Essential Beings (Thantola)

II

Soon, Y'shtola found herself not having to hope for Thancred's return as he had made sure to visit her every other day to see what she was up to. She couldn't help but wonder where the man was staying, she didn't think he lived in this town by the way he spoke about all his little local discoveries.

He would try to convince her to join him for lunch out at some restaurant he enjoyed, but Y'shtola would never accept. Thancred wasn't sure if she still didn't like him, or if she was simply afraid of being exposed to the world again. He already felt bad about rousing new rumors in town, he didn't want to upset her further.

"Milady," Thancred called as he thumbed through the pages of a tome he had pulled off of Y'shtola's shelf. He stood with a thoughtful look on his face before snapping the tome shut, "You have quite the assortment of literature here. But, do inform me why you have a love-like letter written from a Roegadyn to a Goblin?"

Y'shtola glanced up from her book Proceedings of the Council of Magi to glance at Thancred's. Upon seeing her trying to crane her neck, Thancred turned the book so the cover was directly in her view. "Ah, Of Loves Unrequited." She said simply.

"Yes, thank you, I read the title. But why do you have it?" Thancred asked, glancing at one of the pages.

Could one of your kind ever love a lumbering brute like me?

'Good question indeed,' Thancred thought to himself, sparing a glance at the Miqo'te sprawled across a mauve loveseat.

Y'shtola's ear flicked and she turned the page of her book, "My tomes all come from the ancient Great Library. I took as many as I could before locking myself away. I didn't really pay any attention to what I was grabbing, just how many I was."

Thancred hummed, satisfied with her answer. He closed the tome again and slid it back into its place on the shelf next to two other similarly named books.

Y'shtola glanced up from her page to watch the Hyuran man as he scanned her shelves, his index finger running along the spines until he finally found one of interest. "This one is especially dusty, have you never touched it?" He asked her, not really expecting a reply as he pried open the book, dust flew into his face, causing him to cough briefly.

"Whats it's name?" She asked, catching a coughing Thancred off guard.

He closed the book over the thumb that held his page, "On the Culinary Applications of Coblyns,"

Y'shtola hummed in response, turning her page yet again. "I remember that one, it was my former caretaker's. She used to cook for me using that cookbook, but ever since I realised nothing would happen to me if I didn't eat, it's sat untouched."

Thancred nodded, thumbing through the pages before landing on one in particular, "Do you like salmon meuniere?"

Y'shtola hid the hint of a smile, "More of a moon keeper dish, but yes, Matoya used to make that for me when I was young. She was convinced all miqo'te liked the same dishes." She reminisced fondly before catching Thancred's confused eye. "Ah, Matoya was my caretaker," She clarified.

Thancred nodded, "Noted," Her murmured aloud, just with enough volume that Y'shtola barely heard it.

Y'shtola quirked her brow a bit, "Noted?" She repeated curiously while closing her book and rested it on her stomach.

Thancred nodded, his back turned to her now, as he had turned to grab an old quil sat on her desk, slipped the feather in the pages, and closed the book. "Noted and bookmarked."

He placed the book under his arm and began making his way out of the room, "Where are you going?" Y'shtola asked.

He turned his head and smiled, "Worried about me? I jest. I'm going out, but I'll be back!" Y'shtola glanced at the grandfather clock set between two bookshelves. It was 4 pm, where could he be going? And when exactly would he return? Before she could ask, Thancred had already left, and Y'shtola could barely hear the click of her front door shutting.