke responded as she held a lock of hair in front of her eyes. “It’s not exactly a country-ish cut. He might think I’m a punk.”

“You are a punk,” Vincent added.

“I mean, yeah, but I don’t wan’ him to think that,” Brooke now held her hands together in front of her nose as she considered taking her piercings out. Satya flicked a pea at Brooke's head. This seemed to have snapped the older teen out of her frenzy, and she slammed her palms down on the table. “Let’s do it! To the Library!”

“Literally the first time you’ve ever said that. Guaranteed,” Vincent chided as he packed away his things. “But I’ll leave that to you. I’ve no personal interest.”

“I’ll tag along too,” Satya finished off the last of her own meal and began tidying up. “Someone needs to make sure Brooke doesn’t implode, or forget to breathe.”



“Yes,” Bowie’s tone was low and somewhat derisive. “How that Master Flynn gets on with a dove of all things as a familiar I’ll never know.”

[Kokuten]

”I don’t quite know, Ms. Laoise mostly keeps around the property in her human form. I’ve only seen her do normal things, but Drysi assures me that others have assured her that Ms. Laoise is capable of growing wings in her human form and singing songs that influence the flow of combat.”

Gideon was now mostly keeping an eye on Bowie now, not sure what to make of him. There was a certain dramatic appeal to his candor that the others had apparently caught on to a long time ago. The snake hadn’t been alive long enough to really appreciate it, but he was aware enough to understand it.

”I suppose he also has an owl to supplement,” Gideon mentioned, ”having two familiars must be quite normal for Keepers with less… conflict-oriented species?”

Drysi finished off the last of her meat-pie as Brooke panicked, the delicious bread pieces giving her much needed energy to keep going. She could take time to find the books she needed to finish her research and have her project ready for the morning. With a plan set, she popped up as Brooke and Satya assented to going.

“It’s been a pleasure, then, Vincent,” nodded Drysi, getting herself up a little more slowly this time. About half-way to the tray return, she was struck by how long ago her last message to her master was. Suddenly nervous, she began to quickly tack out an update as soon as she dropped the tray off.

Master, could you meet me in the Library?

Satisfied, she made her way back to the others, before swiftly raising her phone again and typing out.

If you’re not still there.

Sighing, she opened her mouth to speak, before again snapping her phone up.

If you’re not terribly busy.

That was good, she thought, but that might have been her brain slowing down to fight the moving around. She tried not to question it.

“I wouldn’ stress too much about Master Flynn,” assuaged Drysi, finally, putting her phone away, “He’s a schoolmaster, what you’ve got is nothing he’s not already seen. One of the lasses who goes to my school is a literal clown, althoo’ she doesn’t wear the red nose these days.”

She clapped her hands together, swaying a bit, “Now, where’s the library, exactly?”

[Straken]

Bowie's head snapped to look directly at Gideon, Aashi's eyes were bright and similarly focused, Dez wobbled a bit before looking down at the snake with a sidelong look, and even the lounging Tucker opened his eyes.

"A second familiar?" Dez asked, her voice curious and bordering on concerned. "Goodness no, it's just not done. One druid, one familiar. Attempts to summon a new one just results in the current familiar appearing in the circle. Did he use a ritual from a different school of magic?"

"That Flynn really is a black sheep, isn't he?" Bowie sounded incredulous.

"I had heard of Druids completely cutting ties with their lives in the Order, and similarly severing their connection with their familiar. But... well, it's a bit of a depressing thought that we've never really discussed," Aashvi had turned to look out of the stall. Around the group a few other familiars had stuck their heads around the wooden divider, and the panther and lynx lounging by Aashvi had perked up.



On her way back, Drysi would notice Brooke pausing mid-movement, and Vincent looking lost in thought before scowling a bit and leaving. Satya had collected her things in a shoulder bag and moved to meet Drysi.

“The Library is going to…” Satya began to say.

“Master Flynn has a second familiar?” Brooke asked as they all formed up. Satya gave her a quizzical look before turning to look at Drysi for confirmation. Just then, Drysi’s phone buzzed.

Yes. I am still in the Library. Let me know when you get here and I’ll meet you.

[Kokuten]

So many eyes, so many faces. For someone who spent a majority of his time hiding from people, this development was unwelcome. The burden from Dez's shoulder began to lighten up as Gideon gently took to the cool floor.

"I don't know about that," his words were less sure than he liked as he slithered to one side of the stall to reduce the number of eyes on him, "Mr. Flynn still has his connection to Ms. Laoise. She exists. She was there when I was born, and Ms. Maeve was too, but she was watching from afar."

Gideon coiled over himself and tucked his face under his body, "Ms. Maeve's a snow owl, but different. She has horns. Horns? Perhaps antlers is a better term, they look a bit like bark. And… well… her eyes have a glow in them."

Drysi was taken aback by the sudden question, and it took her longer than she would've liked to answer.

"Maeve, y'mean?" yawned Drysi, cupping a hand over her mouth, "I'm not quite sure, but she showed up after our vacation to Hawaii. We got attacked by Lamplighters while visitin' the druids out there."

Small dregs of suspicion began to creep into her mind. These people didn't even know she was Ruarc Flynn's apprentice, but, for some reason, Maeve was coming up now?

"Gid?"

She could feel a bit of discomfort at a distance, that was all he wanted to convey. Drysi let it go, but figured he must have said something.

"It was the day after the big parent-teacher meetin' at Safeholme, actually. Master Flynn said she was a rescue. Besides teachin' Gideon the histories of the order and recommendin' books fer him, and me, she's nothin' out of the ordinary. I mean, besides bein' a horned snow owl."

[Straken]

“That’s… curious…” Both Bowie and Brooke responded to their respective recipients.

“I s’pose, iffen any’n’s’gon’a find something familiar adjacent, it’d be Master Flynn,” Brooke seemed sold on the explanation.

“I, at least, have never heard of an owl with horns,” Dez added in her own conversation. “Perhaps some cryptid or fey type creature that exhibits similar characteristics as a druid familiar?”

Many of the familiars that had gathered in the peanut gallery had begun to return to what they were doing before the proverbial record scratch. Dez considered the matter ponderously in a manner that resembled a sapien version of The Thinker, Bowie looked off into the distance as though it had never been much of a concern to begin with, Tucker returned to dozing, but Aashvi’s bright eyes continued to observe Gideon.

“Either way, that doesn’t have much bearing on showing Drysi to the Library,” Satya continued. “Or meeting Master Flynn.”

Brooke perked up once more, remembering the primary focus she had set for herself. Who cared if Master Flynn had a second familiar, that was just one more thing that made him cool as far as she was concerned.

Ushering Drysi into step, Satya led the way out of the dining hall and across the lounge. Returning once more to Drysi’s old friend, the spiral staircase, the group retraced some of the steps Drysi had taken earlier in the day. Down to the sublevels. Not so far as to go all the way down to the secure labs, as they stopped on Sublevel One after descending the oddly spaced distance between it and the ground floor. Exiting the stairs, Drysi found they were in a directory airlock with three doors to the left, right, and straight ahead. To the left was a sign that read Archives: Authorized Members Only. To the right was Lecture Halls: 4 - 12. Straight ahead read Library & Lecture Halls 1 - 3. The doors to the Library looked positively ancient as they were carved from sturdy oak, and were unassuming in their design beyond simple brass handles that looked worn and tarnished from thousands of hands over many years. Brooke took the lead and opened the heavy looking door, which swung easily and silently despite its apparent size and age.

Once inside Drysi was greeted by a wondrous sight. Directly inside was a moderately sized alcove penned in by a large hexagonal wooden desk with a number of druids wearing Circle One robes sitting behind. Beyond the desk was a positively cavernous room filled with rows upon rows and level upon level of shelves lined with books. Due to the angle from where she stood Drysi could not see any edges to the reservoir of knowledge. It was all well lit from numerous glowing orbs positioned to distribute the light well, and the atmosphere was cool but not cold with low humidity.

As they entered, a stern looking older woman raised her eyes from a book and cocked an eyebrow as she appraised the teens. She took note of Satya and Brooke, but settled her gaze onto Drysi.

“Good evening,” her voice reflected her apparent age. “I would ask the initiate to step forward and identify herself for the Library records.”

[Kokuten]

Wearied green eyes took in the absolute depth of the Carneath Library. The walk from the cafeteria had shaken her up enough to keep bouncing along, but the cool air was relaxing. The books reminded her of quiet, comfy places like home, or the cottage. She wished she had more energy to go exploring in the place.

The demand for her name was yet another reason as to why she was immensely grateful for practicing her greeting. She wasn't feeling her sharpest.

"I'am Drysi Llewella Maelgwyn, of the 3rd Circle, apprentice of Ruarc Flynn," answered the self-named druid, stepping forward and bowing her head respectfully, "here to look up some information and speak with m'Master, iffn' that's alright."

Gideon stayed aware of Aashvi's eyes, with one eye on her as he raised his head. Since non-verbal cues were unique to each species it was hard to get a read on other familiars. It was not that the tiger was the biggest threat in the cage, but rather that tiger eyes were rather large and radiant.

There was a certain allure to it Gideon could not explain.

"Now that you mention it, Ms. Maeve is a bit different from your usual animal familiar," explained the snake, "I've never seen her hunt or eat, nor travel far from the cottage without reason. Her mannerisms always felt very… human-like."

Gideon uncoiled more to make it comfortable to move, "But familiars I've seen all seem to carry some sense of human mannerism in their movements, and I've never met any other owls before. I thought she was just a unique kind of familiar, or some… greater form we take in age. She's taught me so much about the order, I thought that she may be very old."

[Straken]

The librarian seemed to take on a suspicious look as Drysi once again introduced herself. Her aged eyes narrowed and inspected the young teen, and a not so subtle scowl crossed her face. Picking up on this a large hound that was all jowls and wrinkles huffed as it stood to lean against her arm, and the other librarians snuck some glances to see what was going on.

“Now that makes no kind of sense,” she said finally as she sat back and crossed her arms in defeat. “How did a bright young lady such as yourself get apprenticed to that brute? You aren’t a Keeper are you?”

“Oi!” Brooke began to interject before Satya cut in.

“Now now ma’am, we’re just passing through.”

“Yes, well, Master Flynn has been distracting the Chief Lecturer all evening. They’re over Lecture Hall A,” the librarian waved her hand dismissively to her right.

“Appreciated,” Satya quickly ushered Brooke and Drysi off into the Library, sensing the potential powder keg.

“Never liked that lady,” Brooke grumbled.

“She’s one of the Head Librarians,” Satya said to Drysi as the trio began to walk down the rows of bookshelves.

“And she has a chip on her shoulder for our type,” Brooke added, gesturing between herself and Satya. With her other hand she grabbed a random book off of the shelf, opened to a random page, and summarily snapped it shut and stuck it back in a random spot on a different shelf. “Thinks druids should be strictly academic, and using magic aggressively may as well be a cardinal sin.”

“Every Circle has its less than less than pleasant members,” Satya said absentmindedly.

Winding through the Library, Drysi could get a sense of what it might have been like to walk among the great pillars in the Mines of Moria. Not quite to the same extent, but occasionally the ceiling would open up to reveal more levels of the Library stretching up a few stories with yet more shelves of unread knowledge.

[Kokuten]

Thanks to having a heavier, curlier mop of blonde on her head, Drysi’s hair gave less of a tell-tale sign that her temper had flared. Fiercely defensive as a rule, the triclops was mere seconds away from confirming the librarian’s pre-conceptions of Ruarc, and breaking her pre-conceptions of the initiate. Satya’s voice managed to soothe her mind enough to where she was able to rein in whatever non-verbal response showed on her face. It was the same function Gideon tended to serve for her, chilling her ire before it could burn anyone.

Boy, but had it been ages since she burned someone. The desire stood ready atop that building resentment for others in her every time she heard criticism of her Master.

“Druids should be academics first,” said Drysi, almost a little too loudly for the library, an unevenness in her voice that could indicate the practiced grip of self-control. Her hand, shaking off the trembles of anger, reached up to the book that Brooke misplaced. With a fiercely academic glance, she found its appropriate place back on the shelf. “We ’re mages. Knowing is how we overcome. Everything else is secondary.”

Clenching her teeth, she smashed her fist into the shelf, with a noise that was much too soft for the apparent force the hollow-boned triclops put into it. Apparent, but restrained, regret showed on her face as she realized she fractured her knuckle.

“But we live in reality,” Drysi started, devolving the poise she had earlier into a small string of low, unintelligible cursing and quiet, hateful ribaldry.