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~((National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day Special - page 2 of 6))~~
'Hey, Ibai,' came the voice of Chergoa.

Ibai looked up from his paper to see the reaper hovering over him. To his eyes, reapers were tiny things--little action figures that bobbed amusingly through the air as they moved. He had always enjoyed watching them, though they had not often enjoyed being watched. By him, in particular.

Chergoa, however, didn't seem particularly uncomfortable around him anymore. And he found that quite surprising. Even the reapers of House Blackburn, despite all that they had done to protect him, had still always carried a slight air of uneasiness in his presence. He had long since grown used to it. That was just how reapers were.

But Chergoa was different. She'd been going out of her way to spend time with him, lately.

It was really nice.

'How's the story comin' along?' she asked.

He looked down at what he'd written and discovered many more pages full of text than he'd realized. "Uh. Pretty good, I think. Thanks for asking." It was easy to give her a big smile. "Is there something you need?"

'No. Just checking in with you. You've been writing all day, you know.'

"Have I?" He blinked and scratched the middle of his forehead.

This little desk that he'd been using was wedged into one of the farthest corners of the Library's main chamber. Giant bookshelves surrounded him on all sides, save one narrow gap that led to a zigzagging path back to the middle of the room.

Cramped was one word for it, but he'd found it quite cozy. It was so quiet here, and the smell of books was its own kind of alluring.

'Have you eaten anything today?' Chergoa asked.

Ibai wasn't actually sure. "Um...?"

'Alright, c'mon. You and me. We're going to the refectory right now.'

Ibai chuckled faintly and put his pen down again.