A Bright Future [Private:Shuhei]

Gemma’s breath came out in short puffs as she paused and set her large array of books on the stairs next to her before sitting down, exhaling as she closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. Tilting her head back, enjoying a quick breeze before opening her eyes and looking out in the distance, she couldn’t help but notice how much of a gorgeous city Era was, and the surroundings. The Council’s Hill was a prime place to be able to see the large city and the rich fields sprawled further out. But what a pain to have the Council itself so high. Gemma had been dragging piles of recently discovered documents up there the whole morning, climbing the hill three times already.

And people wonder why the old men on the council rarely leave this place, she thought derisively, if they came down they’d probably never be able to get all the way back. At least not within a day or being carried by a couple of Rune Knights. With a groan she rose back up, looking up trying to evaluate how much more effort she’d have to do to reach the top. She was already halfway, and Gemma couldn’t thank the enhanced slayer body enough, the first two times up the hill were a breeze, but the effort as well as the absolute boringness of the task was starting to weight on her.

Gemma tilted backwards slightly, cracking her back before crouching down, piling the books and documents again a bit straighter, getting ready to haul them up the rest of the way. They would be amazing addition to the library of the Council- once the Intelligence branch reads through them and decides if they could be accessible to the public. They seemed intriguing- to say the least. She picked the top one curiously, dusting off the old leather cover, her fingers running over a sun-like symbol encrusted in the cover.

Huh- she thought to herself, tempted to open the book- knowing full well she shouldn’t, at least not before it got reviewed by the science department. These books could easily contain a nasty surprise no? Gemma questioned, trying to reason herself out of this little temptation. Where did they find these texts already? The cursed lands? Nothing good ever came from that place. And after all, curiosity killed the cat, she thought with a small smirk on her face as she placed the leather bond book back on top of the pile.

But satisfaction brought it back.

Gemma chuckled to herself, how reckless of her to think that way. But then again that kind of behavior hadn’t come back to bite her- yet. Slipping her hand under the stack she lift the books up, balancing them on her chest as she glanced back up to the large Council building, taking in a large breath.

“One more lap and you’re done” she encouraged herself as she resumed the climb.

"Hello"

Though Gemma would have no memory of him or his presence prior to his greeting, Shuhei mysteriously appeared before the councilwoman, sitting several steps above her. "Lovely morning isn't it?" He asked. He smiled and stood up from his step and took one step down. He raised his hand in front of him and pointed his index finger at the stack of books she was carrying, looking at them with interest. "Would you like some help with those? They look awfully heavy, especially for a lady such as yourself." He offered politely, hoping that she would allow him to carry the tomes for her. He smiled charmingly, acting as he normally did. His motives however, were not entirely as chivalrous as they may have appeared. Prior to their meeting, Shuhei had watched Gemma with his Graeae, a crystal ball which still hovered high in the clear blue sky. He watched while she carried two other large stacks of books up to the council building, without feeling any obligation to offer her any assistance. This time however, Gemma was carrying something Shuhei sought after for some time. Before the Council got to it first that is... A special tome Shuhei hoped to slip in to his robe before they parted ways. He extended his hands, offering to take the load from her. "Allow me."

Her head snapped up in surprise as she heard a voice suddenly cutting through the silence- stopping sharply on her way up the stairs and looking up and the sound's origin. Gemma took in the man's appearance, assessing any threats as a reflex, her body relaxing slightly as she didn't feel in immediate danger in his presence. She was however- wary, due to the fact that she did not hear at all the man making his way up the steps and approaching her. Something that she always heard due to her enhanced sense- a skill often grating, really. And yet- not a sound had reached her.

"Hello" she answered back trying to keep her voice quite neutral even if her facial expression probably betrayed her uneasiness. "Why, does it seem like I was struggling so far? You'd make me look bad in front of my colleges if it looks like I can't handle a pile of dusty books" Gemma added, cocking her head to the slide.

She stared at his outstretched hand awkwardly. She did not trust random acts of kindness- but they weren't things that she could justifiably be afraid of. "Ok, tell you what, you take half, I take half. It'll get the job done faster a two, wouldn't it?" she asked, trying to sound friendly before putting the stack to the ground, grabbing the top half of the pile and handing it to the man before picking up what was left. It's only when she got back up that Gemma realized the tome she had been observing was on top of the man's pile. No, there's nothing to worry about, she rationalizes, I'll just keep an eye on it- just in case. "Shall we go then?"