Copies...Copies...Copies (OPEN)

Celestine came walking from a nearby stack with a book in his hands, mumbling to himself, "Amazing people those Aztecs." He looked up from his book and closed it instantly, a smile plastered on his lips. After a While, his shoulders shook, and he shouted.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted as he started laughing. Oh it was the cutest thing, and with her just so adorable. She reminded him of one of those bloody fake vampires from that series, but on her, he didn't mind so much. "Oh my God...Angelique...you're...you're covered with glitter...like a little sparkly vampire!"

He imagined her blushing and puffing up in anger. Perhaps chastising him, but then, it would all be worth it. Oh the little things in life. Always the little things.

Angelica stepped fully out of the room and grinned. But it quickly faded, when she noticed him laughing at her.

Why was he laughing at her? A frown split her features, turning her from a cute, white haired pixie to a terrified child. And it wasn't even that he was laughing...it was just that sound. The thought of someone laughing at her...

In a flash of imaginary light, she wasn't in Ireland, far, far away from her parents. She was in Pennsylvania, at her school there. And All she could hear was laughing...people laughing at her, telling her what a freak she was. What a weirdo. All because of something that wasn't her fault.

They'd pointed and called her names. A mutant. And in truth, that's what she was. Sure, movies made it look so awesome, but in the early stages of it developing in her life, it had been a living hell. They had chased her after school, stuffed her into garbage cans, thrown things at her. Even the school nurse had laughed at her.

After only a moment, she sank to her knees. Crystal clear tears poured down her cheeks. A fallen child. Unwanted by her own mother. A monster in comparision with other children her age. She cried silently, the flyers forgotten.

She covered her face with her small hands and cried now, sobbing quietly. Why would they laugh at her like that? What had she done to warrant such a punishment?

He had thought she would laugh too. He had thought she would enjoy the reference. Most girls liked those books...and those bloody movies. Yet she didn't laugh. He didn't smile. Angelique had sunk to her knees and began to cry.

His heart ripped into two at the sight. He felt morose stronger than he had in the longest of times. He stopped laughing and rushed to her, sinking down to his knees as his knees scraped against the ground lightly with a slide. His arms wrapped protectively around her and he slid his hands down her back, trying to calm down.

"Shhh. Shhh. It's alright. I didn't mean to hurt you. I thought you looked like one of those sparkly vampires lots of teenage girls like. Maybe...if I cover myself with glitter and sparkle a bit, will you smile again, Angelique? My little glittery sweet....I mean...well it was cute and all."

It was like she was trapped in that frightening reality where people were so cruel. Her dreams were still haunted most of the time by the horrible things those children had called her. And she had just been a kid, going about her day like she had done every day.

And then suddenly the nightmare was shattered. Broken pieces of it fell around her, and suddenly she was back in the library and suddenly, someone was holding her. She swallowed hard and moved her hands. She wrapped her arms around whoever had grabbed hold of her, like they were her lifeline and she held on tight. She buried her face aganist a shoulder and focused on breathing evenly.

She hadn't felt panic like that since...well since Jarrik had saved her in the woods one day after school.

With her heart-rate slowly returning to normal, she came back to reality. Who had a hold of her? Mr. Ravnos? Her face was red, but quickly moving back to her normal complexion and she worked hard now, on stopping her stuttered breathing. Mother Earth, why did this have to happen in front of him? She swallowed hard and loosened her grip on him.

"Mr. Ravnos...I'm so sorry." she whispered, inhaling deeply. What an intoxicating scent he had. Red covered her cheeks again. Oh Gaia...he was really close to her.

"Yes...I want glitter all over you." she said with a smile, slowly pulling away from him. She was still a little shaky, but having someone close to hold onto, to make her feel safe. Someone who could keep her from harm.

Shh...don't apologize. It's alright. I promise. It's alright now. The monsters are gone." Well whatever monsters she imagined. They were gone. "I'll keep them away...I promise."

Celestine helped her regain her bearings. He let her pull away as she started to fully get a hold of herself. He didn't know what demons she still had, but he knew he had his own demons. They all did. It was in their human nature to have them.

He gave her his calm, cheery smile, and as if the idea just came upon him. As if she hadn't just broken down in front of him. "Hey...would you like some tea?"

Angelica shifted a little, and leaned into him a little more. "Yes, tea would be nice." she shivered from being so close. The warmth radiating out of him, the way he'd run to her...it was just...a lot to take in.

She gave him a smile though. Had he called her his glittery, sweet something? The whole scene felt like a blur now. Her head ached a little now, from the sudden onslaught of tears. And the whole situation made her want to cry again, but not because she was sad. It made her strangely happy that Mr. Ravnos had been the one to chase the demons away.

She gave him an apologetic smile. "What can I do for you? You...always seem to be there to catch me when I fall." she told him. Her crystal eyes shined, as she looked up at him, with admiration. She didn't feel good enough to even be in the same room with him, and surely she wasn't. But he still wanted her here, if he didn't, then he wouldn't have offered her tea, right?

She pulled her hands away from him, blushing as she realized that she was still holding onto him. "Sorry.." she muttered and quickly looked away, and moved to stand up.

Celestine gave Angelique a small rub on the back before helping her stand with him to lead her to his office, though he let her hold onto him realizing her need for comfort until she pulled away. He looked to her with a supportive smile. "Hmm. Well you could choose a cup." He said as he walked toward the center of the library and toward the edge wall leading to his personal office space. "And maybe...we can discuss what just happened."

He didn't know what else to say. Not out here. Not where others had the potential to hear. Celestine felt a strong tightening in his chest and suddenly brought her closer as he walked with Angelique. Another strong desire. Become her shield. Become her sword. He had trained well enough, yet somewhere in him he knew in the end he didn't want that. He didn't want to stand in front of her, but at her side. If only he could understand those damned human feelings of his.

[Exiting thread and heading to the office with Lillith unless stopped]

She let him help her stand, her crystal eyes watched him carefully. She wanted to think that she knew him well...knew enough about him to confide in him. Did she know that she could trust him? Yes. That was a fairly simple question...

But the past...it was too...painful. It was too hard to reach inside there and explain anything and to tell him about Nana. The thought of sharing something like that with nearly made her gasp. Not that she didn't want to tell him, but she wasn't ready to talk about it. What could she say to him to make him understand her relationship with the old woman?

She gave him a smile though, and followed along with him, feeling uncomfortable comfortable in his grasp like that. She felt like she was at odds with herself. She shouldn't be here with him, like this, but she didn't want to go back to her room and cry in the stale lonliness there.

She chewed on her lip though, blinking when he seemed to cling to her for a moment. It was like he couldn't make up his mind. Did he want to let her go or did he want to pull her closer...