Legibility

[Deneli]

Deneli was finally starting to get a firmer grasp on the human's written language. It was quite an accomplishment for her. She could now do something that her step-mother couldn't, and it was something that could be proven easily. She wasn't sure she'd ever felt so proud before.

Of course, she was far from being able to read or write it easily or without thought. So she decided to go the library as a means of testing herself. The book she randomly selected from one of the shelves (the thickest one she saw), happened to be Don Quixote. She was immediately hit with a wave of disappoint upon realizing that she didn't what the title was supposed to mean. She giggled at the picture on the cover though, a man riding a horse. It looked he was holding something like a harpoon too only it was much longer than the kind her Uncle So-ho liked to use for fishing. His clothes was funny looking too. It was really clunky and looked like it was made of metal. If you tried to swim with that you'd likely sink like a shark who'd stopped swimming. She'd taken history this semester specifically so she could learn about land things though. She'd have to learn to stop relating everything to the ocean.

Despite not recognizing them as English words, Deneli tried to read the title aloud anyway. Maybe saying it out loud would help her understand what exactly it said or meant. "Don Kweex-oat-tee." She giggled at the funny-sounding words then flipped the book over and tried to read the description. Maybe that would shed some light on it.

[Vernal Equinox]

Attending a school meant that there was homework-- that was a given. Attending a school with difficult homework was another matter . . . and, where Vernal found himself now.

He scrolled through the library's seemingly-infinite rows of shelves, browsing for nothing in particular. Not only were the assignments difficult but dull-- and, the ones that he cared about had long been turned in. So, there was nothing to do but those assignments. Well, that and procrastinate. Procrastination was always fun, albeit not productive. Productivity could be so boring, though. . . .

Midway through his pointless jaunt, the man pierced ears caught the jumbled syllabubs. And, here he thought no one went to the library anymore. He skipped a little towards the voice, looking forward to more distraction. Perhaps a teacher? Or, even a little--

"You," he could not help but snarl.
--HER. Whirring around the shelving's corner, his eyes met her's, immediately regretting it. He knew her-- and, worse, she knew him in the worst way possible: defenseless, weak, helpless. He quickly recovered, though, pushing through his shame and instead presenting himself as calm and jolly as ever.

"You! Hello; I didn't expect to see you again." With any luck, she wouldn't remember him. With any luck, she would be struck with sudden amnesia . . .

[Deneli]

The "description" on the back of the book was in quotes. Deneli had learned that this meant the words weren't actually what the book was about but what other people thought about the book. A disappointed pout crossed her face, and she decided not to waste her time reading the opinions.

She looked over upon hearing the voice without even realizing the word had been snarled. "Oh, I remember you!" She returned the man's smile. Happiness was a contagious thing. That was another confusing point. She had always people who were happy with people who were also nice, but she remembered this guy had been kind of mean even though he was happy... Well, if nothing else, his happiness made it easier to forgive some of the mean things he'd said. She also remembered that he was another prince. Like Luppa. She also remembered his personality his personality though, and opted not to bring up that particular point.

Deneli put Don Quixote back in it's designated spot on the shelf and skipped over to the man. She'd never even asked his name! How could she have been so rude?? She gave another pout, as though ashamed for not having asked the first time they'd met, but she giggled it off after a moment. "I'm Deneli~ What's your name?"

[Vernal Equinox]

Of course, there was no such thing as 'luck.' Not with Them watching.

"Vernal Equinox," he grinned back at her, keeping the smile constant and clean while the sneer boiled inside. Under prior circumstances, she would already know his title, bowing down to him and bringing offerings of barometers and umbrellas. Under prior circumstances, he would have struck her down right where she stood, and that would be that. Now, he had to make due with what he had.

"'Deneli,' hmm?" It was too similar to 'denial' for his tastes. 'Denial' was such a disgusting word; ergo: "What a wonderfully-disgusting name." He paced around the tiny girl, looming over her with all his six feet could offer-- that, and a couple inches from standing on tip-toe. He milked the effect for all it was worth. All the while, his smile remained, nearly glowing in the shadows of the shelves.

"Deneli . . ." The name actually sounded familiar. He lowered his stance, suddenly conversational rather than threatening. "Wait: do you know the darling?" It couldn't be her, could it?

[Deneli]

Vernal Equinox. The second name was a little hard to say, but by now she'd learned that most people on land used their first names when they had more than one. She still didn't quite like how it rolled off the tongue though. It wasn't like Yuuki, or Bennie or Shae.

She made a slight pout as he remarked on her name. "It's a pretty name!" She stuck her tongue out than giggled, refusing to let herself be too bothered by the comment. After all, she had her own opinion on his name.

Being loomed over wasn't something she'd yet had the displeasure of experiencing on land, and at first she didn't quite understand it's intended effect. Underwater, a similar effect could be achieved by swimming horizontally in circles and extenuating the up and down motion of the fin. This put emphasis on a mer's length, rather than height, and this was something that Deneli had, in fact, had the displeasure of experiencing.

It seemed this method of intimidation was much easier to do on land without the extra dimension. Unfortunately, that also meant it was harder to remedy. What Vernal didn't seem to understand, though, was that Deneli wasn't one to be intimidated easily. She crossed her arms in front of her and stood on her own tip-toes, this however only brought her height up to a measly 5 feet. "Vernal's a funny name too, though."

Once his stance and tone became relaxed again, she also became more relaxed, uncrossing her arms and reverting back to her usual 4'10" height. "Which one? I know lots of darlings~" She gave another giggle. The specific "darling" in question didn't even come to her mind. Ambrose was a bit too rough around the edges for her to refer to him as a darling.

[Vernal Equinox]

"Is not," he spat to both opinions, sticking out his studded tounge with malice. His name was perfect in every way; he should know, considering he picked it out himself. It told of the moon and stars . . . What did her name say, though? Denial. How ugly. His logic was perfect in every way, shape, and form, and there was no arguing with it.

When the mer-girl went back to her normal height, though-- that was when he couldn't contain his laughter anymore. Under five feet! What a riot! The man thus went back to his own height, content to leaning on the shelving with a shoulder blade. Five feet . . . He couldn't take her seriously. Once done giggling (it took a while, after such a tease), Vernal approached the silly girl's question.

"You know-- Ambrose." He assumed everyone at this ridiculous school knew him by now. He pressed forward in the description, though, making sure there was no doubt to whom he was talking about. When talking about each feature, he gestured toward his own as reference."Ambrose Acheron. Five-eight; fresh, blood-red hair that fades into a dried brown; pale skin, lanky figure; dark bags underneath his eyes?" He pulled down the lower rim of an eyeball, leaving it there until her responce.

"Have I rung any bells, midget?"

[Deneli]

Deneli wasn't sure which comment Vernal was replying too, so she decided the best course of action would to respond with a general rebuttal. "Is too~" Assuming the height tease to have ended, Deneli wasn't quite sure what cause him to laugh all of a sudden. She didn't mind it though. Laughter meant happiness, and happiness was always easy to associate with kindness~ So instead of question it, she smiled and gave her own slight giggle.

Deneli hadn't needed the relatively detailed description. Of course she knew Ambrose! He was one of the first people she'd met when she'd come to Lillegard. She couldn't forget him! "Oh! I know Ambrose. He's nice sometimes, but he can be mean too. Kind of like you." Her eyebrows. "'Midget' isn't another mean word is it? You know, you should be nice to people. People like other people who are nice~" She raised an index finger at the taller boy in a scolding manner then giggled again. "You should tell Ambrose that too."

[Vernal Equinox]

Vernal left the eye exposed for a few moments longer, taking the opportunity to stick out his tongue like a mature adult. "Is so not." He wasn't exactly sure what he was re-rebuttalling, either. Hmm . . . Well, the tongue was a fair enough answer, regardless of which comment he was disagreeing with.

"'Midget' is a mean word," the man smiled down at the girl. "And, so is 'short,' 'silly,' and 'ignorant.'" He tapped the girl's index finger with his own in a, "No, no! Bad dog!" manner. Up There, They had learned quickly not to point fingers at other people. It tended to get your favorite mortals hurled into an inland hurricane. Regardless, though, the smile remained.

"Ambrose is perfect in every way," he informed Deneli, not bothering to counter his own insult. The darling came first, and he was very-well aware of how 'mean' he was. 'Mean' was an arbitrary opinion, and he shouldn't care about her's. Right? Right. "Except for cursing-- he could really lay off on the swears." He pouted slightly at such a notion; Ambrose didn't always swear. Since the asylum, though . . . It was a nasty habit the boy had developed.

". . . So." Vernal shifted the weight on his feet around, getting back to the topic at hand. "How do you know the darling, exactly? I know I've heard your name and his together somewhere before."

[Deneli]

Deneli stuck her own tongue back out at him. It seemed he liked to be mean. However she'd decided that the best way to handle it around Vernal especially was simply to act as unisnulted as possible. She giggled though. "Silly's not a mean word, Silly." She thought about it for a second though. "Well, it's not a nice word either, really but.." Now she was confused, trying to figure out the exact nature of the word. She shrugged. "I don't know what kind of word it is, but I don't think its a mean one."

Deneli smiled as Vernal defended Ambrose. They must be really good friends. The idea didn't surprise her though. They did have quite a few things in common. Actually, she could almost say Vernal was just a happier version of Ambrose~ There was another thing she thought he needed to work on, and she decided to voice this opinion. "I think Ambrose should be happy more often!"

She crossed her arms in thought for a moment as she tried to remember exactly when she'd met Ambrose. If felt like it had been so long already! Then she remembered why. "Oh yeah! He was the first person I met when I came to Lillegard. Him and Yuuki were my first friends here." She giggled and held up an index finger in preparation to give Vernal a bit of sagely advice. "First friends are important, you know. You have to keep them forever~"

[Vernal Equinox]

"Oh, it's a mean word, all right," Vernal nodded slowly and gravely, seeming to be overly-saddened by such ignorance (in fact, he was enjoying this far too much; the girl was too concerned over others, so pulling off such an act was hilarious at its worst). "I'm thoroughly insulted that you think otherwise. Really. How disgusting of you." He planned on continuing such a facade but immediately dropped the act at the mention of Ambrose once more, regaining the usual light air. The darling always took precedence, even when teasing others!

"He should be happier-- that's why I'm here, though." He grinned from ear to ear, proud of the 'real' reason he was here, the reason that got him stuck here in the first place. He needed to take pride in it. "I'll make him happier!"
She'd make him happier than he ever could-- but, now was not the time to think like that.

The man distracted himself with the girl's brief story of encounter. Ah, yes, the infirmary . . . He and Laughter had dropped the darling off there to get treated after the tournament. Good times. Her last sentence, too, pleased him greatly. Too greatly.
"Oh, yes," he grinned from ear to ear, face darkening slightly. "We must keep him forever."
Because nothing would be the same without the darling.

[Deneli]

Deneli raised a single eyebrow, as though sensing a challenge. "I don't think its a mean word, and if you're insulted then you shouldn't be, because I'm not insulting you." She smiles and tilts her head to one side. "And! If I'm not insulted by anything you're saying, then that really means you're not actually insulting me either! It's all about perspective~" She quoted her uncle almost verbatim and stuck her tongue out.

Deneli's demeanor perked up considerably at Vernal's next words. "Yay~ You'd better do a good job then! I like it when my friends are happy!" Deneli truthfully had no doubt that Vernal would actually make Ambrose happier. He was pretty mean, but he was so happy himself, and happiness is contagious. She couldn't wait~ Deneli nodded at Vernal's agreeance to her statement about first friends. At least he seemed to understand that.

[Vernal Equinox]

He dropped the 'mean' topic; it seemed oddly reminiscent to the man. Had he heard such talk Up There? Ah, well; 'mean' was a mean word, and there was nothing else to it. The silly girl would simply remain erred in her thoughts. Perspective, though . . . What a rather intriguing way of putting it. The darling truly had come into contact with her.

A friend. That would explain the familiarity.
"He'll be happy," Vernal promised with a grin, "but, tell me, for I simply must know: is Ambrose really a good friend?" He thought of the darling in so many ways, but he would never term it as 'friendly'-- 'on the verge of obsession' suited the relation better. "I love him, but the darling can be rather . . . abrasive." Was that the correct word? He didn't like such uncertainty, so he quickly supplemented, "Harsh," as an alternative word. "What makes the darling worth it?" He knew his answer, of course, but others' . . . that always needed checking-into.

[Deneli]

Deneli perked up slightly, having claimed victory in the argument. Uncle So-ho was always right~

She put a thoughtful finger to her chin as she considered the question though. It was a hard question. She'd never quite understand where Ambrose stood in terms of friendliness. She thought he was friendly, but he could also be mean. But she forgave him for being mean... Even though he never really did apologize... Calys at least apologized when he did mean things. And Calys wasn't even mean as often as Ambrose seemed to be.

Finally she shrugged. "I don't know. He is kind of harsh and he's not always friendly, but I like him." Something dawned her then and she crossed her arms, giving a slight hmph. "But even if he's kind of mean, at least he doesn't make fun of me. He's still nicer than you." She stuck her tongue out at him again, before realizing something else. "Hey yeah! How are you supposed to make him happy if you're mean all the time anyway??"

[Vernal Equinox]

Her victory would be short-lived, the man promised himself.

Vernal rolled his eyes at the mer-girl's words, not taking the insult seriously at all. 'Mean' was a perspective word, as already before discussed. Regardless, he stuck his tongue back out a little in response to her own. "How do you possibly know that I'm not only mean to YOU? You, tiny girl, could be the exception to my otherwise perfect smile."

Why he wasn't mean to Ambrose . . . Well, then. Perhaps the girl had a brain, after all.

"The darling is an exception to all things," the man explained gently, his voice softened at the mere thought of the candidate. Oh, Ambrose . . . "To him, I am all that I can be to brighten-up his day." When had that even started? Such a decision was so long ago and Up There, it was hard to remember. It had started as an impulse, though, a mere wanting to make Ambrose's smirk of a smile bloom once more . . . and, that impulse grew. He would do anything to please the darling-- anything at all.

[Deneli]

Deneli didn't even take the time consider Vernal's possibility. "Because you're the only one here who's been mean to me on purpose. People who are normally nice don't go around being mean to girls who are sweet and adorable!" She hadn't wanted to bring it up, but Vernal was teasing her, so she felt no qualms about teasing him back. "Besides! I saved you from drowning. You're supposed to be nice to people that help you, you know. Like Luppa~"

Deneli gave Vernal's reason some serious thought. She considered Ambrose's and his own personality and tried to imagine how an encounter between the two would go.. with much difficulty. She gave a thoughtful hmm before saying, "I'll believe it when I see it~" And she wanted to see it too! She wasn't sure if she'd seen Ambrose happy yet in the time that she'd known him.

[Vernal Equinox]

Sweet and adorable? That's how she thought of herself? How conceited of the midget. That, and utterly wrong.
"How do you know that they aren't being mean on purpose-- and, what exactly does 'mean' entail?" Ah, mind games; how he loved them, how he hated them, how he missed them. While he couldn't logic it out with the darling (he was far too straight-forward for it), Laughter and he had spent many an hour duking it out over such subtle notions. That, and it helped one survive amongst Them. "For all you know, their kindness could be their way of mocking you, of being 'mean'." The mention of his drowning, however, stopped Vernal in his hyperbole tracks.

"You . . ." He pouted slightly, letting only that much of his frustration show. He had forgotten to breathe; it was a rookie mistake, and he was better than it. Yes . . . "You aren't being 'sweet' right now." He didn't trust himself to say anymore on the matter, lest he betray himself through words. The man tried to focus on Deneli's last comment, instead, with little difficulty. Thinking of the darling was as easy as existing.

"Oh," he breathed, his pout slowly growing into a wild smile, "you'll see, all right. I'm better than any silly girl when it comes to the darling." Any silly girl . . . including HER.

[Deneli]

Deneli shook her head with what looked like a knowing smile on her face. "All of my friends are nice. I'm not friends with mean people." She tilted her head, looking as though she were thinking something over. "But I wouldn't mind being your friend if you really did make Ambrose happy." After all, he couldn't be all that mean if he was able to make someone like Ambrose happy.

"What are you talking about? I'm always sweet. But you know, when Ariel saved Prince Eric from drowning, he was nice to her. And they ended up living happily ever after. That's why you should be nice to people. So you can live happily ever after too. So no more being mean!" She momentarily raised her index finger in a scolding fashion again, but promptly lowered it and held her hands behind her. "Kay?"

[Vernal Equinox]

'Friends' . . . Again, just a word. It didn't mean anything.
"Consider it done, shorty McShort-Short," the man teased, about to slap away the pointed finger before she set it down herself. Annoying little twerp, trying to order him around. She was Ambrose's ally, though, which meant he was also an ally of her. All allies of Ambrose were his, as well, as few as they were.

"No promises on my conceding to your anti-definition of 'mean,' though," Vernal added, attempting to shrug off the vague reference but to little avail. Ariel, as in one of those angels religious quacks talked about? Erik-who? "If I'm a 'prince,' you'd better treat me as such. I demand a title."

. . . He wasn't joking, although it should have been. Titles were an aspect he hadn't payed attention to while Up There, but it was something he rather missed. Nothing screamed 'POWER' like multiple titles used just for one person. Occurrence and Disaster, Disaster and Occurrence . . . Prince Occurrence. That had a nice ring to it.

[Deneli]

((Lol somehow I thought that Vernie would find "prince" to be too measly a title for him X'D))

Deneli made a point of ignoring the name. She would hold Vernal to his promise to make Ambrose happy though. As for the other one...

Deneli seriously considered what he said. He wanted to be called prince? Well that wouldn't be hard to do. She already considered him to be like Prince Eric. And! She found an opportunity in the proposition. Vernal was such a mouthful.. "Hmm.. Prince Vernie! I can do that" She giggled. She always loved "ee" endings. Deneli, Yuuki, Benny, Kitty. Even Shae was close enough. "But that's only if you treat me like a princess too!"

Princess Deneli. It sounded even cuter than Princess Ariel. But she didn't actually expect him to call her that. She just wanted him to be nice to her. And a prince has to be nice to be nice to a princess~

[Vernal Equinox]

"Ver-nee?" He rolled the syllables on his tongue. That wasn't a title-- that was a measly nickname. Still, when the pronouncement of 'prince' was named . . . It wasn't any five-titler like some of Them had, but it still sent a sure shiver down his spine. The word rang of something he longed to still have: power.

His face twisted into a rather unsettling grin, then quickly forming into a more pleasant one. Wouldn't want to alarm the shorty, would we?
"Yes. Yes, that will do quite nicely," he announced, his voice being picked up by the nearby shelving and echoing throughout the cases. It almost rang of italics-- aah, nostalgia. "And, you will simply be 'Tiny.'" There was no sharing of titles (except with Ambrose, of course).

He gazed upon the shelving . . . Ah, that was right. Book-browsing. Amazing how time flew when one wanted to waste it. That brought up the awkward question, however:
"Why are you here again?" the man quipped, raising a pierced eyebrow at the girl. "Fishies are too wet for books."

[Deneli]

Deneli perked up a bit as Vernal didn't seem to object to her nickname. It was settled then! Her expression changed to a pout at his next statement, however she was quick to wipe.

"You know, if you call me that I'm not going to answer you." Her tone was slightly begrudged, but then she giggled and all was normal once more. "I don't answer to mean names. Call me Deneli! Or Denny, if you want. That's what Benny and my sister call me." Denny was just at pretty as Deneli.

She crossed her arms defiantly in front of her. "Obviously not! I'm not even wet. Besides, everything where I come from is waterproof, including the books." Deneli stood in front one of the shelves, browsing the titles. "And why else would anybody come to a library other than to read? I want a book~"

[Vernal Equinox]

A grin formed on his face-- "'Denny' will work." It sounded like a boy's name. Perfect for a shorty like her and all the more demeaning. He almost wished he had come up with it himself, but regardless, there it was. There it would stay.

The man didn't believe Denny, looking her over in careful examination. Yes, she seemed dry now, but what about the rest of the time? Did she have to dampen herself after a certain period of time? "Fish are suppose to be wet; you are clearly a fish." The book would eventually get wet with her in its midst, there was no question. That, and the 'waterproofing'-- something about the seemingly-simple idea annoyed him to no end: "You lived in the water, correct? So, how could you waterproof something if you're always in the water?" This girl . . .

[£NPC]

The library was quiet, save for the rustling of pages and the voices of the few people within. Even then, the sound of stone shifting against stone was hard to hear, more of a faint whisper than a noise.

A few taps could be heard as small pieces of gravel landed on a nearby table.

The next noise wouldn't be missed by the most unobservant or preoccupied with reading, as it was the loud crash of several fist-sized bits of rock following suit of their smaller brethren, denting the aged wood of the table they hit and clattering as they rolled across the floor. If one looked up, they could notice the hole in the ceiling they came from.

It seemed that it wasn't only the dormitories that suffered due to the Headmistress' state.

[Deneli]

Deneli didn't know what Vernie was thinking behind that grin, but he said he'd call her Denny, and that made her happy enough. This was clearly seen on her face.

She pouted again as he pursued the wet fish argument. "I'm not a fish! I'm a mammal. I eat fish." Deneli did find it strange that he called her a fish. It was more than likely a true statement, but it was almost like calling a person who lived on land an animal. They weren't animals. They were people. It's rude to call them animals. The term "animal" suggested a lack of civility, and the term "fish" suggested a lack of intelligence.

Deneli was confused by Vernie's use of the word "waterproof" as a verb. How exactly does one even go about "waterproofing" something? She shook her head. "Mers usually live their whole lives underwater. So when we make stuff we make them with things that are already underwater. It's always waterproof."

The first few taps went unheard by the mer. She looked up the next louder ones though, jumping slightly at the sound. She looked towards Vernie as if to as 'what was that?', then walked over to the end of the bookshelf and took a peek at the table.

[Vernal Equinox]

"Oh, so you're a cannibal?" Vernal teased. "You're a fish that eats fish? Oh, but now you're a fish out of water." He simply couldn't help himself to that one. "Truly the ultimate connundrum, aren't you? You make books with seaweed, I imagine, and pens with--"

The crash cascaded throughout the library, jolting the former deity out of his bickering of details and to, once more, the bigger picture. Except, of course, the bigger picture didn't show up to his eyes immediately; he had to find it first. He had to go through all the tedious walking and searching until finally laying his eyes upon the event-- and, what a waste it was, in the end. It would end up being a toppled-over bookshelf, or a young student pulling a prank, or what-have-you. He wasn't even going to bother with it all, really, but the little mer was walking along, so he might as well followed. That, and he was dying to know himself.

While Denny stayed behind her bookshelf, Vernal continued walking right up to the fallen rocks, his eyes tracing the debries' path up to the ceiling up above. After several moments of thought and consideration, he decided to state what was now the obvious:

"This castle's falling apart."

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