Echo leaned against the doorframe with a book in his hand, while Ada was leaning against the door, also holding a book open, scanning through the pages in hopes he would find the right book. Mounds of books sat between them and throughout the library, some stacked neatly, and others thrown about. They never thought they'd have to sift through so many tattered and torn books, both thinking the room would have been tidy with all the books on the shelves.
The book in Echo's hand slapped shut as he sighed and grabbed the one that sat between his legs with his free hand and then placed the closed one off to the side. "I don't think a book about anatomy is going to be it." He flipped through the first few pages. "Or a very detailed spicy book." He closed it and tossed it off to the side. "Are you sure there's another book?"
"Sure as white rice on a slab of salmon." Ada flipped through the pages, closed the book and tossed it off to the side.
"What is it that draws you to her?" He glanced up at Ada.
"Why does it concern you how we're connected?" He refused to look at him as he flipped another page.
"Her wounds tell a lot."
"It's all a mystery to the human mind."
"Try me."
"No matter how much I try to explain it, you'll never understand." He closed the book and placed it onto the floor, picked up a maroon colored one and opened it. "Your concern should be about her loyalty to you, not how a celestial being is connected to their ward."
"Do you love her?"
"Do you?" Ada finally gave him his attention.
"Yes."
"I sense every atom in you on fire. This love you have for her is far beyond your comprehension, yet you somehow manage to learn forgiveness within seconds of her offenses."
"She was made to be loved, not treated like shit just because of our differences."
"And so, your love will live on long after your deaths."
"You've got a shitty way with words."
"Honesty is sought after by many, why are you offended?"
"You're making it sound like one of us will die before we can even get her fixed."
"I do not know of your fates, nor do I know mine or Lailah's. And even if I did, I would not be obligated to inform you."
"And I suppose you feel the same about your profound bond with her, as Lailah states it."
"You only need to be worried about the protection I will be giving." He looked back down at the books to his right, then back at the one in his hands.
"And you will have my foot up your ass if you fail to do so."
"There's no way in knowing the future."
"Then how are we to find this half breed?"
"It isn't you, if that's what you're afraid of."
"No. Never thought it was me." He slapped the book shut and tossed it to the side. "We've gone through a few dozen each and haven't found anything. What if... what if this book was never written?"
Ada looked up from the book. "What are you saying?"
"What if it's a cliffhanger because the writer never knew what happened to the girl or the half breed? What if the writer died before knowing?"
