The library's ground level is one large room punctuated by even rows of pier columns that confidently hold the weight of the upper floors. The building is old but solid, its lath and plaster walls dark with age. Here and there some of the plaster has worn off to reveal the wooden slats beneath. Heavy, dark grained and decorated mahogany wainscoting runs the length of the walls, complimented by thick, ornate crown molding along the ceiling and each of the columns. It's clear from the dilapidated condition that the building's been abandoned for decades. There is a somber, sepulchral quietness to the place, even when alive with people, that is perhaps a ghostly echo of the rigid, required silence that its wardens demanded when the library was in its heyday.
The room is fairly large, once the home of all the library's materials that fell under the heading of 700: Arts. Nearly all were taken along in the move to the new library, although a few particularly tatty specimens appear to have been left behind on one of the remaining bookshelves, of which there are several. One other is also still actually being used for its original purpose, bearing a collection of rather newer books in varying condition. Another seems to have become an ersatz dresser, with neatly folded clothing on the shelves and a towel hanging over one corner to dry. A wheeled suitcase seems to be acting as a drinks cabinet next to a desk and a pair of rickety chairs; most of the other furniture has been removed or shoved against a wall, out of the way, including a stained and lumpy twin mattress sitting on its short end. It's a corner room, and there are two many-paned, arch-topped windows in each of the outer walls. On one side, a queen-size mattress in much better repair is laid on the floor between them, with pillows and linens on it suggesting it sees regular use.
Compact is the word for him: wiry, maybe 5'6" in his beat-up black combat boots, with a sense of compressed energy and imminence like a coiled spring -- or a cocked gun. Never quite still for long, balance flowing through the balls of his feet. There's a striking intensity to his narrow blue-green eyes, the colour contrasting with his fair skin and spiky copper hair; just below the left is what at first appears to be a faint mole, but closer inspection reveals as a small, long-healed scar. His features are appealing, with high cheekbones and a good jawline, but it's the confident mien and roguish smile that most often seem to draw people in.
He's in a well-worn biker jacket of the traditional sort, all fairly closely fit black leather and silvery zippers and snaps. Beneath it, he's got somewhat faded blue jeans with the cuffs half walked off, along with a closely fitting green t-shirt featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; from the design and the state of the printing, it's either older than he is or really wishes it were. Sometimes when he moves his left arm, part of a tattoo peeks out beneath the sleeve's hem. There's a couple leather-and-bead bracelets on one wrist and a length of ball-chain disappearing beneath his collar; his nails were apparently painted black some time ago, since they're starting to show chips. Late teens, most likely, and when he speaks it's in a mellifluous, southern-accented baritone voice.
Thick honey-blonde hair, styled in a poofy set of curls, rings this pretty blue-eyed young woman's head. She's in her late teens, and her hair's currently left down, though it's occasionally pinned up. She stands about five and a half feet tall, and is a little on the thin side of things, though not to an extreme. She dresses mostly in informal styles, from ripped jeans and tank tops to the occasional sundress.
Currently, she wears the former, her black tank top emblazoned with a large sequined red heart, and her jeans so ripped as to be nearly indecent. About half of the heart's sequins are missing. Her feet are clad in red strappy lightly-heeled sandals that have seen better days. She wears little in the way of jewelry, just a black wooden bracelet, a stainless steel and rhinestone mood ring, and (probably fake) gold earrings. When she speaks, a fairly thick Southern accent is evident.
Lilah heads into the front door of the Library, carrying her apron and looking a bit tired. Still, she's *also* carrying a grocery bag with Denny's logo on it, so perhaps she'll share the wealth! She shuts the door behind her, shivering, and shakes out her hair. It's dripping wet, though the rest of her is thankfully a bit more dry.
As is so often the case, Felix is in that recreational corner with his guitar. No obvious song just at the moment, just playing around and improvising things, really. It's quieter than it tends to be when he's playing things he knows, and he's sitting on the arm of the couch, feet on the cushions, and smoking. At the sound of the door and the brief blast of colder air, he looks up, grinning and pausing in his playing when he sees who it is. "Hey, beautiful! ...we gotta get you an umbrella or somethin', y'look soaked."
Once she's heard that quiet guitar, Lilah lets out a breath, and then grins right back to Felix. "I got one, but I plumb forgot it." She shrugs, not too worried about it, and steps in closer to his corner. "Brought you 'n anybody else who wants it, s'more o' them pecan pumpkin pancakes... an' some mashed taters. They made too much today." The bag is set down near Felix, and then she kicks off her shoes, sliding down the wall until she's sitting close to him. Not so close that she's in the way of his guitar, but close enough that she's able to squeeze his shoulder with a smile. "How y'been today?"
"Oh, I definitely want it," Felix says immediately, eyeing the bag, and he gets up, setting the guitar aside where it's safe from water before he leans in to give Lilah a good sound kiss hello. That done, he disappears into this floor's bathroom and emerges a minute or so later with a rather threadbare towel to offer the kin when he gets back, dropping down onto the cushions close enough beside her to be touching, and picks up the bag of bounty. "I been okay, not doin' anythin' too thrillin', but keepin' busy. Not so busy as you, though, I reckon. How'd it go?"
"I thoughtcha might feel that way," Lilah grins, and kisses are happily bestowed. She looks up in surprise as he stands, but understanding dawns when he returns with that towel. He's favored with a fond smile as she wraps her hair in it, giving herself a bit of the Mother Teresa look. She leans her head against his shoulder as he's checking out the bag, and grins at his answer. "Keepin' busy's good. It went a'right. Had one really nice table o' old ladies, tipped real nice... an' one table full o' rowdy guys our age, didn't tip hardly nothin'. I reckon it cancels out." She kisses his cheek lightly.
Felix licks his fingers and pinches out the cigarette, dropping what remains into his pocket, presumably for later. That frees him up for proper investigation and eating of the bag's contents. The pancakes get chosen over the potatoes with no hesitation, and he sets the bag back down and leans back into the cushions to eat. "How rowdy? I don't gotta find anyone an' have a word, do I?" He looks her over briefly, as though customer misbehaviour might show.
Lilah leans back as well, though she doesn't partake of pancakes or potatoes. Instead, she shakes her head to Felix's questions, smiling. "Annoyin'-rowdy, too dang loud for a Denny's. But nothin' you gotta have a word over." She leans her head back over onto him again, towel and all. Her eyes follow his movements as he eats, and she falls contentedly silent for a few moments.
"Mm. Yeah, that ain't too bad," Felix agrees, which is possibly not a shock given his general willingness to be annoyin'-rowdy in a Denny's or just about anywhere else. He gives her a slightly sticky kiss on the forehead when she rests her head on him, and then goes back to demolishing pancakes. He's a good quarter through the first one before it occurs to him to offer her a bite as well.
Lilah smiles cheerily at the kiss to her forehead, and ends up shaking her head lightly to the offer of a bite. "Ate at work. S'all good." She wraps her arms around him, getting good and comfy before she asks, "How ya likin' it? Sorry it ain't warmer, but that's whatcha get when it's this cold out."
"'s delicious," Felix assures her, and indeed doesn't seem to have given much thought to the temperature before it was mentioned. "I could prolly nuke it if I needed it warmer. 's fine, though, ain't one of those things that get kinda nasty once they cool down." He doesn't put his arms around her in return, being busy using his for pancake-devouring purposes, but does shift comfortably into hers.
Lilah nods her head, and smooches his shoulder with the lightest of feathery kisses. "'m glad it's good," she murmurs, and smiles contentedly as he shifts, in the process making them more comfortable. "After ya finish the pancakes, I'll warm up th' potatoes. Reckon they need it. Ain't much gravy with 'em, so I got some butter packets."
"Mmmmm, butter," Felix says, "I heard a rumour everything's better with butter. Maybe I oughta save somea it to put on you an' find out if there's a limit..." He touches a syrupy edge of his latest bite of pancake to the tip of her nose, and leans over to lick it off before settling into the comfy position again.
Predictably, Lilah blushes deeply, even as she not as predictably squares her jaw and suggests, "Maybe y'should." She arches a brow, and then as he syrups the tip of her nose and licks it off, she giggles, wrinkling up said nose. Her head nuzzles in against his chest, kissing it gently, before she murmurs amusedly, "You're encourageable. Much too."
Felix grins at the blush, and a bit more at the jaw-squaring and reply, brows going up just a fraction. "Well, keep a packet or two of those aside, then." The giggle gets a smile, and he eats that bite of pancake quite happily. "You keep encouragin' me, though. Ain't complainin', mind. Just sayin'."
"I might," Lilah murmurs, still blushing quite thoroughly, but she grins at the look on his face as he eats that bite. "I reckon I do, though. 'ccasionally," she eventually allows. "Not that ya need it, really." She shakes her head, smiling. "So. When yer done eatin', whatcha gonna play me?"
"Everyone needs encouragement," Felix tells Lilah as solemnly as he can, particularly considering the fact he's about halfway through the pancakes so far. "Hmm. I dunno, yet. You got any requests?"
"Far be it from me t'deny the wisdom in yer words." Lilah says with a shake of her head. "Requests? I dunno. Play somethin'... that ya like a whole lot. Somethin' you'd wanna share with the whole world, y'know, if'n it were up to you." She leans her cheek against his chest. "Or just play somethin' real nice. I just like t'hear ya play."
Felix leans in to Lilah slightly, and makes an unintelligible but vaguely thoughtful noise around somewhat too large a bite of pancake. "...I'll think 'bout it," he says, once his mouth is clear enough of pancake to speak. "Doesn't necessarily narrow it down a whole lot, 'course."
Lilah idly leans over to kiss his cheek as he makes that somewhat thoughtful noise, and nods her head to his words. "Nah, it don't. But you'll figure out somethin'. Y'always do." She grins and adds, "Bonus points if'n ya learn any Katy Perry. ...lotsa bonus points."
"If I learn it, or if I play it?" Felix asks, giving her a quick grin, "And what exactly can I trade in my points for, if I save up enough? D'you got one of those booths displayin' things with little labels sayin' how many points it takes to get 'em? I gotta know what kinda economy I'm workin' with, here." Despite her earlier demurral, he offers her one of the few remaining bites of pancake, just in case she's changed her mind.
Apparently, Lilah has not changed her mind, since she shakes her head no to the offer. "If you learn it AN' ya play it," she clarifies, nuzzling in against him just a little closer. "I ain't got no booth, though. Got all the prices right up here." She naturally taps her head at that point. "'fraid the list's too long ta say 'em all, but yer welcome t'ask 'bout different things, an' I'll get back to ya." She gives him a little wink at that point.
Felix eats that bite himself, and gives her a dubious look. "All in your head, an' too long to say? I dunno, sounds a bit shady, y'ask me. How many points I got so far, you reckon? So I know where I'm workin' from, at least."
"Oh, I reckon you got at least twenty-two points a'ready. But learnin' an' playin' me some Katy Perry, well. I ain't at liberty t'quote numbers yet, but let's just say you'll be rollin' in 'em." Lilah smirks at him and his dubious look, leaning in to kiss one side of his sticky lips. It requires she lick her lips to clear them after, but sacrifices must be made!
"Twenty two, huh?" Felix considers this while he finishes off the pancakes, smiling at her kiss, and suddenly grabbing her to give her another which leaves her lips even stickier. He settles back to eat the final bite of pancakes afterward with innocence that would actually be quite convincing if one hadn't just seen him do it. Or experienced it.
Lilah nods smugly, and then she's being grabbed and kissed; it certainly wipes the smugness off her face, that's for sure. The kiss is returned warmly, and then she blushes, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Encourageable," she mutters, before clearing her throat and revising, "Twenny-four. Definitely at least twenny-four."
Felix tilts his head as he chews that last bite, considering. "I reckon if that's worth two points, an' I ain't sayin' it shouldn't be, but if it is, either there's some real weird point-weightin' goin' on, you only just started keepin' track, or I been tradin' 'em in on the regular already without even knowin' it."
Lilah giggles at him, shaking her head. "It ain't my fault you like to trade in s'often. You're real demandin', didn't you know that?" she teases, and leans in as though to whisper something, but in the end she only lightly kisses his earlobe. She does end up murmuring, while still close, "An' you keep up like ya do, yer gonna need them bonus points."
"Am I? I like to think I give as good as I get," Felix teases, leaning down to set the plate aside, then sliding his arms around Lilah and twisting to lie back on the sofa, using the arm as a pillow. Such as it is; 'fluffy' is not the first descriptor that would come to mind when explaining this couch's arms to someone. "Maybe I oughta start keepin' some kinda points tally for you," he muses, "...only with you bringin' me pancakes an' stuff like that, I might hafta start keepin' notes, an' that sounds like work."
Lilah smiles at him with amusement in her eyes, and she rests half on him, half on the couch. His chest gets a kiss, and then his neck receives the softest of little nibbles. "It *is* a lotta work. An' you ain't got enough points to make me help ya with it." She meets his gaze for a few moments, watching his eyes, and then leans in for another kiss, longer this time.
Felix kisses her on the head, thankfully having already licked his lips and wiped them on the back of his hand as well, so the residual stickiness is minimized. "Can't help noticin' you didn't comment on the first part," he muses, giving her a bit more room for that nibble and sliding a hand a bit lower along her back. His eyes are on her when she meets them, amused but still with that extra intensity the largest two phases of the moon tend to engender, and when she leans in he pulls her closer against him and kisses her in return.
"I only comment on the bits that're gonna help my case," Lilah teases, and briefly closes her eyes when he kisses her head. When she sees his eyes are already on her, she blushes just faintly, but she doesn't look away, even as they kiss. "...like you," she says simply once she's done kissing him, and gives him a warm smile. She even rubs her nose up against his before pressing her forehead up against him again. Her hands finally leave his waist, roving over his chest and then up to cup his cheeks.
Felix smiles back, the arm around her waist giving her a squeeze. "Like you too," he replies, and wrinkles his nose at the nose-rubbing, the smile shading briefly into a grin. He seems happy to rest their foreheads together again, and certainly there's no objection to the roving of her hands. "...ain't never not glad I met you."
Lilah kisses him warmly, if briefly, and smiles at his wrinkling nose. Her hands pause just briefly in their movements at those last words, and she looks away briefly, seemingly shy. "...me neither," she murmurs, and then tries to pull him in for another kiss, longer this time.
Felix wraps one of her curls around his finger, letting go to see it bounce back, and then wraps another, keeping it this time. There's no resistance to being pulled in for that kiss, for as long as she wants; it's just as emotive as before, and he still seems to want to keep her close.
Lilah grins as she watches him with those curls, tilting her head closer to his hand. Her eyes stay open this time as they kiss, a soft and expressive thing that lasts ... and lasts ... and lasts. It goes on for some time, and when it finally does break, she's the one who breaks it, closing her eyes tightly at last, and pressing forehead to forehead without a word.
The curls get played with gently throughout the kiss, and when it does finally break, Felix settles back into that forehead contact without protest. he lets the latest curl boing into its accustomed place and wraps both arms around Lilah's waist again. After a moment, he sings softly, "I don't need no money, fortune, or fame. I got all the riches, baby, one man could claim..."
Lilah smiles softly to him, opening her eyes to look at him again. They widen delightedly as he starts to sing, and she strokes his cheek with the back of one hand softly. She looks touched by the choice of song, barely able to keep from kissing him and thus losing the rest of the song. The smile on her face is open and adoring.
"Well, I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girl... talkin' 'bout my girl," Felix continues, with a smile playing around the corners of his mouth as he takes in her reactions. He keeps it quiet, but he's still pretty good at getting the emotion and sincerity in it to come through, and he breaks off there to claim that kiss himself.
Lilah sways gently with the music, clearly affected by the emotions of the moment. When he breaks off for the kiss, she's more than happy to return it, lifting a hand up to slide into his hair, while the other strokes his cheek fondly. When the kiss does break, she's not the one to break it this time, and sings rather breathlessly, "Your girl, your girl... talkin' 'bout your girl..."
"My girl," Felix chimes in brightly at the appropriate place as she finishes, and gives her a rather adoring-looking smile of his own. "Gonna keep you, I reckon," he teases.
"You reckon?" Lilah teases right back. "Weeeeeeell, I s'ppose that's a good thing, seein' as how I was plannin' on keepin' you." She kisses him lightly once more, unable to entirely keep all hands, feet, and objects to herself. "Whyya reckon you're gonna keep me, then?"
"You sure 'bout that plan? I hear keepin' me can be a lotta work. You gotta feed me an' walk me an' clean up my messes," Felix says solemnly, "...but I AM awful cute." His arms stay around her waist, albeit a bit more loosely at the moment.
"Sure I'm sure. I like feedin' you, an' I like walkin' you." A pause, and then, "...and cleanin' up your messes." Paired with the words is a definite flush to her cheeks. Lilah pauses again, and then asks, "You sure you're sure 'bout *your* plan? I hear I'm also a fair amount o' work. Gotta keep sugar 'n spice 'n everythin' nice on hand, plus you gotta walk 'n feed 'n clean up messes..."
Felix makes a dismissive sound. "You don't MAKE messes, an' seems to me Lilahs are pretty self-feedin' mostly. Plus who'd not wanna have sugar an' spice an' especially everythin' nice on hand? Beats snips an' snails an' puppydog tails. Maybe not the tails, if they're still on the puppies. Anyway... I like feedin' you, when I can. An' walkin' you. An' messin' up your cleans." He grins.
Lilah laughs, leaning in to kiss him impulsively, before nodding her head. "Well then, I reckon it's settled. You. Keepin' me." She laughs again, almost giddily, and then encircles his waist with her arms, tugging him in as though he's gone anywhere in the meantime.
"And you keepin' me," Felix agrees, nodding. His arms are still around her waist, but he tightens them when she tries to tug him closer like that, and leans to nuzzle at her neck, then rests his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes again.
"And me keepin' you," Lilah allows, and smiles as he tightens his arms around her waist. She goes quiet then, nuzzling up to him and closing her eyes. She seems content to have his head on her shoulder, and stays very still so as not to dislodge him.