Work Text:
The smell of parchment and old papers floods her nose as she steps through the door of Compass Points library. It’s a familiar scent, something Ayda has smelled for centuries, and it never grows stale. The scent of words, of knowledge, painstakingly collected by her over her lives, all here in one building. She breathes deeply, letting it penetrate her soul, and she lets out a contented sigh. She’s home, though lately home has also been somewhere else; wherever her paramour might be. She’s alone right now, but in this moment the library is a great comfort for her, like a blanket made of delicate, aged paper that wraps her up in a tight hug. She returns to her study and cracks open the journal left on her desk and begins to write. Her quill scratches across paper made rough by the salty air, and even this is a familiar scent, relaxing and soothing.
“Today Fig, my paramour, wrote me a song about how I am her sun, moon, and stars, how her life revolves around mine now and our souls are intertwined in a cosmic dance. I understand this is a metaphor for her love for me, and it moved me greatly. I will now search through my books to research a suitable reply to her.”
She finishes writing and heads into her library to gather books for her studies, and after selecting about a dozen books, she spreads them out on a table and begins her research.