It's a nice library, especially for such a small town, with plenty of everything, but a focus on science and poetry, a well-appointed children's' section, a nice selection of music and holovids, and comfy chairs offering varying amounts of privacy.
Right now, though, it's closing time; the announcements have been made, the final checkout rush handled, and now the librarian is making one last check before she locks up for the night.
"I am - making it easier? Yeah, I know." She reaches over to pat his knee. "But if there's more I can be doing, I want to. I don't want things to be hard, there's no reason for that. And, anyway, you are getting it, even just in the last couple days you've come a long way. It's just a really hard thing with no good way to come at it."
He nods slowly (a tiny flush of pride at being told he's come a long way in it). "I- it's-" He stops, trying to get the words he wants to say organised, and the courage to actually get them out. "I- that you- want to...make things easier, I- and you are, and- that's important?"
"Mmhmm." She scoots over to join the hug. "There's two different things going on here, and they're both important - the one you're talking about is showing you that this matters, that you matter, that people are going to want you to be okay. That one I think we're doing pretty well with; I know it's still confusing, but it's not so bad - you're not at the goal, yet, but you have your feet under you, and you have an idea of where you're going. But then the other one is - everything else, more or less. Figuring out how to be okay, how to be more than just a slave. And that's the hard one; there's a lot to learn, and you mostly have to do it by yourself."
He hums quietly, and nods, slow and not entirely certain. "I- but- you'll- help? I- even if. It's...mostly on me?"
"As much as I can, yeah. It might not always be very much. But who knows, maybe I'll come up with something clever. And - even if you have to do it the hard way, I'm sure you can. You shouldn't have to - a lot of things about this should never have happened to you - but that doesn't mean you can't."
That gets a small smile - he's pretty sure it's the first time that anyone's told him that they're sure he can do something, it's certainly not something he'd heard before coming here.
Nine comes looking for them, after a little while. Daisy is the first to notice him, and gives Pradnakt a gentle nudge to alert her; Pradnakt looks up and nods at him, and he comes over and settles quietly beside them.
He nods, considers that he's still sort of clinging to Pradnakt and Daisy, and the fact that that might make his assessment seem a little false. Still can't quite pull away. "Just got...overwhelmed?" he says.
"Humans don't always do very well when they're dealing with something new; it's hard for them, especially if it's too different from what they're used to."
"And touch helps humans relax, too. Nova would probably be all right if we had to go, now, but we don't, so there's no reason to rush it."
"He'd be all right, yeah," Pradnakt nods, "but I want him to know we'll be here if he wants us."
He looks sideways at her, smiles shyly, and then nods, but doesn't seem to have anything else to say.
That's fine, they can just cuddle.
Eventually Pradnakt gets bored, and sends a trio of small stones swooping around in an intricate telekinetic dance.
He doesn't exactly pull away, but he shifts so he can watch. After a few minutes, he absently starts humming bars of the music he's been listening to (he's not entirely in key, but that may be because he's never spent much time trying to sing music with accompaniment, never mind without).
Nova grins delightedly as he realises both that he's humming and that the stones are moving in time with it.
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