December Library Catch-All [ OPEN ]

[aimsforknees]

WHO: John, Harold, and anyone who might find themselves at the Library
WHEN: December
WHERE: The Library!
WHAT: The Library is here and open to all! Come borrow books, find a comfy chair to relax in, or snoop around.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Will be added as they come up

The Library is a five-story neoclassical building of terra cotta, brick, and stone. And the inside is, in fact, a library! And rather clean and organized too. There's no dust, no muddy footprints (apart from your own), and all the shelves are organized by Dewey Decimal, subject, and author. All literature is something you might find in a 2010 New York City library: various forms of fiction, children's and teens' sections, history, science, cooking, gardening, the list goes on. There's even small sections of audiobooks on compact disks and of DVDs ranging from old classics to history shows. The first floor has a reading/study room, a comfortable space with deep armchairs and tables with chairs; the fifth floor has some smaller tables clustered under a skylight. Part of the second floor is abruptly closed off by a door with a biometric scanner that denies entry to anyone who isn't John Reese or Harold Finch; the walls surrounding this section are soundproofed, so even a keen listener won't hear anything from inside. Otherwise, it's a perfectly normal library!

Comments

[messenger]

Would it help you to think that?

[ sure they are. by echo. by whoever echo answers to. he's been looking for answers all over, because he felt the siren call to be useful. but it's beginning to feel stupid and futile. a matryoshka of tests within tests and all for what? his god, his father, has decided to sit back and watch the fireworks show.

what if this is sport?

what if it doesn't mean anything? ]

[fortitudosalutis]

It's not about me. God always tests us.

[ To see if they're worthy. To see if they'll survive, if their endurance will stand. He's not certain what this one is meant for, only that there must be one. There always is. ]

Only question is whether you're still worthy.

[messenger]

[ that's what you tell yourselves, he thinks, but that isn't what he says. it would be unfair to divest this man of his faith.

he turns another page. ]

It is about you, though. He gave you free will so that you might choose.

[fortitudosalutis]

These things happen.

[ That's a given. Some of it can't be controlled. ]

Only thing we've got is how we react. That's the test.

[messenger]

[ only angels don't have free will, so what would be the point of testing them? himself excluded, naturally, which might prove the point. but he has to wonder how much difference it could make. ]

Of course.

[ things have been happening for a very long time, and they'll continue to happen long after they're gone. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

You're an odd motherfucker, aren't you?

[ Maybe he really is an angel. Wouldn't that be something? Distantly, Carver wonders how he would've reacted to this back home. In the usual ways, he imagines. It would depend on what the commander wanted, and here there's no commander at all. No new orders. Only an understanding of the mission that came before, and the duty that still stands to him. ]

[messenger]

I don't make a habit of engaging in intercourse with mothers, but if you're calling me queer, then I've heard it before.

[ he closes the king james bible and slips it back onto the shelf. ]

I'd say that's a matter of perspective. If I seem strange, it's because you've never talked to an angel before.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Literal too, seems like. Carver doesn’t move any closer, doesn’t draw a blade. He just watches, wondering how this is all going to play out. If they’re pretending at civilized or just circling each other before the inevitable. It’s hard to know these days. ]

I’ve seen God in the corners, in the blood. Never an angel, though.

[messenger]

He is in all things.

[ even if he's a bastard and a son of a bitch besides. that just isn't up for debate.

castiel tips his head forward. ]

We weren't made to be witnessed, but to bear witness. We're agents of war and fate — and I'm sure you've seen plenty of both.

[ just a feeling he gets. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

That He is, [ Carver agrees. It follows him as a comfort and a warning both. God is not gentle. ] I have. Can’t say where this place falls just yet, but give it time.

[messenger]

What do you think of Etraya?

[ he's curious. humor him.

he moves past carver toward another book that catches his eye, brushing close enough to be uncomfortable for anyone who has any sense of personal space. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

It’s a test.

[ Just like this is. Carver doesn’t stiffen or flinch, but the other man—the angel—steps too close and then there’s a blade in Carver’s hand. He doesn’t use it but he has it, just in case. This is how things go. ]

I don’t mean to fail.

[messenger]

[ he supposes he's already said that, so perhaps there's no need to ask. it is a test. he can't argue. but maybe it isn't the kind of test this man thinks.

but the knife in his hand has his attention now. his back was to carver while he was perusing, but he turns so that he's facing him at an angle before he addresses him again. ]

If you're going to stab me, you might as well get it over with.

[ it seems like he's wanted to since the moment they met. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

Mhmm. Is it that kind of moment?

[ It might be. Things get fuzzy sometimes. ]

[messenger]

You've been thinking about it.

[ he doesn't need to be able to read minds to know that. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

Sure, [ Carver agrees, because he has, and there's really no point in playing coy about that. ] Man's gotta wonder. And you know how people are.

[ There are threats in every corner. ]

[messenger]

[ does he know how people are? his gaze lingers for a few more moments, and then he returns to combing the aisle. he's still looking for that winchester gospel. ]

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Hmm. Not much of a reaction. But that's okay, Carver thinks. He knows a piece of this man now. This angel. And who's to say where that'll lead?

He shrugs, spreading his hands out. ]

I'll be seeing you, angel. Good luck finding your gospel.

[ It's a closed system. They'll collide again. ]