Chatter Amongst Books [Private - Atlas]

Caramina wasn't a fool.

She had wanted to perhaps enter rogue lands and explore, or linger close to Ki'Sha borders in hopes of meeting someone new, instead of reading in the library, a place she frequently sought refuge in, to hide from her worries. But with the sudden changes in temperature, tempers were running high; discomfort and unhappiness weaved and rippled like poison. Brawls broke out so easily, so frequently, even amongst the Stormcallers and in the passages of the castles, usually ending in both opponents peppered with bruises or cuts that leaked blood. Uncertainty birthed hostility, bringing along aggression. The Ki'Shans had never been known for their mercy, something that the Stormcallers took pride in possessing, and Caramina was sure that even being within sight of any Ki'Shans patrolling the border would earn her a quick, ruthless death.

Cara did not want to use her powers to attack and kill - she had left that time behind, and would never return to again; ignoring its sugary voice whispering temptations of blissful release into her ear, she turned back rather reluctantly, her eyes leaving the storm of the whirling, crackling Tempest Ring before she spread her wings, the tips of her white feathers waving gently in the wind that the Ring spat, and took into graceful fligh, back towards the Twilight Palace, which she had taken to staying in recently. Her true home was somewhere outside of the Tempest Ring, but seeing that Rihzome was in there, she would stay for the time being, until she finally settled on a decision. Or was it possible for her to have two homes? Was that too much to ask for? She didn't know, but let the wind that glided gently past her face wash away such thoughts, her wings moving up and down in steady beats that propelled her closer and closer to the Twilight Palace. Within minutes she found herself touching down onto a balcony, not as gracefully as she'd liked (she had wobbled a bit, her tail sticking out in an attempt to regain balance), and hopped off the metal railing before heading into the mighty structure of a castle.

She would head to the library, she supposed sadly. Cara liked books, yes, but she was growing rather tired of them. Or perhaps she would meet yet another Stormcaller in there? Encouraged by the thought, she hurried her steps, her legs moving up well-polished staircases and bursting into a massive room with a ceiling that spread high up, shelves containing books fanning out around her in varying shades of comforting brown. The sandy-coloured marble floor was dotted with white or brown tiles here and there, her black talons clicking against their hard surface as she walked in. Nobody, as far as she could see. With an unhappy sigh that she could hear echoing across the place, she loosened her deep green scarf a bit by tugging on it before going to a bookshelf that she knew held her favourite book.

Tugging said object out, it flopped onto her hands and opened, the pages yellowed with age. Its cover was a worn scarlet colour, the gleaming gold ink trooping across its title naming the book one of legends. Of the first dragons. Sprawling down onto the nearest couch, she read.

Oh, lords and ladies, it was hot.

As Atlas moved through the halls, he found his crimson fur had stuck to his scales, an unpleasant, sticky sensation that he wanted to get rid of as soon as possible. With the heat came the shortened tempers of his fellow Stormcallers, irritated by the intense warmth of the sun. He couldn't blame them, he found himself losing his patience more frequently then normal himself, but Atlas wasn't used to such aggression being tossed at him from all angles. Now, when he made a loud noise, someone would poke their head in and glare at him. When he bumped into someone, they'd snap at him with words -or sometimes, if he was particularly unlucky, with their teeth- and strut off, muttering obscenities under their breath.

So, Atlas had retreated to the library, his favourite place in the world. As he gazed up at the vast shelfs packed tightly with countless books, he felt his mood lighten a tad. Moving towards the Magic Section -he knew the shelves almost off by heart- he scanned the novels with his eyes. "Nope.. nope.. Nope.. aha!" he grinned, spotting the book titled 'The Study Of Light.' Unfortunately for him, it was up high. Higher then he could reach on four legs, and the space was too cramped for his snake-like body to fly in.

Atlas heard the door slide open and poked his head slowly around the shelf, being cautious to make sure that he wouldn't get a spike in the face 'for spying.' It was then he spotted her, gleaming scales and a wavy green mane. Woof, he thought, before retreating back behind the shelf.

Taking a deep breath, Ayato stood onto his back legs, grimacing as his muscles clenched and collided. He swiped at the book, missed, and tried again. Come on! he thought, and reached again. his talons gripped the covering and out came the book. "Yes!" he cried, but then his back leg slipped on the polished marble floor, his head hit the shelf and all the books came tumbling down.

CRASH!

The library shook with the force of the fall, books tumbling down from the shelves like leaves off a tree. Cries of pain were heard as Atlas laid there, books landing on his head and pages cutting into his skin. When it was all over, and the dust cleared, one could see Atlas on his side, covered in novels of all descriptions, eyes half open as he groaned softly.

What Ayato is doing in a Stormcaller library, we'll never know... --

Caramina was already unaware of the world around her, for her whole focus was on the book, on the small printed text that held so much meaning behind them, that when combined together, constructed a whole new realm for her to imagine and navigate, side-by-side, with the characters. Her slim body lay sprawled across a plush brown couch, her head against the armrest and her paws holding up a book above her. She was currently in a war-ravaged land, striding through a battlefield where thousands of still, cold dragons lay scattered like flowers among a field of grass, except this carried an eerie beauty, the song of death. Dying whispers could be heard around the place as some tried to cling onto the world onto the living, muttering names, regrets, wishes, hopes; and the volcano that was there spat black puffs into the air, as if trying its best to wipe the blueness of the sky out of existence.

She was, however, pulled out of this scene by a large crash, the startling sound reverberating around the usually silent library. Rustles of pages being turned she was used to, but certainly not this kind of disruption. With a sigh, she got up, scanning one last line in the book, before using the scarlet ribbon that was attached to the book's spine (to be used as a bookmark) to put it in between the weathered papers. Then she shut the book and set it onto the marble, rounded table that sat next to the couch, and stood up, heading towards the Magic section, a place that she used to frequent before moving onto fictional novels. There she found a rather small dragon, black scales and a tuft of red fur poking through a pile of books, soft groans of pain emanating from the me. Cara winced, mostly because of the books - they lay spread open, some of the pages folded inwards in their fall, and tears ripped through some pages.

"Poor books," she found herself saying, picking up one and smoothing out its rumpled pages. Then Cara peered at the male, his black scales glistening, red lining his back. An eastern dragon? She bent down and picked the books off him, scolding gently, "You ought to be more careful with those books! They're old, you know! ...oh, and are you alright?"

--Shut up XD--

Atlas was unable to focus on anything for several seconds, his vision obstructed by the thick, heavy pages that lay across his head. Stifling a whimper, he raised a paw and gently brushed away the sheets, just in time to see a white dragon turn the corner.

Emerald eyes flickering upwards, it took Atlas only a moment to recognise her as the female from just a few moments later, a grimace forming on her face as she winced. It didn't suit her, that look. Up close, Atlas could truly see how.. well, feminine she really was. A thin, angular face, delicate features decorating it's clean surface. A pair of dark green eyes gazed down at him, standing out like emeralds from marble. Since she was so close, Atlas could see just how pretty her mane was. It cascaded down her slender neck, silky and soft. Make a good pillow, that, he thought numbly.

"Poor books," she said, in a soft voice that still somehow held strength as she bent down and took one into her claws, smoothening it out. That action alone was almost enough to make him grimace in fear. She seemed so delicate, like polished glass, ready to shatter at any sort of harsh contact.

The weight of the books was suddenly lifted, bringing relief to his scales, but unfortunately marks and light scrapes were left in their wake. Raising his head, Atlas listened to her scoldings, and only then did he notice the torn pages, ruined covers. A gasp sounded from the young eastern's throat and with a grunt he leaped to his feet. "Oh-Oh no! Oh my goodness!" he cried, delicately picking up a novel and gaping at the marks on it's cover. Not even hearing the female's inquiry of his health, Atlas shut his eyes in pain. "Oh no, what have I done? Novels, scripts! I'm such a clumsy eejit!" he brushed the dust off the book before returning it to it's rightful place upon the dust.

Turning his sad green eyes to the female, he blinked. Forgive me. I just feel so bad.." a quiet sigh escaped the black dragon, before he shook his head. I'll clean this up. Where are my manners? My name is Atlas. A pleasure to meet you, m'lady, even under the.. circumstances," with an elegance only females were usually able to attain, Atlas lowered his head gracefully in a bow, his muzzle almost brushing the floor. After a moment or two, he raised it again. My deepest apologies for disturbing you, my lady. I'll go and clean these up, don't trouble yourself with my stupidity. Sighing in grief for the torn pages, Atlas went to clean up, gently picking up the books and returning them to the shelves, occasionally half-standing on his back legs to reach high ledges.

An exasperated but fond smile lit up her small face as she watched the small male leap to his feet, his bright red fur bristling in worry as he began picking up the books and scrolls scattered around him in a messy pile, seeming to be more worried about their condition than the cuts and bruises that streaked his body, like the messiness of a shattered vase's fragments speckling the ground. Funny how books could wound both physically and verbally - with the careful phrasing of words and with the hard cover that bound the pages together. She bent down to gather books into her arms, carrying five at once with surprising strength, a soft laugh bursting out of her lips as the worried male called himself an "eejit", trailing off into silence.

"There's no need to feel bad about it - though, you could've asked me to help," Caramina said in her thoughtful manner as she returned the books to their places on the shelves, occasionally pausing to smooth out a particularly wrinkled page or wince at the broken spine of an especially old book. She stopped to look at Atlas with her dreamy eyes, and suddenly snorted, breaking the effect of the usually unfocused quality she gave off. Cara leaned forward to pull a page out of Atlas's messy fur, and frowned at it, looking at the title that was usually at the top of each page (or the name of a chapter at least) but found none, and let it drift to the floor. "Nice to meet you, Atlas," she said, her voice sounding considerably louder and less delicate now. "Ha, there's no need to be so polite, I'm not going to have your head for not being formal enough."

She gathered more books into her arms and said to Atlas, "No, I'll be helping you with these. No offence, but you don't look like you can reach those shelves," and saying this, she pointed at the highest points of the bookshelf, which she could reach quite easily, her wings unfurling slightly as she stretched out to unload the books from her arms. "Oh, and I'm Caramina," she added as she picked up more books. "Have you been around here for a while?" She looked him up and down without trying to be subtle about it, taking in his small size, long graceful body that greatly resembled a female's, and his scales, black and gleaming and interlocking so well that it resembled smooth hide. Cara wondered if he would allow her to teach him how to stand on two legs.

Knowledge, hundreds of pages worth of it, destroyed! Ruined! Guilt sent atlas spiralling down into practically depression as he gazed at the torn pages, his scales having cut through the paper like a knife. He gently replaced them back where they belonged, but remorse still darkened his eyes. Atlas loved books, adored them to no end. He'd been reading since he was a child. The book he had been aiming to read had been lost in the pile.

"W-well, I-" Atlas stammered. "I.. Didn't want to disturb you, madam. I know how irritating it can be, being dragged back to reality from a good book., He jumped at the snort that suddenly fled the good lady's mouth, and turned his head as he felt her claws brushing his silky fur. Once he realised a page had been caught in his fur, he grinned sheepishly, watching it drift to the marble floor.

The female gently reprimanded him for being 'so polite,' a sentence that made Atlas blush. When she said she'd help, he opened his mouth ro politely reject the offer, but then she reminded him that he wasn't very tall. Atlas nodded, chuckling. If you insist, m'lady. he watched as she stood up and envied her ability to reach so high.

She introduced her name as Caramina, a pretty name that only made her appear all the more delicate. She then asked him if he had been here long. Atlas felt her eyes burning into his body and glanced at her shyly. "I.. Well, yeah, only for a few minutes." He shrugged.

Eventually, they replaced all the books and everything looked more of less normal. Atlas looked at Caramina. Thank you for helping me, he said, sheepishly smiling. Its very nice of you.

Atlas's mournful gaze swept across the books littering the ground, pages strewn in a careless, random manner that hurt Cara's heart to look at. Pages were ripped, or bent, jagged lines cleaving the yellowish parchment into two. "It's fine," she reassured him in her soft, dreamy voice. "Don't worry. They might be irreplaceable, but these are only a fraction of the knowledge that the library holds." She reached out to touch his shoulder, a light brush of her paw across his gleaming black scales; they felt cool and hard and solid, which she liked. She nodded her head. "Understandable. I was reading a good book, actually, when I heard the books fall. It's alright, though, I'd choose meeting a new dragon than being interrupted halfway through a book. I can always continue my book another time."

He was so polite.

Atlas seemed to be startled at her unladylike snort, judging by the expression that flew across his face, and she giggled. "Yes, I do insist," Cara said, her tone lighthearted, as she slowly cleared out the pile of books that were gathered on the floor, taking five into her arms each time she bent down. She noticed the faint blush that crept across his cheek, and wondered what on earth there was to blush about, but shrugged it off, deciding not to make the situations even more awkward for him than it already was. Though, she did wonder what he was thinking of her.

There were soon no more than six books cluttering the ground. The pile of books had appeared massive due to their thickness and the small size of Atlas (whose name she liked. Atlas! It was fun to pronounce). This shelf hadn't really housed many books in the first place anyway; each occupied enough space with the number of pages they held. "Nice is my middle name," she joked. "You did look like you needed the help, though. And there's no need to thank me; it was a pleasure helping you."

After a moment she added, "Would you like me to teach your how to stand on two legs?"

Bump~

(sowwy! ;-

"It's fine," she reassured him, in a voice like silk. Atlas was becoming increasingly flustered by the minute, so much so his neck was starting to burn. He didn't know why. He supposed it was a mixture of her kindness, his clumsiness, her patience and the situation."Don't worry. They might be irreplaceable, but these are only a fraction of the knowledge that the library holds." At the word 'irreplaceable,' the eastern would wince, knowing his awkwardness had caused the loss of knowledge, but it was still a reassurance to know that he hadn't destroyed everything.

The female's touch was unexpected, and Atlas froze at the sensation of her paw pressing against his shoulder. He twisted his head around to peer down at it, whiskers twitching in surprise, before he met her eyes. He looked, at the moment, like a complete nerd with the expression on his face all he needed was glasses and a book.


"Understandable. I was reading a good book, actually, when I heard the books fall. It's alright, though, I'd choose meeting a new dragon than being interrupted halfway through a book. I can always continue my book another time." Atlas nodded, grateful for her understanding. He himself was the same. Books were like spells, vibrant and original, well most of them, but patient enough that you could put them down and return to them any other time.

Carmina insisted on helping him, and Atlas was grateful. The labor was less arduous when you had someone to help. Atlas scooped up the books in his tail and then picked them up two by two in his claws when he leaned back, placing them delicately on the shelves where they belonged.

When they were all put away, Atlas glanced at Caramina. He wondered how soft her mane was, and was tempted to touch it, but decided that that was a bad idea. He didn't want to push his luck. It looked so fluffy though.. Her glanced at his own mane, which was a brilliant red, and had the urge to sigh. Compared to hers, it wasn't very soft.

"Nice is my middle name," now that was a true statement, he thought, chuckling at the joke. "You did look like you needed the help, though. And there's no need to thank me; it was a pleasure helping you." Atlas blushed again, his cheeks warming to the point where you could probably boil eggs on them if you desired "T-thank you," he stammered, shyly adverting his eyes as he grinned sheepishly, whiskers lifting slightly and curling. Suddenly the wall seemed far more interesting.


"Would you like me to teach your how to stand on two legs?" Caramina said after a moment of silence. Atlas froze, the smile fading quickly as his whiskers stiffened midair. He shifted his gaze to her. "W-well, I.. I mean.. Not in here, right? Outside?" he said nervously, raising a claw to fidget with one of his whiskers, twirling it around the digits. "I.. I suppose so, maybe an accident like this won't happen again," he smiled at her.

Nah lol, it's okay ^^ Sorry for tiny post. --

Caramina was positive that she could see a faint hue of red on Atlas's graceful neck, but she couldn't tell for sure, seeing that the colour was not very obvious against his dark scales, which seemed to swallow up all other colour around it. She quickly withdrew her paw when Atlas stiffened all over, and hoped that she hadn't done anything wrong. Was that his sensitive spot, or did he not like being touched? she wondered. He didn't seem upset though, just startled, and she found his expression surprisingly cute.

Atlas would find Caramina looking a bit startled as well, her cheeks pinking slightly, and it would be much more obvious than his blush. She turned her face away slightly, and suddenly found the floor fascinating. She could feel his gaze on hers, and wanted to look into his mind: what did he think of her? But intruding into someone else's mind, invading their privacy... That'd be rather rude, wouldn't it? Not like she had the ability anyway.

She looked up just in time to catch Atlas's gaze flickering from his messy mane over to hers, and another question popped into her mind: What are you thinking? Strands of red fell over Atlas's neck, and she reached up to touch her own, almost as if to check if they were still there. His chuckle at her joke earned him a smile, and her paw dropped to hang in front of her, and it would seem odd, but it was natural to her, having stood in that position many times.

"Of course!" she said. "We're not going to do it in here. What if someone walks in? It'd be embarrassing for you, yeah? Though...Do you have any place in mind? For us to practice?"

(YOUR POSTS ARE BOOTIFUL ^_^)

For a moment, Atlas thought he heard the door open and peered over Caramina's neck, but it was just someone glancing in. After a moment, they retreated down the hallway, and he sighed in relief. Fixing his green eyes on Caramina, he focused his attention again on her as she began to speak again.

It was then the scholar noticed a light shade of pink had formed on her face. Is she alright? He wondered, blinking slowly. Then he remembered, he himself was blushing. Wait, whys she blushing? Have I done something wrong? He wondered, suddenly feeling panicky. Wait, why am I blushing?

After fidgeting with her mane for a moment, Caramina would smile, something that made her all the more radiant. He wondered, for a moment, if anyone had tried to draw her. She'd be quite the picture, he thought to himself.

Atlas nodded at her words, relief surging through him. He could picture the shelves toppling over each other and Imperia executing him on the spot. Not a very pretty picture. Shivering the image out of his mind, Atlas offered Caramina his 'nerd smile,' where the tips of his teeth would show over his lower lip.

"Yeah, that'd be rather mortifying," he chuckled. "Well, my house has a little back yard. I don't use it much, I just practise spells indoors." His whiskers twitched as he mentioned his..hobby. Would she judge him? Think he was weird? At this, his eyes would darken slightly for a moment.

Fighting back thoughts of losing another potential friend, Atlas hopped up and down for a moment before he walked past her. "I'll show you!"

Yours are too. Duh. xD --

The creak of a door swinging inwards would have gone unnoticed if it were not for the dusty silence that was usually present in the large room. Through the gaps in between books, she could see a furry red dragon peek their head in, gold strands that wove between their fur giving his bulky body a subtle shimmer to it. Caramina had to admit that the Stormcallers had dragons with rather... varied looks, and she thought of herself, Atlas, Imperia, Rihzome, and so on. He, however, ducked out quickly; what had he been looking for?

Atlas smiled, and her smile widened in response to Atlas's, her eyes thinning further, a deep hue of green peeking out from between the slits. Atlas's smile was small but sweet, but white glinting at its edges as sharp points emerged, lying over his bottom lip. "Aww~ You're cute." she blurted out. Her blush was fading, but quickly returned at full force. "It's the truth though. I'm surprised no ladies are tripping and chasing after you." She gave a lighthearted laugh that breezed out of her mouth, easy and genuine as the spring sweeping in and leaving.

"You have a house?" she asked in astonishment. "Don't you stay here, though? The majority of the Stormcallers I meet have their own room here. Or maybe you prefer somewhere more quiet?" She then added, "Magic spells. Cool, do show me, but let's leave that to later - lead the way!"

She trotted after him, a bit eagerly.

(Aww, thanks XD)

Atlas had half expected Caramina to grimace at the appearance of his 'nerd smile.' He often did it when he was content, but sadly, it wasn't very attractive. He remembered he once did it in front of a female he was interested in, and she had slapped him. Now that was a memory he wanted to forget. His tail twitched at the memory. He hardly expected Caramina to proclaim he was 'cute.'

Atlas would stiffen slightly, a hot blush creeping over his scales. It was prominent even with his black scales, a deep crimson that seeped down his neck, even, and turned his whiskers red. They twitched with surprise. he looked over his shoulder at her. The tips of his whiskers would turn red, however, when she said she was 'surprised no ladies were tripping and chasing after you.'

"O-Oh! um..." the scholar usually had an answer, no matter how silly, to everything. This was an entirely different matter. "W-Why.. thank you! I.. uh.. It's very flattering of you to say." he shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Y-you're not so.. uh.. bad, yourself.. You're very pretty! And.. uh.. well.." nervously, he twirled a claw around one of his red whiskers, which curled around his joint like string around a pole. "Thank you, Caramina.."

At Caramina's inquiry, Atlas would smile as he opened the door. The cool air washed over him, and his mane blew backwards. "Nah, I don't want to cause an accident, so I live a little way's away from here, in a less inhabited area." He walked out, holding the door for her. "besides," he grinned at her. "I prefer my own company. I'd rather not have people barging in on me in the middle of an experiment."

As he walked down the hall, Atlas would feel his face beginning to cool, but it did little to halt the embarrassment. She'd called him cute! The most he'd ever gotten was a 'you're okay.' He grinned at her words. "i'd be more then happy to show you!" he exclaimed.

OH MY GODS. I FORGOT ALL ABOUT THIS TOPIC. I'M SORRY. Also, short post, not much to write about. xD --

Caramina thought, suddenly, that it would be nice to have him as a friend, and she pursed her lips in thought as she considered the idea. Yes, he seemed nice enough, though he gave her the impression that he was hiding his true self behind layers of politeness, just like she did to strangers at first, though her mask would fall away soon enough. He seemed shy and taken by surprise by each compliment she tossed at him, leading her to think that he wasn't noticed very often, and that was sad, because she was sure that there was some part of him that was itching for a friend. Or maybe he did have one, and just wasn't mentioning him... or her. Well, it was fine to add one more to the list, right?

He kept blushing, she noticed in amusement, red flaring over his whiskers and his body of shining black. "No problem," she responded, shrugging, "it's just the truth." Her gaze lifted up to the ceiling, where the transparent plates of glass revealed the bluest of skies, strewn with whites and greys, as she listened to Atlas stammer a polite response, drifting into a sincere thank-you. "I get told that very often. That I'm nice to look at. Sometimes I think males would flirt with me just to boast about having a pretty vase in their collection." She rolled her eyes, and her gaze skipped back down to Atlas's face.

Caramina walked out the door, thanking him as she strode out and felt a cool wind drift past her gently. This was what she liked about the Stormcaller home, it was always cool and pleasant. Her scarf was, unfortunately, lying somewhere in her room, so she would have to go without it. "Experiments? What on earth are you trying to make?" she asked, bemused. "Also, does your home happen to lie outside of the Tempest Ring...?" she added with a wince as they strode along the long corridors that twined around the inside of the structure that called itself the Twilight palace.

He seemed quite happy, his smile appearing more often and a spring appearing in his step. She smiled to herself, and followed after him, emerging onto a ledge that jutted out of the palace. Dragons were leaving and entering, and Caramina swept into the air, turning to ensure that Atlas was with her.

Bump.