can't sleep [o; exploring the library]

[Alice]

Soft wheezes escape the orange and white feline as she sits within the wall of the library. Her chest ached but she was rather enjoying this book filled place. Her eyes carefully examining the walls, trying to take in every detail that was around her. Getting to her paws, she coughs lightly before padding along side one of the book filled shelves. She liked looking at them, wondering how so many ended up here. Stories that humans once owned this place. Alice had never seen a human before but she pictured this place was once filled with strange creatures. Like how Tanglewood members filled out the place now. From those seeking a quiet place to relax to those trying to spark a conversation.

Alice found that she liked it in here. She was sick, though, she still tried to get out to explore once a day. Today she had picked the library. The feline finds a nice spot to sit after reaching the end of the wall. Back to coughing and then silence once more. She wished she didn't cough so much, but that was life. Careful of her twisted hind leg, she settles into her spot. Wondering if anyone was around to talk to.  ""

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

The library had always been a favorite spot of Aurum's, the proxy having been a great fan of books ever since he was a cub. It was sort of a relief, knowing that at least one of his nephews was interested in books. At least it would always give them something to talk about together. In addition to this, it seemed as though at least one of his nieces did too, unless Alice was simply here to interact with others. Either way, when Aurum heard the feline coughing from a few rows away, he found himself getting up, shaking out his thick fur before he headed over. He had already been looking for some new storybooks to perhaps read to his children, so he figured it wouldn't be too much of a big deal to go and say hello to Alice. He knew that the girl was sickly, and he also knew that some of his sister's children disliked being talked down to. So, once he got close, he lowered himself down a bit into a sitting position, trying to get on her level before he spoke, "Hello there, Alice. Have you found any stories you're interested in reading?" He found himself wondering if any of his own children would end up interested in stories. He was trying to encourage them, by reading them stories and telling them some of his own, but ultimately they would be their own people.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

[Ivan]

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— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

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Ivan practically lived in the library. He trusted and loved the place so much that he stored what belongings he did have here instead of at home. When one's home is a place where six kittens are growing up in, there wasn't too much privacy. Though Ivan loved his family there was just sometimes where he had to get away.

The young cat apparently had never heard of the maxim of not making a habit of sleeping in one's workplace. The library proved to be one of his favorite places to sleep. Ivan was a notorious sleep-kicker and unfortunately a light sleeper at that as well, constantly waking himself up. However, when he sandwiched himself like a charred loaf of bread in the spaces between books on the shelves, his body usually stayed still enough for him to get a good rest.

That was him now, until Alice's coughing roused him and he grunted, cracking the stiffness out of his bony shoulders. He was always worried about Alice, and treated her considerably more delicately than his brothers. This caused him to be somewhat awkward around her, especially if he was trying to figure out how to properly interact with her. He felt guilty about this, nonetheless, so when he realized she was in the library, he was excited to think he had another sibling interested in books. They were, of course, named after books!

"Hi Alice!" He meowed. Unfortunately, Aurum had stolen the question right out of his mouth, so Ivan settled for trotting over to his sister's side and leaning his head down, attempting to rub his nose against her cheek in greeting.

[Alice]

It appeared that the library was a family favorite. Which was fine by her, she liked her family. Though, she wished she knew some of them better. Thinking it would be nice to have close family members that she could go to whenever. Alice wasn't the best at reading, still learning some of the bigger words. But she was determined to learn even more after being asked if she had found any stories. The her brother appearing soon after and they had rubbed their nose against her cheek. Nudging out a soft purr as she tried not to strain her body to much.

"Do you have any book recommendations? I would love to read one of your favorites." the feline answered. Her mind pondering on what kind of books Aurum would like. Or even Ivan. Making her also wonder what kind of books she would like. Probably something with a nice adventure and a happy ending. She was a sucker for happy endings. "Maybe we can all read together? Doesn't that sound nice, Ivan?" she asked in a wheeze, hoping her brother was here to stay for a bit. But she understood if they had something else planned. Since spending the day reading wasn't the most exciting thing ever.

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

Alice, out of all of his sister's children, was probably one of the more soft spoken ones. Despite this, Aurum had never minded her company, having often gotten along in the past with those who spoke calmly and kindly. The lion offered a nod in Ivan's direction once the other male arrived, very glad to see that Ivan and Alice appeared to get along. The angel highly doubted that any of Moth's children would be cruel enough to dislike or pick on the sickliest of their litter, but his children seemed to have a habit of arguing. He was trying to break them out of it, but it was difficult. Regardless, his children weren't here right now, so he was free to focus solely upon Alice and Ivan. Upon hearing Alice's question about recommendation, the male's eyes practically lit up with excitement. He had always been one to love stories, and he had plenty of beloved tales from his childhood he remembered fondly to share. Glancing around at the shelves towering around them, he muttered softly, "There's one series I think that you might like, Alice. It's about a princess and a dragon, except instead of getting kidnapped by the dragon, the princess chooses to go live with the dragons and befriends them, and even becomes the hero of her own story... I don't know if it is here, but I'd be happy to try and find it for you." It was a longer series, so perhaps the girl wouldn't be able to read all of them now, but Aurum was always willing to read to his niece, if need be.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

[simon]

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    Then along came Simon.

    Books failed to interest him as much as the local collection of both hardback and paperback seemed to allure his brothers. And now his sister. He couldn't place what was so entertaining about them. The little tabby attempted to try, staring at the bold lettering on a cover as though it were an unintelligible manuscript yet to be translated. The watercolor illustrations managed to captivate his pear-colored gaze, however, as with any colorful discovery would entrance the kitten.

    The library was not so much colorful as it was earthen-toned and musty. Like dirt. But the dirt was nice, especially to dig in. And his father smelled like it too, prompting the boy to press his nose against the ground and snuffle around to imagine he was nestled at Dad's flank while he was off doing so-called medic chores. And it was dirt he tracked in as he trailed after the glimpse of his sister, feathery tail lazily swaying with his clumsy step.

    Two of five siblings huddled beneath the shelves with an alleged uncle dwarfing their growing forms. As much as Aurum acted like an uncle and said he was an uncle, he didn't look like one. He wasn't really a cat like Mom or Dad; he was far too big! And he bossed him around when he wanted to play with the foaming tides. A pout overtook features still plump with baby fat, his disheveled tail drooping until the wispy end of fur slumped on the floor. Alice's bout of coughing brought his tail upward in alarm soon after, a striped flagpole signaling to absent parents that something bad was going to happen again.

    Catching up to Ivan, Simon took to her other side, whiskers tickling her ear in concern. Her coughing was similar to his seashores, fits that couldn't be helped once onset beyond waiting until it ebbed away. Tufted ears pricked in curiosity as Aurum described a storybook, to which he wrinkled his nose. Princesses and dragons? Only the latter of the pair could be considered cool. The kitten blinked, not grasping how dense pages bound into one bland package could matter so much to someone. "Are there pictures?" came his soft query, bright eyes round with expectation as he craned his neck to view the lion's face in full.

[Ivan]

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— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

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"It does sound nice." Ivan responded, his gaze flicking from Alice to Aurum.

If he were being completely honest, he wasn't sure how much he'd enjoy heroic stories. The stoic and glum Ivan had better luck in Grimms fairytales, poems, and notes about philosophies. He was fine without a happy ending, because he knew there was no happy ending. He enjoyed the simpleness of poems and poetry, it was nice when everything had a mathematical rhythm to it. To him, books were not just stories, they were insights into the most intelligent of minds.

Most stories made for kids were propaganda. Propaganda was good to teach kids the meaning of "sharing" and "forgiveness". Ivan supposed sometimes it was good to force kids to model the good lessons in children's stories. Where else would they learn, except by example? Surely not one person was capable of showing children everything that was good, leading by example.

Ivan huffed, bringing himself out of his brooding when Simon arrived. He had nothing against pictures, though he was no artist himself. Things were nice with pictures, it was like the icing on the cake. "I want to start a book club." He sighed, in an almost dreamlike way.

[Alice]

Alice nodded her head as she listens to the just of the story. Choosing to live with a monster? She wondered why someone would do that. Maybe the dragon wasn't all that bad, but she had never meant a dragon before. Unless she just didn't remember it. Either way, Alice was interested in this story and hoped Aurum would be able to provide a copy. If not, maybe they could retell it from memory. "That would be lovely. Thank you, uncle Aurum." her paws twitched in excitement. Finally, she would be on her way to learning to read.

Upon feeling whiskers tickle her ear and the sense of concern waving off her brother, she coughed once more. Alice, in all honesty, didn't question her coughs or wheezes anymore. They had been apart of her... well, since she was born to her knowledge. She knew other felines didn't cough like her but not many had a twisted back leg either. The orange and white molly was fine with being a bit different. Unaware that it was very possible for her coughs to get worse. Clearing her throat, she finally looks to Simon who had joined them a minute ago. Asking about pictures, being out a purr from the young kit. "Are you also interested in reading, Simon?"

Hearing Ivan mention a book club made her heart race. With her mind being filled with all the possibilities of what kind of stories they could all read together. She wondered if her other brother and parents would like this kind of thing. Though, Moth and Selby were probably far too busy to take time and read. But maybe the kids could get together and recap the story to them when they had time. Oh! This was very exciting and new! "Ivan!" she wheezes, "That sounds like so much fun." Alice says, gently nudging her head against their side in a praising manner.

[CAUSTIC.]

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DR. CAUSTIC

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[REDACTED]
TOXIC TRAPPER
MACKENZIE VALLEY WOLF
TANGLEWOOD
"Humanity. It's just a word."

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Caustic was known to roam in few locations. His own home, the mess hall, and the library. He found quiet solidtude in here, comforted by the human objects or yore and the structures they made in the decades past.
It brought comfort to him, to be in the presence of knowledge from others like him, and read stories we would have never experienced before.
War took many things, and knowledge was always an uncounted victim.
He could hear the chatter nearby from his nook. It was an area that satisfied both his own brain and the wolf. He could watch the door from this corner, settled under a nice blanket and with his book of choice.
He's drawn to the noise, noticing the children and Aurum.
He keeps to himself for the moment being, too wrapped in his own reading.

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Original code by lexasperated / artwork by @R_HillPrime

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

Aurum supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised by the arrival of Simon on the scene as well, considering most of the siblings tended to stick together – a fact that warmed the lion's heart, considering his own distance from his brother. He offered Simon a smile as the other approached, before flicking his ear at the boy's question, dipping his head, "Yeah, there are a few pictures. They're not colored, but they're really nice black and white pictures that show some of the scenes. Real pretty." Perhaps that wouldn't be all that exciting to his nephew, who no doubt probably preferred picture books with intriguing, colorful images, but maybe it would warm the other up to the idea of reading it. The proxy's attention was then pulled away by Ivan, the dark furred male talking about how he wanted to start a book club. The suggestion made Aurum's soft smile grow into a full grown grin, his tail flicking excitedly behind him, "A book club? That's a great idea, Ivan. Perhaps you could start one and invite all your siblings and the other children. That way you could get many different opinions on one story." That was the point of book clubs after all, right? To share your tastes with other people, and look at things from new perspectives. At least, that's how the lion saw it. Perhaps Ivan had something else in mind.

Turning his attention finally once again to Alice, Aurum found himself wincing a bit when she began coughing again. He knew there was little that could be done for her condition, but he still wished he could be able to just hug her close and make all her pain go away. His poor little niece didn't deserve the pain that came with illness, just as his brother hadn't. Touching his nose to the young feline's head, the golden angel rumbled softly, "It's no problem, little one. Here, let me try and find it." He turned, padding off through the aisles to try and find the series in question. In his searching, he came upon Caustic, pausing when he saw the scientist. After a moment of hesitation, he waved a large wing, greeting the wolf casually, "Caustic... hello. I didn't realize you were here... would you like to join the children in discussing stories?" He had noticed that Caustic seemed to have a sort of weakness for children, so he thought perhaps the canine wouldn't mind participating in some literary conversation.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.