losttruths (losttruths) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-12-25 22:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, juliette coulombe, perdita arkady |
Who: Juliette Coulombe and Perdita Arkady
What: This book costs 300 gil. This book costs 300 gil. This book costs 300 FUCKING gil. LET’S GET IT.
Where: Lux & Livre
When: Backdated: Friday 12/13
Rating: PG
Status: Complete!
Waiting outside Lux & Livre, Perdita shivered slightly as she watched the pale grey sky overhead. She wondered if it meant it would snow soon. Winter in Anjou meant rain and wind, Perdita recalled, but in Emillion it meant ice and snow. After two years living in the city, however, Perdita was starting to grow used to the weather in Emillion. There was something fun about it, watching the city change from gray to white, and seeing everyone turn into children for a minute. Perdita’s thoughts about snow in Emillion came to a halt when she spotted a familiar face coming closer. “Oh, Juliette!” Perdita smiled and waved at her friend. “Over here!” It took every fiber of her being not to shout “What, lamb!” or “Ladybird!” as well. Juliette had had to run in order to arrive on time, and even so, it seemed the mage was already waiting when she jogged up. Her last lesson of the day had let out half an hour prior at Ashwyrm, and she had tried to hurry, but she wondered if she ought to have run faster to save the other girl from having to wait in the cold. “Apologies for the delay,” she said, though she was not technically late. Fortunately, she was only slightly winded from the brief run and thus was saved the inelegance of panting for breath. “I hope you did not wait too long?” Perdita laughed. “Juliette, you’re right on time! I finished my work for the day early, that’s all. I was only here for a moment, I assure you. Now,” she said, taking her friend by the hand, “I think our conversation will be much improved if we retreat inside, don’t you?” With that, the young scholar led her friend inside the store. Lux & Livre was warm and bright, a drastic change from the street outside. It was also filled with rows upon rows of what was possibly Perdita’s favorite thing in the world: books. “It’s heaven on earth, don’t you think?” she said, turning to Juliette. “Now, is there a particular genre you wanted to look at?” “I prefer classic fiction,” Juliette said after a moment. She had followed along, surprised only for a moment at the other girl taking her hand (she was coming to know so many affectionate people recently; she still found it odd, but not at all unpleasant). Inside the store, she removed her jacket, folding it neatly over her arm. “I am open to suggestion, however,” she assured. Hopefully, Perdita’s taste wouldn’t run to romances. “Ridley has been lending me texts on white magic recently.” A small smile as she admitted, “My Cure has improved considerably from perusing them.” “You like reading about magic?” Perdita clapped her hands together with open and unashamed delight. “Oh, I should have included on that on my list of genres for us to peruse! Well, I’m sure that there will be time to look at nonfiction at the end of our trip. For now,” Perdita pointed to a far off corner of the store with great gusto, “to classic fiction!” With that, Perdita headed off to that particular section of Lux & Livre, practically skipping as she did so. In another life, Perdita probably would have been a performer of some sort. As the entered one of the many rows of books, Perdita spun around to face her friend. “Now, my dear Juliette,” she said, “Tell me, what are your thoughts on the more...horrific of classic tales? Have you read Bronagh Booker’s Westenra? It’s an old Kerwonian story about a demon of sorts, it’s quite thrilling!” Horrific? Juliette had to consider it a moment. Her reading had been carefully regulated for her in the past; as with all other things, she found herself floundering a bit now without the guidance. “I am afraid I have not read much to do with… such subjects,” she at last said delicately. “But if you feel it is of interest, I would be interested in trying it, perhaps.” At worst, she would put it away. Perhaps she could ask Father Luscini, next time she went to confession, his thoughts on novels of the sort? It was meant as fiction, after all, was it not? “Oh, you should so give it a try!” Perdita insisted. “Think of it as…” here, she furrowed her brow, trying to think of the right comparisons to make. “Think of it as a Hildred Sigerson story, if Taromiry was a bit more sinister.” “Actually,” Perdita said, “have you read the Sigerson serials? They were written around the same time. No horror, but plenty of mystery! They’re about crime-solving!” Now Juliette smiled. “Oh,” she assured, “those, I know quite well. They are indeed fascinating.” If this Westenra was similar, then she surely would try it. She picked it up off the shelf, tucking it under her arm. “It is unfortunate that the true business of solving crime is somewhat more… tedious,” she said. “My mentor is a peacekeeper. I have helped him on occasion. In the office,” she was quick to clarify, “certainly not on patrol.” “Oh, I don’t doubt you in the slightest about exciting events on patrols!” Perdita told Juliette, “I met a peacekeeper on his patrol my first night in Emillion, quite an exciting way to begin my life in the city, let me tell you! “I am curious, though,” Perdita went on, “what is office work like for, ah, that sort of thing? Do you have to write reports for every patrol? That seems like it would be quite tedious.” “I was mostly set to the task of alphabetizing,” Juliette admitted. “I did have the opportunity to look through a number of reports. Vandalism, mostly.” She did not think Lord Finch would have approved of her looking at anything more… troubling, though those reports had been concerning enough in their way. “He asked me to look for inconsistencies and missed leads. There was a great deal of reading, and only minimal progress. But I suppose this is what is needed to ensure that the city remains untroubled by crime.” She paused a moment before adding, delicately, “Some peacekeepers appear to have an… interesting grasp on grammar and spelling, also.” “Interesting as in, there appears to be two inter-Guild factions regarding the usage of the Monmartrian comma, or as in they are very dedicated to recreating the accents and dialects of eye witnesses?” Perdita asked, giggling a little. She imagined a peacekeeper and an eye witness on a stage with the peacekeeper taking notes of the witness’s testimony. The eye witness would have to be a young native of Anjou, of course, so the Emillion keeper would have trouble with the inverted slang. It could be a patter-song... “Literary epiphany!” Perdita said suddenly. She turned to Juliette. “Juliette, have you read the play Galatea? It’s very funny, I think you might like it!” Juliette was about to attempt explaining the fact that she did not think some peacekeepers had, in fact, completed grammar school, when the scholar was off to a new topic, and Juliette had no choice but to scramble to keep up. “It sounds familiar,” she said. Perhaps she had seen it performed. “But actually, speaking of plays…” She had a number of recommendations she could make, too. She was already deciding which to bring up as the girls moved in the direction of the proper section of the store. It seemed as though it would be a rather long -- and enjoyable -- evening. |