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[ Hey, he'll take that! He pats her fingers reassuringly, but will leave her to grasp his arm in whatever fashion she finds appropriate to begin their walk again. ]

Never taken one before? Well... It's generally the same exercise as a chat, except in motion, and with room in the activity for moments of silence. Not much more complex than that, I'd say.

( She's never walked without a purpose to it, yeah. Just going on a walk with someone for the sake of it... )

I see. ( ...It's just an opportunity to get to know one another. Angela is quiet, thoughtful, and then: ) Would you like to trade questions until we get to the end of the tunnel?

( Maybe if they talk, it'll keep away the creepier effects of the tunnel. )

Sure, so long as there's the option of continuing the exercise once we exit.

[ What if the conversation is interesting? You never know! ]

So, if that was the question... Let's think. What's something you like about being in this city?

[ ... Bit of a loaded question, but he only asks it because he's perfectly aware that the Library wasn't exactly a utopia, either. ]

( She guesses she can begrudge him that much. They can continue. )

Simply being out in it. I wasn't able to leave either the library nor the place I worked at before it at all. ( A deceptively simple answer, seeing as she knows she wouldn't step outside her library back home right now. ) What's so fun about flirting with people who don't show you any interest?

( ...she doesn't mean it in a mean way. She's curious, as someone who doesn't really engage in that type of thing, or in dealing with people who don't like her for very long. )

[ Midnight nods. Just about everything he's heard about the library sounds like a wild fairy tale, so he feels fairly comfortable just accepting certain things about it as a given. Perhaps she was imprisoned in it. Perhaps there were no doors. He truly has no idea. ]

Flirting isn't a means to an end in that sense. Hm, how do I put this...? I like taking in reactions. Not many people have an entirely neutral response to affection, and even when I do get a rather tepid reaction... Well, it tells me about that person, and how they view their relationships with strangers. I like getting to know others. Flirting tends to be the fastest way to do that, for my purposes.

[ ... Midnight laughs. ]

Also, I like people, and I do hate being coy about it. I value being direct, in that sense.

Ah... I suppose I'm curious about that. What traits do you value in others?

( That makes two of them, even though she simultaneously is terrible at being direct about certain things and also receiving certain things directly— )

I'll match you on being direct. ( What else... ) Being responsible, hardworking, and focused—people like that are much easier to work with.

( Translation: she has less of a headache dealing with them as her employer. )

...I also appreciate people who know how to mind their own business. ( Fearne and Roland share that; they're also people she feels comfortable around, sometimes to the embarrassment of one party or another. ) What do you think of me and my reactions, in that case?

[ Midnight laughs. ]

Well... I suppose I have a bit of job security, then. Can't promise a lack of curiosity, though. A shame.

[ When he's at work, he works. Angela already knows this, though. No need to elaborate. ]

Your reactions... Hm.

[ Midnight takes in a slow breath, really putting his words together. ]

You react quite normally, I'd say. It speaks to your good sense and character that you don't let words sway you, especially when you don't understand the intention behind them. It makes me suspect that you keep a cool head, and that you're generally the sort to look into people first before making the decision to trust them. I like that. It makes me feel as though you're the sort who is, in turn, worthy of trust.

I don't see you as the sort to wonder how others see you, though. Do you worry for your image?

( Sharp. Angela glances at him, even if she can't see particularly in the lighting... or... lack of lighting, as it were. Does she worry for her image? ...Maybe a little, but not enough or often enough to cause her any distress. It's embarrassing to be exposed as someone who doesn't have it all together, or to act disorderly because of issues she's been swallowing down suddenly coming to a head, but overall...

Well. Well. )

I wouldn't say so. I was just curious about if how I reacted to your debonair charms was strange or not. You're a little over-the-top, but I assume you have a healthy following of people who find that attractive, especially when paired with your looks.

( It's all said pretty objectively, too. Angela's not one to mince words. Now, thinking about her next question... )

If you could add one thing to The Bookstore, what would it be?

[ Midnight hums. It's always flattering to know that someone as orderly as Miss Angela notices such small things like his charms. ]

Sure. It's how I made a living, after all.

[ But as for that question... Midnight touches his chin in deep thought. ]

I... can't say I could think of one. I'd say something to drink, but I wouldn't want to risk the books when I could just do the same at home. Perhaps... More comfortable places to sit? I know you never meant for the place to be a library, but there's something lovely about sitting among books while reading. It's very calming.

[ ... And since he won't be clear about the nature of the Library for at least another two weeks... ]

Are books the reason why you became a librarian?

( more comfortable places... she can do that. make some more room, get some... beanbags, even if she hadn't really liked them at don's party. that should work. blankets, for the colder months... )

They're part of it. ( while the methods of getting those books compared to earlier ones are way different— ) Books were my only companions in my solitude, you could say. I read a lot, learned a lot, and decided I wanted to experience those same things.

( ...there are just more steps between "deciding to experience those things" and "being able to leave to experience those things". )

I suppose I've become extremely fond of the written word in the interim. ( no supposing about it, she has— ) What sort of work do you do back in your world that makes you such a diligent soul in the store?

[ Sounds comfy. A lovely place to cuddle. Hey, Angela,

Midnight nods. He's not sure he relates completely, but the desire to read and learn and experience things... Those are all familiar. ]

No particular work made me like this. I'm currently a soldier, or at least I was a few months ago, but... Hmm. It really is more like there were things I wanted in life, so the work that I needed to do to get to what I wanted seemed light in comparison. And I always enjoyed learning and improving, so I suppose the work came naturally. I like doing things right.

[ That's... not the entire truth, but none of it is false, either. He's the sort to work hard and play hard. ]

Have you ever considered another life path? If not a librarian, where would you like to be?

( no cuddling allowed. )

...I don't know. I've never thought about it. ( she hardly ever thought about being a librarian—it just seemed like the natural progression of things once she erected hers. ) I don't mind what I'm doing now though—owning a bookstore. It's nice.

( quaint. familiar, but different. )

Have you ever been in love?

[ Okay, but consider a world WITH cuddles............... little spoon Angela is not an impossible concept here!

Having a bookstore would be nice... He asked mostly to confirm that she doesn't feel trapped doing the same things she did at her Library, but it seems like they're of like mind on this topic.

He snorts lightly, sighs, smiles in the dark. ]

Ah. Interesting question. This is specifically about being in love, isn't it? Take that as my question, if you like; I promise to answer either way, but I do like to be precise about my answers in this regard.

( Little spoon Angela....................... )

Yes, specifically about being in love. I'm aware it's possible for people to love others without being in love with them, though I've never experienced being anyone's object of affection either way.

( Platonicy, familial, romantic— none of that. It sounds a little sad now that she's said it aloud, but it... is what it is. No one's ever loved her. No one's ever been in love with her. It's fine. She's not bothered (she is kind of bothered). )

[ grumpy but warm....., ]

No? Well... That's a shame, unless you're the sort to do quite well on your own.

As for me...

[ He inhales, filling his lungs, then sighing it out. ]

I'd say, in a classic sense, no. In the sense that I believe most people feel it in a way that is passionate toward only one target of affection, in some sort of lifelong unwillingness to be without just this one person. The sort of feelings one reads about in romance.

[ Midnight shifts a little in the dark, thinking. ]

No. My love is a bit different. It certainly is strong, quite passionate. It's... difficult. But it's certainly not the same thing.

[ Difficult is a purposefully vague word. Hard to live with, hard to understand, hard to explain... It could be any of those things. Or maybe he just means he sees his own capacity to love as some sort of burden. Who knows, really? ]

I think I already do have my next question for you, but your turn is, technically, long overdue.

( perhaps he feels strongly for more than one person, then? she can't conceive of it--but then again, it's difficult to conceive of another one in the first place... )

What is your question? ( heh. ) You can take that as mine.

( sneakily getting her curiosity satisfied this way. )

[ Midnight throws his head back and laughs in the dark. Mwahaha. ]

Fair enough. Is being in love a state of emotion you'd like to try for yourself, or are you simply curious about the concept?

A little of both. I...

( angela trails off, lips pursing. is this something she can tell him, or is it something best kept to herself? there's no real harm to it aside from inviting uncomfortable questions about who and what she is or was, but if she can just navigate around that...

in the end, she continues, because this was supposed to be for them to get to know one another. )

I've been in love once, but it wasn't my own choice to be. How do I explain this simply... I once had memories that were not my own. ( she still does; she can't escape them yet, but with more time, perhaps they'd disappear. ) The original owner of those memories—let's call her C—was very fond of a man I ended up working with prior to her passing—let's call him A. No matter what I did, however, or how hard I worked, or how much like C I tried to be, I couldn't be her, and he resented me for it. Even though it was his fault I came out the way I did, it was his fault her memories were—

( —she cuts herself off, aware she'd begun speaking faster. even if her voice hadn't raised, even if her tone hadn't changed... her hand on his arm relaxes its tightened grip as she holds her breath, and exhales once the anger and hurt dissipates.

it really is difficult to explain without getting into things she doesn't want to tell someone so new to her life, though she's aware that she more or less did something similar to roland. still, those circumstances had been different. )

Never mind. Succinctly, I'd like to know what it's like to love and be loved in return... I highly doubt I'll find such an experience here or even back home, however, so I only have other peoples' stories to go off of.

... So, put simply, this person had an image of who he expected you to be, but despite your best efforts to live up to those expectations, the person you truly are showed through.

[ It's a truly impossible standard. Midnight, in the dark, is awfully quiet. ]

To be loved and loved in return are endeavors both far more possible and far more difficult than one might expect. I'm sorry that your love went unrequited. You, as you are, are not worth losing for the sake of a ghost, a memory. I hope you know that.

( it's more complicated than that—

isn't it?

...it's nothing she could or wants to clarify, so she lets his words sit in the quiet, in the dark, measuring her own emotions out in teaspoons so she doesn't spill them. )

If it's a regret he would have had, he never lived to have it. He passed away ( ascended, lucky him ) before ever realizing I was fine just the way I was. The only people who reaped the consequences of what he'd done were me and...

( ...the other librarians. she shakes her head to herself, unseen, and sighs again. )

Some other unfortunate souls I ended up taking my resentment out on, let's say. I'm not a good person. ( a perfect AI and a garbage person. ) It's my turn to ask a question against, isn't it? Let's see...

( though the darkness is gradually getting brighter, their tunnel of love adventure soon to come to an end— she wonders if she could stall until they're out, then decides that's unfair. )

Do you have a favorite flower, and if so, what is it?

[ Midnight hums, pats her arm in reply. He would argue her point, but it's not the sort of thing he can argue without certain caveats in place. Broad statements like "you aren't the only sinner here"... Well, she never asked, did she? ]

Wisteria.

[ He pauses, blinks... laughs a little. ]

Mm. Wisteria. It grew in the yard when I was a child. They were lovely in full bloom... Lovely and a little sad, somehow.

What a specific question. Do flowers interest you as well?

( wisteria— she tries to remember which one that is, thinks it must be the one that blooms around alriune and shades the abnormality's face. it is lovely in full bloom, and a little sad, he's right. "with unwithering flowers began my magnificent descent into despair"... )

Not at all. I wouldn't even say that I have a favorite myself. Not much greenery grows around my library. ( netzach's floor is the greeniest, in the most literal since, but flowers are a different matter. ) However, it's an easy question most people have an answer to—though wisteria isn't one I was expecting.

( difficult to implement around the bookstore, too. not that she was thinking of that or anything, of course. )

You were expecting roses, then?

[ Midnight has that and... so very many more questions. He's very inquisitive! Curious! Has a warm interest in others! In a lot of ways, he's a really good escort. ]

I was.

( no sense in beating around the bush there. )

They're beautiful, a traditional symbol for love, and... Though it's only recently I've learned how many shades you have, Midnight, their multitude of color possibilities suits you as well. They're an easy thing to associate with you.

[ Midnight's single eyebrow lifts higher and higher under each association, and by the time she gets to shades, he's looking down at her in the dark, laughing a little under his breath. ]

My, my... Well, I do appreciate your discerning eye. I don't consider myself all that complex, but I do like to think I have my own facets. That which shines under many sorts of light.

[ Which is just a fancy way of him wondering what, exactly, he's said or done to be any more complex than a voracious flirt who just happens to have some good work ethic. (Not that he's actually asking for answers. He's perfectly happy with making up his own.) ]

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