Flames flickered across the night as menacing shadows danced upon the walls of the Parmamar Library, the occasional title exposed to the light. Rows upon rows of bookshelves lined the gargantuan scope of the library, the scent of ancient knowledge permeated the air with an indescribable aroma, as the poor lighting of the room’s few gothic chandeliers flickered upon the ribbed vaults of the ceilings, the marble grain swirling with Ardian magic. Discord hung in the air, layering the environment with a sense of grandeur decadence.

Slowly, the paradoxical milieu parted through the shadows as a single shadow trailed behind a silhouette gliding across the crimson granite, his footsteps resonating throughout the colossal structure. The echoes continually vibrated showing the barrenness of the hollow vacuum of silence. Trailing across the area, the figure’s body soon became lucid. An enigmatic man clad entirely in pitch darkness, everything from his dark hood to the shadow-like robes billowing under him.

Slowly, the figure strode down the aisles of dark volumes, his steps and aura full of significance and intention. After reaching a seemingly haphazard area of the archives, the figure quickly turned sharply in an almost militaristic manner before halting in the exact center of the library, his eyes narrowing into dark slits, his sky blue pupils piercing the darkness as his hands gingerly plucked a single fruit of turmoil from the myriad of bedlam.

Quickly, the silhouette tucked the tome under his arm, striding towards the center of construction, his eyes carefully scanning the area for intruders, his orbs seemingly glowing in the darkness. With surgical precision, the figure than began preparing the area for study, his hands nimbly settling everything into chaotic organization. In the dimness the surroundings, the figure soon produced a quill and a thin roll of parchment, as he commenced the scrutinizing study of healing.

There was a fine line between being jaded and lethargic. In this case she rested on that precise contour, not ready to fall in to either of the depths that would be contained in the two analogous dispositions. It was that which caused her to stir from the safety of her home where her human father kept a careful look on her to protect her even though he knew she was capable of being independent and her angelic mother always offered a warm smile to encourage her to try her very best at every challenge presented before her to barricade her path.

Silence was not on her side nor did it make any effort to befriend her. This was proven by the manner of her movements, the tapping of her heeled boots against the solid structured floor announcing her presence without her taking the time to notice it. If that alone did little to keep her from being unnoticed, then the fact she struck up conversation with herself would do so.

“Let’s see...where to begin?” Amaya allowed her hands to rest momentarily on the curves of her hips before stretching her arm as high in to the air as she could in order to try to reach for a volume that appeared to catch her attention. Stardust pink eyes widening in curiosity and tiny wings moving in sync to disturb the cloak covering her, she focused her entire being on retrieving the book that enraptured her mind for no reason at all. Something about it called to her like a beacon, tempting her and beckoning her to retrieve it in order to peer in to the knowledge that it held.

A glower spoiled the inquisitiveness of her facial features when it dawned on her that she would not be able to achieve her goal from her current location. Instead of roaming off in order to search for someone who may be in the library – who in his or her right mind would come in the first place? – she persisted to complete the task on her own without any assistance whatsoever. It only took one try to change her mind.

That try, as it would be, happened to come in the form of literally making an effort to scale the bookcase in order to retrieve the tomb that captivated her for no known reason. It was only a bit out of reach, just a few rows, but it was enough to cause a disaster to happen on her part. When she did reach the right shelf to pull it with her, her footing slipped and caused her to topple backwards on to the ground. This itself was of little consequence since it was a short distance to the floor...but, in the process, much to her dismay, more then just one book came with her.

The dust from the six that hit the ground caused her to break out in to a fit of coughing. Rubbing her eyes that swelled in pain due to the dust, it took her a moment for her mind to register an important fact. Four of the books that hit the ground were all right; two of them, however, were so old and untouched that pages littered the ground from the impact.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” Amaya chanted repeatedly in panic, staring at the mess she had caused unintentionally. Her legs gave out underneath her as she slid to the ground in understandable horror. It had been an accident, but the half-angel knew that she had to fix it in some way. The only question that resided in her mind was how.

However, more and more, Demetrio became distracted as his eyes continually flitted to a novel at his side that someone before him had carelessly left there. Demetrio hoped that no one, especially the librarian thought he was “abusing his privileges” in the library. Unfortunately, the temptation was too much as the young Vasquez almost divide into the reading of this new novel.

These champions were truly brave people.... The young mage was soon inraptured by the writing, flipping a page every half a minute, eyes flying over the script. Even though the knights didn't possess any magic, they still managed to drive bandits away nearly as efficiently as the magicians had managed. Demetrio was awed—and there was no doubt about it. Every few minute the healer and amateur battle mage would stop and stare at the same spot on the text, blinking as if he didn't believe what he was reading. Now these were true heroes...no wonder they were entitled 'Champions'.

As he looked up from the book for the eighth time shaking his head, he heard hushed voice at the corner. Demetrio let out a small grin as he nibbled on a small piece of chocolate. So he wasn’t alone tonight was he? Rising from his armchair, the healer strode over, before meeting his bane as a cloud of dust seemed to consume him for a few seconds, revealing only a terrible coughing fit as he saw a girl sitting there, panicking over a destroyed volume. She had a very good reason, thought Demetrio, almost expecting a broom to come, flying out of nowhere and whack both of them on the head.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” the girl chanted repeatedly in panic, staring at the mess she had caused unintentionally. Her legs gave out underneath her as she slid to the ground in understandable horror.

The boy snorted, and shook his head. He sniggered at the thought of an outraged librarian if one of them spotted a book destroying girl mingling through to rows of bookshelves, threatening to destroy one any second. Now that would be amusing. But of course, he had to feel sorry for this young one didn’t he? Manners were everything especially in a library.

"Excellent timing,” said Demetrio applauding softly, a malicious grin upon his lips. “You managed to destroy a novel in record timing while the librarian wasn’t here! I commend your effort. Your only danger now is trying to avoid the old hag’s wrath when she gets back!”

Flicking his wrist, the pages seemed to shuffle around as if some invisible being was handling them, making the mess only worse. In the distance, faint footsteps could be heard.

She didn’t know why it affected her so much. Sitting on the ground would do nothing to fix what she had done, right? All she could do was try to make amends by fixing her mistake. But...

A burning sensation attacked her viciously to leave her with a small whimper escaping her throat. The next minute she was crying, raising her hands to her face to try to hide the tears slipping down her cheeks.

Okay, she would admit she was overreacting a bit. A book was just a book after all, right? Not too much hard could come from damaging the outside cover. That was, except, she had almost done the same thing the last time she visited the library. A warning had been given to her not to allow any harm come to the volumes on their shelves - and she had just lost seven of them.

Still, there was no reason to cry over something like that, was there? Of course not. Unless you happened to be one of the following:

A. Overly sensitive and emotional in the first place.

B. Believing you had ruined the books' life by letting them become harmed.

C. C. Under a lot of stress by your conscious to do better and stop acting like a girl who didn't take her responsibilities seriously.

A good cry sounded pretty appealing to Amaya right than. She rarely cried over something as unusual as letting a book fall. Most people assumed she would cry at the drop of a pin; that wasn't the case at all. She may get teary eyed and look like she was about to cry, but there were only rare occasions were she actually did. Now seemed to be one of them.

IaminsomuchtroubleIaminsomuchtroubleIaminsomuchtroubleIaminsomuch-

[I]"Excellent timing,” A voice of another caught her attention, causing her to immediately raise her gaze after wiping her tear-stained cheeks quickly, “You managed to destroy a novel in record timing while the librarian wasn’t here! I commend your effort. Your only danger now is trying to avoid the old hag’s wrath when she gets back!”

“.…..” All the halfling could do was stare up at the stranger from her fallen position as the mess around her grew worse, leaving her with nothing to say at all. It was a moment later that she found her voice, bowing her head to avert her glazed eyes, “How can you be so mean...?” Amaya inquired as she reached for a few of the pages close enough to her that she could retrieve, skimming through them in order to see what they had written on them, “I have done nothing to inconvenience or harm you in any way. Why do you deem it necessary to find humor in my accident?”

She truly was a sheltered being. Perhaps it was only natural given the circumstances of her life, or maybe that was what made her an easy target. Sighing, she rose to her feet and clutched the closest book to her chest, closing the distance between her and the stranger in a matter of moments. Tilting her head backwards, she stared up at him with a quivering pout forming on her facial features.

“Well?” Amaya inquired in a voice that bordered demanding, “Are you going to at least offer your assistance in helping me? You do realize that the librarian may not notice the difference between who created this mess in the first place. I could always say it was through your fault as well...and I am sure that would burden you far more then me, sir.”

Roleun, lost in the depths of his own mind, was wandering in the expansive Parmamar Library. He found the company of so many books comforting, after all that he'd been through the last couple of days. He picked up volume after endless volume, absorbing the knowledge contained within their fragile pages. He roamed the halls in this way for many hours before he noticed an unfamiliar sound: A young woman crying. "Oh, no... What's happened? He asked himself out loud.

He found a young angel - or maybe another half angel - woman sitting on the ground amidst a jumble of pages, weeping bitterly, and a young man smiling maliciously next to her. The young man was saying something Roleun couldn't hear, and the young angel girl was retaliating sullenly. She was beautiful, and her eyes seemed to beckon to him. He examined them closely. They were a lovely pink, albeit tearstained. He also noticed the faint scent of strawberries and vanilla about her, which he found mesmerizing.

He found himself staring into her eyes, breathing in the soothing scent, and quickly shook his head, blushing. He didn't want to make a bad first impression, especially not to another person with celestial blood in their veins. He got closer and kneeled, picking up some of the scattered pages littering the ground. He smiled gently to her, and cooed in his most comforting voice: "Hey, it'll be alright. I'll help you out with the librarian, she's quick to temper, but I'm sure she'll understand. What happened?" He put a stack of pages on a nearby reading desk, and looked at the young man. "Hey, could you help us out, please? It'll be done quicker if we all work together." He asked in the most social tone he could muster.

It took her by surprise when another entered upon the scene of her unfortunate accident, doing nothing at first to soothe her any. By nature Amaya was a trusting woman who did not find faults with others unless observing them first hand, but it was perfectly understandable that even she felt wary now of this new person after that brief encounter she had with the first. What was wrong with lending an offering hand? Had it been he, the first man, who was in a bind, she would gladly help him out if she believed he needed it.

The gentle tones of this second man soothed her with little difficulty, luring her in to a state of obvious comfort with him almost immediately. For a moment all the young woman could do was stare at him in curiosity to see if he would turn around, make a snide retort, and flash a smirk at her in a way the other had.

He didn’t.

“Thank you!” A smile burst across her expression to leave her brimming with happiness. As not to stand idly by and allow a stranger to clean up her mess, she quickly busied herself with the task of picking up the pages on the floor as well since chances were it would take quite a bit of time to sort through everything. She could always sneak them out and bring them back repaired later...would that be the right thing to do?

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Her facial features morphed in an apologetic manner instead of the bright one that she had moments before. Pushing her cloak to the side a bit in order to grasp a hold of her skirt to curtsey, she introduced herself as politely as she could, “I have been rude. My name is Amaya – thank you very much for your kindness, sir, and let me know if I can repay you in any way.”

A masked man in dark clothes leaned against the bookcase. He watched the trio try and figure out how to fix what the girl had done. He silently looked around. The libarian was no where to be seen but he knew that they had only moments before she walked right through that door, and just seconds to hide the mess. He suddenly was struck with an idea.

He walked towards the group, his dark boots hit the ground makeing loud thuds as he stepped. He stood in between the two males and looked at the scattered papers. "Bingo." He said snatching up some and then he ran to the catalog which the libarian kept behind the desk. Opening the drawers from bottom to top he sifted through them. Smiling he ripped out two pages, shut the drawers and returned to the group. "What the hag does not know will not hurt her. As long as I have these papers the books that were destroied are non existant." he said folding the papers and sticiking them into one of his pockets. "So even if you can't fix the books, it won't be held against you." he said.

So many people...and she didn't know a single one. It certainly was her day when it came to meeting new faces. There was nothing unsettling about any of them - other then the manners of the first - but something did seem strange when the newest man dashed off to retrieve something, coming back moments later only to stuff paper in his pocket.

Almost immediately she felt horrified as his words dawned on her, "I can't do that!" Amaya raised her hands up and down in the air as if banging on something invisible, shaking her head fiercely from side to side, "If I destroyed something, I have to fix it! There is no other just way then that!"

All right, so maybe that was a bit cliche even for her. It was the truth in the end so it was all she could try to get her point acrossed as firmly as possible.

Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, her lowered her hands and stared at the ground. Out of a nervous habit her wings began to flicker with motion, causing her cloak to move though she did not notice it. A moment passed and she looked up again to the newest stranger.

"I am prepared to accept my punishment," Amaya held out her hands with a pleading expression, "So please...don't take those papers. You should not be in trouble because of me by helping."

As the girl looked up, deep puddles of agony and misery flooded her face, yet strangely Demetrio felt nothing but a sense of emptiness inside him. The healer quickly avoided eye contact instead commanding his unseen servant to carefully replace all signs of his existence in the library. Behind his back, the light was extinguished, his books organized into his bag, and parchment collected. It was as if each were consumed by a spirit, the bag floating towards Demetrio’s feet, before he caught it and slung it over one shoulder. Honestly, why didn’t he learn this spell ages ago? His spell was even better at organizing then he ever would be!

“How can you be so mean...?” inquired the girl, her voice dragging Demetrio Vasquez back into reality against his will. As his gaze snapped back to hers, his mind formed a sort of barrier that protected him from the innocence and ignorance this girl contained. What was she? Did she truly believe the world to be full of men and women willing to help you through every hole that life presented to you? It was all nonsense and ignorance of that fact would only drag someone into the doldrums of life. Yet this altercation with one’s own mind was also a sign of quandary weakness, and Demetrio would never tolerate it.

“Ignorance is bliss,” Demetrio Vasquez nonchalantly replied, a simple veracious riddle that would maybe lead to this girl’s downfall. However, this stopgap in time immediately was shredded by a strident voice that penetrated the healer’s sense of concentration.

"Oh, no... What's happened?” a new-comer stated to himself. What was this blasphemy that consumed the world? Was ignorance and unpractical innocence the new “black?” An almost exact carbon copy of the girl had appeared right in front of him, the eyes filled with mesmerizing thoughts. "Hey, it'll be alright. I'll help you out with the librarian, she's quick to temper, but I'm sure she'll understand. What happened?"

Sneering, Demetrio turned away before the same man called out to him, “Hey, could you help us out?” Stopping in his tracks, Demetrio’s stare hardened as his eyes caught a faint light in the distance. So who was this newcomer that was approaching? Maybe the librarian? If so, then Demetrio would need to escape quickly. There were still farmers on the streets willing to do anything for Demetrio in the Estolad Guardhouse for rejecting the local mayor’s daughter’s hand in marriage.

However, as the girl and young man began conversing, Demetrio sensed another presence and the obvious lack of chocking perfume confirmed that it wasn’t just any librarian. As a dark figure strode through, Demetrio saw it rip a few pages from a book, nodding with full understanding. That was such a more pragmatic solution to the problem. The librarian would never be able to punish the group if there wasn’t any evidence left behind?

Unfortunately, the whoosh of wind distracted Demetrio as he deftly side-stepped a broom that would of otherwise left quite a large lump on the young healer’s head. With a gasp, Demetrio looked back only to find the hag of a librarian standing right behind him.

"Hiya, Amaya. M'name's Roleun, nice to meet you too." He said, finishing stacking his papers. "Nah, I don't need anything done, and I like helping people, so no, thanks."He barely noticed the dark shape appear behind him, until he heard the chilling voice's proclaimation of removing the library's records on the two volumes. Roleun gasped. "You don't have to do that! We can still fix these, they're in pretty good shape. It's not like the pages are ripped or anything..."

He looked around quickly, trying to spot the librarian. He shrugged and looked back toward Amaya. "It's alright, I'll take some of the blame, if you want me to. If not, I'll just help out with easing the librarian's temper." He smiled warmly at her. He didn't notice the idle man that was with Amaya before nimbly side step the librarian's trademark broom attack. He smelled the perfume well enough, though. "Ah, there she is! Hey, c'mon, Amaya, you can come here and apolo--" He had to cut off in midsentence as the librarian angrily brandished the broom, ready to swing it at him. "Ehhhmmmm..."

"I can't do that!" exclamed the girl as she realized what Drionis was doing. Drionis merely turned his head as she spoke, Leave it to angels to be noble. he thought. He watched one of the men have an unknown invisible being organize his things. He wanted to ask what the rush was but instead he kept his mouth shut. Little does that girl know but I took more than book records out of that desk. he thought to himself, the white bandages hid his smirking face.

Suddenly the man stepped aside as did another and the handle of the broom the libarian was weilding came crashing down on his shoulder. *CRACK* The sound echoed through the libary as a small break in the broom became clear as it rested on the mans shoulder, his clothes were pitch black on that arm instead of the greying that detailed the rest of his clothes. He turned and glared at the woman and grabbed the broom as she tried to strike him again. Without realizing what he was doing his right arm was now pitch black with shadow, his middle and ring finger were merged to become a four-clawed dragon hand. "You know lady you are really getting on my nerves." The libarian pulled on the broom but his dragon claws dug into it keeping it from budging.

Roleun watched in horror as the shadowy man suddenly grabbed the broom the librarian swung at him with a taloned hand. "Oh, no. None of that, now!" He exclaimed as he reached to the broom and snapped the handle in half. He looked to the librarian beseechingly. "Now, there's no need to be swingin' brooms at people. Calm down before you... Ehm... Get attacked, or something, by someone you tried to... Ehm... Hit." He told her, looking at the newly-discovered Dragon Man, shaking his head at the violence that had broken out. He looked toward the librarian once more and asked her: "Do you know where I could find a book on summoning, perhaps familiars?" She angrily pointed to a book on a nearby shelf, looking frustrated with her broken broom. Roleun went over and grabbed it, tucking it away. "Heehee, I'll borrow that for a while if you don't mind, I'm still in town for a bit." He told her, and she nodded, glaring at the Dragon Man. Roleun looked at Amaya. "Hey, Amaya, nice meeting you and all, but I gotta leave. See you around." He waved and turned to walk away. He yawned, opening the door, breathing in the cool night air. He closed the door behind him and set off to a brisk walk back to his hotel room, not wanting to fly, all the while humming his favorite hymn.