fandomhighdorms | Second Floor Common Room; Sunday Morning [01/23].

Even though things seemed like they might be improving between Libby and her roommate after last weekend, she still liked to give Vi her space, and, by now, Libby was just used to spending most of her time, albeit handwavily, in the common rooms or elsewhere. She was definitely starting to feel the ache of homesickness, though, and so she figured she might take care of some of that by writing some letters to send off, trying her best to detail things for her mother, for her siblings, for Zo (who would no doubt tease her a little for writing a letter when she could just text or call, but Libby knew she would appreciate the quaintness of it all the same) without ending up with whole novels for them to read.

There was a lot to be said, though! So she made herself a mug of hot chocolate, since it just seemed to really complete the whole experience, sat down at the table with a notebook and a ready pen, and got to recounting how her first month here in the outside world seemed to be shaping up for her, with the copy of the book she was reading for her books and movie class on hand, as well, because she figured, when she finished with the letters, she would go ahead and get started on that second read-through of it, since she'd pretty much already devoured it at least one.

[[ open common room is open for some lazy Sunday SP! ]]

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Libby had to grin a little at that. "There's a lot of books," she said, taking a moment to lift up her book from class as an example, "without pictures. And, actually, we have a lot of versions of it with pictures for the Littles, but, really, those just pick out all the good stories that kids would find interesting. The real Bible is definitely just all words, usually so small you have to lean right up to it to even read it!"

But then she bit her lip a little as she considered Kiem and felt compelled to ask, "Is your family not very religious? Or a...different religion?"

Her brain was still definitely trying to wrap itself around the idea that some people around here might not have even heard of Earth before coming here, much less Christianity and the Bible!

"Some of my family are religious, and some aren't. Most aren't. I think some might be faking it a bit. I'm a member of a sect line everyone else, but it's not a very demanding one."

He sighed. "Which is a good thing. I'm terrible at meditating. Last time she was upset with me my grandmother sent me to a monastery, so I think she still doesn't understand what kind of school this is."

"Do you and Kurt have the same religion, then?" He added.

Libby's eyes went a little wide. A monastery! Sure, Kiem didn't exactly sound happy about it, but that had to have been an interesting experience! Like girls sent off to nunneries in medieval times due to their bad behavior or to keep them chaste and virginal! Which meant now, Libby could only wonder which it was for Kiem and his monastary, although, based on what he said about his grandmother being upset, she had a feeling (oh, how scandalous!) it was probably closer to the first one.

Although she did feel a little bad for thinking that. But that last question gave her enough to puzzle over when it came to how to answer that she didn't feel bad for too long.

"Not...really," she admitted, and she sounded a little apologetic for it. "Kurt's Catholic, which is...."

It was hard, censoring herself from some of the harsh critiques that had been hammered into her. She tried again.

"We both believe in God," she said, "and his only son Jesus Christ dying for our sins, but the way we believe in it and practice our faith is....different."

What with Catholics basically being blasphemous idolators and papists who barely bothered to hide their pagan influences, after all....But she wasn't about to actually say any of that, and not just because it would be gossip if she did.

So she was eager to try and change the subject with an eager, "So what was it like being in a monastery? Did you have to wear thick, itchy robes and shave your head?"

Kiem was going to assume that meant different sects.

"Itchy robes? No, not itchy ones. And no shaving your head. Just a lot of... not talking. And meditation. I couldn't even check the dart car results. Or climb trees! Not that I usually climb trees a lot, but there wasn't much else to do."

"I swear," said Libby, smiling at Kiem as if to suggest that if he did climb trees often, she'd understand, he didn't have to pretend, "half the time, we couldn't even keep my brother Val out of trees..."

She wished she could, personally, appreciate the urge, but, of course, climbing trees would have been practically unheard of for a girl.

Meditating (as long as she just equated that to praying) and not talking, though, well...

"How long were you there for?"

"A month," Kiem said. "There was an... accident at school, and it ended up being in all the newslogs, and my grandmother thought it was the best thing to do. I don't think they wanted me back again though, although they wouldn't have dared to object to my grandmother."

"A month doesn't sound all that bad," said Libby, but before coming here, she rarely ever even left her own backyard, so she would have thought a month somewhere new, even if all she could do was meditate and not talk, would have been a thrill, "but I'm sure they'd been happy to have you back! Is.....is your grandmother a very important person, then? Or just a very intimidating one?"

"Both? She's really intimidating, and she's the emperor, and actually I think she would have been happy if I stayed there, but I'm really glad I was sent here this time."

His grandmother must have just been looking for a place as far away as possible.

"But what is your home like? Is it nearby?"

The emperor?

Okay, now Libby was maybe looking a little skeptical, starting to wonder if Kiem might be pulling her leg and teasing her with wild stories, but considering she had a giant sharkman who claimed to be a prince of some land like out of a storybook....it wasn't exactly the craziest thing she'd heard, really...

"Oh, it's probably a lot closer than some," she admitted, "but definitely more than a stone's throw. I'm from Tennessee, out in the country. This..." She still felt a little embarrassed about it, and her smile and lowered voice suggested as much, "...is actually my first time out-of-state! What about where yoi're from?"

"I'm from Iskat," Kiem said. "It's a different planet, in a different solar system, possibly a different universe. I don't know where Tennessee is, sorry. It's in the country? What is it like?"

Libby just needed to shake her head a little with reluctant disbelief. A different solar system? Possibly a different universe?

It was somewhat of a miracle that this girl had actually been taught that the Earth was even round, so that kind of talk would never cease to amaze her...and make her cautiously skeptical, too. Still, if Kiem was making it all up, it was a pretty great story, and he sold it very well.

"Then I guess we're even," she noted with a grin. "Because I sure haven't ever heard of Iskat before, either! And Tennessee is...well...honestly, not having been anywhere else before now, I'm never really sure how to answer that question, because it's just..." She shrugged, "home, I guess! But we live out in a big old farmhouse with a lot of land, right by a forest, and we keep chickens and Daddy's got some dogs for hunting, and we have a little garden, but none of us are really that good at growing anything, so we're just grateful for what the Lord decides to give us on that front. Are you from a city, then? On Iskat?"

Edited 2022-01-23 17:45 (UTC)

"Yes, the capital. But I don't really miss it that much, to be honest. Well, sometimes, but most of the time I like it here."

Curious, he continued:

"What do chicken look like here?"

Most animals on Iskat were vicious reptiles of various sizes, regardless of what they were called.

Second Floor Common Room; Sunday Morning [01/23].

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