Welcome to Gaia! ::

It seemed that the library would always be a gather place of sorts, especially in the winter months. It amused Amelia to compare the mental image to that of a strict matron silencing children who spoke with excitement, their volume growing with every passing a second. Rather unlike that, this place felt like home.

A glance at the computers along one wall revealed that all were taken, and no familiar faces could be seen among the browsers. Rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the stiffness that gathered there from stress, she decided to look into some of the non-fiction to pass the time until a computer could become available. In a library this large, she might be able to find something more helpful away from a backlit screen, or at least let her eyes have a rest.

She found herself in a section dedicated to mythology and religion, but her mind didn't register the title of the first book she picked up, just that there was weight in her hands and the familiar rust of a page turning as she tried to stay awake. The morning had been a long one, but the night was much longer. As pleasant as the dream she'd been having was towards the end, it still left her feeling drained in the morning. What good was hope if you were too worn out to bother?

Jarred out of her dazed, Amelia blinked and quickly took a step back as she felt something collide against her. A someone, as it turned out. Shaking her head, the brunette forced the daze aside and reached out to help the young man with the book he had dropped, but he was quicker than she, and possibly more awake.

“No, it's my fault.” She watched him quickly retreat, as if he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Briefly, she considered waving her hand in front of her face or over her head to be sure she didn't have any extra appendages growing, but ultimately decided against it. She was in public, after all, and there was something decidedly off about the young man.

“At least he was nice about it.” The spirit's voice echoed in her mind, as serene and warm as ever, but there was a disgruntled undercurrent that piqued Amelia's interest and cast the young man another glance over her shoulder.

Turning her attention back to the shelves, Amelia eventually selected a couple possibilities from the mythology section, favoring some of those based on ancient myths. Mostly, she just went by what seemed right, especially with the quiet sigh that would occasionally echo in the back of her mind depending on where she looked. Amelia knew it to be the same voice that spoke but once in her dreams, and yet she trusted it a great deal more than she trusted a lot of people in this world. Perhaps it was the nightly “meetings” they had, even if she didn't know a thing about the woman. At least, she assumed it was female by the sound. Granny had only mentioned it was a spirit – an Oneiroi.

The tables were getting crowded now, too. Many strangers were grouping at the ends of some tables, leaving the middle empty to indicate they were separate groups. It seemed today was a day for sharing, even though Amelia would rather not.

As it turned out, there was some empty space near the young man she had just bumped into. Shrugging off their initial meeting, she picked a spot a couple of seats down from him, giving them both space as she offered a polite smile.

“Is this seat taken?”

“Such an interesting book. I wonder what's inside?” Again the spirit's voice, more talkative now than it had every been. For now, Amelia cast it aside as curiosity, as she didn't want to be seen talking to herself on top of everything else.

Amelia let Abel struggle through his sentences with a polite smile and nod of thanks when he stopped. She was fairly certain she understood what he was trying to say, but one could never be certain. In truth, his bumping into her wasn't something worrisome, or even a mark in her day. There were people far more crass and unkind in the world, the kind that his apologizing for the small crash was as if someone decided to treat her like a queen.

“Thank you.” She took a seat and set the rest of her books to one side, pulling out the first of a series of ancient mythology throughout the world that applied to dreams. She could sense a strange curiosity in the room, but otherwise there was nothing to distract her from her reading other than the occassional glance to see if any computers were available yet.

It was with one of these glances that Amelia saw the contents of the book her companion was reading, a red flag that immediately caught her attention as Gravrill would catch the sound of a soft chuckle.

“A school project, or personal?” Blinking, the brunette stopped and immediately closed her mouth in silence after her question. She had never been one to pry into other people's business before, so why now? She should just leave him in peace and move on, but she was also intrigued to the possibility of him finding something new.

A slight smile quirked Amelia's lips as Abel looked at her with a mix of surprise and suspicion, suddenly aware of how she must look when she was around others and fielding questions. She nodded at his response, looking back down to her book without a word, mulling over the fact that the spirit she had grown accustomed to was chuckling for some unknown reason.

“Oh, I don't know. I think it's rather nice here.” Again the chuckle, but shorter this time, followed by the sense of a smile as the familiar voice filled her head. When Amelia glanced up, there still wasn't any sign of what could be causing the disembodied voice such amusement, and her curiosity was getting the better of her.

“I see,” she mused, turning her attention back to Abel. “I've heard there's a woman downtown who knows quite a bit about dreams. Perhaps you and your friend could talk to her? Sometimes you find better information from people than books.”

Gravrill's hiss and garbled displeasure was met with silence, though it came across as curious instead of shocked or repentant. The spirit had never come across another of her kind, Nightmare or otherwise, and to see him fall apart so was not what she would have expected, especially the way he had been carrying on after the Dreamers had bumped into one another.

Amelia was paying attention to the man sitting across from her more than the bizarre exchange going on between the spirit of her dreams and who knew what else. She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek at the man's shocked expression, raising a brow as he fell into the conversation with relative ease.

“Oh? I suppose that's entirely possible. There are a bunch of children who speak of her. I overheard a couple of them on my way here.” She shrugged one shoulder, a dismissive gesture that didn't mimic the interest in her voice. “But then, perhaps that is why she is rumored, if she deals with special cases? I've never met anyone with such a case, my self.” Amelia's hazel gaze held his for a moment as she rested her chin in her hand, the book forgotten.

“That is, of course, if we are speaking of the same thing.”

Gravrill would sense of amusement as the spirit waited to see if he was done speaking. “I have a sense of many things, including humor. I see no reason to go anywhere; we are perfectly fine as we are here.” There was a moment's pause as the spirit contemplated Gravrill's actions. Though she had never met another spirit or poltergeist in the waking world, it was silly to assume she was the only one out in the world. After all, look how many existed within the safety of another's dream.

“Why does it surprise you so much that you'd meet another like us?”

Ignoring the fact that her dream companion was actually talking, Amelia was more intent on the young man across from her. Their conversation was like a chess match, only there were fewer moves to predict ahead of your own because human logic was far from unbreakable.

Amelia nodded but refrained from speaking as Abel alluded to Granny, the old woman downtown who seemed to know more about dreams and nightmares than any number of books combined. It was strange to think that not even she could help others with her knowledge – not completely. She could advise and try to help, but it seemed both negative and positive spirits were here to stay.

Her gaze immediately went to the dream catcher that the young man pulled out, a knowing smile on her face that would warn Abel he had trumped himself in their game of denial. “I hear she is very popular with it comes to situations with dreams and nightmares,” she agreed, raising a brow at Abel and feeling more confident in her suspicions.

“But then, I'm sure you know that quite well.”

This was getting better and better. In the end, Nu'eth could only laugh, a full sound that resonated for both Gravrill and Amelia, who twitched a little as he broke eye contact with Abel to look around the library. The human's posture was still and rod-straight, her toffee brown eyes wide as she tried to place what could

“I could think of several poisons that wouldn't do you any good since we're in the waking world. It's nice to know you care about your appearance so meticulously. I could always make my presence more obvious, if you like,” the spirit mused. As if to prove her point, the sensation around Amelia shifted slightly, giving her a brighter aura and sense of hope that made the woman's own skin crawl. Rather than comment, Amelia raised a brow at Abel's remark as her companion proved her point to the poltergeist.

“Test subject?” Both of Amelia's brows rose as Abel presented his “theory,” then shook her head. “I can't say I agree; I wouldn't call it that myself. Experiments tend to go awry.” She wondered if Granny ever made larger catchers for spirits. She'd have to go see the old woman again and find out. As it was, Abel was beginning to look at her like a half drunken cat who coudln't make up its mind if the canary was worth getting up for just yet.

“But then, so do many things in life. Perhaps one friend could pass along a message to the other if they find something worth noting, be it advice or a book of interest.”