That, not so much.
What? Teeth demanded. This is bullshit! I was good for almost the entire time!
Yeah, well it only takes one slip-up to have the kind of problem we talked about, I told him, trying to think of a way to keep this encounter from getting even more ridiculous.
“Hi, Via,” I decided to say, “how did you get down here so fast? I thought I just heard you shouting in the hallway about learning French.”
“I did!” she said brightly, blissfully choosing not to be mad at me for the moment. Definitely a keeper, I thought, watching her animated expressions as she continued, “as well improving on my Water and Script magic! I was able to make all kinds of breakthroughs this morning! Thank you for that!”
“You’re welcome,” I said, determined to move the conversation forward.
“But that was over an hour ago,” Via added, tilting her head at me. “What were you doing that was taking so long?”
“It was?” I said, surprised. “I guess I spent more time getting lost along the way than I thought.”
“Not likely,” Via said simply as she shook her head. “These little blue light-brains are frustrating, but they make an honest attempt at being helpful. I think I prefer your adorable heal-jellies to them, though. It is more likely that you spent too long in the nice warm baths because Breena visited you, and you had to spend time controlling that dragon of yours that she won’t stop talking about.”
“I…” I started to say, before I was silenced by her perfectly level gaze. I spent several helpless moments transfixed before her mouth cracked upward in a smile, and she began giggling, and then laughing uncontrollably.
“There,” she said as she began to calm down. “We are perhaps even now, verdad?”
“Sure,” I sighed, giving up. “Can we at least just move on to whatever the hell it was I came down here to talk to you about? As soon as I remember?”
“Certainly,” Via said, still smiling. “You are probably down here because you wanted to speak to me about finding something that you still need to do, because you are having a hard time believing that you can finally relax. Am I completely right, or just mostly right?”
“Um,” I started to say, before chuckling myself. “Yes. Both. I am also very happy to see you. Is that the correct answer?”
“For me? Very much so.” The beautiful Latina-featured woman beamed. “You have noticed the tiny blue lights traveling about the city. They are frustrating for me, because they only share information that they have, instead of everything I wish to know, but they are doing a marvelous job of assisting the populace with its needs. This city was a masterpiece of Script magic, and had many runes prepared for likely emergencies. It is even activating its surviving ships, to carry my oceanfolk back to their respective islands. If they are foolish enough to want to go,” she added, before gesturing wildly again. “There is so much here, Wes Malcolm! So much wonderful knowledge! So many recorded stories! Even if they are sadly lacking in the manga and in the magic glowing pictures, they have enough knowledge for me to spend a century studying and still not know it all! My oceanfolk could learn new magics! New useful professions! We could even learn how to design our own magical script-ships!” She was so excited that she was shouting again, and I was thankful that there was no one else in the library. “I could even learn how to build my own, Wes! Do you realize that? I could have my own super-fast vessel that could take me wherever I needed to go, very quickly! But I would still require rides in yours,” she amended with a raised finger, “because it is only fair. Now. Back to the matter at hand. You are free right now, yes? Because the entire world has been saved?”
“That last part,” I said, “are we a hundred percent sure on that? Because there were also monsters and Horde and Malus Earthborn doing all kinds of things here when I showed up.”
“Those were largely on their way out,” Via said confidently. “They had already looted and pillaged my world like the filthy wild hogs they truly were. There was no more wealth left to take, and the Nuckelavee creature had made coming here at all very dangerous for them.” She smiled at that. “But now that you have killed a pleasantly large number of them, like the wonderful man you are, and also raised this city out of its darkened nightmare, they will no doubt be back. So we need to prepare.”
“Got it,” I said with a nod. “That was what I was just thinking—”
“By resting,” Via finished with a firm nod.
I tilted my head at her.
“You’re provoking a lot of confusion out of me today,” I told her. The beautiful woman just smiled even wider.
“That is as it should be,” the olive-skinned Satellite said as she tossed her hair. “Because I am so good at making sense, most people cannot handle it. Here is the thing: you came here quickly, perhaps a day or so after your work in the Woadlands, where you and your compañeros saved a village from a small army of Horde, cured a forest of some magical tree-flesh cancer, led all the local tribes to war against an army of ice fey, and killed their monarchs and Icon. You also did something with your castle that... broke another castle? I am not clear on the details of that, but everyone who has told me about the event is still very upset that it ever happened, and became too angry to finish giving me all the details.” She paused as she seemed to consider that fact for a moment. “But yes,” she continued, “after you did all that, and also some things on Avalon that killed a giant dragon, you came here and went right back to work. This was the first night you have slept in an actual bed, and Breena apparently did something to keep you from getting a full night’s rest, because you are awake and talking to me, instead of sleeping in like a normal person. If you keep going at this pace, you will break, even though you have perhaps the most glorious of physiques and almost certainly the strongest of wills. Which will leave you in poor condition to face those I think to be your most bitter of enemies. Who, once again, are not even here yet. Does that sound like good reasoning?”
“Yes,” I admitted, silencing another nagging voice in my mind as I accepted her words. I was starting to realize that I had far more of those than I had originally thought. “It makes perfect sense. But it doesn’t explain why you are up yourself, since you knew all of that.”
“That is easy,” Via replied. “I am awake because there are books here. If I did not at least come see them, how would I ever get any sleep at all?”
That was a very, very fair point, I decided.
“But now that I at least know where every section is,” she continued, “which means I will be able to come back here later, at my leisure, and read whatever I want. In fact… Señor Blue Light!” she said, quickly turning to the floating blue light that had begun to sneak away. “I require a way to take a book to my room! So that I may read it! For the very good reasons I have just shared regarding rest and self-care!”
“Acknowledged,” the Atlantean light replied in a patient, neutral tone. “A copy of any work you select can be taken to your room. Please advise which work of literature you would like to take with you.”
“Excellent,” the beautiful Latina woman declared excitedly. “Since it is still far too early for breakfast, el guapo loco will help me choose. That is fine, verdad?” she asked as she looked back to me, with just a hint of hesitation.