1038/A meeting at the library

A meeting at the library
Date of Scene:	25 January 2024
Location:	School Library
Synopsis:	Ahmya and Mana meet at the library.
Cast of Characters:	Ahmya Karashima, Mana Soga, Kaori Jira

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Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     Ah yes, Radiant Heart Library, a giant library filled with books from everything from study materials to romance, and even, to the joy of the occult club, occult materials. Which is what Ahmya Karashima was looking through at the moment. Most of them weren't books with any actual magic in them, for the safety of the students due to certain people who were likely at least somewhat in the know on the staff had done so.

     "Hm hm... let's see... which one haven't I gone through yet... a history of demonic pacts was a fun read but not necessarily very useful, uhm..." She taps her lip thoughtfully as she looks at the others. "Let's see... yokai, yokai..." She looks through the various books. "Hmmmmm..." Yeah no she's not really sure which one she wants. She quietly grabs one of the books at random at that point. 'How to summon a demon lord from another world'. ...Which was actually a manga in the wrong section. Soon she was making her way over to a seat at the library, not particularly worrying about who else might be sitting at the table since it was a relatively busy library considering the side of the school, there wasn't always the benefit of privacy at the public tables.

Mana Soga has posed:
    The lack of privacy at the public table was one of those things that Mana had gotten used to, more recently. At first she had been the type to wander off into some hidden corner of the library by herself but more recently she's been forcing herself out of her comfort zone and into situations where she'd be approached by other people. It was working well enough but she still wasn't the one to open a discussion first.

    Today saw her sitting at the very table where Ahmya had taken a seat, staring at a rather large book about botany, specifically a book to identify various species of plants. Once Ahmya sits down, the young girl looks up past the top of her book and gives a sheepish smile, her right hand lifting just a bit to wave at the other girl politely even though she doesn't speak up to introduce herself.

Kaori Jira has posed:
The last couple of months had been...frustrating for Kaori. She'd been stuck here, stuck in this form, just...stuck. The tall girl with her dark hair and almost delinquent aura had been out of ideas until...well, she'd overheard about the library.

If it was meant to contain so much knowledge, maybe it might have some idea about how she could restore herself?

That had been the hope, but as the scowling girl moved along the shelves she gives a frustrated sigh as she shoves a book back entirely on the wrong shelf.

"I am not a frog!" she mutters, perhaps a little louder than intended in her frustrations.

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     Oh hey it's. That girl. That one from her grade that had that reputation of being hard to interact with. Hmm. That sheepish smile and wave gets a somewhat curious look from Ahmya. She lifts her hand in return to wave at her, the one eyed girl offering a warm smile in return. "My my, you don't seem difficult to approach at all... what a strange reputation." She says softly, flipping open the manga to the first page and pausing. "...Volume 4 of a manga. What was this doing in the occult section..." That's what she gets for not paying attention.

And then someone shouts about not being a frog. Blink. Blink. Ahmya shifted her gaze towards where that came from, starting to half-stand juuuust in case that was the sound of someone being bullied. But no it was just one scowling girl with possibly others staring at her after that outburst. "...Are you alright over there? You certainly don't *seem* like a frog, that's for certain." Though was that the problem? Maybe she wanted to *be* a frog? Hm.

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana stares silently at Ahmya for several moments after she speaks, her brain racing in thought before she lowers her hand and looks back to her book. A few more moments pass, before she finally replies with a quiet tone - quieter even than someone just trying to be 'polite' in a library, "Ah... Difficult to approach...? I... Suppose that would be some people's opinion.." She replies before she glances up from her book to look at Ahmya as she speaks, her fingers rubbing along the page of her book slowly to lift the edge and turn to the next page. "...I don't... do well in social situations..." She adds, before she even jumps slightly at the sudden exclaimation nearby that someoen isn't a frog. Turning to look in the direction from where that muttering declaration came, the girl pauses and tilts her head. "A... Frog...? What an odd thing for someone to misunderstand..." The absurdity of the situation seems to have caught Mana so off guard that she forgot this is someone she hasn't even met, because she's so confused about the situation her voice has raised slightly in response. "You... Don't seem like a frog. I agree..."

Kaori Jira has posed:
To be fair to Mana, Kaori didn't seem particularly easy to approach either most of the time. She was tall and...intense, and currently apparently angry at a fairytale book.

She was being addressed, a moment long enough for her to consider...but desires to trash the place in her frustration were better off being held back. She'd deal with her destructive urges later.

Instead she picks up the next book only to slam it down with a startlingly loud bang that would probably draw a few eyes and then...exhales a long frustrated sigh. "I am looking for something, but all I found was stories about royalty kissing frogs."

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     A super quiet tone. The long time it took to respond. Ahmya was half-glad for her missing eye, the reduced vision having resulted in mildly increased focus on other senses. Not that it was a huge amount difference, but. "Ah... I think I see. You're a little hard to hear, and I think I've seen you sitting off by yourself..." Pause. One of those mysterious sorts, probably. People were assuming other things. Ahmya gives a soft smile. "Well, that's okay. One doesn't have to be good at social situations. I recall seeing something on the internet about introverts being adopted by extroverts. I'm sure that'll happen to you, too." She says with a playful wink, though it was more like a blink for her.

"Ah, I see. Well, if you're looking for real world information, you're presently in the wrong area. That would be the fantasy/romance section." Ahmya says, taking a couple steps closer to Kaori Jira. That slam was quite loud. "Would you care to tell me what's going on? I might be able to help find something. I spend a large amount of time in the library-- though mostly the occult section -- so I know it relatively well." Calm in the face of, frankly, a tall, somewhat intimidating person. Ahmya was inwardly glad for her shrine maiden training now.

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana's eyes widen a bit at the mention of being 'adopted' and she goes completely silent once more, burrying her attention back into her book for several seconds as she thinks about that statement. Eventually, she shakes her head. "I would.. Rather avoid being adopted by anyone, again..." She replies, and then looks up at the rather sudden slam of the heavy book on the table as Kaori confeses that she's looking for something. Rather than engage on the first topic any further, and despite the intimidating girl's larger frame, Mana stands to move over carefully. "I.. wouldn't mind helping you look for whatever it is that you are looking for.. Though I confess most of my knowledge about books in the library is... rather limited to mostly the botanical entries..." Mana admits before she shrugs her shoulders a bit and glances to the book on the table that Kaori had discarded to see if it might have any hint towards what she's actually looking for.

Kaori Jira has posed:
"Fantasy/Romance?" Kaori repeats, looking at the new book once more and then pushing it off the table to the floor with another frustrated sigh. She was closer to an angry cat in that moment than the princess of the titans, but instead the girl just placed her head in her hands. "I am...seeking information about curses...and I doubt this one will be broken by a kiss."

Even that much was more than she'd normally share outright, but frustration had her venting more freely to the two girls.

Still, the last time she'd openly talked about how her human form was 'wrong' and wanting to return to her kingdom? Well, she'd almost been locked up. Humans were touchy like that.

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     "I'm pretty sure it's a figure of speech, rather than literal adoption." Ahmya comments back towards the quiet girl with a soft giggle. Ah yes. Two girls with fairly tight interests offering to help the kaiju girl. This will surely be helpful, definitely! Still, it was some information for Ahmya about the quiet girl, which she quietly made note of. Probably a member of the gardening club, then. There was a pause. "Ooh. ... Wait you do botany... you must have seen some neat bugs~." She says cheerfully towards Mana.

As the book is pushed off the table to the floor, Ahmya leaned down to pick it up and set it back on the table carefully. She takes a deep breath, "I understand the frustration of finding not only the wrong book, but that you were likely in the wrong area entirely, but one should treat books with more respect. While it is not what you need, many of these books are beloved by many of the other students at this academy." Her tone was firm, though not aggressive. She shakes her head after that admonishment. "Regardless, let's see. Curses..." She turns to walk towards the occult section. "Ironically, this would be within my realm of speciality, though the books here so far -- I suspect intentionally -- mostly lack in actual magical knowledge. Still, let's see..." She moves a finger over the occult book section.

"Cursed items of the past... no... witchcraft and hexes... maybe..." She grabs that one. "The Cursed of the town of sleep... is a good read but not helpful... hm... ah." She grabs one of the older, more worn books. "Encyclopedia of curses and hexes, this might have something. Though one might not get their hopes up too high, this is a library for children after all, and curses can be quite dangerous." She sits back at the table she had been at, grabbing the encyclopedia. "I'll look through the encyclopedia while you look through the witchcraft and hexes book, perhaps?" She paused. "I will, however, be *quite* cross if you treat that book roughly out of frustration."

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana quietly nods. "I'm sure just..." She pauses, shaking her head, looking to Kaori as she pushes the book to the floor then kneels down to pick it up before Ahmya beats her to it, and slips her arms behind her back sheepishly in response as she quietly closes her eyes in thought. "I have met some interesting bugs... spiders too. Honestly I prefer them to the bugs because they tend to deal with any invasive species.. And some of their webs are pretty cool to stare at..." She mutters before she goes quiet to listen to the girls speak about what Kaori is looking for before she tilts her head in particular at one of the things Ahmya says. "...Of course they wouldn't contain actual magic knowledge. That sort of thing doesn't exist..."

    She pauses, thinking about that for a moment... That might have been rude of her to just say off the cuff, but... If Magic was a thing, then maybe she wouldn't have spent half her life being bullied by kids bigger than her. ... At least that was her thought on the matter. Still, she had offered to help, and Kaori seemed genuinely interested as did Ahmya.. so she was still willing to try. "I don't read alot of occult things, but if you narrow it down some maybe we can find something close to what you are looking for..." Though once Ahmya suggests looking through the encyclopedia, Mana moves a bit closer as well somewhat interested at the very least, in trying to see what these books might say.

Kaori Jira has posed:
She was...being admonished. For expressing her frustration. A year ago, in her own world and in her own form? Well, that alone would have ended in violence...but Kaori had to adapt to this new world and she would. Of course, while she was processing this there was just...staring. Uncomfortably intense staring for a moment before her gaze comes over to Mana who was apparently, suprisingly, willing to simply help.

"Stories of curses that drag people from their home, change them...I want to know how they were broken." A beat, she considers a moment. Manners, thanks, such things were important to most here and she'd have to deal with it.

"If you assist me, I will reward you with the purchase of a meal as thanks."

Well...she tried.

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     Ahmya makes a quiet note to have a chat with the spiders that help the garden club. Mostly in a 'good job' kind of way! But more importantly she was carefully controlling her excitement at finding another bug-lover. "Aaah, yeah, I know! Spiders are quite lovely that way, they mostly keep the actual pests away and aren't a huge threat so long as you don't bother them too overmuch." She says with a small grin. "And they're quite pretty." Pause. 'Of course they wouldn't contain magical knowledge'. "Ah? You don't believe in magic? Have you not been to shrines and felt the energy there? The soothing calm and warm gaze of the kami watching over you while you visit? There is truly magic within this world, though I wouldn't say that the books ever get it quite right." She says with a small nod. Not that Mana's response was surprising.

The book was... mostly talking about minor curses for people who had scorned you, boyfriends who cheated, things like that. The sort of things that you'd find in an occult book aimed at teenagers, really. Though it did have a few nuggets of helpful information in it, mostly with regard to protective charms against yokai or how to *undo* said curses. Sure, all of it was more or less nonsense that didn't work, beyond some of the protective charms largely being based in shinto, which likely had ~some~ minor power to it if made by the right person. "Let's see, what kind of curse is on you?" She asks towards Kaori.

Honestly, the look from Kaori had spoken volumes, something that Ahmya had mostly just. Endured calmly, waiting for Kaori to make her decision on how to handle things. Which, luckily, was the way she'd hoped. "I see, that would explain why you were drawn to the princess and the frog; while it's not helpful for your situation, it's definitely quite related." She says thoughtfully. Hmm. So ... displacement and transformation curses? "That sounds like a complex curse though. Let's see." She leafs through the book. "I... hm." She had a sinking feeling. "Sounds good~. A meal in trade for help sounds like a reasonable trade to me. Though... with a complex curse like that..." She stops on one of the pages, reading the entry on it. 'Alt-world reincarnation Curse' ... ... ... yeah this was clearly just a recreation of that anime trend lately. "I don't think these books will have anything, but I might know a few people who may have some idea, or at least a direction to point us in." She says with a firm nod. "And there's this one shop with a little old lady that sometimes has interesting things in it, so I might stop by her store later to see if she has anything." Which was code for going to go ask Aunty Rache her opinion on it.

Mana Soga has posed:
    Admitedly this was /way/ over Mana's head but she could at least tell Kaori was genuine with her cocnern.. Even if the thought was unreal to her.. However, as Ahmya starts going through the book, Mana quietly takes a seat beside her opting to let the girl with more experience in the section speak on anything she found, while occasionally reading over any entry that catches her eye while just listening to the descriptions that Ahmya reads out, her face giving a slightly confused frown as she recognizes some of the 'curses' in the books from various shows and light novels. "...Yeah none of this sounds that useful unless you're interested in anime like those..." She states before she shakes her head. "A meal would be fine compensation but I don't really think I'll be of enough help to warrant something, like that..."

Kaori Jira has posed:
"I didn't say it was me," Kaori begins, perhaps a little defensively, but nuance wasn't her strong suite. A little shrug, she turns her attention to both girls and their comments on spiders and magic both. Consideration comes, she tilts her head to the side. "It's...a complex thing I don't understand."

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     "Yeah, that's about right. Most of the books in the school library aren't going to have much of use, at least not in the public library. There might be some floating around privately, but most of the people with that sort of thing are going to carefully guard it... but some private libraries or shady shops can have some things... though I don't recommend just. Randomly visiting those if you don't know what you're doing." Ahmya responds to Mana, giving a small nod. She seemed to be legitimately interested though, so Ahmya slid the book over slightly to make it easier for her to read as well. Flipping to some of the more lighthearted hexes. Like 'Hex of cat attraction', now that she'd confirmed what she suspected from the books. "I am, however, part of the occult club, so I have some connections that may be helpful as I said." It's also part of why she was interested in it.

That defensiveness of response. Hmm. She also was beginning to suspect that Kaori might have been so rough due to difficulties controlling her power. But that was beside the point. It was more important that Kaori was someone who needed help -- for herself or 'her friend'. "I see, you're out to help a friend... that explains how you were desperate enough to get that frustrated. I understand." Ahmya says with a small smile. "Do you have more details about this curse your friend has on them? The more detail I have, the more chance I have of possibly finding help. I promise not to laugh or judge too harshly."

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana quietly starts looking through the pages of the book as Ahmya offers, before she furrows her brow in thought at the pages she does read. "There's a club devoted to this kind of stuff...?" She asks in response to Ahmya's statement, then slowly tilts her head to look over at the other girl. "...Would you..." She pauses, thinking for a moment. "...Would it be okay if I came with you some time...? I admit I don't know much about this kind of thing, but... It never hurts to broaden one's horizons about things you don't understand..." She says before she glances back at Kaori when the girl gets defensive about the topic. "I hadn't considered you might be refering to yourself..." She pauses, thinking back to her encounter with the roleplaying guild members ... was this some form of roleplay being carried out and she just hadn't realized it yet? It certainly seemed outlandish - except there was genuine concern in Kaori's voice before... "Still... I think Ahmya is right.. You'll need more to give more details if she'll be able to help..."

Kaori Jira has posed:
A shift on the spot, frustration weighed against...well, different frustration. The frustration being tiny, weak...missing her tail, claws. Were it not for the food, the few luxuries she knew? She'd probably mad.

She seems to look between the pair, considering, folding her arms at her bust. "I'm from somewhere else, somewhere that's not...here...and I'm not supposed to look like this."

Beyond that, she seems to hesitate, if only for the fact that announcing herself as a previous terrifying monster princess wasn't expected to go well with people who were supposed to be helping her.

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     "Hm? Sure. I was planning on visiting the gardening club some now too. Working with ones' hands is always pleasant, and I would rather like to see some of the insects that gather around the gardens of the gardening club." Ahmya says with a small nod towards Mana. "More knowledge is always worthwhile~." She takes a soft breath as she closes her eye, thinking quietly for a while. Hmm. "Regardless." She openes her eye again. "I don't believe that any clubs will complain about a visitor, especially if they could convince them to be a new member~." Pause. "I don't recommend actually looking for the occult if you do join, though. One never knows when the might actually find what they're searching for."

As Kaori explains her situation... there was a pause, and Ahmya goes back to that 'alt-universe reincarnation curse' page and goes back over it. "...Nope still rubbish." She mutters under her breath. "The page, not you." She looks back up towards Kaori. "I would be honest, I'm not entirely sure what to do about that, especially since it's wholly possible it could be something more complicated than simply a curse." She taps her lip. "I presume you want to go back and weren't given any sort of knowledge when you were transferred?" She asks towards Kaori. "If you've already shared more information than you're willing to, that's... probably fine. It's still enough to work with." She stands quietly, before pausing, pulling out her phone. "What's your phone numbers? That way I can get in contact with you if I do manage to find something." And also just to get Mana's number because she seemed like she needed friends.

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana quietly folds her arms at her waist. "...I'm not too concerned about finding the occult..." Mana replies, frowning slightly at the thought before she shakes her head to clear her thoughts before her mind starts going to places that make her withdraw into herself again. "But I'm glad you don't mind if I join you... I'll take you up on that offer." Then she glances to Kaori, listening as Ahmya discusses the problem with her before she makes a confused face and stands up moving over to Kaori. Reaching to take Kaori's hand, Mana quietly smiles. "I'm not sure I'll ever be much help to you or your friend... But if you ever need someone to talk and just listen... I'm really good at that. ...I know I always work through my problems easier when I talk to my plants about them.. So maybe having an ear to bend will be.. Helpful.. for you too?" The girl adds before she smiles and releases Kaori's hand - if it was given in the first place, before she turns to look back to Ahmya. "My phone number.. Right, that would be helpful.." She replies before she moves to the table once more and writes down her number on a piece of paper from one of her notebooks she brought with her and turns to hand a slip of paper to each person with her number written down. "...Oh gosh that's right I never told you my name.. Sorry.. I'm really bad at this.. I'm Mana Soga, please feel free to call me Mana."

Kaori Jira has posed:
Reincarnation? Possession? Transformation? Kaori had no idea. What she -did- know was that what was intended hadn't worked out for those who had attempted it, and that the form of a teenage girl didn't really contain the energy of the princess of titans particularly well.

Still, for all the aura of menace that radiated and drove most back, the pair were there, offering their aid and their sympathy. It still didn't really make her think of humans as the apex predators that -should- be dominating a world as their species did...but it did at least speak highly of them in ways that hadn't really been relevant among the 'monsters'.

"If I can..." she speaks, nodding to Ahyma. If she couldn't...well, option 2 was a little more destructive.

The hand-holding? It actually catches Kaori off-guard, a blink and a flush of confusion crossing her face. Was she embarassed? Panicing because it was yet another human gesture she didn't understand? Whatever it was it did sort of undercut the 'terror' that the taller girl might hope to radiate.

"It will be...appreciated," she speaks after a moment, thankful for the offer of a practical step. "Phone, yes...right."

It might be her fourth one, but the battered phone was retrieved and passed to the pair. Working out how to use them without breaking the devices had been...problematic at first.

"I am Kaori...and I thank you for your aid. And for not suggesting kissing frogs."

Ahmya Karashima has posed:
     "Sounds good." Ahmya says towards Mana with a small smile, nodding. She starts to put in Mana's phone number, "'Ma na So ga', saved. Ah! My name is Ahmya Karashima, I should probably have said so much earlier too, so no need to apologize~. Some people call me 'Ahmy', though it's barely a shortening." She chuckles.

The reaction to Mana by Kaori is noted and such... but she doesn't really react to it much herself, just noting it in the back of her mind. She seemes relatively okay. She takes the passed phone and puts in her phone, then passes it to Mana to do the same, before finally ensuring that her own phone is properly updated. "There. And kissing frogs is highly unsanitary." She dips into a curtsy. "I'm going to go look into what I can, I will meet up with you later, hopefully."

Mana Soga has posed:
    Mana blinks at the shift in demeanor when she takes Kaori's hand, and smiles before she bows in apology. "Sorry.. I should have given you some warning... I just know it helped me to feel comfortable when mother would hold my hand..." She says before she bows again for good measure, then lifts up and finishes adding the numbers of both girls to her own phone. "As for the frogs.. I would never suggest that. Frogs don't make for very good kissing partners...!" Mana adds, giving a poor attempt at a joke before she turns and picks up the book she had been reading and smiles. "It was... Nice meeting you both. I hope we get to talk more soon."