Second-Hand Shopping Spree

Jul 2nd, 2018 06:21 PM

Jason let his eyes wander the room as the bell tinkled gently above his head and the smell of old paper washed over him. He did so enjoy second-hand bookstores, you never found what you came looking for, but you always walked away with something. He strolled into the shop, absentmindedly picking up a basket as he looked over the section titles.

Fiction – Scifi/Fantasy…

Fiction – Young Adult…

Fiction – Children…

Ah, there it was. Non-Fiction – Philosphy and Religion. Always something interesting to find there. He made his way to the section and let out a sigh as he stepped between the shelves towering far overhead. He bit down a pang of fear at the memory of the Hedge looming overhead and took a deep breath, the smell of the books anchoring him. The books in Arcadia always smelt wrong. Too sweet, trying too hard to smell like books and not quite managing it. These books smelt right, he was safe.

As he collected himself he walked the spines, taking in titles as he went. Always interesting to see what each store stocked, as the selections were never quite the same, for all that they tended to follow the same trends.

Plenty of New Age books here, of course. He let out a long sigh before pulling one of the books from the shelf, 1001 Spells. “Probably rubbish, but then…” His mind drifted back to his time with his keeper and the unlikely looking book that heralded his freedom. “Better safe than sorry.”

He dropped the book into his basket and resumed his hunt.

Jul 4th, 2018 03:50 AM

Wolfgang was shopping for stories. Not mere ink on paper, any hack could (and by the number of books in the building, obviously had) churned out garbage and bound it up and sold it at an airport bookshop. What he was looking for was taped up pages, dog eared corners, hand written dedications. Signs that the book meant something to someone once... and that someone had valued the dollar's worth of store credit more than what those emotions meant at some point. A story like that? It curdled and fermented, twisting in on itself over time, and if you knew how to ask the books, they'd tell you all about it.

And the Hedge ate that shit up, quite literally. Once he got his harvest home, he was going to sort it by grade and grind the books down fine and make some feed for what he hoped would be a garden suitable for Screechsnap and Shrivelfigs someday. If he could find a bad enough book on top of that, he could even plant some Drivelweed, though he would have to take precautions to ensure that it didn't overwhelm the whole thing.

And then, while he's flipping through something about psychic angel horses and troubled wizards in white who reincarnate, he hears a put-upon sigh from around a corner. Sighs meant emotion, emotion meant glamour. So it was, just a bit, disappointing that the sigh came from another Lost. "Don't tell me that there's trouble in Paradise, eh?" He looks into the other man's basket and lets out a breathy chuff. "Jeezy pete, you must got a lot of trouble if you need that many spells."

**Circe** · Jul 4th, 2018 05:29 PM

Circe's interest in cheap books was fueled with no desire for tales but rather to improve her current hobby. Which was why the elf was in the non-fiction section with such titles as Soldering Made Simple, The Metal Lathe (Build your own), and Duct Tape Engineer in her basket. Circe was basically building up her own workshop from nothing so a little self education seemed smart. And duct tape can do anything, even in the Hedge. Probably especially in the Hedge since perception of reality is as important as reality itself where the fae realm was concerned.

The book Metro Girl was also in the basket as a future git for John Doe. She'd looked at it and it seemed amusing, so maybe it'd perk him up. Though she didn't know if he was into that. She really needed him to talk about himself more. She'd just picked up another book when she'd heard the loud sigh as well.

The lure of glamour is always a strong one and just as effective upon Circe as it was on Wolfgang. This resulted in Jason being surrounded at Circe rounded the opposite corner. And let out her own sigh of disappointment that there were no mortals. A third sigh joins "Huh no juju today," Italian accented words leave Circe's blue lips. She is also bluntly honest about her interests.

The elf waves hello with the book still held in her hand. "Magic? From here?" Circe shakes her head white hair bouncing as she chuckles, "I'd trust steel over that."

Jul 5th, 2018 01:19 AM

Jason looks across from his perusal of book titles as Wolfgang comments. He curses inwardly at being snuck up on by someone who wasn’t sneaking. The constant buzz of thoughts running through his mind, nearly squabbling for attention, presents a constant distraction that leaves him frustrating easy to startle.

He marshals his thoughts quickly, quieting the errant ideas, “Not trouble, thankfully, but I’ve found useful information in less useful seeming places. Books, covers, and all that.”

Jason steps quickly around at the sound of another voice behind him. The aisle being clear of all but the Lost he bows his head respectfully, “My queen. A pleasure to see you again.”

Their comments about the value of the spells in the book send his gaze back towards it and he begins speaking, almost absentmindedly, “Perhaps the spells have no value as they are. But I believe they have value nonetheless. A lump of iron ore is of no use until the impurities have been burnt away. Much the same is true of these. Think of this not as a book of a thousand and one useless spells, but a thousand and one prayers to the universe. Prayers to fate, to destiny, to luck. Prayers that have been codified and spread through the world, propagated and cast. In some cases by the curious. In some by the dubious. But most crucially, by the faithful. By those who believe, truly and deeply. Those who dream. There’s weight to that. There’s value to that. Even if this particular book was never held by such a believer.”

He pauses for a moment to consider before continuing, “Even with that point going unconsidered there’s also the value of the spells as insights into human nature, and into the symbols in which faith is placed. The raw components of the rituals are symbolic elements that represent unseen connections that span the world. These connections bind the countless facets of the world together in webs forged of dreams and tempered in will. Such a web of connections sounds familiar, no? I suspect that to those with our talents such insights may prove invaluable.”

After a moment he shakes himself out of his reverie, “So no, perhaps the spells are of little use as they are. But as useless knowledge may be found only in a dull mind, I think I’ll make a study of them regardless. Unless, of course, you have further objections, my queen?” The last sentence is directed to Circe, devoid of any tone but polite curiosity.

**Ingrid** · Jul 7th, 2018 02:54 AM

Ingrid is out shopping as well. See - already she has several shopping bag's worth of new clothing. From the standard, average, supermarket chains. Because money can only go so far. And because the gear is pleasant enough. And because she is not looking for anything special; nor does she have any special nights to worry about on her calendar.

The bookstore is final stop along her way - a whimsical desire to fill in the time waiting for a bus. Hence, her basket is full of old paperback volumes of tacky romance novels: suitably mindless to pass the time when she needed to chill with little to no thought.

"What do we have here?" The Darkling quietly exclaims as she ~~bumps~~ discovers the group of Changeling's lurking nearby.

"Well... Look at you!" Ingrid smiles her devilish smile and sets her face to the new Fairest she had seen about the Freehold.

"Spells you say? Mmmm. Juicy!" She purrs and, unless stopped, reaches for the book of 1001 spells.

"A girl can never be prepared enough," she adds coyly as a mangled and dog eared paperback on love potions drops into her basket as well.

**Circe** · Jul 7th, 2018 10:34 PM

Circe smiled happily at the acknowledge, "Just a reminder ya should use club speak in public. Cool now. No normies around, but when they are royals are club officers." Her expression turned curious as Jason explained his interest in the books.

"Sono più un delinquente che un pensatore profondo su questo genere di roba." her tone it utterly indifferent. The elf then shrugs, "Clearly ya have had thoughts on this subject, and think ya can make it work. I won't object. In truth," Circe gives Jason a grin, "I'm glad someone's covering the esoteric since I rarely," never, "focus on it. While I may not be a stereotypical Summer, I am still very much a fighter. Good on you," Circe will try to give Jason a pat on the shoulder, "If ya can make it work. After all, if people say it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid." The Queen of Summer waggles the book still in her hand as she speaks before giggling.

A familiar Darkling arrived. "Ya have us Ingrid," was her jovial reply to Ingrid's arrival, "Or the section for," she looks at the bookshelf to check. This caused her to raise her left eyebrow and ear, "Parapsychology, magic, and phrenology? Huh. Doubt my ears'd go over well with that last one."

Jul 11th, 2018 02:13 AM

Jason's face is marred by a brief frown before he smooths it out again, “I apologize. My thoughts run away from me sometimes. I can be… difficult to focus on the here and now, but I’ll try to keep an eye on my choice of address in public.”

His head tilts curiously as she jumps into another language, and when she finishes speaking he does his best to riddle it out. His Latin is… rusty, at best, but English and Italian share it as a root by way of French, so some of the words sound vaguely familiar. “Delinquente…” He rolls the word around, tasting the pronunciation, “Probably the same root word as delinquent. Too similar for it to be coincidental. And was it ‘pensatore profundo’? Assuming the last parts of the word are suffixes to mark for tense or the like… pensive and profound, maybe? And I think I heard ‘genere’ in there. That’s probably related to genre. Or maybe general? Hmm…”

He thinks for a moment before shaking his head slightly, Guess I’m going to have to dust off some Latin Textbooks at some point. I wonder if there are any floating around in here?

He returns his attention to Circe, “Sorry, that was dreadfully rude of me. As I said, my thoughts tend to run away with me. But yes, I’ll draw what usefulness I can from it. And as I told Lady Sasha, my knowledge and skills are the freehold’s to draw upon, you need but ask.”

As Ingrid arrives and addresses the Queen he worries his bottom lip with his teeth, grounding himself. Darklings always made him a little uncomfortable. His memories of Arcadia are hazy, but he remembers figures scuttling in the darkness at the edge of his light, whispering things he can’t quite bring to mind. But he remembers the creeping dread and self loathing the words invoked all too well.

He steels himself and puts on his game face, offering Ingrid a polite smile, allowing her to take the book, “I don’t believe we’ve been properly acquainted yet. My name is Jason Devereux it’s a pleasure to meet you.” His introduction is accompanied by a slight bow at the waist. If only his mother could see him now, she would be delighted that her lessons, of all things, survived so well in the face of the wonders and horrors of the Lands Under the Hills.

His eyes dart across the cover of the book she just dropped into her basket as he straightens up, “But love potions are an interesting choice. Love is one of those things most sources agree can’t be manufactured. Imitated to a certain extent, perhaps, but artificial love tends to be an all-consuming lust for the most part. And while the mechanics of such emotional manipulation are interesting, I sincerely doubt a woman like yourself requires arcane assistance in driving others to all-consuming lust. Surely a moment of your attention suffices in most cases?”

'If you can give a woman a sincere compliment, do it. She probably earned it with blood and tears'. His mother had drilled that lesson into him from the day he was old enough to attend the gatherings of the nobility without embarrassing the family. The advice had held him in good stead, doubly so among the Lost. he found that while most aren't too keen on being reminded of their Durance, most weren't as upset at being reminded that their suffering wasn't entirely in vain. Even if other Fairest tended to take to compliments with a little too much enthusiasm on occasion.

**Ingrid** · Jul 11th, 2018 06:44 AM

"Just call me Ingrid. That'll be fine." Ingrid manufactured a wink and turned away from the stacks.

"Why thank you... But its practice, see. Practice makes perfect, they say. Besides I'm a student of love. Even a tacky thing like this might have a lesson in it. Somewhere. And anyway. Its just fun."

The scent of plum boiling from the Emerald Queen would have been enough to underline the point.

She turned her appraising eyes on Wolfgang.

**Circe** · Jul 11th, 2018 03:17 PM

Circe's approval that he took the warning well turns to confusion as Jason starts to ramble. Is he trying to deduce what she said through analysis? Right ear and eyebrow quirk at his actions, "Che?" Well at least he had the mind to apologize for it, "Okay, yeah. Yer gonna be my go to guy for deep thinking on problems. I'll be yer go to gal for breaking monsters, okay?"

Red eyes take note of Jason's reaction to Ingrid's arrival. The Darkling makes him nervous. Is it fear of her Kith, Court, or perhaps a crush? His praise of Ingrid on the matter of love potions gets a loud laugh from Circe. The Summer Queen was leaning towards crush, "Oh, I'm sure its great ta hear ya think that highly of her," she turns to Ingrid, "Compliments from a gentleman are great, ain't it Ingrid?" and waggles her eyebrows. Circe saw no shame in trying to encourage what she thought she saw.

Circe side steps closer to Ingrid to whisper, "Jason wouldn't exactly be a bad option ta help ya with yer love studies, right?" the Fairest is giggling as she leans away from the Darkling.

**Ingrid** · Jul 13th, 2018 11:50 PM

The Darkling turns her head slightly at Circe's approach.

"Oh? Oh! So you are interested in the old Arts as well, are you Jason?"

Her eyes widened slightly as she switched her focus to the faintly glowing Fairest.

Second-Hand Shopping Spree

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