Library Card[[MOM+Open]]

[Date Masamune™]

[[Ooc: Ally first and then open.]]

Now I’ve done a few missions for the Dragons; I’ve participated in the ceremonies; and I’m wearing a patch on the inside of my jacket sleeve. So I guess that makes me a Dragon for all intents and purposes. But at the same time, I’m kind of an outsider. That’s probably my own fault being that I’m pretty rash and hard to get along with. That and I’m never around the other Dragons to even consider being able to make friends. None of that mattered anyways though. I’m only in California to get protect people and stop Barker.

Buuuuuut. I’ll admit it. I get lonely sometimes. Jacket’s usually off taking care of all of the sick people. Valo, Sirynn, and Shinn are around, but they’re usually either training or doing other tasks. I’ve been deemed unfit for the field by Jacket, my butler, Jeeves, and a refugee who just so happened to be a psych evaluator for the LAPD before all of this went down. They said I needed some time off and that I wasn’t allowed to fight for a while.

So I’ve been walking. Everyday. I’m either walking around Dragon territory, exploring, or meditating, just because they also said that I’m not quite allowed to be training either. This fine evening, I happened to stumble upon a broken down library. Lifting the broken door out of the way, I stepped into the library. If I could find some good books, it would probably help for the kids classes, and give the people in my refugee camp something to do besides reread the small selection of books in the manor.

Now I’ve been out of the field for a while, but you never lose the ability to sense a presence. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but I definitely heard the sound of someone else inside of this library. I didn’t know if it was Dragon or not, but if it wasn’t, this would have been a pretty good place for an enemy to hide. God knows Dragons don’t read. Well… most of us at least. I was without my gauntlets, without the steam golem, and without my feather cloak so whoever this was had the advantage. I snuck behind the counter in the reference section just in case and tried to hear for anything else.

[Your Mom~]

There were very few places for the interim leader of the Dragons to hide. David had risen to a place of power as an Elder Dragon and then fled, leaving all his responsibilities to his Voice. That was Olesya Van deBogart. There wasn't an hour in the day or night that Olesya wasn't bothered for one reason or another, and on top of that, she was a single mother to her adopted daughter Maddie. Any time that she managed to have to herself after tunning ragged for the territory was shared with a rambuncuous ten-year-old little ball of energy. There was nowhere for her to escape.

Well...almost nowhere.

Most of the territory had been renovated into military and civilian space, but there were still many places cordoned off for being unstable or run-down. The library was one of those places. People had a greater need for agriculture, food and resources, than they did for books. The library had yet to be renovated in the new world they lived in. One night when she couldn't sleep, Olesya had found it, relished in its solitude. She'd found her get away.

After a particularly grueling day, Olesya felt the need for a little respite. She'd loved to read, and had done well in school, so the prospect of having an entire library to herself was like finding Shangri La. She tucked Maddie in, read her a bedtime story, and turned out the lights, though instead of returning to her room, she slipped out the door and down toward the library. There was a tall stained glass window that had shattered in the bombings that was easier to climb into than digging through the door, so that was Olesya's preferred entrance.

She landed on the cracked tile floor, her ballet shoes making a very soft sound as she touched down. Olesya inhaled deeply and exhaled, taking in the smell of books and quiet, her breathe echoing off the ghostly rows of forgotten literature.

[Date Masamune™]

Another entrance huh? And it sounds like it wasn't as difficult to deal with as mine was. Makes sense, with my luck I always end up doing things the most difficult way. Now I guess I've been on my own for too long, because the fact that we were in Dragon territory didn't enter my mind for a second. The chances that an enemy was here was pretty slim, but my instincts kicked in. I couldn't take that chance. I took a deep breath and came up with a battle plan. A fairly simple one. Charge.

Yup. It would have been infinitely smarter for me to do anything but that. I could sneak around try and see who it was, I could try to get up behind them and knock them out. But no, my first instinct was me vaulting over the counter in the reference section, shouting a loud battle roar to try and frighten my enemy, all the while running at them with my gauntlets lit up with electricity. If the roar and the loud crackling noise the lightning made wasn't enough, the bright blue light from the electricity around my hands was a dead give away as to my location. Luckily, the light also lit up the dark library enough for me to make out the face of who was there.

"Olesya?!"

I had never really engaged in conversation with her personally, but I knew of her, as I knew of most of the Dragons. This was the Voice of the Storm Dragon, and my superior officer. So there I was rushing at my superior officer. I immediately turned off the electricity and tried to stop running, but a stray book would get in my way tripping me up, luckily for Olesya. I fell forward, headfirst into a pile of rubble and broken books. Yup. Way to make a good impression on your boss Yuy.

"Ow..."

[Your Mom~]

Sure, there was the smell of soot and dirt among the wonder scent of old books, but enough of the old essence remained that the effect was still the same. Another breath through her nose...in slowly...out slowly...She could feel her heart rate slowly to a nice calm rhythm, her muscles relaxing-

WHEN OUT OF NOWHERE COMES A GUTTURAL YELL AND THE CRACKLE OF ELECTRICITY.

Olesya shrieked, joining the wail with a surprised noise of her own, all of her muscles tensing up at once, her feet sliding apart and her arms raising defensibly against what could only be an electrified Tarzan of the library jungle.

"Olesya?!"

The electricity immediately went out, making Les blink spots from her eyes, readjusting to the dim light as the attacking figure fell unceremoniously to the floor at her feet. Olesya clenched her jaw, still breathing heavily from the scare, her nerves on end. Her hands fell to her sides, still in fight fists. She pressed her lips together tersely, sizing him up.

'What is this, amateur hour?'

She'd dealt with a trained assassin trying to stab her in her sleep, she'd fought experiments night and day in the correctional facility, she'd faced down plenty of goons on the streets across the country...this was a joke in comparison. However, he had just disrupted her happy place, and that was not okay.

Vague recognition sparked in her angry eyes, and the narrowness lessened slightly. He was the kid that lived in the manor...Yuy....Sssssssam? No, Shawn? No...damn, Les had never been good with names, that's why she nicknamed everyone. It was so much easier to remember.

She crossed her arms under her chest, still looking down at him in an incredibly unamused fashion.

"Care to explain to me why you're hiding out in a run-down building, scaring the shit out of anyone who comes near, Sparky?"

Yeah, that'll do.

[Date Masamune™]

Sparky. Yeah. Real original there. I took a second to answer. I didn't really have a good excuse to be in the library, and if I wasn't on her bad side before all of this I probably would be afterwards. SOOOOO, it wasn't like I could just say, 'Hey! I've been walking around because I'm not allowed to fight for the time being because I have PTSD!' Not sure if that would fly. I sat up a bit, not bothering to stand up. Probably not the most respectful move. I hadn't gotten to learning all of the Dragon customs so I didn't really know the proper way to greet a superior officer.

"I uhhhh. I was just out for a walk actually. I found this library and I thought that the refugees at the manor could use a couple new books."

Scratching the back of my head I got up slowly, adjusting my vambraces. Luckily, neither of the two of us got hurt out of that. I dusted myself off and turned back to Olesya. From her tone it sounded more like an interrogation than a conversation. So it was probably a better idea if I didn't say what I said next.

"How about you?"

[Your Mom~]

Alright, so the presence was relatively legit, but the theatrics? However, Les was pretty sure her presence had spooked him or something leading to the Simba-pouncing-on-a-beetle fail-faceplant. However, it was very sloppy.

"That's thoughtful of you."

The compliment was deflated by her still quite irritated tone. She gave him a once over as he stood up, sizing him up and taking in any vital information she could. The vambraces, they were electric. She wasn't sure how they worked, maybe something to do with Qi? Leon had an electric Qi. He was the same height as her, with wider shoulders. He looked about her age, but his hair and facial expressions (and display of ineptitude) make him appear much younger. The Fall had aged everyone in different ways, some days Les felt like she was a hundred years old.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at his question. It was innocent enough, but she never like being questioned.

"Exploring."

She was a woman of many words.

[Date Masamune™]

Her compliment sounded less complimenting and more irritated. Awesome. I went through my head trying to come up with an excuse as to why I need to leave. I think I hear my mother calling me. Right. All the way from New York. Like that would work. God dammit. Why am I so awful with people? Heh... things weren't like this back at 552. Guess I've lost my touch.

"I uhh... I guess I'll get out of here and leave you to explore, Ma'am."

I was about to raise my right hand in the Dragon salute when I realized... I fucking forgot the Dragon salute. Right hand raised 45 degrees up? No... that's not right. Hand to forehead? Nope. Shit. Something with the hand and chest. Was it a closed hand? Or an open one. FUCK IT. I bowed. That's right I fucking bowed. And with that I promptly turned around and faced the opening that I had created earlier. I started to walk towards it at a brisk pace, hoping she wouldn't notice.

[Your Mom~]

Blink, blink.

What this guy for serious? She pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh or smirk as he fumbled with the his arms. What was he doing? Was he trying to salute? He eventually gave up and just bowed to her, turning and making his leave. Though she hadn't seen the movie in years, a little voice popped into her head as she watched him.

What a sad, strange little man.

Were she back in high school, Olesya would have laughed it off and invited him to explore with her, but she was different now, and liked her solitude. She wouldn't call after him, but instead watch him leave, still slightly perplexed by what had happened.