She hadn’t stuck around in the library when she’d realized that Mr. Leng had taken the day off. She’d had other stuff to do! Like keeping up with her physical training, or practising the more violent sort of talisman that she couldn’t use in the library, or— well, either way, the fact of the matter was that if her favorite librarian wasn’t there, there wasn’t much point in staying. The school semester was starting soon, and she’d need to be absolutely on top of her game if she wanted to ensure she was one of the ones the Sect sent on to the city’s university. She would accept no other outcome.
In retrospect, though, leaving might have been a bad idea.
From the moment she stepped into the library, she could tell that things had changed. It wasn’t readily apparent— a subtle thing, rather, a hint of tension to the normally sleepy space, the way that Mr. Janus gave her a long, almost piercing look as he passed her by, or the way the adults kept their kids just a little closer to them.
She tried not to pay it much attention as she searched for Mr. Leng, eventually hearing from one of the other kids that he was up in his office.. Whatever it was, it's not like it was going to affect her. She’d just keep learning new stuff, and working on whatever bit of talismans knowledge Mr. Leng had for her this time, and continue preparing for the coming semester.
She knocked on his door, and— only a few seconds later, heard him call for her to come in—
She pushed the door open and stared at a space utterly transformed. For a moment she didn’t do more than stare— at the lotuses growing in beautiful, artistically worked pots, at the paintings, the calligraphy scrolls, all the various small things coming together in unison to make a whole incredibly beautiful. Compared to the blank room it’d been the last time she’d seen it— “how’d you do this so fast?” She blurted out before she could stop herself— “also where’s the formation?”
Reclined in his chair, in his shaft of flaxen sunlight that made him look unfairly good as it shimmered in his golden hair, the librarian chuckled. “You know, you’re the first one who’s noticed that its a formation that gives rise to the effect. As only expected from a pupil of mine, but you’d think that someone who was able to perceive the qi flows would have guessed that sooner.”
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“In my defense,” mewled— and that was the best way to describe it, as weird as it sounded— a voice she’d not noticed on entering the room, too distracted by the office’s transformation. “How was I supposed to know that it’s a formation? I’ve not encountered any that felt so natural before— runes always have a feeling of… of sharpness, where they’re inscribed, for lack of a better term, but the qi flows in this room feel seamless, smooth. Like this was always the way they were going to be.”
She looked down and— she yelped in surprise, struck for the second time since she’d opened the door because on the floor between her and Mr. Leng’s desk was a massive lion. No— not a lion. It was much more slender than that, its fur more patterned in its tawniness, and— perhaps most notably, it had six legs. “Um.” She breathed in deeply, trying to settle her racing heart, and— though it terrified her— reached out and closed the door behind her. If Mr. Leng trusted the strange cat not to eat him, then she’d offer him at least a preliminary bit of trust herself. She wouldn’t be attacked.
She even managed to almost make herself believe that.
Mr. Leng, the bastard, looked a slight bit amused at her reaction. “I don’t have a worksheet for you today. Rather, I’d like to introduce you to a new acquaintance of mine. Avyr, meet Lily Ward. Lily Ward, meet Avyr.” The cat dipped its head in a strange facsimile of greeting, and she— haltingly, bowed back. “He’s a newcomer to the precinct and given his youth, will likely be joining your academy year this coming semester. I think you two could help each other a lot.” He stood, walking over to the door and gently— almost noticeably— pushed her forward until she realized with a start that she was standing right beside the cat, within reach of those terrifying paws. “Get to know each other. I’ve given Avyr the keys to the office, so feel free to use the space if either of you need a retreat.” Then— without further ado, he left, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone in the room with the cat.
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