Hope You Remembered Your Card [Maevia]

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It wasn’t a surprise that there weren’t visitors, but with each glance, each step, each word from Surai… It made her wonder if she really was the only one Irilys could trust to handle this. He could have chosen from his organization, but instead He took a chance on the information broker who relentlessly hunted for this very information. What did He see that she did not?

She shuddered at the thought of Chvali. “And here I thought my area of operations was secure. Maybe I need to look into partnering with an ancient, terrifying, and powerful spirit to watch over it.”

Maevia was mostly quiet during the walk, though her feathered companion was noticeably less so. He would wake up, peep a bit, tussle around in her hood, fall asleep, and repeat. She couldn’t believe how deep and vast this library was; she could be content to spend the rest of her days searching through the seemingly limitless knowledge stored within its walls. It was a piece to fill the black hole in her network; she knew of happenings, past, present, and future, but things relating to spirits and old wars and gods and ancestors… that was where the gaps lie.

She kept her thoughts to herself. No telling what might incite Chvali’s wrath.

Down they went, and with the lack of people, it felt as though they left a library and descended into an archive. She nodded at Surai’s serious warning. “I don’t trust magic I’m familiar with; I’m not about to trifle with the unknown kind.” She reached back into her hood and scooped the small owl into her hands. “And I’m going to make sure you don’t either, troublemaker,” she said to the bird. Gently, she placed him in her pocket and zipped it most of the way up; the last thing she needed was an errant chick hopping onto some doomsday device with a playful hoot.

She shadowed Surai in movement and caution. It was hard not to notice all the things stored within, and the things not stored, such as texts. Her breathing shallowed and her skin crawled. So close, she was so close to Kupiec’s secret.

And there, protected by glass, it hung before her very eyes.

The world around her disappeared for an impossible to determine amount of time. Moments? Minutes? Millenia? A scroll so familiar and yet at the same time, so foreign. The language was so different, and not just the one in which it was written, but how. It so clearly influenced His contracts and yet just as clearly could never have been written by his own hand. Her eyes followed the words and in those precious moments she understood so very much.

Irilys’s warning. Kupiec’s actions. Arithelia’s anger. Bits and pieces of the puzzle slid into place. Only when Surai unlocked the protective case did Maevia remember to see the outside world.

So close, yet by Surai’s words, remembered that she was still so far.

“As well, we have to ensure He does not harbor hatred in His heart when He is freed,” she added, Irilys’s visions still burned vividly into her memory. She put her hand to her chin. “We will find the soul; I may not know much about the true history of the world, but very little happens in the present without me hearing of it.”

She hummed. There was so much to consider, and more than she could do with what was currently available to her. “I have several, and how I proceed will depend on what help you are able to offer. I know one of the first steps I must take, but afterwards…”

The first step… What an ironic one that would be. Kupiec was already assisting her in this endeavor, completely unaware that He is also aiding himself. If she could displace Anansi and gain control over the worldwide network and resources they possessed… No, not if. She had to, if she was going to have a chance at scouring the world for a soul.

“I will need to know as much as I can about the cycle if we are going to track a soul,” she began. “If there are any texts or writings on it- the cycle itself, the god of death, documentation or research on the Regression phenomenon- I would ask permission to view them here. Unless, of course, you or Irilys already have a plan for that.” She shook her head. “No, even if so, I would prefer to do research as well. Is that possible?”

She didn’t really know all the rules of this place, but she wasn’t going to get anywhere without trying.

“I will also need to know everything there is to know about the one who wrote this contract, and her time with Him,” she continued. No sense in going into this blind. “Is there any documentation here regarding that?”

She nodded to Surai. “For now, we’ll start with that, if the requests are not too unreasonable. We cannot plan for how to deal with or convince the individual without first finding them. I will able to conduct my own investigation on soul once they are located.” She tapped her finger to her jaw. “Oh, and if there is any documentation on Him… we should find out everything we can, starting as soon as possible. It may prove insightful for pacifying His fury.”

She glanced to Surai for a moment. “Only one more question,” she said, turning back to the contract. It was regarding a very hard-to-ignore feeling she felt ever since she exited the waterslide and was thrown unceremoniously before an angry spirit. An itch that she was desperate to scratch. Something to calm her frayed nerves.

“Is there a smoking section somewhere in this aquarium?”

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Tags: Surai Bazzi
Notes: Study buddies!

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