The Library

A young girl dropped her head on the table and groaned loudly in frustration, only to receive a rebuke from the librarian in the form of a sibilant "Shhhh" . She looked up quickly and gave an apologetic look to the librarian who looked equally, if not more, frustrated at the offending noise - the night-shift would do that to you. She couldn't help it though; Butler Featherwood absolutely /HATED/ writing book reports - especially on a book as.. antique.. as "Pride and Prejudice" - couldn't they have even swung for "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" ? She wouldn't have minded that one so much, just having to excuse the fact that it stereotyped zombies as heartless, mindless creatures. Butler, personally, had some friends who were zombies. Or she did until they.. well, fell apart.

Barring the scent, they weren't so bad.

"Okay. Once more." She said to herself; a little too loudly though as the librarian chided her again with another long "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". Butler glared down at the book, intending it for the librarian, Ms.Patsburg. "Whose idea was it anyway to put a lady with super enhanced hearing as librarian anyway ?"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"I wasn't even talking lou-"

"Shhhhhhh."

The poor girl sighed and looked upwards as though seeking mercy from whatever deity would offer it to her. Instead of mercy, she found the piercing eyes of her father staring back at her - the eyes of a portrait, of course.

'Right. That's who hired you.' She thought. 'Ever-loving Father.'

She opened her book to attempt picking back up but decided she'd check in with her brother first. Telepathically, of course.

'Hey Kestie, what're you up to? Whatever it is, I'm sure it couldn't be worse than having PatBurger down your throat.'

Kestrel was currently still in the lounge, but he heard his sister calling his name.

"Im in the common room with Mr. Finklehopper... there are two others here... but I don't think they are too impressed... Mr.F is being pretty loud, per usual... what are you up to right now?"

Kestrel very much enjoyed his ability to communicate with Butler telepathically. It was nice to be able to talk to someone who wasn't even in the same room, and it was also a much more efficient way to carry out a private conversation. No one could eves drop on them.


Kojo made his way through the library. The boy's sandy colored hair was a mess and he was shirtless, as always.

The boy never wore a shirt. It was school policy to wear one, but he got away with it more often than not, because of what he was. Which... he wasn't even sure what he was. There were many like him in another part of the world, but they had no label. When he wanted to he could sprout a short, striped tail and a pair of fluffy ears.... or even turn completely into a hyena... but there was no explanation. Many people referred to his kind as a race of demon, but he was not vicious!

He was carrying a book, "Treasure Island," a classic book for his English class. Of course, he had just finished reading the book, and he now needed to start on his report, which was due sooner than it seemed.

Kojo spotted Butler and smiled, "Hello."

He had never met Butler before... and now was his chance to make a new friend! Or so he had hoped...

Butler quietly flicked through the pages of the library book but wasn't paying too much attention to any of the words - she was more waiting on a response from her brother since the book had long since lost her attention.
She loved her brother, even if he was a dork with that bird of his sometimes - but even with Mr.Finklehopper, he was still better than Father. She actually couldn't fathom being an only child - maybe, he felt the same way?

'Are you making new friends, Kestie? And I've told you, that bird and people don't mix. Me? I'm at the library right now, can't focus on thi-'

Concentrated on sending her message, she didn't notice the shirtless Kojo until he spoke which gave her a small start,"H-huh ?"
Blinking, she turned a bit, staring directly at his abdomen which.. wasn't all fat, she had to say.

Wait, why wasn't he wearing a shirt ?

She looked up to his face then, "Hi. Is there something I can help you with? Some clothes, maybe ?" There was no hint of malice in her voice - actually, she sounded entirely genuine with her offer. And, there was muscle on him, yes, but she wasn't going to allow herself to get ditzy over it - maybe Butler from a few years back would have, but not her. She'd learnt her lesson with that.

"I don't think so... they don't seem to like me all that much... Butler? Butler? Helllloooo? Are you okay?" Kestrel was very concerned as to why his sister had cut off like that...

Kojo's face turned red with embarrassment. "Er... I was just going to ask you if you are working on the book report for the English class... and... where I come from no one wears shirts... or even pants at times... it restricts the freedom of movement... but I assumed upon applying to this school that going nude is frowned upon," he snickered. "I would wear a shirt if they asked me to... but no one has told me to put one on yet," Kojo explained with a shrug. "Im a shape-shifter... of sorts."

Butler zoned out Kestrel a bit in order to listen to Kojo but she understood that he was vying for her attention - if there was any sort of emergency, he already knew where she was but she decided to respond to him as to not worry her little brother. 'Oh Kestie, you've got to try.' Well, that didn't entirely make sense because he was trying now, wasn't he ? And according to him, it wasn't going too well, 'Put yourself out there. See if you've got anything in common with the others.'

Then, before the guy thought she'd spaced out on him, she nodded to show she was following, "Book report, yeah.. but they stuck us with boring,old 'Pride and Prejudice' in the Advanced class."

She was about to address the situation of his lack of clothing but Ms.Patsburg had been quietly steaming at her desk for quite a while- so much so that she just appeared before them (not via teleportation), "You, you. Out." She said, pointing to both Butler and Kojo at point-blank, as if it wasn't obvious enough already. "Don't come back until you're ready to respect the rules of the library."

Butler was about to argue the point that they were talking about studies and such, which was acceptable to a point, but with her enhanced sense of hearing, it wouldn't have made a difference - she had already heard every last word about Kojo's preference for nudity.

There was no response from Kestrel, he was too busy talking with Zeron, and trying not the embarrass himself.

Kojo stared at the librarian as though she were some crazy witch from one of those children's stories. "Well yes Ma'am!" He retorted with a shake of his head, much like a small child. And with that kojo wrapped his arm around Butler's (like couples at prom do) and began marching out of the library.

"Well then..."

"So, where would you like to go? Hey!" He let go and jumped in front of her, excitement showing in his eyes, "Wanna go outside and find something to do!?"

He was acting much like... well... a puppy.

Despite there being no immediate response, Butler didn't panic; nothing could've happened to him on school grounds, right ? But if something /did/ happen, she'd deal with the perpetrator. Gravely so. Kestrel was the closest family member Butler had - she'd do anything to protect him.

The tension building up before he grabbed her took her by surprise when he did, Butler cried out in surprise - causing the few other students in the library to turn and stare. She stood up and walked out with him, her face reddening at the way he held her. Did.. he really have to do it like that? Geez..
His sudden zeal and enthusiasm as opposed to the cool nature he had before was a bit offsetting. "No. It's late.." She yawned to emphasize the point, "I'm probably just going to my room to see if I can even start this book report."

Butler patted his shoulder and walked past him, "I'll see you around, shape-shifter. Maybe with some clothes on."

Kojo shrugged, "Alright, well, im off for the night!" He said before turning into a hyena. He stared up at her and looked as though he were laughing quietly. And with that the boy trotted off towards the woods, looking for something to chase. Once morning came it wouldn't be a surprise to find him sleeping somewhere. After all, he was naturally nocturnal.

As he searched and sniffed through the woods the small hyena cam across a rabbit hole. With much excitement he spent quite a bit of time digging it up and playing in the dirt.

That boy was certainly an oddity. One minute, he was calm and collected.. then Ms.Patsburg spoke to him and he entirely flipped into this excitable ball of energy. She looked at him as he left and wondered briefly if she should've followed him; wanting to use anything to get out of the book report. Ultimately, she decided against it and went back to her room. Butler was sure that she would've likely seen him again - he just seemed like one of those types.

///Exiting Featherwood Halls Library///