Topaz & Alani | Odd Mornings (Backdated)
May. 5th, 2019 07:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAlani finds a sleep deprived Topaz when going to help open the library.
It was still early when Alani made her way into the library, thermos of coffee firmly sealed and a baggie of blueberry muffins for breakfast - not her best but definitely better than her first few attempts that filled the bin in her kitchen, and if she was very lucky she’d get the librarian to eat. She made her way to the desk, setting down the foodstuffs before riffling through her bag to retrieve a notebook and pen. “Thinkin’ I’ll hafta get an easy bake oven and just live off that.” She joked, finally looking up and noticing a distinct lack of Topaz. That was odd.
It didn’t take her long to find the dark haired woman in the rows, seemingly deep in thought. “Mornin’ Topaz, you hungry?”
To say she surprised Topaz would be a severe understatement. The witch had been in the library since dawn, after giving up on the idea of sleep, and had retreated into the stacks with her earbuds in as she worked. Re-shelving books, unfortunately, didn't take up nearly enough of her thought process to distract from the things eating away at her mind.
He has to be planning something, he wouldn't just leave it at this, not after Dominic and Albert and Grace and god, Jasmine, is she even still alive? He's not going after Taboo, what's he got against me anyways? Because of Amanda? Taboo? Old bastard doesn't care if I live or die, and he doesn't need me to get to her. So what-
Instinct kicked in first, but empathy was faster. Her mind registered that it was Alani behind her while energy gathered in her free hand, then just as suddenly popped like a light bulb. "Alani!" Brilliant observation, of course. There were a lot of emotions trying to catch up with the present. "I, uh... morning. Sorry, what'd you say?"
Yeah that would cover it up.
Alani cocked her head at the reaction, brows knitting together. She couldn’t cover up her worry, which bled into anxiety that she quickly tried to shut down. She focused on her breathing for a second before flashing a bright smile, any traces of negative emotions stifled as she remembered why she was looking for Topaz in the first place.
When she spoke, it was casual, pleasant. “Gidday.” With that she motioned towards the desk. “Brought some blueberry muffins to eat, which you’re very welcome to partake in ‘n’ some coffee for myself, though you’re free to have some of that too. I made a hilarious comment about my poor baking skills that you, sadly, missed. I will forgive you.”
She chuckled lightly, before looking at Topaz again. ”You, uh, you feelin alright, Topaz?”
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Topaz said distractedly, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath. "Food, right, I should eat that, I haven't..." Oh boy. When was the last time she had eaten? "Sorry. You surprised me."
"Okay, just... just making sure." Alani offered a small smile. "Food is very important. If you're not feeling muffins, I could make you a concerningly green shake I used to drink for a lot of nutritional needs when I was a pro-surfer."
"Concerningly green...." Topaz decided not to question that. There were some things one just let go. She felt the brief blast of worry, then the anxiety (some things just couldn't be ignored no matter how much she wanted), and did her best to shake it off and focus. "Yeah. Sure, muffin sounds good. Wait, you made them? Can you bake?" There was a real note of concern in her voice.
She scrunched up her nose before solemnly nodding in remembrance of the beverage. At the question of her baking, Alani laughed, hand shooting up to stifle herself. "Oh, well, I can if I really try and I actually put a timer on. They are edible. The ones in my bin? Not so much. They are not vegan, though.... because... I thought you were just vegetarian."
"Yeah, I don't have the patience for vegan," Topaz said as she took a muffin, turning it over uncertainly. "I don't know how people do it." She picked off a bit, nibbling uncertainly and looking around. She hadn't realized what time it was. Had she been here all night?
"I need a lot of calories to make it through the day, even if I'm not just destroying things left and right." Alani mused, reaching for a muffin of her own. She watched Topaz curiously but didn't want to pry. Instead, she chewed at her lower lip before finally beginning to pick at the muffin. Didn't even taste like baking powder. "You want me to do anything specific today?"
"Yeah. Um... yeah." It didn't taste terrible, at least. "History section is a mess. Finals and all that, everyone lost their own textbooks two months ago, etc."
"I can definitely do that, or help, or..." Alani trailed off as she set the muffin down to tuck loose hair behind her ears. "I don't wanna pry or be an asshole, but is everything okay? With you?" She tried to smile reassuringly. "You don't have to tell me anything, you just seem... a little distracted."
"Yeah, I'm..." Great, she was really slipping if she couldn't even hide it from Alani. Then again she had almost attacked the other woman. So it probably wasn't a surprise. "I haven't been sleeping great." She sighed, picking off a little more muffin without really thinking. "Nightmares."
"Oh." She almost sighed thank god but quickly caught herself and nodded. "Oh, yeah, that'd do it. Losing sleep fucking sucks. If you need, I'm happy to take care of the things I can and let you take a nap. I won't even tell if you take it behind the desk."
"Wouldn't be the first time a librarian fell asleep here."
It was still early when Alani made her way into the library, thermos of coffee firmly sealed and a baggie of blueberry muffins for breakfast - not her best but definitely better than her first few attempts that filled the bin in her kitchen, and if she was very lucky she’d get the librarian to eat. She made her way to the desk, setting down the foodstuffs before riffling through her bag to retrieve a notebook and pen. “Thinkin’ I’ll hafta get an easy bake oven and just live off that.” She joked, finally looking up and noticing a distinct lack of Topaz. That was odd.
It didn’t take her long to find the dark haired woman in the rows, seemingly deep in thought. “Mornin’ Topaz, you hungry?”
To say she surprised Topaz would be a severe understatement. The witch had been in the library since dawn, after giving up on the idea of sleep, and had retreated into the stacks with her earbuds in as she worked. Re-shelving books, unfortunately, didn't take up nearly enough of her thought process to distract from the things eating away at her mind.
He has to be planning something, he wouldn't just leave it at this, not after Dominic and Albert and Grace and god, Jasmine, is she even still alive? He's not going after Taboo, what's he got against me anyways? Because of Amanda? Taboo? Old bastard doesn't care if I live or die, and he doesn't need me to get to her. So what-
Instinct kicked in first, but empathy was faster. Her mind registered that it was Alani behind her while energy gathered in her free hand, then just as suddenly popped like a light bulb. "Alani!" Brilliant observation, of course. There were a lot of emotions trying to catch up with the present. "I, uh... morning. Sorry, what'd you say?"
Yeah that would cover it up.
Alani cocked her head at the reaction, brows knitting together. She couldn’t cover up her worry, which bled into anxiety that she quickly tried to shut down. She focused on her breathing for a second before flashing a bright smile, any traces of negative emotions stifled as she remembered why she was looking for Topaz in the first place.
When she spoke, it was casual, pleasant. “Gidday.” With that she motioned towards the desk. “Brought some blueberry muffins to eat, which you’re very welcome to partake in ‘n’ some coffee for myself, though you’re free to have some of that too. I made a hilarious comment about my poor baking skills that you, sadly, missed. I will forgive you.”
She chuckled lightly, before looking at Topaz again. ”You, uh, you feelin alright, Topaz?”
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Topaz said distractedly, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath. "Food, right, I should eat that, I haven't..." Oh boy. When was the last time she had eaten? "Sorry. You surprised me."
"Okay, just... just making sure." Alani offered a small smile. "Food is very important. If you're not feeling muffins, I could make you a concerningly green shake I used to drink for a lot of nutritional needs when I was a pro-surfer."
"Concerningly green...." Topaz decided not to question that. There were some things one just let go. She felt the brief blast of worry, then the anxiety (some things just couldn't be ignored no matter how much she wanted), and did her best to shake it off and focus. "Yeah. Sure, muffin sounds good. Wait, you made them? Can you bake?" There was a real note of concern in her voice.
She scrunched up her nose before solemnly nodding in remembrance of the beverage. At the question of her baking, Alani laughed, hand shooting up to stifle herself. "Oh, well, I can if I really try and I actually put a timer on. They are edible. The ones in my bin? Not so much. They are not vegan, though.... because... I thought you were just vegetarian."
"Yeah, I don't have the patience for vegan," Topaz said as she took a muffin, turning it over uncertainly. "I don't know how people do it." She picked off a bit, nibbling uncertainly and looking around. She hadn't realized what time it was. Had she been here all night?
"I need a lot of calories to make it through the day, even if I'm not just destroying things left and right." Alani mused, reaching for a muffin of her own. She watched Topaz curiously but didn't want to pry. Instead, she chewed at her lower lip before finally beginning to pick at the muffin. Didn't even taste like baking powder. "You want me to do anything specific today?"
"Yeah. Um... yeah." It didn't taste terrible, at least. "History section is a mess. Finals and all that, everyone lost their own textbooks two months ago, etc."
"I can definitely do that, or help, or..." Alani trailed off as she set the muffin down to tuck loose hair behind her ears. "I don't wanna pry or be an asshole, but is everything okay? With you?" She tried to smile reassuringly. "You don't have to tell me anything, you just seem... a little distracted."
"Yeah, I'm..." Great, she was really slipping if she couldn't even hide it from Alani. Then again she had almost attacked the other woman. So it probably wasn't a surprise. "I haven't been sleeping great." She sighed, picking off a little more muffin without really thinking. "Nightmares."
"Oh." She almost sighed thank god but quickly caught herself and nodded. "Oh, yeah, that'd do it. Losing sleep fucking sucks. If you need, I'm happy to take care of the things I can and let you take a nap. I won't even tell if you take it behind the desk."
"Wouldn't be the first time a librarian fell asleep here."
