fandomtownies | The Bookbelt

She was finished!

Okay, like, she'd ignored all considerations of sleeping last night and had pushed through to finish at like three in the morning which was technically not Wednesday but, like, Dad and Prompto visiting had thrown her schedule off a bit and then there'd been the whole thing where Summer just kept… disappearing?

Sure, Nina was willing to look after Pancakes (though she thought it was more Pancakes looking after her) but given that she and Summer had been basically temporary roommates it had been a… weird feeling worrying if she was to blame for her disappearing… even though Summer had seemed to have no problems with Nina being there…

Well, either way, she wasn't there now. If it was her fault, Nina was finished with her work until Saturday so, like…

Whatever, right?

Okay, it wasn't going to stop her from being concerned (because if she was causing people problems she, like, liked to know about them at the very least…) but at the very least today all she had on the docket was working at her shop (which looked a lot like just curling up in one of the reading chairs with a book and her diary today) and just… chilling?

Sure, that just meant she was working on fewer things at once than other people did but, like, that was basically the same thing, right?

And, okay, she was also texting Iggy.

The Bookbelt is Open!

[And OCD-free today!]

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Unlike the last couple of days, Octavia had not trekked to Baltimore today. Between breakfast on the Rouge and wanting to hit Luke's for lunch, there just wasn't enough time.

But that left her with time to spend before lunch. And since she'd gotten her book shopping for the camping trip last month done on the mainland, she hadn't actually been to the store on the island before.

She slipped in quietly, for a little look around.

The shop was all warm woods, comfortable chairs, and lighting carefully done to be just right for reading but not any brighter.

Despite the time of year, fresh flowers were scattered in vases about the store.

Nina heard the door open and, when there was no immediate request for help, she settled back in her chair with her book. There was a bell on the counter, with a sign people could ring it for assistance--but sometimes people just liked to wander and look and, if they did that, they'd eventually find her anyway, in the reading corner by the window.

It was faintly reminiscent of the inside of Duke's ship. It would've been stretch to say Octavia felt at home, but... She didn't mind the chance to explore on her own for a moment.

(To pretend she was somewhere she belonged.)

Of course, yeah, eventually she came upon the reading corner. And Nina, not that she remembered that was who the girl was. They'd met face to face once, but that was about eight years ago by Octavia's count.

Probably wouldn't have made much of a difference in the blankness of her expression, anyway. "You work here?"

Nina beamed up at the woman.

"Sure do!!!!!!!!!" she said brightly, closing her book. "Did you need any help?????????"

... Well that definitely caused a faint eyebrow raise and prodded at some long-lost memory in Octavia's brain, though not enough for any actual recognition.

She hadn't really bothered with radio much since her return, beyond bribing squirrels to leave her alone.

"Yeah," she said slowly. "Do you have books on Greek mythology?"

"You bet!!!!!!!" she said promptly, bouncing up out of her seat. "Are you looking, like, for stories????? Philosophy???????? Modern interpretations on the myths???????? Art history?????????"

"... Any of those."

Yeah, Octavia really hadn't expected there to be that much variety. In her defense, there hadn't been a lot of books on anything where she'd grown up.

"Maybe an anthology then," she mused. "I'm Nina, by the way-------here, Greek stuff is right this way......"

It was only once her back was turned to head down the aisle to lead the woman to her goal that Nina grinned at 'any of those'. Oh no, that was cute.

Good call with the grinning.

Octavia followed her. "I'm Octavia."

Yes, it was a pretty Roman name for someone asking for the Greeks. And not exactly unrelated.

Which she noticed but, like, she had another question first.

"I don't suppose you're the eighth child of your family????????" Nina wondered curiously.

"No," Octavia rasped. "Not when the island's not forcing me to be a mermaid, anyway."

That she was the second child was a very big deal, but thankfully - kind of - that was far from the freshest of her traumas these days.

"Ohmygosh," Nina said, giggling. "Sorry, but like, ohmygosh, being a mermaid sounds like such a strange thing to have spent a weekend being, you know????????"

As they turned the corner of the aisle, she added, "Did you know your name's originally Roman????? Mostly mine just means 'grace'!!!!!!!!"

But it could also mean fire.

"Was named after an emperor's sister," Octavia replied, very mildly. (In contrast with Nina, she sounded extra flat to her own ears.) "So yeah, I know."

"That's, like, super cool," she enthused. "Have you ever looked her up???????? Or what the emperor did of note?????????"

Because now Nina wanted to do that.

"Aaaaand, here's the Greek section!!!!!!!!!!!" she added, stopping beside a shelf of books. "It, like, continues down to the left!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you want me to help look for anything??????? Or did you want to take your time???????"

Yes, Octavia knew far too much about Augustus and both his sisters called Octavia, even if she didn't feel the need to say so right now. It was part of the Blakes' proficiency in building myths around themselves.

But her eyes had already turned towards the shelf, and something in her face had softened some.

The rasp suddenly had a faintly faraway quality, too, as her gaze slid along the rows of books. "I think I can manage by myself."

Nina smiled, knowing that look.

"Of course," she said, stepping back. "I'll be at the front counter if you need me!!!!!!!"

She wouldn't return to the reading nook until after Octavia had left.

Octavia gave her a vague nod of thanks, without looking over.

Already kind of lost in this shelf, honestly.

The Bookbelt | Thursday

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