InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i like the floor, how bout you"

Duncan Boyard (choosewisely) wrote in nosuchtimes,
@ 2008-09-05 00:35:00

Entry tags:

duncan boyard, sascha connolly

Duncan's First Day!
Who: Duncan, Sascha, any 'library regulars.'
Where: Elysium Library
When: June 2007
What: Duncan's first day!

The lanky auburn haired young man with the lopsided smile and earth-colored clothing looked unassuming enough. The confidence in his slacker-swagger drained only a little when he saw just how large the library was. Books, everywhere! Glorious tomes of pointless and possibly purposeful information! All at his disposal! His eyes danced from shelf to shelf, soaking it all in, as he weaved in and out of piles on the floor that needed to be shelved. He moved with a careful ease, not having to look down in order to avoid tripping to his doom.

He'd thought the outside was impressive, with its massive roundness, its spectacular circumference, but the inside was greater. He mentally scolded himself for taking so long to bring himself to the library. Though, he argued back, to be fair, you were sort of busy until now. He rubbed at one bare arm, then his chest, vintage tee rumpling beneath his hand. Now, to find someone who worked here, so that he could announce himself. Did they wear name tags? Shirts? Funny hats? He had no idea. He'd been too busy being a good Samaritan and then going through his own personal library of nothingness to ever visit before. He wondered if he should include in the would-be upcoming 'interview' that it was his first time in the library. Would it work against him? Probably not, I mean, they just... go in order, right?
He was familiar enough with the alphabet and numbers; he wasn't particularly worried.

When he saw a gentleman who looked more purposeful than* lacking purpose, he walked up and offered a handshake and the same lazy-eyed smile. "Hi, I'm Duncan Boyard," he said, drawing his tall frame up a little straighter, "I'm going to work here." He nodded at his own announcement. *(ooc: edit)

(Post a new comment)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-05 06:08 am UTC (link)

For one of the first times in his life, Sascha Connolly had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

Well, scratch that- he had an idea of what he was supposed to be doing, but he really doubted it included staring dumbly at a shelf of reference books in a language he couldn't even pronounce, let alone decipher. He scratched at his head again in confusion as he looked over the hastily scrawled schematic of the enormous building that he'd mapped out over several days of exploring, turning the page sideways as he tried to make sense of his own markings. Goddamnit all, he was supposed to be pulling volumes from the shelves on the second floor!

Sascha had only been in Elysium for a little over a month now, and along with being unfamiliar to him in general, the whole scenario was also a little overwhelming. It was his first week working in the library, and he'd already managed to get himself lost in the stacks three times; fortunately, there always seemed to be an Elven aide about to help direct him to wherever it was he needed to be. Sweeney hadn't been much help either as the scents from the musty texts seemed to be of little interest to her, and she'd taken to prancing along the aisles in front of Sascha in search of something to amuse herself. He looked up in time to see her tail disappearing around the corner just ahead of him, and he was about to call out a light reprimand when a hand suddenly jutted into his view.

It took a moment for Sascha to process that the hand was meant as a greeting, and he glanced up at the stranger with a friendly smile as he returned the handshake. "Is that so?" he chuckled at Duncan's remark, smoothing a few wayward bangs out of his eyes. "You sound awfully sure of that. I've already been here a week, and I only just made it out of the fiction section yesterday." Sascha wasted no time in dumping one of the volumes under his arm into Duncan's still outstretched hand. "Here, find a home for this one. You want work, you've got it."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

choosewisely
2008-09-05 04:57 pm UTC (link)

"Alright," he said, not feeling too distressed because it was only one book. He flipped it around to take in the label on the spine, but then realized he had no idea where various sections were just yet, so really, it didn't help him. He looked around for a moment, appearing contemplative (and squinting his eyes just a bit, because, well, he was thinking: Is that a DOG I smell?

"This place is fantastic," he said, hugging the book to his chest with one arm, as his other free hand found its way into his pocket. "I mean, I have a lot of books at home, but this is great. Are you the only other person who works here?" That would be insane. This place was far too large for one man to handle. "There's gotta be someone else, right?"

He checked the label on the book again, just in case it had decided to change since the last time he checked, and then shifted his weight. He had absolutely no idea where it went. Maybe if he could keep the man talking for a bit, he wouldn't feel silly asking him where that section was.

He realized that the man he was speaking to hadn't offered his name in return. "I've...never been in this library before. Have you worked here long...." insert long pause for name-placing. His eyebrows crawled up his forehead, creating lines of curiosity. Then he grinned.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-06 05:41 am UTC (link)

Sascha couldn't help but laugh at the question even though he was fairly sure the other man hadn't meant it as a joke. "Oh hell no, I'm not that crazy. There's another man who works here as a librarian...Kitano-something or other. And there's always a handful of library aides wandering around to do all the grunt work." He glanced down at the stack of books he'd accumulated in his cart and amended his statement. "Well...some of the grunt work, anyway."

He smiled amusedly when Duncan re-checked the label on the binding, and his grin only grew wider at the obvious prompting for his name. "My students used to call me Dr. Connolly, but that seems pretty moot now. Just 'Sascha' is fine." He looked back over his shoulder and gave a low whistle, and seconds later Sweeney came prancing around the corner of one of the bookcases, seating herself primly on the floor beside Sascha's feet and offering up a paw in greeting as her tongue lolled out one side of her mouth. Sascha looked down at her and gestured to his new companion with one hand. "Sweeney, meet Duncan. Duncan, Miss Sweeney." He leaned toward Duncan in a confidential manner. "Watch yourself, she always goes for the face. Freshest little lady I've ever known."

"And to answer your question, no, I've only been here a little over a week." He held up his sketchy map for Duncan to examine. "I'm still trying to figure out my way around this place. Maybe we can go exploring together. How good are you with directions?" Surely two heads would be better than one in this situation, right?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

choosewisely
2008-09-06 02:11 pm UTC (link)

As soon as Sweeny came around Duncan's face lit up, his eyes popping open as his mouth split into an open grin of elation. "Ohmygod, hiiiiiiii!" he said, crouching down immediately to reach over and pet the canine. If she did indeed go for his face, he didn't seem to mind, and oblingingly turned his face away so he wasn't french-kissed accidentally. All the while, his hands moved across her head and neck and back, intermittently scratching her ears or under her jawline. "She's so pretty! Hi, Sweeny. Hello!" His 'baby voice' was only slightly disconcerting.

When Sascha spoke to him again, he was looking down at Duncan, who was still loving on the animal. "Ohhh." Only a week? Now he didn't feel so awkward. He reluctantly came to a stand and reached out for the map. "I'm pretty good," he answered, because in truth he was pretty good at almost everything. Being around for over three centuries had given Duncan plenty of time to master a variety of skills and hobbies. He smirked at the map before handing it back. "Can I ask what you taught?" he said, having been unable to gauge whether or not 'that seems pretty moot now' just meant 'I'm no longer a teacher' or 'it's filed under: Never Speaking About It.'

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-06 04:42 pm UTC (link)

Sascha laughed even harder as, true to his word, Sweeney immediately made a beeline for Duncan's face, dragging her tongue enthusiastically across the man's cheek as her entire rear end wagged back and forth in excitement. The high-pitched sounds coming from Duncan's mouth were amusing in and of themselves and especially so given that they only served to stir up Sweeney even further.

Before Sascha even realized it, Sweeney had managed to worm her way onto Duncan's lap; she was about to prop her paws up on his chest for another slobbery kiss when Sascha sent her a quick mental warning, and she immediately backed off. No use in encouraging bad behavior, after all. "Looks pretty safe to say that she's glad to meet you," he chuckled.

Sascha caught the slight smirk on Duncan's face as he glanced over the map before returning it, and he rubbed the back of his neck a little sheepishly. "Well, I'm obviously no architect," he joked as he accepted the piece of paper, "but I used to teach a few literature classes back at NYU. American Lit, mostly. It's not exactly library science, but I figured they'd be compatible enough to give me something to do here. Hope I'm not wrong."

He gestured with his head at the large winding staircase leading up to the second level, abandoning his cart of books and patting his thigh for Sweeney to follow him. "Whatsay we take this conversation on the road, hm?" He smiled back at Duncan. "What sort of things have been keeping you busy?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

choosewisely
2008-09-06 06:18 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, I'm sort of a Jack of All Trades," Duncan replied, falling in to step behind Sascha and beside the dog. "I assisted with a lot of the evacuations and since then have been sort of just.. milling about, helping people settle or..such." His hands flailed at the inability to come up with a better phrase. He used his hands a lot while he spoke, long fingers assisting when words wouldn't come.

"I've never taught, though, so I was wary of attempting such. I like learning, though, so I figured the library was a good place to spend my time. I'm not interested in politics and medicine never quite grabbed my attention, so I find myself here." He gestured all around him with a grin, then abruptly bent down to pat Sweeney again. "I'm actually very good at magic tricks, but performing parlor magic sort of became moot when we came to Elysium, didn't it?" He snickered at his own joke, but modestly so.

He switched topics like one alternates between side dishes and the entree, going back and forth, abandoning none. "American Literature, huh? Never liked Hemingway."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-06 11:45 pm UTC (link)

"I'm more of a Kerouac buff myself," Sascha agreed as they ascended the staircase, easily following his companion's change of topic. "Actually wrote my dissertation on the Beat Generation. Good stuff. On the Road is basically my bible."

Something the other man said had caught Sascha's attention, however, and he backtracked a little in the conversation. "Did I hear you say something about magic tricks?" Ever since he was a child, Sascha'd had a strange fascination with the magicians he'd seen on television (what little he'd watched, of course) and on the occasional street corner. The sleight of hand tricks and pure charisma of the performers had never ceased to amaze him, and being a curious and somewhat precocious child, he'd done what he could to imitate them.

Sascha had read more than a few books on the topic to get himself up to speed, and as they came to the second floor landing, he casually reached back toward Duncan's head and made a quick motion with his fingertips as he produced a quarter seemingly out of thin air- or rather, Duncan's ear. "Guess this does seem a little useless now, doesn't it?" Simple tricks he could do, but he'd always wanted to learn some of the more complicated processes.

With a grin, he flipped the coin over the edge of the railing and watched as it plummeted to the floor below. His eyes widened in surprise when the coin miraculously managed to peg the only visible Elven aide that side of the library square on the head, and he backed away from the railing to make sure he was out of her line of sight.

"Let's...keep moving, yes?" he suggested with a nervous chuckle before returning his attention to Duncan. "What kind of tricks have you got up your sleeve? Impress me, Mr. Jack-of-All-Trades."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

choosewisely
2008-09-07 12:34 am UTC (link)

He actually laughed when the coin hit someone, but then his hand flew up to cover his mouth. It wasn't nice, to laugh at someone who might have a head injury. Even if it was funny, he knew he shouldn't have laughed. The giggles died down slowly. He back-pedaled quickly away from the railing, following Sascha. His tone changed slightly when he spoke again, however.

"Oh, well, I suppose I'll just skip over coin tricks.." he said, somewhat defeatedly since that was the first idea he'd had. It wasn't his fault Sascha knew how to do coin tricks; they were popular! He almost pouted. "The ear-thing I could do. Kids like that. Uhh..." with a shy lifting of his shoulders he reached into the pockets of his jeans and brought out a quarter. He began to rotate the coin over his knuckles, quickly and smoothly, before making it "disappear." Then he coughed, one fist against his lips of the opposite hand, and the coin fell out of his lips in a sputter.

He replaced the coin back into his pocket, then bent to call Sweeney back over with a smile. Suddenly there was a small, delicate voice from a few aisles over, muffled by walls of dusty books. A young female voice asking: "Hello, can anyone over there help me find something?" Duncan looked up, brow furrowed, then turned his gaze expectantly up to Sascha. His cue.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-09 01:32 am UTC (link)

Sascha grinned widely at Duncan's trick, very much impressed by the man's obvious dexterity. "Not too shabby, my friend," he complimented as Duncan sank down to play with Sweeney a little more. The dog was surely loving every second of the attention and showing her appreciation by licking at her new playmate's hands and face, and Sascha merely shook his head.

"Are those tricks what landed you here in the first place, or do you do something else?" Sascha had been very curious to know about the kinds of beings that inhabited Elysium ever since he'd first arrived, but sometimes it felt a little awkward to ask perfect strangers outright, 'So, what are you?' Duncan looked human enough, but Sascha had learned very quickly indeed that there was often more than met the eye in this supernatural setting.

Then he heard the plaintive call for assistance from behind one of the bookcases, and he held up a finger to Duncan to indicate that he should wait. "Hold that thought- wherever there's a patron in need, there's a librarian to the rescue!" With that said, he made his way in the direction of the voice, a friendly smile plastered onto his face as he rounded the corner of the bookcase. "Is that a call for help I hear? I'm at your service, milady. Use me however you like."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

choosewisely
2008-09-09 02:00 am UTC (link)

But there was no one there. Duncan followed Sweeney over to the empty aisle, grinning like a Jack-O-Lantern. He eased himself around the corner, gripping the woodwork, and looked up from his sneakers coyly. Then, his mouth peculiarly moving in time to the young girl's voice that came from seemingly nowhere:

"Sorry about that. One of my best."

He could throw his voice. Not only that, but he could apparently change it, too. Very well.

His voice returned to normal as he gave a little bow to Sascha. He understood the man's question. He had to admit it was a more polite way of asking about his background. He'd heard far worse and blatant things, ranging from: "Are you human or not?" to "Are you one of those freaks?" Granted, such harsh phrasing was rarely heard here, but Duncan had been many places over a very wide stretch of time. "As far as what 'else' I can do," he said, before trailing off. Once again, he went digging into his pockets, but this time brought out a lighter.

With a 'look, nothing up my sleeves' glance up to the man, he shook out his elbows and clicked the lighter. The tiny flame danced for a moment, as if trying to free itself, but then gave up and suspended itself still. Duncan's eyebrows met over his nose in a delicate frown of concentration. He lifted his free hand and curled long fingers slowly. The flame in the lighter broke free and suspended itself in mid air, a tiny ball of white-heat, laced in oranges and blues. He crooked his wrist and the flame split in three pieces: two small, one larger. Then, like syrup poured flat , it stretched into the glowing image of a very simple smiley face. From behind the fiery tableau Duncan looked up, then shrugged with one shoulder, effortlessly keeping the tiny pieces of fire in place.

"Oh, this too." He closed his hand into a fist, and the flame dissipated into nothingness. He put the lighter back into his pocket. "Just don't ask me for anything I don't offer." He seemed reluctant to say it outright: djinn.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-18 06:52 pm UTC (link)

Sascha blinked at the empty aisle in front of him, clearly confused by the whole situation until he realized the voice had originated from Duncan's mouth. He certainly hadn't been prepared for that one, to say the least.

"...I'm officially impressed," he said with a grin, watching as his companion proceeded to demonstrate his amazing pyrotechnic abilities. The flame flickered and danced over the man's open palm- and was that a smiley face?- before disappearing altogether, and Sascha applauded the display while Sweeney simply cocked her head to one side and gave Duncan a very confused look.

At first Sascha assumed that Duncan must have had powers similar to Amada, as he'd heard a few things about the fire mage from Irei after his run-in with her and Zane several months prior. Duncan's ability to skillfully manipulate the flames certainly seemed to suggest this, although his last statement left Sascha in a bit of a quandary. Was that supposed to be some kind of clue? The man had been fairly vague with his personal details, but he definitely had a playful, mischievous edge to him; Sascha completely approved, of course. Suddenly the thought of working in such a tremendously large library didn't seem quite so daunting anymore. If anything, Duncan was sure to keep him entertained.

A thought began to niggle at the back of Sascha's mind, and he tapped his lower lip in a feigned display of thoughtfulness. "And if I were to ask you for something...hypothetically speaking, let's say three somethings...where exactly would that leave me?" Duncan obviously didn't want to take the direct approach, but Sascha didn't mind in the slightest; he could play that game, too.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

choosewisely
2008-09-19 02:38 am UTC (link)

Duncan laughed, openly, his hazel eyes brightening, at the 'officially impressed' comment.

"I try," he said, pushing his hands into his pockets. When Sasha took another guess, he laughed again. This time it was a shorter, dryer sound, and he freed up a hand to pantomime a boat taking a swerving journey. "Three, four, one, ten... up shit creek, all of them. Of course, not by my own intention, just simply the way it has to be." He bowed slightly, then straightened and gave an apologetic shrug. It was true. He didn't like the fact, but it was true. "I hope that isn't a problem." Not that prejudice against djinni was mighty popular; hopefully it wasn't even slightly popular here.

"And you? If I may take my turn?" he said, gesturing to Sasha. "Oh, let me guess -- she's your familiar, yes?" He pointed to Sweeney. He was clearly joking; he seemed way too excited to be genuine. "No, WAIT, you're her familiar. Am I getting warmer?"

He bent at the waist, hands on his knees, and regarded the dog. "Do you control him with your mind?" One hand reached out to scratch her ears, and he looked up to Sascha, still smiling. He hoped she was a regular at the library. It would make the days go by quicker.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Looks like it's almost closing time, eh? ;)

bohemiarhapsody
2008-09-24 07:17 am UTC (link)

Sascha nodded slowly as Duncan explained the unfortunate nature of his wish-granting abilities, but never for a moment did he think it reflected poorly on the man himself. Most of the people he'd met in the haven couldn't help what they were- many of them had simply been born into whatever preternatural forms or powers they possessed- and it didn't seem right to hold that fact against anyone.

"No problem at all, my friend," Sascha reassured with a smile as he tucked his hands into his jean pockets. "My luck's always been pretty rotten, anyway, so it's not like I need help making it worse."

Sweeney continued to watch Duncan with her lopsided expression as he spoke to her, barking as if in answer to his question while Sascha simply laughed and knelt down beside her to stroke along her back. "I'm starting to wonder about that myself, actually. She gets pretty willful around dinnertime." He chuckled and glanced back over at Duncan. "Not so much mind control as just...mental communication. I'm a canine telepath, and she's my canine trainer. Think I've learned pretty well so far. I'll even beg for a treat or two given the right circumstances."

Sascha was about to make another remark when he felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder, and he looked up to find one of the female aides he'd met the previous week laying a gentle hand on him to catch his attention. He quickly rose to his feet and leaned in to hear her words, and after a few moments she turned away as if to leave before looking at him expectantly. Sascha reached over to give Duncan a friendly cuff on the arm as he explained the situation.

"Looks like they need another hand down at the circulation desk, so I'll have to cut our chat short. Sweeney seems pretty content up here, though, so if you'd like to keep her company while you finish pulling the reference materials, that's fine by me." He fished a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and presented it to Duncan, hoping his companion would be able to read his chicken scratch. "Here's a list of the titles and call numbers. Once you've rounded them all up, bring them down to the desk and they'll find something else for you to do."

He gave Sweeney a final pat before heading back over to the aide, flashing Duncan a two-fingered salute as he did. "Nice meeting you, by the way." They departed down the stairs for the circulation desk then, leaving the djinn and the dog to their own devices. For her part, Sweeney seemed perfectly satisfied to endure whatever affection and attention Duncan offered her, even going so far as to return the sentiments with a few sloppy kisses.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

end :D

choosewisely
2008-09-24 02:37 pm UTC (link)

"Canine telepath?" he said, grinning. Duncan had known one, a dog-trainer in the traveling entertainment troupe. Though Duncan had suspected that the telepath had used less-than-positive techniques, regardless of his ability, because the dogs would sometimes just look at the man and cower. Obviously, they had not been friends.

Duncan actually had to tear himself away from Sweeney to pull the books as Sascha had asked. He was officially excited about working in the library now. He knew it wasn't just because of Sweeney, though. Sascha seemed very nice, and fun-loving, and that was appreciated. Also, the library was huge, and Duncan knew he'd be content to lose himself within it all the time.

"Okay girl," he said, speaking to just the dog now that Sascha was gone. "You going to help me find call numbers? Mm?"

(Reply to this) (Parent)