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blueheronteanook2023-06-13 05:03 pm
sunlit_skycat) wrote in blueheronteanook2023-06-13 05:03 pm
Library Walks
Title: Library Walks
Rating: General
Major Warnings: None
Genre: Romance
Summary: Zed and Brie spend some time to hang out, be normal teenagers, and have a small argument over the problems of Practitioner society.
Zed walked in through the halls of the Blue Heron Institute, a heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He’d spent a long day in the workshops, and his clothing was dusted with spots of chalk dust. A pair of sunglasses hung from the neck of his t-shirt, tragically unnecessary in the indoor light.
His outfit put him at odds with the old stateliness of the Blue Heron, retro hair and leather jacket against walls of solid stone blocks and blue trim. He had always admired the aesthetic from a distance when he was younger, and in the past couple years, he had come to embrace the contrast from what everyone else defaulted to.
Just inside the central building, past the dining room, he ran across Brie, who was headed on her way out. She had loose red blouse and white pants on, fully covering her arms, legs, and lower neck, as she had taken to wearing recently in order to hide the binding keeping the Hungry Choir in. She was still anxious about other people seeing, even though Zed had reassured her that most people in the Blue Heron wouldn’t judge her for it, and anybody who did wasn’t worth the time of day.
Brie waved him down and walked over. "Zed! I was just about to check the ritual spaces.”
“Is something going on?”
“Not really. Wanted to see if you were up for company. I like hearing you narrate your thought process as you work," she said, shrugging apologetically.
“Aw, thank you. Not every day that I have a pretty girl tell me that,” he said, smiling at her.
Brie’s cheeks tinged pink. “Are you doing anything now?”
“I need to run these books back to the library and check in with Nina too. Been meaning to do that for a while. Come with?” he said.
"Sure. Let's go," she said, reaching for his hand.
They walked into the Eastern Wing together, which was full of the younger student dorms. Zed didn’t miss these rooms, where he’d been packed in with roommates in a smaller space than any of the senior dorms. A few students milled about in the halls, relaxing from the end of class.
“How is your glitchy CD project? Is it done?” Brie asked.
“Made a breakthrough today. These CDs aren’t just Abyss-tainted, they were made by a ferry bogeyman and distributed to get karmic claim on victims. It’s going to take so much longer to scrub these out than I thought,” he said.
“Didn’t you mention an Abyss teacher here? Can you ask them to help?”
Zed shook his head. “Mr. Moreau is grody as hell. Pretty sure he'll fix the problem by binding the bogeyman for himself and using it to go after Innocents.”
“He’s the one Nicolette was talking about — of course he is. It's so shitty, forcing something to kill," Brie said, voice raising. "I keep getting frustrated at the way that Practitioners know so much, and then turn around and use it for this. You made me have higher expectations for them."
Out of habit, Zed cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was listening. Raquel and Yadira were saying something to a performatively facepalming Kass, but none of them were in standard eavesdropping distance. Alexander should be busy teaching a night class right now, so he didn't need to worry about that either.
"It's not that bad," Zed said defensively. "Ray saved my life multiple times over. Nico is sweet when she's not run ragged by Chase or having an off day. Jessica is standoffish, but that's not a crime. Eloise, Ulysses, and Amine are okay sometimes, too."
"I know, I met them," Brie said. "It's depressing how the good ones are caught up in so much that keeps them from doing more, and the bad ones are like this."
Zed didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't wrong, no, but he didn't enjoy thinking of his friends and mentor that way.
They reached the library in silence, full of books on esoteric Practices. The furniture and flooring had long since been repaired of the recent fire damage, but it was still possible to see its effects through the lack of books on shelves closest to where the fire had originated. Zed led the way in, passing through rows of books deeper into the library.
"Hi Zed. Hi Brie. Looking for some books?" Nina whispered, suddenly appearing from around a corner.
Brie startled at the sudden noise. Zed put out a hand to reassure her, thought better of it, and lowered it.
Nina was dressed in classic librarian fashion, almost stereotypically so, as was her nature as an Animus. Large glasses sat on her face, reflecting the light overhead. Here in the Blue Heron, she put forth a sterner, more classically disciplinarian face than she had when allowed online by Zed.
Zed responded in a low tone, matching Nina's volume. “Nah. Returning past books."
"Give them to me and I'll put them back for you," Nina said.
"Are you sure? I don't want to make more work for you," he said.
He was trying to pay more attention to Nina’s well-being now. It felt stupid, wigging out over an argument with a 13 year old, but he felt compelled to prove that Nina’s binding wasn’t exploitative, whether or not anyone was around to witness it. What Brie had just said didn't help either.
Nina's glasses glinted dramatically in the light as she set her chin. "Handling books could never be work for me. Besides, I'm alphabetizing the collection here. It's a disgrace how much lack of organization there is here."
Zed pulled out the two books in his bag to give to Nina. "Okay. Tell me if there's anything I can do to make life easier for you."
Nina stood up straighter, tucking her hands behind her back, books and all. “I wish the students would talk to me more. Many of them ignore me, even when I ask them to respect this space. I could help them so much more if they weren’t being such brats."
Zed held back a wince. "I'll get a word in to Ray.”
"That would be nice," Nina agreed. "Is there anything else you want to know?"
Zed shook his head. "No. You're free to go."
Nina gave a nod of acknowledgement, and then turned the corner, disappearing as quickly as she had arrived.
"Sorry," Brie said, "if I was too harsh earlier."
"No. You have a point. It is depressing to think of things that way," he said. "I'm a Practitioner too, y'know? Do I count as one of your good ones?"
“You're trying, and that means a lot. Seriously,” Brie said, squeezing his hand. "You're spreading information to people who need it so we can deal with this whole mess. You're not abusing your binding of Nina like that Moreau guy is, and she had an out from the beginning. I think you're going to do a lot of good someday, and I want to be there to see it."
Zed squeezed back, a warm feeling in his chest. Brie’s reassurance here was comforting, especially as someone who came from a relatively normal background instead of a Practitioner family.
She kissed him, soft and slow. Zed melted into the kiss, the tension of the day bleeding off of him. She sighed quietly, the action felt more than heard. They spent a few minutes kissing like that, before intensifying to something more urgent.
Zed's phone dinged. It was the sound used for important messages, when people from a select group of his contacts wanted to reach him fast. He pulled away from Brie to read the message, with half a mind to tell Ray to save it for some other time, he was busy.
It was Nina. No PDAs in the library :)
"So darn annoying," he muttered. "Nina wants us out of here."
"We have a room," Brie suggested, leaning close.
Zed turned to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, we do. Let's go."
Rating: General
Major Warnings: None
Genre: Romance
Summary: Zed and Brie spend some time to hang out, be normal teenagers, and have a small argument over the problems of Practitioner society.
Zed walked in through the halls of the Blue Heron Institute, a heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He’d spent a long day in the workshops, and his clothing was dusted with spots of chalk dust. A pair of sunglasses hung from the neck of his t-shirt, tragically unnecessary in the indoor light.
His outfit put him at odds with the old stateliness of the Blue Heron, retro hair and leather jacket against walls of solid stone blocks and blue trim. He had always admired the aesthetic from a distance when he was younger, and in the past couple years, he had come to embrace the contrast from what everyone else defaulted to.
Just inside the central building, past the dining room, he ran across Brie, who was headed on her way out. She had loose red blouse and white pants on, fully covering her arms, legs, and lower neck, as she had taken to wearing recently in order to hide the binding keeping the Hungry Choir in. She was still anxious about other people seeing, even though Zed had reassured her that most people in the Blue Heron wouldn’t judge her for it, and anybody who did wasn’t worth the time of day.
Brie waved him down and walked over. "Zed! I was just about to check the ritual spaces.”
“Is something going on?”
“Not really. Wanted to see if you were up for company. I like hearing you narrate your thought process as you work," she said, shrugging apologetically.
“Aw, thank you. Not every day that I have a pretty girl tell me that,” he said, smiling at her.
Brie’s cheeks tinged pink. “Are you doing anything now?”
“I need to run these books back to the library and check in with Nina too. Been meaning to do that for a while. Come with?” he said.
"Sure. Let's go," she said, reaching for his hand.
They walked into the Eastern Wing together, which was full of the younger student dorms. Zed didn’t miss these rooms, where he’d been packed in with roommates in a smaller space than any of the senior dorms. A few students milled about in the halls, relaxing from the end of class.
“How is your glitchy CD project? Is it done?” Brie asked.
“Made a breakthrough today. These CDs aren’t just Abyss-tainted, they were made by a ferry bogeyman and distributed to get karmic claim on victims. It’s going to take so much longer to scrub these out than I thought,” he said.
“Didn’t you mention an Abyss teacher here? Can you ask them to help?”
Zed shook his head. “Mr. Moreau is grody as hell. Pretty sure he'll fix the problem by binding the bogeyman for himself and using it to go after Innocents.”
“He’s the one Nicolette was talking about — of course he is. It's so shitty, forcing something to kill," Brie said, voice raising. "I keep getting frustrated at the way that Practitioners know so much, and then turn around and use it for this. You made me have higher expectations for them."
Out of habit, Zed cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was listening. Raquel and Yadira were saying something to a performatively facepalming Kass, but none of them were in standard eavesdropping distance. Alexander should be busy teaching a night class right now, so he didn't need to worry about that either.
"It's not that bad," Zed said defensively. "Ray saved my life multiple times over. Nico is sweet when she's not run ragged by Chase or having an off day. Jessica is standoffish, but that's not a crime. Eloise, Ulysses, and Amine are okay sometimes, too."
"I know, I met them," Brie said. "It's depressing how the good ones are caught up in so much that keeps them from doing more, and the bad ones are like this."
Zed didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't wrong, no, but he didn't enjoy thinking of his friends and mentor that way.
They reached the library in silence, full of books on esoteric Practices. The furniture and flooring had long since been repaired of the recent fire damage, but it was still possible to see its effects through the lack of books on shelves closest to where the fire had originated. Zed led the way in, passing through rows of books deeper into the library.
"Hi Zed. Hi Brie. Looking for some books?" Nina whispered, suddenly appearing from around a corner.
Brie startled at the sudden noise. Zed put out a hand to reassure her, thought better of it, and lowered it.
Nina was dressed in classic librarian fashion, almost stereotypically so, as was her nature as an Animus. Large glasses sat on her face, reflecting the light overhead. Here in the Blue Heron, she put forth a sterner, more classically disciplinarian face than she had when allowed online by Zed.
Zed responded in a low tone, matching Nina's volume. “Nah. Returning past books."
"Give them to me and I'll put them back for you," Nina said.
"Are you sure? I don't want to make more work for you," he said.
He was trying to pay more attention to Nina’s well-being now. It felt stupid, wigging out over an argument with a 13 year old, but he felt compelled to prove that Nina’s binding wasn’t exploitative, whether or not anyone was around to witness it. What Brie had just said didn't help either.
Nina's glasses glinted dramatically in the light as she set her chin. "Handling books could never be work for me. Besides, I'm alphabetizing the collection here. It's a disgrace how much lack of organization there is here."
Zed pulled out the two books in his bag to give to Nina. "Okay. Tell me if there's anything I can do to make life easier for you."
Nina stood up straighter, tucking her hands behind her back, books and all. “I wish the students would talk to me more. Many of them ignore me, even when I ask them to respect this space. I could help them so much more if they weren’t being such brats."
Zed held back a wince. "I'll get a word in to Ray.”
"That would be nice," Nina agreed. "Is there anything else you want to know?"
Zed shook his head. "No. You're free to go."
Nina gave a nod of acknowledgement, and then turned the corner, disappearing as quickly as she had arrived.
"Sorry," Brie said, "if I was too harsh earlier."
"No. You have a point. It is depressing to think of things that way," he said. "I'm a Practitioner too, y'know? Do I count as one of your good ones?"
“You're trying, and that means a lot. Seriously,” Brie said, squeezing his hand. "You're spreading information to people who need it so we can deal with this whole mess. You're not abusing your binding of Nina like that Moreau guy is, and she had an out from the beginning. I think you're going to do a lot of good someday, and I want to be there to see it."
Zed squeezed back, a warm feeling in his chest. Brie’s reassurance here was comforting, especially as someone who came from a relatively normal background instead of a Practitioner family.
She kissed him, soft and slow. Zed melted into the kiss, the tension of the day bleeding off of him. She sighed quietly, the action felt more than heard. They spent a few minutes kissing like that, before intensifying to something more urgent.
Zed's phone dinged. It was the sound used for important messages, when people from a select group of his contacts wanted to reach him fast. He pulled away from Brie to read the message, with half a mind to tell Ray to save it for some other time, he was busy.
It was Nina. No PDAs in the library :)
"So darn annoying," he muttered. "Nina wants us out of here."
"We have a room," Brie suggested, leaning close.
Zed turned to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, we do. Let's go."
***
A/N: This originally was going to be a longer work, but was truncated down to this. We don't see Zed opinions on Practitioner society much in canon after a certain point, and we get even less on Brie's opinions, so I decided to put some of that here, while also trying my hand at something shippy.