Pest Problem | Drew & Athena
The Archive was a fascinating place. Athena didn’t stop by all too often - though it was handy on the occasion that her parents’ hunter journals and the documents that they had around the house didn’t quite suffice. Besides, though she was nothing quite like her brother when it came to a love of history, she would have been entirely lying to herself if she denied any curiosity about history.
Thankfully, nothing in the store was setting off her senses today. On occasion, she’d wander in and feel something rush through her and because getting rid of a supernatural creature in a supernatural bookstore was difficult to explain. Though there was no way that she’d never run into another hunter in the store. Still - it was nice to peruse and see what sorts of information she could track down. She didn’t buy every book but she knew that she could easily blend in, especially if she put on a simple sweater and dress and curl up in one of the corners, paging through books, delighting in the firsthand accounts that some provided, scribbling quick and secret notes into the back of her chemistry notebook.
Today she was only there for browsing. She didn’t have anything in particular in mind to get that day, and so up and down the aisles she went, occasionally pulling out a book before reshelving it. Apparently her back-and-forth behavior had attracted the notice of one of the people who worked in the shop, Athena mused as she turned around at the woman’s question. “Just browsing.” She grinned. “There’s something so wonderful and calming about bookshops, don’t you think?” She paused for a moment, running her fingers through the ends of her hair. “I mean, duh, you work here, right? I think I saw you shelving some books earlier.” She bit her lip for a moment. “Actually, you can. I’d love to see any recent acquisitions you’ve got, if you don’t mind? Maybe something people have brought in. I’m itching to read more about our town’s history.”
Was she doing research? As far as Drew knew hunters didn’t often stray for from within their own community of resources when it came to seeking out knowledge pertaining to their work. Information would be passed down through generations, if you were so fortunate that your parents survived long enough to pass it all onto you, which presumably not all young hunters were. Perhaps that was what led her here, a need to fill in the gaps.Â
Whatever the case it wasn’t really any of Drew’s business, as long as she wasn’t here looking to cause trouble. The Archive thrived mostly because of the supernatural community here in town so she was generally wary of any hunters who visited. People trusted this place to be safe, and honestly Drew wasn’t afraid to enforce that. A lot of people who came here were repeat clients of her own side business, so making an enemy of them here wasn’t really smart for her.
It didn’t sit super well with her at first that the girl said she was just here for browsing, but Drew relaxed a little when she managed to pick out a topic she was interested in. “They’re more calming when you don’t work here.” She shrugs, “but sure, we keep new aqusitions toward the front.” Drew tips her head as she starts walking, indicating for the other to follow. They reach a shelving unit at the front of the store, which is half as tall as most the others and full. Drew keeps new additions here about a week or so, depending how much stuff they’re getting in, before finding it space in the back. “Boring town history here.” She gestures towards a row filled with mostly new looking books, “and all the ooksy spooky myths and legends stuff-” She points to a row that’s got a little more character to it, some of the books already old enough to be falling apart a bit, “here. If you have any super specific interests I can check our system to give you an accurate recomendation, or just leave you to browse.”
