[Closed] Rhythms and Dynamics (Madeleine)
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:41 pm
Near Dinnertime
27 of Intas, 2719
The Library, Brunnhold
Melody finished copying down the final paragraph of notes from the chapter she had been studying and leaned back with a quiet sigh. Her fingers hurt, as did her wrist, possibly even her brain hurt today. The Subtleties of Quantitaive Casting was a very dense book with more Mathematics in it than she had expected, it was going to be a book to be consumed in small bites, with a lot of careful thought in between. Yet it might be exactly what would help her take her static spellwork to the next level... She placed it on the stack of books she'd chosen to check out - two books relating to art, another on physical, a rather thick one on static, and now this last one on quantitative. These were enough, she decided suddenly, this was likely enough for a minimum of a few weeks worth of independent work. She stood up, the overstuffed armchair a little too heavy to be moved back easily, just a little uncomfortable to stand up from.
She collected the rest of her materials spread out in front of her and put them back in her backpack, which she slung from one shoulder with a practised heave, and lifting the books she wanted to borrow, started for the librarian's desk. The reading area was fairly full considering the hour, but then being casual with schoolwork wasn't something most students could afford given the level of expectations they were dealing with. She was almost out of the reading area when a familiar face stopped her. It was Madeleine, from the shopping outing a few days back.
The girl was engrossed in reading some book, and she looked so small, a child really. Melody felt it a good thing thoughts could remain private, she doubted Ms Gosselin would appreciate being likened to a child. Yet it wasn't just the difference of three lofty years that made her seem that way, it had rather more to do with the way the girl carried herself. Even now she was huddled into the chair, even her feet were drawn up under her. By what Melody had observed, Madeleine was a little bit like sunshine and the threat of snowfall mixed together. She felt things with an abandon that to Melody seemed like the memory of a very distant childhood; had she ever been so uninhibited?
The chairs across and adjacent to the girl were unoccupied, and the table was well clear of the usual clutter of notes and reference material and pencils and such things that students tended to inevitably create in the course of an intense study session. Melody spent a few moments wondering if she should disturb her, then decided to let their fields guide that decision. She approached close enough for their two fields to brush against each other. There was recognition, the fields somewhat belike because of the shared focus of static, yet different with a gravitational pulling sensation in Madeleine's field indicative of her primary focus of physical conversation. But apart from this, the younger student's field felt heavy with a feeling that very much felt like loneliness to the older student. Melody walked right up to the table, and as the pretty Anaxi girl looked up from what seemed to be a treatise on the theory of static conversation, she gave a small smile. "Hello Ms Gosselin," She placed the books in her arms on the table, glad to get a reprieve from the weight, and continued in a soft voice that hopefully wouldn't carry in the silence of the library, "Am I disturbing you? Were you very busy?"
She leaned in a little and asked, "I was about to head for dinner in a bit.." Sudden doubt assailed her as to whether her intervention was welcome, or even warranted, and so there was some hesitation in her voice, and a subtle distance in her gaze when she continued with her offer. "Would you... I mean if you like, we can head in together..."