(no subject)

[calmhrtprevails]

After the monstrous struggle with the Enclave and the wild deathclaws of Olney, and the ultimate recovery of the Tesla coil from the ruins of the Powerworks, Ellen told Fawkes that she needed a brief Milliways breather. The mutant had no objections to this. On their side of the door their mission will not wait- but that is on their side. Here, time has no real meaning. And here, Fawkes once got lost, and found a wondrous room indeed. He's been meaning to locate it again ever since. This morning he did.

It's something of a miracle that he ever came out. Probably it had to do with the lack of reinforced chairs in the library. It's easier to sit down here and concentrate on the difficult task of turning the thin, fragile pages of his newly acquired book- today it's The Autobiography of Malcolm X- with his massive fingers as he reads.

If you are going to interrupt the eight-foot-tall mutant, please do so when he's in the middle of a page, as being startled while he turns the page may end up causing damage to the book. And we wouldn't want that.

Comments

[scots_wolf]

Urquhart secretly likes it when there's people around who are taller than he is. That way, he stands out less -- literally.

Urquhart himself is sitting not far away from Fawkes, with his dog at his feet, feeling comparatively small and reading the book on 'Failed States' by Noam Chomsky.

[calmhrtprevails]

Fawkes is actually somewhat closer to nine feet tall, but habitually walks with a stoop, even under the open sky. Seated, it's not as obvious.

At one point the book has to be put down, and there are many popping noises. Cracking the knuckles of fingers thick as sausages can be a complicated affair.

[scots_wolf]

Urquhart looks up at the noise. He feels small, not far from that man. It's a nice change.

"That man was some sort of political activist, wasn't he?" Urquhart asks, nodding at the book. He may be from the middle ages, but he's caught up with things as far as he could.

[calmhrtprevails]

"If the information on the outside of the book is correct," says Fawkes, "then yes; but I haven't gotten very far yet."

'Says' is not really the right verb for Fawkes. His throat and lips and tongue aren't structured in any sort of way that makes speech easy. To put it bluntly, he sounds as if he ought to be screening the calls of Artoshaxl, Duke of Pain and Lord of the Sixth Malebolge or something like that.


(OOC: Seriously, does that voice sound anything but painful to you?)

[scots_wolf]

The larger giant's throat is probably in a very bad condition, but it might be seen as condescending to offer him sage tea, so Urquhart doesn't.

"Haven't you heard about him before you picked up the book?" Urquhart asks.

[calmhrtprevails]

"If I had, it was only in passing," says Fawkes, "and only in the way that someone reading any history text might run across a single name. I have no recollection of the man; the book looked sturdy, and the cover text seemed interesting."

[scots_wolf]

"Civil Rights movement," Urquhart says, "America, 20th century. I think he held a more extreme position than some others. What century are you from?"

[calmhrtprevails]

"The twenty-third," says Fawkes. "I believe the year to be 2278, although I may be wrong."

[scots_wolf]

"More than three hundred years," Urquhart says. "Well, that's probably enough distance between your time and his to make him comparatively unimportant. There's lots of people from the early 21st century here, and their books. To them, the issue is probably still far more relevant."

[fiss84]

Next door, a little girl in a blue and white costume is eating her peanut butter crackers and banana slices while reading her own materials (the current title reads Marvel Adventures: Ms. Marvel). She does peek above the comic from time to time as Fawkes is pretty impressive but she hasn't gathered enough courage to actually talk with him yet.

[calmhrtprevails]

It's one thing to read a computer terminal's files for hours on end, once you've figured out how to work the keys with fingers twice the size of the average intended user's. It's another to handle paper. While Fawkes can handle his pages safely, it's a conscious effort of will and self-control every time, and so he sets the book down after a while to give his hands a break.

He might possibly make eye contact with the costumed girl in the process. He'd smile, but he's aware of just how disturbing that expression can be, coming from him.

[fiss84]

Julie's actually not too fazed by his appearance, after all he seems like an adult version of a fellow student and he's not made of rock and grumpy like her PE coach. Thus when they manage eye contact, she waves and, in a very friendly voice, asks, "Are you a super hero?"

[calmhrtprevails]

"Not to my knowledge," rumbles Fawkes, who is doing his best not to sound quite so pained and intimidating as he normally does. Children are something of a novelty for him, but he's aware of that being important. "I've met a few, though. Here in this place."

[fiss84]

"Oh, sorry..." she replies awkwardly in case she offended him or something. "I'm Julie." She's given up 'Flying Girl' for the time being.

[calmhrtprevails]

"It's quite all right. I'm just a mutant, and I haven't been out in the world very long," rumbles the big fellow. "My name is Fawkes. Hello, Julie."

[fiss84]

"I'm a mutant too though on my world we're called meta-prodigies..." The last word is said very carefully. "Were you born with your powers?"

[calmhrtprevails]

"No, it was a virus," says Fawkes. "I don't remember anything from before I was infected, though. Don't worry. It isn't contagious."

He might not be medically trained, but he knows well enough that he's a fairly scary fellow, and it's best to cut fear off at the knees.

[starrydome]

It is a library.

Elrond is not certain how long he has walked here, examining this book and that, touching covers and pages almost reverently.

He is surprised but not taken aback when he turns a corner and sees - well, it's not a troll, although it may look somewhat like one. For one it isn't smelly. And trolls are not, to the best of Elrond's knowledge, in the habit of reading.

If the creature looks up, he will receive a smile filled with the joy an elven loremaster feel among many, many, many tomes of things yet to learn.

It makes the sun seem dim in comparison.

[calmhrtprevails]

True, Fawkes may have the dimensions of a troll- but he does his best to maintain a certain measure of hygiene, and of civilization in general. Even the massive war hammer, long as a Man is tall, that he wears slung across his back is kept clean and in good condition.

When he sets the book aside for a moment, the better to avoid damaging it with fingers ill-used to fragile pages, he catches the loremaster's eye. There have been few in his experience who have ever smiled like that, for any reason. Perhaps he may be excused for hastily turning to look over his shoulder and see if there is someone else there who might be the cause of it.

[starrydome]

And it does not act like a troll. Thus one should not treat it as a troll.

"Well met," Elrond says, his clear voice carrying well even though he does not raise it. They are in a place of study after all.

[calmhrtprevails]

"And the same to you," says Fawkes, who is doing his best to have an inside voice. He's not very good at it. "I hope I'm not intruding."

[starrydome]

"You are studying," Elrond replies. "How can that not be the meaning of a place like this?"

He looks around him, still with that visible joy in his eyes. "It is a beautiful place."

He pulls out a book with his long, strong fingers and opens it, running his eyes over the title page. "I would not know where to begin."

[calmhrtprevails]

"I have a tendency to be in the way," says Fawkes. "An issue of my size, I fear. It's usually best to ask first, rather than assume otherwise."

He glances at the bookshelves around him and notes, "I've heard that one measures a circle beginning anywhere. It seemed like a good guiding principle, in a place like this. I chose my beginning at random, and worked from there."

[starrydome]

Elrond smiles, delightedly. "It does. Sometimes, letting chance guide your hand is not the worst way to proceed."

He puts the book back on the shelf with a tiny sigh of regret and turns his attention back to the creature. "Does your world have libraries such as this?"

[calmhrtprevails]

"I'm afraid not," says Fawkes regretfully. "Except at the Citadel, in the care of the Brotherhood of Steel. I've seen that one, although I had very little time to make any use of it."