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| Library - Mt. Weather |
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Rows upon rows of books have been neatly preserved, cataloged, and archived here. In the center of the room there is a large, clean table with chairs and ample, but not garish lighting. Among the volumes that have been collected careful consideration has been given to how-to books that the knowledge is not lost, as well as historical accounts, art, architecture, and various topics that would contribute to the preservation of world cultures to see they were not lost. There is a smaller section dedicated to the classics of non-fiction with clear demarcation that they are not to be mistaken for an accurate or historical account, but rather literary art along with poetry, fables, and sagas. There is a clear notice that food and drink are absolutely not permitted beyond this point.* *Note: this is a placeholder. Actual description upon room implementation may vary. |
| Day 038 |
Though she's been having cabin fever like the rest of the sky kids "visiting" the Mountain, Madelyn hasn't explored much. She's been too nervous. Today, though, she worked up the gumption to visit the library. She's not reading, or even looking for anything in particular — just walking amongst the stacks, running her hand lightly over the spines of the books as she passes.
Most of the Skaikids. Seated on the floor, strangely alone for once, was one of the few people who woke up to the Mountain and never looked back. Instead Reno was camped out with 4 books piled on his left and one in his lap looking comfy camped out in his thoughts. Looking up his glasses slid halfway down his nose. Poking them back up where they belong he blinked and smiled to Madelyn from the floor. "Hey."
Madelyn grins, crouching down so they were at a level. "Hey," she replies, resting her hands on her knees. "You look like you're having a good time."
Reno smiled modestly. His ears turned red a bit and a grin formed. He considered the book and then back up to her, "Pretty good time. Found some books that I think we're about real people. It's interesting figuring out how people lived. What they did. How they tried to fix it. Even back before the world burned there were people trying to make things better."
"You don't pick the small projects, do you?" Madelyn asks, tucking her legs underneath herself to sit cross-legged on the floor. She smooths her skirt over her knees.
Reno grinned and shrugged a shoulder, "Well my life's always been weird. Never got to be a part of civilization before -not..that the Ark was overly civilized but it was something. I'm excited to be a part of something healthy and thriving and going somewhere rather than hiding or surviving. For me it's exciting. My experiences? Nothing to write home about I guess." He shrugged and started to think about Max's take on it and shook his head shaking the thought loose.
Madelyn doesn't want to have another conversation about IsTheMountainGoodOrBad, so she looks down at the books. "What are you reading?" she asks, fiddling with the end of her braid.
Reno folded the book over and showed her a story apparently about a guy named Nelson Mandela. His brow furrowed, "Mr. Vega, the guard, showed us a war movie about a place near where this guy was from. It was… it's fine." He quieted and didn't have ability or want to put things into words. "How're um, how're you? How's Max?" Funny enough he was asking her about that.
"I don't think movies are… are something I'd like very much," Madelyn admits, twisting her braid into a bun at the back of her head. "How are… wh… what do you mean?" she asks, looking over at something very interesting somewhere in the left middle distance.
Reno pursed his lips together thoughtfully and shook his head. "No. I don't think I like em very much either. Just," he shrugged and admitted, "I dunno. WHen you talk to Max he seems okay. It's like the thing I can't figure out how to make better. He seems to like talking to you."
Madelyn gives a small, sad smile. "I like talking to him, too," she replies. She doesn't elaborate, eyes not leaving that spot in the middle distance.
Reno fell quiet and set the book in his lap grabbing another book and opening it. He handed it to her. "Here. I found this and thought of you. It's about traditional garments and fabric detailing from someplace calles Cizzch… Cezzy… Sezzick…Some really long place that starts with a C." He was not getting out Czechoslovakia today. It was full of pictures and stories about the peoples and the importance of hand detailing and examples of design as well. "I know… you like him, Madelyn. It's okay. I think he can use that right now and ," he stopped his train of thought right there quickly finding himself distracted with looking through the other books there, though it looks like oe was pulled for Cameron as well.
"Don't worry about it. Everyone I've ever liked has always liked someone else better. It's just the kind of girl I am. I'm cool with that," Madeyln replies softly. She turns to look at the book about the Sizzekkochoochoo place and flips a few pages. "I like those dresses."
Reno gave her a sympathetic nod. He was used to helping the only other non-Max person he knew to have her bring back stories of her life outside the pod apartment where he hid and never being able to be a part of any of it but by proxy. "Hey, you don't know that's the case. Besides I think, maybe, if you care about someone the important thing is not how well we're liked but how well they're doing." He considered that and ran the thought through his head a few times and came up with, "The blue one's pretty cool. There's also some more really cool looking designs from this other book called… umm… over there. Where you're sorta looking," he waggled a finger pointing to a low section on the middle shelf. "Art of India. I dunno who she is, but it's super swirly. I like the movement in there. Could be, I dunno."
"I do know that's the case. Everyone is part of a story. I'm just not the main character. I'm not pretty or smart or strong. I'm just Madelyn who sews things." Madeyln doesn't usually talk this much about herself and she apologizes quickly, "Sorry. I'm sorry." She pulls down the book Reno indicates, thumbing through it. "Oh, wow. This is really cool."
Reno didn't seem to really mind. His head tilted and he listened, a smile forming when her face lit up. "They use SO much colour like Cameron got ahold of it or something." Cameron was a technicolour smear of paint across his hands and forearms these days. Reno shook his head and said, "Everyone's kinda differently brilliant. Besides, sewing's important. Don't let Quinn gt on your case about that I think she's just… distraught. I-" He wasn't okay with her attacking the idea of culture and arts being important here, or at least how HE interpreted the issue. "Makes people feel whole again. Helps them work and function. It's very enabling ya know. I really do appreciate not going through life pantsless." He smiled as she flipped the pages with rich colours and textures, details, hand beading - holy cow the hand beading- and the iconography amongst the draping cloth.
"Quinn's not getting on my case. I don't think I've even ever really talked to her. This is just me. And they don't need a tailor here." She runs her fingers over the glossy, colorful images, distracted for a moment. "Don't worry about me. You know your job is to be brilliant and save the world. Mine is… mine is to…" She shrugs. "Mine is to be quiet, in the back, helping if people need it."
Reno linked at her and looked down, assessed their garments and chuckled, "Yeees they do." They totally needed a tailor. "besides, just because something isn't apparent doesn't mean there's not room for improvement. Plus, think about the medical applications a neat and steady stitch has to offer?" He smiled with a shrug. "If it helps, I didn't think I had much to offer either. But now Cole's down and out and we're all pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone thinking of … something. Anything. Everything has potential for improvement. Even us, Madelyn. You HAVE a place here. And you're keeping my brother's head level which is… amazing."
"I guess," Madelyn murmurs, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "But no one seems to care about keeping my head level, and I feel selfish even for saying that. I'm… I'm…" Tears roll down her face. "I'm tired. I'm tired of always pretending to be okay. I'm just making a lot of noise."
Reno sat still and blinked at her. He watched the tears and felt for her. He wasn't good at people so much. He had little experience with them and was still learning, but he had feelings. A lot of them. A hand reached out to Madelyn and rest on her shoulder. "You don't have to pretend, and… and you're not throwing static at the signal." Whatever that meant, but he was hoping though he didn't have the words that the message was still available to her. He didn't mind her talking it out at all.
"I do have to pretend, or else I'll get left behind. I'm not the kind of person people go back for. If I don't keep up, I'll be left dead in a cave like Jason." Madelyn takes a deep, shuddering breath, wiping her eyes on her arm. "I'm sorry. This isn't your problem."
Reno left his hand out and let her talk it out finally saying with certainty, "Hey, For, um, for what it's worth I consider you my friend. I don't leave my friends behind. No one's leaving you anywhere. Max and I don't do that to people. He took an axe to the chest to make sure I wasn't left behind and until…I dunno. I always felt like dead weight. I get it though. You're here and you DO matter, Maddie I-" He gave her shoulder a squeeze and asked quietly, "Tell me about him? Who's Jason? What happened?"
Madelyn shakes her head. "When we were getting water. A kid standing took an arrow to the throat and died. I was holding him. Barely anyone knew his name or who he was. It was almost me. If… if it had been me, no one would remember me, either. I'm the only one who does, I think." She rubs her face. "I need to get over this."
Reno sat perfectly still and very quiet. His hand tightened on her shoulder. He was still and listened to every word. The book was folded and sat aside for now. Nelson's story would wait another day but this one was happening right now. He said quietly, "Her name was Sara." He swallowed tightly and has never, ever brought it up until now. He admitted, "The day I was almost killed. The day before the grounders attacked and we wound up here… we went-" Tears wet his face and he sighed and took his time. "Grounders attacked us and put an arrow into her head. I tried to help her but no matter… how nice they were or how… smart you are? The grounders don't care and they just threw their lives away. I don't know if anyone remembers her… I do. She was nice and changed our washcloths when we were sick… We have to remember them so… So someone does." He sighed and it hurt but it was truth, "Sometimes we're in a position we can't do anything Madelyn. But a time will come. We won't let you be forgotten." Unprompted he hugged her. Certain he wasn't necessarily helping but it was all he knew to do.
Leaning her head on Reno's shoulder, Madelyn just lets it out, her small frame racked with sobs. Eventually, her breathing slows and she hiccups. "I must look so gross right now," she remarks with a tiny, wry grin, sniffling.
Reno put an arm around her shoulder and took off his glasses offering in earnest, "Now I can't see a thing so your secret's safe with me." He sighed and said simply, "Not being okay right now, for what it's worth, is I think the sanest response anyone can have. None of us are okay I mean… scary and terrible things happened. We were thrown AT a whole planet in a lunch tin. That's a lot to happen to any one teenager, Madelyn." He considered all of that and said stih a sniffle and objectively as he could, "I think you're doing a good job for what it's worth. You're still trying. You still feel. Those aren't bad things. I think it means you're a real decent person."
Madelyn giggles a little at the description of being thrown at a planet, wiping her eyes with her palms. "You're great, Reno. Can I pretend you're my brother, too?" Because if this is what having a brother is like, having brothers is pretty great.”
Reno smiled a bit, because she started to smile a little. Pinching his eyes wiping emotion from them her words caught him off guard. He gave her the Loden Lopsided Grin(tm) and said "You know what it's like to have a sibling> It's feeling like you're all alone and someone remembers you just because. And no matter how far away or whatever is going on or how difficult it is? You matter." He bit his lip and said, "Max got boxed because of me ya know. Someone threatened me. Mom. He didn't even think twice. He just put everything on hold to make sure we were okay. I found out they were going to throw Max at the planet. He'd be all alone." He shrugged and said, "Took me two months to come up with a plan to sneak into the box. Forgot I was kinda born a felon. Soooo" He turned a deep read and gave her a snug admitting sometimes it IS entirely possible to overthink things. "So I went and stood outside and they took me. And I came here to find Max." He smiled to her and said "Siblings go to great lengths not to leave anyone behind. So if you want a brother? I can do that. Sides. Never known a sister before."