Chapter Text
The library was silent. Probably because it was almost midnight. Darkness flooded through the windows where sunlight usually streamed, warded off only by the dim fluorescents, half of which were turned off to save power for the lack of people.
The campus library was technically open 24/7, but it was usually only used as such around finals season and exam times. Grian savoured the quiet, the peaceful silence just a few days before semester started, but he stifled a yawn and decided it was probably time to get to bed.
He blinked at the glare of his phone screen, his text exchange with his cousin swimming in his vision as he yawned. The letters started swapping places on the screen, and he decided it was definitely time for sleep.
He texted her goodnight, chuckling slightly at her screeching response when he said he had to sleep because he had classes tomorrow—why are you up so late texting me if you need to teach tomorrow? GO TO BED YOU DOLT—and pocketed his phone after exchanging goodnights.
His footsteps were the only sounds in the library, which was regularly quiet but felt eerie with nobody around. The carpet silenced his feet into muffled thuds, and as he walked towards the exit with his bag over his shoulder he blinked the exhaustion out of his eyes, and told himself to wait until he got home.
The day had been nice if uneventful, and he liked talking to his new coworker, Scar, again. The two were getting to know each other, and even if Grian was still suspicious something about him wasn’t fully right and he looked too similar to the man he’d met at the bar, he never mentioned it more than what had been their first reaction. Scar was different from the man at the bar, too. Grian’s coworker was nice, kind, charming, hard-working, honest, and a lovely person in general. He also had a mischievous side that matched Grian’s reputation for pulling pranks, and Grian saw a good friend in their future together, as well as a partner in crime.
They already had a bet going about whose classes would have a higher grade average, even before said classes had started. When Grian had suggested it, Scar’s eyes had lit up like an emerald shining in the sun and he eagerly agreed like it was an order. Grian was glad to see they shared a similar chaotic mindset. He only hoped their other coworkers wouldn’t get too mad with the likelihood of the unexpected casualties from their pranks.
A glint of gold caught his eye as he walked to the exit, and Grian paused at seeing an old book. He stopped walking and took a step closer, looking at it curiously. The old, worn, faded book contrasted to the clean, modern feel of the library.
Grian took a step closer, not really sure why it’d caught his eye, and it took a minute to read the title in faded gold lettering. The Truth Of Fae, Elves, and Other Fairies.
It made something tingle faintly in the back of his brain, yet he couldn’t place exactly why. He leaned a little closer, bringing one hand up to gently touch it, feeling the soft, faded leather under his fingertips.
“Would you like it?” A croaky voice from behind made him jump, and Grian whirled around with his heart in his throat to see an old woman smiling sweetly at him, face covered in wrinkles and brown eyes sparkling.
He hadn’t heard her approach—at all. The library was completely silent, so Grian would have thought he’d have at least sensed her presence, but apparently not. It was a little creepy, but he forced his heartbeat to settle as he glanced down at a badge on her chest that marked her as a librarian. The one he’d met when he entered several hours ago must have clocked out, because he didn’t recognise this woman.
It took him a moment to process the fact she had spoken to him, and another to actually comprehend her words.
“Would I—sorry?” he asked. He was still a little surprised she had been so silent in sneaking up on him, though she probably didn’t have any malicious intent.
Probably.
“That book,” she elaborated, pointing to the faded, ancient volume on the shelf. It still looked very out of place against all the cleaner, more modern books. “I see it’s caught your eye. It was only donated recently, you know. Figured it would probably be a good use for those studying history and fables and whatnot. But you can borrow it for a bit, if you’d like. I’m sure nobody will be wanting it for several weeks at least, and besides, you seem like the sort who likes having a physical book with you. Some professors are all digital and whatnot, but I’d peg you as one of the ones who still cares for physical media. Besides, I’ve read about fairies and such as they were in true folklore… it’s an interesting topic.”
“Yeah… I suppose,” Grian said, looking at its faded, peeling gold lettering and wondering why he had the urge to flick through it. “Maybe…”
“Of course, you don’t have to listen to me,” the old librarian said, waving her hand and shaking her head. “Just some rambles about ancient literature and folk tales. I find it all very interesting, but that’s just me. After all, you don’t have to listen to an old lady’s discussions of fairy tales to the only person around at night. It’s fine if you don’t.”
And for some reason Grian couldn’t place, maybe the warmth in her croaky voice, maybe the sleep deprivation that tugged at his eyelids, maybe the driving force inside him that made him incapable of staying still and always needing something to do in the background, but he nodded and took it off the shelf.
It was heavy, but a good, comfortable kind of weight, and he told her, “I’ll borrow it. Why not?”
Her smile widened to a gap-toothed grin. She bustled over to the counter to help him borrow it, and while it wasn’t necessary considering there were self checkouts, he enjoyed the company.
“Hope you like it, and bring it back in two weeks,” she told him, pressing it into his hands. The worn leather of the hardback was soft against his skin, and Grian smiled.
“Thank you. I’m sure I will,” he replied with a nod, then turned and went out the library doors.
He opened the book absent-mindedly, and skimmed through an introduction with too many long words than he could comprehend in his tired state. He did vaguely see something about how all magical creatures were known as fairies, and that fairies was a broad term for any magical creature such as elves, merfolk, vampires, and et cetera, but how fae were the most common of all fairies, and… well, he didn’t really process a lot of it. He was pretty tired, okay?
His eye did catch on the part about fae, though, and he looked at it a little as he passed under a light and was able to read what it said. From the skim of the introduction, he saw that fae were apparently mischievous tricksters that could range from cheeky and playful to openly malevolent, but they were frequently charming, smooth-talking, and charismatic enough creatures that thrived in mischief and pranks.
In his very exhausted, murky, sleep-deprived, muddled brain state, Grian smiled wearily to himself at the introductory description. That kinda sounds like Scar.