《I'm Just the Librarian》4: Warmth - Part 2
Advertisement
Thea stepped inside and waved Luin in. “Come on in.” She was already removing her coat and hat. She slid her fingers over the stone on the wall, activating the magic tool that turned on several yellow-tinted lights in the ceiling, before exchanging her leather heels for a pair of more comfortable slippers. Luin came to a stop in the tiny foyer area, his eyes taking in his surroundings. “I know it isn’t much, but it’s just me here, and I haven’t needed more room before,” she said as she closed and locked her front door behind Luin.
The townhouse really was quite small for all that it was called a "house." The sidewalls were only fifteen tares apart–or about five arm lengths–while the home itself only went about twenty-five tares–a little over eight arm lengths–deep. The foyer was only big enough for a coat rack and a small mat to wipe one’s feet, and just after that, the stairs began along one side, leading up to the even smaller second level.
“The kitchen is downstairs,” she said, unbuttoning and rolling up her sleeves. “The bedroom is upstairs, but we'll head up after we eat.” She hurried to the kitchen after pulling the cookbook from her bag and began pulling out a pan and a knife, as well as the assortment of root vegetables, mainly carrots, potatoes, and parsnips. She kept glancing back behind her, watching as Luin followed her with wide eyes and then settled himself on her only kitchen chair.
I’m going to have to mend that other one finally, she thought, making a mental note to fix the other chair as soon as possible. She suddenly wished that she hadn’t procrastinated so much with it, but since it had just been her, and she usually met visitors at cafes or the library, there had been no real need. So the second chair was currently in the closet under the stairs, still broken.
Advertisement
Probably a lot of things I thought there’d be no need for will become needed now. She still wasn’t sure how long this arrangement would last, but even if it were only for a week or two, it was worth it to make the apartment as comfortable as she could for both of them.
She quickly got the roots washed and some of them peeled before chopping them evenly and placing them in the oven. She dragged her fingertips across the line of stones by the oven, stopping midway. The ones she touched began to glow with an orange light, but the others remained dull. That setting should be enough to roast the vegetables without charring them–or at least she hoped. She was following the cookbook’s directions, but somehow something always turned out slightly wrong. And now that she was cooking for someone other than herself, anxiety over her cooking skills caused her to check on the oven often as they cooked.
While she waited, she started a pot of rice on a small heat plate.
Luin was quiet but didn’t seem bored. His eyes took everything in. Thea thought about trying to fill the silence, but stopped herself. She had a bad habit of being chatty just to cover her own awkwardness, but it only served to make things more awkward. She didn’t want to do that to the child.
“Ah, I think they should be done.” Thea placed a thick kitchen rag over her hand and pulled out the steaming pan of roasted root vegetables. She leaned over them and sniffed. “Mmm. They smell good at least!” She smiled as she realized the rice was finished as well.
As she began to plate up the simple meal, the sound of something tapping the nearby window made her almost drop the plate. But much like the book earlier that day, she managed to catch it just in time to avoid everything crashing to the floor.
Advertisement
“What was that?” Thea glanced at Luin. He quickly turned away from looking at the window, and instead looked at the floor. She went to the window and looked out past her own reflection. The window overlooked a small patio that she had filled with a few potted plants, and a tall, brick wall that separated the patio from the back alleyway that ran behind the apartments. There was nothing out there that she could see. It was pretty dark though. After a few moments, when no shadows or shapes moved, Thea stepped back and closed the curtains.
“Well, it could have been the wind,” she murmured to herself. She sighed and turned back to the food. That was what was most important right now.
Thea served Luin his plate on the small table, while she stood, leaning against the kitchen counter to eat hers. Her first bite told her that, while they might look alright, the vegetables were lacking in flavor from what she had tasted when she ate a similar dish cooked by a professional. But they were passable. And she had the satisfaction of seeing Luin try them.
His first bite was slow, but then his other bites were much less cautious. He ate without comment until his plate was clean.
“Do you want more?”
“I can have more?”
Thea smiled at his question. “There is a bit more if you want seconds.” She grabbed his empty plate and spooned the last of the rice and vegetables onto it.
Thea finished her own food just as Luin finished his second helping. She could have gone with a bit of a second helping herself, but she felt happier knowing that Luin was full. I’ll have to start cooking larger portions from now on, I think.
Advertisement
Sign of the times
Nikola wakes after a hundred years on the bottom of the ocean. He waked to a world changed by his own deeds. A world where he is alone, his lover, the angel Penemue gone into the Abyss after the failed rebellion of his son Pallas. But Nikola doesn’t give up on him. He choses to live, not as the conqueror he once was, the shining Emerald Emperor of Atlantis, but as a trader and a craftsman. On the way he founds his soulmate, Wei Caihong, though he doesn’t know it at the time and curses him with vampirism. But Wei Caihong doesn’t give up either and he proves his worth to his future husband. And in this story of love and redemption a fallen from grace Emperor gets both a noble and an angel and improves the lives of those around him. In any way he can. I'm also posting this on Archive of our own and Scribble Hub.
8 223I Got A Rock
Before enrollment in magic academy, a young mage must purchase or acquire a familiar to provide protection, assistance, and companionship. The rich are able to afford such beasts as dragons, griffons, feathered serpents, and more. Isak is not rich. Isak’s parents got him a rock. “It will work or your money back!” the local mad mage said when he sold the 'pet rock' to his mother. And while the young human from the Western Wastes was still coming to terms with that new reality he was on his way to Black Reef Institute for his first year of learning everything a young mage could need to become a mage of legend!Vital rituals! Astronomy! A wide variety of spells! Survival in a hostile land! Potions! Bonding with your familiar to take full advantage of their unique abilities! A familiar that was, once again, a rock. But as Isak soon discovers that rock is so much more than any could have dreamed of, he’ll need the help of his newfound friends to discover the rock’s untold secrets and still have time for that brutal test on Core Spells! (Updates at days and times.) (Wiki found here, it's a work in progress.) (Cover art by Lmarief)
8 94The Mournful Path
[FINISHED]Arran Stormcleaver is dead. His ward and former student Yara runs away from home. Her grief and heartache from losing her only parental figure proving too much for her to deal with at home and on her own. Despite all this she continues to uphold her position in the Knights of Ash as a professional dragon huntress while travelling the road, all the while hoping that maybe the issue driving her will resolve itself. (CW: Harsh Language, Violence, themes of grief and depression)
8 56dream;catcher
When two perfect strangers wake to find themselves unlikely passengers on a mysterious train with no memory of how they got there, they are greeted by a devilish figure. Aku, who calls himself a god and devil, informs them of their unfortunate fate: they must fight each other in a world of dreams, and overcome their own demons if they want to make it out alive.
8 68✓ | auriga ( faceclaims )
❝i called you every night, ever night for 353 days❞in which the author provides underage faceclaims for you it or stranger things ficsyoung / underage faceclaimsfor it/st stories includes plotscover by me
8 193Kindred Spirits
Zola Fay Saltzman never knew if she would live pass 10, with that little heart murmur that is looming over her 24/7; never letting her forget it's there.She never felt like she belong. Always going between her father and mother, and not being able to make friends because she doesn't want many to mourn her if she suddenly drops dead.But what happens when things start to shake up a little in the weird town of Mystic Falls and she meets the reason she is alive. The reason she feels belong somewhere now.Based in The Vampire DiariesAll rights go to Julie Plec and the writers of The Vampire diaries. I only own Zola and any other characters I put in here.
8 205