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and here's the completed fic for all of you who like sitting down with the whole thing at once. enjoy! 😊

Water From a Stone

summary: Ateya is just looking for something to wake up her boring life. Little does she know, her life will never be the same again... 15k words, Rated PG-13, No CWs. Gargoyle!sneeze, Trying not to sneeze, Making someone sneeze, Cold sneezes, Nose touching, Snout rubs, Helping someone stop a sneeze, Destructive!sneeze, NB sneezing

pt i

pt ii

pt iii

completed work

The city of Praglyn was beautiful, and older than the gods. Worn cobble streets still predominated, although some of the major thoroughfares had been traded for asphalt in recent years. Praglyn was alive with such juxtopositions.

Historic stone churches bedecked with enormous glass windows sat blocks away from shiny, metallic new centers for business. The heritage theater, all bricks and carved, ornate pilasters, shared a block with a chain hamburger joint, one of the ones with a claustrophobic plastic playplace in the back and somehow never enough people on staff to satisfy the ever-busy rush of people through its doors, in from the city's ever-lively streets.

Urban exploration was abundant here, but it wasn't any of the abandoned, moss-eaten parking garages or shuttered storefront-office-apartment buildings turned pigeon hotels that Ateya was most interested in exploring on this particular evening—or breaking into, as the case may be.

Dominating the end of a block in one of the city's more historic districts loomed an enormous library. It was privately owned, but it was known that for the right price, its curator would sometimes allow the lucky visitor in to peruse its stacks. Those visitors were often academics, researchers and the like, and the price of entry was often some addition to the library's massive collection, be it some intriguing new research publication or some rare ancient text.

Ateya had no such texts.

All the same, she desperately wanted to see inside, and had wanted to for some years now. The place was grand enough to be imposing and yet it was shrouded in secrecy. It taunted her every time she walked by it, which was near every day with her workplace being in the same district. She could scarcely imagine what it must be like within the library's giant wooden double doors. And it wasn't as if Ateya didn't like books.

Of course those big front doors wouldn't be Ateya's point of entry. After visiting hours they were locked, and it didn't seem like they opened again until morning.

But there were windows along the sides and back of the wedge-shaped building, some six or seven feet off the ground. Too high to see in, and too low to be second-story. Just high enough to climb into, if Ateya could mount the irregular shape of the building's bricks in the alleyway along the library's north side, in the back.

It wasn't the best day, or night as it were, to attempt such a feat. It was spitting down rain, and had been on and off for days. The stone of the building was cold and wet, and Ateya's hair kept dripping in her face. It really would have been wiser to wait until the weather dried out and the going was less treacherous. But Ateya was feeling eager, and restless, and she'd finally made up her mind to get a real look at the place, so here she was, grappling with wet bricks and sniffling, frozen fingertips prying open a window that was likely installed before she was even born.

Old as it was, and not meant to be opened from the outdoors, the window kept sticking and was difficult to move, but Ateya finally managed to budge it just far enough to slip through sideways, hang down from the sill, and drop the remaining two or three feet to the floor.

The hallway she landed in was bare, but stately. Marble floor, stone chair rail, ornately carved pilasters throughout, and well lit with a series of recess lighting along the high ceiling. Having dropped in, Ateya wasn't able to close the window she'd entered through, but despite the chill, damp evening air blowing in, and despite the prevalence of stone in the decor, the library was warm and comfortable. The entire place smelled of books.

Glancing about quietly, it seemed the hall went on for some ways to either side, with stairs upward at the end of the hall to her left, and stairs downward or an opening to another first level hallway to her right. Not wanting to linger on the first level, or potentially draw nearer any lobbies or front desks, Ateya turned left, and began quietly making her way up the steps.

The stair landing opened onto a catwalk that stretched on around the entire second level and overlooked the main lobby. Not ideal for evading detection... There was a spiral stair at the end, but getting to it and even climbing it would put her in plain view of anyone on the floor below, not to mention it looked to be metal and would certainly not be very quiet to climb in an echoing space like this, even if Ateya was as lightfooted as she could be.

The hall was lined with high arched doorways, though. If she was sneaky enough she might be able to hide out in one, snoop around for a bit, and maybe hop from one room to the next once the lights actually went out in the place.

It was strange that they were still on, actually. But then, it wasn't too long after hours. Maybe somebody was working late?

Hopefully they weren't working in the first room on the left...

Empty.

Ateya breathed a sigh of relief, a wave of giddiness close on its heels. Ah the thrills of breaking and entry. Technically, just entry this time, she hadn't actually broken anything...

She mused over this as she surveyed the contents of the room. Stately, like the hall she'd landed in, but not unwelcoming. Around a low coffee table, with plenty of space for comfort, there was a large, ornate, light green sofa and two matching chairs, each with a side table of their own, and tiffany lamps on each side table. The walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with dark wooden bookshelves save for a small fireplace across from the door, and free-standing shelves filled the far end of the room. The floor featured a nice, ornate throw rug.

All the shelves Ateya could see were near completely full of books, which she supposed made a sort of sense. From what she knew, this wasn't the sort of library people borrowed from. All of the books in it were for on-site use only.

Curious about what kind of books the room she'd landed in held, and needing to kill some time until the lights went off (they had to turn off at some point, right?), Ateya went to search through some of the free-standing shelves, away from the door.

She hadn't yet been able to piece together a theme amongst the titles, other than it being a non-fiction area of some kind, when she heard the softest fluttering sound behind her. It might have been a piece of paper falling to the ground on the light breeze she felt blow strangely past despite the room's distance from the window she'd crept in from.

“You shouldn't be here.”

Ateya jumped, nearly dropping the book she was holding at the sound of a dark, resonant voice close behind her. She tripped over herself and fell trying to back away when she saw its source.

Looming over her as she attempted and failed to scamper backwards across the floor was a huge creature of some kind. The way their form obscured the light as they entered the aisle shrouded them in shadow and made it hard to tell what they were beyond that, other than large, and imposing, and advancing on her slowly.

The creature reached for her, and she whimpered and flinched away.

“I don't want to hurt you. Get up. It's time to go,” they said.

Ateya remained frozen in fear, braced for some kind of blow or swipe. When none came, she slowly opened her eyes. The creature's large hand remained extended towards her. She blinked at it, shaking.

“You're... helping me up?” she asked.

“You fell,” they replied simply. Ateya stared at their hand in disbelief. She wasn't sure she could feel her legs anymore from the sheer panic that had flooded her system.

“I can carry you out, if you prefer,” the figure said.

“No,” she mumbled, shaking her head and shakily getting to her feet on her own, not wanting to take the hand of something so unknown and so much larger than her.

Now that her eyes had begun to adjust to the dim light, she started to be able to make out the beast's features.

They were predominantly animalistic, but not of any one type of animal in particular. Their nose resembled that of a bat, but the snout it belonged to was more like a boar's snout. So were the creature's legs, their ears, and their short mane of hair. They had multiple short horns like a goat would, and a long, spade-tipped tail like a devil. Giant bat-like wings sprouted from their shoulder blades. The rest of them, it seemed, was vaguely humanoid and extremely well-muscled, and... it wasn't a trick of the light, they were completely slate grey from tip to tail.

She'd seen them before, she realized. Just never up close.

“You're a lot larger than you look from the street,” she said.

“I imagine that to be true,” the gargoyle replied, before swiftly moving on. “Did you take anything?”

“No,” Ateya said.

Now that she could see them, she couldn't stop staring. She watched their face move when they spoke. They were surprisingly expressive for a creature made of stone. The expression they bore now was a stern one, all heavy brow and set jaw. The way their nostrils flared whenever they spoke made them look much angrier than their behavior would lead someone to believe.

“The book you were holding when I came in?” they prompted.

“Dropped it,” she said, pointing vaguely at the floor behind them.

Eyeing her suspiciously all the while, the gargoyle stooped with startling gracefulness to pick the book up and reshelve it. They gave one, single, profoundly wet sniffle as they did so, the sound snorting in its insistency.

Ateya blinked, and tilted her head. That was odd. Maybe they weren't actually all that angry. Their snout could just be bothering them. She wouldn't have expected that a gargoyle could be affected by something like that.

“Anything else?” they asked her. She shook her head.

“Good,” they said, “Then I won't find anything when I search you for stolen books.”

Ateya took another step or two backwards, shaking her head.

“I didn't take anything,” she said.

“My boss would be greatly disappointed in me if I took everyone at their word,” they said, grasping her arm in a manner that could only be described as immovable. Not tight, not even painful, but a living stone manacle closed around her forearm and would not let her go. She struggled against them.

“Hey! I said I didn't take anything!” she protested, trying to tug herself free as they reached to try and start patting down her sides. Before she could think about whether it might really hurt, Ateya reached up and flicked hard at the center of their nose.

The good news was that it didn't hurt. The gargoyle's flesh was surprisingly pliant, if tough and rough textured. It wasn't like flicking solid rock. What did hurt, a little, was their grip tightening slightly around her arm as their eyes fluttered shut, their nostrils now pulsing and flaring restlessly with their breath.

“Hhuh...! hhuH...!”

There was a sound of rushing water and they looked straight up, the wrist of their other hand coming up to press against the end of their snout. They clumsily started backing blindly and urgently to the door, snorting and panting all the while and dragging a protesting Ateya along with them. A shelf or two may have gotten bumped and fallen over in the process, and as their snorting became heavier and even more urgent, they backed clear into the doorway on their way out through it.

Their strength broke on a desperate, gasping inhale as soon as they made the catwalk, and they threw themself at the railing to release a desperate—

“HUAAAEGH'SHIEWHH!!”

—over the side. Ateya's eyes widened at the torrent of water that flooded forth from their snout, cascading down to the marble floor of the lobby below.

“Geez!” she exclaimed, flinching back. The gargoyle's eyes remained closed, and they snuffled aqueously, their breaths still labored and uncertain.

“hhuh- hh! H'YAAASHHUE!!”

They lurched forward again with another resounding sneeze, another deluge pouring from their snout as they did so. They snuffled again, rubbing at the end of their snout with their wrist.

“Why would you do that?” they asked, just as another voice rose up from beyond the lobby below.

“Ava? What the devil are you doing up there? I thought I told you I didn't want you patrolling while—Oh hello... Who do we have here?”

A tall, thin man with neat waves of bright red hair stepped out from the hallway at the back of the lobby. He wore a very fancy red and gold waistcoat, and small, thin gold wire spectacles perched atop his prominent, bridgey nose. As he stepped into view and spotted Ateya his eyes narrowed irritably.

“An uninvited guest, boss. I was just checking her over before showing her out,” the gargoyle, Ava, said. The bespectacled man continued squinting, and tilted his head accusingly.

“It seems like you were just sneezing all over my nice marble floor. I trust you didn't get any on the shelves?” he said.

Ava made a small noise somewhere between a snort and a grunt, his snout giving a twitch. They looked almost self-conscious for a moment. It was a strange look to see cross the features of something so stony and large.

“No, I... The shelves are dry,” they said. “I may just need to right some of them. They... tipped over.”

The man's eyes alit with a sudden temper at this information.

“They what?” he hissed, one hand coming to pinch the space between his eyes.

Ava remained absolutely silent while his boss seethed on the level below.

“And the books? Were any of them damaged? Or haven't you checked?” said the man.

“It just happened,” they said.

The man took an exceedingly deep breath and swallowed before letting it out and letting his hand drop to his side. He turned his gaze to Ateya then.

“And I suppose you had nothing to do with this?” he accused.

“What!? I was just-??? They grabbed me– I was just– I was trying to get away,” she said.

Ava's boss crossed his arms and glared at her nastily.

“And you would not have had to try to get away if you had come during regular business hours and paid the requisite entry fee, now would you? What exactly did you do?” he said.

Without breaking eye contact, she demonstrated, quickly slipping her hand up and flicking again at Ava's nose before they could pull away.

The effect was immediate this time, their eyes slamming shut as they wrenched aside with a streaming—

“hAAUH'SHHOO!!”

—that their boss narrowly dodged below, visibly shivering when some of the water splashed back at him on impact with the floor.

“Saints alive, Ava, that's cold!” he admonished.

“Sorry, boss. -snfgh!-” Ava snuffled, scrubbing at their snout with their wrist.

“Watch where you aim that thing,” their boss continued, peevishly.

“I didn't have much choice, boss,” they said.

Ateya couldn't help but be amused by the chaos she'd wrought, the feeling egged on by a quiet sense of defiance.

“Yeah, this thing seems pretty sensitive,” she taunted, reaching up and tapping at the side of Ava's snout. They gave a profusely wet snort and turned their head, leaning away from her as much as they could without releasing her arm.

“And you, stop menacing my gargoyle,” the figure below demanded testily. “How did you even get in here anyway? I know I locked the door.”

Ava snorted and kept their face turned, presumably not trusting that Ateya really would stop menacing them despite her momentary cooperation. Maybe they were smarter than they looked.

“She came in through a backfacing window,” they reported. “I found it ajar on my way to escort her from the premises.”

Their boss crossed his arms and took a deep breath, holding it and swallowing hard before letting it back out in a huff.

“Here's what we are going to do,” he said, turning to Ateya, still terse despite his overt efforts to calm his temper.

“You are going to come down here and help clean this mess, and then you are going to go back. up. there. and help reshelve all the books that were displaced because of your. actions,” he said, pinching irritably again at the space between his eyes. “I'm not going to charge you for any damages,—”

“Good, because I didn't—” Ateya attempted to interject.

“—but you still owe me your entry fee,” he continued, not allowing the interruption, “and I intend to collect. Further, you will submit to a search at the door before you leave.”

Ateya looked from the massive gargoyle still holding her by the arm to the snippy man they seemed to be genuinely deferent to. He was probably the eccentric who owned the place. The gargoyle could probably break her in half if they wanted.

“What if I don't want to do any of that,” she said, “I didn't tip your shelves, or dent your doorway, and if this stone goliath hadn't grabbed me I wouldn't have had to flick at their face in the first place!”

“And remind me why my gargoyle grabbed you again? Was it because you broke in and were attempting to peruse my collection free of charge?” the man asked simply.

“It's not optional,” Ava added.

“You can't keep me here, that's kidnapping!” Ateya protested.

“Oh really?” the curator said, a sardonic grin spreading across his face. “Are you going to go to the police? And what do you think they'll do, exactly? With the breaking and entering, and the tresspassing, and the destruction of property, and the harassment? Does that all end well for you?”

Ateya grumbled beneath her breath.

“You need to submit to the search,” Ava responded. “That's standard procedure.”

She stared at them blinkingly. How the fuck did they hear that? There was no way. Could they read minds? Were they hearing her thoughts this whole time?

“Ava, get a bucket. I'm going to assess the damages. So help me if any pages have been torn,” the curator said, stalking towards a staircase at the opposite end of the room.

“What should I do with our visitor?” Ava asked.

“You can release her for now, but don't let her leave until she's made up for her transgressions,” he responded, barely raising his voice enough to call over his shoulder.

Ava, at long last, released Ateya's arm. She rubbed at her wrist and stretched her shoulder.

“You've got a firm grip,” she said.

Ava did not respond. Taking a few steps away, with a strong beat of their wings, they rose into the air as if made of paper and just as quietly, and in a moment they were gone. Their flight was so fast Ateya could barely track the shape of them diving over the rail, swooping back through the entryway, and turning through a door someplace beneath the catwalk where she stood.

She stared after them for a moment in awe.

By the time Ateya looked up again, the curator had just reached the side of the building she was standing in.

He looked even more sour up close. His thin lips were perpetually pressed into a line, his eyes forever holding a leer of disdain. He glanced at her wordlessly as he slipped by, making his way into the room she had sneaked into, and as he passed there were daggers in his gaze.

He didn't seem to even care about the damage to the doorway, passing it without giving it any inspection whatsoever.

“Piss and daggers,” she heard him utter in dismay upon entering the room.

With the curator thus occupied, and the gargoyle off who knows where searching for a bucket, Ateya saw no reason she couldn't just quietly slip away.

Backtracking, she passed by the disrupted library room to see the curator inside, righting the shelves by himself as if they weighed nothing.

She didn't stay to watch for long. This place was weirder than they say, and she was ready to leave.

Maybe she would come back another day, if she could find a better way in. There was more she wanted to see, afterall.

She crept down the steps and back into the hall she'd dropped into when she had first arrived. The window was still open wide enough for her to fit through, if she could climb back up into it. There was no uneven brick to climb here though, and even the nearest pilaster was too far away to push off from if she tried to leap for the sill. Besides, her forearm was still sore... even if she could reach the window ledge, she didn't think she could climb into it like this.

She glanced further down the hall, to the other set of stairs and the hallway that presumably led out into the lobby itself. The curator had locked the front door, but? Surely it could unlock from the inside.

Ateya hesitated at the fork in the path, deeply curious about what might be on the library's lower levels... but ultimately decided to check another time. She had to leave while both known stewards were distracted and before any unknown others had the chance to show up.

She made it halfway through the entryway before the soft fluttering sound behind her alerted her again to the gargoyle's presence.

“Nice try,” they said, setting down a large metal pail. They held out a mop. Defeated, Ateya came and collected it.

“I'm going to go and check on my boss. Don't try to leave,” Ava said, flying up then to the second story and disappearing into the room the curator was in. As soon as they were out of sight, Ateya very quietly set down the mop and turned for the door.

Ava swooped down in front of her before she got three steps of the way there.

“What did I just say?” they admonished.

Ateya grumbled and turned back to get the mop. She guessed helping clean up wouldn't be so bad. She did make the poor brute sneeze after all. Not like it was her fault he sneezes in torrents though.

The curator of the library came to join her after not too long, taking up the other mop his gargoyle had brought and pitching in to get the floor dry.

“So about my fee...” he said, sopping up a mop's worth of water and wringing it into the bucket with a shiver. It barely made a dent in the small pond the gargoyle's sneezing had made of the floor.

Ateya continued mopping, and didn't make eye contact as she shook her head.

“I don't have any rare books,” she said. The curator shook his head in response.

“Doesn't matter. I'll accept a story in its place,” he said.

Ateya paused in her mopping.

“What?” she said. The curator paused as well, looking at her incredulously.

“A story. A personal tale. Something you've experienced or witnessed, explained in a narrative format. Surely I don't need to go on,” he said.

A story? All this prick needed for entry was a story?

“Does it have to be mine?” she asked.

“Yes,” the curator replied, without missing a beat.

“I-I don't even know your name! And you want a personal story from me?” she stammered.

That aside, she wasn't sure she even had any good stories to tell. Her life wasn't interesting.

“Leonidas,” he offered. “Leonidas Khrƴsídēs. And yours?”

Ateya blinked. She had expected more resistance than this.

“Ateya Ríoahdse," she said. Leonidas set his mop down, drying his hands on his trousers and giving another shiver as he made his way to a podium near the back of the room.

“And how do you spell that?” he asked, picking up a pen there and holding it poised over a ledger of some kind.

“What's that for?” she asked.

“It's a guestbook. Spell your name please,” Leonidas repeated impatiently.

“A-t-e-y-a, R-i–there's an accent on the i—o-a-h-d-s-e,” she said. “I know, it sounds like it should be R-o-a-d-s. You can just... put that, if it's easier. Most people do.”

Leonidas scoffed at the idea, giving an indignant snort.

“I would never. There's history in a name,” he said. To his credit, the length of time he took to finish writing her name, he must have been true to his word. When he finished, he set the pen down and considered the entry thoughtfully.

“Ríoahdse... are you Schyrse?” he asked.

Ateya shook her head.

“Czyrkish, but both my parents are Easterlan,” she said. The curator raised his brow and nodded, stepping away from his guest book once more.

“Now that makes sense,” he said. He came to pick up his mop again and get back to work.

“So what brought your family to Czyrk, then? The culture? The history?” he asked. Ateya gave kind of half a shrug.

“Kind of, maybe a little bit of both,” she said, wringing another mop-full of icy water into the pail which was nearing full. Despite this, the floor was only close to half dry at best.

“My parents met at the University of Praglyn, when they were both students there. They were both so culture shocked that finding another Easterlan was a relief,” she went on, sopping at another corner of sneeze puddle. She supposed she should be grateful it was only water.

“They got along well, and they kind of fell in love with the city at the same time that they fell in love with each other,” she said, continuing to work as she spoke. "At least that's how they always tell it. Once they graduated, the original plan was to move back east, but they both loved it so much here they decided to stay, instead. They moved in together, and eventually got married, and then they had me a few years later.”

Wringing out her mop again, she bent to take the pail and empty it.

“Uh, where...?” she asked.

“Just outside the front door will be fine, beside the steps please,” Leonidas directed.

Taking the pail to the door, she found the locking mechanism and undid it, then shoving the large wooden door open with quite a bit of force. It was far thicker and heavier than it looked, she wouldn't have been able to open it quickly even if one of her arms wasn't sore.

She looked outside. She could just... leave. Slip neatly out the open door and make a break for it, maybe even get inside another business before anyone caught up to her.

She hefted the pail up and splashed about three gallons of water into the hedges beside the steps.

The longer she spent with the library's odd curator the more curious she became, not only about the library itself but also about those who kept it.

How was Leonidas so strong that he could effortlessly lift a bookcase that must've weighed as much as a house, despite looking like he'd weigh maybe 150 lbs himself if he was sopping wet? And, turning to come back to the task at hand and catching him swiping at his nose and sniffling, probably catch a cold from it too.

Ateya could tell he was trying to hide it, but he was shivering pretty constantly now. He snorted lightly and cleared his throat as she approached and set the pail back down, affecting an unbothered composure until in wringing out his own mop again he was unable to suppress a violent shiver from coursing through his frame.

“You chill easily, don't you?” Ateya asked. He fully glowered at her from behind his spectacles.

“And how is that any of your concern?” he snipped. Ateya raised her hands placatingly.

“No, I just... thought that might be why you keep it so warm in here, that's all,” she said, not trying to offend

“Why I.....?” he hesitated, seemingly puzzled for a moment before quickly covering for it and changing the subject. “Oh. Yes. It is, now can we move on? You were telling me about your parents. -skff!-”

Was there another reason that he kept it so warm? Something he was embarrassed by, judging by how quickly he wanted to drop the topic. It was Ateya's turn to be puzzled now. What on earth could he be so embarrassed by about keeping the heat turned up?

“Yeah, sorry,” she said, allowing for it and returning to her work mopping the floor. “What else is there to say really? They moved in, they had me. Now I'm here.”

Leonidas sniffled again, budging at the tip of his nose with one wrist. He had more or less stopped mopping the place, not that Ateya could blame him. He looked near frozen just from having his hands in cold water for a few minutes.

“You skipped over the middle bits,” he directed. “The parts between your being born and now.”

Ateya shrugged one shoulder.

“Nothing interesting,” she said, not looking up from her task. “My life is normally pretty boring. If it wasn't I would probably be off doing something else right now, and not...sneaking into forbidden libraries and getting apprehended by sniffly gargoyles.”

Leonidas tilted his head and squinted, considering her carefully.

“Nothing? Not a single story?” he challenged. “I find that hard to believe... Have you never accomplished anything? Studied anything? Gotten a scar, broken a bone? Was mine the first building you've ever broken into, am I just that lucky?”

“Well–No? But– None of that's interesting,” she said. “I don't have any major accomplishments. I studied contract law, and now I'm a glorified secretary. I've never broken anything, and the only scars I have are from stupid stuff I did as a kid. Mostly climbing on things I wasn't supposed to and falling off them. And... No? But technically yes?”

Leonidas shook his head and crossed his arms.

“What do you mean, ‘no, but technically yes?’ Which is it?” he asked.

“Well, mostly the buildings I've taken a look around in have been abandoned,” Ateya said, frustrated that this nosybody just wasn't getting it. There was nothing special about her.

“Did you think the library was an abandoned building?” he accused, his eyes narrowing in offense.

“No! I just thought it looked cool!” Ateya defended.

Leonidas snorted out a huffed breath, seemingly placated by the assessment.

“Fine,” he said. “Fine, but there must be something you're interested in telling.”

“Telling you how my parents met wasn't enough?” she protested in response.

“No. I want your story, how you'd tell it,” the snippy librarian insisted. “A secondhand, personal story told and heard a million times isn't the same thing. It's going to be missing details. It's going to be missing context. It is not of commensurate value to a personal first hand account told by you, to me, in person.”

“Geez, okay,” Ateya said. This guy was passionate about stories.

She thought over his prompts again, attempting to wring anything even minutely entertaining out of them. To Leonidas's credit, he let her think.

“I have a scar on my right elbow that I got trying to learn to parkour off my mother's couch when I was twelve,” she offered after a few moment's silence.

“What happened?” the curator asked, suddenly calm and attentive. Ateya supposed this was an acceptable offering.

“I wasn't very good at parkour,” she answered. Leonidas did not seem very amused by her attempt at humor.

“Come now, what happened?” he prompted again. She sighed, and resigned herself to actually telling him.

“Well, I was twelve, and I hadn't really learned how to judge distances yet. Or how to jump very hard,” she explained.

“I wasn't like, being taught by anyone. I just tried whatever trick I thought would be cool to try next, you know?

One day, while my parents were out shopping, I was trying to master the fine art of leaping onto the back of the couch from the corner of the coffee table.

I didn't jump high enough.

The coffee table was like, behind the couch and off to the side for some reason? I don't remember why. But when I jumped I landed with my chest about a centimeter below where my feet were supposed to be.

I bounced off like a rubber chicken, and I somehow lost all rubbery qualities seconds later when I hit the floor.”

Ateya paused, then, coming closer to bend and angle her arm in such a way that might allow Leonidas to actually see the scar that stretched over the flat space in front of her elbow. The scar was roughly the width and shape of a strawberry that had a large bite missing.

“I scraped most of the skin off on the carpet. I never told them how I got hurt. I just said I was playing and I fell,” she said. She paused, glancing up at the prissy librarian then as a realization dawned on her. “Actually, I don't think I've told anyone else about this. You're the only one who knows.”

Leonidas's eyes sparkled with quiet delight in this knowledge, and he grinned in satisfaction.

“Perfect,” he said. “And now that story lives here, with me. Thank you, that wasn't so hard now was it?”

Ateya gave Leonidas a flat stare, and turned to go back to drying the floors. Leonidas disappeared back to his podium, flicking leisurely through the most recent few pages of his guest book while she worked.

While she mopped, she would occasionally hear a series of snorts and snuffles from the room upstairs that made her worry about an encore performance undoing all the work she'd already done, but Ava seemed to be keeping decent control over themself for now. It probably helped that they were no longer being actively flicked in the nose.

If Ateya felt at all bad about that, the feeling vanished every time she moved the wrong way and it pulled on how tender her arm still felt.

About two and a half buckets of water later, and the mop she had was mostly just pushing loose droplets around the marble floor.

“I think that's as good as I'm going to get this without a towel or something dry,” she said. The curator looked up from his guest book, peering at the work she'd done, assessing it. He flipped back to today's entries and gave a nod, coming out from behind his podium.

“I'll take it from here,” he said.

“So... do I go? Story told, floor mostly dry?” she asked. He leveled her with a flat look.

“No, you still need to go help Ava reshelve what you caused him to knock over, and then there's the matter of the search at the door before you leave,” he said.

“Fine,” Ateya submitted, handing the mop back to him. She grumbled quietly about not needing to be searched, and made her way for the nearest stairs to the catwalk.

Ava was reshelving books with surprising grace and gentleness for someone so large and stony. They didn't look up from their work when Ateya came in, instead offering simple instructions while they worked.

“They're organized by subsection, then alphabetically by author last name,” they explained. “Start looking for author names beginning with K in that stack of books there. I've already taken care of A through J.”

The displaced books were stacked neatly and carefully together by subsection on the various tables present in the room. Leonidas's work, most likely, the man seemed to take his collection very seriously.

Ateya grabbed as many as she could with last name K from the stack indicated, only flinching and grunting a little when she forgot herself and nestled them in her left arm to carry back with her.

Ava's gaze flicked to her, then back to the shelving. She stepped up beside them to start organizing alphabetically.

“...I'm... sorry about your arm,” Ava said, after a few moments’ uncomfortable silence. “I wasn't trying to hurt you. I only meant to keep you from leaving before I could perform my duties.”

Ateya hadn't been expecting the unyielding gargoyle to apologize to her. They seemed sincere in it. She allowed the apology to sink in for a moment so she could accept it before replying.

“You two take your jobs really seriously, don't you?” she said, hazarding a glance up at them.

They hummed thoughtfully in response, giving a nod in consideration.

“One might say that,” they allowed.

A silence fell between them again as they worked, but it was more comfortable, almost companionable now. Occasionally it was punctuated by a wet snuffle from Ava, or some small direction when switching between subsections.

It was hard not to stare at them between putting books back on shelves.

Ateya had never beheld an actual, live gargoyle before. She felt a kind of awed curiosity over the way their stony form and features came to life with their movement; the quick twitch of their snout, the give and bob of their adam's apple when they swallowed, the shift of their muscles as they raised and lowered their arms.

Then there were also their features, themselves. The way their snout smoothly transitioned into their cheek and the corner of their mouth. Both their horns and their pointed ears sat naturally on their head despite owing to two completely different animals. By all rights, Ava should have been grotesque with all the parts and pieces of various beasts combined together on them, but somehow everything worked together seamlessly, almost artfully. Nothing was haphazard or seemed out of place.

If Ava noticed her staring, they didn't acknowledge it, too set on the task at hand.

They did seem to be struggling with their snout though, and a pattern began to emerge as they worked, their snuffling increasing every time they needed to look down.

“If you want I can get the lower shelves,” Ateya offered, noticing this and taking mercy on them.

Ava gave a small, grunting snort, that same oddly self-conscious look crossing their face momentarily.

“If you wouldn't mind,” they said, carefully passing her an armful of books.

Getting everything back into place didn't take too long with both of them working on it, the room wasn't cavernous and Ava hadn't knocked into every shelf on their way through. Ateya was surprised when the last book was placed and it was time to leave.

“I'll see you to the door,” Ava said, gesturing back towards it.

She looked around at the room one more time before leaving it. It was a shame she hadn't gotten to see more of the place.

As Ava escorted her through the entryway, to the door, Ateya noticed the floor had been completely dried, and it was much warmer in the lobby than it had been before. Whatever secret reason the librarian kept the heat raised so high that definitely had nothing to do with the chill he'd taken on must have been responsible for that.

As for the librarian himself, he was in one of the large sitting chairs in the lobby, reading one of the books usually shelved there. He glanced up as Ateya tried to say her goodbyes.

“Well, it's been nice meeting you,” she said, reaching for the door.

“Search first,” Leonidas said, his eyes flicking back to the book he was reading as Ava helpfully kept a hand on the door to keep it shut.

Ateya's lips pressed into a line and she took a deep breath, sighing it out through her nose as she resigned herself to it. Rolling her eyes, she raised her arms out to her sides to allow Ava to inspect her.

She snorted, and coughed, and cleared her throat as the gargoyle patted down her sides.

Leonidas glanced up again.

“Are you hurting her, Ava?” he accused, an edge of surprised disapproval lurking behind the question.

“I'm being very gentle,” they assured him, pausing in their search nonetheless.

Ateya chose not to be forthcoming. If these two could be cryptic and mysterious then she should be allowed as much, too.

“Just get the rest of it overwith,” she grouched, avoiding eye contact.

Hesitantly, Ava returned to their search, patting down Ateya's legs while she coughed and snorted and huffed.

Leonidas watched her carefully, squinting at her as the search completed.

“Did you find anything?” he asked Ava as soon as they were done.

“-sngffh!- No, boss, -sngkfh!- she's clear,” they confirmed, snuffling and snorting as they stood up.

Leonidas rose, setting his book down and stalking over to the two of them, eyeing Ateya curiously the entire way.

“What?” she demanded, crossing her arms as her cheeks grew hot under the scrutiny.

Leonidas said nothing. He circled her, appraisingly, and once he was out of her line of sight he reached out and pinched her side.

An unsuppressable giggle burst from her lips, and she smacked a hand over her mouth, stepping away as if the man was made of fire.

He grinned, the same self-satisfied grin that had crossed his face when he'd finally gotten a story out of her earlier.

“She's ticklish,” he concluded, looking to Ava. “That's why she's been avoiding being searched.”

If Ava had any thoughts or judgements about this, it was impossible to read on their face. He gave Leonidas a single nod of acknowledgement.

“Anyway, while I thank you for your story and your assistance in righting the mess you'd made of the place, it is still after hours, and I believe this marks your time to go,” the librarian said then, turning his attention back to Ateya. “You're free to leave.”

Ava helpfully opened one of the large wooden doors, as if to show her out.

Fuming and embarrassed, Ateya made for the door directly, but before passing through it she hesitated.

Somehow, despite the chaos and the strangeness of the place, or maybe because of that, she didn't feel done with it yet.

“Can I come back?” she asked, turning to Leonidas. “If I think of better stories to tell?”

Leonidas tilted his head, considering.

“Why? What is it you're interested in seeing?” he asked in return.

Ateya opened her mouth to respond and closed it again, shaking her head.

“I don't know. This place just...” she said, glancing back and staring up at the many rooms and other floors she hadn't had the chance to see. “It intrigues me. I'd like to take a look around, if you'd accept me as an actual guest.”

Leonidas's lips pressed into a line as he considered this, his own arms crossing now over his chest as he hummed impatiently.

“I don't usually allow free-roaming guests, much less ones who have a history of breaking the rules,” he said, squinting peevishly. “Most people approach with a specific topic in mind at least, if not an actual book they'd like to study or read.”

To Ateya's surprise, Ava cleared their throat to interject, getting the librarian's attention.

“Boss, if I could speak with you,” they requested. Leonidas looked at least as surprised as Ateya felt, but he acquiesced.

“One moment, please,” he said, stepping away with his gargoyle, the latter letting the door they'd been holding slowly close as they walked away.

Ateya leaned against it while the two of them had a hushed conversation on the opposite side of the room, until she eventually got distracted and sneaked over to the librarian's guest book to snoop through it.

Her name was spelled right. Leonidas actually had really beautiful handwriting for someone as stuck up and tightly wound—

“Put that down,” he said. Ateya jumped and did as she was told. She hadn't even noticed him approach.

He continued.

“Ava tells me you took very quickly to the classification system we've been employing here recently, and that you were quite respectful with the books,” he said.

“Okay...? and?” Ateya said, not sure what this had to do with anything.

“And, we're still switching over from our old methods of cataloguing in many of the library's upper levels,” he continued, obviously perturbed at having been interrupted. He pushed on regardless.

“You want to see more of the library. We could use the help.

Frankly, most of our patrons don't take such an interest in the collection itself as a whole, most are here to study or read something in particular, as mentioned.

Anyway, I propose something of a deal:

Your admittance, legitimate, only in the evenings and once Ava is present, on the grounds that you take nothing and submit to regular searches until proven trustworthy; in exchange for your assistance in reorganizing the stacks in the upper levels of the library's collection.

In this way, you are permitted to see much of the rest of the building and gain an intimate familiarity with its contents, and we get an extra set of hands to make quicker work of an ongoing and extensive project.”

Leonidas seemed quite pleased with his proposal, though Ateya had a few reservations. Just one, really.

“If I have to be chaperoned by tall dark and minerals the whole time then why do I need to be searched so regularly?” she said. Leonidas's lips pressed back into a line and he huffed an irritable sigh through his nose.

“Ava may need to step away or have their back turned from time to time. They are a gargoyle, not a babysitter,” he said. “If you required such constant supervision as to render a period of regular searches unnecessary, then we'd likely fare better without your aid. Unless you don't believe you can go longer than ten minutes without getting yourself into trouble?”

Ateya crossed her arms and thought it over. She didn't need to think very long.

She really wanted to see the rest of this building, and she was now extremely curious about its two stewards. Being searched hadn't been too bad, anyway. She was ticklish, which was embarrassing and stupid, but Ava had kept it respectful and the entire search was done in less than two minutes.

“Alright, fine. But I get to read anything I want,” she said.

Leonidas sighed once more through his nose, exasperated.

“You may read whatever you come across while reorganizing. Some areas of the library remain off limits and you may not read anything found there,” he specified.

“And I get to pick which nights I come,” she added.

“Naturally,” was his response.

Ateya's first inclination was to keep pushing for more, just to see what else she could get out of it, but she realized that there wasn't really anything else that she wanted that hadn't explicitly been addressed already to one degree or another.

She stuck out her hand to shake.

“You've got a deal,” she said.

Leonidas shook on it.

His hand was startlingly warm for a person who'd been so chilled so recently, and Ateya wondered if he hadn't in fact already gotten a cold from it—but he wouldn't have spiked a fever so suddenly, would he?

“Good. I'll be seeing you whenever it is that you see it fit to return,” he said. “In the meanwhile, it has gotten quite late, and if I don't get some rest I'm going to be quite impossible to speak with tomorrow. Goodnight! Ava?”

The gargoyle flew lightly back over and resumed their post at the door, opening it for Ateya to leave through.

She paused once more just before stepping through the doorway, looking at them, briefly scanning their face for any inkling of why they'd stepped in and spoken up for her.

She found nothing. They were completely unreadable.

“Thanks,” she said anyway, then stepped out and down the steps, and out onto the street.

⚜

Ateya found it hard to sleep that night. It should have been no surprise. The evening's events had quite literally been the most interesting thing that had ever happened to her in her entire life, and she found herself tossing and turning in her bed as she replayed them in her mind again and again. The library with its forbidden rooms, its cryptic curator and actual, living gargoyle... it was all so fantastical and strange. It was a little frightening. It was very exciting.

Ateya returned to the library the very next night, after a full day of being completely mentally checked out at her job, attending her tasks automatically and daydreaming as a light rainstorm pattered against her office window. This time she walked straight up the front steps and knocked on the library's large wooden doors. Taking a few steps back while she waited, she craned her neck to see if she could still see that gargoyle perched over the point of the building like she could during the day, but he was nowhere in sight. He must have already been inside, getting to work on the reorganizing.

She looked down again when the door opened, greeted by the sight of Leonidas himself standing in the doorway.

“Ateya, I didn't expect you back so soon,” he said. “You haven't come at the best time... Ava won't be available for recataloguing today, I'm afraid. You may wish to try back later in the week.”

Her brow furrowed, and she crossed her arms.

“Why not?” she asked.

“They simply aren't available. If there's nothing else I can do for you, it is after hours,” Leonidas repeated, seemingly impatient to get her out of his hair and off his doorstep.

“Is this a trick?” Ateya accused. “You set our deal so that I can only visit when your gargoyle's here and then have them mysteriously unavailable when I knock?”

Leonidas pinched between his eyes in exasperation.

“No, what would the point of that be? They're simply occupied with other things. It may take the week for them to– Well, to be available for our reshelving project. That's all,” he said.

Ateya stood, arms crossed, not sure she was buying it.

“Okay,” she said. “Alright. Well if they're not here—”

“That isn't what I said, I said they're otherwise occupied,” Leonidas corrected.

“Doing what, exactly?” Ateya asked. It didn't seem there could be too many pressing library tasks for a gargoyle to engage in, at least nothing she couldn't probably tag along for, too.

“That isn't any of your concern,” Leonidas snipped, “They should be available again in at least a week's time. Check. back. then.”

He was hiding something. Clearly.

Frustrated, Ateya turned to go without saying another word. She considered breaking and entering again, but she didn't want to break their deal if it wasn't a trick. That was always an option for later if that was the case.

She was back three days later.

This time when Leonidas opened the door he was already exasperated with her.

“In case your comprehension of timescales has faltered, I might remind you that a week is generally longer than three days,” he said, not even greeting her.

“What can I say, I'm eager to get to work,” she sassed back. “Is Ava available now, or are they still otherwise occupied?”

Leonidas snorted, pinching between his eyes again.

“You're making me regret agreeing to this in the first place,” he said.

There was the soft noise of fluttering bat wings from just behind the doorframe, and then the sound of a familiar deep, resonating voice.

“It's fine, I'm ready to get back to work,” Ava said.

Leonidas sniffed and swallowed, lowering his hand and blinking up at them with surprise.

“Are you sure? It hasn't been clear for long. Are you still...?” he trailed off here, implying at something he obviously didn't want Ateya knowing about.

There was an affirmative grunt.

“I'll be fine,” they said.

“See? They're fine!” Ateya encouraged, completely without wanting or needing context. Anything to get back into this weird little bubble and poke around.

If her life had felt boring before, in the days that had passed since her last visit here it had felt painfully mundane. She'd gotten a taste of the strange and secretive and now she could not, would not go back.

Leonidas spent a few moments more gazing up at Ava appraisingly, then sighed and relented, stepping aside to let Ateya through.

“Do not make me regret this,” he said, making direct eye contact with Ava before walking away towards the back hall. “You'll know where to find me if I'm needed.”

Ava nodded, giving another acknowledging grunt.

“So where've you been?” Ateya asked, as soon as their boss was out of earshot. Ava gave a long, snuffling snort and cleared their throat before responding.

“I've been here,” they said. Then, moving along quickly to the task at hand, “We'll be starting on the fifth floor today. How are you with heights?”

Ateya cocked her head to the side.

“Fine, why?” she asked. “Is the fifth level over an open pit or something?”

Ava snorted, this time in what Ateya realized was a firmly suppressed laugh.

“No,” they said. “I just thought it would be quicker to fly. I don't usually take the stairs.”

“To... fly? You want to fly me to the fifth floor?” Ateya asked, as intrigued as she was taken by surprise at the notion.

“Is that not acceptable to your sensibilities?” Ava asked.

Oh. Surprisingly eloquent.

“My–? No, it's fine, I just? How are you going to get me up there?” Ateya asked, wondering at the idea. “Do I like, ride on your shoulders, or...?”

The gargoyle shook their head.

“That would be... inadvisable,” they said, extending their wings and slowly flapping to demonstrate why.

It was clear to see, there was simply no room on their back or shoulders for a person to safely ride. She would either be pinning their wings or, more likely, being thrown or buffeted by them. Probably both.

“I would carry you to the fifth floor and set you down when we arrived,” they explained.

“Oh,” Ateya said. She somehow hadn't been expecting that. Her stomach did a flip considering it.

Ava was large enough and strong enough that they could easily crush her if they wanted to...

...but if they'd wanted to crush her, they would have done it already, wouldn't they?

A wave of excitement rode in on the heels of her fear, the feeling always quick to take the reins from her nerves.

“Alright,” she said, breaking into a grin. “Okay, yeah, let's go.”

She uncrossed her arms and approached, a little hesitant and unsure of herself.

“So how do you...?” she started to ask, before Ava simply swept the legs out from under her and caught her easily in a bridal style hold.

It was like she weighed nothing to them.

Their hold on her was surprisingly comfortable. Though they were made of stone, their arms and chest were somehow not as hard and unforgiving as it might have seemed. There was some give, some yield to them that felt almost natural. They were coarse in texture, but not painfully so. The combined sensation almost reminded Ateya of the rough pawpad of a very large dog.

“Keep your legs and your head close to me,” they advised, shifting her slightly in their hold to make this easier to comply with.

They were also kind of cold. They almost felt damp. Not to the touch, but in a chilled sort of way, the feeling emanating from them only once she'd been held to them long enough to get settled in.

“Okay,” Ateya said, gazing up at them.

They snuffled and looked up from where they'd been looking down at her, their nose giving a twitch that looked startlingly delicate close up, and then they spread their large wings, readying for flight. Ateya did as she was told and curled inwards as much as she could, raising her knees and tucking her head against Ava's chest as they lifted into the air.

The flight was incredible.

Ava soared through corridors and up flights of stairs with a grace and swiftness that felt as though they were one with the air itself. They rounded corners with a pinpoint precision that made apparent the need to stay close to their form. It was the smoothest and the fastest Ateya had ever been ferried anywhere, and the exhilaration and beauty of the experience practically stole the breath from her lungs.

When they arrived on the fifth floor less than a minute later, Ava set her down carefully, leaving one large hand at her back until her legs were steady underneath her again.

If rooms on the second floor were near to full, the rooms on the fifth floor were barren. Empty shelves peeked out from every archway. Instead, the floors were littered with cardboard boxes, each full of books waiting to be reshelved, and unlike the second floor, there was no catwalk or overhang; it was a solid level that stretched the span of the building. The center was occupied only by further rooms, making for more than double the amount of shelf space to fill.

Ava snuffled again, scrubbing a wrist at their nose now that their hands were free, before clearing their throat and carrying on with the agenda for the evening.

“We've been reshelving everything Leo owns according to the classification system you saw three floors below,” they said. “The work will be easier once we reach higher levels and have fewer books left to organize. For now, all the books that aren't about religion and spirituality have been moved to other floors, and everything about those subjects has been moved here.”

Ava continued speaking as they led Ateya to one of the level's many rooms to get started.

“Everything's been sorted into boxes, to make the work easier -snghkt!- and the boxes have been sorted by room. We only need to reshelve them by subsection,” they said.

Ateya nodded, and set to work.

It was like it was before. Ava would give simple direction over which shelves housed which topic, and they would work together quietly, passing books to each other as necessary to empty the boxes and fill the shelves, with Ateya taking the low shelves so that Ava wouldn't have to look down so much, and Ava taking the high shelves that Ateya couldn't easily reach.

The books themselves were interesting. The room they'd started on was one for Wyytzenlen polytheism, mythology, and religious history. Ateya wasn't usually one for religious studies, but certain titles continued to pique her interest; books on how Wyytzenlen religion and cultural practices had changed with the ages, or books on how new traditions had been absorbed or had replaced old ones through cultural exchange between Wyytzenlendy and other countries.

Ava didn't seem to mind it that Ateya kept pausing in their work to skim through a text here and flip through some pages there, even if it did affect her speed. They didn't seem in a rush.

As the hours passed, what they did seem was increasingly uncomfortable. Their occasional quiet snorting and sniffling had given way to heavier snorts and snuffles, and they'd started breathing mostly through their mouth in between. Every so often their wrist came up to scrub at the end of their snout.

Ateya looked up from a book of Wyytzenlen religious symbology that she'd been flipping through out of curiosity to find them in one such pose, their eyes squinted tightly shut as they scrubbed at their nose, snorting and snuffling needily as they nuzzled up and down at their wrist, nostrils flicking restlessly.

Another snort, wetter this time, and another close on its heels. There was a faint sound of water rushing and they tilted their head back immediately, their snorts and snuffles turning shaky and frantic.

“hhuffh– snghk'kht! h'hehh... sngrk!”

Ateya half expected them to start backing hastily from the room, until she realized there was no balcony on this level. There was nowhere for them to go.

“Oh. Shit,” she said.

She stared at them for another second before scanning the room for anything that could possibly help. A cardboard box wouldn't do much good, and there wasn't much else in here.

Ava's snorting was growing particularly hitchy and urgent, their tail lashing about restlessly.

“h-hHUh! snkgh'kght!! hnghh-hh! sngrkkht! huhhf-! hahh-! snghkrt-hh!!”

Ateya's eyes finally fell on the wall opposite the aisle they were working in.

Windows.

The wall was lined with center-split gothic windows.

“Hold on big guy, don't panic,” she said, making a beeline for the nearest window and undoing the lock. She cranked the panes open as quickly as she could before rushing back to them.

Ava was shaking and shuddering by now, they looked on the very verge of breaking. Eyes squinted shut, their nostrils leaking on every other snort despite keeping their head tilted back, panting and trembling as they struggled to fight off their own reflexes.

“Come on, I've got a window open,” Ateya urged, putting a hand at their arm to guide them across the room.

“hHUHh-hh! sngkt! sngrkh! e'hUHh! sngkHHk!! hnghht- hghhk-! hGHK–!”

Their breaths grew hiccuppy and choked as they finally reached the window, their snout streaming even before—

“HAUUUH'SHEUGH!!”

—they sneezed violently out into the street, water jetting into the alley below. They shivered, their breath seizing desperately into a tremendous gasp.

“hhHHHHHHHUHh!! H'YAAAUUSHH-SHIEUUWWGH!!”

Another sneeze gripped them, more desperate than any Ateya had seen before possibly in her entire life, and it sent a flood of water out over the side of the building.

Ava sagged heavily against the window sill, wings and tail drooping bonelessly behind them as they snorted and snuffled to catch their breath.

“Thank you,” they breathed. They snorted again. “Leo would have been beside himself if I'd huhh- hHUH–! hEUGHSSHuewh!! snghrkt! huhff... If I'd gotten his books wet. -sngrht!-”

Ateya gave his shoulder a consoling little pat pat as he hung half out the window, catching his breath.

“We can leave this open, if you think it will help,” she offered.

Ava snorted again, and gave their head a shake. They scrubbed a wrist across their snout and heavily stood up.

“No, the damp isn't good for the books,” they said, snuffling and cranking the window shut again tight and locking it.

“Well what do you usually do?” Ateya asked, mildly perturbed by the situation.

Ava snorted.

“Leonidas doesn't usually let me do any work if I'm under the weather,” they said. Ateya's eyes went wide.

“Oh! Oh you're sick?” she said. That explained so much. She'd thought they were just a snuffly sort of creature, with the snout and all...

Ava nodded, crossing their arms and leaning back on the windowsill.

“The damp doesn't do me very much good, either, -snfhk!-” they admitted.

“Is that what it is?” Ateya asked, all sympathy. “I thought you felt damp... Does it make you ill? Why didn't you say anything?”

“Only with a cold,” they said, snuffling slightly. Their snout gave another soft twitch that didn't seem like it should've been possible given their composition.

“I didn't say anything in case someone decided to take advantage of my vulnerabilities,” they said, their tone pointed but almost playful.

Were they teasing her?

They snorted again before continuing more seriously.

“It doesn't do for security to get caught with a weakness,” they said.

Ateya shook her head, confused.

“So why are you telling all of this to me now?” she asked. Ava glanced down at her, not turning their head but with their eyes.

“You helped me,” they said.

A quiet pause fell between them while this sank in. Yeah, Ateya guessed she really had. God, how awful was this Leo guy to his gargoyle that they were so scared of upsetting him?

And how could he be? Ava was built like a brick shithouse—not even that, a stone shithouse—and at least twice his size! It didn't seem possible that they could be easily thrown around. Then again, Leonidas did seem deceptively strong...

Standing next to Ava now in companionable silence while they collected themself and caught their breath, Ateya considered the physicality of them. They did have some give... she wondered if they were more easily hurt than it would seem?

She lifted her hand from where it was crossed over her other arm and unceremoniously poked them hard in the triceps.

They hummed inquisitively in acknowledgement and glanced down at her expectantly.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and hiding her hand behind her arm in lieu of holding it and making a face. It hurt. It definitely hurt. Her, not them.

There was give to them, sure, but it only felt like it went about an inch down. Or maybe that was just where they got too dense for it to matter.

They hummed, gave a nod, and let the unexplained poke go unaddressed.

“Do you feel okay to keep going, or should I go home?” Ateya asked then.

She was having a nice time just getting to be a part of this weird little world, but if her being there was the only thing keeping Ava uncomfortable she should probably leave.

“Leo had said to come back a few days from now. I'm just not very good at listening,” she added with a smirk.

Ava gave another snort of amusement, dabbing with their wrist at a droplet of water that escaped their snout when they did so.

“I'd noticed,” they said. Ateya flashed them her very best, most winningest innocent grin in response.

“I'd like to go on,” they said. “I've been in need of something to do.”

Poor guy... Bored and sick? Well that's no fun...

“Alright,” Ateya said, kicking off the wall to return to the shelves. “I'll get the window for you if you need it.”

Ava grunted in acknowledgement, and for the first time since meeting them, Ateya saw a hint of a smile peeking through their expression.

The rest of the evening went fairly smoothly.

As they reshelved the books together, Ateya continued to pause now and then to flip through something interesting, and sometimes she would comment on it to Ava. They did not offer much back, but seemed content to listen to what she found fascinating and give polite acknowledgement.

Ateya continued to get the low shelves and Ava continued to get the high ones. Every so often the work would be interrupted by Ava's snuffling and soliciting Ateya for help, at which point she would stop what she was doing, guide them to the nearest window, and open it so that they could let themself sneeze. It went a lot more smoothly with a plan in place.

Eventually, the hour drew impressively late, and Ateya stopped being able to make sense of the alphabet anymore.

“I think I'd better head home,” she said with a big yawn, after spending five minutes internally debating whether Johnson or Johnston should be shelved first.

Ava gave a nod, placing the book he was holding up onto its shelf and setting the rest down.

“I'll return you to the lobby,” they said. “Leonidas still wants you searched at the door.”

“What!? Come onnn,” Ateya complained.

“It was part of your deal,” Ava reminded her. Ateya whined.

“Fineee,” she said. Stupid deal.

Once more, Ava scoped her up effortlessly and flew her swiftly through the building. With her eyes closed in exhaustion it was a lot less of an adrenaline rush, and more of a sharp breeze with the vague sensation of motion for a handful of seconds.

When Ava set her down, she got sleepily to her feet, stumbled a little, and caught herself on their arm.

They hummed in concern.

“Will you be alright to get home?” they asked. Ateya nodded.

“I don't live far away,” she said.

She raised her arms, ready to get the search over with, and choked back her laughter as Ava pressed lightly over her ribs, her sides, and down each leg.

They gave her a nod.

“Free to go. -snfghkhh!-” they said.

She nodded, yawned, and went to open the door, which was still locked. She undid the lock. The door opened seemingly on its own, before she realized Ava was holding it for her.

“Oh. Thanks,” she said. Then, stepping out through it, “Goodnight, Ava. See you tomorrow.”

There was a small, grunting snort of acknowledgement in response as she made her way down the library steps and out onto the street below.

⚜

When Ateya showed up the next evening, she didn't come empty handed, but instead came toting a recycling bin that was as large as she was and looked to weigh at least two hundred pounds. She had to walk backwards just to move it, taking frequent breaks to catch her breath and rally her strength.

This might not have been her brightest idea, but never let it be said she didn't commit to something once starting it.

If lugging the bin to the library had been hard, getting it up the stone steps out front was a trial. She cursed and struggled and begged as she wrestled it up each one.

Ateya was shaking, sweating, and panting by the time she managed to haul it up onto the landing, and she collapsed weakly over its lid to catch her breath as soon as it was done. She hadn't even knocked yet when Leonidas came to the door.

“What the devil is this?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.

“It's rice,” Ateya managed to huff between labored breaths.

“Rice?” Leo repeated, sounding personally offended. “Rice? Why would you bring rice to a library? Absolutely not! There is no food permitted on the premises. Why would you ever think—”

“It's for Ava,” Ateya interjected.

Leonidas pulled a face simultaneously so confused and so outraged it looked as if he might combust.

“Bwhh- What? For Ava?” he stammered. “Ava doesn't– Why would you bring–”

Ateya laughed. She couldn't help herself, she'd spent all her energy dragging this here through the city and had none left to spend on self restraint.

“What. are you. laughing. at?” he snarled.

Ateya let herself stop giggling, to spare the man's feelings.

“Sorry. -ahem- Yes, the rice is for Ava,” she repeated, composing herself. “They said the damp was a problem for them, so, I thought this could help.”

Leo's temper faded into something altogether softer and more bewildered.

“What? How on earth is that supposed to help? Ava– Gargoyles in general, they don't eat the same things the rest of us do,” he said. “Lichen mostly, but nothing like... Stars above, how many pounds of rice is that?”

Ateya shook her head, shoved herself up from the lid of the recycling bin, and threw it open. Dry, uncooked rice filled the thing near to the brim. A few grains skittered over the side and scattered over the library steps as she plunged her arm in to demonstrate.

Leonidas stepped back to avoid any hitting his shoes.

“As a dessicant?” he wondered aloud.

“I figured it might help,” she said, puffing a sweaty lock of hair from her face. “It couldn't hurt to try.”

Leo stared at the bin open-mouthed and dumbstruck, shaking his head in bewilderment.

“I... I suppose it...” he stammered.

“Can I come inside?” Ateya asked, still panting and red in the face.

Leo blinked, still utterly flummoxed.

“Yes, please come in... I... This is quite generous of you,” he said.

Ateya lifted her arm from the bin and tried her best to get all of the rice that had clung to her sweat to shake off outside, while Leonidas closed the lid and rolled the bin into the lobby near effortlessly.

“Now this is not to leave the entryway for any reason,” he said. “I'll not be having stray grains of rice tracking throughout my beloved library.”

He continued laying down parameters as he rolled the bin roughly to the center of the floor and opened it back up.

“Furthermore neither of you are to leave the entrance hall until you're absolutely. certain. there’s no rice left clinging to you, for the same reason,” he said, brushing his hands off and looking at the rice itself disdainfully. “Grain brings pests, and mold, and it simply will not do, and at the evening's end I fully expect you'll have both expunged every last grain of rice from the lobby itself as well.”

Ateya nodded, shut the door behind herself, and sagged down to the nice, cool marble floor to sit for a spell, just as Ava was gliding down into the room from somewhere else in the building.

“Got it. Keep the library squeaky clean,” she said, giving Leonidas a rough thumbs up.

“See that you do,” he said, squinting at her warily before retreating into the back hallway and leaving Ateya alone with Ava in the lobby.

“Got you something,” Ateya said, gesturing weakly to the bin of rice now sitting open at the center of the floor.

Unlike the other times she had seen him, Ava had yet to touch the floor. Instead, they remained hovering about three feet in the air, looking at the rice with some measure of disbelief.

“I heard...” they said. They shook their head. “This is extremely kind.”

Ava cleared their throat and snorted, then finally touching down and turning their attention to Ateya, herself.

“Thank you,” they said.

“You got it, chief,” Ateya responded, still catching her breath. “Go ahead, get in. Let me know if it feels like it's helping at all. I'm going to need a few minutes before I'll be ready to help with reshelving any books today anyway.”

Ava circled the bin for a moment before seemingly deciding the best way to get themself into it would be from the air. Flapping their wings slowly they gently rose up above the bin and carefully entered it, hoofs first.

As they lowered themself down further into the rice, carefully poking their tail in and shifting their weight to sink in past their hips, they let out a sigh.

“Feel better?” Ateya asked.

Ava nodded.

“It does,” they admitted.

Carefully they shifted and contorted themself to get more of their torso below the surface, spreading their wings for balance when the whole bin wobbled and threatened to tip with the motion. Stray grains of rice skittered every which way over the entryway floor. It was fine, it wasn't like that couldn't be swept up later.

By the time Ateya had caught her breath and the redness had faded from her face, Ava had managed to cram as much of themself into the bin of rice she'd provided as possible, sinking themself in past the shoulders and up to their jaw, their head tilted back to allow them to bury as much of themself as they could. Their wings stuck straight up behind them out of the bin at an angle that could not have been comfortable, but the look of relief on their face indicated this was an acceptable trade-off.

Now that she felt a bit less like her heart was going to explode from exertion, Ateya got to her feet and came over to chat, Ava peeking an eye open at her as she approached and then closing it again in relaxation.

“You have pretty good hearing, don't you?” Ateya asked, leaning against the side of the bin itself.

Her legs and arms felt a little rubbery and would doubtless be sore the next day, but the quiet sense of triumph and accomplishment she felt at seeing her idea pay off was worth the muscle fatigue.

Ava's brow rose in agreement, and they gave a slight nod, rice shifting about their face as they did.

“I do,” they said, a quietly proud smirk playing over their features. “I hear everything that goes on in the building, and on some parts of the grounds. Why?”

They opened their eyes to face her, then, at least as well as they could still being buried up to the neck.

“It explains how you were able to hear about this,” she said, tapping on the side of the recycling-bin-turned-rice-bath. She tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Is that how you found me sneaking in?” she asked.

“It is,” Ava said, closing their eyes again contentedly, grinning now, and giving a quiet snort.

Ateya gasped as a realization struck her.

“You heard the story I told Leonidas!” she accused. Ava's grin took on a mischievous quality as he peeked one eye open at her again briefly.

“I did,” they said. “I hear everyone's stories, and their conversations. It makes my job as sentinel more enjoyable.”

“Oh, you sneak!” Ateya accused. Ava gave a small, snorting laugh.

“You would know,” they said.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Whatever,” she conceded. “What's the weirdest thing you've ever overheard?”

Ava snorted again before responding.

“I couldn't say,” they said. “It wouldn't feel right to divulge others’ secrets.”

They snorted again, a little longer this time, their snout wrinkling up on one side with the breath.

“But you do know,” Ateya said. “Like you know what the weirdest thing would be.”

“It would be difficult to choose,” they said, now wiggling their nose up and down spiritedly.

They gave another snort.

“There is a problem with this arrangement. -sngkrffh!-” they said. “I -sngkffh!- I can't reach my nose. -sngrrhkf!-”

“I could scratch it for you,” Ateya teased, giving a playful scritch at the space between Ava's nostrils. Their nostrils quivered and flared immediately in response, Ava drawing in a big gasp as water rushed to fill their snout.

It was one thing to hear the oncoming torrent from nearby and another entirely to watch it flood in and stare you down like a water canon primed to blow. In a panic and with just as little forethought, Ateya clapped both of her hands over Ava's nose.

“Sorry! Geez, this thing really is sensitive isn't it!?” she exclaimed.

Unable to do much else to help themself, Ava snuffled and nuzzled up into Ateya's hands, bucking their rough snout against her palms needily.

“Okay, alright, I'm helping, I'm helping,” Ateya said, responding in concert to Ava's nuzzles while she tried to figure out what the best way to massage at their snout would be.

The heel of her hand wasn't doing enough, if Ava's frantic snorting and shaky breaths indicated anything. It didn't seem to be hitting the right spot, their pushing up into her constantly trying and failing to get at the slight crease that ran up and down between their nostrils.

Switching to her fingertips, Ateya was more dextrous, but she couldn't apply enough pressure to match what their nuzzling was asking for, and the time spent switching between methods didn't help. Ava snorted and gasped, fighting it hard, but Ateya could see them coming undone.

“Sorrysorrysorry!” Ateya rambled, all the while frantically trying anything to get them to stop. She dug her thumbs into the space between their nostrils and rubbed hard.

“-sNRGHt! hehh... snk'kffht! -snrrghk! haaehh....”

They took a deep snort and continued battling their sneeze, but it seemed like maybe it was helping. Their snuffling slowed down, their breaths still stuttering ticklishly but now seemingly less frantic.

“Like this? This is good?” Ateya asked, continuing her efforts. Ava nodded, unable to speak, shuddering and snorting sneezily when that interrupted the help they were receiving.

“Okay! Okay, I'll keep it up,” she reassured them. They snorted in response.

Ava's nose was surprisingly animated and flexible. Rubbing at the space between their nostrils as she was, Ateya could feel every twitch and tremble it gave beneath her thumbs as she worked to massage away the tickles that seemed to plague the ailing gargoyle's snout.

“sngrfhk! h-huhh– snffgh! hahh.... snfhk!”

She took to focusing her efforts on anything that felt twitchy or irritated, and it seemed to help, Ava's snout calming down bit by bit. The only problem was that she didn't have a ton of leverage, and the muscles in her hands were threatening to cramp.

“I'm going to try something, let me know if it's alright,” she said, then bracing her hands on either side of their snout as she continued to work at the center of their nose with her thumbs. Ava shuddered, then gave a shaky, stuttering sigh.

“Behh–hh-! Bh...etter... snfghhk!” they managed.

“It's better? This is better?” Ateya asked. Ava gave the littlest nod they could, and Ateya breathed a big sigh of relief.

“Whew. Okay. I thought you were definitely going to sneeze,” she said. Their nose continued giving demanding twitches so she kept rubbing at it for them, the ache in her palms receding to a gentle burn now with proper support.

“I... sngkt!snkrt!huhh... snrkht! I– hhuh–! hahh...” they tried, unable to get more than a word out before their unruly snout bothering them took their speech.

“Shhhh, it's okay. I understand,” Ateya said, keeping at her efforts, smoothing away every erratic tic and twitch and shudder she felt beneath her hands.

Ava continued to give little snorts and snuffles as Ateya worked, damp bursts of air fluttering against and pulling at her palms as she ran her thumbs firmly along the sides of the slight crease that marked the center of their nose.

Gradually, their distress seemed to ease. Their snout twitched less violently and less often. Their snorting started to wane and grow less fitful. The insistent rush of water to the back of their snout seemed to ebb and turn to a trickle. They were breathing a little more slowly and rhythmically.

“Are you feeling better?” Ateya asked.

“It's helping...” Ava said. “I still feel like I– hh! uhh... snfrkh! oh... snfk! like I h-have to -snkht!- huhh... s-sneeze...”

“Okay, that's fine. I've got you,” Ateya responded.

She kept up the massage, pressing in where their snout trembled and protested until it calmed once more. It seemed the slow, even breaths Ava was taking were very careful and intentional, and it probably wasn't the most helpful thing to ask them to talk through it. She kept up her attentions even as the quiet trickling sound of water went silent and Ava spoke again, this time of their own accord.

“Thank you,” they said, giving a soft snort. “I apologize, this isn't very dignified.”

It was Ateya's turn to snort then, not from irritation but from amusement.

“It's a lot more dignified than it would have been to get showered,” she said, still working at their nose.

Ava gave a quietly grunting snort, and the somewhat scrunched expression that Ateya had come to recognize as embarrassment crossed their features.

“I'm sorry. My snout is, in fact, very sensitive. Especially when I have a cold,” they said.

Ateya shook her head.

“That's okay,” she said, keeping her attention to their nose steady. “I don't mind helping.”

Ava hummed out a sigh and gave a quiet smile.

“Thank you,” they said. “I think I'm alright now.”

Ateya sighed, letting up the pressure and letting her hands fall from Ava's snout, her palms sore from the effort. Ava snorted violently as her thumbs brushed their nostrils on the way down, gasping against the ticklish intrusion to their senses.

“Waitwait–!” Ateya pled, hastening to bring her hands to their snout again as a rush of water flooded in.

It was no use. They snorted, and trembled, and their snout drew up in a snarl, revealing an array of tusks and fangs as they–

“euhh- hUHHh–! sngkf!hh'hHHhhHUHh—! HAUUURSHH'SHYEIUGH!!”

The recycling bin burst under the strain of their movement, the sneeze wrenching from them violently. Ateya was immediately drenched in bracingly cold water. Falling from the now ruins that was once a full bin of rice, Ava caught themself on their wings and rose into a ticklish hover, their tail whipping as their breaths caught and dragged.

“hh-hhuh! YAAHSHUUEWGH! eh'huhh– hHUHh! HUAAESH-SHIUEWGH!! snfghk!! hh! huhh’YAAHHSH-SHIEUW! hh! AUUSH'SHEUGH!! God... snfghk! Oh that tickled -snfkh!-”

Sneeze after torrential sneeze ripped from them, utterly bathing the lobby in a sea of cold water and uncooked rice.

Ateya shivered, looking around at the wreckage with dread.

“Aw man Leo's gonna be so mad,” she said.

Ava snorted, and snuffled—

“hUHh–! heUGH’SHhuwh!”

—and another sneeze tumbled out of them, splashing down into the mess below before they were finally able to open their eyes and get their bearings.

“I am so sorry big guy, I did not mean to make you sneeze like that,” Ateya said, utterly soaked through and standing in an inch and a half of ricewater.

Ava snuffled at their wrist drippily.

“It's fine,” they said, keeping a few feet off the ground and surveying the situation.

“I'm going to go tell the boss to stay put. We'll handle this,” he said. “Can you get the doors open?”

Ateya nodded, and sloshed over to the large wooden doors to let some of the water out while Ava zipped off to some other part of the library to keep Leonidas from witnessing the mess they'd made of his entryway, and presumably save him from having an aneurysm.

Between lugging the rice to the library to begin with and giving Ava's snout such an aggressive and thorough massaging, Ateya's muscles were well and truly fatigued and starting to feel sore by the time she reached the big double doors. She fought to get the lock undone, and struggled with the doors themselves, trying to pry one open just enough to get a shoulder behind and shove against with all her might so it would move. The rush of rice and water pushing back along the floor did not help much.

She had the first door halfway open, and was leaning all her weight against it when Ava returned holding a push broom and a pair of squeegees. They flew over to help her, and she nearly fell when the door swung open from beneath her efforts. She stumbled and caught herself.

“Thanks,” she panted, bracing herself on her thighs to catch her breath.

Ava fluttered over to the other door to get it opened as well.

“You exhausted yourself bringing that to me ” they observed.

“I know,” she said. “Probably not my best idea, considering...”

She gestured briefly and vaguely at the floor to indicate the rest of the thought.

“Hmm... But I do feel a bit better,” Ava said, smirking down at her encouragingly from where they hovered. “I appreciate your efforts. It was very thoughtful and very kind of you.”

Despite the exhaustion, the sore muscles, the thorough soaking, and the arduous task ahead, Ateya broke into a grin.

“Nice,” she said.

No books were returned to the shelves that evening. Instead, Ateya and Ava spent the rest of the night painstakingly removing sopping wet, heavy, uncooked rice from not only every corner and crevice of the entryway, but also the entrances of every room and hallway adjoining it on the first level.

Ava insisted on taking the brunt of the sweeping, and once everything was clean they shuffled everything down the steps, off the curb, and into the road for the street sweeper to take care of in the early morning, which was approaching more rapidly than either of them would have wanted.

“I may have made a mistake,” Ateya said, slouching against the doorframe as Ava flew back inside and alighted on the now-dry marble. They gave a short inquisitive hum in response.

“I still have to walk home,” she complained woefully, sinking down to the ground.

“You said you live close?” Ava asked. Ateya looked up at them from where she sat.

“Yeah, but it's still going to be a bitch,” she said. At least her shirt was nearly dry. It wouldn't be any good for her to catch a chill from the whole experience, herself.

“You don't have to walk,” Ava said, shaking their head.

“What are you talking about? Of course I have to walk,” Ateya said. “I don't think Leonidas would be too keen on me staying over and besides, I have work in a few hours. Oh who am I kidding, I'm probably going to call out. I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow...”

“I'll fly you home,” Ava offered.

“Really?” Ateya asked. Ava gave a small, snorting grunt and a nod.

“You've put yourself out a great deal, just to be kind to me. It is the least I can do,” they said.

“That would be amazing,” Ateya said gratefully, feeling altogether too limp to refuse.

The flight to Ateya's seventh story walk-up was just as smooth and fluid as their flights through the library had been, if noticeably slower. Ava didn't race through the streets as they raced around their home. The trip was still faster than most vehicles, and significantly quicker than walking would have been. They flew her right up to her bedroom window to save her the trouble of getting up the stairs.

It was a bit awkward trying to slide the windowpane open from within Ava's arms, but Ateya was able to manage it, then clambering inside and dropping unceremoniously to the floor. She got herself up onto her knees and propped herself against the window ledge by the elbows.

“Thanks,” she said.

Ava smiled and gave her a nod.

“You're most welcome,” they said. Then looking out at the sky, they nodded to themself.

“I need to head back to the library, the sun will be up soon. Thank you again, for all your help. -sngrrkh!- I truly appreciate it,” they said. It was the first time Ateya had heard them snort like that in a few hours. Maybe the rice really had helped.

“I'm glad it was worth the clean-up,” she smirked back. “You have to get back by sunrise? Is Leo expecting you?”

“He is, but that isn't why,” Ava said. “I need to resume my post before repetrifying. ...I can tell you more about it later, if you're interested.”

Ateya yawned massively and gave a nod.

“I won't keep you then. Goodnight, Ava. Or. Good morning? I'll see you around,” she said. Ava gave a quick nod, and made back for the library like a bat out of hell, disappearing with a blur in a rustle of wind.

Ateya stared after them for a moment before dragging herself heavily to her bed, pulling herself up onto it, rolling over, and falling asleep in her dayclothes.

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