RP:Cold as ice, Black as sin

The Black Library

Emilia was the last name that would roll off any tongue in Hollow when speaking about those counted in the darkly aligned citizens, as such her presence sitting within the Black Library of Valkrin was out of the usual like a white rose growing in a pile of ashes. At a table pushed off to the back corner beneath a series of lit candle lights the Genasi sat with legs criss crossed on the chair though the only visible part of the child sized woman was the wild mass of curls that grew from the top of her head hanging over the back of the chair to nearly the floor. Laid out across the table a series of books of various sizes, colors, and languages. Mixed in with the old books was an open journal with personal notes sketched onto the newer looking pages, a faded green colored mug filled with an herbal smelling drink, a handful of ink bottles, and quills. Staring at the open pages before her the snow white fleshed woman let out a small groan, slight frustration at the lack of connection between the material before her. Leaning forward the Genasi reached with her glossy black hand that glistened in the candlelight to flip a few pages forward in one book before turning a few pages back in another without touching the middle book of the three open ones sitting at random stacked heights. Black fingers held one page at the bottom corner as those ice-blue eyes scanned over contents, fingers debating flipping it to the next page. Exhaling a breath of frosty air the Genasi flipped the page over with another grunt of frustration letting the page flutter down on its own before picking up her mug and settling back into the chair. Lifting the drink up the healer glared at the books while taking a long slow drink of the herbal liquid.

Inversely, Langley was becoming a regular in this place of knowledge; his presence steadily becoming as familiar to the curators of the library as any of the books that gathered dust on its ancient shelves. There was much to be gleaned from those tomes if one had the patience to seek it out and a cunning enough eye to piece seemingly unrelated details together. That, after all, was the real trick to accruing knowledge; linking chains that had not yet been linked together until the result was something powerful indeed. Something other than old pages and fading scrolls had caught Langley's attention as he made his usual visit to the library though, this pale creature pouring over books. She was not a usual patron and as he admired her pallid form from behind his glasses, his curiosity was further peaked. Her soul was as cold as death itself, perhaps even colder. It was strangely beautiful to him, enticing him to approach her and ignore his usual quest for ancient forgotten secrets in favor of exploring her mystery instead. "Have you considered that mayhaps, whatever it is that you are searching for is not to be found here?" He said calmly as he stepped towards her, his accent smooth and just a bit twangy as he spoke those words. "Frustration only slows the learning process, my dear. Perhaps I can be of assistance instead?"

Emilia shifted ever slightly in her chair to turn about and face that voice that was not familiar to the Genasi from the library staff since her visit. Ice-blue gaze landed upon the stranger with a curious look studying him over from head to toe, then back up slowly until her sights landed directly with his. The small woman was not much more than snow colored flesh pulled snugly over her bony frame with dashes of color over her otherwise colorless complexion; faint silver freckles upon her face, frosted death blue lips, those icy eyes, and a glossy black ice right hand. A mystery of a creature sitting before him dressed in a snug corset over a dark blue blouse with pants of leather clinging tightly to short legs with bare feet. Someone that did not belong sitting in the dark staring at books of darkness. “Books written in all different languages with no codex to translate them from one to the other slows the learning process. Not everyone is skilled in reading every writing in the land. Why does it interest you in what I am reading?” More curious than the Genasi in the Black Library was the newest visitor taking interest in her over the vast ancient knowledge kept upon the shelves.

Langley was not the sort to judge a book by its cover or a person by the way that they carried themselves. To him, every person had the potential for intrigue and usefulness. She was a curiosity that he absolutely needed to explore. Her soul was winter, her flesh was the snow and her eyes were the wind. And Langley, he was fascinated. He took it upon himself to sit down at her table, his hands folding against each other on top of that table. "What if it were that someone could give your eyes the ability to understand every language, even the ones that you did not speak?" He asked, casual as could be. He offered her a small smile, just a slight tugging at the corners of his lips, as he stated at her from behind his red lensed glasses.

Emilia watched with almost a glare hidden in those icy eyes as he bared to take a seat at her table without asking her. The mug she clutched in her hands freezing over in a thin layer of ice as her emotion slid from her hands and washed over the ceramic object she held tightly. Setting it down on the table, all liquid inside frozen solid, the Genasi leaned forward toward the sitting man with the glasses on inside a dark room, "No." The word came off harsh with a sharp chill of the winter storm that raged inside her tiny body. Settling back into her chair the Genasi folded her arms over her chest while her near death stare never left him, "I don't take deals from strangers, especially on things I have no interest in. Why would I want to be able to read anything? That would defeat the whole purpose of learning."

If Langley was taken aback or dissuaded at all by the negativity of this girl's reaction, he certainly did well to not show it. The smile upon his lips never faded and his posture did not sink in the slightest. There was a logic to her words even if it was not one that he agreed with. If it were him, he would want infinite knowledge without the trouble of having to learn it all himself. But, he could not deny that there was a certain joy the uncovering the answer to some enigma that had been plaguing him. He leaned back a bit and gave a small shrug, hands raising up in front of him to pantomime the act of giving up on that particular subject. "Fair enough, sweetheart. You cannot blame an ol' sinner for trying." He replied with a laugh, a light-hearted chuckle to dispell all that negativity. "And I've heard it said that strangers are only friends you haven't met yet. To that end, I am Gerald Lawrence Langley and you may call me Langley. Everyone does."

Emilia rolled her eyes when he dared to call her 'sweetheart' like she was some kind of teenage girl looking for a good time. Shifting her weight in her seat, the tiny woman anything but intimidating unless one was afraid of a underweight looking lady, Em refocused her attention on the stranger now known as Langley. "Langley? If that is your desire, then so be it. I am Emilia, not what everyone else calls me, but that is what you may call me." He wasn't winning over her frozen heart anytime soon. The woman was just as he noted it from first glance, winter turned into a creature with a pretty face and a terrible mouth. Others would argue differently claiming she truly was a sweetheart, but those were the people that had earned seeing her sweetside. A charming smile flashed on those blue lips, "Tell me, Deary, what is a gentleman like you doing in a place like this?"

Winning hearts was not quite the game that Langley was after. He was also fully aware that appearances were not always all that they cracked up to be. His own existence was a dichotomy of his own creation, a ruse to comfort and disarm. Anyone who saw his true nature knew full well that Langley was more monster than man. "Well now, Emilia. That is a fantastic question." Langley hummed, his tone still dripping with amusement. "What are any of us doing anywhere? Maybe I've come to Vailkrin because I admire this place. Maybe I've given up on fighting entropy and I've decided to surround myself in the decay that eventually comes for us all." There was a bit of that darker nature coming forth in the form of a bit of dry black humor. He shrugged again and adjusted his glasses needlessly, shifting them with a finger even though they had not slipped down. "Or much more likely, I've come here seeking the same font of knowledge that you presently pour over. Tragically, these lands are lacking in good libraries and I personally enjoy a good book."

Emilia gave a laugh, a sound like ice clinking against a glass with a gentle tap almost like a fairy, at his responses. Part of the Genasi did not buy his story, yet for better or worse the woman wasn't a complete monster and allowed a fraction of his words to be acceptable. "These lands house a good number of libraries for good books if you know where you are going. The trick is you cannot want to scape goat around to find them. However, if you find this Library a place to come to simply read a book then I call your bluff. I know what the shelves here are home too and none of them are light story material for a simple book reading. So, if you would like to answer again, be my guest or take your leave from my table. You have indeed wasted enough of my time," a harsh reply from the ever frozen woman. It was that part of her that didn't believe the man's story that was taking charge. The Genasi had encounter one too many curious a creature in her time, especially in dark secluded places like this that were out to put her in a cage to either study for some strange purpose, to try and sell for the worth of her oddity, or for a number of other reasons. Emi was not too trusting of this stranger and his motives.

Langley stood himself up, adjusting his tie and the cuffs of his sleeves mostly out of habit. He thought Larewen was moody but it seemed that Emilia was quite determined to steal that distinction away from the vampress, a quality that Langley might have been inclined to explore a bit further; poking and proding to see how far this frigid woman could be pushed. But he was a busy man with much on his plate and could not waste time with idle amusements. He would indulge his obligations to Delisha once things were fully set in motion. "Ah but my dear, why ruin the surprise?" Langley chuckled, tilting his glasses down to regard her with his reptillian gave without the red filter that his glasses casted over everything. "One must never show their full hand until it is time to make a play. That tidbit of advice is yours, free of charge. He gaurded his secrets carefully and would not reveal them now. Not yet. It was far too soon. With that, he gave her a tip of his bowler as his other hand flicked its wrists towards her: a motion that sent his card fluttering to the table, a black bit of thick parchment with the words "Gerald Lawrence Langley, Purveyor" written in red upon it. "Should you ever need anything. And I do mean anything... look me up, darling." And with that said, Langley spun on his heels and began to saunter off.

Emilia would listen to his marked words of advice, but say nothing in reply to them. However, she would carefully watch every move that this Langley fellow made as he got up from the table to start his exit. Upon recieving his card the Genasi flipped it over in her hand a time or two as she pretended to take interest in it without having much heart to be truly interested in it. Watching him go the healer shook her head slowly sending a wave of curls falling into her face, "Langley as it were I highly doubt you will be finding me in need of anything from something like yourself. However, should you find yourself in need of a mending I am not too hard to find around the land. Almost everyone knows a way back to me when I am mentioned, comes with being a co-leader to the Healer's Guild. Easily found and hard to remain hidden for long. Take care least your next attempt at swaying a person gets you a broken nose. Toodles." Her reply harsh, but half inviting should he find himself injuried during his dealings.