Her heart felt as though it would escape the cage of her chest. She had scavenged libraries before, but none would compare to this. Books stacked the shelves all the way to the ceiling and then there was that ever familiar musk that aged books had. Different shapes and sizes, thick or thin, paperback and hardback. It took every ounce of Ekosha’s being to not squeal like an excited child exposed to a store filled with sweets. Anything about… a vast desert? Bright blue eyes blinked as they roved over the shelf before her, index tracing over each book with particular care. “Hmmm. Not here.” she answered in earnest. “Though a rather oddly specific query.” Freckled featured tugged with a playful grin. She glanced around searching for something, anything she could use to reach further up the shelves. Ah-hah! there was a ladder to which she did not hesitated to retrieve as it slid along a track that seemed to move from side to side. “Huh, fancy.” She mumbled under her breath. Adjusting her dress, she then reached for one of the vertical steps. “Thinking of traveling to the sands?” There was a book that caught her attention regarding medicine and peculiar herbs. Maybe there was something in there that could lead her to some sense of conclusion for her Black Market friend. Her eyes rolled slightly noting that such a statement friend was used quite loosely. An acquaintance or a regular patient, perhaps that left her constant scratching her head for more answers in regards to his condition. “Many claim its just a wasteland of sand but,” Ekosha started to climb the ladder rather clumsily, but somehow still managing. “The heat can be a bit much, but the terrain is quite beautiful in its own way if you ask me.”

Jahi

At her gentle refusal, she would only offer a brief nod. She hadn’t held high hopes for there to be a book on her homeland, but there was still a quenched spark left behind in the kiln. She wanted so desperately to know of what had befallen her people in the lapse in her memoirs, something she couldn’t just find for herself by looking back. Definitely not easily, at least. At the observation of her interest, she would flush lightly, her stare averting downwards as she was at a slight loss for words. She couldn’t tell another that was from whence she came without giving away that she was not the true Beleveron daughter. It seemed her ‘parents’ had thought of much and more when it had come to her public appearance. Her accent was passed off as a stammer, one they were ‘trying to correct from her illness’ while their true blood lay in a bed suffering in what she could only assume was solitude. Though as the woman made her own guess as to her motives, she would latch onto the idea with an exuberant nod. ”My family went there once when… I was younger. It was beautiful so I w-wanted to go again. I cannot remember the name, though.” An admittance she was loathe to make. Something seemed to catch her company’s attention, and it allowed her the time she needed to quietly compose and reconstruct herself. She paced the well lit, albeit not glaring illumination, her stare scanning the various titles and other works that lined the shelves. It seemed rather well maintained, only a very thin veneer of dust lingering on tomes that had obviously not seen use in what she would only assume to be years. Her attention finally lingered upon the delicate fabrication of a figurine. A tiny bone sculpture that seemed to depict the anatomy of a dragon, likely scaled down to a size that would easily rest upon the breadth of her palm. Her fingertips would gingerly run over the sharp talons of the outstretched toes before the vocals would draw her focus again. Yes, she was sure that was the impression that many here would have. ”There’s a beauty there th-that would go unnoticed.” Came the slight objection before she could truly help to stop herself. ”Both in the dunes and in the oasis they hide.” Or perhaps the better word would have been hid, since what straggling remnants of her most recent memories suggested that the sanctuary had been razed to the ground by fire. ”It is a silent, merciless killer. M-many here would not last in the desert.” There was a slight simper that accompanied the words, one that was not cruel, but also lacked benign gentleness as well. ”You seem to know more than most do… Have you b-been there recently?” she would propose the query, perhaps one she would have better luck with than the prior. An even better chance to learn of the current state.

Jahi

Delicate fingers traced over the spines that protruded from the shelves. Each unique in shape and title. At the same time, she listened as the bride shared a brief inkling of her own experiences which was enough for her to turn an ear of interest. Her family of wealth somehow managed to travel those impish dunes of ever shifting sands and have the will and endurance to return to the comforts of their fortunes. It was beautiful so I w-wanted to go again. I cannot remember the name, though. Freckled features stretched with a promised smile. “I think if you set your mind to it, anything is possible.” She assured. There was nothing that caught her attention on the first half of the shelves, so the practitioner climbed a few more steps while they shared their muses of golden sands, both which they seemed to agree on its unnoticed beauty. It is a silent, merciless killer. M-many here would not last in the desert. Ekosha couldn’t help but chuckle in added agreement. “They’d go mad before the sun set.” She jested ruefully. You seem to know more than most do… Have you b-been there recently? Tilting a book slightly to provide a better view before sliding it back in place, Eko shifted her weight in a careful manner to return her attention to the maiden down below. “In passing upon my return.” She answered modestly. “I like to look for ancient artifacts to understand history a little better more so for of the fun and thrill of it.” Though she realized it may have sounded a little maddening now that she spoke it aloud. “T-that is if I am not running my clinic.” she quickly added. “I, ah, I’m a physician too—which has its own perks too but nothing beats a good adventure every now and then, right?”

Jahi