Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

They are TERRIFIED. They being the home invader. Alice is just confused, and pulls the gun away. "Do you speak the clang?" They nod in response. Alice sits back a little. "Okay then. First Question: Who are you? Second Question: What are you doing in my house?"

'I am Ken, spelled q h e n. I was told to keep an eye on you, you've been asleep for days, Librarian. ... Could you please get up? You're sort of hurting me.'
". . ." Alice got up slowly, and refocused her aim on Qhen, who rolls over and stands up, smoothing out their robe. "So you don't know my name, and you think I'm a librarian? And you were TOLD to keep an eye on me?"

'And make sure you didn't get hurt. Occasionally you would sit up-'
"Hold up. I thought you said I've been asleep for days."
'And you were. You would sit up, yet remain unresponsive. I would just tuck you back into your bed.'
"Uh-huh. Who told you to do this?" She was taking inventory. Curly horns, claws, yellow eyes, BIG pupils- and slightly translucent skin. Interesting.
Qhen opens their mouth- then closes it again. 'I'm not at liberty to say?'
Alice nudges the door shut. "Yeah- No. Try again."

'Is this request being backed up with the threat of being shot if you're unconvinced that I am not in fact robbing you and came upstairs to see if there was anything I could steal, despite the fact that I came up here with another cup of water and have left a least a couple lying around already?'

Alice looked around the room. To be fair, that was pretty weak reasoning. But they seemed genuine enough. "Well, actually I was planning on shooting you for leaving all these half-drank water cups around my books. Have you never been in a library before?"

Qhen held up their hands. 'Twice before, and neither one of them stocked nearly as impressive a collection of Histician Series. Also I appreciate your dedication to keeping them properly ordered even though you probably would be legally fined because some of these books are not for public-'

"Okay. Fine. Get out. We'll talk downstairs."

---

Qhen sits down in one of the smaller chairs, adjusting their robes. '. . .' Knocking their hood down, they reached into a pocket, and pulled out a small hand mirror. Their arm reached back, bones popping as their arm realigned itself, and now they could hold the mirror where they could get a glance at their back, after their neck let out a gentle internal pop so they could turn their head far enough to glance. Tsk. They always did bruise easily. Oh well. They ratchet their body back into normal and wait. They can hear the Librarian moving around up there. They hope they didn't harm any of the books. They might ACTUALLY get shot. She was...

Intimidating?

"AH! I- Why must you always sneak up on me when I am thinking? And yes! This Librarian you are having me watch seems to be half mad!"

Don't worry. You'll be fine, I'm sure. I believe she is approaching, so I will take my leave for now.

And they've left you here, alone again. Not for long though. Alice comes downstairs, having taken the time to clean up her room and change into some clothes. She also brought the other cups with her, which she dumps into her sink before stopping to grab a clean glass and get herself some water. Qhen notes the holster and pouch on her side, and guesses that the firearm is probably still loaded. They were not told she was armed.

"We got off on the wrong foot. Hello. I am Alice Van Vaugen. I am a book collector, not a Librarian. You are?

Alice sits down nearby, sipping her glass.

"Ah... I am Ken. Spelled q h e n. I am a bodyguard, I suppose. Not a thief."

"No... You're right. You look a little...I don't want to say young... What are you? I'm not familiar with your species, at least, I don't remember seeing any of your people pass through the town recently. . . . Not that I get out much."

"I am a Dhemon. I am an imperial citizen, although living out here, it is very hard to tell. I am not old for my people, and we tend to all look differently... The horns and claws are really the only constants, and those are generally different between individual Dhemons."

Alice let out a sound of understanding, and looked into their cup. Their grip shook.

"I- I looked outside while I was cleaning."

"The damage is extensive, yes. I did some exploring before I ended up here, and there are other survivors... but not many. The Imperial Gentlemen have a shelter set up, but I was instructed to stay here- and lead here, by a voice. They referred to you as Librarian, which I figured was some sort of title. They refer to me as Bootshiner, in reference to my combat skills."

Alice nodded. She's listening.

"I have a ship- I have access to a ship. Nearby. My friend is watching it. I was instructed to bring you this book when you wake up- I don't have any further instructions past that. If you like, you could come with us. It might be weeks before relief arrives..."

". . . Let me see the book, I guess and- I'll think about it."

Qhen retrieves the book from their inventory, and passes it to Alice. She reaches out to touch it and- The world stops. Not just time, but- everything stops. Qhen is there, and the book is there, but they're completely frozen, and drained of color. An empty white void stretches on in all directions, and nearby floats a door with a sign on it that reads 'Meeting Room'.

SpoilerShow

Augh. I spent a really long time fiddling with this, and thinking if I could divide it into smaller posts and I'm just trying to get some basic set up going with the story, whatever it's goal may be and I apologize for this novelette of text. Also, anything that needs to be clarified, just drop into a spoiler and I'll read and respond. Sorry again.