Chromatober 2024

Day 5 - Library

Series: Chosen by the Sky

- - - Sabre's P.O.V. - - -

"So... why are we doing this?"  Time asked, trailing up to the meeting room.

"For fun."  I replied, bounding up the stairs.

"Also to settle a bet!"  Violet Leader piped up.

"Bragging rights?"  Yellow Leader suggested.

"Who cares!?"  M laughed, rushing past.  "We get to read!"

"But... a competition?"  Time repeated.  "Why are we making it a competition?"

"It makes it more fun for the rest of us."  I teased, tugging at his arm.  "Please?  I wanna see who wins!"

"But I've already read all the books up there..."  Time stalls.

"We got new ones."

That got him moving.

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of the meeting room, setting M's cloak alight with color.  The disguised Red Steve ran forward, stopping by the stacks of books in the middle of the room.

"Woah, I've never read any of these!"

"Alright."  Orange Leader chuckled, stepping over to settle in his throne.  "Don't start early."

"But you can take them home after you're done."  I whispered to him.

"C'mon!"  M turned back to Time, his voice brimming with delight.  "Let's start!"

"And no speeding up time."  Yellow Leader reminded him as the others filed in.

"But-"

"Please?"

"...okay.  If you all really want..."  Time shook his head, but I thought I could see a glimmer of a smile.

"Alright.  You've both got the same books, and all day."  I grinned.  "First one to read all of them wins."

"How do we know they haven't skimmed?"  Yellow Leader interrupted.

"They're goody-two-shoes."  I replied.  "They won't."

"We aren't cheaters."  M agreed emphatically.

"Okay, then.  Go ahead and start."

Watching a reading race... was not as interesting as I had hoped.  I was impressed by how quickly they were flipping the pages, though.  The interesting part was watching the leaders trying to take bets without speaking.  They kept making exaggerated arm gestures, and Yellow Leader was sparking with annoyance as he slowly lost to Indigo.  Green Leader tried to keep track of the page numbers on his fingers, frowning with concentration.

Meanwhile, M and Time were lost in their own little worlds.  M kept gasping with delight, or murmuring 'huh'.  Time's feet swung back and forth behind him, keeping time with his mask.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Hey, no spoilers!"

"Sorry."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as the two quickly buried their noses in the books again.

The longer they read, the less evenly matched they seemed.  M read the same way I fought demons: with a determined kind of fervor.  He flipped through the pages faster and faster, and I could see his hand slip under the cloak hood to push his glasses up into place.

"Last book."  Green Leader whispered as M quickly snatched up a book from the bottom of the pile, snapping through the first few blank pages.

"Yes, M!"  I cheered, my voice nearly silent.  My friend was on a roll!  Yellow Leader sighed, then ran out of the room on cat-like feet, coming bag with a heap of gold, which he began counting out.  Indigo and Orange shared triumphant looks.

"I wonder if I could get my people to do this?"  Violet Leader wondered quietly.  "They wouldn't get into so much trouble, then."

Did M ever do this at the Red Kingdom?  I wondered.  Is that why he's so good at it?

After an hour or so of near-silence, M set the final book down with a thud of finality, sitting back up and twisting around so his back popped.

Time didn't move from his spot, too occupied to notice that he'd lost.  I snapped my fingers, trying to jar him back, but he didn't even flinch.

"Oh, let him finish."  M told me, taking a seat beside me on the carpet.  "That last one's pretty interesting."

"You think that about every book."

"No I don't!"

We shared a laugh.

Time flipped to the last page, then shut the book, tapping his mask with one gloved hand.

"Three hours, forty-two minutes, three seconds."  he recited, then collapsed.  "About average, then."

"Average?"  Green Leader repeated.  "You read like a pair of Red Steves."

I fought to hide my smile as M and Time shared a look.

"Guess we've had a lot of practice."  M mumbled, shifting around.

"Yeah,"  Time agreed.  "Lots of practice."

"And I'm about to get a lot more,"  M said, "When you tell me where you bought these books."

"Yes, Violet."  I turned to him.  "Where did you find a library M hasn't raided yet?"

The steves around me laughed, and Violet Leader rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Those are new."  he said simply.  "My people keep track of new books to give as presents for their friends."

"I need more Violet Steve friends."  Time and M decided in unison.

"I will gladly put you two on babysitting duty!"  Violet Leader grinned.  "Right this way, if you will."  The two cast each other bewildered looks, but followed the leader downstairs, leaving the stacks of books behind.

"I don't envy those two."  Yellow Leader muttered, dishing out gold to Orange and Indigo.  "That lot is crazy."

"Um, have you met your steves?"

"You can't talk, Orange.  I saw Excited running around yesterday, trying to find a pickle!"

They both stopped for a second, then let out amused but exasperated sighs.

"I'll just take these-"  I decided, scooping M's books into my inventory, where they would be safe until M could add them to his personal library.

Until then, I would be avoiding the over-social Violet Steves like a sensible person.

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Word Count: 872