Welcome, everyone! Please go to the OOC Thread for information about how to apply, rules, and profile skeletons. No out of character text in this thread, please. Thank you.

Step Into My World...

There are two worlds. You probably wouldn't believe it if someone told you, but that's how it is here. You'll see. One world, as normal as can be, sitting side by side with another. A world of magic. A world of wonder. A world of dreams. And every time you go to sleep, you open a door. The only question is, how long?

How long until you step through?

The setting is modern-day San Fransisco, California. A city of noise, business, pollution. A city of wide, busy streets and sidewalks of bustling people. Ordinary people. Unaware people. You are one of these such people. You have a job, a home, a family, perhaps? Maybe you go to the local college? Maybe you work at the famous Coffeehouse of Doom? Do you play? Do you go out at night? Do you dance at the Cave of Evil? Whatever you do, whatever you are, you are ordinary. As ordinary as anyone else, at least. But once you step through that door, once you open your eyes to this new world...you will never, never be the same.

You wake up in a bed, not unlike your own. But you're not in your room. It's dark where you are, but you can make out the shapes of beds. Lots of them. The room is full of them, in fact. And across the room, a door. And beyond, well, you'll have to see.

The new world, the "DreamWorld" as it is called by those who visit it, is just like ours at first glance. But then you begin to notice the people. The Fragments. And powers, powers that could never exist in your world. She tells you that you can learn these things. That you can bend the rules of reality and manifest abilities that seem impossible. There's something so familiar about her. She says her name is Kyoko. The Lady of the Mirrors.

What you decide to do in this world, and in your own, is up to you. What you will be able to do, however, is up to me. I will tell you when your powers manifest, and to what extent. I will play a number of people you encounter, called NPC's (Non-Player Character), including Kyoko, who will guide you a little bit when you first enter the world. Everyone will meet her their first time in DreamWorld. And I will say when you enter it. Don't worry though. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. Just don't tick off the GM. (Game Master; she who runs the game; me) I will also be playing a couple characters who will be part of the "party".

Your first post should be set in San Fransisco, at whatever time is displayed on this page, on whatever day. If you have a job and would typically be working, then roleplay that. You will all enter the DreamWorld when I feel the time is right. Until then, just roleplay in the "Real World".


Weather and Other Specifics

"And now we bring you Scott Lauder with the Wednesday afternoon and evening Weather. Scott?"

"Thank you Paul! Well, it looks like Mother Nature's got a little leftover moisture for us tonight. We've got cloudy weather this afternoon, with high chances of rain and thunderstorms all throughout the evening. Temperatures in the low 40's, high 30's, so be sure to dress warmly and bring your umbrella if you're going out to brave the storm, folks. That's the Weather for Wednesday, and now to Dave Kendall, who will bring you the latest in Sports."

Date
August 19th, 2009

Day
Wednesday

Time
Evening

Weather
Raining, Slight Breeze

Temperature
Cool and Wet

Creed Devou scanned the young woman's books into the computer database, making sure to take a little bit longer than he usually would so that he could talk to her. She was very pretty and he definitely was thinking he could (secret secret secret). She would be perfect for that. But he still stood inside his oval island of counters that made up the librarians desk. Here at Stanford University Creed was the librarian. He enjoyed books, whether it was reading them or just organizing them. But he also enjoyed his close contact with the other students. They always had to come in to get their books and this gave Creed plenty of chances to speak with them.

He let the woman leave, smiling at her as she walked away with his books, and his phone number. He then set his nimble fingers to the task of finding out about her. Being his newest project he felt the need to find out as much as he could about her. Sitting down into his computer chair he linked the internet into the schools student database. Here he could see the student roster and see their classes, dorms/address and phone numbers. He had access so that he could contact the students about over-due books and fees. But Creed had a much better use for this information. It took only a few minutes to pull up her file and start his own file on her.

Creed quickly minimized the file and turned to help another student that had approached the desk. As he checked in the boys books he leaned across the oval to his stereo and turned on his music. Everyday at 1pm the students knew he turned on his music pretty loud. Today the song blasting from his system was "Firestarter" by Prodigy. He handed the books back to the boy and got back to work on the computer.

A few minutes later and he was done, ready to start his next project as soon as he got off of work. He had already gone to his classes that morning and didn't have any the next day, so there would be plenty of time for his fun. Creed swiftly stood up and grabbed his leather jacket. He vaulted over the counter and set up the "Be back in 5" sign on the desk. Slipping on his jacket he stepped outside and pulled out a cigarette. His azure eyes glittered when he struck his match and held it to the tip.

Blowing out smoke he let his mind drift for a few moments, remembering why he was here at this school, what his destiny is and how he needed so very badly to complete it. He dropped his fag and smothered it under his dress shoe before walking back into the school. He stopped into the bathroom to relieve himself and after washing his hands twice he walked down the hall to buy a bottle of green tea.

Entering the library once more he realized that he left his music on as "Voodoo people (pendulum remix)" by Prodigy played. A few of his regular students had already started dancing to the fast paced, loud thumping of the music so he pulled off his jacket and tossed it over the counter. He jumped up onto a table with another male student and started to dance with him. Creed knew that he was losing precious time that he could be spending on finding his father, knew that he could be reprimanded for doing this but he also knew that this was the best way for him to relieve stress. To let go, even for a few moments, was ecstasy to his mind.

And anyways, the guy was hot.

Christiana's put down her book with a sigh of disgust, the loud music throbbing through her mind and increasing her already painful headache. She was of course aware of the librarian's penchant for music, but usually it was only a song or two, this was already the third. With a scowl she tried to plug her ears, but there was no escaping the beat. After a minute or so she gave up the effort and stalked out into the main area.

Her gaze was comparable to that of any dissaproving matron as she scanned the room and the moving bodies. This was disgraceful, it was a library for crying out loud! Grumbling to herself she made her way over to the librarian's desk, he was too busy to notice anyway. Dancing on a table... It wasn't even the fact that he was dancing with a guy that bothered her, she didn't care, but that he was disturbing the library, the sacred storehouse of knowledge and wisdom that quite frankly, pissed her off.

Dropping her book on the table with a loud thump she scowled at him and tapped her foot, waiting to be acknowledged while tapping her foot impatiently and trying to ignore the blaring music. If she wasn't going to be able to study here she would take her book and go, and make darn sure that he knew how angry she was about it.

The song ended and Creed jumped down from the table. He thanked the man he had been dancing with and rushed over to turn off the music just as the next beat began. He grabbed a rag and wiped it over his sweating face when his twinkling eyes met that of a rather angry woman.

'Shit. Well, this is new.'

Creed quickly swept his hair back and adjusted his shirt, and after he braced himself he approached the woman. She seemed to be seething but she stood out in one other way.

She was a student.

Stopping a full six feet from the lady he said "Hello, you are rather unhappy, and I would venture to guess that I am the reason for your discomfort. So . . . we can do this one of two ways. One: you can yell at me and get it all off your chest right away or . . . Two: you can let me introduce myself, you do the same and then we sit down and have a civil conversation . . . about what it is that I have done to irk you so."

Having a feeling that his usual charms wouldn't work on this lady creed kept his smile calm and polite, his posture that of a professor and his tone nuetral with a hint of awkwardness.

'Yes, this hopefully will help. Hmm, I wonder what classes she takes, maybe I can make a friend if I play my cards right. She is not really pretty . . . not ugly but she has that brainy look to her. That is all right though, I just want to be her friend. I bet she would look better in a skirt. Not a short one but a flowy one, with a white blouse and oh no, not now. Stop trying to dress her be serious straight face serious no smile stop.'

Despite the rush of thoughts going on in Creed's head his face stayed completely civil. If anything he stood even more at attention.

Now that the music had stopped most of the students had started to clear out and the library became the peaceful quiet that it usually was. The tables were in place, chairs picked up and the only remaining factor of the miniature party was the lady in front of the librarian.

Dust filtered through the air, appearing in the shafts of light coming through the largely arched windows. The sun shining outside kept the air warm, but the high ceilings allowed plenty of circulation. The peaceful atmosphere was kept by all of the books, absorbing the small shuffling sounds of students remaining behind to study.

Christiana's eyebrows leaped skyward. "I have no desire to shout in a library, so by all means let's take option number two. Yet FAR be it from me to take you away from your duties as librarian." her voice was dripping with sarcasm my this point as a finger tapped on her arm where she had crossed them. With a sigh she relaxed slightly and rubbed at her forehead, her headache was killing her. "I really have no desire to get into this now. What I want is to go home with my book, get some painkillers and some hot tea and resume my interrupted studying. But on the other hand, why yes, I am angry at you."

She sighed agan and dropped her hand to look at him. "Tell you what, if you tell me when your shift is done I'll come back then and we can have that civil conversation mister..." She trailed off meaningfully as she looked him up and down. He was attractive enough, but she judged someone based on personality, not appearance. At first she truly was furious with him, but his calm and rational demeanor had settled her a bit, and indeed even impressed her a little. She would give him a second chance, as long as he used it well.

"Devou. Well, you may call me Creed if you would like. I know that I am the librarian but I am also a student here. But to whom am I speaking?"

Creeds smile widened as she mentioned going home for tea and painkillers, and coming back at the end of his shift to talk about her issues. He ran his left hand through his black hair and small crisscrossing scars were visible on the outside that trailed continued into his long-sleeved shirt.

"If you have no more classes now why not stay? The library will be quiet for the rest of the day. I am off in half an hour and I just happen to have Ibuprofen in my desk and some tea that I brought back from Europe in the office that I can brew. That is one habit that I definitely picked up from the English."

Creed's head snapped to the left as a book dropped far into the library stacks. Sighing he turned his head back to the lady in front of him, his eyes took notice of the smaller details: the limp brown hair and the bland blue eyes. Her hair being in a ponytail did not bother him as much as the fact that it was in a scrunchy.

'I know one thing, if she is willing to be my friend I am going to give her a few pointers in the looks department. Maybe all she needs to be in a better mood is a new look. And as long as she does not rip my face off for trying to help I think it would be fine.'

He let his eyes do a swift once-over of her, making sure to do it stealthily so she wouldn't think he was checking her out. His gaze landed on her book. He reached down and picked it up, hefting it into his hands and looking surprised.

"Psychology of War? I do hope this is for a class . . . but if it is your version of light reading then congratulations."

His smile reached his eyes, which already had the onset of crows feet from smiling so much. His eyes continued to twinkle while he held eye-contact, awaiting an answer.

((Issue resolved.))

Tap. Tap. Tap. A redhead had his pencil between his index and his middle finger as he drummed the eraser end of the writing utensil on his desk. Jericho Rayner's eyes, colored dark brown, were half-lidded. In an attempt to keep awake, the man used his other hand to prop up his chin as he stared at the computer screen in front of him. At the moment he had nothing to do. Well actually, he did have something to do. He had to make copies of a flier for a meeting and also on the side for a friend of his. See, he and his friend were having a quasi-garage sale (though he had actually lived in a loft and didn't really have his own garage) and they would need more than one huge sign in order to get people's attention.

"Might as well get to it now," he muttered. Yawning, the male dropped his pencil on the desk and stretched his arms out before getting up. He took a manila folder from one of the drawers in his desk before exiting his cubicle and heading for the copy room. He walked past some of his co-workers, all seemingly about as bored as he was. One was even asleep, not even bothering to cover himself up (however possible). Arriving at the room, he opened the door and went into the copy room before taking out the first of the two papers: the one for the meeting. He dialed in the numbers before waiting for the copier to do its thing as he glanced at the room.

A few minutes later and all the papers were printed. Now for his own personal ones. Repeating the process, he made about twenty copies of the garage sale flier, crossing that pile with the copies from earlier. Exiting the room, he held the stack in his hands, walking back to his desk with ease. What else did he need to do today? Actually, nothing. His supervisor was nowhere to be seen and the meeting wouldn't be until tomorrow (he was pretty sure that it was just about productivity or something like that). Sitting down, he opened the MMO on his computer and waited for the game to load. Once it did, he got to playing, distracted from the outside world.

He sighed as he played. What was he doing here? He was stuck playing a game that was dominated mostly by twelve year olds and people with no lives. Well he supposed that he went under the latter category, but he didn't like to admit it. He continued, biting his lower lip as he slashed through a monster. Running across the field, he acquired another quest, adding to his list of grinding quests. In this one he needed to acquire twelve eyes from these bat-like creatures. He really needed to make some friends at the office.

Late! Late late late late late! Oh, her teacher would never forgive her! In a flurry of brown hair, Jessica skidded across the tiled floor into the main hall, then took off like a bang down the hallway, clutching her books in a deathgrip to her chest while scanning the numbers beside the doors. She was dressed in a casual black tank top and slate gray jeans that had lacing down the sides. They hugged, but didn't pinch, and she loved the way they looked on her. Plus, the flexible material made it easy to run in, something her boots were doing nothing to help. Her dark hair fell mutinously into her face, breaking free of her updo as her hair clip clattered to the floor.

'Oh for goodness sake!'

Snatching up the accessory, she swept the hair out of her face and over her shoulder and resumed her fervent search.

"301...302...303....Aha!"

304, World Culture and Linguistics. She cracked the door and peeked in to see the professor already in the middle of a lecture. Sliding in, she stealthily made her way to an open chair in the corner, hoping not to be noticed. It seemed to work, nobody even paid attention to her. With a sigh of relief, she hunkered down and started taking notes on everything she had missed that was written on the board.

It was almost the end of the class, and she felt confident she hadn't missed anything drastically important. They were working on dead languages tomorrow, which was something she really was looking forward to. They had been given an assignment, so she would need to head to the library to get some information so she could type it up tonight. As the bell rang to announce the end of the class, she slid out of her seat, collected her books, and tried to blend into the crowd as it massed its way through the door. She almost expected to feel a cold hand on her shoulder, dragging her back into the room for a stern lecture about being on time, but she made it out without so much as a glare. Whew. Flicking some stray hairs away from her face, she headed briskly to the library. The sooner she got that assignment done, the sooner she could go out and have some actual fun.

Jericho blinked his eyes, massaging his temples. He was starting to get eyestrain from too much playing as he had played the same game at home until about 2:30AM, the night (day?) prior to coming to work and here he was again, playing. And I wonder why I always want to fall asleep. He yawned, further cementing how tired he was, but he played regardless. It wasn't like he would be able to sleep anymore (unless he passed out) as he had been downing cups of coffee like they were tequila shots. His fingers went back to playing his MMO, blinking his eyes occasionally as he hacked and slashed through various monsters in an attempt to collect whatever it was that he needed to attain. It was a boring process, but he figured he could get something out of it, out of his otherwise boring (meaningless) day.

"So tired," he murmured as he toggled his view on his desktop to get a better view of the pixelated area. Before he could continue to play though, he heard footsteps in the distance, rolling his chair, he was able to get close to the edge of his cubicle and stick his head out. What he found was his supervisor there, and heading towards him, inspecting everything to make sure it was done. Aw crap! He rolled back to his seat and immediately signed off of the MMORPG, pulling up some half-finished (assed) work and pulling out a notebook which he wrote vigorously in, knowing that the man would be behind him in a few minutes (he was paranoid like that).

With that, he sighed and continued to work, occasionally glancing up at his computer screen to see a silhouette of a man wearing a white, collared shirt with a red tie. His face however, was obscured. But that didn't matter. Jericho knew what the guy looked like. He was slightly red in the face with stern, brown eyes that had crow's feet at the side. The man wasn't quite balding, yet, but there was a telltale sign of his hairline receding (his hair was already gray too). His voice was coarse, as if he smoked, and it showed especially when he was telling his employees to work. "Good work Jericho. I see that you're almost done with that spreadsheet, right?" Jericho was silent, simply nodding in reply to his supervisor, not relaxing until the older man had walked away.

"Christiana Bleur, but please call me Christiana, anything else makes me feel ridiculously old." she muttered "A pleasure Sreed, and surprisingly well met I must say."

Christiana blinked "The ibuprofen sounds wonderful, but I was serious about not taking you away from your duties as a librarian, so I can pass on the tea." the side of her mouth twitched up into a slight smile "And though the English are a wonderful people with fascinating traditions and history, I find their tea rather horrid. Good for caffine, but for taste I must say I prefer the herbal teas directly from the middle east instead of routed through them. I'll have to show you sometime if you've never tried it."

Her eyes flicked to her book as he hefted it and she shifted uncomfortably "Well, I... yes I suppose so. You might say it's for a class, but it'd be one I was teaching, not learning from, that is, if I decide it's worth it and return next semester." She blinked as she realized how that must have sounded. "Wow, I must be more tired then I thought. Can I try restating that?"

She took a deep breath as she collected her thoughts then began "I graduated last semester and am taking a semester off. If I choose to return next semester as a graduate student the university has requested that I teach a class for the undergraduates. I was reading that to re-familiarize myself with the material and decide whether coming back for a Masters is worth having to teach. So for a class, yes, but it's probably closer to being light reading."

"My name is Creed, not Sreed. I will have to try these middle-eastern teas of which you speak. I enjoy trying new things. As for my Librarian duties, I scan in the students books and answer questions and help with concerns. So actually, I must implore you to ask these fascinating questions and inform me of any and all concerns that you may have. It is my job, after all."

White, straight teeth that fit just right in his mouth shown in the light with his giant smile. He knew that he was technically flirting by most people's opinions but this was normal for him. Not the 'flirt with anything that moves' but the 'be nice to everyone he sees'.

"Now, from the sound of your name I would have to say that you are . . . French. As it turns out, I am also French. Born in Paris but traveled throughout the countries there before making my way to the states."

Creed reached back behind the counter and grabbed a new bottle of water along with the bottle of pills, then handed them both to Chris. His skin was light colored and smooth. His right hand was pristine and completely unmarked, but now that his hand was closer the scars were much more visible. Where his skin was already light colored his scars were thin white lines. There were three lines: one that ran from his shirt sleeve down the back of his hand to just between his thumb and forefinger. The second line traveled from the left side underneath his pinky to cross the first line on the right side under his thumb and the third scar was slightly thicker and it came from the middle of his ring finger straight up into his shirt.

Christiana blinked and took the offered pills and water with a look towards the scars on his hand. Well it was none of her business anyway, but still... those were rather odd places to have scars. She wondered what...

Snapping out of it with a sigh, she popped the lid and shook a couple of pills into her hand, downing them gratefully "Creed. I am sorry, my head is killing me. If you insist, I will share my concerns now." She glanced at a clock "It seems it is rapidly moving towards the time when you get off duty anyway."

Moving towards the side of the librarian's desk so that others could approach and do their business and she was not in anyone's way she uncapped the bottle of water and drank deeply, draining almost half. She paused, recapped it and leveled Creed with a look. "To address things in order. My family name is french, but I am not, the reasons why are rather complicated, and I see no need to go into them now. As for my concerns... Well first of all, the music. You want to play a couple of songs at a reasonable volume, I don't particularly care. When it goes on for over fifteen minutes, gives me a migrane all the way at the back of the library and the whole place devolves into an imprompteu dance hall... For crying out loud, it's a library!" She paused and took another drink to calm her temper before continuing. "Honestly I don't know how you've gotten away with having a stereo in the library anyway. The policy of the library is to be a resource for students, somewhere they can come to study in peace, not to be a loud disruptive place."

Creed grabbed his cup of tea and quickly brought it to his lips to hide the humorous smile there. After swallowing a mouthful of burning tea he coughed and gasped for air.

*cough cough* "Excuse me" *cough* "I apologize, that tea was exceptionally hot. Um, where was I . . . Oh yes! Well, for the music, I am sincerely sorry. I know that it is unprofessional for me to have a stereo system playing loud enough for the students to hear, however I am technically allowed to have one for personal use. I play it that loud because . . . Well honestly I play it that loud because of students like you."

Mr. Devou purposely let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

"I of course meant no offense. What I mean to say is that most of the students are extremely . . . testy. Stressed about all of the troubles in their lives. The same can be said for me. I provide the students with a few minutes of relief from their stressful lives so that they can continue to work. This actually does help them. However, I did not stop to think of those students that would be offended by my actions. I apologize, but you are the first and only to have made this complaint since I began this ritual over three months ago."

He continued to smile, attempting to keep her calm, prevent a flood with a dam.

"But do not think that means I am going to continue. Because you made this complaint and you have been so respectful about it, I will respect you by discontinuing my daily barbaric bar-dancing ritual." His smile was full of charisma and his eyes full of humor.

Jessica entered the library, books still clutched in her arms. She liked the atmosphere here. It was calm, soothing. It felt good to be around such a vast collection of knowledge as well. She caught sight of the librarian, whom she had only seen once since she got here. Being a late starter, she hadn't had much opportunity to come check out the books, so she waved a hello in his direction before she set out for the stacks.

It was a completely different world here. There was a hush that spread like a thick downy blanket over the entire area, punctured only by the occasional giggle and whisper of kissing noises. She narrowed her earthy brown eyes and crept through the narrow paths before happening upon a couple, pressed up against a bookcase, making loud, slurping noises that were anything but sexy. Quietly walking closer, she slid a book off the shelf, opened it wide, and then snapped it shut right behind them. The girl gave a little yelp of terror and the boy, looking like someone who had gotten his hand slapped while in the cookie jar, jumped a little at the sound. They both shot dirty looks at Jessica for interrupting their...activities.

"Yes, well, if you're quite done with that bookshelf, I need to get something, so please scoot along," she said with her sweetest smile, dripping poison. With another pair of dirty looks, the couple moved to find another corner to smooch in. Jessica rolled her eyes and scanned the shelf to see if there was anything she actually needed from it.

Christiana felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. That smacked almost of an insult she had been given many times. That she was "Uptight" which often led to accusations of being "Frigid" which angered her to no end. Still, he had agreed to respect her by ceasing it at least so she gave him a grateful nod.

"Thank you. In all honesty, I'm sure there are other students who feel the same way but didn't think it worth breaking the peace. I'll be sure to bring some of my more herbal teas by later, I think you may like them." Retriving her book she gave him a brief, but not altogether unfriendly nod. "I do actually have reading to do though, so thank you for the painkillers and for listening." With that she turned and retreated back to her spot where she settled in and picked up her interrupted studies.

Lunch break was the best part of work for Jericho. He could actually play games without fear of getting caught and fired or anything of the such. But no, instead he had decided to take a drive to the library. It was only a few minutes away from the university and the parking lot was somewhat empty, hence him being able to find a spot near the building where the library was. Getting out, he locked the doors and walked towards the library, a paper cup filled with coffee in hand.

He didn't know what exactly he would end up reading, but it was better than nothing. Entering the library, he sipped his drink with care, glancing around at all the readers and all the shelves of books. It was a different sort of quiet in here as opposed to the office. In the office, the quiet was boring, the only sounds being those of typing and sounds of the copier. Here it didn't feel as humdrum and more relaxing (the smell of books was a plus too). But now to get to reading...

"I look forward to trying your foreign teas."

He also gave a nod, his more endearing and friendly than hers. Just then his eyes snapped up to see a random girl waving to him. He had not seen her before and decided to investigate. Setting down his cup of tea and turning off the computer monitor he walked towards where she was headed. She disappeared into the stacks before he could reach her, and he didn't want to call out to her because Chris might stab him with a stray sharpened pencil. So he continued into the tall stacks of books.

Stanford's library was gigantic. There was no other word to describe it's great mass. Located in a completely separate building that was further away from the others. The ceiling was very high, with the bookshelves giving the illusion of reaching towards the top. The shelves were stacked eight high and needed a ladder to reach the higher three. Small lights were placed periodically throughout the stacks but in most places they barely gave off enough light through their dust covered shades to read the titles from the book spines. Large arched windows took most of the outer wall space and when the sun was bright rays of light came through those but none ever pierced deep enough to really make a difference.

Creed knew the maze of book shelves quite well and followed a simple route. He came upon the strange girl in his favorite section: Mythology. She seemed to not be paying attention to her surroundings so he thought he would try to not come off as too scary.

He couldn't help himself, he snuck up behind her and whispered it into her ear.

"Boo."

She had become so engrossed in the titles on the shelf (It did, after all, have all manner of books on Mythology!) that she didn't even hear someone creeping up on her. It wasn't until a faint voice whispered in her ear that she reacted at all. It might be thought later that the man would have been better off not so close to her when he decided to surprise her. Her hands jerked up; one felt like it connected with something that could have been his face sharply, and she gave out a little shriek of surprise. Spinning around, she grabbed a nearby book and brandished it threateningly before her eyes registered who was standing before her in the dusty dark. Eyes widening, she quickly put the book back and attempted to look less...psychotic.

"Oh! Ohmygosh, I'm so sorry! You surprised me and I thought you were....oh, I am so sorry, oh, how's your nose? Did I hit you? I'm so sorry!"

Her face cringed against the thought of an angry librarian and her mind flashed back to a scene in a book she had just been reading. Oh, poor Carmen.

"As a note...probably not a good idea to sneak up on unsuspecting young damsels like myself in spooky areas of the library. It tends to end...badly...." she offered with a sympathetic smile, quirking her head slightly to see if he was bruised or bleeding anywhere. After all, she packed a mean punch sometimes. Her eyes scanned the nearby bookshelves. Perhaps she had hit one of those instead. Thoughtfully, she wondered which would anger a librarian more, getting hit in the face or seeing his books getting hit. Hmm.

Creed brought his hand up just in time to block her surprised swing. And still got hit square in the jaw. His hand was about four inches away from where it needed to be. He reached up to touch the tender area on his face, surprised at how hard the girl had been able to hit him. Also surprised by the fact that he hadn't blocked her attack.

"Well, I do believe I've learned my lesson." Creed said, his accent lightening a few syllables. "As for my injury, I think it might bruise a little bit, but otherwise I'm fine. My jaw, not my nose that is. Now, what has you so on edge? What exactly was that you thought I was?"

Creed brain began working over-time. 'What are the things that could make her jump to the offense like that. Most people would get scared, jumpy and defensive. She did two of the three bu became self-defensive. Ex-Boyfriend? Stalker?'

"That's an interesting book you're holding there. Names of the Pit Fiends by Jakom Wurst . . . I think it might be a little . . . heavy for your type of reading."

Creed reached for the book in the girls hands.

Her stomach did an odd swoosh when she realized she had actually given him a smart smack to the jaw. She smiled apologetically as he massaged his jaw a moment, and took to staring at the nearby shelves when he questioned her about her reaction.

"Oh...um...sorry...too many horror novels makes me kinda...er, edgy..."

'Oh, that accent! I could just melt! But what do I do? I whack him in the face...such a dunce...what was I thinking?'

She glanced nervously up at him when he commented on one of the books she had pulled off the shelf before he had snuck up on her. It was one she thought looked pretty interesting, even if it did not pertain to her assignment. She held it out to him when he reached for it, letting him take it.

"Ah..well....it seemed like a good read. I'm not daunted by thick or unusual books, Mr...um..I'm sorry, I never did catch your name. Mine's Jessica," she offered, shifting her books to one arm and holding her hand out.

Christiana had lost herself in her book by this point. When she got into something she was almost in a meditative state she focused on it so much. As she quickly read through the book a pen twitched and danced spasmodically in her right hand as her fingers toyed with it. Every once in a while it would still as she turned her attention to her small notebook and jotted down a date, theory or lecture idea.

Since the library had returned to it's normal peace with a few muted whispers trailing through the bookcases there was little to distrub her as she worked. Honestly she was finding it quite enjoyable now, perhaps she would agree to teach the class, it was such a fascinating subject... She blinked and shook her head slightly, massaging her forehead as her headache faded. Creed wasn't such a bad guy really, and since it looked like she would be spending a lot more time here in the future she made a mental note to bring in some of her teas with her next time she came.

"Earl Grey, really." she murmured to herself softly with a small smile. There were so many better teas out there. She made a small note in her notebook "Don't forget, get some of the good oolong tea for Creed at the library." With a small yawn she looked at her watch. Eh, it was only noon. It felt later then that. Making a few final notes in her notebook she closed it and put it away, leaning back in her chair with arms outstretched until her back gave an audible crack. Groaning quietly she closed the book and stood, moving back towards the front. Maybe she could get some lunch then catch a nap...

'How cute, she is obviously horrified by hitting me. Should I play it up and go for sympathy or maybe brush it off very suave.'

"That's all right, I can handle a bit of pain, as long as there is not any dismembering that follows. My name is Creed Devou and it's my pleasure." Despite his grotesque statement he was smiling widely. He accepted the book and flipped open a page. Turning it around to face her he read:

"Fangrualian: A demon from the third circle of the Pit. They are large Blue/Black beings that are hairless and featureless. When they kill they put on their victims skins and walk among their friends and family to find more prey. Mostly unintelligent they rely on instinct and their extremely sensitive sense of touch for survival."

"You see, it really is a book most wouldn't enjoy."

His twinkly smile in his eyes was still there, but something darker, more fierce was there behind them.

She chuckled, easing up a little bit at his casual nature. She chuckled at his joke, feeling a little better to know he wasn't angry with her for the accidental assault.

"Well, I forgot my machete anyways, so I think you're safe," she reassured him with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Creed Devou, Sneaky Librarian Extraordinaire."

She smiled widely. He was charming, in a slightly odd sort of way, and having that sexy accent did not hurt either. Her eyes fixed on the page he had flipped to and she listened with rapt attention as he read a passage. It was a strange scene for a moment, a librarian reading from a book on fiends, and a student, listening with such reverence that you might think he was reading a hymn or passage from a religious text. When he made his last comment, she smirked and held her hand out for the book.

"Well, you'll come to find, Mr. Devou, that I am not like most people. I think it will be quite the interesting read."

"Hm. Well if you think you can handle it. Are you interested in things of these sorts?"

He couldn't help it, he was curious. Not only did he not creep the girl out with his strange sort of humor, but she was actually paying attention. Close attention. Most students wouldn't give him the time of day that Jessica and Chris have. To top this out, she was unsurprised and unafraid of the book that he was handing back to her.

The books was more of a tome, a large leather-bound tome with calligraphy ingrained into the covering. It's age showed in the wear, the spine was creased, leather cracked, the pages were thick and yellow papyrus.

'She seems to like the supernatural. But to what extent? Is it a passing fancy, a mild interest or maybe even an obsession? What does she know that she could teach me? What could I teach her?'

Creed seemed to stand a little taller as he held the book out to her. His lips were not smiling anymore. He didn't seem angry or sad or anything like that, more over he seemed concentrated. Like this was a test.