He maintained his otherwise contempt expression until Symbri ran ahead into the library, after which his eyes fell to the floor in disappointment. If Symbri's silence the whole way here hadn't been enough to convince him that she was mad, he'd be dense. No way was she sneaking that frown past him either, no matter how subtle she'd tried it. By the time she'd turned back around, he re-assumed his patient smile, "I know, I know." he spoke, calm and collected - waving off any bitterness she'd display.
"If that's what you want..." he continued before following after the child. The more he thought about it, the weirder the thought of Kylar having beef with a child was, she'd apparently attacked him, but he couldn't wrap his head around how a little thing like Symbri would be of any bother to a Lothar. Especially Kylar of all people, but she'd somehow reduced the man to tears. Perhaps it is for the best that him and Kylar leave this island behind, but they needed a destination before setting off, that was his reason for going to the library. Symbri had just been kind enough to go with him. With hesitation, he approached the desk attendant - a female Eidisi that wore glasses. "Excu-" "Shhh!" hissed the girl without lifting her eyes from a book at her desk. With wide eyes, Atashi looked to the girl in shock before trying again "I just wa-" "Shhhhhh!" she shrieked once more.
Atashi sighed audibly "Shh." she said once more. With a roll of his eyes, AtashI whispered "Where can I find some Field Craft manuals, miss? Also, an encyclopaedia of medicinal herbs and some maps maybe?". The woman looked up at him over the brim of her glasses and spoke "Oh! An Ithecal! I haven't seen one of your kind in Seasons!" with a very much 'outdoor voice', earning a fed-up sigh from Atashi. "The shelves are sorted alphabetically, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding the books you need, you can find some maps in much the same way at 'M'." she spoke, returning to her book. "Thank-" "Shh." she hissed again, looking over her glasses briefly to give Atashi a playful wink, before returning to her book. "Thank you." he whispered, grinning to the sly librarian.
Finally, he set off to the aisles of shelves that awaited him and Symbri "So... camping and hunting huh? Any particular reason?" he asked as he passed by the aisles, labelled by letters of the common alphabet. "I'll be back in a trill." he spoke before setting off down the columns and columns of knowledge. He shortly arrived at aisle 'F', at which point he took a sharp turn, swinging the weight of his upper-body to drag his tail in time. With his eyes glued to the shelves, he browsed. Scanning along the length of the shelf, he eventually found a book with a title that might interest Symbri, 'Fieldcraft - An Adventurer's Guide'. He promptly plucked it from it's resting spot and carried it with him as he went back to the main aisle and slithered for the aisle labelled 'H'. There, he found a book titled 'Hunting and preparing meat on the go', it appeared to be a manual of sorts. Flicking through the pages, he saw several illustrations for skinning, carving and cooking animals, as well as tracks, traps and hazardous, non-edible animals.
Piling that book on the other, he made his way through the Library toward aisle 'M'. Granted, it was two aisles over, but the two giant books under his arm made it feel so much further away. Maps were set in scrolls with their own alphabet, lined along the bottom shelf - he'd come back to that, for now he'd browse medicinal herbs and figure out where they grow. Scanning the shelf once more, he found a tome labelled 'Medicine and you! - A guide to using and finding the panacea for your patients.' Some sort of healer book by the sounds of things. 'Yawwwn, books are boring. You should just put it away.' spoke the voice, it was probably for the best that he got back to Symbri.
He made an about turn, facing the way he'd came. Though something was different, a man was sat against the shelf, hanging his head - he appeared limp. Air forced its way into his lungs as he gasped with sock, closing his eyes and looking away. 'Please no, not him. Anything but him.' he thought to himself before opening his eyes slowly and looking back to the shelf - nothing was there. 'Turn around, I dare you.' Atashi slithered forward, ignoring the voice and maintaining a forward view. 'Jeez, no need to be such a wuss about it.' laughed the voice shortly before he arrived wherever Symbri was sat.
"Sorry I took so long, Sym. I got a little distracted." he smiled innocently to the human girl. "Here, I found some books you might like, they come under the criteria you wanted." he spoke, handing over the tomes to the younger female before coiling himself next to her and sitting on his tail. Almost in a hurry, he opened the book and stared intently into the page, ignoring the uncomfortable itch and chill in his spine.
