[Piper]

It always beat Piper how even in Spring - even in Summer! - the mountains could be so damned cold. Tucked up in the warmth of the penthouse, with her pets and her quilts to snuggle under and a heating system to keep the frost at bay, she could tune out all but the blizzards, but it seemed the librarians didn't believe in heating.

Piper had already been down once, but she'd turned tail and run back upstairs to get her coat (and a thick sweater in case that wasn't enough). She'd almost talked herself out of going back, trying to pretend that her quest for information wasn't urgent - it wasn't like she'd find anything about Vampires in the Anyeli library anyway! - and that she could wait until the sun made its anaemic appearance in the summer, but then she'd overheard Dazadi muttering. It didn't matter what the Aide was saying - which was a good thing since she seemed to be ranting about absolutely nothing - but it had reminded Piper of all the times the Skotadi's rants had been aimed at her for her lack of spine. And then she'd thought of all the times she'd lost the drive to find out more, and she'd headed back out the door. Not this time.

Now, cursing the day's blustery weather, Dazadi's desire to live in the palace in the mountains, and herself for dating Dazadi's son in the first place (and not moving out when she had the chance), Piper headed back to the library tower with her arms wrapped around her waist and her nose snuggled into the collar of her coat, her sweater looped over the laptop bag slung over her shoulder, hoping she'd get lucky and find something on her first try so she could go straight back home and bury herself under a thick, warm duvet.

[d=black]((OOC:[/d] GM of Daz with permission.[d=black]))[/d]

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Melody]

Piper's Boutique

Wind, with its chill, was something he had grown accustomed to. Though he detested the waste it laid to his hair and the ruin it imparted on the neatly groomed feathers of his wings, there was something charming about a windy day. Perhaps it was because few people chose to go out on such a day, and those that chose to leave their homes didn't dilly-dally about with pointless speech, they rushed towards their destination in hopes to escape the wind. Furthermore, and this was Melody's favourite bit, if you did chance an encounter with a particularly incessant soul who wanted conversation, the wind was a perfect excuse to claim you couldn't hear them. Hold a hand to your ear, look confused, shake your head, and pretend to shout that you couldn't hear them without producing any noise. It was worked like a charm every time. If it weren't already overly obvious, Melody Nevé was not the greatest fan of other people. In fact, it would not be completely inaccurate to describe the lean man as a recluse. Not for lack of intelligence or excess of fear, mind you, just for a lack of tolerance. People drove him mad, and with a mind like his, the Anyeli was not fond of the idea of madness.

But today the wind and cold offered him the refuge he required to venture out into the public eye. So, bundled in a black jacket, made of wool and quite warm and, like the rest of Melody wardrobe, fashionable, he braved the outdoors. Black hair was mussed and teased by the wind, whipping around at the male's face. Sometimes he regretted keeping his hair long, but it was ever-so flattering around his face that way. Or, at least that's what he thought. If the wind really bothered him, he supposed he could use one of his wings as some sort of wind block, but that just seemed like more effort than it was worth. After all, he was only going to the library. So, instead, he simply shivered a bit, turning what had once had been a measured stride into a very light jog. He knew full well that the library wouldn't be heated, probably for fear that the heating system would catch fire and burn all the books one day, but at least it would offer refuge from the wind.

Pulling the door open, Melody slipped quietly into the library. With a quick glance at the front desk he offered a very small, but nonetheless polite, smile. It wasn't like he was a new face around the library. Such a place may as well have been his home. Where would Melody have been without books? Why, he didn't even want to think of where he'd be. It was quite likely, in fact, that he'd simply be atrocious clone of his mother. Luckily, however, he had books, and books abound, mind you. Especially as he perused through the shelves of tomes, scouring the titles for something he hadn't yet read.

---

[Yves]

---

Piper's Boutique · Journal
It was cold, bitterly so. Though Yves was too absorbed in a journal of ancient translated literature to pay full attention. Subconsciously of course he would shiver, shake and pull his clothes tight around him. However there was a part of him that cut the cold out from his mind, allowing him to lapse into the parchment of the book before him. Though the translation into Elysian was mediocre to say the least, Yves was able to piece together the story being told. About long lost races, extinct traditions, wars and romance, it was incredibly dynamic and contained everything that would really sell in modern times. Alike to many old Elysian and English novels.

It was only when he couldn't feel the crisp parchment turning under his numb fingers that he became aware of just how cold it had got. He snappe the book shut, yet immediately regretted it after looking at the cracking spine, stood up and placed the book under his arm. He decided to head up to the library tower, hopefully the steep staircase would prove strenuous enough to get the warm blood flowing again. Yves briskly walked towards the staircase, catching a dark haired Ayeli in the corner of his eye.

Yves was halway up the staircase, his large black bat-like wings skimming along the cool brickwork of the walls. Normally he'd pull his wings in close in this climate, to keep them insulated through his body heat, however today he did not. He wanted to feel the cold, he wanted to feel exhilarated. He could feel sharp tingling at the ridge of his wings, gradually prickling upwards as if a thousand pins were being tapped against him. Lost in the feeling, he didn't notice he'd reached the top of the staircase, stupidly he flicked his wings outwards, accidentally clipping the dark haired, asian vampire whom was also in the tower. He instantly pulled his wings back and rushed towards her.

"'My greatest, greatest apologies. I am really so sorry. Here, are you bleeding?'" he asked.

---

Danila Polyakov images · Fonts · Brushes

[Piper]

[d=black]((OOC:[/d] Granting permission to Yves for the GM. ^^[d=black]))[/d]

Piper wasn't a book type of person. Give her the cold, smooth lines of a computer and the all-you-can-read buffet of the internet any day; stuffy - or in this case, freezing - and dusty stacks of ancient books didn't do anything for her, but she'd about exhausted what was available on the 'net and couldn't even be sure if any of it was accurate. It was one of the reasons she'd quit several times in her search before, but she figured the library here would have much more information and that it would be the truth for sure.

She didn't think she was wrong, but so far she hadn't found anything remotely helpful. Which wasn't much of a surprise given that the library covered four whole towers and had everything from language dictionaries and grammar lessons to A History of War-time Strategy and Landing Techniques. (She'd glanced briefly at the latter out of curiosity and was dismayed and horrified to realise it was mostly a series of "how not to land" tips based on real-life cases, most of which seemed anatomically impossible.)

She was just about to give up and head back downstairs to beg the librarian for help, standing to one side of the staircase as she waited for a Zanaryan with shockingly bright red hair to pass her, when she got a faceful of what felt like leather and squeaked her shock. Clapping a gloved hand to her cheek where pain flared, and the other under it, she squinted at the apologetic man and blinked, trying not to loose the inevitable tears. God, that smarts.

"Here, are you bleeding?"

Her voice muffled by her hands and the fact that her cheek hurt quite badly so she was trying not to move her jaw too much, she mumbled, "I don't know." And she wasn't about to remove her hand to check, either, although there was a familiar scent wafting from her glove that suggested she was. Just her luck she was the right height to get whacked in the face.

And, oh God, the guy was huge, she realised with another squeak. Instinctively afraid of what he might do if she made a big deal out of this, she nodded, her hands still clamped to her face and her voice still muffled. "I'm okay. Really. It's okay."

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Yves]

---

Piper's Boutique · Journal
Yves cursed himself under his breath as he watched Piper, clearly in pain yet hiding it well. He stood there like a fool, unsure of how to help, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a clean tissue and then offered it to her. He shook his head, dismayed at his own stupidity and vowed never to flay his wings about without paying attention again. Noticing a nearby stained oak chair with a faded red cushion he pulled it up and placed it behind Piper.

""Here, sit down"" he said, gesturing towards the chair. He then took a chair up himself and sat down.

""Seriously, I am so sorry. It's just I get so distracted in these libraries. It's sad I know, but I find books one of life's many pleasures. Don't you?"" he said to her, the panic of hurting her, and apparently by the looks of it making her bleed began to manifest himself within his rushed dialogue.

""Oh, where are my manners."" he scolded himself, ""I'm Yves Beldroth, Zanaryan. What's your name?"" he asked. Realising he was probably rambling on about nothing, Yves bit his tounge and smiled at the girl. He stuck out his hand and said simply:

""Yeah, hi.""

---

Danila Polyakov images · Fonts · Brushes

[Piper]

[d=crimson]((OOC:[/d] Sorry for the delay! I was waiting to hear from Pilot. ^^[d=crimson]))[/d]

Piper was tense as the man, who couldn't be much older than she was, offered her a tissue. Slow to take it, she watched him nervously as she reached out for it, half expecting him to lash out with it. Although, what kind of damage he could do with a tissue was anyone's guess...

With him losing all that height as he grappled a couple of chairs into place and sat down, she felt much less intimidated, but her ingrained manners were making it difficult to stay standing. He was so apologetic, too, that after a bit of hovering and indecision, she sat down after all.

Making a non-committal sound to avoid speaking, although the initial flare of pain had dulled quite a lot, Piper dabbed at her cheek, peering at the blood on the tissue as she tried to assess the damage. It didn't look like he'd done more than scratch her, which only made her blush with shame that she'd reacted so horrendously, but she tried to excuse herself with the thought that the skin on the face - especially in this chilly atmosphere - could be extremely sensitive.

Bemused by the Zanaryan's rambling, Piper stared at the proferred hand for a second, then belatedly held out her own to shake it. "I'm Piper, I... Kin, um." Prodding her cheek gently with the tissue, she was glad to see it come away clean this time, although she should probably apologise to him for scaring him like that. "It's - it's okay, don't worry, it's fine, see?" She tipped her face so he could get a better look at the scratch, wondering if there'd be a bruise later and deciding she didn't really care. She could cover it with makeup anyway, but maybe it would impress Dazadi a little.

"Um, sorry for... you know." She waved vaguely at herself, finding a sudden interest in his wings. Well, they were fascinating to begin with, but they also provided a great way for her to avoid meeting his gaze. "Are you...? I mean, um. I don't normally spend much time in libraries," she mentioned, jumping on the first subject that came to mind - which just happened to be his earlier question. "I'm more a computer geek, but I'm, well, looking for something that doesn't seem to be available on the internet, so... you know."

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Piper]

[d=crimson]((OOC:[/d] GM with blanket permission.[d=crimson]))[/d]

Piper still felt a little guilty later as she bid the poor man a quiet farewell and tipped the bloodied tissue in a nearby trash can on her way down one of the aisles. Her cheek still stung a little, too, but she thought that was more due to the cold than any real damage. If the library had any form of a suggestion box, she was going to drop a note in about some kind of heating system.

Some time later, her gloved hands tucked into her sleeves as well as possible, she descended the tower to the main desk with a couple of books that looked promising, hoping she'd be allowed to take them out. She'd read a couple of pages of each but it was hard to tell from that short glimpse how accurate or detailed they were, and she wasn't about to spend the whole day freezing her braids off.

The librarian eyed her with pursed lips as she stacked the books on the front desk and stood there huddled in her jacket, shivering. When she seemed about to deny her, Piper jumped in quickly. "I just want to borrow them for a couple of days. I only live just there, in the towers?" She wasn't sure if that was what tipped the decision in her favour, or if she'd even needed to try, but the librarian huffed out a breath that smoked through the air and drew Piper's gaze, before reaching for the stamp.

Beaming at the woman despite her dismissive stare, Piper grabbed the books to her chest and thanked her warmly. Nothing could dampen her good mood, not even the cold. This was the first time she'd found any serious literature on real vampires and just knew this was a good sign.

[d=crimson]((OOC:[/d] Piper has left the thread.[d=crimson]))[/d]

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality