strangetrip | [EP] aliens control the coffee supply

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[EP] aliens control the coffee supply

Xavin, for the most part, hadn't actually bothered keeping regular hours at her little coffee nook. She spent some time there most days, how long depending on how many people wanted coffee or how interested she was in whatever books she'd selected for the day.

Today was probably going to be a longer day, if only because she'd had to restock a little from the kitchens. She'd found a little cart to haul things and was currently engaged in putting her supplies away. Milks and whipped cream into the little refrigerator, beans stashed in their cupboard, disposable cups stacked and non-disposable cups cleaned and put away. (Some people liked those, particularly if they didn't intend to leave the library. But it meant that her kitchen time included doing dishes, which was often more fun than drudgery. Especially when she accidentally overdid the soap.)

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Since the child, Annie, had arrived, Lillith had taken to appearing in public as an albino human. She did not wish to hide herself any longer, but neither did she wish to frighten a child already far from home and missing her parents. She had not endeavored to talk to Annie, because she reminded her of Beatrycze whom she missed at home. Perhaps soon, she might.

Today she had elected to retreat to the library. After she'd put in her hours of working on her enchantments, she'd gathered her sketchpad and charcoal and her journal in case friend Thor sent more messages and went to see if Xavin was working.

Ah! As she was, Lillith slipped past her by detouring through the shelves and went to take up residence in the reading nook. Upon entering, her gaze fell on another already there and slid off again. She set her things on the small table and looked over again--and slid off again.

Magic.

She relaxed her mind the way that she must when trying to penetrate an illusion and simply allowed herself to know that the person there was of interest to her. She did not try to see them, only knew that she could, and then the careful, simple spell released its hold on her to reveal someone Lillith did not know.

"Oh. Hello," she addressed the sharp-faced man. If he had intended ill, she did not think that he would be sitting in the library with a book. There were more effective ways to plot against people with the magic he had.

Actually being addressed was startling enough that Loki looked up from his book. A young albino woman... no, something else, the human shell was as much an illusion as his own ultimately (kind of) was. When you knew how to look at things, there were always little inconsistencies to anything 'not real'.

This woman's inconsistencies were microscopic, if that. It was impressive, though not as much as her seeing through his ignore-me spell. Simple though it was, it wasn't a simple matter of 'disbelieving'. She had serious skills, and was young enough that they'd only improve with time and practice.

Very interesting. And without a book, more so. "Hello. Hiding from something?"

"Not as such, no," she replied, lest he think she was hiding from Xavin. But he did have illusion magic so she did not assume that was what he meant.

"One of the new residents is a human child with presumably little experience of non-humans. My kind is frightening enough to adults. As it costs me little to appear as a human instead of a Tiefling, it seemed kind to do so until she had adjusted."

She spread her things on the table so she might choose from among them. "What of you? It's an unusual choice to direct attention away from oneself in a place like a library where most are not inclined to pry."

Ah. Yes. Loki understood about different faces to curb fear. He'd been doing it all his life without knowing it until the last ten years. He was 'lucky' in that his terrifying face took effort to bring out rather than effort to hide.

He flashed a smile. Why not? She clearly didn't recognize him. "I'm not officially here yet. Best I keep a low profile until I am."

"How is it possible that you are here without being officially here?" Lillith mused over this and scowled at him. Were she wearing her Tiefling face, her fangs would certainly show. "To my knowledge no one has arrived without there being a room for them."

Another thought struck her, one she liked even less. "Do you claim then to be one of those responsible for us being brought here?"

"No, no, I'm as imprisoned as everyone else here. I took a different shape when I arrived, and I've maintained it since. No doubt there's a room waiting for me, but for now it can go right on waiting." Loki gestured at his book, still open in his lap. "I'm only a person right now because paws are terrible at turning pages."

"I took a different shape when I arrived, too," Lillith observed curiously. "Yet it seems an odd to choice, nevertheless, to remain in an animal form when there is a comfortable room waiting for you. I can think of several reasons, but none of them especially benevolent." Spying and sneaking and tricking were not the sort of thing she condoned when not playful and among friends, or when trying to defeat an actual enemy.

"I've at least one certain enemy here, possibly two." Thor's status depended quite a bit on when he was from; Loki had learned early that people came from different points in time. A Thor from before Jotunheim would be a very different proposition than a Thor from New York. Either instance of New York. "I never claim to be benevolent, but I intend no malevolence." Currently, anyway. "I'm simply being practical. My chances improve the more information I have, and I gather information more effectively if I'm not actively defending myself."

Lillith considered his response for some moments, in no hurry to speak. It was true, one need not be benevolent in order to avoid malevolence, but that he actively disclaimed benevolence did somewhat alarm her with her cousin's children on the way.

She fixed her gaze on him very steadily. "What information is it that you seek? I am not unwilling to help you find it, but I warn you that should you offer malevolence, whether you intend it presently or not, you will not find me so congenial."

“How many enemies I have here in total, any allies they have, the capabilities of said allies, the likelihood i’ll Be able to avoid either them or any violent kinds of conflict, that kind of thing.” Loki closed his book, which he’d been keeping open; this conversation was more interesting. “Whether revealing myself would be a form of suicide, if there’s a realistic other option if it is. I suspect the latter answer is ‘no’, so I should also plan for that.”

Lillith's mouth twisted with distaste. "For someone who intends no malevolence, you are very concerned with enemies and tactics. Would it not be better to ask what friends you might have, or whether anyone here would allow you to be harmed?" She did not like to think of this place she had come to see as a home disrupted by the hostility this person projected.

"Not at all, because I know those answers. I never have to ask." He'd known those answers his whole life. "I have no friends, and no one will go out of their way to assist me."

"I have had few friends in my life," Lillith offered in hopes of showing him he needn't presume hostility. It would be safer for all if he did not. "But I have found many here. Perhaps you will also find friends, if you wish to."

"A sweet sentiment, but I doubt it. I'm more than old enough to know my limitations." And there were many. "Among them is that I am fundamentally unlikeable, always have been. I'll strive for tolerance if I can get it, and if I can't, I'll manage."

"My instructor once told me that if you aim for the stars, you will hit the moon. So if you strive for tolerance, you will not get it." She fixed him with her violet gaze. "Perhaps you should aim higher."

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[EP] aliens control the coffee supply

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