Early Morning Coffee and Words (Open)

Jagara’s heels clicked against the cobblestone sidewalk as she walked with a thick, leather-bound notebook in her right hand.  Her blonde hair swayed gently on one side as she strolled and, despite being in a leather jacket in the summer heat, she was not bothered by the weather at all.  A large building with a red roof came into view and brought a smile to the shifter’s face as she moved through the empty morning streets. She was approaching the library in Monet Quarter, or well the building that was being used as a place to store all of the books and provide a nice working space. It wasn't an official library, but that's what everyone referred to it as. The Epror pushed open the wooden door and walked in, looking at the wall clock. “6:30 am. Good.”

She cleared the table she usually used and turned on the lamp. Jagara quickly made a cup of black coffee with the coffee machine in the other room and returned to her desk. Scooting the chair forward, she sat on the visibly worn but still comfy seat casually and opened the notebook. A pencil was drawn from her pocket and the Epror began to write and draw, making notes of new ideas of home defense that should be tested, as well as thinking of strategies in a swamp environment. Some found it funny how a shifter like her would bother taking time to write down such seemingly frivolous things, but this was her notebook, and she treasured its knowledge dearly. In truth, she memorized everything in her notes, but it was always helpful to go back over the tiniest of details. And so, the snow leopardess diligently worked early in the morning alone in the library, not expecting anyone to come in the building anyway.

As the haunting music from the orchestra came to a close, Calise let out a deep breath and clicked off the stereo. Her practice clothes were clinging to her body by the end of the practice. Taking another breath, the shifter looked around the place she would now call home. On the outside, it looked to be like any normal one story house would be. There was a cozy living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and her own bedroom. It was the basement that had been completely changed. Before, her basement had been dark and poorly cared for. Now, she had arranged it into a fully functional dance studio for practicing her profession. Calise wiped her face with a sweat towel as she walked up the stairs and headed for the bathroom. Flicking on the light, she quickly started water for her shower. As she stepped into it and cleaned off, Calise thought over what she was going to do today. The first stop would have to be the library to gather some books that had information on her own species. She had only known of snake shifters like herself, but now she had met shifters of other animal forms. It was the leopardess, Jagara, that actually made her think about learning more of what she came from. Like Calise’s mother had told her, there were in fact other shifters that she had never seen before. The furred ones were only the start, and she was interested in knowing what others were out there. Meeting Jagara suddenly made it all true, and so the shifter decided the library would be her first stop.

Finishing her shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and moved to her closet. Calise quickly out on her under clothes and threw on a t-shirt that said “Some people just need a high-five in the face.” The shifter pulled on her dark jeans and laced up her boots before walking out and locking her door behind her. A styrofoam cup was in her hand and she sipped on the latte within it. Calise slid her house keys into her pocket and walked around Monet Quarter, in search of the library. It only took her a few minutes before she was walking through the door. One glance at the clock reminded her of how early she had awoken, and the shifter hoped she hadn’t bothered anyone. Like the way her snake moved, she walked silently around in the shelves of books. She already knew that the ones she would be in search of were not going to be easy to find. The shifter had been standing on her toes to see some high up books when a scent hit her nose. She was surprised for a moment that any scent this early was capable of overcoming her coffee. This scent was one of familiarity, and she quickly moved towards it. After a few minutes, she came across a woman obviously engaged in her notebook. She hadn’t seen any shifters in their human shells as of yet, but the scent told her that this was Jagara. Calise cleared her throat, hoping to alert the woman of her presence before speaking. “Jagara, is that you?”

It had been a short but productive while of working before she heard the side doors creak open. Jagara had just been in the middle of trying to figure out how to test marsh ground on the run, preferably by sight. She had a book open beside her and was quickly reading it, jotting down notes as she went. When she heard books shifting as if someone was looking through them, searching for something, she ignored them and kept working, her pencil writing furiously as she tried to finish the day’s research. Once she had finished her main studies for the morning and continued onto tomorrow’s, the guest conveniently appeared at the edge of the aisles, clearing her throat.  Her eyes still focusing on the books, she asked, “Can I help you find something?” However, when the shifter spoke her name, her gaze drifted up at the speaker, only moving her head slightly before she answered, “Yeah, that’s me. Good morning Calise.” A smirk crossed her face at the small element of surprise that tainted the female’s face. She silently wondered if her punkish alternative appearance was at all shocking, but quickly waved those questions away as she began to clean up the table.

Her hand closed her notebook with a smacking noise as the cover and a good number of pages were swiftly forced onto the unwritten ones. She shut the thick book titled, “Swamp Survivor,” and then reached to turn the table lamp off. Looking fully at the Bellator she had accepted not too long ago, Jagara smiled and asked, “Pleasure to see you again. I would have cleaned the place up a bit, dusted off some corners and such, if I knew someone other than me was going to come. This place is pretty slow on visitors… So, how have your duties been going? Patrols aren’t too much for you, I would hope, but has there been anything unusual to report recently?” As she spoke, the snow leopard disappeared into one aisle and put the book back in its place, then returning to Calise. Reappearing with a shake of her blonde head, the Epror remembered that she was probably here for a reason. “I’m sorry, I forgot. You must be looking for something. I know the place pretty well and actually obtained a set of the keys from Eden, so I take it as my responsibility to open the library early in the morning on the days that I plan on working here. What do you wish to find?” She looked over the shifter, smirking in slight amusement at her shirt. With a low tone, she commented, “I’ve met a lot of such people.” Turning away, Jagara picked up her notebook and pencil and hid them in the inner pocket of her leather jacket before looking back at Calise expectantly, awaiting to hear which books she was craving.

Realizing that it was indeed Jagara, the shifter decided to take a glance and look at the leopardess. She was quite unlike Calise’s appearance, but in her opinion it was a good thing. The last time she had seen this particular shifter, it was at the borders. Calise had many reasons to thank Jagara. For starters, she had allowed the snake shifter to start a new life. Calise had no regrets so far about finding the shifter territories, in fact she had been very please with her home in Monet Quarter. It was a very pretty space and she had yet to explore what else the shifter lands had to offer. For today, she was spending the day at the library until she had to go to work. She rolled her shoulders and leaned against a book shelf, making sure to not tip it over. She had already looked through the books in that shelf and had found nothing. Calise gave Jagara a slight smile and nodded her head. “I am glad to see you again, and maybe you can help me with what I’m looking for. I want to read along the lines of the history of the shifters. It would be nice to know more about the race that I came from. I didn’t know if the books were hidden from viewing eyes or if I was looking in the wrong section.” Calise had very little experience with libraries, in fact her knowledge of them was close to none. She knew books were arranged by certain numbers or letters, but she couldn’t be sure how. Jagara seemed to know what she was talking about, so maybe she could help.

“No, it’s alright. I’m just trying to learn and it doesn’t really matter where I do it. The cleanliness doesn’t bother me, I have seen both worse and better. I just need the books and I will be out of your hair. Is there any place for me to sit comfortably and read them?” Following Jagara, she looked around slowly so her eyes wouldn’t miss a thing. Calise absentmindedly twisted a stray curl as she waited for Jagara to speak.

A pleased grin curled a corner of the woman’s lips. The history of the shifter race was one of her favourite things to study, but unfortunately, Jagara had already read all of the books relating to this subject that she had found in Monet Quarter’s library. Thoughtfully, she nodded and turned to go walk to locked double-doors at the east side of the building, waving her hand quickly for the reptile to follow behind. At this point, Jagara was so focused on which books she would retrieve that Calise’s next few sentences simply flew by without her noticing. Reaching for the keychain in her pocket, the Epror looked through the various keys and picked out one which she used to unlock the doors. With a good kick from the flat heel of her boot, the wooden doors flew open, revealing a circular, high-ceiling room whose very walls were bookshelves. Jagara purred, “Welcome to my favourite room, Calise. The book you want is…” she pointed up to the second shelf from the bottom on the left half of the room, “Over there. Unfortunately, our nice ladder on wheels that we had broke, but I’m a good jumper.” Without another word, the shifter ran at the wall, her body melding into its primal form. Jagara’s muscles coiled and sprang, sending her flying up twenty-eight feet into the air. Thorn-sharp claws unsheathed and attached the snow leopard to the wood before Jagara began the ten foot climb with a grunt. It was a pity that she had to leave claw marks on the bookshelves, but how was she supposed to refuse a request for assistance at the library? Besides, she secretly enjoyed the tough climb.

Within a few minutes, she recognized the brown textbook whose title ran in gold letters down its massive spine. Jagara gently pulled it out with a paw and took hold of it between her jaws. As she looked down, she realized that a jump would put the book at risk of damage from her canines. Just as her claws started to slip, the shifter swerved around and began to run down the bookcases in large leaps, digging into the wood when she touched it to try to slow herself down. With surprising grace, Jagara landed on all four wide paws and shifted back to her human shell. Holding the textbook suddenly became very painful. In a strained but casual manner, she slid the book out of her jaw and brushed the earthy cover free of dust, wood shavings, and damp tooth marks. With an amused smile that hid the temporary aching in her jaw, she looked to Calise and handed her the treasure that was filled with knowledge, “That must’ve been a sight to see... Anyways, that there is Shifters - From the Beginning Generation, the best book I could give you to learn our history. I moved it as well as some others about us over here for… safety precautions.” With a smooth twist of her head, blonde hair flew back over her shoulders and she began to walk towards the doors again. “Alright,” Jagara called, “I need to lock this room back up, so let’s go.”

Following Jagara, she eyed the wooden doors curiously. She sipped out of her coffee cup, rolling her shoulders back as the doors were kicked open. Immediately her eyes began to wander over the various books that surely held the secrets of her species. With Jagara’s words, Calise was prepared to shift and slither up the shelves herself. Instead, she watched as the leopardess jumped to the shelf with slight amusement. The snake shifter casually leaned against a study bookshelf and watched the leopard do her work. It was an interesting sight to watch the other shifter grab her book. Calise could only imagine which book she would be reading. She could practically feel the old pages in her hands and the smell of ink. She also knew that there was a chance the book could be brand new. No matter how old the words were, the looks of a book could be refurbished and made into something completely unlike the original. The shifter personally hoped that the book was very old and looked the same way. Her focus on her mind was suddenly snapped out with the other shifter making noise. As Jagara nearly slipped, Calise stood straight to move into action after the leopardess. She wanted to laugh at what she was seeing because she knew it was probably one of the rarest sights to see. The book in Jagara’s jaws caught more of her attention but didn’t stop Calise from smiling back. She gently took the book and held it in her hands, smoothing over the cover gently. “Thank you Jagara, I appreciate you helping me with this,” she said, moving to walk back out of the door per the leopard’s request.

Something came to Calise’s mind after they had reached the main room once again. Turning to the other shifter, she spoke her question. “We should train together sometime. I think they way you move and the way I move are of two different types. It would be quite interesting to see what kind of team we would make. I also look forwards to meeting our leader someday, so do you think you could give me a little information on her?” She gave a slight smile after placing the book in a bag gently to protect it from the outside world. Turning on her heel, she went to look at Jag once again while sipping more from her cup. To her, Jagara had a way of grace that wasn’t like a snake. It was more of a rough edge to set her breed of cat away from the others. Not to mention that she was probably on the smaller side of large cats in the shifter group. Calise stood straight and slightly stretched the knotted muscles. The shifter couldn’t help but to eye the other books before looking back at her companion and waiting for Jagara’s response.

As Calise glanced at the books around them, Jagara noticed that she was one of the few shifters who seemed to enjoy libraries. It somewhat warmed her heart to see these creatures, for she believed that a reader lives a million lives in a million worlds. And a writer- forever immortal. The Epror looked directly at Calise when she finally decided to answer the question, pushing the secret praise for the reading Bellator away. “Eden is a white tigress shifter. She is noble and graceful; she leads by example. The Regina views all of her pack mates as family, and doesn’t turn down any shifter who wants to join her ranks, despite their past, species, or any baggage they may lug behind them.  But to really know her, you’d have to meet her. There’s only so much I can say to describe.Though, I can tell you that she lives in a cave in the inner territories, but I do not suggest disturbing her without purpose.”

Jagara paused thoughtfully before she answered the first question. A Bellator was asking to train with her already? Well no, she was more asserting the fact that they should train together for a mutual benefit. The smile faded quickly. Of course, it was great that Jagara would finally have work in the more interesting field of her job description, but there was something about the statement that didn’t please her. With a subtlety warning tone, she answered, “I did not expect to be selecting a battle team so soon, but I can schedule a training session for the both of us tomorrow, either at dawn or dusk.” She continued in the calmer way that was characteristic to her, “And I agree, I would like to see your techniques,” she patted the pocket with her notebook, “I have done little study in poisonous snakes. I have a few notes on pythons, and have chosen to omit non-venomous snakes because I see them nearly useless in battle, but your kind has yet to enter my personal records.” She walked back to the main hall, expecting Calise to follow her. Jagara turned into the administrator’s office, which was empty, and turned on the coffee machine for herself. Looking around, she found an assortment of truffles in the mini-fridge that thankfully had not expired. The snow leopard shifter opened the box and offered it to Calise, “Care for any?”

(Sorry this came so late, I've been busy and pulled away from the screen any time I try to reply! Hopefully it is alright that this was my final post in the thread.)

Placing her hand on her bag to feel the book, she listened to Jagara’s words carefully. The snake shifter’s mind mulled over each one about their leader and processed them, thinking that maybe she would like their Regina. Though, she wanted to learn more before she met the leader. Of course, maybe all her questions could be answered verbally by the tigress. Calise deemed that she would prefer to acutally read everything the book had to offer before, for she much preferred the company of the paper to teach her. “By the way you described her, it seems to me like she is a very good leader. Though, I would like to meet her and see for myself after I read more about our kind. Thank you though, for getting me this book. I’ll make sure it comes back to you in the same condition,” she said, flicking her eyes down with the motion of Jagara’s hand on the notebook. Calise wondered what all was written in there, but thought better of it than to ask.

Her attention was soon turned to the thoughts of battle and she agreed with Jagara’s words. “I’m not asking for a battle team so soon because I have only just met you. I think of it more as both of us learning about each other. You say you have very little studied on poisonous snakes, and if you would like to know more I would be glad to tell you. I, on the other hand, wish to learn what I am up against if I were to fight an animal of four legs. Of course, I’ve had experience with other creatures on four legs, but I think this would be quite different.” Calise followed Jagara quietly, not missing a step and walking to a silent tempo within her mind while slipping her bag onto her shoulder. She was quietly going over her routines as she often did and thought of each step and movement she was to take. Her attention snapped back to Jagara like a rubber band, listening the other shifter’s question before shaking her head. Calise wasn’t for any sweets or really anything unhealthy. “No, but thank you for both the offer and the kindness you’ve shown me.” Giving Jagara a small smile, she took the strap of her bag and moved it securely to her other shoulder. “I think that I will take my leave and leave you to your writing. It was a pleasure to finally fully meet you, Jagara and I will see you tomorrow.” Nodding good-bye, Calise turned on her heel and walked from the library to find a quiet place to read.