DRIFT ALOFT IN SOME EFFORTLESS PLACE ♠ private

Inglisse slept soundly for once, the tiresome and sleepless night she had before having taken its toll on her. It was hit or miss if she would sleep without night terrors or familiar voices keeping her awake, but at least this night she managed. The alarm sitting next to Mister Peckings woke both her and the small winged and kitten-pawed rosebud creature. Sunlight was creeping in through the sage green curtains. A small hand reached out as the still groggy Inglisse went to stroke the rosebud creature’s soft dove wings. It seemed pleased by the petting and pawed at her hand.

Only upon really opening her amber eyes and gazing around the room did Inglisse spot Oras at her desk. The realization jolted her awake, making her sit up hurriedly in her bed. She was wearing warm pajama pants and a tanktop to sleep in, thus was presentable enough to not demand him leave the room right away. If he just wanted to use her room and desk as a quiet place to read or study, he could do so during the light hours with permission. However, it quickly registered what he was reading and doing. A silent anger washed over the girl, who slowly got out of bed and walked towards him. “Good morning, Oras. Might I ask when you received permission to just sneak in a woman’s dorm room at night and look through her personal research and notes?” she asked, an edge of malice to her voice. Reaching over, she briskly but gently picked up the Book of Baskerville, frowning as she realized the page she had been on was no longer there, and likely was forever gone given the nature of the book. “Vesp juen rava,” she whispered a short incantation, which instantly closed the book shut.

Observant amber eyes noticed the notes he had been taking. “What gives you the right to help yourself to what isn’t yours?” she asked, angry venom still lacing her voice, her eyes narrowed at the atranoch.

Inglisse kept her amber eyes fixed on him as he greeted her and tossed her notebook back at her. She caught and recognized it as the notebook she took to her math and science classes, both of which were essential for completing her mastery. She listened in silence, her eyes narrowing as he mentioned taking notes and losing her place. She was internally relieved she still had something remaining from her page, in case she could not find it again, but knew she would have never needed them if the atranoch had minded his own business.

He had caught on that the magical component of the book was a defense mechanism meant to stop intruders from reading it. If he had caught that early on, why did he continue? “You’ll leave the notes here with me, and you won’t meditate on them,” she said in a commanding tone, setting the math notebook down on her bed. She really had no words-- she was too angry to muster any. If she had thought about it at the time, she likely would have attempted to close the connection the atranoch had to the world of Skiagis through her. Fortunately for him, her mind did not go there.

“Get out of my room,” she demanded in a soft voice laced with venom, ignoring his question regarding her roommate, Esialeth. She did not owe him any answers, especially since he took the liberty of looking into something that was personal and precious to her. She could only hope he found scientific and magical notes, and nothing on her family members, her past, or Sacramentum.

She did realize the overarching logic rather quickly-- she had revealed too much with her emotions. She could have allowed Oras to continue believing it was nothing more than a science and magic book. However, her fear of him having possibly found a page with personal information on her family, her own notes and pages she had written, or Sacramentum had driven her reaction. Well, it was too late to backpedal and play it off like that. It did not help that it was morning, and besides Mister Peckings, Oras reading through her book was the first thing she encountered. There had not been enough time for her to gain her composure first.

“...Tch,” Inglisse murmured at his rejection of her command. There was no point in really lying, else she would only make him even more curious and likely to read through it again. Still, like hell was she planning to explain the reality or history of the Book of Baskerville. At his freezing over of the room and her with small bits of frost and harsh ice to shut the door, the girl instinctively ignited one of the talents from a past family member, long since trapped within her. Her body was coated in a thin layer of white flames, melting away the ice that had formed on her while simultaneously keeping her warm in the chilled room. He demanded a logical reason, which was easy enough to give. It being that he was in a women’s dorm room without permission, and she could very easily use the excuse that she wanted to change and put on more presentable clothes.

However, the reasonable size of Inglisse knew she at least owed him a small explanation for her anger. She would have expected the same of him. “It is more or less like a diary,” she explained with an edge to her voice. It was pretty much the truth. “I write my own notes in there, in between the research pages.”

The notes she wrote were not of her life, emotions, and inner thoughts so much as her personal research and condition. Still, that technically counted. He had already made it clear that he would understand if it was a diary or personal. Hopefully he would hold himself to his word. The fewer who knew about the tragedy that happened so many years ago, the better.

“Well it’s at least relieving to hear you didn’t stumble on anything besides the research,” she stated, her white flames dwindling down as he re-absorbed the cold and frost he had produced. Was he really so unintelligent to not understand her first statement? In between pages she had written personal notes; she owed him no explanation on what they were specifically. It was self explanatory that “personal notes” could be anything that was meant for her and nobody else. Sharing would defeat the purpose of a “diary”, even if the book was so much more than that.

He stopped her from speaking before she could continue, asking if he could have access to some pieces of information. Perhaps she would not mind sharing basic information; the notes written that anyone could find in a science book. Her family’s personal research and additions to that basic information, however, were not something she was so keen on sharing. She was still angry that he had invaded her privacy in such a way, but at least had cooled off enough to reasonably consider the request. “Respecting someone's privacy shouldn't require a request in return. But fine. With my permission, I will let you see some of the information on science, history, and magic. Nothing else,” she agreed in a low tone, still not happy, but willing to compromise for both their sakes. The last thing she wanted was for him to steal or sneak the book and read it on his own if they did not reach an agreement. He had more or less found a way to blackmail her-- to request some information in return for not reading the book himself. She did not have enough trust in him to not take it when she was not looking if she had denied his request.

“Then don’t say “in return”,” Inglisse responded, her amber eyes sharp. He was the one who insinuated it was something she had to do in return for him keeping out of it for the most part. At least it was fair enough of him to reiterate what he actually meant. While she was tempted to not allow him near her precious book still, she knew that logically he had her trapped. There was no good reason for her not to share parts she was comfortable sharing with him. Especially if she picked and choosed what bits of information he was allowed to receive. “Fine, I’ll share notes from the book on information I am okay with you seeing,” she replied with a sigh, hating the entire situation.

He went onto state she would do better taking more safety measures with the book. Perhaps she was right, she had been a little careless in leaving it out. She had grown too comfortable; after all, most students did not sift through anything that looked like a textbook that was left out, especially in someone else’s dormitory. That, and her roommate, Esialeth, seemed like the type to respect her privacy. “Sure, I’ll hide it in my undergarment drawer; that’ll keep you out,” she said, taking the jab at the mild awkwardness she observed he held around females. It was sarcasm of course. She did have charms and such to seal it and even create bookmarks, but those always required a lot of energy or expensive (or rare) ingredients.

Noticing the tension die down in the room, the small rosebud creature flapped its wings in unsuccessful flight and hopped on tiny paws across the bed towards Inglisse. It was pleased that the room was no longer as cold, but still desired the warmth of its human owner.

Her anger was ebbing away slowly; perhaps because for once he was being fairly civil and not giving her a reason for her anger to persist. She was not much of an angry or hot-tempered individual. She was generally patient, only the shock of him going through the one possession she so deeply cherished and risking him learning too much had driven her to such emotion.

She dismissed his mocking statement, being in a better mood overall, but still not one for casual banter. The tiny rosebud creature pranced its way across the bed, flapping its two wings on each bound in failed flight. Perhaps… the small creature would be something of a test, to judge just how much science the atranoch could tolerate. He already was opposed to her summoning him for research purposes, after all.

Picking up the creature gently in her hands, she held it close, noting its want for warmth. She had filed down its thorns to keep herself from getting poked, but constantly had to maintain them as it grew. “This is a creature made of sorcery and magic. I named it Mister Peckings for its docile nature~” she explained softly and subtly smiling down at the creature while stroking its dove wings. Its rosebud head swiveled towards Oras, clearly sensing his presence despite obviously having no eyes to see him or nose to smell him.