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.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Gibbous (Galliard) Moon phase (78% full).
Currently in Saint Claire, it is mostly sunny today. The temperature is 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric pressure reading is 30.00 and falling, and the relative humidity is 19 percent. The dewpoint is 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius.)
Compact is the word for him: wiry, not quite 5'6" in his bare feet, 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 old black jeans with a rip in one knee and the cuffs half walked off, and his lack of shirt displays a small collection of tattoos. On his left arm, just below the shoulder, is a parachuting rat holding a crowbar and wearing a pair of glittery-gold star-shaped glasses; on the right side of his abdomen, about where the waistline of pants sort of act as the ground, are a pair of rats with a mortar aimed up toward the left. Both tattoos are all in black (aside from the glasses) and resemble spray-painted stencils. His back is covered by a phoenix rising from flames, smoke, and ash, in suitably fiery colours and a completely different style. A reasonably close-up look reveals a number of scars worked into the design of that one. There's a couple leather-and-bead bracelets on one wrist and a pair of dogtags on a length of ball-chain around his neck; 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.
Spring seems to finally have sprung -- it's over 80 out, has been all day, and right now Felix is flopped barefoot and shirtless on the couch in the recreation area, using an armrest as a pillow for his damp hair, and idly playing his guitar without the amp. The reason for the latter is likely sprawled out on the beanbag: Justin, totally passed out. Or is it? Does the Ahroun secretly have an older brother? It looks just like him, but a couple inches taller, and features that seem a few years longer in the making. The Galliard, on the other hand, looks exactly like his usual self, down to the jacket lying over the back of the couch and the currently half-full Coke bottle on the ground beside him.
The front door of the library opens, and Lilah steps in expectantly, gaze immediately searching for, presumably, Felix. She's got two McDonald's bags nuzzled in one arm, while the other holds two milkshakes in one of those cardboard drink holders. Clotheswise, she's got on a pair of black slacks and a white short-sleeved blouse, paired with strappy black low-heeled sandals. She looks a bit tired, but after a day of work that may not be entirely out of place. Her eyes land on Justin first, and her brow furrows before her gaze shifts to Felix. Without a word, she toes off her sandals and pads over toward Felix, giving him a hesitant and quizzical little smile.
Felix glances to the door as it opens, and breaks into a wide smile on seeing Lilah. "Hey!" he calls, heedless of his slumbering packmate(?) but there's nary a twitch, so perhaps he doesn't really need to be. The Galliard sits up as the kin approaches, setting his guitar aside and shifting a bit to make room for her to join him. "J passed out, so either we gotta eat his or he'll just hafta have it cold later. Which's ironic, 'cause he's the one wanted fries to start with. How you doin', gorgeous?"
Her small smile grows in size as she sees his, and Lilah looks him over curiously before taking her seat next to him and leaning over into his space. She kisses his cheek, leaning over into his space, and answers, "Better, now. How you doin'? And how's J?" She nibbles at her lower lip, then asks casually, "Where ya been?" Another kiss to his cheek, and she sets the McD's bags on his lap. He'll find that the bags contain, as expected, two Big Mac meals, along with a burger and a small fry. The drinks are set down near his feet for now, and then she's leaned over once more, kissing him before he's even allowed to say very much.
Felix tries to turn his head so that the second cheek kiss gets lips instead, but doesn't quite manage it in time. Unsurprisingly, he protests not at all when her further kissing interrupts his ability to answer. No hurry. "....mm. Better, now," he replies, giving her a grin, and glances to the slumbering form, "...an' he's been better, I reckon, but ain't so bad right this minute. Slug gave him some vicodin, he's out. Prolly didn't get no sleep before." He withdraws a fry from one of the bags in his lap, bonks Lilah on the nose with it, and then eats it. "We killed us a mage."
Lilah kisses him for quite some time, albeit gently, and then pulls away, listening to him. She glances over toward the sleeping Ahroun as well, and nods her head, although she looks more than a little concerned. Around about then, she gets bonked on the nose, and she softly chuckles before sitting up at his news. This, naturally, prompts her to kiss him again, this time on the side of his head since he's eating. She wraps an arm around him, and asks cautiously, "...everyone a'right?"
The bags of food gets divided so that one meal is in its own bag, and that's set aside, leaving the rest in the other bag for them. Felix leans in against her a bit at the arm, his own hands busy with food for the moment. "Far's I know, yeah. Ain't seen Salem or Thane or the Corax yet, none of 'em met up last night, but Slug'd know if Salem kicked off. Think J got it worst, on our side. One of these big-ass white fomori..." He trails off, looking at the Ahroun with a furrowed brow, the concern marred just slightly by the continued eating of fries, "Well, I dunno precisely what went down 'cause he was fightin' in the street an' I was chasin' warper down a parkin' garage. But I know it hurt like FUCK. Left him paralyzed, he still ain't movin' right yet. An' when he shifted back down, well." A gesture toward the Gnawer in question. "I'm guessin' 'bout five years. What d'you reckon?"
Lilah takes her free hand and runs it through Felix's hair softly as he trails off, her gaze remaining on the Galliard at all times. It's only when he directly asks her about Justin that she glances away, watching Justin sleep for several moments. "Y'don't think he's paralyzed for good, do ya?" she murmurs softly, and then she bites at her lower lip before replying, "Five, six, somethin' like that." She scritches on Felix's scalp then, and purses her lips. She can't seem to help but ask, rapid-fire, "An' you're really a'right? Y'think the others're gonna be okay? How'd ya beat 'em?" Only a moment passes before she adds, "'m glad you're here."
Felix tilts his head into Lilah's hand and shrugs slightly. "Nah. He's gettin' better already, I don't reckon it'll stick that long. We heal shit fast. Week or so he'll most likely be good as new. 'cept I don't think the age thing's gonna change back. I got thoughts like, maybe it hurt so much 'cause it was stealin' years of life. Or maybe it was makin' those years get lived all at once, seems like a thing that might hurt too I guess." He considers. "Almost too bad it didn't get Salem instead. Get him back outta puberty. Gotta be annoyin' as fuck bein' like 13 or whatever. But, still." He closes his eyes, eating a couple fries and enjoying the scratches. "...yeah, I'm good. Nothin' so much as touched me, 'less you count me bitin' the mage. Slug an' Briari're fine for sure, you can see me an' J, an' the others were fine last I saw 'em. Reckon we'd've heard otherwise. ...an' I'm glad I'm here too." He offers her a fry, and a grin. "As for beatin' 'em, lessee, where to start..."
Lilah keeps her hand in his hair, and stays snuggled tightly against his side. "Poor J," she comments quietly, glancing to the Gnawer in question, and then she shifts her gaze back to Felix, listening to him closely. She accepts the fry and chews it down rather quickly before going quiet, waiting to hear the story.
"Well, apparently he's okay with some bits," Felix says, "...anyway. So the plan was, inside guy tells Briari when the mage is gonna be out and about, an' where. We aim to make it look like a driveby. Slug's drivin', Thane an' J're the shooters, me an' Salem're on foot as backup an' keepin' an eye out, Briari's on the roof with some prolly stupid expensive sniper rifle. Right?" He looks to her, checking to be sure it's clear so far.
"What bits?" Lilah asks curiously, and nods her head to the 'anyway,' listening closely. "Right," she says, apparently clear on this bit, at least so far.
Felix either is still under Coyote's effect or just indulging his penchant for things likely to make Lilah blush; he smirks a bit, glances down toward his lap, and then looks back to her, arching a brow. "...anyhow. It didn't go quite as expected. Guy wasn't at the building we were told he'd be, he was inside the parking garage by it. An' that's the parking garage that's full of nothin'-ooze at the bottom. So. Couldn't really do the original plan. Instead, Briari took a shot, then the guys in the car -- which'd parked outside -- leapt out to go after him, an' Salem an' I started runnin' in to get the guy too. Well, nothin' seemed to hit him, an' he kept runnin'. You know there was talk about invisible fomori? Well, one got visible in the street, an' grabbed Justin; same time, one appeared and leapt on the car, nearly crushin' Slug. Other three of us kept goin', another fomor appeared right in front of us."
Bless her heart, as the Southerners say; Lilah doesn't seem to have considered that'd be an upside, and she does indeed blush up a storm when she follows his gaze. She tucks a curl behind her ear, and listens with rapt fascination to the story, reacting appropriately to each bit. Guy wasn't where he was supposed to be? Frownyface! Nearly crushed Slug? Eyes widening! Invisible fomori? Pursed lips!
She's a good audience, and what Galliard doesn't love a good audience? Felix watches her as he talks, and the food gets somewhat neglected while he talks, twisting to face her more so he can lean in slightly. "These fomori, they're kinda nearly human but not, dead white an' their skin's weird, kind patterned, even ribbed some parts, an' they got what looks like gills an', like, tentacle beards, long sharp teeth an' nails. An' they're strong, strong as hell. So Justin tells me go on ahead, so the three of us keep goin' until that one appears in front of us. Salem does a feint toward it an' then dodges around the side, and I do the same thing on the other side, 'cause I reckon it can't grab us both an' maybe it'll hesitate too long an' not get neither. Thane went dodgin' my way too. Well, I think it gave Salem a li'l bald spot, but he got by an' it didn't even try for me, but it got Thane. We can see the mage by the ramp down to the next level, runnin', so me an' Salem stay after him."
[...but Lilahplayer needed to sleep. Alas.]