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

Bookworm

[aimsforknees]

Considering it's his own home and he has very little better to do, John is aware that Cassandra has been wandering around the library. He gives her space to explore, lets her have her peace. But after a little while he's fairly confident she ends up on the fifth floor, where he recommended the armchair. He wants to check on her, see if she needs anything. He also has an idea she might like.

He's been moving around the library silently up until now, a skill he's been using to spy on the people who come and go. But she talked about going unnoticed, and there was a quality to her that makes it seem like he shouldn't sneak up on her, so John lets himself make noise as he climbs the stairs to the fifth floor. Bear, the dog, is with him, but John gives the hand motion for him to stay by the top of the stairs. Maybe Cassandra doesn't like dogs.

John makes sure to get in Cassandra's line of sight from a distance, still making audible footsteps so he doesn't surprise her. When she's in sight he stops approaching and gives a small smile. "I hope the library has lived up to your expectations."

[littlestderolo]

There’s something… deliberate about the noise he makes, the footsteps that announce John’s approach, and Cassandra files it carefully away with all the other little tidbits she’s observed about the man. It earns him yet another point in his favour (as does the way he gets into her line of sight as he approaches her; that has to be purposeful too, she thinks), even if she’s hesitant to admit it. Trust is a dangerous thing.

The smile she gives him, though, is bright and genuine. And despite herself, despite how careful she is, she can’t help but light up a little. “Oh, very much so,” she tells him, “there’s an entire different world’s history and fiction available to me, here.” And she loves it.

[aimsforknees]

It's good that the library is a place she's enjoying, and she clearly is. It hasn't been used as an actual library in years and when it arrived here he and Harold discussed its purpose before deciding it should be open to the public. John has since put in the time and effort to make it presentable, to fix it up for people like Cassandra to use. Seeing her smile with her pile of books makes it worthwhile.

"Are history and fiction your favorite topics?" He's more of a sciences guy himself, but he'll read most anything.