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It is a lovely Saturday morning. Feathered children are watching cartoons; furred adults are eating brunch; scaled teenagers - one scaled teenager in particular, actually - is arguing with the proprietor of a magic shop.
"How did these items get made if there's no way to learn magic? Are the magicians homeschooling their children and not writing any books? How did you learn?"
"Half this stuff is antiques," says the shopkeep. "Look, asking me a dozen times isn't gonna make the answer more to your liking. I don't have Hogwarts in the basement, deal with it."
"But where do you get the stuff that isn't antique - who made the Avalon itself? - isn't anybody panicking about the medallion supply? -"
"Kid, nobody knows how to make medallions."
"But some people apparently know how to make luck charms and protection amulets!"
"I'm not going to give out my suppliers' personal information. I wouldn't do it even if you weren't annoying."
"There have to be books -"
"Does this look like a library to you?"
maybeso
asteptotheright
"That is a point. Although I suspect if it were literally so frequent something would have been done by now."
maybeso
"You'd be surprised! Although all my information on that is not from inside the Avalon; I'm new here."
themainattraction
"I found out I was a firebird under kind of awkward circumstances, and then I met Jaromira a while later, and we just kind of--clicked. And she was a sympathetic ear who wasn't close enough to the situation to make it weird, and then of course she told her brother everything--about critters and magic and stuff I mean, not the personal stuff I told her--and it turns out he's kind of a huge fantasy geek, and the idea that magic was real, well."
maybeso
"It's real but apparently in an absolute institutional shambles," sighs Wheelchair Girl. "I'm May. I'm a wyvern. You'll forgive me if I don't demonstrate." She gestures at the chair.
themainattraction
"Oh, of course. And I'm Daphne and I just said this was Jaromira, and that's Kanimir," she says, waving at the relevant persons as they're named.
asteptotheright
"It's a pleasure to meet you, even under the circumstances. Perhaps especially under the circumstances. I think I'd not have inquired after educational possibilities for some time had you not been there." He snorts. "'Institutional shambles' may be too kind. Had there been an institution in the first place for there to be shambles of there would at least be some historical precedent for finding teachers."
maybeso
"Well, it used to be possible to make medallions, and a great many of them were in fact made," May says. "It may have been a couple thousand years ago when they stopped, but just because you can't go get a Library Card of Alexandria doesn't mean it was never built."
When they've crossed the park and reached the bookstore, May says, "Could one of you hold the door for me so I can haul the chair up the steps?"
When they've crossed the park and reached the bookstore, May says, "Could one of you hold the door for me so I can haul the chair up the steps?"
maybeso
"I can pull it up okay," May assures her. "I wind up having to do it all the time. Just not while opening that kind of door. I apologize if I fall on you, though."
She gets out of her chair, hand firmly on the railing; takes the two steps up; and pulls her chair after her. When it is in the bookstore she sits again.
She gets out of her chair, hand firmly on the railing; takes the two steps up; and pulls her chair after her. When it is in the bookstore she sits again.
jumptotheleft
"Don't worry, if you'd fallen on either of us we'd blame the bookstore owner for not putting in a ramp."
maybeso
The bookstore has conventional sections, from romance novels to cookbooks. It also has a section entitled Magical Nonfiction. May rolls in its direction.
asteptotheright
Magical Nonfiction.
After a couple moments of gazing raptly at the sign, he follows her.
After a couple moments of gazing raptly at the sign, he follows her.
maybeso
Magical Nonfiction seems to mostly be about kinds of critters. There are books like The Typology of Griffins and A History of Totems: Africa and Nixie Facts and 500 Historical Figures You Didn't Know Wore Medallions and Imaginary, Extinct, And Hiding.
There is one copy of a book called Runecasting and two, one clearly used, of Abridged Runic Dictionary.
"...How annoyed are you three going to be if I just. Take these," says May, grabbing the lone Runecasting and the used dictionary.
There is one copy of a book called Runecasting and two, one clearly used, of Abridged Runic Dictionary.
"...How annoyed are you three going to be if I just. Take these," says May, grabbing the lone Runecasting and the used dictionary.
jumptotheleft
"I mean, mostly it's Kanimir who's interested in learning magic. Daphne and I aren't totally uninterested--we're sane, after all--but he's the one who really, really wants it."
asteptotheright
"...The amount of money I can draw on without Father asking questions I'd rather not answer doesn't cover a medallion but it would cover those books. If I bought them for you would you be willing to do some kind of time-share on the one there's only one copy of? We could meet--somewhere public, of course, I'm all but a stranger--say once a week to exchange it and discuss? Having a teacher doesn't seem to be on the table, but having someone else to learn with seems worthwhile."
maybeso
"...You are offering to buy the books for me, so that I will have them, in exchange for me showing up somewhere periodically to study buddy with you," says May, blinking. "Is that what you're saying?"
asteptotheright
"That's mostly it. I also enjoy spending Father's money on things he would disapprove of. And I would not wish to deprive you of access to information on magic, given how difficult it apparently is to find."
maybeso
"Well, I'd be very silly to turn down this deal, and I am many things but that's not one of them. You have yourself a study buddy, Kanimir."
asteptotheright
"Wonderful. I expect this Avalon would be an appropriate location, depending on how convenient it is for more regular visits."
maybeso
"It's convenient enough for me weekends and afternoons. But not summers or some holidays; I visit my dad."
asteptotheright
"Understood. I'm available...most any day of the week, actually." He smiles wryly. "As my sister is so fond of reminding me, I don't have much of a social life outside of her."