Room 415, Wednesday Afternoon

[seeks_truth]

Cassandra had returned the last batch of books to the library. She was beginning to run out of novels in her preferred genre, which perhaps made her sadder than she should have necessarily been.

So she had done an experiment today, and now she was hauling in the results: five books, randomly picked off of the shelves, going by covers she didn't recognize. She put them on her desk as she came in, then sank down on the bed with a pleased sigh. At least she would still have plenty to read for this week; after that, she would have to ask Garik to help her find the novels on the line again.

"Computers," she muttered. "Maker."

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[seeks_truth]

She seemed uncomfortable with the subject. Cassandra... was not as smooth at seguing as Lucille was. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "We need not talk about it. Siblings are often complicated."

[crimson_sister]

"I miss him, that is all." She would have agreed that siblings were complicated, but perhaps that would have resulted in further questions.

But books! They were a more interesting - and safer - subject. "Reading can be a great comfort, don't you think? Almost like friends themselves?"

[seeks_truth]

"Books were invaluable to me during my training," Cassandra agreed, more than relieved to go along with it. "Very important for... ah, morale."

[crimson_sister]

"What did you train?" Lucille asked. "Was it here?"

[seeks_truth]

"I am a member of a group called the Seekers of Truth," Cassandra said. She got up and walked towards the desk, poking through her new books in search of something to offer up to Lucille when she was done explaining. "We serve what is my world's Church, you would call it. Since I was a child, I have studied both our religious texts and the art of combat."

[crimson_sister]

The word 'church' was a little worrying, for various reasons. Lucille tried to think of something to say while Cassandra was looking through her books.

"The art of combat? Is that why you wore armor last time we met?" That, at least, was interesting.

[seeks_truth]

"Yes," Cassandra agreed. She wound up picking up a book with a unicorn on the cover. "It is part of our duties to investigate dangerous situations involving mages or demons. Being able to handle a sword comes in handy."

[crimson_sister]

"There are such creatures where you are from?" That sounded very different from the local vicar's dreary sermons. "And you can use a sword? Like the heroine in the book?"

Oh, and was that a unicorn?

[seeks_truth]

"There are," Cassandra said. She held out the book to Lucille. "Some mages from my world attend this school, in fact. That is part of why I am here."

[crimson_sister]

"Are they dangerous?" Lucille asked. "Is that why you're here?"

She accepted the book. "Unicorns?"

That was three questions at once.

[seeks_truth]

"All mages are potentially dangerous," Cassandra said. She sat down on the bed. "But as long as I am here, any danger will be contained."

She looked at the book. "And I've little idea what that is. I took it from the library earlier today. But I thought, perhaps we could examine it together?"

[crimson_sister]

Lucille looked at Cassandra and decided that she would ask more about the mages at some other time. Today, though, she was quite content to study a book.

"Judging from the cover it might be a book of fairy tales."

[seeks_truth]

"It says it is not," Cassandra said, eager to turn to the subject of the book. "It calls itself a more sophisticated retelling."

[crimson_sister]

"A retelling of what?" Lucille asked.

[seeks_truth]

"A local fairy tale of some renown?" Cassandra said. "I do not know your stories about unicorns well."

[crimson_sister]

"I know of stories in which they are hunted by using a virgin to trap them," Lucille recalled. "For some reason the stories agree that they like virgins."

[seeks_truth]

Cassandra blinked. "...Why?" she said.

[crimson_sister]

"Women are not expected to be virgins when they marry where you are from?" she asked, then shrugged. "One wonders how the unicorn could tell."

[seeks_truth]

"No," Cassandra said, growing increasingly confused. "I have been told the local culture places entirely too much emphasis on what other people do in private."

[crimson_sister]

"Where I am from we don't talk about it, and as a woman you are not supposed to know, but everybody is quite concerned about how does what with whom," Lucille said. "So perhaps the moral of the story is that if you're a young girl you should remain a virgin so that a unicorn walks up to you and lays its head in your lap. Then your family slays it without even thanking you for the effort."

No, she wasn't impressed with the story or by the sense of morality in her time.

[seeks_truth]

"Why would wildlife possibly care about what a woman does in private?" Cassandra asked, looking something close to aghast. "And if it is such a pure beast, why slay it? This makes no sense."

[crimson_sister]

"It makes no sense to me either," Lucille replied. "Perhaps the retelling offers some kind of explanation."

A little thoughtfully, she added: "So, your world are not concerned at all about things done in private?"

[seeks_truth]

"Not to nearly such an extent," Cassandra replied. "One must not give in to Lust demons, of course, but that is a case of possession. But unless you are the Divine Herself ahahaha most would not see any cause to pay attention to whether you are having relations or who you are having it with. That would be extremely unnecessary at best, and downright offensive at worst."

Was she working up a bit of anger just talking about it? Maybe.

[crimson_sister]

Lucille nodded. "I wish the people in my time were as wise as where you come from."

[seeks_truth]

"There are plenty of matters in which we are rather unwise," Cassandra said, deflating some. "And I am sure the Orlesians love to make a game of such things, but they do so about all things. But this has been rather jarring to me, since coming here."