Books and Bordom <OPEN>

[Allyson Locke]

Borleias Random Island town, Bookstore.

Allyson yawned, the shop she had taken a job in was slow. Working with Kaili was more entertaining, but the girl had some odds and ends to deal with so Ally was shipped off to the bookstore. The pay was poodoo, but it kept her busy. Leaning on the counter, she stared down at the decimal system she needed to memorized in order to stack and locate books quickly.

Still she didn't care for it and would rather be working at the droid workshop. Pulling out her comm she snapped a picture to Kai and stuck her tongue out. Also in the picture was the newest reference guide for astromech droid AIs. The message was quickly sent with the picture: [member="Kaili Talith"] - you want a copy?

The message was sent and she continued to stack books and organize the magazines. The shop was somewhat empty for the moment - hopefully interesting customers come in.

 

[Icarus]

Spoiler

A bookstore... sure. Why not?

Kirk was wearing a nice dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and some denim jeans. He had wanted some form of entertainment for a while now, so he may as well take his credits here.

He had opened the door, a small bell ringing. "Good afternoon."

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Icarus"]

Allyson poked her head out from behind one of the taller bookshelves. "Hello!" Scampering down the ladder she headed to the counter that was at the corner near the entrance of the store. She ran her fingers through he stray strands of brunette hair moving them from her face.

"How are you? Are you looking for anything in particular?"

The girl smiled and adjusted the hidious green vest with her name tag on. She wondered if the owners wanted them to look like dewbs.

 

[Icarus]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

Kirk looked at the young woman. Her name tag read "Allyson" "I'm just looking for something to entertain me, miss Allyson."

He gave a smug wink, with a smirk to match.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Icarus"]

Blinking, Allyson tried to figure out how the man knew her name. Of course she was a smuggler, but had she done anything illegal in the past few months? Trying to retrace her steps, she couldn't think of anything. Then it hit her, she was wearing a name tag. The smile stayed on her face and she flipped through the decimal catalog.

His smile and wink was returned, but she just assumed he was trying to be clever. "Well, what sort of thing do you find entertaining, we have books on weapons, on ships, coloring books, uh gaming books for the holonet...just name it we more than likely have it"

Thinking again she remembered how small the shop was. "Well probably like 76% sure we have it, Yeaaaah"

 

[Lief]

The tinkle of a bell in the distance drew his attention.

Head down, hood shadowing his features, the figure turned from his quarry and stared in the direction of the shrill sound. Insignificant, petulant, a fly buzzing in his ear... It shouldn't have warranted his scrutiny. But in the time it took him to retract his gaze, that which he had stalked through the town was lost amidst the crowd.

Until another day...

Luckily for them, Lazareth was patient. It seemed the world had other plans for him...

Dragging one foot against the road, the pariah made his way through the streets toward the well-kept building. He did not bother to look for a sign, it wouldn't have made any difference. This was a thing which had lost him his hunt, and now he had to see why it presumed itself capable of doing such.

His hand caressed one of the many plants which dotted the town, its position amidst the rainforests of Borleias making such inevitable no matter how hard the natives tried to stave it off; his eyes drifted down slightly as the leaves began to wilt, spreading along the stem. It ceased just before reaching the flowering buds, though the damage had already been done.

Such beauty he could create, where others saw only defilement.

 

[Tanith Alde]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

One could always use more knowledge. Times were changing, and technology with them. What kind of upstanding Combat Engineer would be happy with themselves if they weren't up to snuff with the newest gadgets and gismoz of today? And where better to find out and learn about these things than an old fashioned bookstore? While datapads were all fine and good, nothing beat flippign through a good ole physical manual on things, which is what brought the trenchcoat clad guardsman to teh store now

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Icarus"]

"While you decide sir I'm going To help out another customer. Just ring the bell on my desk" smiling, Allyson pointed towards the small bell and pushed her way through the swing gate of the countertop. Another gentleman had arrived and it was quick to deduce what he had entered the small shop for. "Hello! Welcome how are you doing?" The girl had learned quick on the job that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. [member="Willreich Ritter"] looked like a man who wanted to read something military, but he could easily be into the trashy romance novels.

Her voice still pleasant, she asked him, "Can I help you find something ?"

 

[Tanith Alde]

[member="Allyson Locke"]

The Engineer looked up slowly, tilting his head for a second before he answered "I suppose you could..." His voice trailed off for a moment, it was so strange, not wearing the gasmask and survival gear. He still wore most of his combat uniform but, without his full kit he felt quite naked in public, and quite defenseless "I require a few manuals. One for the RZ-75 A Tactical Speeder, The Creshing Spider Tank... MANA Automonous Turret Systems......and a book of a thousand and one jokes." The last request had been a recommendation from one of his fellow engineers, apparently he was little fun at parties

 

[Lief]

The door swung inward at the touch of his scrawny hand, doused in such grime that it left a slight impression against the glass pane which acted as a window.

It was from overhead this time that the bell tinkled, causing him to set his jaw in disdain and peer upward with a scowl. The sound rang in his ears longer than it ought to have, but he was already away from the doorway by that point, stalking through the rows of bookshelves.

What exactly was he looking for?

Lazareth did not know. But now that he was inside, away from the buzz of insects and the uncomfortable humid heat of the rainforest, he was reluctant to simply leave again. Besides, he could hardly blame a bell for the loss of the girl...

His fingers trailed a line of muck along the spines of what appeared to be expensive tomes, such things were quite unheard of in this day and age with most data being stored electronically. He looked rather intrigued by one particular book, leather bound, metal clasped, thumbed by so many that the embossed letters which declared its title and origin had since been alleviated from the cover.

A small rasp left him, and beneath the hood a smile pulled at his lips; hunched shoulders heaved in time with the dry chuckle that seemed breathless and virtually inaudible.

Oh, this was interesting...

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Eights burst into the bookstore, sparking aggressively at the wrists and neck. His sixteen fingers twitched incessantly and he bounced lightly from foot to foot as he scoured the store for a "Foreign Language" section.

Kark kark kark kark kark, thought Eights. He needed a Galactic Basic to Iktochese dictionary by yesterday, and every second he wasn't able to translate was a chance to lose this business deal- and lose the commission from his client. His wild search through the section brought him nothing. Seeing the empty desk, Eights raced over and slammed the bell twelve times, creating a larger racket with his metal hand against the desk than the actual ding of the bell.

Oh please Constructor, let them have this book. I'll go to church every day for a year, I'll wear your brand on my side, but please let them have this book.

[member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

The odd soldier rambled on what he needed. Allyson made a mental note of all the books, but cringed slightly at the jokes book. Memorizing jokes didn’t seem like the best way to become social, so instead as she gathered the books the man wanted and slipped in a few “how to be socially awesome” books. Handing him the small stack she smiled and nodded. “Ah I put the joke book in there, along with some social stuff. The social stuff is on the house.” Wandering back to the counter quickly she rang up each item and handed him the total.

Waiting for payment, she made eye contact with the man that entered the shop. There was a chill that worked down her spine as she stared at him. Something was off and she wondered if it was something along the lines of ‘feeling things with the Force’, she would have to ask Kailie as her master about it. Lifting her comm she snapped a quick photo of the man - better have proof to show the girl as well. Keeping her eye on him she continued to wait for the man to pay for his books. “It's gonna come up to about 30 credits sir.”

Her eyes wandered again seeing the droid creep into the shop, he had interest in the language department. Droids were always her favorite, mostly because of someone else in her life. She grew fond of them, still ships and speeders were her ultimate favorite mechanical things in the known galaxy. She would have to wander over to the droid next while she kept an eye on the suspicious man.

[member="NG-888 (Eights)"] [member="Lazareth"] [member="Willreich Ritter"]

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Finally, the bookstore lady was taking notice. Eights saw her sidelong glance at the creepy man with the strange heat signature. He'd be staying away from that guy. At least she'd be able to help him with this rather immediate dilemma. He couldn't wait to get this karking deal done and get a chance to relax.

"Hello miss, could you help me find a book here? I have a rather immediate dilemma that requires a Basic-Iktochese translation, and I was hoping you could help me locate it. Time is of the essence."

[member="Allyson Locke"] | @Lazareth

 

[Crix Meriet]

Why was Crix Meriet on Borleias? A prudent question but misguided ... the answer is the plot.
Why further was Crix Meriet, King (mostly , sort of) of Isis , slaver and all round perfect guy doing in a bookshop in the middle of nowhere ? A secound crucial question he was there to buy Picture books for [member="Toby"] .

You see the poor boy had great difficulty reading and the Royal Palace of Isis lacked Picture books, It had a great many boring, dusty old novels but his dearest T couldn't read those.

His bodyguard was sat on an uncomfortably small chair a few paces behind them watching ... always watching.

So it was that Crix Meriet came to be stood at the Children's book section one hand clutching his lovers. Crix always felt safer when his fingers were entwined in Toby's, he gave the hand a gentle squeeze and lifted it up to kiss the back as his eyes followed his other hand as it along book spines , now what would his Toby enjoy?

Crix nudged his crown up , Damn thing made his neck ache somthing vile, and turned to his love holding up a book "what do you think of this one sweetheart? it's about a farm " Toby loved his animals, Crix was going give Toby a farm at some point, just as soon as his Daddy died.

 

[Lief]

Toby wished he could read.

Almost as much as he wished he could speak.

Alas, Mister Meriet was a cruel man who had stifled anything like that in him from a very early age. And while he knew how to speak, that wasn't going to be something which returned for a very long time. Almost ten years since his last word... He had hoped that learning to read might help vent some frustrations, help him to connect with words a little better.

But all attempts had been fruitless.

Now they had a little girl to care for - well, he did, as Crix didn't very much like her - and the free time he would have had, to learn such a craft, was all but snuffed entirely.

Crix tugged at his hand, pulling him from his thoughts. A sheepish smile was brought upon his lips at the sight of the little book. It was slightly humiliating, to be honest, to have to suffer such childish things, but it was a stepping stone.

And his beloved did so enjoy doting upon him!

He gave a nod of his head, not wishing to burst his Master, Lover, and King's bubble. Let him keep this bit of fun, let him chide him, it was cute to see him so openly caring now that they could be.

[member="Crix Meriet"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]Allyson accepted the payment from the man and then moved towards the droid who had called out to her. She glanced towards the two men that had entered the shop. They seemed capable of entertaining each other until she was needed to cash them out or to help them find something. A smile crept her face as she caught wind of their conversation, it made her think fondly of someone, but her attention was pulled from her day dreams and back to work. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“We have that book of course, but do you want a digital copy you could just download into your memory core or did you want the book? I could throw in a deal for both if you wish.” Droids were always interesting, this one seemed more independent. Kaili would enjoy seeing the droid and interacting with him. Remembering Kaili trying to spread her business, Allyson reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card. “Since you’re a droid and such a friend of mine runs a really awesome shop as well. Parts and the like. She’s pretty great…” A smile spread across Allyson’s face, one that read how fond of the girl she was speaking of. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“So how about I give you the deal, charge for the digital copy and throw in the hardcopy along with [member="Kaili Talith"] ‘s business card?” [/SIZE][member="NG-888 (Eights)"]

 

[Crix Meriet]

Crix smiled at Toby's nod "Ok we'll get that one ... and ...." He paused noting the subtle signs of embarrassment in @Toby.

Crix knew that Toby took great umbrage at the fact that he couldn't read. The only times Crix ever saw Toby truly angry were when he had tried to read somthing from the library in the palace. Too many times he had rushed into a room having heard a bang to find a novel or tome sprawled open on the floor at one side of the room and Toby curled up shaking on the other. When that happened he just took the poor man to bed and soothed him until he dozed off.

The picture books might embarrass his love but at least he'd understand them.

Nevertheless Crix felt bad for causing Toby embarrassment "I've embarrassed you I'm sorry" He frowned kissing Toby's hands again then pushed himself onto his tiptoes to kiss the tip of Toby's nose "But you have nothing to be ashamed of , it's not your fault reading is hard for you " It was his father who had deprived Toby of schooling. Even that hadn't stopped Toby entirely, after all Toby had learnt to read important things like 'warning' etc. and simple common words. Further he could just about write his name and transcribe simple words like 'hungry' and 'tired' and the like. Granted they were spelt wrong but they could be understood.

"These books will atleast make sense when you read them and I promise that one day you'll be able to read fully" The Day Toby spoke again Crix would start teaching him.

Crix wrapped his arms around Toby "It will be all better one day my darlin' , you're my good boy so it has to work out for you in the end , I won't stand for anything else"

Then he stacked a few more books on top of the farm one, all picture books including a cute one about a prince ... he would use that one to teach Toby how important he was.

"Now lets get these books and a wordier one which I can read to you " He half smiled squeezing his lovers hand again, Crix liked reading to Toby, then he lightly tugged Toby toward the fiction department "Now what would you like ?" He asked pointing to and describing each of the genres.

As Toby made a decision Crix's eyes caught sight of [member="Lazareth"] , Crix didn't know who he was but he didn't like the look of him. He tipped his head from his bodyguard to the haggard man and the guard nodded, he understood. The man was not to be allowed to get near Toby.

Poverty unnerved Crix

 

[Lief]

He did not care for the locusts that flew around, devouring everything they came into contact with - presuming everything belonged to them. Spineless fools, made to feel strong and empowered by the weapons on their belt. Repugnant insects, so self absorbed and entitled. And they called him the freak...

No attention was paid to any of them - the girl who ran the store, the duo and their silent watcher, the droid... Instead his eyes bore holes in the old tome which had been overlooked by so many. It would have no pretty, worthwhile pictures to illustrate its details, there was no legible name, no author. The pages were yellowed, about ready to crack if someone handled them too roughly. Even the ink had faded.

But it called to him all the same.

He drew it from its crevice upon the shelf and deftly felt the leather which bound it. Dry, yet still surprisingly subtle. He couldn't help but wonder which animal had shed its skin so that it might be borne.

Lazareth had to have it. But money was not a commodity he kept upon his person. It weighed one down, both mentally and physically; completely meaningless, a pitiful human construct, yet it was worshiped more than any God, adored more than any lover's caress.

He would not buy into it.

So the question remained; how could he obtain the book without drawing any attention to the fact?

[member="Crix Meriet"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[NG-888 (Eights)]

Eights was surprised at the kindness of the woman. Many around these parts didn't take to kindly to droids, especially those without masters. Eights whirred in appreciation.

"Why thank you! It is very kind of you to offer that." Eights reached into his chest cavity and withdrew the required credits, plus a few more as a tip. "Just to inform you, I believe the creepy looking guy in the corner is going to attempt to steal a book. I'd watch out for that. Anyways, may I ask where I might find your friend? Some replacement parts would be useful."

Eights was glad he had come into this shop. Bookstores always alleviated a bit of stress.

[member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Lazareth"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson smiled and handed over the card along with the books and digital copy of the book the droid wanted. “Kaili’s shop is about an Island hop south from here. Mmm, roughly 20 or so minutes by taxi from this shop.” Allyson knew this distance well, she had been hanging out with Kaili for the past few days. The girls were good friends and that meant she knew the droid would be in good hands. Doing quick math, she was able to come up with what the droid owed.

“Hmm, comes up to about 40 credits.” She looked towards the man who was pondering on stealing the book he was holding. He had a terrible vibe about him and a part of her wanted to just duck in the back and let him have the book he wanted. She had given an oath to the shop owner though that she would keep an eye on his beloved relics and make sure no one took without paying. Nodding, she looked back at the droid. “I know, he...he doesn’t feel right...thank you for letting me know though.” The droid was kind and aware of his surroundings. Smiling, she pushed a few buttons her register pad. The price dramatically dropped to 22 credits.

“There, employee discount. So 22 credits.” Allyson smiled and waited for the droid to pay. [member="NG-888 (Eights)"] [member="Lazareth"]