She was flabbergasted, 'Who sings that to children?! As a lullaby!' Nonetheless, her job was not giving opinions, so she started writing the poem down.
Machy had fallen deep in thought, Lilith could swear she saw his lips curve. "If you need help, tell me." Elyas said.
She shook her head. "No need Mister, my memory is good, I already wrote half of it. Elyas nodded and remained silent. After Lilith was done transcribing the poem, he bade the Librarians farewell and left.
Lilith hesitated as she glanced at her coworker watching the Sorcerer disappear behind the steel gates.
"Machy, why the sudden shift?" She finally asked.
"I do not understand what you mean madam." Machy responded with mock grandeur, making Lilith puff her cheeks, irked by his answer.
"Cut it out, Machy. You know what I'm talking about." Her coworker nodded with a chuckle.
"Yes, I know. All of them are insane. With no exception. Nothing's changed about that." His words made Lilith raise an eyebrow. "Then why the sudden shift in attitude?"
Machy smirked. "There are a lot of madmen among us Dreamers. Especially Legacies. They think of themselves as all knowing, benevolent immortals."
He stopped, his mouth slightly twitching by the lone thought of them. "But most turn out to be nothing but arrogant, rich cowards. They care about nothing more than to live an eternity of comfort, even if it makes hell for others.
Lilith stared at him with a blank face. She had heard Machy's monologues before, it was nothing new. The rhythm of her tapping on the table was becoming faster as her interest in her coworker's abnormal behavior slowly waned.
Machy continued. "But that man… he's the first I saw that was nothing like that. It's especially strange considering he's a True Legacy."
Lilith didn't have enough patience to deal with Machy's close mindedness today. She was in a good mood too, so she just nodded along. "You're right. Well, guess what, you can go back to sleep now. Our job's done for today."
Machy shook his head. "No. You can go though, I think I'll stay a bit longer."
Lilith shrugged and picked her way through the giant gates, leaving Machy alone. He inhaled the still air. The familiar smell of old, yellow paper and dust falling from the ceiling… It calmed him to a great degree.
"Runic magic huh…"
…
The steel gates shut behind Elyas. "...well, I guess I'm joining the Protection Protocol."
His whole plan of finding his family relied on gathering information from the Library. But now that the plan had failed before even starting, he had to improvise.
Elyas stepped down the stairs leading to the library , as he did, the gates swung open once more. A short brunette with a red vest and trousers of the same color stepped out.
Lilith also saw him, her face brightening immediately as a result.
"Mister!" She shouted, then noticing how impolite such actions were in public, she quieted down and walked beside Elyas.
He gave her a warm smile. "Can I help you Miss?"
She hesitated before nodding, "Umm… I heard that Mister Silver Eye was the one who vouched for you… is it true?"
Elyas kept a straight face as he nodded. Lilith immediately asked, "Do you know him? Are you two friends?"
"Yes I do. He is a dear friend of mine and a kind hearted man. He let me in his house and helped me a lot… mind if I ask the reason for your inquiry?" From the Librarian's mannerism, he could easily tell she was excited about the subject. Elyas was well aware that she was either a fan girl or liked Noah.
So, he decided to play a matchmaker.
But he was a bit shaken at Lilith's reaction. She looked surprised, shock and disbelief written all over her face. Lilith examined Elyas from head to toe, seemingly trying to make sure of something.
Did I say something wrong again? I just tried to get Noah a girlfriend… as Elyas was thinking this, a familiar voice resounded to their left.
"Our graves shall smell of ash."
Both of them turned, the gray haired lunatic was still sitting in the alley. Swaying back and forth, piercing them with his trembling stare. "That guy always gives me the creeps." Lilith said. Elyas couldn't help but silently agree.
He utilized the well timed distraction, "If you don't have any questions, I will take my leave." At those words, Lilith came back to her senses. As a form of basic respect, she did not make the Sorcerer wait or repeat himself.
Elyas left the north street with a full hand. Literally. He still carried the gallery of clay and stone tablets in his hands. It was heavy, but due to Julius's training and his wife's healing, he had somewhat regained his physic. He wasn't the lanky, skinny man left alone in an alley anymore…
Thinking about those months…
He didn't like the feeling it gave him. So, like always, he tried to distract himself. After putting away the tablet in the void, he closed the window and resumed his walk.
'I've done what I wanted today, I have the rest of it free…" Elyas attempted to find something to do. That was when he remembered the insane man.
Maybe it was the fact that he had thought about those months. Maybe it was because he had left those times behind. No matter, he wanted to give that man a piece of his happiness. However small it may be.
He turned back to north street. Soon, he reached the same tall, solemn pair of steel gates. Now, beneath its stairs, stood no one. Only the crowd passing by, the few bits of mud on its steps.
He swept over them, and sure enough, he was there. Leaning against the wall of a restaurant adjacent to the gothic library, was a man with gray hair.
Elyas stepped near, his fur coat dipping slightly in dirty water as he knelt beside the madman. He gave the old gentleman a warm smile, then asked: "Hey, do you want something to eat?"
…
Elyas used the few nickels Noah had given him to buy some pastry. The waiter put down a cup of coffee on the square metal tray. After thanking her, Elyas grabbed the cup and rested his back against the red couch. This cafe tried to evoke the feel of a Victorian tea party, each "table" a set of furniture that the customers used.
The same customers were chatting, laughing, or discussing business at the moment. The cafe was a somewhat popular place for such activities. Each tried to create a different atmosphere. Some a comfortable restaurant, others late 1920 styled bars. For some reason, the bars were the most common.
But more shocking to Elyas, was the fact that Julius had such great taste!
The atmosphere, food, and staff were great. The first time Noah brought him here, Elyas praised his taste. But Noah quickly corrected him, telling him that it was actually Julius's favorite spot. But now opposite him sat no friend. No one but a stranger from the street.
Elyas eyed the madman as he slipped his coffee. The man glanced at the pastry with hungry eyes, he looked ready to pounce on the plates. Elyas gestured for him to enjoy himself.
Seeing that he had permission, the man pulled no stop. He inhaled the strawberry shortcake, stuffed handfuls of biscuits in his mouth and washed it all with honey and milk.
Elyas feared for his wallet. Is this how Noah felt when he first saw me? Thinking about it was embarrassing, but it was true.
The gray haired man eased into his coach, burping. Elyas sipped his coffee as if unbothered. He needed to act that way, otherwise he would have thrown himself off a building already. This afternoon snack had cost him twelve nickels!
That was the equivalent to a week of manual labor. Something that in the backstreets could make you the target of someone's greed, was now gone in less than a minute.
The madman looked at Elyas for a long time, making his mind on something. Then he leaned in from the opposite couch, "What's the job this time?"