forum All my rps r ded so.... rp with a smol 'vegan' vampire?

Started September 07, 2020 by @Kinarymo

tune

Reflecting back, Damien never really made a lot of noise as he moved around, not even the thud he made when he fell backwards the first time they met was one that could be called loud - perhaps there were no special abilities involved, and he was just lightweight enough to not make much noise.
"Oh… I see… I assume its because they just couldnt find any other job? Or perhaps just took whatever was available? I mean, if im not mistaken, theres jobs that just need someone to take them, even if they are not that fun…" he speculated, lifting his knees to his chest, basically turning himself into a comfy ball on the couch.

"Uh, you're welcome…" the boy said hesitantly, not entirely sure about what had just transpired. He did understand that perhaps things that were normal back in his day were now totally out of fashion, and it was pretty hard to get used to that.

Damien gripped his knees with his arms, looking like he was very eager to see all the places that were mentioned.
"Yes, all of those, i'd like to go there!" he chirped, part of him longing to see places he'd only heard and dreamed of before this day. Just to sum up the courage to leave was all that was left for him to do.

"But… Shouldnt they tell you when something was invented/discovered? It should be top page information, in my opinion." he frowned, genuinely confused by the situation.

"Ooh, so its a matter of how the food is cooked and the cleanliness of the place, i get it."
If that was the case, then he could understand why some people found a place as being 'bad'. Too much grease was never a pleasant thing to have in food, and definitely not a healthy one either.

"Asia…." he murmured, like he was tasting the word in his mouth. "I think i remember it being mentioned before. Its been a long time but i think i've heard it before. What's anime…?"

”Yeah, that's usually what ends up happening.” she nodded with a smile, impressed by his deductive reasoning skills. It probably wasn't that hard to figure those things out but she was still impressed.

Mari chuckled a little at his confusion but it was definitely better than if she had accidentally upset him with her earlier point about parents. She was being sincere with her thanks, though. He really gave her a new perspective on things like this.

Her laugh grew at his excitement but she nodded. ”Alright then.” she promised, willing to take him anywhere in town that he wanted to see. Though she could wait for him to be ready first. She didn't want him to be traumatized by anything. They’d take it nice and easy.

She shrugged a little at his question. ”It would be nice if they did. But I can't really remember actually learning that information… if the school did mention it in class.” she said a little hopelessly.

”Exactly.” she nodded. ”Honestly, there are some places try to cut corners but they don't stay open very long because… Well, obvious reasons.” she told him, not wanting to hide too much from him.

”It’s ok.” she assured him. Though it at least gave her a possible hint of where Damien’s family might have been from. She knew she was probably grasping at straws, but it was still something. ”Anime, or manga, is an art style often displayed in comics or graphic novels usually originating from Asian or Japanese culture. It also has been made into some popular tv series.” she explained.

"Aww, that's so sad… Those poor people" he sighed, looking defeated. Sometimes people just did not have luvk in life, and it hurt to realize that.

"Mn!" Damien approved of the plan genuinely excited at the prospect of seeing new places that offered some of the things he'd enjoyed the most in life, food and books. Of course, the one thing he was on edge about was the fact he was going to encounter adults if he went outside, which was uneasy about. While he hadn't had any contact with anyone in almost a century, the boy was still left with a small speck of fear when it came to people, especially in larger numbers. But according to Mari, no one hunted vampires anymore, right? So he should technically be alright, as long as she was with him.

Seeing her shrug, Damien pouted a little bit, offering her an understanding gaze.
"Hey… it's okay. Perhaps it wasnt mentioned, or you just forgot, it can happen to anyone" he tried comforting her. "Who knows, maybe the book i read was by someone really small in the field, and thats why its not common knowledge now"

The boy shook his head, understanding what his friend meant, to some extent. Bad food was not worth paying for if it was bad or made one sick, it was that simple.

Even without that information, the boy's very features had suggested he at least had one or both parents from the east side of the world. From which country? That wasnt as easy to find out, but at least it was a start.
"Ooh i see! Do you like those things? Are they good?" he asked, curious about this new form of media he'd just found out about

”Yeah, it is sad.” she nodded a little, not liking how disappointed he looked. Mari may have been used to the fact that it was just how things are but she had seen how the ”wrong” job could make someone miserable. “Hey, it’s ok. It happens sometimes.”

She smiled brightly at his excitement, already looking forward to showing him around. Maybe she could even… Nah, meeting a couple of her friends might be a little too much so soon. Besides she had promised that she would protect him. Introducing him to other people might be a little contradictory at this point.

She couldn't help but chuckle a little and nodded. ”Yeah, I could have forgotten. It's pretty easy when you have a lot of different classes to attend… and all the homework.” she told him, not really upset by the fact. She just didn't like being unable to explain things well enough to Damien. ”That’s also a possibility.” she agreed.

Mari nodded a little at his questions regarding Anime. ”Some more than others. It's not that different from too many other books or tv shows. Just the art style.” she explained, only having seen a couple of episodes from a few shows of this variety. ”It’s definitely more adventurous and fantasy-based. But I find the story to be the most important part. An interesting arc and fillers… uhh, in between episodes that don't feel like they're just… kinda there. I like the ones that feel like they're still part of the story.” she admitted.

Deflated, the boy was hugging his skinny knees to his chest, back resting against the pillow.
"Yeah, but still, its sad to know some people just dont get what they want." he sighed, resting his chin on his knees.

"Are we also going to see your favorite places while we go out?" he asked, curious to see what she liked as well - after all, he felt like he should try and see what his friend liked too, they were friends after all, no?

Damien managed to crack a small weak smile, finding her gestures really interesting to look at, for some reason.
"Well, if you want, i could borrow you the book. It might be outdated by today's standards, but at least you get to read it as it was back then." he offered, thinking it would be a good thing to do, since she too had brought him something.

"Ooh, so its something you watch, like you did on your little device-thingy" Honestly, bringing those genres into discussion, Damien was starting to become interested in such pieces of media. He liked fantasy stories in general, and wouldnt mind something new, but to see a story unfold before your eyes, that was the most intriguing part for him.
"A good story is always something good, to be honest. Isn't that a main rule for any book?"

Mari was sitting comfortably next to him, leaning against the back of the couch with one arm propped up kinda behind her as she faced him. Though seeing her new friend like this… honestly she wanted to hug him to comfort him, he looked so huggable most of the time anyway. ”Yeah, I'm not arguing that point. It's just there are very few people who get what they want.” she said gently. Sometimes when her brothers got this sad, she would playfully ruffle their hair to cheer them up but she didn't think either of those would work with Damien. At least not yet.

She blinked a couple times before nodding with a soft smile. “If you want to, sure. Though I do enjoy the library too and I was already thinking about taking you to a couple of my favorite restaurants.” she told him, though she would have to think about other places she liked best that she could show him. Probably newer places that he hadn't heard of before.

She smiled back at him and gave a little nod. ”That’s a generous offer… If you really don't mind. I promise I’ll take good care of it. And it would be interesting to see what the older scientists thought about genetics.” she said thoughtfully.

”Yeah. It can be watched that way, or read. I’m guessing that comic books and graphic novels are also new to you?” Mari chuckled kindly though she shrugged a little at his question. ”Well, there are exceptions… sometimes it's treated as more of a guideline but it doesn't always turn out so good when that happens.” she agreed.

"That's… so unfair. I can't imagine how many people just have their dream crushed just because they're not lucky. It's just painful…" he mumbled, sinking his face behind his knees. He'd never worked in his life, but he had some knowledge of not getting what he wanted in life - mainly a quiet happy life - so he definitely felt bad for all the poor unfortunate souls out there facing their own problems. Guess there was a new kind of misery people could go through in this new age.

"Sure! i'd love to. I want to see anything you want to show me, im not picky" he tried to assure her, seemingly beaming at the prospect. In all fairness, he hadn't actually been anywhere at all, so anything and everything sparked a lot of curiosity in him. It was the people he wasn't too comfortable with. Both his birth mother and his adoptive one had told him of various places they'd seen in their lifetime, many of which he would have loved to see and still wanted to, after all this time.

Receiving confirmation from her, the boy hopped off the couch, ready to head over to the library to search for the book in question. He knew where is was, but he'd need a bit to get it.
Of course! If you want, you can come with me downstairs so i can give it to you right away" he offered, hand on the guard rail, preparing to trot down the small flight of stairs and back to the corridor accessing his room. "But only if you want. You can wait here, but i wouldnt want you to get bored while i look for it"

Damien shook his head a bit at her question, in a "yes and no" way.
"I dont know what comic books or graphic novels are, but if you mean a book with pictures in it, then i know what that is" he replied, looking at her facial expression in order to detect any gesture that might indicate he understood what she meant. "Guideline? As in how? I dont get it"

She shook her head a little, agreeing with him that it wasn't fair but she knew that's just how it was. ”It’s not always luck, Damien. There are a lot of factors involved when someone is trying to get a job. Not just how good you did in school.” she told him gently. ”Now… I’m going to have to inform you that if you keep this up, I'm not going to be able to hold myself back any longer and will hug you to try to make you feel better.” she warned with a playful smile though she wasn't kidding.

Mari chuckled softly at his enthusiasm for going to new places. If he wasn't so timid, he probably could have been an explorer or adventurer of some kind. ”Well… Oh! How about we go to the cinema sometime? I can check what movies might be playing at the time and if there are any good ones, we can see it together.” she offered.

”I won't get bored.” she smiled, standing with him and walking after him. ”I told you, I like libraries. I might have glimpsed yours when I first found your home but I didn't really look around.” she admitted, blushing a little at the fact that she snuck around someone else's place when she didn't know him.

Mari shook her head and smiled softly. ”It’s… It's not the same as a picture in a book. A comic is pretty much 80% pictures telling the story with speech and thought bubbles from the character… and some little narratives on the edges.” she explained. ”And the pictures are full color instead of just a black and white sketching.”

Learning not only luck was a major reason for the screw overs, the boy silently nodded in agreement. He lifted his head at her warning, looking semi surprised with his green eye wide open.
"A… a hug? Uh, sure i don't mind… I was just a bit sad cause of it all, was it that bad?" he said, his initial surprise turned to coyness. The very first words of the sentence sounded like he was in trouble but the second half changed everything. As a friend, he didnt mind if she touched her, in fact, he kinda wanted to in a way. It had been a very long time since anyone had touched him after all.

"Cinema? What's that? A place to see movies at? But i thought you could already do that on your phone" Damien inquired, perplexed as to why she would go to some place to see a movie when she could do it at home. Sure, he would have wanted to go there if she suggested it was good, but he was still curious.

Damien had already taken a step when she addmited snooping around the old mansion.
"Oh, you've seen it already? Then i guess you wont mind if i show it to you properly this time" he smiled a bit as he continued walking down the stairs and into the corridor.

"Wow… I dont think i saw any book besides atlases with that many pictures before. It's like getting to see the action instead of reading it and imagining it? That's pretty interesting!" he admitted, wanting to see a book like that some day, especially in color

”No. You didn't do anything wrong, you just have a very empathic heart.” she said, a little surprised by his sudden sly behavior. It seemed like a complete turn around from his usual attitude. ”I didn't want you to feel bad for something that's not your fault and my big sister instincts kicked in.” she explained, still willing to hug him if he wanted.

”It is and you can.” Mari answered, smiling at him. ”But with phones and computers, you have to pay to download the movie, which is nice. However, the quality of the movie is often better in the theaters and they have great acoustics so it seems like the sound is coming from all around you instead of through little speakers or headphones.” she told him. ”Going to the theater is a whole different experience. And there's snack food available for you to buy while you watch the movie.”

She blushed a little more but nodded. ”Sort of. I didn't know anyone was even here. I was just trying to kill some time until the storm blew over.” she explained, defending her actions as she followed him. ”But, I would like to actually see your library.”

”Yes, it really does.” she smiled as he was starting to understand the topic. ”That makes sense though… about the world maps, I mean. But now there are so many books with colorful pictures. I'll be sure to remember to bring some of those over once you're finished with the other books I brought you.”

"Empathetic? What's that? You mean caring, or something like that?" he tilted his head, curiously. "Oh, so being an older sibling means you have some certain instincts? Is hugging part of them?"

"Oooh, so the cinema is better? The part about sound coming from all around is interesting though. Is it like you're being in real life?"
After receiving a proper explanation, his interest in this new place had been renewed - making the cinema receive a spot on his to-visit list for when he finally went out. They also had food, who could say no to that?

He sighed reassuringly as he made his way through the gently lit corridor.
"It's okay, dont worry. I guess most people would assume no one lives here since it looks so delapidated as you walk in."
He pushed the small door at the end open, stepping out in the main salon, continuing to walk silently towards the old stone stairs.
"This way then"

"I would really like to see some of those books if you manage to bring them! i'll make sure to not keep you waiting, i promise!" he chirped, happy at the thought he would get more books once he finished the new ones he'd gotten.

She nodded at his definition. ”Yeah. Caring, compassionate, or even sympathetic to other people, even if you don't really know the person… they all mean the same thing.” she told him, hoping that helped clear it up. ”Sometimes it does… At least for me, I can't speak for everyone else. It also means, for me, that I have a very protective side. But you already knew about that.” she smiled a little.

”It’s definitely better. Though I don't know if it's the same as real-life… Pretty close sometimes, especially with a live-action movie.” she said as she shared his excitement. ”There are different types of movies. Live-action is similar to a traditional play, with actors, while an animated movie is more like moving drawings.” she explained, anticipating his next question on the topic.

Mari sighed softly, almost in relief at his assurance, and nodded. ”Probably. Not a lot of people would come near this house because of how it looks.” she admitted in agreement before smiling a little. ”Another good example of judging a book by its cover.”

”I had a feeling you would.” she chuckled, nodding. ”I think I can get them at the library but I’ll find some to bring you. And don't worry about the wait. You have two weeks to read the books I borrowed for you.” she assured him, wanting him to enjoy the books.

Damien mouthed an 'oh' as he nodded and looked away. Being nice and helpful to others was what his mother had taught him to do, despite not ever seeing other people in the time he was there. Even now after what he'd gone through, he couldn't bring himself to hate anyone, just fear them.
"I never had any siblings, so i dont think i could say i know what that feels like. Your brothers must be very lucky to have you as a protective big sister" he chuckled weakly, a tad bit envious deep down inside.

"Moving drawings? like, as if pictures moved? Freely? how does that work? and can you see them at the cinema? For real? Must be so cool" he piped up, really intrigued by this new idea. Moving pictures were probably already a thing in his time, but being isolated like he'd been he'd most likely never seen one himself.

"To be honest, i think there was one time other people were here, some time ago. I heard them come in, but i just hid away because they were in a group. They left soon after but it was really unnerving to be fair…" he muttered, climbing the steps upwards and walking past a pile of rubble. "But that was just one time, it didnt happen again after." he added, proceeding to punch the wall behind a tapestry with the side of his fist, causing a small square of wall to just open outwards to what was a small dark tunnel. "I'm honestly glad people dont like old abandoned houses."

He smiled towards her before heading inside the tunnel, a happy shimmer visible in his eye.
"Thank you. Thank you so much"

Mari chuckled a little, blushing at the compliment, before walking up beside him and gently wrapped her arm around his shoulders. ”You would have been a great brother too. You’re so sweet and considerate. I can definitely see you as a younger brother.” she admitted. ”As for my brothers, I hope they share your opinion of me.”

”Yeah, they move almost like people, when they're drawn right, and it is pretty cool.” she nodded, smiling at his excitement… She might just take him to two movies so he could see the difference for himself. ”Well, I think it works by… people draw the same or similar pictures and the paper moves real fast so it looks like the drawing is moving… Actually, that's called a flipbook but I think it's more or less the same principle.” she tried to explain even though there was a lot more to animation than just that.

She listened carefully to his little story and couldn't help but wonder if it was just a small group of kids trying to act brave or if it had been something else. ”I don't blame you for feeling that way. I probably would have hid at first too if someone just came into my home unwelcome.” she assured him kindly, her eyes widened at the hallway he just opened. ”How many secret passageways do you have in this house?” she asked in awe.

”Don’t mention it.” she smiled happily back at him as she followed behind him into the hidden path. ”It’s my pleasure.”

Initially, he seemed to shrug at the touch, but a moment later he was relaxed again - he had given her permission to touch him because he trusted her after all, he had nothing to worry, right? Now that he was going through it, it actually felt kinda nice, to be fair. He'd missed the warm feeling of someone else's touch for years, so much he'd nearly forgotten what it was like.
"You… you really think that?" he asked with a small hopeful look in his eye as he bashfully gazed her way. "i hope they do too, you're really wonderful"

He frowned slighty at the explanation, now once again trying to visualise it.
"Wait, so people draw it on paper then they flip through it real fast? how does it end up on a screen though? i doubt too many people can fit around a table to see a book being flipped through…" he expressed his concern, as he was trying to make sense of it all.

"i can take one person wandering inside here, but im always unnerved by multiple people at once. It just never ended well for me when there were more than 2 people" he said, before smiling a little at her surprised expression.
"Theres quite several of these passageways through the mansion, basically at least one leading to every room there is, except one or two i think. Most are kinda small, but you should see the one under the building, that one's actually huge!" he exclaimed, a little proud to feel impressive for once in his life for knowing something others did not.

Once Mari had followed him, Damien closed the door behind them then proceeded to lead the way to the library. Due to the main halls and the general state of disrepair, Damien always opted to use the passageways as to leave the place undisturbed and preserve its untouched appearance. Besides, these tunels were more comfortable to use.
After what felt like a few minutes of trotting through darknes, the boy arrived to what looked like a deadend, which he proceeded to push against, letting the light flood inside.
"Here we are" he chirped, gesturing for her to go ahead first

Mari let out a soft breath, she hadn’t really realized she’d been holding, when he didn’t immediately pull away and seemed to actually welcome the gesture. ”Of course, I do. I wouldn't lie to you about that, chamaco.” she smiled back at him, her cheeks still a bit flushed. ”Thanks. You're pretty cool too.”

The sixteen year old was caught between laughing and smacking herself in the face at how confused she made him. ”Not exactly. That's more like a flipbook than a movie. With a movie, the pictures are put on a small almost clear… material called film, or microfilm, that runs in front of a strong light from a projector… Which basically works as a magnifier and the pictures are projected onto a big screen. That way a lot of people can see the show.” she explained more clearly.

”I guess it depends on the person.” she shrugged a little. ”Normally, one or two people can be pretty reasonable… but I guess too many people can get to be a bit much.” she said softly, more to herself really but still agreeing with him. Mob mentally was a dangerous thing when it overtook people.

”Wow. I bet that big tunnel is an emergency escape way.” she guessed, still awed by this architecture. ”I think that's pretty standard in a lot of old buildings, especially big ones.” she said thoughtfully as she continued to follow him through the dark. With Damien as a half-vampire, she suspected that his eyes were much better than hers in this kind of lighting. Plus he knew this path better, having lived here for so long… He could probably navigate this whole house with his eyes closed.

Being called cool made Damien feel his cheeks warm up as a small smile made its way on his lips. It felt so nice having someone who genuinely found him interesting.
"Mn," he nodded, smiling.

The boy continued to frown, the little wheels in his head clearly spinning to provide him with an answer he could understand.
"Im sorry, but it doesnt really make sense to me… Maybe if you showed me?" he said, with a shy tremor in his voice.

"Its also pretty weird you know? Cuz you never know what they might be up to… Especially if they want to hurt you or something…" he commented, with a shudder, reminiscing of the past.

"Actually no, the big one is actually a secret place to hide in, and also go out if you want, but mainly to hide, and store things." he explained, walking out into the library. "It could be, im not sure. This was the first ever house with tunnels like this i ever encountered. Mother showed most of them to me back when she was around."

She chuckled a little at his cute blush and nodded again, trying to ignore the brief impulse to playfully ruffle his hair before she accepted his offer and exited the little hallway.

”I think so… I’ll certainly try at least.” she answered his question. ”I can definitely take you to see an animated movie when we go out… If you’d like I can look for a book on cinematography and movies. It's ok if you don't understand how movies work. I don't really know how they work either, other than what I told you.” she admitted with a small shrug, hoping she had reassured him.

Mari nodded at his comment with a small frown of her own. ”Yeah, that's true.” she said softly, deciding not to ask about his discomfort.

”Oh. Well, that's still pretty cool.” she told him, thinking it over a little more. ”Honestly, this is the first house I’ve ever encountered with these too. I always wanted to see them though, just didn't know where to look. I thought these kind of things were just in fancy homes or castles over in England or something.”

"You can? That's awesome! i cant wait!" he exclaimed, eager to see these so called moving pictures. "A book about them? Sure, i'd like to read something like that! If its not a bother for you to get it, that is"

"Yeah, the castles in europe tended to have more secret passages, mainly in case of emergency or anything. But maybe someone just liked that idea well enough to make a mansion with secret tunnels within." he explained, pushing back the bookcase he'd moved when they'd arrived, before proceeding to turn around towards Mari.
"Welp, this is it. This is the library."
Much like the boy's headquarters, the library was pretty well maintained, nearly frozen in time and mostly untouched by the rot of time and elements. Decorated with oak wood and gold dusted chandeliers, the room stood tall above them, each and every single wall being covered by a large bookcase, containing perhaps several hundreds of books - it was almost as grand and elegant as one would think a castle's library would be.

”Of course I can. I’m pretty excited about it too.” she smiled back. ”Hey, it's no trouble. Getting books from the public library is pretty easy. They have books on just about everything.” she assured him.

”I wouldn't be surprised. People tend to copy ideas that they like or think are cool.” Mari agreed, watching him move the bookshelf into place before turning to look around. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the sheer size and number of books that were in the room. For a private library, it was incredibly impressive! With everything in such a cared for condition she almost felt like she had traveled back in time… No, she felt more like an archeologist discovering a rare treasure.

She stammered in awe for a moment. ”This is… I’m speechless. Damien, this has to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.” she finally managed to get out.

"Just about everything? As in, every single thing one can think of? That's so impressive… I didnt think there would be so many books by now.. Wow" he murmured, taking in the news. Most of his life was spent in the presence of a moderate number of books, either owned by his mother or here in the mansion. To have books about everything there was in the world, that was a lot to Damien.

The boy nodded, turning around in the same direction Mari was facing, to be beside her.
"Mhm, and i think whomever built this place did a pretty good job with it, honestly. All the tunels are so handy, especially when unwanted people are here"
His expression couldnt be really classified as a smile, more like the face a cat would make when closing its eyes.

"It… It is?" he opened his eye, looking at her facial expression so as to convince himself he was reading her expression right. "I did my best to keep it in as good of a shape as possible! they were the only books i had after all…"

”More or less.” she nodded. ”There’s definitely a lot… Maybe thousands… I never even thought about trying to count them all. Plus, there are new books coming out almost all the time.” she shrugged a little.

”I’m sure it does and I have to agree that it's very well built.” she told him, trying to interpret his expression. It was kinda cute but since she hadn't really seen that look before, she didn't know it was him being happy about the tunnels or remembering when someone snuck in and had to hide.

Mari smiled back at him and nodded. ”It is. You did a great job of taking care of them! I know people with new books and they don't treat them half as good as you seem to have with yours.” she admitted, feeling a little proud of him even though this was his responsibility and she knew she had nothing to do with it.

Damien sighed slightly.
"Wow, with so many books to read, i doubt anyone can ever get bored." he chuckled lightly, making his way over to the book cases.

"Well, you also need to know where exactly they are, otherwise its gonna take ages to find them" he added as a small side note, still looking like he was going to start purring any second now. Proud Damien was an unexpected sight to behold, mainly because of that cat like face.

The boy soon blushed slightly, as he began searching the shelves for the book he was after - he knew the name, thus it was only a matter of time until he found it.
"That's quite sad to hear" he said, slightly upset that not everyone treated books with the care they deserved. "But at least those people can just buy the books again if they break, no? i couldn't afford to do that…"
Eventually, his finger stopped on the familiar title, prompting him to gently remove the book from the shelf and climb back down on the ladder he'd used to get to the upper rows.
"Here, this is the one" he beamed as he handed her the book, with a simple cover on which the title was inscribed.

Mari chuckled lightly. ”It depends on the person. Not everyone is a bookworm but if they enjoy books as much as you do, then you’d be correct. Though there are books that some people think are boring. I’ll admit I have a few of those too, and I love a lot of books.”

”Or have a very good eye for details.” she pointed out, though she wasn't disagreeing with him. ”Lots of good mystery stories will tell you that.”

She almost laughed at his very cute expression. It was just so adorable. She wanted to take a picture of it… but she didn't want to startle him. Though a startled Damien might be just as cute as this…

”It’s sad when anything valuable gets treated like that.” she agreed, though her thoughts weren't just on books when she said that. ”Yeah, most people can replace damaged books or, depending on the type of damage, books can also be repaired.” she added as she looked around at the shelves of books while he searched. She looked over at him and smiled as she gently took the old book. ”Wow… Thanks for letting me borrow this.”

"Oh yea, theres always books that just arent a good read - usually because something is missing, like action, compelling characters, good plot, or just the way its written. I know i have some around here too, i think in that part of the library" he gestured to his right, to an obscure corner where a stack of books lay neatly on the floor, out of their shelves. "Took me weeks to read them, they just weren't any fun at all. Probably some wanna be authors or just not my cup of tea, tho i read everything in here."

The addition made him chuckle, though he did have to admit she was somewhat right.
"True true. But you're my guest if you want to try your luck at finding them. Some of them aren't as obvious and a few of them cannot be opened from the outside, just so you know" the boy warned her, still smiling a little.

"Indeed it is…" Damien sighed, one hand still on the ladder. "Its a sad waste of money too. Buying or fixing something just because no one is treating it with care. But i guess that rich people can afford stuff like that, as they do all the time"
The boy's hand lingered on the book a second longer, as if to either make sure Mari was holding it or because it felt strange giving a book to someone else. The feeling was nice though, and it helped him loosen up.
"Sure, no problem! Just be careful with it, okay?"