Just the Librarian

Shane Spencer || 298 33 || Chimera Cordial, Articulate, Genuine, Haunted, Guarded Born April 18, 1715 “What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche Roleplay account - I am not affiliated with David in any way. I take credit for no graphics unless specifically stated. All credit goes to their creators

[lost-dylan-reynolds]

Decisions ✧ Dylan & Shane

It was time to make a decision. Several actually and none of them would be easy. Shane had been more than understanding that the work he was doing wasn’t earning him any money, but it didn’t help his guilt. Offering him a place to stay was one thing, but Shane was essentially feeding him as well. He had twenty dollars left and there wasn’t anymore income coming his way anytime soon. After everything Shane had done for him, he was not going to ask for money and he didn’t feel right asking Jonah either. He had refused to tell anyone that he was back. Not his family, not Alanna’s family, not his friends, not his coworkers, not anyone. How was he going to explain how he and his family just suddenly disappeared? It was just too dangerous and he couldn’t risk anyone knowing the truth. However, none of that changed the fact that he needed money and he was tired of feeling like a charity case. As he made his way through the streets of Little Five Points trying to figure out what to do he found himself in front of Logos and headed inside. After ordering his drink and taking a seat he noticed someone looking for place to sit and offered the one next to him. “You can take this seat if you want.”  

[shane-spencer-blog]

The library was incredibly slow today. With all of the kids being on spring break there wasn't much traffic in a place that was used primarily for school work. Since there was another librarian on duty he didn't feel too guilty about taking a long lunch. After picking up some take out and enjoying it in the sun on a bench in Little Five Points he decided that some coffee would go nicely with his mood. Logo's had some of those remarkable frozen drinks that were so tasty, and since it was right down the street he figured it wouldn't be too terrible to stop in. After procuring his drink, he glanced around to see if there was anyone he recognized nearby. Dylan sat at a table alone and before he fully processed his intentions the Chimera was striding over to the man's table. Shane knew that his new house mate felt as if he were accepting charity, it was painfully clear, but he could not express how grateful he was to the human. Allowing the old man to take care of him probably hurt his pride, but it was slowly healing an old wound within the Mythic. "Good afternoon Dylan. I trust you're enjoying the beautiful weather today."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Emily

[emily-mathiesen]

    She let the Mythic take and look over the paper, her hand going back down to her side. She nodded in recognition as he spoke, not particularly interested in chatter about a Librarian not knowing where books were, looking to just quickly get the loan and leave. Her eyes followed him as he left to get the book, taking in details about the man’s appearance and outward behaviour and filing them away. It was more on reflex than on actual interest, but her mind didn’t dwell on it as she smiled back politely and took the book from him. "Thank you." Holding the tome in the curve of her her right arm, she shook her head. "No, that will be all."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Shane nodded automatically as she stated that she needed nothing else. Realizing that he'd handed her the book preemptively he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I do need to see the book one more time. I'm afraid my brain has been running two hundred miles a minute." He attempted to chuckle, but the gesture fell short. In a rare show of frustration with himself he rubbed his face before lifting it back up and attempting to smile at the woman once more. It was obvious to anyone in the know why his mind might be a bit muddled, but he still reprimanded himself internally for being so scatter brained. "Do you have a library card?" He waited patiently for her answer, his hand on the mouse in preparation to click whichever button necessary. The Chimera longed to speak more with this creature, to ask questions about Atlanta and everything that had been going on here for roughly a year now. This was neither the time nor the place, though, and so he held his tongue.

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Colin

[colin-harris-mythos-deactivated]

"That’s alright" he said with a smile, "you gave me help with these right here," he lifted up the books." He thought about his project and how much he could actually say, since it was still ongoing. He knew he wasn’t allowed to talk about the client; but he didn’t see the harm in talking about the building itself. "Well I can tell you that it’s more for local artist and artisans to display their works" he started. "And also a community center, where people can meet up, have meetings and such things. That’s about really all I can say. I don’t know much about how it’s going to look yet." Looking down at the books, "that’s what these are for." 

[shane-spencer-blog]

The answer was vague, and Shane really still had no idea what kind of place it was going to be. Deciding that the man must be under some sort of confidentiality agreement, he decided not to push any further. Feeling as if he had kept the man long enough, he flashed a professional smile and uttered a goodbye. "Well I'm sure you'll find something to spark your creativity. Enjoy the rest of your day." With a quick nod of his head he turned back to his computer to complete the work he'd paused. The library would be closing soon and he still had about an hour's worth of paperwork to go through. With a small sigh he chastised himself internally for the thoughts. A quiet life of books and paperwork was far superior to the alternative.

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Dylan

[lost-dylan-reynolds]

As Shane began to explain what information he would need, Dylan regretted asking. He didn’t have a phone number or an address and he didn’t like the idea of anyone being able to find him, even if it were just about a book. He wondered if he would ever really feel safe again. The thought of having a new permanent address and a phone number again felt very foreign to him still. “Yeah…” He nervously ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I hadn’t really thought this all through. This isn’t a book shop or anything,” he chuckled trying to make it seem like an honest mistake. “I’ll just come back when I’ve got it all together. Sorry to waste your time.” He started to walk away and then turned around once more. “Thanks again Shane.”

[shane-spencer-blog]

With the man's reaction Shane's suspicions were confirmed. There was no doubt in his mind now that this had been one of his fellow prisoners. The compound had housed a few humans, and this had been one of them. Shane's mind began to work in overdrive, trying to find images of faces from the inside. He'd done so well at blocking them out that it took a moment, especially when the beast attempted to stir at the thought of being inside again. Once he'd taken the few seconds to recognize the man and get the beast under control Dylan was about to walk away. With zero tact, he spoke in an effort to stop him. "You were there, too. I remember your face. It took me a moment though. I saw you in the cafeteria area, I believe."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Jo

[josephinekeller]

Jo smiled at him when he told her about Miss Wagner. “Ah, God bless her, she deserves some good years.” She extended her hand in greeting. “Hello Mister Spencer. I’m Jo, though my library card says Josephine, please ignore that.” She put the books onto the counter but rested her hand on top of them. “So, did you just arrive in Atlanta?” she asked curious if he would know what had happened here. “I need to return those,” she said grinning. She had used the books for some additional studying. Poe, Shakespeare, and a book on Calculus; standard books you would read in high school. “And I’m looking for books on psychology, something basic to get started with the subject?”

[shane-spencer-blog]

Shane shook her hand briefly before returning to business. There was something about the way this girl spoke that put him on his guard. He wasn't quite sure whether to fully trust everything she said, or to take it with a grain of salt. Weary of her obvious youth, he smiled politely and nodded in answer to her question. "Alright, that shouldn't be a problem. Let me just scan these in really quickly and then I'll help you with the others." Picking up each book individually he scanned them in. A message popped up with each one in angry red letters. "It appears that these are overdue and you owe a fee of thirty four dollars." Looking back over at her the Chimera studied her briefly. There was little doubt that she couldn't pay judging by her demeanor and age. With a few quick movements of his fingers he overrode the notice and turned back to her with a smile. "It appears my system malfunctioned and gave me a false error, so sorry. This way to the psychology books." He came around the counter and began walking across the room to the small section she required.

[shane-spencer-blog]

What's your least favorite book and why?

I must admit that I have read both the Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey series. They are both so poorly written that I can hardly stand to call them literature.

[shane-spencer-blog]

What's your least favorite thing about yourself and why?

I am least pleased with my inability to redeem my sins of the past. If I could, I would make up for every wrong I've ever done against someone.

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Colin

[colin-harris-mythos-deactivated]

He watched the man plug in his information like a pro. He clearly knew what he was doing and Colin wondered how long he had been a librarian. “Two weeks should be more than enough time” he replied as he explained their policy. In two weeks was when his final pitch was due to the client anyway. He thought about his question for a while before answering. “It’s a cultural center,” he said. That was all he really could say as he had been toying around with so many different ideas for weeks about what it would look like. “That’s about all I can really say about it though. The rest is still up here.” he smiled and pointed to his head. “Got any suggestions?”

[shane-spencer-blog]

A cultural center sounded interesting, though for what kind of culture he wasn’t sure. In the long years that Shane had been around he’d seen many things built and called fancy names. ‘Cultural centers’ could be wonderful places, beneficial to society and highly education. Then again, the words could also be used to cover up something dreadful and make it sound enticing. “Ideas for architecture? I’m afraid not, I’m sorry. Creation has never really been a strong suit of mine. Though, if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of cultural center do you mean? It sounds very interesting, but I’m a little unclear as to the actual type of place you mean this building to be.”

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Dylan

[lost-dylan-reynolds]

"You too." He nodded and tried to manage a smile. He wondered if this man had also been in the camp given he was new to the area, but he certainly wasn’t going to ask. A part of him was curious, it would put things in perspective at least. How many had stayed, how they were doing, what they were doing, he could use some advice on what to do next himself. "Um no…" He hadn’t even thought of that and he wondered if he could set one up. He didn’t have an address or anything yet. "But uh, I’m still…Well…What do you need to set it up?" He really hadn’t thought this through, maybe he’d have to come back. 

[shane-spencer-blog]

The longer he watched this human, the more he began to suspect that they had indeed been imprisoned together. At the mention of setting up a library card his face fell and he almost looked confused, or perhaps worried. Smiling kindly, he listed off the information he would need to create a library card. “I need a full name, a phone number where you can be easily reached, and an address. We have a two week policy, so if book are overdue we need to be able to find you.” Shane watched the man closely as he spoke, wondering how he would react to the need for an address. It seemed that quite a few of the people who’d escaped the camp hadn’t quite found a permanent residence. He had been lucky enough to snag a two bedroom apartment and a job within the city, but quite a few people hadn’t been as lucky.

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Lily

[lily-hawthorne]

Lily narrowed her eyes at his hesitation, another probing question quickly coming to mind. However, it wasn’t her nature to pry - as much as she wanted to in this situation. “I see,” she nodded, giving him a smile despite the concern she had about his answer. “I’ve only been here a few months myself. I work for the medical examiner’s office.”  She held out her hand, polite and cordial as he introduced himself. “Please just call me Lily. Dr. Hawthorne is incredibly stuffy. Do you enjoy your work here at the library?” 

[shane-spencer-blog]

He placed his hand firmly in her grasp, squeezing slightly in favor of an actual shake before releasing her. “It is an absolute pleasure to meet you Lily.” Her follow up question was not the one he expected. He appreciated that she wasn’t prying, but he could tell from the look she’d given him that she had at least a suspicion of why his answer had been so vague. Honestly Shane thought he might prefer for her to ask. Eventually he would have to grow accustomed to answering the difficult questions about his recent history. Though, if he was lucky, he would never have to reveal much about his past. If only he had been a Leprechaun… “I do, actually. Being around so many books is calming for me. I’m also a big fan of organization, so the Dewey Decimal system helps me to turn off my mind and become lost in the menial task of putting everything in its proper place. What do you do for the medical examiner’s office? I assume you’re somewhat of a coroner?”

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Emma

[the-emma-scott]

She smiled at him and shook her head, “No worries. You weren’t rude at all. It’s nice to meet you Mr. Spencer.” Emma waited patiently as he entered her information and then bit her lip, “Uh, I don’t have one right at the moment….” She titled her head, “Is it possible for me to come back later when I have one then? Or can I not check out the book then?” She hadn’t really gotten around to much since being released, it had been a few days but there hadn’t been much time for it all.

[shane-spencer-blog]

It was easy enough for him to understand her lack of cell phone. Having been locked up for so long, getting one when he got out was like a luxury he didn't deserve. The weight of it felt strange in his pocket. It had become unfamiliar to have pockets at all, much less the weight of something in them. If she'd been able to see him he would have plastered a smile on his face to seem at ease, but since she was not he used that as an advantage and merely put the smile in his voice. "That's quite alright. I'll just leave it blank for now and when you get a phone you can come back so that we'll be able to plug it in. Just make sure to have your book back on time. We have a two week limit at this library. That's why we need phone numbers, to call people who are overdue."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Colin

[colin-harris-mythos-deactivated]

He looked down at the book and back up to the man as he spoke. “No, I don’t,” he replied. The process of getting one seemed easy enough and it was more than likely he would be back again. If not for more architecture books, then ones just for reading. He gave the man the information he needed and then asked, “When will you be wanting this back then?”

[shane-spencer-blog]

As his contact information was provided Shane plugged it into the computer with practiced ease. He watched the screen to ensure that his fingers landed in the proper places, even knowing that they wouldn't miss their target. After scanning the card to register it with the information and then scanning the book to check it out in this man's name, he slid them both across the counter and smiled. "There's a two week policy here. If you need it longer than that you may come back and have it renewed for another two weeks, or if you like, you can call and do it over the phone. So long as you have your card number I can do it that way." Curiosity and the desire for conversation with one of his own overcame his usual courtesy to get people away from checkout as quickly as possible. "What are you building?"

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Dylan

[lost-dylan-reynolds]

He followed the other hoping that he would be able to show him something to help get his mind off of things. He wondered if he would be able to focus enough to read anything, but he knew he had to try. When they finally arrived he looked over the area. “Thanks, this is kinda what I was thinking.” It would just allow him to browse and hopefully find something that caught his eye. He searched through the titles, but everything seemed to be about death and murder. Sure everyone loves a good murder mystery, but he couldn’t handle anything like that right now. So he chose a collection of funny stories instead and headed to the front. “I think I’m gonna go with this. I’m Dylan by the way. Just got to town.” He placed the book on the counter and held out his man for the other to shake. Maybe it was an odd thing to do in a library, but he was new to the area and it would help him to know people in Atlanta.

[shane-spencer-blog]

It didn't take long for the human man to arrive at the counter with a book. The content of his reading material almost made the Chimera smile. It was nice to see someone checking out a book that wasn't all about death and tragedy. He was about to go into his spiel when the man held out a hand and offered his name. Not wanting to be rude, he bowed his head slightly and gave the hand a firm shake. "Shane Spencer, nice to meet you. I also am new to Atlanta." It was obvious that not every person who was new to the city would have been locked up in the camps, but every time he met someone who had also recently moved here he couldn't help but wonder if they'd been on the inside, too. "Do you have a library card? If not I can set you up really quickly. You'll need one to take the book out of the building."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Flynn

[leprockaun]

After staring at the empty bookshelf/nightstand combo for the past month, Flynn had decided it might be time to get some new reading material. Trouble was, how did you decide which books you wanted before you bought them? It had taken him far longer to come to the obvious conclusion than he was comfortable admitting, and he found himself at the Fulton County Library shortly afterward. Looking up at the cheerful greeting, he was surprised to see yet another new Mythic looking back at him. Certainly coming out of the woodwork these days, he thought as he returned the older man’s smile. “Well, That all depends. I’ve been out of the loop for a few years, and I’m looking for something to get me back into literature. Got anything Vonnegut-y?”

[shane-spencer-blog]

A Leprechaun was generally an amusing treat. They seemed to be everywhere, and Shane usually enjoyed their company. Flashing the man a friendly smile, he nodded his head. "I've had to play some catch up myself, but I think I have just the thing for you." As he came around the counter he motioned for the man to follow and took a brisk walk to a section near the desk. Trailing a nimble finger along the spines before him, he browsed until he found what he was looking for. "Ah, here it is, Jack Vance's novel The Dying Earth. Have you ever read him? He's a similar style to Vonnegut, compared to him in many different areas of literature."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Emily

[emily-mathiesen]

     Had work not called earlier that morning about Emily’s assistant leaving Coleman and Jacobson, the Valkyrie would not have come into town. As it was however, she’d had to make the trip to fill in urgent paperwork that wouldn’t wait until she returned after her pre-booked time off. Her mental state had shifted, the fury bowing to the combined lawyer-soldier attitude that took control. Since she had to head into town anyway, she had decided to cross off a few tasks. One was to stop at the library to acquire a temporary copy of an expensive law book to use, whilst the replacement order for her newly alcohol-soaked copy went through. She nodded at the librarian as he greeted her and approached him taking a piece of paper from her bag. 

         ”I am looking for this,” she held out the neat hand written note, which detailed all the information about the text, "for short term loan."

[shane-spencer-blog]

Shane reached out and took the piece of paper that was offered to him. He remembered seeing the book on their shipment lists, but was uncertain as to where it had been relocated. "Give me just a moment please, and I'll look this up in our computer. I know we have it, I'm just uncertain as to where it's gone." He smiled up at her quickly before turning back to the machine. Fingers flying over keys, he located it without much trouble and nodded at the screen quickly before moving around the counter. "Just a moment please." After hurrying off it didn't take him long to find the volume and he brought it back in a swift manner. Handing it over to her with a smile, he began to wonder just how many rare Mythics were in Atlanta. This was the third he'd encountered, and he knew that he wasn't a common species himself. "May I help you with anything else Miss?"

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Colin

[colin-harris-mythos-deactivated]

He stood in front of a shelf that was packed with books. If he was going to find what he needed; this was definitely the place. “Thanks, mate. I’ll let you know if I need anything” he said back to man before looking back to the books, perusing their titles, and grabbing a few off the shelf. He had been in the library for a few hours; and had looked through maybe a dozen books, but he had found what he wanted. It was a book about more modern architecture but with a classic cool to it; and it was exactly what he needed. He picked himself up off the floor, put the unused books on the cart at the end, and walked back up to the front. “Is it all possible for me to take this one with me?” he asked, holding up the book he wanted. 

[shane-spencer-blog]

Several hours later the pile of paperwork had been mostly completed with several interruptions from patrons checking out and returning books. He had nearly forgotten the Canaima in the architecture section when the man appeared at the desk. Looking up from his paperwork he smiled and nodded. "Of course, do you have a library card? If not I can get you signed up in about a minute and you can be on your way. All I'll need is a name, address, and phone number to get you in the system." He smiled pleasantly, flipping over the confidential paper that was on top. There was really nothing of interest in the stack, but numbers were to be kept from the eyes of the public.

[shane-spencer-blog]

Bittersweet Freedom || Shane & Lily

[lily-hawthorne]

She felt for the man. Lily didn’t know what she could do if all her books were lost; she had a lifetime of memories in those books…some even dating back centuries. The Sphinx was pulled from her thoughts by his words, and she smiled politely, nodding her head in response. “I would like that very much. Thank you. Friday would work just fine.”  It was mostly a personal request anyway, so she wasn’t on any sort of timetable. “I’m Dr. Lily Hawthorne. Are you new in town? I’ve been to this library a hundred times recently. I’m sure I would have remembered you.” 

[shane-spencer-blog]

With a quick grin thrown in her direction and a swift nod, he turned back to his computer and began pressing the necessary buttons. As she questioned him the Chimera's hands stilled over the keys momentarily. It was a question to which he'd soon grow accustomed. Until that happened, though, he was still a bit uncomfortable when it was asked. Turning to smile at her, he nodded slowly and searched for a proper response. If she had been around for a while she was bound to know all that had been happening, and his hesitation was probably setting off her senses as to why he was here. "Yes, relatively new. I've been in Atlanta for a few months now, but I've only just recently moved into the city and begun working here. Shane Spencer, it's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Hawthorne."